Book 1 chapter 3.
Taglist: @coffee-or-hot-cocoa , @m-majoko , @ghostlysyntaxed , @justanormiewhoreads
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You swore you would be able to hear a pin drop in this awful silence.
Just Ace staring at Riddle trying to come up with some excuse but to no avail and the housewarden himself, arms crossed, uniform perfectly ironed and spotless, a terrifying smile and eyes that glared daggers at your classmate.
This is such a nightmare, what is one supposed to do in this situation?
“A-Ace, apologi-” You were about to tell him to apologize when Cater tried to somehow lighten up the mood or divert the attention to him at least.
“Hey, Riddle! What's shakin', pal? You're lookin' adorbs, as always!” Holding his phone as if trying to take a picture of the person he called “adorbs” the ginger immediately regretted even saying anything.
“Hmph. Cater, keep running that mouth and you'll lose it - along with the rest of your head.” The boy called Riddle said with no hesitation.
He was scary.
You’ll add living in ramshackle instead of heartslabyul in your list of things to be grateful for.
“Sorry, sorry! My bad!” Cater immediately backpaled back to his seat looking like a kicked dog.
“Hm? ain’t this the rule-crazed guy that collared Ace?” Grim said without a care in the world.
At that you caught him by the scruff bringing the cat closer to yourself, of course he struggled and tried to claw you but due to the angle, couldn’t.
“I’m very sorry! he didn’t mean that.” Yep, barely your first day as a prefect and your only student is already causing problems.
Riddle who seemed to ignore your presence until now looked at you with what you assumed to be judgement.
“I suggest you keep that monster on a leash, it’s bad enough he ruined the entrance ceremony.” With every word uttered by him you felt more and more like a child being scolded.
“Hey! who’re you calling monster, i’m the great Gr-” You covered his mouth.
“The headmage's habit of tolerating rulebreakers like you is going to send this entire campus spiraling into chaos one day.” He sighed, images of the first day flashing on his mind. “Those who break the rules should have their heads removed immediately, without exception.” You couldn’t help but flinch, watching as his eyes landed straight on Ace.
You knew that he was talking about his signature spell but…it didn’t sound like that. It sounded like he was ready to execute everyone on a whim.
It reminded you of the Queen of Hearts you heard about earlier, you wondered if he’s trying to somehow emulate her cruelty for whatever reason it may be.
“Dude, seriously? This guy looks like a wimp, but talks like a monster!” The older heartslabyul students looked at him dumbfounded. You yourself had to wonder if Ace had any capability of thinking before speaking.
However it seemed like the housewarden decided to ignore his rudeness, graciously continuing his warning.
“The headmage may have forgiven you, but if you break any further rules, I assure you I will not.” For someone with such a babyface Riddle sure had a mean glare.
“So, uh, listen, housewarden, sir... Any chance I could get you to remove this collar?” Really? out of nowhere like that? didn’t he agree to an apology? there’s no way this is going to work, Ace is way too reckless.
“I had intended to remove it once you'd taken an opportunity to reflect upon your crimes.
But I've not detected so much as a hint of remorse in the foolishness I've heard you spout today” — a smile made its way to his lips as if to mock his junior — “So I think I'll let you keep that for a while.”
Yeah ok you couldn’t even feel bad for Ace, he walked straight up into that one.
Before the younger ginger could protest you immediately used your other hand to keep him quiet, talking anymore would just make his “sentence” worse.
“Don't worry. The freshman curriculum is more focused on magical theory than practice.
And your inability to use magic will help prevent incidents along the lines of what happened yesterday.” Riddle seemed pretty content with that solution judging by his expression.
“Now, if you've finished your meal, you should quit gossiping and prepare for your next class.
Rule 271 is quite clear: "One must leave the table within fifteen minutes of completing their lunch." His smile morphed into an intimidating glare yet again.
You swore you could see a weird glint coming from his magical pen, no, calling it glint wouldn’t be very accurate, it was more like….for a split second the red jewel became duller, little black dots showing up as if dirt had wormed it’s way inside it.
“You DO understand what happens to rulebreakers, I trust?” You had your eyes glued to the magical apparatus waiting for it to happen again if you hallucinated out of stress;
Noticing your attention lied elsewhere your classmate removed your hand from his face.
He sighed “More insane rules…” Of course it was only to say more stupid shit.
“I believe you mean to say, ‘Yes, Housewarden!’ “ Riddle’s voice rose in tone.
“Yes, Housewarden!” Even Deuce who had nothing to do with it was intimidated into saying what his upperclassman wanted.
You could only compare that exchange to the mahamatra’s training you saw a few times. They were just students not a military force, what was the point of being this strict? you truly couldn’t understand.
