Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Prologue-Discovery

Ortho liked finding new things. Just maybe not in the lower levels of Tarartus. Especially since he was supposed to have access to all of Styx’s floor plans. And yet, a mysterious door sat in front of him.

A heavy, steel reinforced mystery door at that.

Psh…

The door ominously opened. Naturally, he decided to break in. It wasn’t overly difficult, but Ortho was still perplexed as to why he had to hack in at all. Briefly, Ortho considered getting Idia to come explore with him. But…it would be easier to drag his brother out of his room if he had solid evidence of something cool…

His curiosity won over his caution.

“Hello?”

No one answered, unsurprisingly. He tentatively floated forward. He was well aware of the dangers of encountering Overblots this deep, but he needed to be sure that everything was alright in here. Plus, he wanted to know what was hidden away in this area.

“Is anyone in here?”

Whap.

Ortho froze. The sound reverberated off walls. Slowly, he hovered forward, prepping his weapons(just in case).

“Whose there?”

TWAP.

Ortho swiveled, turning towards the new sound.
...................................…………………….

“IDIA!”

Ortho burst into the room, screaming at the top of his proverbial lungs.

Idia jumped, accidentally chucking his phone across the room. He wheeled around, staring at the robot.

“W-what?! What’s wrong?!”

Ortho had never looked this wound up before. And, frankly, that kinda terrified him.

Rather than answering, Ortho leapt forward, snatching Idia’s arm and yanking him forward.

“Ortho! What are you doing?!”

“Ifoundthisdoorthatwasn’tonthefloorplanandIhadtohackittogetitopenbut there’sabunchofkidsinthereandtheircontainmentcellsaremarkedasoverblotbuttheirnot-”

Idia tried desperately to decipher the ramble that spilled out of Ortho’s mouth, but it was hard to focus when he was getting yanked down halls by a little brother with a titanium grip.

“Wait, you had to hack into what? Wha-Ortho, where are we?”

Ortho had finally stopped their trek, and proudly displayed to Idia an open door so menacing, he swore he heard boss music playing.

“I don’t know.”

Idia felt goosebumps crawl up his arm. Ortho was directly connected to Cerberus. He was supposed to know every in and out of Styx. Well, so was he, but Ortho was voted much less likely to forget stuff like new rooms being added to the facility.

“You don’t…know?”

Ortho nodded.

“That’s why I had to hack into it! But that's not what I wanted to show you.”

Idia tensed as Ortho led him into the unknown room, alarm bells ringing off in his head. Nothing about this seemed good. And it only seemed to get worse as Ortho dragged him towards a huge glass cage that was lit in some very ominous light.

This is almost intentionally creepy at this point…

And it was flat out creepy when he made eye contact with what was sitting inside.

Chapter Text

“Hello, Headmage.”

Crowley turned towards the Shroud brothers, smiling like he had won the lottery. Which, money wise, he kind of had.

“Ah, there you two are! I’ve assembled all the necessary Housewardens and they're waiting for us in my office.”

“Great…”

Idia’s voice crackled from his tablet, sounding about as enthusiastic as a kid going to the dentist. Ortho just smiled. Even though they hadn’t been able to make it to the opening ceremony, this was still a very exciting day. He was gonna get to go to school with his brother and all his new friends!

“Let's get this over with…”

Idia was not in the mood for explaining his case to all the other, very high-strong Housewardens. On the other hand…the look on Ortho’s face right now could get him to sell his soul. And the looks of hope he had gotten this morning after telling a bunch of sixteen year olds they would get to go to school was the definition of guilt trip right now.

Stupid conscious. And stupid Clayton and his team of wack jobs that somehow passed Styx’s background testing.

Crowley eagerly led the way into his office.

.....................................………………………………..
Of all the virtues the Housewardens of Night Raven collage had, patience was not one of them. After the opening ceremony had shockingly gone off without a hitch,(cough cough), the Headmage had quickly herded Riddle, Leona, Vil, and Lilia(no one could find Malleus) into his office, saying that there was something important that he needed to discuss with them.

Unfortunately, twenty minutes was too long of a wait time for any of them. It had only taken ten for Riddle to start fuming about curfew, Vil to reiterate multiple times how this was unacceptable, and for Leona to fall asleep.

Luckily, for their own mental states, Crowley finally returned, Ortho and tablet Idia in hand.

“Thank you all for waiting! I fear I had to find these two to begin our discussion.”

Vil, subtly but pointedly, kicked Leona’s chair, jerking the lion beastman awake. Without missing a beat, the Savanaclaw housewarden grumpily responded.

“What ya want, Crowley?”

The Headmage smiled with practiced patience.

“Well, the school has decided to undertake an experimental project, side by side with Stxy’s-”

Lilia’s smile dropped. Leona’s ears flattened. Riddle and Vil both frowned, not knowing as much about the organization as the other two.

“And due to its * ahem* certain nature, I,and the Shroud family, have decided that you four need to know the more sensitive nature of it before we reveal the general information to the rest of the student body.”

“Don’t look so nervous!” Ortho piped up cheerfully, his happy tone doing nothing to ease any of the tension in the room. “They’re all very nice!”

“Who, exactly?” Riddle questioned.

A long sigh came from the tablet.

"Styx's has ….regretfully found a…very selective ‘cure’ for a couple of previously overblotted victims…”

“Regretfully?” Vil echoed, an apprehensive edge sinking into his tone. Idia faltered slightly, but, shockingly, answered.

“Yeah, we’ll-we’ll get more into that in a sec….”

“Anyways,” Ortho chirped up again, “The subjects of this specific experiment show relative normal cognitive function and mental awareness. So, with the approval of the school board, they will be attending Night Raven Collage this year!”

A tense silence fell over the group. Crowley coughed, attempting to relieve the pressure. It didn’t work.

Leona’s ear twitched.

“Alright, so a bunch of lab rats are comin’ to school; what's that got to do with us?”

Crowley smiled nervously.

“Well, aside from the two-special cases, these new students have been assigned to your dorms!”

Everyone stared at him.

“Well, this year just got more interesting…” Lillia mused.

Riddle blinked, seeming to shake himself out of shock.

“Are there any precautions set aside for the rest of our dorm's safety?”

Idia’s tablet lit up again.

“Well, duh. None of the group will actually be staying in the dorm, they’ll be staying in other…school provided lodgings. Styx’s is remotely monitoring their blot levels, and they’ll be getting weekly check-ins.”

Leona rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, you got to be kidding me; we’re babysitting a bunch of monsters this year?!”

Idia sighed, exasperated.

“You’re not babysitting them, and preferably, don’t call them monsters. I can’t control what they do if you hurt their feelings…”

Leona growled, but stayed quiet. Vil looked piercingly at the Shrouds.

“Can you promise with utmost certainty that they will pose no threat to the rest of the student body?”

“Yes!” Ortho said firmly. “They aren’t a threat of any size.”

Vil slightly nodded his head, but he looked far from convinced. Crowley quickly interjected again.

“Well, let’s not keep your new students waiting! Go introduce yourselves and then hurry back to your dorms!”

“We’re meeting them tonight?” Lillia sounded intrigued, a feeling that the other three didn’t quite share.

“Of course! As new students, they need to know who their housewardens are! Now, go go, Ortho will show you the way!”

Ortho opened the door, looking at them expectantly. They really had no choice but to follow.

Chapter Text

Nothing he had ever studied had prepared him for this. He had very limited knowledge on overblot and what it could do to a person, but someone being restored from that state was unheard of. And Ortho had just happily informed him that he had two freshmen who had undergone this mysterious cure.

But, Riddle Rosehearts was never one to back down from a challenge. As long as they followed the rules, there should be no issue.

Ortho let him into an empty classroom.

“Riddle Rosehearts, please meet Ace Trappla and Deuce Spade.”

The two freshmen that stood before him definitely were…odd. Both were wearing grey jumpsuits, and Deuce was noticeably not wearing shoes. More noticeable, however, was that he seemed to have several reptilian features.

Where his ears should have been, two frilled fins stuck out of his blue hair. His hands and feet were both clawed, and reminded Riddle of storybook illustrations he had once seen of dragons. He had immediately stood and straightened when Riddle had entered, looking at him with rapt attention. A lizard-like tail whipped out from under him, quickly wrapping itself around the teen’s legs, seemingly in an attempt to hide it.

Ace had stood as well, but wasn’t standing quite as rigid. His hands were blacked and curved into talons, and upon further inspection, Riddle noticed that he had two wings folded up on either side of his back. Ace looked back at Riddle with curiosity, and Riddle noted that his eyes appeared pupiless, having three blank rings inside of them instead.

Both of them look uncertainly at him, evidently not knowing how to continue. Luckily for them, Riddle was prepared in this manner.

“Welcome to Night Raven Collage. I am Riddle Rosehearts, Housewarden of Heartslabyul. Our dorm is based upon the Queen of Heart’s studiousness and strictness, and, thus, all dorm members are expected to uphold her rules. There are 810 of them in total-”

Ace made a strange, birdlike sound in the back of his throat. Riddle elected to ignore it, assuming it was accidental(It was not), and continued with his speech.

“If you do not respect the rules, you will be punished. There are also several shared responsibilities of the dorm, such as tending to the hedgehogs and the flamingos. Even though you are not staying in the dorm, I expect you to abide by the rules and do your part in these responsibilities. Understood?”

“Yes Housewarden!”

Both freshmen answered in perfect sync, though both now looked a tad more nervous. Riddle looked steadily at them.

“Be steadfast in your school work and respectful to the rules and we won’t have any problems. Now, do you need help finding where you're staying?”

Ace blinked.

“That’s it?” He sounded…suspicious? Riddle frowned.

“Is there any more information you need? Did the Headmage not tell you where your classes were?”

“No-I mean, he didn’t tell us that, but-like…that’s it?”

“...yes, that’s all. Now, where are you staying?”

“Um, somewhere called..’Ramshackle..’
.......………………………………………………..
Leona wanted to go back to bed. Unfortunately, that seemed entirely off the table at this point. He yawned as Ortho led him into an empty classroom, grumpily following the robot inside.

“Leona Kingscholar, please meet Jack Howl.”

Well. This was something.

The freshman in front of him was, despite Idia’s remark, very monster-like. He was a wolf beastman, who stood taller than Leona, staring at him with yellow eyes. Though, most noticeable was the two, visible gaping holes of teeth that ran down either side of his face.

“You ever played Spell Drive?”

Jack blinked.

“No…”

Leona tilted his head.

“You want to?”

Jack’s ear twitched.

“...sure…”

....................………………………………………………
Vil was professional to a tee. But this-this was absurd. Secret lab experiments were attending as students and they were really expected to just roll with that? Personally, he was more offended at the fact that they had only been informed of this matter the day of. Likely, it was because Crowley didn’t want to give them the opportunity to reject the issue…

Ortho led him into an empty classroom.

“Vil Schoenheit, please meet Epel Felmier.”

Vil blinked, attempting to temper his outward reaction. It was only due his years of acting experience that he was able to keep his face from twisting into an expression of obvious alarm. That would have been a very rude way to begin a first introduction.

On the other hand, Epel had four eyes, which was objectively shocking. Though, aside from that, some odd markings around his mouth, and claws on his hands, the freshman actually looked relatively normal.

Epel stared suspiciously back at Vil, seeming to be gauging the housewarden’s reaction. Vil decided to continue in stride, politely glossing over the absurdity of the situation.

“Hello Epel, welcome to Night Raven Collage. I am Vil Schoenheit, your housewarden.”

He extended a hand to shake. Epel looked at it in surprise, before hesitantly accepting it.

“‘Kay…Ortho mentioned somethin’ bout that.”

Vil cringed at the obvious accent, also noting the odd way the freshman had shook his hand. He had grabbed it rather weakly, almost bending his fingers backwards. Vil guessed this was to avoid touching his own hand with his claws. He also quickly let go, barely shaking Vil’s hand for fifteen seconds.

He wondered if this was due to the freshman’s own insecurities, or if it was done for his sake. Either way, it would need to be amended over the semester. Weak social mannerism needed to be restructured, for all students of Pomefiore.

“Lets discuss what is expected of you this year, shall we?”

.............................…………………………………………….
Lilia didn’t quite know what to hope for. There were thousands of overblot victims in Tartarus. To even wish that one of the small seven that were here was who he was looking for was absurdly ridiculous.

And yet…

Even wishes could come true once in a millennia.

Lilia was broken out of his thoughts by Ortho opening a door to an empty classroom.

“Lilia Vanrouge, please meet Sebek Zigvolt.”

Lilia practically bolted through the door.

Sebek quickly stood, and froze, recognition flashing in his eyes. He took half a step forward, hesitating. Lilia didn’t.

He leapt forward, clutching the freshman in a tight hug.

“Oh my boy…”

Sebek stiffened before collapsing into the embrace, his knees giving out from under him as sobs shook his frame. Lilia gripped the freshman tighter, gently running a hand through his hair.

“Shh. It's alright. It's alright.”

Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes. Sebek was finally home.

Chapter Text

“I’m hungry!”

Q sighed.

“We had dinner an hour ago, Grim.”

“But I’m hungry now!”

“Maybe we can get a snack when the others get back….”

The cat direbeast huffed, but grumpily accepted the human’s proposal, falling quiet at last. Q took the moment of peace to continue her task of trying to neaten what was supposed to be the living room of their new home. Though ‘living’ wasn’t quite the word she’d use to describe their new surroundings, considering the ghosts that kept flitting in and out of the room.

She supposed she should be grateful to be out of Tartarus, but that was a bit hard when the prospect of freedom was directly tied to school. Then again, even a leaky new house beat living as a guinea pig for insane, fantasy world scientists.

Q didn’t remember how she ended up in this world. All she could recall was waking up in a cell with Grim, surrounded by people in lab coats. Who, apparently, were not very friendly. Granted, she was lucky compared to the others, who had been there for around three years. And who knew how long Grim had been stuck down there.

Even now, she was still trying to wrap her head around magic. Blot she understood. Afterall, her friends were practically experts in it at this point. But, theoretically Night Raven should teach her more about that. Provided the rest of the teachers didn’t model their own behavior after the Headmage…

Her musings about school were interrupted by conversation from outside.

“This is Ramshackle dorm…are you certain that this is where the Headmage said you were staying?”

“Yes, housewarden.”

“Definitely tracks…”

Q smiled as she recognized Deuce and Ace’s voices. Grim’s ears perked up.

“Looks like the knuckleheads are finally back!”

Deuce entered the house, gingerly holding the handle, trying very hard to not rip it off in front of Housewarden Rosehearts.

“Bye, housewarden! Thank you for showing us the way!”

Ace gave a half hearted wave, quickly stepping into the dorm building before Riddle could start briefing them on rules again. Deuce gently shut the door behind them, wincing as the building still rattled in complaint.

“Have a good meeting?” Q asked, tilting her head.

Ace grimaced.

“Don’t know; our housewarden’s kind of a wack job about rules.”

“He does seem a little crazy about those, but aside from that he seems alright.”

Ace coughed mockingly.

“Suck-up.”

Deuce glared at him.

“I’m not a suck up! I just actually care about becoming an honors roll student!”

Ace rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say; at least he was surprisingly chill about…this whole situation.”

He gestured around the room. Deuce shrugged.

“I guess when you have that many rules to keep track of, stuff like this doesn’t seem as important.”

Grim cackled.

“Ha! Me and my hench-human don’t have to worry ‘bout any stupid dorm rules!”

Ace swiped at Grim with his wing, who yelped as he tumbled off the motheaten couch.

“That’s because you don’ t get to be in an actual dorm, dummy.”

He glanced at Q.

“No offence.”

“None taken; I kinda like being partially in charge of Ramshackle, even if it's falling apart a bit…”

Bang!

All of them jumped as the building shook from the impact. Jack looked guilty at the door, which now hung off of its hinges and in his hands.

“My bad…”

Deuce groaned.

“I was so careful…”

“Sorry! I’ll just-”

Jack attempted to prop the door against its frame, with little success. Eventually, he gave up, leaning it, very gently, against the entry way wall.

“Great,” Grim grumbled. “Now we don’t have a door!”

Ace cringed at the damage.

“Think Idia can fix that?”

Q winced.

“Hopefully…”
.......................…………………………………………….
Epel didn’t even want to go to school anymore. He had been hoping for a cool dorm, like Savanaclaw. But no, he got into the one with a crazed actor as the housewarden that was full of students oppressed with make up and perfume. But if Vil thought for a minute that he was going to give up, boy did he have another thing coming.

Granted, for how run down Ramshackle was, he did think that the building would have a door.

“What happened to the door?”

“Jack.”

Jack scowled at Ace, who threw out the blame. Deuce grinned over at Epel.

“Hey Epel, how’d it go?”

One of Epel’s four eyes twitched.

“My housewarden’s a health nut lunatic of a tyrant.”

Ace whistled.

“Yeesh. Ours is a tiny rule abiding terror.”

Deuce winced.

“He wasn’t that bad!”

Grim snickered.

“Ha! Have fun with that! Me and Q don’t have to answer to nobody!”

Q sighed.

“Except for the Headmage…”

Jack snorted.

“Looks like I got the better end of the bargain out of all of you. My housewarden asked me to try out for Savanaclaw’s Spell Drive team.”

“Awww, lucky!” Deuce and Epel both chimed.

“Can we eat now?”

Q playfully swatted at Grim’s head.

“Yes, fine, we can have a snack!”

The odd group ambled into the run down kitchen. Epel hopped up, taking a seat on top of the rotting table. Miraculously, it held him.

“Sebek’s not back yet?”

Deuce shrugged, cautiously sitting in an ancient chair. It creaked warningly, but stayed stable.

“No; he’s probably having a bit of a family reunion right now…”

“I certainly hope so,” Q said, attempting to open a can of tuna for a ravenous Grim. “Lord knows he needs one…”

Chapter Text

Sebek buried his face into Lilia’s shoulder, desperately trying to stop the tears from falling. It was easier said than done. After three years of fearing rejection, here was his old master, counseling him while he sobbed on the floor. It was more than he could ask for…

But he needed to get a hold of himself. The chances of even being reconsidered as Malleus’s guard were slim, but he needed to be composed enough to not bring any more shame onto the Prince’s name then his presence was already going to. Unfortunately, Sebek had always been one to wear his emotions on his sleeve.

And the prospect of freedom after years of experimentation certainly didn’t help.

Eventually, Sebek did manage to collect himself somewhat. Enough so that he was willing to pull away from Lilia’s embrace. He quickly wiped away the rest of the stray tears with the back of his hand.

Lilia smiled gently, but then blinked, seeming to remember something.

“I will be right back!”

He then disappeared, poofing away before Sebek could respond.

Sebek blinked, a pit reforming in his stomach the moment Lilla was gone. It was pitiful behavior, really. This was exactly what he had been hoping for; for three years, a possible reunion was one of the few things that helped him to retain some form of sanity while trapped in the nightmare-scape that was Tartarus.

And yet now, all he could feel was fear. Lilia’s comforting presence had temporarily relieved them, but now his terror was back in full swing.

He took a shaky breath, trying to force his heart to slow down. It didn’t work…
.....................…………………………………………….
“Silver!”

Silver jerked awake, instantly sitting up at the sound of his father’s voice.

“Fa-Lilia, what’s wrong?”

The fae practically yanked Silver out of the chair he had fallen asleep in.

“Where’s Malleus?!”

Silver stumbled up, blinking in surprise. He had never heard Lilia this frantic.

“I believe he’s in his room-”

Lilia instantly leapt up the stairs, dragging Silver behind him up to Malleus’s room. Silver opened his mouth to question his father again, but was immediately cut off by the fae pounding on Malleus’s door.

“Malleus! Answer your door!”

Lilia’s tone held the very clear tone of a very clear parental now. Malleus practically flung open his door, staring at Lilia with surprise. The older fae hadn’t spoken to him with that kind of firmness in years.

“Lilia? What’s wrong?”

Lilia impatiently grabbed Malleus’s arm as well, and proceeded to yank both boys behind him out of the dorm and down multiple of the school’s corridors.

Silver yelped and Malleus’s eyes widened.

"Lilia-!”

“What in the world-!”

“You will see in a moment!”

His tone was so stern that both silenced, letting themselves be led to a now empty classroom. Lilia finally stopped and released them, promptly shoving them into the room. Silver considered trying to question his father again, but the words quickly died in his throat when he saw who was in the room.

Sebek’s eyes widened, but he didn’t even have a moment to process who he was seeing before Silver tackled him, nearly knocking the freshman off of his feet. The second year wrapped him in an even tighter hug than Lilia, nearly cutting off Sebek’s air flow.

Which was almost instantaneously done by Malleus, who squeezed them both so hard they nearly lost consciousness.

Fresh tears began to roll down Sebek’s cheeks, and the moment he was able to breathe again a new wave of sobs began to rack his body. His fears were finally put to rest as he was surrounded with missed love.

He was finally free.
.......................………………………………………………
Q jerked awake. Grim mumbled in his sleep, turning over next to her. She frowned, wondering why she had woken up.

Her question was answered by a shuffling sound from downstairs, which was most likely not the first one. So that meant Sebek had finally got back. His entrance certainly wasn’t as loud as Jack’s had been, but Sebek wasn’t exactly quiet, even when he was trying.

A muffled conversation bled through the thin walls, which Q saw as a good sign. It was nice to know that one of them had friends at this school, outside of their odd ball little group.

She reclosed her eyes. Hopefully, the rest of the year would go this smoothly…

Chapter Text

“Idia?”

Idia glanced up from his computer. Ortho stepped through the door, and hovered over to him.

“How’d it go?”

Ortho took a seat on Idia’s bed.

“I think it went well. Sebek Zigvolt is very popular.”

Idia frowned, muttering.

“Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite us…”

He really hoped that Malleus would be more happy about having Sebek back then enraged at the freshman’s state. If not, he might need to update his will…

Ortho began to swing his legs back and forth.

“I wanted to go say good night, but the Headmage said I needed to get back…”

Of course he had. Idia was 90% sure that he’d already be getting repair requests tomorrow morning.

“Eh, don’t worry; You’ll see them tomorrow.”

Ortho instantly perked up.

“Can we sit with them at breakfast?”

Dangit. Idia mentally kicked himself.

“...sure..”

He mumbled, sinking deeper into his chair. He really needed to find a defense against Ortho’s puppy dog eyes.

While the group probably wouldn’t mind having him join, he didn’t want to make them a bigger target. Now they’d be the lab freaks that sat with the weirdo Ignihyde house warden…

But it was either that or disappoint Ortho, and he had already done enough of that today.

“Yes! Thank you, Idia!”

Idia smiled. ‘Kay, that did make his terrible decision feel a little better.

Ortho looked curiously over Idia’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

Idia shrugged.

“Just updating everyone’s files. They needed them tonight, apparently.”

“Do you need any help?”

“Nah, it's just filling in some basic information; I should be done in time to get online soon.”

“And then go to bed?”

Idia glanced at Ortho, slightly guilty.

“Um…sure?”

Ortho sighed.

“Alright. Good night.”

“Night, Ortho.”

Idia sighed. Why did Styx have to wait until the last minute to send him all of the paperwork? Probably because they knew he didn’t have a life and didn’t have an excuse not to get it done…

Ortho climbed off of Idia’s bed and powered down. Idia turned back to his work, fully intent on not sleeping.

Because Crowley was…Crowley, multiple things still needed to be arranged. More pairs of uniforms had to be delivered to Ramshackle(only one had been school provided), special shoes needed to be provided for Sebek and Deuce(clawed and webbed feet didn’t fit comfortably in regular sneakers), and Idia was trying to be nice to future him and make the sharable notes easier read.

He clicked through the files, meticulously updating all the stuff he needed to fill the other housewardens’ in on. Which he was sure they would just…love.

Well, actually, Riddle and Vil seemed control freaky enough to unironically appreciate all this extra information. Leona definitely wouldn’t, and would probably ignore it all anyways. He didn’t even know who was going to show up for Sebek, so he’d just manage his expectations when he got there…

Chapter Text

I regret everything…

Morning had come way too fast, and now Idia was dragging his heels as Ortho pulled him towards the cafeteria.

“Idia, c’mon!”

Idia shrank in on himself as they entered the bustling cafeteria, getting more and more tense as they approached the clear center of the student body’s attention.

Oh, it was so much worse than he could have imagined.

Crowley had said that he would inform the rest of the school about the freshmen, but clearly, that had done nothing to lessen the impact of their reveal. The entire cafeteria was staring at their table, despite the fact that they had purposely picked one in a back corner.

Idia felt half the school’s eyes follow them as Ortho dragged him up the table.

“Hi guys!”

Everyone but Grim,(who was neck deep in pastries), looked up. Jack scouted over, making room for the two.

“Hey Ortho.”

Ortho happily slid in beside the beastman. Idia slunk in between him and Sebek, hoping that the tall freshman would at least partially block him from view. Q smiled over at the brothers.

“Good morning!”

Ace leaned over from across the table.

“Idia, you know how to fix a door, right?”

Idia jerked out of his social awareness.

“You guys already broke the door?”

Jack’s ear twitched guiltily.

“That was my bad…I didn’t think it was that fragile…”

Sebek turned and stared at Jack.

“Is that what happened to the door?!”

Ace snickered.

“Yeah, and after Deuce had been so careful too!”

Deuce knocked his shoulder against Ace.

“Heckle all you want, but I did manage not to break it!”

Jack scowled.

“I get it, ok? I’ll go out of my way to not break any more doors.”

Idia shook his head.

“At this rate one of you is going to fall through the ceiling before winter break…”

Epel winced.

“Don’t joke about that, it's just gonna make it come true.”

Ortho giggled.

“We can fix the door! And any future ceiling holes that may appear.”

“I certainly hope there's no issue of holes in Ramshackle’s ceiling, though the building was abandoned for quite awhile, so I suppose it is a possibility.”

Every person at the table jumped. Sebek wheeled around, already beginning to stand.

“Master Malleus!”

Malleus smiled, gently shaking his head.

“No need to stand Sebek; may I sit?”

Oh no.

“Of course!”

Malleus slid onto the bench, right beside Idia.

Oh, this was so bad. So very, very bad. Idia sunk down into his hoodie.

“Malleus, are you introducing yourself without us?” Lilia asked reproachfully as he popped behind Ace and Deuce, Silver hurrying behind him.

And it got worse…

................................……………………………………………..
Lila sat down beside Deuce, who still looked half startled. Silver quietly took a seat next to Q, who rather forcibly made Grim make some room for the newcomer. Lilia surveyed the scene covertly.

Sebel looked like he was about to burst from pride and joy. His friends looked slightly surprised, but curious, as did the younger Shroud. And Idia was half disappearing into his hoodie. Lilia wondered if that was just because of their general presence, or if the boy was hiding something…

However, interrogation was a terrible breakfast topic.

Lilia interlocked his fingers and leaned his chin onto them.

“I do believe some proper introductions are in order.”

Ace snickered.

“Eh, not as much as you think. I’m guessing you’re Lilia?”

The fae blinked in surprise.

“Now, how would you know that?”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“Sebek never shuts up about you guys.”

“Besides,” Epel cut in, somehow snatching a croissant away from Grim’s hoard, “three years is plenty of time to learn about someone’s life story.”

Q shook her head.

“And yet, I still know none of your middle names…”

Silver’s mouth quirked. Malleus smiled, looking at Sebek, whose face had reddened slightly.

“Sebek, you didn’t mention that your friends were delightful!”

Sebek beamed.

“Thank you Master Malleus!”

Lilia tittered, silently surveying the table once more. Sebek had given them a(rather tearful) run down on all his friends last night, but yesterday was all a bit of a blur. Besides, he was getting old. Names didn’t stick in his brain as well as they used to.

Despite barely knowing their names, Lilia was becoming quickly attached to the little group. And Sebek certainly thought rather highly of them, which offered plenty of incentive.

The other two members at the table, however…Lilia needed more information before he decided. One night had been too short to get the full story, but Sebek seemed to have no issue with the Shroud brothers. So, for now, he would withhold his questions, and let everyone enjoy breakfast.

..........................…………………………………………………….
Which Idia was not doing.

At least Ortho seemed to be having fun. Him and Deuce were eagerly comparing class schedules, seeing if they had any that overlapped. Idia had purposely placed himself in at least one joint class with every freshman, though he didn’t actually plan on attending any. But, he was sure Ortho would be more than happy to take his place.

Having your brother be friends with your wards did make life simpler at times…

Couldn’t make getting squeezed next to Malleus Draconia any easier though.

On the bright side, the prince seemed content enough to ignore him. In fact, he actually seemed decently distracted by conversation. A little too much so…seriously, this guy talked like he got out less than Idia did…

But, thanks to that, Idia was able to slouch away with little more than a muffled “good bye" without raising too much of a hubbub. Ortho glanced hesitantly at him, but quickly turned back to the table.

No point in both of them leaving prematurely. Especially when Idia could feel Lilia’s eyes burning a hole through his back.

Yeah, the meetings later were going to be so much fun…

“Well now, has Tartarus frozen over, or did I just see you socializing?”

Oh, absolutely not. Not today.

Idia huffed, turning.

“What do you want, Azul?”

Azul smirked.

“That question answers itself, doesn’t it? Seeing the…crowd you were sitting with.”

Idia stiffened. Azul rolled his eyes.

“Oh please, I’m hardly interested in getting involved. I know better than to interfere with anything with that much red tape attached to it.”

“Then why are you hassling me?”

Azul pushed his glasses up.

“Call it simple curiosity. The headmage only gave us minor details about all of this, and I would like to know more about these new students joining us this year!”

Idia scowled.

“What else could you possibly need to know?!”

“Specifics on safety measures, how this type of research was possible, if it will be continued-”

“You don’t need to know, you don’t want to know, and no, it won’t.”

Azul blinked, mildly surprised. He had never heard Idia answer this bluntly before. Then again, he might be a little high strung too if he was tasked to deal with post-overblotted freshmen.

“Fine then, keep your secrets; just let it be known, I’m intrigued.”

“Be intrigued away from me…”

“You're awfully rude for someone making small talk with Malleus Draconia…”

“Shut up…”

Chapter Text

Ace had thought there was nothing he hated more than Tartarus. Unfortunately, Housewarden Riddle was testing that belief from the first day onward.

The rules were neverending, and apparently, whatever Ace did broke them. It had only been a week and Ace was already ready to blow a gasket. A small part of him took a strange comfort in the fact that if he ever did really lose it, the Teapot Tyrant wouldn’t have any clue how to handle it.

Granted, that was probably the crazy part of him that he really did not need to listen to…

The tart was the thing that finally sent him over the edge. That, and the stupid collar that now shackled him.

That you would think to touch something of MINE…Well, I’m impressed with your audacity, at least.

Riddle’s harsh words echoed in his head. For a brief moment, Ace had actually considered throwing the spell back at him. Fortunately, common sense had taken over before he did anything to get himself thrown back in Tartarus.

He slammed Ramshackle’s newly repaired door open, paying no attention to the fresh damage he was dealing it. Unfortunately, he accidentally scared Q and Grim with his entrance. Grim yelped, leaping up onto Q’s shoulder.

“Bw-wah! Why’d you do that?!”

Q hissed as Grim’s claws dug into her shoulder, but still turned to look at Ace, clearly concerned.

“What’s wrong?!”

Grim’s eyes widened.

“What’s with the collar?”

Ace scowled.

“This,” He said, gesturing angrily at his throat, “Is the reason why I’m transferring to a new dorm tomorrow!”

Q blinked.

“...Explain, please.”

..........……………………………………………………..
“I’m pretty sure the simple way to fix this is an apology-”

Ace glowered from across the table. Q hurriedly changed trajectory and quickly finished her sentence.

“But I can see that you're maybe not open to that suggestion right now, so we should probably discuss it more in the morning!”

Ace half pouted.

“Man…I thought you’d be more sympathetic!”

“Why should they be? You’re the one who ate the housewarden’s tart!”

Ace flipped around in his chair, scowling at the doorway, where Deuce stood, looking disapproving.

“There were three giant tarts! And it's not like I took a giant bite out of the one I did eat! It was a tiny slice, and he went ballistic on me!”

Deuce crossed his arms, his tail lashing out around him.

“You really are an idiot, Ace.”

“Oh, shut up! Like your one to talk…is,uh…is he still mad?”

Deuce almost instantly dropped his firm expression, grimacing.

“I mean…he’s kind of just irritated now, but…I might try not to tick him off tomorrow.”

Ace groaned, laying his head down on the table.

“My existence ticks him off! He’ll probably kill me tommorow…”

“He’s not that bad! Just apologize, like Q said, and he’ll take the collar off! Probably…”

Grim huffed.

“Yeesh, you guys sure got the short end of the stick with housewardens…”

Q gently reached over and placed a hand on Ace’s arm.

“We’ll go all together tomorrow, ok? We’ll get it sorted out!”

Grim grinned.

“And if he doesn’t take your apology, we’ll just fight him with our blot powers!”

“No we won’t!” Deuce said sharply at the same time Ace muttered.

“Don’t tempt me…”
............................…………………………………………………..
“Wow, this place is way nicer than our dorm!”
Cater glanced up from his rose painting, almost dropping his brush when he saw the ragtag group of freshmen walking through the garden.

He hadn’t had time to approach either of the…special freshmen that were placed in Heartslabyul, but this seemed like his moment. The red roses could wait for a minute.

Only Riddle had interacted with the two so far, and seeing as one of them had eaten his tart yesterday…yeah, Cater maybe needed to work some damage control. Besides, he was dying of curiosity. All the
Headmage had told them was that the new students were a part of some weird Stryx program. The whole speech had definitely given the vibe of “don’t ask questions, or else!”

But Cater needed to know the deets! Or at least whether or not the new freshmen in his dorm were one bad day away from causing the apocalypse.

He flashed his most winning smile, marching over to the group.

“Hi there!”

You’d think he had jumpscared them in a haunted house. The small group all startled, the cat direbeast clawing up the girl’s leg, and the red haired boy’s apparent wings fluffing out behind him as they all turned to stare at him. Cater jerked back, slightly startled by the recoil.

“Gah! Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you!”

He quickly smiled again, trying to smooth things over.

“I’m Cater Diamond,a junior here at Heartslayul. But Cater’s fine. Or Cay-Cay if you're cray-cray!”

They all stared at him like deer in front of a semi truck.

“Sooo, nice to meetcha…”

Literal silence. Tough crowd…

Cater leaned forward, fake whispering.

“This is where I get your names, maybe?”

The blue haired boy blinked, then sputtered.

“Oh! Uh, I’m Deuce Spade!”

“Ace.”

“I’m Grim, and this is my henchman Q!”

“The henchman would like you to let go now…” Q hissed through gritted teeth.

Grim gingerly removed himself from her leg, setting himself back on the ground.

Cater smiled brightly.

“Kay! Nice, introductions done! That wasn’t so hard, right?”

Deuce glanced away.

“We,uh…we don’t talk to people much…”

Ace smacked at him.

“You idiot! Don’t tell people that!”

Q shuffled her feet, looking shyly at Cater.

“Is it obvious?”

“Uhhhhh…” Cater hummed. “A little bit. Next time, maybe don’t stare at the other person like they’re gonna run you over.”

The group collectively winced. Cater pressed on, eager to be rid of the awkwardness.

“Anyways, how’s school treatin’ ya?”

Ace scowled.

“Be a whole lot better if the Tiny Teapot Terror hadn’t collared me!”

Cater’s smile froze.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t say things like that if you want him to take it off…”

Deuce glared at his fellow freshman.

“Espically since you’re here to apologize.”

Cater grimaced.

“Oooooh…did you bring an apology tart at least?”

“Uh, no…? Who walks around with tarts to just give out…?”
“
Ah ah ah, I can’t let in!"

“Wha-! Why?!”

Cater groaned internally. These rules were bad enough to explain to regular dormmates, and he really didn’t want to tick off anyone that could potentially go ballistic and wreck the school.

“Rule 53; ‘Stolen items must be replaced.” If you're not in compliance, I can’t let you in without risking my own head…”

Ace stared with almost blatant rage.

“Are you serious?!”

Cater frowned.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger! Just-come back with that tart later, m’kay?”

Ace glowered at him, but after a moment, shrugged, turning leave. Cater distinctly heard him mutter something about “the Wack-job dorm”, but decided to let it be. Probably didn’t need to push his buttons anymore.

Deuce murmured a half-hearted “goodbye” and quickly followed his friend out. Q glanced at Cater.

“Thanks for, um-”

“Nothing!” Grim offered, pouting.

Q hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t seem to find a better word, and quickly retreated, Grim at her heels.

Yeesh, that was kinda harsh. Also kinda true, but still.

Cater sighed, turning back to the unpainted roses.

..........................……………………………………………………..
“Where the heck are we supposed to get a tart?!”

Deuce frowned as he slid into the seat next to Ace.

“I don’t know…a bakery?”

Grim climbed up onto the table, already snagging a sandwich.

“Why’re you asking us anyway? You’re the one that got caught stealin’ someone else’s grub!”

“I’m about to do it again if you don’t shut up-”

“Where’s everyone else?”

Deuce quickly interrupted the squabble, not really in the mood for it to escalate. Q glanced up from her phone.

“Jack and Epel didn’t want to eat in the cafeteria today, and Sebek ate earlier to go get some training in with Silver.”

Deuce nodded. Personally, he wasn’t big on eating in the cafeteria either. For a pristine academy had plenty of textbook bullies. And while no one had been brave(stupid) enough to actually pick a fight
with any of them, there were plenty of insults and whispers thrown at the group daily.

Especially during meal times, when there were no teachers to crack down on behavior and ‘muffled’ enough so housewardens wouldn’t hear. Epel and Jack tended to receive most of the comments, due to their scarier appearances, so they avoided the cafeteria the most. Deuce was pretty sure that was why Sebek tended to eat early, but his close connection to Mallius and the fact that Lilia and Silver practically hovered around almost 24/7 definitely helped dissuade anyone from bad mouthing him.

However, today the four had wanted to mourn their problems over chocolate croissants and iced lattes, which could only be found in the bustling cafeteria. Deuce took a long sip from his, dimly hoping that the drink would somehow help him think of a solution.

“Just who I was looking for!”

“Bwah!”

Deuce practically threw his drink, jerking around in his seat. He came face to face with Cater.

“Probs don’t want to throw that, Deucey!”

Deuce blinked in confusion at the nickname.

“Huh?”

“Don’t mind him; nicknames are how Cater shows he cares.”

The freshmen’s eyes snapped over to the newcomer. Cater huffed, crossing his arms.

“Trey, don’t sneak up on them! I told you they were jumpy!”

Trey smiled apologetically.

“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to.”

Ace looked suspiciously at the newcomer.

“And who are you?”

Trey pushed up his glasses.

“Ah, the name’s Trey. Trey Clover. I’m also a junior in Heartslaybul.”

Cater slipped onto the bench between Ace and Deuce while Trey carefully took a seat next to Grim. Ace glared at the two juniors.

“I don’t recall inviting you to sit with us…”

Cater pouted, reaching out an arm to drape around the freshman’s shoulders.

“Hey now, we’re all from the same dorm, right? Let’s try to get along.”

Ace stiffened at Cater’s touch.

“Barely.”

“Aww, that’s not true! Here, gimme your digits, let's solidify this friendship!”

He looked expectantly at the three. Deuce and Q quickly avoided eye contact.

“I don’t have a phone…”

“Ummm…”

Cater stared at Deuce with a mixture of shock and horror.

“For real? I thought luddites like you were myths! We’re gonna need to fix that, I know a place that sells newer models for cheap, we gotta get you one!”

Trey glanced around the table.

“Cater, you're freaking out the freshmen. Maybe take it down a notch.”

Ace attempted to shrug Cater’s arm off his shoulders, but the junior’s arm was a dead weight. Cater, seemingly unaware of Ace’s resistance, flipped his phone screen around to show Deuce.

“Seriously, try and find one you like!”

Deuce hesitantly touched Cater’s screen, slowly scrolling down. Cater snickered.

“You can just take it, just hand it back when you find one you like!”

Deuce quickly shook his head.

“There’s,uh, kind of a reason I don’t have a phone right now. I don’t want to break yours.”

Cater gaped at the freshman, who squirmed under his shocked gaze.

“Huh?! How badly did you break it?”

Trey glanced at Deuce, noticing his discomfort.

“Maybe not the topic for this lunch, Cater.”

Cater huffed.

“It's just a question! Besides, anyone brave enough to have breakfast Malleus can handle a few little questions. That guy’s reeeeeel bad news. Though, I suppose the same could be said of our own dear housewarden…”

Ace snorted, finally succeeding in ridding himself of Cater’s arm.

“You think? He collared me for eating one slice of tart! His rule obsession is outta control!”

“My “rule obsession” is “outta control”, is it?”

The whole table jumped, wheeling around to look behind Ace. Riddle(metaphorically) glowered down at the group.

“Hey, Riddle! What’s shakin’, pal? You’re lookin’ adorbs, as always!”

Riddle stared daggers at Cater, whose smile quickly faltered.

“Hmph. Cater, keep running that mouth and you’ll lose it-along with the rest of your head.”

“Sorry, sorry! My bad!”

Riddle turned his wrathful gaze unto Ace.

“I had intended to remove that collar 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.”

Ace did a slow turn worthy of a horror movie.

“Good.”

Riddle blinked.

“Excuse me?”

Ace met Riddle’s gaze.

“I’m…so glad that you think I don’t seem sorry; because I’m not!”

Riddle’s face reddened.

“You insolent little rulebreaker!”

“Hey,” Trey quickly interjected, standing. “Let’s just-”

Ace slowly stood, keeping eye contact with Riddle the whole time.

“See, I’m new to this whole school thing, but you wanna know the one thing that Tartarus perfectly prepared me for?”

Ace stood to his full height, looking down at the shorter housewarden, hissing out his own answer.

“Petty tyrants who use rules to keep everyone below them under their thumb..”

Something briefly flashed in Riddle’s eyes. It disappeared when he blinked.

“Well, then I suppose you also understand why you’ll be keeping that collar for a little while longer. 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. You DO understand what happens to rulebreakers, I trust?”

An almost insane grin spread across Ace’s face.

“Obviously, Housewarden.”

“Yes, Housewarden…” Deuce mumbled, glancing between his friend and Riddle.

Grim’s eyes bounced between the two while Q silently picked him up, swiftly starting to retreat from the table.

“Very well..” Riddle said stiffly.

Deuce quickly stood up, beginning to back away as well.

“Ace, come on…”

Ace blinked, seemingly breaking out of almost a trance. He marched off to join his friends. Riddle quietly watched them go before leaving himself. Cater looked at Trey.

“Well, that was absolutely terrifying.”

Trey put his head in his hands. Everything about this situation had just gotten so much worse.

Chapter Text

“Trey, wh-where are you going?!”

Trey glanced back over his shoulder.

“I’m going to make sure those freshmen don’t dig themselves into a deeper hole!”

And to make sure no one murders Riddle…

Cater scrambled after him.

“Respectfully, are you insane?!”

Trey shrugged, continuing towards Ramshackle.

“The only way to smooth this over is to replace that tart. And that group is going to need some help and guidance to make one.”

“Can’t we just text them to buy one?!”

Trey shook his head. The only way to fix this was to provide Riddle handmade tart and a sincere apology. Or at the very least, any sort of apology. Trey was terrible at conflict, but he had the sinking feeling that if he didn’t interject, something very bad was going to happen.

The two juniors made their way to Ramshackle, Cater protests slowly dying out as they neared the decrepit dorm. He wrinkled his nose as they stepped onto the creaking porch.

“Yeesh. This place looks like total garbage…”

"Shh!”
Trey quickly shushed his friend. The last thing they needed was to insult the unstable group’s home. He gently knocked at the door, which was shockingly higher quality then the rest of the building.
A few moments past before it opened, Q and Grim looking out suspiciously at the two. Grim glared up at them.

“Whata you guys want?”

Trey smiled, trying very hard to look friendly.

“I think we all got off on the wrong foot. Could we please come in?”

The human and cat shared a brief look, seeming to speak telepathically for a moment.

“...alright. But I’d pick your words carefully…”

Cater scowled.

“Yeah, that’s comforting to hear…”
Trey cast Cater one last warning look, stepping into Ramshackle. Deuce and Ace both glanced up from a moth eaten couch. Ace glared up at the two.

“Oh yay, the duo of pushovers are here…”

Deuce swatted at Ace, nearly knocking him off the couch.

“Can you be respectful, for once?!”

Ace scowled, righting himself. Deuce stood.

“Welcome to our, um, dorm…”

He offered lamely, eyes flickering around at the rundown room. Trey smiled.

“Thank you for having us. We just…came over to apologize for our Housewarden’s behavior. As long as you don’t break the rules, Riddle’s not so scary.”

“Hah!”

Ace snorted, but shut up after Deuce gave him a warning look. Trey continued.

“I know he can come off as harsh, but he’s not a bad guy. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it’ll improve the dorm.”

Ace raised an eyebrow.

“And you’ve been letting him?”

Trey blinked, confused.

“What?”

“You’ve just been letting him do whatever he wants, even if it came at the expense of others?”

Trey and Cater stared. Cater let out a low whistle.

“Woah. That was harsh.”

Ace crossed his arms.

“It's true though, isn’t it? Neither of you can grow enough of a backbone to tell Mr Teapot Tyrant no, so you’ve just been letting him steamroll over whoever he wants!”

Trey winced.

“That’s…not entirely untrue…we haven’t really been supporting the dorm the way we’ve needed to.”

“Gee, really? You don’t say?”

Deuce scowled, but didn’t say anything. Trey got the message. Even though Deuce was more respectful, he still agreed with Ace. And, Trey did too. He was far from a perfect vice housewarden, but he needed to try and fix this.

“First things first, we need to get you a tart.”

Ace blinked.

“Oh, tell me you're joking.”

Trey sighed.

“Listen, I know-”

Ace stood up, rapidly shaking his head.

“Nope! If you think I’m going to be doing anything for that crazy rule-junkie, your-”

“Look,” Cater interrupted. “Either you make Riddle a replacement tart, or you get permanently banned from entering the dorm. Your choice!”

“I don’t think that will look very good on Styx’s paperwork…” Q said quietly.

Ace glared around the room, then sighed, looking resigned.

“Fine. What do we need to do?”
………………………………………………….

Hundreds of chestnuts and many mixing mishaps later, Trey had managed to help the four produce a rather nice tart. Then, it was a “simple” matter of Cater getting Ace and Deuce into their dorm

uniforms, and they were all on their merry way to the Unbirthday party.

“Alright peeps, let’s tear this party up!” Cater glanced sympathetically at Ace, who looked about as happy as a kid going to the dentist. “Don’t forget to give Riddle that tart, ‘kay?”

Ace gritted his teeth, but gave the junior a swift nod.

Heartslabyul courtyard was bustling, though the conversation died slightly as Cater led the freshmen in. Cater leaned over, whispering.

“Now's your chance, Ace!”

Ace stiffly made his way over to Riddle.

“Housewarden…sir…”

Riddle looked around, his face becoming sterner when he saw who was addressing him.

“Ah. The tart thief.”

Ace’s eye twitched. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Deuce and Q gesturing for him to go on. He just really, really didn’t want to…

“I wanted to…apologize for eating that tart. We made you a new one to replace it.”

Riddle raised his eyebrows.

“Hmm? What kind of tart is it?”

Ace blinked.

“Oh, well, it's chestnut, actually. And I swear, we weren’t stingy with the chestnuts-”

“A CHESTNUT tart?!?”

Riddle suddenly exploded, his face instantly reddening. Ace reeled backwards, shocked.

“What?!”

“The Queen of Heart’s rule 562: "One must never bring a chestnut tart to an unbirthday tea party.” This is an utterly flagrant rule violation! Do you understand what you’ve done?!"

Ace glanced at his friends.

“No…?”
“You’ve ruined an otherwise perfect Unbirthday party!”

Deuce dashed up to his friend, his brow furrowed.
“Rule 562…?”

Riddle fumed.

“Destroy the offending tart immediately! Then throw these rulebreakers out of the dorm!”

Chapter Text

Ace stared at the furious housewarden. The corner of his mouth twitched. He looked halfway between confused and murderous.

“How. Does that make any sense to you?!”

“Housewarden!”

Trey ran up, Cater at his heel, attempting to get in between the freshmen and Riddle.

“Allow me to apologize. I was the one who suggested making a chestnut tart.”

“Same here! We had no idea there was a rule against it!”

Riddle briefly glanced at the juniors.

“The making of the tart is not the issue. The issue is bringing it HERE! Today! THAT is the transgression!”

Q studied Riddle’s face in disbelief.

“You really follow a rule that foolish?”

Riddle turned his fury upon her.

“What did you just call me?! “Foolish”?!?”

Cater took a step forward, lowering his voice to speak only to the freshmen.

“Guys, stop digging the hole deeper!” He raised his voice back to regular volume, looking back towards Riddle.

“Riddle, try to remember these guys are new students! And they’re kinda readjusting back into society, so like, maybe cut them a little slack…”

Ace shoved his way past Trey and Cater.

“Oh, we are way past that! I’ve got a shovel and I am DIGGING! Throwing away a perfectly good tart just to obey some dumb rule is insane!”

Deuce stepped forward alongside his friend.

“Ace is right. I understand that rules need to be followed but…this is going way far!”

Riddle sneered.

“Are you attempting to debate with me? Bold move. But I’ll bite. By breaking even the smallest of rules, you are opening the doors to anarchy!”

Ace let out a short laugh.

“Hah! This isn’t anarchy! This is common sense! It's not our fault that you’ve made everyone in your dorm such spineless cowards that you can’t even see that anymore!”

Riddle’s face flushed bright red.

“I have the best academic standing out of everyone in the dorm. Hence, I am the most correct! If you would simply obey me without question, we wouldn’t need to contend so! It’s not off with their heads because I want to. I do it because rules must never be broken!”

Ace tilted his head.

“Oh, is that all we have to do? Just follow you blindly, because you said so? The only reason you’re upholding these rules is cause you’re flying so high up on a power trip that you can’t even comprehend how crazy they are!”

The housewarden stiffened.

“If you will not obey me, then I will have all your heads!”

Deuce met Riddle’s gaze steadily.

“We can’t.”

A small, unstable smile spread across Ace’s face.

“I don’t bow to self-important tyrants!”

“What did you just call me?!”

Grim’s fur bristled.

“He called you a tantrum throwin’ tyrant! Who destroys good food over a stupid rule?!”

Riddle’s face twisted into a picture of rage.

“OFF. WITH. YOUR. HEADS!”

Collars magically latched around Deuce, Grim, and Q’s necks. They remained where they were, unfazed. Riddle turned towards the juniors.

“Trey! Cater! Eject them from the premise!”

Trey and Cater shared a look, hesitating.

“Yes, Housewarden…”

Deuce shot them a look of betrayal.

“No need. We’re more than happy to leave!”

The freshmen quickly retreated without a backwards glance. Riddle huffed.

“And now we’re fifteen minutes behind schedule! What horrid manners…”

Trey and Cater said nothing, merely watching the group leave…
........……………………………………………………
Slam!

Trey jumped, looking up in surprise. Ace and Deuce stood over him.

“Shhhh!” Q hissed reproachfully from behind them. “This is a library!”

Deuce mumbled an apology, while Ace briefly glanced back at her, looking a little regretful. Trey stared at them.

“What are you four doing?!” He whispered, eyes flickering between them.

Deuce shrugged.

“We were waiting to return your tart cookbook.”

Ace’s eyes narrowed.

“And ask you a few questions.”

Trey glanced at the book that had been the source of the slamming sound.

“...I can see that.”

He wondered if the slam had been intentional or not. It was a bit hard to say…

“What do you need to ask me, exactly?”

“Is it true that you’ve been pandering to Riddle since you were both kids?”

Trey blinked in surprise.

“What?! Who told you that?”

Deuce shrugged again.

“Some guy named Chenya.”

“Chenya…Huh. That explains it.”

Grim climbed up onto the table, scowling at Trey.

“What I don’t get is, why haven’t you told him off by now? Aren’t you older than him?”

Trey glanced down at his book.

“I do when I need to. I don’t think this situation calls for it.”

Ace looked at him suspiciously.

“Why not?”

“Riddle’s parents were…strict. Rules like this are all he’s ever known. In his eyes, being bound by rigid guidelines-by fear-is a fast-track to personal growth. Because that’s how it worked for him…”

Ace nodded.

“Kay, now I get it. It's YOUR fault Riddle is like this.”

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“What?!”

Ace scowled.

“Riddle didn’t get to choose his parents. But you know what they did and you’ve just been letting him make the same mistakes as them! You’re going easy on him because he had it rough as a kid? Don’t you see where that’s leading? You’re letting him make a pariah out of himself!”

Trey slumped down in his seat, not meeting the freshman’s eyes. Ace shook his head.

“You guys are supposed to be childhood friends? Then act like it!”

Ace stepped away from the table, marching out of the library. Deuce sent Trey one last glance.

“We’re challenging Housewarden Rosehearts today.”

Trey looked up in shock. Deuce looked down at him sternly.

“If you want to be his friend, I’d try now.”

The other three followed Ace out the library, leaving Trey to his thoughts.
…………………………………………………………….
Rumors of the challenge surged around Heartstabyul. Stryx experiments versus their ruthless Housewarden. If the rules had permitted it, the whole dorm would have been exchanging bets.

Cater glanced worriedly at Trey. After bringing the news of the challenge, his friend had been unusually quiet. He desperately hoped that things wouldn’t get worse. But, the odds were not in his favor today…

Ace cracked his neck, finally free of the collar.

“FINALLY, that dumb thing is off!”

Riddle scowled, readying his pen.

“Enjoy your moment of freedom. It will be back on soon enough. I hope you two realize how foolish it was to challenge me. Is this a joke of some sort?”

Ace grinned maniacally, cracking his taloned hands.

“Do we look like we're joking?”

Deuce frowned.

“I’d never propose a duel as a joke…”

Riddle’s eyes narrowed.

“Hmph. Have it your way. Let's get this over with.”

Cater leaned towards Trey.

“Do you think their odds are better or worse by deciding to duel as a duo?”

Trey shook his head.

“I don’t think anyone really wins this…”

Riddle nodded at Crowley(who was required to supervise the challenge, much to his chagrin).

“Headmage, please give us the signal.”

Crowley cleared his throat, glancing between the opposing sides

“When the mirrors I’ve thrown shatter upon the ground, that is your signal to begin. Ready….Go!”

“Off With Your Heads!”

The glass had barely broken, and yet Riddle had already cast his spell, shutting the freshmen down before they even had a chance. He smirked, believing the battle to be won.

“You didn’t even last five seconds! My mother was right. A man who cannot follow the rules is a man who cannot achieve anything…”

Ace didn’t stop advancing, however. Riddle frowned.

“What are you-”

Whack!

Riddle stumbled backwards, Ace’s fist colliding with his face.

“Wha-What?!”

He sputtered, lifting his hand to his face.

“That hurt! Y-you…punched me?!”

Ace stared steadily back at him.

“Kids aren’t trophies for their parents to flaunt. But it's not your mom’s or anyone else’s fault that you're such a tyrant. You did that on your own.”

He leaned towards Riddle.

“I could have won that duel with both hands tied behind my back; but I’m not wasting my magic on someone who can’t even think for themselves.”

Riddle’s face flushed.

“What are you even talking about?! You don’t know anything about me! You don’t know anything about anything!”

Ace shrugged.

“Sure don’t. But I don’t need to. Your attitude tells me all I need to know-that you’re nothing but a spoiled brat! Well guess what? I didn’t spend three years locked in that horror show just to pander to your every instruction!”

“How DARE YOU! Shut up! My mother was right! And that means I must be right as well!” Riddle screamed.

Trey ran up to his friend, desperately trying to diffuse the situation.

“Riddle, calm down! The duel is already over!”

His attempt might have been successful, if a rogue student didn’t suddenly gain confidence and throw an egg, which landed at Riddle’s feet. Riddle’s head snapped towards the crowd.

“Who threw that?!”

“Does it really matter?”

Riddle’s attention whipped back to Ace, who started back at him with contempt. Deuce took a step forward.

“Ace, that's en-”

“You’re really just proving my point!”

Ace cut off his friend, ignoring him. He stepped back, throwing his arms wide.

“You’re throwing a temper tantrum cause someone actually had the guts to stand up to you! And guess what? All tyrants gotta fall. Good luck handling the off-poor of your own actions!”

Riddle’s face turned bright red.

“Retract your comment immediately, or I shall skewer you where you stand!”

Cater dashed up to Trey.

“Trey, this is bad-”

Ace laughed.

“Ha! I ain’t retracting squat! Go ahead, run me through!”

Riddle screamed. And the world turned upside down. Rose bushes floated off the ground, threatening to follow through on Riddle’s threat. Trey moved without thinking, taking control of Riddle’s collars. The younger student stared in confusion as the collars vanished from Deuce and Ace’s necks.

“Wha-how!?”

Trey didn’t even get an opportunity to take care of the flying scenery.

Deuce flashed past him, throwing himself at the bushes, knocking them back to the ground. Trey stared. How had he-

“Trey!”

His attention snapped back at Riddle’s yell.

“What did you do?! Is your signature spell stronger than mine!?!”

Trey slowly stepped forward.

“Of course not. Please, take a deep breath and listen to us-”

“Are you going to tell me that I’m wrong too!?” Riddle’s voice crack, his hands shaking. “Do you know how much I’ve suffered for this!? I-I refuse to believe this!”

“Cease immediately, Mr. Rosehearts!”

Crowley’s command did nothing to stop Riddle’s breakdown.

“But-I am right! I’M the one who's right! THERE! IS! NO! OTHER! ALTERNATIVE!”

Black liquid began to ooze from Riddle’s pen, a dark shadow starting to float around him. Trey tried to run forward.

“Riddle! Stop!”

Whump!

Trey hit the ground, rolling. He scrambled off the ground, staring at Deuce, who had bowled him over.

“What are you doing?!”

Deuce was already back on his feet, looking ready to fight.

“It wouldn’t have been safe to get closer to him! Not when he’s in this state!”

Trey looked where Deuce was staring, watching in horror as his friend’s body twisted into a darker form, blot pouring out around him.

"Trappola! Get back!”

Trey watched in shock as Ace ignored the Headmage’s warning. He didn’t know why he was surprised that the freshman could fly…he did have wings after all. But still, it was strange to see him vaulting through the air, ducking and dodging Riddle’s attacks.

Looking closer, Trey saw that Grim and Q were skirting around under Riddle, the human orchestrating the direbeast’s attacks. Deuce began to move forward, but Cater practically tackled the freshman from behind.

“What are they doing?!”

Deuce attempted to shake the junior off.

“We’re trying to break him out of it! He could die if we don’t make him stop!”

Trey clenched his jaw.

“We’ll help. I don’t want to lose him…there’s too many things I left unsaid.”

Cater glanced sideways at his fellow junior.

“We?”

Trey looked at him meaningfully.

“Riddle’s body can’t take much more of this! We need to stop him before it's too late!”

Cater winced.

“I do not like and subscribe to this, but fine!”

Deuce looked at both of them strangely, but shrugged, turning back towards his opponent.

“Aim carefully! And, um, try not to get hit too much…”

Cater stared at the freshman as he ran off.

“What?!?”
…………………………………………………………..
Q leapt out of the way of another attack, barely avoiding the flames. Things were going remarkably well, all things considered. The bright side of being trapped in Tartarus was that they were pretty well equipped to handle overblots.

Though, none of them had assumed they would need to use any of these skills as Night Raven. But life could never be easy, could it?

Just as the tide appeared to be turning, with the help of Cater and Trey, the voices started. Q’s body froze, reality shifting away into a warped black and white scene around her.

I’d always wanted to try one of those tarts with the bright red strawberries…

Housewarden Riddle…?

Oh…it was happening again…

Distorted visions of Riddle’s childhood played behind her eye lids, her body frozen back in reality. Distantly, she could hear Grim calling for her, but Riddle’s memories were louder than her friend’s calls.

I had the best time playing with Trey and Che’nya…

Tell me Mom…Please…what rule do I need to follow to make this pain go away?

Q jerked back into reality, a few stray tears trickling down her cheeks. She quickly brushed them away. Afterall, they weren’t actually hers…

Chapter Text

“Riddle!!!”

Riddle gasped, his eyes snapping open. He blinked in the sharp light, his mind in a haze. Ace was staring down at him, looking….concerned? The freshman’s face lit up slightly, much to Riddle’s continued confusion.

“He’s back!”

Trey appeared in Riddle’s line of sight, looking relieved. Riddle attempted to draw in breath, coughing.

“Wh-what in the world happened…?”

Trey smiled gently, slowly sitting Riddle upright.

“Don’t worry about that. Just try and rest.”

“Uhh, he…he might need to worry about it a little bit…”

Riddle blearily heard Deuce say. What did he mean? What happened? Why was his mind so foggy? His head hurt, his body felt heavy and foreign. And he had a sinking feeling that something very, very bad had happened…

Deuce’s voice cut through the fog once more.

“It was looking bad for a while there. And blot can…do some really bad things to people.”

“Especially in someone with so much stress built up.” Grim huffed.

Riddle blinked, thoughts spinning around in his brain. By the time he was aware that he was speaking out loud, words were already spilling out of him uncontrollably.

“The truth is I….I really wanted to eat that chestnut tart…”

Ace blinked.

“What?”

“And I don’t care if the roses are white, or the flamingoes pink, and I prefer honey to sugar cubes in my tea, and I like milk tea better than lemon tea, and after a meal, I want to be the one sitting around talking with everyone…

Tears began to fall down his cheeks.

“And I really want to play with you and Chenya more, Trey…”

His sentence trickled off as he began to full on out sob. Trey gently wrapped him in a hug.

“I’m sorry, Riddle. I know you were suffering, and all I did was pretend not to notice…”

Riddle cried harder, the aftermath of his overblot kicking his emotions into overdrive. Ace awkwardly took a step back, trying not to look too much at the disgraced housewarden. He glanced at Cater, who didn’t seem to know how to react to the situation.

“He’s gonna need medical attention.”

Cater looked at the freshman in surprise. Ace glanced away, avoiding eye contact.

“So, um…I’d-I’d get on that soon…”

Ace promptly spun on his heel, practically running out of the wrecked courtyard. Q watched him go, before turning to look at Cater.

“We’ll be back to help clean up later.”

Cater blink, a small smile slowly spreading across his face.

“I’m definitely not gonna pass up on that offer!”
...........................…………………………………………………….
Ace wasn’t necessarily one to run from his problems, but he was definitely running from this one. Though he wasn’t quite sure why….

His heart thumped in his ears, echoing through his skull. It wasn’t his fault Riddle had overblotted…Was it?

He was aware that sometimes he could push too far, but none of his quips had ever driven any of his friends to insanity. But, maybe that was because they knew he wasn’t serious.

He had been serious with Riddle. He had meant every word he said. Hadn’t he? What all had he said…?

Figured that he’d forget. All important things eventually leaked out of his brain, oozing through the whole that was years old at this point…

“Where are you going?”

Ace jumped, wheeling around. Q was standing behind him.

“I’m-!”

Ace blinked. He didn’t actually know he was going. He had simply just started, wanting to get away as quickly as possible.

“Um, nowhere in particular…”

Q tilted her head.

“Just away?”

Ace shrugged, crossing his arms.

“Something like that…”

Q stared at him thoughtfully.

“Its not all your fault, you know.”

Ace stiffened. How did she do that?!

“What?”

“I mean, you pushed him a little bit too far, but, I’m pretty sure we’re all well aware of how overblotting is out of anyone’s control.”

She looked at him seriously.

“But, you do still need to apologize to Riddle. For real this time.”

Ace scowled.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to!”

Q shrugged.

“Just double checking. Mainly because, before you do, there's something you should know…”
..........................………………………………………………………..
Considering his outburst, Riddle hadn’t been expecting anyone aside from Trey or maybe Cater to actively seek him out.

But he definitely hadn’t been expecting Ace to knock on his room door.

The freshman was standing awkwardly in the doorway, actively avoiding eye contact. Riddle blinked.

“Hello, Ace.”

“Hi, Housewarden…”

Ace mumbled his reply, still not directly looking at Riddle. The freshman seemed uneasy. Riddle…couldn’t blame him for that. But if anything, he assumed that the freshman would be avoiding him. Not actively seeking him out.

“Do you…need something?”

Ace opened his mouth, hesitating.

“Ummm…yes, I guess…”

Riddle’s brow furrowed.

“What is it?”

Ace’s wings twitched. He stared down at the ground.

“I just, um, I came here to apologize for my behavior…”

Riddle blinked.

“Pardon?”

Ace finally glanced up, looking just as confused as Riddle.

“I’m-apologizing for how I acted…?”

Riddle’s brow furrowed.

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

Ace stared at him.

“Because I made you go ballistic?!”

Riddle frowned.

“You didn’t make me do anything. I lost my own temper and paid the consequences for my own poor judgment. That is in no way your fault.”

Ace looked at him in disbelief.

“I punched you in the face.”

Riddle paused.

“...I suppose you may apologize for that.”

“That’s want me to say sorry for?!”

Riddle looked oddly at the freshman.

“There isn’t anything else that requires an apology.”

Ace shook his head, almost looking horrified. Riddle couldn't imagine why. Shouldn’t the relief of blame ease the freshman’s worries?

“That’s-no! There’s no way you're fine with how everything went down!”

Riddle stiffened.

“I-didn’t say that I was fine with how the situation played out. I have…become much more aware of my own shortcomings; that is why I excuse your past behavior.”

Ace shook his head again.

“I compared you to a bunch of psychopaths…”

The freshman practically spat out the response, his tone dripping with bitterness.

Riddle looked at the younger student in shock. He had almost forgotten about that comment…

Ace’s tone also appeared to be aimed towards himself. Which…concerned him deeply.

“I mean-” the freshman stared back at his feet. “You were a little rule-crazed, but…you were nothing, and I mean nothing, compared to them! And if I somehow actually thought that for a second, then I really have gone insane!”

Riddle blinked.

“You aren’t insane.”

“Heh…”

Ace let out a small, harsh laugh.

