TWST Book 5 - ? Epel's Unwilling & Unknowing Crime
Vil walks out of the NRC dressing room, two apple juices in hand, only to almost run into Epel. “Ah, Epel. Just the person I was looking for. Can I bother you for a favor?”
“Huh?” Epel pauses, tensing up. “I mean, sure…? You don’t want me to be some sort of mannequin again, do you?”
“Not this time.” Vil holds up the two apple juice bottles. “Would you mind bringing these to Mira and Neige? I wanted to bring them some of the juice from your farm myself, but something has come up. Their performance was splendid, and they deserved to be rewarded for such.” His voice is surprisingly calm, speaking as if he genuinely means what he’s saying. He hands one of the bottles to Epel. “This one is for Neige,” he breaks the seal on the second bottle. “This one is for Mira.” When Epel gives him a confused look, he continues. “She sometimes has trouble opening new bottles, so I figured I would go ahead and open it for her so she didn’t have to struggle or ask anyone for help.”
The relief is visible on Epel’s face as his body relaxes. “Yeah, I can do that!” He takes the juice from Vil, mentally noting which one is which. He smiles at Vil. “I’m guessing they told ya about their relationship? Or did ya figure it out like I did?”
Vil’s smile becomes just a hint more forced, though Epel doesn’t notice. “...Yes, you could say it was a little bit of both.” He shakes his head. “They should be in the RSA dressing room.”
Epel nods, “Yeah, sure. I don’t mind bringing these over to them. I was heading that way anyway.” He gives Vil one more smile before heading down the hall. He pales for a sec, thinking back to the forest incident with Ash and Rook, but laughs it off. Mira and Neige were perfectly innocent.
He’s almost at the RSA dressing room when Epel spots Rook and Ash on the ground against the wall. Rook holds Ash as she’s curled up tightly against him. Epel gives them a concerned, almost questioning, look. Rook shakes his head, mouthing at him not to worry about it, but noting the bottles of juice in his hand. Epel shrugs, trusting that Rook has whatever was going on with Ash handled, and continues to the dressing room.
Inside the dressing room, Mira and Neige had moved to the couch. Mira was sitting on Neige’s lap, her forehead pressed against his; both were panting. “You are something else, you know?” Mira says with a smile, her voice a bit breathless. “Thank you, though. I needed a distraction.”
Neige returns her smile, “Of course! It was a win-win, y’know?” He gives her a cute wink.
Mira perks up a bit when there’s a knock on the door. She gives Neige a quick kiss on the cheek before sliding off of him. She runs a hand through her hair, trying to straighten it out a bit before she opens the door. “Hm? Oh, hello, Epel. Is everything alright?”
Epel nods, smiling somewhat shyly. “Yeah! Vil just asked me to bring y’all some of my family’s apple juice for him!” He hands Mira the opened one before peeking more into the dressing room and waving at Neige before holding the other bottle out to him.
Neige gets up off the couch and walks over to take it.
“How thoughtful! I’m sure it’s going to taste great!” Mira says with a smile. She opens it up and takes a drink before a thought crosses her mind. How did Vil know she was alone with Neige?
Neige takes the offered juice from Epel, and as he looks at the label, his eyes shine. “Thank you so much! I’ve wanted to try this for a while! Especially after seeing how Vi-Chan was praising it online.” He starts to open the bottle just as Rook appears behind Epel with well-concealed panic.
“NEIGE!” He pauses, taking a small breath. Ash was following right behind him, a confused look in her eyes as she rubbed the sleep from them. “My apologies for interrupting you all, but the staff was looking for you. They have questions about the main performance.” There’s no evidence in his voice of the lie he was speaking.
Neige’s eyes widen in surprise. “Huh? O-oh, okay!” He looks at Mira. “I guess I should go and see them then.”
Rook’s eyes zero in on the bottle of juice in Neige’s hand. “Oh dear… my throat is positively parched from running around looking for you. That apple juice you’re holding looks cold and refreshing. Might I trouble you to let me have it?”
Both Epel and Ash give him a confused look just as Vil rounds the corner.
Neige looks stunned for a moment before cooling his gaze with another smile. “O-of course! It’s all yours!” He hands over the bottle of apple juice.
“Thank you, Neige. You should hurry on stage…” his face darkens a bit. “And I suggest not coming back here again.”
