#magicjoint

“Hah… You gotta be kiddin’ me.” The twist of events leaves the young beastman in nervous laughter. It’s an unsettling sound; a staccato of hoarse giggles echoing out to no reception. Ears flatten against his skull, Ruggie slumps down against the grass. “Leona’s gonna kill me for this…” 

He has bigger problems than a spoiled prince’s bout of midnight munchies though. 

Crystalline eyes fall upon his left leg, the source of tonight’s problems. There’s some grey tanuki strapped ‘round him, bound by its entire body. It wouldn’t be too much of a deal to Ruggie, honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that a human was added into the mix, too. So, the hyena is sitting in one of the courtyards, bound to some human and their familiar, and they were supposed to hunt for keys together? 

It’s gonna be a long night. 

“So,” Ruggie begins, voice louder as if to catch his partner’s attention, “You guys are that duo everyone was talking about back at orientation, right? Y’know, the ones who set fire to the mirror chamber? No magic, not supposed to be here, kinda hard to forget ‘n all…” A hand comes to awkwardly scratch at the back of his head, ears still flattened. If anything, because this human had no slick of magic on them, perhaps this whole operation will be easy for him! He’s worked a lot without magic prior— It’s just a worry of whether that human’s pet will set his ass on fire next or not. “If ya follow my lead, ‘m sure we’ll get the keys in no time, yeah?” 

Even bloodthirsty geese get hungry after a hard night's work... but what's this? There's no food left on the table! And while pecking away at students was fun, it wasn't really offering a way to quench Abigail's hunger. So now she was on the prowl for food, tormenting any students that got in her way.

Geese can smell fear, but they can also smell food. And a certain table had quite the scent to it... a table that didn't have food on top. But that's not where the smell was coming from. It was coming from underneath.

Hope Ruggie wasn't getting too comfortable, because now there was a goose peeking under the table. Looking at him... at the plate of food... back at him. All of a sudden, she started squaking in an ear-bleeding way, wings flapping from the other side of the tablecloth as she tried to get under the table. But alas, she was a bit too big now, so all she could really do was try and bite at him (or the food on the plate, whichever she got first).

That table wasn't looking as sturdy as it did before, however... better do something quick!

Hiding under the table was definitely the best choice of the night! While all these other poor suckers were out and about getting chased by Abigail, Ruggie’s relaxing and listening to the mayhem press onwards. Ears flicker in curiosity as they hear a sales call from Sam, a giggle bubbling from the hyena as he thinks: People can’t seriously be falling for that scheme, can they? But the young beastman hears the shattering of plates, pained hisses, and outright cries of distress from his fellow student body— It’s a goose, he thinks to himself again albeit now a bit anxiously, why’s everyone being so dramatic about it?! 

Unfortunately for him, it’s only a matter of time before he finds out. 

Abigail doesn’t hold back on her entrance. She wrecks the solitude of his hideout with a pearly head thrusted beneath the tablecloth, beady eyes transfixed her target. Ruggie’s screaming— Ruggie’s screaming because why is the goose suddenly so fucking ginormous and there’s cerulean flames engulfing the dining hall and he sees a member of faculty out of the corner of his eye, what if they think that Savanaclaw is up to mischief again and—! 

Abigail snatches the plate in his grip, serrated beak just millimeters away from the chilled pudding. Ruggie’s body maneuvers on its own, he’s twisting himself as he wrestles with the plate and kicks the monstrous goose square in the beak. 

“‘s my meal! Peck on someone your own size!” Fangs are bared, rows of bone-crushing teeth on full display as the little beastman snarls. Abigail, now nearly three-hundred centimeters tall, seems to have sparked newfound pride in her height as she refuses to yield. Rather, she bites again, seizing Ruggie by the ankle and pulls.

 “Woah—!” He’s dragged out from beneath the table, nearly hoisted into the air if it weren’t for the kick he attempts to deliver. Abigail lets go of him to evade and Ruggie twists himself onto his knees. “Y’wanna go, you oversized roast?!” The hyena is mere seconds away from pouncing onto the goose, determined not to sully his own reputation as a hunter of Savanaclaw, when he suddenly spots a professor. He has no time to fight Abigail head-on— They’ll blame him for bringing her in! 

