Aegir had found himself quite busy this evening. It had been overcast with the faintest hint of rain that of course had sat well with him as it had brought relief to his pupil less white eyes as he dragged himself across the earth, slithering against it as his tentacles reached out as he made his way along.

For the briefest hint of a moment he had cast his gaze up to the sky as if he had been raptured in thought. Coming upon his thoughts like a radio had been a relay from one of his nodes. A sensory overload had been pressed into his compound mind as he made his way along.

Weeks a planning had proved to end in utter failure though he had been sure that this time around would be different. Of course he could have just snatched her to use as his play thing but he had refrained from such a crass behavior.

Deception had called out to him as he had found himself seeking more than the fulfillment of his lusts that had driven him to act. Was it that the consumed minds that he had once feasted on come back to haunt him at that moment? Had he been tainted in their consumption?

While he had not believed that this had been the case, Aegir had elected to cloak himself in an illusion of his chosing selecting as his cover an unassuming form, that of an aging man adorned in brown shorts, a brown vest and boots.

His long white hair had been affixed in a simple pony tail while his eyes had been a bluish gray peering out of his skull with an amazing amount of wisdom to them.

As he had made his way along Aegir had only hoped that his node had taken care of matters on it's end. While he could easily have asserted himself in order to see through it's eyes he had refrained thus far in doing so trusting that it had conjured an illusion of a pamphlet or other indicator about an archaleolocy expedition that he was busy setting up with his illusions forming an assistant and a couple of other students that he had summoned up with his illusions.

He had made his way to the campus grounds hoping that his mask had certainly been affixed as he had made his way about eager to see if his little charade would work and how well that it would or wouldn't.

Seeing that he had been using her own memories and mind to create this initial effect he had hoped to attract attention. Just as a male peacock proudly displayed it's plumage to attract mates with such a colorful display he had hoped that his ruse would work well enough and if not well he had not been above a little crass behavior of his own.

Admittedly, the note - on official department stationary, even! - was enough to make Saira excited. She knew strange things happened on this island, and... maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe it was something else. But... Either way she sliced it, this promise of a dig for historical artifacts? Could be very interesting. It even promised to count for her grades, now that was just a dealmaker there!

So, with a giddy little skip in her step, Saira headed out with a light yellow T-shirt to go with her usual khakis, coat, and boots, walking through the campus grounds as she passed a few of the dorm buildings between her own and where the tenured professor said they'd meet to set out. Saira's good mood seemed to push into her looks, too, as her skin almost seemed to shine a little bright and look a little smoother (she took a very nice shower beforehand, actually), and even her breasts seemed perkier than normal (thaaaaat didn't really have a special explanation though)!

Not that she knew it was all a ruse... though at times her paranoia might still suggest the idea. Only to be discarded. Regretfully, discarded.

To better cooridanate their efforts the node, which had remained hidden, relayed a telepathic message to it's creator to let him know that all was underway and what he had done. With that done he had slither across the terrain though he had been masked by an illusion that comprised a slight limp to better mask his slow speed.

He had thought that he had considered everything as he arrived at the rendez-vous spot. Still he allowed thoughts stream through his mind as he had made a simple mental check list to ensure that everything had been set. He had believed that he had everything in place as he reflected upon matters.

Fortunately he had arrived at the site before she had sending out his illusionary students to mill around the terrain and chat in their little clicks as they possessed their tools in order to get them to appear as normal students.

He knew that he had some work to do on his illusions as they had been seldomly used by the creature due to his species lack of creativity. Still he had believed he did an reasonable job that had been drawn upon experiences that had been made in his long life.

All that had been left for him had been for him to wait. And while waiting had come easily to his kind he had felt almost giddy as the time passed, excited one would say.

And Saira arrived at the scene, obviously looking as happy as she felt, and almost immediately, she brushed past the other students, not paying exceptional attention to them - she could do that once she knew this was the right place. And that was exactly what her agenda was, as the tanned girl slid up in front of Aegir (rather, the limping professor he was masquerading as), with a soft smile and a calm tone to her voice.

"Hi, professor. I wanna make sure... this is for the anthropology department student dig team, right? I hope I didn't get lost..."

For now? Her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts, like what kind of professor this was (I hope he's not the creepy kind...]), or what they were going to be digging up (What civilizations'd even be around here anyway?...). And the general feeling of excitement, running under all of it.

Aegir had selected this form because it had seemed more unassuming than that of a younger male who could have harvested alterior motives. Of course he could have been a leech.

As he had been addressed by her he had found his initial curiousity perked as he drank in her thoughts scanning them as he read them in order to get a better understanding of her. He smiled at her disarmingly as she voiced her question to him. She had been looking as radiant as ever, reflected in her eyes, her very voice had been music to his ears and it had been all the restraint he could muster not to tare into her then, giving up this illusion that had concealed him.

But now had not been the time to strike. For starters she had been quicker than him and could elude him especially being so close to the school. She could summon unwanted attention as well and though he had been capable of dealing with it he preferred not to have such distractions overtake him on this splendid day.

