ᘛ⁐ᕐᐷ

An added bonus was that the walk to Jamil’s room was a bit shorter. You found your way through the floorboards, tunnels now slightly dusty from unuse, and peeked out from the opening you had made under his bed. It was a perfectly fine tunnel system, letting you out discreetly enough. You peeked out from the shadows to confirm your suspicions that the room was, in fact, empty. To add to your luck, a vial of ink had been left out on the very desk you were planning to climb. It felt karmic that something would come to you so easily now after months of struggles.

The desk was lower to the ground than those in the other dorms, made more for sitting on a cushion than a chair. Normally, you wouldn’t bother using your hook to get to the surface, using a pillow propped against the bed or climbing the bed skirt itself. But it had been a long day, so much walking, and you just wanted to get this part over with. Noting the lack of the usual pillow, you opted to toss your hook up to the desktop. The tool wasn’t anything fancy, just an old fishhook affixed to a piece of string, but it gave you so much more mobility that you couldn’t help but love it. It was a simple throw, one that caught easily. You gave the string a tug, ensuring that it was stable before starting your climb.

You must have done this climb dozens of times before, and maybe it was that familiarity, that confidence, that led to your mistake. You pulled with your arms, bracing your legs against the side of the desk. You had almost made it to the top, opting to hop up once close enough. The jump momentarily dislodged your hook. In a scramble to plant it back down, your arm twisted around the string, gripping at an odd angle. By the time your hook was back in place, you had lost balance, falling backward as the string went taut around your arm. In an effort to correct yourself, you had swung your legs out, circling them around the tether as well. As a result, your legs were now fixed together, with one of your arms hanging freely while the other pressed into you in an awkward position. You were upside down, but any effort to right yourself now only pulled the string tighter around you.

Blood pumped through your ears, impossible to determine whether it quickened from your growing panic or the blood rushing to your head. What to do, what to do?  You couldn’t move all that well, both shoulders stinging from the sudden tug. Maybe you could ease the pressure if you grabbed at the length of rope beneath you with your free hand? But that would only drag you down, not to mention the way any movement you made only seemed to make the situation worse.

The door handle twisted and you froze. One downside to choosing this room was that Jamil had a roommate, one that you knew nothing about. But the footsteps had been light, so much so that you almost hadn’t noticed them in your haze. It had to be Jamil, because if it wasn’t, then- When the door swung open, you closed your eyes, not ready to see whether you were right or wrong. It was silent for a moment and you thought that, perhaps, you hadn’t been noticed, which, at this point, you weren’t sure if that would be a good or bad thing. The door clicked shut.

“Hm, look who’s back.” You nearly sighed in relief hearing Jamil's voice, that was until you opened your eyes to see that passive look on his face. 

He crossed his arms, leaning into the side of his bed frame. He didn’t look mad, per say, but he didn’t exactly look happy to see you either. You had been absent for a few weeks now, not out of any sort of aversion, you had just been busy. This wasn’t the only dorm you had taken up residence in after all, it made sense that you would stay somewhere else when it suited you. The two of you were on good terms the last time you spoke, or you thought you were at least. It could be a bit hard to tell with him sometimes. You ignored the undertone of coldness in his voice, opting to glide through the conversation.

“Hey, Jamil.” You feigned nonchalance the best you could, but you doubted he bought it.

“Hey,” he responded coolly, making no move to come closer.

You held back a wince. The longer you dangled here, the tighter the string pushed into your skin. You counted yourself lucky that it had not wrapped around your neck.

“So…” You hoped he would get the idea and bring a pillow up under you, something to ease the tension coiling around you by the moment.

“So?” He echoed, picking at a nail.

“How have you been?”

“I’m surprised you care,” he muttered, just loud enough for you to pick up. “Fine.”

“That’s good.” You ignored the beginning of the statement, unsure if he meant for you to hear that part.

“So, um.” You tried to gesture vaguely to your situation, pointing with your chin, though you instantly regretted the motion as the jostling made the string dig deeper into your arm.

“So, what?”

A frustrated groan would have escaped you had you not been worried that the expansion of your chest may upset the line even further. He was going to make you explain, or say it outright at the very least. The thought aggravated you to no end, but the growing pain in your lower body pushed you forward.

“Could you-um, y’know?” You didn’t try gesturing again.

“Could I what?” He slid down the side of the bed, sitting on the floor.

