animeuss

The entire mishmash of lack of sleep, confusion, anger, disorientation, and especially hunger were starting to ferment into an evil brew, similar to something you’d make in Crewel’s class, something no-doubt evil that gave you a bonus headache mixed with churning stomach.

So rather than try to scavenge for anything left of your memory to even attempt at remembering who went which way, you instead chose to follow the path straight ahead, and hope you’d stumble across someone you knew.

Passing through the rest of the fast fashion sections of this entry ground-level, you gazed mournfully into the baby clothes store, sadly reminding you of how you’d planned on getting some more clothes for Grim since he’d just torn his last onesie.

He’d just gotten over a terrible cold recently, so soon that there were still lemon-flavoured throat lozenges in your pockets, and you thought it’d be a good chance to surprise him with a new outfit here today…

He’d even mentioned wanting to get a new bow for ‘special occasions’ whatever that meant, but with no Grim in sight, your eyes welled up while you stared into the shops window, some offended mother’s shooting you glares.

As you continued on, you couldn’t help but think of how it would truly be sweet if one of your friends happened to appear out of the blue with your precious not-cat at their side, bringing him around to you like a victorious prize.

Almost as sweet as the baked goods you smelled up ahead, waking you from the state you’d found yourself in, only to lull you into another, following the scent much like a cartoon character to a pie sitting atop a windowsill.

You didn’t even know there was a café at this level, and it honestly felt like an oasis in the desert when you eyed the welcoming glass display that opened out to a little terrace outside, tables filled with others enjoying a nice morning coffee and treat, chatting in groups, and enticing you to hobble on in.

Once your feet stumbled into the little shop of baked goods, you were met with an incredibly familiar sight, warming your heart ever so slightly more, hope rising.

Inside the little baked goods cafe, sat Cater, Trey, and Riddle, each one of them enjoying a treat, whilst chatting about the dorm, the dorm leader and vice sat facing the terrace where other patrons dined outside, while the influencer faced the entrance.

“Yes, I do think it to be the case. He was caught breaking rule 468, never wear plaid on Wednesday of an odd month, and smeared red paint over his dorm uniform when he fell into the rose bushes while we were preparing for the last croquet match!” Riddle sounded off, proceeding to take a rather large bite of his slice of strawberry tart.

“I know it was a real mess he caused, but I still don’t think you should’ve ‘beheaded’ him on the spot, you’re supposed to be working on that, remember?” Trey tried to counter, setting down his pain au chocolat.

“For real! You’ve been having great progress Riddle, don’t let a silly ‘lil accident ruin all that just because someone broke some minor rules.” Cater boosted, taking a nibble at his own piece of spicy chilli sourdough.

“I… suppose you’re right… it was a rather miniscule infringement… But I would still like him to write an essay apologizing for his crimes.” “Uh, how about we shorten that to a paragraph...?” Riddle sighed in defeat, only for Trey to pipe in, attempting to minimize the punishment further, for whichever poor student lost his head.

“Oh, hey Prefect! I totally didn’t notice you there!” Cater waved you over to join the small table, the other two looking over their shoulders to see you at the entrance of the shop.

“Hey guys!” You waved back, starting to calm slightly at seeing your other Heartslabyul friends chatting away.

“Morning Prefect, did you come by for a snack?” Trey questioned you, adjusting his glasses briefly, although the rumbling of your empty stomach to answer for you.

“Well... I guess I could use something.” “Great! It’s on me!” Cater announced, jumping from his seat to go up with you to put in an order.

“Oh, you really don’t have to!” “I insist! Besides, I need something sweet to add on my Magicam!” He winked towards you, making you laugh, knowing you’d never catch him dead or alive eating a sweet treat that wasn’t tampered with a certain someone’s magic.

He brought you up to the front of the shop, planting you in front of the menu, giving you a second to give it a once-over.

“I’d suggest the coconut cream cold brew, I’ve heard good things about it.”

“You have?” You weren’t all that surprised to hear from him about various popular items that’d trend around Magicam, he had quite a knack at keeping you updated in this Worlds’ Pop-Culture; albeit whether or not you were willing to.

What you heard next, did manage to cast a give you a slight shock.

“Yeah! I actually just got a text from Kalim not too long ago, he said the coconut cream cold brews here are to die for!” The foxy ginger then shoved his phone in your face, showcasing a selfie of Kalim who’s smile shone bright as the sun, holding up said drink, while Jamil already seemed exhausted in the background of the photo, proving that for once he heard this personally from word of mouth, rather than someone’s aesthetically pleasing blog.

Upon hastily ordering the tastiest thing you saw on the menu, Cater threw his thaumarks the cashiers way, roped you over to the waiting area, then went back to tapping at his phone once more.

“I also happen to know they have an amazing black drip coffee, but someone is cutting me off.”

He childishly stuck his tongue out to Trey, who tried his best to defend himself.

“Hey, you’ve had plenty caffeine. I’m used to dealing with the first-years and their sugar rushes, but you and caffeine are a serious no-go. Look, you can barely text with how bad your hands are shaking…” Trey gestured to Cater’s trembling hands, shakily trying to send a misspelled message to the Pop Music Club groupchat.

“Puh-lease, I’m fine! Aren’t I Prefect?” He teased you, giving you a light shove, that possibly because of the caffeine made him hit a little too hard.

“I dunno… You’re a little… Off…” You said, staring into his squirrely, jittery eyes.

“Psh, I’m great! I feel fantastic! Hey! Why don’t we come by here sometime, just ourselves? You wouldn’t cut me off, would you?” He narrowed his eyes, leaned in, and batted his eyes.

“Uh…” You looked to Trey for help.

He did nothing.

“I have your order for you.” The café employee shoved your bagged snack and drink your way, you picking it up, ready to take a vicious, feral bite, like a beast in the wild, when a quick flash went off.

“Cute! Got my pic! Let’s sit down!”

Cater grabbed you once again, sitting you down beside him, you facing opposite Riddle, although between bites of the sweet pasty, you noticed immediately took notice of his strained face.

Riddle seemed put off by something.

“Uh… Riddle…? Are you ok…?”

You questioned softly, your ‘kind Prefect’ senses starting to come back to you after eating.

“You… haven’t any tea or lemon…” He mumbled dryly, slumped to the back of his chair.

“Oh… Sorry…” “It’s nothing… Still something I’m working on I supposed.” Riddle sighed, white-knuckling the edge of the table so hard you swore he was about to burst a blood vessel.

He was probably still upset about his own misbehaving student that you’d heard before you came it, therefore you breaking the rules on dining was probably about to make him blow.

“Well, if it helps, I have something lemon flavoured…” You posed, his grip lessening for the moment.

“Oh…? That may help…?” He worded as more of a question, watching you pull the last lemon throat lozenge from your pocket.

The last evidence of Grim you had left…

Sticking it out for your friend, you popped it into your mouth and forced a smile.

“See? Lemon! It’s good! It’s… great…!” Your eyes grew wet, forcing you to look away from the boy, him growing curious, if not completely concerned.

“Sorry… I just, I really miss Grim… I miss him a lot…” You sighed

“Whatever do you mean? If he isn’t with you, who else could he be with?” Riddle probed out of you, brow raised, trying to spot any grey fur nearby.

“Ah, I do remember Ace and Deuce said something before we left about your group coming by today. But, we haven’t met them yet.” Trey then also looked to you for an answer, fetching a napkin for you to dry your eyes where thankfully no tears spilled (yet).

“Yeah, something came up…” You spoke under your breath, suppressing a sniffle.

“Really? What happened?” Trey asked, raising a brow in concern.

“We lost Grim…” “What?! And you didn’t tell us sooner?!”

Cater immediately looked panicked, nearly dropping his fourth coffee, making Trey grab it and place it far away from him, deciding based on his reaction he’d had way too much caffeine now.

“I couldn’t if I wanted to… He… kinda has my phone…” You looked down sheepishly, waiting for Riddle to hound your for being irresponsible or the like.

He didn’t get the chance though, not when Cater basically threw himself at you to hand off his phone.

“Here! HERE! Take my phone and call him! Now!” Cater panicked, much more than he would’ve ever normally, Trey turning to throw Cater’s abandoned fourth coffee into the trash.

Swiping through his phone to find your number, you pressed and dialed, waiting for your sweet boy to growl at you to come pick him up wherever he was.

Until it went straight to voicemail, the familiar thrum of your own voice telling you that you missed the prefect and to call back later.

Using Cater’s phone provided no use, meaning one thing.

Your phone was now dead.

"How strange... When he came by not too long ago, he mentioned going back to find you." Riddle pondered, drawing you in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. He came by and you said nothing?!" You almost yelled at the tiny ginger.

"In all fairness we thought he found your group, and you might've paired off is all! But I did see him headed towards the escalator..." Trey hummed, glancing behind you, where you saw the escalator.

It went down.

Meaning one, final thing.

Well, looks like you'd be exploring more of the mall just like you'd wanted...

After quite… an eventful few weeks, and with the added return of the school’s notorious other prince, you decided it’d be nice to get away with your friends, enjoying some time out of the pressures (and overblots) of school, and finally breathe.

A ‘Bestie Day’ one could call it.

And hey, what better way to spend a bestie day, than at the newly opened mall on the big-island, just a 30-minute ferry away from Sages Island?

It seemed like nearly everyone else from school had the same idea though, considering all the familiar black uniforms you saw on the ferry here, along with the larger clusters you saw once you stepped inside.

Everyone else must’ve heard of the ‘Grand Opening’ from Magicam you guessed…

Which brought you back to your current time and place.

Standing in front of a big glass screen which you’d hoped to be the malls map, but instead delightedly showcased the smiling face of international celebrity Neige LeBlanche, who waved right back to you and your group of first years.

“Just tap on him again, I’m sure you’ll get the map.” Jack tried, only for you to turn around, shooting him an annoyed look.

“No. I already did that, and all that got us was him replaying that stupid message again!” You shot back, incredibly hangry from deciding that sure, you’d leave with your friends first thing in the morning and get food at the mall, only to run into the damn thing you thought was supposed to be a map guiding you to your salvation (the food court), which of course, turned out to be your doom with this damn message replaying over, and over again!

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, we’re all getting hungry too, but it’s not our fault we don’t know where the food court is-“ “Oh, it isn’t?” You shut Deuce up, turning your gaze over to Ortho, who visibly tensed, holding his hands in defense.

“I-I already mentioned! I scanned the website, and database of The Well’s systems, but they haven’t uploaded any public access to the map yet! Only my brother can give me access to look any further!” “Then have you asked him?” “Dude, we all know he’s not even awake yet.” Ace answered for you, slurring his words a bit, so still probably half-asleep himself, considering how he drooled on your shoulder the whole way here, despite the intense rocking of the boat on the choppy water making you nauseous.

“Fine. Fine, what other options do we have then?” You looked back to the little robot, until someone else piped up.

“I mean… we could keep wandering ‘til we find it, or we could try to find a help desk?” Epel dared to ask, then chose to revert his gaze to the ground in fright, as if he was speaking up to his own Housewarden.

“Really? A help desk? Don’t you think we would’ve run into one at this point?” You gestured to the surrounding area.

“To be fair… this is only the first floor…” Deuce muttered while your brow twitched, all until you realized something.

A certain fluff for brains had yet to voice his opinion yet.

“Grim…” You breathed out, your hanger now replaced with worry.

“Oh, calm down, he’s right here-“ Ace started then stopped, once he noticed the little grey guy was in fact not with the group.

“Grim!” You yelped, heart racing, when you nearly shoved your way to the other side of the crowd, eyes zipping around for any trace of grey fur or a forked-tail, but none were visible.

“Ortho-“ “Scanning for Grim.” He answered you, a blue ray scanning the visible area, but a resoundingly depleted beep, followed by a flashing red light answered your next question.

“No lifeforms similar to Grim’s are detectable within close proximity.” “Grim…”

You gasped, your whole body coursing with adrenaline.

“Can you remember what he was doing last?” Jack asked, coming closer, hoping to calm you down, only for you to dodge it, going over to a nearby bench.

“He was sitting right here, playing on my phone…” Your mind could practically still see him there, replaying the scene of him playing some stupid colourful mobile game, that was no-doubt equal to dangling keys in a toddler’s face, and tapping away at various microtransactions that he came across.

Not only were you now lost in this labyrinth of a mall, but you now lost your Grim and your phone.

“Hey, we’ll find him, we always do.” Jack came over to put a large hand to your back, which had crumpled under the weight of severity that’d suddenly been brought upon you.

“He’s probably nosing around some store close by anyways, he couldn’t have gotten that far.” Deuce confided, coming to your other side, and giving you a reassuring look.

“If it helps, we could split up ‘n take a look around. Bet we’d cover more ground that way.” Epel added, but far enough away where he felt safe you wouldn’t maul him for one reason or another.

“Yeah, let’s split up and we’ll meet back here in an hour if we find him, then we’ll look for the food court, sound good?” Ace looked to you for confirmation, a hint of fear also still hiding away in his voice and overall body-language.

You nodded though, giving a quiet ‘Yes’ as a response, the rest of your friends letting out a gentle ‘huff’ of relief.

“Great, why don’t you sit tight for a minute, and we’ll be back with Grim, got it?” Deuce stood up, while you gave another small motion of agreement before waving your friends off, deciding that you truly needed to take a breather before you gave yourself a panic-induced ulcer.

The boys huddled together in a small group, choosing which ways they’d split off, each one diverging onto a different path, leaving you alone to close your eyes, and bask in the ambience of the mall.

All of which lasted for a solid two minutes until you realized the most horrifying fact: Grim was lost with your phone.

Rolling over, letting out a fussy groan before sitting up, you glared at your phone one last time, then groggily slid out of bed, into the cold, unforgiving morning.

After hastily finishing your morning routine, you didn’t even take the time to make breakfast, instead choosing to make it his problem that you weren’t fed this morning.

You grabbed your half-asleep Grim, who still dreamily murmured about tuna, and silently wished you could sleep in just like him without worrying about being ‘presentable’.

The walk to the school building itself wasn’t much of a hassle, at least not as much as you’d assumed it’d be if you were in one of the other dorms, having to traverse all the way to the mirror chamber, then trudge through the icy Main Street, but luckily you were already on the grounds, nice and close to the large castle.

The only not-nice thing was the blistering cold wind that seemed to slap you in the face the second you stepped outside.

Most of the other students had actual outerwear, prepared to brave the cold winter Sage Island brought, but you on the other hand were ‘graciously gifted’ an old, worn faculty-issued Night Raven College jacket that looked like it’d survived through the entirety of the schools founding, what with its moth balls and messily patched-up holes.

Wrapping the matching, itchy scarf around your face for even the smallest addition of protection, you made your way across the seemingly abandoned campus, being kind enough to keep Grim tucked inside your coat, his furry slumbering body keeping you a bit warmer too.

Once you managed to lumber inside the castle, all while fighting through an absurd amount of snowbanks; you shook yourself off like a dog, letting the scarf hang across your neck freely.

Looking around it was as if you were early early, seeing that no staff members were even around, just you, your not-cat, and the dimly-lit chandeliers that guided you up to the Headmages office, beckoning you forth with a flickering warning.

Not even bothering with a polite knock to the door, you instead shoved it open, and slid into the chair opposite his desk, slipping your extra layers off, dripping the snowy, mushy water to his carpeted floors out of pure pettiness.

“What is it now.” You asked briskly, ignoring the loud ‘squawk!’ that erupted from him at your unannounced presence, followed by rustled crunching while he tried to hide a package of his favourite honey cookies from your prying eyes, the crumbs still evident on his suits vest and desk.

“Ah! Prefect! How wonderful for you to make it on time! I will kindly dismiss your uncouth display of behaviour by coming into my office unannounced… But seeing as you are my favourite student, I will forgive you!”

He tilted his head and even grew a small smile to emphasize his statement.

“Right… But seriously, what happened this time. Did the fairies steal another integral magestone again? Did someone graffiti the biodome? Did another kid drop a diss-track about Crewel on Magicam again? Or was it another bad review left on the schools site you want me to scrub off, what?” You repeated over the multiple things you’ve had to clean up to make sure the school, and Crowleys reputation remained as spotlessly clear as the schools famed Dark Mirror.

Which you were due to polish next Tuesday.

“Ahem, it’s not an issue with the school’s integrity this time, although there is a slight problem with… well, the more administrative side…”

“You don’t say.” You took to petting your sleeping Grim in your lap as some sort of stress relief, already growing weary at what sort of task he’d shovel onto you now.

“Yes, you see it appears as though we’ve come to a particular decline in the schools budget, and thanks to my intuitive self, I discovered that the notable portion was coming from the amount we’ve set aside for club activities.” He proceeded to explain, but the mere mention of ‘the schools budget’ had you tense and even squeeze onto Grims scruff, the not-cat letting out a small sleepy grunt in protest.

Being the only student from another world, without a home or anyone to care for you, you were ‘considerately’ taken in by the schools Headmaster, benevolently cared for, and cherished in the rickety shack of a building commonly known as ‘Ramshackle’.

On top of that, you were carefully ‘gifted’ a set income meant mainly for groceries and the like by your new Guardian, but if you were lucky enough, maybe you could scrounge a few thaumarks here and there for some more personal products (or a couple extra tuna cans if Grim was good that month).

Of course, the money had to come from somewhere, the ever-gracious Headmaster couldn’t just support you out of his own pockets, he had he his own expenditures to cover – so the money came from the school’s own funds.

You and Grim were expenditures of the school.

And the school was reaching a steep decline in funds.

Grasping onto Grim, you tried to hide your nerves and play cool, but it was awfully difficult since anyone could put the pieces together in this situation.

No wonder the Headmaster called you in here so early, he was going to make you stretch your already stretched budget, or worse he might even just kick you and Grim out into the cold streets just forgetting you both considering it was the easiest and most obvious option.

When the Headmaster cleared his voice, you were brought back to the present, trying to shake yourself of any other potentially horrendous possibilities when he continued.

“Naturally, since I’m ever so kind, I couldn’t ask you to strain your own allowance.”

He perked, your heart actually beginning to settle at his words, starting to brush Grim in a more calm than rigid state; although his words did confuse you…

“Then what exactly are you going to do about the budget? You can’t just bleed the school dry.”

You asked, voice raised an octave higher than it should’ve been.

“What a clever student you are! You’re correct, something must be done to correct this crisis, which is where you, my dearest little fledgling, come in!”

He clasped his hands together, practically cooing you in, while your face fell slightly.

It was only natural that your contentment would last only a second, but at least you wouldn’t have to eat water soup for dinner.

“What do you want now?” “My, what eagerness! I do have a course of action planned, seeing that the main drainage of resources is coming from our renowned clubs, I will be tasking you to observe each of them, find the source of our budgetary woes, and discard the club swiftly!”

“What.”

He announced this with the enthusiasm of a virtuous fanatic, while you sat shocked in your seat once again.

Having been at this school for quite some time, now beginning your second semester, you’d managed to make yourself many friends, friends who happened to be in nearly every club.

Whether it be sports or arts, your very own friends took great pride in their clubs, each special in their own way, showcasing their talents at the highest extent.

To that extent, it brought back a sudden memory, of a particular event that took place earlier in the school-year.

“Wait! What about Camp Vargas? I was the score-keeper for both rounds, so surely you could use the cumulative scores of each club to choose the weakest one, right?” You asked a bit desperately, not wanting to put in as much work as you knew would be needed to take on such a task, or worse risk being scorned by your friends for causing the downfall of their club.

“Ah yes, but I’m afraid the records of Camp Vargas have been… Inconveniently placed, so that will no longer be an option.” Crowley chose his words carefully, and to you, with a doctorate in ‘Crowley-to-English’ translations, knew immediately that he’d thrown them away.

“Great. So do you just want me to run around each club with a checklist, and audit each of them individually?” You asked far-too exhausted already at the very-thought, when the many rings and accessories on the Headmage jingled with delight.

“Yes! I’d very much appreciate if you would, my sweetling! It’d prove all-the-more how correct I was in choosing to care for you, isn’t that right?” He beamed as brightly as the mirror attached to his side, making you elicit a groan.

“Maybe you had a choice, but I sure didn’t…” You muttered under your breath, rubbing between your eyes to distract from the oncoming headache.

“Fine. It’s not like it’s the worst thing I’ve had to do here yet.”

You sighed, shuddering at the memories of all the overblots you’d handled at this point, and the thought of the inevitable many more you’d yet to deal with.

“Perfect! And I even have a small gift to make the job easier on you!”

The Headmaster spoke excitedly, actually managing to briefly draw your attention in for a moment in anticipation of what exactly it could be.

Digging a clawed hand into his desk, a cacophony of mysterious sounds ranging from chiming, to crunching, to ticking rattled about in that one drawer, all before his lips perked once he felt the item he was searching for.

Holding your breath, you couldn’t help but wonder if it could be another magical item, similar to your ghost camera, or the magic hammer that allowed you to fix minor damages in Ramshackle, and restore the Guest Room, or maybe even fairy dust for some reason, or-

Your breath was released the moment your eyes landed on the plain black clipboard that the Headmaster joyously waved about, as if it was the holy grail.

“Here you are, my precious prefect! To assist you on your important mission, I gift you this Night Raven College issued clip board! Look, it even has the logo on the back!” He tapped a golden talon to the back of the clipboard, which did indeed have the schools familiar logo of the raven with its wings spread across the Dark Mirror.

“Great… I’ll… definitely use it…” You tried your best to sound grateful, but thankfully the Headmaster ate it up, cooing delightedly at your sad attempt at a compliment towards his actions.

“Of course, my sweet darling! What a kind Headmage I am to give you such an important gift.” He dabbed at his water eye with the knuckle of his golden talon, even letting out a sniffle, while you grimaced at his overreaction.

“Now deary, run along, you’ve got much work to do! Oh my, and before I forget! Here!” He once again reached into his desk and threw a brightly red shining apple towards you.

“For your breakfast! I can’t just leave a little darling like you to starve, can I?” He laughed to himself, while you gripped the apple tightly.

“Right… Thank you…” You nodded politely, stuffing it into your pocket, tucking Grim back into your coat, and leaving out the door, all while the Headmage kept talking to himself about what a delightfully kind-hearted person he was.

Death itself was an unconquerable spell, one she knew she couldn’t fathom breaking, no matter how she’d claw and bite for freedom.

Somehow, she could still taste the remnants of blood in her mouth, a cocktail of her own and others, at the same time she felt a deep stabbing pain in her chest, going straight through her heart.

Whoever brought her demise had a good and true aim, she’d give them that.

The thought of her demise soon turning into rage as she began to roar and shriek into the nothingness ahead.

With a clawed hand clutched to her heart, there was no hole, nor wound, she was oddly whole, back to an untouched state of completion.

Looking at said hand, she couldn’t see it properly, it was as if it was nothing but a shadow, looking better at herself it was as if she was nothing but a shadow, no indication of skin, scales, feathers, or the like.

With this she began to take in her surroundings, making sure to keep her presence intimidating, dominating.

She may be foreign to this place, but she must still assert her power, no matter the situation.

Although dark, once she raised her head she took in the gaps of starlight, shining down on her and only her, likened to a spotlight.

  The world around her began to brighten now, presumably only now taking form, she could feel the sweet breeze of the night now surrounding her.

Soon she began to smell and taste her environment.

 A forest at night.

 Something about this cried ‘home’ to her.

Something else about this brought back a feeling of loss, like she’d left something dearly behind, only she couldn’t quite recall what…

Before she could focus too closely on that feeling, a sharp cry could be heard ringing through the trees, a loud and raspy one, quite ugly, like it’d been going on like that for hours.

Furrowing her brow at the sudden disruption, she began marching forward, hoping to silence the vile racket that broke sound her memory by means.

Once she arrived at the sound, she noticed the starlight also glimmering upon this… creature.

It looked to be only a child, a human child at that, still rounded and full of youth.

“Won’t you silence yourself?!”

She yelled with the most purpose she could muster, it echoing through the forest and shocking the little creature, it hiccupping in shock mid-cry.

Once the little thing saw her, it whimpered again, eyes still full of fat, wet, tears, looking on the verge to wailing again.

Before it could however, she crouched forward continuing,

“I won’t have you acting a fool in my presence! Much less making such noise!”

Seething down at the child, hair swaying viciously behind her and thunder erupting as if to accentuate to her rage.

This felt familiar.

Although her outburst did little to silence the child as it began to bawl again, now shivering and shaking, as the thunderstorm approached, rain now soaking the shuddering creature.

“What did I just say?! Can you not understand me human?!”

 She growled as did her storm, the child almost paralyzed in fear, yet still kept up with the disturbance.

“Answer me child, why won’t your snivelling end?!”

 A bolt of lightning drew close to the two, if she so wanted she could very well strike this child down.

“I’m- I’m alone!”

This stopped her storm, the response making her pause.

“Alone?”

She felt this, she’d also left something alone, that feeling of loss coming back to her again, bringing with it an intense wave of abasement, as she attempted to compose herself, straightening her back as she towered over the child.

“Alone! I.. I have no one! I just… just wanted to go home…”

The creature sniffled into its sleeve, shaking in its panic, barely able to speak.

She couldn’t help but tilt her head now, still fighting against her feelings, confused at this scene.

“I can’t go home… its not there anymore… No one is there anymore…”

It breathed, the shaking starting to calm down, glossy eyes looking down.

“… I have no home either.”

 She replied, eyes following the child.

“Why…?”

The child queried, voice soft.

“I do not know.”

She answered truthfully, leaning against a tree for support from the pain in her mind.

“Oh… Do you… you have a name…?” The child stuttered out, eyes glistening less with sadness, and more with interest in this new stranger.

“Perhaps. But I have no use for it anymore.”

She watched the child, now with a matched interest, as it looked her over.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not meant to exist.”

“Why?”

“You ask too many questions. It’s awfully rude ask so much of a stranger.”

 She glared the child down, only for it to giggle back.

“But you aren’t a stranger!”

 It boasted to her, switching to a confusion of her own.

“Oh? And why is that?” Her brow raised in mock amusement.

“Because we’ve met in a dream!”

The child nodded.

“We have?”

 She countered.

“Yes, this one.”

Well, this was certainly an awkward situation.

An immortal being, a deity of such an immense and unimaginable power was slain from unknown circumstances, and is now not in the afterlife, but in the dream of a human child.

“A dream you say?”

She began to approach this child, arms crossed.

“Yes, I’m in the hospital right now, I got sent here after… after… it happened.”

“So, you’re asleep then, child?”

“Yes I am, ma’am.”

 It nodded, keeping eye contact with her as she began to think.

“Hmm. Then I suppose I must have a reason for being here, haven’t I?”

She now sat beside the child, regal posture and legs crossed.

“Yes! Are you an angel?”

The child asked, now giddy with excitement.

The very idea though made her laugh,

“Hardly.”

 She scoffed.

“Then…” The child suddenly tensed again in fear.

She smirked, towering over the child again by facing it,

 “Nor am I a devil.”

The child huffed, as if relieved then sat in thought,

“What are you then…?”

It looked her over once again, confused until its face lit up, practically beaming with the light of the stars above.

“A fairy?!”

This felt right.

