Mook was nervous that he was never going to find the mysterious girl. Granted that he had only seen her yesterday, he was already beginning to doubt that he'd ever find the petite figure. He frowned as he was once again left all by himself in the dorm. Deciding to go get some snacks at a gas station near the campus, he convinced himself to stand up. He did a quick hair fix with his hands and then slipped on his shoes. After satisfied with his look, he grabs his coat and flings it on. He heads down the hall, only to run into his roommate, Mr. History teacher. He stood there and patiently listened as he was being told a story about kids who don't put much and enjoy life by making friends and having fun. Mook wasn't oblivious, he knew what the teacher was trying to hint at him.

Mook was used to being alone. Aside from his mother, he was the only sea serpent in his village. It wasn't that he didn't want friends, he just didn't know how to obtain them. Do you bake them a cake? Invite them to dinner? Make them a card? Do a jig? How was he supposed to know? Mook wasn't exactly content with his lonely life, but he had always managed to find some sort of peace. His mother had told him stories of lonely people being the most loving people ever, but he wasn't sure if he'd be one of those people. His biggest fear was that others would only view him as a real monster. He didn't want to scare anyone. Maybe that's why he had chosen to steer clear of people the day before.

When the teacher had finally finished his story, he questioned Mook where he was headed off this late in the evening. Without hesitation, Mook stated that the story had inspired him to take a walk and make a friend. Seeing that the teacher got emotional and had to excuse himself to the dormitory, he figured that his plan on leaving the building had worked. As soon as he took a step out the door, he felt the air getting colder. Letting out a slight huff, he set off down the sidewalk that led to the gas station. However, as he was passing the courtyard, something in him urged him to stop walking. Suddenly, a male voice made its presence known.

"She said she was looking for her hair clip that she lost yesterday at orientation. Has she not returned to her room yet? It's been hours! Where could she have gone???"

Mook turned to see a small group of four, three girls and one boy, discussing loudly. Mook's eyes widened as he heard them describe the mysterious girl and her hair clip in detail. He felt his hand reach into his pocket and run his fingers along the engravings in the hair clip. Just as his thumb went to rub against it, he felt an electrical shock. Surprised at the result, he carefully pulled out the hair clip. At first, all was normal. As he went to rub his other other thumb against the engravings, it began to glow for him. Suddenly, seemingly out of no where, a blue mist formed a trailed in front of his eyes. He looked all around him, but no one else seemed to notice it. Determined that this had something to do with the mysterious girl, he cautiously began following it. He didn't mind if he didn't get the snacks he was looking for at the gas station. Finding this girl and making sure she was okay seemed more important at the moment. Attaching the hair clip next to his pin, Mook set off to find the girl.

~ ~ ~

Worry was now growing inside of Mook. It's been almost thirty minutes since the pin activated, but he still couldn't find the girl. He had wondered if the clip was even taking him to her. When he began doubting it, however, the trail began to flicker away. Now he was just focusing on not doubting the hair clip.

Just how far did she go?

Mook was nearing a building at the edge of the campus grounds. Starting to believe she left campus, he was ready to walk right past the unknown building. However, a third electric shock had stopped him. Glancing down at the clip, he closed his hand and headed inside the building. He peeked around into every room there, not finding the petite brunette anywhere. Determined to trust the school flames, he made his was up to the top floor of the building. She wasn't in any of the rooms in the building, so Mook began to think he ran into a dead end. The hair clip, however, flew from his hands just as he was putting it back into his pocket. Not wanting to lose his only clue on finding the girl, he ran after it. When he had finally caught up to it, he noticed that it had popped open a locker. Confused, he peered inside. He didn't find anything in the locker, for it was too dark for him to see. At that moment, both his school pin and the girl's clip let off a burst of light. He noticed a small gap at the back of the locker. He carefully opened it and closed it behind him. That's when he realized he was in a hidden room. Cautiously moving around the broken bits of furniture, he made his way up a small flight of stairs. As he opened the door, warmth of the sun flooded across his face. He shielded his eyes and walked onto the roof.

She was standing by the ledge, smiling. He realized that she was being at peace, so he didn't walk up to right away. Unsure as to how he should approach the girl, he stayed quiet instead. He decided to examine her a bit. She was quite pretty, especially in this sunlight. Her soft sighs were enough to make the hearts of those around her flutter. He felt himself smile just looking at her. That's when the gust of wind came. To keep her hair clip from flying off, he quickly stuffed it in his pocket. That's when he heard the yelp.

She was beginning to fall. Realizing that the gust of wind my have knocked her over, Mook dashed over to the ledge she was at. He quickly anchored his feet in place and grabbed her hand before she fell out of his reach. He sucked in his breath as he carefully pulled her up. Her soft exclamations of terror fueled him to get her back up to safety. He fell back once she was safely back on the roof. Letting out the breath he was holding, he sat up and looked at the girl.

"Are you oka-!!!"

The girl flung her arms around him. She buried her face into his chest, shaking and letting out quiet sobs. The feeling was foreign to Mook, but it was also comforting. Carefully engulfing her into his arms, he rubbed her back and let her cry in his arms for as long as she needed.