WWW: Stop the Presses!

[Event !]

The lives of a college newspaper staff are always interesting, and, with the bad weather, they have to organize. Or at least hide in their office for a while to take advantage of the heat.

Until it goes off.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ had joined the newspaper reluctantly. She wasn't a journalist and didn't intend to be. But it was still writing and you could get creative with it, right? That was her idea anyway. She'd been hard at work after hours in the office, mostly because what else was there to do when it was snowing so hard outside? She was working on her article, worried that it wasn't good enough, chewing on her lower lip when she got a text from her friend and roommate letting her know that she was alright and at the apartment. That gave AJ some relief after all. She'd been worried. She let Adaryn know that she didn't know how long she'd be, but she didn't think it was safe to drive.

Somehow the office still had heat, which AJ was grateful for, even if she did dress warm. It was eerily quiet almost. She looked over at the other student in the room, another member of the staff. "Did it snow in your hometown?" she asked. The girl could be from Vermont for all she knew, but she was attempting to make conversation.

[Naga Riddell]

The newspaper not might of been seen as a glamorous job but Naga enjoyed it. She would help find 'scoops' for the journalists and writers by slithering into sneaky places in her snake form with a GoPro attached to her head. Some of the members of staff knew about her abilities, in fact most of them did, but only a few knew about the side-effects it caused; like the fact that snow does not agree with her at all!

Naga wasn't exactly in the office for work. More like warmth. The second it began to snow, Naga knew trouble was coming. When her body temperature dropped too low, Naga froze in a way. Slow movements, barely responsive, it's not exactly a fun thing. So, here she was. Shivering slightly in the office with her companion Ribbon curled up and fast asleep under her shirt. Hey, he's a snake, gotta go where the warmth is, he doesn't care.

"Did it snow in your hometown?"

Naga glanced at the other girl with a quiet questioning 'hm?'. Well, that was a matter of opinion. The snake shifter was born in England and still had her English accent but her family had recently moved to the state of Vermont. Better keep it simple and truthful. "I've not seen a lot of snow, but yeah, sometimes. Though it's not exactly my favourite weather." Naga chuckled.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

The truth was that AJ didn't know Naga very well, but she did know her enough to know that she was a valuable asset to the newspaper when it came to slithering out and getting stories, literally. But what she didn't know was that the girl actually carried around a snake with her, which might slightly freak her out. AJ didn't see many snakes, especially given where she came from in Minnesota, and she'd only heard horror stories about them. So talking to Naga made her slightly nervous, but she tried her hardest not to judge her based on her power. People had done that enough to AJ herself.

"I've seen way too much snow," AJ offered. "And it's not my favorite either." She stared down at the article in front of her that she'd written, wondering if she should try to get home. "How bad do you think it's out there?" They still had heat and electricity.

[Naga Riddell]

Admittedly, Naga was slightly distracted today. The cold weather had seriously messed with her system. Thankfully, the people that needed to know where she was knew of her issues and had assured her that they would send emails in case she missed anything important.

Oh! Ribbon was stirring. A slight wriggle in her bra told her that he was getting warm enough to move about. Having danger noodles in such an area would usually upset or disturb most people but Naga really didn't mind. It was a warm place. Warmth was important.

The snake shifter shrugged as she pondered the girl's question. Well, it was incredibly difficult for her to get up this morning. The other people in her dorm and her RA had panicked because she didn't show any sign of movement, let alone any sign of breathing. Someone had come up with the ingenious idea of gathering up a few hot water bottles and placing them on her. Within a few minutes, Naga had been moving again though it was about two hours before she could make herself stand up and walk places.

"I'd say pretty bad, but I feel cold weather worse than most people so I can't know for sure." Naga spoke with a slight sheepish grin, glancing over to AJ. Why was AJ here exactly? Did her power hate the cold as well? She didn't know a lot of people in the department. If they wanted her to do something, most would just come up and ask so Naga never really caught anyone's name. "How bad do you think it is?"

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"I'm from a place where it snows way too much, so I'm not sure where it'd rank on my scale, but the weather alerts on my phone make it seem pretty bad," AJ replied, trying to concentrate on the conversation. It was difficult when the girl she was speaking to had a snake slithering around inside her shirt. Her power really gave her a sensitivity to the cold, which AJ didn't understand, but it made her realize why the girl was in the office. AJ was just here for work and she wasn't really sure why. She might be overworking herself already and it was just the first semester of college.

Maybe she should try and get home to her apartment. That thought crossed her mind several times as she tried not to stare at the snake and ignore the nervous feeling that arose in her chest. She should not be scared, because obviously Naga wouldn't let a snake attack her, and she was probably friends with the snake. Her fear was irrational, but still... she couldn't help but feeling uneasy.

[Naga Riddell]

Naga felt amused as she spotted AJ trying to avoid looking at her chest where Ribbon resided. To the snake shifter, it appeared that the girl was looking at her breasts; odd but not the most unusual thing to have happened to her.

She glanced outside the window, feeling Ribbon wiggle more as her body tilted ever so slightly. The snow was coming down hard and heavy, at this rate they would probably be snowed in. If they were normal, Naga would've suggested they look for somewhere else to shelter but since she would not be able to walk three feet without freezing up; she didn't mention it. It was selfish, but Naga really hated being alone.

