What a (Not so) Strange World XXIII
A.N: It's been a long time, isn't it? I admit I've been feeling pretty down about my writing lately. I just feel that sometimes people should learn to dose their words - if that makes sense. Anyhow I'm not really that satisfied with this chapter: it has some good things and it has a lot more of not-so-good things.
I'll try to do better next time
Mention of honor goes to @chiefclown because she's just that awsome ( her messages were of great help for the writing but expecially for my mental health) and she needs to knows it, and to @razonay that really cheered me up when I was hitting one of my darkest down period.
Just a reminder: I love talking with y'all, it keeps me motivated and I just really like talking with people in general, so if you guys want to chat a little with me too, well I'll be very pleased to
We are more than ( What) we Are
The exhibition match had been something that, strangely enough, you had enjoyed. And somehow it had also calmed you down.
It had actually been niceâand clever, you had to admitâof Crowley to organize something like that in such a short time.
(At least Grim wouldn't complain for the rest of the dayâyou weren't sure you could stand his shrill little voice.)
It made you laugh that the Headmaster feared what you imagined would be yet another lecture from Trein.
You had no idea how many times you had complained to your guardians about Crowley, and they had always tried to take his side, but perhaps that was a defensive camaraderie among colleagues.
(In fairness, it couldn't be pleasant to be reprimanded by a brat when you had centuries of skill behind you).
If you had to be honest, you felt a little sorry for Savana Claw's teamâjust a littleâafter all, they were in really bad shape, and the other teams hadn't gone easy on them.
But on the other hand, the injured had made it clear from the start: this was payback for what they had done to them.
Your peacefulness didn't last long, though. Not even halfway through his long-awaited match, Grim hit Yuu straight in the head, knocking them out and forcing the exhibition to be interrupted due to a lack of players.
You had no idea how you got from the stands to the medical tent without trippingâperhaps when you weren't thinking about what you were doing, your senses didn't perceive performance anxiety and you were able to move like a normal human being?âbut somehow you arrived just in time to be told that there was nothing to worry about and that they would wake up soon.
(This information would later prove to be completely false, as Yuu would only wake up at the end of the entire tournament).
You made sure to take as many photos as possible anyway. If Yuu were interested, you could show them , and in any case, they would be nice memories
(Or evidenceâin the unlikely event that they wanted to sue Grim. They wouldn't, it wasn't like Yuu, but you never knowfor sure).
You weren't sure if it had been a good tournament. By your standardsâwhich were extremely low given your total ignorance of itâit had been, but to be on the safe side, you avoided saying it out loud.
Only one thing bothered you: you hadn't managed to see Diasomnia's Dorm Leader, not even once.
He had been the best player on the field, as well as scoring most of the points, but for one reason or another you had never managed to see him in action.
For some strange reason, every time he was on camera or scored a point, your attention was drawn elsewhere.
You hadn't even managed to see him during the final award ceremony.
It was frustratingly ridiculous and ridiculously frustrating.
You had fallen behind the others on the way to the infirmary. There was a breathtaking view, you wanted to take a photo, a beautiful photo, and those jerks had decided to leave you behind.
(You could understand Ace and Grim, who were extremely excited, like children, but Deuce and Jack had really offended you (affectionately))
However, that delay led you to see a scene that was somewhere between adorable and worrying.
There was a beastman cub looking around with huge, sparkling eyes.
He was as cute as a stuffed animal. He reminded you of Jack when he was little.
At first, you thought you would enjoy that cute scene for a few moments, and then go on your way, until you realized that the child was alone.
There were no other children he could have wandered away from, and you couldn't see any adults nearby.
The little boy didn't seem scared or worried, but the fact that he kept looking around could be because he was actually lost?
You didn't need to approach him.
His little legs carried him to you in a few seconds, all smiles.
You bent down so you could look him in the eyes.
âHi, do you know where my uncle is?â
Putting aside any thoughts about how adorable this child was, you had new information: he was looking for his uncle.
You were inside the school building, quite a distance from the arena. It was strange to be looking for a relative here.
âHmm, I don't know,â you saw his expression sadden slightly, before he smiled again. âWhat's your uncle's name? Maybe I can help you find him.â
If before his eyes had just been sparkling, at that precise moment it seemed to you that his little child's body was radiating too much light.
(Then again, what responsible adult would let their child venture out alone without at least some supervision?)
âHe played Spell Drive. His match was so good. Uncle Leona is really good at sports. Better than my dad. When he comes home, he has to teach me how to play. I want to be as good as him.â
Of all the information he was throwing at you, only his relationship to Leona left you puzzled.
That adorable, bright ball of fur was related to Leona.
They didn't look alike, at all.
Cheka, as he told you to be his name ,while you accompanied him to the infirmary to see his beloved Uncle Leona, seemed even happier to know that not only did you know his uncle, but you also knew where he was.
