(OOC: Can I get any more cheesy with titles?)

Belial was hungry. This didn't happen often, because snakes didn't need to eat too often, but the twisting, churning feeling in his stomach was definitely hunger. Not to mention the loud growls the empty organ was producing—that was distracting.

He sighed and slithered through the door of Monroe's Family Diner (he wasn't a snake, though, but even as a human he tended to do snakey things), looking around helplessly. Was he supposed to seat himself? Was he supposed to wait to be seated? Argh, humans were so complicated.

Genesis strolled over to Belial in full waitress uniform, carrying around a clipboard.

"Hello and welcome to Monroe's Family Diner!" She smiled cheerfully towards him and began once more, "Are you alone, sir? We have a nice table open that you can ta-.." A sinking feeling had developed in Genesis' stomach. She shook her head and smiled once more, trying to ignore it.

"As I was saying.. I can lead you to a lovely table and I can give you a menue."

Uggh.. Just ignore it and do your job

Genesis made way to the small table in the back of the room. It had fake flowers sitting in a small vase. Salt, pepper, and the restaurant basics sat against the wall.

"Oh! Er, hello!" He looked at the girl, surprised, and all.

Well.

This was interesting.

"Ah..." How was he supposed to bring it up? In a room filled with people who didn't know about magic—well, it could make things awkward. He shifted from foot to foot, horribly wanting to ask but not knowing how to—at least, not knowing how to discreetly.

"Um, yes, I'm alone. Unless you'd like to join me? I-I mean, not as a date and all, just to, er, talk." He wanted to ask her, of course.

Are you a snake?

Because if she was, that would be terribly quaint. Knowing someone who had abilities like his would make life more comfortable. At least he would have someone to talk to. And slither with. Slithering with another snake was fun.

"Join you?" She seemed a bit startled at the question, and very confused as to why someone would ask her to join them.

"Well.. I am working overtime now.. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I stopped working. So they wouldn't have to pay me more, that is."

A loss for words.

Paranoia had begun to build up in her, making her nervous.

"Uhm, I'll be one moment. I need to change out of my uniform."

She shook her head, as if waking up from day-dreaming.. She began walking to the back room.

"Oh yeah.. My name is Genesis, nice to meet ya!"

"Belial," responded he. He smiled with what he hoped was charm (but in reality just looked a might bit snakey) and, well, stood there.

Where was he supposed to sit again?

He hoped he didn't look silly. It should be noted he did, because he hadn't been introduced to the comfortable position in standing where one puts their weight on one leg, slouches, and shoves their hands in their pockets. Instead, he was standing stick straight, arms to his sides, and head tilted up.

He looked like a military man. A serpentine military man.

Emerging from the backroom, Genesis was now in her casual wear. A earthy-toned sweater, jeans, and her trademark scarf.

She caught herself almost giggling at Belial's stance.

"You seem awefully stiff.. Have you forgotten where your seat is?"

Smiling, she pointed to a small table in the back of the room.

Not waiting for a response, Genesis walked over to the table and took a seat. She didn't seem as shy as she'd usually be.. Maybe it was because she was at her workplace. Or maybe it was him-- He seemed different from other people, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

What made him so different?

"Oh. Um, whoops?" Bashfully, he followed after her and sat—still managing to look graceful despite the fact he was most certainly being klutzy. It was as if his feet were too large for his body. Certainly felt that way, at least. He wasn't used to girls, really.

"Anyway, er..."

He wanted to ask her. Painfully bad. But there were so many things holding him back—would she scoff at him? Laugh? Mock him? He didn't think he could handle being mocked. Would she call him a freak, humiliate him in front of everyone in the diner? She didn't look like that kind of person, but looks were horribly deceiving. Just the other day he had let his magic slip (it was reflex, there was something flying towards his head, which ended up, well, being a bird. Actually, even worse, it was the bird's shadow) in front of the nicest old lady he had ever seen, and she had brained him with the bag of fruits she had been carrying.

But why would she mock him? She was a snake herself.

"I wanted to know, ah..."

She grabbed the salt shaker absently and studied it, trying to get the fact that he was different off her mind.

Looking back up at Belial, she smiled. She smiled a curious smile..