“Very well, then.” However Riddle seemed satisfied.
“Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them.” Trey said, trying to do some damage control.
After that you observed as he walked away mumbling about lemon tea and sugar cubes as if he didn’t utter atrocities that would make anyone do a double take if not filled in on the context.
You could half-heartedly hear as Cater, Deuce and Grim had an exchange about how Riddle had issues and how scary he was, the black haired boy saying to not disrepect him.
Your attention was focused on the rest of the cafeteria, more specifically some other heartslabyul students who did all they could to either hide themselves or the violation of some rule.
“Is the housewarden gone?”
One of them had emerged from what seemed to be under the table.
“I totally just broke rule 186, "Never eat a hamburger on Tuesday,I don't know what I would have done if he'd caught me! *Sigh*... I wish he wouldn't come here so we could at least eat lunch in peace.”
While another one could barely eat his meal, dark circles under his eyes and a tired expression.
Just what was happening in this dorm that would make people so afraid to the point of hiding and lying? this can’t be normal.
You felt a knot on your stomach.
But you didn’t know if it was because you felt bad for the heartslabyul students or if it was due to having to watch someone in power essentially abuse it, ignoring obvious cues of downfall.
History really was doomed to repeat itself, you thought.
“Riddle managed to secure the housewarden title before the end of his very first week at school.” You snapped back your attention to Trey’s voice.
“I know he can come off a bit harsh, but he's not a bad guy. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm.” He looked sad but there was something bothering you.
Why did it sound like he was making excuses for Riddle?
“Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers' necks?” Grim asked, having skedaddled away from your grip and now sitting on the table again.
“The dorm won’t improve like this though…why is he so strict? At first I thought he was just diligent but I think this is too much.” You looked at your hands that happened to be curled into fists.
“This won’t end well for both sides, can’t you say anything Trey?” Your plea fell on deaf ears however as he looked to the side as if avoiding the topic entirely.
“I can’t.”
You wanted to ask why.
“Anyway, what's the deal with the collar? why does it just shut off magic like that?” Grim interjected.
You decided to let it go, maybe pressing on a matter that was none of your business wasn’t very polite.
“Hm? You're curious about Riddle's signature spell?” Cater asked, clearly doing his best to help with the topic change.
Your ear twitched at that.
“Signature spell?” You could guess what it was by the name alone but explanations were welcome.
“That means, like... It's a spell that only he can cast, right?” Deuce sounded unsure despite what he said making sense.
“I doubt he's the only person in the whole world...But yes, a signature spell is a magical ability that is, generally speaking, unique to its user, You'll learn about them in class soon enough.” Trey happily entertained your roommate’s question if it meant not having to speak about that again.
“Riddle's signature spell allows him to temporarily seal away the magic of another.
The spell is named…” — The older ginger got up from his seat and raised his hands as if to emulate a ghost — “Off With Your Head!” You grimaced at that poor choice of a name.
What’s the point of naming a spell only he can cast something so…brutal?
“Even the name is completely psycho!” You had to agree with your cat, it kinda made you uncomfortable even.
“To a mage, losing the ability to use magic is about as painful as losing your head completely, which is why all of us at Heartslabyul House try hard not to violate Riddle's rules.” Even with Cater’s reasoning you couldn’t quite get how that justified such a name.
“Isn’t that a bit dramatic? I'm sure you can still do a lot of things even without magic.” You shrugged.
“HUH?! That's easy for you to say! it isn’t you who currently has their magic being held hostage!” That one seemed to have ticked Ace off.
“Besides you already have a signature spell, right? those weird projections you just make pop out of nowhere?! so you wouldn’t understand my pain!” You nervously tried to calm your classmate down as Trey, your savior, interjected.
“I heard about that...how does your signature spell even work Rukkha?” At that your body froze as the attention was redirected to you.
“Oh yeahhhh! I totally wanna take a few pics of it, it seems like it would go viral easily!” Cater had his phone prepared and everything.
“Uhhh…it’s…i guess…you could call it a signature spell in a sense only i can use it…? but…uh..it’s hard to explain, i’ll tell you another time, haha!” You prayed they wouldn’t press into it further.
You can’t just tell them you’re essentially a being whose powers come from a tree in another world.
Sensing your distress in an almost uncanny way Trey masterfully drew the attention back to himself.
“Anyway, as long as you are following the rules, Riddle isn't so scary.” He winked at you as if repaying you for not prying into his stuff earlier.
You sighed in relief and thanked the archons Ace and Deuce’s attention span was as short as a golden retriever’s puppy.