As soon as the tournament was over, he had run away from his bodyguards because he couldn't wait to see his favorite uncle.
You pointed out that it had been very dangerous for him to go around alone, but his excitement at seeing Leona had wiped out any trace of common sense a child might have.
âUncle Leona doesn't come home often. But he always plays with me when I'm alone, even when he doesn't want to. Sometimes they're mean to him. But he's always nice to me. He's my favorite person in the whole world.â
Those were words you couldn't help but think about when, finally arriving at his place, the first thing Leona did was worry about his safety.
Those weren't his exact words, but that was the gist of it.
Leona didn't seem like someone who knew how to show affection, but the fact that he hadn't moved the little fur ball from his stomach an inch, even though it must have made it extremely difficult for him to breathe, spoke for itself.
(You almost wanted Cheka to stay a little longer, just to see how far she could push Leona before he completely lost his patience.)
You were sitting on the steps of Ramshackle's porchâif you could call it thatâdrinking some warm milk to calm the thoughts swirling around in your head.
Now that the investigation was over, you really had no reason to stay in that dormitory.
No, not a reason, an excuse. That was what you had convinced yourself you needed to stay there.
On the one hand, you had the room that Trein and Crewel had prepared especially for you, and on the other, you had a dusty buildingâprobably infested with termitesâthat was in danger of falling apart if you leaned on the wrong handrail.
But you liked Ramshackle in all its pitifulness.
It smelled of a familiarity that reminded you of the room Stacy and Drizzy had furnished for you when you first arrived in this world; of your wardrobe designed by Crewel; of the blankets at Madame Tremaine's house; of the books Frau Grimhilde insisted you read; of Queenie's screams about your eating habits; of Maleficent's satisfied glances.
But it wasn't quite the same. It was similar, but different in a way you couldn't explainâor understand.
You liked it when Ace and Deuce showed up uninvited for breakfast: their skirmishes and silly arguments with Grim never failed to make you laugh, and despite the messiness of the morning, you knew the day was off to a good start.
It was funâalbeit a little stressfulâwhen you pretended to study together. The intentions were always good, but somehow you never managed to finish the planned workload.
You wondered if Jack might enjoy taking part in the sleepovers you had started organizingâalways on the spur of the moment, always when Ace or Deuce didn't want to stay at Heartslabuyl.
Once you had fixed up the building, you could have asked Vil to help you furnish it. Maybe you could have asked him what he thought about it during that tea party that was getting closer and closer.
You should have figured out how to fix up the building first, but there was always a starting point.
It was the creak of the door that made you turn around, leading you to meet Yuu's tired but relaxed gaze.
You looked at them slightly judgmentallyâthey should have rested more, the nurse had saidâbut you couldn't scold them.
Not when they handed you a blanket because âthey had seen you outside and thought you might be coldâ.
They sat down next to you while they arranged the blanket.
You looked at them sideways, not quite sure how to respond.
You were concerned for their safety, but you were pretty sure they could already imagine that.
There was still adrenaline from what had happened that day.
There was confusion because you could still hear that voice in your ears that no one else seemed to have heard, but you were sure you hadn't imagined it.
And then there was one question that still wasn't clear to you.
âWhy did Leona overblot?â
They looked at you for a moment before speaking.
âHadn't he accumulated too much negativity and stagnant magic?â
âBut it was Ruggie who used his Unique Magic, so it should have been him who overblotted.â
It seemed that they hadn't thought about it at the time, but now that you were discussing it, it seemed strange to them too.
âMaybe Leona's negative emotions were strong enough on their own?â
âAn Overblot should not occur without magic. That's its fuel. We didn't even find that strange looking rock.â
You chuckled; that little monster would really eat anything.
You continued talking for a while, wondering about the bizarre things that were happening.
You told some funny stories about your world, but Yuu didn't seem to have anything to share.
Not that you would have forced them, anyway. You can't make someone talk about something they're not ready to talk about yet.
You were in bed, scrolling through the photos you had taken during the tournament and sorting out which ones to post.
There were several photos of Cater when he was on screen. In one, he realised he was being filmed and made a victory sign.
Immediately afterwards, he was hit. You had a photo of that too.
[Pic] Pretty boy @CayCay should concentrate on the Game
There was a photo of Vil reapplying his makeupâlike the rest of Pomefioreânot that he really needed it.
He was as handsome as ever, even with that slight breeze blowing his hair, he was aesthetically perfect.
[Pic] No further description, the pic speaks for itself.
You also managed to take some photos of Jack during the awards ceremony. He had been named best rookie of the tournament.
He was extremely cute, trying to calm his tail, which was wagging with excitement.
[Pic] Why am I feeling like a proud mum?
Among the many photos, the funniest thing was how all the photos of Malleus were blurry.
You really felt like you were being teased.
@jessiegerl @mewchiili @razonay
dividers by @sweetmelodygraphics
