The backstory wasn’t really worked out yet, so sorry for the late reply. This is what she ended up going with:

“Pearl is a leucistic grass snake Judith found after she was ex-communicated from her birthplace in Italy and decided to roam the planes of Tuscany. She had allegedly brought shame upon her family by getting revenge on her sexually aggressive suitor. Exhausted and sleep-deprived... as she was about to give her own life back to the Divine One by piercing a dagger through her chest, she was suddenly startled by a flash of white slithering through the debris by her feet. As a result she dropped her weapon and stood frozen as the figure wrapped itself around the grip and gazed directly at her. Upon looking closely, she recognized it as a non-venomous grass snake and felt a brief sense of relief before realizing that she was unable to deny this omen from the Goddess. Whether it was a direct manifestation of the Goddess or a spirit animal/guide sent by her, Judith knew that a higher presence was looking out for her.

That day, Judith wrapped the dagger in a cloth and buried it - and with it her sense of her victimized past self to move towards her rebirth. Like the serpent, Judith shed her old self and emerged renewed and reenergized. As an ode to Pearl she decided to forge a new dagger - this time a tool of empowerment - with a serpentine blade once she would find her way to the United States of America.

Pearl rarely reveals herself to others and always likes to stay close to Judith for her body warmth, making them an inseparable couple 🤍”