[CO]Grilled Snake, Really

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji didn't have to be at the event, but he felt like it was a good chance to meet some new people and just mingle in general. He still had his same job as being one of the Side-Effect Specialist at the school but now he was going to get a chance to teach a Mutant 101 class. He was the one who even came up for it in the first place, but was still not certain how he would do. Seiji already knew that his course was going to be a mandatory one, so it was not like he had to worry about not getting any students or anything like that.

He just hoped that he made things interesting and that people who showed up would come to understand him and really benefit from his teachings and help. That was the plan and that was the hope but right now he was a bit more worried about if anyone would be willing to try what he was grilling up. He was not master chef or anything like that and there had been plenty of staff in charge of handling the cooking, but Seiji asked if he could cook some exotic things and with the okay and the papers to do so. He had purchased a verity of meant that most average people didn't get to try.

Some of said meats were things you find out in the wild to kill and cook in order to survive and he felt it was important to allow students to have a taste at something like that. He already had finished grilling up some deer and now was working on cooking some snake. Yes, snake. It might have been a little weird considering the fact that Akiko as chilling around his neck and Leevi was resting on his shoulder, bus Seiji didn’t find it weird. All of his snakes had eaten snake before, just not cooked. Plus while he had bond with his snakes and would never eat them, that didn’t mean he would not try eating snake at all in his life. Okay, so it was a little weird for him still, but he was just happy he could not talk to a slab of snake meat.

[Dr. Arika Lark]

The woman shifted through the crowd, occasionally aiming a kindly smile at the students and staff. She didn't really aim anywhere, until she saw Seiji, and more importantly the snakes. SHe strides over without fear, after all she had been bitten by snakes, bugs and scorpions in Egypt.They are beautiful!" She exclaimed, reaching her hand out for Leevi to scent. Her slate eyes turn to the grilling meat. If I'm not mistaken, that must be snake meat right? " She asked with a knowing smile, before extending a hand. "Dr. Arika Lark."

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji had been focused on his grilling so had not been aware that any would be approaching him at this moment. In fact he didn't really ever think anyone would approach him considering what was hanging around his shoulders and his neck at the moment. Perhaps the sign of the exotic meats sign would attract some people’s attention but he figured very few would brave getting to close. He had meant to put his snakes away but figured he would get some grilling done first and then put them away. A woman suddenly speaking up caused him to startle a little before he had a warm and friendly smile quickly taking over his face.

"My snakes? Thank you." Seiji responded. He asked but he was pretty sure she had to be talking about the snakes because what else near him was beautiful. He had heard people refer to meat as beautiful but they typically were people who were super fans of meat. The woman before him didn't look like she was a super fan of meats but he was going to withhold anymore judgement because he didn’t know her and she could have very well been a meat coinsure. Her hand was reaching out to Leevi who just flicked his tongue, having already picked up her scent before she reached a hand out.

Such movement would have worked well on Ghost but for Leevi he just remained where he was for the moment, getting a look over the human females body. "It is indeed. Would you like to try some?" Seiji asked in response to her words. She could tell it was snake meat just looking at it? Clearly she did have to at least enjoy meats enough in order to be able to identify them sizzling on a grill. Seiji was already working on finishing cooking up a piece so he could put it on a plate for her. There was an extended hand however that had him pause in the cooking to be a proper gentleman to shake her hand.

"Seiji Lockard. Please to meet you Dr. Lark." Seiji responded back. She had used doctor in her name so he assumed she would want to go by her title.

[Dr. Arika Lark]

The woman smiled cheerfully, slate eyes focused on the snakes. She let her hand drop back to her side, her gaze turnimg to Seiji. She grinned, brushimg her hair from her face. "I love snakes..." The woman said, eyes trailing back to the snakes.

Appart from when they bite... She added to herself, before taking the plate she was offered. "I would love to! Me and my husband used to eat snakes in egypt... there was this woman who thought snakes were a bad omen, so if she found any on our trips, she killed and cooked them!" Arika laughed gently, popping a peice of meat in her mouth and chewing slowly. She quickly swallowed when Seiji holds out his hand, taking it in hers.

"Pleasure Seiji... and just Arika, please. Im only Dr. Lark out in the field or in the classroom. I only introducd myself like that because it makes me sound interesting" She winked, cracking anouth laugh.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji's smile spread a bit more across his face; if it could anymore, when she spoke of how she loved snakes. It was always nice to meet someone that enjoyed snakes to the level of being able to actually say that they loved them. Now the question was if she loved snakes as in general or eating them specifically. That was the biggest question that Akiko was asking and why she had made no moves to move from around Seiji's neck. If anything the small snack started to squeeze a little as she wondered if this woman would ask for her to put on the grill next.