“Speaking of which - are you still not gonna let me into the dorm until I buy a tart, Cater?” Oh right! Ace had a point! there was still the thing with the tart to solve.
“Don't @ me, but... yeah. That's rule 53, so my hands are tied. Also, Riddle always looks forward to having the first slice of a tart.,so if you want him to forgive you, you had better bring a whole tart!” The older ginger could only shrug as he laid down the conditions.
“What happened to ‘We're all from the same dorm, let's try to get along?’ Throw me a bone here!” Ace cried in disappointment at his upperclassman’s betrayal.
“That's one thing. This is another.” Cater sounded strangely professional as if he had resigned to some dark fate.
“A whole tart has gotta be pretty expensive.” Deuce tried to count on his fingers only to give up mid-way.
“Seriously? I don't have that much money!” Ace looked at his wallet already fearing the worst.
“I wish I could help but…money is tight right now due to…” — you pointed to the feline in front of you, his face smug as if he wasn’t the entire reason you had no money to begin with.
“Then why not make one yourself? Trey made those three tarts by hand, after all.” What a great idea! that way you wouldn’t have to spend money!
“Well it would certainly be cheaper!” You said a bit excitedly.
You’ve never had the chance to bake before and in the brief period of time you had of freedom you only got to taste what Greater Lord Kusanali would make you sometimes.
“You made those tarts, Trey? That's incredible! That was like something you'd find at a bakery!” If anyone looked closer they would notice how Ace’s eyes seemed to shine as he remembered the taste of the baked good that started it all.
“Heh. I appreciate that. We do have most of the stuff you'd need, but...I'm afraid I'll need something from you in return.” Right, but of course.
Everytime you think any of these people are nice there always seems to be some kind of catch behind it. God, you gotta stop hoping.
“You're gonna charge me to make it?! What kinda racket...?!” The younger ginger got up from his chair, ready to start an argument.
“Nah, I wouldn't take money from a freshman! But Riddle wants a chestnut tart next, so I'm gonna need you to gather a ton of chestnuts.”
Alright that seemed easy enough.
“Like that's any less of a hassle. But... fine. How many do you need?” Ace rolled his eyes, always needing to get the last say as always.
“Well, it's for the unbirthday party, so... Probably two or three hundred?” Trey did a little mental calculation before stating the obvious.
“Did you say HUNDRED?!” Deuce and Grim couldn’t quite grasp it, however.
“Why are you surprised? chestnuts are tiny, of course you would need a lot of them guys.” You said, shrugging your shoulders.
“And don’t forget they're all gonna need to be boiled, shelled, and pureed!” The vice–housewarden added to the boys’ chagrin.
“Alright, I'm gonna head ou– MYEOWW! C’MON!” As soon as your roommate jumped down from the table to try and run you picked him up by the scruff again with practiced speed. You’re starting to get the hang of it.
“You’re not going anywhere mister.” Yet again you sounded like a mother scolding a child.
“I'm leaving to- ah! Dammit! I thought that if I sneaked past I would be able to escape!” You also made sure to grab Deuce’s uniform jacket with your other hand to make sure he wouldn’t try.
“You’re also staying here.” You sighed.
It was tiring being the only responsible one amongst them.
“Nice one Rukkha! trying to run huh?! you heartless cowards!” Ace gave you thumbs up and you just nodded.
“Hold up! Haven't you ever heard that food tastes better if you make it with your friends? This'll be a memory to treasure! It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger!” You had a feeling Cater just wanted to take pictures of the tart once it was done and gain uh…traction on “social media” as he called it.
“Don't tell Riddle, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when eaten right out of the oven. And the only people who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it.” Trey pitched and he made it harder to refuse, not like you were planning to.
“Well, when you put it that way... Come on, humans, let's do this!” Yep, as you thought, the mention of food was enough to get this stupid fucking cat motivated, you should’ve used it to your advantage earlier.
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You then proceeded to go to the woods behind the campus in search for the main ingredient. You didn’t think this school could get any bigger but here we are! A smile graced your face as the gentle light of the sun passed through the leaves of the trees, highlighting the aesthetic of the place.
Soon enough you saw some chestnuts laying around, you assumed it was school property and ok to use, however they had spikes. You couldn’t exactly carry them with your bare hands so you, Ace, Deuce and Grim all decided to try and see if there were any kind of tools or supplies inside the botanical garden.
Again, the place was huge.
And gorgeous.
To make the search faster the suggestion of splitting came up and you agreed, albeit a little nervously due to not knowing a single thing about the structure of this place. What if you got lost?
Well…no use worrying about it, you had a task to complete and were nothing if not determined to fulfil it.