The leisure of the action sparked another flame of irritation in you. His roommate could be back at any moment and he didn’t seem concerned at all. Maybe he knew the other student would be out for a while longer. Or maybe he doesn’t care if you get caught.

“G-get me down.”

“What was that?” He leaned his head to rest on the arm propped against the bedside. “You’ll have to speak up a bit.”

“Get. Me. Down.” You spoke as calmly as you could under the circumstances.

“That’s a demanding way to make a request, especially when you’re asking for a favor.”

“Would you please get me down?” Your teeth gritted at the prolonged torment.

“And how do you suppose I do that?”

“Put a pillow under me and then lower it to the floor.”

“All the cushions are in the wash. Someone convinced Kalim that a pillow fort would be a good idea and-” Jamil cut himself off with a huff. “The point is there aren’t any here. Unless you want me to leave and go find one elsewhere.”

You didn’t know how far away “elsewhere” would be or if you were capable of holding out for that long. You glanced downward, or upward considering your current position, building resolve.

“Your hand then.”

“Hm?”

“Just use your hand, lift me up, and untangle this mess-” You stopped to consider your words. “Please.”

“I thought you didn’t like being touched.”

The string dug deep into your skin, threatening to break flesh under the force of gravity. Jamil continued, tone bordering on a rant.

“You were very insistent on that. You called it–what was it? A bastion against your dwindling independence, was it?” You were sure the quote was untrue, you wouldn’t have phrased it like that, but you couldn’t think about that right now with how close everything felt. “ I thought you hated being held, by me at least, you seem perfectly fine with-”

“Sure, yeah, before, but now-” You cut him off as a strained inhale goaded the string tighter around you. “Just help me!”

He hummed, tilting his head as he reached toward you. It was difficult to tell whether he was moving painfully slow or if the agony had clouded your mind. When a thick platform of flesh rose to meet you, relieving the taut pressure, nothing but relief could enter you. Motioning to rise, it was made clear that though one of your arms was free, the rest of your limbs were still tightly bound–though not as uncomfortably as before. Had you not been immobilized, you would have flinched backward as you looked up to see his face far too close for comfort. Grey eyes danced around you, as if your injuries weren’t apparent from a single glance. After what felt like an eternity, he leaned back slightly, sighing.

“How many times have I told you that climbing around with that thing is dangerous? You never listen.” He turned, depositing you on the desk before riffling through the adjacent drawers.

The motion made you feel nauseous, too fast. Gathering your bearings, you made a valiant attempt to scoot away, not entirely sure of your end goal. There was no way you’d be able to get down like this. You had your hook, but no real way to use it or three quarters of your limbs. Pulling at the string would loosen it slightly in one spot while greatly tightening it in another. Ceasing to pull for the sake of your blood flow, you continued to creep away in a manner reminiscent of a caterpillar. You had made it a good distance, a few yards by your scale, when his eyes locked onto your movement. He glanced from where he had left you to where you were now, making a tsk. You curled in on yourself when he reached over, but it wasn’t you that he grabbed, rather, the rope. He gripped the hook between his fingers, tugging it to drag you back into place. The already inflamed lines indented across your skin came alive, burning. He either didn’t or pretended to not hear the pained yelp that escaped you.

Your vision went white. It was hard to tell whether your eyes were open or closed, but you knew that your face was now wet. You wiped the salt from your eyes with your free hand, wincing at the way your shoulder protested the motion. Once your sight returned, you were greeted with a good look at what he had been searching for. Scissors. Silver, sharp, and about twice as long as you are tall.

“Wait! Wait!” You made another attempt to crawl away before he pulled your tether closer once again.

“What? You want to get free, right?”

“Not with scissors! Don’t use scissors, please!”

“So you want me to-” He cut himself off, bringing a hand to his chin, thinking. “Oh. alright.”

He reached for you, an act you hated to say felt like a comfort now, compared to the harshness that would be the string pressing deeper into you. You noticed the corner of his mouth twitch upward slightly when you didn’t flinch away from the touch. One by one, he loosened the knots, bringing a welcomed relief to your aching body. It was an odd mix of comfort and discomfort. The bliss of no longer feeling cord pressed into your skin paired with the uneasiness brought upon by the way his hands worked around you, adjusting your position when needed. It felt like he was taking longer than he should have, but you did need his help right now, so you opted to bite your tongue for the time being.

