Such a pleasant day … well, no, not really. He had to come back to this world and deliver his report to Aegir. It was dreadful knowing that he could be destroyed with but a thought of his creator but otherwise had a measure of immorality as long as Aegir lived and wished to restore him. At the same time though if Aegir were to die so would he so he was scouring the galaxy nowadays to get true life in order not to be so vulnerable.

Though each time he had been called back her to deliver his monthly reports he did indulge in the wares here though he preferred those that could effectively fight back in the arena this was a nice change of pace from time to time.

His last time back he wound up teamed up with that slime … he never did learn his name as it was unimportant at the time. The fact that there were more than enough scouts to go around meant that the evening would be enjoyable.

Soaring invisibly through the air he landed in the trees every so often to grab a look at the targets to select from. All three of his eyes widen as once he saw Alynia but he was forbidden to touch her as much as he had liked too.

His criteria had not been strong but he was particularly choosey today. He did not know what he was in the mood for though as he landed this time he took a look to the lake watching one of the girls out for a swim … alone … she would do nicely though for now he observed her carefully. Every stroke through that water, every movement.

When he was content that no other predators were around he fell out of the tree snapping a branch upon landing though he had little to fear still being invisible he used a tree to conceal himself then dismissed the invisibility. He even used a rare illusion of another student covering his form in jogging attire, jet black hair tied back as he jogged out along the trail as he approached.

He might as well have a little fun first … nearing the lake he stopped upon seeing her, looked to her and waved. “HEY!” he attempted to get her attention.

Cold lakewater glides over Lacey's slim form as she swam her laps, taking her morning exercise outside today. The weather is nice, a little cool but not frigid...or it hadn't been until she'd jumped into the water, of course. Cold water to practice discipline, movement to stretch her muscles and wake her mind for the day...and secretly, she feels that maybe the water could cleanse her heart. Here at the end of her first week of classes, it's almost easy to forget what had happened to her after her first day...almost, but not quite.

Such thoughts are lost for a brief time as she does her morning routine, however, counting strokes and laps across the lake, focusing on rhythm, on maintaining a steady heartbeat and keeping up a decent speed. Years of similar routines involving cold water and movement mean it's almost second nature to the fiery redhead to ignore the cold surrounding her body; it barely registers on her consciousness as a factor at all, though her body reacts to it with a bright red flush in her cheeks and on her nose among other places. One hundred strokes above water, one hundred below, thirteenth lap, control breathing and heartbeat...the list goes on and on in her mind as she focuses on her self-set task.

Sliding smoothly beneath the surface, she pushes for another hundred strokes, careful to regulate speed so as not to burn up her oxygen too quickly or wear herself out too much; this isn't a race, it's an exercise in control, she reminds herself as she has for years. One hundred comes quickly, and it's back up to the surface and the shoreline where she turns around and prepares for lap number--

"HEY!"

The shout breaks through Lacey's focus, and her head snaps around to the source of the sound; Another student, it seems. Decked out in a tracksuit with jet black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Lacey blinks water out of her green eyes, looking about before deciding that the shout is indeed meant for her. She pulls herself up onto the lakeshore, exposing a lithe body clad in a forest green one-piece bathing suit...and leaving little doubt that the water is cold, the evidence pointing out there on her modest b-cup breasts. A warm smile touches her features as she regards the student. "G'morning! Something I can help with?" She asks, her tone light and friendly. She doesn't like interrupting her circuit in the lake, knowing that she'll have to get herself back into rhythm again once she goes back in, but people have always fascinated her and she's always been interested in social interaction...so in her mind, it's important to investigate what's going on.

What a lovely gem he had found today. He enjoyed breasts on the small side though he didn't mind the huge ones that Iria sported either. And the fact that the water was cold only got that feature to stand out a bit more though for now Gersham retained his focus on her green eyes.

He could see truths and even pick up on falsehoods that were meant to deceive though the later he never knew what was wrong. Often he could dope out the lie with enough conversation though in her green eyes he could see that she hadn't been paranoid or guarded even indicating that if there were other beings that took her none had used a human disguise.

