It was early afternoon in the library, a deceptively warm and delightful day shining in through the windows outside. The sun was high in a brilliant blue sky, nary a cloud in sight, and a gentle breeze rolled in through open windows to give a refreshing cool to those inside and out.

It was in this environment, one completely opposite to his usual stalking methods, that the tentacle-creature Icosagon hunted in. Innocent students looked for books or studied for school, the bright day giving them comfort and security, leaving them unaware of what dangers could lurk between the bookshelves. Daylight was not the usual hunting ground of monsters; people were up and around, and often in fair numbers, and it was easy to see stalking creatures approaching. There were no shadows to hide in, there were plenty of eyes about to spot the telltale signs of unnatural threats and dangers, and many throats to scream warnings to those nearby of the discovery of terrible dangers.

Of course, not all dangers appear as dark, dripping entities, tentacles lashing in the night; not all whispered horrors and nightmares at their very presence, drawing chills and goosebumps with eldritch atmospheres. The most dangerous things were those that were unexpected, that appeared perfectly mundane and normal. To a shapeshifter like Icosagon, that was a considerable advantage he could use when hunting.


Especially for books. None of those precious daylight advantages were at all helpful to a book. At best, they could merely conceal themselves in their multitude, but that numerical status did not even change much at night or day! Of course, he had piled up a mighty catch on a table from the fruits of his hunt, and with textbooks nowadays they were certain to weigh in at a juicy number. In the guise of a rather plain-looking brown-haired girl in a white T-shirt and slacks, he had begun to 'dig-in' on this fabulous meal.

Of course, his choice of location was not without it's advantages too; located at a table in a corner, he managed to find a secluded location no other hunters were presently around, nor would they happen upon it casually. Even more, that spot was located near a door to an ill-used exit for a quick retreat. Finally, he had a leather bag large enough to scoop his catch into in a hurry if he needed to retreat with his finds. And, too, while his eyes were focused on the strange work of fiction, his senses were observant of his surroundings; if one should approach, he would know about it.

Still, an inner part of him was frustrated; he had been having trouble with some of his other forms of hunts as of late, and began to crave something of a different flavor. Perhaps after he sampled these findings, he would go on a different type of hunt. If that hunt didn't find him...

Kathleen also sought a modicum of privacy that afternoon, but for a different reason. She all but sneaked her way into the back area of the library with a heavy book bag on her shoulder, though the clip-clap of her pink flip flops pretty much shouted her arrival to anyone who cared to listen. She was dressed down today, which for her meant denim minishorts, and a sleeveless pink crop top that matched her flip-flops. She spotted her usual table, and slid into a seat across from a pile of books that obscured her view of the plain looking girl who's space she now shared.

Once that was done, she gave a the area a quick look around to make sure she was alone (again missing the 'girl' behind the pile of books), and opened her book bag to take a large psychology book. She bit her lower lips nervously before setting down on the table and taking out a spiral note book, a pencil with a troll doll eraser fitted on the end, and a equally large dictionary. The last thing to come out of the bag was another dictionary, the large print and colorful cartoon characters on the cover identified this one as a children's dictionary. She breathed a sigh of relief and opened the psychology book first, and began to read.

Her lips were moving as she read each line aloud in a low careful whispers, pausing roughly every tenth word to look up its meaning in the big dictionary, then having to look up some of those words in the children’s dictionary. It took her half an hour to read a page.

Frustrated, Kathleen slumped in her seat and began to message her temples. In doing so she stretched her now bare feet out under the table and bumped the other girls feet, but didn’t notice.

'She' heard the approach of the porn star, looking up slowly and watching her from the hiding place of the mountain of books the tentacle monster was reading. The tentacle creature waited, holding still and hiding behind the books until the approaching girl settled down. Across the table, even! Dammit...

His concentration was shaken; now he wasn't sure if he should continue reading and wait for her to disappear, or try to slip away with at least one of his books. But such a loss! Fuming, he waited and thought... and listened.

Listened as the girl struggled to read. Icosagon was a bit dumbfounded... who was this girl, who was struggling through these relatively simple passages? It rolled on forever, like an agonizing torment. And she kept at it. It was all it could do to stifle a giggle, putting a hand over 'her' mouth.

He didn't know whether to be disturbed or impressed. But what he was, was curious. At the foot-bump, 'she' peeked over the advanced chemistry book, hiding everything but her brown eyes and hair as 'she' gazed at the book-wall. Then slowly, the plain girl leaned forwards; she brought her hands down on the table to help balance herself as she slowly, ever so slowly, rose up to peek over the books. Then, climbing up onto the chair and table both, over Kathleen's book.

Curious brown eyes looked to her, taking in her... well, quite over-the-top features. Eyes were locked on the melons that sat high on her chest, before the tentacle creature reluctantly tore its eyes away to read the books gathered around her. Finally, the eyes locked on her big blue ones, framed by pretty blonde hair and sensual features.

Deep in in thought and rubbing her already aching head, Kathleen didn’t notice the other girl until she had already climbed up on the table to peer over her own book. By that point her eyes were already opening again to lock with the brunettes, and she gasped in alarm, at both the girl climbing on the table and at the fact she wasn’t alone after all.