Once the last of the tangles was righted, he pulled your grapple away, placing it in a drawer along with other miscellaneous supplies. You moved to stretch, quickly bringing your arms back down at the stinging that followed. Suppressing a wince since you knew he was watching, you moved to stand only to fall back down in defeat. Your legs had gone without blood flow for a bit too long it seemed. You massaged them up and down to encourage a swift recovery, ignoring the way it stung whenever your hand would meet one of the red, irritated, lines carved into your skin. A sigh rang out above you.

“You shouldn’t irritate those marks any further.” He swatted at your hands with a pointer finger. “Lay down and elevate your legs.”

He pushed a thick marker toward you, just high enough to act as an elevation point. You listened, leaning backward and propping your legs up.

“There. Not so hard to listen, is it?”

You groaned. Not daring enough to make direct eye contact, you glared at his eyebrows.

“What happened back there isn’t normal for me. It was just back luck.”

“Back luck and poor planning. What do you think would have happened if I hadn’t been here?”

“I would’ve figured it out.” You weren’t so sure of that, but would be damned before you admitted so.

“It didn’t seem so to me.” A wider smile found its way to his face. “I doubt you would have resorted to begging if that were the case.”

“I did not beg!” You piped up, indignant.

“Please, please, just help me,” he poorly mimicked your voice. “Those were your words, were they not?”

“They were not!” In all honesty, you weren’t sure. Pain had hijacked your mind at that point and your memory of the moment was too fast, too slippery.

“You don’t seem so sure,” he remarked mirthfully.

“Whatever, I don’t have to listen to this.” You rolled over to the best of your abilities, which was not much right now. “You do, actually.” He prodded you back around with a finger. “Because you still can’t stand up without hurting yourself, which, may I remind you, was caused by your own reckless actions.”

“It’s not reckless to survive.” You were growing more agitated, shoving the offending digit away with your good arm. “I need to climb to get to anything useful. It’s not like people leave the stuff I need on the ground.”

“Oh? So you only came back to steal again, did you?” He crossed his arms, leaning back from the desk. You thought you might have seen a flash of hurt cross his face, but it was swallowed up by indifference before you could discern it.

“It’s not stealing, it’s-”

“Yes, yes, it’s borrowing, as you’ve said. But I don’t imagine you plan on returning any of the items you borrow.”

“It wouldn’t matter if I did. Nobody even notices that they’re gone.”

Jamil scoffed, but luckily seemed either unwilling or not in the mood to press the issue further. It seemed like there was something else he wanted to say. He looked over, not quite making eye contact as you refused to meet his eyes. He exhaled pointedly and you braced yourself for whatever we-need-to-talk-esque conversation he may have planned.

You were saved by the sound of the door being unlocked from the outside. Jamil perked up, quickly grabbing you, placing you down into a drawer, and shutting it in one fluid motion. You ignored the pleasant conversation taking place outside of the drawer, rubbing you back at the sudden motion. It had all happened so fast that you hadn’t processed the onset of nausea before vomiting into your satchel. It had been empty, at least. With your hook absent and ink still unobtained. You fastened the bag and rose to look for the aforementioned hook. Your legs still wobbled slightly, but worked well enough to move you from one place to another. After a quick walk of the perimeter, it was clear that he had placed it in a different compartment than the one you were currently within. You kicked a stray bead in frustration, wincing as it bounced off of the wood and right back at your leg. It stung more than it should have, but at least your legs weren’t as numb as before.

You moved to the outer side of the space. There was no conversation to eavesdrop on, but you could tell from the sounds in the room that the other party was still present, either at his bed or desk. You leaned heavily against the wood. Your weight wouldn’t be enough to open your newfound prison, not that it mattered now, you would have to wait for the room’s other occupant to leave or go to sleep. Given how late in the day it now was, the latter seemed more probable a solution. Sighing, you listened to the scratch of a pen on parchment resounding near you. At least someone got to use ink today. 

Leaving the vomit-filled satchel in a corner, you began crafting yourself a temporary resting area. There was a spool of ribbon you worked to fashion into a good enough bed. Looking at it, not soft, but softer than the wood, along with the gentle, repetitive sounds outside, was enough to bring weariness to your body and mind. You plopped down on the relatively plush surface, letting your eyes droop shut before you made contact with the ribbons. If it was going to be a while, you didn’t need to stay alert, in your sore state, for the entire time.

