leona doesn’t particularly care for sweets, but that won’t stop him from swallowing down each and every one you place in front of him. you have an odd habit of buying odd candy’s from sam’s shop. candy that you would only find in small, local-owned businesses in rural communities. somehow they’ve ended up available to night raven students. you say the tastes remind you of the ones back home. that doesn’t stop your face from scrunching up whenever you bite into one.
personally, he doesn’t really like the way they taste. too sugary and manufactured for his royal stomach. you say that’s the appeal.
if anyone were to find out that he, leona kingscholar, is allowing a herbivore like you to shove candy into his mouth, he would surely be the laughing stock of his dorm.
however, the look on your face when he shares the same expression as you, grossed out and puckered, is worth more than any gossip can do to him.
EPEL FELMIER
epel doesn’t like being treated like a doll, he already is at pomefiore. picked and prodded at until deemed fit. yet, he instinctively stills when you bring the fabric up to his body, measuring it with a concentrated look on your face. you’ve taken up the hobby of sewing. you grab old cloth from around the dorm; curtains, bedsheets, towels. anything you can get your hands on.
contrarily to popular belief, epel likes being your mannequin. it’s almost relaxing watching you. he likes the cute look on your face when he compliments one of your creations or whenever you manage to get the measurements right on the first try.
all things considered, epel doesn’t really need new clothes, his closest filled to the brim with a mixture of attire from back home and whatever vil handpicked out.
he’ll still gladly take what you give him. each article created with love and care, uneven patchwork, different fabric sewn together to make one beautiful creation.
he might get yelled at by his roommate for taking too much space in the closest but that won’t stop him from cherishing each and every piece.
IDIA SHROUD
idia never would have thought an atypical, normie romance would be for him. watching couples in public would make him cringe. it’s even worse when one of those highly fantasized and unrealistic romance movies come on. yuck! he would rather stick with romantic visual novels.
yet, when you lay next to him, laughing about something stupid the male lead did, he can’t help but echo your reaction.
unlike idia, you enjoy a romcom or two. you say they’re similar to the ones back home. follow the same format.
the couples still make him cringe. the third act break up still makes his jaw tighten in annoyance. the cheesy music that plays at the end credits is grating. but, with you curled up besides him how could he ever vocalize this?
you’re happy enough for two people and that’s good enough for him.
SEBEK ZIGVOLT
sebek is very particular about his hair. he needs to look his best as a knight of malleus after all! though, he is not immune to the ways of his partner.
you like to run your fingers through his hair no matter the time of day. first thing in the morning when it’s freshly jelled? he always carries extra with him. the evening when it’s down and he’s going to bed? he doesn’t mind spending a little more time brushing in the morning.
when he asks, you say it’s relaxing and sebek would be lying if he said it didn’t the same effect on him.
if any of the freshmen were to see this they would certainly tease him, yet, even if he denies it, you both know the truth.
sebek could never say no to you.
why are the sprites for the ramshackle ghosts wearing their hoods on the eng server?? glitch?
How did you get so lucky? Resting your head on your open palm, you admired the redhead in front of you. His face was twisted in concentration, but the twitch of his eye every so often told you that frustration was slightly building. There must have been a lot of questions Ace and Deuce had gotten wrong on the mock exam he had given them. To everyone else, when Riddle got like this it was a sign to run away, but not to you. It was like you and him were opposite charges in the way you were attracted to him.
The red pen in his hand got more frantic with each page turned as did the furrow in his brow. Now was a good time to step in.
As quiet as a mouse, you stood up from your chair, tiptoeing over to his side. Up this close, you couldn't help but internally coo at how cute your boyfriend was. Not able to contain yourself any longer, you grasped his cheek pressing a firm kiss to it. Riddle froze, pen slipping between his fingers.
Sharply turning to you, his face turned as red as his hair. He spoke your name, voice an octave higher than usual. "What brought that on? I-I'm busy--" You pressed a kiss between his eyebrows, where a wrinkle was just a moment prior.
Pulling away, a laugh escaped you at his confused and flustered face. Though it quickly turned to something warmer. "You're gonna give yourself a conniption fit." Looking down at the papers in front of him, you cringed, seeing the amount of pen on the pages. Picking them up from his line of sight, you studied it. "While these aren't the...best. You shouldn't get so riled up. Let's take a break."
Riddle cleared his throat, regaining some sense of a composure. Internally, he debated your words. Always having trouble pulling himself away from his work. “Perhaps you're right." He glanced at the clock. "It's almost time for tea. Would you like to have it in the rose garden?"
He stood up, offering you his hand.
"I would like that very much." You pressed a final kiss against his lips, a silent thank you.
DEUCE SPADE
Deuce always had a hard time with learning and while his determination to become a honor student was noble, it didn’t change the truth.
You had sat on his bed, him at his desk. The room was silent, all his roommates were out, only the sound of the odd Heartslabyul clock ticking. This had been the setup for the last hour. Deuce had his head firmly in a textbook, and you, wanting to keep your boyfriend company, sat nearby, waiting for him to finish or at the very least ask for help.
You could see from the stiffness of his shoulders and the slowing movement of his pen that it hadn’t been going well. In comparison to the rest of the student body, Deuce was more expressive with his feelings, it had been one of the reasons you had fallen for him, though that didn’t meant he was completely open. With a sigh, you set down your phone, feet softly patted against the wood boards as you peaked over his shoulder. The hand that wasn’t gripping his pen was in his hair, tightly holding strands of hair, pulling it at random intervals.
