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"He's not cursed!" Kash said. "He's part of me!" Then she stopped, wondering what and where that statement had come from. "I mean, I was born with him. I don't like him, of course, he's mean, but he's not cursed! He's--" She blinked as Tyler took the snake from her, then her eyes widened as Bastian turned, coming to life abruptly and biting--

Tyler had him by the neck before his fangs could penetrate. "I see," he said, pulling it away from his hand. "Has he bit you before?"

"He--he bit Rhye," she said, her voice so tiny that it could hardly be heard. "But only in a dream, and Atreyu healed her." She reached out a hand, trying to take the snake back. Tyler didn't hand it over.

"You need to tell your parents about this," Tyler said, still holding the snake. "And then, if it is a magical thing, you need to talk to the staff about getting a restraint on it."

The black snake looked over at Kaimi, hissing at her in irritation. There was something about her that he didn't much care for, and he couldn't pin down what it was. It didn't matter, though. He didn't care for many people, to tell the truth.

"What restraint?" Kash asked. "Like stick him in a box or something? You can't really do that, I've tried."

"They know about him, they just don't know he moves," Kash admitted. "I didn't really think about mentioning it, because, you know, I've had him since I was born."

"The thing is," Tyler said, reluctantly handing the snake back to Kashmira. He watched as it slid up her arm and wrapped around her bicep. "I don't think there's a normal cabbage kid. Chris is obvious, but even the ones that look normal aren't quite. Special things like this," he said with a nod at the snake, "should be watched, both by the parents and the school."

"Kaimi's pretty normal," Kash said, defensively.

Tyler looked at her, watching her closely for a second with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Sometimes it's the most normal ones in the group that are the most... unique," he said calmly. "Like Antony, I'd think."

"I ain't never talked to Antony and don't wanna," Kash said bluntly. "He's too pretty to trust."

Tyler let out a laugh, ruffling her hair briefly. "You've been talking to Chris, haven't you? He says that, too."

"Antony is fine," Tyler said. "You just picked up on Chris's dislike of him, or something," he added, shaking his head at Kash as he went back to work. "But when you get home I want you to tell your parents about the snakes, got it?"

"Yeeeeeah," Kash said, not happy with that one bit. They would just worry!

Tyler hesitated, looking at the girl thoughtfully for a moment. "I know that Chris isn't possessed," he said slowly. "The reason he even has to do that is because his grandmother likes to be better safe than sorry. But personally, no, I don't know much about exorcisms. That's stuff better left to a priest, I think."

"Chris is our friend!" Kash said, about the family thing. "Every once in a while we go over to his house for dinner and stuff. But we haven't done it lately..."

"We'll have to fix that, then," Tyler said. "When Chris gets back from vacation."

"Okay!" Kash said as she stood.

"You've got five minutes," Tyler told them.

Kash looked at her in confusion. "They might be," she said slowly. "But that's because they'd be worried about me. And being worried and upset about someone means you care about them. Which is a good thing, right? And if he's right about there being a way to control him I'm gonna take it, you know?" She shrugged, bringing up her arm to look at the snake.

"I won't hurt you," Bastian whispered in irritation. "You're my precious one."

"Besides, he's creepy," Kash said. "I think I'm upset, so why shouldn't they be?"