Mira feels a cold sense of dread wrap around her throat at the look on Rook’s face, and she freezes.
“Go on, off with you now!” Rook tries to hurry him, and he moves his glance to Mira. “Both of you!”
It's only then that Ash seems to catch that something isn’t right, and she’s quick to help Rook. She gives Mira a stern look. “Mira, GO.”
At Ash’s voice, Mira seems to snap out of it and grabs Neige’s hand. They both quickly exit the room, leaving to find the staff that supposedly was asking for them.
Once they’re both gone, Rook opens the bottle and stares down into the liquid with a bitter smile. “Mmm… that sweet, tart apple aroma. It makes me envision a bright red apple, just waiting for me to take a bite. Epel’s hometown specialty is truly magnifique.” He glances at Vil and Ash, giving them an almost mournful look. “I shall drink it to every last drop.”
Three years of being best friends with Rook flashed before her eyes as Ash met his gaze. This wasn’t a gaze she had seen him make before, but she immediately decides she never wants to see it again. Panic rushes through her; her intuition never failed her when it came to the hunter. “Rook…”
Just as she finishes saying his name, Kalim bolts down the hall towards them from around the corner. “DON’T DO IT, ROOK!” He screams, smacking the glass out of the man’s hands with a panicked expression. The bottle falls to the ground, juice spilling all over the smooth tile.
Grim, Yuume, and Hannah round the corner, having followed Kalim.
The face Rook makes is one of shock, but also relieved. “Roi d’or… what brings you here?” His voice seems detached, as if he’s somewhere else entirely.
Kalim bends over, hands on his knees as he catches his breath. “I made it…”
Vil begins to move closer to the group. “What are you all doing here?” His voice is quiet, and as he speaks, the juice on the ground begins to shift in color; the clear, fragrant liquid becomes a deep, opaque purple. It bubbles, audibly fizzing as if having some sort of chemical reaction.
Grim jumps back, “MYAH!” He points a paw at the floor, and Yuume looks at the spot on the floor with a cautious, borderline fearful look.
Kalim looks at Vil, the expression on his face somehow both empathetic and hard. “You used your signature spell to curse it, didn’t you?”
Yuume’s gaze snaps to Kalim, her eyes wide.
“HE WHAT?!” Grim screeches, remembering when he was at the opposing end of Vil’s unique magic.
“I got a real bad feeling when I saw the look on your face after Neige’s rehearsal. It was practically the same look I saw on Jamil’s face when he lost control of himself over holiday break.”
Hannah nods; she had seen it too. It was the same look she had seen over and over again before every overblot.
Vil turns to Rook, a haunted look in his eyes. “Rook, why did you try ot drink that? You had to have known that doing so wouldn’t end well for you.”
Ash bites her lip, also looking at the hunter.
Rook looks between them. “I wanted to believe in you,” he begins, looking at Vil. “You, who strives harder and reaches for greater heights than any other. I didn’t want you to besmirch yourself by doing anything foolish. And if the apple juice was cursed, I wanted to taste it. I wanted to taste the poison derived from an obsession with beauty bordering on madness.” His voice still sounds distant, like he isn’t entirely present.
“ROOK!” Ash yells, her breathing picks up, and tears fill her eyes. “How can you say something like that?!”
Hannah takes a step closer despite knowing what would soon happen. She knew there was no stopping what would happen, so she might as well say what’s on her mind. “What the hell!” She points at Vil. “Do you have any idea how stupid what you almost did was? You said every other team here would look like spuds compared to us!”
Yuume nods along to Hannah’s words.
“Yeah, you said we were going to have the best performance in the world!” Kalim shouts. “So after all of that, why would you stoop to this?”
Vil looks at the ground and lets out a slow, pitiful, almost sad laugh. “That’s what I want to know…” His voice is quiet. “More than the rest of you even. But you see, I’ve come to a realization…” He looks up, madness in his eyes. “That I. CAN NEVER! WIN!” He shouts. A crazed smile forms on his face. “And that’s why I’M going to handle Neige.”
Rook shakes his head, snapping out of whatever trance he had entered, and moves just as the juice beneath him starts to bubble more violently. It spreads, and each bubble that pops releases some sort of gas into the air.
“Myah!” Grim jumps up into Yuume’s arms.