Frowning, you placed your hands on his shoulders, massaging with the best of your ability. His jolted, but quickly relaxed upon the realization it was you. The pen fell from his hand, shoulders sagging as his hand reached up to lay over yours.
“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” you murmured, lips ghosting over the side of his head. Deuce hummed, something noncommittal. His brows furrowed, a self-deprecating comment on the tip of his tongue. You didn’t allow him to vocalize it. “Doing this all at once is going to stress you out.”
Deuce deflated in your hold, knowing your words were true, any anger fizzling out and turning to something more mellower. Disappointment.
Not wanting to let it fester, you turned your boyfriend towards you, leaning down so that you were face-to-face.
“Don’t you think a kiss will make you feel better? Who knows it might help you concentrate.” A twinkle formed in your eye as Deuce downtrodden expression turned embarrassed. His face flushed, arms hovering over his visage.
“W-Where’s this coming from?” You giggled, which only edged him on even more. “You’re trying to embarrass me!”
Laughter finally ceasing, your eyes softened. Staring at your boyfriend, you lifted a hand to his cheek, he instinctively leaned into it, red-face be damned.
“Do you want a kiss?” He nodded.
Who were you to deny your sweet boyfriend?
RUGGIE BUCCHI
Underneath the table your legs swayed back and forth. An unstopping rhythm as your eyes scanned the restaurant, looking for a particular face. The menu untouched. You already knew what you wanted. The Monstro Lounge was no stranger to you.
You straightened your back as a server approached, turning your head, you attempted to look nonchalant. He stood in front of the table, silent for a moment before laughter that could only come from one person sounded out.
“Shishishi~ I’m supposed to be getting your order but I don’t wanna interrupt.”
“Oh no,” you hummed, cheekily turning towards him. “I was just waiting for the cute waiter to come up to me and ask for my order.”
Ruggie leaned down towards you, faces only inches apart. His hair is out of his face, brushed back in a way that made him look like a prince. You have the strong urge to smooch the space between his eyebrows and hairline. But you don’t, keeping the allusion of disinterestedness.
“Ah, my mistake. Point out to me who it is and I’ll call them over. Wouldn’t want to leave a customer unsatisfied.”
“He’s right overrr…” You drag out the R as your finger points at a random direction. You seem his glance in the area before your finger snaps to the boy in front of you. “Here!”
There’s silence for a moment. It’s painfully cheesy. Ruggie closed his eyes while your lips twitched. Suddenly you two burst into laughter. Loud enough that the students in the booth in front of you peered over.
Laughter slowing, Ruggie wiped the corner of his eyes with gloved fingers. Tilting his head like an adorable puppy as he regarded you.
“My break’s in 30 minutes.” Your eyes brightened as he straightened his posture, returning to a professional mask. “Now what can I get for you today.”
“A kiss.” The statement is so blunt that it makes your boyfriend blink in surprise. You grab his tie, pulling him down to your height and placing a quick kiss on his lips, letting go immediately. The action was so quick that nobody would have noticed unless their attention was directed at the two of you. Ruggie snapped back to his original standing position, face flushed. A shaky smile playing on his lips. “Oh, and a milkshake please.”
Ruggie coughed out laughter, adjusted his hat and tie before saluting you.
“Aye, Aye Captain!” You fondly watched as he walked away, a pep in his step that wasn’t there before.
SILVER
Even before you and Silver started dating you had given him an open invite to Ramschakle. Unlike many others you knew, he wouldn't destroy the place if left alone and also because you would rather have not him sleep on the lawn, scaring the life out of you when you came home.
If he ever wanted to take a nap, you implored him to use your bed. It was the most comfortable piece of furniture you owned along with being in the best condition.
So, when you returned home early and saw a pair of familiar shoes at the door, you gleefully had run up the stairs. Giddy to see the pretty boy peacefully sleeping on your bed. You were rather disappointed when you had not seen Silver fast asleep, curled up in your sheets, but rather an empty, messy bed you hadn't made in the morning.
Making the bed, you had sulkily walked back downstairs, fingers already typing a message to your boyfriend that he must have forgotten his shoes when he left. Your feet stopped in place as you passed by the guest room, door slighty ajar. You did not have time to ponder if you had accidentally left it open before you saw a flash of silver hair. Peaking your head in, there he laid. Curled to one side, legs tucked up to his chest, an attempt to make himself fit on the shabby couch you had thrown in there after the renovation.
While a tad annoyed that he didn't listen to you, it didn't last long as you stepped closer, crouching next to the couch. You could never stay upset at Silver when he looked so at peace.
That didn't stop you from repeatedly poking his cheek with your index finger, awaiting a movement. Typically, such an action wouldn't have stirred the boy, but Silver seemed to have some sort of detector to your presence.
He arouse with a soft hum, eyes blinking open to meet your face only a few inches away.
"...Hello." He whispered, voice still deep with sleep.
"Hi."
Slightly lifting himself up, he leaned into you, pressing a soft kiss against you lips. You cheerfully accepted, giggling against him.