Riddle scowled.

“Ace!”

The freshman’s eyes snapped up, instantly coming to attention. Riddle looked at him meaningfully.

“You are not insane. You are a perfectly, mentally sound student. And if you are struggling in some aspect, that is because of the disturbing and unfortunate circumstances that you have sadly been burdened with. Do you understand me?”

Ace blinked. The corner of his mouth twitched.

“I-t-thank you, Housewarden.”

Riddle smiled slightly.

“You're very welcome; now, I believe we are both going to be late to the party if we don’t hurry.”

Ace perked up instantly.

“Yes, Housewarden!”

Chapter Text

“You fought an Overblotted Housewarden and you didn’t think to call us!”

Grim covered his ears as Jack unloaded his fury onto the four.

“Stop yellin’! We handled it just fine!”

Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“What’s wrong with all of you…?”

Ace raised an eyebrow.

“Literally the same things that are wrong with you?”

Epel scowled.

“Why’d you have to leave us out of all the action?!”

Jack shot Epel a look.

“Not the point!”

Sebek stared at his friends in disbelief.

“We leave you all alone for five minutes, and this is what you get up to!”

Ace rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, ok mom…”

“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!?”

Deuce’s hands flew to his “ears”, while Jack’s flattened against his head.

“Sebek! Volume, please!”

Sebek pointed accusingly at Ace, who stuck out his tongue at his friend.

“He! Started it!”

Q sighed.

“Three years, and we can only argue at a five-year old level…”

“DO NOT!”

The rest of the group yelled back.

Q snickered.

“Proving my point there…”

Jack rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“My bad…But my point still stands.”

Deuce nodded.

“We get it. Next time we're in a situation like that, we’ll tell you guys.”

Jack sighed.

“Preferably, don’t get into situations like that in the first place…”

“Or at least invite me…”

Epel huffed. Ace glanced at him.

“Dude. How bored are you?”

Epel groaned.

“I had to sit through an hour of Vil yelling about mascara. I’m not gonna make it to winter break…”

Sebek gingerly patted Epel’s head.

“There there. I am sure you can persevere.”

Chapter Text

(Flashback to the first day of school)

“Leona!”

Leona jerked awake, already scowling.

“Hmm, what?”

Ruggie glared at him from across his room.

“We have an unstable experiment joining our dorm and you didn’t think to tell me!”

Leona lazily sat up.

“Don’t blow your tail off. Crowley didn’t tell us until yesterday.”

“Why wou-gah!”

Ruggie tugged at his scarf

“How are we qualified to handle this!?”

Leona shrugged, slinging his legs out of bed.

“Don’t know. But might as well introduce you two now, cause I told him to join the Spell Drive team.”

“What!?! Leona!”

Leona strode past Ruggie, walking out of his room. The second year dashed behind him.

“Why would you do that?! Are you insane!?”

Leona ignored him, continuing to make his way across campus. Ruggie finally caught up to him, falling into step with his housewarden.

“Where are you going?!”

“Ramshackle.”

“W-why are we going there?!”

Leona grunted.

“I already told ya. To introduce you to our new student. Plus, he probably doesn’t know where his classes are, so you can show him around.”

Ruggie looked up at Leona in disbelief.

“Please tell me you're joking…”

“Oh, look at that, we’re here.”

Ruggie stopped in his tracks in front of the decaying dorm building. Yeah, there was no way he was going in-

Leona grabbed the back of his scarf, dragging him straight into the dragon’s den.

The door opened before Leona could knock(which he wasn’t gonna do anyway, but still). A tall wolf beastman with teeth running down both sides of his face looked out at them. Ruggie balked, but Leona yanked him right up to the doorway.

“Hi Jack.”

Jack glanced between the two, looking confused.

“Hello, Housewarden Leona…”

Leona gestured at the petrified Ruggie.

“This is Ruggie. He’s gonna be showing you around today.”

Jack’s brow furrowed.

“....ok….”

Leona dropped Ruggie.

“Perfect. See you later at tryouts.”

Before Ruggie could even try to plead with him, Leona was gone, probably off to nap somewhere else.

Jack glanced warily at him. Ruggie quickly tried to compose himself, plastering a grin nervously on his face.

“So, uh, Jack, f-follow me!”

The second year quickly started walking away, trying very, very hard not to stare back at the freshman following him. Jack followed him at a slight distance, matching his pace.

“Soo, you,uh, ready for your first day?”

Horrifyingly awkward question, but Ruggie needed to break the tension somehow. There was a moment of silence before Jack answered.

“I guess.”

Ruggie, without meaning to, glanced behind him, raising an eyebrow.

“Man, don’t you sound like the picture of confidence.”

Jack shrugged.

“Been awhile since I’ve been to school.”

“Yeesh. Sounds rough.”

Ruggie slowed his pace slightly, falling more into step with Jack.

“What’s the deal with you guys anyway?”

He tried to ask the question lightly. He didn’t want to tick off the new freshman, but he also wanted to know exactly what he was dealing with.

“Besides being ex-Tartarus inhabitants?”

Ruggie shrugged.

“Uh, yeah, pretty much. Call me curious.”

Jack looked at him oddly.

“Like, any goals? Ambitions, dreams?”

“Um…”

Jack frowned, thinking.

“Joining the Spell Drive team, I guess.”

Ruggie snickered.

“Well, it ain’t like I’m gonna complain about that! Kinda surprised Leona was able to convince you that quick!”

Jack shrugged.

“Its not like I've got anything else goin’ on.”

Ruggie sniggered.

“Well, lucky you! How’d you stay so fit in Tartarus anyway? I didn’t know they let you work out in there.”

“Attack dog training.”

Ruggie glanced at the freshman, trying to process the blunt answer.

“What?”

Jack shrugged nonchalantly.

“Even twisted scientists have end points to their plans. That was mine.”

Ruggie’s face scrunched.

So that was a dark can of worms he had not planned to open.

“Oh, that's…no, I ain’t gonna lie, that sounds terrible.”

Jack’s gaze flickered for a moment.

“...pretty much.”
.....................…………………………………………………………..
Leona glanced up as Ruggie walked into his room again. He yawned.

“How’d it go?”

Ruggie looked at him strangely.

“I’m like 90% sure that he is not ok.”

Leona rolled his eyes.

“Duh. How’d you think he was gonna be?”

“No, like-” Ruggie ran a hand through his hair. “I have never seen anything that traumatized, and I once watched a squirrel purposely stand in front of a car! There's practically no will to live behind those eyes!"”

Leona blinked, glossing over the odd analogy.

“Well, it ain’t our issue til it has to be.”

Ruggie scowled, not agreeing...

Chapter Text

Rook was probably the only one more fascinated than wary of the Tartarus group. After his emergent meeting with the Headmage, Vil had quickly pulled him aside and informed him of their student. And Rook…had been intrigued.

His curiosity only grew when he actually met Epel. However, while he wanted to question the freshman on the details of his powers(and how his eyes worked), he also wanted to give the freshman a few days to adjust to Night Raven.

However, he could only hold back his curiosity for so long.

And it peaked when he watched Epel grow four spider legs out of his back and begin to scale a wall in the dance room.

“Monsieur Cherry Apple, what are you doing?”

Though his tone was playful, Epel still jumped. Though, he didn’t fall from the wall at all, which was impressive.

“Ummm….climbing?”

Rook tilted his head upwards, continuing to look up at the freshman.

“I can see that; I suppose a better question would be, how are you doing that?”

Epel shrugged, slowly flipping himself upside down.

“Its kind of like a signature spell, but it's tied to blot instead of…well, magic.”

Rook nodded, fascinated.

“Intriguing; and you can simply call upon this skill whenever you wish?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Rook watched, fascinated, as Epel skitter across the ceiling, flipping himself back upright as he moved over the surface.

Rook smiled, despite the fact that his neck was starting to cramp from staring at the ceiling.

“You certainly are magnifique! How are you able to control their motion with such grace?”

Epel dropped down, landing nimbly on his feet.

“Mostly because they split my spine four different ways.”

Rook’s smile froze.

“Parden?”

Chapter Text

Oh, Idia hated his life. He hated it so much. Not only did he need to have individual meetings with all the housewardens today, but Riddle had gone off the deep end the other day. Which was just…great when you had a group of freshmen that were all negatively affected by blot.

Yeah, this-this wasn’t gonna be fun…
.............................. ……………………………………………………….

Riddle walked in, right on the dot. Apparently, the “incident” hadn’t chilled him out that much.

“Hello Idia.”

Idia slunk down into his hoodie. Why, why did Stryx have to make it mandatory for these meetings to be in-person...

“Hi…uh, here…”

Idia warily pushed the small stack of files over to Riddle. Riddle quickly began to flip through the pages. Idia twitched in his chair.

“You, uh, you don’t have to read those in here…”

Riddle glanced up irritably.

“I wish to go over them here with you, as I would prefer to immediately state any concerns that I may have.”

“....’kay…”

Idia awkwardly looked around the room while Riddle meticulously read through the files. He wished he could’ve brought a game with him. If the others were as painstakingly slow as Riddle was, he’d be stuck here till tomorrow…maybe Ortho would bring him snacks…

“Why is “High Pain Tolerance" listed under “Injuries to be Aware of” on Deuce’s file?”

Idia glanced back up.

“Oh…that’s more of a general warning to keep him away....from super hurting himself.”

Riddle frowned.

“Could you elaborate?”

Idia sighed.

“Basically, Deuce…has like…crazy high adrenaline. So he doesn’t really…feel pain for a while after getting hurt. So he’ll just, walk around injured until he ultimately crashes…which isn’t super pretty. So you kinda gotta watch him and make sure he gets actual medical attention.”

Riddle’s brow furrowed.

“While that's…a bit troubling, is ‘Injuries’ really the right category to place that concern under? ”

Idia blinked in disbelief. Really? He was hung up on the organization?

He scowled.

“So, it's listed there because of the way blot reacts in his body. When he gets hurt, he can manually repair the injury with the blot in his system. The problem is doing that correctly, when your a 16 year old who doesn't have a complex knowledge on the makeup of the skeleton...”

A moment of silence passed before Riddle replied to a low voice.

“...I am hoping that you don’t mean he attempts to heal himself without the proper knowledge to do it correctly…”

“....”

Riddle’s face twisted into an expression of horror.

Yep. Welcome to my world, buddy. Welcome to my world…
.............................……………………………………………………………
Leona quickly became Idia’s favorite. The Savanaclaw housewarden simply walked in, swiped the file off the desk, and walked right on out again. If only they could all be like that…
…………………………….............................……………………………………
Vil strode quickly into the room, looking all business.

Great, Teapot Tyrant Part II…

“Idia, from a medical stand point, how damaged is Epel’s spine?”

Idia blinked.

“H-how do you already know about that?!

Vil rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Rook asked him how his-” Vil’s face scrunched up slightly. “Extra legs were able to move and operate.”

Idia suppressed a snort. Only Rook would be crazy enough to see a kid running around with spider legs growing out of his back and think to ask how they worked.

“Epel replied, and I quote, “Because they split my spine in four different directions.”

Idia winced.

“I mean…thats technically a correct answer, that’s kinda what they did…”

Vil raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

“Who exactly is this “They”?”

Idia shook his head mournfully.

“Can’t tell you that…”

He gingerly pushed Epel’s file towards Vil.

“But this has all the additional medical information that you should need.”

Vil frowned, but took the file off the desk. He began to flip through it meticulously.

Oh great, they were back to square one…

“How much pain is he in, roughly?”

Idia frowned. That was a loaded question if he ever heard one…

“It…varies. Depends on how hard he’s pushing himself, how much he’s falling down, how much trouble he’s getting into…”

Based on Vil’s new expression, Idia assumed that the Pomefiore housewarden was now suddenly much less sure of his capabilities.

“In general, it's kinda hard to tell, since he either doesn’t say anything or just relies way too heavily on his…absurdly high pain tolerance.”

Vil’s mouth set into a grim line.

“Well, this has certainly been…informative.”

Idia watched Vil walk out slightly uneasily.

He didn’t know who he was more worried for; Vil or Epel....
……………………….........……...........................…………………………..
“Hello Shroud.”

Idia almost fell out of his chair.

Oh no…

Malleus walked soundlessly into the room, taking the seat across from him.

“Lilia said this was to discuss what happened to Sebek in Tartarus. Is that correct?”

Idia fumbled with the paperwork, quickly pushing the file over to Malleus

“It-uh, here!”

Malleus blinked in mild confusion down at the file, before picking it up.

Oh great, he was gonna read it here…

The seconds slowly and silently ticked by as the fae Prince flipped through the file. Idia slunk lower and lower into his seat as Malleus’s face got darker and darker as he read on.

Yeah, this was probably how he was going to die…He could hear the boss music playing now…

Malleus, with obviously controlled movement, placed the file back on the desk. He stared straight through Idia, who had sunk almost below the desk at this point.

“What.” He hissed. “Is the meaning of this?”

Idia gulped.

“I-can mostly explain…”

Idia quickly fumbled out of his chair.

“We-we just can’t discuss it here…”

Malleus’s eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

Idia glanced back at him, his hand on the door’s handle.

“Styx’s policy for handling sensitive information…and,um, Ortho has some other files I think you should have…”

Chapter Text

Leona flopped over onto his bed, trying to ignore the file that he had tossed over onto a side table.

It's not like he emergently needed to know what was inside. And yet, for once, he couldn’t fall asleep. The stupid file kept taunting him, daring him to read it.

Grumbling, Leona reached over and picked the file back up.

Might as well get it out of the way…

He flipped breezily through the paperwork, skimming over the words.

He tried very hard not to get pulled in by the keywords jumping out at him. Words like “Heavy Sustain Injury”...

…………………………......................................…………………………….
“Leona!”

Ruggie grumpily dashed up to his housewarden.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Aside from his ear twitching, Leona didn’t acknowledge him in the slightest.

Ruggie scowled.

“What are you even doing out here?”

Leona continued to ignore the second year, staring intently at Ramshackle’s yard. Ruggie glanced at where he was looking, a little surprised that his housewarden was just..watching their new freshman practice. Jack was darting around the yard, practicing the Spell Drive drills that they had gone over at practice earlier.

“You ever notice how he leans right?”

Ruggie looked up at Leona, baffled.

“Huh?”

Leona nodded his head forward.

“He’s always leaning more heavily on his right leg than his left…”

Ruggie glanced back at Jack.

Actually, now that Leona had pointed it out…

Ruggie tilted his head.

“Huh. I never noticed before..”

Leona scowled.

“Exactly.”

Ruggie blinked.

“What? You’ve lost me.”

Leona tossed a file over at him, nearly smacking Ruggie in the face.

“Read that.”

Ruggie gingerly began to flip through the file, growing more and more uneasy as he read through it. He paused half way through.

“Hang on…is this stuff confidential…?”

Ruggie glanced up. But Leona was already gone, walking away towards Ramshackle.

“Hey-Leona! Am I gonna get arrested for reading this?! Leona!”
…………………………………….............................……………………………..
Jack once again turned towards Leona before he could announce his presence. He’d give the kid this, he definitely had a great sense of his surroundings…

“Housewarden Leona?”

Leona lazily strode into the yard, leaning carefully on the brittle fence that wove around it.

“Hi Jack.”

“Leona!”

Ruggie bolted after him, coming to a screeching halt beside him.

“Hey Ruggie…”

“Hi!”

Ruggie glanced at Leona, scowling. Leona smirked. He knew that the last thing Ruggie wanted to do right now was keep holding the “confidential” file, but that the second year wouldn’t dare to shove it back at him in front of Jack. The hyena had an odd sense of manners, but had them nonetheless.

Jack looked between the two.

“Do you both need something…?”

Leona shrugged.

“More of a question.”

Jack frowned.

“You came all the way down here to ask me a question?”

Ruggie shot Leona a look.

“Apparently…”

Might as well just bite the bullet and get this little Q&A over with…

“How’s your leg?”

Jack blinked, surprise flashing in his eyes.

“How’d you-”

“Shroud gave me a little file today.” Leona yawned, acting bored. “It didn’t go super into the gory details, but it said somethin’s up with your leg.”

Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Idia? Left out details?”

Leona shrugged.

“Not ones that I could understand through his jargon speech. And if your playin’ for us, I should probably make sure that your in playable condition”

Ruggie cut in.

“Besides, bet you got one cool scar to show off!”

Jack snorted.

“More like several. But whatever; if you guys want oggle at my leg, go ahead.”

The freshman yanked up his left pants leg, gesturing sarcastically at it.

“Have at it.”

Leona and Ruggie stared.

From the knee down, Jack’s limb was intertwined with metal, a twisted brace covering most of the sides of his leg. Wires could be seen through clear plastic coverings that were attached within the flesh, blood pumping through tubes swirled with the machinery. What skin could be seen through the metal was mangled, jagged lines of scars painting every inch of visible flesh. The mechanical components only ended at the top of the freshman’s shoe, though it could be assumed that it continued down past the sneaker.

Ruggie’s face crumpled into a mixture of disgust and horror.

“Oh…dude…”

Leona attempted to control his expression. It didn’t quite work, as his ears slid back across his head and his mouth twisted into a grimace.

“Is that…painful?”

Jack shrugged, looking unbothered by his older dorm members’ expressions.

“Eh, sometimes; as long as I rest it every now and then, it's fine.”

Ruggie glanced at Jack, openly concerned.

“I’m not sure if ‘fine’ is a way I’d describe having a cyborg leg..”

Leona blinked, forcing himself out of his shock.

“Well, as long as you ain’t throwin’ yourself out of wack, I don’t care how metal your leg is.”

Jack tilted his head, doing a very good impression of a confused puppy.

“That’s all you needed?”

Leona pushed himself off the fence.

“Yep. See you at practice tomorrow.”

The file whacked him in the head as he started to walk away. Leona wheeled around. Ruggie snickered.

“Take that back with you!”

Leona grumpily picked up the paperwork, angrily striding away.

Ruggie turned back to Jack, his smile dropping.

“Seriously though, are you ok?”

The corner of Jack’s mouth twitched.

“I mean, not really, but thanks for asking.”

Chapter Text

Leona didn’t go back to the dorm, however. Oh no. He made his stomped way over to Ignihyde, scaring half of the dorm members out of the common room as he stormed through. He all but ignored the surrounding panic, marching straight towards the housewarden’s room.

He thumped his fist against the door, half knocking it off its hinges.

No one answered.

The Savannaclaw housewarden gritted his teeth, and hit the door harder, the sound of his fist hitting the metal reverberating off the walls, chasing any remaining Ignihyde students into their rooms.

“Leona Kingscholar? What are you doing here?”

Ortho popped up from down the corridor, looking up at the upperclassman, confused.

Leona scowled down at the younger Shroud.

“Lookin’ for your sorry excuse of an older brother!”

Ortho frowned slightly.

“He’s not here right now. Why are you looking for him?”

Leona gave up on slamming on the door, turning towards Ortho.

“It was just brought to my attention that Jack’s leg is all busted. And since we’re about to have to announce rosters, I need to know if he can actually play.”

Ortho suddenly brightened

“Oh, I can provide you with Jack Howl’s x-rays and the schematics of his leg mechanics, if you’d like!”

Leona looked down suspiciously at the younger Shroud, but after a moment, shrugged.

“Sure, fine…”

Ortho cheerfully squeezed past Leona, slipping into Idia’s room. Leona leaned against the far wall, his tail impatiently swishing back and forth.

In a few minutes, Ortho floated back out of the room, a stack of papers in his hand.

“Here you are! These should provide definite proof of Jack Howl’s ability to play Spell Drive.”

As Leona reached forward to grab the stack, Ortho’s fingers suddenly tightened on the papers.

“Though, since you're only asking for them now, I’m guessing that Jack’s leg has been working fine during practice…”

Leona yanked the folder out of Ortho’s hands, smirking.

“Doesn’t matter if it was or if it wasn’t. I’m here cause I had a concern, and I’m his Housewarden, and it's up to Styx to amend any concerns we have about them. Right?”

Ortho blinked innocently up at the Savannaclaw housewarden.

“Styx will more then happily try to answer any questions you may have. Jack just hasn’t brought up any concerns about playing Spell Drive, so I was wondering why you might have some…”

Leona began to lazily flip through the papers, already striding away.

“I’m just ticking all my boxes. Wouldn’t want all my dorm’s hard work to go to waste because of a little experimental hiccup.”

Ortho watched Leona walk away, his face dropping into a scowl…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Rook sat serenely, observing his prey from his perch, carefully balancing on a high hanging tree branch.

He leaned forward as Leona exited the building, watching as the lion beastman began to make his way to the botanical garden. He appeared to have a folder of papers in his hand.

Upon closer inspection, Rook made out the Styx logo imprinter on the papers.

The housewardens had already had their scheduled meeting with the Shrouds the day before. Perhaps Leona had directly gone to Idia with his concerns, whatever they might be…

Was Vil aware of this possibility?

Rook quickly leapt down from his perch, rushing off to inform his housewarden of this new idea.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ruggie crept into Leona’s room, surprised to find the housewarden awake.

“Uh, I brought you your sandwich…what the heck are you looking at?”

Leona tossed the paper onto his bed.

“Nothin’. You set everything up?”

“Yep, all the preparations are in order!”

Ruggie leaned to the side, squinting down at the discarded paper.

“Is that an x-ray?”

“I very clearly said it was nothin’.”

Ruggie tossed the housewarden his sandwich, noticing the open folder with more images sticking out of it on Leona’s side table.

“Sure looks like a whole lotta nothin’...”

“It ain’t nothing you need to worry about.”

Ruggie snickered.

“Gottcha ya, boss!”

Leona scowled, biting into his sandwich.

“What are you cackling about?”

Ruggie smiled, feigning innocence.

“Just noticing how all of your nothing seems to revolve around a certain new freshman…”

Leona snorted.

“Obviously. We can’t let a liability screw up the plan.”

Ruggie smirked.

“Whatever you say Boss, whatever you say…”

Leona growled, tail flicking irritably.

“Relax, I’m not gonna snitch on you for being a big ol’ softie!"

“Shut your trap…”

Ruggie snickered again. His mood then dropped slightly.

“Speaking of liabilities…I think we might have one little problem…”

Leona sighed, ears twitching.

“What now?”

“The fact that Jack’s all buddy-buddy with one of Malleus’s right hand men…”

Leona snorted.

“Please, it’s all just ‘friendly’ rivalry out on the field, right? At least, to him it will be.”

Ruggie made a face.

“If you say so…”

Leona rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, it’ll be fine. And if not, he’s perfectly capable of picking his own side.”

Ruggie snorted in disbelief.

“Boss, if it comes down to that, we’re not even in the running. He’s pickin’ them.”

Leona’s ear twitched, but he said nothing.

Well, at least if it came down to it, Malleus wouldn’t be in first place either…

Chapter Text

“What are they doing, exactly?”

Sebek glanced up at Q, who was watching the others run around in Ramshackle’s yard from the window.

“I believe they’re attempting to play that sport called…Spell Drive.”

“Huh.”

Q leaned forward, squinting.

“Is screaming and charging at each other how you play?”

A loud commotion could already be heard through the dorm’s thin walls, excited shouts coming from outside.

A glance out the window showed what looked less like a sport, and more like rough-housing.

Only Jack and Epel seemed to be actually trying to get the disk, but looked to be wrestling with one another more than either actually trying to make any advancement towards their goals.

And Ace and Deuce…appeared to just be hitting one another, Grim weaving between the two freshmen’s legs, shooting flames at both of their heels.

Q shook her head.

“I don’t get it…”

Sebek snorted, carefully flipping a page in his book.

“I believe it's much more fun to view when it's actually being played correctly.”

Q nodded hesitantly as the arguing outside grew louder. A loud thud was heard, and both Sebek and Q flinched as the building rattled around them. Dust spilled out from the hidden cracks of the ceiling, painting both of them with a gray coat.

Sebek scowled as he brushed off his book. Q sneezed, glancing out the window again.

“I probably need to go untangle Grim from that…”

The human quickly ducked outside, her voice joining the argument outside. Sebek attempted to ignore the outside noise, trying to turn back to his reading.

Much of the task wasn’t actually the act of reading, rather trying not to rip the pages, or maul the book entirely.

Increased strength and claws were a heavy disadvantage in the academic setting. Particularly when the book was from the library.

His caution was rewarded, as he managed to make it through the necessary chapter without destroying a single page. He very gently closed the book, struggling to not nick the cover with his claws.

He carefully slipped the book into his bag, and began to make his way upstairs.

He winced as the stairs creaked beneath him. He genuinely hoped that the floor wasn’t going to give out from under him. The fact that all of Ramshackle’s bedrooms were upstairs was…unfortunate.

He tentatively made his way to his room, placing his book bag neatly besides the door.
Going to bed this early wasn’t necessarily enjoyable, but falling asleep was just easier when the sun was still up. Unnatural light could only do so much to ward away the terrors that darkness brought…

Besides, he had early training tomorrow. And he was not going to let Silver beat him to being on time.
………………………………….........................................…………………………………….
Water rushed around him.

While normally a comforting presence, the water stung like icicles despite his scales. He opened his eyes, but there was nothing…

He was sure they were open. They had to be….

All he could hear was own heart thumping in his ears. It reverberated through his skull, the only echoing presence within darkness. He tried to rid himself of the sound, desperately trying to get away.

Away from the stillness, the darkness, the everpresent noise-!

He tried to swim, to move, to do anything. His desperate flailing only hit an invisible barrier.

His breathing hitched as he realized he was trapped.

The lapping sound of water continued, undisturbed despite his movement. It resisted him, unnatural and thick.

It suddenly grew cold.

The water turned frigid, shackling any of his labored movement. It became heavier and heavier around him.

The cold enveloped him, forcing him still.

Would it freeze while he was in here-

He opened his mouth to scream, but that only allowed the water to rush down his throat. He choked, his chest lurching, but the next inhale only brought more water.

He could no longer breathe.

All he heard now was the thumping of his heart.

Thump thump

Thump thump

It was so cold…

His heart began to slow, leaving him alone in the darkness.

Thump…thump

It was so…so cold…

No, this couldn’t be happening! He needed to get out! It couldn’t end here! It couldn’t…

Warm tears began to drip down his face, a pitiful comfort as his heart only grew quieter. His fingers were numb. He couldn’t feel them anymore.

It was…so…cold…so..cold

His heart was stopping. Slowly, slowly stopping

Thump………

It…was…so…cold…

He was dying. He was dead, alone in the cold, without the ability to even dry his eyes…

...........................………..

All that could be heard was the lapping of water…

Sebek gasped awake, roughly forcing air into his lungs. He lurched forward, stumbling unsteadily to his feet.

It was too dark…too dark!

Sebek frantically rushed around his room, reaching blindly for any light source he could see.

He breathed a deep breath as he finally found a lamp, his fingertips barely brushing it as he tried to find its on switch-

Crash!

His breathing hitched as the light source shattered from his carelessness.

No. No, no, no, no, no! The dark, it was too dark!

Panicked, he groped around on his desk, ignoring the shards of glass that littered its surface as he desperately reached out for something to fight the unending darkness. He nearly cried from relief as his hand closed around a flashlight.

He frantically switched it on, retreating back to his nest. He curled his tail around himself, trying to slow his breathing.

He jumped as his door quietly creaked open, swinging his flashlight towards the open doorway. Deuce hesitantly poked his head through, wincing as the bright light was shone directly into his eyes.

“You ok? I heard a crash, and…oh.”

His friend blinked in understanding, carefully stepping through the door, closing it softly behind him.

He knelt before his friend, showing no sign of judgment or questioning, merely simple knowing. The kind of knowing that could only come from a shared experience. From three years rotting together in Tartarus.

Deuce didn’t say anything for a moment, his brow furrowed for a moment. Then, he simply gave Sebek a small smile.

“The lights are brighter downstairs. We could, uh, watch a movie if you want…”

Sebek scowled, and tried desperately to get his hands to stop shaking, gripping the flashlight tighter.

“I am not a child. You do not need to coddle me.”

Deuce snorted.

“I’m asking because I don’t feel like going to bed either, and because your hands are bleeding all over that flashlight.”

Sebek blinked, looking down at his hands.

Oh.

He had forgotten about the glass…

“I can help you pick the glass out of your hands, and get you a cookie or something while we watch the movie?” Deuce’s voice pitched slightly higher at the end.

Sebek blinked, then rolled his eyes.

“How exactly do you expect me to eat the cookie when you are picking glass shards out of my hands?!”

Deuce huffed.

“I wasn’t gonna make you do both at the same time!”

Sebek snorted, but he was smiling now. Gingerly, he released his hold on the flashlight.

“Very well, I accept your request. But we are not watching Zootopia!”

Deuce scowled, helping Sebek up.

“That was one time-!”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Silver quietly made his way over to Ramshackle, slowly shaking off his drowsiness. It was barely 5 am, the sun just peeking over the edge of the horizon. Morning training started in just an hour, and he hadn’t seen Sebek up and about yet.

Even though it had hardly been a full week, Sebek was always early for training, often waking up Silver as well.

There wasn’t quite a cause to worry yet, but it couldn’t hurt to check on the freshman. The worst that could happen was everything was perfectly fine, and Sebek would mock him for fretting about nothing.

Hopefully…

Silver softly knocked on Ramshackle’s door. He didn’t want to wake the whole dorm up, but hoped that his knock was loud enough to wake at least one person.

In a moment, a shuffling sound was heard from behind the door. A very bleary-eyed Deuce swung the door open, staring at Silver through a half-asleep haze that the second year recognized from personal experience.

“Oh, hi Silver…”

Deuce mumbled, a yawn trailing after his greeting.

“Hello. I’m sorry to wake you so early, but is Sebek still at home?”

Deuce nodded sleepily, shuffling out of the doorframe, wordlessly inviting Silver inside.

“I think he’s still sleeping.”

Silver followed the freshman inside, taking care to carefully close the door behind him. Deuce shuffled unsteadily into another room, which was sparsely decorated with a tv, a dusty couch, and an extremely old armchair.

Deuce all but flopped into the armchair, eyes closing the moment he sat down.

Sebek was curled up on the couch, a thick blanket wrapped tightly around him. Only his eyes and nose poked out of the little self-made buddle, while his tail was wrapped around the outside of the blanket, tucked up by his head.

The corner of Silver’s mouth twitched.

He very quietly pulled out his phone, snapping a photo of the cosy-upped freshman. Sebek would likely murder him for this, but he was quite certain that his father and Malleus would adore a picture like this.

Carefully, Silver crept over to the couch. He gently shook Sebek’s shoulder.

“Sebek.”

The freshman’s eyes snapped open. He shot up into a sitting position, looking almost panicked.

Silver took a small step back, slightly surprised at his friend’s reaction.

“Its just me…good morning.”

“What-”

Sebek blinked, the panic in his eyes slowly fading into confusion. He looked around the room for a moment.

Ahh, he wasn’t all the way awake yet…that explained his reaction.

The irony of the flipped situation was not lost on Silver, as Sebek blinked again, still seeming confused.

Silver waved a hand in front of his friend’s face.

“Are you…fully conscious yet?”

Sebek’s eyes briefly followed Silver’s hand for a moment, before the freshman scowled, swatting his friend’s hand away.

“Yes! Stop your mockery!”

Silver rolled his eyes.

“I am not mocking you. You have done much of the same to wake me up.”

Sebek’s scowl deepened as he untangled himself from the blanket.

“You did not need to trouble yourself coming to get me!”

Silver shushed him reproachfully.

“You are going to wake your friend!”

Sebek snorted, but cast Deuce a glance and lowered his voice.

“What time is it? Was there a desperate need for you to come get me?!”

The freshman’s voice pitched higher at the end of his second sentence, his tone panicked. Silver shook his head quickly.

“It is only a quarter past five. You were just…late for you, so I decided to come check on you.”

Sebek looked at him with utter disbelief.

“There was no need! Clearly, I am fine!”

“....you were asleep on the couch.”

Sebek almost instantly dropped his gaze, hesitating a moment before he answered.

“That–does not mean that I am not fine!”

Before the second year could rebuff, Sebek pushed past him, quickly ascending the creaking stairs.

“I will be ready in a moment!”

Silver frowned, watching Sebek dash away.

Deuce mumbled something incoherent, shifting in his sleep as the stairs groaned under Sebek’s feet. Silver gently picked up the discarded blanket, covering the sleeping freshman with it.

Sebek was back downstairs in minutes, marching straight out the door with barely a backwards glance. Silver quickly followed him out, falling into pace with the freshman as they made their way to the Diasomnia dorm.

Silver glanced at Sebek, who was pointedly keeping his eyes forward.

Fine. If he didn’t want to discuss it, then Silver wouldn’t.

He’d simply tell his father...
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Goodness, what happened to your hands?!”

Sebek jumped, wheeling around.

“Master Lilia-! I, um-”

The freshman fumbled, quickly hiding his hands behind his back. Lilia shook his head good naturedly.

“Now, I wasn’t born yesterday! Come now, let me see.”

Sebek hesitantly yielded to Lilia’s request, his respect for the old fae outweighing his want to hide the problem. Shamefaced, he held his hands palm out to Lilia.

Lilia tutted, gently taking the freshman’s hands in his own.

Sebek’s hands were heavily wrapped up, bandages holding his fingers and palms stiff. Dried blood painted the gauze wrappings, but Lilia could see some fresh blood beginning to spread across the bandages.

Lilia winced.

“Oh dear.”

Sebek squirmed, not meeting Lilia’s eyes.

“Yes sir…”

Lilia frowned, tilting his head.

Silver had said that the freshman was acting a bit off today, but Lilia was frustrated with himself for not noticing the injury sooner. He had only barely seen the bandages when the two had come into the dorm.

“Well, whatever happened?”

Sebek fidgeted, but didn’t answer.

Lilia looked up at the freshman sternly.

“Sebek, there is no need to be embarrassed. I simply wish to know what happened, as I care for your wellbeing. Do you doubt that?”

“No sir!”

Sebek finally looked up, snapping to attention.

“Now, will you please tell me what happened?”

Sebek mumbled his reply.

“I…broke a lamp…”

“Oh no, did you cut yourself?”

Sebek nodded his head, looking back at the floor. Lilia smiled softly, giving the freshman’s hands a gentle squeeze.

“Well, I’m glad you're alright. But we should change these before any training, especially since you're still bleeding a bit.”

Sebek ducked his head respectfully, but his face flushed slightly.

Lilia led him to the dorm’s common room couch, ignoring the freshman’s embarrassment. The feeling was unwarranted, but children always appeared shameful when they were caught, whether it was an act of disobedience or accidental injuries.

Lilia sat Sebek down, plopping down next to him on the couch. He gently took Sebek’s hands in his lap and began to unwrap the soiled bandages.

“Silver,” he called over his shoulder, “Would you please bring me the first aid kit?”

The second year quickly answered his father’s call from the other room, swiftly retrieving the small medical box for him.

Silver glanced at Sebek’s hands with concern as he handed the kit to Lilia over the back of the couch.

“What happened to your hands?”

Sebek scowled up at Silver.

“I merely grazed them on a broken lamp! It is hardly something to be worried about!”

Silver looked far from convinced, but didn’t push his friend farther.

Lilia removed the rest of stained gauze, inspecting Sebek’s injuries, Silver subtly doing the same over his shoulder.

The freshman had several jagged cuts across his palms and fingers, all of them sufficiently deep. After a once over, Lilia was pleased to find that there were no shards of glass still stuck. However, he wasn’t overjoyed by how multiple of the cuts were still sluggishly oozing blood.

He grabbed an alcohol swab from the kit, murmuring an apology as he rubbed the stinging liquid onto Sebek’s cuts. The freshman winced, but kept his hands still.

“Sebek, are you alright?”

Malleus suddenly appeared over Silver’s shoulder, startling the second year and Sebek. Malleus leaned over, his brow furrowed in concern.

“MASTER MALLEUS!”

Sebek instinctively closed his fists, attempting to stand at attention.

Silver quickly leaned over the back of the couch and shoved his friend back down, while Lilia pried the freshman’s fingers back open.

Malleus’s eyes widened.

“There is no need to stand, Sebek. I merely came to check on you.”

“I am fine, my liege! I was negligent last night, and simply knocked a lamp over!”

Malleus frowned.

“You must try to take more care of yourself. Those are some rather nasty cuts.”

“O-of course, Malleus…”

All three noted how Sebek’s voice uncharacteristically trailed off, their collective concern growing.

Chapter Text

It had only been a few days since Sebek had first been late and Silver’s concern was quickly turning into worry.

Sebek had not been “late” again, but everyday the freshman looked more and more haggard, his regular enthusiasm being replaced with lethargic actions, as if he was barely able to make it through the day.

Silver cast his friend a glance from across the table.

They each had a free period at the moment, and had opted to spend it in the library studying.

Well, Sebek had decided to and Silver had invited himself along. To his surprise, the freshman hadn’t argued against it.

In fact, Sebek hadn’t said a word since they’d sat down, appearing rather absorbed in his book.

Or at least absorbed in looking at it. Silver had yet to see him flip a page, and he was staring blankly at the one he had in front of him, eyes dull.

“Sebek, are you…feeling alright?”

“Hmm?”

Sebek blinked, looking up slightly.

“What?”

Silver frowned.

“Are you alright? You haven’t quite been yourself recently…”

Sebek stiffened slightly and something flickered in his eyes. He dropped his eyes back to his book, clearly feigning disinterest in the question.

“...I am fine.”

Silver narrowed his eyes.

“Sebek.”

“What?!”

“Your hand’s bleeding again…”

Sebek looked down, quickly relaxing his hand on the table. Its knuckles were still white from how tightly he’d been clenching it, red spots blossoming on the bandages surface from the action.

He quickly drew his hand back, placing it under the table, out of Silver’s sight.

Silver’s frown deepened.

“You don’t seem alright.”

Sebek stared down at his page, stubbornly ignoring him.

Silver shifted.

“If you…need to talk about anything, I’m here.”

Sebek didn’t look at him, but he appeared to be listening.

Silver hesitated, swallowed, then continued.

“I–missed you a lot while you were gone. I hope that I’ve, at least by some degree, been able to show that.”

Sebek glanced very quickly at him, almost instantly returning his eyes back to his page.

Silver took a deep breath and continued.

“Even if… nothing is wrong, you can talk to me about whatever you like. Even if it's just to argue. I don’t mind.”

Sebek blinked rapidly, quickly swiping his cheek with the back of his hand.

Oh no, he had made him cry!

As Silver was attempting to think of what to say, Sebek suddenly looked up at him, eyes still misty.

“You-!”

Sebek’s voice cracked. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath.

He reopened them, staring sharply at Silver.

“You must promise me that you will not tell a word of this to anyone!”

He hissed the whisper, barely audible.

Silver nodded quickly.

“Of course-”

Sebek leaned forward.

“No. One!”

The freshman sounded more pleading than demanding.

Why was he being so adamant…oh.

He meant Lilia and Malleus. Sebek didn’t wish for their upperclassmen to know about whatever he was going to say.

“I swear on my life that I will not repeat anything. To anyone.”

Sebek stared at him for a moment, seeing that his resolve was true. The freshman opened his mouth, then quickly closed it, glancing around him.

Silver stood so fast that almost knocked his chair over.

“Let’s go for a walk!”

Sebek hesitated for a moment, before quickly gathering his things.

They quickly bolted out of the library, much to the confusion of the other students using it.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
They were all the way to the forest before Sebek spoke up.

“I…”

He paused almost instantly.

This was unbelievably stupid. Why had he agreed to this?!

Silver did not need to know of his weakness. Was he truly willing to stoop so pitifully low?!

Silver looked at him patiently, his brow furrowed in concern.

Sebek suddenly felt like crying again.

He took a breath to steel himself.

Well, he’d only embarrass himself farther by not saying anything…

“I’m afraid of the dark …”

Sebek quickly mumbled the sentence.

Silver blinked.

“...okay.”

Sebek became very focused on his feet. The only sound for a few moments was their footsteps.

“Why?”

Sebek stiffened at the question.

It really shouldn't be so hard to spit out. He’d already gotten the humiliating part out of the way, why did this simple question fill him with so much dread?

He grit his teeth, his mouth physically refusing to answer.

Silver looked at him oddly.
Of course he was, he was acting ridiculous! He should have known better than to start allowing himself to fall apart. What pitiful behavior for a royal guard.

And yet…

He was just so tired. Tired of not being able to sleep, of having to fight against his own mind, of lying awake every night clutching a flashlight like a lifeline.

His chest suddenly felt tight as he forced himself not to cry.

What had he thought this was going to accomplish?

Even if he could get the words out, it wasn’t like the problem was going to go away.

Because the problem was within him. It clawed through him, tainting him with inescapable fear, trapping him back in the darkness, choking him-

The lapping of water filled his ears, louder than his rapidly beating heart–

Water ripped through his lungs, cold gripping his chest.

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe-!

He distantly felt himself falling, Silver screaming at him while his knees buckled.

Darkness crept at the edge of his vision.

No no no no no–!

He didn’t want to go back!

He couldn’t…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Malleus walked aimlessly through the forest, lost in thought.

The situation surrounding Sebek and his friends troubled him. And his meeting with the Shrouds’ had done little to relieve any of his worries.

He wished he could actually understand the extra files they had given him. They were meant to provide more clarity for the conditions listed on Sebek’s original file, but the explanations hid beneath layers of medical jargon and extensive, long-worded notes.

If only he could–

“HELP!”

A sharp cry shattered the silence of the wood, and Malleus startled as he recognized Silver’s voice.

He bolted off in the direction of the sound.

His heart dropped as the lower classmen came into view.

Silver was mostly supporting Sebek, who was half collapsed forward, black liquid gushing from his mouth.

Malleus darted forward, fully alarmed.

“What happened?!”

Silver looked up at him, relief washing over his face

“Malleus!”

Malleus quickly went to Sebek’s other side, slipping his arm under the freshman’s.

Sebek’s head lolled to the side, his chest convulsing as more of the black substance spluttered out of his mouth. He was barely breathing, every raspy gasp of air being stifled out by the liquid.

Silver looked desperately at the fae.

“He just folded over! He’s-he’s not responding anymore!”

Malleus’s grip tightened.

“To Ramshackle, now!”

Silver leapt to keep up with him, fear being replaced with confusion.

“Why there?”

“Shroud is too far away; He requires help now!”

And they were running out of time. Sebek’s face was slowly turning from green-tinged to blue.

They dragged Sebek over to the decaying dorm, Silver kicking the door open roughly.

“Stop smacking the door, it's new!”

Ace’s voice rang exasperated, him and Epel darting down the stairs.

The annoyance switched to startled awareness as the two freshmen saw their friend suspended between the two upperclassmen, black ooze dripping from his mouth.

Epel was out of the room before Malleus or Silver could say anything, vaulting down to the ground and sprinting out the room.

Malleus looked desperately at Ace.

“We need–”

Splosh!

Epel darted back into the room, throwing a bucket of water onto Sebek, half of it spilling on Silver and Malleus.

Silver blinked in shock. Malleus spluttered.

“What in the world are you doing?!”

Ace grimaced, stepping out from behind Epel.

“Sorry! I swear it actually works!”

Sebek gurgled, head partially raising. Epel grinned.

“Yep, there ‘e is!”

Silver stared.

“Sebek?!”

The freshman coughed roughly in reply.

Malleus let out a breath of relief.

Ace ducked back upstairs, the sound of running water soon coming from the second floor.

Malleus’s brow furrowed, gently shifting more of Sebek’s weight onto his shoulder(Silver was beginning to slump slightly).

“What is he doing?”

Epel glanced upstairs.

“He’s filling up the bath tub.”

Silver frowned.

“H-how does this work exactly?”

Epel shrugged.

“I don’t know; dramatic irony?”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Water flowing now, rushing in its true form…

Sebek slowly began to become aware.

Well, if you could call it that.

His mind felt muddled, the outside world blurred and disoriented. But it was wondrously bright, and that was all that really mattered.

His chest still felt tight, but he could breathe a bit now, so that was an improvement.

He could hear voices around him, but they were muffled and indiscernible. They rung dimly in his ears, getting lost in the stuffing of his brain.

Where was he exactly….?

Sebek attempted to think back, but his jumbled thoughts were interrupted as he began moving forward. He vaguely noticed that someone was carrying him.

Back to square one with figuring out where he was…

His lungs were starting to feel clogged again. He gagged as more liquid clawed its way up his throat.

Whoever was carrying him stopped, lowering him down. Glorious, clear water sprung into his vision, his head slipping under the surface. A clear membrane instinctively blinked across his eyes, protecting them from the water and allowing him to keep them open as he let his head submerge.

It was…ironic how the act of holding his breath under the water actually made his chest hurt less. Temperate and not freezing, the lapping water was a comforting presence, easing his pain and clearing his mind.

He was….in the bath tub.

Hadn’t been dunked in one of these in a while…which meant that he must have had one of his attacks.

Which meant that he must have had a melt down about something….
He had been….walking, yes, that seemed right. He had been walking….with Silver. They had been talking…or he had tried to…and then…

And then he had been yanked back into the nightmare, drowning on dry land.

How utterly embarrassing.

He had crumbled so easily. He couldn’t even consider speaking about his childish fears without having a total breakdown?!

Oh, his friend was definitely breaking his promise. Sworn on his life or not, Silver wouldn’t stay silent now that he had witnessed Sebek collapse.

As he should…Guardsmen were meant to be able to protect, not wilt under the pressure of talking about nightmares.

But the thought of his weakness being shoved into the spotlight made Sebek want to curl up into himself for all of eternity.

His chest twinged slightly, rudely reminding him that he still required air. He half lifted his face to the surface, taking a quick breath before ducking under again.

One problem at a time he supposed. It would likely be easier to try and explain himself when his lungs were clear of blot.

Hopefully.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Watching Sebek drift down to the bottom of the tub was…disconcerning, to say the least.

Silver stared as his friend bobbed under the surface, trying to squash the sense of panic that rose up from the act. It felt like he was drowning his friend, purposely submerging him while his lungs were already full of liquid.

Ace and Epel, however, looked unfazed. In fact, they actually seemed more relaxed now.

Ace nodded, looking satisfied.

“Kay, he should be good in a minute.”

Epel glanced apologetically up at Malleus.

“Uh, sorry for splashing you…”

Malleus waved his hand in dismal.

“Nonsense; I should apologize to you two. You reacted with justifiable haste. I was simply surprised.”

Ace shrugged.

“Eh, we get it; It’s not really really a normal fix.”

Silver shook his head.

“It was far from a normal problem…”

Malleus inclined his head slightly, frowning.

“Indeed…”

Epel tilted his head.

“What happened, anyways?”

Silver blinked.

“I don’t entirely know. We were talking, and then he suddenly started coughing up liquid…”

Ace hummed.

“Weird. He hasn’t done this in a while.”

Silver and Malleus both looked at the freshman with mild horror.

“He’s done this before?!”

It was still jarring to hear, even though it wasn’t entirely surprising. Afterall, how else would they know precisely what to do?

Epel fidgeted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“A couple of times, yeah. It's like, you know how blot is kind of the byproduct of magic? Like, you have to deal with it in order to do stuff?”

Malleus nodded.

“Cause and effect, yes?”

“Um, sure? Anyway, we get like, side effects from that. Blot sticks around in our systems longer, which is really helpful when you can do something with it, but not so much when it does stuff like this.”

Malleus frowned.

“This happens whenever you build up blot?”

Ace shrugged.

“More like built up blot on top of something else. But that could be anything from stress to allergies. Or something like that.”

Silver raised an eyebrow.

“Something like that?”

Ace sighed.

“I don’t know, Idia explained it to us once, but sometimes when he’s talking all I hear is video game music.”

Malleus looked even more confused after the explanation, but Silver grasped most of what the freshmen was saying.

If stress could be a factor, he may have played a part in this.

Well done Silver, you almost made your friend asphyxiate. Good job trying to make him feel better…

His self-berating thoughts were interrupted by the warning bell.

Ace and Epel jumped.

“Oh dang, we’re gonna be late!”

Malleus quickly waved the two away.

“Go on then, we’ll watch him.”

Epel hesitated.

“You sure?”

“Of course. You may be able to make it if you run.”

Both freshmen cast their friend one last glance, then dashed off with a wave, darting down the stairs.

The two Diasomnia members looked back towards Sebek, faces’ falling.

“Silver.”

Malleus gently touched the second year’s shoulder.

“I’m going to get Lilia; please continue to keep an eye on him.”

Silver nodded quickly.

In a blink, Malleus was gone.

In all honesty, Silver was quite glad that he was getting his father. Out of all of them, Lilia was most likely to know what to do…

The minutes silently ticked by, and Silver felt his head slowly nodding forward, his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier.

A spluttering sound jerked him awake, his eyes snapping open.

Sebek was sitting up, wiping water off of his face. He blinked blearily up at Silver.

“Only you could doze off standing…”

Silver leapt forward, dropping to his knees and seizing the freshman in a tight hug. Sebek startled slightly, but didn’t pull back.

“Are you alright?”

“I could be worse,” Sebek answered stiffly. “You’re going to get all wet, I’m dripping…”

“Shut up.”

Shockingly, Sebek complied. He stayed still for a moment, then buried his face into Silver’s shoulder, returning the hug.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Lilia wanted to kick himself right now.

Sebek’s dimmed behavior and accidental injuries had raised alarm bells in his head, and yet he had done nothing.

Sebek had just fallen so easily back into place, instantly jumping back into position as a guard, bickering with Silver, and eagerly trying to please Malleus and himself. He had done such a good job at appearing unscathed besides his appearance.

And yet Lilia had never pressed him on it, not wanting the freshman to think that he doubted his capabilities.

He really was old enough to know better. And he had seen too much war to not recognize the signs of pain.

At least it wasn’t too late to right his mistake.

Because so help him, he’d pry Sebek’s troubles out of him if he had too.

Malleus glanced over at the older fae.

“Are you certain that you want to speak to him alone?”

Lilia gently placed a hand on Malleus’s arm.

“I believe it would be for the best. I don’t want him to feel over-whelmed.”

Group hugs could come later, right now Lilia needed to find the root of the problem.

Malleus gave a small, hesitant nod, stepping into Ramshackle. In a moment, Silver followed him out.

Lila waved the two boys off.

“Go go, you're already rather late!”

Malleus nodded solemnly, but walked much more slowly away then he normally would have. Silver cast a final backwards glance towards the dorm, but stepped away after an encouraging look from his father.

Sebek was waiting for him on a moth-eaten couch. He was sitting stiff and straight, his hands balled up at his sides. Lilia winced.

He was going to split his hands open again…

The freshman looked uncharacteristically unkempt, his hair still damp and half plastered down, his clothes still dripping. A black stain ran down the front of his shirt, the remaining remnant of the coughing fit Malleus had described.

The poor dear looked so tired, ashen faced and eyes unfocused, staring blankly off at something only he could see.

Lilia hummed quietly, subtly letting Sebek know he was here. Sebek jumped, quickly standing.

Unfortunately, his mind seemed to be recovering better than his body.

He pitched sideways, falling towards the ground.

Lilia yelped, dashing forward, and managing to catch the freshman before he hit the ground.

Lilia huffed, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Goodness Sebek, there truthfully is no reason for you to overexert yourself on my behalf!”

Sebek’s face flushed slightly.

“I apologize for my carelessness!”

Lilia snorted in disbelief, gently helping Sebek back onto the couch.

“There is no need to apologize! You are only being careless to yourself! The only lesson to be learned here is to be more attentive when you aren’t feeling well.”

Sebek slouched slightly, shamefaced.

“Yes sir!”

Lilia smiled softly, taking a seat next to the freshman.

“Now, will you please tell me what’s troubling you?”

Sebek stiffened, swallowing roughly.

“I…I don’t know if I can…”

He sounded so small, like a lost child.

Like a lost child. Ha.

He wasn’t like one. He simply was one.

Lilia gently grasped Sebek’s hand, carefully trying to not agitate the wounds further.

“Just start whether you can.”

Sebek looked down, avoiding eye contact.

“It is pathetic…”

Lilia’s face hardened, his mouth forming a stern line.

“Sebek, the problem could be as slight as you stubbing your toe, and I would care as greatly for that trouble as any other injury. I just want to hear whatever you can say.”

Sebek’s hand trembled in his grip. He still didn’t look up, but Lilia could see tears springing up in his eyes. He squeezed the freshman’s hand tighter.

His reply came hushed.

“I’m afraid of the dark…”

Lilia leaned closer to the freshman.

“That’s certainly not pathetic. Darkness is a terrifying thing–”

“It was always so cold….”

Lilia paused, unsettled by Sebek’s sudden interruption. Sebek continued, voice cracking.

“It was so dark…I couldn’t move….It was too cold…”

Lilia stayed silent, listening with growing horror.

“I couldn’t breathe…it was too cold. It was too dark..!”

Lilia softly moved forward, wrapping Sebek in a tight hug. The freshman trembled in his arms.

“It was too dark…it’s always too dark…I just want to go to sleep…I don’t want to go back anymore–!”

Sebek’s voice trailed off into a sob. Lilia squeezed him tighter.

“Shhh. It’s alright.”

Sebek whimpered, burying his face into the fae’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to go back….”

“You’re not going anywhere. I swear on my life, you’re never going back.”

Ever.

“It’s always too dark…”

“When is it too dark, Sebek?”

“Whenever I close my eyes–!”

Sebek particularly wailed the answer, punctuating it with a harsh cough.

Lilia quickly pulled back, grasping the freshman’s hands again.

“Breathe, Sebek!”

Sebek roughly sucked in a breath, coughing again. Lilia gently squeezed Sebek’s hands.

“Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.”

Sebek’s chest began to rise and fall normally, his breathing becoming more clear. Lilia smiled.

“There you are.”

Sebek blinked, pulling one of his hands away to wipe at his eyes.

Lilia delicately reached out, cupping Sebek’s cheeks in his hands. He noted how the freshman half-flinched away before relaxing into the touch. He brushed the tears away with his thumbs.

“There you are…”

He murmured.

Sebek sniffed.

“And here you will stay. I promise.”

Sebek swallowed.

“I am so–”

“Ah, ah, no!”

Lilia looked sternly at Sebek.

“Do not apologize for any of this! You have been subjected to things I can’t even imagine. Any fears that come from remembering them are natural; there is no shame in tears.”

Sebek blinked tearfully.

“Nightmares of such things would prevent even the bravest of men from sleeping. It's not pathetic to struggle, nor to ask for help. Me, Malleus, or Silver would do anything in a heartbeat for you; do you understand?”

Sebek’s bottom lip trembled.

“You should not have too….”

Lilia snorted, startling the freshman.

“Sebek, we have spent three years apart from you. Any of us would dote on you unprompted if you would allow us too.”

Sebek looked at him with such object wonder that it stung Lilia’s heart.

Familial care was undoubtedly something the freshman was no longer used to. Yet another trouble to be noted and amended later…

The most pressing issue was getting the freshman a peaceful night’s sleep.

Which would be easier with reinforcements…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ruggie side-stepped around a group of babbling students, trying to finish Leona’s errands quickly.

Why Leona suddenly needed a seven thaumark drink, he’d never know. Princes’ brains must run on different stuff than the average joe…

A sudden yawn from behind him made him jump.

“Eeek! Who’s there?! Don’t you sneak up on me like that!”

Ruggie wheeled around, coming face to face with a very drowsy looking Silver.

“....Oh, it's just you, Silver.”

Silver blinked sleepily.

“Oh, hello Ruggie. “

Ruggie glanced at the things in the Diasomnia student’s hands.

“You’re upperclassmen send you out on an errand run too?”

“Um, yes and no…”

Ruggie’s brow furrowed.

“Huh?”

“Fa–Lilia requested these items, but they’re for Sebek.”

“Oh.”

Ruggie took a more careful look at what Silver was holding.

Three packs of fairy lights, a heated blanket, and a box of assorted candies. He had no idea why Sebek would need any of those things, but who was he to judge?

He’d probably want some random comforts if he had to do time in Tartarus…

“Nice of you guys to look out for him.”

Silver’s eyes snapped more open.

“It’s nice to be able to look out for him again…”

Ruggie’s ear twitched, picking up the drink Leona wanted.

“Well isn’t that…great for all you guys.”

Super great.

Definitely not making him feel guilty at all…

Chapter Text

Trey hissed as he tried to shift his ankle, pain shooting up his leg. Cater glanced up from his phone.

“Dude, stop moving! You're just gonna hurt it more.”

Trey sighed.

“I’m just trying to adjust the pillow…”

Thunk thunk!

Trey’s door slammed open, Ace and Deuce tripping over each other as they tumbled into the room.

“Are you ok–”

“What happened?!”

Cater and Trey both stared.

Cater blinked, quickly recovering with a grin.

“Aw, were you guys worried?”

Trey glanced between the two freshmen. They both looked panicked, like someone had told them there was a fire. He sighed, but put on a sheepish smile for them.

“Guys, I just messed up my ankle; I’m ok.”

Both freshmen breathed out a sigh of relief. Deuce smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry; we just heard you fell down the stairs, and uh…we’re not really good at assuming the best…”

“In our defense,” Ace piped up, “That still looks pretty bad.”

Trey winced, finally managing to move his pillow.

“It’s not too bad; But I will be on crutches for a while. Looks like I’ll be warming the bench at the Spell Drive tournament this year.”

Deuce’s brow furrowed.

“Wait, you're on the Spell Drive roster too?”

Cater blinked.

“Uh, what you mean–”

“Why are you guys so fast?!”

Grim and Q dragged themselves through the doorway, both panting.

Cater grinned, confusion briefly forgotten.

“Aw, you got a full little fan club Trey!”

“Goodness, there’s a lot of people in here.”

All the freshmen plus Cater jumped.

Ace blew out a breath.

“Housewarden, food for thought; don’t sneak up on the crazed blot experiments…”

Riddle looked sternly at the freshman.

“That is far from an appropriate term to refer to yourself and your friends as, Ace.”

He began to walk towards Ace, likely to continue the talking-to, but his eyes strayed to Trey. The housewarden’s face became more serious.

“Why are you all in here anyways? Trey is meant to be getting rest.”

The corner of Ace’s mouth twitched. He leaned over to Deuce, mumbling something to his friend. Deuce coughed loudly into his hand, which did nothing to hide his sudden smile.

Not quite the effect that Riddle normally had on lower classmen, but Trey was choosing to see this as an improvement.

Riddle glanced back at the freshmen, fingers flexing. He looked like he couldn’t decide between using his signature skill or strangling one of them.

Cater’s money was on Ace…

“Do you all need something?”

Deuce quickly recovered, lowering his eyes and looking at his feet.

“We heard Trey got hurt and got kinda worried…”

Grim clawed his way up Trey’s bed, grudgingly pushing a dented can of tuna towards the third year.

“Myah…I was hopin’ your injury would be small enough for me to justify keepin’ this, but…Here. I brought ya a get–well can of tuna. Feel better specs.”

Trey awkwardly picked up the can.

Should he be worried that he was oddly flattered that the direbeast had decided to share with him?

“Oh. Thank you.”

Riddle glanced towards Trey.

“Can I get you anything else, Trey?”

Trey sighed. This was about the fourth time Riddle had come in to ask him that..

“No Riddle, I don’t need anything. I told you, you don’t need to fuss over me.”

Riddle frowned.

“But it's my fault you got hurt.”

All the freshmen’s heads whipped around to look at Riddle.

“What?!”

Riddle’s frown deepened.

“I needed to talk to him, so I went to the junior classroom for lunch. When we left, I almost tumbled down the stairs. Trey wouldn’t have slipped if he hadn’t caught me…”

Trey rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“It was stupid of me to interfere anyways, you don’t owe me anything.”

Riddle shook his head.

“Still, I…”

While the two went back and forth, Cater watched the freshmen. They all seemed to be having a silent conversation with their eyes. Even Grim.

And Cater wanted to know what it was about.

“Kay, Riddle, you’re harshing the vibe here and that’s not gonna help anyone. It’s sups lame that Trey got hurt, but you’ll just rock the field harder to make up for him, right?”

Riddle blinked.

“Well, I suppose that’s true…”

“All right peeps, we should let Trey get his rest! C’mon, out, out, out!”

Cater all but shoved Ace and Deuce out the door, Q and Grim quickly following him out. Riddle closed the door behind them, turning towards Cater.

“I’m assuming all of that was because of something you didn’t want to tell me in front of Trey?”

Cater tucked his phone in his pocket.

“Always a step ahead of me Riddle. I get the feeling that these guys,” He nodded his head towards the freshies. “Know something about it.”

He turned to look at the little group.

“Come on, spill!”

Ace and Deuce glanced at each other, then at Q. The human shrugged. Ace sighed, apparently losing the silent debate on who needed to talk.

“Okay, so a bunch of students on the Spell Drive rosters for a couple of different dorms have been getting into weird accidents recently, so the Headmage had the…brilliant idea to make us investigate.”

Cater grinned slightly.

“Yeah, I thought it was kinda sus how you guys were talking to so many new people today.”

Deuce blinked.

“Were you following us?”

“Uhh, no? I mean, not for the whole day…I was trying to make sure you guys were making friends.”

Ace groaned, mumbling.

“First Epel’s crazy vice housewarden, now Mr Cellphone…”

Cater scowled.

“Rude! I am not old enough to be a “Mr”...”

Riddle shot Cater a look silencing him.

“So the Headmage asked you four to investigate?”

Deuce nodded.

“Yep. And all the accidents are starting to look a lot less like accidents.”

Riddle frowned, thinking.

“It wasn’t as if I was pushed or tripped, but I did feel a particular sensation. It was like…my body was moving of its own volition.”

Grim’s ears perked up.

“Everybody else said the same thing!”

Riddle’s brow furrowed.

“So it seems like we can assume that potential Spell Drive tournament players are the ones being targeted.”

Ace tilted his head.

“Can you think of a reason someone would be doing this on purpose?”

Riddle pursed his lips.

“The whole world will be watching the tournament. It’s not exactly a surprise that some would turn to underhand methods to even the odds.”

Cater frowned.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t make much sense. I mean, you’d be able to notice if wind magic or something knocked you over, right?”

“Certainly. I felt no external force.”

Deuce frowned.

“Could’ve still been someone…”

Cater glanced at the freshman.

“That was kind of foreboding, Deucy.”

Deuce shrugged, ignoring the nickname. Ace rolled his eyes.

“You’re talking to someone who can punch through walls and someone who has wings; magic puppeteering isn’t the most absurd thing we’ve ever seen.”

Cater blinked.

“Sorry, Deucy can do what through walls?”

Riddle waved his hand.

“Focus on the issue at hand, Cater.”

“I feel like that could be a pretty helpful skill for snooping. Or, you know, when we have to rearrange the team roster…”

Riddle narrowed his eyes.

“It can be considered after we apprehend the culprit.”

Grim tilted his head.

“Um, how are we gonna do that…?”

Riddle looked down at the direbeast.

“By predicting which student will be targeted next and covertly following him.”

Ace wrinkled his nose.

“So, so problem with that; There is nothing covert about any of us. If you want that, you're gonna need to talk to Epel, and good luck prying him away from his housewarden…”

Q hummed.

“Maybe we don’t need to be…”

“Huh?”

Q smiled.

“You can’t think of anyone who could be a potential target? Someone already on their dorm’s Spell Drive team?”

Ace’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Oh! Duh!”

Deuce smacked himself in the forehead.

“Why didn’t we think of that sooner?”

Cater glanced at Riddle.

“Uh, who ya talkin about…?”

Deuce practically beamed.

“Jack!”

Cater and Riddle blinked. Oh boy.

They'd almost forgotten about Savanaclaw’s new player. Which was kinda impressive, seeing as Jack Howl had been the center of all Night Raven gossip since he had got here.

A hulking mass of muscle and deadly teeth, the freshman was a terrifying presence to see around campus. He had quickly become known as Leona’s new trump card…or his new ticket to the graveyard. Bets had been taken on whether it’d be someone on the opposing squad, or from his own team.

The rumor mill was a busy thing, and despite barely seeing Jack, Cater was very well-versed on the general public’s opinion on him. Which was that he was scary, should be avoided if you valued your life, and was probably going to kill someone on the playing field.

Riddle hadn’t heard most of the stories, but he’d heard the news from the Housewarden meeting discussing the tournament. Which was remembered as out of the ordinary, as it was one of the few times he’d seen Leona seem to actually care about something.

Crowley had not wanted Howl to be placed on the Savanaclaw roster, due to “security” reasons, and Leona had practically bitten the Headmage’s head off.

Jack had remained on the roster, and was set to play in the tournament.

Riddle frowned, looking thoughtful.

“I had forgotten Jack Howl was one of your friends…but what makes you think he’d be considered a target?”

Ace snorted.

“He’s a crazy good player and everybody’s scared of him. It’s the perfect mixture for fowl play!”

“...That’s not…inherently wrong reasoning…”

Riddle muttered hesitantly.

Deuce practically grinned.

“We can probably go catch him at practice now!”

Grim grinned maliciously.

“Maybe he already caught the guy for us!”

Riddle frowned, glancing at Cater.

“Do any of you know the way to the Savanaclaw dorm?”

“Um….no…”

Cater quickly smiled.

“I got you; I’ll take them over!”

Riddle hesitated, then nodded.

“Alright then. I’m going to check on Trey again.”

“Kay! See you later!”

Whelp, time to see if those rumors were true…
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Woah, so this is Savanaclaw.”

Deuce whistled, observing the large bone pile and vast, desolate plains.

“Yeah, I can see why Jack got placed here.”

Cater glanced at the freshman.

“Why’s that?”

Deuce shrugged.

“He likes the outdoors”

Well, that sounded more normal. Afterall, Jack was these four’s friend. He couldn’t be all bad…right…?

Cater tried to shake the sinking feeling that he was not going to be the final character of this horror movie…

Seemingly unaware of their upperclassman’s nervousness, the freshmen quickly made their way over to the Savanaclaw training course.

Cater watched as Jack ran laps.

Yeah, he would not want to be that guy's opponent. He’d probably end up half trampled into the ground.

The beastman’s ears perked suddenly. He screeched to a stop, looking over at the group..