After the borrower feels that they've built up a good enough rapport, they make contact. It's winter now, snow falling with force. They feign being cold enough to snuggle into the human's hand for warmth while they're writing up some report or another. The human pauses, freezing, before slowly reciprocating, curling their fingers around the borrower much more gently than they would have previously. Time passes and the human makes no mention of an exhibition, no word of revealing their discovery. They ask the borrower more questions, not about their species, but them specifically. What sorts of things they enjoy–food, clothes, colors, weather. They get a lot less vigilant as well. Placing the borrower down on surfaces that they could conceivably climb down, allowing them useful objects if they ask.

One day, the human leaves. Whether it's to get supplies or meet with a distant friend in town, the borrower doesn't care. They never leave the house. An opportunity like this isn't likely to come again soon. They quickly grab the bare minimum of supplies before leaving this wretched place, hopefully for good. It's still cold out, growing even colder as the sun hides under the treeline. Then, a new, more direct light replaces the warmth of the sun, this one providing no comfort. A flashlight. They failed, of course they did. Escaping into the forest in the middle of winter would have been a death wish even if they had made it far enough away without capture. But they hadn't been able to help themself. It had been so stifling living there, so suffocating. They look up into the blinding gleam, the knowledge of who was behind it making dread pool in their gut.

"I-" Their teeth clatter together in response to the extreme cold, "I missed you."

The lie won't work, they knew it wouldn't. The human picks them up without formality, slowly wading through the snow, back toward the house. They set them down roughly on a high shelf. They look mad, but also... genuinely hurt? The human paces back and forth while the borrower watches, for once, unsure of what to say. They don't know what could calm them down and what might set them off.

From the human's viewpoint, this makes no sense. The two of them were getting along. They had dropped the plan to reveal them, they were being nice, being gentle. Sure, there were times where they noticed an odd flinch or fearful look or the borrower tensing when the human initiated contact, but that was all to be expected for such a timid thing. The poor creature must have just been confused, yes, that's the best explanation. They had left the moment they were out of the human's sight, so clearly they need more attention, a bit more structure perhaps.

Crewel slowly crouched, opening his cupped hands to reveal a small figure. One with sandy hair, rounded ears, and-

“Ruggie?” Leona squinted.

“Hey, boss.” Ruggie braced an arm behind his head, ears flicking nervously.

Leona reeled back, pointing a finger at the sight before him. “What’s wrong with him?”

“There is nothing wrong with him. It’s his work that’s the issue. His lab partner spilled a poorly measured potion on him.” Crewel took a step closer. “Now be a good pup and hold out your hands.”

“What? Why do I have to take him?” Leona griped, but held both of his hands out all the same.

“Because he is your responsibility as house warden.” The professor gently lowered Ruggie to Leona’s hands. “And because I need to work on an antidote without any distractions.”

The house warden shifted uncomfortably at the sensation of a small weight on his palms. It was uncomfortable to say the least. He could feel the breathing, the small, quick heartbeat. It was worse than holding a squirming mouse.

“Very well then.” Crewel rose from where he had crouched, giving Leona a quick pet on the head. “You two behave now.”

He had turned to leave the gardens before Leona could growl in response to the unwelcome contact. He lowered himself back down to a laying position, slower than he usually would out of consideration for the cargo he was carrying.

“You just had to get into trouble when I was trying to sleep, didn't you?”

“I’m not thrilled about this either, y’know.” Ruggie put his hands on his hips, hopping out of the hold and onto the floor. “You’re not the only one who had plans today. I’m missing out on a shift right now!”

Leona groaned, rolling back over. 

“Fine,” Ruggie huffed, “I’ll just be on my way then. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on any more beauty sleep.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.” He gripped the back of Ruggie’s blazer between two fingers, dragging him back into place. “If I don’t bring you back tomorrow, the professor’s gonna be a real pain.”

Ruggie paused, rocking back and forth on his heels and turning to face Leona.

“Well, I guess I could stay around, y’know, if there was something in it for me- Hey!”

His words cut off at the draping of a massive hand over his form, stern, but not abrasive.

“Nah, you’re going to stay around cause’ you can’t go anywhere else, can you?” Leona taunted.

“Haha, alright, I get it.” He shoved against the hold to no avail.

Leona hummed, tail flicking back and forth with amusement. Ruggie’s ears twitched at the tap tap tap of a claw dangerously close to his head. A beat of tense silence.