Once parted, you ran your fingers through his hair. "I told you that you could sleep in my bed." Silver's lips pulled downwards, but you quickly kissed it away. Now more awake, his eyes widened as you pulled away, a pink hue on his cheeks contrasting the rest of his face. "It's always open for you, okay?"
synopsis; you don't like your roommates, they don't like you. three times in which you quarrel, and the one time it's not so bad.
notes; spoilers for all eng halloween events,halloween roomates au, gender neutral reader, probably ooc, reader is yuu, mutual dislike, if you squint this could technically be an actual x reader
words; 2.6k
⸝⸝ ꒰ROLLO FLAMME꒱ ⸝⸝
❝ Heyyy there, buddy. Whatcha...doing? ❞ You stared down at the white haired teen as he knelt in your garden, trowel and a bag of unidentifiable seeds in his hand. Rollo didn't seem particularly happy at your intrusion, but he answered you nonetheless, slightly turning his body to face you.
"Gardening." He turned back away, continuing to dig a small hole in the dirt, throwing a few seeds in before covering it back up. Your face soured as you eyed the bag of seeds, a nervous pit forming in your stomach. You swung the clanky gate of the garden open, stepping inside. Rollo visibly tensed, knuckles turning white from the grip he had on the trowel.
You knelt down besides him, careful not to let your uniform touch the soil. "Uh, yeah. I can see that..." You leaned over his shoulder, attempting to peak inside the bag. He snatched it from your line of sight, a scowl forming on his pale face. "What are you planting exactly?"
He shot you a glare, standing up to his full height and slipping off a thick pair of rubber gloves.
An odd expression crossed over his face. It almost seemed embarrassed? "...grapes."
huh?
You blink blanky at him, head slowly rotating to the now covered hole and back to him. He seemed to grow more frustrated (or flustered?) at your silence. He sharply turned away, stomping through the dirt and towards the front steps of the dorm.
"I'll be taking my leave now."
You scratched the back of your head. "Don't you need like a trellis like that...or something." He stopped in his tracks, "or at least a pot?"
"Not particularly." You couldn't see the expression on his face but the taunt muscles of his back and his tightly clenched fists told you everything you needed to know.
Rollo didn't wait for you to say anymore stupid comments, rushing up the steps and slamming the door behind him.
"yikes," you mumbled, hand lifting to scratch your chin. "I should probably ask Sam just to be sure." Your arms dropped to your sides.
You wouldn't want a repeat of what happened the last time Rollo was left to his own devices when it came to gardening.
⸝⸝ ꒰ FELLOW HONEST & GIDEL ꒱ ⸝⸝
❝ From now on you may call us Fellow Honest and Gidel! ❞ You felt your eye twitch. The ceramic mug in your hand would have certainly splintered by now if it wasn't for the fact that you refused to waste a perfectly good appliance on someone as infuriating as Ernesto, er, Fellow.
"What?" The mug slightly shakes in your hold as you bring it to your lips, drinking a nice long sip of tea. Something Rollo had brought when he had moved in; said it relaxed him. From the fast beating of your heart, the calming effects weren't working as desired. "Why would you choose that as your name?"
Ernesto Fellow brought a hand to his chin, a contemplative expression on his face. Suddenly he snapped his fingers like he suddenly got an idea. "Well, it was between that or Ernest Friend."
"Why would it be between that or Fellow Honest!" You slammed the mug onto the table, chair legs screeching against the wooden floor as you shoot up from your seat. "Those are the fakest sounding names ever!"
Fellow theatrically sighs, leaning back in his chair across from you, not granting you a response. You feel your blood pressure spike the longer you stare at his stupidly smug face.
To distract yourself you turn your head to the younger sibling. Gino Gidel's as quiet as ever, his head just barely reaching the table he sits at. He gleefully sips on the hot chocolate you bitterly made for him.
It's hard to stay mad when looking at a kid so cute, though that feeling quickly vaporizes as he catches your glance and shares the smug expression of his older brother. With one hand still holding the hot chocolate, he grabs his comedically large mallet and waves it at you in some sort of warning.
You have the irrational urge to throw a chair at him.
Turning your attention back to Fellow, you cross your arms, narrowing your eyes at him. "I know the security isn't outstanding but how did you manage to sneak into Night Raven. Or better yet, Ramschakle!" You find yourself glaring at the walls, hoping that the ghosts hiding within can sense your agitation.
Vocalizing a 'tsk, tsk', Fellow straightens up with concerning speed, grinning at you like he just won the lottery. He folds his hands together, eyes sharp. "Me and that stu—sharp headmage of yours came to an agreemen—"
"You blackmailed him didn't you."
His smile droops, eyes narrowing. "Has anyone told you how annoying you are?"
⸝⸝ ꒰SKULLY J. GRAVES꒱ ⸝⸝
❝ Get down from there! What on Earth are you three doing?! ❞ The trio froze like weeping angel statues, standing completely still even when you stomped over to the nice stack they created; Fellow held a sitting Rollo on his shoulders while Rollo had a standing Gidel on his. The closest you had seen the three be since the brothers had moved in. (You couldn’t remember the last time they were in each other’s vicinity without an argument starting. Or worse, a fistfight.) Gidel stood on his tippy-toes on Rollo's shoulder, hands reaching out and almost grasping a painting that hung from the wall.
"Cleaning." A scoff escaped your throat as you peered up at him. You certainly hadn't expect Rollo (whom you considered the most reliable in this dorm of villains) to play along. They didn't even have any cleaning appliances in their hands!
