The water was half-way up her calves when she heard the whine of charging turbines, and she jumped forward, reaching out with her arms as she closed her eyes. Her stomach and breasts brushed the sandy bottom as the cold waves swallowed her up, her fingers clawing at the muck as she held her breath and drew herself through the water until it became deep enough for her to make full kicks. It seemed she'd managed to give the Tinman the slip, at least for a little while.

Juniper couldn't claim to be the strongest swimmer, but she fought the pull of the waves as she put some distance between her and the beach. Finally, she was far enough that the water didn't seem to be dragging her back the way she'd come, and she rolled over, floating on her back for a few moments as she caught her breath. Ah, the joys of being naturally boyant. Juniper raised her head to look back at the coast, arching her eyebrow slightly.

Tinman was still there alright, his construction made it seem like he was leaning forward slightly, almost eagerly as his simple visor gazed back at her. Creepy. Well, at least he didn't seem to be armed with any kind of capture-wire, she didn't think she'd be able to do much of anything defensively if he could just reach out and touch her from there on the beach. She pursed her lips a bit, however, as the minutes began to drag on and he just sat there. Dammit, apparently he was content to just wait her out. She turned to one side . . . hypothetically she'd be able to swim to the grotto, but it was still a ways off, and if the Tinman could track her through the waves she'd just end up implicating Aegir in her activities for the night. She turned her head the other way, back towards the school . . . of course, the longer she stayed out here the more likely some aquatic beasty would stumble across her. Of course, Aegir was aquatic, that might work out to her benefit . . . but that didn't seem to be the way her luck was running these days.

"6199-23B" Juniper muttered, working her tongue around the arcane designation, trying to work out the numerology in her head. No matter how she rearranged or converted the numbers, she couldn't get it to add up to any of her physical characteristics. It didn't have anything to do with her dorm number, or her date of birth, and while she hadn't memorized it it didn't sound like her Student ID. Maybe if she was part of the sixth class to attend Shokushu . . . but it seemed like a stretch.

"Ah, to hell with it." she finally said, she couldn't afford to linger out in the waves until sun-up, and even if she did that was no promise that the Tinman wouldn't still be there if she did. It was time for her to see if she could lose him. Juniper sank down a bit in the waves, suddently springing up and taking a deep breath as she did her best impression of a mermaid, diving straight down into the water. Her eyes were closed, not wanting to get salt water in them, but she turned to the right and swam alongside the coast kicking and drawing herself forward with her arms until she felt her lungs beginning to burn. As she started to feel a little desperate, she angled for the surface again, breaking through the waves and taking another deep gulping breath. Which she immediately wasted on a swear. Oh, she'd made some distance, sure, but she was far enough out from the coast that all Tinman had to do was move his head a few inches to keep her firmly in her sights. That strategy wasn't going to work withotu a SCUBA tank.

"Dammit, don't you have something better to do!?" she shouted back at the beach, waving her fist irritably.

AVERAGE LUNG CAPACITY … CALCULATING … PREVIOUS SWIM SPEEDS, INCREASINGING FOR ADRENILINE SURGE MODIFIED BY THE STRENGTH OF THE CURRENT …

It determined exactly the range that she could swim to, any point in this ragius. It was likely that she would swim in one of two directions. It was determined that it was more probable that she would swim towards the grotto but when the allocated time came up and she hadn't surfaced in that direction it was just a slight adjustment of it's head and it checked the other direction and could easily see her swimming there.

Negative, 6199-23B.

It watched, patiently though at first it doubted that she would swim to the shore but humans were quietters and knew that it's patience would out weight her own. It took a few strides to keep parallel with her.

It could have flown out there and indeed captured her easily enough but it's risk assessment had been higher in the way of sustaining damage and this option was easy enough.

Stay put, June.

The words were clear enough it her head. She had made it close enough to the grotto after all. Tinman had no mind to touch upon and thus Aegir could not touch upon it. He had some other talents but he had to get much closer to use them, the only thing was that he was slow moving so it took time for hime to close the distance. Now she was moving away making it tougher to approach even if she was not getting too far away it was still progress after all.