“You’re a lot less annoying like this, y’know.”

“Y-yeah?” His voice pitched upward. 

“Yeah. None of your nagging to tune out.” Leona slowly leaned closer and closer, face taking up Ruggie’s vision. “Quieter too. Maybe I’ll call Crewel off and get myself a less irritating gopher.”

“You wouldn’t.” Ruggie would have crossed his arms with indignation if he had the space to move them.

“I wouldn’t, huh?” He smiled, teeth glinting in the low light. “Pretty bold words for someone in such a disposable position.”

A bead of sweat ran down his forehead. He wouldn’t. “Le-”

Teeth clicked shut inches, by Ruggie’s measure, from his side. He exhaled after what felt like an eternity, relaxing as Leona pulled away.

“You’re the worst.”

“I’m just making sure you don’t think of stepping outta line.” He didn’t bother stifling a smile, but at least had the decorum not to laugh outright. “You’re my responsibility, remember?”

Leona rose from the tiled floor, taking Ruggie along with him. He stretched the best he could with one hand occupied.

“Uh, where are we goin’?”

“Back to the dorm.”

Ruggie stiffened, ears standing straight up. “I don’t know if-”

“Relax, no one's gonna see you.”

Leona dropped him into the inner pocket of his vest.

“Could’ve given me a warning first,” Ruggie grumbled, head spinning at the motion.

It was a quick trip. Thank the Seven for that. Leona didn’t seem to be putting much consideration into how much swaying he did when walking. Ruggie wouldn’t consider himself prone to motion sickness, but it was awful. Bile pooled at the back of his throat as he felt the beginning of a headache latch tightly behind his eyes as they traveled.

The second slam of a door, indicating that they had finally made it to Leona’s room, reached Ruggie’s ears like a church bell. The house warden didn’t bother looking down, preoccupied on his phone as he dug Ruggie out of the pocket with his free hand. He quietly yelped as he was tossed on the bed. It didn’t hurt–the stable, plush surface was a welcome change from the constant swaying–but the principle of the matter made him press his ears flat against the back of his head. It would’ve taken, what? An extra two seconds to set him down properly? Ruggie muttered to himself, glaring. Leona sighed, setting his phone down on the nightstand.

“Yeah, I’m sure this whole thing is real inconvenient for you,” Ruggie remarked.

Leona slid onto the bed next to him, having the decency to not plop down at least. He opened his mouth to say Seven knows what before pausing. His ears twitched in the direction of the door, pupils narrowing.

“What are y-”

“Can it for a second, would ya?” Leona snapped.

The house warden pulled a blanket over him, keeping a hand hovering slightly over the blanket as well. Ruggie rolled his eyes, overkill. A few moments later, a knock rang out from the door. Ruggie froze. He should have heard that, the footsteps toward the door before whoever it was even had the chance to knock. That was concerning. Though, he had noticed specific sounds seeming further away ever since this entire thing had started. Problem for later. Ruggie turned his attention back toward the visitor.

It was a voice he couldn’t place. The only traces of identity he could catch were a pair of frizzy, brown ears. He gave up on ascertaining an identity once the smell hit him. There was something sweet in the box, something tasty. He pressed a hand to the digit closest to his head, eager to get a better look.

“Yeah, great, now get out.”

The mystery student didn't need to be told twice, turning on his heel before Leona could finish his sentence. Ruggie slipped out the moment the interim errand-boy shut the door. 

“What’ve ya got in here?” He pulled at the lid, tail wagging.

“Relax.” He curled a finger around Ruggie’s torso, gently pulling him backward before lifting the lid. “You were gonna start complaining about food eventually, figured I might as well get ahead on that.”

The open box revealed half a dozen donuts, each a different, glistening, flavor. Ruggie’s pupils dilated as the house warden raised a treat laden with sprinkles and chocolate glaze.

“Wait, wait, wait!” He raised both arms above his head in a beckoning gesture. “Gimme that one!”

Leona dug a claw into the frosting, ready to tear a piece off.

“No, no- a whole one!”

“Huh? There's no way you can eat an entire one on your own right now.”

“Oh, alright.” Ruggie's ears drooped, wet eyes staring longingly to the side. “That's fine, really, so cold-hearted. I can't believe my own dorm leader would leave an underclassman wanting while in such a sorry state. And for something that would take such little effort too…”

He rolled his eyes before Ruggie could start fake crying.