The hall begins to fill with whatever fumes the poisoned juice is releasing. “What is this smoke?! C-Can’t… breathe…!” Kalim chokes out as he coughs.
Rook moves farther away from where he had previously been standing. He pulls part of his jacket up to cover his nose and mouth. “Everyone! Don’t inhale that mist! Vil’s signature spell is Fairest One of All! He can use it to curse any object. The mist is the evaporated form of that cursed liquid. If you breathe it in, you’ll be immobilized!”
Mira runs down the hall from the same direction she left, Samara right on her heels. She skids to a stop, letting out a strangled gasp as she breathes in the toxic fumes. “B-Big… Brother?” She manages to wheeze out as she coughs violently.
With Mira having stopped, Samara is finally able to grab her, trying to pull her away. “You can’t breathe this in!” She shouts, seemingly the only one not affected by the fumes. She looks at everyone in the room. “You need to get out, NOW!”
Vil meets his sister’s eyes for a moment before he shuts his own tightly, fighting something within himself. “Fuck… please… don’t look at me…” He opens his eyes and looks at his lovers. “Don’t look at me with those eyes!!”
“Vil…” Ash cries.
“Why… I want to be the fairest one of all! So why am I so… So… UGLY!”
Rook coughs, pulling the fabric tighter over his face. “You are far from ugly, Vil!
“Yeah! And listen…!” Kalim is interrupted by his own cough. “Neige didn’t drink the juice– neither did Rook. You haven’t hurt anyone yet!” He wheezes. “So please, Vil, snap out of it!”
Mira’s eyes are wide, filled with tears that are starting to overflow from shock, distress, and the fumes. “Vi-Chan, please…” She rasps out, making futile attempts to get closer to her brother despite Samara holding her back with a surprising amount of strength.
“SILENCE!” Vil screams. “What do any of you know?!” He snarls. “What does it matter who forgives me?! I can’t… I can’t forgive myself!” He cries. He looks at Mira just as blot starts to run down his body like black ink.
Hannah reaches out and grabs Epel by the shoulder, jolting him out of whatever dazed state he had been in. She looks at Yuume, who was holding Grim in her arms. “We need to get out of here. Now!”
Mira continues to fight against Samara to get to her brother, openly sobbing. “Vil, please!” She cries, getting weaker with every attempt. “I’m so sorry! Please… just don’t leave me!” She pleads, despite her coughs.
With Mira losing her strength, Samara manages to start dragging her back down the way they came. She looks at Yuume. “Get moving!”
Yuume nods, tightening her grip on Grim, moving to follow her out.
Hannah pushes Epel to follow after them, and then grabs Kalim, pulling him down the hall. He quickly takes the hint and starts moving.
As blot continues to consume and take over Vil, Ash reaches out and latches onto his back. The blot starts running down her hands and forearms. “Vil… please!” She coughs, hacking up a lung. “Just calm down!” She croaks, tears run down her face. The blot mixes with the toxins in the air, turning acidic on her skin. She hisses as it burns and starts to eat at her skin. “Please!” She cries. “Just calm down!”
Rook surges forward, the fabric falling away from his face as he grabs Ash, pulling her back with pure strength and willpower. “No!”
With everyone else moving and getting out of there, Hannah pauses, looking back at the trio of lovers. “Guys!” She calls.
Rook pulls Ash away, swallowing his tears and fears, and he roughly drags her.
Vil sees the liquid burning Ash’s arms and laughs; it's evil, more so than any of the ones he did as an actor playing a villain. “Yes, of course! If I just melt everyone else into a hideous mess. Then I’ll be the fairest one of all, won’t I?!”
“You… You already are!” Ash tries to dig her heels in, but Rook just picks her up and slings her over his shoulder. She cries out as Rook turns and runs down the hall.
Now seeing that Rook and Ash are moving, Hannah starts running.
Ash sobs as she watches the blot take over Vil.
Mira’s eyes widen, tears pouring down her face as she watches her brother transform while Samara drags her away. “Don’t do this, please!” Her voice cracks. “I’ll do anything to make this right, but don’t leave me!”
Malleus and Lilia teleport into a room full of people, with multiple people from each dorm. Keres lets out a breath at the sight of her housewarden and vice-housewarden.