I've kinda got a giant robot staring at me here, Juniper thought, letting herself sink a little lower under the waves until her face was half-submerged and she was taking shallow breaths through her nose. A wave of salty green water slapped up against the back of her head, tugging at the ends of her hair as she tried for just a little bit of visual cover, Still, I'll try not to move around too much. Should I be ready to scream? she smirked a bit at that last thought, sweeping her arms out to help keep her steady.

"So, why 6199-23B?" she called back. Well, as long as she was staying put, she may as well satisfy her curiosity. She kicked her legs a bit to help keep her upright, the wheels in her head turning as she tried to think of some kind of inspired solution to the mechanical man simply standing there, waiting with all the patience of a stone. Of course, if he wandered off, he might find another student a bit further from the ocean . . . but, the longer he stood there, the more likely he was to simply wait her out, just to justify the time he'd spent out there watching her tread water.

The thing was, intellectually, she actually found it kind of interesting to watch him move. The mechanisms in his hips particularly were intriguing, the micro-machining and programming involved must have been impressive, if far and away beyond her ability to fully appreciate. It was hard to appreciate it fully, however, when some primordial ur-memory was telling her that this simple-minded machine was every bit as predatory as anything else on the island. She sniggered a bit at that, rocket-powered predators . . . it was just absurd enough to laugh, though a bit more frightening that she truly wanted to contemplate.

I could sense you. I cannot sense it, however but thought it was rather odd that you were approaching then I felt that you were moving away so I chose to investigate. I have kept free of your mind other than that and telepathy of course but thank you of apprising me of the situation. And yes, be ready to scream.

He went over his options. Robotic … rule out telepathic abilities so that left telekinesis … he had to get closer but this had been an occasion where his general knowledge helped.

Normally monsters did not interfere in the hunts of other monsters but as Aegir could sense that June had been in the ocean right now he assessed those thoughts that she relayed. Robot? Probably still on the beach then and if it were waiting it was not exactly hunting either …

Aegir made his way with some urgency though, well quick to him might have been a power walk for humans but he soon arrived on the scene recognizing Tinman, standing and watching. Watching and waiting.

He exchanged a few words with Tinman who remained impassive as it watched on even as Aegir moved into the ocean until he was deep enough to submerge. It took a moment or two before she felt a rubbery tentacle coil about an ankle.

Now!

Other tentacles burst through the water ensnaring her if of course she did not put up any resistance. Others gripped at her blouse taring it open enough to pop of the top two buttons.

Big breath!

He pulled her under water then a minute or so later he let her surface closer to the grotto.

Tinman, being little more than a machine had to follow the rules that had been programed into it. It would not interfere but it walked perpendicular to them along the beach. It was probable that she would wind up on the shore later so it would wait.

Eventually Aegir would drag he along to the grotto with Tinman simply waiting out on the beach.

Juniper watched quietly as Tinman simply stared back at her. He really wasn't much for banter, was he? Still, Juniper was beginning to have a rather different problem. With the sun having gone down long ago, the water she was treading in had grown cold hours ago. Submerged as she was, the water was stealing away her body heat, and she wasn't wearing anything insulated enough to keep it. Her body shook gently as she tread the water a bit more swiftly, trying to use the exercise to keep her body temperature up. Of course, all she was really doing was tiring herself out faster. This stalemate wouldn't last much longer, she thought with a grimace.

Fortunately, Aegir picked that particular moment to arrive. She couldn't hear any words exchanged between the two creatures as Aegir looked in it's direction. Of course, Aegir communicated telepathically, she could only hear what he said when he wanted her to . . . but then, Tinman was a machine, could they really communicate with each other. They must have reached some kind of understanding, however, as Aegir slithered his way into the waves.

Juniper wanted this to look good for posterity, so as she saw Aegir slide into the water she began to paddle her way backwards, rolling over and swimming to one side in earnest as she gave the appearance of trying to get away. She felt one tendril slide along her ankle and give her a tug back as she felt that gentle urge in her mind. She gave her very best haunted house scream as more tendrils burst from the frothing water. She fought a bit, but she kept her motions ineffectual, flailing uselessly before long tentacles wound their way around her arm, and grabbing at one of the limbs that was coiled around her shoulders though she pulled without any strength as he tore at her shirt. She took a deep breath at his command, reaching one hand up as he pulled her down underneath the waves as if trying to grab for something that would keep her afloat before she vanished.

