Salt and vinegar chips enjoyer, professional yapper, local Leona enjoyer | pfp by: @cacti-trash | Currently experiencing twst brainrot | I draw... sometimes... maybe
A twst retelling with my yuusona, Oyuki McGuffin, as the yuu.
Heartslabyul (2) - Littel Red Tyrant
Word count: 2527 words
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A part of her was worried she wouldn’t be able to keep up with Night Raven's curriculum. Even with Grim handling the more practical side of things, neither of them knew anything about anyone in Twisted Wonderland. Hell, to her horror, Grim didn't even know how to write.
But after going through morning classes, her worries were somewhat allayed. All the classes were mostly memorization based so it didn’t matter if she didn’t understand what all the words actually meant as long as she could regurgitate enough of it onto the exam papers. ‘If you pass everything, you don't fail’ that’s always been her motto and it got her through everything from high school to first year of university.
The problem was the professors. All of them were just as, if not more, eccentric as their students. She almost found herself on the wrong end of professor Crewel's pointer when she dared to ask if cheat sheets were allowed on exams; Professor Trein's cat, Lucius, decided to sit on the textbook he had given her (due to her circumstances, she received her textbooks directly from the staff instead of buying them from the school store), which caused a fight to break out between the two felines.
It was no surprise that by lunch time, Grim declared he was done with textbooks.
"I've had it with these boring classes!" He wailed, flailing on the ground like a child. "No way am I puttin' up with this routine day in and day out. I'm Grim, Sorcerer Prodigy! I don't need anyone to teach me how to blow stuff up! And it's not my fault I can't hold the pen! It's Crowley's fault for not giving me one that fit my paws!"
"If you don't put in the work, you'll never be a great mage." Oyuki crouched down to look him in the eye. "And if you don't learn how to write, how are you gonna sign autographs when you reach your goal?" She pat his head. "And you're not doing it alone. I'm doing it with you so stick with it, okay?"
"Mrah! Quit it!" He jumped on her shoulder, tapping his feet to tell her to stand up. "Whatever, I'm hungry. Let's get some grub!"
For lunch, Oyuki settled for a humble beef bowl. She wanted to stress eat as much as Grim did but the envelope of thaumarks from Crowley was feeling pretty light after the little direbeast piled food on his plate like it was his last meal. As she was trying to budget for the rest of the week, someone bumped into her.
"Hey watch where you're going!" The guy snapped. "Gah! You popped the egg yolk on my carbonara!"
Nevermind the fact that this guy was almost twice her height. And that he was the one who bumped into her. She mumbled a 'sorry' but he stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.
"I didn't say you could walk away! You gotta make this right pal!"
"No way! Hands off my hench-human!" Grim swatted his hand away.
"Huh?! I didn't know Night Raven allowed service animals now. Hey you better tell your pet to behave!"
"I keep telling everyone. I. Ain't. A pet!" Grim's fur bristled.
"Easy Grim, we don't want to cause another scene." Oyuki gave the guy an apologetic bow. "Sorry, I could ask the cafeteria ghost to add another egg yolk on your pasta if you want."
The guy's eyes widened when he heard her voice. He looked her up and down before clicking his tongue, the meerkat ears on his head twitching. "Ugh nevermind. I'm gonna let you off the hook this time, but only 'cuz I don't want my pasta gettin' cold," He spat before walking away.
"What was that about?" Ace asked, once Oyuki made it to the safety of their table.
She told them what happened. Deuce sighed, "I can't believe this. Textbook bullies at an academy that's supposed to be famous for producing exceptional mages…"
"You got lucky you ran into a beastman Oyuki."
Ace almost choked on his food when Cater appeared behind them, seemingly out of nowhere. "You're that guy from this morning! The one that made us paint all those roses!"
"Now, now I was just following dorm rules. Out here though, I'm just your friendly senior!" Cater said, taking the seat in front of her.
