Katherine the snake has been spotted by one very little shrine maiden! And what better thing to do after that than… a staring competition, considering the last time it happened said competition got cut short! She still doesn’t know snakes don’t have eyelids and can’t blink because of it: uh oh!
Look at this small human child, for she is looking at you, and to not look back would be rude. Clearly, this is a wise little human, seeing as she’s staring at you as if she were a snake. What could she possibly be pondering while staring at you? The logical thing to do would be to make a guess based on your own thoughts. Quick, what are they?
According to all known laws of aviation, a shrine maiden should not be able to fly.
Astounding. Clearly, from her intense focus and the lack of flying common to shrine maidens, paired with your thoughts about her, she is pondering what it means to be a snake. Unrelenting, unwilling to retreat or give up her ground. Yet, always watching, always pondering when to strike, and what to strike with. This child embodied all of the traits you like about snakes in a particularly non-venomous package.
It has to be yours.
Of course, you’re not going to wrap yourself around the child and drag her into the forest. There are more pressing matters at hand, like pride! All those snake-like traits above pertain to you, and you are bound by law to stay and stare back. After all, the wise thing to do in most scenarios is to strike second.
And so, there is not enough time for doting, not a second to spare for hissing, no attention to grant to the larger shrine maiden…
There is only stare.
And, you know, that tongue flicking thing that snakes do.
There’s that too.