She clamped her hands over her mouth and nose and screwed her eyes closed. She felt Aegir pulling her through the water, his physiology much better suited for pushing itself through the water as they made their way along. She just focused on holding her breath as long as she could, the occasional bubble escaping her lips as the air turned stale as she tried to ease the pressure on his lungs. She assumed that he was keeping track of her mind during this particular maneuver, so that he'd know when she was at her limit and needed to come up for air. Sure enough, she felt her head crest the waves just long enough for her to sputter and take another breath before she was jerked back under the waves, not having seen Tinman's plodding progress as he followed along with them.

As they reached the grotto, Juniper started crawling through the shallow water along the stoney bottom, coughing and hacking as she accidentally swallowed some of the briny water. At least she'd maintained consciousness, she didn't want to think of what would have happened when her body reflexively tried to breath under water. Her fingers caught on the bank and she drew herself up into a sitting position, her knees just barely poking out above the waterline as she ran her fingers through her hair, slicking it back.

"Mission --koff-- mission accomplished." she said, the barest hint of a smile on her face, "Not without complications, but I'm like . . . 97.8% sure that she won't be getting back up from that . . ."

Safe at the cove for now Aegir looked at the water logged student, surprised that she had actually pulled it off. His mouth tendrils contorted in such a fashion to indicate that surprise as he regarded her. He of course was quiet curious of her accomplishments and while they could have discussed the actual details he could pull the images from her mind the following day.

She was a scrapper., though she still needed a lot of help along the way it was interesting to see what could be accomplished give n a level playing field.

Excellent! Either way I doubt that you will have to deal with her again. If alive she will be afraid now and keep her distance unless she's one of the sorts that is so hot headed that she needs to avenge such a disgrace, depending on how bad it is …

I would have come sooner but I am unable to sense Tinman. I am essentially blind to him and only investigated when I sensed your approach and then retreat from this place, that made no sense to me as I could sense no other minds in the vicinity and assumed that there was some sort of reason for it.

Forgive me for breaking my word but it was necessary to monitor you mind during that ordeal to determine when you needed to breath.

At the rear of the cove I have some dried wood I have taken from the forest. There is a chest there as well that has some pictures of my favorites and a few other trinkets. You will find a lighter and some lighter fluid there so you can set a fire. It is not often that I entertain guests her but there are a few things I have salvaged in that chest too. Some canned beverages, lollies, candy bars and such not to mention a few bags of potato chips.

To date you are only the third person to come to this place. Miss Takayama who's image I showed you earlier and Vikky when Komi brought her here once. Currently you've been her thrice now, once barely counts in retrieving you camera, how did it hold up by the way?

Mission accomplished indeed. Aegir gave some thought to this then regarded her again. June was to spend the night here, at latest that was what he had used as an excuse back at the lab so she might as well get comfortable. There were plenty of questions he could ask but he would allow her to share, or not, about what had gone on this night.

"Oh, I doubt that's the end of it." Juniper said with a soft chuckle, "Rena was a hothead, and if she pieces together that I was taking advantage of a very narrow window of opportunity, I'm sure she'd be happy to give me the full sampler tray of what Hell has to offer. Even if she's every bit as deceased as I think she is . . . someone down there in the lab had a serious thing going on for that piece of infernal tail. If they ever link me to that room, I imagine I'll have something of a vendetta to deal with." Juniper leaned forward a bit and braced her elbows on her knees, looking blankly forward as she considered that. It was a small island, and she was going to be here for a long time, she'd have to be careful about making too many enemies.

"Don't worry about it." Juniper said, waving his apology off, "Like I said before, I'm not so worried about you listening in on my thoughts, so long as you understand you're bypassing any overtures of politeness I might prefer to make. I just don't want you tinkering around with my head . . ." she glanced over at him, "Though I guess you've done that too." she smirked a bit and shook her head. At least she seemed to have a sense of humor about that.