"Alright Cater, don't tease them too much." A boy with green hair and a black clover drawn under his left eye sat down next to him. "Sorry about him. I'm Trey Clover. You must be Oyuki, the new prefect from that dump of a- ah, I mean, the 'rustic' dorm. Thanks for looking out for our freshmen."
Oyuki shook her head. "It's no problem at all. If anything, they were the ones who saved my ass."
Trey smiled at her. Unlike everyone else she’s met in this school, he had a real ‘boy next door’ kind of vibe about him, warm, wholesome, and dependable. She quickly looked away before he caught her staring.
"By the way Cater," she said, "What did you mean when you said I was lucky that I ran into a beastman?"
"You saw the animal ears on his head, right? That means he’s a beastman, most likely from the Sunset Savannah. People over there have a 'ladies first' type of society so you won't have to worry too much about them picking fights with you," he explained. "That doesn't mean you should go picking fights with them either though." He added with a wink.
The conversation at the table shifted to the other dorms when Grim asked what the other dorms were like. According to Cater and Trey’s explanation, students are sorted based on 'the essence of their being' (whatever that means). The athletes went to Savanaclaw, the business savants went to Octavinelle, the party people went to Scarabia, the aesthetes went to Pomefiore, and the tech nerds went to Ignihyde. It all still seemed a bit cliquey to her.
"What about those guys over there?" Grim pointed at the raised loft in the cafeteria where three students were sitting. Among them, Oyuki recognized the boy with the pink highlights from orientation.
"Oh those green and black armbands means they're from… Diahonyalara, right?" Deuce said.
"You were off to a good start, and then you rammed right into the guardrails. It's 'Diasomnia'," Ace corrected.
"I know that! I just misspoke!"
As the two started to bicker, Cater went back to talking. "Diasomnia students are basically campus celebrities. The vibe they give off makes it real hard for regular schmucks like us to even approach them. And their housewarden is that times a thousand."
"Oh are you curious about us?" A deep voice said.
Oyuki's body jerked so hard she banged her knee on the table. There was a playful giggle as the boy with the pink highlights floated upside down above their table.
"Forgive me for startling you. I just couldn't help but overhear you talking about our dorm." He turned in mid-air and landed gently on the free seat next to Ace, stealing one of his chicken nuggets in the process. "I'm Lilia, Lilia Vanrouge, pleasure to make your acquaintance. You need not gawk at us from afar, feel free to speak with us directly! All of us at Diasomnia welcome you without reservation."
The other people at the table Lilia had practically teleported from were glaring daggers at them.
"Those guys over there aren't exactly rolling out the red carpet in terms of approachability…" Deuce mumbled under his breath.
Lilia disappeared and reappeared next to him with a poof making him jump, "Oh they're just shy kids. I do hope we can speak again soon." Then with one last puff of smoke he teleported back to his table.
"Their table has got to be over twenty yards away and they overheard our conversation? That's WAY creepy!" Ace said.
"Well, they certainly have a reputation for having lots of special students," Trey rubbed the back of his head. "Some of them are extremely talented at magic. Their housewarden, Malleus Draconia, is considered to be one of the five best mages in the world."
Cater shivered. "Malleus is reeeeeal bad news, though I suppose the same could be said of our own dear housewarden."
"No kidding! His rule obsession is outta control!" Ace groaned, tugging on the lock of the metal collar around his neck. "I bet he's just a petty tyrant who leans into the whole 'rules' schtick as a pretext to keep everyone under his puny thumb!"
Oyuki kicked him from under the table.
"Ow! Hey! What was that…for…" He'd felt his head touch someone's stomach when he leaned back, and judging by the rest of the table's horrified expressions, he had a good guess who was standing behind him.
"My 'rule obsession' is 'outta control,' is it?" Riddle Rosehearts said, each word dripping with barely controlled rage.
"H-Housewarden…" he squeaked.
Riddle's eyes scanned the table. His stormy gray eyes narrowed when they landed on Oyuki and Grim, "You're the new students who were nearly expelled yesterday."
"And you're the guy who put that stupid collar on me at the orientation ceremony!" Grim exclaimed. Oyuki clamped a hand over his mouth.
