white as snow , burning blue...

the head of ignihyde is … confused,  more so than anything else,  when they find a student from royal sword on campus …  actually that wasn’t too new an experience.  a few of them popped up from time to time,    none of them ever stepping foot on their turf ━━━  but they were always aware of their presence.       this one,  however,  is new.  idia stares at charles,   something akin to discontentment spread across blue lips.  they aren’t really sure what to say,  nor what to do about this. on one hand ━━ maybe crowley would let them do more classes online if they turned a stray little prince in for trespassing.    on the other,   that’s a potential enemy and idia doesn’t have their stats maxed yet.   not in real life anyway.     for the time being they simply go about attempting to ignore the obnoxiously bright prince,  they can’t tell if that’s a crime or not  (  could you be arrested for ignoring a prince ???  they knew the ins and outs of most nobility,   but before coming here they’d never been around royals much… just stuffy jocks that didn’t know when to shut up.  )

when they’re addressed directly,  their hair lights up in a sudden spark of red before fading back to it’s usual blue.  the enigmatic creature shrinks into their coat,  hands shoved into their pockets,  and takes a few steps back.

“  ‘ya know ‘yer  not supposed to be here r - right ??  the festivals not for another … “  a vague gesture to prompt the prince to fill that in himself.  ” if the teachers catch you,  you’ll be done for ━. “

“ It’s  fine.  You  don’t  need  to  worry,  friend. ”  he’s  a  tad  dismissive,  but  attempts reassurance  nonetheless.  Almost  as  if  Idia  was  the  one  caught  trespassing,  not  the  other  way  round.  Prince  flashes  his  teeth,  showing  the  charming  grin  that   had  won  over  many  before.

“ I  don’t  think  the  teachers  would  mind, ”  like  he  knows  what  the  teachers  would think.  “ I’m  only  speaking  with  you:  I’m  sure  that’s  allowed.  ”

Now  that  he  gets  a  good  look  at  the  other  Charles  decided  there  was  no  harm  in  forging  a  friendship.  Or  at  least  attempting  to  anyway.  His  new  companion  seemed  nice  enough.  Perhaps  choosing  to  talk  to  them  would  be  one  of  the  best decisions  he’s  made  today.

this sucks. idia hates unnecessary interactions,   even more so with people like this.  people who remind them of their life back home,   of the responsibility and the obscene blur of expectations.  it all comes rushing back,  dizzying,  they pinch themselves.

how someone can be so ... calm in this place is beyond them  ━━ they understand with some,  like the fish prince.  he had a reason to intrude,   this guy ?? what could he possibly gain from here ?  oh well.  it’s not any of idia’s business and they’d rather keep it that way.  their disposition is that of a startled animal,   one on the verge of bolting.

they sigh,  hands shoved in their pockets.   if he’s not going to leave them alone,  they’re gonna have to hope one bored response will at the very least lessen his desire to talk or befriend them.  they are not being friends with a prince,  they already have to deal with 3 of them.  ━━ idia steels their expression,  scoffing and rolling their bright eyes.

idia isn’t planning on having lunch in the cafeteria,   they never are.  they typically have ortho brings them their meals or bribe another student in their dorm. today though,   they want to try,   without prompt. if only so ortho gets off their back for a while.         (  they know their little brother loves and cares for them but… well… love and care can only get them so far when any amount of eyes causes them to feel like absolute shit. )

still.  they’re here. and that counts for something.  they sit at a table,  twitching awkwardly as they eat. their hands idly tap at the game on their phone,  a gacha game they’ve sunk hours of their time and questionable amounts of their money into. they don’t expect yuu to approach them,  they don’t often see the prefect,   given they live their lives two very different ways.

they don’t do much,  but purse their lips as yuu cross the hall towards them,  they do flinch a little. a hand tight around their fork.

“  y.. ‘ya need something from me,    E Rank ?? “  they ask,   subconsciously using one of their ‘rank’ based nicknames.   E being the lowest ( but not to be discredited ) ,     while S was reserved for another dorm leader of notable reputation. interactions such as these were easier when they used language from their games.

(  @blotspare​   )

E Rank…?  Yuu doesn’t play enough games to have a sense of the proper meaning of the title, but they know it’s not any kind of a compliment.  Not that they expected anything more; Idia hasn’t struck them as overly kind in the past.  Yuu isn’t one to pry, and they have no particular desire to bend over backwards for Idia’s friendship.  It’s not their style.  But despite their lack of interest in breaking themself to be a better fit for whatever hypothetical friend the neet might benefit from, they’re still here.

“The people I usually eat with are being obnoxious.”  If Ace and Deuce aren’t outright brawling in the next couple minutes, it’ll be a miracle.  Yuu’s given up on curbing the chaos and had elected to find someplace to eat that wouldn’t raise their blood pressure.  They’d planned on heading to the courtyard first, but — well.  That kind heart can’t change its nature.

idia blinks,  their hands twitch,  eyes averting while they think this through.  of all the people that could have approached them,  yuu is the most harmless -- but that’s only in a magical sense,  who knows what else they could do.  everyone starts at level one and at level one even the weaker mobs are deadly. the head of ignihyde shivers at the thought,   sure returning to starter areas in games when you’re higher levelled was always a thrill. nothing better than thrashing enemies who once caused you trouble and ah - they were getting off track ▬▬▬

“  i - i mean ...  i guess ?  if you wanna ... dunno why you’d wanna sit with me of all people. ” they are ( obviously ) not the greatest of company,   at least this is what they believe,   they aren’t really worth the attention. they’re still trying to wrap their head around why yuu wants this in the first place.  surely there’s others who could make for better conversation. 

stop being such a baby,  they never said they wanted to speak with you.    right,  right.  that’s true.