A semi-scary smile spread across Jack’s face.

“Did you guys come all the way out here just to bother me?”

Deuce grinned.

“Something like that. Has anyone out of the ordinary been hanging around while you're training? Or around campus in general? ”

Jack’s ear twitched.

“More out of the ordinary than you guys?”

Ace snorted.

“Normal suspicious weird, not us weird. ”

“A bunch of Spell Drive players have been getting into “accidents” recently,” Q added. “We just want you to be careful.”

Jack tilted his head, his eyes suddenly darting to Cater.

The third year quickly waved, giving a friendly smile.

“Whats up? Jack, right?”

Jack frowned, scrutinizing him. Cater tried not to squirm, his face growing stiff from smiling.

“....You’re Cater, right?”

Cater blinked.

“Oh, uh, yeah! How-how do you know that?”

Jack snorted.

“They all talk…a lot.”

Ace scowled.

“You’re one to talk; no one asked for you’re shot for shot run throughs of practice every night!”

Jack scowled.

Cater glanced at his freshmen.

“Do you guys just like, sit around gossiping at night?”

Deuce quickly avoided eye-contact.

“...maybe…”

Cater’s grin became more genuine.

One of the centers of discussion for an oddball group of freshies…he’d take it!

“Hey, what are you lot doing here?!”

The fun little moment was interrupted by a harsh yell.

Three fearsome looking Savanaclaw students approached the group, all scowling.

Jack stared evenly back at them.

“My friends just–”

“Oh, these are you friends?!”

“Hey, are the rest of you on team rosters yet?!”

“You better not be messin’ with our new player!”

Cater blinked, surprised at the onslaught of questions. Which was unfortunate, as none of the freshmen seemed to know how to respond.

“Cut it out, you three.”

Cater stared dumbfounded at the newcomer.

Well, this was probably gonna get a whole lot worse…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Leona scowled.

You’d think so called ex-Tartarus inhabitants would have more backbone.

But no, Jack and his friends’ were all staring at the other Savanaclaw students like they couldn’t decide whether to fight or flee. Like a bunch of little rabbits…

Guess none of those experiments had touched on basic social skills…

Ruggie snickered.

“Looks like Jack’s got a little fan club!”

“Shut it.”

He stared down at the trio of upperclassmen.

“What are you three doing?”

The three all jumped.

“Housewarden Leona!”

“Jack brought his friends over!”

“We were just askin’ them why they were trespassing!”

The red haired freshman wrinkled his nose.

“How can you trespass if someone invited you?”

Ruggie snorted

“Shyehee! That one’s funny!”

Leona rolled his eyes, glaring at the Savanaclaw students.

“Stop yappin’ like a pack of wild dogs. Go get practicing, or else this tournament is gonna be over before it even starts.”

The upperclassmen sullenly, but quickly shuffled off.

Leona lazily looked back at Jack and his little huddle of buddies.

“Yo gonna introduce us, or keep chattin’ the day away?”

Jack scowled, but pointed at each of his friends in turn.

“Deuce,” Blue-haired reptilian, “Ace,” Winged sass mouth, “Grim,” Tiny cat terror, “Q.” Glassy eyed human.

“They, uh, came over to say hi…”

Ruggie mockingly scrunched his face.

“Aw, ain’t that sweet.”

Leona’s ear twitched.

“You all came all the way over here just to say hi?”

Deuce glanced away.

“Yes?”

“You couldn’t wait until you saw him tonight? In the dorm where you all live?”

Ace tilted his head.

“Would you believe that this is a trauma response?”

Leona rubbed the bridge of his nose, while Ruggie snickered.

“Shyeheehee!”

“I don’t actually care; just buzz off, we’re tryin’ to practice.”

Cater placed a hand on Ace’s shoulder, lightly pulling the freshman back. He smiled winningly at Leona, who scowled in return.

“Sure thing, nice to see you! Bye!”

The third year turned to Jack.

“We’re taking off. Take care and don’t get in any accidents, you hear?”

Jack’s mouth twitched.

“Not plannin’ on it. See you guys later.”

Ruggie glanced at Leona. His housewarden pointedly didn’t look back at him.

As Ruggie looked back at the departing group, he noticed that Q was looking at him.

He tried to shrug it off, ignoring the nagging feeling that their plans were unraveling…
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Hey Leona, I brought you dinner. And on the way, I got a little “work” done.”

Leona smirked as he grabbed his meal from the hyena.

“Always there when I need ya, Ruggie. You didn’t leave any evidence behind, did ya?”

Ruggie snickered.

“You know how hyenas work. We pick our prey clean to the bone. Any ideas for my next target?”

Leona’s tail twitch.

“Yeah, I got one. A little wolf who likes to eavesdrop.”

Ruggie’s ears flew up.

“Huh?!”

Leona looked towards his bedroom door.

“I know you're there Jack. C’mon out.”

Ruggie had to keep himself from jumping as the freshman stepped out of the shadow of the door frame. He hadn’t even heard Jack, much less seen him.

Where had he come from?! And more importantly, how long had he been there….?

Leona cocked his head.

“Bit late for you to be out, isn’t it? You friends are probably worried sick.”

Ruggie tried to smile at the quip, but he could feel that it didn’t meet his eyes.

It was kinda hard to laugh when Jack was staring at him like that. Like he couldn’t decide if he was going to verbally or literally rip their throats out.

“Why are you two doing this?”

Leona’s ear twitched.

“Straight to the point, aren’t you? We’ve gone up against Malleus’s Diasomnia team in round one of the tournament two years running. We were eliminated both times almost instantly. And now the pro league recruiters, well, they pass right over Savanaclaw.”

Jack’s ears flattened ever so slightly.

“So, you decided cutting down our opponents before would be a better strategy?”

Leona sneered.

“Well now, aren’t we high and mighty? I’m doin’ this for you and your dorm mates. This is our last year to restore Savanaclaw’s reputation!”

Jack scowled in response. Leona’s tail lashed.

“You wanna throw your chance away? This could be your one moment to be anything besides frankenstein experiment you’ve been stitched into. You really wanna throw that all away for what? Some moral superiority complex?”

Jack became totally motionless, ears flattening all the way to his head.

It was in the brief moment of silence that followed that Ruggie realized Leona had said something very, very wrong.

Jack glowered at the housewarden, his voice quavering with rage.

“You might not be one yet, but you're acting like a coward. And you're already a liar, so I’d stop before you sink any lower.”

He turned on his heel, stomping out of Leona’s room.

Ruggie watched the freshman go uneasily.

“...I feel like it’s our problem now…”

Leona’s lip curled.

“Just keep an eye on him. It’d be a terrible waste of talent if he tries anything.”

Ruggie glanced at his housewarden.

“Understood.”

Chapter Text

Ruggie sighed.

Seriously, how did someone that tall just disappear?

He’d been trying to tail Jack all morning, and somehow, the freshman had continued to evade him. Ruggie had only been able to catch sight of him when he went into classrooms.

Ruggie scowled. Guess Jack’s feelings were more hurt then he thought…

“Why are you following me?!”

Ruggie jumped, wheeling around. Somehow, Jack had snuck up behind him.

Ruggie gulped.

The freshman looked ticked off. Clearly, he was not over last night’s reveal.

“I’m just–checkin’ on my lower classman! You’re. . . uh, a lot sneakier than I thought…”

Jack scowled.

“Well, now you’ve checked on me. Now leave me alone!”

He pushed past Ruggie, stomping down the hall.

“Aw, c’mon!”

Ruggie skittered behind Jack.

“Look, I get that you probably don’t fully get why we’re doing this, but it's not like we’re total scum!”

“Hurting innocent people to settle a personal grudge doesn’t sound like scummy behavior to you?!”

Ruggie rolled his eyes.

“It ain’t totally like that. We’re mostly just…evening the playing field.” Ruggie shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.

“By pushing people down the stairs?”

Ruggie scowled.

“Look pal, real life ain’t fair! So sometimes–”

Jack stopped so abruptly that Ruggie ran straight into him. The hyena rubbed his now sore nose, scowling. Jack muttered something under his breath.
Ruggie glanced up, irritated.

“‘Scuse me?!”

The freshman slowly turned to face him.

“...Do you really think I don't have a sense of how unfair life can be?”

Ruggie froze, realization of what he’d said hitting him like a truck.

Jack stared at him, unblinking.

Ruggie’s ears flattened.

Oh, he was gonna die…

“I–I didn’t mean that you didn’t understand…in general, I just meant that maybe you don’t fully get…outside world stuff…”

His voice trailed off as Jack's eyes bore into him.

Jack growled.

“Oh, I get it. Take pity on the big bad wolf, right? He doesn’t know how actual life works, so gotta make sure he uses those creepy skills for somethin’ useful and doesn’t go off the deep end.”

The freshman spat out the words, his tone dripping with thinly veiled anger.

“Hate to burst your bubble, but I don’t need help! Especially any that involves tearing others down like cowards!”

He turned his head back in front of him.

“Now stop tryin’ to babysit me, and leave me alone!”

The freshman bolted off, ducking into a classroom before Ruggie had a chance to reply.

Ruggie stood for a moment.

Guilt wasn’t a common feeling for him. If surviving meant cutting corners or swiping something, that was just what needed to be done.

But that…

Ouch…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Housewarden Riddle!”

Riddle slowed his pace, turning to the side, watching as Ace and Deuce rushed over to him from across the courtyard. His eyes widened when he saw who was following him.

Jack Howl was right at his freshmen’s heels, brow furrowed in obvious anger.

Deuce screeched to a halt in front of Riddle.

“Housewarden, we foun–” Ace elbowed him in the side. “Ow! Oh, uh, this is Jack. Jack, this is Housewarden Riddle.”

Riddle looked up at the beastman.

“Hello.”

Jack nodded.

“Hi.”

The three freshmen glanced at one another. Ace looked back at the housewarden, expression falling to something more serious.

“We’ve figured out who's causing the accidents.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Leona glanced up as Ruggie entered his room.

The hyena was wearing an uncharacteristically glum expression.

“Whats up with you?”

Ruggie’s ear and eye twitched at the same time. Leona blinked, confused at the reaction.

“...Nothin’. I, uh, don’t think Jack’s playin’ for us tomorrow...”

Leona rolled his eyes.

“Tck. What a waste. He gonna be a problem?”

Ruggie shrugged.

“I don't know; I think he just wants to be left alone…”

“Hmph. Whatever. As long as he stays out of the way, I don’t care what he does. Everything else in place?”

Ruggie perked up slightly.

“Yep! Everything’s ready for Diasomnia!”

“Good.”

Leona yawned.

“I’m headed to bed. Go on and scram.”

“Yes sir, Housewarden!”

With almost exaggerated enthusiasm, Ruggie ducked out of his room.

Leona flopped back onto his bed.

It didn’t matter if Jack wanted to play for them or not. Conquering this school wasn’t gonna change anything in the real world…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The stadium was already bursting with people.

Jack’s ears flattened as the roar of the crowd reached him. The noise echoed through his skull, the excited screams of fans swirling with the general chatter festival.

Stopping Leona’s scheme was extremely important….but Jack wished that the final blow of his housewarden’s plan hadn’t needed a crowd.

Q cast him a glance.

“Are you ready?”

Jack rolled his shoulders.

“Yeah. Let's go.”

The excited chants were quickly turning into scared screams. Which meant that it was time to close in.

Focusing, Jack began to make out Ruggie and Leona’s voices behind the screams.

“So long Malleus. This year the throne is mine!”

“Long live the King!”

The cheers of Savanaclaw grew louder as the group crept closer.

“LONG LIVE THE KING! HOORAY!”

“I believe we’ve heard enough!”

Leona and Ruggie’s heads snapped around as Riddle announced himself.

Leona’s eyes trailed to the group of freshmen behind the Heartslabyul housewarden, his lip curling as he spotted Jack. Jack met his gaze unwavering.

“Well, well, isn’t this a colorful group? You transferring on us Jack?”

Jack growled.

“It’s not like I was really in your dorm to begin with. And I’m glad, if this is all Savanaclaw stands for!”

Leona snarled, stepping forward.

“You filthy traitor!”

Riddle stepped forward, pointing his spectator threateningly at the Savanaclaw housewarden .

“Enough Leona! You have tarnished a proud Night Raven tradition. I can not overlook this, and I am proud to say that these students couldn’t either!”

Leona’s tail lashed.

“Listen kiddies, save your speeches for someone who cares, all right?”

Ace snickered to the side of Jack.

“How about no? I feel like you’ve kinda waved your right to order any of us around when you tried to have someone trampled!”

Ruggie’s ears perked.

“Um, what do you mean tried? Did you see the broadcast? Diasomnia was finished!”

“Hmm, that’s odd…we all appear to be quite alright to me.”

Ruggie yelped as Lilia appeared beside Riddle, Silver and Sebek taking a place beside Jack.

“In fact, not a single player of Diasomnia’s house was harmed.”

Ruggie stared.

“What?! How?! I saw you get swallowed up by the stampede!”

“About that…”

Cater crept up beside Deuce, smiling winningly.

“Those were actually duplicates of me, courtesy of my signature Split Card spell.”

Leona froze.

“What?”

Lilia smirked.

“The freshman told us everything, and Riddle was kind enough to formulate a plan for us.”

Ruggie frowned.

“So then…Malleus?”

Sebek scoffed.

“He’s busy clearing the chaos you created! You may thank him later for his help.”

Ruggie shook his head, stunned.

“H-how could this be happening?!”

Leona barely moved for a moment.

“...Tch. Whatever, I don’t care anymore.”

Ruggie swung around.

“What?”

Ruggie watched as an indifferent expression slid back over Leona’s face.

“I’m done. It’s over.”

“Boss, what-what are you saying?!”

Leona glowered down at the second year.

“Are you even payin’ attention? If Malleus is able to take the field, then we’ve got no chance of winning. There’s no point even trying. I’m done.”

Ruggie shook his head in disbelief.

“Y-you can’t just–! Without you on the field, we don’t even have a shot at the top three! You’re just gonna abandon our dreams?!”

Leona snorted scornfully.

“All you wide–eyed tenderfoots talkin’ bout dreams…Pfft. I threw you a bone because it amused me. That’s all this was.”

“..What do you mean? What happened to working together to “turn the world upside down?”

“You wanna hear the truth? Fine.” Leona snarled, ears flattening. “You're a hyena who grew up in a dump, I’m a second born prince who's never gonna be king,” He gestured towards Riddle and Lilia. “And their new golden children are just a bunch of rogue lab rats. And there is NO turning that around!”

Jack growled, while Deuce grimaced.

“That was a bit harsh..”

“I don’t see why he had to bring us into this…” Ace huffed, wings twitching irritably.

Ruggie stared at Leona in shock. He stepped closer to his housewarden, ears flattening.

“What is this?! You can’t just quit after we’ve come this far!”

The rest of the dorm quickly joined in with their own denial.

“You can’t do this to us, Boss!”

“You’re gonna play, even if we have to drag you out there kicking and screaming!”

Leona barred his teeth.

“I’m so sick of this nonsense. Shut UP, you nobodies!”

The air in the stadium began to dry, becoming rough in Jack’s lungs. Sand blew up from around Leona, coating clothes and stinging eyes. He forcefully grabbed Ruggie’s arm, holding the second year still.

Ruggie let out a hiss of pain.

“B-boss….It hurts!”

The skin on the hyena beastman’s arm was cracking.

Ace’s jaw dropped.

“Your spell can dry out whole human beings?!”

Riddle quickly rushed forward.

“Leona, I can not allow this to continue! Off With Your Head!”

Riddle’s collar bounced harmlessly off of the Savanclaw housewarden. Leona smirked.

“You might be some prodigy, but you’re still not smarter than your elders.”

Riddle ground his teeth, now without a plan.

Leona turned back to Ruggie, who had slowly kneeled over at this point.

“How do you like that, Ruggie? What, is your mouth too dry to keep licking my boots? Shame, that was one of your finest talents.”

Smack!

“Oof!

Leona toppled to the ground, the wind getting knocked out of him as something ran him over. He quickly raised his head–

And came face to face with a massive wolf-like creature. It stared down at him, its mouth splitting open down to its neck, revealing rows of large, jagged teeth

“What the–! Gah!”

A second force hit him, locking itself around his neck and stifling his magic.

Ruggie sucked in a breath, coughing roughly. He looked up at his savior, his eyes widening in terror.

“Nice tag–teaming, Houswarden!”

Deuce spoke up, a little too cheerfully. Riddle nodded absentmindedly, glancing up at the creature.

When Howl had leapt forward, he hadn’t been expecting the freshman to do…that. But it had provided him with an opportunity to collar Leona; for that, he was grateful.

Sebek and Silver had begun to drag the other members of Savanclaw away, ideally to receive medical attention.

Leona helplessly clawed at the collar, turning his fury onto the now transformed freshman.

“Ha! What’s that saying? Every dog had his day? Guess that applies to Tartarus mutts too!”

Jack’s ears twitched, but he made no method of reply.

Lilia sneered.

“Personally, I find that the collar suits you, far better than any crown could…”

Leona whipped his head towards the fae.

“..Huh?!”

“You may bemoan the fact that you’re not higher in line to the throne. But with that sensitive ego of yours? That so quickly directs all your petty anger towards your retainers, towards children….” Lilia’s eyes flickered to Sebek and then to Jack. “The idea of you ever contending with a real king like our Malleus…it's absolutely laughable. Even if you could defeat him, what would the point be if this is how you choose to conduct yourself?”

Leona’s hands twitched. A large, disturbing smile spread across his face.

“Hah…ha ha. Yeah, you’re probably right…no, you're exactly right…! I’ll never be king, no matter how hard I try!”

Black liquid began to ooze from Leona’s pen, a shadow wrapping around the collar around his neck–

“GET DOWN!”

Lilia yelped as he was shoved from behind. He blinked, sand swirling in his vision. The scenery had become much darker, a black shadow pouring across the stadium.

He glanced up. Ace had barreled into him, tackling him to the ground. Riddle appeared to be in a similar position, Deuce covering him a few feet away.

“...You boys have excellent reflexes.”

Ace glanced at him.

“Uh, thanks.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Ruggie stared in horror as Leona’s body morphed, blot and sand pouring out and swirling around him

The transformed housewarden lifted his head, spitting.

“I’ve been loathed since the day I was born! I’ve never had a place, never had a future! How could any of you idiots possibly understand–!?”

Crunch!

Jack leapt out of nowhere, his elongated jaws snapping around the giant shadow behind Leona.

“GRRRRAWWRRR!!!”

Leona screeched, aiming directly for the monstrous wolf. Jack paid him no mind, stubbornly biting harder.

Ruggie watched for a moment, then grit his teeth. He forced himself off the ground, clutching his pen.

“Ain’t no way I’m taking what you said lying down, pal!”

He threw himself into the frey, trying his best not to hit Jack with his attacks.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

From the moment I was born, there’s been a boulder on top me that’s too heavy to move…

Woah, not a even a moment to reorientate herself? Reality once again bent itself in front of Q’s eyes, shifting to far-away scenes of black and white.

Fine; might as well get on with it…

No matter what I do, I can never be the best…

I will never be king.

Why did I have to be born second?

Why will I never, ever get to be the best?

Why?

Why….

Life truly is unfair…

Q awoke frowning, the Leona’s bitterness still stinging in her chest. Grim looked down at her, concern written all over his feline face.

“Hench human? You back?”

Q smiled warily, spitting sand out of her mouth.

“Yeah, I’m good…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Leona slowly regained consciousness, awareness returning in the form of dull pain throughout his body.

He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to make his headache any worse. Voices rose up around him, disrupting his already distorted peace.

“-vanclaw will be disqualified from this year’s tournament. The rest of Kingscholar’s punishment will be decided after I discuss it with the victims.”

“Headmage, he was literally overblotted two minutes ago! Can we focus on getting him some medical attention before we start debating punishment methods?!”

Leona’s ear twitched. He overblotted? No way…

Someone started heaving him up from behind, picking him up from his shoulders. Leona half lifted his head, half prying his eyes open. He blinked some strange guck out of his eyes, feeling it leak down his cheeks.

“Hey, he’s awake!”

Grim popped into Leona’s warped field of vision, looking surprisingly happy to see him. The Headmage stood beside the direbeast, looking much less excited to see the beastman.

“Kingscholar, were you truly responsible for the injuries sustained by competing players?”

Riddle’s voice rose up from outside of Leona’s window of sight.

“Headmage, as Ace has already pointed out, discussion of punishment can wait until after Leona’s bill of health is cleared!”

Crowley frowned, but didn’t say anything else.

Leona tried to twist himself out of the grip that was holding him, with no success. Whoever was holding him grip tightened.

“Tryin’ to stand by yourself isn’t gonna play out the way you want…trust me…”

Leona blinked.

“...Jack…?”

The freshman’s voice sounded hoarse, like the words were painfully grating out from his throat.

“You should probably check yourself into the medical wing too, Jack…”

Oh, great. Ruggie was on his other side, helping to lift his tail outta the dirt.

He was never gonna hear the end of this…

Jack grumbled quietly

“‘M fine. Let’s just get him there.”

Ruggie huffed, but didn’t argue further.

They began to drag him forward, hiking him up to the medical wing.

Leona’s ears flattened.

He was getting marched around like a weak little brat…how humiliating.

He was dimly aware of getting plopped into a bed. Leona closed his eyes. Might as well catch some sleep while he had to be here…

His attempts were harshly interrupted by a hacking cough.

Leona’s eyes snapped back open. He grumpily rolled his head over, glaring over at the lower classmen.

Ruggie half pushed Jack, attempting to make the freshman sit down on the bed next to Leona.

“Dude, sit down.”

Jack waved the second year off, choking on a lung while he did so.

Leona scowled.

“Sit down and be quiet. You’re given’ me a headache.”

To Leona’s surprise, Ruggie turned to scowl at him.

“Quit snappin’ at him! He’s coughin’ up all of your blot!”

Leona’s face scrunched.

“How is it my fault that he decided to attack me? Why was he eatin’ my blot anyway?!”

Jack squeezed his eyes shut, stifling another cough with his hand.

“I didn’t eat–hurk!”

The freshman suddenly heaved, making a choking sound.

Ruggie and Leona both froze, argument temporarily forgotten. Ruggie immediately darted towards the door.

Leona slowly raised himself up.

“...Are you gonna hurl?”

Jack pushed his hand tight against his mouth, his ears trembling ever so slightly.

“.....no….”

The freshman’s body betrayed him, his body convulsing as he heaved again.

Leona scowled.

“Sit down.”

Jack slowly shook his head, shutting his eyes again.

“I–gerk!”

Leona scrunched his nose.

“I wasn’t askin’. Sit down!”

Thankfully, Jack followed his order. He sat down on the closest bed, half hunching over, forcing back his nausea.

Leona leaned back on his pillow, watching the freshman struggle.

What was this kid’s deal?

If taking down overblots gave Jack these kinds of side effects, why fight him? He hadn’t exactly given the freshman a reason to want to help him. Maybe it was a weird way to get back at him?

Though, watching Jack choke back his puke made it kinda hard to consider this as any form of vengeance….

Ruggie dashed back, pushing a trashcan towards the freshman.

“Here, tak–”

The second year didn’t get a chance to finish, as Jack keeled over, expelling the contents of his stomach into the bin while Ruggie was still holding it.

Ruggie twisted his head away, making a face. Leona scrunched his nose in disgust.

Jack gagged, lifting his head slightly. Ruggie gingerly shoved the trashcan into his lap.

“Maybe just…hold that for a little bit.”

Jack warily grabbed the bin, giving a small nod of thanks before continuing to cough up into the bin.

Ruggie glared over at Leona.

“Oh, but you just get off scott free, huh? How’s that fair?!”

Leona rolled his eyes.

“It’s not like I caused this on purpose…”

Ruggie huffed.

“You’ve got gunk all over your face.”

Leona frowned, brushing his thumb over his cheek. His hand came away covered in black liquid. He scowled.

Great, he was crying blot. How fun.

Jack’s ears twitched. He slowly raised his head.

Leona brushed his hand off on his pants.

“You good now?”

Jack’s face scrunched in disgust.

“I’ll live…” He coughed again. “Sorry…..”

Leona scrunched his nose.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Yeah,” Ruggie cut in. “You saved our tails out there. Especially his.”

He jerked his thumb towards Leona.

Leona scowled.

“Point is, puke if you need. Just not on me.”

Jack glanced at him oddly. He looked…disbelieving.

A scuffle at the door captured all of their attention. Deuce looked over at the trio from the door.

“Sooo….is anyone too hurt to play Spell Drive?”

Chapter Text

All things considered, things probably could have played out worse.

Considering that Leona had just overblotted, most of the dorm was injured, and half of the other teams were only focusing on hitting them rather than getting the disk, the tournament had gone shockingly well. Jack was just glad that they had been allowed to play at all. Even though he had felt nauseous the entire time, in the moment, being on the field had felt incredible.

Not so much the next morning.

He awoke to a dull throbbing in his leg. Which wasn’t entirely out of the ordinary, but still annoying.

Jack huffed, sitting up, swinging his legs over the side of his bed, ignoring how his muscles complained at the movement. He sat for a moment, his stomach already rolling at the light motion. Yeah, class was gonna be fun today…

He slowly reached over, grabbing his brace from where it was leaning against his bed post. He snapped it onto his leg, ignoring how his leg stung as he did so.

Trying not to limp too much, he wobbly made his way downstairs. He could hear some noise behind the other doors, but it all sounded like shuffling and snoring. Everybody else was sleepin’ in today.

Hopefully they’d still remember to show up to class on time…

He half dragged himself out the door, slowly making his way towards the main building. Since his stomach was already spinning, Jack decided against breakfast today. Might as well get ahead on studying.

Besides, the library had chairs…

Jack forced himself not to limp down the halls, ignoring the sharp pains that were starting to creep up over his knee.

“Hey Jack!”

Jack’s ears perked. He turned towards the call. Ruggie trotted up to him, panting.

“Nice! You're already up; saves me the trip down to Ramshackle.”

Jack blinked. Why would Ruggie be looking for him?

“You need me for something?”

Ruggie shrugged.

“Leona wants to talk to you. Don't know why he had to pick today to decide to start being productive at the crack of dawn though…”

Jack’s ear twitched.

He doubted Leona just wanted to chat for the fun of it. The Housewarden wasn’t still upset about the ruse from yesterday, was he? Jack had kinda been hoping Leona would let that go after…everything else that happened yesterday.

“What for?”

Ruggie rolled his eyes, turning to walk back to Savanaclaw, clearly assuming that the freshman was going to follow him.

“No clue. Least he’s back to his old self though. Up and barkin’ orders like normal.” The hyena snickered. “Princes’ run on different stuff, I swear!”

“Huh…”

Jack attempted to fall into step with the second year. His leg shook as he tried to speed up, pain freezing his muscles. He clenched his jaw as he felt himself falter, his steps landing unevenly.

Ruggie glanced over at him, brow furrowed.

“Uh, you good? You’re, uh, hobblin’ a bit…”

Jack scowled.

“I’m fine.”

Ruggie frowned slightly, but seemed to accept the answer.

“If you say so…”

It could be too much farther…could it?

He’d kinda lost sense of his surroundings, pain biting into his leg, digging deeper and deeper with each step.

Jack grit his teeth, forcing himself to continue after Ruggie.

Just focus on the next step. Next step. Next step. Next-

His leg buckled beneath him, pain shooting up his side as he plunged towards the ground.

Crash!

Jack gasped as he hit the ground, the air being forced from his lungs on impact. Black spots danced in front of his eyes, his stomach twisting as a wave of agony hit him.

Every muscle, tendon, nerve in his leg was screaming.

It hurt. It hurt so, so bad.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain, to fight it, to do anything, just please, make it stop–!

Someone grabbed his shoulder. His skin prickled at the touch, shoulder burning at the contact. Jack recoiled, jaws snapping at the foe.

He rolled back onto his feet, pain swelling, but he stumbled back on his good leg.

Go away! Go away!

He dragged himself backwards, scrambling, trying to escape, before he was caught, before they put him back in the cage, before–!

“Laugh With Me!”

Jack felt his body freeze.

He couldn’t….move. His body moved on its own, sitting back down on the ground.

Panic fully blossomed in his chest, numbing his pain.

No no no no no!

He needed to run. He needed to get away. He needed himself to move!

If he didn’t–he couldn’t–not again–!

Voices soared up around him, puncturing his skull.

It was too loud–he couldn’t move–leg hurt–Quiet!--Leave–Stop it!--

MAKE IT STOP!

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to curl up, skin prickling in anticipation of being broken by brutal teeth or sharp needles, whichever got to him first this time. He braced for the impact of something dangerous, something cruel. But–

Nothing happened. Nothing attacked.

It was just…still.

A voice rose up again, but it didn't deafen now.

“Hey, it’s okay…I’m not–I won’t grab you again, I promise!”

Jack’s ears perked slightly. That voice was…familiar..

Ruggie…?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ruggie could’ve collapsed from relief when Jack cracked open his eyes.

Using his signature spell on the already panicking freshman…not his best idea. He’d just reacted before Jack could try and bolt. He hadn’t considered how controlling an already freaking out ex-Tartarus inhabitant would make the freshman’s panic attack worse.

Ruggie smiled shakily at Jack.

“Hey buddy! It’s okay! Your–your leg looks kinda beat up, so just…try and take it easy…”

Jack blinked, staring back at him blankly. He still didn’t look…all there. Not that Ruggie could blame him for that.

From what he could see of Jack’s leg, it looked bad. Blood was slowly oozing out from the freshman’s pant leg, sluggishly dripping onto the floor.

Ruggie’s knowledge on cybernetic limbs was slim, but even he could guess that it wasn’t supposed to do that.

But he highly doubted that he’d be able to get the freshman up to the medical wing by himself. Even if he could figure out a way to get Jack responsive and off the floor, the freshman probably couldn’t walk that far.

Ruggie frowned, thinking.

He just needed somewhere close by, out of foot traffic, and preferably with help…

An idea clicked in his brain.

Ruggie slowly leaned closer to Jack, trying not to startle him.

“Hey Jack, do you think you could make it to Leona’s room?”

The freshman just continued to stare at him, wide–eyed. Ruggie grimaced slightly, but pressed on anyway.

“It’s just a few steps away and I’ll–I’ll help you, if you want–” He added quickly, remembering how Jack had tried to bite him the last time he’d grabbed him without warning. “Let’s just–try and get you off the floor, okay?”

Jack’s ears twitched slightly. At a snail pace, Ruggie reached his hand out to the freshman, palm up.

“C’mon; we can go nice and slow. It’s super close, I swear.”

Jack blinked, some awareness flickering in his eyes.

Hesitantly, cautiously, Jack took his hand. With excessive control, half to avoid spooking Jack, half to avoid losing his own footing, Ruggie pulled the freshman to his feet, quickly moving to Jack’s injured side.

Jack flinched away from the support, ears somehow flattening farther.

Ruggie froze, but didn’t step back. He was afraid that if he did, the freshman would topple over. And then they’d be back at square one…

“Still just me bud; you need to try and not walk on your leg. I’m just tryin’ to help.”

Jack stared at him, but didn’t pull away again. Ruggie slowly inched closer.

This was gonna take a while…

Chapter Text

So many dots danced in front of Jack’s eyes that he could barely see. His leg screamed in agony as he dragged it forward. He unconsciously leaned more of his weight over onto Ruggie.

The hyena’s voice was no longer deafening, but it had become a constant droning, a buzzing alongside the throb in his head.

Run…run…

He could feel his thoughts turning over in his head.

He was fine, Ruggie was helping him…

Don’t run, it’s fine….

A new voice entered, burning into his skull. Jack forced his eyes shut again, trying to not panic, to not run, to just stay himself–

Do not trust. He lied to you before, he’d do it again. You should know what they do to dogs that bite…

Jack now tried to pry and keep his eyes open, unconsciousness threatening to overtake him.

He was so tired…but he wouldn't give in…

It was fine, he was fine…

Do you want to go back in the cage?

He felt his jaw clench.

No one here would do that! Ruggie was helping him, and had helped him yesterday! Idia had promised that school wasn’t like Tartarus…

And you trusted him? The only thing different here is that you’ve given up…

Shut up…

Jack’s eyes slipped closed again, this time against his will.

Exhaustion sunk into his bones, his leg throbbing as he was pulled forward. But he couldn’t sleep yet. Not while the Beast was still howling in his ear.
If he did...he’d have a much bigger problem than a busted leg…

But you would be safe! Just let me out!

He was safe now! Why was he still arguing with it anyway…the Beast didn’t have a track record of listening to reason…

Well, technically he didn’t have a track record of listening to his own reasoning, cause it was him…or part of him…

He really needed to stop having these psychoanalyzing thoughts when he was on the verge of passing out…

LET ME OUT!

Shut. Up.

Jack tried to focus on moving forward. Instead, his other leg began to shake beneath him.

Oh no…

He fully collapsed over, unconsciousness nearly engulfing him.

All outside sound became static noise behind the Beast’s loud yowls. Jack sank beneath the uproar, becoming lost in a spiral of pain and clamoring howls.

He was distantly aware of movement….was he falling?

No, he was being dragged forward…somehow that felt worse…

Hands were grabbing him, moving him. Jack’ skin crawled at the touch, but he didn’t have the energy to recoil this time. He went limp in the grasp, simply trying to keep a hold on the tiny bit of awareness that he had left.

His leg burned as it was shifted.

Only the beginning of what’s to come…

Please. Shut up…

Voices outside of his head began to gain more volume. His ears pricked as he began to make out words.

“--at we do!?”

“Quit panicking! That ain’t gonna help!”

“Easily for you to say, you didn’t watch him topple over twice!”

Ruggie was still here…and that was…

Miraculously, he was able to just barely crack open his eyes.

He was propped up against something, Leona kneeling next to him, half supporting him in a sitting position. Ruggie was standing next to him, yelling down at the housewarden.

“He is bleedin’ all over the–! Oh, hi Jack…”

The change in Ruggie’s volume and tone could’ve given someone whiplash. Leona blinked, turning to stare at Jack.

“...Well, hi. Welcome back to the world of the living.”

Jack’s eyes moved past the upperclassmen, taking in his surroundings. He was….in Leona’s room…Ruggie had said they were going there, hadn’t he…

The second year crouched closer to him.

“Uh…you back with us?”

Jack looked dismally back at Ruggie.

Not in any way that he could communicate…

He didn’t know whether it was his signature spell or the blot’s fault, but during situations like this, his mouth lost all capability for human speech. He wasn’t entirely mute, but barking at his upperclassmen would probably just cause more confusion…It was a miracle that his friends were able to understand him in this state, and even they were wrong half the time…

“No…? Okay, that’s fine…”

Leona grunted.

“Doesn’t matter if he can talk or not. That’s not gonna stop his leg from bleedin’.”

Ruggie frowned.

“Aren’t you supposed to put pressure on bleedin’ injuries?”

“Not on ones like that! You wanna drive those wires through the other side of his leg?”

Jack’s horror at that image must’ve shown through his face, because something flickered in Leona’s eyes when he glanced back at him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“What we need to do is get Shroud down here…”

Ruggie blinked, glancing at Leona, confused.

“Wh–why?”

Leona huffed.

“He’s the one who made this contraption in the first place; he better know how to fix it.”

Jack’s ear twitched slightly. Leona was gonna assume that meant he was on the right track. He looked meaningfully at the freshman.

“You don’t have a phone, do you?”

Jack stared blankly back at him, head half lolled over on his own shoulder. Yeah, Leona hadn’t expected a different answer. But it’d been worth a shot.

He looked back at Ruggie.

“Well, go and find him.”

“Wha–”

“Shroud; or one of Jack’s little friends. Depends which one you can find first.”

Ruggie frowned. He shot Jack one last glance, then darted for the door.

“Fine! Just–watch ‘im!”

Leona rolled his eyes as Ruggie scolded him while backtracking out the door.

“It’s not like he’s goin’ anywhere…” He muttered.

It was good that Leona wasn’t big on conversation. Cause Jack was given him nothing to work with. He would’ve preferred to not be sitting on the floor, but if he moved, Jack would probably topple all the way over. Twice was enough falling over for one day…

Jack’s eyes had half slid closed, the small sliver that was still visible looking cloudy and unfocused.

This kid couldn’t catch a break, could he? Pukin’ up his guts yesterday, and his leg given’ out the next…

Not to mention all of the overhaul of his plan that the freshman had dealt with…Jack was havin’ a fun week, wasn’t he?

Jack’s ears perked slightly. Almost on cue, the door slammed open behind them.

“Wh–what…happened?!”

Huh…that was honestly a faster entrance than he had expected from Idia.

Some awareness flickered back into Jack’s eyes.

Idia stumbled into the room, a large duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Ortho was hot on his brother’s heels, carrying what looked like half a hospital’s supply closet.

Idia dumped his load by Jack’s injured leg, dropping himself to his knees.

“Hey bud…what’d you get yourself into this time?”

The amount of relief that showed through Jack’s face was almost sickening.

Leona craned his neck to watch as Idia rolled up Jack’s blood-stained pant leg.

It was…somehow worse than he had expected.

Blood spurted from around the wires, leaking through cracks in the plastic covering. The skin around the brace was scrapped raw, visibly red.

Idia winced.

“Oh…yeah, we’re definitely starting with the painkillers…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
In all honesty, finding out that Idia could start an IV was not on Ruggie’s bingo card for this year…part of him wondered if that skill was picked up because of the group’s discovery, or was just something that Idia had decided to learn in his down time.

But, the Ignihyde housewarden had been able to fix Jack up, so who was he to complain about Idia’s weird skill set?

Now they just had to figure out a way to get Jack off the floor and back to his room over in Ramshackle.

Which was easier said than done, because the freshman was completely knocked out. Probably for the best, seeing how much Idia had to hack into his leg…or so Ruggie assumed. He’d had to..look away a bit.

The hyena had never considered himself particularly squeamish, but metal contraptions hooked up to limbs was apparently where his stomach drew the line.

He glanced at Leona.

“So…now whatta we do?”

Leona shrugged.

“I guess we haul him over there…”

Ruggie’s ears twitched. No wonder Idia had ran off so fast…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Admittedly, this was a bad idea. Yesterday hadn’t exactly been easy physically. But Leona’s pride definitely wouldn’t let him give up now. But Jack was not light.

At least everyone was in class now, so there wouldn’t be a crowd of gawking herbivores watchin’ him piggie back Jack all the way over to Ramshackle…

Jack’s head lolled across Leona’s shoulder. If the wolf had been 75% less muscle mass, Leona could have mistaken him for Cheka. It was like touting a sleeping toddler around…If said toddler was as tall as him and rag doll limp.

Ruggie glanced back at him, mouth quirking. Leona glowered at the second year.

“Not. One. Word.”

A smile slowly spread across Ruggie’s face.

“Oh no. This is definitely stayin' between us.”

Leona’s scowl deepened. Now, why did that sound more like a threat than a promise?

Chapter Text

Jack awoke disoriented.

He blinked his eyes open, trying to focus on his surroundings.

He was….on the couch. In Ramshackle….how had he gotten back here…?

His leg felt stiff, but not painful anymore, which was nice.

His head kinda hurt though, which was less nice...

The upside to drug induced sleep was the uninterrupted, silent, blank hour it gave him to not listen to his brain. The downside was how foggy his mind felt afterwards.

And waking up somewhere with no clue of how he got there…that wasn’t super fun either.

Jack pushed himself up into a sitting position, trying to clear his head. It had the opposite effect, his head pounding at the motion.

“We’re j–gah!”

Jack nearly leapt off the couch, Leona half backing into the far wall as he jumped back.

Leona hissed, glaring over at him.

“Yeesh…are you capable of sleeping like a normal person!? Like at all!?”

Jack stared at the housewarden.

Why was Leona here?! Wait…hadn’t he been in the housewarden’s room…

Leona looked at him warily.

“We still doin’ the not talking thing?”

Jack glanced away, ears flattening slightly.

“...no…”

He regretted speaking the moment his voice croaked out. It sounded like it was grating out of his throat, still more wolf than man.

Leona blinked.

“Do you need too…?”

Jack huffed.

“Probably…”

“Tck.”

Leona strode over to the armchair, taking an uninvited seat.

“Whatever. Do what ya want.”

Jack stared blankly at the housewarden. He was gonna…stay in here? Why…?

A thunk at the door made him jump again.

Leona glanced over.

“Relax. It’s just Ruggie.”

“....oh…”

Ruggie had dragged him to Leona’s room…was that how they’d gotten him over here…?

The second year stepped into the room, carrying a bag full of…something. Jack didn’t particularly feel like trying to distinguish details at the moment…

Ruggie half jumped when he saw Jack.

“Oh, you’re up again!”

Jack’s ear twitched slightly.

“...yeah…”

Ruggie grimaced a little at his voice.

“You sound like you’ve been gurgling rocks.”

Jack blinked. Leona snorted.

“How do you know what that sounds like?”

Ruggie scowled.

“It’s a saying!”

“Since when?”

The hyena huffed in reply, stepping over to the couch, rummaging through his mystery bag. He pulled out a juice pouch of all things, stabbing it through with a straw.

Jack jerked back as Ruggie attempted to push the end of the straw into his mouth.

“Say ah.”

Jack did the opposite, shrinking backwards into the cushion. He clamped his mouth shut instinctively.

Past experience had taught him that nothing good came from someone shoving something in your face…

Unfortunately, Ruggie completely ignored his retreat, pushing the drink into his mouth.

Ruggie rolled his eyes

“It's juice dude. Chill. You need some hydration.”

Jack relaxed slightly, accepting the odd gift.

He hadn’t drunk anything today, had he? Whoops…that probably partially explained his headache…

Wait…that wasn’t all he had forgotten, was it…

As if reading his mind, Ruggie plopped a wrapped sandwich into his lap.

“You don’t have to eat that if you don’t want. Unless my hunch was right, and I didn’t catch you on the way outta breakfast.”

Jack’s ear flicked. He guiltily started unwrapping the sandwich.

He heard a snort from behind.

“The fact that Shroud thought he could leave you guys to your devices is absurd.”

Jack growled at Leona’s taunting remark, but didn’t rebuttal. He didn’t exactly have a strong defense.

And unfortunately, unbeknownst to him, one of his friends was actively proving Leona’s point…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel actually really liked PE.

Just not when he was spiraling to the ground from several feet in the air.

This was his first time falling from a broom…and honestly, he was more annoyed than anything.

The quickest thing Epel had learned at NRC was that being placed in a dorm full of beauty oppressed rich folks when you looked like a bug didn’t go over too well.

Which was probably why someone had chucked a spell at him when he was midair. And though he was pretty good at balancing on a broom, he didn’t quite know how to dodge fire while flying.

So he just ducked to the side. Off of the broom. Towards the ground.

He had just enough time to realize that this was a bad idea before he hit the ground.

Whomp!

Epel whacked the ground so hard he bounced, half rolling himself over onto his back.

Ow.

He hissed as fire erupted across his shoulders, his back erupting at the impact.

“Epel!”

“Felmier!”

Coach Vargas appeared above him, half holding Deuce back. The teacher looked uncharacteristically concerned.

“You okay kid?!”

Epel bit his tongue, stopping himself from letting out a string of words that would’ve probably led to his death at Vil’s hands if he spoke them allowed.

He swallowed, managing to rasp out a reply.

“I’m good…just wasn’t expecting that…”

Vargas released Deuce, evidently satisfied enough with Epel’s answer to let his friend help him up.

Deuce gently pulled on one of his arms, tugging him upwards. Epel ignored the spitting feeling that carved its way across his back, scrambling to his feet.

“You really good?”

Deuce asked in a hushed tone.

Epel nodded, eyes darting to the rest of the class.

That may have been a lie, but the last thing he needed right now was to look weak in front of any of his peers, seeing as part of his dorm had apparently made it their mission to murder him.

Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration.

They didn’t want to murder him; they just wanted to constantly remind him that his existence personally offended him.

Luckily, Vargas seemed more preoccupied with catching the culprit than with checking him over. The coach started yelling before he even got back to the rest of the class.

Deuce glanced away from the ticked off teacher, shooting Epel a look. He didn’t look like he believed Epel’s answer.

Epel glanced away, stepping to gather his broom.

Or well, he tried to.

He grimaced as he almost got stuck bending down, his back already growing stiff from pain.

Deuce snatched it up before he could reach it.

“I got it.”

Epel huffed, but glanced gratefully at his friend.

“Thanks…I guess PE’s over…”

Evidently, Vargas had found the spell caster. Unsurprisingly, it was another Pomefiore freshman, who was shriving under Vargas angry shouts.

Every other member of class was slowly backing away, taking the moment as a sign of dismissal.

Epel began to drag himself towards the locker room, Deuce falling into step with him.

“I guess we can hang out back at Ramshackle for a bit.”

Deuce said brightly, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Epel groaned.

“You can. I just get a little more time to get ready for more of Vil’s stupid, personal pampered lessons…”

Deuce glanced sideways at him.

“I mean…he might understand if you skip this time…”

Epel scowled.

“I didn’t hit the ground that hard…stop lookin’ at me like I’m lyin’!”

Deuce blinked, quickly glancing away.

“I’m not!”

Epel rolled his eyes.

“It just seems…like not the best idea…to walk into–your dorm when you don’t feel 100%.” Deuce said hesitantly.

Epel ground his teeth.

“Ain’t no one’s gonna try anything while I’m actually in the dorm; they only do stuff when they think they won’t get caught.”

Which was pretty much impossible when Rook was the vice houswarden.

Deuce snorted.

“Uh, that dude definitely just got caught!”

The corner of Epel’s mouth twitched

“Ah didn’t say they were always good at it…and trust me, Vil’s a lot scarier than Coach Vargas.”

Deuce glanced at him again.

“If you say so…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The first indication that something was wrong was that Epel was on time(for the first time) for his etiquette lesson.

Vil looked curiously over at the freshman.

Epel’s uniform was unkempt, even for him. His vest was unbuttoned, and his jacket was on loose, half falling off his shoulders. His tie wasn’t even knotted at all, simply strung around his neck like a spare ribbon.

More concerning, however, was the freshman’s face. It was several shades paler than normal, practically the same shade as his shirt. All four of his eyes had a glazed expression, staring blankly ahead of him.

“Hey Vil…I’m gonna fall over now…”

Vil blinked.

“Pard–”

Epel pitched forward.

Vil barely managed to stop him from smashing his face on the floor. Epel landed heavily in his arms, a limp dead weight.

“Thank you….”

Though sounding dismal, Epel sounded shockingly normal for someone who just peeled over.

Vil stared down at the freshman in bewilderment.

“Are you unwell?!”

“Chronically…”

Vil blinked, stupified, while Epel huffed with something that was either amused or irritated.

“You - you said that with no hesitation.”

“Mhm…um, could you–could you put me down?””

Vil blinked again, more confused.

“What?”

“Just like….on the ground, on my stomach…” The freshman hesitated a beat. “....please?”

It was an odd request, but Vil didn’t exactly have another course of action planned…

He gingerly lowered Epel to the ground. The freshman turned his head, his cheek pressing into the ground as he looked up at the housewarden.

“Thank you…again.”

Vil frowned down at Epel, kneeling beside the freshman.

“You’re welcome, I suppose. May I ask why you wanted to lay on the floor?”

Epel hummed.

“It helps re–straighten my back, which um, helps bring feeling back into my legs…”

Vil blinked.

“I’m assuming that’s why you fell over?”

Epel sighed.

“Yep.”

Vil’s brow furrowed.

That was…troubling. There had been no mention of any side effects like this in the file…but it wasn’t hard to imagine how splitting someone’s spine could lead to some unfortunate incidents with one’s nervous system.

“Are you in pain?”

“...no…”

Vil repressed a long–suffering sigh.

“Epel. If you are going to lie, at least try to make it believable.”

Epel glanced away, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s just…not my most pressing problem at the moment.”

“The fact that your face is now the same tone as your shirt says otherwise.”

Epel huffed, but made no retort. Evidently, he didn’t have one.

Vil looked at the freshman sternly.

“Is this something that happens often, or did something cause this?”

“Umm…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Are you certain you feel well to walk? I can carry you, if needed.”

Epel half–stepped away from Rook, putting some distance between himself and the vice housewarden.

“I’m fine, you definitely don’t have to do that…”

Rook hummed, watching the freshman. Vil had said he’d recovered shockingly fast from his little spell of swooning, but Rook had his doubts about Epel’s speedy recovery.

Afterall, animals in the state of survival would push through pain, acting as if everything was fine to ward off predators.

Seeing how shaky Epel’s steps were, Rook guessed the freshman was following a similar strategy.

He wouldn’t press for details or deceit yet. But he would watch, ready to help if needed.

Rook paused as he opened Ramshackle’s door, hearing scuffled steps in the house. Epel gingerly slid past him, walking into the other room.

“What the heck happened to you?”

Rook looked around the corner, surprised to see Jack Howl laid out on a couch. The other freshman glared over at Epel, who was looking down at his friend with similar surprise.

“Sand, apparently…” Jack grumbled. “Why are you back so early?”

“I fell off my broom.” Epel answered dryly. “Was someone else here? I thought I heard someone run out the back…”

Jack shrugged.

“Leona and Ruggie were; they ran off a minute ago.”

Ah, Roi des Lions and Monsieur Dandelion had been the source of the sound. Rook supposed they had seen from out the window…what a shame.

He would have loved to see how they interacted with their freshman. It would’ve provided a whole new perspective into both Savanaclaw members' personalities…

“I suppose I shall take my leave then; Epel, please take care.”

Epel glanced back at him.

“Yes sir…”

Rook quickly flitted out of the decrepit dorm.

It may still be possible to catch one of the beastmen, afterall…

Chapter Text

Jade browsed lazily through the library, no true goal in mind. Truefully, he was just in here to kill time before he had to start his next shift at the Lounge.

“I heard Vargas caught you yesterday…did Housewarden Vil find out?”

A conversation from the other side of the shelf caught his attention. He discreetly moved around to that side.

A group of Pomefiore students were huddled around a table, whispering among themselves.

Well, whispering was a generous term.

“Not yet…do you think he’s going too?!”

The student’s voice pitched at the end, his panic bleeding through.

“Don’t worry. As long as that…that spider–thing keeps his mouth shut, you’ll be fine.”

Jade’s hand paused on the shelf.

Now, that was a bit interesting…he hadn’t expected the Pomefiore dorm to have such an…open reaction to the Tartarus freshman placed there…

Another regurgitated conversation of distaste for the attributes of the group…a little boring, really.

“If you ask me, we need to take a bigger approach.” A second year from the group spoke up. “I mean, did you hear what that one in Savanaclaw did at the tournament?”

“I heard he can become an even bigger monster!” Another freshman’s voice quavered. “An–and that he used to eat people before he came here!”

“Exactly!” The second year hissed. “Do you really want to spend the rest of your school years with that walking the halls?!? That’s why we need to carry on with the plan!”

Jade blinked.

Well, this conversation was taking a different turn…

“I already figured out which one was his PE locker,” The second year continued boastfully. “Afterall, it shouldn’t take much to push him over the edge!”

“Those two–things in Heartslaybul are in my Alchemy class.” Another freshman put in enthusiastically. “I’m going to slip this in their cauldron today!”

Jade pulled a book from the shelf, pointedly flipping through it, observing the vial the Pomefiore student produced from his pocket.

How…bold.

The first second year scoffed.

“Now we just need a way to rid Night Raven of that reptilian monstrosity in Diosomnia.”

Jade froze for a moment, then slowly slid the book back on the shelf. He slithered to the side, moving to go back.

They were entering some very dangerous territory. It was foolish, and a little rude, to express distaste for the rest Tartarus group, but not out of the ordinary. It was down right stupid to openly say something that insulting about someone close to Malleus.

“Honsetly, I’m surprised that Malleus keeps him so close. I wouldn’t want something that could bite off my head following me around.”

The first freshman tittered.

“Well, lizards’ brains aren’t all that big; maybe he’s like a pet!”

The group erupted into a fit of sniggers.

Jade stepped back behind the book shelf, peeking out over the tops of the books as something crackled in the air.

“You think so, do you?”

The group’s laughter almost instantly died, choked out by the students’ yelps.

Malleus Draconia had appeared behind the group.

“And on what authority do the likes of you have to think about such things?”

The fae’s voice quavered with rage, electricity crackling around him.

One of the second year’s gulped.

“We–we didn’t mean–”

Malleus’s eyes flashed.

One of the freshmen fell out of his seat, scrambling to his feet in terror.

“We’re sorry! We won’t speak like that again!”

“I’m sure you won’t.” Malleus stared down at the group, looking downright murderous. “It is only out of respect for Schoenheit that I will give him the opportunity to deal with you before I do. Give me your names. Now!”

Jade quietly listened to the tearful list of names, tucking them in the back of his mind. He slipped out of the library, leaving the Pomefiore students to their fate.

He doubted that Malleus had heard the entirety of the students’ conversation. Which meant that he now had some information that was likely to be very helpful…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
After all of the hassle of the week, Leona had been hoping for one undisturbed nap.

“Why, fancy seeing you here!”

Apparently, the universe couldn’t grant him that…

Leona lazily cracked an eye open.

“Whatta ya want, cephla–punk?”

Azul grinned slyly down at him.

“Oh, I just thought you might have some interest in something Jade overheard today.”

Leona snorted, closing his eye.

“Do I look like I wanna gossip right now? Beat it.”

“Oh, do pardon my intrusion. I simply assumed you’d want to know that a group of miscreants is preparing to torment your new freshman out of school. My mistake…”

Leona sat up.

“What.”

Azul smirked.

“So you are intrigued after all.”

Leona stood, taking a step closer to the other housewarden.

“Ya got specifics?”

Azul smiled broadly.

“Even better, I have names!”

Leona scowled.

“‘Kay, whatta ya want for ‘em?”

Azul blinked, putting a hand to his chest.

“You think I would ask for payment for something like this? This is for the betterment of new students.”

Leona narrowed his eyes.

“And I’m sure your generosity has nothing to do with their little blot talents, does it?”

“Now, how could you accuse me of such a thing? Good business practice doesn’t make me heartless.”

Leona rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. Spit out ‘em out.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Goldfishie!”

Riddle scowled as Floyd darted in front of him, preventing him from having an escape route.

“What do you want, Floyd?! You’re going to make me late!”

He tried to move around the taller second year. The Octavinelle side–stepped with him, continuing to block his path.

“Someone’s trying to get your new freshies kicked out!”

Riddle froze, escape attempts temporarily forgotten.

“What.”

Floyd tilted his head.

“Yep. Jade overheard a buncha bottom-feeders chattin’ about ploppin’ something in their cauldron. But I got some names~”

Riddle could feel his face slowly turn a light shade of red. His voice quivered with rage.

“Do tell.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Hello Vil; might I have a moment of your time?”

Vil glanced up from his book, mildly surprised to see Jade smiling down at him.

“I suppose, since you’ve already interrupted me.”

Jade hummed.

“Are you aware of how much hostility most of your dorm bears towards your new freshman?”

Vil blinked.

“Parden?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Monsieur Cherry Apple, Vil would like to see you!”

“Gah!”

Epel jumped as Rook somehow snuck up on him again.

Man, he’d just walked in, how was he already in trouble?! His tie wasn’t crooked again, was it….?

“Oh…okay.”

Rook smiled, but gave him a gentle shove towards Vil’s office.

Oh, he was in trouble–trouble…what the heck had he done!?

Epel tentatively walked through the door, bracing himself for instantaneous rage.

But Vil…didn’t look mad. The housewarden looked across his desk at the freshman, looking the calmest Epel had ever seen him.

“Please take a seat.”

Okay, the blank, calm voice was actually way worse than the housewarden’s normal condescending tone. Epel cautiously took the seat, watching Vil warily.

The chances of Vil murdering him were low…but not zero…

“Y–you needed to see me?”

Vil stared at him for a moment, before leaning forward, resting his chin on his hands.

“Epel, why do you think you were placed in this dorm?”

Epel blinked.

“Huh!?”

Vil looked at him intently.

“Why, in your own words, do you believe that you were placed in Pomefiore?”

Epel hesitated. Was–was this a weird…manners test or something? Was he supposed to know the answer, or was this a “I’m going to tell you after you guess” scenario?

“Uh…because the Dark Mirror put me here…?”

It was like Vil was staring into his soul…

“Indeed it did. It measured the nature of your soul, and saw that you fit best here. Now, do you disagree with this decision?”

“Uhh, well….” Epel glanced around the room, avoiding Vil’s gaze.

“I believe you mean to say no, don’t you?”

Vil’s question sounded much more like a command. Epel resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but nodded hesitantly.

“Sure…”

Vil sighed.

“Let’s try a different question: based on your time here so far, do you think that I take my responsibilities as Pomefiore’s housewarden lightly?”

Epel blinked. That was kind of a jump, but he definitely knew the answer to that one.

“No; you take them all…very seriously..”

“So do you think that I would tolerate poor character in my dorm?”

Once again, an easy one to answer.

“No sir.”

Seriously, what had he done!? What was this conversation even about…? Epel was genuinely starting to wonder if he needed to call for backup…

Vil’s voice seemed to drop several degrees colder.

“Then would you care to tell me why you found it unimportant to mention that the reason for your fall the other day was because someone threw a spell at you.”

Epel’s eyes widened.

“Uh–”

“Perhaps I should reiterate. Behavior such as this will not be tolerated at Night Raven Collage, much less in Pomefiore. So, why did you not decide to come to me about this?”

Epel swallowed.

“It…didn’t seem like that big of a deal.”

Apparently, that was the wrong answer.

Vil’s eyes flashed.

“Oh? It didn’t?”

Epel glanced away.

“Y–yes..?”

Vil stared at him for a moment. The housewarden sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I assumed you’d have a better sense of self preservation…I suppose that’s my own fault.”

Epel blinked, frowning.

“Hey–I’m mindin’ my own manners; no one’s died yet, so I’d say–”

“That’s hardly something to brag about!” Some of Vil’s regular scorn returned to his tone, as he effortlessly interrupted Epel. “Only a spudling would have so much ineffective pride.”

Epel’s jaw unconsciously clacked, his temper spiking at the words.

“I’m not a baby! I’m not gonna go around cryin’ everytime something’s bothering me!”

Vil blinked, looking surprised at his response.

“I’m not asking you to come to me with your petty complaints. I am asking you to tell me when someone is tormenting you regularly. There is a definite difference between the two.”

Epel blinked, anger (half) forgotten.

“H–how’d you know it happened more than once?”

Vil rubbed his eyes.

“I’m not an imbecile; even among spudlings, conflict builds up to stupid actions. I’d be more surprised if someone was bold enough to start that big.”

Vil looked back up, staring piercingly at him.

“So, do you have any other incidents to report?”

Epel clacked his jaw shut.

Did Vil really think he was gonna get a list of everyone who had slighted him since school started? His housewarden was crazier than he’d thought…

Vil narrowed his eyes.

“I suggest you answer more promptly. Rearranging my schedule is a rather grueling task. I doubt you want to be responsible for causing me that inconvenience.”

Epel leaned back in his chair, staring back at his housewarden defiantly.

Wanna bet?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
It took. Two hours. Of complete silence. Before Epel finally began talking.

Vil was ninety percent sure that the freshman had only broken because of the prospect of having to sleep in his office.

But at least the odd test of wills had been successful….mostly.

Epel had given a very fragmented list, appearing almost apathetic to words he’d heard being spewed at him.

Vil was torn between feeling impressed and appalled at how unfazed the freshman was.

He was utterly embarrassed that spuds deemed worthy to be placed Pomefiore could act so deplorably. The perpetrators' punishment would be long and slow, so that they would not forget what came from disgracing his dorm…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“You truly allowed yourself to sit in a room in silence? For two hours?”

Epel scowled over at Sebek, stabbing his fork into his food.

“I didn’t allow myself to do anything! He wouldn’t let me leave!”

Sebek snorted.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t just answer him. If Malleus asked me a question, I would give him an instant response!”

“So you’ve told him about the guy who called you a “man–eating monster” the other day?” Ace mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, lifting his cup to his lips.

“That is entirely different!”

Q glanced sideways at Sebek.

“Would you tell him if he asked you?”

Sebek huffed, suddenly becoming very invested in his plate.

“Yes…I just wouldn’t be as…descriptive.”

“Exactly!” Epel forcefully lifted his stabbed food up to his face. “So stop bein’ so judgy!”

Grim chomped down on a sandwich, spewing crumbs while he talked.

“How’d he find out anyways?”

Epel shrugged.

“Who knows….maybe Rook’s way sneakier than we thought…”

Chapter Text

(Earlier that day)

“Excuse me?”

The Pomefiore freshman jumped, his eyes widening as he saw Trey.

Hmm….well that was certainly suspicious, wasn’t it?

Trey smiled placidly.

“Sorry to bother you. I just need to talk to you for a second. I’m Trey Clover, vice housewarden of Heartslaybul.”

The freshman’s face paled. Yeah, definitely not looking good for him…

“I–I don’t see why you need to speak to me. And I’m going to be late for class, so if you don’t mind–”

Trey sidestepped with the freshman, blocking him. Trey sighed.

“Look, I’m not big on confrontation, so let's just skip ahead. I’m going to need the vial in your pocket.

The freshman froze.

“I–I have no idea what you're talking about–!”

“Oh, I believe you do…”

Intentional or not, Riddle did manage to make an impressive entrance. The freshman nearly leapt out of his skin as he turned around to face the housewarden.

Though decently composed, Trey could tell that Riddle was near his breaking point. The housewarden’s face was growing redder by the moment, his voice quivering with anger as he stared at the freshman.

“Empty your pockets. If there is nothing in them, you may be on your way. I will explain your lateness to Professor Trein myself if that is the case…”

The freshman sent one last desperate glance behind him. Trey, however, was unmoved.

He may hate conflict, but anyone who thought they could get away with this needed to be corrected for their own sake…

With no means of escape, the freshman mournfully dug through his pockets, pulling the contents. With shaking hands, he opened his palms, showing a magic pen in the left, and a small vial of green liquid in the right.

Riddle plucked the glass vial out of the freshman’s hand, looking at it for a moment.

Trey took a calculated step back, watching his housewarden’s face completely contort into a bright red picture of seething rage.

“Off With Your Head!!!”

“Gah!”

The freshman yelled as the force of the collar made him stumble backwards.

“I can assure you, that is only the start of your punishment!” Riddle glared down at the student. “No trace of this deplorable behavior will be tolerated at Night Raven College!”

The freshman all but blubbered.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“I don’t think that’s yours.”

The Pomefiore second year yelped as Ruggie grabbed his shoulder.

“Let go of me–!”

“What’s the rush?”

Leona stepped out of the locker room’s shadows, staring down at the frightened second year.

“We just wanna know what you're doin’ in our freshman’s locker. That’s all.”

The second year swiveled his shoulder, trying unsuccessfully to break out of Ruggie’s grip.

“W–what? Th–this is someone else’s locker? I had no idea! Do pardon my mistake–”

“Really?” Leona leaned closer to the second year. “That’s the story you wanna go with?”

The second year scoffed weakly.

“I–I don’t know what your trying to accuse me of–”

Leona yawned, interrupting the second year’s weak attempt to defend himself.

“Ruggie? Ya mind gettin’ a move on? This guy’s makin’ the rest of us dumber by the minute.”

“On it Boss!”

“What are you–”

“C’mon, Laugh with Me!”

Ruggie released the second year, miming opening the locker. The Pomefiore student was forced to do so, swinging open Jack’s locker.

The second year gulped as he was forced to show what he’d put in there.

“Huh.”

Leona lazily took the object from the second year.

“A dog muzzle…that’s not very nice, is it Ruggie?”

“Nope. In fact,” The hyena’s tone gained an uncharacteristically edge to it. “I’d say that’s pretty rotten.”

“Well, we can’t let one of Schoenheit’s little herbivore’s walk around being rotten to one of our dormmates, now can we?”

“Shyeheehee! We sure can’t!”

The second year desperately tried to break out of Ruggie’s spell as the two marched him out to the Spell Drive field.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Malleus actually did go to Vil, after a few hours of collecting himself. He was still enraged…but more composed now.

The Pomefiore housewarden had seemed revolted. Which did make Malleus feel a bit better about trusting him to handle the situation…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Though the group from Pomefiore was quickly handled, the housewardens would come to realize that the members of Night Raven College students’ body who wanted the Tartarus group out was actually rather evenly distributed among most of the other dorms.
So unfortunately, although Vil cracked down on his dorm, the whispers and the source of plots to kick the freshmen out of school simply shifted elsewhere…

“Wouldn’t it have been simpler if you had just done your work when it was first assigned, instead of waiting until the last available moment?”

Deuce scowled at Sebek’s passive aggressive taunting.

“I know! I just forgot…”

Sebek snorted, gently tossing his friend another notebook.

“You need to stop copying Ace’s studying methods. One day, I’m not going to have notes for you to pour over the day before.”

Deuce deftly caught the notebook.

“I’m pretty sure the day you stop taking notes, we’ll be dealing with bigger problems than a quiz.”

“I will not apologize for being reliable.” Sebek scoffed, but his tone was more good humored than scornful.

They both stepped into the empty classroom, Deuce preparing to cram while Sebek was gearing to study in a well-timed manner.

“And those are bold words from someone who asked for my–”

Something clatter above them, and before either freshmen could blink, water poured down on them, soaking their uniforms through.

Deuce wiped dripping hair from his eyes, sputtering.

“What–”

Clank!

A bucket clanged down from the doorframe, smacking Deuce square of the head before falling to the ground and rolling across the floor..

“Ow!”

The ringing of the impact echoed through his head, continuing for much longer than it probably should. Through the reverberating noise, he managed to make out the sound of rapid, retreating footsteps. Guess that checked out the possibility of this being some weird cleaning accident…

“Grah!”

Sebek began to quickly shake the books in his hands, water dripping from their pages..

“Why, of all the inconveniences–!”

Deuce winced, at the bump quickly forming on his head, and at the study guide that was now pulp in his hand.

