Eksssstracurriculars (Naga)

[Marnie Sullivan]

Marnie was not one to underestimate the importance of class notes, not when college was supposed to be so much more stringent than high school was. (So far she found it to be about the same, actually, but sooner or later that would change and she would be ready!) So far she'd managed to maintain her note-taking fairly well, so when the pretty, vaguely familiar blonde next to her in bio class had asked for a copy, Marnie had been only happy to oblige. The only trouble was the test coming up next week - rather than lend out her only copy when she needed it for studying, Marnie had offered to run off a copy at the library and then drop it off after her next class.

Now, climbing the steps of a dorm hall she didn't live in and directed only by the room number scribbled on her hand, Marnie navigated her way to her classmate's dorm. Just as Marnie knocked, a pair of students in matching Mario and Luigi boxer briefs and not much else dashed past her down the hall, an irate R.A. hot on their heels. Understandably, it drew her attention away from the click of the doorknob in front of her. Was dorm life usually like this?

[Naga Riddell]

Naga lay sprawled out on the floor of her room. Why? The rug looked comfortable. There was no roommate to bother her; the snake which was currently sliding across her stomach tended to repel other people. The blonde didn't know why though, snakes were... snakes. Danger noodles. Tails with a face. And fangs. Ah.

"<...Why do humans were these odd fabric covers?>" Naga lifted her head slightly as she heard a familiar voice and felt a cool body curl under her top. Is heard even the right word for it? Sensed? She had no clue, nobody else heard him when he 'spoke'. Oh, the 'him' was Ribbon, her pet snake. He was a nice enough snake, even though he had his blips.

"Don't know Ribbon, probably to keep ourselves warm?" Naga replied, sitting up as Ribbon slithered out of the collar of her top and around her neck. Jerking her head, the blonde glanced at the door as she heard it knock. Well, the RA rarely bothered her, so who was it?.... Oh! It's probably that cute girl from my class. Naga thought as she clambered to her feet and opened the door; Ribbon still curled around her neck, flicking his tongue curiously.

As she opened the door, two of the fellow residents of the dorm streaked past wearing nothing but boxers. Not an unpleasant view but unexpected all the same. Turning her head downwards, Naga recognized the girl from her class. Opening her mouth to say hello, she was stopped as Ribbon interrupted her. "<You aren't wearing any second bottom covers...>" He flickered his tongue at the girl at the door, Naga glancing down as she realised that she was not in fact wearing any trousers.

"Oh."

[Marnie Sullivan]

Out of the corner of her eye, Marnie noticed the door swinging open, snapping her out of it. That's right, she was on a mission, not here to gawk at strangers. Turning back to her classmate, she hitched on a smile, but her "hello" was interrupted and swallowed. The first distraction was the very real-looking snake wrapped around the blonde girl's neck; then was her downward glance, which Marnie couldn't help following, and which led to the realization that she was definitely lacking in the pants department.

When suddenly and unexpectedly faced with an attractive classmate with no pants on, Marnie had only one advantage. Instead of blushing, her natural response was to fade into the background, which her years at Hammel had taught her how to control. Fortunately, there were plenty of ways to embarrass herself in front of a pretty girl without blushing - staring half a second too long before snapping back up to eye level, for example.

Clearly this dorm was in the midst of some kind of anti-pants coup. Now was not the time to overthink it.

"Ah, hi! I brought notes," Marnie managed to blurt out at last. She hastily shrugged her backpack from her shoulder and unzipped it to root around inside. "I, um, I hope they're okay, the copy machine came out a little grainy but they're still legible." Yikes, she was rambling, but at least it didn't take long to find the copy she'd made. Marnie held it out to her classmate, careful to keep her eyes from wandering.

[Naga Riddell]

Naga raised an eyebrow with a slight smile as her classmate stared before snapping back to attention. She guessed that most people weren't used to this many bottom-less people in one day. Leaning slightly out of the door-frame, Naga turned to stare at where the two streakers had ran off to; her relaxed personality might have infected the dorm. With a quiet 'hm', Naga turned her gaze back down to the cute girl.