"I don't suppose you came across a blanket at any point?" Juniper asked, clambering to her feet as he pointed out his treasure trove nestled in the back of the cave, "Even with the fire, I should get out of these clothes before I catch cold. Are you sure you have sufficient ventilation in here? I wouldn't want to smoke us out . . ." her shoes squelching wetly with each step on the hard stone, Juniper picked her way towards the back of the cave, the silver cross around her neck dangling freely between her breasts. It took her a few moments to find a good place to stack some of the wood, a dry indentation in the floor that would keep the burning wood from rolling free and spreading the fire. She did have to use the lighter fluid to get the wood started, lacking any proper tinder.

"That few, huh?" Juniper thought as Aegir told her that she was only the third person to see his home, "I have to admit, I had you pegged for the sort who'd like to have a nice quiet place to fully enjoy his prey . . . I guess you mostly use their rooms then." she said, taking the camera out from around her neck and making sure it was powered off, "Well, it's supposed to be waterproof, but the night vision lens is an attachment so it might be screwed." she said with a little grimace, "I'm just going to leave it off until it has a chance to dry out, try and prevent any electrical shorts."

She took a moment to set the camera down on a low rock shelf, settling her hands on her hips as she water the flickering orange light of bonfire. With a bit of a sigh, she kicked off her shoes and started peeling the soaked clothes from her body, the salt was already starting to itch against her skin and they'd dry easier faster hanging from something then while being wrapped around her. Still, as she pulled the tattered black shirt over her head, she left the silver cross around her neck, not minding the feel of cold metal against her skin.

Yes, He chuckled a little in her mind. In the beginning I had when you met Cindy, at first anyway. Not sense though.

He nodded. Yes, I do. You will find a first aid kit in their too. There are a few other trinkets in there that I do not think you can make use of just yet, like a flashlight, a few sketches I did of the island a few years back and so forth.

There is enough ventilation here for the fire though. He had thought once to get some clothes for Komi, she came here on her own free volition but even if he had the clothes would have probably been baggy on June. He had considered that for the future figuring that she would probably come more often. He now considered something for June too figuring it was highly likely that she would be back too. Given the green light to do so he got her measurements from her memory and stored that little gem for later the next time he stocked. There was also a book in the chest on astronomy that he had not mentioned anything about, it was simply not important at the time …

The blanket is not mine though, it is Komi's she left it here for those times she comes back so she can avoid laying out on the sand. You cannot take it but can use it while you are here.

Yes, mostly their rooms. I have only ever kept one person over night and that was because the girl was hopelessly lost and wished to stay with me until she could find her way back to the campus at first light.

I could get a replacement. I am not always here and can get a few things. That is not contraband so there would be no harm in acquiring that. Of course, I will have to take back whatever weapons you have left. Dagger, any holy water that is left and so on. Damage control for the most part. I think I could get away with letting you keep the cross though.

He watched her as she stripped in the light of the fire. He was appraising her then by the light of the first splashing over her wet skin but he had behaved himself as he just watched her for the time being.

When you broke the surface of the water were was Tinman?

"I was talking more about when you sealed off a chunk of memories in my head." Juniper said with a bit of a smirk, unclipping the tool belt from around her waist and setting it delicately to one side so as not to break the remaining vials of holy water. She hadn't been quite so optimistic as to believe she might be able to keep them anyway, "Though, I guess I should probably thank you for that. If anyone else had done it, I wouldn't have even the promise that those memories will eventually unpack themselves."

It seemed as though she barely registered his physical presence as she unzipped the side of her skirt and let it slide down her legs, stepping out of the skirt and hanging it over the same stone as her shirt. She never even felt him dip into her mind long enough to pluck her measurements from her memory, a testament to his skill and just how oblivious she was to the inner workings of her mind. She unclipped her bra, tisking irritably at the damage the cups had sustained from contact with Rena's skin, balling it up an tossing it with the rest of her clothes before she settled her hands on her hips and pushed both her stockings and panties down over her long, toned legs before stepping out and hanging them up as well.