“Oh man…”

Instead of a study session, they then had to spend the time before class frantically trying to dry their things. Deuce was actually impressed with himself and Sebek. Neither of them had the best control over their magic, so the fact that they were able to dry the paper without lighting it on fire felt pretty good.

Sebek huffed, pushing his damp hair back.

“Well, the writings are not too warped…I suppose it's still legible.”

Deuce glanced at his friend.

“None of those were library books, right?”

“No…but this one was mine…”

Oh. No wonder he seemed so deflated…Espically since it must have been a new one. Deuce already knew what Sebek’s other books looked like.

“Well, like you said, at least it’s still readable.”

“Yes…” Sebek scowled. “Though I would’ve liked to keep it pristine for longer.”

Deuce frowned.

“Yeah…sorry.”

“It's not like you did it.” Sebek scoffed, moving his now dried pile to his seat in the back. “No use throwing a tantrum about it now…”

The warning bell rang, causing another bout of ringing to echo in Deuce’s head.

History class was going to be fun…

It only was after class started that Deuce realized that they may have wanted to spend more time drying their clothes than Sebek’s books.

He could feel his uniform still dripping, slowly forming a puddle under his seat. He pointedly ignored it, trying to focus on the lecture.

Which would be easier if everyone around him would stop snickering.

He got the joke. They both looked like they’d gone swimming fully clothed. It wasn’t even that funny of a punchline…

“Mrow?”

Professor Trein’s cat, Lucius, landed lightly on their desk. He sniffed suspiciously at Deuce’s sopping sleeve. Deuce pulled his arm away a little bit.

“Mrow.”

Lucius insistently pushed his nose against Deuce’s chest, his nose wrinkling as water dripped from the uniform onto his furry face.

Deuce froze. He didn’t want to push the cat away, but he had no idea why Lucius was bothering him. Normally, the cat only approached students that were nodding off.

Lucius moved from sniffing his uniform to pawing at it. Deuce sat back, trying to disinterest the cat.

“Go on.” He whispered. “I think someone’s falling asleep over there…”

Lucius stared at him for a moment. Then, without warning, the cat hopped up onto his arm, crawling up his shoulder.

“Gah!” Deuce yelped quietly.

“Mrow!”

Lucius meowed much louder, clearly trying to get Trein’s attention.

“Shh!” Sebek hushed, almost as loud as the cat.

Sebek reached over, attempting to remove Lucius from Deuce’s shoulders. Rather than follow the freshman’s instruction, the cat leapt from Deuce’s shoulder to Sebek’s arm.

“Get off of me, you infernal feline!” Sebek hissed, shaking his arm to dislodge the cat from his arm.

His attempts were all in vain. Lucius crawled all the way up onto Sebek’s shoulders, sitting comfortably on the freshman’s broad shoulders.

“MROW!”

The whole class froze at Lucius’s yowl, all eyes turning towards the two freshmen.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Trein was well–versed in all of Lucius’s vocalizations and what they meant. Which was why he was confused as to why the cat was just yowling for his attention.

Normally when Lucius caught a student asleep, he would simply meow until they awoke.

Right now, his cat was doing the equivalent of calling him over.

Trein made his way to the back of the class, finding the objects of Lucius’s attention.

Sebek Zigvolt and Deuce Spade were sitting frozen, clearly unsure of what to do about the cat sitting quite comfortably on Sebek Zigvolt”s shoulders. Lucius stopped his yowling when he saw Trein, meowing much quieter at his owner.

Trein saw why his cat was so insistent when he got a good look at the two freshmen. Both were absolutely soaked, hair and clothing dripping, forming a substantial puddle on the floor.

Trein easily collected Lucius from Sebek. He looked quizzically at the two freshmen, who were both avoiding eye contact like their lives depended on it.

“Zigvolt. Spade.”

“Yes sir?” They both mumbled.

“Why are you both soaking wet?”

Sebek’s face flushed. Deuce swallowed.

“Well, we–”

A giggle of scornful laughter cut through the room. Deuce clamped his mouth shut at the interruption, his hands balling into fists on the desk. Trein could see the freshman shaking from anger. Trein glared out at the classroom.

“Was I speaking to any of you?”

The class immediately quieted, every student withering under his gaze. He turned back to the two freshmen.

“Would either of you mind stepping outside?”

Both freshmen wordlessly obeyed, leaving a trail of small puddles out the door. Trein followed them out the classroom, sending the remaining students one last warning look before closing the door.

“Spade, would you like to finish your explanation now?”

Deuce took a breath.

“Someone fixed a bucket to douse us when we came early to study. I think it was supposed to be a joke or something…”

Trein frowned.

“I see…you may both go change, please return to class afterwards.”

“...Yes sir.”

Both freshmen practically bolted away.

Trein petted Lucius, mouth forming a firm line.

“It seems that we have a rather unfortunate situation on our hands, Lucius.”

“Mroow.”

Chapter Text

Floyd yawned.

Man, class was such a drag…maybe he should skip today. That could maybe be fun…

“What do you mean you accidentally doused the one in Diasomnia too?!”

“He walked in right before the scaly–freak did, how was I supposed to know!?”

Floyd’s ears perked at the conversation.

Oooo, somebody sounded panicked! He leaned back in his chair, catching a glimpse of two Heartslaybul second years whispering behind their books.

One of them groaned.

“You're gonna get us burnt alive! Didn’t you hear how ticked off Malleus was when those Pomefiore students just insulted his freshman?!”

“Shh!” The second student shushed him, looking around. “Keep your voice down! No one has any way of knowing that it was us, so just lay low, and we’ll get off scott free!”

A large grin spread across Floyd’s face. Guess he didn’t have to skip afterall!
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Let go of us!”

“What are you doing!!?”

Floyd ignored the students’ cries of objection, dragging both of them into the Lounge by the scruffs of their uniforms.

Jade glanced up from the table he was arranging, smiling humorously.

“Did you make some new friends, Floyd?”

Both Heartslaybul students squirmed in Floyd’s grip, to no avail. Floyd grinned at his brother, practically skipping into Azul’s office.

“Azul~! I brought you something!”

Azul put down the contract he was working on, standing up from his desk.

“My, what a surprise! Whatever is it?”

One of the second year’s twisted, trying to release himself.

“You're all crazy! Let us go!”

“Y–you're gonna be sorry when Housewarden Riddle finds out!” The other one piped up, his trembling tone making his threat appear much less menacing.

Floyd gave both students a shake.

“Guess!”

Azul tapped his chin,

“Hmm…well, it must be something more important than simply more new employees, since you brought them all this way yourself.”

Floyd snickered.

“I’ll give you a hint; their hiding from Sea Slug right now~”

Azul’s eyes widened, feigning surprise.

“Why, we don’t have more scheming culprits on our hands, do we?”

Both of the captive Heartslaybul students’ faces paled. Floyd cackled.

“Aha ha! You got it!”

“Oh dear.” Jade popped his head into the office, face painted with a glum expression. “I do hope I misheard.”

Azul shook his head mournfully.

“I’m afraid you didn’t. These two are amusing themselves by picking on new freshmen!”

Jade’s frown deepened comically.

“How dreadful!”

“And hiding your misdeeds from not only yours, but the victims housewardens’ as well?” Azul tutted. “What a poor bunch of students Rosehearts has this year…”

Both students gulped, faces turning practically grey now.

Floyd gave them another shake.

“Hee hee. I don’t think its gonna be us that Goldfishie’s gonna be mad at~”

“Y–you have no proof!” The second student spoke up again, though he didn’t sound like he even believed himself.

Azul stepped forward.

“Oh, I wouldn’t play that move if I was you. You see, it's our word against your’s, and we already have a record of being quite trustworthy. Besides,” The housewarden’s smile made both second years’ skin crawl. “I doubt Rosehearts and Draconia will react well to you being liars as well as miscreants…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Q grabbed Grim before he could leap on the table, holding him back from the pile of food.

Grim squirmed in her grip, twisting to glare at his henchhuman.

“Hey! I’m hungry!”

“We’re waiting for everyone. You already had a pre–lunch snack in line, be patient!”

Grim huffed, but stopped struggling, resigning himself to wait the agonizing five minutes before the rest of the group showed up.

Epel walked in, quickly spotting them. Jack came in just as Epel was making his way over to the table, quickly following the shorter freshman over.

Epel slid in next to Grim, while Jack sat across from them on the other bench.

“Please tell me Rook’s finally taking a break…”

Jack’s ear twitched.

“Nope. He’s just sitting at a table on the other side.”

“Oh, for the love of Pete–” Epel reached over Grim’s head with one of his spider legs, easily stabbing and retrieving a sandwich without the direbeast intercepting it. “You’d think ah was two, with how they’re actin’!”

Jack snorted.

“At least he’s tryin’ to be subtle. I miss a meal one time, and Ruggie starts doin’ this.”

Jack dug into his pockets, plopping two handfuls of individually wrapped snacks onto the table. Q made a choking sound, trying to hide a laugh.

“That's…oh woah, that's excessive.”

Epel snickered.

“How do you know that it was him?”

“He’s the only guy I know that picks enough pockets to know how to slip stuff in them…plus, he keeps hounding me about whether I’ve eaten or not.”

Q released Grim, allowing him to inhale what he could reach.

“Thats nice of him though.”

Jack’s ear twitched.

“Eh. I think I just scared ‘im the other day…”

“In his defense, watchin’ you fall is terrifying.” Grim’s reply was muffled through all the food in his mouth. “And why are you complaining? Look at all the free grub you got!”

Jack shrugged.

“Its just weird…”

“Not as weird as watching Rook drag someone back to Pomefiore by their ear…”

Q glanced at Epel.

“Are you being serious?”

“Multiple times. He did it multiple times.

“Who did what multiple times?”

Ace popped up next to the table, sliding in next to Jack.

“What’s with all the crackers?”

Jack reached over, grabbing himself a sandwich.

“Ruggie’s trying to send me a message, apparently.”

Ace blinked.

“Huh. Okay…I think Riddle’s trying to kill some guys in my class.”

“He’s not trying to kill anyone!” Deuce took a seat next to Ace, glaring at his friend. “He’s just…”Offing their heads” a little bit…”

Ace snorted.

“Well, he almost took my head off, and he wasn’t even aiming for me!”

“You're the one who stepped out in front of him.” Deuce huffed.

“I didn’t know he was there–!”

“Besides,” Deuce reached over, struggling to reach lunch. “If anyone’s housewarden is gonna kill someone, I…don’t think it’s gonna be ours…”

“Are you attempting to imply something about Malleus!?”

Sebek scowled, taking a seat next to Q.

“Um, kind of…” Deuce muttered, finally managing to snag a sandwich.

Ace looked sideways at Sebek.

“In Deuce’s defense dude, he looked…super mad. Like, more than Teapot Tyrant mad…”

Q blinked, glancing at Sebek.

“...why was he so mad?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Idia didn’t know whether to be impressed with Azul’s ability to both insert himself into the problem while simultaneously handling it, or to be super upset at the fact that the Octavinelle housewarden was basically fanning flames that were already combusting.

Malleus had practically steam rolled two Heartslaybul students today(lowkey deserved, but still), and instead of reining him in, Riddle had just…joined in. Talk about kicking someone why they were down…

It wasn’t like Idia was against dealing out a little justice. Anyone who was giving the freshmen a hard time kinda deserved whatever was coming to them. He just wished that all the other housewardens could be a bit more…defined in their methods.

Like, if they could just handle all of the perpetrators at once, then it could be over and done with. The consequences would be obvious for the whole student body, and that would be that.

But no, Vil was screaming at someone over here, Malleus was lighting stuff on fire over there, Riddle was slinging collars around willy–nilly, and Leona was off in the background beating like eight people up on the Spell Drive field.

And Azul was popping up at random, catching crooks and watching the chaos.

Granted, if anyone could actually get the housewardens to be a united effort, it was probably Azul. The Octavinelle housewarden did seem to already have a weird interest in all this stuff, so it probably wouldn’t be too hard to bribe him.

Azul would get his shoe in, the other housewardens would get their need for revenge satisfied, everyone was a winner.

Except for him, cause he’d have to orchestrate the plan…and Kalim. Idia was pretty sure the Scarabia housewarden didn’t even know there was a bullying problem.

The poor guy was gonna be in for one lame meeting…

Chapter Text

Azul put the finishing touches on another contract. Final exam seasons were coming right up, and thus, business was booming.

Perhaps not the best time to take on a new project, but he deemed this new endeavor worthwhile enough to split his attention.

It wasn’t everyday that the possibility of making the acquaintance of some very powerful individuals just fell into your lap. And yet, Idia had practically delivered that chance to him on a silver platter. And all for the low, low price of wrangling together the housewardens for a bit.

Through the walls, he could hear the squealing of yet another captured miscreant. Jade and Floyd were making fast work of his assignment, but Azul was sure that even they were surprised at the amount of students they had to drag over here.

His quill scratched on the paper.

Nearly half the school against them…the Tartarus freshmen certainly had a challenging school life carved out for them. Which meant that they would be in dire need of friends. And Azul would be more than happy to oblige, and offer them a…helping hand.

Besides, he was never one to pass up the chance to put little schoolyard bullies in their place. In fact, Azul believed that he was rather going to enjoy this….

A familiar soft knock came from his door.

“Come in.”

Jade entered the office.

“Everything's in place, though our “guests” are getting a bit…ansty.”

Azul hummed, pushing his glasses up.

“Have you already sorted them by dorm?”

“Yes,” A sharklike grin spread over Jade’s face. “They’re all awaiting punishment, like little bunches of chastened minnows.”

“Not too many from our own esteemed dorm I hope?”

Jade's smile grew wider.

“Not as many as there could be. But I took the liberty of locking all of the caught Octavinelle students in the kitchen. There’s plenty of dishes to keep them occupied until we’re done greeting the Housewardens.”

Azul nodded, satisfied.

“That will do. I’ll be out in a moment.”

Instead of taking the cue, Jade continued to stand where he was, not moving an inch.

Azul glanced up.

“Is there something else you need?”

Jade hummed absentmindedly.

“Forgive my curiosity, but would you indulge me with a question?”

Azul resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why bother phrasing it as a question? He and Jade both knew that the vice housewarden wouldn’t leave until his question was answered, no matter what Azul’s answer was.

“I suppose.”

“Is there an end goal in this endeavor?”

Azul snorted.

“Obviously. Did you think I’d go to all these lengths for nothing?”

Jade tilted his head.

“I assumed not. But I suppose I’m just having trouble seeing your plan.”

Which was Jade’s way of saying “Tell me the plan, or else I won’t do anything else for said plan”.

Azul sighed, adjusting his glasses again.

“It’s simple networking. All of the freshmen’s housewardens will be much less likely to bat an eye if we approach them after we show that we have their best interest at heart.” Azul completed the final sentence on his contract. “It’s not our fault if their best interest also comes with some…additional benefits for us.”

Jade nodded slowly.

“I see. Quite ingenious, Azul.”

Azul placed his quill back on his desk, rolling up the now finished contract.

“That was the point, yes. Now, let’s make sure we’re completely prepared for this little show.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Personally, Leona had no problem with all the culprit herbivores being rounded up for punishment. What he had a problem with was that Azul was the one doing it.

The Octavinelle housewarden had no reason to help, and Leona highly doubted that Azul was doing this out of the kindness of his heart. That cephla-punk definitely wanted something out of all of this.

The question was, what?

And hopefully, it had nothing to do with the freshmen. The last thing any of those kids needed was Azul recruiting them into some shady business venture.

Mostly because Leona was almost certain that they’d all fall for whatever little story Azul gave them…and he didn’t want to have to bail any starry–eyed little odd-balls out of any Octavinelle conspiracies this year.

But, he’d go along with Shroud’s plan and let Azul and his lackeys do the grunt work for now. Might as well just kill two birds with one stone, and watch those three, while taking care of all the stupid little punks from his dorm…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

For as shady as he was, Idia was vastly grateful for Azul’s ability to get stuff done.

Like, had Styx probably just paid his classmate an absurd amount of cash? Probably. Idia hadn’t actually looked at the number Azul had given him, he’d just emailed it forward to the organization….not the best financial decision, but it wasn’t like Styx was wanting for spare change.

Besides, it had totally worked.

Azul had somehow already rounded up every offending bully he could find, and gotten in touch with all of the Housewardens, basically inviting them to come handle the rulebreakers with their own preferred method of torture.

He’d completed it all so fast that Idia half wondered if the Octavinelle housewarden had been planning for a chance like this to come up…this was the same guy who had almost lost it over figuring out how to rig dice rolling and the entire concept of luck, so…it was a possibility…

But Idia wasn’t gonna complain. Cause he hadn’t had to do any actual talking, so this seemed like a win.

Until someone knocked at his door.

“Shroud? I have some matters to discuss with you.”

Idia groaned, considering face planting into his desk.

Why the heck was Vil here?! Idia couldn’t think of anything so important that it couldn't have been said over text….

He begrudgingly opened his door, after a brief moment of pretending that he wasn’t home. Which probably would’ve failed….where else would he be?

“...yeah?”

Vil strode into his room, uninvited.

“It’s come to my attention that the freshmen are being rather subtly isolated.”

Idia frowned.

“...huh?”

Vil continued like he hadn’t spoken at all.

“I simply want to be certain if it’s your doing or not.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about…like, I know Ramshackle’s a little separate from the rest of campus, but you were the one worried about safety…”

Vil looked at him oddly.

“I’m not talking about their accommodations. Those can’t be helped. I’m talking about their exclusion from the clubs.”

Idia blinked.

“Their what?”

“Along with the failure to provide them with dorm uniforms, and I’m assuming ceremonial robes as well.” Vil crossed his arms. “I take it from your surprise that you weren’t aware of any of these factors?”

Idia ground his teeth.

“..nope. I wasn’t. The Head Mage was supposed to take care of all of that. Before they got here…”

Vil frowned.

“Truthfully?”

“Yep. Guess I should’ve assumed that I’d need to check in to actually make sure it got done…”

Vil sighed.

“To your merit, I believe I’m the first that’s noticed, and it’s taken me this long. It was probably his plan to simply not complete these tasks until it would be too late to amend them.”

Idia scowled.

“Yeah, that’s bad. Remember how it’s mandatory to join a club?”

Vil blinked.

“Oh. I hope you are not implying that our Head Mage is deploying an underhanded method to prevent them from completing their full school years here. Because if you are,” Vil’s voice dropped slightly. “Then the next Housewarden meeting is going to get rather…dicey…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Dicey” was too gentle of a term to describe how it went…

“You are attempting to quietly Expel them!?!” Riddle all but roared across the table at Crowley.

The Head Mage’s smile faltered.

“O–of course not Rosehearts! What a thing to accuse someone so upstanding as myself–”

“Actually,” Azul cut in neatly. “Riddle’s explanation very much sums up what the displayed evidence. Not informing the freshmen of the necessity of joining clubs means that one of their mandatory credits wouldn’t be completed, which would technically place them under the grounds of reasonable expulsion.”

The Octavinelle Housewarden smiled coldly at Crowley.

“And I’m almost positive that the lack of dorm uniforms was to prevent the school's profits from being dented by specifically tailored clothing that would be of no use once they were gone.”

Azul’s words had the exact effect he was looking for, as more than half of the table turned their fury towards the Head Mage.

Crowley gulped.

“Now, that’s not entirely true at all! I was under the impression, from Styx’s instructions, that they weren’t yet ready for clubs or big school ceremonies! Obviously, because of their…unique circumstances, that wasn’t going to lead to their expulsion–!”

“That’s not what Styx said.” Idia’s voice crackled flatly over his tablet. “Cause the whole point of this project is to get them re–used to the outside world. No matter the expense….from the both the organization…and Night Raven Collage.”

Leona’s lip curled.

“So you ain’t lettin’ them join, and risking them not graduating, so that you can avoid havin’ to pay anything?!”

Crowley began to sweat.

“Well, that’s not quite how I’d put it…”

“Head Mage,” Kalim spoke up, concern obvious in his voice. “ If you're worried about money, I can–”

Vil’s head snapped around.

“Kalim, don’t you dare offer to help him! Beyond the fact that school finances are entirely his own responsibility,” Vil turned his glare back to the Head Mage. “The freshmen haven’t done any that would warrant such a fear!”

“I believe you're neglecting to factor greed into the equation Vil….” Azul hummed quietly, stirring up the other Housewardens’ even more.

Crowley spluttered slightly.

“N–now boys, I do believe that this has gotten out of hand–”

“Head Mage.”

Everybody fell silent at Malleus’s words. The Diasomnia housewarden had been shockingly silent throughout the whole meeting.

The fae stared at Crowley, static crackling around him.

“Amend this. Now. Before I am forced to.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Okay, Leona hated that stupid lizard.

But he sure got Crowley to change his tune real quick.

Chapter Text

To say that the freshmen were ecstatic about joining clubs would’ve been an understatement. Honestly, Idia was a little surprised that none of them had brought up that they wanted to join before Vil had.

…Actually, scratch that…Idia knew why none of them had asked. He’d seen the crowd of people who’d been picking on them.

And since the Head Mage had never mentioned that they could join, they’d probably just assumed that they weren’t allowed. Which was why that bird-brained NPC had been SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM–!

It was fine though…the problem was being solved…

Even though there shouldn’t have been a problem IN THE FIRST PLACE–!

Whatever, they could level up on their own without Crowley’s help. Wasn’t like he really did anything anyways…

Which was so ridiculous, cause compared to actually getting the group to school, getting them signed up for clubs was 1st level easy.

Pretty much right after the meeting, Idia went to the freshmen, gave them a list of the clubs, and got the ones that they were interested in. Then, with a little…generous…”help” from Azul, he got in touch with some more senior club members from their chosen ones, and basically warned them that they were coming.

He wasn’t…too worried about most of them.

Sebek and Epel had accidentally picked clubs where upperclassmen actually wanted them there, so that was all good.

Jack and Deuce hadn’t, but Vargas regularly supervised the Track and Field Club, so he could be called in to just…watch a little closer. So, that had the potential to be at least…okay.

Q and Grim hadn’t picked one yet, which meant that he didn’t have to worry about them yet, which was nice, but also meant that he’d have to follow up with them later, which was…a little less nice.

And Ace…well, Jamil was in Basketball Club, so…that might be fine…hopefully…`
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Jamil wasn’t against the Tartarus freshmen joining clubs. He just hadn’t thought that any of them would be interested in basketball.

Nor had he thought that so little of the student body wouldn’t learn their lesson. Was it truly that hard to be polite? Or at least pretend to be?

Well…perhaps it was

He would admit that he hadn’t gone out of his way to be inviting to the new freshmen. In fact, he’d actually gone out of his way to avoid them, redirecting Kalim whenever his Housewarden attempted to approach them as well. He hadn’t had anything against them coming to school, he had just…made a premature judgment.

Afterall…they were still dangerous. No amount of uniform dress up was going to change that. But…they had yet to do anything with their dangerous potential.

And the rampant bullying situation was likely making them reconsider that. So, it could be the smarter move to make himself known as a friendly presence, rather than an enemy.

Which was why, when one of the Tartarus freshmen from Heartslaybul entered the gym, Jamil did not follow the rest of the club’s example of turning away and pretending that the new student wasn’t there.

“Hello.”

The freshman didn’t quite jump, but he did step back slightly. Clearly he wasn’t quite used to having people approach him. He looked at Jamil warily.

“...um, hi.”

Jamil smiled pleasantly, putting on his best welcoming air.

“I’m Jamil Viper.” He offered his hand to shake.

The freshman blinked, then awkwardly took his hand.

“Uh, Ace Trappola.”

Jamil tried not to stare at Ace’s talons while he shook the freshman’s hand.

“Are you interested in joining the Basketball Club?”

Ace’s face brightened slightly.

“Oh, uh, yeah!”

“Great. Do you–” Jamil hesitated. “Do you…know how to play?”

Ace snorted, wings fluttering slightly.

“Shockingly enough, I do.”

Ace had not been kidding. He knew how to play, and more importantly, he knew how to play well.

The freshman was very quick on his feet, and could duck and dodge with the ball better than any of the other new club members this year. His wings might get in the way a bit during certain plays, but that could be worked around.

Jamil looked at Ace curiously.

“Can…I ask you a bit of a blunt question?”

Ace shrugged, dribbling the ball in place.

“If you want, I don’t care.”

“Can you leave campus?”

Ace caught the ball, stopping its motion.

“I think the plan is that we can go to some places with upperclassmen or teachers. You’ll have to double check with Idia though, I’m not totally sure…why?”

“Well, we take part in some tournaments throughout the year, and I think you have a good chance of making it on several game rosters.”

Ace looked up, a smile splitting across his face.

“Sweet! For real?”

The corner of Jamil’s mouth twitched.

“Absolutely. Your very good for a beginner, and with some proper game plans in pl–”

“Hey! Are we gettin’ a new freshie to play with~?”

Floyd dashed up out of nowhere. The tall second year leaned over Ace before Jamil could intervene, smiling menacingly down at the freshman.

“What’s up, Crabby?”

To Jamil’s shock, Ace didn’t even flinch. In fact, the freshman looked less started than he had when Jamil had approached him

“...Crabby? Never heard that one before…normally its like, flamingo or parrot.”

Jamil blinked.

W–was he being serious?

Floyd snorted.

“No. You’re a crab cause you’re snappy. And cause your hair is red!”

To Jamil’s dismay, Floyd reached out to poke, or grab, it was hard to tell with the second year, Ace’s hair. As if on reflex, the freshman slapped his hand away.

Floyd scowled.

“Hey!”

“No touchie!” Ace made an odd clicking sound in his throat. “Who the heck are you anyway?”

Jamil sighed, stepping forward.

“This is Floyd Leech. Floyd, this is Ace, and please do not touch him or antagonize him….or anyone else, preferably…”

“Nice to meetcha!” Floyd switched to a smile faster than a blink. “How ‘bout a squeeze~?”

Jamil's eyes widened.

“No–!”

Before either Ace or Jamil could react, Floyd half fell on the freshman, wrapping his arms around Ace before he could flee.

“FLOYD!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Ace froze, wings squishing him farther under the second year’s arms. He’d experienced a lot of odd things in his life, but this was certainly up there…

“Floyd, let go of him! NOW!”

From his limited field of vision, Ace could see Jamil trying to yank Floyd off.

“Boo!” Floyd whined, his grip tightening slightly. “C’mon Sea Snake, I’m just havin’ fun! He needs a hug!”

Wait, were the sea life nicknames a thing for everyone? Oh….this dude was just crazy. Ace had thought that he just sucked at name-calling….

“He does not! Especially not from you!”

Jamil failed to rip either of Floyd’s arms away.

Fine. Guess he’d handle it himself.

Ace forcefully pushed his wings out, feeling Floyd’s grip break slightly.

“Yeah, whether or not he needed it, he would like the hug to end now!”

Floyd scowled.

“Uuuuuhhhhh, fine!”

The tall second year fully released him. Ace quickly side–stepped away, putting some distance between him and Floyd.

Jamil almost instantly moved into the gap, placing himself between them. Honestly, he seemed more startled by Floyd’s weirdness than Ace was.

So the guy was clearly crazy, but…eh. Ace was used to crazy.

The affection was off putting though…

“Floyd, do not do that! Ever again!”

Floyd grinned lazily.

“Heehee…no promises…so, you playin’ with us Crabby?”

Ace narrowed his eyes.

“Us? As in, both of you? Cause I have seen you do anything yet. You sure you're not just a bench warmer?”

Floyd’s face dropped.

“What was that?!”

Ace tossed the ball towards the second year.

“You heard me, prove it!”

Floyd easily swiped the ball out of the air, scowling.

“Oh, your goin’ down!”

Jamil blinked, watching the two run off towards the hoop.

Intentional or not, Ace had just motivated Floyd faster then…anything else. Possibly ever. If Floyd’s interest in the freshman held…he might actually finish a game with some consistency.

This…this could actually work out…really well…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Everyone else’s first club meetings were much less eventful.

Despite some original dislike, Deuce and Jack were quickly accepted into the Track and Field Club after they blazed through several school held records during their trial races. Though, being famous within the club was actually stranger to the two then being disliked was.

Epel absolutely loved Spell Drive Club, delighted that he was picked to be a flyer. Though, unknown to him, Leona and Ruggie had noticed that he had a tendency to dodge away from all spells fired, even when he didn’t have the disk. They’d just decided to dog–ear questions for a next time.

Likewise, Riddle and Silver decided to not prompt Sebek on why he spent most of the club period watching the horses from a distance. The freshman had still shown great enthusiasm for learning about the duties necessary for joining the Equestrian Club and had completed any beginner tasks they’d given him. And growing bonds with the horses took some time anyways, so waiting to pry seemed like the best option.

However, there was one last club that someone had taken an interest in…though, it was largely unknown if that one was going to be permanent or not…

“Is,um, is the…Mountain Lovers Club?”

Jade looked up from his bounty of collected mushrooms, a little(fully shocked) surprised to see Jack Howl, the Tartarus freshman from Savanaclaw standing hesitantly in front of his Alchemy workshop table.

“Why, yes it is! Do–do you have an interest in joining?”

Now he understood Azul’s odd comment about “tidying up his work station” during club hours today. Though, he could’ve just told Jade that a freshman from the group was interested in his club.

Then he may have actually listened…

“Um…maybe….” Jack shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. “I just, um, have some questions before I decide…”

Jade smiled, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Jack’s ears flatten slightly, a gesture that Jade believed was because the freshman was rattled by something.

“By all means, ask! I am more than happy to answer any queries you have.”

“...okay…” Jack glanced away. “Um, are you…are you the only person in this club…right now?”

Jade hummed. His club’s largest hurdle, right off the bat…

“At the moment, yes.”

Jack nodded slowly, surprisingly looking more at ease.

“Okay….do you, actually go to any mountains, or do you just…read about them or something?”

“No, the Mountain Lovers Club goes on a multitude of mountain hikes, and the occasional camping trip. Club activities include observing and photographing wild life, plants, and scenery.”

“..alright.” Jack’s eyes flickered back to him hesitantly. “Your, um…a second year, right? I’m, um, only gonna be allowed to leave with an upperclassman.”

“Indeed I am! Would you like to come along for the next excursion, as a sort of trial run?”

Jack blinked.

“Um, okay…I could do that.”

Jade’s smile widened.

“Wonderful!”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Oh, hi Malleus.”

Malleus blinked, looking away from the gargoyle on the roof.

Q walked up to him, staring up.

“What are you looking at?”

“The gargoyle that adorns this corner.”

Grim’s brow furrowed.

“Why are you lookin’ at that?”

“Why, for Gargoyle Studies Club.”

“That was an actual option?” The direbeast sounded disbelieving.

Q rolled her eyes, looking down reproachfully at Grim.

“You started your own club, purely for the purpose of eating more food than you already do, because all the other ones were too “boring”. I don’t think you’re really in the position to judge.”

Grim huffed.

“Eatin’ is more interesting than all the other stuff! Especially looking at boring old statues.”

Malleus looked down at the direbeast sharply.

“They are not boring old statues! Gargoyles serve an important purpose, and protect their buildings from water damage. Statues do nothing of the sort.”

Q blinked.

“Really?”

“Yes. That is what separates the gargoyle from the common grotesque.”

Q tilted her head up thoughtfully, looking back up at the gargoyle.

“Hm, protecting the building…you know, when I was like, five, I used to think gargoyles came to life each night. I thought they flew off to try and find castles, and then had to rush back to their buildings when the sun came up.”

The corner of Malleus’s mouth twitched.

“What an odd idea.”

“Well, no odder than knowing the difference between a gargoyle and a…what was it, grotesque?”

“I beg to differ. One is a knowledgeable fact, while the other is a childhood fantasy.”

Q raised her eyebrow.

“I thought this club was just for observing gargoyles. I’m just offering my own observation.”

Malleus blinked.

“Very well. I will allow it to be an observation, if you become a member of the club. Than you offer as many of these observations as you’d like.”

Q shrugged.

“I do still need to pick one…alright, why not?”

“Aww, I don’t wanna talk about gargoyles all day!” Grim whined.

Q rolled her eyes.

“You can just have your club meetings at the same time; we’ll get you snacks before.”

Grim brightened.

“Fine. But I’m gonna need a lot of snacks to get through all that talkin’.”

Chapter Text

“Ah, Roi des Lions, there you are!”

Leona jumped awake, grumbling.

Darn it. He couldn’t have one peaceful nap around here, could he…

He glared up at Rook.

“Whada you want?”

Rook smiled pleasantly down at him, making the beastman’s skin crawl. He still didn’t know what this guy’s deal was, but he hated it.

“Oh, I just wanted to ask about Epel’s first day in Spell Drive Club. He gave you a rather stunning review, I simply wanted to know if it was merited.”

Leona climbed to his feet, watching Rook warily.

He’d half forgotten that Epel was in Rook’s dorm. No wonder the freshman seemed so timid and reserved. He could only imagine how much of a pain in the tail Rook was when you had four eyes…poor kid probably thought he was gonna get stuffed and mounted on a wall if he misbehaved…

“He was fine; good flyer, got a surprisingly great sense of balance.” Leona slowly began to inch backwards.

Rook hummed.

“How wonderful! Your care is very much appreciated!”

Leona’s tail lashed behind him as he took a larger step backwards.

“It ain’t “care”. If the kid was bad, I’d get ‘im to switch clubs, just like every other herbivore that tries to join.”

Rook smiled eerily as Leona turned to make a (hasty) retreat.

“Hm, if you say so….Your freshman performed quite well yesterday as well. His physical abilities are absolutely superbe! I’m sure Savanaclaw will benefit greatly from his talents!”

Leona froze.

“...why are you watchin’ Jack.”

Rook blinked, slightly surprised at the sudden switch in Leona’s tone. The Savanaclaw Housewarden sounded much more interested now.

“Why, Roi des Lions, as a true hunter, I find it essential to familiarize myself with all of the wildlife of the ecosystem; particularly powerful new creatures introduced, that will undoubtedly provide a bold challenge of being caught–”

Leona spun on his heel, snarling.

“Listen here, you garbled hat–brained prat!” He spat, taking a step forward. “If you so much as try to hunt ‘im, I’ll rip your throat out myself! Got it?!”

Rook’s eyes widened as Leona drew up to his full height, his presence towering over the Pomefiore third year.

“My, this is quite an unexpected display of emotion–”

“Shut it!” Leona’s lip curled. “Jack ain’t some wild animal for you to chase around for your amusement. Hunt ‘im, and I’ll hunt you!”

Leona whirled back around, storming off before Rook had a moment to reply.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

After Leona took his rather volatile leave, Rook continued his stroll around the Botanical Gardens. He was quite curious about the beastman’s outburst, though he was (unfortunately) unperturbed by it.
His wonderings about Leona’s reaction were cut short by a sound to his left.

Rook peered through the foliage.

The Tartarus freshman from Diasomnia was sitting quietly by the garden’s pool, his long crocodian tail half curled around him, the tip of it dipped in the water. The freshman appeared to be reading, flicking the water now and again absentmindedly with his tail.

Rook, with skilled precision, stepped closer, fully hiding himself among the leaves of the plants across the pathway from the pool.

And yet, despite his soundless movement, the freshman still raised his head, glancing around his surroundings.

Rook watched, fascinated, as the freshman’s relaxed posture stiffened, his calm demeanor quickly shifting into obvious alert. He’d encountered very few creatures with such an acute sense of awareness…

Rook fully stepped out onto the path.

“Hello there.”

The freshman instantly scrambled to his feet, swiveling to face Rook.

“Gah! It is not polite to sneak up on others!”

Rook tilted his head, admiring the freshman’s rows of gleaming, razor sharp teeth that half protruded from his mouth when he spoke.

“Ah, forgive me! I was simply admiring you from a slight distance, Monsieur Crocodile, but I see that your attention to your surroundings triumphs my stealth. Your perception is something many beasts in a hunt undoubtedly long for.”

The freshman’s face screwed up into a rather fearsome scowl.

“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!”

Rook smiled sincerely, ignoring the freshman’s loud tone.

“Why, Monsieur Crocodile! I believe that the name is quite fitting of you, no? Your teeth and tail, the scales that adorn you, make a figure very representative of the terrifying nature of a crocodile, a medieval serpentine beast among men! It is quite impressionnant to make your acquaintance. I am Rook Hunt, a junior here, and it is a pleasure to meet you.”

The freshman’s face flushed, one hand clutching his book, while the other clenched into a tight fist.

“My name. Is not Crocodile!” He hissed through his teeth. “It is Sebek Zigvolt, and I am a royal guard to Malleus Draconia, and I am not pleased to meet you at all!”

Rook blinked, a bit surprised by Sebek’s bluntness.

“Oh, have I disturbed you? I do apologize for my interruption of your reading.”

Sebek grit his teeth, and Rook was delighted to find that they made an odd tinkling sound in the freshman’s mouth.

“I do not have time for your senseless chatter, human! I have things to attend to!”

Sebek pushed past Rook, marching into the foliage. His green scales blended almost instantly, quickly hiding Sebek from sight as he left.

Rook blinked again. It seemed Sebek had the same hidden rage as Roi des Dragons did when bothered.

Next time, he would take more care to approach the freshman when he was not busy. Perhaps he would be more receptive to conversation then.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Malleus peacefully walked along the school building's exterior, documenting another gargoyle to memory. Q knew absolutely nothing of the basics, so he was deciding on a path for the freshman’s first official club meeting. Observation in order of creation certainly seemed like the correct way to–

Smack!

“Gah! My Liege! I am so sorry!”

Malleus blinked. Sebek had turned the corner without him noticing, and they’d both plowed straight into each other. And despite his quick apology, the freshman was certainly the one to take the worst impact.

Sebek had been unceremoniously knocked backwards, his tail thumping painfully on the ground as he attempted to right himself. Evidently, his focus on expressing regret was not doing much to help his efforts.

“I am quite alright, Sebek. There was no harm done.”

Sebek managed to right himself, his face stricken with shame and apology.

“I apologize for my distractfulness, I should’ve been paying better attention!”

Malleus shook his head slightly.

“I should’ve as well. As I said, no harm was done. There is no need to apologize any farther. I am sorry for bumping into you as well.”

Sebek blinked.

“T–there is no need for you to apologize to me! It was my carelessne–”

Malleus held up his hand, silencing the freshman.

“It was an honest mistake on both our parts, Sebek. You are to leave it at that.”

“Y–yes sir…” Sebek bowed his head, still looking much too ashamed of himself.

The incident had been a small one, after all. And even passionate as he was, Sebek wasn’t normally this insistent of his own shortcomings…

“Are you alright, Sebek?”

Sebek’s head snapped back up.

“Of c–course, sir!”

Malleus searchingly at Sebek, clearly disbelieving.

“...are you certain?”

Sebek opened his mouth, hesitating.

“I–y–yes…”

Malleus frowned.

“You do not sound very convincing, Sebek. If something is the matter, I wish to know.”

Sebek looked at his feet, silent for a moment.

“....Malleus?”

“Yes?”

Sebek fidgeted with his hands.

“May..may you please answer a question for me? Completely truthfully? ”

Malleus inclined his head.

“Of course, if you need me to.”

Sebek ducked his head again.

“Am…am I..” Sebek’s voice became uncharacteristically quiet. “...am I a beast..?”

Malleus stared at the freshman. Energy started crackling in the air around him.

“...what.”

Sebek swallowed.

“Am–”

“Do not repeat yourself! I heard your query perfectly. I was simply hoping that I hadn’t.” Malleus’s eyes flashed. “What foolish miscreant dared to make you think that?!”

So unkempt was his temper that fire began to crackle at his feet, turning the grass to cinders.

Sebek scrambled back from the flames.

“M–Malleus! Please calm down! I’m sorry for angering y–”

“SILENCE!”

Sebek clacked his mouth shut, stopping stiff, staring wide eyed at his Housewarden.

Malleus closed his eyes, breathing deeply, forcing himself to calm. The flames quickly smothered themselves out, leaving a charred patch in the ground at his feet.

Malleus opened his eyes.

Angry could not even begin to summarize how he felt.

He’d assumed that punishing anyone who dared speak ill of Sebek would amend the problem. He’d entirely neglected to account for the fact that Sebek had already heard the harmful words…
And undoubtedly believed them. He wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t…

“Sebek.”

The freshman glanced timidly over at Malleus, hands wringing anxiously in front of him. The Housewarden stared at him for a moment.

“Do my horns make me a beast?”

Sebek blinked, looking startled.

“N–no!”

“Hm. What about my great power? Surely that must make me a monster, shouldn’t it?”

Sebek’s eyes flashed indignantly.

“Of course not!”

Malleus’s eyes softened.

“Come here, Sebek.”

Sebek hesitantly stepped forward, half withdrawing back when Malleus wrapped him in a firm hug.

“You are no more a beast then I am.” Malleus murmured. “So please, spare for yourself some of the steadfastness with which you answered my questions.”

Sebek sniffed into his shoulder, very slowly returning the hug, tail wrapping around both their legs.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Oi, Jack!”

Jack paused his workout, looking over at his Housewarden. Leona trudged up to him.

“Yes sir?”

Leona looked at him scrutinizingly.

“This is gonna sound like a weird question, but have you ever noticed a tall guy in a stupid hat followin’ you around?”

Jack blinked.

“Rook?”

Leona scowled.

“Hmph. You already know ‘im?”

Jack shrugged.

“I haven’t actually met him, Epel’s just talked about him. He follows us around a lot. It's kinda weird but, it hasn’t really been a problem…why?”

Leona’s face darkened.

“Do me a favor; next time you see ‘im stalking you, do somethin’ scary.”

Jack’s brow furrowed.

“Scary?”

“You lived in Tartarus for three years and you can’t think of somethin’ scary?”

Jack huffed, ears flattening slightly.

“I didn’t say that. Just, why?”

“Cause I asked you to.” Leona answered shortly. “And cause he’s a pest. So just take one for the dorm.”

Jack’s ear twitched.

“I mean…okay…is he really that much of a problem?”

Leona’s lip curled.

“Oh, don’t get me started…”

Chapter Text

Trey pulled another tray out of the oven, placing the pastries on the counter to cool. They had another Unbirthday party tomorrow, so he’d had to start prepping food today.

The door to the kitchen swung open behind him. Trey glanced over his shoulder, frowning as the door slowly swung back closed, no one in sight.

Maybe a draft had pushed it open…?

“Hi Trey.”

Trey jumped backwards. Ace leaned forward on the counter, looking at him innocently.

“Ga–oh–oh! Hi Ace…” Trey took a breath, trying to slow his heart. “H–how are you so quiet…?”

Ace shrugged.

“I got light bones. Can I have one of those?” The freshman pointed at the still warm pastries.

Trey blinked. Even if it was a bit of a blunt approach, at least Ace had taken Riddle’s lesson to heart. He could’ve easily swiped one before Trey had noticed he was in here.

“Oh, uh, these are for tomorrow, actually. But I have some leftover tart in the fridge.”

Ace propped his head up on his hand.

“Tart, huh?” He replied dryly.

“Well, it’s not saved for anything this time. And if I’m remembering correctly, this one’s cherry instead of strawberry.”

Ace perked up almost instantaneously.

“Cherry?”

“Yeah…you like those?”

“Uh, yeah! They're like, my favorite fruit!”

Trey walked over to the fridge, pulling out the treat.

“Well, lucky you…so, um, what was that about… “light bones”?”

Ace eagerly accepted the plate.

“You know how bird bones are hollow?”

Trey blinked, answering hesitantly.

“Yes…”

Ace dug his talons into the tart, evidently not even considering a fork.

“A lot of mine are like that, or at least partially hollow.” Ace shoved a handful of tart into his mouth. “So, you know, literally light on my feet.”

Trey looked at the freshman curiously.

“Huh…really?”

“Yep.”

Well that was…kind of cool. Also a little odd. Trey guessed he’d never thought of the logistics behind Ace’s abilities…or appearance, for that matter.

“I guess I never thought about how you’d need some different traits to be able to fly.” Trey began to prep another tray. “I kind of just assumed that you did it entirely with magic, like on a broomstick. But then, why would you even have wings?”

Ace snorted.

“Magic has nothing to do with flying!”

Trey’s brow furrowed.

“But…isn’t blot what makes you fly…?”

“Ha! No!” Ace snickered. “If it was, my wings would probably be retractable! These,” The freshman spread his wings. “Use good, old-fashioned physics. My blot does something entirely different.”

Trey paused his baking, looking at the freshman wonderingly.

“What does it do?”

Ace grinned mischievously.

“Wouldn’t you like to know…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“--and that brings us to the end of this period.” Riddle neatened his notes. “That should be all the information you need to pass this History exam.”

Deuce quickly scribbled in his notebook.

“Got it! Thank you so much Housewarden! You made that really easy to understand.”

Riddle smiled slightly.

“You're welcome. I appreciate your receptiveness to my guidance. Is there anything else you’d like to go over?”

Deuce gently flipped a page back in his notebook.

“Um…could you double check what I practiced with Idia? He’s gone over math a lot with me, but…it’s not my strongest subject.”

Riddle accepted the notebook, trying not to squint too much at the freshman’s handwriting.

Deuce’s equations were barely legible, but Riddle could imagine how difficult it was to write with claws. And deciphering it only took a few more moments of his time. There was no reason to make Deuce feel bad about his efforts.

However, Riddle’s eyes widened as he began to make sense of Deuce’s practice problems.

“...You said math wasn’t your strongest subject?”

“Yeah…” Deuce fidgeted in his chair. “I was kind of behind even before I got sent to Tartarus...”

Riddle looked up, staring at the freshman.

“Deuce, these are beyond complex for what you're meant to be going over…”

Deuce blinked.

“Wait, really?! Idia said this was kid level simpl–oh…”

Deuce made a face.

“Nevermind…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel flinched as another pin poked his arm.

“Ow!”

“Stop moving, and I will be able to avoid pricking you!”

Epel clacked his jaw quietly, a little impressed that Vil was still able to scold him through a mouthful of pins.

The Housewarden had all but dragged Epel into his office, insisting on fitting the freshman for a dorm uniform.

Epel almost wished they were just having manner lessons. Standing for hours while someone poked pins into your skin, cutting and stitching layers of fabric into overly perfectly tailored holes, wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend his afternoon…

And if he’d thought Vil was a perfectionist normally…this was a whole new level.

Epel squirmed, spider legs growing stiff from having to stay still for too long.

“Are you almost done?”

Vil huffed, exasperated, removing the pins from his mouth.

“Do you understand how complex the makeup of these uniforms are?! They are entirely seamed with magical thread, and despite what you seem to think, that is not easy to restitch! And beyond that,” The Housewarden stepped around to face him from the front. “Even with Professor Crewel’s advice, redefining a silhouette is difficult.”

Epel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What did that even mean?

Vil studied him thoughtfully.

“How do you normally style yourself? Do you prefer to emphasize your..extra limbs, or draw attention away from them?”

Epel blinked.

“I…don’t.

Vil’s brow furrowed.

“What do you mean you “don't "?”.”

“...the only clothes I have are a couple of regular uniforms and a Styx jumpsuit…and both of those are kind of…self styled..” Epel glanced away. He had no idea if he was even using that term correctly.

Vil stared at him.

“You–you do not own any other clothes?”

“..no…”

Vil’s eye twitched slightly. Epel forced himself not to step back, having an odd feeling that the sight of movement would only set his Housewarden off more.

“Well. That is a problem for later. Now, which would you prefer? For attention to be drawn towards your limbs, or away from them?”

Epel blinked again. The question was a little dumb, honestly. Attention would be drawn to his spider legs, no matter what his outfit looked liked.

Though, playing into it might make people actually see him as intimidating…

“The first one.”

“Alright then.”

Vil placed the pins back in his mouth, stepping back to continue tweaking the uniform.

Chapter Text

Rook entirely ignored Leona’s warning. If anything, the fact that Roi des Lions didn’t want him to observe Jack Howl only increased his fascination.

The freshman truly was a pinnacle of his species, more force in his steps then any wolf Rook had ever seen on Sunset Savanna. And this was just him walking to and fro class.

Rook marveled at the idea of Jack in the wild. Non, even the thought of the wolf rushing through the woods was enough to make his heart pound!

To be able to chase such a creature…it was a hunter’s le rêve est devenu réalité, a dream come true for a huntsman of his stature!

Rook skillfully followed the freshman down the hall, weaving between the bunches of other students. Monsieur Crocodile awareness had been impeccable, so he had to tread carefully to avoid being spotted. The normal wolves he had interacted with also had a strong sense of hearing and smell, which made this tracking even more of a challenge.

Jack turned a corner ahead. Rook quietly followed, eager to continue the chase. He paused.

The freshman had…disappeared.

Rook blinked, slowly stepping forward, taking care to sweep his eyes over every nook and cranny. There were no doors down this corridor, so Jack couldn’t have stepped into a room…and the ceiling had no beams to serve as handholds, so he couldn’t have climbed up there…

Where could he have gone…?

A strange chill ran up his spine. Rook’s hand instinctively reached towards his pocket, fingers brushing his pen. A cold, heavy feeling settled over him, one that he had not felt since years ago, back when he was a novice in the hunting craft.

The pure, unconscious sense that he was miles out of his depth…

“Excuse me.”

Rook jumped as Jack Howl all but appeared behind him, the freshman brushing past him as he continued forward down the hall, seemingly unbothered.

Rook stood, frozen.

He had not even heard Howl behind him…how had the freshman managed to get back past him without him noticing?! This hallway didn’t loop back around, so he’d had to have gone back past Rook to get behind him.

But how in the world had he accomplished that….

Jack paused at the end of the corridor. He slowly turned his head back towards Rook, ears twitching slightly.

“If you're gonna go to all the trouble of followin’ someone around, I’d wear lighter boots. I heard you the second you stepped on the tiles…clicked all the way down hall…”

Rook stared, stunned, as the freshman walked away.

….oh mon Dieu, Jack Howl would be a sight to see in the woods indeed...

Though, Rook now had quite the impression, that if he and the freshman were to cross paths in the forest…it would likely be the last sight he ever saw…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Jack ducked into the classroom. He noted, with a small touch of satisfaction, that Rook didn’t follow him in. He didn’t really know why Leona had wanted him to scare the guy off, but..eh, he hadn’t really felt like arguing.

Besides…he kinda needed to reprove himself after the whole…falling over thing. Jack feared that he had accidentally proven himself as a weak link, and he was determined to prove that he could take care of himself!

…or at least show Ruggie that he didn’t need the second year to keep sneaking him snacks…

The main trick had been finding “something scary” to do that wouldn’t land him in trouble. Which meant if had needed to be something that would only scare Rook. Which meant no biting, or howling, or chasing, and definitely no jaw–splitting.

Which had ruled out…a lot of options.

But, using some past stuff Epel had said about his vice housewarden, Jack had gathered that Rook was obsessed with hunting. So, Jack had assumed that the Pomefiore junior had a large knowledge of the food chain and how it worked.

And how being on top meant survival.

So, he’d decided to show Rook…that he wasn’t as on top as he thought. Evidently…it had worked.

Chapter Text

One belly pleasantly full of tart later, Ace darted out of Heartslaybul, down to the library. He’d already memorized all of the stuff Riddle was gonna quiz him on, but he’d found that he needed to at least pretend to look studious and turn up with a book in hand.

Something about “the difference between true learning” and “brute memorization being a cheap tactic to pass.” Granted, Riddle probably thought all of the information he was cramming was leaving his brain the moment after the exam.

Oh, if only. Once Ace took the time to memorize something, it was in his brain forever.

Probably cause there was so much empty space in there now…

“Crabby!”

Ace’s train of thought was interrupted by an all too enthusiastic voice.

He quickly turned around to face Floyd, but didn't stop walking. Going backwards seemed like a better idea than letting this guy get any closer to him.

He wasn’t super in the mood to get hugged again…

“What’s up? Floyd, right?”

Floyd snickered, picking up his pace just enough to make Ace consider bolting for it. The second year probably wouldn’t be able to grab him if he jumped out a window…

“Heehee, yep! Why are you walkin’ off so fast? I got somethin’ for ya~”

Ace blinked, steps pausing slightly.

“..It’s not another hug, is it?”

“Eh, not yet. Maybe later when you all come over to the Lounge~!”

Ace fully stopped, his curiosity winning over his caution.

“What’s ‘the Lounge’?”

Floyd tilted his head.

“The Mostro Lounge, down in Octavinelle! Wha, you’ve really never heard of it?”

Ace rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, because I clearly have such a glowing social life. So, what is it?”

Floyd leaned forward, handing out a gold-printed card.

“It's a restaurant! And Azul really wants you and your friends to check it out~”

Ace hesitantly took the card, glancing at the words.

“Whose Azul?”

“The Octavinelle Housewarden, duh.” Floyd rolled his eyes. “Seriously, do you live under a rock?”

Ace flipped the card over, answering before he fully thought about the words coming out of his mouth.

“Nope, just several layers of overblot prisons…”

Floyd’s smile froze.

“Huh?”

“Why does he want to invite us?” Ace asked quickly. He probably shouldn’t have said that out loud to a stranger… “It’s not like we’re exactly brimming with popularity.”

Floyd tilted his head, looking at Ace oddly. Seriously, the guy who ran around naming people after fish thought he was weird?

“Cause you guys look fun. Duh.”

Ace looked at Floyd skeptically. Was he really supposed to believe that this guy’s Housewarden thought a group of ex-Tartarus inhabitants looked “fun”?

…then again, if this Azul was anywhere near as crazy as Floyd…that could maybe be a little believable…

“If you say so.” Ace slid the card into his pocket. “Maybe we will…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Leona yawned, lazily making his way through the gardens. Ruggie had been supposed to wake him, but for once, the second year had been nowhere to be found.

And since he was already late, what was the point of wastin’ another nap? He’d been interrupted so many times in the past few days, it seemed fitting to make up for some of the lack of sleep.

“You little brat! Look at what you’ve done!”

Leona’s ears pricked. Great, some squealer was already ruining his time–

“It's not ma fault you can’t see what's in front of you! And serves you right! These are my plants, not yours!”

Leona paused. Hang on…was that..?

He pushed his way through the plants off the path. He caught sight of three second year Pomefiore students, all huddled around a certain freshman.

Epel was scowling up at the three upperclassmen, standing protectively in front of a flower bed that looked brand spankin’ new. A bag of something dark brown was strewn across the path, a lot of the substance smeared on the second year’s shoes.

From the smell, Leona assumed that it wasn’t dirt…

One of the other second year’s sneered.

“The school garden is communal, remember? Or, my apologies, does all the blot drain your brain of all information?”

The third second year tittered.

“I believe you need to slow down for him. Communal means sharing. You’re sharing your flower with us, as we’re your up–per-class-men.” The student intentionally drew out several of his words, his tone dripping with superiority.

Epel glared back, unmoving.

“For the last time, these aren’t part of the garden! These are mine, and this is my flowerbed. Professor Crewel gave me permission–”

“Oh please!” The first second year scoffed, finally looked away from his tarnished shoes. “The Professor only said yes because Shroud forced him too. I suppose he couldn’t stand to let one of his little pets go unindulged!”

Epel’s eyes flashed.

“‘Unindulged?!’ That’s rich, comin’ from some snot-nosed spoiled rich boy who can’t even handle a whiff of fertilizer!"

The second year spluttered.

“How dare you speak to me in such a manner!?”

“Oh, Ah‘m so sorry! From the way ya’ll talk to me, ah thought that was just how everyone in Pomefiore talked!”

The trio stepped forward, seething.

“How dare you–!”

“You are not worthy of our dorm’s mantle–!”

“I suppose we need to teach you some proper manners–!”

Before any of the second years could even touch him, Epel duck, landing a low sweeping kick on their legs.

“Gah! My ankle!”

“You little–come here!”

The first second year grabbed hold of Epel’s jacket. Leona scowled, starting to step forward. This little scuffle was probably more trouble than it was worth…

However, before he could even make his presence known, Epel put his head down, ramming himself into his attacker's stomach.

“Oof!”

The second year let go of Epel in surprise, falling backwards into the impact. Right into the pile of fertilizer.

“Ugh! You little–”

Leona snorted, stepping back into his hiding spot. Eh, the kid was scrappier then he thought. Seemed like Epel could handle it.

Epel picked himself up, skittering backwards.

“Ha! Take that!”

Unfortunately, cause of his gloating, Epel didn’t notice the other second year’s fist flying at him until it was too late to dodge.

Crack!

Leona winced as the blow hit Epel squarely in the side of the face. Epel stumbled to the side, half falling over.

“Urrgh…gah!”

The third second year had snuck behind the stumbling freshman. He yanked Epel back by his hair, wrapping his arm around freshman’s neck.

“You vile little creature! You–” Before the second year could continue, Epel’s jaw unhinged, splitting into three parts at his chin.

Leona stared as Epel sunk his teeth into the second year’s arm.

“EEAHHHH!”

Leona quickly moved forward. This was maybe a little too much handlin’...

“Hey! Break it up!”

Leona grabbed the back of both Epel and the second year’s uniforms, prying the two apart. Thankfully, Epel released his hold on his attacker’s arm, makin’ it a little easier to get them apart.

“He bit me…HE BIT ME!!”

Leona scowled, ears flattening.

“Yeah, I heard. Just like the rest of the garden.”

The first second year clambered off the ground, trying(and failing), to dust himself off.

“S–surely as a Housewarden, y–you're not going to let this terror of an act stand, are you? I mean, look at what that freak did to my poor companion’s arm!”

Leona turned towards the lowerclassmen, dropping the injured second year.

“Yeah, I did. I saw every…little bit. So how about you get your squealin’ friend over to the medical wing, since you're so worried bout him?”

The second year faltered.

“W–well, there, is, perhaps some–context you need to hear before–”

“I said scram!” Leona snarled.

The second years scrambled out of his sight faster than he could blink.

Tck. What a buncha yellow-bellied herbivores…

“Um..Leona, sir….c-could you please put me down now…?”

Leona blinked. He’d forgotten that he was even holding Epel….the kid weighed less than a grape…

“Sure.”

He released his hold on the freshman’s jacket, plopping Epel back on the ground. The freshman wobbled backwards slightly, but stayed on his feet.

Leona’s ear twitched.

“You good kid?”

Epel glanced up.

“Oh, um, yeah! I’m good!”

Leona raised an eyebrow.

“Really? Cause it looks like you got two black eyes for the price of one.”

“Aw, darnit…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ortho took a seat at the freshmens’ library table, glancing questioningly around the table.

“Where is Sebek and Epel? I thought we were all meeting here?”

Deuce looked up from his notes.

“Uhh, Sebek kinda got dragged off by his upperclassmen, and um…Epel apparently got in a fight, so…we might not be seeing him for a while…”

Ace snorted, lazily flipping a page.

“He bit someone. We’ll be lucky if he’s still alive.”

Ortho’s eyes widened.

“Oh no!”

“Don’t say that!” Q shot Ace a look. “He’s not gonna die!”

Ace rolled his eyes.

“Debatable. Anyway, apparently the Octavinelle dorm has a restaurant in it, and we’ve been invited to check it out.”

Jack glanced up.

“Why?”

“I don’t know; the crazy dude from Basketball Club said his Housewarden thought we ‘looked fun’.” Ace fished the invitation out of his pocket, tossing it on the center of the table.

Ortho picked it up, looking at the paper curiously.

“Technically, I believe that the Mostro Lounge is a cafe, but it does provide sit down service.” The younger Shroud tilted his head thoughtfully. “I’ve never met Azul Ashengrotto, but he’s in Board Game Club with Idia. They seem to get along.”

Jack raised an eyebrow, shooting a sceptical look over Ortho’s head at Deuce. Deuce shrugged, looking back at Ortho.

“But why would he invite us?”

“Probably to make your acquaintance. Idia has said that Azul’s a total businessman.”

Grim frowned, tilting his head.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that he’s probably tryin’ to buy us into somethin’...” Jack muttered.

Ace shrugged.

“Oh, most definitely. But, restaurant and people crazy enough to invite us.”

Deuce hesitated.

“..I mean, it couldn’t be any worse than eating in the cafeteria, right?”

Grim’s ears perked.

“I’ll go if there’s food!”

Ortho eyes brightened.

“It could be a good chance to get some experience before you go into town!”

Q glanced at Jack.

“...It does sound a little fun…”

Jack sighed, beginning to put his homework away.

“Fine. But if we have to call Sebek or Epel to bail us out, I’m blaming all of you…”

Chapter Text

Ortho looked curiously up at his friends as they made their way over to the Mirror Chamber.

“So, who did Epel Felmier bite?”

Deuce shrugged.

“I dunno. Someone from his dorm.”

Ace grimaced.

“We haven’t even heard from him yet; apparently, the guy he bit was screaming all the way up to the medical wing. The guys next to us in Alchemy were whispering about it during class.”

Grim winced.

“Oh yeah, he’s totally dead.”

Ortho doubted that Vil Schoenheit was actually going to kill Epel, but his friend was definitely in a lot of trouble…

“He probably has a good explanation…” Q mumbled.

“So we’re just gonna…mind our own business until he tells his Housewarden what happened…” Deuce glanced away sheepishly.

“Or at least until people stop takin’ bets on who's gonna chomp someone next…” Jack muttered under his breath.

Ortho scowled.

The student body’s insistence on being scared of his friends was so…stupid! Part of the reason for getting them to be able to attend Night Raven was so that they’d be able to readjust to regular life.
How were they supposed to do that when everyone treated them like unstable viruses that could blow up the whole software?!

“I’ll message Idia about it later. He’ll probably be fine. I doubt he’d attack anyone for no reason.”

Ace made a face.

“Well–”

“Losing his temper at someone in Pomefiore is a reason.” Deuce shot Ace a look. “Have you met most people from that dorm?”

“...fair enough. They’re all pretty snobby.”

The group stepped through the mirror into Octavinelle.

Jack’s ears flattened as the sound of flowing water suddenly sprung all around him, eyes widening as he saw the glass walls of the dorm.

“Are we…entirely underwater?”

Q stared up at the ceiling, amazed.

“It looks like it…that’s so cool!”

Ortho tilted his head, surveying the aquarium walls with fascination.

“Maybe we should’ve checked if Sebek Zigvolt wanted to come with us…I think he’d like this!”

Ace shrugged.

“He’d probably like the underwater part…not so sure about the..cafe and crazy invite part.”

“True…”

Deuce wandered slightly off from the group. Water all around….surrounding him. No way out except back through the mirror, which could so easily be blocked off…

Except that was silly. Why would anyone do that in a dorm, especially one that had a cafe in it?

Deuce absentmindedly fidgeted with his claws, subconsciously reminding himself that he wasn’t restrained.

His tail curled behind him as he stared out into the deep blue water.

Not this time…

“You seem quite intrigued with our dorm’s atmosphere.”

Deuce jumped a foot off the ground, wheeling around.

The tall student behind him blinked.

“Oh, I apologize. My intent was not to startle you, I simply noticed your interest. I experienced much of the same fascination when I first came to land.”

Deuce stared blankly up at the student, eyes flickering to his suit and scarf. The guy was evidently in Octavinelle…man, this place had really professional-looking dorm uniforms…

“Umm…yeah, it's, um, pretty cool…” His tail unconsciously flicked behind him. The student’s eyes darted ever so slightly towards the movement.

Okay, he could do this. Just be normal, and introduce yourself without staring like a zombie…

“Um, I’m, um, Deuce Spade…hi…”

He hesitantly tried a smile, unsure about whether revealing his fangs was a good way to make a first impression.

Shockingly enough, it was.

If anything, the student seemed a little too enthusiastic, smiling back widely.

“Why hello! It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Jade Leech, vice housewarden of Octavinelle. Welcome to the Mostro Lounge.”

“Oh, uh, t–thank you–”

“Hey Deuce! What are you doing over…” Ace’s voice trailed off as his steps paused. He tilted his head, looking suspiciously at Jade, keeping a small distance

“....Are you Floyd, and you somehow flipped your hair, or does he secretly have a twin?”

Jade looked curiously at Ace.

“The latter, though I’d hardly call it a secret. I’m rather surprised you were already able to tell the difference between us, most people have trouble doing so.”

“Aw, Crabby already remembered me?”

Deuce stepped back as someone that could be the carbon copy of Jade ran up behind the vice housewarden. So that was probably Floyd…

Floyd grinned maniacally down at Ace and Deuce.

“Heehee! Lookit, you brought a little Mackerel with you!”

Deuce shot a questioning look at Ace, who shrugged.

“...that's a new one…”

“I know, right? Apparently it's an everyone thing.”

Floyd stepped forward.

“You look like you could use a squeeze–"

Deuce back peddled before either second year could blink, moving to stand slightly behind Ace.

“No thanks, I’m good!”

Floyd blinked, mouth turning down into a scowl.

“Boo! Lame…”

Jade tilted his head, looking curiously at his brother.

“Hm…aren’t you meant to be behind the bar, Floyd?”

“Yes, he is.” A stern voice spoke up from behind the twins. “And now several orders are backed up.”

Floyd’s sharklike grin relit his face. He half turned his head back.

“Hi Azul~look who accepted the invite!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel would’ve…half agreed with Ortho’s assumption. He was definitely in a mountain of trouble.

But he 100% believed that Vil was going to kill him over it.

There was no way that Vil, who lost his mind when Epel forgot the order of the forks at dinner (Why did you need more than one!? They all did the same thing!), would react calmly to him biting someone.

Unlike Leona, who if anything, looked a little too calm about the whole situation. The Savanaclaw Housewarden was poking unconcernedly at Epel’s flowerbed, like he hadn’t just sent a second year screaming up to the medical wing.

“Seems like an awful lot of trouble to mess with you over some unripened buds…”

Epel blinked gingerly, half of his eyes throbbing at the movement.

“They didn’t actually want any of that; they were probably just gonna wreck it…”

“Hmph.” Leona huffed. “What was even the point then?”

Epel shrugged, cautiously feeling the injured side of his face. At least one of his eyes was definitely already swelling shut. Great. Now Vil was also going to rip him a new one for ruining his face…

“To have an excuse to berate me…” Epel muttered sourly.

Leona’s ears perked.

“Really now? Heh. That herbivore’s gonna have fit tryin’ to clean this up…”

Epel glanced up at the Housewarden. Wa–was he talking about Vil…?