"Your in the right place," he had relayed his words telepathically though his lips had moved to match up with the words so as not to give him away this early in the game. "Today we embark on a dig regarding the ancient islanders, the Hokken, believed to be the forebearers of the Mauri of New Zealand. Ah, but where have my manners gone? I am Professor Charles Armitage, and you?"

He had continued to peer into her mind as he spoke as if to drink in what secrets contained there.

Saira was still smiling as she and the professor made what to her must have been the usual smalltalk... Her tone as light as her expression.

"Okay then, my name's Saira... Saira Nejem. It's been hard to get any actual fieldwork done all the way out here on the island."

She seemed to just stand there for a bit, knitting her hands together and stretching them downwards and in front of her. But her thoughts... Hm. I still don't know precisely where the island is in the world but... That at least makes sense. I wonder if we'll actually find anything? Hmmmm...

But digging through her actual mind, to reach her secrets? That was a far more rewarding read. Saira had intimate knowledge that some students didn't have - many of the older monsters' files etched into her memory along with tons of half-baked plans to combat them - and close by, her encounter with Antipode and the odd ambivalence she had towards it... Linnis and how it felt to learn about her bisexuality... Michelle's fighting techniques, Shai's nanotech and her attempts to make Saira a bit less boring (at least in outfit!)... Perhaps most puzzling was a set of memories that she seemed to have only bits and pieces of access to, based on entirely alien precepts. Or at least nonhuman. Memories of changing her body, of tearing through the beach side-by-side with another girl (Bala, her mind named her as) with all the abilities and lusts of a monster on the prowl. Memories of when she was infected with 31088, whose viral taint was now at the very least dormant if not totally gone.

Amidst all of those memories, Saira's motives - and that lingering twitch of paranoia that a monster would be waiting as soon as she was alone, a twitch she never was completely rid of - surfaced again. She was now a bit impatient.

"Er, it's not that long until we should go, right Professor..." -she seemed to think the name sounded odd- "...Armitage?"

Not knowing much about the other beasts on the island he grew interested in the knowledge that she possessed regarding them. He had also found himself storing knowledge concerning some of the other students on the island in case he had come across them at some point. Their plans and defenses had interested him mildly as he stored that information in his vast memory to digest later.

He had sensed her anxiety and sought to place her at ease. But how to do that? As warning bells sounded in her mind regarding his name but she had intruded in his thoughts by speaking again. He had listened to her words that fluttered out of her lips as she uttered them saving him for the time being.

"Yes we will set out presently. It shall appear that any stragglers would have missed there opportunity unless they can somehow find us."

He glanced around at the milling students as he took them in. "Alright people," he said in his most commanding voice, "lets fall out."

As he lead the way through the nearby forests he continued to milk Saira's thoughts, pressing into the secrets that had been stored in her mind, mainly digging up access about the viral infection that had run most of it's course.

He had moved about with his false limp favoring his left leg as he moved about, a trail of illusionary students falling in behind him as he went about his way.

((You may want to read Beach Landing if you haven't already.))

Saira for the most part seemed to stop obsessing over the professor's name for a bit once they were underway, instead idly just wondering what the ruins would be like, hoping she didn't step in something nasty - a dull buzz of useless day-to-day thoughts. Perfect for further digging.

As to the incident in question... apparently 31088 was a monster from another world, a virus, and it had arrived on some kind of spacecraft, capturing Saira and the other girl, Bala. The virus was basically very similar to an STD in transmission - that is, fluid transfer, especially sex, though even drinking it was enough - was the vector. So when the original host raped her and Bala, she was infected. The memories drifted from there, becoming less and less human, as he noticed her sensations were changing and her lust nearly peaked early in the infection's progression. Slowly, the need to spread the virus was able to overtake any other want or need she had had at the time.

Only his talents with mindreading were able to dig deeper than that, though. Once the process was complete, Saira had developed tentacles and penises and all sorts of strange, unnatural abilities - just as the original host had, totally capable of changing its body based on what Aegir was getting from these memories. She had gotten to around 3-4 other girls while under the full infection, others running away, others still instead being caught by Bala, who herself had been infected. But eventually, Saira must have tired out or burnt too much energy, and had passed out on the beach...

...And awoke seemingly back to normal. Even the changes in appearance were reversed (the virus apparently traveled into the hair and changed even the strands' color, as a few memories of Bala's hair and Saira's own turning red showed). Only up to about the point where the host actually penetrated her seemed to be in Saira's reach - the rest of the memories were suppressed, or possibly not hers to begin with from one point of view.

All of this... And she didn't really even know what she had done. Nobody else could have, either. Maybe. It was entirely possible that not everyone forgot what they did while infected, after all...

Information had flowed into his compound mind as he accessed it on their little hike. For a moment he had dwelled upon the viral infection wondering if he could acquire it. But it had not been fatal and weighing up both the bane and the rewards in his mind he thought that it had been worth the risk.

As he pushed his way through under growth occasionally assisted by his illusionary students he had only one matter in his mind and that had been secluding Saira away from any form of assistance or the possibility of escape.

He swatted at bugs with a hand haphazardly as they went about. While doing so he drank of her mind using his telepathic abilities as they had made their way about.