Genesis pushed back the salt against the wall, still looking at Belial.

"Hm? You wanted to know..? If you have a question you wanted to ask me, I don't mind at all."

What would he ask her? This made Genesis nervous.. What if he asked to go on a date or the such? She'd say 'no'.. In the politest way someone could say 'no'.

"I'm already dating someone." She blurted out. And was of course, lying to Belial.

He blinked. Then blinked again.

Then he crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed at her, much like he would to his little sister, leaning back against the chair. As if to say, "don't be silly". It was almost, but not quite, derisive.

Was he really that bad looking to be shot down so quickly when he wasn't even planning on asking something anywhere near those lines? He must be pretty shady looking. He let out a sigh and tugged at the cuff of his gray thermal shirt, the one under a comfortable short sleeved black shirt.

"I wasn't going to ask you that," he finally said, sounding a bit more relaxed now that the ice had been broke. In fact, it was pretty much sledge-hammered through.

He had a feeling she would mind this question, though.

She placed both hands in her lap and looked down. She began to blush, feeling terribly embarressed at what she had said to him. Could she be any more of a ditz? Maybe.

"I.. I'm sorry. Really, I just-- I didn't mean to just say that. I'm just nervous, thats all."

She nodded, confirming to herself that she was nervous. A sigh escaped her mouth. Relief? It could have been the tension she was creating.

Looking up again, to Belial's face, she gave a nervous grin.

She was the one creating the tension, and making this harder than it really was. She made bad situations worse, nervousness and paranoia controlling her. That, and she was a bit over-apologetic.

He really wanted to ask her the question. It was important, really. Important like a cigarette would be to a chainsmoker. A hit of yay would be to a coke addict. A...

Since when did he become so morbid?

He opened his mouth to ask and said,

"This is silly."

It really was. How was he supposed to word it? 'Yo, you a snake? Well, then, what up, my serpentine home-dawg?'. Oh yeah. That'd be slick.

He sighed and drummed his fingers on the table, trying to think of a way to word his question. Epiphany! ..no, that wouldn't work.

"Look," he finally said. "Do you know about magic, or don't you?"

Blunt enough. Broad enough. Left him wiggle room and a chance to slither away, if things got messy.

She stared at him seriously, unblinking.

And then, a laugh.

"Pfft.. Are you serious? Like Harry Potter? Suuure, I've had magical fantasies. But no, I don't believe in magic or anything like that."

She shook her head and smiled at the idea of magic. It was things she dreamt up in her childhood, a world full of magic. Why, she even had an imaginary friend. But that was beside the point.

"Wait... Why do you ask? Well, why do you ask me? Infact, why didn't you ask someone else?"

She began to ponder about this. He did seem different, but she couldn't tell how.. He looked like any other guy on the street. She wasn't attracted to him, that wasn't it. It was different, thats all she could tell.

Poor Belial. He had always prided himself in being dashingly sexy (and the only one of Poe's characters who really could be described as 'dashingly sexy'), but it seemed as if girls were never attracted to him. In fact, the general consensus seemed to be slight appallation.

Poor, poor Belial.

"Harry Potter?" He blinked. "Who's that?"

Shaking his head, he took a napkin and fiddled with it, ducking his head down. "Nevermind about that. The Harry Potter bit, that is. I'm asking you because you are like me."

Simple enough. He hoped she understood.

Genesis quirked an eyebrow. He didn't know who Harry Potter was? Everyone has to know about Harry Potter! Maybe he didn't read, or go to the movies, or have any friends, or.. Why was Genesis so concerned if he knew about Harry Potter or not?

"Like you?"

Another puzzled look appeared on her face. How in the world was she like him?

"I don't see.. Uh, how exactly, we're alike. We seem quite different, really."

She didn't understand.

He had a feeling she didn't know what she was. Just a gut instinct. Maybe also because she wasn't as excited as he was about the prospect of another naga around. There weren't many nagas, really, which was always odd for him because it was such a great species, really. Snakes are cool.

But it didn't really hit him that she really had no idea what he was talking about until that very second.

"We're more alike than you apparently know," he murmured, taking a napkin. With his limited aesthetic abilities, he rolled it up, then bunched two little 'eyes' at one end.