As you looked around for something that could help you noticed how your cat immediately honed in the ripe fruits they had all over the place.
“Grim, remember what we came here for? don’t go touching or eating anything, pleas- huh?”
You stopped mid-way as you felt like you just had stepped on something.
“Hey…”
A literal shadow loomed over you as you felt your stomach drop.
Just what the hell did you do this time.
“You got some nerve steppin' on my tail and just walkin' away!” A quite deep voice made itself known that what you had stepped on was indeed a tail.
Fuck.
Did you somehow manage to get in trouble with a teacher or something, again?!?! god you just want to curl up in a corner and forget you exist.
“Are you the groundskeeper? Not sure you oughta be talkin' to students that way, pal.” You could hear Grim talk to the person, not helping your situation in the slightest.
“Ain't nothin' worse than bein' in the middle of a good nap and havin' some jerk step on your tail.” The person sounded obviously annoyed.
“Turn around and look at the person whose nap you interrupted at least.” With that a hand grabbed your shoulder and turned you around.
Your body flinched and your eyes darted around everywhere, slowly but surely making their way to the stranger’s face.
“Finally feel like acknowledging me, huh?”
Oh.
The person, the man…didn’t seem like a teacher at all.
You were scared for nothing.
He seemed to be a…lion demi-human.
His long dark brown hair cascaded over his shoulders, complemented by his emerald eyes, and dark skin.
He looked quite…striking?....was the word?
You found yourself taken aback slightly, enough to not notice his face coming dangerously closer.
“You... I know you. You're that herbivore from orientation who has unstable magic.”
What. the. fuck.
“W-Wha? don’t just smell people! That's rude!” Your cheeks got a bit pink from shame.
You didn’t smell bad, right? you showered today even if Ramshackle’s water was ice cold.
“Ugh…you smell like…grass and flowers…makes my nose itchy.” He sniffed as if trying to hold back a sneeze.
Well, you WERE born from a tree branch.
“Well I can't say it would be fun to hurt someone helpless like you and a girl nonetheless…so…gimme your furball, i’ll rough it up a bit until i feel better.”
At that Grim hid behind your legs.
“Ugh…what’s up with this guy?! when he looks at me, it makes every follicle of my fur stand on end…”
What did you being a girl have to do with anything? confusion was what broke you from the weird “trance” you found yourself in.
“I’m sorry about stepping on your tail, I didn't quite pay attention when walking. But I can't just allow you to hurt Grim, I'm sorry.” You said hoping to god it would be enough to deter him from this nonsense.
The man didn’t like that though.
With a sour look on his face he extended his hand expecting you to plop your roommate on it.
“No one gets to stomp on my tail and just walk away without payin' the price. I'm in a bad mood on account of bein' woken up from my nap, too. That's gonna cost you a tooth.”
Just what was he on about? Sure you stepped on his tail and that must’ve hurt but there’s no reason to be this mad! the people here were way too volatile for their own good, it was genuinely exhausting to keep up with it.
“Is that really necessar-” A voice interrupted you before you could properly finish.
Both you and Leona turned around to see a smaller boy with dirty-blonde hair.
“Leona! There you are!” He seemed to be looking for the man who almost crushed Grim with his bare hands. You mentally thanked him for saving you from having to possibly watch a homicide or even worse, from having to cause problems.
“Huh?” Leona let out a disappointed sigh as his body language shifted to a way tamer form of annoyance.
“I knew I'd find you here! We got after-school classes today, remember?” The new person seemed to ignore you for whatever reason and kept telling his…you presume upperclassman, off for being late to class. “Ugh... And now I've got this guy on my tail…” The lion demi-human’s tail swished quickly in a show of exasperation.
“Leona, you've already had to repeat one year. If you get held back again, we'll be in the same grade!” Y’know what? you felt like you were clearly either intruding or seeing something you weren’t supposed to see. You wondered if this is how people felt when you lectured your cat.
Taking advantage of their bickering you slowly tried to slip away but of course demi-human’s sharper instincts and abilities are hard to fool.
“Next time you lay foot in my territory, let’s say…i won’t be as nice.” Was all you heard him say before being dragged away by his junior.
You and Grim both got slight goosebumps from that threat.
All you wanted was to find some gardening tools and now you had possibly someone on your tail, no pun intended, ready to smite you for breathing wrong inside their territory wherever that might be.
“You really need to stop wandering around Grim....for your sake and mine.” “The great Grim does what he pleases.” Right, of course.
You breathed in and out trying to exercise patience, something you knew Greater lord Kusanali was great at! you though? you had a lot to learn still.
