Despite his now long residence on this island, Mezrol still had trouble thinking of it as his home. Weeks he had spent wandering through the forests trying to find a suitable residence for himself, but to little avail. He had explored caves and ravines, but nothing felt quite right. The nearest he could find was a clearing not too far from the so-called 'campus' in which resided his source of sustenance and, occasionally, companionship. This clearing had been very small when he had found it, but has since been expanded through his own long labors. It now was 20 meters in diameter and featured a large flat stone at its center. This too he had placed himself.

Some time ago he had also constructed a path leading to this clearing, one that looked innocuous enough as not to appear unnatural, that connected to one of the larger paths through the woods. In the past students had wandered down this path and given Mezrol a fair amount of entertainment. He returned now and found everything as he left it, which gave him a sense of comfort. He rolled his bulk onto the table-like rock and warmed himself in the sunlight. It was nice to be 'home.'

As Asao made her way down the path, head down and looking at her map, she idly wondered if she was completely sane.

Surely sane women don't create abominations of nature and science. And if they did, it could be assumed that they don't let them kill her co-workers and colleagues. And even if that happened, they surely didn't go looking for said creatures afterwords.

Asao sighed, taking the next fork in the path without rally looking, at it. She was following her map of the campus, which she was quite certain did not display everything, and this direction was an area she had not searched yet. She was wearing her pink, Sakura print kimono that day, and a pair of zori slippers on her otherwise bare feet, and her hair was down for once. She looked up from her map only every few paces, and didn't notice that she was in the clearing until she had walked into in for several feet.

When she did look up, her eyes winded in puzzlement. Another feature not on the map. She was about to mark it with the pen she held in her other hand, and froze as she saw something out oft he corner of her eye.

It was flat rock, more or less in the center of the celaring. But what had really caught her attention was the lumpy, green mass resting a top of it. There was too much of it to me any kind of moss, and it was was resting proudly in the sun besides (moss tended to grow in the shade).

Again, she wondered about her sanity... but she took a few steps closer. Could it be...? Her little Eve had lost all cohesion, dissolving into a puddle of goo when it went berserk. Could... could this be her?

Throwing caution to the wind, her hart singing with hope, she took another few steps cloer to the rock and called, softly, "Eve?"

"I apologize deeply," began a voice that appeared in her mind. It was deep and soothing; masculine, yet calm. "My name is not 'Eve.'"

Mezrol had sensed a presence moving towards him, and his first reaction was to prepare some sort of trap for the girl. However, he was tired, for lack of a better term. He no longer needed to sleep, thanks again to his horrible curse, nor did he ever really feel exhaustion. After scouring the forest for so long, he did feel somewhat strained.

As his mind had been wandering, he began to take stock of his situation. His body had become lumpy for reasons unknown. He had noticed that occasionally his body made strange forms while he was resting. A moment was taken to remedy this, forming himself back into a smooth blob.

It also appeared that a rather attractive girl had stumbled across him here, and for some reason she did not seem outwardly startled by his presence. He wondered why she thought his name was 'Eve,' but that could wait. For now he would simply observe the girl, and perhaps answer her questions.

Asao froze in place as the unmistakeably male voice floated through her mind. Her eyes crossed slightly at the bizarre intrusion, and she had to close them for a moment.

She reopened them, again noticing the mass on the rock. It was much smoother now, and did not appear threatening. But Asao knew better. She took one step backwards, maintaining eye contact with the amorphous creature. Silently, she worked on the various forms of mental discipline she had practiced before coming here, each designed to make her mind harder to read. She never had to put them to the test before. She hoped they were good enough.

"My mistake," she said aloud, chancing another step backwards. "I thought you were...someone else. I'll just be leaving now..."

No reaction so far. She took a third step backwards, and got herself rad to turn and run.

This girl was more difficult for Mezrol to sense than girls usually were for him. As she spoke her presence seemed to fade away, but still faintly remained. Apparently she had some means of guarding her mind from the outside. This was probably useful to her. However it did not matter. The barrier she had erected in her mind was not impervious, it seemed. If he could still feel her, then she would be able to hear him.

"What are you doing so deep in the woods, my dear? And please do not be alarmed, you seem quite restless."

Asao wince again as the voice rumbled in her mind. It seemed just as loud as before, so her mental disciplines would need improving. But at this thing was only talking and not attacking her physically or mentally. She considered herself lucky; she had no illusions about her chances should that change.

"I think I'm maintain my level of alarm, thank you," she said simply, but didn't continue her retreat. "The island isn't exactly what you would call a safe place," she added. Still hoping to talk her way out of this, she deiced to answer his question. "I'm looking for someone. She's... well not one of you.. I'm not sure what you are... but she isn't human. Her name is Eve. I don't suppose you've seen her?"