It really looked nothing like a snake.

He held it up and expected her to know what the hell he was talking about.

Genesis looked even more perplexed than she was before. And what was he doing with that napkin? Was he trying to make something? She couldn't tell what in the heck it was.

"Uhm.." She pointed to the napkin attempting to be a snake, "What exactly is that?"

She would of laughed at the silly looking thing, but she was more curious. And it may hurt his feelings, hes trying to tell her something; something important.

She stared at the napkin longer, but was still at a loss.

Random thoughts crossed through her mind. Maybe he was crazy or something. Shrugging mentally, she sighed again.

He looked down at the napkin snake, then frowned and crumpled it up. He was trying his best here, to speak without saying anything, but it really was quite impossible when it came to this. Unless he was telepathic, of course. Which he wasn't.

"It's not like I could flat out tell you what I'm trying to say. At least, not here."

Nimble fingers toyed with the ridges of the napkin as if it were some sort of instrument.

Why not?

He flattened out the napkin, drawing on the surface with a blunt nail.

Because she wouldn't believe me.

He couldn't bring himself to keep his hands still—simply enough, he was a bit nervous. He fidgeted when he was nervous.

Who cares?

"You're a snake," he said finally. "Just like me."

Silence.

How was she supposed to respond to something like that. A snake? Like him? Impossible. Snakes don't look like humans. Snakes can't become human.

"Is.. This some sort of joke? I don't understand it. A snake? You're.. You're just crazy! I can't be a snake! I'm human, you see that. Perfectly normal."

She looked down and nodded to herself. He had to be insane. Crazy. Something. She appeared frightened now, and on the verge of tears. But she didn't know why. Maybe it was the paranoia.. What if he was right? No he wasn't. Theres no such thing as magic. Or snakes who like humans.

They were all lies.

They just had to be.

He had a feeling that would be her reaction. Actually, he had been positive that would be it.

"I'm certainly not crazy." He wasn't either. It was obvious in the clarity of his eyes, the normality of his smile, the relaxed way he sat. "And, contrary to popular belief, it's perfectly normal to be a snake, too. I feel kind of bad for you, not knowing you're a snake until now."

He offered a sage nod, still doodling on the napkin with his nail.

She shook her head wildly at the thought.

Then an idea hit her.

"You have no proof! There, you're wrong. Besides, I can't believe in something as silly as that!" Another nervous laugh as she whiped tears away from her eyes.

Thats right, he had no proof. And there was nothing that could change her mind. He didn't seem crazy.. So this had to be some sort of joke. Yes, a joke.

Some one must have paid him to do this to her. Some friend being silly. Yes, yes.

She grabbed a napkin and placed it in her lap. Genesis began to tear away at the napkin, still horribly confused and nervous.

"Oh, I have loads of proof."

The diner wasn't that full, but it wasn't exactly empty, either. He looked around quietly, observing the customers, noting how they weren't paying a wit of attention to either of them.

"And I would take offense to you thinking our race is silly, if I wasn't under the impression that you are in denial right now."

He placed his hands on the table and gave her a rather quirky grin. The serpentine part of him (which part, you may ask—the whole part) was sadistically amused by this whole moment, drawing out her fears and worries and toying with them with a twisted flick of his tail.

Almost cheerfully, he scoot to the shadows. To everyone else in the diner, he wasn't there—merely a shadow himself. To the woman across from him, he was possibly a pair of glinting, amused eyes, an outline of a Cheshire smile, a sloping curve of a face and neatly combed, a colorless line of slender shoulders and a narrow torso.

And then he was gone. Poof. Well, actually, there were no theatrics to his 'disappearence', just a fluid sort of shrinking—too fast for the mortal eye to really pick up. In fact, it really wasn't a disappearence. It was more like a replacement.

A slender snake was stretched where Belial was before, reaching towards the table, amused tongue flicking at the surface as if to say 'here's your proof, sweetheart'.

Wisely, he stayed out of her reach. He didn't fancy being stabbed by a fork or mauled by a saltshaker.

She was stunned. Staring at the snake, only letting out small whimpers.

So he was right? Genesis had experiance with other magical happenings but dismissed them as daydreaming, illusions, something that wasn't magical. So Belial was a snake, and he said she was too. What did this mean?