You pointed an accusatory finger in Fellow's face, he took a step back, causing the two on his shoulders to gasp. "You're trying to take down the painting!"
Immediately cracking under your accusation, he got in your face, the two on his shoulders wobbled. "I don't want that creepy thing watching us eat!"
"You're so rude! Don't insult him!"
"You've already lost it! You're talking about it like it's a person!"
"That's because--" Your words caught in your throat. You adverted your gaze from Fellow's, voice mellowing out. "He is--was one." For some odd reason, you felt protective of white-haired boy depicted in the frame.
Fellow gave you a bewildered look, confused by your random change in personality. Before he could comment on it, Rollo cut through the tension.
"Where did you acquire such a painting? I know you don't have the funds for such an antiquity." You grew awfully quiet, looking down at your feet and playing with your hands.
"y'know...I just...came across it."
There was silence for a moment. Fellow's head tilted to the side, then like a light bulb appeared above his head, brightened and straightened his head back into its original position with a soft 'pop!'. His jaw dropped, ears perking up.
"You stole it from the headmage!"
You snapped your head back up. "I did not!"
A boisterous laugh escaped Fellow's throat, he threw his head back, at least as much as he could with two people still on his shoulders. Rollo stared down at you with a disapproving look. You had no doubt that if he could move his arms from supporting Gidel's legs he would be using them to cover his face with his handkerchief.
"It did suddenly appear after you said Crowley forced you to clean out a storage room." Rollo surmised. "I heard Grim mumbling something about Halloween."
"Who do you think I am?" You huffed. "I would never--"
"hmm, was that not what happened?"
An unfamiliar voice. The four of you froze and like a cheesy horror movie, slowly turned your heads towards the source of the sound.
A translucent face poked out from the painting, red eyes that Fellow complained about glanced at all of your faces. Taking each one in. A sheepish grin emerged on his white face.
"Boo?"
There was a sharp inhale. Your heart skipped a beat, Fellow took a step back, Rollo's mouth open to shout something, Gino wobbled, only inches away from the ghost's face.
"Place us dow-!"
A high-pitched yell reverberated throughout the hall as Fellow hightailed it out of there, barely making it a few steps before two bodies crushed onto him, and then to the floor.
You remained frozen, eyes unmoving from the boy as he fully stepped out of the painting. The faint familiarity you felt spread like a fire on a dry bush, but for the life of you, you couldn't pinpoint from where.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" He floated down to the pile of groaning bodies on the floor. "I didn't mean to scare you all that badly!"
You weren’t fond of the sudden increase in roommates that you had gotten in the past few weeks, but for some odd reason your heart seemed to soften. This situation was technically your fault, wasn't it? It was now your responsibility to take care of the ghost you had brought into your home.
⸝⸝ ꒰OMAKE꒱ ⸝⸝
—❝ Mwrah! I’m hungry! What’s for dinner tonight? ❞ Grim squirmed in your grasp, nails awkwardly digging into your shirt.
You pulled him away from your body, holding him by his armpits. "Stop fighting me! We'll figure it out when we get there!"
You heard Rollo scoff and Fellow giggle from somewhere behind you. Slightly turning your head over your shoulder, your eyes narrowed as you watched the two attempt to hide their smirks, Rollo with a gloved hand over his mouth and Fellow with stuffing his face into his shoulder.
At least they were getting along. Even if it was at your expense.
Contemplating Grim's question, you held him on your shoulder, ignoring his annoyed yelps. All the leftovers had been finished the night before so that was out of the question. You could order takeout? But that would involve you having to go into to town to pick it up. It was either that or paying the extra delivery fee to get it delivered to some random building at the back of an arcane academy. Furthermore, you were pretty positive that this group wouldn't be able to scrounge up the cash for such a thing. That only left one option, making your own dinner. With a freehand, you ruffled Gidel's hair as you overtook his weirdly large strides. But what? Searching through your mind you suddenly gasped, make the three behind you temporarily pause.
“Oh wait!" You twirled around the face the three, ignoring the squawk of Grim still on your shoulder. "There was a mini sale at Sam’s on Monday. I bought some romaine. We could totally make a salad.” Fellow made a face, but didn’t complain. Gidel skipped along the stone path at a slightly faster pace, enthusiastically rubbing him stomach.
“Ugh, Salads?” Grim finally scrambled out of your hold. “I want tuna!”
Shaking your head, you sighed. “Well I could throw in some tuna in,” Grim perked up. “But only if you do your homework!” The direbeast nodded his head enthusatically.
Rollo’s steps paused from behind you. “Romaine?” He readjusted his bag, giving you a quizzical stare at your steps slowed to match his. “Are you referring to the lettuce?”
Oh right. The Roman Empire didn’t exist here. You never would’ve thought that would have mattered.
“Oh..yeah.” Guess you learn something new every day. "But anyway," you cleared your throat. "Epel said the package of his apples should've made it today. The ghost should've been able to bring it in." Fellow's face brightened, and much like his brother, he too had an increased pep in his step.
The dorm came into view just as the sun started to sink below the skyline. Grim ran ahead, on all fours, and quickly hopped up the steps of Ramshackle. Just as he reached for the doorknob, a translucent face passed through, widely smiling at the direbeast. In return, Grim yowled and scurred back over to your side, shouting obscenities at the ghost.
"Hey Skully," You instinctively held out your hand. Like clockwork he place a cold kiss onto the back of your palm. Your head turned side-to-side, observing the empty front porch. "I take it you brought in Epel's package?"