“Yo, guys, we found baskets and tongs.” You hear Ace’s voice in the distance which meant you could finally leave this pleace.
“What in the world happened to you two?” Deuce asked, gesturing to the few stray hairs sticking out of your head, clearly out of stress.
“Uhm….” You looked to the sides thinking about how to explain what just transpired.
“Oh, right, the chestnuts! We gotta gather those chestnuts so I can get my tart on! We'll fill 'em in on the crazy groundskeeper while we forage.” It seemed like the boys’ presence reminded the cat of what you even came here to do in the first place.
“So…here’s what happened…” As you walked with them to the woods behind campus you described the situation with your roommate sometimes chiming in about how the lion guy was stupid and how he wishes he could teach him a lesson.
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“...And then he peaced out, just like that!” Grim said with conviction.
“Yeah, no way was that guy the groundskeeper.” You heard Ace say from behind you as the tree he was picking the chestnuts from was closer to yours.
“How do you even land yourself in these situations, dude? is that on purpose or what.” You swore you could hear one of his eyebrows raising to question you.
“No, I SWEAR it’s not! I just wish I could get along with everybody! why is it so hard!” You pinched the bridge of your nose in obvious despair.
“Ugh…don’t say something so cheesy like that out of nowhere…” Yeah, it’s best to ignore Ace’s allergy to feelings overall.
“Who was the guy anyway?” Asked Deuce from the tree on your left.
“Y'know, now that I think about it, he WAS wearin' the golden vest of that Pajama-clog dorm.” Grim put his paw to his “chin” in a thinking pose.
“Pajama... clog? You mean Savanaclaw?” Deuce corrected him before you could.
“You know….I'm starting to think that there's an awful lot of delinquents here at Night Raven…” The “spade” boy looked around as if checking for danger.
And you couldn’t agree more.
You had a feeling the teenagers in this world had way too much penchant for chaos.
After what felt like 10 more minutes Ace chimed in.
“All right, that should be enough chestnuts. Let's get these baskets over to Trey!”
You nodded happily holding a basket full of the goodies. They were strangely cute! you think you like chestnuts.
“Myahaha! Now that we're all gassed up, it's destination: Flavortown, baby!” The cat seemed way too happy, running around as you walked back.
“Please help next time, Grim…” You doubt he actually would but c’mon, it’s only fair.
After that you went back to Trey as you planned but of course the pain was only starting. According to him you needed to peel the chestnuts and considering just how many you got you could swore you felt your blood pressure drop.
You couldn’t even use your powers to help you as moving small objects with it was way too hard and you didn’t feel like cheating, so in solidarity to your now magic-less friend, you used your arms and…why the fuck did you even agree to this.
At first it was all fine but after what you counted as 30 chestnuts your arms started hurting.
This was your lack of physical prowess showing, absolutely pathetic.
By the end of it all your fingers suffered some accidental cuts due to your clumsyness but also due to the spiky shells of the ingredients.
“There! Finally got 'em all pureed!” Ace sounded proud of himself but you? you rested your head on the counter, your dominant arm completely limp as you wanted to express properly how it felt after so much straining work.
“My arm is killing me…” At least your friend Deuce understood what it was like!
“Nice work. It'll be all the sweeter for your pain!” You felt the green haired teen rest his hand on your head, gently patting it.
His hand reminded you of the few times you got the same kind of affection from the Greater lord. It kinda made your heart ache, the touch was similar.
The greater lord always wished she could’ve done more for you, to free you perhaps. Which is why she would always sneak in and give you things, tell you stories.
You…missed her.
And yet you also resented her.
It was like a voice inside your head spoke up.
Your breathing caught in your throat but you were determined to not show what was going on inside your head.
No you don’t resent her, that’s….that can’t be right.
Anyway such thoughts don’t matter, you should really come back to reality by now.
“Oh! sorry! I usually do that to my younger siblings, you kinda reminded me of them.” He immediately pulled his hand back.
You lifted your head and straightened your back, smiling at him.
“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” You said quickly to make sure no one noticed any weird behavior on your part.
Still…Trey was sharp so you could see his mouth open and then close, probably thought against prying and you thanked him for it.
“ Man…The smell alone already has me droolin'...” Thank god Grim is the way he is.
Quick, take advantage and don’t make the mood heavy.
“Hmmm…! now that you mention it…yeah! it smells really nice!” Despite your intentions you genuinely thought the smell was great.
“I’ve never had it so I'm excited to try!” You wondered just how it would taste! sweet? bitter? sour? salty? well it was a tart so it had to be sweet, surely.
“I just need to add butter and sugar to the chestnut paste, and a sensible splash of oyster sauce - that's my secret ingredient!”