“I’m so glad ya’ll are okay…”
Malleus walks over to Keres, taking the small space between her and Mika to stand. He gently puts a hand on her shoulder, as if to comfort her. “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Malleus, Lilia! I’m so glad you could make it!” Kalim claps his hands together, obviously as relieved to see them as Keres was.
Everyone is quiet.
It’s Lilia who breaks the silence. “Hmm… It appears I was correct about which students were abducted.” He walks over to stand on Keres other side.
Trey is the first to respond to him. “I was just baking some cookies in the dorm when I got word Riddle had been kidnapped. Then I heard that Ace and Deuce were injured and had to go to the infirmary… it was all so sudden,” he looks over at Spade, “And with how Spade came back to the dorm the other night…” He closes his eyes. “I can barely wrap my head around everything.”
“To be fair, that was a whole different incident.” Spade comments.
“You say that like you didn’t come to me this morning for help redoing your bandages.” Trey retorts, glaring at her.
She moves closer to Cater, who was on her other side.
“I checked out the stables where Riddle was taken, and it’s like a war zone. Even the grass was burned to a crisp. What in the world is going on?” Cater shakes his head. “#SoNotCool.”
“That’s what I wanna know!” Ruggie shouts.
“Silver and Sebek said they took Zero alongside Riddle,” Lilia explains.
“Leona surrendered unconditionally,” Ruggie starts. “Yeah, Leona, of all people.” He deepens his voice to match his housewarden’s, “‘Ruggie, you and Ash are in charge of Savannaclaw ‘til I get back. Keep things runnin’. Then again, I can’t be sure I’ll come back at all.’” He returns to his normal voice. “He was dead serious too. He folded just like a cheap suit!”
“It was pathetic, he just took one look and went, ‘nope, I surrender.’” Spade adds, throwing her hands up. “Like what they fuck!”
Keres nods in agreement. “It was so out of character! I mean, I don’t know him that well, but still. He always puts up such a fight with things,” she shakes her head. “It doesn’t make sense. We could’ve taken them down without a problem…”
Jade speaks up from the other side of the room. “Azul was taken during a club meeting as we understand it.”
“The Board Game Club guys say he left with ‘em peacefully, and Firefly Squid and Lil’ Clione went along too.” Floyd adds from beside his brother. “I dunno, though. Azul’s the type to go down swingin’.” He looks at Spade. “I’m with Mahi Fish, what gives?”
“The members you talked to were correct,” Mika says with a nod. “Glitch and I were there. We were ready to fight. It wouldn’t have been hard.”
Glitch nods beside her. “I was fully prepared to shut down and destroy all of their gear, but Idia stopped me.” She furrows her brow. “It would have been so simple, I could have done it without any other technological casualties. Ortho would have been fine.”
The door opens as Samara comes in. Her face has a huge crack in it, and she is actively stitching up a large cut on her arm, shoving what looks to be some sort of stuffing back into her arm. “Sorry! I got knocked unconscious during the fight. I’m here now, though!”
“Starfishie!” Floyd runs over to where his girlfriend stood. “What happened?!” He’s quick to pick her up and hold her in his arms.
“Hold on! I’m still stitching myself back together!” The cursed doll wiggles in the eel’s arms, trying to find a good position to continue dealing with her wounds.
“Yuume’s group and I were with Vil and Jamil in Ramshackle.” Kalim says.
“She’s still with the other freshmen right now,” Hannah adds. She stood next to Jade, petting Hera who was in her arms.
“We tried to fight the intruders with magic, but it had no effect on them. They took Vil and Jamil, and also Grim.” Rook explains.
“Interesting…” Jade reaches out to scratch Hera’s chin as he speaks. “So Leona and Azul’s group didn’t try to fight back. There must be a reason for that.”
“Leona seemed to know what their deal was.” Ruggie adds.
Mika looks at Ruggie, “As did Idia.”
Malleus hums, rubbing his chin. “Hm… Kingscholar is from an old royal house. It would stand to reason he’s heard of them.”
Ruggie squints at the prince. “What are you talking about?”
Mika grabs his hand. “Malleus, do you know who they are?”
The door opens again, and Trein walks in. “I’ll answer that question.”
“Oh, hello Trein. Where’s the headmage?” Lilia asks.
“Styx took him into custody as well. I’m in charge while he’s away.”
“They took Crowley?!” Hannah shouts.
