Susan looked over the forest clearing. It seemed right for her purposes: not too small, reasonably flat, pretty much free from debris and obstacles. She should be able to practice some kata here undisturbed.

She took out a towel, a water bottle, and a stopwatch, then set aside her gym bag. The stopwatch was important; she'd assumed that falling asleep on the plane was just boredom (even if it was a little strange that all the other students had done so at about the same time), but then that... that... thing had attacked her. She wasn't sure she could have beaten it anyway, but she was sure her reactions had been a bit slower than normal. If something was wrong with her -- if she was acting slower than she should be -- there should be a noticeable change in how quickly she could complete a run through the first few levels of forms.

She put the towel and the bottle on top of the bag and hung the watch from a low branch. A few quick stretches before she began alternately strained the fabric of her tight red sports bra and her short black shorts. Then, she took a deep breath, started the stopwatch, and began with some basic kata.

A tall, ash-blond teacher walked calmly through the thin, barely-worn paths of the forest. She smiled, glad to be taking in the air and the sun as she continued along and simply enjoying life. A soft sound caught her attention, and she redirected herself.

Beneath the disguise, behind the rectangular spectacles, Miss Steel reached out gently with her mind to see what was awaiting her at the small clearing, then snatched it back to keep from ruining the surprise. Quietly, she stepped up to the edge of the trees and smiled pleasantly at the girl. Some of the forms looked familiar to her, to the point where she could remember Father doing them years ago. She remained there, motionless aside from an imitation of breathing, and watched Susan curiously.

In the low grass surrounding the clearing, slow and silent serpents of stained silver, colored to appear natural, began encircling the area. Miss Steel touched each of these new creations briefly with her mind, making them place themselves properly, then let her smile crease slightly further. These new things were an interesting change from her normal helpers.

Susan noticed the woman at the edge of the clearing, acknowledging her with a brief smile as she otherwise remained focused on her routine. Her movements went faster even as the forms became more complex until she reached the end of the kata she'd planned on doing. With a bow to match the one that she'd started with (except that this one was to an actual audience, rather than an imaginary one), she ended her routine and went over to the stopwatch.

Damn, over half a minute longer than it should have taken. Even with a minor distraction, that's way too slow. I feel fine, but something's not right.

She half turned towards the woman as she reached down for her towel. "Hi. Sorry I didn't say anything earlier, but I didn't want to interrupt my... Yikes!" She abruptly dropped the towel and backed away as she noticed a snake eying her from next to the bag. She knew it probably wasn't poisonous, but she didn't know what types of snakes were on the island, much less what any dangerous ones might look like.

The creature was a jade green, deeper than the grass but a perfect match for hiding in the thick leaves above the ground. It glistened with a shine that no scales should have been able to make, and it moved into a slight rise on what were clearly strictly defined joints. The snake hissed softly and stared up at Susan as its creator strode into the clearing.

"Oh, don't mind the little Silver," Miss Steel said. Her voice was a solid anchor line, almost piercingly strong. Other things shifted in the grass at the edge of the clearing and seemed to follow her in as the mechanical snakes closed the circle tighter around their prey. "Slowed down? And here I thought they only had those in place to prevent the dangerous ones from getting out of control. Feh. I think they should do away with the whole thing. If you can't take a boot to the face every once in awhile, what good are you, hmm?"

The apparent teacher smiled a serpent's smile, and her eyes betrayed her nature by shifting back to the vertically slit, yellowish irises she normally wore. In the back of her mind, Steel almost regretted such a direct approach, but subtlety seemed to be escaping her this day. Then again, Father was never particularly subtle. It seemed fitting, somehow.

Shit! Another... thing. And it can read my mind. Better get out of here while I can. She glanced behind her, but ripples in the grass told her she was already surrounded.

So much for that idea. Hopefully, the direct approach will work better this time. She shifted to a fighting stance. "What are you? What do you want?"

A soft hiss, like escaping steam, was the only answer to Susan's answers. The swaying, brown-tinged grass around her continued to close down as answering snake whispers came from all directions. A forked tongue flickered from the woman's lips. Her grin split and sported a pair of fangs amongst small, sharp teeth. Miss Steel's skin faded from its healthy, if pale, color to a horrid, shimmering gray with a faint hint of the iridescence of scales.