“Fine,” he huffed, “just don't complain to me later when you get a stomach ache.”

“Yeah, yeah, for sure.” He giggled as his prize was lowered closer to his waiting hands.

Leona growled, though his irritation lacked any real bite. He placed the donut atop the closed box before rolling over, using his arm as a pillow in lieu of grabbing one from the head of the bed. He ignored the ‘shehehe’ of a laugh behind him as Ruggie crawled into the center of the treat.

“This is so nice.” He spoke quite to himself. “If I stayed like this, I could save so much on groceries.”

“Don't get any ideas. Once Crewel gets that solution mixed up, you're back on your own.”

“So cruel,” Ruggie sniffles, sounding insincere even to his own ears.

“Ugh” Leona dragged the donut closer, pulling Ruggie along with it. “Just don't go running off anywhere yet, it'd be a pain in my tail.”

“Aww, are ya worried about little ol’ me?”

He didn't dignify the statement with a response, narrowing his eyes and letting out a quiet hum. Shifting slightly closer to his underclassman, he kept an ear turned in his direction as he nodded off.

“Prefect?”

Pausing their trek, Yuu turned backward at the call. He probably thought they weren’t paying enough attention to whatever he had been going on about, which, in all honesty, they weren’t. It was so easy to get distracted here. Nature was so similar to their world’s, yet so different. Leaves of a different color, flowers with the wrong number of petals, slightly off bark textures. It was all enough to leave them entranced. 

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Yuu said, padding along the soft, leaf-covered ground.

Too soft, as it seemed. They lost their balance momentarily, bracing themself against a tree to avoid face-planting onto the damp leaves and inadvertently pressing a small mushroom between their hand and the rough bark. Yuu felt the fleshy surface crack underneath their palm, releasing a cloud of pollen-like dust from within. They brought a hand to their face, attempting to calm the pounding in the back of their skull, though they only succeeded in rubbing more of the pale blue powder onto their forehead. Vision swimming, the prefect attempted to steady themself against the trunk. Their hand fell short, latching onto something softer and stockier. 

Once their head ceased its buzzing, they opened their eyes to take in an unfamiliar sight. It was a mushroom, a huge one at that. It towered over them, its cap providing a semblance of shade that protected their eyes from the now blinding light. Surrounding them were stalks of grass scaled in the same manner. Much to Yuu's disappointment, it didn't take them long to surmise what had happened. They loathed the magical shenanigans this world seemed determined to foist upon them. Now they were who knows how deep into the woods, tiny, and alone. Well, not completely alone. Yes, that was right. They had quite possibly the worst company they could have chosen for such an event. As much as they wished to remain as angry as possible at their misfortune, a soft whimper wormed its way up their throat, deflating with a pathetic squeak. 

“Prefect?” Yuu flinched at the sound of shuffling above them. They couldn’t stay hidden, they knew. Who knows how long it would take them to get back to Ramshackle at this size. And finding a solution without magic would be an entirely different issue. Hesitantly, Yuu peeked out from their hiding place. Viewing their surroundings at such a scale hadn’t become any less disorienting within the few seconds of reprieve. It took the prefect an uncomfortable amount of time to process that the shape in front of them was a boot. And that the thing blocking out the sun was…

“Oh my, what a predicament we’ve found ourselves in, hm?”

“H-hi?” Yuu’s eyes widened. It was the only thing they could think to say, mind not quite caught up to the situation at hand. 

“Hello.”

Yuu let out a less than dignified shriek as a huge, gloved hand approached them.

“Come now, it’s only me,” A booming, far too cheerful, voice sounded above them.

“W-wait!” Yuu jumped backward, ducking under the head of a nearby fungus. “No touching please!”

“Oh?” Jade tilted his head, smiling.

“Yeah, d-don’t worry, just give me a second.” It was only so bad because of their viewpoint, they reasoned, it was making the entire ordeal worse. If they could just get higher up, they would be able to think, to breathe. The prefect hopped atop the cap, sliding back to the forest floor as their grip faltered. They tried again. And again. Who made these things so slippery?

“What a pity. You almost had it that time.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” The prefect kicked their legs in the air in an attempt to gain leverage.