Spade scoffs. “Maybe he’ll finally pull his head out of his ass and act like a proper headmage and take care of the students.”
“Hold up. What’s Styx?” Floyd asks, walking back over to where his brother stands. He sets Samara on the ground and takes the needle and thread from her, starting to sew her back up.
“Styx is an organization that operates independently of any nation or government. It’s an arcane institute that conducts research on blot. They’ve done so for many years,” Trein explains.
Everyone is in various stages of shock and surprise, but it’s Ash who speaks first from her spot leaning against Rook. “Seriously?”
“They study blot?” Jade asks, a small look of shock on his face.
“Tch. I get it now,” Floyd says. He ties off the stitching on her arm and kneels down to start sewing up some of the smaller tears on her legs.
“Huh? Get what?” Kalim tilts his head.
Jade nods, coming to the same conclusion his twin had. “Think about who they took.”
Hannah furrows her brows for a moment before her eyes go wide. “Oh my god.”
“It was Riddle, Leona, Azul, and Jamil.” Cater counts on his fingers. “So they abducted Jamil, who’s a vice housewarden, and left Kalim alone. But then they didn’t take Rook, who’s also a vice housewarden.”
“That’s odd, right?” Trey looks at Cater. “If they’re not targeting housewardens or vice housewardens, then…” He trails off.
Ash’s eyes go wide and she squeezes Rook’s hand tight. “They took everyone who’s overblotted…”
Ruggie turns to look at Ash. “Wait, does that mean Vil overblotted too?”
Everyone who knew about the overblot looks away, with the exception of Spade. “But Riddle and the others got proper medical treatment and had a complete recovery. Why would this come up now of all times? Why not at least wait until the summer?”
Malleus hums. “There is someone who probably knows their reasons.”
Mika looks up at him, “Who?”
Ash steps forward, almost stumbling in the process. “What all do you know, Malleus?” She growls. “Now isn’t the time to hide things.”
“The Watchman of the Island of Woe.”
Rook steps forward beside Ash to help stabilize her. “I’ve seen mention of them here and there in old history books.” He looks at Malleus. “Does that mean you are acquainted with this watchman of the dark and dreadful isle, Roi des Dragons?”
Malleus raises a brow at the hunter. “Really, Hunt, have you become addled? You’re acquainted with them as well.” He turns his head to look at Mika with a small smile. “As are you, my treasure.”
“You all know them.” Lilia adds.
“Are you suggesting what I think you are…?” Rook asks. “That either Idia or Zero Shroud, the housewarden and vice housewarden of Ignihyde, is the Watchman for the Island of Woe?”
Malleus nods, “Yes. Mind you, ‘Watchman’ doesn’t refer to a single person. It’s a title given to a certain family. I believe the current head of their family is…” he thinks for a moment. “Aidne Shroud.” He looks to Lilia for confirmation.
Lilia shakes his head. “No, she passed away. Now it’s Aidne’s son, Idia and Zero’s father.”
Malleus nods. “I see. Human generations pass so quickly.”
“Well, the Watchman role was actually converted into a formal organization. They go by Styx nowadays. It’s a rather recent development, of course.” Lilia taps a finger on his chin. “Why, they only became Styx around a century ago, as I recall.”
Ash raises a hand. “Hold on a sec, maybe it’s because my head is still reeling from getting slammed up against a wall, but are you seriously telling us that the Shrouds, Idia and Zero, are the ones who are in charge of what happened?”
“Idia did seem to know what was going on when they charged in to take Azul,” Mika says.
“He seemed to be irritated and annoyed with the situation, though. Maybe that was because it was his king that fell off the table?”
Mika gives a small nervous laugh and leans closer to Glitch, her voice low. “The game didn’t finish, they got interrupted…”
Glitch leans closer as well. “But his king fell, therefore, Azul won.”
Mika facepalms. “That’s not how chess works…”
The side conversation is interrupted when Ruggie speaks. “I’m gettin’ confused. Leona’s mentioned that Idia’s family is part of some megacorp… But now you’re sayin’ that’s just a cover? And they’re secretly the bosses of this Styx group that kidnapped the guys? And they’re also the Watchman of the Island of Woe?”
“Indeed,” Lilia confirms. “While the Watchman has become something of an urban legend by now… Back in the old days, when mages were called witches and wizards, they were feared across the land.” He explains. “People believed the Island of Woe would punish any wizard who abandoned their principles and went mad with power.”