“I am.”

She answered, watching as the child gasped in shock and joy.

“Then you must be here to answer my wish! My stories always said if I wished on that star I’d get whatever I wanted!”

The child got up, face less puffy from tears, and redness going down.

“A wish?”

Was she truly here for something so trivial? Her power was better used on something more than a meek, crying child.

“Yes! And I already know what I want!”

The child took a deep breath, closing their eyes as they let out their wish.

“I wish to go back home!”

The child emitted with their full force, glowing with glee.

Without much thought, she went to reach at something inside, something nostalgic, something warm that breathed as ancient as she to bless upon this child.

But nothing came.

The fae blinked in mild shock, watching as this smiling child watched her expectantly, practically vibrating in anticipation.

The fae couldn’t understand.

“No.”

Was all she answered.

This caught the childs attention as they looked back up again, eyes locking back onto hers. “No…?”

“No.”

 She repeated.

“My magic is indeed strong, but no force be it mine or any others, can undo time. Anything that was lost… shall remain.”

 She answered, barely mustering it out as her own emotions of not only loss came back, but growing worry and regrets now eating at her again.

For whatever reason, the chord to her very essence had been severed, she was left empty and hungry, just close enough to feel what was missing, yet not enough to grasp, no matter how desperately she batted at it.

“But… but I need it! I need it! I need my home! I… I can’t be alone!”

The child shouted, eyes brimming with tears, fists clenched, and jaw tensed.

“I have already given you my answer. I cannot.”

She stood proud and tall again over the child, the two now in a standoff as she tried her best to hide the anxieties that consumed her.

“No! There has to be some way to bring it back! Please! I can’t be alone!”

 The child wept, losing themselves to their emotions.

The way this child cried… the way it wept at its loneliness… it reminded her of the thing…

 No, the one she’d left behind.

“I... cannot. You must make another wish.”

She’d nearly fumbled over her words, an occurrence that felt foreign to her; now in a battle against not only her emotions, but also her better judgement.

“Another…?”

The child sniffled out looking up with tearful eyes.

“Yes. You should be grateful I am giving you another chance.”

 She composed herself again, watching as the child fidgeted and sniffled, looking down once more.

“I… don’t know what else to want…”

 The child answered wistfully.

“Then… what if I made you a promise instead?”

 The fae knelt down to the child’s height, hands crossed gently in her lap.

“A promise…?”

The child asked, looking her in the eyes solemnly.

“Yes, a promise. I will promise you that you will never be alone.”

 She responded.

“I won’t…?”

“Yes, you won’t be alone, so long as you may need me, I will be here.”

 She explained delicately.

“… Why…?”

Was all the child could say.

“Because… I am alone as well…”

 She answered as best she could, devouring her deeper thoughts before they could escape her mind.

“Oh… Then I accept.”

With that the child left, and she was alone in the void once again.

“Oh! You’re back!” The child gasped in shock, watching the familiar silhouette they’d seen the night prior in the same forest shadowed by nightfall, the same sky still sparkling with stars, lighting up only the two figures.

“I made you my promise, didn’t I? I intend to keep it of course.”

 The silhouette of the fae drew closer to the child as it stared at her in awe.

“Really? When I woke up you were gone…”

 The child pouted slightly, watching as she began to circle them.

“I must only be able to make my appearance in your dreams then. Hm, strange.”

 She mused, as the child now tilted their head.

“Only in my dreams? But… why would that be…?”

The child sat on a mossy rock, holding their face in their hands trying to think.

“I am weakened. I must rest first before I can properly use my power.”

 She sat beside the child, in the dewy grass, their head turning to match her gaze.

“Oh. Would you be able to visit me when I’m awake then…?”

The child requested in desire, to which she hummed in response, bowing her head.

“I suppose, if that’s what you’d like.”

She responded, feigning carelessness, although greatly hoping she could see the outside world again, already growing sick of this lonesome void.

“Yay! Maybe when you come out, I’ll be able to actually see you, not just your shadow?”

 The child grinned, excited at the very idea.

“Perhaps,”

 Was all she answered with, smiling lightly to herself at this child’s excitement, a few small daisies blooming beside the rock.

Although once she thought about it, she couldn’t remember what she looked like.

 The only things she knew were what she could feel; those being her tall stature, clawed hands, glowing green eyes, heavy tail, and of course her menacing horns atop her head.

Even as a shadow, she was still quite a sight to behold.

“Wow! Then maybe you can come with me! I don’t know where I’ll be from here… But you’ll be there with me!”

The child squealed happily. Her child.

She smiled along now; even though the child couldn’t see, and held her now, as she was informed of her child’s day.

"Wait, you seriously walked all this way? Why?" You asked astounded, since he typically chose the laziest ways out of every situation, and even rarer was it to see him leave campus.

"Azul wanted me to pick up some tilapia for some new recipe he wants to try out at the lounge, so I thought I'd leave early since I'm in the mood." He took to trailing after you while you tried to turn the other way and run, his long legs easily catching up to your shorter strides.

"Wow, you're like never in the mood for anything though." "I'm always in the mood for you, Shrimpy~!" He teased with a wink making you fluster far too easily, backing over to the much safer canopies of the market.

What you thought might be preservation from this boy's antics only ended up leading to a more private moment with him, as hardly anyone was around, still too early for anyone to be bothered to visit the market, but only with the two of you in close proximity to one another, leaving an oddly intimate moment.

"Aha, yeah... Sure... You're always so funny..." You laughed awkwardly back to what you could only take as a joking statement from him, prepared to run deeper into the market, or maybe even into the ocean to hide from this freak.

Only he'd probably take that as an invitation to chase you down in your 'game'.

"Eh? I'm not joking. Is it so hard to believe I'm interested?" He said rather obtusely, face falling from its usual cheeky grin, into a more downcast, disappointed frown.

"I mean... yeah...?" You half-heartedly gestured to yourself, waving a hand around for added affect.

To be honest, you hardly ever caught anyone's eye, at least most-certainly not in a positive way anyways.

After having gone through years of watching your other friends or colleagues get fawned over and dated, you gave up on your chances of ever catching any hearts.

But this time, something felt different, especially in the way he laid his eyes on you...

"And? What's there not to like? You're just the sweetest Shrimpy and I want you all to myself hehe~!" He went to grab you with his long arms, but you managed to dodge under his taller frame, and swivel over to another stand that'd yet to be set up.

"Huh? What's this all about..?!" You huffed in confusion, still wondering as to whether or not he was mocking or genuine at this time.

"I'm getting real tired of your obliviousness Shrimpy. I like like you, is that what you wanna hear?" He crossed his arms falling into that same look of disappointment from before, but making your eyes shoot wide, and face grow hot in embarrassment.

"I- wow! Ok! That's... one way to do that!" You spoke aloud in shock, unsure of what to do.

"So? What'd you expect?" "I... I don't know! Some sort of love note, or chocolates, or- well anything else! People don't normally confess all... straightforward like that!" You panicked, trying to keep your voice low, scared to draw in a crowd at your hastily growing embarrassment.

"That all sounds like boring human stuff. I'd rather get it over with and nab you to myself now~!" He grinned approaching your already flustered and frightened self, backing off.

"Hey! I didn't say if I'd accept or not yet!" You rose your voice this time which made him stop for a moment in his own bewilderment.

"And? It's an obvious yes~!" He teased taking a step forward, but to be honest you barely had time to think.

There were so many pros and cons running through your head, and the closer he got, the more of a ticking time-bomb your brain became, as if it was running on red-alert.

That is until you realized a very key detail to the whole scenario.

"Grim's gone!" You yelled far too loud, drawing the attention of the shop keepers who were still setting up shop, and the few customers who were also here this early.

"Eh? Who cares where Sealie is-" "I gotta find him! Bye!" You took off as fast as you could, even managing to barrel past him running on pure adrenaline to get away, and plummet through an alleyway closer to town and as far from the docks as you could get.

Probably out of a state of shock, you weren't followed, giving you time to breathe, catch your bearings, and maybe even figure out where Grim went.

Sadly, the market was no longer safe for the time being.

Thankfully you'd managed to get most of what you needed, but maybe you could grab a few things at the shops here in town, then finish the rest at Sam's later-on.

"Myeh! Who said you could grab me?!" Aur naur.

You found Grim, but even worse; he's in trouble.

Jumping out from the alleyway, you sped in the direction of Grim's voice, finding him in the arms of someone possibly worse than Floyd.

"Bon journee, Trickster! Would you believe who I happened to stumble upon my morning bout?"

The Huntsman of Pomefiore had an especially toothy grin while holding a struggling Grim up to you by the scruff.

"Grim! There you are! I'm so sorry if he caused you any trouble." "Not at all mon ceour, any moment that brings the two of us together is a moment I shall cherish for eternity!" He spouted to your concerns, handing off the not-cat, brushing his gloved hand to yours.

"Yeah... So, I'll be going now, thank you-" "Pardonne! But could you spare a moment for me, oh precious Trickster?"

He grasped onto your sleeve a bit too strong, but you raised a brow since he was already literally holding you in place.

"I mean I guess...?" You answered, wondering what he was going on about now.

Although he was known for his... spells of romance, but something really felt different with you.

It was mainly in the way he composed himself around you, whereas with the others he'd still be overly exuberant, spewing out poetic nonsense about the dust on the floor, or the colour of the curtains, with you though he found a... strange way of appeasing every part of your being.

Even the parts that you'd hide, the vulnerable parts you tried your best to ignore or bury to the point of unrecognition, he still found a way to dig them up and cherish them in a way that managed to make even you adore it...

Which is why the fact that he dropped to his knee, swiping his hat from atop his head only to place it above his heart, and let out a dreamy sigh spooked you.

"My dearest Trickster, it would be give me the highest sense of honour if you would take my hand and join me in a blissful dalliance of love. I promise I will treasure you, comfort you! For a even a moment without you drives me into a transient sorrow, without any of your praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles, a man such as myself without your simple wiles-" "Ok Rook, I get it." You cut him off, taken aback by his sudden poetry, and too antsy still in fear you might run into Floyd soon.

"Then you must understand that you are my sun, moon, and stars! Without you there is no light to guide me through life, will you accept my plea for your company? After all, I happened to hear you prefer the more traditional route of confessions, oui?" He dramatized, your brow furrowing at the realization that he must've overheard what happened prior, then noting that (thankfully) Grim had run off again.

"Oh no! Grim's gone! I guess we'll have to talk later, bye!" You ran off before he could stand up, his calls for you muting themselves while you rounded corner after corner, only stopping when you were a safe distance away, and you'd spotted Grim.

"Ok, I'm going to be nice to you just this once and not be mad that you ran off twice today, since you kind of saved me from... weirdness. But don't you do that anymore." You scolded the not-cat, who bowed his head sadly.

"But I heard they were gettin' cookies, and I wanted one too!" He pointed over to a little baked-goods cart giving out free cookies to literal children.

".... Grim those are for little kids." "I'm little!" He fought, but... it was too cute to ignore.

"Fine. You can get one cookie but that's it." You gave him the 'go ahead' to get a cookie, and waited nearby, keeping a close eye for any extra freaks around.

Only for your phone to buzz in your pocket.

Pulling it out quickly, just to give it a once-over, just to see who of all people would be texting you this early, only managed to make you twitch your eye in frustration.

"I heard you're in town. I have a floral arrangement order I need brought to me immediately, a reward will be provided if you do this task, potato."

You truly didn't know how or why, but Rook must've told Vil he'd seen you, and the blonde took his immediate chance to put you to work.

So, after sending Grim on the first bus back, with the groceries, a fresh cookie, and a silent prayer he didn't eat them all on the way home, you went to complete the Fairest One's task.

Although you frequented the film club for a variety of reasons, today felt ever-so slightly different.

With a tight grip onto the flowers, you dodged between the bustling figures of both cast and crew members who panicked around the rented venue.

It was in an old theatre in the Foothill Town, Vil only mentioned something prior in passing earlier in the week about how this specific scene was needed to be shot about some star having a breakdown on stage with dramatic lighting, loud effects, and even louder makeup that accentuated their decaying mind.

It sounded like psychological horror, and honestly reminded you of a certain someone during a certain inky event of his life, but you chose to keep your mouth shut, knowing it was probably just some healthy venting he was letting out.

The stage itself wasn't that big since the island was so small, and not particularly known for its participation in the arts, but it still was rather grand.

There were gold embellishments, almost like wings or waves framing around the stage, while thick red velvet curtains were drawn back to showcase whatever scenery was chosen, this particular set design having a striking night sky with what looked like a matte painting of a pond in the background; a boy in a Octavinelle uniform was dusting a couple finishing touches of glitter to the stars.

Someone else in a Pomefiore uniform seemed less urgent than the others in his strides, giving a particular set-piece of a mock-garden set a once-over, before nodding to himself.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know where Vil is...?" You asked the student who turned to you.

He was awfully tall, not quite reaching the height of the super-model, but still towering enough that you had to crane your neck to meet his brown painted eyes.

"Oh? Are you a fan of his sneaking around for an autograph?" He practically snickered to himself, making you raise a brow in confusion.

Even though you were the only female student at school, you'd at least expect most of the students to recognize you by now, heck you were even very clearly wearing your uniform!

"No? He texted me to bring these flowers here, so I just came by to drop them off." You answered, probably not as upset as you should've been with this guy confusing you for some lovesick simp of a fan.

"Really? Well, I'm in charge of the garden sets, so you can just leave it here. I doubt he'd have it in his busy schedule to need you around much longer." The boy waved you off with a flick of his hand, making you furrow your brow deeper.

Although you'd dealt with ruder people, this guy was really starting to get on your nerves, so you set the heavy bouquet onto the very table he was just inspecting, then turned around wordlessly ready to leave, and maybe get a nap in at some point during this hectic day.

"And where do you think you're going, Potato." Ah! There he is!

You whipped around without a second-thought, meeting the amethyst eyes of the super-star who sent you on this very mission.

"Morning Vil! Sorry, I was just leaving, but I set your flowers on the table there. Good luck on the shoot today!" You went to face back around, but the sudden approach of his clicking heels halted you.

"You'll leave when I say. Now pick up those flowers and follow me."

He stepped ahead of you, his aura alone making your trail behind.

You noticed this around the ending of VDC, but most especially after his overblot, that with you specifically he tended to walk slower when walking with you.

Although it was far more natural to see him taking long, swift strides to-and-fro, with you he tended to take shorter steps, or even wait a moment before taking another to give you time to catch up with him.

Because of your shorter stature many of your friends managed to leave you straggling behind out of breath whether it be on outings in town, or even just rushing between classes.

Not him though, never him; which was something you quickly grew to appreciate.

After taking back the flowers, led you upstairs to a dressing room which looked as though it'd been converted into a makeshift office clearly meant for himself if the little addition of things such as a humidifier, essential oil diffuser, and the odd bottles of lotion or tonics were any indication.

"Please, sit, there is something I must discuss with you."

He gestured to the seat opposite himself at the end of the desk, and with a confused face, you sat onto the plum plush chair.

"Cool... So where do you want me to put the flowers...?"

"Keep them. They're for yourself."

His response brought you to a growing befuddlement, when you placed the elaborate bouquet in your lap.

"Is this some sort of 'thank you for your service' type thing? Because it's all good, I don't mind helping out –" "Silence. Let me speak." He shot you a disdainful look and you closed your lips, nodding respectfully for him to continue.

"As you know, you have been a great help to me, ever since we've properly met. You have seen me at my lows, but have yet to see me at my highs. During some... rather unsightly times of my life, you still stood by, and I must commend you for that." He toyed with the sleeve of his uniform shirt, something you'd seen him do in passing, enough to even out any wrinkles or flaws over himself.

"Yet it has only come to my attention recently just how much I must commend you for your actions... How much I have come to care for you, and by extent myself for seeing the beauty you truly possess..." His amethyst eyes began to glaze over in devotion, and let you know exactly what was happening in this moment.

"Oh! Wow! That's a lot of... feelings! But I um... better get back to Grim!" You rather loudly scooted the chair back from the hardwood floors, making Vil snap from his trance.

"No. I'm not finished." He narrowed his brow with contempt, making you wince slightly, but still did little to stop you from rising out of the seat.

"Thank you so much for telling me this, but I've got to get going now! Bye!" You waved to him and took off out the door.

Of course, your shorter legs didn't carry you as fast as the long, lithe supermodel, who just as easily jumped up from his chair and practically lunged forward to get you, but you used your smarts and slammed the door shut before he could, and took off down the hall.

After running out of Vil's office in pure embarrassment, you tried to make a break for what you thought was the exit in this labyrinth of a backstage, slamming the door shut with much more force than necessary.

Only to make it into a supply closet.

The only thing lighting up the closet being the light of blue emanating around the room, coming from a closed curtain where you heard the typing of keys, and mumbled groaning.

Nearly ripping the curtain from its hinges, in desperation to see who was behind, ended up being the person you'd least suspect.

"Oh what the hell Idia."

You huffed out while grabbing a hand over his mouth to stop him from letting out anymore loud sounds, honestly upset he of all people made your adrenaline rise in your already frightened state.

Clicking heels stomped by, pausing for a moment at the door, then a dramatic sigh sounded off, and the clicking continued on.

You let your own breath of air out once you pulled your hand from his mouth, fanning yourself to keep calm.

"What- what was that?!" He gasped, grabbing his head while the tips of his hair flashed bright pink.

"Vil's mad at me." You answered simply, keeping an eye on the door, waiting for a perfect chance to run back out, and make a break for the first bus back.

"That's not what I meant! I mean you- here- me!" He tried to stutter out, only to bite back anymore words, fearful of whatever catastrophe of a sentence he'd spill out next.

"Actually, you're right, what are you doing here? I don't think I've ever seen you awake this early. Or at the Film Club..." You asked, brow raised once you turned back to his overly flustered self.

"Gee it's great to see you too. But I do my fair share helping out! A lot of my dorm's students go to this club, I've just been picking up their slack since Ortho started coming around here. And I've been pulling an all-nighter working on the light effects..." He finally defended himself, albeit tiredly towards the end.

"That's... actually really sweet of you! Look at you being a nice big brother!" You gave him a playful jab, only making his situation worse.

"U, y-yeah!" His voice cracked, whole body acting as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"I answered my side, now you answer yours." He mumbled with crossed arms, making your roll your eyes.

"Fine, I only came to town to pick up some groceries with Grim, but then I got cornered by Floyd and I bet you can guess how that went, then Rook showed up, and now Vil almost go me!" You complained to the gamer in the vaguest way possible, but he seemed to understand your troubles.

"Yeah, sucks to be an extrovert." "I'm not even an extrovert! Everyone just clings onto me! Like seriously dude, I swear I haven't been able to go anywhere today without being mobbed! It's like every curve I throw at them, another one shows up!"

You grumbled to yourself, making him roll his eyes in mockery.

"Too bad everyone at school loves you, sounds like it's the curves their chasing." He snickered, which only made you whip your head around.

"Dude. Ayo?" You rose a brow in question to his sudden comment, his hair turning a bright nearly neon pink, which lit the room the subsequent colour.

"I mean – I'm just saying! Y'know!" He gestured with a swiveling motion around you, taking you aback for a moment.

"No! Not you too!" "I didn't say anything! I swear!" He panicked flustered, grabbing his hair and pulling it over his face.

"But – I – Seriously! It's more than that! It's you, nice – Ugh!" He groaned, pulling his hair to hide over his face, at a loss for words and in pure embarrassed shame.

"I'll – uh, talk to you later! Bye!" You took off, also in fear of the awkwardness, assuming it was safe enough to leave.

"Wait!" He yelled out from the closet.

You didn't listen to him, but instead kept on sprinting away in fear either he or worse, Vil would catch you.

Ortho's small frame was visible in front of you, he spun mid-air once he saw you running straight for him, even seeming to light up at your presence, and bid you a polite hello.

"Good morning, Prefect! Have you seen my brother-"

"HE'S IN THE SUPPLY CLOSET! BYE, I LOVE YOU!" You shouted, making yet another rampage down the halls, and straight out to the light of outside, hoping you'd make it out before anyone else could catch up to you.

After managing to escape the treacherous Film Clubs venue, you managed to compose yourself, and decided that it'd be safer to head back to school, since whatever was up with everyone in town seemed to be contagious, and hopefully the school's grounds had yet to be infected yet.

You also didn't trust leaving Grim alone with the groceries at home for this long would result in anything less than absolute discord.

So, you caught the first bus back home, to the safety of Ramshackle's mouldy porch, barely making it up the first few steps, before you heard the familiar chaos of your favourite card duo.

Merely poking your head through the front door showed the very disorder you'd come to know and eventually enjoy.

"No! You're wrong! The jam clearly has to go in the fridge!" Deuce yelled to Ace who went to snatch it from his tight hand.

"Are you seriously that dense? It can stay in the pantry!" Ace groaned trying again to swipe at the jam, Deuce barely managing to whip it away in time.

"No way! It'll spoil! Do you want the Prefects jam to spoil? After all the hard-work she put in to get the thaumarks to buy it?" Deuce nearly crushed the glass jar with how tightly he held onto it, causing you to jump to attention, running in to stop before things could get any worse.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on?" You asked, making the two boys jolt in their own shock.

"Ah! Morning, Prefect...! We just stopped by to see if you wanted to come over and help with some Unbirthday preparations but..." "We ended up getting side-tracked and started helping Grim put away groceries." Ace finished off Deuce's statement with much less reverence, glancing over to Grim, who contentedly sat on the couch with his little paws hanging over the edge.

"Hey! You guys asked what she'd like, and I said helpin' around here would be the best option! Not my fault you guys unpacked all the groceries for me hehe!" Grim laughed, kicking his paws up at his contentment.

"Grim. You should know better by now not to rope anybody into your chores. Say you're sorry and finish up." "What?! No way! They wanted to do it so bad, 'n I just let 'em!" He huffed, making you sigh.

"Fine. If that's the way you feel about then I might have a talk to Trey about your behaviour. I doubt he'd want to give you any extra treats this week with the way you treated his underclassmen." You pulled out a truly ruthless card on him, making the not-cat flinch.

"You wouldn't...!" "She would. And you better bet we'll put in an extra nasty word or two about you too!" Ace snickered at Grim's dismay, now waving his paws about in a panic.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry I got you guys to do my chores! You happy now?!" "I mean we would feel better if you helped us out too... Hey Ace, what was that rule again, the one about replacing something stolen?" Deuce teased to his roommate, either with or without knowing it'd stricken him particularly hard.

"Rule: 53, 'stolen property must be returned'..." He groaned out, lowering his head in contempt.

"Yeah! That's right! So you have to do something for us!" Deuce teased, balling his hand into a fist, catching it into his other hand and cracking his knuckles, as if preparing for a fight.

"Grrr! Hench-human! Do something!" "Sorry buddy, my hands are tied. You know how persistent these Heartslabyul boys can be." You smiled to him, while he groaned, dragging his feet beneath him.

"Fine! Let's just go to the stupid Mirror Chamber already and go through that stupid portal..."

Reaching the Mirror Chamber of the dorms, it was just as oddly cold yet whimsical as always, but you had little time to bask in the ambience of the various other students yapping away on their ways back to their dorms, or just setting foot onto campus, when you got shoved into one like bread in a toaster, popping out the other end.

Even though you'd been through this song-and-dance many times before with other dorms, it was still incredibly difficult to reorient yourself after coming through the mirror gates; Octavinelle happening to be the worst one.

Catching yourself on a nearby garden-stone, you pulled yourself up, and looked to the boys.

"So, what are doing first?" "A classic." Deuce grinned, only giving a subtle side-eye to Ace before announcing.

"Painting the roses!" "I still hate that mess." Ace finished off for him, clearly upset at having to keep up with that monotonously boring task.

"Hey, at least you have your magic this time, right? And you've been doing this for so long now, it should be a piece of cake!" You tried to hype him up, even giving him a pat on the back for extra assurance, only to get a scoff in retort.

"Heh, sure..." He sighed, shoulders slouching in disappointment, following Deuce's charge to the hedge-maze.

There were many other Heartslabyul students chatting amongst themselves in the garden helping to set up the tables, trim the hedges, arrange the croquet field, or just as you all were, painting the roses.

A larger chunk had already been done farther inside the garden, so your group stuck closer to the dorm's back entrance, where fewer students worked.

Within seconds, the boys whipped out their magic pens, Deuce being kind enough to set out a bucket and brush for you, then got to work.

Flashes of magic erupted throughout the bushes, and Grim already let out a strangled sound.

"Ha! You already turned a whole bush pink!" "Myeh! Not my fault I was thinkin' of red 'n white at the same time!"

Grim griped to Ace, trying to throw a blotch of ink magic at him, only for it to fall unceremoniously to the ground, just making the redhead laugh harder.

"Hah! You're just a 'lil sore loser!" "Oh yeah?! Well at least I get to spend more time with Prefect than you, with your big stupid crush on her!" Grim laughed back, making you drop your paint brush, then turn back to face Ace.

"What...?" "Grim! I told you that in confidence!" Ace blushed, glaring at the not-cat.

"Well so did Deuce, but he's no better than you!"

"Hey! Don't throw me into this!" Deuce's face went red, making you whip your head over to him.

"You too?!"

You gasped, eyes zipping between the two of them, but the duo staring at each other in equal shock, as if just as surprised about this news as you were.

"Sheesh, you two have been roommates for how long and ya didn't know?!" Grim actually fell over, and rolled on the ground doing a full belly chortle, even kicking his feet in the air at their embarrassment.

"It, it doesn't matter! Prefect, I-" "Knock it off! I met them first!" Ace yelled, cutting off Deuce's confession, making his blue eyes shoot wide.

"Yeah? Well the first time you met her, you bullied her for being magicless fought Grim, and got the both of them in trouble! Then you roped me, and got us all in even worse trouble!" Deuce yelled, making Grim sit up on his hind-paws, then jaw-drop at the realization.

"Wait! He did! Henchhuman, you gotta choose Deuce 'cause he's less mean to me!"

Grim cheered while Deuce nodded vigorously, only then noticing how you'd already run off to get away from those boy's mid-fight.

Now inside the dorm, you ran through the dorm, ignoring some random student yelling 'No running inside!', through a small crowd of students gathered in the parlour talking about homework, and eventually to the kitchen, where you knew you'd be safe for the time being.

Hardly anyone ever came to the kitchen, unless it was to snoop around the fridge, but on Unbirthday's especially everyone was oftentimes too busy with setting up outside, hardly anyone was ever inside the dorm.

"Oh? What're you doing under there Prefect?" Except Trey of course.

"Hey... What's up...?" You laughed a bit timidly from under the kitchen island, giving him an awkward little wave.

"Well, I'm setting up for the Unbirthday Party." "Yeah, me too."

You nodded from the ground, watching Trey wipe some flour from his brow, the pat his hand to his pants before offering it to you.

"Want some help up? Sorry I'm pretty messy today, heh." He politely offered you, to which you agreed, dusting the flour from the floor off of yourself.

"Do you need any help in here?" You peeked over to the left of him, noting the many cakes, cookies, and various other sweets off to the side, cooling.

"If you're offering sure!"