"I.." She crossed her arms on the table and put her head down, not saying another word.

She was adopted.. So her real parents were snakes? Maybe this was just a horrible and long dream. But.. She couldn't stop denying it anymore.

"Why do you always wear that scarf, Gen? Its as if you're cold-blooded!"

Cold-blooded..

Immediately he shifted back to his regular form, looking faintly worried and dismissing the fact that somewhere, during the shifting, his shirt ended up backwards. He sighed silently, wishing he could get a hang of being able to shift correctly.

"Miss? Miss? Are you okay? I'm sorry for scaring you..." He didn't dare touch her, having a feeling she might bust a vein if he did. "Do you need some water? I can get you some water, if you'd like..."

"Water.. Water would be nice."

She lifted up her head and glanced at Belial. Her face was red and she looked more tired than before. Brushing off the napkin pieces from her lap, she shook her head. This was different, she was a snake.

How many others weren't human in this world? How many were snakes? And did this mean she could become a snake?

"Genesis" She murmurred under her breathe.. She didn't like being called Miss, it made her feel old.

Well, what an emotional rollercoaster.

"Yes, of course, I'll be right back." Abruptly, he pushed himself to his feet and hurried to the counter. After a very brief misunderstanding (the waiter thought he said otter), Belial hurried back and crouched by her side.

"Come on, now, it's really not that bad. Except for shifting back. You have to get used to losing your clothes, once in awhile." He looked faintly embarrassed, remembering the countless times he had ended up accidentally naked in front of people. How humiliating. "But who knows, maybe you'll have a natural knack at it!" He put the water in front of her, then made an encouraging sound, as if to say 'drink up and feel better'.

She grabbed the glass of water and stared at it.

"Ya'know.. Monroe's has terrible tasting water." A smile appeared and she began to gulp down the water. It was pretty bad tasting. That was city water, for you. She set the glass down, now half-empty or half-full with a sigh of relief.

"I don't know how to transform.. And I'd probably lose my clothing in the proccess. That'd be embarassing."

She turned to Belial, "So we're snakes? I mean.. Does that mean any snake can transform? Or.. We're different?" Another smile, "I ask too many questions."

Absently, she had taken the glass of water and began to drink from it again.

"Not all snakes can turn into humans," Belial corrected gently, understanding that this must be a horrible shock for her. "Just like not all humans can turn into snakes."

He wondered if he could explain how to transform. That was kind of impossible, at least on his behalf. It would be like, trying to explain to a color blind person what green looked like.

"Just give it a try. I don't know. Think reallyreally hard about becoming a snake. I know you're one, though."

"I don't know," she looked around the diner and came back to Belial. "Well," she continued, "Not here at least. Some one might see." There weren't that many people in the diner, but enough to put off Genesis' attempts to become a snake.

"And I don't want to transform back and end up losing my clothing.. Or something." She added with a confirming nod.

Scenarios piled up in her mind-- Her boss sees her become a snake! She ends up nude in the middle of the diner! She is now Satan to the diner-goers! What insanity all of that would be..

He nodded sagely, as if he completely understood. Which he didn't. How could someone not want to turn into something so glorious? He gave a half shrug. "Well, all right. But keep it in mind. It can be really useful, you know?"

He looked around, to make sure no one was listening, then leaned closer and whispered, "and you might want to learn how to do so before you 'accidentally' do so. I hear that's not pleasant."

He stood, then, stretching his arms over his head. "Anyway, I should be going. It was a pleasure meeting you."

She grabbed his arm quickly and looked up at him, "Accidentally?" This brought on more fear in her mind.

"It can happen.. Accidentally?" This wasn't something she wanted to hear from Belial. Anyone would kill her instantly if they saw her become a snake, or so she thought.

"Please, please.. Don't leave, Belial. I need your help." She begged to Belial, really needing his help. She didn't want to be alone with all these new discoveries. This was too much to handle.

You're not human. You're a snake, yeeaah. Oh, one more thing.. You could transform into a snake accidentally. Well, bye.

Thats how she was feeling right now. That Belial just came there to make her life terrible or some nonsense. Genesis was not a very optimistic kinda gal.