The ghost grinned, flying is slow, languid circles over your head. "Of course! I made sure the other ghosts didn't scare that poor delivery boy....too badly." Then, as if suddenly remembering the other roommate existed, he floated over to them.
Grim, still angry at the scare, swatted as Skully neared, his paw not doing anything but going through his body. Skully relented and made his way to Rollo.
The teen in question gracefully side-stepped the ghost with a practiced ease, making his way to the side of the dorm. "I will be harvesting the grapes if you need me." He shot a glare at the ghost. "Don't follow."
As Rollo trotted off, Fellow attempted, key word attempted, to sneak past the spirit, only to shout as if his tail had been stepped on as Skully's kiss graced his hand. With a disgusted expression, the man trudged inside, muttering something about washing his hands. You yelled at him to grab the apples while he was in the kitchen.
Unlike his brother, Gidel accepted his fate and only looked away as Skully kissed the back of his covered hand. The boy made his way inside and the door slammed behind him.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Skully awkwardly laughed, continuing to spin in circles around you.
"Good day?"
"As good as it can be."
The hours passed by quickly. Just as agreed, sitting on a highchair at the dining room table, Grim was doing his homework. Or, at least attempting to. Skully floated behind him, pointing out questions that he got wrong. The teen was definitely trying his best to explain the concept, though he seemed a little out of his element. Whether that was because he had been dead for while and had simply forgotten or he hadn't actually died as a teenager, you weren't quite sure.
Heaving the tray out of the oven, you were delighted to see a handful of dehydrated apples in prime condition. You felt the presence behind you before you saw it. Instinctively, you slapped the hand away from you, grabbing a long cooking spoon, turning around, and slapping the vagrant in one smooth motion.
Fellow feigned pain, holding his arms over his face. He attempted to smile, put on a facade of professionalism, though you could see irritation swimming in his eyes. "Hey! Hey! I just wanted a taste. I need to make sure you're doing it right." You scowled, holding the spoon over your head as he attempted to reach and pluck one from the tray.
"You can wait ten minutes!" Your eyes searched for a familiar white hair and your scowl deepened as you saw Rollo knee deep into tutoring Gidel. "Go sit back down! You need to learn!"
His shoulders sagged and a loud groan escaped his lips. To your surprise, he listened to you, mumbling how you were no fun and stomping back over the couch and taking a seat next to his brother. Rollo shot him a scathing look but didn't stop his ministrations. You relieved until you saw the fox's hand shoot to his mouth and his start jaw moving. Gasping, you snapped back towards the tray. A slice was missing.
You grit your teeth and bared it, not wanting to start a fight. Dinner would be ready soon.
As you reached over to the basket of freshly picked grapes, knife in hand, you couldn't help but let a small smile grow on your face.
They were annoying, caused trouble, and always seemed to have a problem with each other.
In all honesty, these roommates of yours probably decreased your quality of life. But you wouldn't have it any other way.
as a group, the all ignore the omnious green man approaching.
I guess I’m stuck forever by the glue, oh and you!
SYNOPSIS - the abrupt, intimate friendship between the body guards of the crown prince of briar valley and the magicless prefect after the events of malleus’ overblot; observed by the students of night raven collage.
NOTES - gender neutral reader, pushing my post book 7 silveryuusebek dynamics, can be read as platonic or romantic, written pre-book 7.5 on eng sever, potential ooc
WORDS - 0.6k
— If you asked Ace about the recent developments a scowl would immediately stain his face. He would start to blabber about how intrusive the duo felt, especially relating to his time with the Prefect. Before Malleus’ overblot, Ace hadn’t thought much of his loyal bodyguards, only that they were both apart of the same club as his dorm leader, the green one was loud, and the sleepy one wasn’t. And now they’re all over his best bud? Taking his spot at the lunch table?! Yeah, it might take him awhile, but through mere exposure he’ll grow to like the two, not minding their company nearly as much. Though, he’ll always still butt heads with Sebek, that’s a given.
— Riddle is surprised by this recent development, but overall he’s glad out of everyone it’s the Prefect. He knows they’re a trustworthy and responsible student. To add on, he’s glad that this development has brought on some interest in the equine for them. Riddle is glad to share his club duties and answer any questions that the Prefect might have. Sebek and Silver seem quite motivated when they’re around, which is an added plus. Though he just hopes this new companionship doesn’t distract his two club members from their equestrian responsibilities and make them take this new spirit too far.
— Why isn’t Leona surprised? More people ensnared in the Prefect’s goodness. If he didn’t know any better the lion would certainly think they had some sort of magic that put those around them under a spell. It’s rare, but whenever he needs to talk to the Prefect, the two Diasomnia brats are snug next to them, perfectly sandwiching them just incase Leona decides to do anything. It’s no surprise the two are a little uneasy about him considering they’ve only had a handful of interactions and one of them was him trying to hurt their boss. Overall, it’s a little annoying but Leona finds it funny how the two follow the Prefect around like little chicks.
— It is no surprise that Rook is pleased to see a friendship form between unlikely characters. There’s a certain beauty to it. Two companions and a stranger go into dire circumstances acquaintances and come out of it closer than ever. Merveilleux! How the two magic users are quick to step in front of the Prefect at the first sign of danger. How the Prefect immediately knows how to deescalate any arguments between the two. The way the three are stuck to each other’s sides. He could just go on forever! If inquired how Rook came to know about these acts, he’ll just give his typical smile. It’s best not to ask anymore.