"I'll ask that you not refer to my signature spell as a 'stupid collar.' The headmage may have forgiven you, but if you break more rules, I will have your head removed immediately, without exception. As for you," he grabbed a sulking Ace by the collar. "What a shame. I had intended to remove this 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."
He let go, half-pushing him back into his seat. "No matter, the freshman curriculum is more focused on magical theory than practice so it shouldn't severely hamper your studies. Now if all of you have finished your meal, you should prepare for your next class. Rule 271 is quite clear: ‘One must leave the table within fifteen minutes of completing their lunch.’ "
"Great. More insane rules…"
"I believe what you mean to say is 'Yes, housewarden!' " Riddle’s words were so stern even Deuce got out of his chair to yell 'Yes, housewarden!'.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them." Trey said.
"See that you do, Trey. As vice housewarden, I trust you'll avoid any further indiscreet conversation. Now, as per rule 339…'The post-meal beverage is to be lemon tea with two sugar cubes.'
Thus, I must go acquire my sugar cubes. Farewell."
"That guy has some serious issues." Grim said once he was out of earshot.
"Hey, don't disrespect him!" Deuce snapped.
Oyuki watched how Riddle’s fists balled tighter and tighter as he exited the cafeteria, no doubt noting down more rule violations he saw along the way, even those from students outside of Heartslabyul.
"No, I agree with Grim.” she said. “His strictness goes way beyond a personality trait.”
"You think?" Ace said. "That doesn't give him an excuse to make the rest of us miserable!"
Neither of them noticed the concerned look Cater and Trey exchanged.
"Riddle can come off a bit harsh, but he's not a bad guy. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm," Trey started.
"Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers' necks?" Grim said flatly. And just like that the mood was brought down again.
"He mentioned something about a 'signature spell' just now. Is putting collars on people just something he can do?"
Cater's eyes lit up at the change of topic, "Yup, yup, you're quick as always Oyuki! Riddle's signature spell allows him to temporarily seal away the magic of another. It's called ‘off with your head' because to a mage, losing the ability to use magic is about as painful as losing your head."
"But as long as you are following the rules, Riddle isn't so scary." Trey added.
Oyuki held back a sigh. The more things change the more they stay the same.
"Speaking of which, are you still not gonna let me into the dorm until I buy a tart, Cater?" Ace asked.
"Don't @ me, but… yeah. That's rule 53, so my hands are tied."
"Dude seriously? Come on, throw me a bone here! I barely have enough money to buy a slice much less a whole tart!"
"You could make one. Trey made those three tarts by hand after all."
"Seriously? They tasted like something you'd find at a fancy bakery!"
Trey chuckled. "I'm flattered. Our kitchen does have most of the stuff you'd need, but… I'm afraid I'll need something from you in return."
Ace turned pale at the mention of compensation. "You're gonna charge me?!"
"No, no I would never take money from a freshman! Riddle's actually been craving a chestnut tart so I was gonna ask you to gather some chestnuts from the woods behind the botanical gardens."
Ace's shoulders relaxed. "Well that's still kind of a hassle but fine. How many do you need?"
He thought about it for a moment. "Well, it's for the unbirthday party, so… probably a whole basket.”
"Does it usually take that many for one tart?” Oyuki asked.
"Yup. But don’t worry, I'll help you through the entire cooking process afterwards. Everything from boiling, shelling, pureeing, down to the actual baking."
"Alright, I'm gonna head out." Grim said, getting up from his seat.
"Me too." Deuce said.
Ace grabbed them both by the scruff. “Traitors! Come on, help me out here!”
Oyuki turned to Trey. "Actually Trey, would it be alright if you taught me as well?"
It was a perfectly normal request. But the surprised look on Trey's face made her feel like she asked him something stupid so she quickly added, "It's fine if you don't want to. You'll probably have your hands full dealing with Ace."
"I was gonna thank you for being a pal but I take it back." Ace, who'd put Grim in a headlock, grumbled.