"Hey, and thanks! Sorry if it was an inconvenience." Naga smiled again as she gently took the notes from the girl, her voice having a slight English accent. Ribbon attempted to stretch down to get a better sense of the girl but was pulled back by Naga's unoccupied hand. Glancing through the notes, Naga leaned against the door-frame as she shuffled through the copy. Woah, these notes are brilliant. Naga turned her head slightly to look at Ribbon who had take to resting his head on her shoulder; staring at Marnie. <The female is trying to avoid looking at you whilst looking at you. Is that aggressive? Should I bite?> "No and no you shouldn't." Naga murmured at the snake.

Glancing back down the corridor, Naga frowned slightly as she heard the distant yells of the RA. If the tyrant saw her like this, she would probably be shouted at as well. The tall blonde stepped back into her room and held the door open, turning to look at Marnie. "Would you like to come in?"

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Oh, it wasn't a problem!" Marnie assured her with an attempted casual wave. Were it not for this errand she'd probably be on her way home by now, but what did that matter? Sharing notes was such a simple way to be useful, she'd had no problem agreeing. Helping out a classmate - who just so happened to be a bit older and had an interesting accent - was a no-brainer.

While Naga studied the notes, Marnie - still intent on not staring at anything she shouldn't - watched the snake drooped over her classmate's shoulders. She wasn't exactly a fan of snakes and had only really seen them in zoos before, but they weren't frightening. And this one was so small, and clearly tame. Should I ask what its name is? That would be okay, right? Marnie wondered briefly, but before she could spit it out Naga was inviting her in.

She probably just wants to go over the notes, Marnie told herself. Which would be fine! Totally fine. If an older girl with a snake and an accent thought she was smart, how cool would that be?

"Yeah, sure!" Marnie stepped inside and shut the door behind her. "Did you have some questions, or...?"

[Naga Riddell]

Naga glanced behind her as she heard a clicking noise, only to see that the girl had closed the door behind her. The snake shifting student turned back around, uncoiling Ribbon from her shoulders.

Naga's room was pretty standard, if only for one person. Despite her friendliness, nobody really wants to sleep in the same room as a person who occasionally shape-shifted into a 20 foot python. It had a bunk bed, the bottom bunk taken out to provide room for a desk on one side and a large vivarium the opposite, beside the ladder. The room was hot, roughly about 25 degrees Celsius; due to the heat pad under the vivarium and also the fact that Naga's body relied heavily on the temperature. If it's too cold, she can hardly move; her body will just say no. The room was also decorated with a few posters and paintings, mostly involving only earthly colours or neon. It was fairly clean, there weren't any clothes on the floor, no clutter on the desk and the windows were open, giving the room a pleasant glow.

One of the bed posts had fake plants with strong branches tangled around it; here Naga draped Ribbon, the red cornsnake curling around the post instantly, flickering his tongue in content. Naga walked over to her desk where her laptop lay open, plopping the notes beside the laptop. Leaning over slightly, Naga turned off the laptop with a beep and turned her head to the girl.

"Questions? Sure, what's your name?" Naga asked, her relaxed nature slightly pushing the thoughts of academics away in order to learn the cute girl's name. Casting a glance at Ribbon, the blonde wondered why he hadn't said anything. Probably planning something perverted. Filthy snake.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Even one step inside the room, the rise in temperature was distinct. Out in the hallway, Marnie was fine with her coat and scarf on; she was only stopping by for a second, right? But in a room that felt more like a balmy late spring day than the chilly autumn one outside, it was a bit much. So Marnie unwound her scarf from around her neck and unbottoned her coat as she watched Naga transfer her snake to the makeshift branches.

What a setup, she thought, impressed. At first glance the snake's cage looked similar - although also larger - to her Felix's, but Marnie had never thought to turn her furniture into special climbing posts or anything like that for the chameleon. She was still watching Ribbon coil himself around the branches when it registered what her classmate had asked her.

"Hm?" My name? That's right, they'd never really introduced themselves, just talked about notes and then headed on their separate ways. "Oh! Marnie. Marnie Sullivan." She considered holding her hand out to shake, but decided against it. "What's yours?"

[Naga Riddell]

Naga had three names in a way. Her given name was Faith, a name she wasn't too fond of. No particular reason why, it just sounded weird. Her second name, her nickname, was Nagini; her youngest sister had given it since Naga could shift into a large snake that was similar to a snake in one of her favourite books. Naga was simply an abbreviation that she went by, though it also was the name of a monster which was like the snake version of a centaur.