Deuce, Ace, Grim and you all did a double take.
“Oyster sauce?!” All your voices in unison said incredulously.
“Yep. The umami of the oysters gives the cream a deep, savory flavor.” You all watched stupified as he grabbed a bottle from the cabinet and put it on the counter.
“I use this one here: Walrus-brand Young Oyster Sauce.All the best bakers use it in their tarts.” Your eyes went to his face and to the cartoon Walrus on the bottle then to his face again and back to the bottl- yeah we get it.
“Really? But isn't oyster sauce like, super salty?” Deuce questioned in obvious confusion.
“Some folks put chocolate into curry, don't they? Maybe it's the same idea.” Ace seemed to have come into terms with the idea.
“Is that right? I haven't had oyster sauce, I'm not sure.” You were so confused however Trey seemed so sure of himself you…guessed it made sense.
All of you nodded to each other, apparently convinced the stupid idea was true, fully expecting that thing to be put inside the mix.
However the third year couldn’t hold it anymore, the urge to laugh.
“Pfft... Ah ha ha ha! I'm totally lying! No one in their right mind would put oyster sauce into a pastry.” He was laughing so much he had to hold his stomach.
But of course, why did you even believe that in the first place?!?!?!
“What?! So you were just yankin' our chain?” Ace looked incredibly offended while you felt your face slowly morph to red, your ears drooping slightly.
“Uh…right…right…there’s no way! haha…” You’re supposed to inherit the divine throne of the god of knowledge yet here you were, falling for a stupid obvious prank.
You had such a long way to go it’s not even funny.
“Ah ha ha! I mean, if you'd used your brain, you'd have realized how ridiculous it was!
Let that be a lesson to you. Don't believe everything you hear.” The green haired boy looked amused by your embarrassment so to add salt to injury he patted your head again as if teaching a child a lesson.
You wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
After that you cleaned your throat and tried to recompose yourself as Trey continued with the process of baking. Though apparently he had gone haywire with the paste due to the amount of chestnuts and didn’t realize there wasn’t enough cream to mix it all together.
So you ended up having to go buy more, more specifically you are accompanying Deuce as per his request.
You walked together through the main street with the school store being your common destination. Grim who was curled up against your neck insisted on coming along due to “”””needing a break after all that stirring””””””. It was a miracle he even helped with that considering not even a single paw was lifted to gather the chestnuts.
After a few minutes of walking you saw a little shop, has this always been here?
Deuce knocked on the counter to get the attention of the shopkeeper and followed by greeting whoever was responsible for it.
“Hello, can I get some he- Whoa. This shop is wild. They have crystal skulls, grimoires, taxidermied... Uh, I don't even know what animal that is!” His eyes seemed to swim around the shelves and the walls while you just averted yours from the taxidermy, you weren’t a fan of that particular practice.
“You think they really sell cream here?” The monster who used your body as essentially a warm water bottle asked and you had to agree. Would this place even have what you needed? but on the other hand it also looked like it could have anything so who knows.
Then as if prompted the shopkeeper suddenly showed up out of nowhere.
All three of you flinched and took a step back as you looked at the dark-skinned man who wore a top hat and a black apron.
“Greetings, my stray imps, How fare you today?” His peppy voice made you think of a radio host, he exuded charisma.
“Welcome to Mr. Sam's Mystery Shop. What among my humble selection interests you?
A charm from a secluded land? The mummified remains of an ancient king? A cursed tarot card?” He gestured to the goods on the shelves in a rapid-fire way as he mentioned each suggestion of items.
“Myah! I wasn't expectin' this kinda selection.” Grim seemed taken aback at the sheer vastness of the merchandise and you were too. You guessed this shop’s biggest selling point was possibly anything you ask for, can’t quite judge a book by its cover.
From an entrepreneur’s(not that you were one) standpoint it was smart to throw your hat in multiple rings but you knew not everyone could pull it off properly, it was impressive, really.
The only person you remember who also had this approach to merchandise was Dori Sangemah Bay.
You had a feeling they could get along if they met.
While you admired the stock, Deuce had bought all the items in Trey’s list so it was time to go.
“Until next time, my little imps. Do come again! Ciao!” You waved your hand to say goodbye but before you could say thank you the man vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.
You’re starting to get used to this kind of thing, maybe.
Anyway
It was time to go back, the light of the sunset gently hitting your and Deuce’s backs while you walked to where you were needed.
You insisted on carrying one of the bags yourself to be fair however you aren’t that strong physically for starters which was a disgrace as the next heir to your throne. So unfortunately you had to give up and let the boy carry all of them.