"Komi's, huh?" she asked as she made her way back to the collected items. Sure enough, right where he said it'd be, she found a blanket folded up in a neat little square, "Does she come back here often then?" she asked as she picked it up and unfurled it, "I'll try to leave it in the same condition I found it. Wouldn't want to be a poor guest." she said, pulling the fluffy cloth around her shoulders. Before she stepped back, she swiped a lollipop from what looked like a cup full of them, tearing the wrapper free and sticking the sugary end in her mouth so that the stick could bounce along as she talked.

"Well, hopefully it won't be necessary. That lens and I have some history, I'd hate to have to retire it so soon." Juniper said with a bit of a smirk as she made her way back over to the fire and fell into a crouch close to it, leaving the top of the blanket loose around her shoulders so that the heat from the fire could warm her up, though she pushed a fold of the fabric down between her legs as she sat Indian style in an effort to protect a modesty that seemed to be only selectively enforced, "Sorry about the knife, by the way. It definitely cut her, but Rena's flesh seemed to corrupt the blade almost as soon fast as it tasted her blood . . . even by the second draw, the cut wasn't anywhere near as deep as the first."

"When I last saw him . . . Tinman was still on the beach. He was definitely moving though, probably trying to track us . . ." she said, lightly fingering the cross around her neck as she tried to think back. She'd been so busy just trying to control her breathing that it took her a few moments to even recall looking towards the mechanism. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's just standing out there, waiting for me to reemerge still." she glanced back at Aegir for a moment.

"No need to stay so far off, it's your home after all. Feel free to warm yourself by the fire . . . assuming the light doesn't hurt your eyes."

Surprisingly there was less tampering there than with the Cindy illusion. For the illusion I had to manipulate your senses and alter what you perceived. With the later those memories were only suppressed keeping you from accessing them and thus far easier to do than the later, less intrusive though I still have to reroute various connections so you are unable to recall the memories. But you are right. I merely blocked them for a short while, most should return within the week.

Komiko, Komi, has been here only twice but she comes to the spot of the beach outside of the grotto often enough. Fourth picture from the top in that stack, you have already seen it. One of my 'relatives' so to speak. In fact she was amongst those responsible in gathering up the equipment you used. She is but one of five I can use my powers through. Speaking with her, should you find her is the same as speaking to me directly. I am aware of what she senses and perceives. Often I remain dormant but occasionally I call her to me or as I did this morning had her gather up some of these things. And since I can use my powers through her it was as if I was doing it myself so with minimal risks.

He considered number four four a moment. He recounted how they had met, how she took a liking to him from the start even if he let her believe that lake water had a strong aphrodisiac … he had no reason to contradict her in this.

He had drawn in her naked form as they spoke as if this was an everyday matter. Just a student and monster hanging out … she covered her wet body as he figured that she would but thankfully he had an eidetic memory to recall things with.

Do not worry about the condition of the weapon. As long as you no longer possess it things should be fine though if you possessed it I would suspect that it would simply vanish inexplicably one night.

Tinman is relentless. It is tireless and if it were tracking us it is waiting for me to finish with you so that it may take it's turn. We will have to leave by the cove going right will he waits to the left. The route is a bit longer but it will avoid having to encounter it in the morning. It is a machine and will not interfere in a hunt and simply patiently wait.

He considered the invite to draw closer and so he did. The glow of the fire reflecting off oh his wet mauve skin. He regarded her a moment longer as he slithered up to her side. The fire light did not hurt his eyes. A bonfire would have, a simple fire did not.

With luck the attachment will be alright thought what is in the cards for you now, June?

"Huh, I would've thought that once you tricked a brain to interpret X stimuli as Y output the work was pretty much done. Let their own mind fill in the gaps naturally . . . though, I guess if you relied on something like that you might not be able to track inconsistencies as well." Juniper mused, tilting her head to the side. Still, given the way the human mind tended to link experiences by similar experiences rather than by time frame, she was surprised he was downplaying the difficulty an partitioning away a part of her mind. Of course, it was something that human beings did naturally, maybe he just tripped the pre-existing circuit to have her "block out the trauma" of the event.