Whilst Naga pondered how to answer this question, Ribbon finally decided to pop his head into the blossoming conversation. <The human is taking her covers off, are you two going to breed?>

"What?! No! Shut up!" Naga flustered, feeling her face flush slightly. Then the snake shifter realised that Marnie couldn't hear Ribbon and so might think she was talking to her. "Er, I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to him." She said pointing at Ribbon, before noticing another mistake. "I mean, I was talking to you - asking your name and such - but then he..."

Naga sighed as she realised that this stammering wasn't going to get her anywhere. Pointing at Ribbon, she spoke curtly. "You. Shush." Naga then gave an apologetic grin to Marnie. "My name's Faith Riddell but everyone calls me Nagini or Naga."

[Marnie Sullivan]

Halfway through shrugging off her coat, Marnie froze at the sudden sharpness in Naga's voice. Shut up? But she was only answering the question... Had she done something wrong?

At first, Naga's stammering only confused her more. It wasn't until her classmate indicated the snake that Marnie's stomach began to unclench and her shoulders unstiffen. She still wasn't totally sure what the girl was on about, but let's be real; she'd seen weirder behavior during her Hammel days.

"So, um, which came first, the nickname or the snake?" Marnie joked feebly, relieved that she was apparently not being yelled at but a little uncertain what had happened.

[Naga Riddell]

Naga shot another glare at Ribbon, whom turned his head away from her piercing grey gaze; deciding to focus his unblinking eyes on the girl he viewed as a stranger. The snake shifter could tell that Marnie felt uncomfortable. Or confused. Shifting side-effects were varied and some were prominent, as a result, Naga could recognise body language easily. Something about snakes detecting heat? At least, that's what her mentor told her.

Thankfully, Marnie managed to break the slight awkwardness with a slightly humorous question. Naga grinned sheepishly and pulled out the chain necklace that dangled from her neck. "The snake, my little sister gave me the nickname after I gained control. Though my family does breed snakes, so I guess it could've gone either way." Naga shrugged. Her dad was and still is a professional snake breeder; dealing with constrictors and venomous snakes. It was luck that her sister got into Harry Potter books and the second Naga's shapeshifting ability manifested, the girl had jumped at the chance of nicknaming her after the infamous giant serpent.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Gained control? Of what? A moment into puzzling through Naga's answer, the lightbulb above Marnie's head flickered on, and her eyes grew wide. So that's where she'd seen her classmate before, even before their biology class together - they'd both been at Hammel! Not in the same year, or else Marnie would have probably recognized her sooner, but the class sizes were so small there that most students ran into each other at some point. No need to guess what Naga's power was; clearly it was snake-related. The details could come later, if she would let Marnie grill her about it.

"Oh - sorry," she said hurriedly, trying to recompose herself. "I think I just realized - did we go to the same high school?" If she was wrong, no harm no foul - Marnie could just ask about Ribbon to change the subject back and then be embarrassed about it later. If she was right, though, how cool would that be? Most of her classmates these days were normal humans; she kind of missed being around metas all the time, and here she'd met one on accident!

[Naga Riddell]

Naga raised an eyebrow at the sudden inquiry. It wasn't troubling, just a bit unexpected. Before she could answer, a quiet clattering, clicking sound caught her attention. The snake shifter turned towards her desk where Ribbon, the speedy bugger, had somehow clambered onto the laptop keys and was rubbing against them. 

She turned around and walked over to the snake, frowning slightly at his rubbing, before draping him back over the branch. "Sheds coming, huh?" She very quietly murmured to him. Ribbon didn't respond, merely continuing to rub his head against the wood of the bed post.

Naga turned her grey gaze back the Marnie. "If you're talking about Hammel, then yeah, I went there." She grinned, excited to hear if Marnie was also a Hammel student. If not, it wasn't a big deal; though she was certain it was since the topic came up after the blonde spoke about 'gaining control'.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Marnie smiled; Naga wasn't the only former Hammel student she'd run into on campus, but it was always nice to find another. The difference was that unlike the others, Naga she didn't know at all. Back in high school it had been completely normal, even expected, to swap explanations of your powers. Now, though, Marnie had a pretty good idea of what her classmate's was. Her own camouflage was unimpressive in comparison, as usual.

"So, um." Marnie's coat hung limply, folded over her forearms. Holding it kept her hands from fidgeting, thankfully. "Did you want to go over the notes at all? I mean, they should be fine," she added quickly. "Just, you know, if you had any questions."