He mused, then gestured to a mixing bowl and some pre-measured ingredients.

"Think you could help me make the wet mixture for the tart crusts?" He asked, and you nodded, pouring then mixing each specific ingredient into the bowl.

It was difficult to put off the growing indent of a worry line growing on your forehead though, and especially the twitching eye, so the boy adjusted his glasses then cleared his throat.

"Is there something on your mind...?"

He questioned softly, stopping his motions of pouring batter into a cake pan.

Trey was a very genuine soul, and someone you felt you could tell just about anything to, words would flow easily when you talked to him, and by the end of it you often tended to feel lighter.

So, you decided to tell him about your day.

Telling him about your troubles throughout the day, of all the boys after you, and you being stranded there unable to make a choice, brought on by the suddenness of the situation.

"Wow. You sure had a... wild day, huh?" He sounded pretty taken aback, but you just groaned.

"I have! It's just been so exhausting! I feel damned if I do, and damned if I don't!" You sighed, trying to mix the wet mix calmer, since you were splashing it far too roughly.

"Still, I can see what they're on about."

"Trey..." You stopped mixing, and looked up to him with warning.

"I'm sorry! It's just that they're right, you are a catch...!" He defended, looking you up and down, while you huffed a breath of not only confusion, but borderline hysteria from these consecutive confessions, resulting in the same outcome the rest had.

Considering talking with Trey had the complete opposite affect of its intentions, you dashed out of the kitchen faster than you could think, wondering what was up with everyone today.

Reaching the beginning of the hedge maze, you tried to retrace your steps back to the mirror chamber to get out of here before anyone else could catch you today, when you ran into someone, making a paintbrush drop from their hand and splatter red paint all over their white uniform shirt.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! Are you-"

"Hey, Prefect! It's all good!" Laughed Cater, waving you off with a wink.

"Oh! Hey, Cater! Have you seen Grim?"

You asked, making the light ginger shift his head to the left, and point with a dripping paintbrush.

"Why don't you go ask the OG? He's watching over the freshies, so you go should say 'hi' to him!"

He flourished the brush about, making it rain thick red droplets all over.

"Ok! Thanks!" You nodded to the clone, only now noticing the garden full of clones running around gossiping with one another, all painting.

In a shadier corner, the original Cater stood tall, watching over your first-year buddies who were all collared and hunched over their work, having to use the traditional paint buckets and brushes.

"What happened over here?" You asked him immediately, your presence drawing a quick smile to his face.

"Hey there! The freshies got caught fighting again, but bad news for them because Riddle just so happened to be doing our rounds. I don't really know what happened, but I heard you get brought up a couple times? Anyways, Riddle was just fuming and collared them all then went to the gazebo in the centre of the maze to calm down. Now I'm on babysitting duty to make sure they all behave, haha!" Cater chuckled, giving you a light pat to the shoulder, while you grimaced.

You didn't think their stupid little competition would get that out of hand, and you certainly didn't mean to get them in trouble!

"I better go talk to Riddle... See you late-" "Actually, there was something else I was hoping to talk to you about!" He stopped you.

"Yeah?" You wondered if it was some sort of warning about Riddle being in a sour mood, he'd often give you advice beforehand on how to approach him, advice from his was practically like gold since he'd never been collared.

"I heard the boys say something about liking you~?" His tone suddenly switched to teasing, and you knew right away where this was going.

"I mean, a lot of people like me...?" "Haha, you're so silly! You know that's not what I'm talking about." He winked, but your eyes shot around him, trying to plot out a quick escape.

"Besides, they're just lil freshies, and you know I'd treat you better~!" He flirted, which was more than enough to tip you over the edge and with a hot face, you sped off once again.

Running, you grabbed onto Grim while he was mid-stroke, a squeezed 'UGH!' coming from him, bur did little to stop you.

"Huh?! Prefect?!" "Hey! We weren't done yet!" Your fellow freshmen tried to yell out, but you swiftly dodged away from them, getting deeper inside the hedge maze.

You didn't know where you were anymore, and you realized you should've just ran straight for the exit if you hadn't been so thoughtless!

"Where do we go now?! The exit was right there Henchhuman!" Grim threw a little fit, the heart-shape collar jingling with every motion he made.

"Just give me a minute, we can probably find another Heartslabyul student to point us the right way to go and be stealthy."

Soft humming came from one of the hedges nearby.

"Oh no! There's a lost little girl with her kitty in the maze! Someone should do something!" Gasped an especially dramatic voice way too loudly, making both you and Grim jump.

"Che'nya! Shut up! They'll hear you, and find us!" You yelled to the floating head who poked out between the nearest rosebush.

"Don't tell me you're on the run from the card soldiers too? I didn't know you had even a bit of badness in mew!" He wheezed loudly, making Grim cross his paws.

"Seriously! Shaddup! You're gonna get us in more trouble!" Grim twitched his ear, Che'nya still quirking a smirk.

"You're in trouble too Prefect? Here I thought you were just running from it all day!" He teased, you flustering way too easily.

"Hey! That's none of your business! What're you even doing here anyways!?" "Why it just so happens to be my Unbirthday, obviously! I came to celebrate with all my closest friends, and maybe catch a bite to eat... Say, why don't we play a 'lil game?" He beamed with narrowed eyes, but judging based on the mischievous face he had, you doubted the 'game' would be anything good.

"What." "My poor buddy Riddle is all alone in the gazebo right now, we should really go play with him! I heard he has a lot of treats with him too, I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing with us." At the ending statement he shot a wink to Grim, knowing the not-cat only followed the whims of his stomach.

"Henchhuman! We have to go play with Riddle now, myehehe!" He cheered, dancing circles around you, both of the 'cats' giggling in sync now.

"... Fine... We'll go talk to Riddle for a minute, but only because everyone keeps making him sound sad today. Then we're going back home." "Yes! Home!" "NO! Grim and I are going home, you're going back to RSA Che'nya." You side-eyed his cheshire grin, his fluffy purple-pink ears flaying aside.

"Oh boo, you sourpuss!"

He sighed dramatically, then swished his fluffy striped tail along your back.

"Let's go now!" He started pushing you while he floated mid-air, full body now on display, Grim running beside you, still snickering mischievously.

"Here! You go distract him while we get the goods." He stopped you at the edge opening to a secluded garden, then roped his fellow 'feline' away.

Stepping into the garden, you noted that it was completely untouched by the chaos that the rest of maze was currently engulfed by, students practically trampling over each other to finish getting the garden ready in time for the party.

Sitting solitary inside the shaded gazebo, was Riddle, taking a sip of tea, watching the butterflies drift about aimlessly, and muttering without pause under his breath, hints of his trademark 'red-rage' still fading off of his cheeks.

"Hey there Riddle! I heard you aren't feeling great right now."

You went up to the gazebo's steps, the boy jolting for a moment at the shock, then facing back to his tea.

"It appears no one in this dorm can hold their tongue." Riddle grumbled, before taking an uncouth gulp of tea.

Despite being sat in the gazebo, he still had a rather elaborate setup with his little confectionary treats arranged sweetly into a little tower, and tea set placed elegantly upon the dressed table.

"Heh, not from me anyways... But what's this about? All I heard was something about you getting mad at the boys?" You moved to sit at the table, across from him, and even moving to pour yourself a cup of tea from one of the many unused cups.

"... That is a matter I'd rather not discuss with you," The red blossomed back onto his face, just as it did to the red roses that grew among the hedges, which frightened you into backing off.

"Ok! Ok! It's still pretty touchy... Why don't we go on a little walk though? Maybe it'll help calm you down more?"

He thought about it for a moment, then gave you a curt nod and rose from his seat, you following suit.

"We haven't gone on a walk through the maze just with ourselves before, have we?" You asked, him humming back in response.

He was... uncharacteristically quiet, but it wasn't like you weren't unused to carrying a conversation yourself.

Leading him away, you saw the flick of a purple ringed, and in addition a forked-tail sneakily moving over to the food.

"Isn't it just beautiful out today? Like a golden afternoon!" You smiled, the boy hummed in agreement to that though, but stopped, and stared at one of the roses.

Despite the rest around them being red, a single one was painted only half white, the droplets of paint still dripping to the ground.

"I've heard it said that change is meant to be healthy. What do you suppose?" He asked you, but didn't turn to face you.

To be honest, the sudden question gave you a start, but you chose to answer it anyways.

"I think it depends. Sometimes change can be for the better, but sometimes it can be for the worse depending on the person. But... I think you've been changing for the better Riddle." You watched the boy press his lips into a thin line, him trying to hide from the shock that you'd read through his thinly veiled question so easily.

"Maybe you're right..." "My opinion doesn't matter though, it's all up to you if you want to change, and in what way." You told him, making his jaw clench.

"But... In what way would I have to change for you to love me?" Your breath stilled.

"Riddle..." "I overheard Ace and Deuce. I know you spend the most time with them, so it was only inevitable for someone to catch those feelings. So many adore you, I know I hardly stand a chance, yet... I still find myself wanting to keep changing my own ways, not only for my own benefit, but to see if it would keep you by..." "Riddle." You stopped him, before he could trail on.

"Whether or not I choose to stay shouldn't matter. Be good for yourself, benefit yourself, and love yourself."

"I..." His grey eyes were lit, contemplating on what to say next, but too lost in his own admiration he couldn't think of anything to say.

"There! I see her!" Someone yelled, someone who was chasing you.

Instead of looking to see who spotted you, you instead turned back to look for Grim, finding him devouring pastries, covered head-to-toe in crumbs, just the same as Che'nya.

"What...?!" Riddle voiced, red starting to rise back to his face, although this time not I an embarrassed way.

"Myah! Show's over! Let's get outta here!" Grim leapt from the table, and ran as fast as he could away, with you rushing behind, and Che'nya wheezing back at the gazebo, with four card soldiers chasing you, and a very angry Queen of Hearts demanding your immediate retrieval.

Tumbling into the next mirror, you quickly realized how much of a mistake this was.

"Grim. Out, out, out, out, out, out, out, out-" You continuously yelled, turning back and clawing at the literal magic bubble as it descended its way down into Octavinelle dorm.

From what you'd already seen with Floyd this morning, there was no doubt in your mind that he must already be back at his dorm, yet here you were climbing right into his trap.

Your clawing sadly did nothing though, not turning the bubble back to the mirror chamber, nor did it pop so that you could swim back up yourself.

Instead, this makeshift elevator floated right to the dorm's door, before popping once it safely the solid ground.

Quickly, you went to grab Grim and catch the next bubble up.

Grim couldn't be so nice though, could he?

Instead his instincts took over, and within seconds he was already giggling and running loose off to the Lounge, feet practically kicking up dirt behind him with the speed.

Seeing as you were left in the metaphorical dirt, you quickly ran after him, refusing to leave him to the 'sharks' or in this case 'eels', too scared to leave him alone at risk of him selling the dorm out for something stupid again.

Oh wait, that was you who sold the dorm for his sake.

Anyways, Grim was already running between tables within the lounge, all while you whispered yelled to him, and kept your head dipped down, for once grateful for your short stature.

"Grim! Get back here! We're leaving now!" "So soon? You've just gotten here, kheehee!" An incredibly deep voice chuckled from a nearby table, making you shriek, then duck back down out of fear you'd be spotted.

"Lilia! Stop scaring me dammit!" You held your heart, glaring at the short man who leaned over the booth he was seated at, resting his head comfortably in his hands.

On either side of him was Sebek, and Silver, who was of course fast asleep in his food.

"Wait... Where's Hornton?" "That is 'Lord Malleus' to you! And he was unable to join us this afternoon because he had previous matters to attend to!" "He broke his phone, and he went on an afternoon constitutional to calm down."

Sebek, aghast yelled to you, while Lilia clarified, then took a sip of his fruity concoction of a drink through the heart-shaped silly straw.

"Oh, I see." "Hey! Is that tuna tacos?!"

Grim's head poked out from under the table, near Silver's lap.

“Kheehee, what a clever nose you have there, Grim! It is our appetizer! We haven’t been able to finish it since Silver only wanted his mushroom risotto entrée, so feel free to have some!” “Don’t mind if I do!” Grim immediately jumped up onto the table, over Silver’s head, and engorged himself onto the plate.

"ACK! Restrain yourself, beast!" "Sebek's right Grim. Sit down and get a napkin bud." "I can't! I need my special mage's chair!" Grim whined to the both of you, making your eye twitch.

He was right though, although the booths may have been fit for just about everyone else on campus, whenever eating here with Grim he needed his 'special mage chair' to reach the table.

Normally, you'd go ask one of the twins to grab it for you, but seeing as you were hiding, you went out to the back yourself to grab it, and listen in on a little conversation from some Octavinelle students.

"Did you see the new update from the dorm GC?" "Ugh, no. What is it now?"

Two Octavinelle students groaned from just outside of the kitchen.

"So, it sounds like Floyd's been running around town all day, and since he didn't bring that fish back Azul's gone out to get it himself." "Really? What about Jade?" "Heard he's back at the main campus. Apparently, he spotted a rare type of fungi growing nearby on someone's Magicam. Then he called an 'Emergency Mountain Lovers Club Meeting' and took off running."

Sighed one student with exhuberance, only for the other to groan louder, and vent out,

"Are you actually serious?! Why's everyone else always messin' around while we're stuck running the lounge?!"

"Shh! Shut up! Azul could be back any minute and you know what he'll do if he hears you!" The other student shut up his cohort, shushing incessantly, then looking around with a paranoid watchfulness.

Overhearing that managed to make you feel the slightest bit safer hiding out here for the time being, so you decided to hang low and chill out with the Diasomnia gang for the time being.

Lugging the 'special mage chair' over to the table, the boys were already laughing loud enough to drag over attention from other surrounding tables, seeing that Grim was trying to snatch a bite off of Sebek's lasagna entrée, Lilia absolutely died of laughter, and Silver still out cold in his risotto.

"Prefect! Restrain your beast!" "The cheese is so good henchhuman! I think they used ricotta!" Sebek kept trying to rip Grim away, while the not-cat held on with the strength of a god.

"Here Grim, come sit down." Unlike Sebek, Grim knew by now that if he didn't listen to you, he didn't get tuna and crackers before bed, so he restrained himself well with you.

"What a healthy appetite you have! I hope you don't mind that we've taken it upon ourselves to order the both of you food as well." Lillia grinned, but you winced with shock.

"What! You didn't have to do that!" "Come now, it's only proper, seeing that you are dining with us! And don't worry about any payment, I've gotten it all covered."

He reached over the table to pat your hand.

"Thank you...!"

"Please! Don't pay it any mind! It is just a gift for accommodating to my boys!" Lilia teased, but Sebek seemed to immediately catch onto some sort of implication that made his ears burn and head whip towards him.

"AH! Lilia! I think that's enough-" "Now, now Sebek! You silly boy, why don't you go back to your lasagna, hm?" He shot the boy a teasing wink, which only added fuel to the fire.

"Don't you mind the boy, Prefect! He's just a bit flustred!" He laughed, ruffling the green boys sharply styled hair.

"GAH! That – that's – Lilia!" Sebek couldn't even form proper sentences.

"Haha dear boy! We all know how you quite favour the Prefect!" His bright red eyes narrowed at the hinting.

"Although I must say with my paternal preference, I see you and Silver going well together." Oh you caught onto what was going on now.

"Ah! Wow! That's sure... an opinion!" You tensed, looking over to Grim, silently plotting your escape.

The little not-cat didn't seem to notice what was going on, and was instead grabbing careful paw-full scoops of the sleeping boys risotto.

"Come now, there's no reason to be so skittish! Young love is always such a sweet thing! My, I'd even dare throw my hat into the ring~!" He half-joked with a taunting smirk.

But, that was the final straw.

You grabbed Grim, then ran out, the howling laughter, followed by the loud boisterous yells of Sebek echoing on your way out.

The noise managed to wake Silver up, who finally rose his head from the bowl.

"Hm...? Did I miss something...?" "Oh nothing dear boy, just the Prefect coming by." "Oh no... I had something to tell her..." He sighed sleepily from his father's response.

"Do not fret dear boy, if we can't reach then I have high hopes a certain someone else can." Grinned his father, already planning a wedding in his mind with one of his boys (or self) one way or another.

Somehow, you'd managed to safely find your way out of the lounge, and back to the mirror chamber, where Grim herded you to the closest mirror, you sadly not even noticing, instead just tumbling through, running continuously until you tripped over an elephant tusk then fell into something solid.

"AGH!" You screamed, grabbing onto whatever that sturdy thing was ahead, but managed to get caught.

"What're you doing here?" A gruff voice asked you cautiously.

"Ah! Hey Jack! Thanks for catching me..." You righted yourself, and looked back to Grim.

"We're here 'cause Riddle got real mad at us! And Diasomnia, and-" Grim yelled worriedly, jumping around with his paws flailing.

"Huh? What'd you do now." Jack shook his head to the not-cat, suddenly making the situation awkward, so clearing your throat you decided to tell him the half-truth.

"It was me this time actually... We just sorta crashed the Unbirthday Party, and we got... kicked out. The same thing basically happened over with Diasomnia too." "Oh yeah, that was today." Jack hummed to your answer, ears perking away from the dorm-building, and over to the Spelldrive field.

"Sorry, I can't talk too long. With that whole Unbirthday party, a couple Spelldrive club members couldn't make it, so Leona got a some of us Savannaclaw guys to fill in for 'em." His ears were tuned into incomprehensible shouting over that way, nothing your human ears could pick up, but lit a lightbulb in your head.

"Do you mind if we stay and watch? We don't have anything better to do." You asked politely, seeing that most of the Heartslabyul boys were probably scouting the Mirror Chamber looking for you, and the sooner you could get out of Savannaclaw's entry point, the better a chance you had a hiding from them.

"I don't see why not. Just wait over at the grand-stand and you guys should be fine." Jack shrugged, then led the way over to the field.

Making it over to the field, you spotted a lot more members warming up for the practice, and even Epel drinking some pre-game apple juice.

"Epel! Over here!" You waved him over, his head poking out from over the groups of taller boys, then sturdily shoving himself through to you guys.

"Hiya! I ain't seen you guys all day."

He quirked a small smile.

"Yeah. And because you were gone, we had to go pick up Vil's flowers for his stupid shoot." Grim huffed, sending Epel's brows shooting wide past his forehead.

"That was today?!" "It sure was! He said you didn't even answer your phone or nothin'!" He stomped a paw to the ground, his flaming blue ears pinned back.

"I'm sorry! I swear! I owe ya one!" "Get us some tuna 'n we'll be fine hehe!" "Grim. No. But it's fine Epel, just keep Vil away from me for a bit though..."

You grimaced.

"Huh? Did he get mad at you or something?" Jack finally cut in, nose crinkling in discomfort.

"Kind of? It's weird to say, but I just some time..." You stumbled over your words, when suddenly a loud whistle shot out.

"EY! Herbivores! Listen up! Practice is startin' NOW! So enough sittin' around braidin' each others hair 'n get to the field!" Roared a loud voice.

Leona stood there with his arms crossed, scanning over the crowd with narrowed, glaring eyes when they suddenly fell upon you, and he sneered, stomping his way over.

"As if losing nearly a quarter of my team wasn't enough, now I have these herbivores nosin' around where they don't belong."

"... Hello Leona, thanks for asking how I'm doing, how was your day?" You shot back to him sarcastically, when he growled, lithe tail swishing from under his Spelldrive uniform.

"I don't have the time to play pretend with you, so get out." He spat, only for the sounds of whistling laughter, followed by a gloved hand patted him on the shoulder.

"C'mon Leona! No need to be such a stick in the mud! This is the Prefect, she's all good shihihi!" Ruggie teased, going to poke the lions cheek, but Leona ripped himself from him, and even whacked him with his tail when he turned away.

"No. The inter-school matches are comin' up, and we don't have time to mess around. Today's practice already went down the drain with all our lost members, since Riddle can't even reschedule their prissy 'lil tea party." Leona growled, looking about ready to bite.

"Hey! Why don't we use 'em to our advantage then?" Ruggie brought up, one of Leona's ears flicked back in confusion.

"What're you on about now?" "Use the Prefect and Grim to watch our plays, and point out our weaknesses!"

Ruggie explained, causing Epel's eyes to brighten.

"Yeah! That's a real smart idea!" He cheered with his big crystalline eyes, Jack humming wordlessly in agreement.

Seeing that he was clearly being outvoted, Leona caved.

"Fine. Just stay outta our way."

His tail swished about in annoyance, but he nonetheless rounded up his team with a few more loud roars.

Heading up to the seats closest to the field, you tried to make sure yourself and Grim weren't too in the way when the game started.

As expected though, the match began with an immediate bang.

From what you'd noticed during the inter-dorm matches, each dorm seemed to have their own specific style of plays, some more strategic, and other's more reliant on physical brawn.

But, considering the Spelldrive club was a combination of nearly each dorm, they fused together with a perfect blend of each dorm's unique specialties.

The only exception to this were the Savannaclaw students that subbed in for the missing Heartslabyul ones.

You'd also seen Savannaclaw's signature playing style live at the prior Spelldrive match, and even got a taste of it when playing against them more times before, but the new players didn't follow the rhythm set by the other members.

When a Scarabia student passed the disk to a Savannaclaw student with a breezed pass, the student almost dropped it.

A Diasomnia student went to dodge a magic attack from an Octavinelle student, only for another Savannaclaw student to fall right into the offensive attack.

Worst of all, Ruggie attempted to maneuver away from a Pomefiore student chasing after him, disk raised just over his head, moving to weave under Jack who hadn't expected the move and nearly fell off his broom after the motion, which only caused Leona to call him off.

"Hey! Keep your eyes on the disk!" He growled, and as if to emphasize his remark sent a spark of magic in front of the first-years face.

Ruggie tossed the disk with a jolt motion of his wrist, sending it flying over to Epel who caught it, flying above, spinning over two of his own dormmates, then flying the disk straight to the goal.

His clubmates cheered, doing excited stunts in the air, some flickering bursts of colourful magic, and others simply just cheering.

"How many times do iI have to tell you? No showboating!" "Relax man, we've got it under control!"

Ruggie waved off Leona's anger, and guided the rest of the team down to the field for cool-downs.

Jack was one of the first to stretch out, grumbling things you couldn't hear, but you still approached him.

"Hey! Great game out there!" "Coulda been better..."

He complained, his stiff tail giving away his clear resentment to the match.

"It was just a little practice match, it wasn't that bad, and I swear I almost didn't notice how you lost your balance! Seriously bud, you're great. Spelldrive might not be your strongest suit, but Track and Field definitely is." You reassured him, giving him a good old pat to the back, and pretended not to notice his wagging tail.

"Thanks, I needed that." He went to scratch sheepishly behind his neck, then opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then closed it, facing away.

"Whatever, just... thanks..."

He skedaddled off past the bleachers, tail tucked between his legs the whole time.

"I'm gonna go check on the others, but I'll see you later!" You told Jack, who nodded back, and went back to his cool-down exercises, although the non-stop wagging of his tail didn't halt for a minute.

Going further through the field you spotted Epel, and went over to talk with him.

"Hey bud! You did great out there!" His blue crystalline eyes sparkled when they met yours.

"Gee thanks! They don't call me the Rookie Star for nothin', haha!" "More like nothin' ever calls you the Rookie Star, shihihi." Ruggie approached, slinking over to Epel.

"You're great, but you still need to polish up 'Rookie Star'!" He snickered, jokingly patting his shoulder a little too hard.

"Hey! Don't beat yourself up about it! I know you worked hard today, but that flinch you did before I threw the disk your way was a bad tell." He snorted, squeezing the shoulder of the little guy, who immediately caught onto the smack-talk, a snarl settling onto his round face.

"Oh yeah? Don't think I didn't notice you nearly slidin' off yer broom! Here I thought you were supposed to be some sorta' hot shot yourself?"

Epel fought back, the lessons of you guys smack talking each other paying off.

He'd asked you to help him build up a tougher skin not too long ago, after he started getting tired of the older boys constantly making fun of his tiny stature, or soft 'girliness', but after some sessions of berating with you, and even more time on the field, he grew used to the constant retorts.

"Look at you go you 'lil tiger! Since you're such a big high-'n – mighty guy now, why don't you talk to the Prefect about how you feel?" "Wha – Huh?!" Epel's 'cool' persona immediately fell the moment Ruggie brought you up.

"What about me?" You rose a brow and looked to Epel confused.

When the both of you had... first met, he certainly had a lot of ideas on 'women-folk', but you'd thought that as time went on, he'd grown to see women as people, and not... well the way he did before.

But what Ruggie mentioned about the boy's thoughts towards you honestly had you worried.

"It's nothin' really! Why don't you go see what Leona's up to?" "C'mon! He's fine! But look at the prefect! Now you've got her all wound up in anticipation! Now's your big chance!" He practically shoved the boy in front you now, his face redder than his farm-fresh apples.

"Ruggie, don't bully Epel." "I'm not bullying I'm helping! Besides, if you don't say it, I will~! Or I might even say how I feel first~." Ruggie's laughter rattled the poor lavender-haired boy's bones.

"Fine! Just get off!" Epel suddenly got defensive when Ruggie brought up something about telling you first, his face now red from rage, but softened slightly when looking to you.

"Look, I... I like you a whole lot... I know I'm not all about usin' those sissy 'n prissy words like Rook 'n Vil, but – yeah..." He admitted timidly, facing away.

So that was the type of feelings Ruggie was talking about!

But if Epel admitted that, and Ruggie himself said he had something else to share...

Ruggie didn't have to say a word for the realization and horror to fall upon your face.

"Oh! Ok! I think I hear Leona asking me about the game play? I better go, bye!"

You scooped Grim up and ran off, the hyena's wild laughter cutting off Epel's borderline angry shouts.

Catching your breath, you stopped in front of Leona who didn't face you, but instead watched the rest of his teammates not doing proper cooldowns, but instead laughing and chatting away.

"I'm surrounded by idiots, y'know." He bemoaned to you with a twitchy ear.

"Yeah, yeah. Did you want to hear talk strategy or what?" You asked, setting Grim down to roll in the dirt.

"So what? It's obvious today's practiced was stunted with the missing members. Look at them goofin' off, nobody was taking shit seriously, and now we're bound to be at the bottom again."

He normally never cared about what anyone did, so long as it didn't bother him or his plans, so whatever he was upset about clued you in that something deeper was going on than him being a 'good leader', especially from what you heard from Epel and his typical 'lack of participation' during club.

"Yeah? Because you love and care about your teammates so much!" You teased with exaggerating gushes, his glare hardening on his face.

"Shut up. Don't pick up after Ruggie." His tail hit you with a light flick, still staring out to the crowd that started to through playful punches at each other.

"It was just a practice match Leona, you don't need to impress anybody."

You tried to reassure him, but at mentioning the prospect of impression he gritted his teeth, as if biting something back.

"Dude. Seriously. I can't believe I have to tell you of people this, but you need to relax."

You made the subtlest motion closer to him, but he flinched off, pacing further away.

"I'm fine. Back off." He rumbled defensively.

"Ok! Fine, I'll find someone else to talk to!" "Tch, as if that'd be worth your time." "Why're you so weird today?!" You got genuinely upset with him.