— Malleus is conflicted. On one hand, Malleus is not close with many people and to see the few that he is be so friendly with each other is nice. On the other hand, a small part of him is rather salty on how quickly this attachment formed. It took him months for the Prefect to learn his name and in the span of a few weeks the three of you are as thick as thieves? Pushing aside the fact that this is technically his doing, he’ll just have to up his game. Watch out world, he’ll get even closer to the three in return!
— Lilia was quite pleased to see his two kids make a new friend, especially Sebek. It was much more delightful that it happened to be the Prefect of Ramshackle. While the two might not spend the same large amount of time with him, Lilia considers it a fair trade for the blossoming friendship that’s been cultivated under unfortunate circumstances. Seeing the youth interact with each other so fondly (Sebek yelling at the two) is enough to bring a smile to this old man’s face.
A/N — yuu and the two diasomnia students they’ve bonded to due to the shared book 7 trauma.
Notes: love triangle (love angle), ace trappola x reader, malleus Draconia x reader, love rivals, reader is yuu, gender neutral reader, very minor spoilers for book 5 and 6
♥ vs ⚡︎
Words: 2.5k
Ace had never expected to fall for the magicless janitor he teased on the first day of class. More importantly, he never would have anticipated how persistent you would be. No matter what he did or what he got himself into, you would be right there beside him.
He couldn’t exactly pinpoint when he had fallen for you. Maybe it was when him and Deuce were bickering after fleeing from the abandoned mine. You had quickly set the two of them straight, yelling at them to get their act together and cooperate. Having that fierce look in your eyes he hadn’t expected from someone like you.
Perhaps it was when he had eaten that tart and been collared by Riddle and you allowed him to stay at Ramshackle after only knowing him a day.
Or perhaps it was when you had signed that one-sides contract with Azul for the sake of your friends. Consequences be damned.
Or perhaps…
You get the point. He could recall a handful of stories in which he had seen you as more than just the Prefect. More than just his friend.
Ace had never been one to chase after something he wants. Why try so hard when you can make it come to you, hm? However, he had been having a bit of a problem. No matter what he did, he was always the pursuer not the persuadee.
You, the Prefect of Ramshackle dorm were smart, quick thinking, agreeable, and most importantly, majorly oblivious.
You couldn't take a hint. From him awkwardly casually bringing up that he was into someone —"You like someone? Really??" — to flat out asking you to go out with you — "Oh you wanna go out? We should invite everyone. It'll be fun!", — you just couldn't grasp anything he was laying down.
As annoying as that was, he wouldn't typically have any reason to worry. He would just have to put in a little more effort. Nothing, he, Ace Trappola, couldn't handle. However, there was a major roadblock in the form of the housewarden of Diasomnia.
Malleus Draconia.
Ace hadn't put that much thought into the curious night visitor you had offhandedly mentioned a few months back, he had been too occupied with the ongoing investigation into the confusing injuries with the up and coming spelldrive tournament. Now, he was kicking himself at his carelessness. At the time, he hadn't even acknowledged his own feelings for you!
Ace had almost felt his heart almost stop (for multiple reasons) when Malleus appeared after Vil's overblot and you revealed that he was your midnight guest.
When everything has settled down—a dangerous thought had crossed his mind.
—No, no, no. Everything was still okay, he had rationalized. Nothing would change.
Just because the two of you hung out every so often didn't mean anything, right?
♥
It had been a typical study session run late. After a few minutes of you clumsily bargaining with Riddle over the phone, both him and Deuce had been allowed to stay the night at Ramshackle. An impromptu sleep over.
Ace had fallen asleep quickly, exhausted from the amount of material he had been forced to memorize in such a short amount of time.
He had awoken at an unknown hour, his throat burning with a lack of moisture. He stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. While Ramschakle had been renovated, it had been a collective choice to still not trust the pipes and stick to bottled water.
The lid was twisted off with little resistance and Ace poured the cool liquid into his mouth. Sighing in relief as a wave of chill washed over him.
As he chugged the water, his eyes wandered over to the window that overlooked the front lawn. He really hadn't expected to see anything besides maybe a wandering ghost or the swaying of trees.
However, small flashes of green caught his eye. What? He took a few steps closer to the window to get a better look.
Were those...fireflies? Ace swore that they didn't come out during the spring time.
Now that he was really looking, he noticed that there were two figures on the front lawn, by the metal gated entrance of Ramshackle.
His hand squeezed around the bottle as he connect the dots.
Ramshackle → Late at night → Two people outside → fireflies → fireflies don’t come out during spring + green magic → …MIDNIGHT VISTOR!!
*Ding! Ding! Ding!*
Water rushed from the bottle, and down his throat from his tight grip. He rushed over to the sink and coughed up any water that clogged his throat, his eyes not leaving the scene in the front lawn for a moment.
He regain his composure just as the two figures reached close enough to be illuminated by the lamppost. He was not surprised to see you and Malleus. You were smiling, animatedly discussing something he couldn’t make out through the thick walls. Damn these renovations!
Malleus looked down at you, following every word with a similar smile on his lips.
An uncomfortable feeling festered in Ace's chest the longer he took in the two of you.
