Zhiric stood calmly on the beach, sand between his toes. Sand? This is not sand. It is not even blue. It was present on his own world but never in tan. The water ebbed and flowed in and out and in and out and in and out once again. Wind gently blew across his wings, which were folded and raised so as not to drag across the ground.

And to think these humans find strange things like tan sand beautiful when this close to the water. The rainforests he had seen pictures of were beautiful. The ocean, so rich and magnificent, was beautiful. Even the forests of the island were appealing to a degree.

Pulling himself from the deep train of thought he was on, he decided to walk from the beach. His tail swished behind him and obliterated the footprints he left. Once concealed between a pair of trees he projected the sound of voices to the beach. It sounded like a group of the school's girls in a loud, energetic beach bash. There were even sounds of splashing in the water.

And now, we wait.

Doing things with Airi did make me happy, but I did need a dose of time on my own. She was my little AV idol, and I loved her deeply and honestly. But at the same time, there was a need to get out. To soak in the presence of people who weren't quite so... unique. I heard something of a bash was going on on the beach, so I walked toward the shore with a rather revealing icy-purple two-piece bikini that shimmered in the light. Airi was my dream, but dreams couldn't be appreciated if you weren't ever awake. So I slipped out for a bit and decided to look around, get to know some others. I hadn't made nearly as many friends as I had anticipated when I came here, after all. "Come on, Saffy," I said to myself, trying to not get nervous about the idea of meeting new people, "Airi could use more friends, after all."

If Zhiric had a mouth, he would have smiled as Saffron drew closer. knowing he had captured her quite easily, he gave all his concentration to her. She might possibly feel her head tingle just a bit as she walks toward the sounds. Now when she arrived ar their source she'd see what her mind wanted to see, girls frolicking on the beach and playing in the sand.

One of the illusions noticed her and waved, going back to the fake volleyball game going on. A quartet of the girls had taken up sunbathing, all on their backs with thick shades on.

The alien kept full and complete concentration on her. Moving would weaken the illusion so he would have to lead her to his hiding spot, then he could get to know his prey a little better.

Several of the "girls" had noticed Saffron and were now talking and leading her into the party. Apparently they wanted to do a tug-of-war and needed an extra person.