Cause if he was....Leona wasn’t entirely wrong. Seeing how scary Vil had been about Epel just not telling him about someone pushing him off a broom–yeah, Vil was probably gonna have a heart attack and take Epel down with him…

Leona yawned.

“Anyway, how's your face feel?”

Epel hesitated.

“Um–it’s…felt better…”

“Tck. Could’ve guessed that.” Leona’s tail flicked behind him. “He got you pretty good.”

Epel clicked his jaw dismally.

“Yeah….”

It was bad enough that he’s basically lost to those jerks. But Leona had just had to see the scuffle. Epel could(maybe) get over getting beat; he wouldn’t be able to handle the beastman’s pity…

“You want some ice before I gotta go spill all of this to Vil?”

Epel quickly straightened, ignoring dull pain that stiffened his spine as he did.

“Thanks, but I’m okay!”

Leona rolled his eyes.

“That wasn’t actually a question. Half your face is black and blue, your gettin’ an ice pack.”
…………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………

Idia’s voice crackled indifferently over his tablet.

“I feel like your overreaction…”

“He BIT someone!” Vil hissed across his desk. “If anything, I am underreacting!”

After one of Pomefiore’s second years had been heard wailing his way up to the medical wing, Vil had marched his way to Idia’s class, dragging the Ignihyde Housewarden back to Pomefiore in tablet form.

Rook was in the process of tracking down the freshman, who Vil dearly, dearly hoped had a good explanation for this incident.

“All I’m saying is, I’m banking on it being 100% justified. Epel wouldn’t chomp anyone for no reason..”

“He shouldn’t ‘chomp’ anyone at all! There is no situation where that is acceptable behavior!”

“...agree to disagree.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Sebek would never dare to disagree with Malleus or Lilia, as any course of action that the faes decided to take was undoubtedly the right one. He was just beginning to feel…a bit…over–observed.

It was not that he disliked the attention, though he felt largely undeserving of it.

It was just that–the over focus on him was the problem. Because Sebek was slowly beginning to fail at a task that he hadn’t even considered until he’d been reaccepted into Malleus’s circle:

He was no longer suited for the land. He was, by the most point-blank definition, a crocodile, a creature whose strengths lay in the water. And he was afraid to admit that he seemed to be the only one to realize that.

Lilia appeared to have no qualms with how he performed in training, but Sebek didn’t know how much longer that would last.

It took every ounce of his focus to stay balanced during sword play, to not trip over his webbed feet while the fae instructed them to run. He practiced for hours by himself, finding the most strategic way to hold his tail so he wouldn’t topple over and make an utter fool of himself.

And even then, there had been far too many moments where he’d nearly fallen anyways, during tasks that Silver was accomplishing all too easily.

There was eventually going to be a time when Lilia would ask him to perform a task that he could not complete, and then his liege and mentor would be forced to question whether or not his mantle should remain.

And Sebek dreaded that day…

Though not as much as he dreaded the platter that Lilia was placing before him.

“I have often found that cake settles the best after a trying day.”

That may be a true piece of wisdom…but Sebek was unsure if this creation could be classified as cake.

“Thank you, Lilia…h–how was this color accomplished, precisely?"

Lilia beamed, happily taking a seat across from him.

“I haven’t the faintest idea! It’s quite a remarkable shade, isn’t it?”

“It’s certainly…distinctive…”

As in charred…oh dear, he hoped it was charred. He couldn’t fathom any other reason that a baked good could wind up that pitch black.

“It is, isn’t it?” Lilia looked at the platter proudly. “Please dig in!”

Sebek hesitated.

Despite all the inner discourse his new form was causing him, Sebek found himself immensely grateful for one of his crocodilian traits.

The ability to unhinge and drop his lower jaw to his collarbone…and swallow things whole.

Lilia stared at him as he choked down the “cake”, looking positively enchanted.

“What a marvelous talent you possess!”

Sebek’s tail swished dismally behind.

“Marvelous…yes…”

Chapter Text

It wasn’t hard to tell that the guy behind Jade and Floyd was this dorm’s Housewarden.

Mostly because of the way he was glaring at Floyd. It reminded Ace of how Riddle looked at him when he admitted to not doing his homework until the night before it was due.

Guess you had to master that look before you could be a Housewarden…

“I am quite pleased that they have decided to visit our establishment. But it would be much easier to introduce myself if people were receiving their orders on time, wouldn’t it?”

Floyd continued grinning, seeming to completely disregard Azul’s sharp tone.

“Heehee! I’m goin’, I’m goin’. I gotta say hi to the rest of them anyway~”

Floyd half slid up to the Lounge’s dining room, slipping back behind the bar counter. Right up to where Ortho, Q, Grim, and Jack were sitting.

Ace and Deuce glanced warily at each other. Hopefully, this guy would be able to tell that Jack was far wanting in the hug department…and Grim, for that matter. Probably wouldn’t make the best first impression if the direbeast burned the whole cafe down..

“I do apologize for Floyd’s enthusiasm.” Ace glanced back at Azul, who smiled back at him generously. It was…offputting. No one had ever looked that happy about the fact that they’d shown up before…

“Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Azul Ashengrotto, the Housewarden of Octavinelle and the manager of the Mostro Lounge. Welcome to my humble establishment.”

Ace tilted his head. “Humble” wasn’t quite how he’d describe this place.

“Uh, thanks for…inviting us…why’d you do that, anyway?”

Ace bit back a yelp as Deuce’s claws yanked on his feathers, in a vain attempt to get his friend to be more polite. The attempt came too late, unfortunately.

Azul blinked at the blunt question.

“I simply wanted to extend a hand of welcome. One of the downsides of running an establishment through a school setting is that we must rely entirely on word of mouth to bring in customers. I merely wanted to make certain that you were all aware of the Lounge’s existence.”

Deuce hesitantly gave a very small smile. He hadn’t been expecting such a frank response, but Azul had taken Ace’s bluntness with ease. The Housewarden seemed friendly enough…and no one else had gone to such an effort to include them in something.

“Oh, uh, thanks! Your, um, your dorm looks–very nice!”

Ace, however, was not as convinced. His main theory was still that everyone in Octavinelle was crazy, so he doubted some of Azul’s “friendliness”.

But…the Housewarden still seemed mostly straightforward. Like Ortho had said, the guy was a total businessman. Ace didn’t know a lot about business, but he knew that more customers equaled more money. Profits probably weren’t super affected by odd appearances…

Azul practically beamed.

“Why, thank you! I’m delighted you enjoy the Lounge’s ambience.”

Ace rolled his eyes, flicking one of his wings back to lightly whack Deuce’s shoulder. It baffled him how much of an absolute suck up Deuce could be sometimes…

“Yep, looove looking at decor. Why don’t we go and actually try some of the food before we leave a five star review?”

Deuce scowled. Jade twittered.

“Oh, please do. I doubt you will be disappointed.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Azul watched the peculiar duo skitter their way up to the bar, squeezing next to their already seated friends. Hopefully, their presence would keep Floyd in his assigned station. And, ideally(but unlikely) he would still remember to keep up with the orders while he was back there…

“What an odd little pair Riddle has on his hands.” Jade hummed thoughtfully. “Though they seem friendly enough, for how shy they are…”

Azul smirked.

“Likely because they're not truly shy. I believe it's more of learned behavior, of sorts. Afterall, Idia has been their main, if not only guardian. Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that they were willing to entertain any conversation.”

Truthfully, he hadn’t expected his invitation to be accepted so quickly. If anything, he’d assumed that the group would be a little slow in exploring dorms outside of their own. He wondered if their quick arrival was due to genuine curiosity…or a rather unfortunate lack of caution.

Jade hummed.

“I hadn’t considered that.”

Azul pushed his glasses up.

“And besides, it's not as if trust can be built in a day. Though, the one on the left did seem…frightfully credulous.”

Jade tutted.

“Perhaps a little. I think the poor soul’s just not used to common courtesy.”

Azul adjusted his scarf.

“Quite so. I can only imagine how rough Riddle has it. I’m sure he’ll greatly appreciate more upperclassmen looking out for them..”

And Azul was certainly going to appreciate all of the over–doting Housewardens eating out of the palms of his hands once he displayed how benevolent he could be towards the Tartarus group.

Not to mention the benefits he would reap by winning over the trust of said group. Seeing the open disdain the general student body held for them, it would be so easy to sway the freshmen into doling out punishment to all those who dared to attempt to disregard their contract terms. And since they were only freshmen, he’d be able to play off those benefits for the next few years!

But for now, he needed to play his cards carefully. The group always seemed to have a plethora of watching eyes around them…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
It wasn’t hard to follow Epel’s trail, but Rook was a bit confused as to why the freshman had headed to the kitchen after the incident. He could understand that perhaps Epel’s first instinct was to hide, but he couldn’t fathom why he would run here specifically.

He was also quite perplexed about what had caused this line of events.

Often, creatures that were inclined by nature to bite did so sooner rather than later. The second year’s story of Epel “attacking him out of nowhere” didn’t exactly add in Rook’s mind. But then again, the group was undoubtedly full of surprises.

Perhaps Epel was simply more ferocious than he and Vil had thought…

Rook pushed the door to the kitchen all the way open, quietly peering into the room.

“Now just hold it there for a minute, before your face puffs up anymore.”

Rook blinked. Roi des Lions…now, that was a surprise. Though not as much of a surprise as Epel’s face.

“Oh mon Dieu! Monsieur Pommette, what happened to your face?!”

“Gah!”

Leona jumped. Epel turned towards Rook, two of his four eyes widening. The other two were swollen shut, partially hidden beneath a wadded dish towel.

“Rook–! I, uh–”

Epel yelped as Leona grabbed the back of his jacket, the Housewarden dragging the freshman forward, plopping Epel between himself and Rook.

“A few of your second years smacked ‘im around. So, seems like you should handle that–” Leona stepped to the side, moving to leave. “I got places to be. See ya Epel.”

Epel blinked, half stumbling forward.

“Oh, uh, thank you, Mr Kingscholar…”

Rook tilted his head, stepping sideways with Leona.

“Oh, does that mean that you saw the incident? I’m quite sure that Vil and Idia would greatly appreciate your retelling of the events as well.”

Epel gulped.

Leona scowled.

“Tck…fine.”

“Merveilleux! Come come, let us not keep Roi du Poison waiting!”

Leona and Epel unenthusiastically followed Rook out, neither looking happy about this turn of events.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“I hate to say I told you so…”

Vil scowled over at Idia’s tablet.

“I highly doubt that.”

“Weeheehe! ‘Kay, not really.” Idia’s voice crackled smugly over the speaker. “I told you it was justified!”

Leona yawned, stretching lazily in his chair.

“Yep. Your freshman ain’t a full-blown biter, your little posh dorm is just full of idiots.”

Vil’s scowl deepened.

“Thank you for your unhelpful observations, Leona. You're more than welcome to leave now, I’d rather speak to Epel without an audience.”

And more importantly, without any peanut gallery against him from these two.

Leona rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. Thanks for wastin’ my time.”

Idia huffed.

“Fine….just…be nice…”

Leona snickered.

“Yeah, or else ‘e might bite you..”

“Weeheehee!”

Vil’s eyes flashed.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Epel had kinda been expecting to be sliced into a french fry as soon as he entered Vil’s office, or at the very least yelled at.

But this was almost as bad…

Vil kept hopping between being apologetic, and trying to almost be his therapist?

One second it was “I deeply apologize for these students' behavior, they have tainted Pomefiore’s reputation,” and the next it was “There are several methods of self-defence, why did you immediately leap for biting him?”

And it just went around and around, for so long that the sun was setting by the time he finally let Epel leave.

And even then, he wasn’t allowed to go unless Rook was two steps behind him, practically stepping on his heels. And Rook talked…so much more than Epel had realized…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“So instead of makin’ sure ah wasn’t gonna get expelled, y'all decided to go check out a shady cafe?!”

Ortho frowned.

“You wouldn’t have gotten expelled, Epel. At most, you’d would’ve been placed on academic probation, and been unable to attend classes for an allotted amount of time.”

Ace flopped onto the couch, half shoving Grim off with one of his wings.

“Yeah, and you didn’t even get put on that either! So, seems like it all worked out.”

Epel huffed, crossing his arms.

“Why do you guys always do the interestin’ stuff without me!?”

Jack forced his way on the couch, pushing Ace to the side.

“Nothin’ really happened. I mean, the Octavinelle guys were kinda…weird, but we kinda just…had a normal dinner.”

Sebek snorted, half curling up in the armchair.

“That isn’t precisely nothing. I’d say that’s perhaps the oddest thing I’ve ever considered!”

Deuce poked his head in from the kitchen.

“Um, not as odd as what Lilia sent you back with…are these–supposed to be edible?”

Sebek grimaced.

“I am…not entirely sure…he said they were cookies…”

Clack.

“...they don’t sound like cookies…”

Q looked up from her seat on the floor.

“Did you just drop one on the floor?”

“Actually I dropped a few…some of them bounced…”

Ace wrinkled his nose.

“Something tells me that Lilia’s strengths do not lie in the kitchen…”

Sebek flicked his tail.

“I…highly respect his efforts. But I…do not wish to swallow anymore.”

Ortho bobbed into the kitchen, investigating the “baked goods”.

“That is not surprising, I would not recommend consuming anymore. They all somehow have a different chemical makeup.”

Jack’s ear twitched.

“Fun…”

“I wanna try one!” Grim hopped off the couch, sprinting for the kitchen. Q scrambled up after him.

“No one else is eating the mysteriously chemical composition cookies!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Idia quickly made his way down campus’s main street. He’d pre-ordered the newest issue of his favorite manga, but it hadn’t come in yet.

So much for his day one nerd cred…and it had been a special edition too…

Well, at least no one else was out this late. He might as well hit up the school store and pick up a copy–

“..llly…”

Idia froze.

“Huh?! Who’s there?!”

Something whooshed by him, twittering laughter surrounding him, the air growing frosty around him.

“I’ve finally…found you…”

Idia wheeled around, trying to find the source of the creepy, sing–songy voice.

“MY PRINCE!”

A scream ripped from Idia’s lungs as something blue and white surged out of the shadows, diving straight for him.

“GYAAAAH!!!”

Chapter Text

Deuce jerked awake, sitting up before he really even registered what had woken him.

An odd chill ran up his spine, an unnatural gust blowing through his room. Normally, something like that only happened when one of the Ramshackle ghosts floated through. But those three always announced themselves and reappeared when they saw he was awake.

And Deuce had learned a long time ago to be able to sense when something was up. He’d kinda had to, given….everything down in Tartarus.

Very quietly, he slipped out of bed. His claws creaked against the floorboards despite his best efforts, but Ramshackle rattled so much anyway that it apparently didn’t catch the attention of whatever was in the room with him.

Deuce crept towards where the air felt colder, his tail whipping behind him in an attempt to better feel the space around him.

Dimly, he made out the freezing outline of an unfamiliar ghost. In some…really over-the-top looking hat?

“What a mess it is in here! These are hardly acceptable conditions for the princess to return to!”

Deuce frowned. It wasn’t that much of a mess in here…he thought he kept his stuff pretty neat…

“Excuse me?”

“Gah!” The ghost wheeled around, eyes widening at the sight of Deuce’s blinking eyes. Weird, the Ramshackle ghosts had never been put off by his night vision before..

“Eeek! A basilisk! How did you infiltrate the princess’s guesthouse?! Explain yourself, knave!”

Deuce scowled.

“First of all, I’m not a–whatever you just called me, and second, I didn’t infiltrate anything! The Headmage said we had to live here.” Whether they wanted to or not…

He yelped as the ghost shot an attack at him, leaping to the side to dodge. The shot of magic hit the end of his tail, burning the tip of it.

Deuce hissed, his tail curling up so fast he whipped his own leg.

“Hey!”

“Vacate the premises at once! Outsiders are strictly forbidden on the royal family’s grounds!”

“...What are you talking about?!”

“GIVE IT BACK!”

Jack’s voice thundered through the door, his snarl shaking dust from the cracks in the wall. An unfamiliar voice carried through after.

“This contraption is made from materials that are invaluable! You must have stolen them from the princess’s treasury, and thus, that makes this her property, not yours!”

“THAT WASN’T EVEN MADE HERE!!”

Deuce lunged for the door before the ghost could, scrambling across the hall, trying to get to Jack’s room.

“Ugh!”

A gray blur barreled into his legs, knocking him flat on the ground. Grim squirmed out from under him, hissing.

“MROOWW! There’s more stupid ghosts?!”

“There are more of you miscreants here?!”

Deuce rolled back up to his feet, looking up at the absolute horde of ghosts flying about Ramshackle. All of them were dressed in the same tall hats and suits, and they all looked as upset as the one from his room.

One of the specters floated closer, scowling.

“This domicile is the princess’s guesthouse! All of you creatures need to vacate at once!”

Deuce returned the expression, clenching his fists.

“We’re not creatures! And this, whether we like it or not, is our house!”

“And what even is a “do-mi-seal”?!”

Grim puffed up beside him, shooting a stream of flames at the ghost, who retreated quickly from the blue fire, yelping.

“NO!” Q skittered to a halt at the end of the hall, her pajamas smoking.

“Grim, no more flames! Please! You almost burned down our room!!”

Deuce ducked as the ghosts sent an onslaught of magic their way.

Crack!

“Pleh!” Ace’s head popped up in the new hole in the wall, pieces of the wall stuck in his hair. “Ow! Seriously, what did my wall do!?!”

“Sorry!” Deuce dived to the side, dodging more of the ghosts’ attacks.

“There are more of them?!”

“DESIST AT ONCE!!! HOW DARE YOU BARGE INTO OUR HOME!”

“AAH! A DRAGON!”

Sebek lumbered clumsily out of his room, snapping at yet another ghost(How many of them were there?!) whose hands seemed to be full of several of their things, including Q’s camera and–hey, was that the extra tart Trey had given them!?

“I AM NOT A DRAGON! HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO COMPARE ME TO A CREATURE WORTHY OF MALLEUS’S LINEAGE!!!”

Sebek stiffly clunked after the ghost, his tail striking the wall in his haste. Deuce slammed his hands against his finned ears, his friend’s shouts bouncing around in his skull.

“Sebek!” Jack half crawled out of his room, dragging his unbraced leg behind him. “I already can’t walk, I would like to be able to hear!!”

Crash!

Epel dashed from his room, spitting mad.

“Look whatcha did to ma light!”

“Look what you made me do to the princess’s chandelier!” A ghost cried. “I demand you miscreants leave at one, lest we give you a sound drubbing!”

The ghosts all unleashed a fury of spells, driving several more holes in the walls and even a few in the floor.

Q hissed as her foot went through the top stair, the wood splintering into her shin.

“Guys! We maybe need a tactical retreat, I don’t know if Ramshackle can handle this kind of fight!”

Especially from them. Deuce was pretty sure that they could easily trounce the ghosts, but none of them were very good at…not being destructive. And if Ramshackle was already crumbling from the ghosts attacks–

Ace yelp, clambering out of his room as a lob of magic struck his wing.

“Yep, an outside fight sounds great right now!”

Unfortunately, an outside fight was not what they got.

The moment they passed over Ramshackle’s threshold, the dorm’s door slammed behind them.

“I suggest you stay out, lest you want another box to the ears! The wedding will not be disrupted by anything, not even monstrous rapscallions!”

Deuce blinked.

“D–did we just get evicted…by a bunch of ghosts…?”

“They took. My brace.” Jack growled, ears flat against his head.

“They got my camera too…” Q glanced sympathetically at the beastman. “Its not nearly as important, but they were yelling something about it being “Property of the Princess”.”

Epel kicked angrily at the shut door, not really accomplishing anything besides giving himself a sore toe.

“Who the heck even is this princess!? And why does she want RAMSHACKLE this badly!?”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Thump thump.

Ortho powered back on, eyes blinking curiously. Was someone…knocking?

He glanced hopefully at Idia’s bed, disappointment quickly seeping in as he realized that his brother’s bed was still empty.

“Ortho?”

Ortho perked up slightly at the sound of Q’s voice. He quickly opened the door, surprised not to see just the human, but all of his friends. Who all looked…pretty downtrodden at the moment.

“Hi guys! What’s wrong?” His internal clock was reading at 3:02 AM, which was much too early for a visit. And much too late for Idia to still be gone…

Ace sighed.

“We have…kind of a weird problem…”

Ortho blinked, tilting his head, running a quick scan of all of his friends. He noticed several burn marks and cuts, and Jack Howl…was not wearing his leg brace, and leaning on Sebek Zigvolt for support, which was far from ordinary. All signs pointed to some kind of fight, but Ortho couldn’t imagine what anyone on campus that could send his friends packing.

He suddenly felt a heightened desire to know Idia’s exact location…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“HEADMAAGE!!!”

Crowley jumped up from behind his desk.

“Why, if it isn’t Ortho Shroud from Ignihyde. What could’ve gotten you in such a tizzy?”

“It's an emergency, sir! IDIA’S BEEN KIDNAPPED BY GHOSTS!”

Crowley blinked.

“Wha–”

The Tartarus freshmen tramped in after Ortho, looking equally panicked. If not…more ticked off then younger Shroud.

“Oh my, this is…quite the crowd. Er, what do you mean Idia Shroud has been kidnapped? And, ahem, how did…all of you find out about this situation?”

Ace Trappola scowled.

“Well gee, probably because we tried to find Idia after a bunch of ghosts kicked us out of our house!”

Deuce Spade’s tail whipped behind him.

“And after we told Ortho that and Idia still hadn’t come back–”

“At 3 in the morning!” Grim cut in.

“He pulled up the school’s camera footage, and found a recording of Idia getting dragged away by a ghost!”

“And seeing how much the ghosts who attacked us prattled on and on about a princess and a wedding,” Sebek Zigvolt stepped forward, face stormy. “It can be assumed that the ghost in the bridal get-up squalling about “her prince” as she dragged Idia away is their monarch!”

Crowley’s face paled.

“Dear, oh dearie me! It would appear that the Ghost Bride has found her perfect husband at last!”

The freshmen all stared at him.

“..what.”

Grim leaned forward from his perch on Q’s shoulder, his tail curling around her neck.

“Ghost Bride? What kinda title is that?”

Crowley frowned.

“The story is that she’s a princess of a long fallen kingdom, or some such. She dreamt of marrying a handsome prince, but she tragically perished before that dream could be realized. To this day, her ghost clings to the idea of marrying the perfect prince. She always comes to Twisted Wonderland this time of year, but, *ahem*, normally Ramshackle dorm is empty for her and her retainers to use as their base of operations…”

Ace’s scowl deepened.

“And you didn’t think to mention that?! You’ve just been letting a romance crazed ghost take over part of Night Raven every year and you never thought, ‘hey, maybe I should do something about that!?’”

Crowley huffed.

“I believed that she was searching for a prince that was unattainable! Her qualifications for the perfect prince are the stuff of pure fantasy! I thought there was no man in Twisted Wonderland who could meet her standards!”

“Idia did!” Ortho wailed, looking utterly distraught. “My brother is clearly the coolest guy around! Curse that ghost and her discerning taste!”

Deuce looked at Ortho skeptically.

“Uh, yeah…that's…definitely a way to look at it…”

Crowley wrung his hands.

“Normally, she suffers in Ramshackle for a few days, then gives up her fruitless search and leaves! I’d never imagined that she would ever succeed in her search!”

Jack growled, shifting himself forward on a pair of crutches that Crowley didn’t recognize as belonging to the school (which were made from the finest materials, and definitely weren’t just for show…).

“Well, she did. She swiped a whole person, and her goons snatched a bunch of our stuff outta the dorm! Including my brace, that I need to FLIPPIN’ WALK!”

Crowley shrunk slightly.

“Oh, I–I suppose that her retainers assessed the value of your possessions and, um, medical device, and determined that they were–worthy of their Princess’s attention!”

Epel glowered up at the Head Mage.

“Are we supposed to feel flattered ‘bout that?!”

“Oh, well, of course not, I was, um, simply stating their reasoning, er–” Crowley faltered, quickly shifting gears. “I assume that Styx provided you with a back-up brace to attend school with, Mr Howl? Since it is…so important…”

Jack’s lip curled.

“Oh yeah, they did. Too bad it's locked in a safe that only the guy gettin’ married has a key to!” Jack snarled through gritted teeth, hands tightly gripping around the crutches handles’.

Crowley gulped.

“Well that is certainly a…dilemma…”

Sebek’s tail lashed about behind him, nearly knocking over one of Crowley’s side tables.

“Yes, it certainly is. Though, not as much as Idia being held captive by an undead bride WISHING TO WED HIM!!”

Ortho looked teary eyed at the Head Mage.

“Yeah, what’s gonna happen to my brother?!”

Crowley all but shrunk into his cape.

“Well, if the Ghost Bride succeeds in marrying him…his soul will be binded to someone already dead. And if that happens, Idia’s soul will leave his body and he will…depart for the afterlife....permanently…”

It took all but three seconds for the information to sink in.

“WHAT??!!”

Ortho stared blankly forward, face growing paper white with shock.

“My…My brother’s gonna turn into a ghost?!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Yeep!” Kalim ducked as a magic beam was shot at his head, nearly catching his bandana on fire. “Woah, those ghosts really want us to leave!”

Azul readjusted his glasses as he stepped out onto the sports field, the only place that the ghosts didn’t seem to care about.

“Indeed. I wonder what is driving them to such–”

“What do you mean “sit this out”?! You don’t even have an actual plan, do you?! You just don’t want our help!”

Riddle paused, turning his head to the left, recognizing the voice.

“Ace?”

The Head Mage’s voice carried across the field.

“Boys, boys, I need you all to calm down–”

“No! We don’t have a dang second of time for that!”

“Please tell me that is not who I think…”

Kalim glanced back, smiling brightly.

“Hi Vil! I actually have no idea who it is, but they sound super mad at the Head Mage.”

Rook stepped out from behind Vil.

“I’m afraid that is exactly who you think it is, Vil.”

Vil pursed his lips.

The Headmage finally stepped into view, out from the other side of the main building, surrounded by a gaggle of students.

“While I greatly admire all of your concerns for your peer’s life, we need to think more rationally about–”

"Sir, I don’t think there is a rational fix for getting kidnapped by ghosts!”

Riddle blinked. Deuce hadn’t sounded that stern since he and Ace had challenged Riddle to that ill-fated duel…wait, had he said kidnapped?

Azul squinted, peering across the field at the small crowd.

“My my, are those the freshmen from Ramshackle?”

Kalim blinked.

“Oh, is it? I haven’t met them yet.”

“Yikes!” Cater joined the crowd outside, already hearing the group’s yelling. “Thats definitely our freshies; what's got them so upsetty?”

Riddle frowned.

“I haven’t the faintest idea…but I believe we should find out, less it gets out of–”

“I simply can not endanger our historic building!”

“So you would rather endanger his LIFE!?!”

Leona huffed, stopping in his tracks, turning back to join the group. He’d been hoping that he’d be able to just skirt by and avoid any more drama. Havin’ the ghosts flyin’ at his face had been bad enough…

But Jack sounded ticked off, and knowing Crowley, he probably needed to intercede before the Head Mage started callin’ animal control.

“Seems like it's already outta hand…” Wait…was Jack hobblin’ on crutches?! What the heck had Crowley let happen?!

“YOU WOULD HAVE US SIT BY AND DO NOTHING, WHEN NOT ONLY SOMEONE’S LIFE IS DANGER, BUT WHEN WE HAVE BEEN DISPLACED FROM THE LODGINGS YOU PROVIDED US WITH!?!!?”

The crowd of students all winced at the sheer volume of the yell, the words ringing in all their ears despite the distance.

Lilia appeared beside Cater, making his poor clubmate jump.

“Hm. What in the world has Crowley done now…?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
It should’ve been a red flag for all Housewardens present when the Head Mage appeared glad to see them.

“Mr Kingscholar, Mr Al-Asim, Mr Ashengrotto, Mr Schoenheit and Mr Rosehearts! I’m so reliev–er, there is an issue that definitely needs to be discussed! Would you five mind following me over this way? Ortho, would you please follow us over as well?”

None of them particularly wanted to, but it was clear that Crowley wasn’t actually asking.

Four of them followed the Head Mage apprehensively, while Kalim just followed confused. Ortho just looked…annoyed.

Crowley led them a short distance away, turning on his heel to address them.

“Now, we have a grave matter on our hands…no pun intended..”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Rook, Lilia, and Cater didn’t even need to pry. The freshmen spilled all that happened without any push back whatsoever.

So much so, that they talked over each other a bit, and it actually took a couple of recounts before the three juniors were able to fully distinguish what happened.

Cater twittered.

“Woah, Bridey sure knows how to pick ‘em! You guys are like, totes worried, huh?”

Deuce's tail flicked.

“Yes! If we don’t do anything, Idia’s gonna end up dead! And in an unhappy marriage!”

Cater coughed, trying very, very hard to cover his smile. It really shouldn’t be funny, but all the freshies were just so wound up, and the situation itself was just so…silly.

Like, Idia was the Ghost Bride’s perfect prince. The joke kinda wrote itself…

But all of the first years were sups upset, so now was probs not the best time to mention that…

The weirdest thing was that Lilia, who was normally the first to joke at any circumstance, looked the most serious.

Rook hummed lightly.

“All of your concern for Roi de Ta Chambre is most honorable! You must all care quite deeply about him!”

Grim huffed.

“Duh! “E’s the only one who cared enough to get us out here!”

Lilia tilted his head, still looking waaay too serious.

“I see…well, personally, I won’t stand for any allegations that claim one in Briar Valley’s heir’s circle failed to save a single child of man. I shall offer my assistance to your endeavor!"

Sebek’s face instantaneously brightened.

“Thank you, Lilia! We are honored to have your assistance in the matter!”

Ace rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, if we’re even allowed to assist. The Head Mage apparently thinks we’re gonna burn the whole school down if we help!”

Rook peered at Ace, for long enough that the freshman started to squirm a bit.

“Ah, which is likely why he was so insistent that the Housewardens meet with him.”

Cater shrugged.

“Well, you might still be in luck! I don’t think their “brainstorming” sesh is goin’ super well…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Leona yawned.

“Why are we not supposed to want them to handle this?”

Crowley faltered.

“Mr Kingscholar, we need to handle this situation with poor Shroud’s safety in mind!”

“Are you implying that they are unsafe?!” Riddle looked at the Head Mage sharply.

“N–no, not at all! I’m simply stating that we need more of a concrete plan–!”

Ortho buzzed angrily.

“We were going to make a plan! You told them that they weren’t allowed to help at all before we got to brainstorm at all!”

Vil frowned.

“I suppose that I may offer my assistance, despite Idia’s constant snub of the company of others…but methods aside, I believe the freshmen are more than capable.”

Kalim beamed.

“Yeah, we should all work together to help him!”

“I concur.” Azul smiled slyly. “I am more than willing to offer my thoughts in the planning process.” And let the freshmen handle the brute amount of the work, while he observed how they…problem solved.

Ortho brightened.

“I’ll go get them, and then we can all brainstorm how to save my brother!”

Crowley dismally watched Ortho bob back to the other group, watching his hope of an unblemished main building fade away right in front of his eyes…

Chapter Text

The Ghost Bride happily flitted around the newly decorated cafeteria, so wrapped in her own blissful thoughts that she paid no mind to her groom’s cries.

“Tee hee hee…Ooh, what a lovely day this is!”

“SOMEONE GET ME OUTTA HEEEERE!”

“Oh, I haven’t felt so alive since…well, when I was alive! Finally, at long last, I’ve found my perfect prince!”

Idia helplessly writhed in the ghost knotted robes, flailing about on the ground in a vain attempt to escape.

“I don’t WANNA get married! I’m still in school!”

And he really, really needed to get out of here before Ortho and a certain group of seven started high–key panicking. Which they were probably already doing…oh boy, he was gonna witness a murder…

Of people who were already dead, which was somehow more terrifying…

The Bride, however, smiled gleefully.

“Aww, Idia, darling! You're jumping for joy! I just love a man who’s full of energy.”

Idia scowled. You’d think talking to a partially see–through ghost would be less like talking to a brick wall, but noooo…

“Princess Eliza!” One of the ghost soldiers floated into the, carrying–oh…no… “I have brought another wedding gift, my lady!”

Eliza floated over, looking at the metal contraption curiously.

“What is it, Nana?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure, but one can clearly tell that it is made from invaluable metals and gems! I had to practically rip away from a terrifying werewolf!”

Eliza covered her mouth with her hands.

“Oh my! There are creatures like that afoot here?!”

The puffy ghost that had been incessantly hanging around puffed up his chest.

“Several monstrous rapscallions had taken up residence in the guesthouse. Don’t fear, my lady! The lot of them were quite easy to chase off! All bark and no bite!”

Eliza clapped her hands.

“Well done, Puffy! I’m sure those scoundrels stood no chance against you!”

“...noooo….”

Eliza blinked, turning to look back at Idia.

“Did you say something, my love?”

“Why would you do that?!” Idia glowered at the two soldier ghosts, honestly impressing himself. He was like, going total boss mode right now! “He needs that to walk! That’s not some cool, shiny piece of loot to tote around, it's a medical device!”

Granted, it was an expensive medical device, worth more in weight than gold, but still! Also, who the heck saw a leg brace and thought “Perfect wedding gift!”?!

“And they're not monstrous or terrifying!” Idia scowled, mumbling. “You're literally all ghosts and abductors, who are you to judge…”

Puffy somehow swelled more in rage.

“How dare you speak to Her Highness that way?! And are you implying that you are acquaintances to such creatures?!”

Eliza pouted.

“Puffy, don’t be so mean to my darling Idia! I think it's wonderful that he is so caring, even to creatures that you have described. Oh, I can’t wait to be wed!”

Idia grimaced. Great, he accidentally just earned more brownie points…and they weren’t gonna give Jack’s brace back, were they?

Which meant that the beastman was back on crutches, which meant that Idia wasn’t just gonna witness a ghost murder; he was gonna witness a massacre…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Crowley quickly cleared his throat as the freshmen, with the trio of juniors, joined the group.

“Now, we need to determine a plan of action that prioritizes Idia Shroud’s safety, and ideally, causes MINIMAL damage to our campus’s esteemed main building–”

Ace rolled his eyes.

“Really? I thought we were just gonna completely forgo caution and light the whole school on fire!”

Cater snorted.

Q stared pointed at the Head Mage.

“Do you have any ideas on how to save Idia?”

Kalim accidentally saved Crowley from answering, quickly putting forth his own suggestion.

“What if we try talking things out with the Bride? We could even do it over a dinner party! Maybe she’ll let Idia go if we explain things.”

The freshmen all turned to stare at him.

Q looked at the Housewarden blankly.

“That’s…a plan, for sure…”

Ace tilted his head.

“Uh…who are you?”

Kailm blinked.

“Oh, I’m Kalim Al-Asim, Housewarden of Scarabia! Nice to meet all of you!”

If Kalim noticed the odd looks the freshmen were giving him, he didn’t show it. Though, all of the other upperclassmen doubted that he did….

Epel glanced sideways at Ortho.

“Um, I..I don’t think that’s going to work..”

“Indeed, though it is a lovely proposal, Roi d’Ore!” Rook smiled placidly. “But I’m afraid I most agree with Epel. A bride who spent so long seeking her groom is unlikely to relinquish him. Were it myself, I would never let my dear beloved go.”

The side-eye Epel gave his vice housewarden was beyond comical. Cater coughed again, though it sounded much more like a giggle this time.

Leona yawned.

“Then I guess violence is our only option.”

“Yeah, we were kinda gonna go with that.” Deuce’s tail flicked. “But we need to figure out where exactly Idia is first.”

Lilia perked to attention.

“The ghosts that drove me out of the cafeteria mentioned something about transforming the room into a wedding venue. My guess is he’s there.”

Vil frowned.

“Is the entirety of your plan just to rush in?”

Epel shuffled his feet.

“Not quite…”

“We were thinking of dividing and conquering a bit.” Jack repositioned himself on his crutches. “Some of us…are better at close combat than others, so some of us were gonna face the Bride, while the rest of us drew all the other ghosts out and distract ‘em.”

Leona’s ear twitched.

“That ain’t a terrible plan, actually.”

Azul hummed.

“I see a few holes that need amending. You're going to have to cause quite a commotion to draw all of the other ghosts away from the Bride, which will undoubtedly draw her attention as well. If she sees how dicey things are, she may take flight with Idia in tow.”

Riddle’s brow furrowed thoughtfully.

“A distraction could reform that problem easily enough.”

Deuce winced.

“Uh…it would need to be a pretty big distraction, Housewarden…”

Sebek scowled slightly.

“Subtlety is not precisely most of our strong suits…”

“Ghosts, hmmm…” Lilia thought for a moment. “Why don’t we seek young Sam’s expertise on the matter? He is quite the authority on all that’s creepy and crawly. If anyone has a distraction for us, it’s him.”

Deuce blinked.

“...are you talking about the guy running the school store..?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Well, if it isn’t the Head Mage with a merry band of imps in tow!” Sam’s eyes lit as he saw the freshmen. “And a particularly merry band at that, I see! What brings you to my humble store today?I kid, I kid. I already know. You’re dealing with the Ghost Bride, aren’t ya?”

The store clerk tilted his head, looking specifically towards the freshmen.

“Though, I do wonder what she has done to bring you all here.”

Ortho frowned.

“She took Idia, and we need a distraction!”

Crowley leaned over the younger Shroud.

“And, ideally, a–clean, shall we say, way of ridding Night Raven of her.”

“We can hear you.” Grim huffed from the floor.

Sam smiled winningly.

“IN STOCK! I do not have a concrete distraction, but I do have a means of expelling the Ghost Bride–the Circle of Severance!" Sam whipped out a small silver ring. “Simply put the ring on the ghost’s left ring finger after saying this incantation: “I vow to love you for as long as you live.” The ring will then sever the ghost’s lingering attachment and send her on to the afterlife!”

Azul looked at the ring, musing.

“But likely the only way we could get the ring on her finger is if we usurp Idia’s position as her fiance.”

Lilia grinned mischievously.

“Ah! Stealing the affections of a bride! Khee hee hee. What could possibly be a better distraction than that?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Crowley sighed dejectedly, turning to face the much more excited students.

“So, all students that we can round up who fit the Bride’s requirements will ask for her hand, and attempt to slip one of these rings on her finger…as a distraction..”

Ortho piped up as the Head Mage’s voice trailed off.

“While they do that, Sebek, Jack, and Deuce will draw as many ghosts as the can to a less fragile part of campus, and take care of them, and Q, Grim, Ace, and Epel will slip in and save Idia, and take on the Bride if needed!”

Crowley perked up slightly.

“I dub this scheme: Operation Proposal. Diamond, would you mind gathering the following students?”

Chapter Text

Floyd yawned, twirling the silver ring on his index finger.

“So, what’re we doin’ again?”

Vil looked curtly at the second year.

“We are helping save Idia Shroud, mostly indirectly, by the request of the Tartarus freshmen.”

Leona snorted.

“That’s a fancy way to say we’re bait.”

Trey blinked.

“What?!”

Vil looked at Leona sternly.

“We are hardly acting as bait! We are in the role of distraction, which requires much more effort and skill than simply being decoys.” The Pomefiore Housewarden smirked. “Then again, by all means, act as bait, if that is all your talents allow.”

Leona scowled.

“You wish. Scared of a little actual competition?”

“From you? Not in the slightest!”

Jade watched the two Housewardens bicker back and forth, shaking his head.

“Looks like they’ve already lost sight of our objective…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Cater glanced curiously at Deuce.

“So, what are the, uh, “less fragile parts of campus”?”

Deuce shrugged, reclipping his magic pen to his pocket. Probably shouldn’t lose that while fighting ghosts…

“Hallways, I guess? Anywhere not near windows, or anything else that could snap.”

Cater raised an eyebrow.

“Anything that could snap?”

“You know, desks, bookshelves…walls not made of stone…”

Cater twittered.

“Deucy, we really need to get you on the Spell Drive team.”

“Right now, we need to focus on saving Idia from the clutches of death!” Sebek scowled down at Cater. “Why are you insisting on following us?! You have no purpose in this plan!”

Cater pouted.

“Yikes, sorry! I’m just trying to see you off, and wish you luck!”

Jack’s ear twitched.

“You don’t have to rush off if you don’t want. We gotta wait for Epel to get back before we can do anything, Sebek’s just bein’ a control freak.”

“I am NOT!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ace peered through one of the cafeteria’s windows.

“What are this Bride’s requirements, anyway?”

Crowley glanced at Ace.

“Oh, *ahem*, the Princess qualifications for the perfect prince are, and I quote:

“At least 180 centimeters tall, with an air of nonchalance!”

“Healthy, lustrous skin! Lidded eyes! A charming smile!”

“Bright, shimmering hair! And, lips so arresting that you just have to kiss them!”

Ace scrunched his nose.

“Woah…those are even stupider than I thought.”

Riddle frowned,

“Those standards are rather ridiculous terms to base a life-long relationship on. But I suppose everyone is allowed their own tastes.”

“I dunno. I feel like there’s a difference between quirks of taste, and just putting yourself in a hole of mindless requirements.” Ace’s wings fluffed slightly. “Especially after you die. Like, you want to spend the rest of eternity with someone, and you’d rather it be someone who happens to be a certain height then someone who, I don’t know, you actually like enough to get married to?”

Riddle looked thoughtfully at his freshman.

“I had never pegged you as one to have such insightful thoughts on romance, Ace.”

Q snickered. “Its less about romance, and more about different people's mindsets. Don’t let his “To cool for school” act fool you, Housewarden Rosehearts. Ace loooves profoundly analyzing why people act the way they do!”

“Really?”

Ace scowled.

“I do not! I just notice people being dumb.”

“Verbally…” Q mumbled out of the corner of her mouth.

Riddle’s mouth twitched.

“Like a crazed Housewarden overly obsessed with rules?”

“Uhhh,” Ace glanced at Riddle sheepishly. “D–did I really put it like that?”

“Something of the sort,” Riddle looked back at the upperclassmen being herded in to meet the Bride. “I am simply glad that your insights stretch beyond me. And that one of the new members of my dorm is so astute.”

“..Huh.” Ace focused back on the cafeteria wedding venue. “...for the record, her requirements are stupider than your rules were.”

“Thank you, Ace.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Slipping by the ghost guard was easy enough. The spirit was plenty distracted by all the upperclassmen “proving their strength” or whatever. And there were plenty of big, spacious windows for Epel to crawl through.

He skittered across the ceiling of the main building, slipping into the cafeteria just as the group of upperclassmen was shown in.

“Are you the ones who seek my hand?”

Epel dropped to the floor, smoothly rolling under a table before the Bride could see him. So this was the lady who’d snatched Idia…

“I appreciate you coming all this way, but I’m afraid I have to apologize. You see, there’s this lovely man named Idia, and we’ve already promised ourselves to each other.” Epel made a face into the floor. Sure, you’d definitely both made that promise…

“He’s tall, with an air of nonchalance…his skin is luminous, his lidded eyes dignified,” Epel had to force himself not to audibly gag. Not because Idia was ugly or anything, but because he knew how much the upperclassman would squirm at being described like that.

“Oh, and he has the most charming smile that he reserves just for me!” Yep, he was puking in his mouth now. Ick…

“He’s positively dashing. Perfect in every way! You’re attentions flatter me, but compared to my darling Idia, you’re–”

“OBVIOUSLY SUPERIOR!”

Epel jumped at Leona and Vil’s shout. Th–they knew that they didn’t actually need to win the Bride’s affection, right?

“Oh well, if you INSIST.”
Epel curled his spider legs in, slowly starting to crawl forward. He just needed to get to the table full of junk at the end, grab Jack’s brace, and then get back outta here before the upperclassmen all got rejected.

Should be simple enough…

“Let’s start with you–the rugged one with the cute ears.”

“You’re talkin’ to me, right? Okay, yeah, hey. I’m Leona Kingscholar. Go ahead and test me, I’m your guy, guaranteed.”

Epel blinked. He was surprised that a guy like Leona was able to take being called cute like that. If it’d been him, he would’ve threatened to bite the Bride’s face off…

“Ahem…~Would you believe how long I’ve waited?~”

Epel froze, turning to peer through the benches. Was she–singing?!

“...Huh?”

“~I’ve waited for so long!~”

“..I am so lost.”

Well, nice to know that Leona was as confused as he was. Epel continued on his way. Since the Bride was busy singin’, she probably wouldn’t notice one of her stolen goods goin’ missing.

“~For a glimpse of that tender smile…From youuuu!~” Epel grit his teeth as the Bride ended her little ditty shrilling, and absurdly sappily.

“Why’s she burstin’ into song? Is choosing one of us too much for her?”

“....YOU’RE OUT!”

SMACK!

“OWW!”

The sound of the hit and Leona’s yelp echoed off the walls as Epel rolled back out from under the target table. He cautiously peeped over the table top, not wanting to be caught, but very much wanting to know what was happening.

Leona was standing in utter shock, a prominent red hand print etched into his cheek. The Bride scowled, hands on her hips.

“Unbelievable. A princess was singing in front of you, and you wouldn’t even join her for a duet! You’re no prince at all!”

..This lady was crazier than he’d thought…

“Next! You there, with the pretty blond hair.”

Unsurprisingly, Vil stepped up, appearing completely unfazed by Leona’s failure.

Epel quietly began to dislodge Jack’s brace from underneath a box of dusty ol’ books, spitefully listening to Vil perfectly harmonizing with the ghost.

What kind of training even prepared someone for that…?

Vil sighed theatrically.

“I could serenade you forever. That’s the least I could do for someone whose love I seek.”

Epel rolled his eyes. This may be one of the few(And he would stand on that!) situations where Vil’s acting career would actually be beneficial, but that didn’t mean this whole thing wasn’t one of the dumbest things he’d ever heard.

The Bride clapped her hands cheerfully.

“How very charming! Now, what’s your dog’s name?”

Epel finally managed to leverage the heavy box up, taking care to be quiet, but also trying to be quick because he couldn’t hold the box one handed for so long.

“Why are you asking about dogs?” He was a little surprised at how put–off by the question Vil sounded. But in all fairness, it was pretty left field. “For one thing, I live in a dorm. Of course I don’t have a dog–”

“YOU’RE OUT!”

SMACK!

“OWW! I don’t believe this! Do you have any idea how valuable my face is?!”

Epel dropped back to the ground so fast he almost clinked Jack’s brace against the floor. He awkwardly held the brace in one hand, stuffing his other fist in his mouth to stifle his sniggers. Good golly, the look on Vil’s face when he’d got shot down–!

He didn’t have time to snicker, though. Now that he had the brace, he needed to get back out to Jack. Deuce and Sebek had probably already started without him, and Jack wouldn’t be too happy if he had to miss out on too much of the ghost bustin’.

The Bride was too busy explaining her icy smacks, and the upperclassmen were too busy being stunned and listening to notice him creeping back up the wall. Almost too easily, he bounced across the ceiling, sliding back out the window undetected.

Well…mostly.

Actually, the Leech twins both saw him scuttle off. But, neither of them were tattletales. So Epel’s first move in the plan was successful.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel’s guess was right. Sebek and Deuce had started without Jack. Granted, the beastman had told them too, but they could both tell he wasn’t happy about it.

They both knew that Jack could’ve handled the ghost fine one leg down(Afterall, three legs provide sufficient enough balance). But they were technically under direction to “be careful", so the more graceful they could each be, the better.

“Halt, by order of the Princess!”

Ghosts swarmed around them the moment they stepped foot into the building. Sebek huffed.

“Would you mind taking care of these fools, Deuce? I believe our efforts would be more fruitful if we divide and conquer farther.”

Deuce cracked his knuckles.

“Yeah, I got it.”

More ghosts swirled around them.

“Oh, so it's a fight you creatures want! Very well! Prepare to be trounced, brutes!”

Deuce’s tail whipped behind him.

“I don’t think so! Bring it on!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Lilia sat silently on the side of the building, watching Deuce and Sebek. He was going to return and see how the others were faring with the Bride in a moment, but first, he truly wanted to see the freshmens’ magical combat skills.

Particularly his own. His training for Sebek and Silver mostly centered on their physical abilities, as they were at school for the sole purpose of learning magic. And asking Sebek to specifically show his superior all of his magical and blot abilities just seemed a bit…on the nose.

The freshman already jumped through hurdles to impress him, Lilia hardly wanted him to think that he doubted his ability in an area that was already a sore subject for him.

But curiosity was eating him up. So, he could watch for a few minutes.

Though, currently, he was a little perplexed on the two’s strategy. Sebek had essentially dashed inside, leaving Deuce to face the quickly growing crowd of ghosts alone.

And stranger still…Deuce seemed perfectly fine with it. If anything, it was almost as if the freshman was going out of his way to get hit by the ghosts attacks, barely dodging as they attempted to chase him off.

What was the plan here…? Was there a plan, even?

Deuce stumbled backwards after one last hit, his stance suddenly solidifying.

“Alright, my turn! It's payback time! DOUBLE DOWN!”

The freshman lunged forward, lashing his fists out at the ghosts. Magic almost poured off of him as he bit, scratched, and punched at the spirits, all of his attacks somehow actually hitting the incorporeal beings.
Lilia stared in awe for a moment, before quickly poofing inside, eager to see how Sebek was getting along.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“You can not hide from us, dragon!”

“Face us, you coward!”

Sebek scowled, focusing on running forward instead of refuting. Just a little farther, to gather a few more ghosts, and then he would show them how he was doing the furthest thing from fleeing.

“I said face us, you knave!”

A blast of magic hit Sebek squarely in the back, nearly throwing him off–balance. He screeched to a halt, wheeling to face the ghosts.

“Very well, if you insist!”

Sebek lunged towards the spirits, unhinging his jaw as low as it would go, letting out his most fearsome cry. If they wanted to face a creature, he may as well oblige…

“AHHH!”

“GET BACK, BEAST! BACK!”

Sebek smirked.

“Oh, no. You said you wished to face me. So by all means, face me! Lightning, pierce the stormy skies! Living Bolt!”

Magic surged through his veins, the world slowing around him as his body’s speed increased. His jaw snapped, his claws tore, as he leapt off the walls and spring-boarded off the floor, his attacks and body growing more and more monstrous as his blot spiked.

That was, perhaps, his saving grace. His signature spell left his reserves almost entirely drained, and left him vulnerable and ineffective after it ran its course. However, his blot prolonged his spell’s run, at the expense of him slowly devolving into more monster than man.

In appearance, that was. He was luckier compared to a few of his friends, who also had to deal with a terrible, monstrous voice speaking in their head whenever they stretched themselves too far…
“EEEK! GET BACK–”

Sebek snapped at the yowling ghost, the specter vanishing as his teeth click shut around it. The ghost possessed the capability to respawn after a period of time, but Sebek doubted any of the fallen spirits would.

Afterall, who would want to return to the reality of fighting a fruitless battle against a reptilian creature faster than lightning?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Lilia wasn’t just impressed. He was positively dazzled!

Watching Sebek move faster than a blink, simply a flash of teeth and light as he struck down multitudes of ghosts–it almost brought a tear to the old fae’s eye.

Afterall, he could remember a time when the boy, barely taller than his waist, had sobbed and stomped his foot at the “unfairness” of not being able to wield magic yet. The skill displayed here was a far cry from that little lad.

Oh…Baur would be so proud…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Jack was late to the party, but at least he’d gotten his brace back. And sinking his teeth into the ghosts kind of made him feel better about it being stolen…

“GAAAAHHH!! IT'S A WEREWOLF!”

“SOMEBODY HELP US!”

Cry all you want…it's too late for all of you…

They were ghosts…they were already dead, wasn’t it technically already too late for them?

Jack bounded through the halls, jaw splitting to chomp down on another group of spectors, easily making them all vanish with a bite.

…Why was he trying to argue with the Beast again? It never listened to him anyway…

Or he didn’t listen…to himself?

…yeah, he should probably focus on cleanin’ up, and not on the random psychological questions that only popped into his brain when he was doin’ something that had the possibility of him going off the deep end if he lost attention…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Grim scowled down at the cafeteria, watching Jade get struck down, after an official minute of being the last “suitor” standing.

“We’re gonna need more princes.”

Crowley frowned, shaking his head in disappointment.

“I didn’t expect Team Tall to be wiped out so quickly.”

“Bwahaha!” Ace snorted. “Oh man, Trey’s singing! At least he tried!”

Q shrugged, quickly hiding a smile.

“Technically, it was distracting…”

Riddle shook his head in disgust.

“Floyd did not even try. Did you see how he goaded the ghost into slapping him, with zero hesitation?”

Rook shook his head mournfully.

“Alas, poor Vil! His immaculate cheeks, marred by a maple leaf-shaped slapmark! And the color matches too…It breaks my heart! His fair features being blemished is a tragedy of epic proportions.”
Epel coughed.

“Uh, yeah…totally…”

Epel and Ace glanced at each other, both suddenly erupting into a silent fit of laughter.

Q smiled impishly.

“The whole thing was a comedy of errors.”

“Pfff–”

Crowley scowled down at the snickering lowerclassmen.

“This is hardly the time to be yukking it up! Shroud’s life hangs in the balance, and here you are, chortling like this is a game!”

The freshmen fell silent frightfully quickly. Ace crossed his arms, glowing up at the Head Mage.

“You think we don’t know that?! So far, we’re the only ones who’ve done anything productive to saving him!”

Crowley stared down at the freshmen smugly.

“While Epel Felmier’s sneaking was veerrry impressive, I wouldn’t classify it as productive just yet. We have no way of knowing if Howl, Zigvolt, and Spade’s efforts were any more beneficial to the plan than the attempts of those poor, newly frozen students.”

“Actually, they’re all doing extremely well!” Kalim yelped as Lilia suddenly appeared behind him. “I was just observing Sebek and Deuce battle. But what is this about people being frozen?”

Cater whistled, tucking his phone into his pocket.

“It looks like we need another wave of distractions. And I’m totes your guy if you wanna win over a cutie!”

Azul hummed, pushing his glasses up.

“I would like to make up for the shortcomings of my dormmates. My word, Jade and Floyd have no idea how to treat a lady. I, on the other hand, can offer you the guarantee that I’ll get the Circle of Severance on her hand.”

Lilia smiled playfully.

“Well, I could hardly call myself a teacher if I’m not willing to take the same risks as my student. I shall throw my hat into the ring as well.”

Ace’s wings twitched.

“Sweet, Team B. Good luck!”

Cater winked.

“Don’t even worry bout it! Cay–Cay’s gonna slay–slay!”

Chapter Text

SMACK!

“Oof!”

SMACK!

“No way!”

SMACK!

“Impossible!”

Team B crashed and burned even faster than the first group, the trio quickly getting slapped one after the other.

Eliza scowled.

“Why must modern men be such brutish cads?! They come courting and don’t even have the decency to wear nice suits….Oh, Idia, darling, I knew you were the only one for! No one else comes close!”

Vil’s face screwed into an expression of obvious rage.

“I cannot BEAR this! How could I be outshone by someone as antisocial as Idia?!”

Leona’s lip curled.

“That shut-in probably can’t even sing!” He hissed grumpily. It was beyond unfair that the Bride hadn’t even ACTUALLY questioned his royal blood, and had instead completely written him off for not belting a stupid tune with her…

Eliza’s face darkened.

“Idia’s nothing like the rest of you! Like I said, he’s a perfect prince. I’m sure he’d love to join me in a song. He's just a tad shy at the moment, that’s all…”

Lilia tutted, looking snippily at the ghostly Bride.

“Dear me, those claims are absolutely delusional! It seems to me that you’re projecting your own notions onto poor Idia, refusing to see who he really is. There’s a plethora of lowerclassmen who I’m sure would be more than happy to set you straight about his true personality, if you truly wish to know your future husband…”

Leona snickered, hopping onto Lilia’s little bandwagon.

“Yeah, you might wanna talk to his little band first. Seems like they already have a bit of a locked deal in place, so you might wanna make sure there’s no adoption papers you gotta sign before ya get hitched.”

Floyd sniggered.

“Heeheehee! That was a good one, Sea Lion!”

Eliza huffed.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you're all blabbering about! Not that it matters, since it’s all just senseless gibberish! I know what I’ve found, and that’s Idia, my perfect prince!”

The Bride flounced across the room, ignoring all of the upperclassmens’ loud complaints.

“This whole endeavor was a complete waste of time. We need to get the ceremony preparations underway. Now, show Idia in.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Well, this was major embarrassing…

Getting stuffed into a fancy-pants suit and his hair getting yanked back into an old-timey ponytail was cringey enough. Getting wheeled in on a stand like a stationary movie prop was down right mortifying.

Especially in front of this many people…

“Yeesh, she slapped Idia too? Bridey’s downright ruthless…”

Cater’s extremely accurate quip cut through his thoughts.

The Bride twisted back to glower at the other students.

“I resent that. I’ll have you know I just gave him a teensy poke because he tried to run!”

Is that what she called that smack she’d given him?! His arm still hurt…he wouldn’t be surprised if he had a livid red palm print under his sleeve…

Eliza turned back to him, beaming.

“Just imagine: tonight, when the clock chimes midnight, we’ll seal our eternal marriage with a kiss! Then you’ll shed your mortal form, and together, or souls will depart for our honeymoon!”

“NOOO! I don’t want to do any of that!”

He didn’t want to leave the mortal coil without his manga! He hadn’t collected his dailies today either! Idia tried to flail, his efforts futile against the frozen ghost spell.

He really needed to get out of this, now! No trauma bonded freshmen had busted through the walls of the building yet, but the longer he was stuck here, the higher the chance of that happening became…

“Look, I–I come with a lot of strings attached! And some of them can be…really maniacal when ticked off…” Like when someone stole their stuff…or HIM in this case!

Eliza hummed dreamily.

“Oh, don’t worry dearest! Nothing will ruin our wedding. Not even the most terrifying of beasts could tear us apart!”

Azul frowned.

“Hm, I’m not sure if you truly want to test that theory…”

Trey winced. He wasn’t a huge fan of equating the freshmen to beasts, but he’d also seen Ace and Deuce angry and serious before. And that had just been about Riddle’s rule problem.

Idia was obviously super important to them…he could only imagine how furious they all must be right now…

Idia looked helplessly over at the stuck students.

“Guys! A little help here?!”

Vil stared icily back.

“What part of our current position makes you think that we haven’t exhausted all of our efforts already?”

“It’s finally happening!” Grampy cheered, soaring over to the Bride. “Our princess’s wedding, 500 years in the making! Back in the old days, this event would’ve merited a nationwide celebration…”

Nana sighed sadly.

“Just remembering our neighbors betray makes me want to die all over again…our poor princess, having to wait all that time for love…”

“She might be waiting longer for that, even with the wedding.” Jade murmured softly, making Floyd snort and Azul snicker.

Eliza, however, just beamed.

“Ooh, I have a marvelous idea! I’ll make all these suitors groomsmen! That way, we can have the merry kind of wedding you two want!” She turned back towards all of the now doubly unhappy upperclassmen. “Okay, everyone, you’re all going to help celebrate the start of me and my darling’s life as newlyweds!”

“Can we NOT?!”

Idia’s cries fell on deaf ears.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Crowley looked dismally through the window at the scene.

“So much for our B Team …”

Ace shrugged, turning away from the window.

“Eh, that’s probably enough fake suitors. Styling them for the wedding should keep her distracted enough.”

Riddle frowned.

“But there’s still quite a few ghosts within this part of the building, not to mention the Bride herself.” That, he supposed, was the weakness of baring Deuce, Jack, and Sebek from any part of the building that was “breakable”. It was impossible for them to draw out every ghost if they couldn’t enter all the areas where the specters were.

“Will you four be alright handling all of that by yourselves?”

Ortho buzzed frantically.

“They can do it, but I’m worried about the speed. We don’t have much time till midnight, and there’s still enough ghosts in there to slow you guys down!”

Epel clicked his jaw quietly.

“I could take care of most of them–”

“And then you’d be all spent by the time we make it to him.” Ace shook his head. “And you’re gonna have to be the one to take down her hovering guards; my spell won’t work on them.”

“I mean,” Q glanced hesitantly at the Head Mage. “How much fire damage is too much?”

“Any! Any is too much!”

Grim scowled.

“How are we supposed to make it to Idia on time if you won’t let us fight?!”

Crowley looked sternly down at the freshmen.

“The entire purpose of this plan was to avoid damage to the campus! It is not my fault that the hallways to the cafeteria are made of particularly flammable materials…”

“Ah, worry not!” Rook cut in brightly, smiling widely. “I am more than willing to offer my assistance! I shall distract the multitudes of ghosts so that you may make it to Idia before he is wed!”

Epel blinked.

“R–really?”

“Of course! Helping our fellow man is one of the most beauteous acts! That, and I refuse to let any more mockery of Vil’s fair features continue!”

Ace glanced oddly at Epel, who shrugged.

“Uh, thanks…that’s..helpful.”

“I’ll join you.”

Ace swiveled his head to stare at Riddle.

“Wh–you will, Housewarden?!”

“A Housewarden’s job is to make up for the shortcomings of his dorm’s students, afterall.” Riddle frowned for a moment. “That, and Cater must return to the dorm before tomorrow, or else he’ll be in violation of rule 703.”

Ace’s wings twitched.

“Oh yeah, he did place second in the croquet tournament yesterday…”

Riddle blinked.

“You–did begin to familiarize yourself with the rules?”

“Okay, you do not have to sound that surprised!”

Kalim’s brow furrowed.

“I’d come to..but I don’t think Jamil would be very happy if I went ghost fighting without him…”

Ortho tilted his head.

“Why don’t you go ask him, and then join us if it's a yes?”

Kalim instantaneously brightened.

“That’s a great idea, Ortho! I’ll be right back!”

The Scarabia Housewarden dashed off without another word. Epel watched him go oddly.

“...Umm, is he…actually a Housewarden?”

Crowley waved his hand dismissively.

“Regardless of that, this effort will be Operation Proposal’s last chance! And though I don’t doubt your, *ahem*, skills, we should take special care with our last endeavor! Since she was rather taken with Idia’s tux, I say we create the Perfect Prince Package!”

Ace narrowed his eyes.

“Bold use of the word “we”...”

Epel scowled.

“I don’t think I like where this is going…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Riddle and Rook found the suits Sam provided to be rather well-suited for them. Epel and Ace…less so.

Q and Ortho had to take scissors to the multiple layers, carefully cutting neat(enough) holes into the suits so that the freshmen could comfortably wear them, and that comfort was…realtive.

“Ugh, I’m not used to fancy duds like this.” Ace ran his talons cautiously over the suit jacket. “I can’t decide if it's cool and new, or just stuffy and uncomfortable.”

Riddle glanced up from fixing his gloves, doing a double take as the freshman stepped out.

Ace half froze, looking down at his outfit.

“What, did I put something on wrong?”

Riddle blinked.

“Oh, no, I simply–” He hesitated slightly. “I..simply did not know that…you had a tail.”

Ace looked back up, the fluffy appendage flicking behind him.

“Oh, yeah, I do. Normally I tuck it in, but that seemed like it would mess with these pants silhouette or whatever..”

Rook leaned forward, fascination gleaming in his eyes.

“You have the wings of an eagle and the tail of a lion…you are positively gallant, Monsieur Griffon!”

Ace frowned.

“Excus–”

“Do I look weird in this getup?”

Epel stepped out from behind Ace, fiddling with his boutonniere. Rook beamed.

“Far from it! This suit highlights your charming looks and adds a debonair twist! That goes for both of you, of course.”

Ace looked at the junior strangely.

“Charming..? Sure…”

Epel twitched uncomfortably. Despite Rook’s compliments, he felt very out-of-place in this suit. It was…too stiff.

Clearly, it was made for standing and looking like a gentleman, not for climbing and leaping off of walls…

“Let’s go get Idia before he gets married…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Ortho quickly floated to the side of the main building, easily flying up to one of the windows. The clusters of ghosts that had been patrolling this area were clearly occupied elsewhere…

“EEEEK!”

“PLEASE, MERCY–”

“HE’S GOT MEEE–!”

Ortho waved frantically as Deuce turned a corner in the interior hallways, his friend practically dashing on all fours after the ghosts.

“DEUCE!”

The freshman screeched to a halt, eyes snapping questioningly up to the window.

“T–MINUS THREE HOURS!” Ortho held up three fingers, though he was decently sure that Deuce heard his voice through the glass. But now wasn’t the time to take any chances. Not when Idia was about to become the world’s unhappiest ghost groom!

Deuce shot him a quick thumbs up, immediately turning back to shooting magic back at the spirits, dashing off to presumably find Sebek and Jack.

This was the one part of the plan that they hadn’t run by the Head Mage, and Ortho didn’t intend to now. He thought his friends were well in the right for wanting some revenge, and they were nice enough to get some for him too!

His laser was a little too precise to not cause permanent damage to the main building, so he couldn’t storm in with them. But he could still inform everyone of the timeline, and make sure to record their victory over the ghosts who’d taken his brother!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“More suitors?! Our princess is fed up with the stream of insolent louts knocking on our door! Remove yourself at–GAH!”

The ghost yelped as Grim shot a stream of flames at him, poofing as the blue fire struck him.

Rook blinked, looking mildly disappointed.

“My, you made quick work of that guard. It is a pity, I had just prepared a poem to showcase my worth as a suitor…”

Q glance sideways at the junior.

“I’m..not surprised that you did..”

“What’s all this commotion?!”

A trio of new ghosts flew out from the main entrance.

“Her Highness’s wedding is finally upon us! We won’t let anyone ruin it!”

Riddle flicked his pen expertly out of his pocket.

“Allow me to handle this! I’ll hold them off, you all go and make sure the operation succeeds!”

Epel ducked around a ghost, but didn’t go very far.

“Are you sure? There’s a lot of ghosts, and only one of you!”

Already, due to his flashy flames, more ghosts were pouring out of the interior hallway, circling around Riddle.

Ace, however, dashed ahead, weaving between the distracted spirits.

“Don’t worry, he’s got this in the bag!” He half twisted back as he ran, waving at Riddle. “Light them up, Housewarden!”