Once he had deemed that they had been far enough from the school itself he pushed into a clearing slightly before conjuring another illusion that had comprised of a single stone building that had seen better days. Certainly the years hadn't been kind as the walls had been smashed in places or at the least eroded by the ravages of time.

The stone had been a reddish coloration resembling brick. All other dwellings made from temporary materials like hay and thatch had been long since destroyed by the time's devastating effects on it though possibly some things may have survived submerged in the ground such as tools or fragments of pottery.

Some birds had remained perched on the walls of the building obviously illusions themselves though they had scattered at their presence, frightened by the noise. Everything else had appeared to be clam though it had seemed that the clouds had darkened somewhat during they travels.

With a finger Aegir had pointed to a site near the east walls. "There," he said with an air of certainty and matter of factness, "a piece of pottery of the Hokken had been found dating back to the Renaissance or there about. It's probably best that we begin our efforts there. Saira would you be so kind as to mark off that area so we don't damage anything in the process of our discoveries."

He looked over head as if thinking about the storm clouds that had been rolling in. "Hmm ... if it should rain badly then we'll brake off our efforts until morning."

Saira nodded diligently, so far seeming completely duped by the illusions. She got out the small posts and cords to rope off the dig site, and began to mill about, crouching ever so often to plant a post and get the ropes in place. For now, her thoughts were a boring melange of... well, studenty things.

She was wondering if they'd find more relics, if this really was an ancient civilization that was around here, whether she'd learn some shocking historical secret, and so on. She did slightly wonder if the monsters were always here... would there be a historical record of that? Of course, she didn't know the truth. But even so...

Aegir had regarded her for a moment as she had gone about staking the earth appraising her beauty with a discerning eye. He had appreciated the questions that he plucked out of her mind never really giving thought to the question regarding other monsters.

While he could speak only of his own case he had not been native here though he had given thought to her question and including it in his illusion. Time would tell, he glanced about the terrain as if to make certain that they were indeed alone, the illusionary students once again braking into their clicks as they took the momentary lull to converse among themselves until Aegir had barked his orders at them.

He had some bring forth tools while he chanced another glance at Saira brushing his gaze over her appraisingly from head to foot. He had used that moment to close the gap with her least she try to flee for whatever reason. At least he would be in a position to do something about it physically.

"First dig?" He found himself asking despite already knowing the answer. "I fon't recognize you from any of my courses."

Saira blushed a little bit at the approach and the question, shaking her head.

"Yes... Yes, it's my first dig. I... I hope I don't mess up or something. I've been reading up on how to do it..."

She seemed... a little nervous now. And maybe even somehow edgy. Was it some kind of proximity sense of some sort? Or was it just paranoia? She herself couldn't really piece it together. But something seemed... wrong. Saira, fortunately for Aegir? Thought it was something mundane, like having forgotten something or 'Professor Armitage' just not looking 'right'. She had no idea of the truth...

As he had voiced his question to her he had picked up on the uneasiness that had flowed through her. He nodded gently as she had responded.

"No, nothing amiss just making conversation."

He had studied her up close and nearly regretted shattering her world in a few scant moments. Regret, a human trait that swam through him rarely as a consequence of all the minds that he had consumed like his sex drive that had budded up inside of him.

"You know," he had intoned dropping his voice so as if not to be overheard, "your quite gorgeous."

His words had been uncharacteristic and it had been as if he had not spoken them but someone else had. It had taken him a moment to realize that he had made such a faux pas in his dealings and he had found himself amazed that those words had spilled out of his lips as if he had not realize that he had spoken them.

What had been done was done, however. He had prepared himself to strike, to lash out with as he believed that the illusion that he had formed would come collapsing down like a house of cards.

Saira stopped, and blinked... That voice was... Then her eyes widened in shock. It wasn't just the obviously creepy comment on her looks from a stranger... but... That voice! It wasn't the same. Which meant...

"Y-you... You're a monster?!"

Saira recoiled in horror, hoping she was right about the obviously supernatural occurance - as otherwise she'd be horribly embarrassed... But if she was right, she had to run. Now. And she tried to do so!

He had smiled again, this time nearly sheeplessly as he step forward rather slowly. The ruse had been up as he sauntered forward and he heard her voice make that proclaimation. Effortless he had allowed his masquerade fall away. The temple, the birds, the other students as well as the illusion cloaking himself all melted away into nothingness.

It had been then that he would have struck had he not lost the element of surprise. She had been to far from him to lash out with his tentacles anyway, and his slow speed had ensured that she would out race him on land.

That had not been to say that he had not possessed any other tricks to launch at her. Easily he could have dominated her mind though he saved such a crass technic as a last resort. Instead he found himself pursuing her further into the forest, projecting illusions ahead of her of thick falling trees that could not be easily leapt over.

Excitement had coursed through his veins producing a musky scent from his flesh as he pursued her, pheremones that he exuded subconsciously. They had no effect on humans other than their rich scent and could not be helped by him at all. From time to time the pheremones rose up from him as he found himself aroused.

He slithered along as fast as he could so that he would not make the mistake of letting her out of his sight where most of his talents would become worthless or next to such.