Naga turned back around to stare at AJ, forgetting to say anything and remaining motionless. The stare was almost predatory in nature. Sometimes this happened. It was a side-effect of her snake communication abilities. If she could speak to cats or dogs, she would probably be meowing or barking. But snakes are silent. So, Naga was also silent. This kind of thing didn't happen often, Naga tried to avoid doing this since apparently it was really creepy and/or scary, it only happened when Naga was worrying about something. In this situation, she was worrying about the weather and so her body decided to switch to snake 'mode'.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ wasn't meaning to stare at Naga's chest, nor was she actually staring at her chest, but actually at the snake, and trying not to be nervous about being in the same room as one. AJ knew bad weather, blizzards, the kind of snow that buried your car. And yet here she was on campus when a blizzard was clearly going to happen. And in the newspaper office nonetheless. But she had work to do.

Naga hadn't replied and even if AJ hadn't asked a question she was still confused by her sudden quietness. And Naga was staring, just staring at her, although it wasn't the typical 'zoned out' type of stare, but slightly more intimidating. "Uh, Naga?"

[Naga Riddell]

Naga kept silent for a few more seconds before flinching backwards; jerking her head and squinting as if someone had threatened to hit her. She blinked for a few more seconds before glancing around, even twisting her head to check behind her. Just checking if she was still in the same place.

Turning back around, Naga turned her gaze back to AJ, her usual softness laying in her eyes. She gave the girl a thumbs up and glanced behind her again. "Sorry about that. Did you ask me something?"

Naga winced slightly ass she felt Ribbon stir again, wriggling with a bit too much energy for her liking. With a quiet mutter, the snake shifter stuck her hand down the front of her shirt and lightly tugged on his middle in order to get him to stop wriggling. It didn't work but at least his movement lessened.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"No, actually. I don't think it was a question," AJ replied. She actually couldn't remember what she'd even said. Now she was concerned for Naga. "Are you alright?" She didn't know the snake shifter very well, but she was trying to be open to new people and new experiences, even if it meant being in the same room as a snake. Naga seemed slightly disoriented. "Does he...or she not care for the cold?" It was a poor attempt at conversation and at addressing the snake in the room. The actual snake.

[Naga Riddell]

Naga removed her hand from her shirt, trying to listen to the girl as well as dealing with the uncomfortable sensation. Scales are cold and leave a weird feeling on your skin after contact. Plus Ribbon was now purposely being a dick.

"Um, yeah, I'm good." Naga murmured, turning her gaze from her shirt to the girl. "And sort of."
Both Naga and Ribbon didn't feel temperatures like most do. Instead of shivering, sweating or just feeling cold or hot in general, they both know their temperature from how well they can move. Cold? Can't move due to the blood being colder than usual. Hot? Energetic, but burns out energy quicker than normal. "He dislikes the cold just as I do, which is probably why he's being a douche at the moment."

"<I am not a douche>" Ribbon finally responded, ceasing his movements in a sulk.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ was really trying her hardest to understand, but it was hard when you couldn't communicate with snakes or turn into a snake, or really didn't even like snakes. More like you were scared stiff by snakes. She tried to concentrate on the fact that she'd learned the snake was a he and the conversation. "I don't think anybody likes the cold," she replied. And then she realized it may have come off as rude. "I mean...I'm not a reptile so the cold doesn't affect me the same."

Ah, this was painfully awkward. AJ had made herself a promise that when she started college she'd try to open herself up to more people.

[Naga Riddell]

Naga chuckled quietly. "Yeah, I doubt anybody really likes the cold. Unless you live in Alaska or something." The snake shifter glanced outside the window; wincing slightly at the large piles of snow that were still steadily growing on the pavement and grass outside. It was certainly cold and it didn't look like it would be stopping soon. Hopefully it would die down by this evening or Naga would struggle to get home.

"Though snow is nice, at least I like to think it is." The blonde spoke, still staring out of the window. Even as a child, she had reacted to the cold badly; it was near impossible for her to build snow forts, snowmen or have snowball battles with her siblings. It was kind of sad, but her older brother would always cheer her up by bringing in a very small palm-sized snowman for her to hold and touch.

Ribbon was now fully awake; Naga's rising body heat allowing him to move his own body with more ease. Coiling downwards, the cornsnake poked his head out from the bottom of Naga's jumper and flickered his tongue; turning his head when he sensed AJ's different heat signature.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"I doubt even they like the cold," AJ countered, although she didn't know why you'd choose to live in Alaska. Just because AJ was from Minnesota didn't mean she liked the cold. She was accustomed to it maybe, but didn't like it.

"Yeah, I like snow." When it was falling and you weren't outside, or if it was just a light dusting. This looked like it was going to be a blizzard though, which made roads slippery. She wasn't a fan of that.

She nearly lost it when the snake appeared from underneath Naga's clothes. "Ohmygod," she couldn't help but blurt. "Your snake..." she pointed.

[Naga Riddell]

Naga chuckled as she heard that remark, staring out the window with a rare hint of worry. If this continued any further, she would have to be sleeping here tonight. She regretted bringing Ribbon, putting him in danger as well as herself is just horrible. At least it was warm in here, she thought, rubbing her arms sub-conciously.

The snake shifter jumped slightly at the sudden change of tone in AJ's voice, her head swiveling around almost like an owl in surprise. "My snake?" Naga turned her head downwards just in time to spot Ribbon, who had lost interest in AJ and was now trying to wriggle down her trousers.

"Heh, he's my trouser snake." She joked, making small guns with her hands and wiggling them at the other girl; before jerking as Ribbon managed to fit his small head under the waistband. Naga quickly grabbed him and gently but firmly pulled him back up and wrapped him around her shoulders like a scarf. "You. Stop that." She quietly hissed at him. 

Ribbon shot her a look. "<Not my fault it's cold...>" He said indignantly.