Gersham did not pick up on any alarm here but the image of the student frown first as she looked to the lake then as that feature fell away her went on with his charade. “There's no swimming here … not in this lake anyway. There was a strange sludge in there that got a bunch of girls sick.

“Rumor is that one of the staff tossed some sort of containment in there. It was a year ago and I doubt there are any problems with it now but the admin hasn't Oked swimming here again just saying the place was off limits until further notice which has yet to be given. Someone probably forgot,” she explains it not to alarm her much.

“Though there is a river near here that I jog past on most mornings, I'll show you if your interested. I haven't seen you around here before so you must be new. I'm Sondra.”

One red eyebrow arches over a green eye, her head tilting to one side questioningly as the girl simply stares at her, like she's trying to figure something out, though for the life of her Lacey has no clue what it is. Finally the girl, identifying herself as Sondra, tells Lacey that the lake she'd been swimming in for a week now is restricted. Something about a sludge or chemical spill, many sick students. It sounds plausible enough, except...

"And they just leave it like this? No clean-up crews or equipment around, not even a few signs to tell people about a possible biohazard? That's....odd." Something's odd here, though Lacey's not certain if it's Sondra or the establishment. Lacey's philosophy is a simple thing: accept life as it comes. While she refuses to let her previous encounter color her time here at the school, she also refuses to allow herself to be caught unawares, and something isn't adding up.

While it's true that she hasn't seen any other students swimming in the lake to this point, she doubts it has anything to do with a chemical spill. Nothing really seems amiss however, other than an odd story, and Lacey decides that maybe it's easier to accept the idea. A new place to swim might be interesting anyway, provided that the river is wide and deep enough. "Hm. telle est la vie, I guess. Thanks for the info; that could have been dangerous! My name's Lacey." Another warm smile lights her features as she grabs her towel off a nearby treebranch, draping it over her head to soak up some of the water streaming out of her hair.

"So you run this way fairly often, Sondra?" The question is casual and simple as she steps into her flip-flops, making ready to wander off towards new horizons, but she can't help but think about how rarely she's seen anyone come down that path. The solitude is one of the reasons she picks this spot for her morning swim or run, whichever she happens to be in the mood for; if she tried to do her circuit around other people, she'd get distracted too easily by the urge to observe them and wouldn't put her all into her efforts.

“No, it's fairly normally … there were signs all around here but as you can see someone removed them. Not everyone here is so nice. Like that Etolie girl,” Midnight had brought her to him once. The resident trouble maker it seemed.

“If the water was likely just to get you sick I wouldn't put it past her to have one of her stooges remove the signs.

“As for the equipment the schools big on locking everything up even if they have to continually drag the same equipment back out. They don't like the idea of girls tinkering with their crap and even take contraband from people when it becomes an issue ...”

She sighed a little and looked up at the blue sky as Lacey prepared to go. “Lots of strange things go on here that you'll figure out before the year's out. But yeah, I come this way often enough whenever I can make time for a run. My schedule is a bit chaotic but I'm out this way everyday save the weekends.”

Gersham waited until she was ready before proceeding along with her to the river.

“So, Lacy have you seen anything … I dunno … unusual?”

"That's...quite a bit of a troublemaker." Lacey said, a little concern in her voice. She'd heard of practical jokes, but removing signs from a lake that could potentially cause health problems? That's a bit much! She'd have to keep a lookout for this Etolie. Nods signify that she's listening to what Sondra's saying as the student tells her about some of the oddities that abound in this school, remembering the strange annoucement about confiscating certain personal objects from people if they were deemed dangerous or unneccessary. Lacey herself hadn't taken anything she hadn't absolutely needed with her, so that hadn't been an issue for her.

"Every day, hm?" Lacey murmurs, half to herself and half to her new companion. "Well, if it's just one other person, it shouldn't be too much of a problem..." She looks over at Sondra as they walk together. "I'll have to join you sometime, then. Sorry I'm not jogging today...I learned the hard way early on that you don't want to run in flip-flops. Hopefully you won't cool off too much before we reach the river. I know it can be a pain to get your stride again once you stop." Speaking of cooling off...Lacey stretches a little as they walk, the chill from the water setting in, causing her muscles to get a little stiff with their inaction. She rolls her head and her shoulders, offering a view of the pale, soft skin of her slender neck, then arches her back a little before draping the towel over her shoulders, pushing her long red hair back from her face with her hands.