“One of my family’s history books claims that the group is so ancient, they date back to the Age of the Gods.” Malleus adds. “The relationship between magic and blot hadn’t been established at that time. According to my history book, people believed overblots were disasters that occurred without warning. The Jupiter family forebearer sealed those disasters away on the Island of Woe and brought peace to the land. A watchman was tasked with keeping those disasters from plaguing the world again. That person was one of the Shroud’s family ancestors.”
“That sounds less like history and more like myth. It’s all on such a grand scale. Ya boy Cay-Cay can barely keep up…”
Spade pats Cater’s back. “I’ll admit, it’s hard to think of Zero as the daughter of some big and powerful family…”
Mika nods. “Yeah…”
“Mind you, humankind never stopped researching magic, eager students that they were,” Lilia starts. “Time marched on, and at some point magic became safe to practice. The witches and wizards of yore became known as mages. Nowadays, mage licenses are international. Mages are globally recognized as contributing to the betterment of society. And governments passed laws and forced agencies to discipline magic abusers who caused trouble for people… Over time, the Watchman of the Island of Woe faded from the history books. But the group continued their research on the disasters– or blot, really– as the organization Styx.”
Trein had been intently listening to both Malleu and Lilia. “We were aware that Idia and Zero were the children of the Shroud family, yes… But this is the first time I’ve heard of a connection between them and Styx. I’ve read just about every notable work on magic history, yet I’ve never seen any of this discussed.”
“Ah, but see, you’re limited to the texts that survived among humankind. Humans and fae stopped intermingling quite a long time ago. Plus, different cultures and species pass down lore in different ways–not every truth is written down.” Lilia looks at Mika, “I believe you mentioned once that deep sea mer also didn’t typically write things down.”
Mika nods. “There’s no point in writing it down if it can’t be seen to be read.”
Samara stares at Lilia. “I forget that you practically lived through all this history, Lilia.” She smiles. “I shouldn’t be surprised you are the one to know so much about this.”
Mika lets out a small laugh. “Why do you think I always suggest going to Lilia when you need help with history?”
Trein lifts a hand to his mouth. “This makes me wonder… Was the headmage aware of the Shroud’s connection to Styx? Does that mean he wasn’t able to work with the Shroud family to avoid this scenario?
Spade rolls her eyes. “Would he even care?”
Malleus looks over at Spade. “Who can say, really? Even if he had known, he wouldn’t have been able to stop them.”
“As for Styx,” Trey starts, “Why did they capture a group of overblotters? What’s their plan?”
“Based on what Lilia said, I doubt they’ll treat them hospitably.” Jade responds. “If they’re lucky, they’ll only be examined. If they’re unlucky, they’ll become test subjects. And if they’re REALLY unlucky, they may be–”
“Don’t you dare joke about that!” Spade snarls.
Ash looks at the ground, and squishes closer to Rook.
“If Zero and Idia are there with them, I highly doubt they will just let them be killed.” Samara offers.
“Would they even be able to stop it?” Mika asks.
Floyd finishes sewing up the final cut on Samara’s body and stands up. “Y’know, there’s one thing that’s buggin’ me after hearin’ all this.” He holds out a hand to help Samara to her feet. “Those goons rolled up and blasted half the campus. There’s tons of witnesses, right?” With his girlfriend on her feet, he turns to everyone else. “Someone must’ve got ‘em on video. Seems to me like they’re not tryin’ to stay very secret. Maybe they don’t care. Or maybe they have some REAL reliable way of cleanin’ up after themselves.”
Ruggie gulps. “I don’t like the sound of that one bit.” He looks over at Ash. “I say we worry about our own skins ‘stead of wastin’ time on the others.”
Glitch nods, looking at Kalim. “Agreed.” With Jamil gone, the care of Kalim fell onto her and Hannah, and something told her that Hannah wouldn’t be up to taking care of the energetic housewarden.
Spade opens her mouth to disagree, but Trein raises a hand to stop her. “While Bucchi’s wording leaves something to be desired, he does have a point. We don’t know where the Island of Woe is, which means we cannot pursue our kidnapped students.” He looks around the room, making sure to look at each and every person. “I want all of you to return to your dorms and conduct a roll call. Check for any injured students and report back to me.” He turns to look specifically at Keres. “Keres, I hate to ask this, and normally I would never endorse this kind of behavior, but do you think you can get access to Ignihyde’s database? Ignihyde tends to have everything under technological security, and with both the housewarden and vice housewarden gone, I am unsure how to access the data.”