"Going to hit me? Punch my face in? Think that'll work?"

Whatever this thing was, it was mocking her. Still, she had a plan that should at least get her out of the ring of snakes, giving her the option of fleeing if she couldn't fight it.

"It's worth a try." Have to act on instinct... hope it doesn't sense what I'm doing... She charged at the creature, apparently ready to strike it in the face. At the last moment, however, she shifted her body, attempting to sweep the monster's legs out from under it and knock it onto the snakes.

The gambit worked perfectly. The snake-eyed woman fell to the ground amidst the mechanical serpents with a hard thud, her legs crumpling under the pressure of the sweep. She watched the girl make the start of her escape as she rose slowly back up with a trio of Silvers slithering over her soft skin. She smiled sinisterly and watched for another long moment, silently taunting Susan's back by letting it slip away.

When the creature went down easily, Susan considered stopping and trying to finish it off. However, common sense quickly asserted itself: she had no idea if she'd actually injured it, and there were the snakes to consider. At a minimum, she needed to get to somewhere where she'd have a better advantage. With this in mind, she angled towards the only area she was reasonably familiar with: the campus itself.

The soft swish of grass built up behind Susan as she ran toward the school. The serpentine creature seemed to slide and slither as she gave chase, weaving slightly back and forth with each step. She hissed softly as she gained gradually on the girl. One arm snatched a long, thin snake from her shoulder and hurled it like a javelin at her prey's back before she leapt forward in an attempt to shorten the distance.

The problem with running is that you are almost constantly off-balance. Thus, when the snake hit Susan, it caused her to stumble badly and lose speed as she tried to avoid falling. As she regained her balance, she looked back and saw the creature leaping towards her.

One way to gain some distance back... If I'm lucky and it can't turn quickly. She suddenly dashed off the trail, running perpendicular to Miss Steel's course. If it can turn quickly, I've probably just made things worse for me.

Susan was most certainly not lucky.

The horrible crack of a tree impacting into itself echoed in the woods as bare, gray feet crashed into it. Steel coiled and shot out like a spring. She landed on all fours in a feral crouch and continued to bound after her prey in a leaping gait that kept bringing her within a hair's breadth of the young woman. The rougher ground, coated in snagging shrubs and branches at bothersome heights, did nothing to slow the monster crashing through them in a small rain of splinters and leaves. Still, she didn't gain on Susan. The insane, hungry grin splitting the gray thing's face betrayed how she found the chase.

There's no way I can outrun this thing. I've got to find a clearing or another path. Somewhere I can make a stand.

Topping a small rise, she saw what she was looking for. Putting on a final burst of speed, she dashed into a small clearing under a group of large trees. I might not be able to beat it, but I'm not going down without a fight. "Come on! I'll take you down here!" she shouted, a confidence in her voice that she didn't actually feel.

The gray woman landed in the grass at the edge of the clearing on one knee with a soft skid and a rising of dust. She grinned playfully up at Susan. The air in the clearing trembled for a moment and went still as Miss Steel rose slowly back to her feet.

"There. I really hate that the others seem to think they need to cheat. Let's play, little one." She strode calmly forward, entirely at ease with her arms at her sides. Her mind was largely focused on keeping the effects of the inhibitors away from the clearing and giving the girl the tiniest extra sliver of hope.

She could feel the slight change as Miss Steel blocked the inhibitors' effects. If I'm lucky, that thing doesn't know that whatever was slowing me down just went away. If I'm really lucky, it's overconfident and did it itself. She began to circle in on the creature, trying to take the measure of her foe's strength. But I still feel like a mouse that's being played with by a cat. And that's probably a more accurate assessment of the situation.

Miss Steel's pose didn't help any. It could indicate she had no fighting ability at all, which would give Susan a chance, or it could just mean that she could move quickly enough that she could fight Susan from that position. No way I'm going to pull off another sneak attack like I did before. Rushing in wouldn't work. I can't take too long or those snakes will show up. Have to try something. Having worked her way close enough, Susan threw a punch at the creature's head. The creature's response would give her some idea of her chances, and she should be able to react if it counter-attacks.