The next question out of Sondra, however, catches the confident girl offguard. Something unusual....her hands pause in the process of pushing her hair back, freezing in place for a moment as she remembers her first day at the school..."unusual how, exactly?" She forces her hands to resume their battle with her locks, keeping step with the other student, betraying nothing more than she already has, and shuddering just thinking about her encounter with the creature called Wraith. Encounters, plural, if her suspicions on the matter are correct.

“Indeed. She's an elitist so unless you have money you'll probably not get into her inner circle. She's a bit of a sadist from what I gather but I've only heard stories, nothing that I can confirm. But enough about her.”

Sondra smiled a bit after revealing all that. What made his tale somewhat believable was their was an actual elitist Etolie that he had met and had to teach a lesson to when she was brought before him. Like any other girl though she crumbled in the end.

“One person … oh, you prefer to train alone? I thought you were out for a leisurely swim but yeah it's pretty quite most days out here. Not many girls are willing to drag their butts out of bed this early.”

Though Gersham can't ignore a peak at the succulent flesh that is on display before him. Before long he would take her. What she was training for if he concluded right must have been swimming though her mention of jogging had him thinking that she might have done a bit of track and field work.

“I won't cool down much and I'd love a jogging partner one of these days though the river isn't much further.”

So she had encountered something. No matter, though for that changed nothing. She may not have encountered many creatures and if so he could chalk that up as her being new rather than not attractive.

“Some girls say that they see things or misplace objects. Some have bad dreams, others claim that the library is haunted … if you believe the rumors they say a student committed suicide there, took out her own eyes.”

Sondra feigned a shudder. The last part was a lie and most of what Gersham told her had been minor stuff just to get her talking, to relax her a little after his earlier blunder with the lake. He had been too eager but before the morning was threw he intended to have those legs wrapped about his waist weather she liked it or not.

"She sounds kind of cruel. I'm not really a fan of that kind of person..." Laughter soft and warm bubbles up out of her throat at the question. "No, it's not that I like to train solo. It's that I like to people-watch, and I get a little distracted. Y'know, watch too much and don't put in enough effort, that sort of thing. It tends to happen when there are lots of people in one place, though." Blushing as she realizes how that sounds, Lacey gives a little shrug. "Weird pastime, I know, but everyone has a hobby right?" Her smile widens. It IS nice to have someone to talk to while one's training...she'd almost forgotten how nice it could be. "Well, once your schedule settles out and I'm completely certain of my own, we'll work something out, hm?"

Her smile gets a little wooden and she has to make a serious effort to keep from shuddering at the mention of bad dreams. She looks off in the direction of the dorms on reflex, but takes the instant to recover her composure. "There are stories like that the world over, though. It's kind of a waste of effort to look for monsters and ghosts everywhere that people say they are." Besides which, she knows from experience that monsters can find HER just fine, apparently, without any effort to search at all from her. Wasted effort indeed. The trick was finding a way to NOT encounter them...not seeking out proof of their existence....

A much-needed deep breath fills her lungs as she calms her mind and quiets her heart. It had been a one time thing...it HAD to have been. Whatever that creature had been, whatever had happened, there's no way it can happen again, right? It had to have been an isolated incident, otherwise there'd be more outcry about the whole thing. She thinks instead about finishing her training for the moment, then getting back to the dorm and showering. The blue sky is brightening more and more as the sun continues to rise. She might have to hurry in order to finish in time for class...but it's doable. Provided the river really IS as close by as Sondra says. "13 laps in, start off underwater to get acclimated, try to finish 25 in time to get back for a shower...one hundred by one hundred..." She murmurs her routine out loud as she recites it in her mind, partly not to forget and partly to avoid the dark path her mind had turned down. No one should have their control stripped from them that way, not against their will..."So, Sondra. Do you swim? Maybe every so often you could join me taking laps in the morning. It's a great way to push your body, you know? Water resistance feels light, but it actually makes for quite a workout." Anything to avoid talking about that night. She's less worried about the idea that she might be thought crazy, and more determined not to lay a burden like that on anyone else's shoulders. It's hers alone, and she has more than enough strength in her heart to deal with it, one step at a time.