It’s not what Ruggie wants to do, but sacrifices must be made. The pudding is what the goose craves, isn’t it? If that’s the case, then she can have it! Ruggie throws the pudding dish at the nearest student by him and watches as Abigail chases after it.

He had said something that clearly annoyed the other. Suddenly finding himself pinned to the wall his eyes wide in shock a light dusting of a flush touching his cheeks as he blinked stupidly at the initial reaction. He saw that fire and he couldn't help but desperately pull on his poker face a sly sneer replacing his shocked expression.

"Oooohh didn't like that comment prefect?" He faked a tremble. "Ooo I'm really scared!" He mocked laughing slightly. "I'm feeling weak!"

He smirked leaning close. "Careful I might bite...who knows this bug might be poisonous." He sneered the venomous bite edging his voice.

did you want to know the one thing they despised? being talked down to. most people knew better not to, it was simply common sense after all. but then people like this turn up and make yuu unspeakably angry. of course, they were quite good at not letting it show that extremely. years of having to put up with stuff like this had hardened them, years they can't remember for themselves. and perhaps, if he had sounded more friendly, yuu would've actually taken up on that offer.

but they weren't a fool. and they didn't miss that near slip of word either.

" you seem to have mistaken me for a charity act. " straight to the point, they obviously weren't amused. grim probably would've already yelled his head off by now, but yuu was smart enough to distract him with something else. grim's mouth got him into more trouble than it should, and trouble with this kind of person? yeah, no. well ... trouble for grim anyway. the human, however, had no problem with being the instigator should it ever swing that way.

" and did i ever ask for such a thing? no, i did not. you're just putting words into my mouth, which is bad enough. " they almost sounded used to this, but honestly? they were fed up. if this was how people at this university were going to see them, then they might as well clear up any misconceptions now. " if i need help, i'll ask for it. but i'll be damned if i ask for it from the likes of you any time soon. maybe if you spent more time understanding rather than chucking yourself at any opportunity, you'd get on better. "

finally, they offered him a smile. " now, will you go away? i'm sure you've got some other people to go and "help", don't you? "

Mistaken them for a charity act? The proclamation draws forth another titter from Azul’s lips, a light sound. He admires the audacity that Yuu wields as a shield, a confidence that Azul finds, well, baseless. For hadn’t the supervisor’s enrollment been an act of charity to begin with, enacted by the headmage’s benevolence? It’s certainly not as if Yuu had earned their spot among the student body— and from the conditions of Ramshackle dormitory, it’s not as if they had the assets to purchase a seat among the gifted, either. Poor thing, the Octavinelle housewarden thinks once more, they’ve overvalued themselves. 

“My apologies,” Azul says, though his offering remains extended. “You seem to assume that my generosity was for you exclusively.” The merman raises a brow and makes a silent way with his foot, resting it upon the doorframe. “I am here to aid Ramshackle dormitory— There are two of you, yes? Both possessing an equal amount of authority, shall I add.” Azul gives the clothed parcel in his possession a light shake. 

“It would be a shame for the ceviche de Atún to go to waste.” There’s a trill touch to his tone, a nuance in articulation. “Floyd spent days perfecting the recipe; Jade even sought premium branded albacore tuna… Yes, they even went as far to create their own lime zest for the most flavorful impact. It would devastate them to know their labor was so cruelly rejected… Oh, woe!” 

Azul twists his heel, the back of his hand free daintily resting upon his forehead as he purposely— and elegantly—falls to the door. He gives a big sigh, eyes squeezed shut as he slides slightly down in dramatics. 

“What ever shall I do? I simply cannot return back full-handed, lest I upset them…” He ponders aloud, brows knitting upwards in faux trepidation. He then suddenly perks up, his features brightening with a grin: “I know! I must personally ensure this parcel reaches Mr. Grim!”