Everyone starts to leave the room, aside from Keres and Trien. The girl smirks. “Yeah, it might take me a little bit, but I should be able to get it done. It’d be easier if I could steal someone from the technomancy club to help me though.”
Trein nods. “That should be fine, but be sure to let their respective dorm know. This needs to be done as soon as possible.”
“Well, you’ve asked the best person in the school to do it.”
“Then I will put you in charge of Ignihyde until the Shrouds are back.”
Keres gives a quick salute. “I’ll head out and get started then.”
“Hannah, Floyd and I must return to Octavinelle to take care of the dorm,” Jade cups her cheek. “Please take care of yourself. I will call you tonight.” He finishes in a soft voice. He places a quick kiss on the girl's lips and gives Hera a quick scratch on the chin before following Floyd and Samara down the hall towards the mirror chamber.
Hannah nods, giving him a kiss on the cheek back. She also gives Samara a smile as she walks past with Floyd.
“Man…” Ruggie groans. “Why’d Leona have to put US in charge? Talk about drawing the short straw.”
Ash looks at him. “Because we usually take up his duties anyway. Let’s just get it done and over with.”
Rook squeezes Ash’s hand. “It means the Roi des Lions has great faith in you, Monsieur Dent-de-Lion, ma chatonne. The dorm is his pride – he knows he can trust the two of you with it.”
“Yeah, well trust doesn’t fill an empty stomach. There better be some T-bone steaks in it for me later, or it won’t be worth it!”
Ash shakes her head at the hyena’s ridiculousness.
“Yes, I suppose so. Yet another reason we need them to make it back safe and sound.”
The office door is thrown open and Keres runs out, bolting past the Savannaclaw, and former Savannaclaw, students. “ROOK! I’M STEALING LEO TO HACK INTO IGNIHYDE!” She yells back as she runs down the hall.
“Okay!” Rook calls back.
From the opposite way, Jack runs up. “Ruggie! I got your text. What’s this about Leona getting kidnapped by the guys who attacked the school?!” It takes him a moment to notice Ash, but when he does, his eyes go wide. “Holy shit, Ash. What happened to you?!”
“A lot of things, but you pretty much summed it up, and when all of this is over, I’m going to lay down, sleep, and never wake up.” The feline closes her eyes and leans against Rook. “Once everyone is accounted for, I’m coming back to Pomefiore.” Her voice then dips to a low whisper. “I’m not sure what you’re planning, but I’m helping.”
Rook looks down at her. “I’m not planning anything, ma chatonne.” He whispers back.
“Save it.” Ash snaps, she knew a lie when she saw it, and she also knew Rook a lot better than to believe he wasn’t planning something.
Ruggie turns to Jack completely. “We need to round up everyone in the dorm and check in with ‘em. Could you give us a hand?”
“Oh, sure.” Jack nods. “Happy to.” He glances at Hannah. “Hey, why are you all banged up? Did they beat you guys up too?”
“Me and Yuume were with everyone when everything happened.” She responds.
The NRC Tribe members were together at Ramshackle when it occurred. We were in the midst of a VDC postmortem when they attacked. Vil, Jamil, and Grim were all taken just as Leona was.
Hannah nods.
Surprise fills Jack’s face. “They got Vil and Jamil too?!”
“And the freshman that tried to rescue Grim were gravely injured.”
“Argh… why are you guys so reckless!” Jack groans.
Rook looks between everyone still in the group. “I must return to my dorm and fulfill my duties as vice housewarden. I cannot leave it all to Samara, but… Monsieur Fier-à-bras.” He looks specifically at Jack. “Would you be so kind as to go with Hannah to check up on our injured comrades in the infirmary?”
“Actually, that would help me too. You can see if any students from our dorm are there.” Ruggies suggests.
“Bring back some basic medical supplies if they can spare it. I’m sure there are plenty of us that need some medical attention but don’t want to go to the infirmary. That place is probably packed as is.” Ash adds.
“Got it. I’ll be in touch once I know more.” Jack looks at Hannah and holds out a hand. “Let’s go.”