“Oh, yeah she's a real peach,” she shook her head and giggled a little in return at that. So far it had seemed as if she had been lucky enough to avoid her for the most part but knew of her and some of her antics.

“So a procrastinator in a way … well in a sense of getting distracted too easily when others are about. When things thin out a bit I'll gladly take you up on the offer.”

Oh, how touching, Gersham kept his charade going though as they moved along. When he felt he could get away with it he made hidden glances in admiring her body.

He had hit upon something with the off handed remark about dreams. Aegir often used them when hunting and so it was a tame enough matter to bring up. It had been obvious that she encounter some such but he had no idea of the extent of it.

“Hey, stories like that all over. I think the upper classes spread such rumors and tales.”

“It's there,” she points as they come to the river. Gersham knew the geography well enough by this point though Lacey had asked her about swimming. “It's been a fair while,” which was true. Flying was far more fun and not as wet. “Just recreationally but I'm sure you can teach me, I'm not the strongest swimmer.”

Fingers swept over her ass cheek then. He refrained from using the aphrodisiac associated with his touch though. Just the gentle breezing over that ass cheek to see how she would take it. Though it did not matter how she viewed it. He was about ready to take her now one way or another.

A soft snicker escapes her lips, "Except that peaches are supposed to be sweet. Ah, I shouldn't speak like that, I don't even know the girl." She tilts her head in a little half shrug. "I suppose you could say that...although it's not procrastination, really. It's more a matter of two interests colliding and one winning out...I love my training and take it very seriously, but watching people has been a passion of mine since I was six, trying to figure out what life's about." Speaking about herself to someone is odd; she's done it only rarely, her time spent more observing people than making herself known to them. Still, it feels nice, and brings back some fond memories for her.

"Sure, teaching you could be fun. They say that part of mastering an art is teaching what you've learned." Another chuckle, "Of course, depending on which 'they' you're listening too, there's also a saying that one never truly masters any art; but that's neither here nor there. If nothing else, I'm confident in my ability to keep your head above water." Out of the corner of her eye, she notes Sondra eyeing her again. This isn't the first time either, she notes. She'd stolen a couple of glances earlier, though at the time Lacey'd thought nothing of it. Now she wonders to herself what's so fascinating; it's not as though Lacey's got anything that Sondra doesn't, so why the continued sneak peeks? Possibly just an interest...Lacey has no illusions about her body; she doesn't look bad, as far as she knows. Maybe not as curvy as other girls around school, but she's fit and healthy...but somehow it just doesn't feel like a simple expression of interest. Quiet doubts return to her mind, the same as those from the lake only compounded now. Between the story, those looks, and all the questions about odd sightings and bad dreams, she's picking up that there's something more at play here...not to mention the claim that Sondra passes through her swimming spot every day, yet the ONE day they run into each other, there's a story about the lake being banned...the first possibility that comes to mind is something she dreads to the very core of her being. She decides to say nothing about her thoughts to the other student, hoping instead that she's just overthinking things.

Her eyes harden a little at the unsolicited touch to her backside. There's little doubt now; something's off about this girl, about this whole encounter. She turns a smile to Sondra as they come up on the river, slipping her feet out of her flip-flops as she reaches the grassy area off the path and pushing them off to the side. Her heart beats steady and strong as it always does during a match or a fight when she sets her mind to what must be done. While inwardly she prays fervently that her suspicions are wrong and Sondra will merely think her odd and leave when confronted, she has to be sure. Too many things are out of place here, not adding up. "Of course, it's important for any teacher to actually know their student...so tell me Sondra, who are you really?"