After spending such a considerable amount of time with the prince, and especially after living with him however brief it may have been, you got used to his pissy, 'hot-and-cold' attitude.

But after the day you'd had, you weren't about to play nice with him at the risk of extending yourself too far.

"Seriously! Do you want me to go or not? You want to talk to me, but you don't? And what is with you being so weirdly clingy but distant?!" You yelled, he refused to back down, growling defensively, yet made no move to speak.

"What is your problem? You're never this – this weird! I swear, you're just acting as weird as everyone else today and – Oh. Oh, Leona..." You quite literally gasped, when you realized mid-rant what was happening, or rather, about to happen?

"Leona... No..." "It's impossible to not overhear the stupid herbivores when they're all yowling for your attention." He crossed his arms, and glanced back to the few who'd stayed behind.

"It's even hard not to catch anything after... everything." He huffed, his ear twitching in annoyance of his own emotions, but refusing to say anything outright.

"Leona..." "Don't. Just get out." "Hey-" "Out. Now." He flashed fangs at you, but the both of you knew it meant nothing, just an empty threat.

Either way, you decided enough was enough, and turned tail to leave.

"Leona! Leona!" "What now-" "If you gimme tuna I'll put in a good word for you with my Henchhuman." Leona paused, then actually grinned, patting Grim on the head.

"Smart namin' your price. Fine, I'll get it to ya later, now get out."

He ordered the not-cat to follow you out.

You made it out to the hall, running as fast your legs could carry you, practically bum-rushing anyone that came too close, and throwing Grim to the door.

“Go! GO!” You tried to catch your breath, and fell to your knees with great effort.

Grim burst through the crowds of people like a true little monster, leading the charge outside, and growling, only stopping once you’d thrown yourself down the stairs of the mirror chamber.

“YES!” You both cheered, even clapping your hand/paw together.

“I…. I think I need to lay down in a minute…” You groaned, leaning against the fence, but Grim shook his head, patting at you with little paws.

“No! We’re not done! You forgot somethin’ in town!” He cried, banging his front paws on your leg.

“Huh? What?” “TUNA!” He screamed, making your eyes nearly pop out of your head from shock.

How could you be so stupid to forget the literal most important thing while grocery shopping?!

“Aw crap. Well, the school store should have some, come on.” You groaned, lugging yourself down the path.

Thankfully, Sam’s store wasn’t that far around the path, and Ramshackle was even closer, so all you had to do now was grab a couple cans, then go home!

So, going up the rickety old stairs of the good ol’ school store, you walked in and waited for Sam to throw the good deals in your face the second you came in.

But he didn’t.

Looking around, you wondered if there was some sort of rush or something going on, but the store seemed relatively empty, aside from yourself and Grim.

Grim didn’t care if Sam was here to greet him or not, and instead went right to business, moseying on down to the canned goods aisle on all four paws, tail held high in delight.

You, however, poked your head down each aisle, wondering where you’d see his top hat pop out of, but instead saw him sitting at the register, nodding along to a duo of customers listing off a rather large purchase.

“LOOK! We can buy the coconut juice in BULK!! Then we can get some extra kinaffeh, and maybe some Scalding Sands chocolate, with the pistachios! Ooo, or some-”

“Just a 50 gram bag of 7 spice blend please.”

Kalim’s excited tangent was cut off by Jamil’s own restrictive order.

“Wonderful! I’ll have that order bagged up in just a minute lil imps! And I’ll be with you right after ‘lil prefect!”

The man winked to you and the end, then went back behind the curtain, although not without quickly pushing the attention over to you.

“Prefect! I haven’t seen you all day! Where’ve you been?” Kalim gushed with enthusiasm, Jamil only waving to you silently.

“Uh just out and about. Looks like you guys are restocking today too, huh?” You asked to Jamil who nodded.

“Yes, Kallim’s holding another party soon, so we’re getting things ready for that.” “And I came along just in case we needed to add anything to the list! Like did you know the coconut juice is on sale?!” The boy tried to answer you politely, only for Kalim to cheer on about his favourite drink being on sale, as if that mattered to is never-ending funds.

“Yep, that sounds great…” “On sale?! Henchhuman we need that!” Grim jumped in, stumbling over on two legs, his paws over-filled with tuna cans, some even tumbling to the ground.

“Grim! A few cans means maybe five at the most! And that’s definitely not five!” You scolded him, but the not-cat tried to stand his ground.

“Myeh! But I’ve been a good boy all day!”

“Still! We can’t afford all that if you want lunch for the rest of the month!” Your forehead wrinkled with the added stress.

You’d only just been paid your ‘allowance’, and you weren’t about to let the spoiled little guy spend it all on tuna.

“Is that all? I don’t mind adding it to our order!” Kalim laughed, making you twitch an eye then turn back to him, slightly embarrassed you’d berated Grim in front of him.

“What…?” “Really?! Can I go grab more?!” “Sure! Get as much as you want! Kalim laughed, actually running down to the canned goods aisle with the not-cat.

“Wait-“ “It’s no use. Trust me…” Jamil stopped you, crossing his arms and watching them disappear further into the shop, eyes fallen in fatigue.

It was fairly obvious that despite Kalim’s consistent insistence that he and Jamil were no-longer servant and master, but rather best friends, he’d yet to bring that into practice.

You could remember from even just a couple days ago, how Kalim dragged him around from class-to-class making him bring along his notes and schedules while he lazed about mindlessly.

Even two nights ago, they’d held a party because of a test that Kalim did well on (after Jamil drilled the answers into him during countless study sessions).

Jamil blinked slowly, standing-by quietly waiting for the order to be fulfilled, probably hoping to get back soon, finish the rest of today’s chores, and unwind with a nice bowl of hamburger curry, which brought up a small conversation idea.

“Hey Jamil, what do you think you’ll make for dinner tonight?” “I don’t know… Whatever Kalim asks for as usual…” He groaned tiredly, his brow twitching when he thought of the idea.

“I know you have to prioritize Kalim and everything, but just know you’re welcome over at Ramshackle too. I wouldn’t mind letting you make whatever you want, or even if you gave me some pointers I’m sure I could whip something up for you!” You tried to give him that one small kindness, the single promise of a sanctuary away from the constant overwhelming work he was tasked with back not only at his dorm, but home too.

“I’ll… keep that in mind.” He spoke carefully, his eyes opening to acknowledge you politely, but refusing to showcase anything beyond that, as if scared it’d fall from him.

There was a small breath of silence between the two of you, until he relaxed a bit and said.

“Actually… There’s something else I should say-“ “LOOK! We’re getting a whole pallet!” Grim cheered with Kalim, coming back from their excursion through the depths of the store.

“Oh wow Kalim! You really don’t need to…!” You tried to reason, and hint, that it was too much.

“No way! It’s the least I can do! Considering how you’re so nice! Plus you’re so fun and exciting!” Kalim admitted, as if you weren’t oftentimes giving him the bare minimum of human decency most times, and other times you were just acting as his normal friend.

“Thanks…? But you still don’t need to do this much!” “I won’t take no for an answer, haha! But there is something else I should mention…”

Oh no you had an idea where this was going.

“Aha! Thanks so much for everything Kalim! I’ll see you back at school-“

“it’s really important and won’t take long, I swear!”

He stopped you, literally blocking your path to make you listen.

Jamil didn’t step in yet, only watching on with bated breath.

"I really like you! I like your company, I like your voice, I absolutely like how you notice little things that other people don't, like that one time my eyeliner was smudged so you helped me fix it, or that one time you noticed my collar was sticking out so you tucked it in, or - well you get the point, haha! I just really appreciate having you around, and I'd definitely appreciate if you'd stay with me as more than friends...!" He beamed to you, as brightly as the sun, while Jamil stood off to the side, forced to shadow behind him and watch this happen.

"Really? That's very sweet of you but... I think I left the oven on back at Ramshackle! I'll see you later!"

Trampling out of the school store, you sped off with Grim at your heel up the path, past Ramshackle, and up to Main Street.

Wait, past Ramshackle?

Looking around, you indeed took off without thinking for the second time today, noting the statues of the seven that stared down to you.

Dammit!

You’d gone the other way towards Main Street instead of back towards the mirror chamber, then over that rickety bridge back to Ramshackle!

“Gah! Now we ran past home!”

Grim growled, but you quickly grabbed him, and hid behind the statue of the Sea Witch.

You could hear the jingling sounds of Kalim’s bracelets running up the path, and Jamil reprimanding him.

Staying behind the statue, you didn’t notice the tall figure who’s silhouette quickly engulfed you.

“Good afternoon, Prefect!” Jade bemused to you and Grim, the both of you quietly letting out a ‘mrph!’.

“I can’t help but wonder what the two of you could be doing out here, hiding behind the statues of all things.” He narrowed his eyes in a very ‘I know something you don’t’ way.

“What’re you doing out here Jade?”

You asked with equal suspicion, Grim nodding in approval.

“Why I happen to be out here studying to the local fungi.” He gestured to the little patch of mushrooms, reminding you of what those Octavinelle students mentioned before.

“Oh.”

“Which brings the attention back to you two. Kalim sounds awfully worried out there… Did you perhaps take something from him?”

He questioned, but his dual-toned eyes brimmed over with a silent implication.

“No way! We were good the whole time!” Grim fought back immediately, coming to yours (and his) honour with vicious regale.

“I believe you Grim, but I believe the Prefect might be in a quite different situation.” Jade craned his neck back down to you, who knew immediately what was up.

Whatever weird psychic-twin-thing was going on right now, you did not want to be caught up in it, and you especially knew you wanted out of this freaky trap now.

“I heard you’ve been quite the thief today actually, stealing from nearly everyone on campus.”

He mused with an exaggerated pity.

“I’ve heard you even took from my own brother!” He joked, before getting close to whisper in dramatically.

“I’d say you even took from me~.”

He spoke with such seriousness, your heart stopped beating.

“With such audacity, I’m sure you must know you’re due to repay what you took, yes?”

His eyes narrowed almost playfully, but you knew that despite the jests he’d made, he was serious to a fault.

“We didn’t take nothin’! Now scram you creep! You’re freakin’ out my henchhuman!” Grim tried to back Jade off, but since it was Jade he only laughed in the not-cat’s face.

“Bearing claws at me now? Did you learn nothing from your time at the lounge?” Jade once again laughed as though this were nothing but a game, although the two of you knew all too well what he was capable of.

So, with that, you made what you thought the smartest decision was in that moment.

Taking Grim and fleeing.

Jade didn’t make an attempt to chase, much to your surprise, but instead stayed by the mushrooms, equally entranced by the mushrooms it seemed as he was by yourself.

Because of this, you and Grim didn’t make much of an effort to hurry, instead speed-walking back onto the path heading home.

Going down the stairs towards the path of the hall of mirrors, you kept an eye out for anyone else you’d recognize, scared that anyone else would still be waiting around for you nearby, but caught a hint of curled silvery hair.

The moon was already higher than the sun in the sky now, and Azul seemed absolutely exhausted.

He was grumbling to himself, and holding paper bags of groceries close to his chest, angrily huffing with each step he took.

“Ah! Prefect! I weren’t expecting to see you here?” Azul greeted you, granted with some panicked fright.

“Hey Azul.” To be honest, you were severely exhausted, and in dire need of a nap , or early bedtime as soon as possible.

You were also the tiniest bit scared Jade followed you silently from Main Street, or worse, Floyd trailed Azul back from town.

“If you’d be so inclined, do you suppose you could.” “Nope.” “Are you sure? I think you’d find-“ “Not this time buddy.” You shook your head, energy too far gone to help him this time.

Although you’d normally go to the extent to help him out, with or without a tasty deal, you’d experienced enough… oddities for one day, and hoped to curl into a blanket and never see the cruel light of day again.

“Does this happen to have anything to do with Floyd’s… misbehaviour today?” Azul sighed, making you stop your walking, then pivot back towards him.

“What…?” “Yes. When I went to town after his refusal to pickup his phone, I stumbled upon him causing a ruckus at the film club, while Vil tried to restrain him from breaking anymore props. I don’t have the faintest idea how he wound up there, but Vil seemed already upset from prior to that, and he almost stabbed me with his nails when he berated me for not keeping a tighter leash on Floyd…” Azul bemoaned to you, completely depositing your attention into the story.

“Wait, so where’s Floyd now?” “At the lounge. I made sure he went ahead of me this time, since at least if he breaks something there no one else will scold me so brazenly…”

Azul gritted under his teeth, probably reminiscing on the memory of the rageful Vil.

“Right… I better get going now…” “Did I mention Idia was there too? My, he was a flustered mess for some reason. I’d originally went to talk with him about our next Game Club meeting, but it was impossible to get a word out of him! I know that’s a normal occurrence, but he was practically non-verbal! When I asked Ortho what had become of him, he mentioned seeing you leave the venue.” He eyed you suspiciously, and you grew weary that he was beginning to put the pieces together.

“Wow that sounds like a crazy day!” “I’m sure it was. By the sounds of it you had quite a ‘crazy’ time. Seeing that I ran into Rook on my way out, and he was quite… ‘eloquently’ telling me of how ‘love was in the air’ today.” Aw crap, he got you.

“It sure was…! I’m really sorry for distracting Floyd and all that, but I promise I’ll keep my distance and-“ “No, no, you misunderstand me. I think you’ll find I happen to be included on those affected.” He told you, but not without his own signs of embarrassment giving him away.

"I must admit however, I am rather jealous at all the affection from other's you've managed to catch, but I can't help but still admire you despite it. I... I have started to appreciate myself though, and I've allowed myself to simply... exist... So, I should thank you for that too..."

A very small smile crinkled at his lips, and if it weren't for the suddenness of the situation you might've opted to stay.

But you also weren't about all the nonsense today, no matter how heartfelt. 

“You are? I mean – I’m sorry! I just…! Would you look at that, Grim left on me again! See you later!” You took off, running back to Ramshackle while the octomer yelled after to you to come back.

“Today was awful…” “Myeh? What’re you talkin’ about? Today was amazing! Just look at all the potential suckers we have to get us tuna!” Grim cheered once through the door, all while you double then triple checked the locks, then went to close every curtain you saw.

“Hey! No extorting my friends just because they have crushes on me!” You yelled at the not-cat who jumped onto the beaten-up chair in the parlour, pointing a paw towards you.

“You ain’t thinking of the bigger picture, henchhuman! That’s why you’re lucky to have me be the brains of the operation myehehe! I doesn’t need to just be tuna, it can be human stuff too! Like… toilet paper! Human’s love toilet paper! And with all those options you have, you’ll be swimmin’ in the stuff!” He cheered, clapping his paws together delightedly.

“… They’re still my friends Grim, I’m not about to use them up like that. And… I can’t make a choice.” You answered him, plopping defeatedly onto the rocking chair.

That was a partial lie in actuality, you did have someone in mind, but…

“I can’t choose one person. Because if I choose one, then the others will get upset, and I don’t want my friends getting upset over something like that! Not to mention how awkward it’d be!” You fretted to the Grim, as if he’d understand, which of course he didn’t.

“Don’t be so glum about that! You should focus more on the important things! Like who’s gonna gimme the most tuna haha!” Grim rubbed his paws together deviously.

“Grim. Seriously.” You huffed from the chair, beginning to close your eyes, hoping to drift off somewhere away from all these weird problems, and getaway to a safe haven in your dreams.

“Fine then! Choose who ya want! I guess it doesn’t matter if he gets us endless tuna or toilet paper, as long as your happy…” He leapt from the couch over to the rocking chair, then curled into your lap.

His little response was right though, as long as you were happy, that’s all that mattered, and if any of your friends truly cared for you, they’d respect your opinion and continue to stay as friends.

“Hey! I can hear ya thinkin’! We’re nappin’ now!” Grim growled, patting a paw on your leg to get your attention away from your own mind.

“Yeah, yeah.” You smiled, petting him gently and closing your eyes, letting the sleep take hold.

Little did you know someone came over to the steps of Ramshackle, a container of leftovers that held the untouched meals that were left behind in Octavinelle.

Once the figure took a single step to touch the stairs of the archaic porch, a single knock echoed through the foyer, and a tired groan was heard from the rocking chair in the parlour.

“Child of Man? Is that you?” Malleus took caution not to make too much noise, taking into mind your ‘feeble’ human nature, then appearing inside the room, something he began to do more frequently after your consistent open-armed invitations.

“Hm…? Hey Hornton – Oh. It’s dark now…” You mused, poking your head out to the window.

“It has been for some time now… However, I come here on behalf of Lilia. He was… especially excited to send me on this quest, that is delivering your forgotten entrees. There also happens to be a pallet of gourmet tuna cans just outside the domicile.” He voiced quietly, moving to stand directly in front of you, holding the bag.

“Aw yeah… Food…” You sleepily drawled, staring at the bag with a swaying body.

“Yes, Lilia was very particular about it being me specifically to bring it to you… I wouldn’t happen to have the faintest idea though, would you?” His question made your brain spin to find an answer, but the exhaustion didn’t help, the only thing you could recollect being that you felt a sense of anxious fear the last time you saw him, which made you not only shiver but flinch.

“I see the subject sours your mood, I apologize.”

He bowed and apologized, albeit bluntly.

“I better put it in the fridge… I’ll see you later Hornton…”

You hummed again, then yawned, doing a grabbing motion towards the bag, although he paused before doing so.

“I should also mention Lilia had told me something else. That I should take this time to express how I feel, and take into regard that how fleeting mortality may be, I am also entitled to my own happiness despite it…” He continued on, but a rising pit of anxiety started to seep its way in a similar fashion to the nights chill.

“Because you see, I have grown more than fond of you child of man, I find myself loving you… and-“ “Nuh uh.” You cut off his love confession, shaking your head tiredly, green eyes widening in shock.

“I – Pardon me?” “I’m not gonna hear it. Everyone’s been on this craziness all day and I’m getting tired of it.” Your swaying body finally caved in, and you fell from your chair on then onto the couch, curling in on yourself, and wrapping a nearby blanket closer.

“Literally everyone today won’t stop confessing to me, and I’m scared to tell anyone ‘yes’ or ‘no’, because I don’t want anyone else getting heartbroken… So that’s a problem for me tomorrow…” You slurred out, closing your eyes.

“Oh, sweet child of man… you truly do not understand how cherished you are…” He sighed, then lifted you with ease using his magic, being mindful not to sway you too far, and carefully open your bedroom door.

He then used his magic to set yourself onto your side of the bed, smiling sweetly when your form melted into the bed

Grim was still half-asleep, only raising his head when the soft sounds of feet came down the stairs, expecting to see his human, but went defensive when he saw someone else.

“Hey…! You can’t just…!” “Shh.” Grim yelled with much effort, too sleepy to properly rise from the bed, but Malleus quickly shushed him, gesturing to you upstairs.

“Ah, and Grim, there’s one last thing I should mention.”

Green slitted eyes looked to the little not-cat.

“Huh?” Grim used a paw to wipe at his sleepy little eyes.

“Keep in mind I would provide you with the most tuna.”

And with that last statement, the nocturnal Fae disappeared into the night.

“… In a minute, I’m working.”

You responded, hoping that’d shush the critter.

“What? But I’m hungry now!” “I’ll give you your tuna and crackers once we’re off the train, ok?”

Your only response was a muffled grumbling, and the kicking of grey paws, making you sigh.

Working as a Case Manager for the Dragon Protection Agency, a small branch based off of the International Magical Security Organization was a job… not as interesting as one would think.

You were a glorified pencil pusher on lucky days, typically reading over cases, assessing whether the ‘monster’ (the professional term of any Direbeast wreaking havoc) was a dragon, or something else entirely.

In most cases it was ‘something else entirely’.

Dragons were a creature long adored throughout history for their unbridled strength, and majesty, many fawning for art, media, or even relics portraying them.

Dragons living, and breathing fire in the flesh though, were a different story.

You’d suppose they were better off ‘seen’ than ‘heard’, as of course with such large, beastly bodies, came with much larger, beastlier consequences.

Such consequences leading to the near eradication of the species.

Dragons were a creature that weren’t bound to one country, let alone even land, but existed all over the world, in such cases as Longs in the Eastern hemisphere, and Sea Serpants within the oceans.

So, when many reports of dragon sightings within large cities emerged, it was more likely to be just some direbeast wandering its way accidentally into an urban area then panicking in fright.

Which is why you’d rarely, if ever, receive reports of the actual thing.

Throughout your whole, five-year long career, you’d had only but one actual report of a dragon to your name.

Most actual sightings were in small, rural farming towns, when they’d either run off with a herd of sheep, maybe a horse or two, other than the one who ate a whole ranch clean of cows.

“What if you get me somethin’ off the cart?” Begged the voice opposite you.

“No, but I can get you a sandwich on the way back once I get paid for this assignment, ok?” You tried to bargain, still not looking up from your laptop.

With luck you might be able to finish this job by the time the last train leaves back for home, maybe you’d even catch a nap on the way back.

“Not fair! You got three coffees from the cart and I didn’t get anything!” He fought back.

With luck, you might also be able to finally quell this eternally hungry Direbeast too.

“Ok Grim, I’ll get you one cookie, but that’s it, got it?” You finally looked over to his bright blue eyes, that shot open with excitement, nearly reaching the roots of his flaming ears.

“Really?! I want peanut butter!” He announced, much too giddy for your exhaustion, but still managing to bring a smile to your face.

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t eat it all in one bite.” You dug into your bag for your wallet, trying not to wince once you decided that a few thaumarks was worth the sacrifice for a happy Grim.

Despite what one may believe, your civil servant job, as a person that danced on the fate between metropolitan cities engulfed in smoldering flames, and keeping the peace with giant, fire breathing reptiles, paid much less than many would think.

Unlike those damn Knights.

“Hey, did you hear about that dragon just outside of the city?” The voice of a young man started, drawing his seat-adjoined passenger into the conversation.

“No…?” The other, more oblivious one answered him.

You could tell right away they were tourists, no doubt from the Queendom of Roses, given away by their accents, but their conversation still drew you in, as of course, it concerned your work.

“What?! You didn’t even see the report put out this morning?!” The bluenette shoved his phone into his friend’s face, with wide, panicked eyes.

“Geez dude… Calm down. See? It’s not even in the city, it’s just outside. Bet it’s too skittish to leave, even if it is a real dragon.” His ginger friend drifted his attention back to his own phone, not seeming even the bit as anxious as his buddy.

“If it wasn’t a real dragon then why would they issue out the report?! I told you this trip was a bad idea!” He complained.

That was actual something pretty common around here.

Many tourists didn’t like to travel out here to the Kingdom of Swords.

So many thought that it was a country of old, untamed magic, with just as many monsters of old lore hiding within its untouched enchanted forests, ready to ensnare any poor person who would dare wander into their domain.

Of course, with the ways in which humans especially took over a good chunk of the country/continent many magical species were pushed back deeper in the more ‘forbidden’ forests and mountainous ranges.

Again, most tourists didn’t care.

You, having been stationed in the Kingdom for quite some time now, found most tourists to fall into either of two categories.

One, being the adventurous group of people hoping to ‘explore’ this ‘untainted’ land of magic history, seeking fame, and notoriety amongst their circles for such a courageous act.

The others being their friend(s) who were dragged along for the trip.

These two seemed to fit perfectly into either category.

“Please, even if it is a real dragon, they’ll definitely send some Knights off to handle the whole thing anyways.” The ginger capped off the whole ordeal, when his buddy finally processed it, his brain whirring with potential, until he finally wordlessly calmed down, seeming content with the idea.

You however felt your jaw clench.

Grim, your truest (only), friend, shot you a sympathetic look the second he heard the trigger word, opening his mouth, probably to utter some sort of funny phrase about how bad Knights sucked, when you simply popped your laptop back open, pouring your brain back into writing your review on the report you’d received, rather than devoting, any attention at all to the very thought of those jerks in armour.

It felt like the world wasn’t even done with you yet, let alone giving you time to finish writing your much-needed report, as the squeaking of wheels, followed by the clacking of uniformed heels drew you right back into reality, just before your brain could reel itself back to your project.

“Hello dear, would you like a refill on your coffee?” The trains attendant asked you politely, with a plastered smile.

“Oh, yes please.” “Ahem!” You answered politely, when your furry friend alerted you back to his wants.

“And a peanut butter cookie too.” You added, digging through your wallet to hand her the money, when she passed you the goods.

“We’ll be arriving at the destination in about 15 minutes too, so please enjoy the rest of your trip!” She enthused in a practiced tone, before leaving to the next seats.

You only nodded at her statement, before taking a glance back at Grim, who happily munched on his cookie, seeming to actually take his time for once.

Good.

Your face dipped back down to your work, zoning in.

Now you’d have to begin your descriptions on… the extermination process.

Typically, this whole ordeal was a two-person conundrum; one would review, and write the report back at the base office, while another would read the report to the local governing body, and perform the extermination, or if the case was deemed fit, relocation.

You, with your luck, were left to do todays mission entirely on your own.

You weren’t normally however, normally you’d have an assigned partner, someone you’d actually known since you began your work for the IMSO.

He was a very good friend of yours from your beginnings at the office, not much older than yourself as a matter of fact, and probably overqualified for the job.

You’d assumed he’d prefer working as a… Knight, but instead he preferred his work as a field agent more.

He wasn’t typically one to talk much, but when you two did, he mentioned how he liked to work in the field, how his job felt better, giving the living beasts a more peaceful goodbye, rather than a gory, fight to the death than most Knights did.

The way he used to talk about dragons, the few times he did, really helped to change your perspective, even if by just a little, you found yourself seeing dragons as more noble, regal creatures, lost in a time they were forced into, rather than the brutish pests most did.

Those thoughts though… managed to complicate your job…

So, you often found yourself hiding them away, into caverns of your mind you’d hope to never find.

Although your job got especially difficult when on the last mission… he didn’t come back.

So now here you were, chugging your coffee to keep awake, from the month-long stupor of sleepless nights, or guilt-ridden episodes of - well…

Taking a deeply bitter gulp of coffee, you continued to write the page, adding in the purpose of why dragons were needed to be ‘disposed of’, (most of the excuses being of course, the very creatures being chaos incarnate within the modern world), as well as a brief explanation of the reason why your job was needed.

Not only were you needed for assessing when and where to intervene, but also what to do with the repercussions.

Although it’d be up to the local government to deal with loss of infrastructure, and so forth, it was up to you to deal with, well, the leftovers of the beast.

It was well-known that dragons were incredibly powerful with magic, but just how powerful, the general public had no idea.

Their power quite literally surged throughout their entire body, especially their horns, where high contents of magic would be stored, and where high contents of magic was, blot wasn’t far behind.

The cadaver of a dragon was meant to be handled by people without magic, as with not a drop of magic on their person, there wouldn’t be any to taint with an over-indulgence of it.

Exactly what happened to the body after its… disposal was something you actually weren’t all that privy to, yet you certainly appreciated the small fact that you didn’t.

Cracking your neck, you stared back hazily at the screen, glaring at your own reflection visible through the bright lights, looking like a mess.

You’d stayed up late, later than normal just assessing the case over, and over again in an attempt to discern whether or not this case was worth the time and resources of your department, (along with helping take your mind off ‘things’), but also compiling a plan of exactly how to tackle writing your report.

