Welcome to the good times;; Mayna

Manya glided towards the library carrying a book she'd borrowed and since finished reading. Thinking more on the subject of magical creatures she'd considered the possibility of Magical creatures and their possible associations with enchanted magical items. Regardless of what she'd hoped to gleam from the novel Manya had quite enjoyed the read, having opted to stay after hours within the classroom to finish the remaining chapters before heading over to the library and returning the book. Closing up the cover she gave a modest sigh of relief, mostly in thanks that no one had bothered to or been concerned with checking on the particular classroom she occupied. Manya dreaded what problems her startled reaction to such an event would have caused were she to have accidentally caught someone within her gaze but this late in the night very few people seemed to wander the school's hallways, something the Serpentes was rather thankful for. It actually allowed her a level of freedom from the usually required covering of her eyes and would be helpful in returning to the library as she hadn't quite memorized its exact location yet.

With the borrowed book tucked under one arm, Manya looked up to the placard which labeled the library. "I wonder if I could convince the board to install thermal light displays..." She pondered with a passing sigh before pushing open the library door. Something like that seemed a bit much to ask just for the conveniences of a single teacher.

Oh no! Nonono! There was someone else on campus right now and they happened to be in the library of all possible places!? Manya let out a startled squeak and a gasp, forcing her eyes shut before promptly bringing the borrowed book up to her face to further block her own view. The girl, apparently going by the name Lavender, spoke. This was much to Manya’s relief, it likely meant she’d averted her gaze in time to prevent too much paralysis from setting in. “M-m-manya Slitherstone I’m so terribly sorry! I didn’t mean to look at you! I-I wasn’t aware anyone else was here at this hour so I got careless… P-please accept my apology and take this.” Manya stuttered, fumbling with a pocket of her outfit until she managed to produce a small vial of strangely colored translucent liquid. Slithering over to the student, Manya promptly set it down in front of the girl. “I had the school nurse prepare some of this medicine just in case something like this were to happen… It will help to reverse the effects.” Manya lowered the book from her face but kept her eyes closed tightly. In this way she could still see where the girl was, just by using her other senses.

Inwardly Manya began to scold herself. How stupid she’d been for leaving her mask back in the classroom. She made a mental note to never do it again. Complacency was the enemy and she’d obviously let the absence of people in the classrooms at night get the better of her judgements. But at least the precaution of carrying the remedy with her was a good thing to have considered, she’d at least seen ahead in the event something like this happened to occur. Although it had still been her fault for letting her guard down… “Please forgive me…” Manya uttered yet another apology, having lost herself to her own mistake and subconsciously plagued herself with thoughts about the worst possible scenario. In her worry, Manya hadn’t even noticed how freely Lavender continued to speak despite the fact she should be paralyzed.

"What...?" Manya uttered in quiet confusion. She was certain she'd memorized all the students currently attending school at this academy and a girl named Lavender did ring a bell but... But that student was Human, at least that was what Manya remembered reading in the registry.

"I..." She wanted to be sure but if it'd just been a case of not looking long enough she really didn't want to induce a student to suffer the effects of paralysis just because of her curiosity. But even so Manya was fairly certain she'd laid eyes upon Lavender long enough to have manifested the effects, especially if she was human. Humans were normal creatures with no inherent magical history existing within their biology. For one to remain unaffected by Manya's Petrifying Gaze was unheard of and completely impossible. But then she did have an antidote just in case so...

Manya chanced a look at Lavender. Maybe if she minimized exposure it wouldn't be so bad... Squinting open one eye she beheld the girl within her vision. The girl was standing, seemingly unaffected by her gaze. "What..." Manya forgot herself and both eyes opened, revealing both of her silver-gray hues to the girl. "This is... really quite strange. I'm fairly certain the student registry identified you as Human and yet you remain unaffected- Ah! I'm sorry!" Manya released her hands. She'd subconsciously gripped the girl's face and had been staring intently.

"Ahem..." Manya closed her eyes and cleared her throat while giving Lavender the proper distance she deserved to have. "Sorry about that, I got a little caught up in the moment just now..." Manya glanced at the girl again from the corner of a single opened eye. Crossing one arm over her chest and resting the elbow of the other upon it, Manya then placed her chin between a thumb and index finger. "But this is rather odd... The registry states that you're human and yet the power of my eyes doesn't seem to affect you at all..." Manya opened her other eye and regarded Lavender once again with both, her brow furrowing up in growing contemplative confusion. "Ms. Lavender, is it possible that are you perhaps... not actually human?"

Manya listened to the girl's rejection of the proposal that she wasn't actually human, and even the assumption that it had something to do with the pendant around her neck. "Mmm..." Manya regarded the pendant with curiosity. So it was a magically enchanted item? But then if it were blocking her ability it could explain a few things but the only items she'd ever come across that were able to counter the power of her eyes had been mirrors and other reflective objects. If it was countering her power then Manya was more than certain she would have noticed with a nauseating backlash. "...I don't think so..." Manya stated, seemingly considering and contemplating the possibilities Lavender proposed. "If this item of yours really was countering the power my eyes possess then I think it would be more obvious."

Manya placed the book she held down on a nearby table before continuing to explain her counter argument. "You see, ever since I was born my eyes have always had a certain power... Whenever I happen to lay my sight upon a living creature this power activates, completely paralyzing them... Unfortunately I don't have any control over who it affects but thanks to some research that I've done I was able to discover that whatever power it is I'm cursed with, it doesn't seem to activate when I look upon a magical creature." Manya bowed her head before regarding Lavender once more. "Even though I can't control it I do become aware of when this power activates itself and looking upon you... It doesn't happen." Manya tilted her head slightly to the side and offered Lavender a grim smile. "While I have no doubt there do exist magical items which can block the power of my Paralyzing Gaze, there doesn't exist anything that could actually disable it's activation altogether."

Manya fidgeted. While she was certain of the realities, she hoped she hadn't come off as overly rude to the girl. "I am sorry, but that's how it is... Unless this pendant of yours happens to be some legendary magical device I've never heard of before, I can say with certainty that it isn't the cause, just as my Petrifying Gaze not activating whenever I look upon you is no coincidence either..." She'd come here to return a book and yet she was having a debate over the legitimacy of a girl's species label in the enrollment roster of the academy instead... In some ways it felt kind of mean. She was denying Lavender's certainty in knowing her own Heritage after all. Perhaps ending things here instead of continuing a debate would be the best course, Manya thought to herself as she picked up the borrowed book once again and headed towards the appropriate shelves to replace it. "If you'll excuse me..." Manya dismissed herself from Lavender's immediate presence before heading further into the library.