Lacey turns her body to the person whom she's increasingly certain isn't who she seems, taking a couple small steps backward, putting a bit of distance between them before assuming a relaxed pose, feet forward, weight balanced on the balls of her feet, most of it on her back leg. For the moment, her arms remain at their sides as she measures the distance between them; about four steps from Lacey to Sondra. She's going to feel awfully silly if this is just an overreaction to someone's poorly restrained attentions, but she's becoming more certain that this is nothing so innocent as that. The smile slides from her face, and she watches her companion with agate hard green eyes, watching a possible opponent for telltale signs of movement. This is the same face she wears during match point in a tournament, and if Sondra knows anything at all about Lacey, she'd realize that this is the most dangerous moment possible to approach the girl with anything other than purely friendly intention.

“I was being sarcastic there,” she grinned. Sondra had listened to her explanation with training and observing people. Though she nodded a little as they continued on. “Fair enough there. We all have our hobbies some of which are deemed rather unusual … me, I collect ghost stories. Must have heard them all and their numerous variances in them.”

“I'd appreciate not drowning,” she smiles a good natured smile. Though there is no lie and thus nothing to alert him that there was even a suspicion at this point. His abilities to play a part had been limited of course, not like Aegir, definitely not, of course he was about 12,000 years behind his experience … it wouldn't matter too much if she suspected anything at all. It would not help her anyway.

Gersham blinks at her. He could lie of course but he saw the shift in that stance. Carrying on with a bad lie was foolish and a waste of time. Sondra sighs. “This could have been so much more pleasant,” and the illusion melts away revealing a three eyed human who sports tiny claws, sharp teeth, pale skin, pointed ears and three eyes all of which are focused on her. He grins at her though he recognizes the defensive posture of a rattle snake ready to strike though he doesn't give much thought to her martial prowess.

“But since you are asking it's Gersham.” He eyed her from where he was stepping forward, his third eye would let him read those muscle movements though since he had thought she was nothing special he was a bit too cocky in his approach allowing her to land the first blow if she chose, though he was coming forward he had not displayed anything more threatening then encroaching on her personal space thus far and would reach out to her if she did nothing to stop him, just a simple brush down her jaw infused with that aphrodisiac that he secreted.

Her heart beats a little faster in anxiety as the monster drops the illusion that had been Sondra, becoming...something else altogether. The three eyes and pointed ears do little more than accentuate the fact for her that this thing is not human. The claws and teeth however pose a bit more of a problem; grappling with this thing would be a bad idea. Truth to tell, Lacey feels she should be running rather than standing and fighting...but something tells her that's a futile idea. This creature wants her, and she doubts it'll quit just cause she starts sprinting.

Besides, she brought the wrong footwear for it.

Her eyes take him in without leaving his own three-eyed glare, and as he starts walking towards her, she pivots her lead foot to one side ever so slightly, transferring weight to it. She's trained well enough to know not to stare at that raised hand, watching his eyes and his center of gravity instead. Any drastic change in movement is signaled by one of those two places. "Gersham, hm? It's funny, Gersham...I could have SWORN you just said something about not wanting to drown. Because if you keep moving towards me instead of turning around and going away, I'm going to hold your head underwater until the bubbles stop."

Her warning falls on deaf ears as the creature continues to advance. That hand looms closer and closer to her, reaching for her cheek, and she can practically smell the wanton desire off of him. At the last possible instant before the claw touches her, Lacey pivots on her lead foot, bringing her rear leg around to his side with a loud shout, and hammers a fist into where the solar plexus would be on a normal person. A small and quick step back, and she pivots and shouts again, this time thrusting the heel of her left foot towards his jaw, fully intending to shatter teeth and bone with the devastating little side kick. Murderous intent burns in the slender martial artist's every motion, but even as she makes them, something doesn't feel right. Something's off, though she can't place a finger on what it is...

Amused this one had spirit. She had already made mention of her footwear so her making the decision to stand her ground had not been a huge surprise though he flicked his gaze to the water taking his eyes off her for a moment, something he would not have done if he had known she was a trained fighter.

“Oh, I'll just freeze it,” there was a sudden burst of movement, the kick catches him in the side and the punch catches him square forcing him back a step though by then he is looking back and reads her movements parrying the blow coming to his face.

There was no way for her to know it, even with the inhibitors that kick hurt. Iria had broke his ribs not once but twice though the inhibitors turn the blow into a pittance of what it could have been. His eyes wide though he steps far enough back so that she would have to lunge at him.