The one that seemed to glare back at you with a vengeance, as it made you think about the exact things you wanted to distract yourself from…

But none of it seemed to matter of course, as the train jolted to a stop, your coffee nearly toppling over to tsunami your laptop, only for you to swoop in, a single brown drop, of course, landing on your pristine white work shirt.

Ugh, this is why you worked in the office.

Looking back at Grim, you packed your stuff back into your work bag, while Grim licked the remaining crumbs of cookie from his paws.

“Well, you ready bud?” You asked the Direbeast, who nodded and hopped down from his seat, following you behind and out of the train.

Taking in the sight of the city, it was… about what you’d expected.

Not quite as metropolitan as the capital, but still urban enough to be considered ‘modern’.

It was pretty sad really, from what you’d heard back in your history classes, the Valley once truly was a country of sprawling wilds with castles filled with royalty, and majesty beyond words.

Now you hopped off a train, nearly crumbling to the pavement from exhaustion of sitting far too long.

Righting yourself, you began your own ‘heroic journey’ to the City Hall, where you were scheduled to meet with the according ‘person in charge’, where you were expected to be no sooner, or later than 9:30.

This was another cause for your insomnia episode.

The report only hit your desk yesterday afternoon, right when you came back from your lunch break, it practically smacked you right in the face, when your boss waved it at you, telling you that you were supposed to have a finished report brought to the officials office at your appropriate appointment time.

It was now 9:25, and you were honestly running through the streets of downtown with your direbeast at your heels, in a hasty attempt to make it on time, lest you be hounded by this person for being a second late.

You already got that enough from your boss, you were not about to get that treatment from a stranger.

Making it to the Office of City Hall, you approached the secretary, badge in hand, telling her of your meeting.

She didn’t seem all that interested, too early in the morning for her to really care about her job, when she pointed you down the hall with a manicured nail.

“Down the hall, four doors to the left.” Was all the instruction she gave you, as she went back to her computer, spider solitaire evident on the screen.

“Right… thank you!” You tried to be appreciative, you doubt she got that enough in her job, but she just nodded, going back to her clearly more important task.

With a calmer walk, you tried to catch your breath, even still the beating of your heart, before you went into the room.

You knew for a fact that you still looked awful, so long of hardly any sleep would do that to anyone, but you took one final breath, made an attempt to straighten out your work clothes, before stepping in, working bag in hand, and knocked at the door.

No one answered.

So, you knocked again, a slightly louder, heavier one, which… only pushed the door open an inch.

That inch let you know everything you needed to, however.

The lights in the room were off, not a soul in sight, just an empty office of who you presumed to be the mayor.

“He ain’t even here! And he rushed us so bad!” Grim growled astounded, letting his thoughts flow free, when he brushed the door aside, choosing to take a look around.

“Grim…” “Wait! Look! He’s got those fancy lil candies!” The Direbeast jumped onto a chair, opposite the desk, and reached up to a small crystal candy bowl, swishing a devious grey paw around.

You however, stood there in contemplative thought.

You could wait outside in the lobby like a normal, well-adjusted person… or you could wait in the office, finish off your barely put-together report, and if the owner of this office came in, you could just throw him an accusatory retort for being so late.

The second option sounded better.

With that choice made up, you flicked the lights on, unloaded your laptop from your bag, made yourself comfortable at this strangers desk, and began putting together the rest of your report.

You needed to add only a few more pages, but maybe if you were lucky, you could throw in a little panache to make it all look neater, even tidier, rather than the sad powerpoint you threw together with some stock images.

Cracking your knuckles, you started a few brief sentences about previous needs of dragons within the environment, only for the door of the office to slam back open, causing you to wince in fright, shooting your gaze over to the interloper.

You were met with a short, pudgy man, clearly pushing into his age of retirement judging by the balding hair, and beard, full of white.

“Oh. I suppose you’re the one sent from the Organization, yes?” The stranger asked, almost as shocked as you.

You quickly stood, attempting to show a sign of respect (those in your field barely got any).

“Yes, I’m-“ “You’re awfully small for what I was expecting.” There it was.

Another stereotype of the job, many expected those who worked to be 7” tall, burly, with muscles to spare, and the strength comparable to the will of a god.

You, however, were fairly certain you looked liked you worked a desk job.

Which you did.

Although, even those that worked the field weren’t exactly titans either, even your past partner barely reached 6”, and appearing to have no muscles, but rather a leaner frame, (although you did bump into him once and he felt like a brick wall).

“Well… I suppose so, but I was actually hoping we could start by addressing the situation. I have a report ready, Mr. –“ While you were so focused, and hopeful that you could change the subject, you noted you didn’t know his name.

Taking a quick glance to the desk, the nameplate read ‘Stefan’, so of course you turned back to the name with a practiced smile, only to read ‘Hubert’ on his lanyard.

A truly confusing paradox you found yourself in, standing there dazed with your mouth agape.

You hoped he didn’t notice, which he thankfully didn’t, only for him to address the ‘elephant’ in the room.

“And you’ve brought a direbeast?” The man questioned in what seemed to be disgust.

No one had ever really judged you for bringing Grim along anywhere, most just considering him a Familiar of yours, but to be honest, your bond was never quite that simple.

You were also typically allowed to bring him along to work, so long as he didn’t cause problems (he ‘rarely’ did), and you were thankful for that.

You’d  even specifically requested to bring him along on this trip, as you would have liked his assistance should something go wrong on this mission.

“Yes… He’ll be helping me today.” You answered, the ‘polite’ smile on your face faltering ever-so slightly.

“’Helping’? Isn’t it your job to be disposing of this, this monster?”

Scoffed the bulbous man.

“It is, but should anything go… well, awry, he’s here for caution.”

“Awry? Are you saying you can’t do your own job?” “No! Of course not! I just mean as a safety precaution! I’m already well versed in how to handle the potions provided.” “Potions?! Aren’t you supposed to strike the beast down?!” The final statement made you clench your fists.

Slaying dragons by means of fighting was the job of Knights.

A glorified militia group, meant solely for fighting giant Direbeasts, but especially priding themselves on fighting dragons.

Although from your experience, they were nothing but jocks who loved hunting for sport.

Worse, they were unionized and got more pay than your department.

So, your hatred for them ran deep.

“No sir, that’d be Knights. We believe in a more peaceful euthanasia than… well, what they do.” You answered briskly, but still in a polite enough tone, hoping you could keep the peace long enough to get through this, and get a nap in.

“Hmph. What I’m hearing is you aren’t qualified for this. But, we need immediate help and it seems you’re the best we can get on such short notice.” He practically sighed in defeat, your tensed body only nodding along with his sentiments, just wanting to get through it.

“Right… well, if you’ll give me a moment, I’d be glad to show you the report I’ve gathered and-“ “Oh no, that won’t be necessary.” The city councilman simply waved you off, causing you to crack briefly, shock evident all over your face.

“Pardon me-“ “No, no, we really don’t have the time. Now, follow me.” He immediately turned his back to you and approached the door.

It became evident that the entire report you’d spent most of last night, and all of this morning, was worthless to this man.

Great, just… great.

You wordlessly packed up your laptop (and Grim), following this man outside.

When you made it apparent that you didn’t bring your car (let alone owned one), the man guffawed, and ‘insisted’ you ride along to your destination with him.

When you set your things (and Grim), in the backseat of his quite obviously old money car, he made a point to make you sit in the front of him, taking no denial at all.

This was when you began to regret having ever come at all, hearing the incessant boasting coming from this old man.

“Were you aware that I am descended from some of the family that originally conquered these lands? I have a bit of dragon-slaying in my blood myself! However, I’m not able to do much these days, what with this trick knee…” The old man huffed, driving the whole time, recounting tales about the ‘good old days’, family stories he heard of his own family’s great feats throughout history, and how if only he wasn’t in such bad shape, he’d be a Knight himself, rounding each corrupted ‘beast’ until there was none left.

You were left having to smile and nod along, not daring a utter a word in opposition, but choosing instead to distract yourself with the rolling countryside just out of the window when it became… too much.

This old man had a very old view of not only dragons, but direbeasts as a whole, seeing them as wild untameable monsters than the true majestic creatures they were.

Grim was thankfully playing on your phone in the backseat while all this went down, and you couldn’t have been more thankful for that; you didn’t know what you’d do if he heard whatever this rotten old man was spewing.

Although you’d lived in the Kingdom of Swords for quite some time now, something about being out in the country reminded you of a time far before your years, but back when the land was known as Briar Valley, home to magnificent animals beyond words, and Fae with more power than could be conceived…

It wasn’t long before your thoughts of beauty were cut off by the coughing of that old man.

Stefan- or Hubert? You didn’t really know or care.

Had pulled into an old farmers lane, reaching towards an old, sun-stained farmhouse that overlooked one of the many mountains famous in this area.

“Come along now, old farmer Hornton was the one who called in about the report, and we’d better get a few words from him first. Right outta the horses mouth, you know?” He laughed jovially at his own joke, making you force out a very strained chuckle when you grabbed Grim from the back of the car.

Walking up the gravel lane, you reached the aged wood stairs leading up to the screen door of the home, the main door left wide open.

“Ah, he must be waiting for us already, we ought to let ourselves in.” A thick, wrinkled hand pushed aside the screen door before you could protest.

Grim stuck close behind you,  surprisingly managing to mind his manners much more than the man before you.

“Hornton?! You here, you old hick?!” He called loudly and gruffly, stumbling around the house to catch any sight of him, but no recent signs of life were around, only a cold cup of black coffee left on the counter.

“Huh. Must be out back.” Muttered the old man, before trudging out to the back door, seemingly noticing how the door was also left wide open, the screen door hardly clicked closed, but instead hollering outside, managing to scare off some birds that were scattered nearby.

Instead of choosing to keep looking around anymore, you also followed behind, making sure to keep Grim nearby.

If only you had though, you might have noticed the bloody trail that followed up the stairs and all the way to the attic where the body of an old farmer lay, lifeless and breathless, torn to shreds by talons sharper than any mortal creature.

Once outside, you stuck near the old man who nearly threw himself into a breathless fit with all this continuous shouting, his face starting to grow red with frustration and lack of oxygen, hands balling into the fists at his sides like a restless toddler with a vengeance.

“Oh for – He’s got to be around here!” “Well… Maybe we can worry about handling his report later? You know where he spotted it first, anyways?” You spoke softly, honestly a bit afraid to upset this old man, mostly for driving him into another rage-filled yelling fit that’d no doubt be the cause of death; you feeling guilty for it, or worse his ghost haunting you afterwards.

You already had enough spirits to deal with at work as is, in that decrepit old building…

“Really? I suppose that’s an idea. Last I heard from that old kook, he said the beast was spotted at the Eastern end of the forest on his property.” “Great! Grim and I can go take a look, and if you don’t mind waiting here-“ “Oh no, no, I can handle just fine on my own. I just so happened to grow up not too far from here.” “Please! I’m certified in handling these situations, could you please just-“ “Nonsense! I have the blood of dragon-slayers coursing through me, remember?” Chortled the old man, who faced away from you and began to stroll on his merry way towards the forest.

You knew very well this man was about to find his death in that forest faster than he’d find a dragon… But for some strange petty reason you found yourself not as concerned as you should’ve been with such an implication.

It’d be all his own fault, right?

So instead, you turned away to the Western side of the forest, Grim trotting beside you.

Although it was still in the early afternoon, it felt as though it was drawing close to evening by the mere darkness shining in the sky above.

The sun was hidden behind ashen grey clouds, misty fog was hazed around the forest floor, but this was to be expected of the Valleys typical nature.

It was either frigidly cold with rain, or even frostier with snow closer to the mountains peak, and had never ceased its eternal thunderstorms of weather in the entirety of your time living here.

Despite what you’d heard record of before, the forest here actually crawled from the treeptops to the burrows underground with life, critters of all sizes running amok in the mist, chittering with different stories to unravel amongst each other, drawing in Grim’s annoyance.

“Why’s it so noisy here?! I thought dragons were supposed to scare everything off!” He huffed smoke, crossing his paws while walking bipedal beside you.

“Actually, quite a few dragons serve as almost ‘forest-guardians’, remember? It’s why a lot of farmers or growing townships run into them a lot when expanding land.” You stepped over a particularly large, wrangled root curling above ground, and helped Grim cross over it.

“And? Shouldn’t all these guys be scared of a big dragon?” Grim mused, his brows furrowing when he saw a group of squirrels draw closer, as if growing inquisitive themselves.

“Not really, a lot of animals tend to be fond of their local dragon, seeing as it keeps the peace in a sort of way for them.” A vine of wet leaves fell from a tree, smacking into your head and making you yelp, sending the birds, squirrels, rabbits, and plethora of other animals scattering back further away.

“Ack! What?! Did you see it?!” “No! I was hit!”

You fought it off of your face, sputtering when the water managed to almost choke you.

As if spilling the coffee on your shirt, stomping through this farmers backwoods, and falling face first into an especially wet vine that you swore tried to take you out was enough to make the final blow of an already horrible, messy day.

“… Grim, I think I might actually quit this time.” You huffed, leaning against a log, groaning in distress.

“No! We need food! And you know I can’t hold a job!” Grim jumped over, flailing his tail about in worry, acting as if he’d ever worked a day in his life, and not as if he was a spoiled little not-cat who had a special reserved basket where he snacked on treats, and played on your phone all day at the office.

“Ugh, we do…” You closed your eyes, despite knowing taking a rest in a supposedly dragon-inhabited forest was practically a death wish, you couldn’t help but hold a silent prayer that maybe being consumed by this forest was a better end than spending the rest of your days slaving away in an office.

“Oh? And who would you happen to be?” A voice as cold and frigid as the current forests air asked gently, yet still managing to startle you back to your feet.

You didn’t recognize this voice at all, and it almost didn’t sound human with how low it registered, and the following shiver it sent down your spine, as if you’d been found by something you should not have ever been seen by, or something you never should have witnessed.

“Hello?” You called out to the seemingly empty forest, assuming it must have been the wind at first, or your exhausted mind playing tricks on you, if not for the fact that Grim stood on his claws with equal rigidness.

Not a sound could be heard, not a rustle from the grass, not the sound of bated breath, or a heartbeat, but still you could feel an especially warm presence nearby, it reminded you of the heat that wafted from a fireplace on a cold day, much like today.

“Is there anyone there…?” You spoke quieter, almost wishing no one was, but at the same time hoping to warm yourself by the fire…

“Yes.” Quiet footfalls were heard to your left, making you shoot your gaze over to the figure making their way closer to you.

This person was tall, much taller than any Knight you’d ever met, and certainly taller than any other person you’d ever crossed paths with before.

His long, sleek black hair was tied neatly into a ponytail, although a few strands glided out, layering their way across his face, almost reminding you of the tendrils you’ve studied before on dragons, the rest of himself being so tall it was cut-off by a trees nearby branch.

A thought came to your mind at the sight of him.

“Oh, you must be the farmer! Hornton, right?” You asked, politely raising your arm for him to shake, only for a look of shock to replace his prior look of confusion, before his lips perked up at the edges.

“Hah, you must be jesting, stranger.” He addressed towards you, making it your turn to run yourself into confusion.

“Isn’t that your name though…?” “If that is what you wish to call me, by all means, feel free to.” He nodded with great elegance, approving of the idea, which only made your brain run in more circles trying to decipher his strange way of wording.

“Ok… Anyways! I’m with the Dragon Protection Agency, I was called here because of a sighting report you filed?” “… You don’t say.” His face dropped into disappointment, his sudden switches of mood starting to worry you.

“Yes! I was actually looking for you earlier with the mayor, but you weren’t at home, so we came out to the woods to look for the dragon ourselves.” He actually seemed to perk up at the mention of the mayor, your mention of him lighting his strikingly green eyes up.

“Truly? Would the mayor happen to be with you at this time? I was hoping to… share a few words with him…” He smiled nearly uncannily, his eyes almost glazing over with other thoughts you weren’t privy to, but you shook your head.

“Not right now, he went off towards the Eastern side of the forest. He mentioned that was the last spotting of the dragon, but I was wondering if you could tell me where you last saw it?” When you mentioned the dragon again, his smile perked deeper, but he faced away, behind himself.

“Yes actually, I did happen to see him somewhere nearby recently.” His voice rose with enjoyment, but you actually tensed, breath quickening.

“You did…? Where? It’s not safe for civilians to be so close to the breached area so-“ “If you’re asking me to take caution, I hope you will understand I already have. Human’s have no place in a Dragon’s Forest.” It really felt like he was hinting something at you, but you really couldn’t tell what…

Or even worse, that he was toying with you.

“Right…” “Hey! You forgot to show him your report!” Grim shouted, jumping up to the log you were sitting on moments ago.

“Hm? Does this creature happen to be yours?” “Ah! Not exactly…? He’s his own guy, but he just lives with me. And eats my food.” “Yeah! They’re right! I’m my own guy!” Grim emphasized to Hornton with a paw in the air, a growing look of sensible joy grew on the ‘farmers’ face.

“I see, you hold a respectable friendship with him.” “I guess that’s one way to put it…”

“Hey! You forgot about your report!” You thought aloud to his response, while Grim came over, standing nearby, and examining this new guy with a great intensity.

“A report you say?” It drew his attention in further, brow raising in curiosity when you nodded.

“Yes… It’s actually about the process we go through with examinations about each case, classifying the, resolving them, and even a few factoids about each subspecies. But… No one ever really cares about them, so I wouldn’t want to bore you or anything-“

“Oh? Then I must insist upon hearing this report.”

He grinned toothily, nodding along to you to continue.

You had left your work bag in the car…

 But it’d feel worth it if at least someone listened to your report.

So digging through your pocket, you reached for your phone and opened the shared app from your phone, incredibly grateful that you’d remembered to save it last time, opening the file, clearing your voice, and reading your report to him.

Strangely… he to listened to every word you said.

Your prior partner would often tell you about how no one would ever listen to the reports, and would often instead send him out the door the second he’d arrive at any office, metaphorical guns blazing.

But this strange man you found in the forest was a notable outlier.

He listened and nodded to every word you said as if it was gospel, each new sentence seeming to draw in his attention like a beckoning siren’s call, and he looked as if he agreed to so many of the notions or opinions you made within the ledger.

Even at work, you and your colleague were considered… a bit strange for your blatant respect and regard towards dragons, especially considering what a morbid field the both of you worked in.

This clearly wasn’t a shared mentality by many, but this strange ‘farmer’ smiled brightly to the kind, even sympathetic words you wrote about the beings, greatly perking his interest, letting out a slight hum of agreement when you’d dip into your own research of their necessity within the ecosystem.

Once you’d finished the last statement, he nodded gratefully.

“I must thank you for offering your opinions. I wasn’t aware your kind held such devotion for… those beings. Yet I still see you have much to learn from your quaint understanding.” He uttered out with some thought, you assumed ‘your kind’ meaning those who worked in your department.

“Well… It’s not widely supported, it’s mostly just mine… And a colleague of mine.” You answered, setting your phone back into your pocket

“I’m afraid I must admit though, you won’t be finding any dragons of that particular nature in these woods.” His grin grew on his face while yours dropped.

“What…? What do you mean?” You breathed, worry starting to drip callously through your voice.

“Yes, it’s truly a sad thing, but the dragons you speak of haven’t called forests such as these home in quite some time now. But I do believe I know what you’re searching for. Seeing that there are no dragons in these woods.”

His own voice drawled in a playful irony, humouring you on a joke you didn’t understand.

“And what would that happen to be…?” You asked quietly and timidly, afraid to raise your voice any higher, in fear that something else might hear your conversation.

“Well, since you’ve shown me great kindness and companionship in this moment, I suppose I could share with you a secret… Considering what you happen to be looking for is…” He took a single step from under the tree, bowing his head delicately below the branches which swept away his hair to showcase the jeweled scales of black that sparkled upon his forehead, crawling their way up until the curling horns that pulsated with a lively green beneath them flashed alive with immense amounts of magic.

His head tilted, giddy face look of joy never leaving when he announced to your sudden awe,

“Me.”

His statement still sent a slight shiver down your spine though, reminding you of what Lilia mentioned only yesterday, absentmindedly rolling the beads of the gifted bracelet between your fingers, as if a subtle reminder of the safety they provided.

You’d even been extra jumpy – well, extra cautious… since the other night, but it seemed like someone was especially taking advantage of that.

“I don’t really know if I’d say that…? I don’t even have magic.” “But they still come to see you during your summoning’s.” Jack approached the group with an added huff of his own, making you turn your head around to meet his presence.

“Really, it’s Grims magic, I’m just the one that happens to recite the spell and talk to them. You should probably go talk to Idia about summoning help, I bet he’d be better since he’s a third year.”

“We all know Grim ain’t good for nothin’ like that, it’s you reachin’ out to them all polite-like.”

Epel chimed in, a handful of books in his arms while he glanced your way.

“Well... I wouldn’t say that exactly, he really tries but still. Idia’s the best overall at the class, I only do good at that one thing…” “Are we talking about my brother?” Ortho beamed ahead of you, once the group rounded the corner, suddenly joining into the conversation with excitement, and making you wonder where all these guys, not even in your same class, were coming from.

“Yeah, Ace wants help with our summoning test coming up, do you think you could get Idia to help?” “Uh… Well, you’re right about him being great at summoning class, but I don’t know if he’d be up to helping, heh…?” “Yeah… That’s what I thought.” Ace groaned out after Ortho’s response, crossing his arms then leaning back to you.

“It’s why I asked you in the first place, I doubted he’d want to leave his room to help some ‘noob’ first year like me.”

“My brother isn’t that mean!”

Ortho fought back to Ace’s taunts, his own instinct to protect his brother kicking in, facing back around to fly in his face with a scowl.

He didn’t seem to pick up on the massive force behind him though, as a certain green brick wall of a student was ahead, rifling through his books, grumbling under his breath while trying to find the right one for his upcoming class, only to get bulldozed by the android.

“Ack! Who dares to walk into me?!” He burst out, whipping around ready to throw hands with whoever ran straight into him, only to look down and see a shocked Ortho.

“Shroud? I thought better of you! You should know better to watch where you’re going!” “To be fair Ace started it!” “Hah, it’s not my fault your brothers a loser recluse.” And then the chaos began.

Ortho lunged at Ace, Ace threw a quick wind spell to blow him away, right into Sebek yet again, sending him tumbling into Deuce, who like you was trying to stop the fight, only to end up in the carnage.

This clearly upset Deuce, as he was suddenly spurred into ‘throwdown mode’, by clawing his way from under the pile, and proceeding to yell at – well anyone, Sebek doing the same, and Ace laughing at everyone, only spurring Ortho to bulldoze him to the ground next.

Jack tried to back away, only to get thrown into one of Deuce’s punches, causing Epel to run in and throw a hit of his own as retaliation, knowing full-well Jack wouldn’t dare. 

Many students stopped by in the hall, each of them gawking at the sight before them, some even pulling their phones out to record, others pointing and laughing, while some just snorted at the anarchy then went along their merry way.

It was up to you of course, as always, to stop the fighting.

“Seriously guys! I thought we were beyond this point by now! STOP!”

You reached forward, careful not to wind up like your poor buddy Deuce who got swept up into the fray, nearly dodging one of his own punches.

“Do all of you wanna wound up collared? Because I’ll call Riddle right now. I’m not kidding.” You’d hoped the threat of the teapot tyrant would dissuade them, but they seemed far too caught up in the carnage to care.

Groaning, you looked around for Grim, hoping a little fire might get their attention, only to notice he wasn’t at your side as he so often was; although you supposed that explained his absence from the fight.

“If you guys don’t stop right now, you’re seriously going to be in trouble!” “Believe me, they already are.” A mature voice cut through the mayhem, making everyone in the hallway pause.

You didn’t have to turn around to understand Professor Trein was behind you.

“Mrah! Put me down! I’m sorry I swear! I won’t do it again!” “Hiss!” Well that explained where Grim was.

Instead of his precious Lucious being in the professor’s arms, Grim was being held by the scruff of his neck, tossing and turning to fight, all while Lucious, atop Trein’s shoulders, hissed at him in hateful disdain.

It also didn’t take a genius to know why, considering the evidence of crumbs all around Grim’s muzzle.

“I caught a straggler behind in class. Normally I wouldn’t mind someone staying behind after the lecture to discuss the class, but he didn’t seem so interested in doing so. In fact, he seemed to have taken a keen interest in Lucious’ tuna cracker treats I just so happen to keep in my desk.” “I already said I’m sorry! What else do ya want?!” Grim hissed to the professor, who simply rolled his eyes, then averted his attention to the group sprawled before him.

“You all seem to be vying for the same fate as Grim though. Fighting in the halls is strictly forbidden, and I will be having none of it, do you understand?” A chorus of “Yes Professor…” resounded next, each voice equally defeated, once they realized they were all equally doomed.

“Good. Now you will all be enjoying your lunch period in detention with me.” “What did I do-“ “Except for the Prefect. I will commend you for attempting to stop the fight, but by leaving Grim alone to his… gluttonous whims are something I cannot allow you to forget. Therefore, you will be receiving your own punishment befitting your erroneous actions.”

“Yes, Professor Trein…” You nodded along, realizing you’d be having your lunch alone today…

As always, the cafeteria was bustling with energy, every student gossiping amongst themselves, some going on about the fight, others whining about their upcoming exams, some whispering about test answers, and even others spreading rumours about strange supernatural happenings around the school.

All this energy wasn’t as overstimulating as it once used to be during your first few weeks here, but it sure didn’t help that you were minus your group of first-years, forced to bear it on your own today, even excluding Grim who never left your side.

With a tray of food in your hands, you scanned for any empty seats, or even better tables, to enjoy your meal, only to suddenly feel a sense of impounding dread.

“Shrimpy! What’re you doing here all alone~?” Floyd called to your side, letting out a giggle of amusement.

“And even without Grim, how utterly strange…” Jade commented to your other side, letting out an amused hum.

“Hi guys. He uh… got into some craziness.”

“So poor little Shrimpy’s left all alone? How horrible!” “Terrible even.” The brothers egged each other on, while you stood there hungry and confused by their antics.

“Cool, cool… I’m uh, gonna go find a table-“ “You expect us to leave you all on your lonesome? What kind of friends would we be if we did that?” “We’d feel so guilty if we did that. Hey! Why don’t you come sit with us Shrimpy?” “What a good idea Floyd!” And within the blink of an eye, you were guided by the twins who had you stranded at either side to their table.

Once you got there though, you were met with quite a familiar sight.

Of course, Azul was expected to be there, picking at his food, but what you didn’t expect was to see him conversing animatedly with Jamil.

Jamil didn’t seem that interested in the conversation, but Kalim who sat next to him really did, cutting off Azul every once in a while, to add his own excited remark; Azul’s twitching eye failing to go unnoticed by you.

Ruggie on the other hand, was grabbing at Kalim’s attention, probably trying to drag him into some sort of money-draining scam, while Jamil was too distracted by Azul’s droning words.

But the rest filling out the table were Riddle, who sat upright and pristine, talking with Silver who nodded along, in equally-matched posture.