“Good luck, Housewarden Rosehearts!” Q called, sprinting after Ace, Grim at her heels.

The corners of Riddle’s mouth turned up ever so slightly.

“That’s the spirit. Until we meet again!”

The lightened group ran through the interior hallways, quickly making their way towards the stairway.

“Hold it right there!”

Epel completely ignored the ghost’s yell, leaping gracefully into the air, catching himself on the stairs with his spider legs, skittering even faster up the floors. Ace leapt after his friend, flying more than running up the flights of stairs.

Rook’s smile gleamed. Such grace and skill, more like creatures of folklore than animals commonly seen in the wild– the freshmen were certainly a sight to behold! It sent his heart a flutter just to see their passion take flight–

“I said halt!”

“Ouch–!”

Epel’s arachnid steps faltered, the ghost’s attack collapsing one of his spiderlike limbs.

Rook quickly turned on his heel, stopping his ascent to face the fast approaching specters.

“May I bid the rest of you to go on without me? I believe my efforts would be better spent facing these ghosts head on.”

Ace hesitated slightly.

“Doesn’t look like we can stop you! Good luck!”

Epel glanced back at Rook, sending his vice housewarden a look of gratitude.

“Thanks, Rook!”

Rook swept his pen from his pocket, lining up his shot.

“Agh! They hit our archer!” The ghosts swelled into a frenzy. An almost crazed smile crossed Rook’s face.

“All of you take care! I believe I’m going to have a most pleasant waltz with these ghosts…”

The freshmen continued up the stairs, dashing around a corner.

Rook blinked up at the flying spirits.

“I must say, I respect your fervent desire to fight for your princess. However,” The junior flicked his pen, skillfully hitting another ghostly archer. “My desire to protect these freshmen is just as profound. And I fear that I am not one to take a fight for such a cause lightly…tell me, how would one hunt a ghost?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Idia twitched helplessly in his position at the end of the hastily made wedding aisle, muttering to himself.

“Idia attempts to flee…but his body is numb all over and he can’t move! Looking for a healer! I don’t have any skills that remove debuffs–”

The other frozen students ignored his odd method of coping, trying in vain to free themselves from the Bride’s curse. Puffy glowered down at the group.

“Would you all stop squirming? This is a sacred ceremony! Our Princess’s wish is finally coming true! She’s a pure and noble soul who’s harbored this dream since she was young, and tonight, at long last, her loving heart will finally get what it desires! Nothing could be better…Such a…joyous occasion…”

Lilia pouted.

“I’m not quite sure if I’d define someone willing to go this far for their own self centered desires as pure and noble…but besides that, my lower back is sore from being stuck in this position. Would you at least allow your guests to sit down?”

Floyd yawned.

“Yeah, I’m kinda checked out. Bein’ stuck is booooring–”

“We’ve got a problem!”

Floyd’s complaining quieted as another ghost soldier frantically sped into the room.

“Half of those creatures that infiltrated the guesthouse got through the gate with the help of some other rascals! They’re barreling toward the wedding hall and tearing through our troops!”

“Finally…” Leona mumbled grouchily.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel hopped back onto his two legs, sprinting down the exterior hallway. Ace folded in his wings, half diving, half bolting after him.

“Alright, we should almost be at the cafeteria–gah!” He jumped the side, tail narrowly whipping out of the way of yet another ghost attack. “Oh, c’mon!!”

Epel screeched to a halt, darting back towards his friend.

“Get back! I’ll hold ‘em off, you guys get to Idia–...wait, what?”

The ghosts made no move against him, just sitting in…stunned silence? Epel glanced questioningly back at his friends. They’d seemed so willing to attack a few seconds ago…

“Forgive us, Princess!” One of the ghosts all but through itself at his feet. Epel stepped back, looking wildly around him.

“Princess? Where?!” Had the Bride snuck up on them without him noticing?!

“I apologize for our mistake! We didn’t see your beautiful features hidden under those ghastly spider characteristics! You must have come to the ceremony to request help from the terrible curse that’s been placed upon you!”

Epel slowly turned back to the ghosts.

“Are you…talking about me…?”

Ace, Q, and Grim took a hasty step back.

“You poor thing, forced into the companionship of such violent creatures!” The second ghost beckoned Epel towards it. “It’s a travesty that someone as weak and frail as yourself was left to fend for yourself among them! Please, stay behind us while–”

“Who…” The ghost paused at the choked word.

“Hm?”

“WHO ARE YA CALLIN’ WEAK!?!”

Epel lunged towards the ghost, jaw spitting apart, venom spewing from between his teeth.

“WOAH!”

Both ghosts surged backwards, faces somehow growing more white at the sight.

“I’LL SHOW YOU WHO’S WEAK–Gack!”

Epel gagged as Q yank on the back of his collar, half choking him.

“Me and Grim will avenge you, go get Idia!”

“That don’t help prove ma point–!”

Grim spat a stream of flames towards the ghosts. Q stepped forward, shoving Epel towards Ace.

“Go help Idia, before he ends up married!” She snapped. “You can stomp down to the ghost realm and get revenge later!”

Ace snatched Epel’s hand before he could object, dragging him towards the cafeteria. Epel quickly picked up his pace to avoid falling, scowling.

“Leggo of ma hand! I ain’t five!”

“No, but you have a habit of running off when someone ticks you off!”

“I haven’t done that in awhile!”

“Then might as well make sure you keep that great streak!” Ace began to run faster, forcing Epel to focus more on running than arguing. His friend may be fast, but his legs were still shorter than Ace’s, and when he ran at a full sprint, Epel had to run twice as fast to keep up.

He’d probably get beaten to a pulp for abusing this fact later, but with luck, Epel would burn off at least half of his anger when they took down the Bride.

Just like how Ace’s lungs were half burning. Running full speed when you had two massive wings on your back was not easy. Ugh, he might pass out when they got to the cafeteria…

Chapter Text

Eliza flounced up the aisle, twirling around the immobile Idia.

“It’s almost midnight my love! Once we seal our marriage with a kiss, we shall live together forever in the land of the dead! And I’ll finally be happy for eternity–”

“STOP THE WEDDING!”

Ace barreled through the doors, pulling Epel along with him.

“Stop–*huff* *huff*...why was it…so far?!”

“AAAACE!! EEEPEL!!” Idia wailed from the crude altar, still frantically trying to make his legs move. “HELP MEEE!!”

Eliza turned to face the intruders, her face darkening.

“What do you want?! Wait–you're one of those creatures! Don’t you dare try to ruin my extra-special day!”

Ace scowled, rubbing at the stitch in his side.

“Special, schechial! You’re just shovin’ what YOU want down everyone’s throat, and I’m sick of it!”

Puffy swelled.

“You won't lay a hand on our Princess!”

Nana and Grampy appeared in front of the ghostly royal.

“We’ll protect you, Your Highness!”

“Get back, you miscreants! Our Princess will have her wedding!”

Even from across the room, every upperclassmen could see Ace’s eyeroll.

“Uugh, Epel, your turn!”

Ace released Epel’s hand, who yanked it all the way back. He, more roughly then needed, shoved past Ace.

The two ghosts rushed forward.

“You coward, leaving your comrade to fend for himself!”

“I suppose this proves that creature like you only think of themselves–”

Epel clacked his jaw, the noise echoing throughout the large room.

“I really wish this would still put ya’ll to sleep..Your eyes will close, your breath will still…Crimson Slumber!”

Epel effortlessly tossed his hand out, magic shooting from his finger tips.

Clack. Clack

“Gah!”

“What’s happened?!”

Cater blinked.

“Are those–”

“Coffins?” Vil peered closer. “...It appears they are.”

He had not even known that his freshman had discovered his signature spell. He supposed being frozen in this tacky excuse for a venue did have some advantages. Now he had the opportunity to observe for himself how Epel handled himself in conflict.

“My magic won’t work!” Nana’s voice cried helplessly from the coffin.

“Let us out of here, you vile creature–” Epel closed his outstretched, Grampy’s coffin shrinking a size smaller as he did so. “Ah! Stop! It’s getting cramped in here!”

Jade’s eyes widened.

“My, what a terrifying predicament for one to be caught in..”

“Quickly, Princess!” Nana wailed. “The kiss!”

Eliza swept forward, attempting to grace Idia’s lips with a kiss. Idia, using every bit of the limited range of motion that he had, ducked his head, evading the kiss.

The Bride pouted.

“Idia, darling, must you keep evading me with this silly display of stubbornness?”

“YES! Because he doesn’t LIKE YOU!” Ace’s words bounced and reverberated off the walls as he stepped over the coffin encased ghosts. “No backstory, no matter how tragic or death ending, justifies makin’ this much trouble!”

Ace paused in the middle of the room, scowling at the Bride.

“And I’m still trying to wrap my head around how someone can have NOTHING to do besides lamenting their past, and still be THIS stupid.”

Puffy’s chest swelled.

“How dare you–!”

Eliza rushed forward before he could stop her, face skewed up in rage.

“How dare you disrupt my wedding, and insult me so!” The Bride raised her hand to strike the freshman. “You are a most impolite brute–!”

Cater winced.

“Ooh boy, Acey sure spiraled that fast…”

Lilia’s brow furrowed.

“I wonder if there was a plan in that–”

Ace’s snicker carried across the room.

“And you're hardly a lady. Which is why I don’t feel bad about this– I’ll take your most precious treasure; Joker Snatch!”

Before anyone could even blink, Ace slapped the Bride across the face, hand somehow connecting to her incorporeal flesh.

“Oooooh!!”

The whole group of upperclassmen hissed, staring slack-jawed as Eliza suddenly froze in place, a familiar red handprint appearing on her face.

Leona blinked.

“Did he just–”

“He–stole her magic?!” Azul’s mouth was nearly on the floor. “I–did not even know that signature spells could have that kind of power over ghosts…”

“Keheehee!” Lilia giggled. “Oh, neither did I! My, these kids are full of such surprises!”

Cater glanced wildly at Trey.

“Dude…how did he not kill Riddle…?”

Puffy surged forward, looking murderous.

“How dare–release the Princess at once! Your Highness, are you alright?!”

Ace leaned back slightly.

“Either float back, or Epel’s gonna fit another coffin.”

Puffy froze, torn between rushing to save the Bride and being immobile. Eliza blinked, breaking out of her stunned silence.

“I’m alright, Puffy! Don’t get yourself trapped over me!” She scowled down at Ace. “You are a wicked wedding crasher! You're hardly becoming of that fine suit! Now, release me–”

“No.”

Eliza faltered.

“E–excuse me?!”

Ace blinked innocently.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I forgot you weren’t used to that word. Yeah, I’m not just gonna let you go. YOUR gonna get a little taste of your medicine, and sit here until I can get it through your and your retainers thick skulls that all of this -” He gestured around the cafeteria. “- is beyond wrong!”

Puffy snarled.

“How–”

“Eh eh! Either shush, or get in the coffin!” Ace crossed his arms, looking reproachfully at Puffy. “You know, this is just as much all of you guys' fault. 500 years, and not one ever had the backbone to say something about her insane behavior?”

He looked back at the Bride.

“Let’s start simple. That “perfect prince” you’ve been searching for? Doesn’t exist. Never has, never will.”

Eliza blinked, brow furrowing in confusion.

“What do you mean he doesn’t exist?!”

Ace rolled his eyes.

“No partners ever gonna meet your every ideal. That’s just common sense! Marriage isn’t about ranking someone on a list of aimless traits, it's about finding someone you actually want to spend eternity with! I’m sixteen, and I know that! You're like, 522 and you STILL haven’t figured that out?!”

“How dare you speak to Her Highness in such a manner!”

“Don’t listen to him, Princess! Your perfect prince is right there!”

Nana and Grampy’s voices were quickly smothered by Epel shrinking the coffins another size.

“No, Idia’s sitting up there, glued into this ridiculous little scrapbook of a prince that you made up, looking like he’s about to hurl.” Ace wings twitch irritably. “And I would too, if someone as shallow as you decided they were gonna kill me and drag me off to the ghost realm without my say so!”

“Facts…” Idia mumbled weakly, sounding more enthusiastic then he had this whole ordeal.

Eliza frowned.

“Shallow…?”

“You based your ENTIRE system for picking a soulmate on someone’s looks and random storybook traits. What else are you supposed to call that?”

Eliza scowled.

“Well, how else should I choose a prince then?”

Ace threw out his arms, staring at the Bride with clear exasperation.

“You're missing the point! You gotta drop this whole “prince” requirement. You have to spend the rest of your afterlife in the ghost realm, why don’t you focus on finding someone you can laugh and cry with? Someone who’ll stick with you through all the hard times, and talk some sense into you when you're being stupid?”

Ace looked behind him, staring at Epel with a look of total bewilderment.

“Geez, you do know how embarrassing it is to have to spell this out for you, right? None of you ever taught your princess something this basic. You’ve all spent 500 years with her, and the topic “kidnapping is wrong” was ever discussed?! Through all that time, have you guys done anything that actually benefits her?!”

“Dang…” Cater muttered. “Sups harsh…”

“I have never heard someone so insightful and yet so crude..” Vil murmured.

Floyd blinked, a smile flitting across his face.

“Man, Crabby’s mean! This is way more fun than a wedding!”

“Like, all the stuff that makes Idia “perfect” ,according to you, doesn’t even make top ten of his positive traits! You don’t even know what he actually likes, and let me guess; the concept of love didn’t actually cross your mind when you made this list, did you?”

Ace scowled darkly. “You’re not allowed to just make people do whatever you want, whether or not you're a princess! And killing someone over this stupid list for your “love” is just downright evil!”

Eliza paled, staring blankly at the freshman.

“I…I’m not trying to be evil, I just–”

“Don’t listen to anything they say, Your Highness!” Puffy flew forward, placing himself between the frozen princess and Ace and Epel. “You’ve done nothing wrong!”

Ace rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Dude, you didn’t hear a thing I just said, did you?”

Epel clicked his jaw snappishly, raising his own complaints.

“You really can’t see how any of this is wrong?! You literally had to hog-tie the groom and drag him over here! Nothin’ bout that tells you that Idia doesn’t want ANY of this?!”

Vil’s face pinched slightly. He agreed with the sentiment, but he wished that Epel could convey his feelings in a more articulated manner…

“...yeah, what they said…” Idia mumbled quietly, but his eyes were gleaming. He knew these kids. They for sure had something up their sleeves…

“I don’t care if it's wrong!” Puffy puffed out his chest. “My only desire is for Her Highness to be happy! I’d take on the whole world to make that happen!”

Ace stared at the ghost in disbelief.

“Wow…and I didn’t think this conversation could get any dumber. First of all, marrying Idia is not gonna make her happy. He’s enough of a social killjoy without a tragic death to back it up–”

“That’s what I’ve been saying…” Idia muttered at a slightly high volume. Finally, someone who actually KNEW how to back him up!

“-and second, if you care THAT much about her, why don’t you just marry her?”

Puffy gaped at the question.

“I–well, I–”

“Oooooh!” Floyd twittered. “Ghosty just got expooooosed!”

Eliza blinked, looking at her most trusted retainer.

“Puffy…?”

Ace sighed longsufferingly.

“Of course neither of you ever considered that as an option…you know, this sounds like a GREAT thing for you two to discuss back home. Away from all of us.”

Eliza frowned thoughtfully.

“...Alright. But first, you have to let me, Nana, and Grampy go!”

Puffy blinked.

“..Princess?”

Ace narrowed his eyes.

“I’ll let you go, if you let Idia and everyone leave!”

Eliza sighed.

“Very well. I fear, now through our talk, I’m not sure if I can return his affections for me. But you're such a dreamboat, Idia, darling, that I’m sure, one day, you’ll be able to find someone even better than me!”

Idia scrunched his nose.

“..Please don’t describe me like that..”

Ace and Epel both gagged.

“Ew!”

“Ick!”

It was hard to tell who was more revolted by the description, Idia himself, or the two freshmen whose faces almost perfectly mirrored the Ignihyde Housewarden’s.

Jade hummed.

“What was it you were saying about learned behavior, Azul?”

“Truthfully,” Azul murmured. “I didn’t think of the possibility of him imprinting his own self–loathing onto them…”

“And after everyone is released, then I can marry my true soulmate, Puffy!”

“Princess…no, Eliza.” Puffy looked longingly at the Bride. “You’ve always been the one on my heart, ever since we were alive…”

“And it took you this long to say something…” Epel muttered.

Chapter Text

The last thing Idia heard was the slamming of the room’s doors. Then the Bride finally lifted her curse, and his legs buckled beneath him.

Man, his stats sucked….

Twump!

Luckily, that wasn’t a problem the freshmen had. He hoped Ortho was filming this, he didn’t want to miss out on all the ghost carnage…

Out for specter blood, and one of them had still taken a break from getting their revenge, to come catch his weak butt. Man…a year later, and he still didn’t get the random devotion.

It wasn’t like he’d swept in and saved them from the Crazy Crew or anything. Finding the group had been much more of an effort on Ortho’s part then his.

And it wasn’t like he did that much for them…

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The direbeast’s fur fluffed, the cat hissing and balling up tighter on the human's chest as Idia and Ortho stepped closer.

“G–Get back! Or I’ll–I’ll light you more on fire, you flamey-heads!”

Idia stared, leaning closer to the glass. The kitty looked like a more cranked up version of a regular direbeast, and the person just looked…normal. Pale and passed out, but not overblotted in the slightest.

“That–that’s not an overblot…why are they down here..?”

This level was reserved for full-blown stage overblots, the giant distorted monsters that had no semblance of humanity left.

Ortho hovered closer to him, whispering.

“I don’t know. I don’t even read any magic from her,” He pointed at the human. “And what’s weirder, is that my scan showed several other lifeforms, all humanoid. Through there!”

Ortho bobbed slightly farther into the room, towards another, though slightly smaller layer of reinforced doors.

Goosebumps crept up Idia’s arms as he stared down the room. Yep…foreboding jumpscare music was playing…

He suddenly felt the urge to not let Ortho out of his sight drip down through him.

He hesitantly glanced back at the hissing cat, then quickly followed Ortho, gently grabbing his brother’s arm.

Ortho blinked, looking up at him.

“Idia, your vitals are spiking–”

“Y–yeah, I could guess…” Idia swallowed, leaning down to face Ortho on eye level. He could already tell that everything about this was really–really bad.

But, even though Ortho was a data–crunching, laser powered machine, he was still just a kid, and more importantly, he was still Idia’s…younger brother. The last thing Idia wanted to do was scare him, but he needed him to understand why they were about to have to be really, really careful.

“Ortho, I need you to reclose the doors while we go back up and get my laptop, and–probably a backboard, and whatever other first aid we can grab that won’t be missed.”

Ortho blinked.

“O–okay…but why?”

Idia took a breath.

“Someone hid this place, and every…one down here from us. This room should be on the floor plan, you should’ve had access to it, and we should’ve been given an explanation as to why there’s not fully overblotted cases on the level specifically for full-blown overblots.” Idia stared as seriously as he could through his own nerves. “Which means we need to be beyond careful. No red alerts, no panicking, just sneaky snooping and some…subtle moving of…stuff.”

Idia glanced back at the danger-bundled cat and blacked out girl.

Ortho nodded slowly.

“Okay, but…won’t someone notice on the cameras?”

“That’s why we’re gettin’ my laptop. I’ll just loop it for a little bit while we…get this stuff done.”

Ortho nodded, much more eagerly this time.

“Got it! Let's do it!”

Idia smiled shakily. At least one of them was enthusiastic about this…

Well, Ortho was enthusiastic until they started cycling through the rooms.

Until he’d watched Deuce Spade half fall out of iron cage contraption on the wall.

Until he’d watched Idia drag a straitjacket wrapped Ace Trappola out of his cell.

Until he’d watched Idia have to manually unlock a muzzle from Jack Howl’s face.

Until he’d watched Epel’s back half–split in two as he tried to run up the wall to get away from them.

Until he’d watched Sebek Zigvolt have restart his own heart because they hadn’t been able to get him out of the freezing deprivation tank in time.

His little brother had been much less enthusiastic after all that…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“So…the answer is 6?”

“Yep.” Idia ticked off another practice problem. “Look at that, you're moving through basic algebra.”

Deuce smiled wobbly.

“I–wasn’t the best at school before I got here…”

Idia shrugged.

“Well, lucky you! People used to call me a “promising prodigy” when I was younger, so I’m the most qualified tutor there is!”

Deuce’s tail flicked under the table, lowering his head slightly.

“Isn’t it…kind of a drag to have to teach someone basic stuff if you're that smart…?”

“Eh. It's just like teaching a newbie in one of those games Ortho was showing you guys. It’s only annoying if the other person doesn’t get it.”

Deuce frowned.

“Uh…I don’t get a lot of the things you teach me..”

Idia rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, at first! That’s part of the fun for me; figuring out how to dumb an explanation down into level 1 terms so that you’ll get it.”

“Hey!”

“You asked…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Is this actually an exercise for my busted brain, or did you just want to have a day off today?”

Idia scowled. Dangit, why did Ace always have to get where his train of thought was going?!

“For your information, this game does require significant use of one’s short and long term memory, which is exactly what your “busted” brain needs!”

Ace rolled his eyes, flopping over onto the couch. His tail and wings flailed and puffed up a bit before Ace glared at them and they settled down. He turned back to Idia with a huff.

“Yeah, whatever. Like I’m gonna pass up a chance to kick your butt!”

Idia snorted.

“Weeeh heh heh! Oh, you sweet summer child! You're goin’ down!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Idia very carefully stepped backwards as Jack began to shakily walk forward. Granted, if the beastman fell, he wouldn’t be able to do anything besides cushion Jack’s fall. The first thing the dude asked for his room was a set of weights…like an insane person…

“How does the brace feel?”

Jack pushed away from the wall, shaking for a moment, but stepping forward again without falling.

“New…kinda clunky, but I’m not kissin’ the ground yet.”

Idia took another step back, putting more space between himself and Jack.

“You're kinda just gonna have to get used to the clunky feel. I can shave it down a little more, but you need a lot of balance support, especially if it’s gonna transform with you.”

Jack nodded, steps growing more sure. A smile started to play on his face.

“...Idia?”

“Yeah?”

“..I’m walkin’!”

Idia grinned. Mission, success!
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“...I’m sorry for biting you…”

Idia glanced up at Epel, who was guiltily poking at Idia’s IV.

“It’s okay, I’m fine….you shouldn’t mess with that though, you need that…”

Epel frowned, clicking the three parts of his jaw miserably.

“Yeah, I know…”

Idia glanced to the side.

“Uh…so, I’m fine…again…you don’t need to beat yourself up about it….”

Epel huffed, drawing his knees up to his chest.

“It’s not about that! Ah mean, I’m sorry ah bit you, but,” He pressed his face into his knees. “--its so stupid…ah should know not to be scared…”

Idia blinked.

“You should…know not to be scared of needles? After having half of your back carved open?”

Epel lifted his head, scowling.

“Yes! You told me what you were gonna do, ah should’ve been able to keep still by myself! You weren’t even puttin’ me to sleep..”

“No, but I still was sticking a sharp, pokey IV in your arm.” Idia shrugged. “Plently of normies get squeamish around this kind of stuff, and they don’t have any basis to back it up with. You’ve got pages of reasons to bite anyone who comes at you with a needle.”

Epel tucked his head back down.

“...thank you…for holdin’ me down and stickin’ me with it…”

Idia patted Epel’s head, purposely ignoring the sniffles coming from under his hair.

“You're welcome. Thanks for unclamping your jaw before your venom sank in.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“You know there like, an endless library online, right?”

Sebek snorted, looking at Idia haughtily.

“No amount of reading on a screen can bring the same level of satisfaction as turning the pages in a book! Besides, how am I meant to scroll with these?”

Sebek held up a hand, displaying his massive claws. Idia huffed.

“I can guarantee that I could make you a screen that’s strong enough for you to use…”

“I do not want one!”

“Okay, but…all those books you got are crumbling before our eyes..”

Sebek smirked.

“They are well worn! I believe they fit your definition of–retro. That automatically makes them better, does it not?”

Idia scowled.

“There’s a difference between retro and ancient! And I like plenty of recent games…thank you very much…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Knock it off!” Grim swatted at Idia’s hand.

“I’m just petting you, Mr. Grim. You look just like a kitty!”

Grim huffed, fur and flames puffing.

“..Fine! But I ain’t a cat!”

“Of course you're not.” Q flipped another page in the history text book. “You’re way more adorable than any cat.”

Grim’s chest swelled with pride.

“Duh! The Great Grim is the cutest and coolest there is!”

Idia snickered, stroking the direbeast’s head. Q could probably play Grim into anything, even a pet sesh.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
You know, actually scratch that! He did a lot for them! And they were a bunch of extroverted, shockingly friendly kids!

Of course they’d latch right onto him…

Crash!

Idia jerked back awake, the sound of something smashing disrupting his unconscious memory spiral.

Oh shoot, right! Reverse ghostly vengeance was being dealt out….Crowley was gonna throw a fit about them wrecking the cafeteria…

Idia half sat up. Why was there a table in front of him…?

“Look at that, Sleepin’ Beauty finally decided to rejoin us.”

Idia blinked, glancing up to see Leona partially crouched behind the table, his head just peeking over its surface.

“Those are some bold words coming from the man who falls asleep at the drop of a hat.”

Leona glared at Vil, who was squeezed beside him in a similar position, head peeping over the table edge to watch the carnage.

“That’s a conscious choice, I don’t fall over after just standin’ for a few hours!”

SMASH!

Idia winced as another shattering sound filled the room.

“Oh, that sounds like a lot of paper work…”

“Actually, that's all just Floyd.” Idia jumped as Azul leaned closer behind him. “All of your freshmen appear to be making more of a point of scaring the ghosts then causing property damage.”

“Floyd saw all of them rush in and got excited.” Jade peered curiously over the table top. “Oh, but they do appear to be including him in their efforts. What kind lowerclassmen!”

Kind…sure. Idia was pretty sure they were only letting Floyd join in so that they could precariously break things through him…and because they’d probably already realized that any efforts to stop him were meaningless…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Woo! Yo Crabby, catch this!” Floyd chucked one of collected candelabras across the room, right towards Ace’s head.

Ace yelped, barely catching the object.

“Aim at the ghosts man, not ME!”

“Toss it back first!”

Ace rolled his eyes, easily lobbing the candelabra back at the second year. His friends had all silently delegated him to be in charge of keeping Floyd entertained and on the task of causing mayhem for the Bride and her retainers.

Luckily for him, aside from the occasional object being pelted towards his head, keeping Floyd on target actually wasn’t that hard. Probably because the second year had a bunch of pent up energy and rage from being frozen by the Bride.

“Floyd! If you're going to insist on inserting yourself in this plan, stay on target and stop antagonizing my freshmen!”

What was harder was keeping Riddle from trying to get Floyd to stop…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Jack and Sebek, on the other hand, were having their own issues with a different upperclassmen…

“Beau! Possessing the teeth to slice through intangible specters! Oh, to be in the presence of two esteemed predatory creatures…It is an honor!”

Jack cast Sebek a disbelieving look. They weren’t even actually biting the ghosts, they were just snapping their teeth and making the Bride and her retainers scramble.

Sebek looked much more annoyed, gritting his teeth as Rook continued to gush about their “fine ferocious attributes.” Jack guessed it was because the junior kept straying into their way.

If he didn’t start backing up, he was actually gonna get bit…

The Bride wailed, throwing herself into her new “prince’s” arms.

“Oh, Puffy! Let’s leave this place! Let’s go take our honeymoon, away from these wretched creatures!”

“Finally…” Epel muttered, snapping his jaw one last time at Grampy. They’d been chasing the ghosts around for like, 15 minutes. He’d thought they’d never take the hint…

“Come, Princess!” Puffy yelled grandly. “To our happily ever after!”

“Hurrah!” All the other ghosts cheered, following the pair back into the realm of the departed.

“My, my. What an eventful day this has been!” Crowley appeared in the middle of the room, wincing as he surveyed the broken chairs(courtesy of Floyd).

“..Oh, now you show up..” Q muttered, stamping out a stray flame before the Head Mage could see.

“IDIA!” Ortho barreled into the room, beelining straight for the upperclassmens’ corner. He all but tackled his older brother in a hug, nearly making Idia crumple down to the ground again. “I’m so glad you're okay!”

Idia gently squeezed Ortho back, his face turning blue from the force of the hug.

“..Yeah, I’m safe..” He glanced up at the scattered group of freshmen. “Thanks, guys…”

Vil scoffed.

“I’ll have you know, we had quite a hand in this endeavor as well!”

“There was definitely a hand…slapping you…” Ace murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

Epel choked, turning away quickly before Vil could see him dissolving into laughter.

Crowley clapped his hands.

“Well, there were many twists and turns, but now everything’s over and done with, so– why don’t we all put this whole thing behind us, and go about our normal twilight activities?”

Grim scowled, his tail lashing.

“Ya know our dorm’s trashed right now, right? Where are we supposed to sleep?!”

The Head Mage’s smile faltered.

“Er, well, I’m sure it's not that bad–”

“Half of our stuff is over there.” Ace pointed towards the “gift” ladened table.

Crowley hesitated.

“Well..I’m sure–”

“Oh, Head Mage, I do hope you're not suggesting that they drag all their stuff back to Ramshackle at this hour!” Azul fixed his glasses, an expression of faux concern spreading across his face.

“After all they’ve done to help save Idia’s life, isn’t a well deserved rest the least you could offer in terms of–compensation?"

Jade leered behind his Housewarden, watching the Head Mage’s eyes flicker with panic at that little magical word that implied debt.

Chapter Text

Admittedly, the “sleep over” plan wasn’t the worst option Idia could think of. The main issue would’ve been if the Housewardens were disinterested in the idea, but the moment Lilia brought up the prospect of the freshmen actually staying in their assigned dorms, just for this one night – everyone had immediately agreed to the plan.

Except for Crowley, obviously. But, no matter how much the Head Mage whined about “student body safety” and it “not being in the filed plan,” the basic truth was, he didn’t have a back up plan.
Which he was supposed to have written up months ago! What kind of NPC took on a project this delicate, and didn’t make up solutions for worse case scenarios?!

Granted, Idia’s own back up plan was…subpar, to say the least. He had just been planning to let the freshmen crash on his floor. Definitely not the best solution, but it’d been better than making them sleep outside or in the ransacked dorm (which Idia could almost guarantee was the solution Crowley would’ve suggested if Lilia hadn’t spoken up).

So, despite Crowley’s disputes, all the freshmen were going…to where they technically, actually belonged (Except for Q and Grim, who didn’t have a quote unquote “real dorm.” But Ortho didn’t want to be left out of the sleepover fun, so that was more of a plus then anything).

Though, Idia wasn’t super sure about how much fun everyone was actually gonna have. He wasn’t entirely clear on how many ghosts the freshmen had needed to take on, but he assumed that it was a substantial amount. Which meant that more than anything, they probably just wanted to pass out somewhere.

The only thing he was worried about was the…side effects that came when the group accumulated blot. Not because it would “endanger the other students in the dorm”, but because he knew how much of a pain it was for them to deal with it.

And because all of their upperclassmen were probably gonna panic and throw a fit, and try to break down his door…

Which he really didn’t want to deal with tonight…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Cater! We have less than a half hour before the date changes! To the dorm, posthaste!”

Cater yelped as Riddle began to push him from behind, shoving him towards the Mirror Chamber.

“Okay, okay! Chill, Riddle! What’s going on?!”

Deuce looked oddly at Trey.

“Um…do..do we follow them, or…”

Trey shrugged.

“Well, we’re all going to the dorm, but…I think Riddle has something specific to do with Cater, so I don’t think we need to follow too closely.”

Ace yawned.

“Where are we sleeping, anyway?”

“Uh..” Trey hesitated. Heartslaybul didn’t exactly have any spare room, seeing as Riddle’s tight leadership had kept anyone from being held back or dropping out. He didn’t actually know where Riddle was planning on housing the two freshmen, but he assumed that the Housewarden had a plan.

He wouldn’t have agreed to this idea if he didn’t.

“I don’t…entirely know, but we can always wait in the kitchen, and ask him when he’s done.”

Deuce and Ace immediately perked up.

“Fine by me!”

“Do you have any more extra tarts?”

Trey smiled, shaking his head.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Deuce paused as he followed Trey to the Mirror Chamber, watching Ace ram his shin into a wall while turning a corner.

“Ow!”

Deuce looked at his friend oddly. Ace wasn’t exactly the clumsy type, so why was he walking around with his wings partially held out, one hand running along the wall, like he couldn’t–

Oh.

“You can’t see right now, can you?”

Ace looked over at him, but more in his general direction then actually at–at him.

“Really, you don’t say?!” Ace hissed. “Yeah, everything’s fuzzy right now! So, some help would be nice, before I miss the frickin’ mirror!”

Deuce froze. Oh, that wasn’t great…

“I thought you said you only used your signature spell once–”

“Yeah, against the Bride! I needed to boost it a little to do that!”

Deuce winced, walking over to Ace. As he grabbed his friend’s hand, he noticed his own wrist.

Oof, it was not supposed to be that color, was it? How had he done that…?

Probably when he’d landed on it when the ghost horde had been chasing him…Or when he’d blocked a magic attack with it…twice. Or when he’d accidentally whacked it against the wall when throwing a punch back at the ghosts….

It probably would’ve been easier to pinpoint what had messed his wrist up if all feeling hadn’t left his body halfway through the fight.

The blot that pumped through his bloodstream could manually repair injuries if he noticed them and directed it to do so, but in the middle of a fight, when he wasn’t paying attention, it defaulted to just…numbing his entire body.

Which was great in the middle of a fight…less so hours after when his adrenaline wore off and he collapsed from blood loss from injuries he didn’t know he had.

But he could deal with unseen injuries later…

“Well, your eyes aren’t dripping yet, so…could be worse?”

Ace scowled, blinking rapidly behind the black sheen covering his eyeballs.

“Yeah, yippee, how fun for me…”

Ace’s consequences to using blot to bolster his abilities or when he just built too much up, was a lot worse, in Deuce’s opinion. The blot in his body slowly started to break down and deteriorate each of his senses, starting with his eyesight and then went on from there, depending on how severely his blot levels were.

Deuce slowly began to follow their upperclassman again, taking care to take a corner with a wide turn so Ace wouldn’t bump into something again.

“How much can you still see?”

“Enough that you don’t have to squeeze my hand like that!” Ace hissed. “You're gonna crack your own wrist and pop mine out of its socket!”

Deuce half loosened his grip, tail flicking irritably.

“It doesn’t look that bad…”

“Whatever…” Ace grumbled, squinting closely at the floor, just able to make out the blurred blobs that were his own feet. “Epel better count us as even now…”

“...you have to drag him somewhere again?”

“Yep.”

Thankfully, for both boys' pride sake, Trey was far enough ahead to not see them holding hands down to the Mirror Chamber. After they crossed into Heartslaybul, Ace yanked his hand back from Deuce, latching on to the back of his friend’s jacket instead.

Deuce rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, cause that’s less embarrassing…”

“You have a better idea?”

“...no…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Trey did not, in fact, wonder why Ace was grabbing the back of Deuce’s jacket. Mostly because he was more concerned about the two thin lines of blot that had started to track down the freshman’s face.

He may have overreacted a little bit though…

“Are you okay?!”

In his defense, the last time he’d seen someone dripping blot…it had not turned out well…

The sight of blot twisting and warping Riddle into a monstrous version of himself still haunted his dreams at night, images of the battle and how close he’d gotten to losing his friend replaying over and over again in his brain.

But that had maybe led to him throwing things a little out of proportion…

“Plew–! Trey, I’m fine! Knock it off–!”

Ace’s complaints did nothing against Trey’s efforts to scrub the black liquid from the freshman’s face. The substance stayed stubbornly glued to the freshman’s face, refusing to budge from his efforts, but still somehow painting his handkerchief black.

Ace turned his face away, wings flailing as he tried to push Trey off.

“Would you – stop!”

He smacked Trey's hand back, scowling.

“Seriously dude, it's not that big of a deal!”

Trey finally paused his efforts, frowning.

“There’s blot completely covering your eyes! Th–that’s not a big deal to you?!”

Ace sent a glance over to the vaguely Deuce shaped thing across the countertop, stupefied. Deuce looked back at him, though he knew Ace couldn’t make out his face anymore, just as dumbfounded.
Neither had ever heard Trey so…mad before. Sure, he got kinda bossy, and maybe even a little scary when people helped out during kitchen duty, but this was like…mad mad. Like, mom had just caught you sneaking out mad…

“..Nooo…?” Ace answered hesitantly. He focused on the blurred blob that was Deuce. He’d need a set of working eyes to run away…

Though he couldn’t make out the details of Trey’s face, the vice housewarden’s tone alone told Ace that had very much been the wrong thing to say…

“There is a FILM of BLOT over your eyes, so much so that it’s dripping down your face, and you think that’s “no big deal”?!”

“Trey?” Deuce cautiously spoke up. “It's, um, actually…not that big of a deal…it's not a sign of overblotting or anything, it's just…a physical sign that he has a lot of it built up.”

“Exactly!” Ace quickly piggybacked off of Deuce’s defense. “It's kinda annoying, but it’s not life-threatening or anything, especially since there aren’t anymore love crazed ghosts flying around! Haha…ha…” His laughter nervously trailed off as Trey still didn’t loosen his firm grip on his shoulder. “So, uh, you can…stop trying to swab my face off…”

Trey slowly lowered his handkerchief.

“You..swear you're okay?”

“Yep!”

“We wouldn’t lie about something like that!” Deuce said quickly.

Ace blinked, a glimmer of a smirk appearing on his face for the briefest of moments.

“In fact, in terms of not being fine, Deuce is the one you should be worried about.”

Trey’s head snapped around to Deuce, his eyes flashing with very, very angry concern.

“Why?”

Deuce gulped.

“He’s exaggerating, I’m fi–”

“I bet he lost the ability to feel pain like an hour into fighting all those ghosts, and his entire battle strategy is just getting hit, so I guarantee he’s the one that needs medical attention!”

“What.”

Deuce took a step back as Trey released Ace, the vice housewarden looking downright furious (and worried, which somehow made it scarier).

Oh, Epel wasn’t gonna get to decide if he and Ace were even. Deuce was gonna kill him before that chance came–!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
If Trey had been overreacting, Riddle was entirely throwing things out of proportion. Though, from his perspective, he was underreacting.

Riddle prided himself on his medical knowledge, but the most basic thing that you learned in any First Aid course was to seek professional help when injuries were severe or worrying. And since Deuce could not offer any semblance of a pain ranking, Riddle couldn’t safely say whether the freshman’s wrist was bruised or broken.

And that was only the most noticeable injury.

Just from removing his jacket, Deuce revealed burns and bruises that he seemed just as surprised to discover, and after learning (from a little interrogation/prying) that the freshman’s tactic, due to the nature of his signature spell, had been to just let himself get hit during battle, Riddle was not confident in simply writing the injuries off as only skin deep.

However, he had not been expecting this…explosive reaction from Deuce. All he had done was state firmly that the freshman needed to go to the medical wing…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Cater should’ve known stuff was gonna go sideways when Ace ducked behind the counter…

“No! No, I–I don’t need to go there!”

Deuce pushed his back up against the wall, eyes darting between Trey and Riddle, who looked just as confused as Cater was.

Cater blinked, half crouching down beside Ace, leaning down to .

“Hey, Ace…what’s uh–what’s up with Deucy?”

Ace rubbed his eyes.

“Maybe tell Riddle that we don’t have great experience with doctors…cause Epel is not the only one that bites…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Jack yawned widely, looking about as spent as Leona felt.

Was it unfair to equate being frozen in place for hours to having to fight hordes of ghosts for like a day?

…Nah. Emotional damages and all that.

But as evenly tired as they both were, only one of them was at risk of fallin’ over and pukin’ up blot. And it wasn’t him…

Though, Jack seemed to be doin’ alright. Aside from being obscenely quiet.

He didn’t say a word all the way over to Savanaclaw, not even arguing when Leona told him to take a seat in his room. Then again, maybe the freshman wasn’t over the moon bout this whole plan. If someone busted into his house, broke it and swiped all his stuff, Leona probably wouldn’t be too happy either. Especially if someone like Crowley just pushed ‘im to the side and made him someone else’s problem.

Eh, whatever. If giving the silent treatment was the most of a temper tantrum Jack was gonna throw, that was fine with him. If the kid wanted to silently stew, who was he to judge?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Flesh is more satisfying the spirit…why do you not feast?!

Because he didn’t want to get expelled…and because murder was AGAINST THE LAW!

Jack closed his eyes as Leona closed the door behind him, pulling his knees up to his chest. He laid his head on his knees, trying to push out the Beast’s voice, and keep his body from spasming.

He really wished that Leona’s plan wasn’t him bunking with the Housewarden…. Wasn’t fallin’ down and puking in front of his upperclassmen embarrassing enough? Jack wasn’t really one to chalk anything up to luck or fate, but he had to admit - Q’s theory about “Tartarus bad luck” may be held up better than he wanted it to…

The quickest and most efficient way to get rid of the ghosts had been to use his blot powered, magic teeth. But that meant indulging the Beast, and worse, building up more blot in his body. Which led to some…not great side effects until his levels returned to normal (which were still dangerously high compared to the normal mage, but normal for him).

When his blot levels got too high, it just…absolutely wrecked his entire system. It was like having the flu on steroids…

But he could deal with it. He was…just probably going to hurl all over Leona’s floor, and bother the Housewarden all night with his shaking and shivering. Way to prove he wasn’t a weak link…

His leg twitched uncomfortably in its brace, his whole body jerking in recoil. Jack squeezed his knees tighter to his chest, trying to stop trembling, but he could feel the blot and bile begin to coat his mouth, the taste of the gunk painting his tongue. He gagged, retching , spitting a blob of black onto the floor.

He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back another wave of nausea. A chill ran up his spine, making him shiver as the night air seemed to drop ten degrees.

A stinging pain clamped across Jack’s cheeks, an invisible force digging into his skin. He choked out another blob of blot, losing the battle against the desire to puke.

Oh, Leona was never gonna take him seriously after this…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Why do I have to be the one to get him set up for the night?! He’s sleepin’ in your room..”

Ruggie whined as he dragged himself after Leona, yawning every other step.

“Cause I don’t know where any of the extra stuff is.”

Ruggie glared up at Leona’s back.

“Ya couldn’t just give ‘im one of your eight pillows and blankets and called it a night?”

Leona smirked.

“No; what kind of hosts would we be if I made him scrape by on my leftovers?”

Ruggie rolled his eyes, not feeling like arguing how that was literally what Leona made him do everyday.

“This is just so you don’t have to clean up puke, isn’t it?”

Leona’s ear twitched.

“It ain’t not cause of that. But he hasn’t spewed yet, so who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky.”

Ruggie wrinkled his nose.

“Now you're just jinxin’ in…”

Sure enough, he heard Jack coughin’ up his lunch as soon as Leona pushed open his door. Ruggie huffed.

“I told you..”

“Can it!” Leona hissed.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..

Jack shrank back slightly when he heard somewhere entering, reacting on already frayed instincts before his common sense kicked in. He quickly relaxed, recognizing Ruggie and Leona’s voices.

Then Leona grabbed him and started heaving him up with no warning.

Jack yelped, jerking away from the hold, the touch stinging his skin. He stumbled a few steps back, swaying as another wave of nausea hit him now that he was standing.

“Warn him, don’t just grab him!” Ruggie appeared at his side, close, but not touching him.

“Hey Jack, I’m gonna grab ya so you don’t fall over, okay?”

Jack nodded hesitantly, letting Ruggie duck under one of his arms. He cautiously leaned some of his weight on the second year, trying to get his head to stop spinning.

“Tck. Fine.” Leona strode up to his other side. “I’m gonna grab you and take ya to the bathroom to get cleaned up.”

It was more of a statement than a question, but the Housewarden did wait for Jack to nod his head again. He didn’t, however, even give Jack a moment to readjust and just started pulling him forward as soon as Jack leaned on him.

Jack swallowed. Of course, the cherry on top of his day would be if he puked on Housewarden Leona’s shoes…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Luckily, for how lethargic Jack was, his leg still seemed to be working. Which meant that Leona didn’t actually have to go in the bathroom with him, a fact that he was sure Jack was just as happy about as he was.

Instead, he just waited by the door, listening to Jack spit out his insides twice before getting in the shower. He hoped that Shroud knew how much he owed the freshman, cause saving that shut–in’s sorry but sure wasn’t worth this.

Faster than he thought, Jack unlatched the door, shaking like a leaf as the light outside breeze hit him.

Leona frowned, looking closer at the freshman. A shallow cut that hadn’t been there before stretched from the top of one of Jack’s cheeks to the other, curving up over his nose. A familiar black substance leaked slowly from the edges of the cut, inching down Jack’s face.

Leona’s ears flattened.

Blot drippin’ from anything…was never a good sign..

“What happened to your face?”

“Hmm..?” Jack blinked sleepily, clumsily touching his face. “Oh, that cut reopens sometimes when I build up too much blot…”

“...Huh.” Leona moved to freshman’s side again, sliding Jack’s arm back over his shoulder. Even while watching him the whole time, Jack still flinched back a bit. “Why?”

“I dunno…trauma…”

Leona started pulling Jack forward again, dragging him back to his room. Hopefully, that’d been enough time for Ruggie to clean up the puke and set up somethin’ for Jack to sleep on.

“What, you fall on your face bad enough that it’s a triggering memory?”

Jack snorted weakly.

“Heh…no…just a muzzle that was latched too tight one too many times..”

Leona froze for a moment, quickly continuing forward before the freshman could notice. Yeah, he was way too tired to unpack THAT topic right now…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel probably would’ve made it to bed with no problems if Vil hadn’t insisted on walking him through an entire 30-plus step skin care routine. Guess he’d taken that red-handprint to the face pretty personally, seeing how much he kept rambling about “removing all blemishes from one's face before you went to sleep”...

Epel felt his eyes slipping closed as Vil kept going on and on…and on, his head growing heavier and heavier the longer he sat “at attention”.

The only thing keeping him awake was the splintering pain carving across his back, old wounds definitely ripping open again. Ugh, and he’d barely even used his signature spell today…why did it take more power to use it on ghosts when it didn’t even fully work on them?!

It wasn’t fair…why did his stats have to be worse then everyone else’s!? Sure, his friends had some pretty bad repercussions that they had to deal with, but it took them actually building up a sizable chunk of blot to get there! Even Ace, who was the most on par with Epel when it came to quick consequences, had more prolonged skill use and less debilitating side effects than he did…

All he wanted was to be strong, and even with blot superpowers, he was still the weakest of the bunch…

Maybe that was why he’d got put in this prissy dorm. The Dark Mirror had probably looked right through him and seen every stupid weakness, and plopped him in with the frail pretty boys…

It wasn’t stinkin’ fair–

Wham!

“Ouch!”

Epel jerked out of his thoughts as his head unconsciously dipped down, banging into the tabletop. Vil paused in his oh-so-important explanation of face moisturizer, glancing critically down at him.
Epel rubbed his forehead, gingerly relifting his head. He cringed, expecting an earful about attentiveness.

“And with that, I believe we should call it a night.” Epel blinked in surprise. Guess Vil was more tired then he’d thought, if the Housewarden was passing up a chance to lecture him. “Now, tomorrow is a weekend, so we will continue this discussion at 9 am.”

There was the Vil–twist…

Vil set down the bottle of moisturizer on his desk.

“Rook has made up a bed for you in one of the spare rooms.”

Almost on cue, a gentle rap came at the door, Rook’s voice carrying cheerfully through.

“Roi du Poison, Epel’s room is ready!”

Epel briefly wondered if Rook had an uncanny sense of when he was being discussed…or if the junior had been waiting outside the door until Vil mentioned his name….

Whatever. He was too tired and in pain to care right now...
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Rook noted how Epel’s steps were less sure than normal, the freshman swaying slightly with each step forward. Perhaps it was just exhaustion…but Epel was normally so boisterous. Even after a tiring battle, Rook would not expect this kind of reaction to sleepiness.

And the symptoms reminded him of how Epel had been after falling from his broom. Vil had said the freshman had seemingly collapsed from pain and loss of feeling in his legs, which would explain the shaky steps–

Epel teetered to the side, falling parallel to the ground.

“Ah!” Rook quickly caught Epel, the freshman landing limply in his arms. “Are you alright, Epel?”

“I’m–I’m f–fine…” Epel’s reply was weak, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. “Sorry, I’m okay…”

Epel attempted to push himself off of Rook, wobbling backwards instead. Rook kept a tight hold of Epel’s arm, pulling his suit jacket sleeve to gently correct the freshman’s balance.

“Avec regret, Epel, but I fear I do not entirely believe you.” He carefully moved his hand under Epel’s arm, supporting the freshman better. “Were you injured during the fight today?”

Epel chuckled dryly, partially raising his head. He was startin’ to feel kinda woozy from the pain, words tumbling out before he even registered what he was saying.

“Ah’m always injured…it’s too dang busted to stay fixed…”

Rook blinked, surprised by Epel’s sudden change in attitude.

“Pardon?”

A ghost of a wry smile flickering on Epel’s face, all levels of a social filter leaving him as spots started to dance in front of his eyes.

“To busted…to do nothin’....”

Rook frowned. The cold feeling that had passed over him when he’d lost Howl in the hallway settled over him again. Perhaps Epel was more of an apex predator than he had thought, lolling him into a state of trust until the freshman could strike…

“I fear I do not know what you're talking about…could you…provide some clarification?”

Epel’s eyes started to close, the freshman swaying again.

“You can’t split a spine…without hackin’ inta someone…”

Rook opened his mouth slightly.

“...I–suppose not–”

“I gotta big ol’ cut…on mah back…and it just won’t…go back together no more…”

Rook stared down at Epel, apprehension giving way to horror.

“W–Whatever do you mean by…it doesn’t go back together?”

Epel giggled as if his question was funny. It wasn’t. Rook was most certainly serious. He hadn't been this caught off guard in many years….

Epel’s body tilted towards Rook, his head lolling backwards.

“…just keeps on peelin’ apart…cause they just…kept….carvin’...it open…”

Epel’s eyes rolled up into his head, his legs crumbling beneath him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“VIL!”

Vil froze in the middle of his nighttime routine, frowning as Rook kicked open his door. Normally, he would’ve reprimanded his vice housewarden for entering in such an unrefined manner, but he had never heard Rook so…panicked before.

And knowing Rook’s personality, that…worried him. Greatly.

“Rook, what in the world–”

Rook easily carried Epel into the room, laying the freshman face down on the chaise lounge at the foot of Vil’s bed.

“I apologize for bursting in, but I am entirely uncertain on how to handle this matter!”

Vil frowned, getting up from his desk.

“What happened to Epel–”

Rook wordlessly lifted Epel’s jacket and shirt, revealing the freshman’s back. Vil’s words stopped short, staring.

Black and red liquid was bubbling from the center of the freshman’s back, frothing up a seared cut of jagged flesh running from in between his shoulders to his lower back. Vil swore he saw a glimmer of white beneath all the oozing blood and black substance.

He nearly gagged when he realized that it must be bone…

“What…what happened to him..?”

This surely couldn’t be the ghosts’ handiwork…the Bride’s retainers had been obnoxiously steadfast, but they certainly had not seemed capable…of doing anything this severe.

Rook shook his head.

“I’ve collected, from a very fragmented conversation I had with him, that this is…an old injury, from his time in Tartarus…from when they…divided his spine…” Rook’s voice shook slightly. “It – He said that it – it does not heal, that it…reopens…constantly..”

Vil found his eyes glued to the oozing wound, unable to look elsewhere.

Rook jumped backwards, stepping back. Vil finally was able to move his gaze, head moving jerkily to look at his vice housewarden in bewilderment.

“What–”

“He twitched!” Rook hissed, sounding much too frightened for Vil’s liking. “I–I can not even imagine the pain–no creature should even have the capability to move while–”

Epel shifted again, much more obviously this time, cutting Rook short. Vil stared.

“Is he…waking up?!”

“Oh, mon dieu…” Rook whispered, eyes widening. “Impossible…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Oh, you were positively wonderful, my boy!” Lilia beamed up at Sebek, who practically glowed from the praise.

“Thank you, Master Lilia!” Sebek smiled broadly. For how terribly this day had started, it certainly appeared to be ending on a much higher note!

Lilia had observed him using his signature spell and had been impressed! And, they had been more than successful in rescuing Idia, as well as teaching those ill-mannered ghosts a true lesson! And he was now being allowed to spend a night in Diasomnia, the dorm his Liege ruled! There was little more he could ask for…

Well, aside from being able to breathe properly…

The after-effects of using his signature spell were beginning to hit him, exhaustion tugging at his limbs as he matched Lilia’s pace. He could feel himself crashing, his body’s remaining energy quickly draining as he pressed himself to continue forward.

A tight pressure was gripping his chest, every breath feeling too brief. His lungs felt heavy-ladened, and it took very little time for the coughing to set in.

Sebek leaned forwards and rasped into his arm. He cringed as he felt some of the blot force its way up from his lungs, coating his throat and layering his tongue.

“Goodness, are you alright?”

Lilia was close to his side in an instant, hovering anxiously as he coughed. Sebek finally finished his hacking fit, grimaced as he felt the liquid begin to drip through his teeth and down his chin.

“I am…adequately fine.” He took a shaky breath, forcing down another coughing bout as his lungs immediately recoiled at doing their intended purpose (because how dare he require a minimal amount of air to breath). “I swear, this…is not…like last time…”

Argh, he hated how wheezy he became after battle! Those ghosts certainly wouldn’t be fleeing in terror now…

“This…is simply…recoil…from using…my spell for so long…”

Lilia tilted his head, brow furrowed in concern.

“Hmm…I’m not surprised. You did appear to be using it for quite some time, and that toll of magic would be taxing on a master spellcaster, much less a novice.”

Lilia gently placed a hand on his arm.

“I do hate to ask, but can you make it to the dorm?”

Sebek felt some of his pride deflate. Of course Lilia would correctly assume that he was struggling to place one foot in front of the other, much less make it to Diasomnia still standing. The fae had seen him suffer from a much worse attack, and no doubt now questioned his strength…

Perhaps rightfully so…should a few vexing specters truly be this strenuous of a task for a servant to the great Malleus Draconia…?

“Not to imply that I’m doubting your abilities,” Lilia went on quickly. “But–because you are clearly suffering from fatigue, as anyone would be after a fight of that length–I am a bit worried about you needing to be at least partially carried. And, well…because I fear my age is catching up to me. All that frozen standing has left my back terribly stiff, and–to be frank, I am unsure if I can lift anything besides myself at the moment..”

Sebek blinked.

“Oh…I am terribly sorry….that you were forced…to receive a slap of rejection..”

“Admittedly, I was not expecting it.” Lilia hummed. “She told me I was too cute by half. Oh, the vicissitudes of being cute as a button…”

Sebek intended to reply, but he was cut off by another coughing fit. Lilia frowned, stepping closer to the freshman.

He had not been joking about any of his voiced concerns. Sebek’s breathing was quickly becoming rougher and more labored, any steps he took were less sure and stumbling. And now of all times, Lilia’s back was aching, barely allowing him to even twist his torso.

It was not just that he’d be unable to assist if the freshman entirely collapsed. If Sebek simply needed a support to lean on, Lilia would be unable to help him with that too.

And he did not want to leave room for the possibility of having to abandon Sebek, collapsed and suffocating in the middle of a random hallway, when he had to go get assistance when his own strength fell through…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Malleus was nearly to the Mirror Chamber when he heard the coughing. He paused, turning towards the sound.

He’d been wandering a bit aimlessly today, due to the ghosts infesting every inch of the main building. No one had personally told him what was the matter, until Silver heard about the incident from Kalim.

By the time the news had reached the two of them, the endeavor to save Shroud and the newly imprisoned crowd of students had already been well underway. Malleus had wished to observe, but he had only just been able to glimpse Ace and Epel storming into the room before the Head Mage had shooed him away. Supposedly, the excuse was that they couldn’t risk Malleus’s safety, even from this distance.

However, before he had taken his leave, Ortho Shroud had whispered that he “was filming this and would send it to him later!” Malleus did not entirely understand what that meant, but he was flattered by the inclusion.

“There there…just try to breathe slowly…”

Malleus’s steps quickened as he recognized Lilia’s voice. He quickly rounded a corner, almost bolting when he saw Sebek on the ground, slumped on the ground.

“Sebek! Are you alright?!”

The freshman looked up as he approached, black liquid frothing at his lips as he tried to answer. Lilia gently squeezed his hand.

“Sebek, please. Wait until you can breathe clearly before you attempt to answer.” The fae was attempting to be patient, but the words had taken on a slightly firmer edge. He’d given Sebek that same reminder five times already…

Malleus frowned, dropping to his knee, addressing Lilia instead (since he still possessed the ability to reply and not pass out).

“Is he alright?”

“Well…yes and no…” Lilia gave Sebek’s hand another squeeze as the freshman rasped out another slew of blot. “This is simply from him fighting well and hard, not from anything troubling. But it is getting worse, bit by bit, and I believe he is truly in need of a good rest.”

Sebek let out one last cough, breathing weakly.

“I…am fine…my Liege…I am…merely…facing after-effects….to spiking…my spell…”

Lilia blinked, looking back at the freshman.

“Spiking?”

“With…my blot…” Sebek rasped. “I can…make it…last longer…”

Malleus frowned, looking at Sebek sharply. He had never heard of such a practice, and from Lilia’s face, it appeared that the older fae hadn’t either.

“Is that..safe?”

Sebek sat up a tad straighter, his free arm wrapping around his ribs.

“It comes….with the same….risks that magic casting….does for an average mage….” Sebek half spat more liquid from his mouth, the black ooze farther staining his already darkened chin. Malleus intentionally ignored the act, simply glad that the freshman was relieving his lungs.

“I…assumed….that I would….be lodging somewhere….with my friends…they are….less inconvenienced by this….” Sebek winced as his lungs twinged, once again complaining that they must do their job. “I….apologize…”

Lilia frowned.

“Now, how often do I need to remind you that we WISH to be inconvenienced by you, Sebek?!”

“Indeed.” Malleus’s brow furrowed. “But, why are you not in Ramshackle? Do you not always lodge with your friends?”

Lilia hummed.

“Oh, Ramshackle got rather muddled by the ghosts today. So, Sebek is staying in Diasomnia with us tonight!”

Malleus blinked.

“Truthfully?”

“If I….can make it there…” Sebek muttered hoarsely.

“Oh, don’t be silly!” Lillia gave Sebek’s hand one last squeeze before releasing the freshman’s hand, stiffly standing up. “Malleus, why don’t you help Sebek to the dorm, while I go prepare his bed?”

Sebek opened his mouth to object, but was once again silenced by another hacking fit. Infernal cough! Did his lungs not realize how much he was troubling Malleus with his own insignificant problems–

“Of course. “ Malleus replied without hesitation. “Are you alright, Lilia?”

The older fae would not pass off a task like this unless he absolutely needed to…

Lilia waved his hand in dismissal.

“I’m fine, aside from being rudely reminded of my age. I’ll see you boys soon!”

Lilia vanished in a poof, quickly departing to Diasomnia.

Malleus waited patiently for Sebek’s coughing to ease, not even moving to offer to pull the freshman to his feet until Sebek began to breathe feebly again. This time may be more naturally brought upon then the last had been, but Malleus did not wish to watch Sebek suffocate on the black substance again.

Once Sebek began to “properly” breathe again, Malleus offered the freshman his arm.

“Are you ready, or do you need another moment?”

Sebek shook his head, quickly grabbing Malleus’s arm in a frail hold.

“I…am ready!”

Frankly, it was a bit impressive how very little of Sebek’s bluster was stifled by his predicament. Malleus easily pulled the freshman to his feet, swiftly draping Sebek’s arm over his shoulders as the freshman wobbled unsteadily.

Sebek faltered for a moment, stuck between graciously accepting the assistance from his Liege, or pulling and making himself less of an issue for the fae. Malleus made the decision for him, gently stepping forward, dragging him slightly.

Sebek scrambled for a moment before properly regaining his footing, matching Malleus’s(very slowed) pace.

“Thank you….sir!”

“You're more than welcome.”

Chapter Text

Even with Malleus’s slowed pace, Sebek was struggling a bit to keep up with the fae. Weariness had completely sunk into his limbs, his legs feeling more and more like lead as he dragged them forward.

That feeling only increased when they passed into Diasomnia. The dorm was certainly a symbol of excellence, worthy of Malleus’s rule and leadership. But…the castlelike dorm was not well equipped to house a crocodile. The stone walls and floors did little but bend to the outside’s temperature, barely holding any warmth in the early mornings and late evenings.

The cold sunk into his bones, working with his fatigue to dampen the use of his legs, creating the feeling that he was dragging himself helplessly through quicksand. The blot seemed to weigh heavier and heavier in his chest, filling his lungs to the brim.

Coughing now felt like too much of a chore…sleep tugged forcefully at his eyes, and all at once, he was falling, into the thick cold air–

“Sebek!”

Sebek was all but jerked out of unconsciousness, sharply stopped in his free fall forward by Malleus. His chest rammed into the fae’s arm, doubling over as he dissolved into a coughing fit, suddenly remembering that breathing was, in fact, rather important.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Malleus breathed out in relief as Sebek began coughing again. The freshman had gone oddly quiet for a moment, then completely tumbled over, not breathing, blot oozing sluggishly from his mouth.

Thankfully, he’d come back to his senses when Malleus had stopped him from fully falling over.

“Sebek? Are you alright? Do you need to rest for a moment?”

Sebek shook his head rapidly, spluttering forth blot as he did.

“No..! No…stopping!.....It’s too….cold!”

Malleus frowned. Too cold..?

Diasomnia could certainly get chilly at times, but the dorm was far from freezing. And, he hardly saw why the temperature of the corridor was Sebek’s most pressing concern in this moment…

As if to answer his silent question, Sebek shivered, teeth clattering loudly in his mouth. The freshman grabbed Malleus’s hand as he started swaying forward again.

Malleus winced slightly as Sebek’s claws dug into his hand, the freshman paying little attention to being gentle as he tried to not succumb to unconsciousness.

“Is it truly that frigid?”

Sebek coughed again, half doubling over again.

“Regret..fully…so…” The freshman’s words rasped out of his throat, barely audible, a far cry from Sebek’s regular volume and energy.

Malleus’s frown deepened.

“Does your blot make you ill?!”

“..hm..?” Sebek blinked. “N–no..”

Malleus’s brow furrowed.

“Then why is the chill affecting you so? Are you certain that you do not feel feverish?”

Sebek turned his head slightly, looking at the Housewarden for a moment. Without warning, the freshman snorted, a smiling tugging at his black-stained mouth.

Malleus blinked, surprised by the sudden, humorous change. Perhaps Sebek was starting to suffer from a blot induced delrium–!

“I’m…*cough* sorry, sir…” Sebek’s tone was almost mirthful. “It’s…it’s not truly…funny. I just…thought it was…clear from my appearance…”

Malleus looked at the freshman in confusion.

“I fail to see how that correlates to my question. Nor do I see how this is even mildly humorous.”

Sebek wheezed softly, more blot dripping out from between his teeth.

“I am…more or less…a reptile now, Malleus….the chill affects me…because I am coldblooded.”

Malleus stared for a moment.

“Oh…” How. In the world. Had that never crossed his mind..?! “Do forgive my foolishness. I see the humor now…”

No wonder Sebek found this funny. The freshman had just been revealed to the fact that not only had his upperclassmen not considered his new appearance as something worth studying, but that his King had never even thought, for even a moment, that Sebek’s features reached beyond the realm of magic.

Sebek coughed again, frowning.

“I…did not mean…to imply that…you are foolish….I supposed….I just assumed…that you would all…notice the tail…”

The corner of Malleus’s mouth twitched slightly.

“I believe we were all a bit more focused on simply having you back.” The joy that glimmered from Sebek’s eyes was near blinding. “Though it was quite irresponsible of me to simply gloss over your crocodilian traits as if they’ve had no effect on your comfort. I do hope you haven’t been too pained by my neglect in judgement.”

“I would not say….that I’ve been pained…” Sebek ducked his head a bit, cheeks flushing.

“Hm. While I’m pleased to hear that, please inform me if there’s anything else you struggle with now that you're a..reptile.”

Sebek opened his mouth, most likely to object about "unnecessarily troubling Malleus”, but was cut off by enough bout of rasping, blot spewing from his lungs.

Malleus lightly pulled the freshman towards Diasomnia’s lounge.

“Once you can properly breathe again, that is.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel’s eyes slowly fluttered open. He found himself face down on something soft, vision skewed by a sea of plush fabric. He twitched, more involuntarily than anything. His back screeched in protest to the light movement, pain flaring up his spine.

The agony rippled out from the cut, searing across his shoulder blades and the sides of his torso. His legs and arms spasmed slightly, his brain short–circulating into whitehot misery as the pain burned into his nerves.

For one blissful moment, everything went numb as his mind half fell back into unconsciousness, vision flashing out as his mind sputtered.

Then…everything drummed back into the real world, consciousness tugging back at his brain, and the pain settling for a dull pulsation.

Epel huffed. He hated that stupid part…

He didn’t understand why his body always insisted on givin’ him the worst spike of pain first. It was like his sliced up back was trying to test him, seeing if he could take the worst of the worst before letting him be painfully awake until he got himself stitched back together.

Just his nerves making super sure he was still kickin’, he guessed…

“Is he…waking up?!”

Epel twisted his head to the side so fast his neck cracked.

Vil and Rook both flew back a step, looking like they’d seen a ghoul.

“Vil!?”

Vil stared down at him, face ashen and lips pale. He kinda looked like he was gonna be sick…

“Epel?! How–are–” Epel blinked, shocked. He had never seen Vil at a loss for words before…

“Oh, Seigneur, aide-nous…” Rook whispered, looking downright scared outta his mind. Which was…a little creepy. Epel had thought nothing frightened Rook. After all, this was the guy who’d made up a poem to woo a ghost.