The punch doing little more then driving him backwards. That surprised look turns to glee as he smiles. “A fighter! Excellent.” He had not expected to encounter one today.

“You cannot win, Lacey. But this could be interesting … I will enhance your abilities so you may actual hurt me,” his magic was not hampered after all. “But when you loose, and you will loose you will submit to me. Are we agreed? Of course you could take you chances and make this contest rather dull. You will be defeated in no time, bent over that rock just there and thoroughly fucked.

“If you win I'll even let you go my dear, but don't expect to.”

She frowns, grinding her feet against the grass, curious as to what's going on; she practices these moves daily. She's used them countless times before, both in sparring matches and more rarely in actual fights. So why is she getting no feedback? The first kick and the punch to Gersham's chest had been solid strikes...so why'd they feel like she'd pulled them? She grinds her feet against the grass again, testing her hold; it's solid. Her stance is dead on, and her body's flowing through the motions just fine...what is this creature doing that's making her hit so softly? The first kick alone should have had him coughing up blood...

Lacey stops worrying about the odd lack of impact she feels from her blows. Whatever it is that's happening, there's not much she can do about it, save to change up her tactics a little. She's been down this road before, fought people who were taller and had longer reach, fought people who carried twice her weight in muscle. And she's learned a few things about getting a little more out of her kicks for the same effort. She doesn't respond to his taunt about freezing the water, nor his surprised comment about her fighting skills, but her eyes narrow at his next words. "Increase my...? So it IS you, then. It's something you've done..." She shakes her head. "Don't you think you'd look a little silly, killed by someone who YOU gave power back to? Besides, I don't need it. I'll break you in half on my own skill, even if you ARE cutting my strikes somehow."

She turns so her side is facing him and lifts her right leg, pointing it straight at him, a freeze-frame of an extended side-piercing kick that she holds, marking her range and comparing the distance from there to Gersham. She regards him calmly, her emerald eyes remote as she watches carefully for movement. She looks as comfortable and unselfconscious here in her bathing suit as she would performing this same move in her Dobak in the gymnasium. The leg comes down with all the familiarity of an oft-reenacted ritual as she takes her stance once more, weight on her back leg, toes of her front leg pointed downward, touching the grass, balancing on the balls of her feet. "Tae Kwon-Do." She states calmly, though he hasn't asked. "Tae means to fly through the air and strike with the foot. Kwon, to shatter with the fist. Do, a reference to indomitable spirit. I'm not going to lose to you. If you could beat me, I doubt I'd have a choice as to whether or not I went free. But WHEN I win, you won't have a choice in whether or not to let me go, either; I'm not letting you leave here alive to ravage anyone else. Not me. Not anyone." She has her pride. Lacey's never let anyone else be the reason she wins her fights, and she's not going to start now no matter how inhuman her opponent is. "So stop wasting my time with deals and bargains; fight me and lose or walk away now with your life and don't return."

Of course she had yet to work out that the island itself had been working against her here. So this wasn't going to be much of a challenge after a. In flip fops he had the edge in footwork and her own pride was going to get the better of her soon enough though if she sought to be thoroughly dominated he could do that as well.

He decided if he wasn't going to get any real entertainment out of this save for the inevitable of course he might as well have a little fun as he toyed with her a bit.

“I cannot die ...” well there were ways but for all purposes he'd just come back. “Suffice it to say even if I could be killed you would be unable to do so. Silly? Perhaps so but it will not happen.”

He studies that stance not use to human martial arts, at least not from earth. See had threatened to kill him either way but then the fact that she was letting him walk away might have been a subconscious doubt on her part seeing how ineffective her attacks had been.

He raised his hands. “A feisty one … you'll need more training to be of any real entertainment. Perhaps I will let you try to better yourself before I teach you a lesson. It's far more rewarding that way,” he grinned then stepped back slowly, his eyes resting upon her as he rest.

As he neared a tree though a claw carved into it … “Then again ...” he grinned as he stepped into the shadow of the tree transporting himself behind her as he exited a shadow there taking a cheap shot between her shoulder blades though he was pulling his punches he was only doing so slightly.