Try as she might, Asao was unable to keep her voice from drifting higher with a combination of fear and hope as she asked her question.

"I am deeply sorry, but I am not familiar with the one you seek. I have not encountered many non-humans in this place."

Though he was indeed unable to read her mind, not that he ever truly could, Mezrol could see that his visitor was ready to dart away at a moment's notice. That would be just terrible. He began to seep part of himself down the far side of the rock. She would not be able to see this, as his mass would hardly shrink. He moved in a paper thin layer around the rock towards her, remaining hidden under the soft grass Within moments she was standing in a puddle of his body, but without looking closely, she would likely not even notice.

Asao shoulder slumped and her focus slipped at the news. "No of course you haven't. It would never be that easy. Its not as though you creatures hang around water cooler somewhere bragging about you're conquests."

She knew she had been foolish, getting her hopes up like that. The sting of the disappointment cut at her like a physical blow. She allowed herself just one moment of silent recrimination, the turned her attention back to the creature.

"In that case," she said. "I'll just be on my way..." She carefully rolled up her map, slowly tucked it inside the wide sleeve of her kimono -- the spun on the balls of her feet as fast she she could and broke into a run.

Or, rather, she tried to do that last part.

The sooth soles of her slippers slid in the puddle of something with next to no traction. Her feet lost purchase with the ground, flying in one direction as the rest of her fell in the opposite direction. There was gasp of surprise as she fell, and her body tensed for the impact. Her butt reached the ground frist, and there was odd squelching sound in addition to the sudden crash.

Strange. It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

A soon as her body hit the ground, Mezrol knew it was time to close his trap. He began releasing his aphrodisiac into the air around the fallen girl as tentacles erupted from the ground to bind her ankles and wrists. He then began to slide off of his rock and approach the incapacitated girl.

"You know, my dear, in my culture it is considered rude to turn and run from someone. This is doubly true when that someone was being civil towards you."

Tendrils slowly rose from the ground like a patch of thin sprouting plants. They curved to hover over her body and trace across the surface of her clothes. She could feel the gentle pressure through the fabric as he examined the unusual garment.

"Your outfit is strange. I have not encountered something like this before. Is it some kind of robe?"

His words remained in a very calm and soothing tone, though his actions were not so gentle. She would notice one of the tendrils examining her obi, and likely trying to determine how it was tied.

Trapped! Asao panicked silently. She pulled her arms and tried to kick her legs, but it was no use. They weren't budging. Then the thing seemed to suddenly be everywhere pushing and rubbing at her kimono.

Asao knew what was coming next. She closed her thighs together tightly. It was just about the only part of her legs she still could move.

"It's.. its a kimono," she said in quite voice, wishing the strange pseudo-pods would leave her alone. She was flinching from ever touch, and it made thinking difficult. Her little mental tricks were completely forgotten. "Its kind of like a robe but more complicated in execution." She was babbling and she new it. She noticed he did that when she was scared out of her mind.

The pushing and rubbing continued. Her flinching, however, was beginning to slow.

She licked her lips nervously. "I am sorry I insulted you," she said, still hoping to talk her way out. "But you must understand why I ran. I haven't had the best experience on this island with... you know."

She was blushing, and felt very warm. She wasn't flinching from the touches at all now. Her wasn't hurting her, and that was a good sign. "If-if you let me go, I promise not to run... if you promise not to hurt me?" It was a half truth. She fully planned on escaping the frist chance she got, but if this one was intelligent, and she could reason with it, she might be able to convince her to let her go. Out running it didn't seem like a possibility just now.

She didn't even notice where her body stayed rocking toward and in time with the questing tendrils running along her clothed form. "I'm Asao," she said hesitantly. Her thighs fell open slightly, but she was quick to clamp them back together again.

He considered the girl's words as he examined the garment. It was fairly simple, though seemingly worn in an almost ritualistic way. No doubt this girl had an interesting and unique culture, and if circumstances were different he may have questioned her about it. As it was, he had had a long few weeks. He was getting quite hungry.

"I accept your apology, my dear. I am called Mezrol." His voice was no longer as upset as it was moments ago when she attempted escape. It had returned to its soothing tone. "Unfortunately I cannot trust you to keep your word, so for now you shall remain as you are. You need not worry, however, as I have no intention on hurting you."

She could feel a gentle touch joining her restraints at her ankles. Two small tendrils were slowly moving up her legs, barely touching her soft skin with their tips as they rose up her calves and under her kimono. Two of the other appendages exploring her moved onto her bust, softly prodding the sides of her covered breasts.