[Meika Hijiri]

So, yeah, there's really no getting around it. There is currently a five-foot-long ball python on campus right now, and Meika has no idea where it went. What started as trying to get her dorm in working order by moving in all the furniture and other items that would make it livable has evolved into a wild goose hunt across the entirety of campus in search of Princess Playa', Meika's pet snake that has escaped her enclosure. Usually, people who don't have rocks for brains would immediately go to campus security to help in the hunt for the snake, but Meika is uniquely stupid in that she doesn't trust campus security to not hurt her pet in the process, so she's engaged in the hunt for the snake on her own.

What ensues is an incredibly strange sight. Walking around campus with her electric guitar strapped around her torso and a bundle of frozen mice in a bag strapped to her back, Meika enters tall grass on campus while strumming a wicked set of chords on her guitar, singing a set of lyrics that she's completely improving on the spot.

"Princess Playa', come hooooome,
you know I love you sooooo,
you left me in the dust,
just to pick up some schmucks !!!

I know you got your hoes,
but Princess Playa',
pleeeease come home!"

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Mafdet Khepri

[Mafdet Khepri]

While books were certainly informative and computers were convenient tools there was something to be said for getting hands-on experience in Khepri's opinion. So it was that they'd taken their 'intro to programming' book and set off on a walk, following the wind on their journey to find inspiration. Their ears twitched. The wind had certainly blown something in but whether it was inspiration or not remained to be seen. Music was often said to be inspiring so it might just be. With a nod of their head they agreed. That would be their first destination.

Hoisting the ladder they'd brought onto their shoulder and making sure their snacks wouldn't spill out of the fanny pack strapped to their side by zipping it shut Khepri set off, cheerily humming along to the tune carried by the breeze. A breeze that threatened to cause the red and white baseball cap precariously sitting atop their head to fall off with every step they took. 

Before long they spotted the sources of the sound, a guitar held in the hands of a fellow student as well as said student's vocal cords, albeit the latter they couldn't see from where they were standing. 

"Do you think the instinctive interest in creating vibrations in the air through rhythm is linked to the search for warmth by doing the same to molecules that led to mankind discovering fire?"

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[Meika Hijiri]

Though Meika can barely hear it over the raucous sound of her own guitar, she becomes increasingly aware that someone might be speaking to her. She briefly pauses strumming the strings of her guitar to turn and lay her eyes upon what appears to be another student, whom asks a question that Meika certainly understands, but can't quite wrap her addled brain around at this very moment. Vibration? Molecules? Mankind? It's a very poetic question, but Meika's too panicked to really pay attention or care about the answer. "...Huh?" she intones, mouth open and eyes blank. The only thing to release her from her stupor is her wandering eyes, which linger too close to the other student's arms, filled with a book surreptitiously titled Intro To Programming. Now that's something that interests Meika. The spark rapidly returns to her big blue eyes.

"Woah, Intro to Programming? Are you into coding?" Meika explodes, eyes wide and mouth agape. A moment passes, and she suddenly shakes her head to rid herself of the distracting thoughts, like a dog shaking its ears free of water. "No, no! Hold that thought, I'm doing something else right now!" she says, clutching her head with her hands and tearing her eyes away from her peer's book.

"I'm looking for my snake, Princess Playa', yay big and super cute! Have you seen her?" the much shorter girl begs of the cat person, pleading clear in her eyes. "She really likes hard rock and roll, she's just cool like that, so I was hoping I could lure her back..."

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Mafdet Khepri

[Mafdet Khepri]

Khepri was just about to reply that they hadn't tried yet so they didn't know whether they were into it when Meika continued speaking. Awkwardly adjusting how they were holding the ladder they put one hand on the side of their head while listening to the rest of their words.

"I haven't," Khepri replied honestly before their eyes widened. Could it be... a python?! This might be just the practical experience they've been looking for. Not that they wouldn't help out if there wasn't any personal benefit of course. 

"Maybe we can spot her from a higher vantage point!" Khepri enthusiastically stated while grabbing the ladder they were carrying. Switching which hand was holding their head to be able to put it down they carefully made sure they placed the ladder down nice and stable, avoiding hazards like the small burrow just wide enough for one of its legs to sink in or the wiggly-looking stick next to it.

Climbing with one hand was difficult but they managed. Once at the top they looked around as if they were trying to cross the road while standing in the middle of a roundabout, their head first pivoting left as far as it could and then right in the same way. 

"Nope, I can't see Princess Playa', maybe you can try. You know what she looks like better. I'll hold the ladder. Oh! Is she the kind of snake that can climb? If she is and you play music at the top we might be able to spot her easier that way!"

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Tags: Meika Hijiri

[Meika Hijiri]

Damn, this cat person is kind of like the swiss army knife of people! They just show up in Meika's time of need holding a perfect tool for the job? It's almost... Suspicious! If Meika wasn't explicitly worrying about finding her very large snake, she would be staring carefully at Khepri, wondering if they're just a figment of her imagination, if she's just having a very elaborate dream right now. Either way, Meika nods with such force that her hair shakes to and fro'. "Yeah, great idea!" she agrees, and she shifts her guitar around on its strap so it's dangling on her back instead of her front so that she can hold the ladder and steady it.

Alas, no Princess Playa'! Meika can't hide her look of disappointment, which spreads across her face in the form of a pouted lip and a furrow of her brows. "What!" she exclaims, huffing. "This is impossible! She could've gone across the entire campus by this point!"

Oh, well. She might as well try spotting her now. Running her top lip beneath her snaggletooth in an uncharacteristic display of stress, Meika hands off the ladder to Khepri and then takes the time to scale it herself, eyes keen to spot her beloved snake the entire time on the way up. As for whether Princess Playa' could climb... "Uhh, I dunno!" Meika admits, running her eyes across the horizon. "Can snakes climb? I mean, she's kinda a wildcard, so maybe? Maybe I shoulda named her Hairy Houdini, for how often she's snuck out of her cage..."

Finally at the top, Meika shifts her bodyweight so she can bring her guitar to wrap around in front of her, but the adjustment of her weight also leads to an adjustment of her balance, and Meika suddenly finds herself windmilling at the top of the ladder, struggling to keep her footing at the top. "Shit, shit, shit, shit," she whisper-shouts to herself as she does her best to regain her balance, in the process rapidly shaking the ladder!

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Mafdet Khepri

[Mafdet Khepri]

"Hairy Houdini?" Khepri muttered to herself. Did snakes have hair? Their eyes widened. Maybe that was why they couldn't see them from the top of the ladder. They weren't looking for anything that had hair! Khepri nodded to themself. That must be it. They'd never wondered whether snakes could have hair. Looking at their four-fingered hands holding the ladder steady they realized what an oversight that was. Their breath caught. Could it be...

Did Princess Playa' have a quirk as well? Was it invisibility and voluminous locks of hair? The ability to escape from any cage and bristly braids? A coiffured coupe plus flight?

The possibilities were endless! 

Khepri was only shaken out of her thoughts when the ladder began to wiggle like a snake and rattle like a pocketball that had just caught its target. Quickly checking the ladder over they noticed their intended target wasn't on it before realizing the cause laid higher. Their new friend was about to fall!

"Don't worry I'll catch you!" Khepri shouted while extending their arms out to catch her. A maneuver that unfortunately caused them to let go of the ladder before they realized that might be a problem.

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Tags: Meika Hijiri