She scooted herself over to the side slightly as he slithered across the moist stone and fine sand, trying to give him plenty of room to sort out his undulating coils. Not for the first time, she tried not to think too hard about the fact that she was sharing space with a creature who implanted it's young in the wombs of another species. It drew uncomfortable parallels in her mind to Rena specifically and parasitic wasps in general. Oh, she imagined there was some sort of beneficial pay-off for the host, but she couldn't quite shake off some of the ramifications fo Aegir being able to use his favorites as finger puppets when he so desired.

"Heh, yeah, I figured it wouldn't be that easy. Eventually I hope to set up a couple of secure drop-points to stuff contraband in for safe keeping. Hopefully if I'm not around it much, it'll get by the school's security measures for a while." Juniper said, leaning back against the rock as she grabbed the stick on her lollipop between two fingers and focused an working her tongue around it before sucking it back from between her fingers.

"Of course, that's assuming that ol' bucketbrain isn't familiar with the layout of the grotto." she said, "Not that I think he's interrogated anyone, mind you, but it's still some time before sun-up. He might decide to check for other exits to make sure he wasn't evaded, or he may have some kind of sonic or seismic sensor suit he might employ." she settled her hands over her stomach and stretched her legs out, stifling a yawn as the heat started to soak into her. It was, after all, the middle of the night. "I hope he doesn't get too obsessed . . . I certainly didn't set out to trade nemesises from the creepy brain-slug demoness for the towering rocket-powered iron juggernaut."

She lightly rubbed her eyes with her fingers, "Mmn . . . as for what's next? Pretending to be a good little brainwashed student for a little while. Attend classes, be respectful, mind my own business . . . hopefully I'll evade scrutiny long enough to start surveying the island. I need a more complete picture of what's going on here before I can formulate a plan."

I can alter the mind in such a fashion but it takes more effort than to just block certain connections. If I have to generate new memories in place of the old, however, I have to generate those and it takes a bit more time. Either way it is easy enough for me to do.

He did not follow her train of thoughts since he was not tapping into her mind currently though he would have explained the very nature of the nodes. It was not necessary to implant the buds into students and it was easy enough to remove them if he wanted. Aegir could use his powers through them as if at the same spot and since he could use mind control he could use that at a distance.

Prolonged exposure granted mild psionic abilities hampered by the inhibitors her of course.

But he regarded her for a moment as she made space for him. Good luck there, I have never been interested enough to find out as contraband has never affected me. I can get what I need and it isn't too often I need to get contraband into their hands. Above the board stuff even.

Tinman has no personality. It would not be a viable nemesis to you, an obstacle. It will wait though, there is but that one entrance there to climb through though you can leave by the sea. One direction leads out t0 the beach. The other leads to another beach. It will probably deduce that you will leave though the hole in the wall since I am through with you as the likely path that you'll take.


While I cannot read him mentally I have learned that it tends to do whatever seems easiest with the highest option of success so it is easy to fool.

He considered her plans for the moment and did the equivalent of a nod with the movement of his tentacles. If you did succeed that would be a grand idea. Scrutiny will be up for awhile. A piety that your designs won't be as grandiose as they have been these past few days. It means I will have to be more patient. Of course, I cannot assist you as, involved, as I have been throughout this though you will find that not much would be altered save for what I involve myself in tonight of course.

"Mmn, he might not have much of a personality, but . . . well, I don't have to tell you how the human mind works. I'm sure if I keep bumping into him I'll start thinking of him as "relentless", "patient", or "lazy" in short order. If people do it with animals, I don't know why we wouldn't with robots." Juniper smirked a little bit and settled back against the stone behind her, letting out a soft sigh as tongues of flame reflected in her soft brown eyes. Her fingers tugged at the blanket around her shoulder, keeping herself covered as she squirmed a bit to tuck her legs up under her instead of resting her bare feet on the cold stone.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be back up to "grandiose" again in no time." she said with a bit of a chuckle, "Too much work still to be done, after all. I need to figure out the political scene a little better before I can start playing the game is all. Need to figure out how watchful the school's eye is before I can start figuring out hidey holes. It's always important to find the vital organs before you plant the knife, after all."