Malleus had a strange look in his eye as he stared at you. A fondness and appreciation that was almost familiar to Ace.
It hit Ace like a tidal wave when he realized where he had seen that look. It was the same expression he saw in the mirror every morning. The same expression he saw in the photos you took together. Where, unbeknownst to you, his eyes would linger longer than what was deemed appropriate.
Your conservation came to a standstill and you made your way towards the front door before suddenly pausing. Ace’s heart almost leapt up into his throat as you turned back to Malleus.
You gave a quick wave goodbye before turning back around and resuming towards the door.
Ace sighed in relief. He had thought you were going to invite the housewarden in. But then it hit him. What would he have done then? What could he have done?
As you entered Ramshackle, he quickly patted up the stairs, attempting to convince himself that he hadn’t confirmed what he had feared.
Malleus eyes had never left you.
Oh boy. He was in deep shit, wasn’t he?
~
Malleus knew less about romantic love than he did friendship. It had been the last thing on his mind when you and him became companions.
You were a breath of fresh air. You knew nothing about who he was, his name, his face, his strength. Even with such little info, you still welcomed him with open arms. It was unfamiliar. Not being feared.
It was only after you had given him tickets to the VDC did he realize that he felt something peculiar about you. A feeling that he had never endured before.
It took a lengthy conversation with Lilia for him to realize that what he felt for you was much deeper than friends.
A likeness.
Perhaps love.
Fae did not fall in love easily. Especially fae that carried royal blood through their veins. Once he yielded to his feelings, the courtship began.
Malleus was used to having what he wanted at his fingertips whether from his immense magical prowess or his position as the crown prince. You provided a challenge, yet, it wasn’t unwelcome. He knew you were different the moment he met you.
He attempted to reach out to you during the school day, now that you knew his identity, with the intention of inviting you out and living the “average” school life. There was no reason your interactions to be contained to nocturnal outings only.
However, there was a problem.
Unlike him, you were quite popular. There always seemed to be someone by your side. Normally, that wouldn’t bother him, but you had always looked so happy and he would rather stand to the side and be alone than potentially take that away from you. No matter how badly he yearned to know the cause of your glee.
He could be patient and wait. Wait from the right moment. Fae has an abundance of time on their hands, after all.
Still, there was something else that bothered him. The ones that most commonly made your company was a group of freshmen.
It made sense, he rationalized. You technically were a freshmen too. Nevertheless, something felt…off.
It hadn’t taken him long to realize. The occasional brushing of hands. A silent, but desperate plea for your attention, to tightly grip onto it. Holding onto every word as if it was sacred….
Oh.
Alright then.
His rival had taken an unusual face. A freshmen of Heartslabyul dorm, Ace Trappola. Malleus knew little to nothing about the first-year besides the fact that he was always around you.
But that closeness that had been building up over the months. The constant smiles you shared. That familiarity that he hadn’t quite reached with you yet.
Malleus knew that he shouldn’t be worried. He was the prince, the future king to Briar Valley, but as he watched the two of you interact, he couldn’t help but let something fester deep inside him.
You were both so…normal. Something that he never has been or will be.
But he digressed. Just because Trappola had feelings for you it didn’t automatically mean anything…
…right?
⚡︎
It was bright day, but not blinding. Cool, but not an uncomfortable chill.
A perfect day for studying gargoyles, if he said so himself.
A few days ago, during one of your midnight talks, you had promised to go with him on an outing for the gargoyle research club if the weather approved of it.
Today was that day, so, he was going to make sure you made due on your promise.
He just had to find your first.
Malleus wasn’t exactly the best with electronics, he couldn't contact you via phone, and he didn't think you would appreciate it if he would randomly appear one second. Thus, it was up to him to seek you on campus on foot.
He didn't know how long he was walking for, it was hard for him to keep track of time. The sun was not as high in the sky as it was when he started his search. After a few more minutes of walking, and slightly growing frustration, he had found you.
You stood on the steps of the entrance of the gymnasium holding a bulky water bottle. You checked your phone, looking back and forth every so often into the open gymnasium door.
Malleus felt his heart pick up as he made his way towards you. An almost giddy smile spread over his face at the mere thought of being able to spend time in your company.
When he was a few dozen yards away from you he suddenly stopped.
Ace can bounding out of the gymnasium clad in his club uniform. He enthusiastically greeted you, taking the bottle from your hands. Malleus watched as you both chatted away. How easy you fell into conversation.
The sky darkened.
Pushing aside his thoughts, he steeled himself. He was dead set on at least asking you if you wanted to spend some time with him.
Then, as Malleus made his way over it happened. From an outsider, it wouldn’t have had seemed like much. But to the Prince it was, oh, so much more.
You had adjusted yourself, giving Ace a small wave goodbye. An odd expression had crossed over Ace’s face. He moved slightly to block your way, a grin forming onto his face. His hand came to the small of your back, attempting to gently convince you to sta—
*BOOM*
Lighting touched down on the ground, the thunder following soon after. The two of you jumped away from each other in surprise. The rain came almost immediately.
Malleus knew he shouldn’t allow his feelings to control him. It was unbecoming for a crown prince.
But, perhaps, this time it was okay.
Malleus continued his way to you. A black umbrella pulled over his head.
Once you regained your senses, from the corner of your eye you saw him approach. You fully turned around to greet him with a nervous smile.
He stepped under the awning, closing his umbrella with a slight shake to get the water out.