"Wha--?" she sputtered, forgetting to whisper in her surprise. She felt her face grow hot from embarrassment. Not from being stared at so openly; she was quite used to the way her chest drew the eyes of men and women alike. She rather liked it, as the tenting of crop top over her nipples soon made evident. No she was embarrassed because this cute little thing just overheard her private shame.

Kathleen swallowed nervously, and felt the warmth on her cheeks spread down to her neck and up to her hairline. It was an odd sight, to see a porn star blush, but Kitty didn’t see the irony.

"How...how long have you been there?" she asked, remembering to whisper this time.

'She' glanced back down again, then looked back into her eyes. "Hey, I got here before you." She pauses again, glancing back down over her, and then at the books she was studying. Her eyes go back up to her eyes. "I gotta ask... are you having trouble with... that?" She looks back down at the book.

"...You... um, need some help or something?" She finally asks, eyes on Kathleen's; a rather intense brown-eyed gaze. Icosagon had to admit... the woman was... ridiculously well-proportioned. But it was this intellectual struggle that had caught his initial interest.

"Oh gawd," Kathleen cooed with embarrassment, convering her blushing face with her hands when the other girl admitted to having been there the whole time. She lowered them and looked back up at the brunette, barely able to keep form squirming under her intense gaze. She nervously nibbled on her lower lip, caught herself and stopped, and licked it idly before speaking.

"Yeah," she admitted finally. She lowered her gaze downward to the book she was struggling to read, her embarrassed flush still every noticeable. "Yeah I could sure use some help, alright," she went on, her eyes tracing over the page, and all the big, unfamiliar words written there. "Like maybe a time machine, so in can go back in time and pay attention in high school so I'm not such a ditz today. That would be awesome."

Kathleen looked back up and ran her hands through her hair in frustration, causing her top to ride up and her breasts to shake slightly from the motion. Clearly, she didn’t believe in bras. She looked back up at he other girl. "Are you, like, a tutor or something?" she asked.

The girl blinked again, raising her eyebrows. Jeez. This strange girl was... well, heh. Definitely not body shy! "No. Just a student. But. Uh." Her eyes dropped to the children's dictionary. "But maybe I can help, anyway."

It'd take a minor miracle to teach this girl anything at all. But then again, they say that to learn, you must teach. So theoretically, Icosagon would come out ahead. Or tear every strand of hair from his... her... head.

Well... worst comes to worst, there was always something else that could be taught. Surprisingly, it wasn't the first thought that passed through the alien's head, nor the last.

"I'm afraid I don't have a time machine." She said in all seriousness. "But if I did, and you went back, would you teach yourself how to do it? Or were you going to attend classes instead?" Icosagon's head was already spinning with the mess of logic, but that had never stopped the shapeshifter before....

"My name's-" Oh, right, humans had names, didn't they. And human-sounding ones too. They didn't even have names based on objects or verbs. At least not in English. He probably should have one too.

"Sharon. High." She blinked as she extended a hand to shake. Did she really say that? Who the hell had 'high' as a last name? Ugh. Maybe the girl would overlook it.

Kathleen smiled brightly. "Hey Sharon," she greetred. "I'm Kathleen. Kathleen Lay. My friends call me Kitty."

She looked back down at the books, and her smiled faltered. "Yeah if I had a time machine I'd go back to when I was in high school, and every time the young me tried to skip class, I'd kick her ass." The smile slowly changed into a smirk. "Of course, knowing her, she'd like that. But as long as it keep her from growing into me, it would totally be worth it."

"But hey," she went on, "I, like, welcome any help you can give me, 'cause the psychology stuff, is totally confusing me," she explained, pronouncing the word as 'p-syke-ology'.

Kathleen smiled brightly. "Hey Sharon," she greetred. "I'm Kathleen. Kathleen Lay. My friends call me Kitty."

She looked back down at the books, and her smiled faltered. "Yeah if I had a time machine I'd go back to when I was in high school, and every time the young me tried to skip class, I'd kick her ass." The smile slowly changed into a smirk. "Of course, knowing her, she'd like that. But as long as it keep her from growing into me, it would totally be worth it."

"But hey," she went on, "I, like, welcome any help you can give me, 'cause the psychology stuff, is totally confusing me," she explained, pronouncing the word as 'p-syke-ology'.

She blinks, and blinks again, just trying to absorb what she's talking about. She'd like that? P-syke-ology? It took a few moments before 'Sharon' finally spoke, more than a bit tongue-tied and baffled.

"Well. Sure. Wait, you are studying... psychology?" Oh-hoo... interesting. If there was one subject the shapeshifter knew and enjoyed... of course, all those formal names and frameworks could baffle anyone. But maybe Ico could take advantage of the situation to learn more too...

"Sure, I could help you. Um, let me get over there." She brought the chair around, settling beside her. "What are you stuck with? Er, that is, what don't you understand?" She got close and cozy, leaning against her shoulder and peering at the book. "Why psychology?"