He did say he had a trick of carrying heavy bags but you still felt slightly guilty about it so you asked how it worked.
“There’s…a trick for that…? how?” It probably had something to do with using one’s back or other muscles properly to not overload the arms, you weren’t sure.
He then nodded and slowly a fond smile took over his lips as he kept his eyes locked on the way since the ingredients are incredibly fragile he couldn’t afford to trip.
“Yeah. My mom always used to stock up at sales, and the bags would get ridiculously heavy.
I was the only man in the house, so I got to do all the heavy lifting, and- Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to monopolize the conversation.” Deuce apologized, looking guilty.
“Oh no no! Don't worry!” You interjected.
“I appreciate you telling me about it! seems like you helped around a lot.” It was genuinely delightful to be trusted with information about his family, you felt…important? It was a nice feeling.
At your compliment his gaze immediately turned to yours, guilt still visible if not worse than before.
“No, it wasn't like that at all. The truth is, I-” Something collided against him preventing his sentence from being completed, like it’s very common to happen here. God forbid anyone speaks what they mean clearly with no interruptions.
And not only him! something collided against you as well but thankfully you weren’t holding anything.
You were fine.
However.
The eggs you just bought weren’t.
They were now scattered all over the ground, it’s contents dripping from the basket.
Welp.
What a nightmare, truly.
Could things get any worse?
Yes they could! In fact you realized what you collided into were people and not just anyone! it was the dramatic weird duo from the cafeteria!
Just great.
Just as you would expect they opened their mouths and immediately started complaining.
“You're the jerk who broke the egg yolk on my carbonara and ruined my chance with a pretty girl!” Oh so that’s what they meant back there.
You sighed.
First of all, why was he talking about you as if you weren’t standing right there and why did he think his measly “flirting” was going to work? You don’t get teenagers.
“You meant OUR chance” His friend spoke up, offended to be excluded.
“Either way I've had about enough of you punks. You need to learn your place!”
You sighed louder.
Why must every single little thing escalate to fighting in this place, please, can you have a day without someone demanding to square up?
Deuce protectively stepped in front of you like before in the cafeteria and glared at them, matching their violent energy.
“You're the ones who darted out at us from around a corner! And you picked a fight with us at lunch over an egg that you were still totally able to eat!” the boy’s voice raised slightly with every accusation.
“It was quite unnecessary, truly.” You added out of spite which only seemed to rub salt on the duo’s wounds.
“And now you've destroyed six of OUR eggs!” Your friend pointed to the mess on the ground that used to be an ingredient for a tart.
"Yeah! He's right!” Grim hissed.
“S-So what? You sayin' that was our fault?” You raised a brow.
Now.
As the next god of wisdom you’re supposed to abide by a saying.
“There are no stupid questions”
But this?
This was a VERY stupid one.
“I am. Please reimburse us for the eggs. And then apologize to the chickens.”
You slowly turned your head to look at Deuce.
Reimbursing the eggs was a great idea to peacefully solve the problem but…apologizing to the chickens seemed a bit too much.
“Ooh, look who's got his big boy pants on. You sure are makin' a big deal outta some stupid eggs.” It escalated further, doubling on the pettiness.
“What?!” That seemed to tick Deuce off though.
“They haven't even touched the ground, so they're still edible. Quit whinin'.”
HUH?
Have they SEEN what happened?
DO THEY KNOW GRAVITY EXISTS?
They were SHATTERED, they were LAYING there LITERALLY! gooey mess and all and if nothing was done about it the smell would permeate the lungs of anyone who passed by.
It made your brain hurt.
“You can’t possibly be serious.” You pinched the bridge of your nose in pure disappointment.
“I’m sure you can understand what we’re saying so…just please give us the money and get it over with.”
You extended your hand and was pretty much prepared for them to plop whatever money they hand on it but of course people at this school hated logical peaceful solutions and it didn’t happen how you expected.
“Nah, I don't think so. If anything you two should thank us for savin’ you the trouble of crackin’em!”
Ok so now what? you weren’t sure what to do so you looked at your friend who seemed to be trembling with some kind of rage.
“Deuce…?” You called out worriedly, your hand reaching out to touch his shoulder but then he finally said something.
“That ain't funny.” A whisper through gritted teeth.
“Huh?” The petty duo didn’t seem to get it.
“I said, THAT AIN'T FUNNY.”
Oh no, the switch flipped.
“You don't get to call my eggs stupid. You don't get to call ANY eggs stupid! Those eggs may not have gotten to be chicks, but they were gonna make some amazing tarts! Do you get it yet? DO YOU?!”
His voice got increasingly louder and you could even see him cracking his knuckles.