You caught a few words, mostly to-do about horses, before you were plopped down to the seat, a twin on either side keeping you locked in place.

Suddenly, every set of the second-years eyes were onto you, who sat there a bit awkwardly, tray of food still in your hands.

“Hey guys… What’s up?” You waved sheepishly, not really expecting to be apart of whatever this was.

“Prefect! How delightful of you to join us!” Azul beamed graciously, but the way his eyes immediately scanned over every bit of your person creeped you out, although it was probably just a quirk of his, trying to spot a weakness he could exploit.

“He’s right, don’t you usually sit with your group of First-Years?” “They sound pretty busy though after what I heard shihihi.” Ruggie cut Jamil off with a laugh behind his fist, bringing attention over to him.

“You don’t say? And what does this schoolyard gossip you happened to hear, have to do with the first-years?” Riddle asked, suddenly interested in what Ruggie had to say, bringing you to immediate attention.

“It’s not that bad! I swear! None of them meant it, and Deuce actually tried to stop the fight, but-“ “Fight…?” Riddle twitched a brow, and Silver actually peered over closer too.

“Seriously, it’s not as bad as it sounds! Ace just… messed up his wording, which upset Ortho, who bumped into Sebek, who got very… well, upset with that, and…”

“Shihi, I heard Ace threw the first punch!” Ruggie snickered again, making Riddle grow immediately red.

“He did WHAT?!” The teapot tyrant threw his fists to the table, growing very upset.

“No he didn’t! He didn’t even throw a punch actually! It was wind magic, which was in self-defence!” You quickly threw out, attempting to calm the situation.

“Did Sebek really act out in that way…? I thought he was better with his friends…” Silver seemed to be on the other extreme, instead of brazen rage, he instead shook his head in solemn disappointment.

“Oh no! Sebek wasn’t too bad either! He just… Well… It was sort of our fault for invading his space, which he had a right to be! And I’m not gonna lie, someone may have thought it’d be funny to prod him more…”

You tried to soften the blow to poor Silver, who seemed to grow incredibly morose.

“Really? Because I heard he threw himself at Deuce in a fit of rage!” Jade exaggerated greatly, making you turn to him with a ‘not you too’ look.

“He most certainly did not!” “He most certainly did! Here, look at the video!” Floyd actually pulled his phone out, showcasing a video of the fight from Magicam, making Riddle grow redder.

“Oh? And this is how you let your first-years behave?” Jamil left a snide remark with a scoff, crossing his arms, leaning back relaxed with a condescending smirk.

“I don’t. Believe me, those two will be handle by myself.” Riddle grit his teeth together, probably already imagining the things he’d do.

“And I… only hope Sebek learnt his lesson. He’s supposed to cherish his friends, I thought he’d learn that by now.” Although he didn’t fully express his emotions, you could still tell just how saddened he was at his younger dormmates actions.

“Hey, isn’t that Jack?”

Kalim pointed out to the phone, where some wolfish growling was heard coming from someone with undeniably recognizable white hair, fluffy gradient ears swayed to either side in a defensive position.

“It is! Huh, I wonder why he rolled under Deuce like that- OH NO!” Kalim yelped as if he himself had been hit, even wincing back.

“Jack too? I wonder how that must feel, right Ruggie?” Azul laughed, almost in a mocking way, too much like Ruggies own, while the Hyena’s ears splayed to other side, getting shown up too easily.

“I swear I didn’t know he was there! And you can clearly see he’s only defending himself!” Ruggie started trying to defend, just as you had moments before.

“Aha, really? You Savannaclaw boys  really are all the same…” Jamil let out the snide comment, for once teaming up with Azul in his chastising nature.

“Yeah? Well wait’ll Leona hears about this, bet he’ll make sure it never happens again…” He huffed, ear twitching in annoyance.

“I suppose that only goes to show how our dorms are the best, isn’t that right Jamil?” “Yes, it’s honestly funny to see your failings within your own dorms.” They held their gaze locked in agreement while Kalim actually seemed genuinely happy.

“Yeah! My dorm’s students are alwayson their best behaviour, especially since I became Housewarden! Isn’t that right?” Kalim beamed towards Jamil who’s smile tensed, then nodded silently to agree, despite knowing that he was the one who molded everyone into perfect shape.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough of this blatant mockery between you!” Riddle growled like a mad dog, slamming his fists on the table again, before pointing an accusatory finger at them.

“He’s right. I can understand holding your… opinions on our first-years behaviour, but that’s no reason to discount our dorms value. Malleus and father do their best at keeping everyone in order, even despite all they’ve been through…”

Silver trailed off a bit towards the end, his face tensing into what you could only guess as an attempt at mournfulness.

“And you’ve got no place sayin’ nothin’ about Jack! He’s the best boy out there and you know that!” Ruggie somewhat uncharacteristically defended Jack, but upon remembering the other boys were also dissing his dorm, you realized he probably took it as a more personal offense.

You yourself were tense, preparing yourself to not only defend your first-year friends, but also the second-years who were already ripping each other apart.

“Hey! What’s all the commotion over here?! Didn’t you hear the bell?!” A loud voice broke through before a second fight could occur, startling the second-years into place.

Sure enough, most of the cafeteria had been cleared out by now, only a couple loiterers hanging around at a handful of tables, making every one of the boys drop from the pettiness of their feud, and back to reality.

“You all had better get your butts moving now, or you’ll be spending your time after classes with me, got it? I will make you work off all this extra laziness, understand me?!” Coach yelled to them, making them all tense and nod off, skittering away.

Just before you could make your own escape into the small crowd, you got caught by the collar of your uniform, and dragged back in front of the teacher.

“Oh no you don’t, you still have to pay me back for that skipping stunt you pulled the other day.”

“But!” “Nope, not butts except yours working extra hard after school doing cardio.”

“No!” You accidentally whined outwardly, only making the Coach give you a pat to the back and a hearty laugh, while he walked you to your next class, explaining the importance of toning your glutes the entire way.

Study hall starting this week became a joint-venture between first years and third years, as Crowley so generously believed that the older students would assist the younger ones with any projects or tests, they may have to finish before the years end.

Since this was Night Raven College, that never came to fruition.

Instead, study hall became a library full of even more hushed gossip than lunch, with third and first years mingling, or even better discussing answer-keys for tests.

“Dude I’m serious, Trein has never changed his tests in like all his whole career. So, question ten is guaranteed to be c.” A random Scarabia student hushed to an enthused Diasomnia first year.

You only rolled your eyes, and flipped the page of your book that you held open at eye level for Grim, hoping he’d ignore the bad influences around him.

Grim of course fell for them, his ears perked over to the conversation with a look of wonder in his blue eyes, trying to absorb as much information as possible, a greedy grin growing over his fluffy cheeks.

“Grim stop. I thought you learnt from Octavinelle no more cheating.” You emphasized to him with a poke to his nose causing him to sputter.

“I did! But this time I’m getting it all for free hehe.” He rubbed his paws together, making you frown.

“Next time you get into trouble like that I’m not bailing you out again.” “Neither am I.” Leona yawned loudly and dramatically to your left making you jolt straight up in your seat.

He must’ve come over just recently, as your little corner table was empty when you sat here originally.

“Leona it was three days.” “And you two made those three days excruciating.” You tried to side-eye him, only to get shaded back.

“Even then, you didn’t have to help.”

“What? And leave a poor defenseless herbivore all on their own? Tch, even I’m not that cruel.” He leaned back against the chair, closing his eyes and letting out a quiet hum of contentment.

“Why are you here anyways? The Biodomes wide open right now.” “Yeah? Well, that mutt of a prof said if I stay here for the last few weeks and crack some ‘fresh pups’ into place he’ll pass me in Potionology. And this just happens to be the quietest place in the library.” “… It’d be so much easier if you just went to class in the first place.” You groaned, wondering why he somehow always managed to make himself your problem.

“Yet he rarely does, and when he does his presence is rarely wanted.” The clicking of heels alerted your attention to over your shoulder, where a diva approached the table with the confidence to match, all while Leona’s nose wrinkled at the heavy scent of floral perfume.

“Hey Vil, why aren’t you helping out the other first-years?” “What do you think I’m doing now?” He chose to sit across from you, glaring at Leona at your side.

“I mean… I guess I’m a first year, but I bet everyone’s hounding you for help on their Potions homework?” “They are, but their incompetence quickly got annoying.” He groaned with a hair toss.

“Oh, the woes of the popular.” Leona chided with a laugh, making the blonde glare at him.

“At least one of us makes an attempt to help their first years. Ha, but I suppose you’re the laziest lion you’ll ever be.” Vil let out a small, sultry laugh into his hand, while Leona let out a low growl.

“Ooo, a fight already? But the period has barely begun!” A jaunty low voice butted in, followed by the bright flicker of green lights.

Lilia floated mid-air with a wide, teasing grin, holding the hand of Malleus.

“Please, I’d barely call this a fight. Especially compared to what I heard happened this morning.” Leona shot a teasing grin to the other two Housewardens, who both looked back with intense, rageful looks.

“Trust me, Epel will be dealt with accordingly.” “As will Sebek, be assured.” “Hm, at least Jack stayed behaved, he’s a good boy. Hopefully he doesn’t get any bad influences from your lot,” Each respective Housewarden locked eyes, making you tense.

“Listen, as someone who was there, it wasn’t as bad as everyone makes it seem, got it? And they all calmed down… eventually. Don’t go too hard on them.” “Aw, what a nice Prefect you are bestie! Protecting your little group of Freshies!” You heard Cater announce from one of the surrounding bookshelves, and could tell by the sweet smell of baked goods Trey wasn’t far behind.

“Hey guys, I already talked to Riddle and tried to calm him down… but…” “If you’re asking us to help, I don’t think there’s much we can do if you already talked to him. Even my powers can only go so far, heh…” Trey let out a sound of defeat at the very idea, adjusting his glasses awkwardly.

“Wow, that bad…?” “You are one of the few he’ll listen to, so if even you’re having problems I don’t much have faith for them.” The two Heartslybul boys pulled up their own seats joining the flock of third years now surrounding you at every angle.

“Hehe, RIP those guys… Tough to get ragebaited by other noobs.” A raspy voice laughed from behind a bookshelf, clearly trying to hide in the shadows.

“… Idia we can all hear you.”

“EEP!” The scattered sound of books falling all over resounded in the area, making his presence even more known, blue strands of flaming hair peeking from around the corner.

“How long were you listening?” Vil spoke with a brow raised in a disappointed tone, tapping a manicured fingernail to the wood table in await of an answer.

“I-I! Well actually, you see, um…” He fumbled incredibly embarrassed, the tips of his hair turning pink, hands fumbling in his pockets while he stumbled over an answer.

“Just come join the group then.” You sighed defeatedly because hey, what was another one at this point anyways?

“What are you doing here Shroud? You’re rarely seen outside of your… abode? Much less without that glass device of man.”

Malleus probed Idia for an answer, only to get met with a similarly shaky response.

“I- um… I got told if I came, they’d uh give me my gym credits…” He muttered out briskly, with his head pointed down, still doing little to hide his tall nature.

“Heh, join the club then.” Leona smirked sleepily over to the boy who began to pull his hoodie over his head out of fear.

“Literally none of you guys are doing your job.” You grumbled, trying to go back to your book and Grim.

“Oh? And you’re being the model student yourself, chatting away the hour with us.” Lilia teased while you rolled your eyes.

“I was until someone came along.” You shot a look back to Leona then froze, realising a missing presence.

“We’re missing someone.”

“Who?” Idia looked over to you, equally scared at the thought there might be someone else about to butt in.

“Bonjour!” “AH!” You jumped when the feathered hat of the schools Huntsman appeared.

“Oh, I was wondering where you went.” Vil responded, not looking up from his manicure, possibly checking his own reflection for any slight blemishes.

“Desole for my late appearance, but I caught a certain Monsieur Fuzzball galivanting down the aisles, and simply couldn’t help myself!” Rook then held up Grim by the scruff of his fur, as if he was some duck he shot down and was showing it off to the group.

“Grim! Stop wandering off! That’s the second time today!” You glared, only for him to sway around Rooks gloved hand trying to fight his way free.

“But I saw something! Really! It was a ghost!” “Now you’re chasing after the librarian ghosts, great…” “No! It looked- it looked weird!” He emphasized, making the rest of the third years tense, Rook even dropping Grim from his hand onto the table with a subtle thud.

“I don’t care how it looked, you’re supposed to stay with me, remember?”

You sighed, placing him back into your lap, intending to keep a closer eye on him after today.

“What? And now you guys are quiet?”

They didn’t respond, didn’t have to even, as a loud sound hit the table with a crack that echoed throughout the library.

“Just what do you mutts think you’re doing here? If you don’t get out of this corner and find some pups that need actual help instead of bothering the Prefect, I’ll start deducting credits.”

The booming voice of Crewel cut through the quiet, his ‘teaching stick’ still tapping on the table, as if to keep the attention on himself, each of the third years expressions ranging from annoyed, to apathetic, to downright bone-chilling fear.

Nonetheless, they all rose from their seats at various levels of speed, spreading out deeper into the library, some even muttering complaints under their breath while they did so.

Crewel only turned to you, raising the end of his stick to your nose, his brow furrowed in a kept anger.

“Don’t let those boys lead anymore of a bad influence on you. After that cutting stunt you pulled the other day and that fight, you’d better not let them try anything else on you, understood?” “Yes professor…” You nodded, Grim also letting out a silent squeak of agreement, while he turned away, off to check on the next group of troublemakers, leaving you alone with Grim once again.

Housewarden meetings were a fairly regular occurrence, typically held once a month unless a special event was taking place at the school, such as Spelldrive, Halloween, or VDC.

Otherwise, emergency Housewarden meetings were very rarely held; that is until this recent year.

Yes, there were many, many, a catastrophe that happened throughout this year, but none truly compared to the matter being discussed tonight.

“It’s growing clearer and clearer that the Prefect will soon reach their goal of going home soon, what with the… ‘experiments’ they’re beginning to conduct with that ‘Mickey’.” Riddle spoke out to the crowd, dressed in his dorm uniform and practically begging to exude a commanding presence through the wave of figures within the room.

At his side sat his loyal dormmates, nodding alongside his spoken words, politely staying quiet, although two in particular were adorned in collars befitting their prior crimes.

It was an even rarer occurrence, in fact outright never done before, to have members of each respective dorm attend a meeting held.

A quiet tension was potent, almost as if a knife was at everyone’s throats, daring the other to speak first, take a risk, anything really, to avoid the awkward strain that plagued the room.

“Heh, way to point out the obvious. But the little tyrant’s right, something needs to be done. We’ve done this song and dance enough on our own, we might actually get somewhere this time if we work together.”

Leona huffed out, not as passionately as Riddle before him, but in a more defeated, lazy sigh.

“Truly, the Prefect doesn’t know the bounds of our shared affection, so I for one will greatly appreciate the added support!” Azul lied through his teeth with an exaggerated determination, even placing a hand over his heart at the feigned sincerity, although someone read him as easy as a picture book.

“Yes, let’s see how your added support goes over once you infect the Prefect with whatever sick poison you lace on them again. Although, they sure seemed to like getting cared for over in Scarabia.” Jamil tugged a grin to his face towards the end of his charge at Azul, the cephalopod fumbling with his glasses in a flustered state, faltering for a comeback, only to get cut off by the blonde celebrity who sneered towards him.

“So that was you? Really Azul, you should’ve known better. Potions are my expertise, we don’t need a second-year novice nosing around where he doesn’t belong. Especially when us older ones have to clean up your messes.” The blondes glare was scrutinizing, making the other boy let out a strained breath.

“For real dude, what were you thinking? You could’ve gotten them killed! And there’s no respawn from that for them or you.” Idia spoke through his tablet, the device itself lighting up in such a harsh glow, it was almost as if it was raging towards him itself.

“That will be enough of that. We should all return to the task at hand. Even if some of us fall to more drastic measures to keep the Prefect here, where they belong, we all still fall within the same common ground of keeping them protected.” Malleus was truly a born leader, cutting through the cattiness of his cohorts, drawing the attention back to himself; but still leaving a subtle jab at Azul, seeing that he was just as upset as everyone else for his reckless transgression.

“Now, now, we don’t have any need for all of your childish fits here. We are here to discuss the Prefect, not what each of you have done in the past to protect them, but what each of you can bring now in this dire situation.” Lilia finally chimed in, probably finally having had enough fun watching the young ones bare claws at each other, now wanting to get straight to business.

“Lilia’s right, we’ve really got to get back on track.” Trey added, a promising truce between the dorms already starting to show its potential.

“If it’s so special then who’s got the ideas? Because I’ve certainly got a few shihihi.” Ruggie teased, making the others glower, as if they believed his wouldn’t be any better than theirs.

“Is that so? Well, I happen to have a few of my own… although please, feel free to share whatever low-brow scheme you have in mind.” Jade bellowed to the Hyena who splayed his ears to either side, even letting out a low growl of annoyance.

“Oh! I have a great idea! We could keep them distracted with treasures and presents and they’ll never want to leave!”

Kalim beamed proudly with his own thoughts, a gentle hum of agreement reaching the Huntsman, who bobbed his head in agreement, the feather atop flowing with the motion.

“Oui! I cannot agree more with appeasing the Prefects senses with treasure beyond their belief! But, would it not bore them sooner rather than later? Perhaps a more permanent solution should be put in place, non?”

Rook tilted his head to the young heir, who suddenly gaped realizing how short-term his plan truly was.

“Yeah! I’m sure we could figure something out, but maybe not too drastic…?” Cater tried, only for someone to interrupt his attempt with hysterical laughter.

“No way! That just takes all the fun out! Drastic is the best way to go!” Laughed Floyd who held his sides.

“Cater does actually have a point though… By running an analysis, the Prefect is less likely to stay if we do something drastic, so it’d either have to be gradual, or take them completely by surprise…” Ortho thought aloud, striking the other first-years into the conversation.

“A surprise sure sounds great… But what’ll we do to catch them off-guard though?” Deuce asked.

“Wait, so do you just want us to what, jump ‘em and nab ‘em?”

Ace grinned goofily, not taking the situation as seriously as everyone else, clearly upsetting Sebek who threw his open fists to the table, drawing attention to himself, almost missing the head of Silver who slept blissfully unaware.

“No! It can’t be such an insolent offence as that! This demands a more tentative solution!” He reverberated while he stood from his chair, standing straight up to shout to the younger the ginger, gritting his teeth in anger, still openly upset from the fight earlier.

“You don’t say… So are you going to charge up and bark them into a corner them?” Ace snickered, making Sebek grow even louder in various retorts, trying to defend his own actions, and that of the others in his dorm, splitting the thread of tension that kept the room quiet for now.

The fighting began, it was only natural with so many opposing forces made to be in one shared room, despite their common goal binding them together, they still fought against each other, each and every one owning their own ‘knowing’ thoughts that they believed better than the other, rather driving themselves to the grave than take any heat from anyone else.

Even though the battle was mighty, the yelling ceaseless, there was still only one small voice that murmur through the chaos.

“Is my henchuman really leaving…?”

Grim spoke warily, his words nearly trembling into tears that were ready to roll from his eyes at a moments notice.

The fighting was cut off, the attention drawn solely to him, everyone actually creeping into a tensed silence, afraid of what he might have heard; or worse what he’d do.

He could run off right now, warn the Prefect, and take off into the night, they could alert the staff, lives would be ruined.

So slowly, a figure approached him, laying a gentle hand upon his head, and met his eyes, choosing to appeal to him.

“Yes, this is true.” Silver nodded, now awake.

Attaining the common knowledge that despite the effort everyone in this room put in, to be at the height of the Prefects affection, none could match the space in their heart they held for Grim.

“Are they- are they really gonna leave me behind…? They, they wouldn’t, right…?”

“Oh, but they would.”

Someone else spoke, making Grim grow panicked, his ears sprouting straight up.

“N-No! They need to stay here! I… I need them!”

“So do we, which is why we held this meeting, you don’t believe we’d really do anything to hurt them, right?” Another voice cut in, catching Grim off guard, but making him shake his fluffy head.

“I don’t…” “That’s right! We’re their friends, we’d never harm them! All of this is to protect them, and keep them where they belong. You want that too, don’t you Grim?” A voice pulled him in, enticing him with the thoughts of keeping his Henchuman with him, and even better possibly being their hero by doing so.

“I do…” “Then why don’t you help us?” The answer was obvious.

“I’m sure we’ll find a fate befitting them, that benefit us all…”

“Please, just one ‘lil séance?!” Grim begged while you made breakfast the next morning, already having such a bad day you’d nearly burnt the toast.

You’d have to make sure Crowley got you another.

“No Grim. You know I’ve been… Weird with them lately.” You groaned, fixing the butter to your nearly charred breakfast.

“Yeah, but they can’t all be bad! And we can even invite everyone else over if things get sketchy! But, heh, you can still count on me!” “I don’t know… I still don’t trust it…” Normally you wouldn’t have minded, in fact you probably would’ve started planning it right away.

Truth be told, under more normal circumstances you loved ghosts, you loved their stories, cherished their memories, and listened to their advice.

Even during the chaos that was the ‘Ghost Wedding’, you’d somehow managed to befriend the bride and groom, who quite liked your presence, not even mentioning your party in the spectral realm during Halloween where you’d made quite a few new friends.

Especially a strange one who looked as if he clawed his way straight out of some Tim Burton movie, and hardly refused to leave you and your friends alone the entire night.

He was weirdly touchy too, giving you all kisses, much too friendly to each of you, and acting overall as if your group were all old friends he hadn’t seen in years.

Although he did feel strangely familiar when you really thought about it…

Even your dorm ghosts who you could normally spend hours chatting away with actually seemed to grow more quiet and distant, outright hardly showing up over the past week.

You’d wondered if maybe you’d done something to upset them…

The kettle whistled loudly, alerted you to the fact your instant coffee was ready to make.

“But you can trust me ‘n your other buddies, right?”

Grim leapt over to the counter while you stirred the coffee together.

“Yeah… but-“ “Then you should trust us to protect you from any bad ghosts! Look at what we’ve saved you from already! Some mean ol’ ghosts ain’t nothin’!” The not-cat scoffed confidently, then twitched his nose over to the cream you poured into a mug for him.

He was right though, they’d all fought Overblotted monsters, phantoms, and a variety of other horrible things in the name of protecting you, even now they still helped you wherever they could, no matter how small or large the problem.

“Seriously, we all care about you a whole lot… So would ya consider it at least…?” Grim set a paw onto your hand, reaching out before you could grab your coffee and run, looking at you with his big blue eyes, reflecting back with genuine concern, hope, and something else…

“I… I guess I can’t say no, can I?” You smiled briskly, ruffling his ears, then grabbing your cup.

Although you couldn’t see them, blinded by the bracelet that silenced their agonizing screams of alarm, the phantoms left you with one last warning for the disaster coming, that you would never know, but soon would wish you had.

It was such a strange development when all of your friends cornered you throughout the day, practically begging on their knees to do a séance with you.

Although you’d admit it was one of the few specialties you had that wasn’t quite magical, you’d accepted, since they’d all seemed so excited, choosing to avoid the way Grim’s uncharacteristic silence.

The air within in Ramshackle was cold as ever when you invited everyone in, even being so considerate to offer your many guests tea, but all of them declined.

There was a strange giddiness wafting through all of them, something you couldn’t quite place as to why, but maybe it was just an overall group excitement for the seance.

They rarely seemed to be held with such a large group, thus eliciting such rampant excitement between your friends.

With hands clasped together, you began to recite the spell you knew far better than anything else at this point, announcing to the void for whoever would dare to answer.

“Serpents, spiders, tail of a rat, call in the spirits wherever they’re at.”

There seemed to be strange and frightening sounds echoing through the halls, a warning almost, but you paid it no mind, instead reaching for the hands on either side of you.

“Rap on a table, it’s time to respond, send us a message from somewhere beyond.”

The candle lights flickered, the air went deathly still, and even then, you only closed your eyes, trying to ignore any distractions that’d prevent you from doing you job.

“Goblins, and ghoulies, from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine.”

A headache followed by a cacophony of noises, some with wicked laughter, others with a screeching cry, and even a few sounding like chiming bells, or various instruments made your ears feel close to bursting, but again you tried to shake away the feeling.

“Creepies, and crawlies, toads in a pond, let there be music from regions beyond.”

Something was wrong, very wrong, the headache grew in intensity, but you tried to even your breathing, hoping it’d pass. “Witches, and wizards, wherever you dwell, give us a hint by ringing a bell!” The noises intensified, the ringing louder than before, driving you mad, gritting your teeth, making you gasp out a scream, but you couldn’t; it felt like there was a pressure on your throat, almost as if you were being choked, or worse, beheaded.

No breath could leave you, only sounds of panicked choking managing to make their ways out, the sensation frightening you, making you finally open your eyes.

Once you did, you were met with the shocked faces of all your friends, each of them astounded at the sight of you, none daring to even breathe, far too shocked to move a single muscle, far too frightened to even blink, scared you’d disappear if they did .

“What… What’s going on…?” You spoke hoarsely, finally able to speak, but strangely feeling no air.

The noises stopped, the sensations stopped, everything stopped.

Trapped behind glass you couldn’t move, couldn’t even feel, the only thing you could do was witness the joyous reactions to your eternal torment; their everlasting delight at the cost of your everlasting agony.

“It really worked…” Someone said just before you broke into a maddened shriek.

The ghosts knew this was bound to happen, but you didn’t listen to them.

All they could do now was welcome you.

After all…

They’d been dying to have you…

You, the kind, and ever-so gracious Prefect of Ramshackle, reaching such levels of benevolence even the Great Sea-Witch could never (or so Azul told you, when you forgave him for trying to take your house and kill you), simply held the door open to Ramshackle, yelling at the two to make it back inside before they could lose their heads.

Running across the lawn, Ace nearly tripped over one of the ‘decorative’ tombstones (you asked Crowley if they were real but he just shrugged), and Deuce nearly slipped on a spot of moss that clung to an almost loose stone step leading up to the dorm.

Riddle was a few paces behind them however his little legs could only carry him so far.

Although all three of them were in sports clubs, only the other two had more athletic capabilities, making quick work of outrunning, and even out-dodging their house wardens spells.

You had a feeling if Riddle was on a horse though, he’d already have them wrangled and tied to his side like a little cowboy straight from the Wild West.

Once your boys reached the doorway, you roughly grabbed them by the collars, and slammed the door shut, Riddle now at the base of the steps, about to storm his way up to your doorstep.

“Now, did you remember to bring your-“ “Study supplies? Yes.” Deuce nodded to your question and you smiled.

“Perfect, now get to the parlour and set it out, I’ll be right-“ Pounding at the door cut you off, making you realize that the little guy might be faster when running on rage than you thought.

“Go! Go!” You whisper-yelled, shooing the two off with your hands, facing the door, quickly fixing your hair and clothes, then answering the door just before Riddle could bang out another set.

“Riddle! So nice to see you! What can I do for you today?” You smiled extra sweetly to the boy, who’s face was redder than his hair from his kept rage.

