The alien watched with relative relief as Sayuri curled up. He found the workings of her damaged mind morbidly fascinating, despite the sorrow and anger that damage provoked in him. At least she was no longer considering hurting herself. Regardless of the girl’s intent to kill him, Whisperer set about caring for her as he would any other he had fed upon.

He retrieved the other knife - the one he had taken from her earlier - from where it lay on the roof nearby. Moving slowly, so that the girl would know that he meant no harm, he carefully tucked the blade into the pocket from which she had drawn it. Then he began gently wrapping her miraculously clean and dry cloak around her.

Sayuri managed a weak smile for the thing as it bundled her up. Driftwood was definitely nicer than, well, any of the other things she'd encountered in her long stay. Her mind went back over the mental list and scratched its name from among the others. She realized, in a brief flash of memory, that she'd never done that before. Things were strange, today. Very strange.

Perhaps this was a good omen, of better things to come. Perhaps it was a turning point, a sign that she could find allies if she just searched hard enough. Perhaps she could gather allies without making her greater intent known to the administration. She didn't have pleasant thoughts about what would happen if she didn't have somewhere very, very good to hide and a cell already established before she tried to bring down a building.

Whisperer faltered briefly when Sayuri removed him from her list. He hadn’t even dared hope for such a thing. But the pause was almost unnoticeable and the alien soon finished wrapping the weary woman like a baby in a blanket.

He was careful as he gingerly lifted the package into the air, intent on taking her to that place he had seen in her mind - that place he knew from the memories he absorbed. He felt strangely fatigued, as though the feeding had sapped more energy then it had provided. Perhaps it was the struggle with the storm - but he was too tired to analyze it just then.

Such were the only thoughts in Whisperer’s mind when he turned to orient himself toward the little alley where his latest victim might feel safe while she rested. So he didn’t notice immediately when reality shifted around the two of them, certain aspects fading while others intensified. What had been the roof of the dormitory simply became the border of campus and woods.

The creature was certainly surprised to suddenly find himself floating at the entrance to the narrow channel between two disused buildings, but that was one of the least strange things that had occurred that evening. It wasn’t the first time he had teleported without understanding how he’d done it, and he suspected it wouldn’t be the last. But there would be time to ponder such things later.

The space between the buildings was too small for Whisperer’s massive bulk, but he tried to place the bundled-up girl as far in as he could, so that she would have as much cover as possible. It was far from perfect, but it would have to do.

Sayuri . . . Special . . . The alien projected his modulated call to her one last time. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to say; he didn’t have enough control to convey such complex ideas. However, included in the sending was the feeling of just how profoundly their encounter had affected him.

With that, he retreated toward the forest, taking cover just inside the tree line to wait and watch over the young woman while she recovered.

The small girl scampered on all fours quickly deeper into the tight alleyway until she was certain that the creature that had brought her here could not reach her. She didn't want him dead any more, but she still didn't want him touching her any more than he had to.

The thought he sent caused her to sit up and look back at him, her eyes glittering in the small bits of light that managed to make it down the passageway. She smiled slightly back at him as he left, dug around in her cloak, then brought out one of the breakfast bars she'd filched from the cafeteria. She unwrapped the thing and began slowly to eat as she settled into the darkest corner of the alley she could find, hidden from any but the best of eyes.

It was certainly going to take her awhile to recover. Somewhere between hours and days. She'd have to rest to know for certain, but she couldn't sleep now. She had to eat. As much as sleep pulled at her mind, hunger gnawed at her gut, despite being filled with the creature's seed. She finished the fruit bar and went to dig out a packet of dried fruit. She was clutching it lightly in her hands, ready to tear it open, when her mind gave in and slid into darkness and the first restful sleep she'd had in a over a week.

((End scene there, I do believe. Sorry for the delay, and I'll pass it along for archiving))