Epel pushed himself up, ignoring how the pain spiked as he did so, letting his legs dangle off of the chair he’d been laying on, looking around.

Where the heck was he –?

“Non!”

“No!”

Epel jumped as Rook and Vil both yelled at him.

Rook was in front of him before he could blink, gently grabbing his shoulders.

Epel twitched at the contact nonetheless. Rook wasn’t exactly the most predictable person, and any sharp movements would probably make ‘im black out again.

“Non, you should not be moving right now!” Rook’s calm voice did not fit his blanched complexion. “You're still bleeding quite badly!”

Epel blinked. Aw, shoot….he had kinda collapsed on Rook…

And probably neither the Housewarden or vice housewarden had been prepared for a gaping, dripping blood/blot hole in his back. No wonder they both looked like they were gonna faint.

Rook very lightly pushed him towards the cushioned seat.

“Lie back down and try to rest, Monsieur Pommette, alright?”

Epel, however, didn’t move. But, to his surprise, Vil objected before he could.

“He does not need to lay back down and continue bleeding, Rook, he needs medical attention!”

Epel tensed. What were those last two words–

“We need to get him to the medical wing!”

Epel froze. His heart began to pound in his ears, throbbing in unison with his back.

The distant smell of disinfected started burning his nose, the memory of stark white walls and too bright lights flashing in his mind. His upperclassmens’ voices disappeared behind the terrible, buzzing sound of the saw, the noise that screeched throughout the room until it made contact with flesh and bones.

No…no no no, he wasn’t going back there! He wasn’t, he couldn’t–

His eyes jerked back into reality, locking on to Rook’s very concerned face.

He’d rather die than go back…

And so, in his utmost moment of panic and desperation…he slammed his head forward. Squarely into his vice housewarden’s face.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Ah!” Rook tumbled backwards, Epel darting over his fallen upperclassman.

However, Rook was not a skilled hunter for nothing. Despite his shock at what had just happened, and his confusion as to why, the first line of business was not to wonder; it was to stop Epel from fleeing.

Lightning fast, Rook snatched onto one of Epel’s heels as the freshman tried to make his hasty retreat. Epel yelped, crashing to the ground.

Rook rolled over and snatched the freshman before he could react, wrestling Epel to his chest. He winced as he felt something warm and wet begin to bleed through Epel’s suit, soaking his own uniform.

Epel, however, paid no mind to his injuries.

“LEGGO!” The freshman bucked and writhed beneath his grip, struggling to free one of his arms, kicking and flailing all the while.

Rook frowned, tightening his hold.

“Epel, calm yourself!” He had no idea what had stirred up Epel into such a frenzied panic, but it was only going to worsen the freshman’s injuries if he kept tussling about. “I am not going to har–YAH!”

Rook hissed in agony as a sharp, stinging pain split through one of his wrists, nearly making him let go.

“I lose naught and fear naught. This shining crown was made for me. Fairest One of All!”

Through the haze of pain, Rook heard Vil’s voice, and saw his Housewarden swiftly pouring something onto one of Epel’s flailing legs.

The freshman suddenly stilled in his grip, Epel going limp, his head lolling forward, with Rook’s wrist still in his jaws.

“Merveilleux use of your spell, Vil!” Rook pried his hand out of Epel’s mouth, looking far too cheerful, considering what had just happened. “You truly are Roi du Poison…”

Vil stared down at the unconscious freshman, brow deeply furrowed.

“What in the world…just happened?!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
It took Riddle and Trey around an hour to get Deuce to back away from the wall and agree to go to the medical wing. And even then, they’d only really managed that by being able to get in touch with Idia (Ace, thankfully, had his number memorized, and Cater was more than willing to lend his phone…and working eyes), and agreeing to meet the Ignihyde Housewarden in the medical wing.

Riddle walked calmly next to Deuce, watching the freshman twist one of his jacket sleeves in his claws, eyes still darting around like they had been doing in the kitchen. Like he was planning a quick escape, and needed to know where an exit was..

Based on snippets of conversation with both freshmen, Riddle had gleaned that Deuce’s apprehension to going to the medical wing mostly stemmed from past experiences. Experiences that had evidently not left the freshman with a very high view of anything to do with doctors…

“Deuce?”

The freshman blinked, glancing at Riddle.

“Oh, uh, yes, Housewarden?”

Riddle hesitated slightly. He didn’t want to overstep, but he wanted Deuce to at least know that he could come to his Housewarden if he was in distress, even if he didn’t choose to confide in Riddle right now.

“Do you…want to discuss your anxiety about going to the medical wing? If you’d rather not, that’s fine, but..I am more than willing to listen if you want to talk about it.”

Deuce blinked in surprise, loosening his grip on his sleeve.

“You…really?”

Oh dear, he had overreached! Riddle quickly reiterated his words.

“Of course, there is no need to feel pressured to do so if you really do not want too–”

“No, no, it's not that! I just–” Deuce ducked his head shyly. “No one’s…ever really asked me that before…and I kinda…freaked out back there, so I..I was just a little surprised that you’d WANT to know..”

Riddle blinked.

“Oh.” He hadn't exactly been expecting the freshman to be flattered by his question….

Then again, seeing how rocky their start had been, he probably shouldn’t be surprised that Deuce had some doubts about his offered care.

“That is..actually precisely why I wanted to offer. If something drives you to react like that when you must receive medical attention, then I’d like to know if there’s any way I can help, so that in the future, situations like this can be handled more smoothly.”

Deuce’s tail flicked.

“Well, um…I’m totally fine with telling you, but..I’m sure if that’s gonna help anything run smoother.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Idia yawned miserably, very quietly sliding the door shut behind him. He’d gotten two, blissful hours of sleep before his phone had chimed with a frantic text from Cater (why, of all the people to give his phone number to, had Ace picked that extrovert?!), basically begging for some help with Deuce.

..Honestly, he’d kinda thought he’d get woken up sooner. And the Heartslaybul upperclasmens’ concerns were valid. It was definitely a good idea to check Deuce out before he went to sleep, seeing as this was the guy who’d once walked around with half his rib cage flattened and just straight up not noticed (don’t ask…).

Idia just wanted to mope a little before he got up to the medical wing. He’d never sulk about having to play doctor around any of the freshmen…he’d just whine about having to be up at four in the morning to himself…

Taking into account all the “medical care” they’d received prior to him and Ortho finding them, Idia was still surprised sometimes at how much they trusted him to poke and prod at them. Granted, he was a total genius, so unlike Clayton’s stupid bunch, he actually knew how to patch them up.

All it had taken was proving that, and then they’d been pretty willing to trust him. And…kinda only him. But, one medical “profession” on their case was better than none, so he’d been willing to sign off on that load.

…still didn’t mean that he didn’t want to be in bed right now–

His phone trilling cut off his sleep deprived thoughts, the familiar video game song filling the hall.

Idia fumbled in his pocket, barely managing to keep a hold on his (very heavy) supply bag.

He clicked answer, frowning. Normally, he wouldn’t even consider anything besides hanging up, since texting was a much more efficient way of communicating, but there were seven people (little brother and co) who’d he’d actually pick up the phone for.

“What’s up, Ep–”

“IDIA!” Idia jumped, almost throwing his phone across the hall. “We have a dire situation on our hands!”

Vil was basically screaming over the phone, sounding somehow both panic-stricken and ticked off.

….Idia could probably guess why…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Did his back split open again?”

Vil faltered for a moment, words stopping short. Rook looked up from the fallen freshman, mildly surprised.

“I–yes…how did you know–?”

A long suffering sigh carried over the device.

“He always does this…uh, is he like…with you right now, or did he run off already?”

A look of utter bafflement, crossed with concern painted Vil’s face.

“Does he do this often?! He–yes, he’s with us, but he’s..cursed right now…”

“..What?”

“Ah, Roi du Poison took it upon himself to take action and prevent Epel from hurting himself farther!” Rook piped up, smiling grandly. “He used his signature spell to render Epel both unconscious and immobile!”

Idia was silent for a moment.

“That’s… a pretty good idea, actually…”

Vil blinked.

“Pardon?!”

“Uh, sorry…that probably sounded super weird out of context…” Idia’s voice dropped down to a mutter. “But yeah, his default setting is, um…booking it as soon as anyone mentions medical attention, so…good call on the knock out strategy…”

Idia could likely hear Vil and Rook’s utter disbelief through the screen.

“Anyway…just, uh…take him up the medical wing…I’ll be there in a sec…”

He hung up before either Pomefiore upperclassmen could object.

Rook broke out of the silence first, absentmindedly brushing blood from his nose.

“Well…I suppose we should make haste to the medical wing…did you place a time limit on his curse?”

“...an hour.” Vil replied shortly, still looking at the freshman’s phone, aghast.

“Hm…well, allons-y, I suppose…” Rook attempted to stand while scoping Epel into his arms, but he swayed unsteadily as he got to his feet.

Vil looked at his friend oddly, brow furrowing deeper.

“Whatever is the matter with you?”

“Ha ha…I do believe that Monsieur Pommette is venomous…” Rook’s eyes shimmered with almost childlike awe. “It’s truly fabuleux, no?”

Vil breathed deeply, a stony expression of calm encapsulating his face.

“Give him to me, I’ll carry him. Can you get yourself there, or are you too far incapacitated?"

Rook allowed Vil to relieve him of Epel. The Housewarden gently took the freshman into his arms, Epel’s head lolling over his shoulder, doll like and limp.

“Non. My sense of balance has certainly been thrown askew, but I am not entirely immobilized.” Rook stepped forward, wobbling slightly, but keeping his footing.

Vil sighed. What a day this had been…

“Very well. Let’s get moving then.”

“Ah, this has been quite a turn of events, hasn’t it?” Rook cheerfully teetered after Vil, following the Housewarden out of the room. “I could never have imagined so much excitement was due today!”

“Rook?”

“Yes Vil?”

“Kindly shut up.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Trey opened the door to Riddle’s office, carrying in a stack of blankets and pillows. Hopefully, Deuce wasn’t too injured and would make it back to the dorm. Seeing how the freshman had reacted at the suggestion of going to the medical wing…Trey doubted that Deuce would enjoy having to sleep up there.

“Shh!”

Trey glanced at Cater, who was curled up on the little sofa with Ace. When he’d left to gather supplies, the junior had been insisting on showing Ace one of those random, hour long videos that he was obsessed with, insisting that even though the freshman’s vision was blurred, he could still use it as white noise.

Apparently, Cater hadn’t been too far off. Ace was all but cuddled up against the junior, passed out with his head nuzzled into Cater’s shoulder, wings curled around himself and his upperclassman.

Trey smiled, gently putting his stack down on Riddle’s desk. Cater waved his phone at him, mouthing “Take a pic!”.

Trey stealthily took Cater’s phone, quietly snapping a few pictures. Ace twitched slightly at the camera’s shuttering sound, but stayed asleep.

Which, thank goodness for that. Cause he’d probably kill both of them if he woke up to them doing this…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Wait, Idia was gonna get MARRIED?! Shyheeheehee!” Ruggie cackled, almost rolling across the floor. “Oh man, wish I coulda seen that!”

“Hmph. Why didn’t you?” Leona rolled grumpily over on his bed, glaring down at the hyena. “You coulda poked your head and helped anytime, but I didn’t see you all day. What, you tuck tail and run as soon as the ghosts started pestering you?”

Ruggie huffed, still smiling.

“Least I didn’t end up smacked and frozen–”

Whap!

Ruggie yelped as a pillow flew at full speed into his face.

“Shut it! You're gonna wake him up!”

Ruggie rolled his eyes. He highly doubted that.

Jack had been totally passed out since the moment he’d laid his head down, falling asleep in less than a second. The freshman was pretty much dead to the world.

But, his fever had spiked pretty bad after he’d fallen asleep, so both upperclassmen were just…keeping an eye on him. Neither wanted a repeat of the last time, even if that meant staying up all night.

..For the most part. Jack was gonna owe them for this. Though, not as much as Idia was going to.

Saddlin’ them with a fever stricken freshman, and getting Leona frozen to save his skin? Yeah, Ruggie intended to squeeze some pretty big favors (and meals) outta the Ignihyde Housewarden…

Leona, however, had a different compensation in mind. He had a lot of questions, and he was gonna get the answers to every last one of them, even if he had to pry them outta Idia one by one…

Chapter Text

The medical wing…had been much more crowded than Riddle had expected. Granted, he hadn’t been especially thinking about that subject, as he’d been rather distracted with trying to process what Deuce was telling him.

He was able to distinguish that much of the freshman’s anxiety came from different surgical traumas, many of which had been executed with extremely poor bedside manner. That was(unfortunately) not uniquely unheard of, particularly in terms of explanations of why certain people opted to refuse medical treatment, but Riddle was still perplexed about a certain detail of Deuce’s stories–

“I don’t quite understand; many of these operations you’ve described are purely under anesthesia.” Riddle paused, frowning. “But you talk like…you were awake for many of them..

Deuce shrugged.

“Oh, I was awake for all of them.”

“...Pardon?”

Some of Riddle’s shock must’ve bled into his tone, because Deuce looked at him, appearing almost…concerned.

“Yeah…all of those operations were less about fixing injuries, and more about…being a “safe” space for them to observe how quickly I could repair myself.”

Riddle blinked, face contorting into an expression of disgust. He could feel his cheeks changing shades, warmth blossoming in his face as rage started growing in his chest.

“What a deplorable use of a medical license! How dare they–! To have taken an oath to heal, and use their skills for something like that–!”

Deuce stared blankly at the fuming Housewarden. Riddle quickly drew a breath, trying (in vain) to calm himself.

“I mean that–that is horrible, Deuce. I’m sorry that anyone ever thought that those…people were worthy of the title Doctor…” He grit his teeth on the final word. Even placing perpetrators of such cruelty with that word felt wrong on a cellular level–

“Oh, uh,” Deuce blinked, looking at his feet, almost…guiltily. His tail was still behind him and twitched occasionally as he spoke. “I–thanks! Um…sorry, you–you looked mad enough to Off all Their Heads…and I kinda got that image stuck in my head…”

Riddle stared at the freshman.

“Well–good! It would be the least of the punishments befitting of them!”

A smile tugged at Deuce’s mouth, his eyes gleaming with a touch of…vengeance, perhaps?

“Oh, it would–”

“Deuce!”

The freshman paused, turning back.

Idia clumsily dashed around a corner, quickly (...well, relatively…) running up to them.

“Sweet….caught….you….guys…*huff *huff…” Idia panted, partially folding over as he paused in front of them, almost falling under the weight of the bag slung over his side. “Riddle…you know…how to do…some doctor stuff, right?!”

Riddle blinked.

“I’m–trained in general First Aid, and have a basic knowledge on emergency medical procedures, but I’m not qualified to–”

“That’s…good enough!” Idia righted himself, still looking quite winded. “I’m just gonna need…some help…with Epel…”

Riddle frowned. What had befallen the other freshman? He’d been with Epel for much of today, and nothing particularly dangerous had happened.

Surely, the other ghosts hadn’t been that violent…

Deuce sighed.

“Of course…did he call you, or–”

Idia shook his head, wincing.

“Nope! A very..very freaked out Vil, and…I don’t know, semi worried Rook got a hold of his phone after he…uh, bit Rook…and Vil knocked him out…”

Riddle stared at Idia.

“...What..?!”

“His Housewarden knocked him out?” Deuce sounded much too impressed, and not nearly enough worried.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Are you–qualified to do this?!”

Idia’s face pinched in–obnoxiously enough, annoyance, one hand steady wielding a skin stapler.

“Yes! For the last time, if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be the one doing this…”

Vil pursed his lips. Despite Idia’s constant “assurance”, it was hard to believe that the Ignihyde Housewarden truly had a grip on the situation. Mainly because…who could possibly handle something like this so calmly!?

Especially someone like Idia, who sniveled and ran at the most basic of societal requirements…

“Don’t worry, Idia’s really good at this.” The reptilian freshman from Heartslaybul poked his head through the screens surrounding the bed. Supposedly, Riddle had brought him up because he was injured, but Vil saw no visible evidence of any wounds.

…Then again, he’d thought that Epel had just been suffering from post-battle fatigue…

“Does he….must he do this..often?”

The freshman snorted, stepping closer to Epel’s bed.

“Well, he patches us all up a lot, but Epel probably gets hit with the staple gun the most.”

“Yeah, cause you're not in second place for that title…” Idia muttered, clicking the device.

Vil turned more of his attention to the freshman. Though Idia seemed, to a degree, to know what he was doing, he’d been very unhelpful in the realm of answers. And, despite the fact that Vil did not wish to leave Epel in this vulnerable state…he would…rather not watch the Ignihyde Housewarden puncture the freshman’s already marred back.

“I don’t believe we’ve properly met. I’m Vil Schoenheit, the Housewarden of Pomefiore.”

The freshman’s lizardlike tail curled politely around his feet.

“Oh, um, I’m Deuce Spade. Nice to meet you…situation aside.”

Vil sighed.

“Quite so. I–did not foresee my day being anything like this.”

Ghosts disrupting, kidnapping plots, his face being blemished, an unwanted marriage, an abysmally rude Bride, and to top it all off, Epel collapsing, blot and blood gushing from his back is some horrible mixture.

…and then the freshman had added his own spin to the events, waking up and trying to run, giving Rook a dose of venom and a bloody nose during his attempts.

“Yeah, it's been..a weird Friday..” Deuce offered lightly.

“You’re telling me…” Idia mumbled.

Vil pointedly noted how the fellow Housewarden had only replied to Deuce, but his slight vexation was quickly overrun by queasiness as he heard a sharp click, and saw Epel’s body jerk out of the corner of his eye.

Oh goodness, and Idia was going to have to do that along the whole gash…

“You all handled your side of the plan quite well today.” Vil forced his eyes to only look to Deuce and to not stray back to Idia stapling Epel back together. “I don’t expect you to know my full reputation, but receiving a compliment from me is not an easy achievement.”

Deuce straightened slightly.

“Thanks–I mean, thank you, sir! That means a lot, coming from a Housewarden.”

Vil hummed sternly.

“Don’t allow it to go too far to your head. Your talent is impressive, but your skills are not without flaws. From my observance, much of your strategy specifically appeared to rely on strongarming your foes. A mage with less power would still easily be able to overcome you, simply with a little more planning.”

To his surprise, Deuce did not react as spuds normally did to his criticism.

“You're right. If the fight had been something more major, we probably would’ve made a more detailed plan, but I probably wouldn’t have been one of the main strategists.” Deuce’s eyes flashed with determination. “That’s why I’m gonna work my hardest to be an honor student! I want to be able to handle myself in any fight, without needing to rely on anyone else for a plan!”

“Just don’t strain yourself, okay?” Idia muttered.

Vil scowled.

“What utter pessimism…” Honestly, Idia was well aware of how much the freshmen, for some reason, revered him so highly.

Did he really have nothing better to do with their respect then use it to make them think as lowly of themselves as he thought of himself?

“I implore you to pay Idia no mind. You have a goal, and certainly seem determined enough to meet it, to the best of your abilities. That’s more than most spuds like yourself have.”

Deuce nodded, though he looked a bit confused.

“Thank you…? …Was that a compliment…..?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Is it not a merveilleux bite, Roi des Roses?” Rook beamed at Riddle, displaying his wrist as if it was a trophy he’d earned. “And Epel is venomous to a certain level as well! My balance is still off kilter, despite sitting down!”

Riddle frowned, retrieving another pad of gauze from the cabinet. On the one hand, the school nurse should be handling this, but on the other…perhaps this was a situation better dealt with quietly. There was little point in waking up anyone else this early.

Especially to deal with Rook’s…ecsentic take on being bitten by his freshman.

“Your lack of concern about that is…a bit disquieting, Rook. Are you certain that you need no other medical attention aside from wrapping the wound?”

Rook waved his uninjured hand dismissively.

“Non, I have quite an immunity to toxins. Besides, applying an antivenom would only take away from the first-hand experience of undergoing the symptoms of Monsieur Pommette’s poison.”

“...Very well, if you say so..”

When Idia had said he’d needed help with Epel, Riddle had assumed that the Ignihyde Housewarden had wanted assistance with the freshman himself. What Idia had actually meant was that he wanted Riddle to take care of Rook, who had visibly been put through the wringer by Epel.

Evidently, the Pomefiore freshman had even greater anxiety of the medical wing that Deuce did.

And with his new knowledge of why Deuce felt that way…Riddle could assume why…though he very much hoped that he was wrong…

But he certainly couldn’t push Epel for answers now. The freshman was…very much unconscious, at the moment.

So, he simply bandaged Rook up, and sent the overly exuberant junior skipping back to Pomefiore after a much more weary-worn, and Epel burdened Vil.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel woke up…feeling scrambled.

He wasn’t in pain….which felt…..wrong…

He should be in pain right now, because there was no other reason for his back to feel like jelly, sloshing and weak, like his spine had been turned to mush under his skin.

But just the thought of moving felt like an impossible feat – still he couldn’t just sit here!

Epel didn’t know where he was…but he knew that it wasn’t HIS bed. There was too much blank space all around him, no familiar presence of stuffed creatures around him. No now familiar creaking of Ramshackle’s walls, or the rattling of the wind against his window. His nerves felt like his back - raw and exposed.

He wasn’t home…he was somewhere else again…

And that was NEVER a good place to be. Not when he could barely move…not when he was helpless, and numb, and–and–WEAK!

Tears started slipping down his cheeks before he could stop them, pooling into a damp puddle under his face.

Epel was somewhere else again…he was so…so dang….tired…of being somewhere else…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Despite Rook’s objections that he was fine, Vil had still made his vice housewarden go to bed. He didn’t care if Rook had a “high immunity”, or whatever nonsense excuse he was spouting, he was not going to place Epel or Rook’s wellbeing at risk by allowing Rook to stay up the rest of night with the freshman.

No matter how much his vice housewarden pouted about it…

And, truthfully, Rook would’ve likely been bored.

Idia had supplemented Vil’s curse with a regular (likely strong enough to kill an elephant) anesthetic drug. Epel had been totally and completely asleep the whole stretch of time from the medical wing, all the way back down to Pomefiore. Vil would’ve thought the freshman had…passed away, if it were not for his chest rising and falling.

He almost considered leaving Epel alone in the spare room, and going back to bed himself.

Until the freshman suddenly stirred. Epel gracelessly sat up before Vil could even stand, nearly falling backwards as he flopped his legs over the side of the bed.

Oh, Vil wished he would stop doing that–!

Vil quickly leapt to his feet, standing in front of the freshman before Epel could try and bolt to his feet again. However, he did…take deliberate to not touch the injured lowerclassman. Rook may find joy in being bitten…Vil could wholeheartedly say that he did not share that sentiment…

Vil frowned down at Epel

“Epel? Are you–”

His voice trailed off as Epel lifted his head to face him. The freshman was….crying. Tears streamed silently down from all four of Epel’s eyes, dripping down his cheeks and dripping off his chin.

“E–Epel! Are–whatever is the matter?!” Vil kneeled down to the freshman’s eye level, concern spiking. He certainly didn’t know Epel exceedingly well, but one did not have to interact with the freshman for long to know that he was not one to weep.

Epel stared at him for a moment, swaying slightly. Then–

The freshman threw back his head and wailed. Full chested sobs rocked his body, tears poured in droves from his eyes.

And Vil–froze.

He faltered entirely, his mind going blank, shock gripping him to his core. The very concept of “the show must go on!” left his body completely as he stared at Epel almost vacantly, not a thought of what to do in his mind.

“It–I–” Words began to choke out of Epel’s throat. “I–I need–I want–”

Vil broke out of his stupor, leaning closer to the freshman. He still refrained from touching him, not wanting to set Epel off again, especially when he was unaware of what was causing him such..outward misery.

“What? What is it you need?” He tried to keep his voice gentle, but it still wavered slightly. Vil may be a professional, but this was MILES out of his depth to handle.

“I–” A sob strangled Epel’s words, his jaw clicking unsettlingly as it snapped apart, and then together again over and over as the freshman struggled to articulate himself. “I need my PLUUUSHIES!!”

Vil blinked.

“You–what?”

Had it been. Any other situation. Vil would’ve thought he was being pranked.

Epel, the freshman who refused to even mention that he was being tormented by the other members of Pomefiore, was crying–no, weeping, all four of his eyes out…because he didn’t have…his stuffed animals with him.

“I–It's too empty!” Epel cried. “I–I can’t–I can’t–”

…oh goodness. He was…frightened.

...Why shouldn’t he be? It certainly couldn’t be comforting, to be awoken loopy and half awake, to a new environment.

And seeing how viscerally Epel had reacted to the suggestion of medical help…the freshman was definitely dealing with many deeper wounds (both physical and mental…) then Vil had considered. Perhaps, at this moment, he should be more worried about granting Epel this comfort, rather than questioning it…

Vil very hesitantly reached out, gingerly touching the freshman’s hand.

“It…it’s alright.” Remarkably, Epel didn’t pull away. And, actually listened, his cries quieting.

…The freshman truly was out of it…

“I have– something that I believe will help your…troubling issue, but I’m going to have to leave to retrieve it. Can you..calm yourself here while I go get it?”

Epel sniffed, blinking blearily, tears still trickling down his cheeks.

“Ye–yeah…”

Vil very slowly leaned back, drawing his hand back.

“Alright. I’ll–be back shortly.”

As hurried as he felt, Vil tried to not retreat too quickly. Partly, because he didn’t want to startle Epel…and partly, to prove that he was not rattled!

He was simply…caught off guard…

Vil did, however, rush when he made it to the hall, swiftly making it to his room. It took a touch more rummaging then he would’ve liked, but he found the box he was searching for easily enough. Honestly, he didn’t know why his father still insisted on sending him such childish souvenirs, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about the assorted plush animals' existence now.

Thankfully, Epel was still where he’d left him. The freshman was still sniffling, but seemed to have calmed down considerably.

Vil knelt again, gingerly offering Epel a stuffed raven with a purple bow tied around its neck.

“Does this…suffice?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ruggie easily slid back into Leona’s room, rolling his eyes as the Housewarden didn’t even move.

Leona hadn’t even made it all the way through one all nighter, passing out two hours ago, and absolutely refusing to wake up to any amount of shaking. And, Ruggie bet his tail that the upperclassman was gonna spend the whole day whinin’ about being tired.

Ruggie, on the other hand, had no trouble staying awake, and had actually dipped out early to go get breakfast. Since the cafeteria was still closed, cause of the whole incident yesterday (Shyheehee! Oh, a ghost falling in love with Idia…that joke wrote itself…), he’d just decided to take advantage of some coupons he’d saved up and get some grub from in town.

Even better, it was from one of those early open/late close diners, whose food was way too cheap tastin’ for Leona’s standards!

“Good morning, Ruggie.”

Ruggie stifled a yelp, jumping. He glared at Jack, was apparently already up and about, rolling up his makeshift bed.

“You need a bell! You almost made me throw my food!”

Jack smiled apologetically.

“Sorry…”

Ruggie huffed, plopping down on the floor next to the freshman.

“Not that I’m complainin’ bout you cleaning up, but shouldn’t you still be asleep? You were like, super sick last night.”

Jack snorted quietly.

“I’m fine now. Those symptoms disappear as soon as my blot levels return to normal.”

Ruggie scrunched his face, digging around in the paper takeaway bag.

“Yeesh. That happens EVERY time you use too much magic?”

Jack shrugged, sitting back on his heels.

“I mean, I still have a threshold that needs to be crossed, like anyone else. It’s like–high risk, high reward. I get cooler, more forceful powers–at the expense of puking my guts out…once all the blot is out, everything returns to normal.”

“I mean, I guess that’s better, but still doesn’t sound great.” Ruggie tossed something wrapped at the freshman. “If I got side effects like that every time I built up blot, I’d go outta my way to not use magic.”

Jack caught the morsel, ears pricking.

“What’s this..?”

“Food.” Ruggie unwrapped his own breakfast, biting into the doughy goodness. “I know it's not your strong suit, but eatin’ is, shockingly enough, good for you, so–”

He stopped his teasing short, watching Jack inhale the doughnut so fast he almost ate the paper.

“Or…maybe you don’t need that talk right now..”

Jack’s tail thumped on the ground, his eyes shining with almost brimming joy.

“I haven’t had a real doughnut in years!”

Ruggie blinked.

“Seriously?”

Jack nodded, swallowing.

“Idia would sometimes get the small ones that come in bags, but I haven’t had like, an actual fried doughnut in…three years, I think.”

Ruggie stared at the freshman.

“That’s…the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.” He shoved the bag towards Jack. “Whelp, go on then.”

Jack hesitated.

“There yours–”

“Eh, I already had three on the way over here. Let’s just say you owe me one, ‘kay?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Silver jerked awake to sunlight streaming through the room’s large windows, birds happily chirping outside to welcome the new day. He yawned, gingerly rubbing a crick in his neck. A chair was, perhaps, not the most comfortable thing to fall asleep on…

The mound of blankets on the bed across from him shifted. Sebek’s head slowly poked out into the light.

He blinked blearily up at Silver.

“Hmph….have you dozed off already..?” Sebek muttered sleepily.

Silver blinked, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

“..Good morning to you as well. You…are aware that you’re still abed, are you not?”

Sebek blinked, awareness flickering in his eyes. His cheeks flushed.

“G–Good morning!”

A smile twitched at the corner of Silver’s mouth. Not even fully awake, and already criticizing him…sleep had certainly done Sebek well.

Silver stood, walking to his friend’s bedside.

“How are you feeling?”

Sebek slowly began to uncurl himself, sitting up on his bed.

“Fine..” He grimaced, rubbing at the dried blot on his chin. “If not in desperate need of a shower…”

“Fair enough.”

Sebek’s uniform was awfully rumpled from him sleeping in it, his vest half unbuttoned, one of his jacket sleeves pushed up his arm, the other wrinkled nearly beyond ironing help. By the time Malleus had half dragged, half carried the freshman here, Sebek had been nearly asleep on his feet, all but collapsing into bed the moment he’d stepped into the room. That, and Malleus had refused to remove any of the freshman’s layers, actually adding extra blankets instead (The fae had mentioned something about Sebek being coldblooded…though Silver wasn’t quite sure what Malleus had meant by that).

But, Silver was sure they could find a replacement, if not something more casual. His father had slowly been accumulating outfits for the freshman from town for quite some time, but hadn’t had the opportunity to bestow the gifts yet.

Truthfully, Silver believed that it was less about finding the optimal excuse to give the gifts, and more about making alterations to the clothing subtly, so that Lilia could present them to Sebek completely wearable. Which, he’d gathered, was a bit difficult to do.

“Do you want to clean up before breakfast? I have shower supplies that you can borrow.”

Sebek hesitated a moment.

“I…would like that…” Sebek thought for a moment, before sighing longsufferingly. “Do you–do you have an..extra toothbrush, per chance..?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Treeeey….” Cater whined quietly when Trey snuck his way back into Riddle’s office. “Acey got blot all over my uniform….”

Trey carefully stepped over Deuce, who had, thankfully, come back to the dorm last night. The freshman was sprawled across the floor on his stomach, a pillow stuffed under his head, with a blanket half covering him.

Trey very gently set his scone laden tray down on Riddle’s desk.

“I don’t know what you expected.” He whispered back. “It was leaking from his eyes…”

Cater pouted, but didn’t try to move the freshman off of his shoulder.

“Good thing our jackets are blot resistant…oh this is never gonna come out…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Why do we hafta be up so early?” Floyd whined dismally, not even attempting to do his tie. He flopped onto one of the couches of the Mostro Lounge. Jade and Azul both let him be. Both knew, from past experience, it would be a total waste to expend energy on trying to make Floyd look neat when he was in a pouty mood.

“One can not make friends, Floyd, without a little given effort.” Azul pushed up his glasses, eyes shining calculatingly behind the lens. “And I do mean to start making quite the group of friends today..”

Jade smiled sympathetically at his brother.

“I thought you’d be excited to help the freshmen. You were all playing together so well yesterday…”

“I don’t wanna clean up all that weddin’ junk,” Floyd scowled. “That’s so boooorrrring!”

Azul sighed crossly.

“I am not asking you to perform up to the standards of the Lounge. We are not working for monetary goals today, merely up to the…”standards” of the Head Mage.”

Jade and Floyd snickered.

“Simply look helpful enough. Or, at the very least, appear sympathetic to the group’s plight.”

Floyd still scowled, but he (Finally!) stopped dragging his feet.

“I’m plenty sympathetic. Why’d the ghosts even take all their junk?”

Jade hummed curiously.

“I haven’t the faintest idea. But if that pile was the nicest Ramshackle had to offer, the Head Mage very much owes them some shopping money.”

“Well, I unfortunately doubt that he sees it that way.” Azul’s seemingly pitying tone did little to cover his scheming expression. “But if something in the terms of profits is what they need, I am more than willing to oblige…”

Both eels leered as they listened to Azul explain his plan.

Chapter Text

The clothing that Silver had brought Sebek…had certainly been chosen by both of his upperclassmen. The style of all of it was modern, so Lilia must’ve originally picked it out. However…Sebek suspected that Malleus had been the one to choose it for him to specifically wear today.

His Liege appeared to have taken his admittance to being a reptile to heart, seeing as the outfit included both a hoodie and a fleece lined jacket. Sebek was honored that Malleus had listened to him, and decided to make such a quick effort to provide warmer clothing just for his comfort!

It was not that Sebek was uncomfortable in the school uniform, but as the seasons turned to fall, outside only got brisker. And, by extension, so did Ramshackle, since the… “walls” of that dorm did very little against the cold.

And now there were even more holes for the wind to blow through…

But, it felt odd to put on something so…informal.

Sebek surveyed himself in the mirror, delicately smoothing out the jacket’s collar, taking care to make sure that more informal undersweater’s hood wasn’t stuck under and making a comical bulge behind his head. It was certainly comfortable…but he looked a bit…sloppy in this attire.

Or perhaps it was just the state of his hair that was disheveling his whole appearance. He needed a comb…and his hair gel.

Which, of course, Silver had not provided him with either of those. Sebek doubted that his friend even owned a comb, much less a spare one. He would just need to grit his teeth and bare it, and hope that Lilia and Malleus would forgive his unkempt appearance today…

He gingerly stepped from the bathroom, still attempting to smooth out his hair, which was quite difficult, and near impossible with his claws. He kept almost nicking his forehead…

Silver was already nodding off, despite it still being the morning, slowly starting to slump against the wall. Sebek huffed, tapping the second year briskly on the shoulder.

Silver’s head jerked up, his eyes still half closed.

“You look…very nice..”

Sebek snorted, his face flushing slightly.

“Your eyes are not even fully open! Honestly, napping while standing…we have barely just woken up!”

Silver yawned, cracking his neck again.

“I just need something…to wake me up…come on…”

Sebek blinked, easily matching Silver’s dragging, sleepy pace.

“Where are we going?!”

“To the…school store..” Silver yawned again. “Father’s still…sore from yesterday…and the cafeteria’s…all blocked off…so Malleus thought…we could get breakfast there…”

Sebek’s face brightened.

“Well, we certainly shouldn’t keep Malleus waiting! Pick up your pace!”

Rather than following his prompt to hurry, Silver’s head began to drift down again. Sebek roughly knocked his shoulder into Silver’s.

“Wake up! How in the world can you doze off while walking?”

Silver blinked sleepily, sighing heavily.

“I still haven’t…the faintest idea…”

Sebek rolled his eyes.

“You should try one of the vile energy drinks that Ace just adores. He says they work quite well.”

“Hm..” Silver shook his head, trying to shake off his drowsiness. “Does he…struggle with staying awake as well..?”

Sebek huffed.

“Quite the opposite, actually. He deplores going to bed.”

Silver frowned sluggishly.

“...oh…” Sebek could see the dots slowly connecting in his friend’s brain. “Do you–have you ever…done that?”

Sebek blinked.

“What, fight sleep?”

“...yes…”

“Hmph…” Sebek fell silent for a moment. “Only when I’m…awoken. It is–I find it–” His voice lowered to a whisper. “I find it…quite hard to fall asleep…when it is–when it’s already dark…”

Silver rubbed at his eyes, seeming to be trying to force them to remain open.

“Oh…that makes sense…”

Sebek snorted dryly.

“I doubt that.”

“No…no, it does–” Silver’s cut off with another yawn. “--It does..make sense.”

The second year hesitated for a moment (though Sebek thought he was just beginning to doze again…).

“Father..told me about…your–”

Sebek sunk (in a rather…familiar fashion…) down into his jacket.

“..my breakdown?”

Silver blinked.

“It was not a breakdown…”

Sebek cast Silver a disbelieving look.

“Really? And how would you classify it?”

Silver scowled, eyes drooping again.

“A perfectly normal reaction to the depths of the damned…”

Sebek stuffed his claws into his pockets, before Silver could see how they shook. He truly was so abysmally bad at holding himself together…

“And I just…well…” Silver paused another moment, though this time was actually because he started dropping off once more. His head jerked back up so roughly, Sebek swore he heard a muscle twang. “I was wondering if those fears had–had anything to do with Malleus calling you cold-blooded…”

Sebek trained his eyes down at his feet, keeping his vision on his shoes as he answered.

“...It has everything to do with that, yes…well done guessing.” He’d thought nothing of the last icy jab of his sentence…until he felt a clearly sleepy, but still comforting hand touch his arm.

Then he felt rather bad about it…

“You don’t have…to tell me anything more…if you don’t want…” Though layered with lethargy, Silver’s tone was remarkably gentle (and…impressively like Lilia’s). “I simply wanted to ask…”

Sebek kept his eyes on the ground. But he slowly, ever so slightly, shifted an inch closer to his friend.

“I–imagine, for a moment–” Sebek stuttered slightly, trying to figure out how horrifying he wished this analogy to be. “That you–that you wake up from one of your naps, but no matter how hard you try, you can’t–” He removed his hands from his pockets, gesturing. “Move.”

Silver frowned, forcing his eyes open.

“..Alright.”

“A–And you can feel your body just–freezing.” Sebek felt an unnatural shudder run up his spine. “You feel–everything inside of you just–stopping. An–and you can’t do–anything but–stay there and listen to your heart continue to pump until….”

Sebek gestured vaguely into the air, clearly searching for words. His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper.

“Until it…stops too..”

He heard Silver inhale sharply.

“Oof!”

Sebek stumbled to the side as Silver all but rammed his whole weight into him. The second year squeezed him so tight he thought his lungs were going to pop.

“I’m sorry…” Silver murmured, sleep still pulling harshly at his mind. “I’m so, so sorry…”

Sebek huffed again, ignoring how his voice trembled.

“Please…it’s not as if you're even capable of doing anything like…that..”

“ ‘M still…sorry…” Silver sniffled even as his head nodded forward onto Sebek’s shoulder. “I swear…I won’t let….that happen to you….ever again…”

Sebek blinked rapidly, partially leaning his head on Silver’s.

“Your words…would be much more meaningful if you weren’t seconds away from drooling on my shoulder...”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Malleus waited by Diasomnia’s mirror, standing quietly. He’d told Silver to bring Sebek and meet him here after the freshman was done getting ready, so now, he just had to wait for them to arrive.

He did wish that Lilia would’ve joined them, but the older fae had declined his invitation, saying that “He was simply too tired of an old man to get up at this hour”. Truthfully, Malleus believed that Lilia just wanted to give the three of them the opportunity to spend some time together.

They were, as Lilia had said a few times, his…”kid crew”.

“Master Malleus!”

Sebek practically scampered up to the upperclassman, face aglow with excitement. Silver staggered slowly after the freshman, yawning all the way. Evidently, the poor second year was already grappling with another bout of sleepiness.

Malleus smiled.

“Good morning, Sebek. I take it this means you’ve recovered quite well?”

Sebek straightened, puffing his chest (which looked slightly less imitating in the casual clothing).

“Of course, sir! I’m entirely better now!”

Malleus tilted his head to the side. The freshman’s regular, energetic attitude had certainly returned, but Sebek’s eyes looked a bit…misty. Almost as if he’d been crying…

Malleus glanced questioningly at Silver. The second year gave a small, drowsy shake of his head in reply.

Ah, they were not discussing it at the moment. Alright then.

He wanted to keep the mood lighthearted, so if something had upset Sebek, but it wasn’t urgent enough for Silver to bring it up now, it could be talked through at a different time.

“I’m very glad to hear that.” Malleus inclined his head. “As we go over, could I trouble you to recount all that you did yesterday? I wish to know about yours and your friends’ escapades to rescue Shroud.”

Sebek beamed at the request.

“I would be delighted too, Malleus!”

(One long-winded explanation later, in Sam’s store).

“Did the ghosts truly break into Ramshackle so early?”

Sebek gingerly picked up another snack, his tail very slowly sweeping behind him, narrowly missing the shelf behind them.

“Yes, rather rudely, I might add. There’s a few more holes in Ramshackle’s walls now because of it…”

Malleus frowned.

“That’ll hardly do…do you need to stay in Diasomnia longer, then?”

Sebek shook his head.

“I don’t believe so. Idia’s decently good at doing brisk repairs. I can almost guarantee that Ramshackle’s structure will be stronger after he’s done with it!”

Malleus’s fingers paused by on a shelf.

“Do you…think highly of Idia Shroud, Sebek?”

Sebek glanced back at his upperclassman curiously.

“Well, I suppose technically. I mean, he’s nowhere near you power level, my Liege, and he’s absolutely abysmal in ANY social situation, and the interests that he chooses to throw away his time on are–questionable, to say the least–”

So, nothing Malleus hadn’t heard about Shroud before…

But it was Sebek’s next sentence that surprised him.

“But he is undoubtedly highly skilled in many areas; I doubt that there is a more skilled engineer than him, and he certainly has more patience than anyone could imagine!” Sebek paused for a moment. “He is also one of the kindest humans I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. There is very little that he wouldn’t do for us, even without direct request.”

Malleus blinked.

“..Really?”

The corner of Sebek’s mouth twitched.

“I know it sounds fictitious; Idia suffers from a very high pessimistic spirit, and yet carries an extremely over-inflated ego at the same time. Frankly, I’m not sure HOW, but I do see how he can be quite pitiful company if you don’t know him well. However, once you do, he quickly becomes one of the most dependable people you’ll ever meet!”

Malleus tilted his head.

“I had never even considered those traits as being applicable to Idia before…”

Sebek snorted.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Jack chomped down on the last doughnut, licking his teeth clean of the rest of the surgery coating.

Ruggie looked at him strangely, tilting his head.

“Soo, you like doughnuts…you like any other food, or is that it?”

Jack’s ears lowered slightly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ruggie rolled his eyes, finishing off his own breakfast.

“I’ve watched you eat, dude. You’re pickier than Leona with his veggies. The only time I’ve seen you actually finish something was that time your leg broke and I made you eat all that sandwich, and just now.”

Jack huffed.

“That’s why you’ve been stalkin’ me? To make sure I’m cleaning my plate?”

Ruggie crinkled the paper wrapper between his hands, rolling it into a ball.

“Yep; I don’t know a lot, but I’m pretty much an expert on food. And it ain’t normal to consistently chuck half your food in the trash. Also, it's super wasteful. You coulda at least offered it…”

Jack leaned his back against the wall, scowling.

“I don’t waste it. Sebek’s basically a bottomless pit, he takes care of all the leftovers…”

Ruggie leaned forward, propping his elbow on his knee. He rested his chin on his hand, looking at Jack almost teasingly.

“So, whatta ya like? Doughnuts, and…”

Jack glowered at Ruggie, but it did take him a minute to think of an answer.

“...pears…ummmm...raw meat…”

Ruggie blinked.

“Like, exclusively raw..?”

Jack shrugged, fiddling with his jacket’s cuff.

“I’m just–used to eatin’ it that way…” He purposely avoided Ruggie’s gaze, keeping his eyes on his hands. “I’m not super used to eatin’ stuff with…a lot of flavor…”

“They feed you anything down there?” Jack’s ears pricked slightly. Ruggie’s tone had taken a sharper edge.

Jack pointedly glanced to the side.

“...not as much as they woulda liked…”

“What does that mean?”

Jack flicked at his sleeve.

“..They kinda…planned on..making me eat whatever…”prey” the stuck in there with me…”

Ruggie wrinkled his nose, ears flattening.

“Like…l–live mice, or somethin’..?”

Jack grimaced.

“More like…fully overblotted creatures…”

“...what?”

“I never did–!” Jack glanced quickly at Ruggie. “But, yeah, that kinda–kinda dissuaded them from doin’ anything besides throwing me some ground beef now and then…”

A snarl rose up from Leona’s bed. The Housewarden slowly sat up, his lip curled.

“Jack…what the heck?!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Ace jerked his head up, wakefulness crashing on him so forcefully that his brain got whiplash.

Yeah, cause that was JUST what he needed. More brain damage…

He pried his eyes open, hissing and rubbing away bits of dried blot pulled at his eyelids.

“Well, good morning sleepyhead!”

Ace blinked, more black crust crinkling from his eyes, glancing at Cater. The junior was happily scrolling away on his phone, smiling.

“Deucy’s still asleep tho, so keep it down, m’kay?” Cater whispered.

Ace glanced at the floor, easily finding his friend.

“Huh…look at that, he made it back.”

“Yep, and–mostly in one piece! Riddle said that his wrist got minorly cracked in a few places, but aside from that, just a bunch of bumps and bruises.”

Ace yawned, rubbing irritably at his eyes, wings stretching out his sides. Cater yelped quietly as the feathered appendage nearly knocked him off the couch.

“Hey!” Cater pouted. “That’s no way to thank the guy who was your pillow all night!”

Ace blinked.

“Oh whoops…I did fall asleep on you..” Cause that wasn’t embarrassing at all….

Wait–he’d fallen asleep…on Cater–

“You didn’t take pictures, did you?!”

Cater’s eyes widened, probably going for innocent but failing miserably.

“Nooo….I didn’t...”

Ace scowled. Shockingly, he didn’t believe the junior.

“Uh huh…unrelated to that, you do know that Idia’s taught me how to hack into a phone, right? And, more importantly, how to completely crash one…”

“*Gasp!* You monster!” Cater quickly scrambled off the couch, holding his phone protectively to his chest. “Why would he teach you something so EVIL?!”

Ace shrugged, leaning back, stretching his wings leisurely across the whole sofa.

“I don’t know, memory tests or something…I think he gets bored having no one else know what he’s talking about, so he teaches us so he can have someone to blab to.”

Cater leaned over the back of the couch, still holding his phone close.

“Huh…Ya’ll are like, totes close with Idia, aren’t you?”

Ace huffed, tail flicking against the cushion.

“What gave it away? How we’re the only people he talks to, or how much we panicked when he got swiped?”

Cater twittered quietly.

“Bit of both. Don’t worry, it's cute!”

Ace rubbed at his eyes again, the skin red under the black gunk as he scraped it off.

“Yeah, sure, we’re all just adorable. Harhar..”

Cater shrugged.

“I mean, I sure thought so, but then you pulled out that crazy spell! I had no idea you had something like that up your sleeve this whole time! You’ve been holding out on me, Acey!”

Ace smirked.

“Well, you never asked if I had a signature spell.”

“You have like, one of THE signature spells!” Cater leaned forward again, frowning slightly. “Actually…why didn’t you just use that in your duel with Riddle? I mean, Riddle’s sups tough, but you could’ve put up an actual fight there.”

Ace faltered.

“Umm…I was–I kinda just wanted to punch him, so I, uh, didn’t think of that…”

Cater blinked.

“Wait, seriously?!”

“Have we not established that I have issues, Cater? My brain immediately went to violence, sue me!”

Well, that, and he’d…not super cared about leaving the dorm. He’d known that leaving Heartslaybul would’ve probably sucked down the line, since the Dark Mirror had placed him here, but at the time of the Teapot Tyrant, Ace had been fully willing to just bounce and scrape by in another dorm.

So yeah, hitting Riddle with his fist had made more sense than hitting the Housewarden with his spell…in the moment.

Cater reached over, patting his head.

“Aw, you're only a little disturbed! And you're totally cute, so that makes up for most of it!”

Ace ducked his head, scowling.

“I’m not cute!”

Cater hummed mischievously.

“No way, you totes are! I mean, look at you! Your fluffy wings and fuzzy little tail!” Ace’s tail curled up indignantly, his wings (annoying, proving Cater’s point) poofing up crossly. “Why’d you hide it, anyway?”

Ace huffed, still annoyed.

“Hid what?”

“Your tail, silly. I didn’t even know you had one.”

Ace rolled his eyes, his cheeks flushing slightly.

“Cause it’s a literal pain in the butt, that’s why! And I don’t really need it for balance, so tucking it away keeps it from becoming a stomping target..”

And because the last thing he needed was anyone else describing him as “fluffy” and “cute”....
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel woke up, fully and much more conscious this time around, very confused on whose bird plush he had wrapped in his arms. From his own slowly growing collection, normally he ended up with one of the rabbits or the pegasus plush bundled up next to him, particularly after spilttin’ his back open like that.

But he hadn’t slept in..Ramshackle…Oh, shoot–!

Epel bolted up in bed, dropping the stuffed bird like it was a hot coal. No, no, no! Oh, please tell ‘im that he hadn’t had a full scale, painkiller induced meltdown in front of Vil and Rook!

Please tell him no–

“I do wish you’d stop doing that..”

“Gah–!”

Epel nearly fell off the bed, scrambling the side as Vil spoke up from a chair on his right. The Housewarden glanced up from applying his makeup, his lips pursed in annoyment.

“Is it necessary for you to jerk yourself about like that every time you wake up? Really, that can’t possibly be good for your back in its current condition.”

Epel blinked.

“Um, g–good morning, Housewarden…”

Vil glared at him so icily that Epel was surprised that frost didn’t start forming in his hair.

“I would hardly describe it as a “good” morning, Epel. Do you remember any of last night?”

“Uhh….” Epel frowned, thinking back. He could piece together what happened, based on past experiences, but he didn’t really remember anything past…ohh…

“I…remember biting Rook…and falling asleep…randomly..”

How had they knocked him out, actually? His head didn’t hurt, so neither upperclassmen had whacked him on the head…or squeezed him till he passed out.

Probably…

“Yes, I apologize for that.” Vil looked back at his compact mirror. “I deemed it best to use my signature spell on you before you continued to hurt yourself.”

“Huh. . .That’s fair, I guess..” Epel sighed, grudgingly giving his Housewarden some credit. Evidently, his spell was powerful enough to instantly render someone immobile which was…actually pretty impressive..

Vil looked back up at him, frowning.

“Fair?”

“Yeah, I don’t do well with needles unless I’m…not conscious..”

“Hmph. I’ve gathered..” Vil muttered dryly. “Do you…wish to talk about why you–have that visceral of a reaction, or would you rather not..?”

Epel shrugged, trying to subtly push the bird plush back under the blankets (he knew Vil already knew it was there, but doin’ something made him feel kind of like he was saving his dignity…).

“I mean…it’s kind of self-explantory. Once someone takes a bone saw to your back, doctors start lookin’ a whole lot less friendly.”

Vil’s face drained of color so fast he looked like a vampire.

“..I see..”

Epel glanced around the room, noting the absence of the Pomefiore vice housewarden.

“Um…is Rook okay?”

Vil huffed, some of the color returning to his cheeks.

“Oh, he’s beyond fine. In fact, he’s rather ecstatic about how venomous you are…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ortho very quietly booted up the game, quickly cranking the large computer’s volume down before it woke up Idia. Silently, he passed a controller to Q, sitting beside her on the floor (the chair wasn’t big enough for both of them to squeeze into).

Ortho hadn’t noticed when Idia had needed to leave last night (if he had, he would’ve offered to help..), but Grim had woken up to his older brother scrambling out. Apparently, the direbeast had pitied Idia’s terrible day enough to let the older Shroud cuddle him.

Now, Idia was (thankfully) still asleep, head thrown back and one arm curled over Grim, who was only still content in the predicament because Q had given him a candy bar too munch on. Luckily, Idia didn’t care too much about crumbs in his bed (he barely used it enough TOO care..).

Q hadn’t wanted to leave without Grim, so…what else was there to do but try and beat Idia’s high score on Star Rogue?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Ey, what’s this animal again?”

Jade glanced up from the old books he was very gingerly packing up from the abandoned “gift” table. Floyd brandished the plush creature closer to his brother’s face, practically hitting Jade’s nose with it.

Jade leaned back slightly, tilting his head.

“I believe that’s a…hm..” Jade stared at the stuffed animal, thinking. “Azul, what is this animal again?”

Azul looked up from his own assortment of the freshmens’ possessions. The Housewarden pushed his glasses up, surveying the toy for a moment.

“..That’s a raccoon. Or, a copy of one, at least.”

“Aahh…” Both twins said in unison.

Floyd shook the toy, boredly considering throwing it at someone’s head (Jade and Azul both stepped back, uncannily guessing what Floyd was thinking).

“Who’s do you think it is?”

Azul rolled his eyes, hesitantly stepping back to the table, his want to finish the job slightly outweighing his fear of being pelted with the racoon.

“I fail to see how that’s important to our venture.”

Floyd twittered, tossing the toy up and down in his hand. A small wad of white stuffing fell from the racoon, gently fluttering to the table.

“It's leg is all torn up, so someone’s gonna be mad~ Ooh, I know! I’ll go ask Crabby!”

“No–!”

“I don’t th–”

Floyd heeded neither of their warnings, beginning to sprint towards the door.

“FLOYD!!”

Thankfully, Floyd was easy enough to catch, as Jade was able to dart around the other end of the table and cut his brother off before he made it all the way to the exit.

Jade “gently” snatched the toy away from Floyd, tucking it behind his back. Floyd scowled.

“Boo! No fair!”

Jade hummed absentmindedly, staying in place until Floyd sighed heavily and turned around, schlepping back to Azul, and the terrible fate of clean up duty.

Chapter Text

Deuce jerked awake to a creaking sound. He rolled over to his back, blinking distortedly, trying to fully boot up his brain and remember why he was on the floor…

“Well, good morning to you.” Ace’s head popped into view, his friend leaning over him. Deuce jumped as Ace pushed his foot into his side.

“Stop kicking me!” He rolled away from Ace, sitting up.

Ace rolled his eyes.

“I barely touched you, you big baby! Just get up before I eat your scones too.”

Deuce rubbed the rest of the sleep from his eyes.

“There’s scones?”

“Yep; apparently Trey snuck them in at the crack of dawn.” Ace gestured at the desk, where a half full plate sat.

Deuce clambered to his feet, reaching for the food. He’d known Ace for long enough to know that his friend wasn’t joking about stealing his scones.

“..That was nice of him.”

Ace scoffed, wings twitching.

“Dude, I think he just felt bad; I’m pretty sure he thought we were dying yesterday.”

Deuce winced, grabbing a scone.

“..I kinda freaked out, didn’t I..?”

Ace shrugged.

“Trey freaked out more than anyone; did you see how he was trying to scrub my face off?”

Deuce snickered.

“I did; you sure didn’t…”

Ace scowled, wings poofing.

“At least I didn’t bust my wrist! Idia just do the sleepy fix?”

Deuce sighed, twitchily flexing his left wrist in its brace. Technically, Idia could’ve just talked him through how to reset the bones completely (Deuce still couldn’t remember all the bones in his hands…it was hard to memorize all the different structures of the skeleton…), but the Ignihyde Housewarden had been kinda spent after fixing Epel’s back, so he’d decide to just splint Deuce’s wrist and let the freshman’s blot fix the injury at a slower pace.

Hence the “sleepy fix” definition...

“Yeah…but he said I only have to wear it for a day or maybe two, so it should be off soon.”

Ace flicked his tail.

“Fun; bet Housewarden Riddle was glad that you weren’t too banged up.”

Deuce shoved a whole scone in his mouth, chewing.

“I wasn’t, but you know who was?”

Ace’s eyes widened.

“Did Epel’s back crack open again?”

“Yeah! And get this; his Housewarden was able to knock him out, AND he didn’t get bit!”

“Really?!”

Deuce swallowed, grabbing another scone.

“He did bite his vice housewarden though..”

Ace shrugged.

“Eh, better the second in command then the big boss…how’d he knock him out?”

“I have no idea–!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Riddle woke up, confused on why it was already bright outside. Normally, he was up promptly at 7 o’clock, to give himself exactly an hour to get ready before breakfast. Had he forgotten to set an alarm last night…!

Oh..wait, he had neglected to set an alarm. Purposefully, because he hadn’t returned to the dorm until roughly 3 am last night…

Thankfully, Deuce had not been too injured, and though Riddle had wished that he could’ve provided the freshmen with more put-together accommodations, Deuce had seemed content enough to curl up on the floor.

Riddle pushed himself out of bed, still feeling the drag of exhaustion calling him to fall back asleep.

Despite the circumstances, he still felt a dull sting of guilt at his sleepiness. He should know how timeliness was, and should’ve been more responsible with his schedule. It may be a weekend, but there was still work to be done.

He had an Unbirthday party this Thursday to plan for, he still had some review notes to go over, and he wanted to map out some additional reading material. After his talk with Deuce last night, Riddle wanted to investigate more into these procedures performed on the freshmen…and he needed to review those files that Idia had given him…

A gentle knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Riddle? Are you up?”

Riddle cringed. It must certainly be late, if Trey had come to check on him…

“Yes; I’ll be down in the moment!”

“No need to rush.” The vice housewarden’s voice carried lightly through his door, generously void of all criticism. “The cafeteria’s closed today, so we had to whip up breakfast on our own. There’s still some scones and tea downstairs whenever you're ready.”

Riddle nodded slightly to himself, temporarily forgetting that Trey couldn’t see him.

“All right, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Riddle.” Trey answered warmly, his footsteps clicking softly away from the door.

Riddle sighed heavily, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. Getting dressed almost felt like too tedious of a task, which was honestly silly. He’d been able to drag himself into his pajamas exhausted last night, he should be able to get dressed now that he was rested…

The Housewarden drudged his way out of his room. He was looking forward to a nice cup of black tea…maybe, with three sugar cubes today–

“C’mon, guys. Just a tiny bit of shopping! My treat, as your upperclassman!”

Cater’s voice trickled down from the kitchen. Riddle’s attention perked as Deuce’s voice replied.

“You don’t have to do that–”

“Yeah! Let me see your phone!” Riddle opened the door to the kitchen, just in time to see Ace happily pluck Cater’s phone from the junior’s hand.

Cater and the freshmen were huddled around the island counter, Trey skillfully moving around behind them, putting away dishes and pans.

A subtle pout crossed Cater’s face.

“ ‘Kay, but no hacking Acey. I can’t order you anything if you crash it…”

Ace rolled his eyes, scrolling.

“I’m not gonna crash it; at least not while your not using it for blackmail purposes–”

“Good morning, Housewarden Riddle!” Deuce beamed at Riddle, straightening as he entered the room.

Cater and Ace’s heads snapped in his direction.

“Good morning, Riddle!” Cater smiled pleasantly. “You look…totes cute today!”

“Hi Housewarden.” Ace tilted his head. “You look wiped out; are you sure you actually woke up?”

Riddle scowled. Cater and Trey both glanced nervously between the freshman and Housewarden. Ace was basically just playing with fire at this point…only a few weeks ago, Riddle would’ve definitely taken his head, if not more.

“I am adequately awake, thank you very much!” Riddle snapped, forcefully suppressing a yawn that threatened to punctuate his sentence.

Ace blinked, then looked back at the phone screen.

“...Okay. If you say so; personally, I’m looking forward to some caffeine today.”

Deuce’s tail flicked behind him.

“Ooh, coffee would be nice…”

Ace wrinkled his nose, scoffing.

“Leck! You always want coffee…”

“It's better than that radioactive stuff you drink…” Deuce muttered snippily, glaring at his friend.

“Hey, my beverages actually have a flavor beyond bitter!”

“Only cause half your taste buds are burned off now…!”

Riddle blinked, watching his freshmen go back and forth. Is–? Had that been a genuine question about his tiredness?! He’d thought that Ace had just been making a jab at him…

Hmm. Perhaps another thing to add to his to-do list; work on making actual adjustments to his behavior, so that he wouldn’t drive himself to the brink once again…

“Ooh, we talkin’ beverage choices now? Personally, I like anything caffeinated and Cammable!” Cater artfully brushed over the awkward moment, easing himself into Ace and Deuce’s banter. “There’s this sups cute cafe in town that makes little animals in their foam–”

As Cater prattled on, Trey slid up to Riddle, offering the Housewarden a tray of tea and scones. Riddle gratefully accepted, allowing the junior to go back to his task of cleaning up.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure if anyone would mind him joining the table. Almost timidly, he took a seat next to Deuce, placing his breakfast before him on the table. Riddle was a bit used to…conversation stopping the moment he entered a room. Even Trey and Cater still had a tendency to dart out of the room when something wasn’t quite up to standard, still operating on the old ways of protecting their lowerclassmen from punishment.

So, he buttered a scone and thoroughly stirred three sugar cubes into his tea before daring to raise his own voice in the conversation.

“What exactly are you driving these two to buy, Cater?”

“Oh, just a new wardrobe!” Cater peered over Ace’s shoulder, attempting to see what styles the freshman was looking at. “Acey’s new outfit reminded me that they need some more clothes, especially when we take them into town!”

Ace and Deuce both cast the other a skeptical glance. Seeing how the Head Mage had reacted yesterday to them doing..literally anything, they kinda doubted that he was gonna be letting them out into town anytime soon…

Riddle frowned, swallowing a bite of pastry.

“While that’s not a bad idea, how are you planning on covering those expenses? A more clearcut plan of payment should be laid out before–”

Ace’s wings twitched.

“Nah, we got it.”

Riddle blinked. Cater looked at the freshman in surprise.

“Wait, for real?”

Deuce shrugged, smiling impishly.

“One of the few benefits to being part of a Styx program is the, uh, sympathy money. Idia basically gave us direct access to the company’s account.”

“Really?”

“Actually?!” Cater gaped at Deuce for a second, before whipping his head back to Ace and his phone. “Hey~ since your on there, you wanna go ahead and get the stuff already in my cart–”

“Cater!” Trey and Riddle both snapped at the junior reproachfully.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ruggie artfully slipped into the closed off cafeteria, sneaking his way into the kitchen. Man, you’d think the Head Mage would at least lock the door…made this all a little too easy, shyeheehee.

He threw open the industrial fridge doors, riffling through the leftover grub. He just needed something easy and fast to whip up. Nothing too flavorful, cause of Jack’s whole…spiel, but not anything too bland, cause then Leona would throw a fit.

..Oh! Looked like someone had picked some wild herbs and vegetables. Soup would sure hit the spot right now. Some random chops, some salt and pepper, a little bit of stock–

“Oh? I thought I smelled something savory.”

Ruggie yelped, nearly throwing his ladle as he wheeled around. Jade smiled down at him, tilting his head.

“Hello, Ruggie.”

Ruggie breathed out, looking warily up at the taller second year.

“Oh heya, Jade. Funny seeing you here–you breaking in for a meal too?”

Jade blinked, smiling sinisterly.

“No; Octavinelle is simply aiding in cleaning up this area. I’m just curious about the soup you're making…Do I spot some scrumptious wild veggies floating in there?”

Ruggie smiled quickly, completely willing to switch the subject over to food.

“Good eye! Not every day you see this good stuff, right?” Ruggie snickered. “Might “borrow” a few more for some stir fry tomorrow, you know?”

Jade slowly righted his head, eyes darkening.

“Will you? I don’t recall giving you permission.”

Ruggie froze.

“Huh?!

“I went to the mountain and gathered those myself. My forage went so well, in fact, that I'd been planning on displaying them to Jack Howl during our next club meeting.” Jade’s mouth downturned in dangerous disappointment. “I wished to show him the bounty of the Mountain Lovers Club ventures…”

Ruggie backed into the counter, feeling the boiling pot’s heat on his back.

“Oh…ahaha…”

Oh, this was bad! The consequences of borrowing from Octavinelle were steep, and there was no amount of sayin’ sorry that would make them go away!

Unless…

“W–wait! You were gonna show these to Jack?”

Jade sighed despairingly.

“Yes. He’s still considering joining, and I thought sharing some of my foraging successes would help sway his mind. I suppose that plan’s no longer a possibility any longer…” Jade’s voice dropped off miserably, a clear threat in his tone.

Ruggie gulped, smiling shakily.

“What a coinkidink! This–is actually for Jack!”

Jade tilted his head, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“...Really?”

Ruggie silently apologized to the freshman for how he was about to chuck him under the bus…

“Yeah! Turns out, he’s not big on food, so I thought tryin’ something easy like soup might, uh, be to ‘is liking! And he was suuuuper spent after savin’ Idia last night. ” Ruggie busily spun around, feeling Jade’s eyes bore into his back. “Sorry, I didn’t know these were YOURS, I was just thinking about my–lowerclassman’s well-bein’!”

Might be laying it on a little thick, but Jade really seemed desperate for someone to join his club…and appealing to any sense of “good-nature” from the Octavinelle second year was really the only defense Ruggie, who’d been caught ruby red-handed, had right now…

“I see…I had not considered you as one to be charitable by nature, Ruggie…”

Ruggie’s ears lowered slightly, his frantic stirring stilling.

“..yeah, well, sometimes people need a little…charity…”

Especially if they’d been kept in a cell for years, only been given other livin’ beings to eat, and still somehow turned out alright…

Heh…not just alright, though. Jack had somehow become an obnoxiously noble and determined goody–two shoes, who cared so much about morals that he’d almost wrecked his chances of gettin’ to stay in Savanaclaw.

Well…maybe the freshman hadn’t been the one wrecking his chances. Ruggie’s life had been pretty tough, but he knew how to scrape by. Jack had been thrown to the wolves (no pun intended), left to somehow reckon with all that junk that’d happened to him, and had still decided to take the high road.

…Now that he was thinkin’ through all of it….Jack–maybe didn’t owe him for last night anymore…

“Hmm…I suppose so.” Jade still didn’t sound entirely convinced, but he started walking back out the door. “I would very much appreciate it if you mentioned to him where those plants came from. Unless, of course, he doesn’t enjoy your cooking..”