Obviously that had to be on the woman's mind because Akiko fully believed she was beautiful and people would want to eat something as good looking as she was. Akiko, loosen up a bit. I assure you even if she asked, I would not cook you or Leevi up. Seiji sent the thought mentally to his snake, not wanting to lose blood flow to her brain or end up with an air bubble getting there. He also wanted to assure her that she was safe from harm no matter what.

"She killed them even when she viewed them as a bad omen? I would think one would want to avoid them if that was the case. Then again, each culture has so many ways with dealing with things they see as bad luck." Seiji responded as he handed over her plate. So she was from Egypt, how fascinating. he had been before, but it was for a study on the snakes their back when he was working for another company at the time and working on creating antivenom.

"Did you live in Egypt or were you just there for business, or perhaps just a vacation?" Seiji asked, already wanting to ask a million and one questions. He did hold himself back, not wanting to ask anything to personal. He went back to finishing up what he had cooking on the grill; after he was done shaking her hand, not wanting to stop but could not just stop in the middle of cooking unless he wanted things to burn. "Arika it is, then and I assure you that you don't need to introduce yourself in such a way to seem interesting, you are already interesting from the start." Seiji responded with a reassuring smile.

[Dr. Arika Lark]

Arika's smile could have pharoh dead in his tracks, and her thick lashes could of caused a sand storm. Her shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug, a hand moving once again to move the hair from her face. "She was a bit odd, but there were always loads of snakes around the tombs, so you could say she kept us safe.. mostly.. She pulled up the sleeve of her tee, to reveal two puncture scars.

"There was this one snake... a sand boa i think, decided to sink its teeth into my arm." She pulled the sleeve down again. The woman clearly remember that day, even though it must have been... what? 4 years ago. She could still see David's terrified face, and her jokes. Her smile grew slightly mournful for a split second, before turning bright again.

Arika's smile grew a little wider at his question. God she loved talking about Egypt. "I moved to Egypt. Thats where i met David, my husband. We're both Archaeoligists, and spent almost 7 years exploring tombs." Her whole body seemed to glow as she spoke, before a shadow seemed to pass over her face. "We were in a tomb a few weeks ago... it collapsed... 3 people died.. including. Including David. She fell silent.

His words brought a smile back to her face. The woman shook the feeling of sadness from herself, looking at his snakes again."Do they have names?

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji listened as Arika explained how the woman had been strange but in a way had kept them safe for the most part. That made sense in a way. You would not have to worry about getting bit by a snake if most of them ended up killed as soon as they were spotted. Wait, Egypt and tombs? Was this woman an archaeologist? It would make sense considering everything that she was saying and how she was a doctor. Not saying that all of them were doctors but the ones that were serious about that line of work tended to be. If she was one, what was she doing here at Bellefonte Academy of all places?

He was about to ask as much along with several other question but then she was telling him of a story of a time that she was bitten. She revealed the place where she had been bitten, it likely still bearing the scar of looking worse then something just having bitten it if the snake that had bitten her was poisonous. In such a location and if she really was an archaeologist then the chances were very high. There was a change in her expression for a moment but it returned to what it was before as she started to explain a bit more about herself. So she had moved there, met her husband; yes he had been right about her being an archaeologist, and she had been doing it for sever year.

Wow. Seiji had so many questions he wanted to ask but then he quickly could tell things were going to take a dark tone by the woman’s change in expression. His snakes were also giving him a heads-up because of the hormones change they were picking up from the woman. Talk about things getting personal and heavy on a first meeting. Seiji could not help but to stand there a blink for a moment as his brain process all this information and wondering if she would be okay being touched right now. “I’m…I’m so sorry for your lose. If there is anything I can do to help you through…well anything. Please let me know.” Seiji was quickly assuring her as he moved to stand in front of her and try to take both of her hands in his and give them a squeeze.

She was then going for a subject change it seemed and Seiji was perfectly fine with moving things along that path if that was what she desired. Arika was not the first person to open up and tell him something personal; it was kind of his job to have people come to trust him and tell him personal things. Even if he was no consoler and there to help them with everything power related, it didn’t help to help them with other things. “The one around my neck is Akiko and the one on my shoulder slowly edging closer to you is Leevi.” Seiji responded as he reached out to pull Leevi back who was extending and balancing his body just enough in between the space between Seiji and the woman in an attempt to reach the woman and touch her.