"I have . . . ideas though. And questions that I need to find answers to." she mused slightly, "Better for me to pretend to be a good little girl for a week or two though. Let security doubt their culprit for as long as possible, maybe try and determine who they use as a scape goat. They might make a good ally some day." she rested her head back, "Mmn . . . but Tinman got a pretty good look at me, I imagine. I guess that means I'm still on the menu, even if they determine you were just playing with your food a bit down by the beach."

There was a light crunching sound as Juniper pulverized the lollipop in her mouth between her molars, the heat and moisture of her mouth having softened the hard candy to the point where it crushed neatly under the pressure. She chewed silently for a bit, the white stick bobbing up and down slightly between her lips as she watched the rolling fire.

"Mmn . . . what to do about that?" she muttered lowly to herself, sliding one hand out of the blanket up to the shoulder, though she used her other hand to keep it snugly around her chest, and grabbing a piece of wood before tossing it into the fire to keep the rolling flames fed and hot.

It is a relentless one. It will wait indefinitely until it's power supply needs to recharge I'm assuming so it looks as if your options would be to face the music with it, wait here longer than intended as it looses interest or take another swim to avoid it.[/i]

He didn't mind if she stayed the extra time. He had not dealt with Tinman though it was an option of driving him away there were only so many times he could get away with it. There was always the aspect of a bluff too if he took her elsewhere such as back to the school no doubt Tinman would follow and wait to get his opportunity …

I was confident that you would indeed bounce back from this soon enough. When your memories return about the lab you will be shaken I suspect but will even bounce back from that considering how mouthy you were during ... Aegir mused over this for a moment. He wasn't 100% certain since he wasn't touching her mind. He doubted that their would be any concern there.

Tinman is not very vocal. I doubt it will reveal anything or much at all but it is nearly as patient as I from what I have learned. I have yet to look at detailed summaries of it though.

It considered for a moment as she polished off the lollipop. For a moment he wondered how one of those things tasted before he answered her statement.

Indeed. I had presented a few options to you on the matter already so it comes down to deciding to get wet again or not. If you stay more than a night it may assume that I decided to keep you for a few days and move off to access more accessible prey. Of course, your welcome to stay but should I leave there would be nothing keeping it from entering the cove either.

"I don't suppose you know exactly how long his power supply lasts?" Juniper asked, raising an eyebrow slightly, "I'll admit, I was kind of thinking that his bulk was meant to accommodate a large source of power, but I wasn't really willing to speculate on what that might be. His mechanical design alone is well outside of anything I've ever read about being designed. I wonder how well he handles stairs. . ." Juniper said rubbing her chin with a bit of a smirk. Big feet certainly wouldn't help him there, but then he seemed to have some kind of rocket-booster system so fleeing upstairs would only help her if there weren't wide windows the next level up. Assuming he wouldn't just crash through walls. Hmn.

"Heh, well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I'm glad I at least gave 'em a little hell, even in that kind of situation." Juniper said, though the sucker was gone, she kept chewing on the end of the plastic stick with a bit of a smile. She nodded a bit when he said he hadn't looked over any detailed summaries of the Tinman's design, she supposed she'd just have to work on that for herself. Though, if he stayed as chatty as he'd seemed at the beach, she wasn't going to coax much in the way of usable information out of him. She'd need to figure out a different source . . . assuming the school's computers didn't pan out.

She mulled over the options he'd presented her for a moment, glancing over at the array of objects he'd kept stashed in the grotto for a moment. She wasn't really safe no matter what she did, so she just had to focus on other considerations for a moment. She crossed her arms around her knees, the stick in her mouth lightly rolling along her teeth.

"So long as it's not imposing, I think I'll stay here for a bit. I think a little time to decompress, start aligning priorities, maybe start making some plans. As far as I know, only you and the Tinman would know to find me here, so having only one creature on the hunt for me seems like the better option than risking blundering into one of the others. If only for a day." she chuckled a bit, "Just, ya know, try and be sneaky on your way out."