Ruggie scowled at the last jab (his Grammy’s cooking was delicious, thank you very much–!), but Jade left before he could reply. Probably for the best. He’d barely managed to scrape himself outta that hole…and he maybe needed to warn Jack about joining that weirdo’s club…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
After Ruggie had left to get them a real meal, Leona had slowly migrated to Savanaclaw’s lounge, Jack hesitantly following at his heels. Leona had simply been moving with the steady rising sun, going to the couch, where it shined the most, seeking a more comfortable napping spot.

Weekend mornings were always slow in Savanaclaw, so it was unlikely that he’d be disturbed. By any other outside factors, at least.

Granted, he was pretty sure that Jack had only followed him so he wouldn’t be sitting alone in the Housewarden’s room. It was becoming clear that the freshman apparently hadn’t thought that the invitation to the dorm would extend past the night, and didn’t really know what to do with himself.

Leona huffed, pushing himself off the cushions. While Jack was here–

“Here.”

Jack blinked in surprise as Leona thrust a potted plant into his hands, his ears pricking in curiosity.

“W–what’s this?”

Leona rolled his eyes.

“It's a cactus.”

Duh…what else would the prickly plant be? A miniature shrub?

Jack cocked his head to the side, one ear going down while the other stayed up.

“I…okay…why are you givin’ it to me..?”

Leona huffed, plopping heavily onto the couch next to the freshman.

Geez, maybe because you just spilled that you used to be starved, while some psychopaths attempted to make you commit cannibalism?!

…And because all Leona had to show sympathy for that problem was a cactus…like that was gonna help resolve that trauma…

“Cause I saw one in Ramshackle when we had to haul you over,” Jack’s ears flattened in embarrassment. A snippy smile pulled at the corner of Leona’s mouth.

“And I saw your little name plaque on it. I figured if you liked that one enough to label it, you’d maybe appreciate another one.”

Jack’s cheeks flushed so much his teeth nearly turned pink.

“I didn’t make that! Ortho did, and I just keep it up so he doesn’t get sad…”

Leona snorted softly.

“Right. Much cooler.”

Jack practically dissolved beside him, blushing all the way up to his ears.

“It’s not– I– thank you, Housewarden…”

Leona yawned, leaning his head back on the couch. A cactus was barely a gift worthy of thanks, but then again…Jack probably didn’t get a lot of gifts.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…”

The cactus had been a spur of the moment purchase, a random gift that Leona had definitely not gotten because he felt bad about the Spell Drive tournament. And he certainly didn’t have a long mental list now, of all the junk that he was gonna force on the freshman’s hands…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Rook awoke uncharacteristically, mind hazy and mouth dry. My, Epel’s venom was a powerful substance indeed…

Oddly enough, it actually reminded him more of the side effects of a snake's venom than a spider's…how peculiar…

Perhaps he should inquire of Idia Shroud about the details of Epel’s toxic bite. The Ignihyde Housewarden appeared to have the most knowledge on the freshman’s physiology. It could be quite the beneficial conversation…

Despite the lingering symptoms, Rook easily rose from bed and got himself ready for the day. While it had been awhile, it was not the first time that he’d dealt with the after effects of venom during day-to-day life.

He paused, however, when he got to applying make up. Rook hummed in quiet dismay, gingerly investigating the large, purpled bruise that spread across his nose and center of his face. Aah, the scars of battle…it couldn’t be helped, he supposed. This wound was not bleeding, but it was tender to touch, so it was likely for the best if he left it alone…

Donning his hat, Rook briskly made his way out into the hall. He nearly dashed forward when he saw Epel out and about, skirting to a stop in front of the freshman.

“Monsieur Pommette, good morning! Are you feeling alright? Did you sleep well enough?”

Epel blinked up at him, eyes wide in surprise.

“Oh, um…I’m..I’m good..” The freshman’s voice trailed off slightly, glancing away. “S–sorry about your face…”

Rook scoffed, waving his hand to brush off the comment.

“Non, non! No apologies! I value your welfare above a few bumps and bruises. Besides, it was quite an invigorating experience!”

Epel glanced back up at him in astonishment.

“It…was?”

“En effet! You have such an odd arrangement of teeth! I have rarely been graced with a bite mark so remarkable, especially one that also holds such a puissant venom!”

Rook beamed down at Epel, who was taken aback by the instant praise.

“Umm…t-thank you…?”

Rook blinked.

“I found the effects of your venom most impressionnant! I found myself woozy for quite some time.” Rook smiled grandly. “It is not often that I am met with a force of nature that is unknown to me. You are certainly a wonder, Monsieur Pommette!”

“..o–okay...” Epel looked at his feet, almost bashfully. “It…wasn’t really all THAT impressive. It wasn’t like a bit you on purpose or anything…“

Rook’s eyes widened.

“Oh? Then your skills must be all the more impressive when your actions are purposeful! Tell me, would you grace me with a duel? I would love to test my skills against your strength–”

“Not today, Rook.” Vil appeared behind him, tersely cutting Rook off. “Epel is, evidently, a very fast healer, but he is still recovering nonetheless. Please refrain from pushing him to do anything that may agitate his injuries.”

Rook turned to face his Housewarden.

“Ah, Roi de Poison, even a sleepless night does little to affect your beauty!”

Vil pursed his lips.

“Obviously. Unlike you. You can at least attempt to apply a color corrector and concealer before you determine that your bruise hurts too much to do so. Dab lightly, and cover up. You are my vice housewarden and I have a reputation to uphold.”

Rook grinned warmly. Epel’s brow knitted questioningly.

“Ah, a wonderful suggestion! That had not even occurred to me.”

“I assumed so…” Vil muttered. “Go now, before you forget. It would be unfitting for me to have someone so neglectful of their own wellbeing and injuries stand beside me.”

“Of course, I would expect nothing less from your superbe judgement! Adieu, Epel!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel watched Rook all but skip off, immensely bewildered. Man, Rook was kinda odd, wasn’t he…?

“You are aware of how much that statement pertains to you as well, aren’t you?”

Not nearly as odd as his Housewarden though…

Epel blinked, looking at Vil.

“Hu–I mean, um, p–parden?”

Vil sighed, looking way too exasperated, like Epel had just asked him something stupidly obvious, like if the sky was blue.

“Pomefiore, and more importantly, my own standards, do not allow for any of this nonsensical self-neglectful attitude. If you are suffering from any maladies, no matter their severity or…strange nature, it is your responsibility to make your superiors aware. What would’ve happened if Idia was not available, and Rook and I were left completely in the dark about your injury?” Vil glared daggers down at Epel. “Did you have a plan of action for if things went sour, or were you simply going to just collapse and bleed out in a corner until your wound scabbed over again?”

Epel shrank back slightly. How was Vil scarier when he wasn’t yelling..?!

“I–I mean…kinda?”

Vil’s eyes widened, his tone dropping sharply.

“What.”

Epel gulped.

“It–it always at least partially heals on its own, especially when I’m..n–not moving, um..”

Vil’s face went white, his eyes gleaming with wrath.

Oh, he was not making it better, was he…

“But I–I, uh, see your point, Housewarden…” Epel shuffled his feet. “I…didn’t think about that..”

Vil huffed, some color returning to his cheeks.

“That–is abundantly clear.” The Housewarden turned on his heel, marching towards his office. “Come along.”

Aw, was Vil still gonna make him listen to the rest of his moisturizer spiel?! Maybe he shoulda played into the broken back-bit a little more…

Epel dragged his feet, pitifully following Vil to his office.

“Here. Professor Crewel finished making the rest of the adjustments on this.” Vil held out a hanger towards him, giving Epel a very, very fancy–looking outfit before he’d even fully stepped in the room.

Epel blinked, gingerly taking the hung outfit, looking at it unenthusiastically. Oh yay…now he was gonna fit right on in with the rest of the purple clad–crybabies of Pomefiore…

“Oh…thank you..”

Vil’s lip pursed.

“Don’t thank me until you’ve seen how it fits. Manners are of great importance, but when it comes to clothing, it’s imperative that you make sure it fits your standards and style before you accept it.”

“Oh…”

Great, Vil was gonna make ‘im try it on?! What was next, havin’ him parade around in princess heels and a bonnet?

..then again, considering he’d woken up in a pile of plushies of unknown origin today, there wasn’t much farther he could drop…

“Guess I’ll…go change then…”

Vil nodded, turning to go put his make up away.

“Good; and if it fits to your liking, leave it on. Your new suit needs to be washed and pressed before it can be added to your closet.”

Epel crept out to the bathroom, before words started creepin’ out of his mouth and Vil found out that he didn’t even want to keep this stupid suitor suit…

….okay, he hated to admit it, but…the dorm uniform was–maybe more comfortable than his everyday one. Epel still didn’t know how he felt about all this flowy purple fabric and tassels, but the uniform moved great! This was something he could scale and leap off of walls with, without having to worry about it ripping.

Way better than that stiff groom suit, and–not as complicated to put on as he thought. And…he kinda liked the little gold and red spider web pattern across his chest and at the ends of his sleeves. It was a silly little touch, but…he liked it.

But if the ghosts had mistaken him for a princess yesterday…he probably looked like the most dainty, prim and proper little royal right now…

Epel stepped back into Vil’s office, carefully holding a “neatly” folded suiter suit. The Housewarden looked at him for a moment, scrutinizing Epel’s new attire.

“Hm..personally, I think it looks flawless. What do you think, Epel?”

Epel shifted from one foot to the other.

“It’s comfortable..I like the spider webs…”

“As do I. Professor Crewel did a remarkable job on the embroidery.” Vil stepped forward, taking the bundled up suit from Epel (with some noticeable disdain at the creases in the material). “Go see how it looks, before I do anything with this.”

Vil nodded his head to the side, gesturing towards the full length mirror that he (obviously) kept in his office. Epel resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he stepped up to it.

Try on these clothes, let me iron those ones, do what I say or else…was Vil his Housewarden or his mother–

Epel froze as he caught sight of his reflection, snippy thoughts cut short. He…didn’t look like a princess.

He looked like–a hero in some fantasy movie; the one that ran around sword fightin’ and savin’ damsels in distress, instead of gettin’ sat down and told to stay outta the line of fire so he wouldn’t get hurt. He looked…cool.

“I…like it…”

Vil glanced at the freshman, mildly surprised at the genuineness of Epel’s tone. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he saw the look on Epel’s face in his reflection.

“Good. I’m sorry for the long delay, but I’m pleased that we were able to finally get you a proper dorm uniform.”

It was a look that he knew well, despite his high standards: the look of unbridled pride of finding attire that perfectly suited one’s self. So, this was the style that Epel preferred. Now, Vil had a starting point for what to collect for the rest of the freshman’s closet.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Idia woke up at 3 pm, with Grim rudely prying himself from his arms.

“Aww, fluffy kitty…” He mumbled pitifully, reaching out towards Grim.

“No!” Grim’s fur fluffed as he darted off the bed before Idia could pet him again, bolting to hide behind Q. “I’m sick of bein’ in bed all day! I’m hungry!!”

Ortho beamed up at his brother.

“Good..afternoon! Did you sleep well?”

Idia rolled over, flopping his legs over the side of his bed.

“Yeah…how many distress demands do we still need to meet…?”

Q looked back at the older Shroud.

“I think Ramshackle just needs to be fixed…”

Idia rubbed his eyes.

“Srsy? Huh…two outta seven not’s bad, actually…” He sighed heavily. “Alright, let’s go rebuild some walls…”

Chapter Text

“Hey, where’d you get those new duds?”

Sebek gently put his parcels down on Ramshackel’s kitchen counter, his tail happily swishing behind him. Ace hopped up, wings fluttering slightly, dodging Sebek’s tail before it could sweep him off his feet.

“Master Lilia picked them out for me! Are they not stupendous?!”

“I mean, I’m not sure about stupendous, but they do look comfy.” Ace rolled his shoulders in the stiff (but now rumpled) suit. “I’d LOVE to get some casual clothes. Or at least some pajamas…”

“Agreed.” Sebek turned towards his friend. “I’d rather have the proper clothes for all parts of life. I fear using the iron so frequently in this house. The outlet sparks whenever I plug it in..”

“Did you get new clothes, too?”

Ace glanced behind him, eyes widening as he saw Epel.

“Daang! Those are nice!”

Epel grinned, chest swelling as he strode into the kitchen.

“It’s cool, right? It's ma dorm uniform.”

“How marvelous!” Sebek stepped forward, admiring his friend’s new attire. “I hope that I will get my own one day. I would love nothing more than to display the image of my Liege’s dorm!”

Ace shrugged, eyes flickering with a touch of envy. And a small glimmer of…bitterness.

“Honestly, I’d be satisfied with an actual PE uniform and lab coat.”

Sebek and Epel both grimaced, joy for their new clothes temporarily forgotten.

“Hmph. Seeing how "enthusiastic" he was about helping us save Idia, I doubt that getting us full school wardrobes has risen any higher on the Head Mage’s to-do list..” Sebek muttered, dismally putting his hands in his new pockets.

Epel sighed.

“Professor Crewel said he’d talk to him about the lab wear…but I’m guessin’ we can all see how that conversation's gonna go…”

An eerily accurate imitation of Crowley’s voice crept out of Ace’s mouth, the Heartslaybul freshman’s face scrunched mockingly.

“I’m simply too busy for that at the moment! Aren’t I already soooo generous, since I let them live in that hovel over yonder? I just have so much nothing to do, how could I POSSIBLY do my job?!”

Sebek and Epel chuckled. Ace’s wings twitched, his voice returning to normal.

“You know, at this point, it might be easier to just handle him ourselves..”

Epel half nodded in agreement, before Sebek responded reproachfully.

“Yes, because threatening the Head Mage will just work wonders for us.” Sebek scoffed sarcastically. “I know he is woefully inadequate in the administration department, but the Head Mage runs this aspect of the school nonetheless. Eventually, he will be forced to supply us with what we need, or else he will face the wrath of all the other teachers and our capable Housewardens.”

Ace’s wings fluffed irritably.

“Cause that’s worked out so well…” He muttered under his breath, quiet enough so Sebek wouldn’t hear, tail flicking crossly.

“Hey, where’d you get all this grub?”

Grim bounced into the room, leaping up onto the counter, plopping beside Sebek’s pile of snacks. The Diasomnia freshman's cheeks pinked.

“Malleus and Silver thought that I would appreciate a few…extra snacks…”

Sebek’s metabolism and stomach capacity had been greatly increased with his new found skills and appearance, a fact that he’d thought he’d been handling…subtly enough. Evidently not, as all his upperclassmen had in fact noticed his greater appetite. Silver had poked fun at him for being a bottomless pit…which would’ve been much less embarrassing if Malleus had not overheard the jab and taken it as a request to buy Sebek half of the school store’s stock…

“Sweet!” Grim began to tear at a pack of chips, nearly dumping half of the bag on the floor in his haste.

“I did not say I would share!”

Ace rolled his eyes.

“Eh, you can probably afford to; I think Trey stress bakes..and we DEFINITELY stress him out, cause he gave us enough pastries to open a bakery with.”

“We don’t stress him out!” Deuce’s tail whipped defensively as he stepped into the room, a sizable white box awkwardly propped between his arms.

“The whole cake in your hands says otherwise…” Ace muttered, tail flicking snippily. Epel perked up instantly.

“Cake?”

Deuce scowled.

“He didn’t make this because we stress him out! I think he–just felt bad for us…”

Q popped through the doorway.

“Wait, don’t put the pity cake away yet, I want some!”

Deuce sighed, plopping the box down on the table. Grim rapidly inhaled the rest of his chips (nearly eating the bag in the process), attempting to jump from the counter top to the table. He misjudged “by a bit”, smacking into Sebek’s shoulder instead.

“Ow!” Sebek hissed as Grim clawed into his flesh, in a vain attempt to not splat onto the floor. “RELEASE ME, YOU–ROTUND PEST!!”

“Stop yellin’ at me!!” Grim squawked back, managing to scramble his way up onto Sebek’s shoulder, leaping off before the freshman could grab him. He landed heavily on the table, nearly sprawling on top of the cake.

Deuce winced, gingerly uncovering his ears.

“It’d be great if we could stop blowing out eardrums, please..”

“Please…” Jack whimpered from the other room.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Jack gently placed his new cactus on the windowsill, carefully adjusting it so that it would fit next to his other one. He didn’t want either plant to get shoved out of the sunlight, and this was the only spot in all of Ramshackle that got direct sunlight all day.

Grim ducked out of the kitchen, frosting smeared across his face.

“Where’d you get another plant?” Grim hopped up onto the couch, tilting his head up at Jack.

The tips of Jack’s ears pinked slightly.

“...Leona gave it to me…”

“Bahaha! Really?!” Grim cackled, nearly rolling off back onto the floor.

Jack huffed, his face heating up.

“It's not funny!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Leona had been intending to just march down to Ignihyde and rip some answers outta Idia’s throat. However, after some consideration (and another nap), he’d scrapped that plan.

He doubted that any amount of threats was gonna squeeze answers outta Shroud, seeing as Styx probably had plenty of ways to make sure his mouth stayed shut. If there was one thing Idia was good at, it was not talkin’ to people.

Besides, threatening the Ignihyde Housewarden sounded like so much unnecessary effort…espically when the freshmen seemed unbound by any forced silence regulations.

Jack was always pretty outright with his answers about Tartarus, though he definitely dodged around going into details (Leona wondered if that was for their benefit, or his..).

But there was one freshman that seemed even more willing to follow Leona’s lead. Plus, they had club tomorrow anyway. Might as well try and get some details out of Epel while he had to be there…
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“So…is Kalim actually the Housewarden of Scarabia?”

Jamil blinked, glancing at Ace. The freshman had, once again, showed up to practice in his everyday school uniform rather than his gym attire.

…Actually, come to think of it, did any of the Tartarus freshmen have gym or lab clothes..? He’d only ever seen them in their regular school uniforms…granted, he also went–half out of his way to avoid them around campus.

Posing the risk of Kalim running into them was too great. Especially after the whole ghost incident, where the Scarabia Housewarden had ended “making their acquaintance”. However, based on the question Ace had just posed…that introduction may have not been as positive as Kalim had retold it…

“Yes, he is.” Jamil frowned slightly. “What do you mean by “actually”?

Ace shrugged.

“He just seems very…nice, I guess? Kind of…left field from everyone else in charge.”

Jamil sighed.

“I–can see how you’d think that. Kalim is certainly..kindhearted, but don’t let that fool you he is–” Jamil subtly grit his teeth. “Perfectly qualified for the position.”

Ace cast him a sideways glance.

“Huh...uh huh..”

Perhaps not as subtle as he’s intended…

“Anyways,” Jamil pressed on quickly, pivoting subjects. “Do you mind if I ask something?”

“No..”

“I was just thinking–do you..have gym or lab clothing? I don’t think I’ve seen you or your friends in anything besides the standard uniform..”

Ace snorted dryly, wings twitching.

“No; we wear these everywhere just for fun.” A note of resentment leaked into the freshman’s tone. “The Head Mage is basically solely in charge of getting us that stuff, and he lowkey hates our guts, so–no, I don’t have anything other uniforms besides this one.”

Jamil frowned.

“Have you not spoken to your Housewardens about it?”

“Uh, so, I kinda smacked my Housewarden the first week of school,” Ace ducked to the side as a ball flew at him from across the court. “And then there was all that Spell Drive tournament stuff, and then Idia got ghostnapped, so…no. We haven’t done that.”

“Hm.” Jamil caught the ball, throwing it back to the far players. “I suggest you do. What have you been doing in Alchemy class? Surely it’s a safety issue to not provide you with lab coats and goggles.”

Ace huffed quietly.

“It is…”

Jamil’s brow furrowed.

“Well, I still think you sho–”

“Crabby!”

Floyd seemed to spawn from nowhere, scooping up Ace before the freshman or Jamil could react. He darted halfway across the gymnasium, before Jamil could stop him.

“Heehee! Man, it was fun bustin’ ghosts with you the other day! You almost made that stupid bride cry!”

“Uh huh…” Ace twisted in Floyd’s grip, drawing his wings closer to his body. “Kinda cutting off oxygen here…”

Ace’s feet abruptly hit the ground as Floyd dropped him. Ace stumbled back to steps, then quickly backtracked a few more on purpose.

Floyd leered down at him, smiling from ear to ear.

“To bad the Head Mage didn’t have fun~”

Ace froze, glancing suspiciously up at the second year.

“What do you know about that?”

Floyd leaned forward, somehow grinning wider.

“Not much…just that the Head Mage is a big ol’ party pooper~. Azul had to jump through soooo many hoops to get him to let us open the Lounge.”

Ace’s wings twitched. Okay, he was curious, he’d bite…

He crossed his arms, looking suspiciously up at Floyd.

“...What kind of hoops?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sebek quietly eased the door to the stable open, slipping into the building as stealthily as he could. He was aware that it was against Equestrian Club rules for him to be in here without an upperclassmen, but he needed to test something before club officially began today.

It wasn’t that he’d ever been nervous to meet the horses. He just…hadn’t wanted to make a fool of himself in front of Housewarden Rosehearts and Silver, and all of the other humans in the club.

Tartarus hadn’t exactly had a surplus of animals within its depths, and horses were…rather skittish by nature. And seeing how many of the humans at Night Raven constantly reacted to him…

Suffice to say, Sebek had not felt confident in his ability to not spook one of the creatures. And he had not felt bold enough to try in front of the rest of the club.

He still didn’t…which was why he was in the stable an hour early.

Sebek just…wanted to see if it was going to be possible for him to bond with one of the horses, before he wasted his, and his upperclassmen’s, time. If Equestrian Club was not fit for him, he’d rather drop it sooner rather than later and spare himself the embarrassment of prolonged failure.

He hesitantly walked down the middle of the stable, unsure of how exactly to proceed. Most of the creatures seemed preoccupied with eating at the moment. He didn’t want to go into any of the stalls. He knew enough to know that being in an enclosed space with a startled horse was not a good place to be.

A sharp whiney caught his attention. Sebek glanced to his left.

One of the horses had come right up to its stall door, looking curiously at him.

Sebek blinked, cautiously taking a step forward.

“Hello…”

He tried to keep his voice low. The horse’s ears twitched, but it made no move to back away. Sebek hesitantly inched another step closer.

“I am…Sebek Zigvolt…what are you called?”

The horse snorted, shaking its head.

“Hm, Tempest?” Sebek very slowly raised his hand, allowing Tempest to sniff it. “While you certainly look the part, I’m assuming that you got your name through your temperament?”

Tempest nuzzled his nose against Sebek’s hand, nickering softly.

Sebek snorted quietly.

“That was an educated guess on my part. I noticed no rider selected to take you in the ring last meeting. Am I right in assuming that humans do not enjoy your disposition?”

Tempest strained his neck forward, pushing Sebek’s shoulder with his head.

“Please. Not enough of them have approached me to truly know if they dislike my temperament.” Sebek huffed scornfully. “I believe they find me scary…”

Tempest nipped at his sleeve, peacefully chewing on the fabric. Sebek carefully stroked the horse’s muzzle.

“How in the world do they find you scary? You are a fine example of your breed. I would even call you a prince among horses!”

Tempest snorted, shaking his mane, bumping his nose against Sebek’s chest. Sebek smiled.

“Well, I am quite pleased that you find me worthy of such respect–”

“Sebek?”

Sebek nearly leapt out of his skin, wheeling around. Tempest neighed sharply, the horse’s ears swiveling against his head as he tossed his mane again, much more forcefully this time.

Housewarden Riddle stepped back slightly, looking surprised.

“I apologize, I didn’t mean to startle you. However,” The Housewarden’s tone became stern. “You should not make a habit of approaching the horses by yourself. Club regulations are in place for a reason.”

Sebek huffed, quickly standing straight.

“I understand, Housewarden Rosehearts. I…just wanted to familiarize myself with the stable’s…layout.”

The corner of Riddle’s mouth twitched.

“And with Tempest, I see. I’m a bit surprised, he’s normally not quite this friendly.”

Sebek scoffed, subconsciously beginning to stoke Tempest’s face again. The horse’s ears lifted as he did, relaxing into the freshman’s touch.

“Of course he’s not! No one else had displayed a true ability to ride him. Naturally, he would show his distaste at that! A fine creature such as himself deserves a rider that understands how to properly maneuver with him!”

Tempest whined, bumping Sebek’s chest again.

“I am so glad that you agree!”

Riddle glanced curiously between Sebek and the horse.

“I suppose…that could be part of the reason why he hasn’t found a rider yet...” Riddle looked questioningly at Sebek. “Were you…talking to him? As in, back and forth, understanding one another?”

Sebek opened his mouth, then blinked, faltering. He stared at Tempest, his strokes pausing. Tempest snorted in protest, brashfully pushing Sebek’s claws with his nose.

“I was unaware that you understood animal languages.” Riddle continued, mildly confused by the freshman’s silence.

“...as–as was I.”

Riddle blinked.

“Parden?”

“I–I did not realize that I was…having a full conversation with him…”

“Oh.” Riddle paused. “But you were..having a full conversation? Talking to one another?”

Sebek nodded slowly, eyes growing wide.

“I was–we were…I did not even realize..”

“Really?” Riddle looked at Sebek in surprise. From the little he’d studied, it was actually quite difficult to seamlessly switch between human and animal languages. And to do so without consciously noticing was almost unheard of.

“Yes…” Sebek gently began to stroke Tempest again, still looking quite shell-shocked. “I–it just felt natural to converse…I did not even think about how…horses do not regularly speak..aloud..”

Tempest snorted, ears flicking.

“Hmph. Well, you did not notice my tail, so I believe that makes us even!”

Riddle opened his mouth, hesitating a moment before replying.

“..Well, I’m glad you’ve begun to bond with Tempest. Perhaps you can take him out in the ring today.”

Sebek’s head snapped towards him.

“R–Really?!”

“If you feel comfortable doing so. I can show you how to put on a bridle and saddle on Vorpal now, if you’d like.”

Sebek glanced back at Tempest.

“Do you mind if I step away for a moment? I would very much like to take you in the ring today, if you’ll have me.”

Tempest nickered, gently biting Sebek’s claws. A smile pulled at the corner of Sebek’s mouth.

“I would be grateful for your demonstration and instructions, Housewarden!”

With a final pet, Sebek temporarily left Tempest, following Riddle to Vorpal’s stall. Though the stormy–coated horse had shown that the creatures could withstand his presence, Sebek felt his bundle of nerves rise up in his stomach again.

Tempest was certainly a highstanding member of his species, so it was still quite possible that Vorpal would startle at his very presence. And he doubted that Housewarden Riddle would be willing to allow a rulebending freshman, who startled his own steed, to stay within his club…

Riddle unhesitantly strode into Vorpal’s stall, fondly greeting his horse with a pat. Sebek attempted to silently follow the Housewarden…but his tail thunked loudly on the stall door.

He cringed, freezing as the noise echoed throughout the stable.

Vorpal, however, did nothing but swish her tail, turning her head to look calmly back at him. Riddle, in the same fashion as his steed, did not acknowledge Sebek’s graceless movement.

“Now, I admire your care in your approach. Often, beginners are more inclined to hurry in their excitement, which leads to startling their mounts. But, you do need to come closer to Vorpal in order to learn how to ready your horse.”

Vorpal nickered softly, ears twitching lightly.

Sebek’s face pinked. He was certainly not afraid of Vorpel biting him! If anything, he’d expected the mare to be the one afraid of getting bitten…

He carefully slid up next to Housewarden Riddle, placing a tentative hand on Vorpal’s neck.

“Er, hello, Vorpal…” Now that he was aware that he was fully conversing with the creatures, Sebek felt that it was necessary to offer a true introduction. Even if it felt obscenely awkward to do so, since Housewarden Riddle was right beside him and could only hear his part of the conversation…

“It is a–pleasure to properly make your acquaintance…”

Vorpal whinnied quietly. Sebek tilted his head to the side.

It was almost remarkable how similarly the mare’s cadence was to Riddle. The Heartslaybul Houswarden must have a truly strong bond with his steed, if their mannerisms were this alike.

He was not entirely surprised by that. At the last club meeting, Riddle and Vorpal rode in almost perfect sync with one another, faster than any other horse and rider in the ring, clearing every jump they approached.

Sebek deeply wished to be able to attain those skills, and more importantly, to be able to attain that form of connection with a horse. And Tempest certainly seemed as eager as he did to be able to go out in the ring.

Perhaps, Equestrian Club was not a bad fit for him afterall!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Hey Silver!”

Silver turned back as Kalim dashed up to him. Kalim screeched to a halt, his bag nearly spilling its contents as he stopped.

“Wow, you're fast!” Kalim panted. “I tried to catch you right after the lecture, but you were already half way down the hall.”

Silver blinked.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Kalim. I didn’t notice you trying to chase after me” He was already part of the way to the stables, so the Scarabian Housewarden must’ve been running behind him for quite a bit now.

“Is there something you need?”

Kalim nodded hopefully.

“Yeah! I was just wondering if you caught that last assignment that Professor Trein gave us? I totally zoned out during those last five minutes, and didn’t realize that he was still talking–”

“Ugh, I hope that–that new freshman doesn’t return to club again! Did you see how much my horse was balking? Every time he approached the fence, I was nearly thrown to the ground!”

Silver’s head snapped to the side, Kalim’s voice fading into the background.

A few of his fellow Equestrian club members were walking a ways away, slowly making their own way to the stable. A fellow second year that Silver also recognized from Alchemy class was complaining loudly to his friends, though they didn’t seem very happy about his vocal grievances.

“I don’t think it was that bad…your horse balked plenty last year too…” Another second year murmured, glancing around like he feared being struck down (which was a rather valid concern, when someone dared to badmouth Malleus Draconia’s new freshman).

The first second year scoffed.

“Not nearly as much as he did last week! Honestly, I don’t even know why Housewarden Rosehearts allowed him to even sign up. How can he even ride, with a massive scaly tail like that?! All he’s going to do is scare the horses, and waste everyone's time!”

“..What do you mean by that?”

The complaining student turned, eyes widening as he saw who was approaching him. Silver was rapidly striding up to them, Kalim trailing behind him, brow furrowed in confusion.

“H–huh?” The second year stuttered.

Silver’s voice dropped several degrees cooler.

“You were just voicing several concerns about my friend attending club today. I think it's fair to ask you to provide evidence for such claims, since you feel so strongly opposed to his presence that you think it appropriate to squall them out for everyone to hear.”

The second year scowled, his shock disappearing, and being replaced with stupidly reckless anger.

“Fine, I’ll spell it out for you then! Your friend’s a green–faced, crocodile freak, and all he’s gonna do is start a stampede if he stays in club! No one even wants him there, right guys?!”

The second year smugly turned around. However, his expression quickly dropped as he realized that none of his friends were standing behind him anymore.

“G–guys?!”

“If you feel that strongly about Sebek’s application to the club–then I’m afraid I must ask you to defend your position.”

The second year slowly turned back to Silver. The Diasomnia second year gently shoved his book bag towards Kalim, who took it, though he was still very bewildered about…everything happening.

“Do you accept my duel request? Or would you rather take back and apologize for your words?”

The second year looked Silver up and down for a moment, his eyes narrowing. Silver was slighter than him, and at least a few inches shorter. He doubted that the Diasomnia second year could beat him in a full throw down fight, and Silver had a reputation for randomly growing drowsy, so he might even fall asleep before he could even throw a punch!

“You know what? Yeah, I accept! I ain’t taking anything back!”

Silver’s fists clenched.

“Very well then…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Hey, Epel!”

“Gah!”

Epel jumped as Ruggie grabbed his shoulder, jumping to the side on instinct.

Ruggie ears twitched.

Man, this kid was jumpy. But in Epel’s defense, bein’ stuck in a dorm with Rook would probably do that to you.

“Relax, it's just me.”

“Oh..sorry, Ruggie!” Epel winced. “You startled me..”

“Yeah, I noticed.” Ruggie snickered.

Epel’s face flushed, his head half shrinking into his frilly collar. He tried to pivot subjects, clumsily trying to smooth over his own embarrassment.

“D–did I get the times wrong? I thought club wasn’t meeting for another hour.”

Ruggie scratched the back of his head.

“Nah, you got ‘em right. Speakin’ of club, that’s why I came to find you.”

Epel’s eyes widened. Aw, dangit, Vil hadn’t said anything to his club upperclassmen, had he?! Was he gettin’ kicked out of Spell Drive club–?!

“Leona got you this.”

Epel blinked as Ruggie shoved a bundle of clothes into his hands.

“H–huh?”

“He noticed you didn’t have a PE uniform. It ain’t a Pomefiore one, but he figured it’d be better then making you keep flying around in your full school uniform every meeting.”

Epel looked back up at the second year, then back at the uniform.

“He–he did?”

“Yep.” Ruggie’s tail twitched slightly. “It doesn’t have holes yet though, cause I was just gonna copy off your uniform.”

Epel looked up again.

“Wh–what?”

“You like to use your spidery legs, right? I figured you’d want holes in the back, but if you want to cut them yourself, be my guest.”

Epel frowned.

“I–I can’t give it back if I put holes in the back..”

Ruggie shrugged.

“So?”

“I–” Epel clacked his jaw thoughtfully for a moment, trying to Vil–ify his words. “I’m..very grateful that Housewarden Leona decided to give me this gift, but I’m afraid I can’t accept it. I’m not allow–er, I don’t have any way to get a replacement, and I’d pretty much have to ruin this one to wear it.”

He, with a level of courtesy that would’ve probably earned him a thin-lipped “acceptable” from his Housewarden, held the folded uniform back out to Ruggie.

Ruggie just looked at him blankly.

“Pff. So?”

Epel blinked.

“I–I’m giving it back–”

Ruggie rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, you don’t have to do that. Trust me, Leona’s got plenty of money to burn through his pocket. One little uniform ain’t gonna break his bank account. Besides,” The second year snickered quietly. “There isn’t anyone in our dorm that’s your size, so you wouldn’t be able to give it back anyway!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Jack halted in his tracks, not even breathing heavier, despite the fact that he’d just sprinted several laps.

“What’s my time, Deuce?”

Deuce grinned up from the stopwatch (that he’d managed to figure out how to operate without scratching it once!).

“9.21 seconds! Looks like I’m gonna have some competition for the club’s track meet next week.”

Jack’s ear twitched. Yeah, he’d probably be Deuce’s ONLY competition, and vice-versa. Not that no one else in the club was fast, but Deuce and Jack were…a category of their own, one could say.

Jack wouldn’t be surprised if the only reason they were allowed to compete in any competitions was because of Night Raven’s intense focus on winning. Especially against Royal Sword Academy. This was only their second week in club, and Coach Vargas had already given three “prep” talks about how they were “going to pummel their way all the way to the top this year!”.

“Hm. That ain’t bad, but it could be better…”

Deuce rolled his eyes, tossing the watch over to switch.

“Is there ever a time you don’t think that?”

Jack huffed, resetting the stopwatch, stepping off of the track.

“Yeah, when I do the best I’m capable of.”

Deuce snickered.

“You know you sound like a total perfectionist, right?”

“At least my mindset actually helps me get my work done on time. How much have you studied for final exams again?”

Deuce scowled sheepishly.

“I’m–I’m gonna start cramming right after practice!”

“Deuce the dunce strikes again…” Jack muttered, his tail wagging slightly.

“I’m not a dunce–!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Cater glanced up from his phone, popping one of Lilia’s candies in his mouth.

“Man, Kalim is like, late–late today–Bleh!” He spat the black sweet out of his mouth, coughing. “What ARE these?! Sick!”

“Khee hee!” Lilia chuckled quietly, smiling impishly at the Heartslaybul junior. “It’s licorice. Addicted after one bit, are you?”

Cater gagged, wiping at his tongue.

“No, I mean “sick” as in I’m gonna BE sick! They’re like salty gum or something….leck…”

Lilia tilted his head, plucking up a licorice bite for himself.

“Really? I’m quite fond of them–”

“Guys–!” Kalim clattered into the classroom, panting. “I’m sorry I’m late, but you’ll never believe what I just saw!”

Cater and Lilia both looked up. Lilia leaned forward, interest spiking.

“Really? Whatever was it?”

“Silver!” Kalim gasped, falling into a chair. “Got in a fight! And, like, super won!”

Cater blinked.

“Wha–!?”

Lilia’s eyes widened, but he simply leaned closer to Kalim, tilting his head once more.

“Oh, he did? What did his peer do, to drive him to do such a thing?”

Silver was certainly not one to start conflict, but Lilia knew his son was able to handle matters with violence if needed. And if he’d chosen to handle a situation with his fist rather than with his words, then someone must’ve done something particularly egregious…

Kalim finally caught his breath, his eyes growing huge.

“T–this guy started saying some mean stuff about Sebek, and Silver heard him and challenged to a duel, and then they just started hitting each other–well, the other guy tried, Silver mostly just hit him–”

Cater’s jaw dropped.

“Really?! Silver never seemed like the kind of guy to kick someone while they were down–”

“Khee hee! Well, some people need a good whack on the ground to get their minds right!” Lilia cheerfully plopped a piece of licorice into his mouth, happily reaching for another one. “I’ll ask Silver about it this evening, but I trust his judgement when it comes to things like this. I have no doubts that he was in the right about this matter.”

Kalim and Cater both looked at him in surprise. Lilia cooly tossed another candy into his mouth, grinning playfully at his clubmates.

“Now, do we have an agenda for today, or are we going to require more snacks?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Now, my plan was to go by order of creation, but if you have a different course you’d like to take, I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

Q looked up Malleus, tossing Grim another candy bar. The club hadn’t even actually started, and the direbeast had already gone through three chocolates.

“I’m fine with whatever you have planned. I don’t really know enough about gargoyles to have any opinions yet.”

Malleus nodded.

“Very well. Then we will go by order of creation. We will start be the eastern entrance to the school, where a rare piece of artistry is displayed. Often, one does not find gargoyles with features of ravens–”

The Diasomnia Housewarden continued to drone on as they made their way across campus. Grim gracelessly crawled up Q’s leg, until the human bent slightly and helped him up onto her shoulders.

“I didn’t even know he could talk this much…” Grim snickered into Q ear, burying his giggles into her hair.

Q’s mouth twitched.

“Be. Nice.” She hissed out of the corner of her mouth. “Or I’m going to make you watch me eat the rest of the snacks I brought…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Jamil had not wanted to stir Floyd up farther by chasing him, but he watched the Octavinelle second year and the Heartslaybul freshman converse apprehensively, keeping them in his line of sight from across the gym.

It was not like Floyd to just want to talk…and the fact that he’d carried Ace out of earshot only raised Jamil’s suspicions. But what sort of plan could anyone of Octavinelle have with the Tartarus freshmen..? Surely, Azul wasn’t careless enough to antagonize them into a deal…

Right..?

Ace, thankfully, seemed to cut the conversation short, walking back towards Jamil. The Scarabia second year glanced at him curiously.

“What was…that about?”

Ace shrugged, looking (gloriously) disinterested.

“Eh, I don’t know. Something about me being fun to pick up or whatever. Disadvantage of having hollow bones, I guess.”

Huh–?!

“But, he got bored, sooo…lucky me!”

Jamil blinked. He supposed they were just going to brush off that hollow bones comment…

“Right…” Jamil hesitated for a moment. Ace wasn’t a member of his dorm, there was really no reason for him to get involved. He didn’t even know if Floyd had actually attempted to swindle the freshman or not.

But–a word of warning from an upperclassman to a lower couldn’t come back to bite him…hopefully…

“Do you…know much about Octavinelle? Or...their Housewarden?”

Ace glanced sideways at Jamil.

“Uh..why?”

Jamil let his eyes drift back to the game.

“Azul’s known for being a little…” Scheming, shifty, generally all around shady– “..business focused.”

“Okay; what does that have to do with anything?”

Jamil shrugged.

“Just–don’t sign anything that anyone from his dorm offers you. At least, not without reading it…very, very closely.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jamil saw Ace nodding (though, the freshman looked pretty unmoved by his warning).

“Gottcha…I’ll keep that in mind if Floyd ever starts chucking paper airplanes at me..”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Silver quietly made his way into the stable, subconsciously flexing his hands at his sides.

“Hmph. There you, Silver!” Riddle strode up to him, scowling. “You are 15 minutes late.”

Silver ducked his head slightly.

“I apologize, Housewarden Riddle. I got caught up in handling…something.”

Riddle frowned.

“That is not precisely an acceptable excuse, but, I will let you by without repercussions this one time, as I would like you to assist Sebek into the ring.”

Silver blinked.

“Sebek is–ready to go out today?”

“Indeed! I’ve already walked him through how to ready his horse, so I just need you to double check his saddle and bridle, and talk him through mounting and how to hold the reins.”

Silver nodded quickly, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Who is he riding today? Vorpal?”

The Heartslaybul Housewarden’s steed was his first guess, as the mare’s calm demeanor made her the club’s go-to placement for beginners.

Riddle shook his head.

“No, actually. He wanted to take Tempest out, and they made quite the quick bond, so I’m willing to let him try.”

The corner of Silver’s mouth twitched.

He should’ve guessed that Sebek would choose the infamous “finger–eater” as his steed. Tempest was a horse known for his temperamental spirit, who’d, up till now, refused to let any club member place a saddle on him without nipping at their skin.

“I’d be more than happy to help him, sir.”

Silver found Sebek in Tempest’s stall, stroking the horse’s mane like he was a kitten. Silver leaned over the stall’s door, grinning.

“Did you make a new friend, Sebek?”

Sebek looked up, appearing almost…shellshocked at his current position.

“I can understand him…”

“Hm–?”

“I–apparently, can understand horse dialect…I didn’t know that was something I could do!”

Silver blinked.

“You can?”

“Yes!”

“Can you understand all animal languages, or just horses?”

Sebek scowled.

“How would I know that if I DIDN’T even know that I could speak to horses–!?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Jade carefully arranged his workstation, taking specific care to display his mushrooms at the forefront of the table. He did hope that Ruggie had followed through with his promise of telling Jack Howl where those wild herbs had come from.

If he hadn’t…well, then things were going to get quite dicey for the Savanaclaw second year…

“That’s a lot of…mushrooms…”

Jade glanced up in surprise, eyes widening.

“My my! You're shockingly stealthy, Jack.”

Jack’s ears partially flattened against his head.

“Whatta you mean by shockingly?”

“Did you enjoy the wild grown vegetables? I do hope that they paired well with Ruggie’s soup.” Jade brushed off Jack’s question, asking his own instead.

Jack cast him an odd look.

“..They were good…do you, uh, normally bring stuff back from your hikes?”

“Why, yes I do! In fact, all of these fine specimens came from the mountain side.” Jade gestured proudly at his mushrooms, smiling grandly.

Jack tilted his head, looking curiously at the fungi.

“Uh huh…I’m guessin’ mushrooms are your favorite?"

Jade hummed happily, gazing fondly down at his specimens.

“Indeed. They are quite fascinating, a true representation of mountain mystery. Did you know that lightning can stimulate growth within them, despite the fact that it’s often a cause of forest fires?”

“No.” Jack answered bluntly. “But mountain weather can sure be a force to be reckoned with, so I’m not surprised…you ever gone to snow–covered peaks, or do you only go on foraging hikes?”

Jade glanced up.

“I’ve–never traversed icy or snow before…but I am not opposed to the idea. If you were to join the Mountain Lovers Club, I could certainly work on securing an expedition to a frosty summit.”

Jack’s ears perked up a bit.

“R–really..?”

“Of course! Clubmates are meant to support each other in their shared craft, aren’t they?”

Not that Jade knew much about having clubmates…

“Uh, sure.” Despite Jack’s cool tone, Jade saw the freshman’s tail wagging enthusiastically behind him. “I–already have my application filled out–”

Jade practically snatched the paper from Jack’s hand, carefully stuffing it in his pocket before the freshman had a moment to change his mind.

“Wonderful!” Jade beamed brightly, either ignorant, or ignoring, the freshman’s shock at having something wretched from his hand. “I will get this to an advisor as soon as our first official meeting is finished!”

Jack inched back a step.

“...Okay…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
With the size of the Spell Drive club, it was actually relatively easy for Leona to subtly pull Epel to the side. They weren’t even really away from the group, but most extra ears were on the field or in the air, which was the perfect time to start askin’ some questions.

“Hey Epel.”

The freshman looked up at him. Man, the smallest uniform size still looked too big on ‘im. The kid looked practically skeletal in the PE uniform, like a weird configuration of a porcelain doll and a marionette figure.

Even without Jack’s little speech, Leona probably could’ve guessed that Epel wasn’t exactly well fed in Tartarus.

“Yes sir?”

Leona yawned, tail flicking coolly behind him.

“I got some questions I wanna ask ya about that creepazoid place you had to live in.”

Epel blinked.

“Uh–are–do you mean Tartarus?”

“Yep;” Leona’s ear twitched. “See, I thought it was more like a looney bin down there. But then Jack started spoutin’ off about it, and it’s startin’ to sound more and more like a horror show..”

To his surprise, Epel snorted.

“Was–was that not obvious from–” The freshman gestured at his face. “All of this?”

Leona tsked.

“Lookin’ like a horror show and livin’ in one are two completely separate things. I don’t care if you have four eyes, I care about a buncha psychos lockin’ Jack up to try and get him to eat people.”

Epel’s eyes widened.

“Oh, he told ya’ about that…”

“Sure did.” Leona’s tail whipped behind him. “So you can imagine how curious I am now.”

“That’s fair..” Epel bounced on his heels, watching the other club members zoom by on their brooms. “What do you want to know?”

“How much did they feed you down there?”

Epel grimaced. He shoulda guessed that that’d be the first question on the Savanaclaw Housewarden’s mind…

“Uhh…that’s a…hard one to answer…”

Leona’s ears flattened.

“Why’s that?”

“Weell…” Epel looked at his feet, suddenly becoming absorbed with the field’s grass. “They didn’t– withhold food from me, if that’s what you’re askin’...um, I wouldn’t say that I was…well fed though, but that was mostly cause I was…unconscious…”

Leona’s tail froze.

“ ‘Scuse me?”

Epel clacked his jaw hesitantly.

“Um…do you know what, uh..vivisection is..?”

Leona’s tail curled as he looked at the freshman.

“I wish I didn’t…what was the purpose behind THAT?!”

Part of him wished that Epel wouldn’t answer…

“Um..mix-and-match..?” Epel murmured.

Leona’s lip curled. He couldn’t tell if that was a joke (and the freshman just had a terrible sense of comedic timing), or if that was a legitimate answer. If it wasn’t just a quip…oh, he hated all of the implications. All of them…

“ ‘Kay, I’m done.”

Epel looked back up.

“Huh?”

Leona shook his head, gritting his teeth.

“I don’t wanna talk ‘bout this anymore, my bad for bringing it up…go on. Get back in the air.”

Epel opened his mouth.

“Wha–”

“Get.” Leona pointedly nodded his head towards the lined up brooms. “I’m switchin’ you in.”

“I–really?!”

Leona scowled.

“Do you not want to, or are you just tryin’ to tick me off?”

“No–! No, I’m goin’!” Epel began to dash across the field. “Thank you, Mr. Kingscholar!”

Leona watched the kid run to the broom’s, ears staying flat.

Thankin’ him for lettin’ ‘im play…hmph. Out of all of the posh junk Vil was no doubt crammin’ down Epel’s throat, Leona HOPED that the Pomefiore Housewarden was teachin’ the freshman to understand basic human decency…

‘Cause clearly, the kid did not have a very strong foundation to go off of…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Epel had been a little worried that Leona was gonna get all panicky and keep ‘im from playin’, but the Savanaclaw Housewarden was waaay more chill then his upperclassmen. He’d still seemed a little freaked out by Epel’s descriptions of Tartarus, but then he’d just sent the freshman back up on a broom, and started running through drills like normal.

Man, Epel wished he’d gotten put in Savanaclaw…havin’ Leona as a Housewarden would’ve been so cool…

“You give up and move to Savanaclaw finally?”

Epel yelped, wheeling around, instinctively growing his spider legs. Ace snickered, wings still flapping as he gently landed on the ground.

Epel scowled, clacking his jaw savagely.

“No! And what’d you do, jump outta a window?!”

“Yep.” Ace pulled his wings back in, rolling his shoulder. “What’s the story on the Savanaclaw PE uniform?”

Epel huffed, retracting his legs.

“Housewarden Leona noticed I didn’t have one…he just couldn’t get one for Pomefiore..”

“Well, Crowley couldn’t either..” Ace muttered spitefully. “Uh, anyway, I got a favor to ask.”

Epel narrowed his eyes.

“Okay.”

“How do you feel about–maybe hearing out a possible mob boss?”

Epel blinked.

“Ace, it's only been like two hours! What did you do–”

“Not that real of a mob boss!” Ace crossed his arms. “The dude in charge of Octavinelle! Apparently, he’s got some intel on the Head Mage…and I– kinda made an appointment to meet with him.”

Epel stared at his friend.

“...okay. What does that have to do with me?”

“I want you to come with me!” Ace grinned grandly, his wings unfolding slightly. “You know, in case things go south and I need someone to chew off a bad guy’s face.”

Epel thought for a moment.

“...why are you meeting with him, exactly?”

A glint of maliciousness gleamed through Ace’s eyes, his smile stiffening.

“I told you, he’s got something on the Head Mage…and then, technically–it wouldn’t be US handling him…”

Epel tilted his head, realization striking. An almost evil smile spread across his face, his jaw half splitting.

“I mean, I didn’t get to meet ‘em last time…sure! I’ll go with ya! Uh, I should probably change first though…Vil would probably blow his head off if he sees me in this…”

“Perfect!” Ace started walking backwards, tucking his wings in again. “ Just meet me in the Mirror Chamber when you're done. It’d probably be a good idea to show up…a little early, don’t ya think?”

Epel clacked his jaw impishly.

“Absolutely…”

Chapter Text

Epel looked around after they stepped out of the Mirror, staring wide-eyed at the aquarium-like wall. Was every dorm more impressive than his–?!

Ace yanked on his arm, jerking him out of his trance, and towards the restaurant’s bar. Epel wrinkled his nose as Ace soundlessly opened a cabinet, but he climbed in anyways. He wasn’t exactly a fan of “crammin” (he usually fit just fine, even if the space was small) into places like this, but ya couldn’t really eavesdrop if you were visible.

Vaguely, he heard a small scuffle above him, as Ace climbed up to the top shelf and ducked behind one of the cubby shelves’ pots of stuff. Epel carefully curled into a ball, squeezing by the bottles of drink syrup, listening to the footsteps as Octavinelle students began to file into their dorm.

Ace had always been good at crafty “estimation”, somehow being able to figure out where people were gonna be and how to sneak by ‘em. Epel didn’t get how, but the red-headed avion was the one with the most escape attempts logged, so Epel didn’t need to get it, since Ace’s success spoke for itself.

Unlike the rest of them, he’d actually gotten to the big door, like, months before Idia and Ortho had found them. Granted, he’d only done it once, and after he did…well, he’d been kinda…incapacitated…But the random skills still remained. So, somehow, he’d been able to roughly guess when the bulk of Octavinelle students would be back in their dorm.

He craned his ears as footsteps began to click towards him.

“Why did you ignore my summons yesterday? Clearly, you don’t understand the position you're in.”

Okay, Epel guessed that that was Azul, the Octavinelle Housewarden. He’d never met the guy, but he assumed, (based off how much Vil talked about “leadership credentials” and “earning one’s place as Housewarden”), that a requirement of any Housewarden was having that “I told you so”/ “I’m above you” tonal shift.

Heck, even Idia had THAT.

Ace peered around the stored ingredients, making sure that his face was still in the shadows. Azul was staring daggers at a cringing Octavinelle student.

Looks like someone was getting in trouble~

“L–look, I was just dealing with some, uh, stomach problems…”

Though they couldn’t see each other, Ace and Epel’s expressions were mirrored as they rolled their eyes. That was like, the most basic excuse ever…coming from two people who knew a lot about trying to get out of trouble with harsh Housewardens…

“Is that true? Because lying would not do you any favors, I assure you.”

Surprise surprise, Azul didn’t believe the guy either.

“Yes it’s true! I was sick to my stomach!”

Epel clacked his jaw silently in the dark. Yeah, the desperation was not helping this dude’s case…

“Jade, why don’t you help motivate our friend here to speak a bit more honestly?”

Ace leaned forward a bit more, watching the tall second year stride towards the student, who was practically shaking in his boots. Yep, super convincing. He DEFINITELY wasn’t hiding anything.

“As you wish. Now, now, there’s no need to flinch. This won’t hurt one bit.” Ace–highly doubted that. Jade was for sure calmer than Floyd, but something told him that the twins had more in common than just their appearances…

“If you could look my way? Yes, just like that, thank you. Shock the Heart.”

The student suddenly stiffened, like someone had just dumped ice water over him.

“Hrk! W–what was that?!”

A signature spell, dude. Honestly, if you were gonna do something that could land you in trouble, at least know your enemy first; that was like, basic game strategy.

Jade leaned closer to the student.

“Now, let’s try this again. Why didn’t you respond to Azul’s summons yesterday?”

The student twitched in a way that was…a little too familiar to the Heartslaybul freshman. Ace drew back slightly, a shiver running up his spine.

He guessed he should’ve assumed that a spell called “Shock the Heart” would…make someone twitch a bit like they were being electrocuted…

“Because I was sick…sick of running myself ragged doing dirty work of a low-down, black-hearted cheater like Azul, that is!” The student blabbed forcefully. “Of course I wasn’t actually sick to my stomach. That’s just an excuse! Grk! What in the–oh crud, why did I say that?!”

Huh…that was a neat trick, actually…

Epel found himself suddenly overwhelmingly grateful that Jade wasn’t in his dorm. If he actually had to answer what was really on his mind when Vil asked him stuff–that was a terrifying thought…

“Oh, dear…Goodness gracious me.” Azul staggered back slightly, like the student’s words had smacked him. “Why, I’m positively wounded. Here I granted you a wish out benevolence, rivaling that of our venerable Sea Witch herself…and you would turn and call me–what was it? “A low-down, black-hearted cheater”?”

Ace’s wings twitched in the confined space, tilting his head. A…wish? Floyd had just said that his Housewarden was good at getting people what they wanted.

…What kind of power set did this guy have, exactly..?

“I–I’m sorry! This is all a misunderstanding, I swear–!” Ace was almost surprised that the student didn’t throw himself at Azul’s feet.

Man, groveling now. That was just sad…

“Hmph. Spare me your sniveling.” Azul disdainfully turned away, waving his hand back. “Floyd, you’re up.”

“You finally done? Can I squeeze him now?”

“Be my guest. Wring him out to your heart’s content.”

The student began to back up, trying his best to flee as Floyd closed in on him.

“W–wait! Give me one more chance! I promise I’ll–GYAAAAGH!!”

Ace winced quietly as the student squealed. Wait, had Floyd been hugging him GENTLY?! No wonder Jamil panicked every time the crazy second year said he was gonna squeeze him…

Ace waited a few more minutes, as a few more customers funneled into Mostro Lounge, and those behind the bar had to leave their stations to go help greet guests. Skillfully, he ducked back out from his hiding place, landing back on the ground with a soft thunk.

Epel almost instantly popped out of the cabinet, standing up next to him.

“So…whatta we gonna do?”

Ace walked, an unbothered expression on his face, back to the Mirror Chamber.

“We wait until it's time for our appointment. If this guy can grant wishes–he can probably make the Head Mage grovel…at least a little bit..”

Epel tilted his head thoughtfully.

“But what if he is actually a cheater?”

Ace grinned down at his friend, eyes taking on a (practiced and mastered) glassed over appearance.

“Well, then we’ll just make it super clear–that we’re not the guys he wants to cross…”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Azul huffily began working on another freshman’s contract, stewing in his office after that horrendous display of work ethic. All these deadbeats just loved skimping on their payments, didn’t they? The lack of common sense in this school was beginning to get troubling…

When you bought something, you had to pay for it. When debt was incurred, you had to pay it back. Truly, the amount of students who didn’t grasp that was far too large–

But, no matter. The clients he was meeting with in a moment..should prove to be rather helpful in the terms of responsibility skirters…

He just needed to play his cards very, very carefully. This wasn’t something as simple as an exchange for a study guide and regular signature spell. This was a bargain for something much more valuable.

And Azul did pride himself on his benevolence. He wasn’t going to ask for something of such value without being able to offer a request of equal worth–

Wham! Wham!

Azul winced as Floyd rammed at his door. He’d just gotten the unhinged eel to stop barging in, but Floyd’s version of “knocking” could more correctly be described as a failed attempt to snap the door from its hinges.

“Azul~! Crabby and Piranha are here to see yoouuu!!”

Hm..Crabby would be Ace…and Azul could guess who Piranha was..

“Come in.” He carefully rolled the unfinished contract up, placing it at the side of his desk.

He took hold of his magic pen, keeping it discreetly in his hand. Azul doubted that any altercation would take place, but it never hurt to be cautious…

“Hi, Housewarden Azul.”

Ace cautiously ducked around Floyd, walking into his office, the unmet arachnoid Pomefiore freshman at his heels. The eel smiled sinisterly, closing the door behind the two lowerclassmen. However, he didn’t walk away, per Azul’s instructions.

“Why, hello!” Azul rose from his desk with his most gracious smile. “To what do I owe the pleasure? I assume that you didn’t both come all this way to my office just to have a fine-dining dinner?”

“Good guess..” Ace’s wings twitched. “This is Epel. You guys–kinda met, but we didn’t really get to introductions when all those ghosts snatched Idia.”

Azul surveyed Ace for a moment before turning his gaze to Epel.

The Pomefiore freshman’s babylike face was pale, as his four blue eyes blinked up, eerily out of sync. If Azul didn’t know better, he’d think that the freshman was about to cry. He looked awfully frightened, as if he expected something to go wrong at any moment.

Azul felt the rather unpleasant tug of the memory of the reflection of himself in grade school…

The winged freshman had not answered Azul’s question about their reason for visiting, but had instead supplied him with information that he no doubt would’ve asked for later in the conversation. This Heartslaybul freshman may not be as guileless as his friend had been…

“It is a pleasure to make your official acquaintance, Epel. I’m Azul Ashengrotto, Housewarden of Octavinelle. Welcome to the Mostro Lounge.”

Epel nodded meekly, his four eyes looking dolefully around the room. However, after watching the spider-like freshman attack during the Ghost Marriage–Azul couldn't help but wonder about Epel’s true nature.

Was he truly as timid and frail as he appeared? Or was his doll–like blinks a part of a masterfully built facade, so that no one would think to suspect him of fitting them for one of his magical deathbeds of wood…?

The pros of it being these two visiting was that Azul had already seen their spells. In a magical sense, he knew what they were capable of. He also knew that these two had very…spirited personalities.

However, he was not going to pretend that he wasn’t taking a logistical risk here. He knew little of Ace and Epel’s true ambitions, and, more dangerous then that…he knew very little of what they could be capable of regardless of magic.

But, he wouldn’t have told Floyd to offer his services to the freshmen if he didn’t have some form of a plan already in mind…

“Well, by all means, sit!” Azul tilted his head slightly, adjusting his glasses. He saw no harm in being more upfront with his questioning. “At least, if I’m right in my assumption and you ventured here… seeking something?”

Ace and Epel glanced at one another.

“That…entirely depends on what you can offer.” Ace’s wings unfurled as he sat down on one of the couches, Epel squeezing in next to him.

Azul moved from behind his desk, sitting across from them on the other sofa.

“Oh? Well, go on. I will do all I can to accommodate your request.”

Both freshmen looked at each other again for a moment, before looking back at him.

“We want you…to make the Head Mage do his job.”

Azul blinked at Epel’s quiet, blunt response. Well, that was…a new request.

“Do you mind–clariyfing? Perhaps, offer some specifics for me to go off of?”

Ace leaned back into the cushions, looking level with the Housewarden.

“So, Styx is mainly in charge of – this whole project,” The freshman gestured at himself and Epel. “But since we’re, you know, literally GOING to this school, there’s some stuff that the administration is supposed to take care of; like, lodging, school uniforms, our general wellbeing–stuff like that.”

“And obviously,” Epel scowled. “We’re lacking in all those departments…”

Azul hummed, pushing his glasses up.

“Indeed…I do hope you're not offended that I agree.”

“Nope; we basically live in a shed at this point…” Ace sighed dramatically. “And you know, at this point…we kinda want maybe a teeny, tiny bit of–revenge, I guess is the word for it.”

Azul tilted his head.

“Hm…well, that’s certainly a request that I can fulfill. Though, I may need to take some liberties with this “revenge”. Afterall, I doubt either of you want it traced back to you.”

“Preferably..” Epel murmured.

“And you’re totally fine with doing that?” Ace looked at Azul skeptically.

Azul placed a hand on his chest, smiling his most sympathetic smile.

“Of course! Helping unfortunate students such as yourselves is what I live for! And truly, I’m appalled by the Head Mage’s refusal of action! I hope it's not overstepping to say that I believe you’ve all been through enough without having to deal with the inaction of a hopeless head teacher. Afterall, you are all technically an asset to him and the school’s budget–”

“True.” Ace huffed.

“And how does he repay that? By forcing you to live off in Ramshackle, and attempting to quietly expel all of you over a miniscule technicality…”

Epel froze, looking up sharply.

“He did what?”

Azul paused, frowning.

“Oh…did you–not know about that? Oh, dear…perhaps, I shouldn’t say anymore–”

Ace leaned forward.

“You can’t just not finish that thought! C’mon, spill. How ELSE did he try to rake us through the mud?!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sebek was immensely grateful for Tempest's shockingly strong patience. And for Silver’s ability to generously hold his tongue…

Striving to balance on a horse was…rather difficult with a large crocodilian tail. The extra appendage was enough of a hindrance walking. Hmph. A true help in balance indeed–!

Thankfully, there was not much of a crowd to watch him fall…several times. And, he did, eventually, figure out the proper way to mount and hold his tail without throwing himself off the other side of Tempest.

Silver watched him proudly canter around the ring, a small smile on his face.

“Well done, Sebek!”

Sebek huffed, attempting to appear indifferent to the praise. Tempest tossed his head proudly, pulling at the reins slightly.

“Hmph. We do look rather impressive, don’t we?” He muttered to the horse, smiling to himself.

They went around for quite a bit before calling it for this club meeting. It had not been nearly as impressive as Housewarden Riddle and Vorpal’s riding, but it was a start, and both horse and rider were satisfied.

And, more importantly, had become quickly fond of one another.

Tempest was by no means the easiest horse to ride, nor did he always listen very well, but Sebek could not imagine himself a better steed. Likewise, the horse expressed the opinion that the freshman was a bit of an unskilled rider and often too bossy, but it was rather clear that he’d adopted Sebek as HIS horseman.

Sebek left Equestrian Club in much higher spirits than he’d come to it with. It was almost shocking that but a few hours ago, he’d been picturing filling out application forms for any other club that still had availability.

“I’m a few minutes late one time, and you bond with the most temperamental horse this school has to offer.” Silver shook his head with an expression of mock longsuffering, a teasing smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Sebek huffed, tail whipping so forcefully behind him that he (unknowingly) knocked Silver over.

“He is not temperamental! He is merely a high-spirited prince among his kind!”

“Hm…well, at least you're well matched..” Silver murmured as he got up without brushing off his clothes.

Sebek scowled fiercely.

“Why in the world caused you to be late anyways? Did you doze off DIRECTLY after class?!”

Silver suddenly glanced away, avoiding eye contact.

“No, I–merely had something to take care of.”

Sebek frowned. That was a–rather cryptic answer. And Silver was not one to dance around the truth, so it must be something…iffy, at the very least…

“Was it something dire?”

“Um…yes and no.”

Because THAT was a much clearer answer…But, the second year had watched him fall numerous times and not laughed once, so…if Silver didn’t want to discuss it, he wouldn’t press.

“Housewarden Riddle has some impressive skills, for a human.” Sebek artfully shifted topics, moving to speak about something else. “I’m rather inspired by him and Vorpal’s bond. I’ve never seen a human and animal move so in sync with one another.”

Well–excuding Q and Grim. Mostly because Grim was much denser than a common animal…

Silver nodded (perhaps, a little too quickly…).

“I’m not surprised. Riddle Rosehearts has trained relentlessly to achieve perfect riding technique. He is even more skilled than I am in terms of handling finesse.”

Sebek’s tail swished gently.

“That fits with what Deuce and Ace have told me about his leadership capabilities.”

The former more than the latter…but, seeing how the year had begun, Sebek was impressed that Ace had anything positive to say about his Housewarden. Riddle Rosehearts must be quite the skilled leader, if he could shift his flaws that quickly and to that degree…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Admittedly…baking was not in Riddle’s skill set. Even when following the directions to a tee, he still found forming the tart quite difficult. The crust simply did NOT move into the shape that he wanted it to, and trying to juggle the crust’s bake times with getting the glaze for the strawberries done in just the right amount of time was rather stressful.

But, after twice the time it took Trey to complete one of these pastries, Riddle had finally made a tart that lived up to his standards…enough. Now, he just had to leave it to chill overnight.
And then, tomorrow, when they came to help with the Unbirthday party set up…he would deliver a proper, overdue apology to his two freshmen.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Whatever the “something” was, it was certainly still on Silver’s mind. His and Sebek’s conversation had fallen into a lull, and they walked in silence all the way back to Diasomnia. Not that Sebek minded much.

He was preoccupied with mulling over his own dilemmas. Learning to ride Tempest…had reminded him of his own struggles.

Master Malleus had instructed Sebek to tell him if there was anything else he was struggling with, in the case of him being reptilian. But–it felt like such a troublesome thing to do! Why should he, a being barely worthy to clean the dust from Malleus’s boots, bother his Liege with his tedious issues?!

And yet…Malleus had asked him to bring his troubles to him. Was Sebek causing his Liege more grief by withholding this information?! Lilia had seemed to grow a bit frustrated with him when he’d been trying to answer promptly the other night…

Sebek had assumed that remaining steadfast in his respect to his superiors, at all times, no matter the circumstances, was a mark of a true guardsman. But…perhaps, based on both faes reactions, not when he was spitting up blot…maybe…

He was practically pushed into a decision when they entered the dorm.