“You know why I’m here! I’m taking those two back whether or not-“ “Back to Heartslybul already? But they’ve just gotten here to study for the next exam, just look!” You opened the door wider to showcase Ace and Deuce sitting together on that musty old couch in the parlour, both of them pouring over open-textbooks, and even scribbling into their notebooks.

“They practically ran over here, saying something about breaking a rule on studying? Wouldn’t that be just awful if they did?” You sighed dramatically, facing the slowly-calming Housewarden as you did.

“… It would have… Thank you for keeping the boys in check, Prefect.”

He gave in, siding with you.

“Of course! I’d hate if the boys broke any rules, wouldn’t you? And… I wouldn’t like it if they gave you anymore stress either. I know your… problem happened a while ago now, but I’m still here if you need help, got it?” You finished off more genuinely, with an actual smile lightly making its way to your lips, the hint of his own falling onto Riddles.

“Thank you, Prefect… that… still means a lot…” His stormy-grey eyes glowed brightly at the very-sight of you.

“It’s no problem, we all know those two are trouble!” “Ha! You can bet on that one, bestie!” Cater beamed to your right nearly making you jump out of your skin.

“What- when-“ “We…  weren’t far behind… Riddle…” Trey huffed out, even more out of breath than the former, even taking a moment to bend over your doorframe to catch his breath, and wipe his brow.

“Dang, the whole deck came over…” You grinned to Cater who laughed.

“Sure did! We were coming back from our clubs when we saw the freshies getting chased by our ‘queen’, isn’t that right Trey?” “Heh… Yeah…” Cater asked the guy who could barely say a word, let alone breathe at the moment.

“Why don’t you guys come inside too? I’ll even fetch you some water.” “Sounds good~!” Beamed the influencer, who helped drag in the half-dying man, Riddle following suit.

The other two had their turn to nearly jump out of their skins when they saw their dormmates enter the parlour, Cater even setting Trey down and proceeding to dramatically fan him, only for Trey to use his reserved strength to shoo him away in embarrassment.

Riddle sat at the chair opposite you.

“If it isn’t too much to ask, may I have tea instead?” “No, I’ll just get the kettle going, I’ll have some too actually!”

“Why don’t… we all…?” You smiled to Riddle, when Trey gasped out.

 You excused yourself and got to work in the kitchen, playing host for your friends.

“What’s goin’ on over here?” Grim poked his little grey nose into the kitchen, taking note of how you worked with a rhythmic precision to get the drinks ready.

“The Heartslybul boys are over, would you mind grabbing that tea set up there?” You gestured using a teaspoon, while you got the tea ready.

It’d been a gift from the boys after the overblot, a fancy little teaset (in Heartslybul colours, of course), included with a few separate loose-leaf teas, ranging from herbal to even floral.

Riddle had been extra strict about that rule, considering should they ever visit (which of course they often did), depending on what time of day, they’d need to be served a certain type.

Mixing the tea as you learned, you set the tray and brought it out for your friends.

“Here, I even found some of Trey’s leftover unbirthday cake from yesterday!”

Everyone’s eyes lit up at the mention of Trey’s baking.

“Good, rule 752 states that an unbirthday cake must be eaten 3 days from whence the unbirthday party was held.”

“Sweet! Let’s dig in!” Ace cheered, scooping some to his plate, before stabbing into it with a dessert fork.

“I also brought out your sugar cubes, and some honey.” You winked to Riddle, who jumped slightly.

“Thank you…” He let out quietly, his face even flushing slightly.

“Don’t mention it!” “I will!” Cater snapped a picture of the spread, already writing a post for his Magicam story.

“How’s about we take a selfie too? Of our lil card deck~!” Cater beamed, holding his phone out.

“Sure, why not?” Trey hummed, finally back from near-death, and drinking a cold glass of water.

“I’m in!” Grim cheered, paw in the air, running over to your side.

You took note that there was already icing all over his snout.

“Who said you could take a bite off my plate?!” Ace fought, coming over too.

“Hey! Don’t fight Grim in the dorm! It’s rude!” Deuce argued, following him.

“Ok everyone, say ‘Diamond’!” He clicked the camera icon on his phone, flashing everyone’s eyes.

“AH! Wait I blinked-“

Deuce yelped, making you laugh.

It was such a nice, pleasant moment with your friends…

You didn’t even notice none of them were in their club uniforms, or that they’d all been waiting outside, ready to pounce at the perfect opportunity, with the stage set by their own steady, desperate hands.

You didn’t even notice their lies yet, but someday you will.

If only you’d heard the phantoms wail for you to see.

The following day, during lunch, the two card soldiers proceeded to recall the events of last night for your table of first-years.

“And then, they started yelling at us to ‘hurry back’, like seriously, I was running for my life to make it up those stairs!” Ace exaggerated, waving a fry around in the air.

“Well dang, least ya made it back with your head still on.” Epel responded, looking up from his apple carving.

“Just barely! Who knows what we woulda done if the Prefect wasn’t there…” “Hopefully not another stunt like that. If you think it’s easy for me to pull through for you guys like that, it’s not.” You huffed back tiredly to Deuce, watching Grim eat the peels of the apple rose Epel was carving.

“Yeah, but you still do. It’s because you love us, don’t you Prefect~?”

“That is no way to address the one who saved you lot!” Spouted Sebek, who banged his fist on the table, sending the apple peels flying to the floor.

“Hey! I was eatin’ that!” “Grim. You’ll still eat them even if its on the floor.” “Oh right!” “NO! That wasn’t an invitation!” You dove down to grab your not-cat from eating garbage.

“Hey, isn’t someone missin’ anyways?” “Now that you mention it, I do believe we’re missing a person…” Sebek responded to Epels question with a wonderous look to his face.

“It’s probably Jack, he said something about a dorm meeting around this time- would you let go of that?!” You pulled on Grim who grabbed onto the table leg with all his might, trying to reach the apple peels.

“Now’s a weird time for a dorm meeting! And I’ll let go when I get my grub!” Grim answered while wriggling in your grip.

“It’s not really weird, Riddle’s way weirder.”

“No, Vil for sure beats him out.” “My liege is far superior to your Housewardens- all Housewardens in fact!” Sebek declared above the group.

“Hey!” You glared playfully to him once you finally got Grim un-stuck from the table.

“I… apologize Prefect! You may be in league with my liege when it comes to your role as Housewarden!” “Hehe, thanks Sebek, you’re a good student too.” You jokingly gave him a pat on the head and turned to fix Grims position on the bench.

You didn’t see the blush that spread like a wildfire on the other boys face.

“Now eat your real lunch, you’re gonna get sick if you keep eating garbage.” You poked his stomach for emphasis, and the not-cat groaned.

“But I like garbage!” “Listen, if you keep eating garbage I’m gonna have to toss you outside like garbage, does it sound so tasty now?” “No…” “Good, now eat your meatball sub.” You patted between his ears and dug into yours.

“Oh look, here he comes.” Epel hummed out, only briefly glancing up from his work, when you were alerted to the oncoming stomping coming your way.

“Hey Jack!” You waved him over, as if he wasn’t already barreling over your way, living up to his track-star title.

“No running inside!” Sebek shouted to your side.

“No yelling either.”

You side-eyed him and watched him shrink away.

“What’s with all the hurry anyways? All I heard was something about a dorm-meeting just now?” “Yeah… Leona needed us for somethin’ is all…” “He’s always needin’ somethin’…” “Shihihi, right?” Grim nearly jumped in the air when Ruggie popped out from behind Jack, responding to his comment.

“Hey Prefect, how’s it goin’?” “Eh, about the same.” You picked at the food on your plate.

“Good, good, but say, do you think you could help me with-“ “No.” You answered Ruggie briskly once you took a bite of your food.

“Oh c’mon! I didn’t even get to finish what I was gonna say!” “Then don’t bother me when I’m eating. And knowing you its probably some back-breaking labour you don’t want to do.” You pointed at him accusingly with your fork, and his ears fell to the sides disappointed.

“Not this time, I swear! I just want you to grab something from the Botanical Garden. You’ll even get a reward if you do it~.” He pleaded, even making a half-attempt at pouting puppy-eyes.

“… Fine.”

You sighed, and got up from the table. “I was just about done eating anyways, Grim, you know what to do.” You gave him a look.

“Yay! Leftovers here I come!” He leapt over and nearly covered your entire tray with his body in a defensive manner, reminiscent of a food aggressive housecat.

“What? You’re really just gonna leave us like that?” “Money’s money Ace, I’ll be right back… But if I’m not make sure Grim gets to class on time. Use the nets if you have to again.” He nodded to you at your last remark, Grim thankfully too distracted by an extra meal to notice.

“Let’s get goin’ Prefect~!” The hyena beastman dragged you away from your friends, and over to the Botanical Gardens.

“So, what’d you want me to look for again?” You asked Ruggie who still tugged on your arm, insistent on dragging you with him.

“It’s in the temperate zone, under that big tree, probably facing southeast about now. You’ll know what I mean when you find it, shihihi.” He grinned, weaving you down the old stone path leading to the gardens.

“… Great, I’ll definitely find it before class starts.” You rolled your eyes, starting to wonder if a couple thaumarks was worth being late to gym.

“Oh c’mon, you’ll only miss what? A few minutes of gym? I doubt Vargas will even notice you’re not there!” “… Last time I was 5 minutes late to gym he used me as a dumbbell and had me run 10 laps around the school.”

“Well… It could be worse.” “How?” “It could be Trein.” You twitched your brow.

“Well, good luck and don’t get bit, bye!” The cackling hyena scampered off, probably off on another scam.

You groaned nearly your whole way inside the Botanical Garden, the odd fairy fluttering around between jobs serving as your only company.

You knew in your gut though, that whatever misplaced book, or item of Leona’s Ruggie forgot, would help pay this month’s bills, and hey, why not get some fancy tuna for Grim while you’re at it?

Ruggie (and Leona), had been nice enough after a certain overblot that they’d begun to give you certain small tasks for you to do for them, and in return you got to come home with some extra cash.

It was really helpful given your situation, and you’d be eternally grateful for their silent gift, if only it wasn’t such taxing work.

Although the tasks were small, they’d still somehow end up to be so… rigorous.

Like for example, this one.

It felt like finding a needle in a haystack when you made it over to the big tree in the temperate zone, and made quick work of looking around the area, only to find nothing on the ground, or the grass in the surrounding area.

Even worse, Ruggie still never left you with even a clue, so here you were on your hands and knees scrambling around the grass looking like a fool.

“It has to be small… like a bracelet…” You thought aloud, digging through a specific plot of grass, growing more and more agitated.

You’d glance at your phone seeing you only had five minutes now to make it before the first bell for class rung, now knowing there’s no way you’d make it out of here in time to change and make it over to the gym now.

Kneeling back into the grass you huffed and leaned into the tree for support, your back aching from kneeling over for so long only to come up short handed.

When you closed your eyes and tilted your head up, hoping to catch a break since no matter what, you’d be late, you felt something smack you in the face.

Tensing with your whole body, you feared it was a snake dangling from the tree, coming at your face and marking you as prey.

Shooting your eyes opened, revealed a far more familiar sight, that being a tanned lithe lion’s tail, with a darkened tip.

“You asshole.” You said, swatting it from your face.

It was then that you realized Ruggie didn’t expect you to fetch one of Leona’s belongings, he wanted you to get Leona.

“Wake up sleepyhead.” You gave his tail a gentle tug, only to hear a low growl emit from above you.

“Seriously Leona, class starts in 5 minutes. If we leave now, we can still make it for the late bell.”

You poked the dark tip of his tail, your only response being him flicking it back to your face, making your sputter.

“Damn it Leona! I know you don’t, but I’d like to make it to class on time, and-“ You got cut off by a sudden shadow looming over you in the tree, before it pounced on your form.

You couldn’t even yelp, before a sudden weight fell onto your body, and crushed a small ‘oomf’ out of you.

“Too damn noisy…” He yawned, while you tried your best to fight your way out.

“Leona! Can you not right now? I’m being paid good money to make sure you get to class!” “And I’ll double it if you shut up right now…” He slurred out sleepily, even raising a hand to put on your head.

“What? You know I’m good for it…” He chuckled lowly, threading a hand through your hair.

He was petting you like you were the cat.

“Nope. Not about this today-“ You stopped again, as your eyes started to get heavy, and you fell lax against the tree.

Something about how the sun poked small holes of light, just big enough to keep you warm, and satiated, or the small breeze provided by the gardens ventilation system, but especially the extra, warm weight that stayed on you like a blanket, seemed to lull you to sleep…

Not to mention the weird sounds you heard last night in dorm coming from downstairs, it weirdly sounded like crying, and kept you up almost all night.

Hopefully you could get the shutters fixed sooner rather than later, that’d silence the constant waning.

You had been stressed lately with the school-year coming to a close… and everyone seemed to love working you to the bone… so what was a little nap in the garden anyways?

No one would have to know…

So you let your eyes fall shut, and the other body draw closer to yours, out of strength to deny him now.

But maybe if you’d had just enough strength, you would have been able to spot the dust that coated Leona’s gloves and your hair, or the book of ancient alchemy that fell behind him in the tree.

Maybe someday, you’d even notice the dog-eared page on sleeping powders…

But, you’d be too late anyways, the phantoms cries for your escape still falling on deaf ears.

When you finally did wake, you saw it was now somehow already sunset.

The glass dome of the building reflecting the orange-hue of the sky, that was slowly being eaten away by the dark night sky.

You also noted the sudden cold you felt, the other being with you now long gone, the only  thing with you now was cold hard cash padding your pocket.

Standing up, holding onto the tree, you took a shaky step forward, even sneezing from some pollen that probably fell off of the tree with him.

You were still disoriented from… well, whatever that was, but the way your stomach grumbled reminded you with haste of your last meal being just as long gone as Leona.

With the exhaustion in your state, and the extra cash on your person, you came to the quick conclusion that you were not cooking tonight.

Heading back to Ramshackle to grab a confused Grim, you headed with him to the mirror chamber to get dinner at the one open place on campus.

The sounds of the hustling, and bustling Mostro Lounge could be heard all the way from the entrance of Octavinelle once you and Grim hit solid ground, onto the bubbly carpeted floor.

Walking through the aquarium, Grim took a moment to stand still, admiring the various schools of fish in awe, tail swaying as he licked his sharp teeth, eyeing each and every one with pinpricked eyes.

“Those fish aren’t for eating Grim.” “Who says?!” “I dunno, it just seems rude.” “If you can catch it, you can eat it!” A smooth voice chimed in from in front of you making you jump.

“Hey Jade, what’s up?” “Oh nothing much tonight, it’s still as busy as always.” Smiled the eel, bringing a hand to his heart before turning to Grim with a grin.

“My offer still stands, if you catch it, we’ll serve it.” “Whoa! I’ll get that-“ “The heck you will. All you’re gonna get is wet Grim. Then you’re gonna have a bath when we get home, you want that?” “No…” “Good. We’ll get you your usual tuna appetizer.” You scooped him into your arms, no longer trusting him to roam freely in this hall, and side-eyeing Jade for putting the very thought in his head.

“Allow me, I’ll bring you to your usual table.” Jade stepped (with ease due to his long legs), and led you through the busy lounge.

“I still don’t get why you guys like having me at that big booth… Shouldn’t you be reserving it for parties or something?” “Maybe, but the VIP section is still reserved for ‘very important people’, and you certainly fit the title on campus.” He teased to you with a cheeky grin.

Ever since another… certain event occurred, Octavinelle also bestowed a gift upon you as an apology for seeing and even helping their housewarden in such a ghastly state.

The main one being discounted food and drink at the Mostro Lounge!

Excluding seasonal promotional products of course, (but sometimes you’d notice the twins sneaking you extra).

Sitting at the large booth that’d been assigned to you as of recent, Grim sat in his provided elevated chair, even shoving the menu away from his side of the table.

“I already know what I want! I want my tuna appetizer! And a side order of tuna tacos! Ooo and-“ He went on with his order, but you felt confident enough with your wad of cash provided from this afternoon to let him get what he wanted.

You didn’t dare to think of the staff’s reaction to your skipping stunt come tomorrow though…

Since you were already almost done with your first year at Night Raven College, you’d hate to ruin your ‘Perfect Prefect’ look because of a stupid choice you made for money.

“And for you, Prefect?” Jade asked softly.

“Oh, I’ll just get today’s special and that new promotional drink.” You pointed to the front of the menu, before sliding it back his way.

He nodded and told you it’d be out shortly, taking off to the back of the house.

You didn’t really know why, but as of recent, the twins started placing you at a large booth at the far back of the restaurant, away from prying eyes, or people in general, leaving you alone with Grim and themselves as your only company.

Luckily, you’d actually started to frequent here more after the overblot, and especially after the next one, you became friends with the boys at Octavinelle, even goofing off with the twins sometimes.

“So, where’d ya get all the money?” Grim asked, tapping his paw on the table.

“Leona. He nabbed me when I went to grab him for class.” “Oh, is that why we didn’t see ya for the rest of the day?” “Yeah, and thanks for trying to help find me.”

You replied sarcastically while Grim slumped back into his seat.

“Ooo~ Shrimpy’s mad at the lil baby seal, looks like you aren’t their favourite anymore~!” A voice behind you teased. “ACK! Dammit Floyd, what’d I tell you about sneaking up on me?” “’Don’t do it inside, or like ever’, right? But it’s just so funny to see your face!” Floyd laughed, his tall head peaking over the booth’s walls, his smug grin wide as the tide.

“But I have a reason to be here this time, I swear!” He set drinks on your table, not a bit splashing despite how he practically whipped them out.

“Mmm! Mines tasty!” “Huh- this isn’t what I ordered?”

You looked to Floyd confused.

“Hm? It’s just something special I whipped up only for you shrimpy, try it!” “Ok...” You took one last look at the purple drink, rimmed with a grey dust, and sipped the silvery silly-straw, then hummed.

“It’s good, a little sweet though.”

“Aw, but it’s too sweet like you~!” “Haha, thanks…?” “So sweet I’d take a bite~” You dropped the silly straw.

“Now what’re you up to?” His brother chided from his side, setting down the plates of food while keeping a close, knowing yellow eye onto his twins.

“Oh nothing, just playing with our shrimpy~!” Floyd poked your cheek for emphasis.

“You sure have a weird way of showing it...” You went for your food, trying to avoid his laughter.

You were now beginning to understand Riddle’s aversion to this particular twin.

“Floyd remember to play gentle with the Prefect.” “I was! I only said I wanted to take a bite~!”

“We both know you act on your words, remember to save some for the rest of us~” A devious wink was shot your way.

It was your turn to slump into your seat, trying to hide from the teasing remarks coming from you at every side, holding a silent prayer that some benevolent soul may save you from this.

“Just what are you two doing?” Hey, you asked for a benevolent soul, not him.

“Nothing Azul, just talking with our dear Prefect, isn’t that right brother?” “Sure is! Look at their lil face!” Floye continued to poke your face, laughing in sync with his twin, leaving you to roll your eyes and try to swat him off.

“That’s enough of you two, get back to work.” Azul ordered the two, only for the handsy one to droop his arms over you defensively.

“Nuh uh, this is work, we’re serving Shrimpy, watch.” Floyd moved a plate to you as slow as inhumanely possible, making Azul’s very body tense.

“If you two don’t get back to the floor so help me-“ “Floyd’s right though, we’re already on the floor helping the poor unfortunate Prefect with their dinner, isn’t that right?” “Whatever this is, I’m not a part of it.”

You answered defensively, shrugging Floyd off, going to dig into your dish, since Grim was already nearly done his third serving.

“Look, they’re eating their food, leave them alone.” “I’ll eat with them-“ “Not while you’re on the clock.” “Maybe you’re right Azul, it wouldn’t do us any good to scare them away.” They conversed as if you weren’t sitting right there.

“It’s all good, I’ll be here later anyways, right? It’s not like I’m just not gonna see you guys anymore.” You joked, only making them tense.

“Yeah… Anyways I’d hate to keep you guys any longer. Go on then.” You smiled jokingly once the one twin dragged the other away, laughing as he fought.

“I swear, you’re the only one those two will actually listen to…” “I wouldn’t say that, I’ve seen Jade at least respond to their mom well enough.” You took another sip of the drink.

At the second sip, you took note that it started to taste less of a saturated sweet, but more of a light candied now, perhaps you’d just have to grow accustomed to it? Talking about growing accustomed, the way the lighting fell onto his pale face, his pearlescent hair weaving around his forehead drawing you in as the moon does to the tides.

“Can I help you with anything else?” He asked, breaking you from your small trance, startling you back to reality.

“Sorry… I just… must be getting tired.” “I see… well if that’s the case you’d better get home soon then, don’t worry about the bill, it’s on the house tonight.

“Really…?”

You were astounded at his sudden generosity, finding it completely unbelievable.

Sure, he’d give you major discounts here and there, maybe even look the other way when the twins gifted you with more than you asked for, but this was a straight-up handout, something he’d never done before.

“Oh really? And what’s the catch this time? You want me to roll up my sleeves and help with the dishes in the back?” You teased, watching as his lips perked lightly at the ends, even letting out a small hum of a laugh.

“No, none of that, I’m just- celebrating.” “Celebrating what?” “The new drink addition to the Lounge, “ He pointed a gloved hand to your purple concoction that Floyd handed (forced) to you before.

“Oh really?”

“Yes, it went over well with our testing team.”

“Hah, I still think it’s too sweet.” You smiled, but still took another sip, even finishing off the drink.

On your way out of Mostro Lounge you passed by Azul’s office, that was open by a mere crack, the very crack tempting, trying beckoning you to peak in.

But you wouldn’t notice of course, since you were carrying a food-coma struck Grim back home to Ramshackle.

If you had peaked in though, maybe you would’ve spotted the many, many potionsbooks scattered around the room, the many papers that dried with inky blotches of mangled handwriting, and other scribbles made by a madman.

Or worst, the final hastily scrambled formula that placed its way at the top of the pile simply reading,

‘Love Potion?’

You wouldn’t notice any of this, but if you had, it might’ve prevented you from your own demise, the phantoms still shrieking at you to run.

The following day, you found yourself in the library, during your study hall time, scratching notes into your notebook, all while trying to make sense of what was this worlds essentially ‘Magic Physics’.

And although you got a thorough scolding from a Headmage who strangely seemed more disappointed in himself than you, you were let off fairly easily about the whole skipping situation.

You were getting a headache, and you were nauseous almost all of this morning, nearly not wanting to come in because of it.

The shrieking that echoed throughout nearly the whole dorm didn’t help much either, and was starting to become a serious issue you’d have to bring up to Crowley next time you saw him.

It was as if your body was trying to purge you of something vile coursing through your veins.

You still managed to push through, and just declare it as a ‘small bug’ when Grim grew concerned, even making it early to class.

Now though, you could feel its effects fighting back against your immune system, and a fever growing to your head.

Laying your burning head onto the cold, wood table you closed your eyes and took a deep breath in and out.

“I told ya it’s more than some bug!” Grim huffed to your side, poking your cheek as if to check you were still alive.

“And? What am I gonna do? There’s only a few weeks left of classes, and I really need to pull through for the exams…” You forced your head back up, and went back to reading through the book.

“Then I order you as the Great Grim to quit for the day!” Grim got on the table, and shoved your book back down, away from your face.

“Grim… seriously, I need to get this magic theory stuff down.” It was an especially difficult topic for you too, considering you didn’t have any, thus making your brain run circles to collect any fitting material on it, as if it wasn’t already running enough trying to keep you alive right now.

“No! You’re the Henchuman! You have to listen to me!” He ruffed, pawing at your book.

“Grim, please stop playing around, now isn’t the-“ “Hey Prefect! What’s good?” A soft, joyous voice chimed in.

“Oh. Hi Kalim…” You answered him tiredly, even a bit sluggishly, not even caring to put on a smile at the moment.

“Whoa! You’re not looking too good Prefect! What’s wrong?!” Kalim came over, muttering some words you didn’t understand when his face got up in yours, eyeballing your every pore.

“Really Kalim, I’m fine, I think I just caught some weird summer bug, or allergies, something. It’s probably just the dorm-“ “You’re sick?!” He yelled, followed by shushing throughout the area.

“Barely… I managed to come in today, so that must count for something.” You pulled away from him, going back to your book.

“No they aren’t! This morning they wouldn’t stop heaving-“ “HEY!” You whisper-yelled, giving him a look making him shrink, but still look back to Kalim.

“They’re real sick, and they won’t listen to me!” Grim cried to Kalim, who’s brows were crossed in worry.

“Grim stop exaggerating and leave him alone-“ “Kalim what are you doing here, I told you to stay at the table.” You were cut off by a louder, harsher voice.

“I know, but I saw the Prefect here, look!” He gestured to your feverish, sickly self.

“… And why are you bothering them?” “Bothering? I wasn’t I swear! I just came by to say ‘hi’ at first but then I saw their face! Just look at them!” Kalim moved forward to squish your face with great concern, and basically shove it at Jamil.

“Actually, he is a bother, get him away.” You half-joked causing him to dramatically drop your face and gasp.

“Hm. He’s not wrong though… You do look sick…” “It’s probably a bug or something, it’ll pass. Actually maybe it’s even stress-“ “Stress?! I know the perfect cure for that! Come with me!” “Kalim we’re still in class-“

Jamil tried to fight off his Housewarden, completely ignoring your voiced concern, only to get cut off by the bell ringing loudly, signalling the end of the day.

“Oh perfect! Let’s get going then!” Kalim grabbed ahold of your arm, and tugged you all the way to the mirror hall, being chased by an excited Grim, and an annoyed Jamil.

“Kalim let them go, they need rest!” “No way! Let’s give them a feast first!” “I’m in!” Grim cheered through the two’s bickering, while your fever induced state made the entire world spin.

The sudden transition from a cooler, breezier warmth that the Sage’s Island summer gifted you, was then replaced with a slap-in-the-face desert sauna, that only seemed to intensify the fever.

“Seriously Kalim, I’m fine, I just need to go home and-“ “Here, drink this!” He handed you some drink he got from you don’t know where, but you drank it anyways, not wanting to seem rude.

It had a creamy spiced taste to it, that left your throat tingling, and after sometime even seemed to soothe your aching head.

“Wow this is good… what is this?” “Oh just something I usually have for when I’m sick!” He beamed, and Jamil finally arrived giving the other boy a knowing look, before sighing.

“Fine, I’ll make you dinner.” “Great!” Kalim smiled, and sat your swaying body onto the pillows of the dorms common room, fixing you some more of that drink that worked so well at clearing your system.

“Really though, what is this? I’d love some for next time I’m sick, hah.” “Oh it’s only for a certain type of sickness, but I hope you don’t catch it again…” Kalim suddenly looked at you concerned.

“You seem really worried… Is it that serious?” “Oh no! It’s not, but you’re lucky you ran into us still.” He smiled, still refusing to tell you exactly what type of magic ailment fell upon you.

“Ok… thank you…” “Let’s talk about something nicer though? Like how I found some more of those blue cheese and crackers Grim likes so much!” “MYAH! NO!” Your not-cat yelped, puffing up and running behind, making both you and Kalim laugh.