Grim blew a small flame at Ace's sleeve to make him let go. "Hey hench-human! Why would you want to do something boring like that? We do the eating, not the cooking."
"Hold up! Haven't you ever heard that food tastes better if you make it with friends?" Cater said. "This'll be a memory to treasure! It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger!" He pulled Deuce away from Ace and Grim, "You should join them too Deucey!"
"Huh? Why me?"
"Don't tell Riddle, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when eaten right out of the oven. And the only people who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it." Trey said with a wink.
The temptation of fresh tarts was enough to make Grim change his tune. Deuce looked between Grim, Ace, and Oyuki and let out a long, reluctant sigh.
“Fine… But I’m only doing it because Trey and Cater asked me to. Not because I want to eat fresh tarts!”
It'd be funny if Tumaini (Leona and Oyuki's kid) can speak multiple 'strange' languages. Because Leona taught him a dead ancient language and Oyuki taught him as much as japanese as she can still remember (I hc that in twst, there's a language that's similar to japanese but not exactly so earth japanese just sounds like japanese pig latin).
@avoyuki-avocado imagine when Tumaini goes to NRC he just constantly makes silly comments about your Dinnership/RuggieYuki kid as he lets himself be dragged around but every time Ruggie's kid asks what he just said he's like, "Oh no, don't mind me, just thinking about how great your plan is (he knows it's going to fail)."
It'd be funny if Tumaini (Leona and Oyuki's kid) can speak multiple 'strange' languages. Because Leona taught him a dead ancient language and Oyuki taught him as much as japanese as she can still remember (I hc that in twst, there's a language that's similar to japanese but not exactly so earth japanese just sounds like japanese pig latin).
Pinterest tag game !! Look up your "birth month core" and give me the first four images,,, and then whoever you tag should try and guess your birthday month based on the images !!
Leona was clingy and he didn't hide that, saw no point in it as you had seen his worst and his best. His face nuzzled into your neck as he breathed in your scent, dazed and half-asleep, while you held him close. His tail swayed behind him nonstop, though he stubbornly pretended not to notice.
For once, the usually proud prince seemed content to simply exist in the quiet. The afternoon sunlight spilled through the curtains, bathing the room in gold.
Leona's ears flicked occasionally at distant sounds outside, but he made no move to get up. Every time you shifted even slightly, his arms tightened around you for a second before relaxing again."
Tch. Stop moving around," he muttered, voice rough with sleep.
"I'm barely moving."
"Hm." The response was little more than a grumble. A moment later, his head settled more comfortably against your shoulder. Anyone else would have been shocked to see him like this.
The fearsome dorm leader who commanded respect with a glance was currently acting more like an oversized house cat than a prince. Not that Leona cared. His tail betrayed him completely, sweeping lazily across the bed.
"You know your tail is giving you away, right?" you teased. Immediately, the tail froze. "Dunno what you're talking about."
"Sure." A low rumble vibrated in his chest, not quite a laugh, not quite a growl. He buried his face further into your shoulder in a futile attempt to hide his expression.
The silence that followed was comfortable. Leona rarely admitted how much he enjoyed moments like these. There were no expectations, no responsibilities, no people demanding things from him. Just the steady sound of your breathing and the warmth of your presence beside him. Above him. Beneath him.
As long as your skin was touching his, he was fine with it.
His eyes drifted shut. "If anyone comes looking for me," he mumbled, already halfway asleep, "tell them to go away."
"You tell them, I'm going to sleep."
"Too much work." You rolled your eyes. A few seconds passed. Then a few more. Eventually, his breathing evened out completely.
The prince of Sunset Savanna had finally fallen asleep, tail twitching every so often despite his earlier denial. And even in sleep, one arm remained loosely wrapped around you, as though some instinct refused to let him drift too far away.
For someone who insisted he wasn't affectionate - who was afraid to show it, Leona certainly was very honest what he thought and felt through his actions.
Idia on my birthday was the last thing I expected ngl. Lots of Silver but ig we do share a birthday month. Leona on schedule with his monthly visit as usual.