“How tragic. I would be more than happy to help you gain a vantage point, but since you seem so insistent on doing it on your own…”

“Okay, fine.” Yuu fell to the ground once again, their resolve wavering as Jade’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Just be very gentle, okay?”

“I wouldn’t dream of handling you any other way.”

They bit back a bitter remark as fingers prodded at either side of them, knocking the wind out of their lungs. The ground disappeared beneath their feet as they were firmly pinched between a clothed thumb and forefinger. They hated to look down, but knew looking up would only be worse for their nerves. Even without seeing his eyes, Yuu knew they were peering into them, leaving the prefect feeling like a bug under a microscope. The impression wasn't helped by the way Jade poked at them once they reached eye-level.

“O-okay, that's enough.” Yuu shoved at a finger that thankfully acquiesced.

“I suppose you are right.” Jade moved to place the prefect within his chest pocket. “We should keep going if we want to reach our destination and get back before nightfall.”

“Wait, wait, wait-” Yuu pushed themself upward, pushing the pocket flap upward to pop their head through the opening. “We need to get back to campus now! We're not sightseeing anymore.”

He brought a hand to his lips, smile unfaltering.

“I don't see any reason why this little incident should cut our hike short.”

“I can't exactly hike like this, can I?” Yuu reasoned, “It's fine, really, we can come back some other time.”

“No, no, I insist.” He continued up the trail, giving the prefect's protests no mind. “After all, if I recall correctly, the mountain lovers club has already missed out on an occasion in the past. I would say due compensation has been in order for a good time now.”

Yuu groaned. They knew that incident would come back to haunt them.

“Okay, fine.” It wasn't like they had much of a choice in the matter. “But how are we going to fix this later? Do we need any special herbs or anything?”

“The antidote is typically found in the lower half of the very mushroom that causes such symptoms.”

“What!?” Yuu snapped, “So all I had to do was eat some of it?”

“Precisely,” he responded evenly, clearly taking pleasure in their subsequent shock.

“Why didn't you-” Yuu took a deep breath. “You could have told me when we were back there,” they spoke as calmly as they could manage.

“You never asked,” Jade responded innocently.

“Fine, whatever, be like that, see if I care.” Yuu let go of the pocket flap, letting it cascade over their face. “We can just pick it up on the way back.”

“I do not believe we'll be passing by it on the way back.”

“What do you mean?” Yuu quirked an eyebrow.

“I told you earlier. The plan is to continue on and descend down the east side of the mountain.” He glanced at Yuu's increasingly worried expression. “Don't tell me you weren't listening.”

They hadn't been. Seriously, they enjoyed a good tangent as much as the next person, but they couldn't possibly be expected to be attentive to every little detail. Of course he would drop some important tidbit the moment they stopped paying attention.

“Surely we could change course given the circumstances.” Yuu suggested through gritted teeth.

They allowed themself to hope, just for a moment, that Jade would listen to reason and help fix this entire disaster. A hope that was dashed in seconds.

“No, I'd rather not.” He happily bounded forward, surprisingly not jostling Yuu in the trek. “A plan is a plan after all.”

“Oh come on!” They threw their arms up in exasperation, hands knocking into the fabric above them. “None of this was part of the plan either.”

“One deviation does not have to give way to others.”

Yuu ignored the fortune cookie reminiscent response.

“This can't be convenient for you either. Do you really want to make an extra trip to drop me back off at Ramshackle?”

“It's no matter.” Jade waved a hand as if swatting the suggestion away. “You won't be going back to Ramshackle today anyway.”

The admission didn't surprise Yuu as much as they wished it would have, given how predictably awful their luck had been with just about everything at this point.

“Great.” They swallowed thickly. “I guess we can now add kidnapping to your endless list of transgressions.”

“Such a pessimistic outlook.” Jade let out a series of tsks. “What kind of friend would I be if I left you to fend for yourself in such a helpless, pitiful, state.” He brought a hand to his chest.

“I wouldn't be alone. Grim's there,” Yuu stated flatly.

“Nevermind that. I would also like to monitor your condition.” A rising note of excitement crept into his voice. “I must say, I've never seen the effects of that genus before.”

He all but vibrated with anticipation.

“I'm so happy I could be of service.” Yuu quipped, crossing their arms.

Jade ignored their sarcasm, mood apparently too high to drag back down. He was practically skipping now, which Yuu could admit was a bit funny to see.

“Life on the surface is so exciting!” He mused, more to himself than anything.