You could feel cold sweat starting to form on your forehead by the second.
“No wait…Deuce!”
You tried your best to deescalate the situation and unfortunately got ignored, it was too late.
“You owe me six eggs. If ya ain't gonna pay me for ‘em, then you're gettin' a bruise for each one!”
His voice boomed through the main street and it made you flinch.
The intensity of his anger caused you to stay away from the entire thing, even if you thought he was going too far you also didn’t feel like getting too close. So you watched him beat them up enough to the point they ran away begging all chickens in the world for forgiveness.
You and Grim looked at each other debating on whether or not to approach him.
However…he was your friend, it wouldn’t sit well with you if you just ignored something like this. So you finally got closer and asked:
“Uhm..Deuce…? Are you alright? what was that…?” His breathing was heavy for a few seconds before finally settling and that’s when he seemed to go back to “normal”.
“I did it again, didn't I...? ARGH! I was dead-set on becoming an honor student this time, too!” Again? So did he get like this before?
You and Grim made a noise of confusion and that was all the cue the black haired boy needed to reveal everything.
“When I was in middle school, I was pretty wild, I cut school all the time and got in fights, I called my teachers names, hung out with bullies, bleached my hair...I blasted around tight curves on my Magic Wheel…”
Oh…so he was a delinquent…that explains a lot about how sometimes his behavior would shift. It must be difficult to get rid of such bad old habits.
What’s a magic wheel though? you would ask later, right now it didn’t matter.
He sighed heavily running his hands through his hair, messing it slightly, frustrated with himself.
“I'd show off my magic to kids who couldn't use it yet... I was a total punk.”
You grimaced slightly at “showing off his magic to kids who couldn’t use it yet”. The implications of showing off is something you didn’t really like…or…imagine but he managed to see the error in his ways so that was a good thing.
“So you were only a little more annoying than you are now?” The cat asked in a sarcastic tone.
You didn’t agree with the term annoying but....you found it slightly harder to imagine considering you only know the Deuce you see in front of you.
“Well…sometimes it seemed like you acted a bit rough but I never thought you were a bad person.”
You smiled while lowering your body to be closer to where he was, since punching the ground was his way of showing frustration at the moment.
He still refused to look at you though, taking a big inhale before exhaling as if trying to calm himself and speak.
“But...one night, I saw my mom talking on the phone to my grandma. She was trying to hide from me, but I saw her, and I could tell she was in tears…She was saying how she must have been a horrible mom, and that maybe she never should have tried to raise me by herself.”
Your hands that rested on your knees clenched.
“That had nothin' to do with it! She hadn't done anything wrong. It was all me…so…When the carriage came to take me to Night Raven College, she was so happy for me…I decided then and there that this time, I wouldn't do anything to make her cry, this time, I'd become an honor student - someone she could be proud of! And I already messed it all up!”
You had to end that train of thought immediately so you did what greater lord Kusanali did for you in the little times you could meet before you were confined.
Slowly you raised your hand and rested it on his head, moving it from side to side.
Yup, headpats.
They made you feel a bit better back in the day and right now you wanted to comfort him.
“I don’t think you messed anything up, Deuce.” To be honest he was already a bit stunned at your actions and the way the setting sun framed your face and shone on your hair didn’t help at all.
The boy’s face got redder and redder as he heard your words.
“Violence…isn’t good but I'm sure you already know that. It’s ok to be angry when the situation calls for it! your mother would be proud of you.”
“Yeah! it’s not like you need to put up with everything just ‘cause you want to be an honor student! I was ready to crush them myself!” Even if a bit intense, Grim did have a point.
But you weren’t sure if he was listening judging by how slightly unfocused his eyes looked..and his face was…red?
“Deuce…?” You snapped your fingers in front of him a few times and suddenly he got up and put some distance between both of you.
He held his chest with a hand while coughing into another, trying to recompose himself.
“A-ahem! i-i guess you guys are right! haha..! thanks! I just hope those chicks can rest in peace…” He tried to change subject immediately so you wouldn’t notice the fact he thought you looked like something out of this world for a few moments there, his heart rate was through the roof.
You did think his behavior was weird but brushed it off.
Though something you couldn’t brush off was the thing about the chicks.
“...Deuce…eggs don’t hatch unless they’re fertilized…these ones weren’t gonna hatch regardless…”
That was elementary school level of knowledge, didn’t they teach that here?
At your words he did a double take and looked at the ruined eggs on the floor with a mouth wide open as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Wha- WHAAAAAT ?! Are you kidding me?!?!?!"
His voice resonated through the main street as you pinched the bridge of your nose.
Explaining this was going to be…something.
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