Eventually Jamil came back served the food, a delicious assortment of foods that made you drool at the very sight of it all.

“Thanks Jamil!” “Yeah, thank you Jamil, it looks great!” You added on, Grim even hopping out behind you and dining on his portion of the feast, not having the time to utter a word before he dove straight into a morsel of meat.

“Eat! You’ll need your energy!”

Kalim slid you a dish, while Jamil fixed you some tea, once your cup of the weird-magic-healing-stuff was empty.

“Slow down Kalim, if you force too much food on them it’ll only make them sicker. Here.” Jamil moved aside the dish of rich meats the other brought you, and replaced it with a lighter curry and some rice.

“Here, this should be lighter on your stomach.” He set down the tea for you all, and backed away to the shadows.

“He still doesn’t eat with you?” “No… I’ve invited him to a couple times, but he just walks off.” Kalim answered you, putting his attention to his coconut juice.

“Well… I’m sure he just needs more time. I can’t say for sure if he’ll ever be your best friend like you want, but if you just give him more time, and more space, let him be his own person y’know? I bet it’s something he’ll at least appreciate.” You smiled to the boy who looked to you with glowing eyes, seeming to eat up every word you’d say.

“Wow… Thank you so much, Prefect…” “Don’t mention it.” You nodded back, taking a sip of your tea, only to drop it from its till steaming heat, shattering the cup onto the carpet.

“Oh no! I’ll go get Jamil-“ “No, no, it’s my fault, I’ll go to the kitchen to get something to clean this up, you keep Grim company and I’ll be right back, ok?” He nodded back, turning to Grim and whipping out a cracker; you didn’t stay long enough to hear his echoing protests.

Once you made it to the kitchen however, you found Jamil standing at the sink, and washing the dishes by hand, rather than with magic as you’d seen others do before.

“Do you like washing up the old fashion way?” You mused, coming into the doorway, taking note of the slight jolt he made when he heard your voice behind him.

“No… The doctors say I should still limit my magic use.” “Oh… Sorry for bringing that up…” You winced at the mention of his harmed state of magic.

Although it’d been months since winter break, Jamil still seemed to be suffering from some of the aftershock symptoms that came with overblot.

It was something you took note of in some of your other friends too, which is why to this day you still offered to help them through their hardships, even now.

“Did you want some help?” “No.” “Ok…” “You’re still sick, remember?”

“But you’re still sick too.” He refused to turn and face you, instead focussing all his attention to the task at hand.

“I know it’s been sometime since your… problem, but really, it’s ok to ask for help… and at least just remember, I’m here when you need me.” You breathed out, while he remained silent, still washing his dishes.

“…”

“I’ll see you later Jamil…” You turned and left, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts, not noticing how his eyes glistened through the window that reflected the millions of diamonds that shone through the sky.

You went back to Kalim, sitting, chatting, and laughing with him, but still keeping Jamil in the back of your mind.

Eventually you had to go home, as all good things came to an end, you wished Kalim a good night, eyeing the doorway to the kitchen mournfully, and walking home with a sleepy Grim.

Maybe if you weren’t so sick, or if you’d paid anymore attention, you would’ve realized the study hall period was made up entirely of first years, your Scarabia friends however were still so delighted to sneak in to watch your presence.

 The phantoms trying their best to reach out to you, only phasing through, left you chilled in the night.

The following morning you were much, much more exhausted, being kept awake the whole night still exuding whatever illness was left in your body.

Although the fever had long since left, a frigid chill came along to replace it, with just as much intensity, making yet another endless night of restlessness.

Just when you’d thought you were getting better, lady lucky came back to kick you back down.

“Human! I’m hungry!” Grim walked around your unrested form, grumbling wide-awake, and waiting for his breakfast.

“Go to the cafeteria early then…” “It’s Saturday!” “… Shit.”

You groaned into your pillow, trying to think of a way to get food to your not-cat, and as your empty stomach grumbled, yourself.

After purging what remained of Jamil’s amazing dinner, you were left running on empty, but overall better; just an incredibly exhausted, shivering mess.

“What about Mostro Lounge?” “They don’t do breakfast, remember? Floyd refuses to get up early on the weekends, and Jades busy on mountain excursions. Azul told us that when we visited that one time, remember?” “Oh… Yeah…” Grim huffed, laying on you, both of your stomachs grumbling in sync.

“Wait! What about the Mystery Shop?” Grim jumped up to your face.

“That’s… actually not a bad idea.” You fought your way into a sit-up, wondering if you had the strength to take a shower, then deciding you’d better use what was left of your energy to go head down the path for breakfast.

It’s not like you’d see anyone you knew at the shop this early, right? Slipping on an old musty hoodie you’d found in one of the many dusty rooms of the dorm, then adding some sweatpants for extra warmth, you let Grim lead the way to your salvation.

“Can I get a fancy tuna for breakfast?” “Sure, I think I might just get one of those special breakfast sandwiches…” You yawned, walking haphazardly down the stone path.

With it being fairly early on a Saturday morning, you’d yet to run into anyone on your trip to the store, bringing you good fortune, as you’d probably die before you let any of your friends see you in such a state of… well gross.

Letting the warm rays of the morning sun carry you to the threshold of the shop, you let out a sigh of peace, wishing every day on campus could be this calm.

You held the door open, waiting for Grim to stroll in ahead of you, when you saw him.

There, just ahead of you, stood the tall and regal frame of Vil, waving a pointed finger to the top of lilac hair that barely poked out above the aisles height.

It was instinctual, really, when you saw him, you started to close the door so you could turn and run, only for it to get caught and pulled wide open to showcase bright green almond eyes.

“Trickster! Bon journée, how are you this morning?”

“Uh… tired.” You answered honestly to the huntsman, knowing it was too late now, you’d been caught, and could only assume the worst from here, wondering what the punishment for committing the crime of bedrotting would be.

“Fatiguée? How terrible! It’s truly horrible when one doesn’t get enough sleep! All the awful things lack of rest causes, what a poor Trickster you are!” “I’m… fine. I’m just gonna get my sandwich and have a rest is all, have a nice day Rook.” You moved past him, going to meet Grim at the canned goods aisle where he was no doubt scoping out his own breakfast.

“Well you certainly don’t look ‘fine’.” A demanding voice tutted behind you, making you tense, stuck in place at the very sound of his voice.

“Morning Vil… and Epel…” “Good Morning Prefect.” Epel, the very image of a perfect Pomefiore student while under the watchful radars of both his Housewarden and Vice, peeking out from behind his Housewarden, while Vil merely hummed back.

“You look like you fell down the mountain in a trashbin, potato.” “Honestly? I kinda feel it too…” You sighed, perking his interest.

“Oh? Do explain.” “It’s not much, I was just a bit sick yesterday, probably just a bug or some stress, but I’m better now.” “Clearly you’re not.” The celebrity eyed your form up and down, with a similar look to when he’d encounter Idia once he crawled out of his cave, making you shiver once again.

“Nothing a breakfast sandwich and some rest will fix.” “Seriously?! You expect to feel better once you shove extra grease and carbs into your face?!” “… I mean food is food-“ “No.” And just like that, you were whisked away by the bossy blonde and his entourage (featuring Grim), through the Pomefiore mirror.

Holding onto him a bit tighter than you should’ve, you tried to steady yourself after nearly tumbling over from exhaustion and hunger.

He said nothing, but you still felt embarrassed when you hastily detached yourself, choosing to stand a bit farther to his left.

“I’m missin’ prime fancy tuna time here!” Grim huffed at your heels, glaring up to the diva who only rolled his eyes.

“You two will get your breakfast, as soon as you’re ready.” Was the only response he left you with.

The bright morning sun of the dorms environment shone brightly down to you, leaving you with a slight headache from the reverberated reflections of the various polished decorations the dorm had, making you pull your hood over your head to hide from it all, finally relating to your gamer buddy.

Reaching the grand hall of the dorm, you went to take a seat, only to get yanked back to your feet.

“Who said you’d be sitting? You’ve still got work to do.” “Eh?!”

You jumped back up locking eyes with him, now feeling as if you were in some heated battle with the bombshell blonde.

“What do you want now?” “You.” “Ayo-” “To not be a complete disgrace.” He finished his sentence, narrowing his eyes at your flustered reaction.

“I’m sorry, but I think that might take a bit more than a makeover.” You half-joked to him, only to hear a small snort from Epel.

“Funny. Go to the bathroom, don’t worry about clothes, we’ll let you borrow a dorm uniform.” “What about-“ “You can use the provided products in there too, Seven knows you need them…” “Ok, that’s cool and all but-“ “I will stand guard for you, to make sure no vagrants intrude on you, mon Trickster.” Rook bowed, while Vil nodded, and Epel gave you a sympathetic look.

“Cool. So, what about Grim?”

You pointed to said not-cat, who was already about to try and make the pristinely perfectly white couch his new scratching post.

“I will personally be handling him.” He answered with a scrutinizing gaze to your fluffy arsonist, the said little guy retracting his claws.

“Good luck.” Was all you said to Grim, before going off to the Pomefiore bathroom.

To say the bathrooms of this dorm were bougie would be an understatement to their bougieness.

From the darkly plum purple floor that collaged with a marooned red, and a dark gold to form a mosaic in the centre of the room, the marbled white pillars that reached the ceiling, the smaller fences of the gilded gold that curled into beautiful guard rails, or the grandest sight of all, the chandelier that hung many lights unto the table of mirrors.

Even the air here smelt lavish, despite being a bathroom at an all-boys school.

Taking a step into the closest shower, you took your time enjoying the warm water that didn’t take 10 minutes to heat up, only to scald you, this heat instead easing your aching, sleep deprived body, and gently warming the chills away.

The soap provided, you noticed, was from an ad you remember your model/actor friend doing at some point, probably gifting you some extra PR he had left over from the time.

It was something you knew would be way too expensive for you under normal circumstances, so you decided to cherish this extra luxury you’d been gifted.

Once you were done with the shower, you followed through with skincare, and haircare with the provided products you could tell were specified for you personally, a healthy glow emanating off of you once you were finished.

Slipping into the silky soft dorm uniform you were reminded of the last time you were lent one of these, and the situation it was because of…

But that was a thought for later, you had to eat before anything else you noted once your stomach let out an especially loud grumble, louder than a certain lion when pissed off.

  Making your way out the door, there stood Rook, who true to his word, was keeping guard outside while you had your time to fix yourself up in private.

“Merveilleux! You are true beauty once again!” The huntsman dramatically clutched his heart, falling to one knee.

“Haha, sure, sure buddy.” “Non, I am true to my words, to the depths of mon Coeur!” He echoed out, like a ballad or psalm meant to describe something far grander than you.

“I know you do, everything you do is… passionate.” “Ah, such a statement from you makes my heart sing with joy!” You smiled at his eccentricities, letting him lead you to the dining room, where Grim sat in a fresh clean bow, sitting with an equally disappointed Epel as Vil went over table etiquette with their breakfast, eyes turning to you.

“I’m all ready!” “For a day at home, you didn’t even do your makeup.” The blonde scoffed, adding on a punch to your statement.

“Hey! I still did my skincare!” You fought back, sitting at your assigned seat, side-eyeing him once you sat, your only reply from him being is own eyeroll as he sat at the head of the table.

“Here, this should be gentler on your stomach than… what you wanted before.” “Hm… We’ll have to see about that, won’t we?” You teased to him, poking around at what was served.

It was a simple fruit bowl with some porridge to the side of it, (he was even nice enough to include brown sugar!), and a cup of tea.

“Thank you, for being so thoughtful…” “Of course. If I wasn’t who would be?”

He smirked to himself in thought while you dug into your breakfast, trying to keep mind of your table manners (although, he seemed more lax with his rules today).

Even through all the cattiness you two shared between your back-and-forths, you knew he still cared about you in his own special way.

It was an easy breakfast for you, managing to go and stay down with ease, but also keeping you full enough.

Once you were done, you bid your goodbyes, reminding Epel you’d meet him at class, and went on your way to the mirror chamber.

The phantoms tried to grasp you, they really tried to get ahold of you, crying to warn you of the remnants of a certain unique tracking spell placed on the products you used today, but you wouldn’t notice, too full and pampered to give a care of the dangers that hunted you.

“Man, I can’t wait to get a nap in…” You yawned to your not-cat who nodded back, sluggishly walking through the mirror hall with you on your way back to Ramshackle.

“Me too! I’m gonna take a real long nap, then I’m gonna go eat s’more!” He grinned, tail swaying happily behind him at the very thought of such a fulfilling day.

“Like heck you are, we still have to study for that test coming up, remember? We only have a few weeks left of school.” “Grrr, stupid test…” He grumbled, tail now twitching with annoyance.

“Hey, think of it this way, once we get all the exams over, we have all summer to goof off, how’s that sound?” “Mrah, still not worth all the effort.” He fought back, reaching out with his forepaws to open the doors outside for you both, only to get beaten to it, when the doors were quite literally blasted open, sending Grim flying in the air, to your arms where you pulled him to your chest, holding him tight.

Methodical humming, the odd beep boop, and whirring alerted you to the interlopers identity.

“Ortho, what’d we say about using your blasters indoors?” “Oops!” A childlike voice laughed robotically, the synths that backed his voicebox reminding you of some techno song.

“But I wasn’t indoors yet!” He tried to argue.

“Sure, but you still almost got Grim with it.” “Sorry Grim!”

“You owe me tuna!” He huffed from your arms, the younger boy’s synth laughter echoing through the large foyer.

“What are you doing running around like this anyways? It’s still pretty early.” “Actually, you are!” He floated closer, his pixelated yellow eyes glowed brightly.

“Me? Did you need help with an assignment or something…?” “Nope! But my brother needs help with something!” “Huh?” You tried to wrack your brain of what could he, the greatest genius in all the land could possibly want from a ‘noob’ like you?

“What’s that weirdo need anyways? And I’m not doin’ nothin unless there’s tuna involved!” “Hehe, there can be! But it’d be easier if Big Brother explained you himself!” And for the second time this morning, you were taken through the mirror to another dorm (semi) unwillingly.

This time you were more stable when your feet hit the cold, hard floor of Ignihyde, but you still had difficulty moving in the Pomefiore robes, feeling as though the heavy fabrics wanted to pull you further down.

“This way!” The little guy zoomed through the artificially lit halls of the dorm, leading you and Grim down the familiar path to Idia’s room.

After that day you had with the Shroud Brothers and your friends once Ramshackle was rebuilt, and especially after the last overblot that happened, you began to grow closer and closer with the brothers.

It only started with them coming over occasionally to play games, on that new fancy console they bought you as an apology, that later led to an exchange of Gamer Tags online, then finally being allowed into the privacy of the older Shroud’s domain.

You’d started coming over more recently, bringing the odd offering of a pack of gummy worms, as if he were some deity gifting you his presence, which considering how little you, or anyone really, saw of him, felt that way.

“Here we are! We’re back, brother!”

The younger Shroud pressed a button attached to the blue keypad tablet, waving in the cameras view, you holding Grim into frame and even waving his little paw too.

With silence as your only response, the pressurized door opened for you all, the twinkling blue lights of the room serving to beckon you in.

“Hey Idia, what’s good?” You stepped into the dark room, making sure to step over any odd boxes or empty candy wrappers you saw.

“Nothing.” He grumbled from his desk-chair that faced his computer, hands making quick work to move a controller around, the screen flashing with every action his little character made.

“Cool, cool. Ortho came by and said you needed help, mind explain-“ “GAH! Seven forbid I get a damn chance at beating this!” He threw his head back dramatically, chewing on his lip as he gripped the control with rage, a bleak ‘Game Over’ screen flashing across the monitor.

“Ok… I think I see what the problem is…” You set Grim on his bed (he went running into the box you kicked aside the second he locked eyes on it), and went to Idia’s side.

“It’s this damn level… I can’t get passed it…” He grumbled, glaring at the ‘Game Over’ as if it cursed his bloodline.

“It’s a game that’s meant to be two-player, so I took that as a challenge to get past all on my own, but… by the seven this one’s impossible!” He growled like a rabid dog once his eyes locked onto the screen.

You locked your eyes onto his, letting out a huff of a breath thinking it through.

Back home you played your fair share of games, even daring to call yourself a gamer, but this guy was a pro, he was in a whole different league you were only witness to.

“Y’know I’m not… the best at all your fancy gaming techniques…” “Yeah, but I’m not expecting you to tech it like me, I just want you to be my support for this level, when I start losing health, I want you to double parry to bring me back to life, got it?”

“Uh, sure.” You nodded to him.

You’d seen him play this game a couple times before, it reminded you of one you knew before back home, another game that was infamous for being difficult to pass through.

But when you held the controller in your hands, you knew you were in for it.

Even though you’d also had the chance to play on different consoles, most of them overall had the same key buttons no matter which one they were.

This one did not. You took note of it first that night when you’d played with all your friends, that being that the controls in this world appeared to be reversed from the ones you’d memorized back home.

So, with an awkward start, you sat down beside his desk and move your character sluggishly behind his.

“Wait, so are the smoothies life? “Yeah.” “And those blocks respawn?” “Sure do.” “Who’s that lil guy in the corner there?” “He’s a smaller clone of the legendary hero, he dresses like him because he’s his biggest fan.” “Aw, that’s cool.” You mainly followed beside him through most of the level, even helping fight off the odd enemy that was about to strike, or blocked the path, and helped to heal whenever things got too risky.

Eventually you two reached the dreaded final part of the stage of the level, holding your breath in case you became witness to his infamous gamer rage.

“You guys got it!” Ortho cheered from the other side of the room, holding onto a wrestling Grim, who was currently fixated on trying to dive into the box again.

Taking a deep breath, you followed Idia’s character to the boss ring, helping and parrying for him at every opportune chance, reminding you of the last time you worked as his support, not so long ago amidst the draconic carnage.

“Hey, you still didn’t pay me back for supporting you during the last overblot. It got so tiring picking up your slack.” You joked, catching him rolling his yellow eyes in between attacks.

“Please, I could’ve done it all myself, I was just tired.” “Ha, like now?” You teased more, noting the tips of his hair that turned pink at the ends, lighting like wildfire the rest of the way.

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.” He faced away back to the screen, hitting one last button, on his one last hope, killing the beast.

The end screen played, his exhausted face only blinking in shock, before dropping his controller.

“We did it…” “We did!” You smiled to him, fully turning to face him up close for the first time proper today, only to take in the sight of what his overnighter had done to him.

“Wow that was crazy, huh? But I actually kinda wanted to remind you too, if you’re having any more… well, problems, I’m still here for you too, even though your own big problem was a while ago, yeah?” You worded it a bit awkwardly, but gave him a gentle pat on the back nonetheless.

His pale face fell to the laws of gravity, eyebags much heavier than normal, concerning you to his slumped posture that seemed to sway.

“Uh… You good bud-“ He finally caved in and fell over to his desk, closing his eyes, and giving in.

“Just leave him, he needs it!” Giggled his younger brother who waved a feather from who knows where at Grim who stayed in the box.

Smiling with an awkward tiredness yourself, you turned back to the bed, gently picking up a blanket and draping it softly over the worn-out gamers shoulders, then bent back down to pick up your Grim.

“I’ll see you guys later then, bye!” You waved to the both of them, despite one being zonked out to your left, yet the younger Shroud still bid you goodbye with a giddy childish excitement.

What you’d failed to notice though was the little red light in the corner of Ortho’s eye, barely a speck honestly amidst the vibrant yellows that constantly shone as bright as their own little sun.

It was, however, serving a far more nefarious duty, watching your every move, and keeping its content stored within a special file in his harddrive, only attainable by himself and his brother.

The ghosts sobbed this time, trying their best to get a grasp on you, anything, as they could feel your time drawing nearer; they knew that soon it would be too late...

Once you’d made it out the other end of the mirror chambers though, you let your shoulders drop, and let Grim fall to the ground, letting him make the rest of the way back to the dorm on his own.

Meanwhile you took your time, admiring the quiet afternoon, but starting to grow uncomfortable in your current clothes.

Yes, Pomefiore had infamously beautiful dorm clothes, but as beautiful as they were, they didn’t make up much for long-time-wear, especially for a person in such a state as yourself.

Stumbling into your shared room Grim was nowhere in sight, probably off bothering your other more spectral roommates, or worse, digging through last nights leftovers in the fridge.

Throwing off the heavy robes, you practically dove into some more comfortable pajamas that made you drop the regal bearings just as swiftly.

Looking back outside though, you were met with the afternoon sun, hanging high up in the sky, tempting you once again to bask in its glory, and succumb to another afternoon nap.

Which you did; gabbing a spare blanket, throwing yourself upon one of the less upholstered chairs you kept outside, you curled yourself into a ball under the suns rays, much like a cat, and hummed a soft thought, dreaming away…

Although once you woke, it felt as if you’d been punched in the gut by the sudden cold that night brought, the warmth of the loving sun now gone, replaced by the moons chilling cold.

Grasping the blanket tighter you shivered, and made an angered groan once you noticed Grim had yet to close the curtains and turn any of the lights off inside.

“It’s awfully late for you to be awake, child of man.”

A low voice spoke, breaking you immediately from your thoughts.

“Hornton?” You looked up to see one of your closest friends at the entrance of your dorm, not yet ascending the steps.

Not so long ago, he took to roaming and doing as he pleased, much so without a care in the world, his magic lending him this ability he never seemed all that grateful for, especially when he could come visit you, his dearest friend, whenever he wished.

Nowadays though, he began to realize just how much he’d taken his prior power for granted, and especially just how out of touch he truly was with the ways of man.

He found himself growing tired more easily and often, when before he could go from class to back in his dorm all within the blink of an eye, now it took an intensely unsatisfactory amount of effort to walk the entire way.

He didn’t understand how all his peers could do so with such ease, and he’d have to commend them in that regard.

But although having quite a hindrance put upon him, it still did little to stop the nightly walks he partook with you, considering your company was something he held high above his own physical whims.

“Did I miss our walk? I’m sorry, I haven’t really been feeling my best lately…”

“Do not concern yourself at all child of man, I too understand all too well the ailments of the ill.” He dismissed your apology, instead striding up to meet you, and sit by your side.

Looking up the cracked portion of his horn lit up beside you almost as a torch, but it still felt strange to see the way his magic pulsated inside, reminding any who saw it of its true meaning of filtering or holding his magic.

“I must ask, what ails you though, my dear… friend?”

“It’s not so bad anymore, just some sort of weird bug, but I promise it’s not all that bad! I’ve just been having some weird bad luck this week…” You started to trail off, remembering the past events and all the oddities it brought, even starting to ramble on to your poor friend who simply sat there, nodding along to your tales of woe.

“How strange indeed… Perhaps it is some sort of magical affliction?” “I tried to ask around but nobody gave me a straight answer.” You sighed and leaned back into the patchy chair all while your friend hummed to himself, then seemed as if he came up with an idea.

“Would you perchance happen to have much time on your hands?” “I guess…?” “Wonderful.” And with a gentle hand being brought to yours, you somehow found yourself taking the very same path he began to take everyday from the school grounds, through the mirror chambers, and back to the chilling domicile of Diasmonia.

At this hour of night not many were awake, much less any mortals, but the typical crew of Diasomnia residents still hung around the lounge, not quite ready for bed, but beginning to fall to the whims of rest.

Sebek stood straight up and tense, pacing in spot, letting out loud mutterings while fretting viciously about the whereabouts of his precious lord, fearing the worst to come of his weakened state, putting far too much grievous afterthought into his ideals.

Lilia only laid still on the couch, also dressed in loungewear nearing time for bed, not daring to stand up though, instead far too busy in the motions lighting up his handheld console, giving Sebek the odd words of encouragement, attempting to calm his restlessness while his large slippers lay crossed in his son’s lap.

Silver himself was strangely still awake, simply watching his father’s game; a new occurrence you’d begun to hear from other students about his newfound ability at keeping himself awake for much longer than before, although he still found himself falling into the arms of sleep throughout the day.

“Now Sebek, you know Malleus isn’t as frail as that, just because he’s lost a portion of his magic doesn’t make him a weak flailing kitten.”

“But still! What if some – some transient came along and threatened him? Or worse, some common low-life decided he’d try to fight him in such a weakened state! I… I don’t know what I’d do if that were to become of him-“

“Good evening, Malleus, and Prefect.” Silver nodded calmly to the both of you between the chaos.

“Hi Silver!” You answered for the both of you, while Sebek watched gobsmacked, eyes jutting between the two of you.

“See? You should truly give your prince more credit, only he could survive such a cacophony of catastrophe and still visit the Prefect every night!”

Lilia laughed with a hearty chuckle, dropping the console to his lap and holding his sides with a toothy grin.

“My Lord! Where were you at this-“

“In a moment Sebek, we’ve come to speak with Lilia.”

Malleus raised his hand in a silencing motion, keeping his eyes fixed on the giddy old man.

“Oh? And what could the two of you want from me at this hour?”

He then sat up from his son’s lap and leaned over, suddenly deeply intrigued.

“The Prefect is experiencing a grave sickness of some sort, and I assumed you would have an answer for their troubles, as you are quite experienced.”

“Right you are! But what is the problem dear Prefect?” All eyes were suddenly on you, even from the other two who were once left to their own devices, now brought to attention.

“I mean it’s not really anything that bad…? I’ve just been having a spout of bad luck is all…”

“’Bad luck’ can still mean something detrimental dear child, could you explain further?”

Lilia started to rise from the couch, weightlessly floating over to meet you and give you a look-over, much alike to a parent watching their child for any scrapes or bumps.

“Well, just some paranoia, I guess? Like I’m being watched? And some chills too.”

“Interesting… Were you aware that there is a malicious spirit attached to you?” “Huh?!”

You jolted in spot then, turning to face Lilia who’d stopped circling you mid-air.

“What – What do you mean?” “Many other species, be they Human, Merfolk, or Beastman have their own strengths, but us Fae are far more sighted to magic than they rest. Which is how I’m able to see the nasty fellows trying to drag you off with them.” “But why? And how?!” You gasped, now panicked and paranoid looking around, trying to spot the vicious fiends that clawed, and grasped at you, preying on you.

“I can’t say for certain… But! I do have a special gift that might help!” He beamed to you, and with a wink he was gone then back again, now with something in his hands.

It was a bracelet, wound by clear beads that when hitting the light right, would emit a blueish spectral glow, pulsing with a strange sense of life.

“This should keep you safe for now, it prevents spirits to interact with you from the other side!” “But what about-“ “You needn’t worry about your dormmates, since they’re already in this world they shouldn’t be affected!” “Ok…” You twirled the beads, before sliding them onto your wrist and noticed immediately  that everything, the paranoia, the chills, the sense of dread, left your body the moment the bracelet slid onto your skin.

“I… Thank you so much Lilia…” “Hehe, it’s nothing for a little Prefect like you! Now, why don’t you head home now, it’s getting awfully late?” “Yes… I will…” You smiled back briskly once he gave you a small head-pat.

Honestly, you hardly remembered the walk back to the mirror chamber, then eventually climbing into bed.

The one thing you remembered was the utter silence the night brought with it, finally enjoying a night of good rest.

The spirits now stayed silent in mourning; they knew you’d join them soon.