With as much charisma as he could muster, he held out a hand to you. “Will you go gargoyle watching with me, Child of Man?”
You blinked in surprise. You looked at the dark sky and then back at him. With his free hand, he held up his umbrella, slightly shaking it for emphasis.
You couldn’t help but giggle at his uncharacteristic behavior. You took his hand.
“I did promise didn’t I—?“ You remembered, Malleus could feel his cheeks redden at the thought—“However, I didn’t bring an umbr—”
With a nonchalant wave of Malleus hand, a soft green glow enveloped you. When the light dimmed it revealed a similar outfit to Malleus’s club uniform and in your hand held an identical black umbrella.
You cooed in delight, spinning around to view your new outfit.
Almost as if you realized something, you turned back to the freshman on the steps. Ace had a sour expression on his face, however he remained silent, simply taking in the scene before him.
You gave him an apologetic smile.
“Sorry..I’ll watch you another time. Promise!”
Ace had a contemplating look on his face, as if he was weighing a decision on his mind. Finally, he grinned, leaning in close you. So close that Malleus had half the mind to pull you away. He should remember himself.
“Hey Prefect, do you mind if I come over tomorrow night? My brother sent me some DVD’s and I saw some that were just up your alley.”
You placed you fingers on your chin, as you were deeply pondering the request. You finally hummed, nodding your head, finding your answer.
“Fine. But I want the crème de la crème! You better not cheap me out, Trappola!” You huffed, sporting a grin of your own, slightly leaning in.
Malleus felt his eye twitch.
“Alright great~ Just me and you?” Malleus could’ve swore he saw Ace’s eyes wander over to him, “It’s a date then.”
A flash of indignation washed over Malleus. Crackling burst of light danced across the dark sky.
This freshmen had some gull, Malleus would give him that.
Ace backed away, seemingly happy with himself. From inside the gym, a whistle rung out. Ace gave a quick wave goodbye and jogged back inside.
He was gone. Now it was just the two of you. Just how Malleus wanted it.
Or just how he should have wanted it.
What should’ve been a nice outing with you had turned into much more than he anticipated.
Even as the two of you walked away from the gymnasium and the rain lightened, the soft rumble of thunder was always in the distance.
It seemed as he was mistaken. He would just have to try harder.
a/n: I tried to reflect their mindsets and personality through the third person writing. Had to pull out the thesaurus for Malleus. As I reread this I kinda realized went a little extra for Malleus's part. Oops!
Riddle's reaction is almost guaranteed to be a collar to the neck, so you're pleasantly surprised when you jump out and he stills, dangerously so. A yelp leaves his lips and his eyes go wide. He quickly recognizes your face and you watch his expression redden in real time. You're not so surprised when you hear a familiar chant and feel and even more familiar weight around your neck. You're lucky if you get out of there without a 20 minute lecture.
Ruggie is pretty much always aware of his surroundings so the only way you'll get him is if he's distracted. He'll be looking down at his phone or holding a handful of groceries for Leona when you jump out. His body reacts on instinct. Legs carrying him the opposite direction faster than you can even comprehend. He doesn't even scream! When he calms down and realize it's just you, he'll be sure to make you know you're in his debt, dramatizing what he went through.
Most days, Azul has body guards in the form of the two morays at his side. They do a good job at scaring away any potential ex-clients that might want revenge (though most of the time, the tweels are the one causing damage to him). When he’s eventually left alone you take that as a sign to attack. You honestly don’t know what you’re expecting when you jump out, but you certainly weren’t expecting his eyes to almost bulge out of their sockets and him sprint in the other direction. He’s halfway down the street before he realizes what’s happening. With the air of a true professional he turns on his heel, straight back towards you. You’ve never seen him with that expression before. You might want to run before he tries to take your house again.
To many, Jade has the front of someone unaffected, gentle and friendly. To those that actually know him, they know it’s far from the truth. Just before you leap out at Jade, he’s smiling his same smile, eyes half closed, not a care in the world. When you strike, he’s flinches, hard, not moving, as if his feet have been glued to the ground. His eyes shoot open and his lips twitch, though, they quickly calm when he takes in the sight of lil’ old you. Inside, he actually quite surprised that you managed to spook him like that, the outside on the other hand…Make sure that you don’t leave your food unattended for the next week or so.
You must have a death wish when you decide that you want to scare Floyd. You wait until he's alone and strike, leaping out of your hiding spot with the scariest face you can manage, the next thing you know you’re being lifted in the air, the air being sucked out of you by how tightly he’s squeezing you. He twirls around with you in his hold, giggling like a madman. It’s only after he spins enough that you’re dizzy does he recognize that it’s you he just squeezed the daylights out of. If you don’t want your ribs to be damaged any more than they are you should probably get running.
Kalim has unfortunately been through many life or death situations in the 17 years he's been alive, it comes with being the heir of the most well-known richest family in Twisted Wonderland. Over time, though, he has adapted, potentially for the worst if you ask Jamil. When you scare him, you think he'll scream and laugh it off. What you don't anticipate is him to take off so fast he leaves a cloud of dust behind! Feeling bad you chase after him which leads to the both of you running through the courtyard, him screaming and you pleading and apologizing. Once he calms down, he'll laugh like you two didn't run half a marathon.
Being a servant to one of the richest families in Twisted Wonderland, Jamil has been through several life or death situations. Over the years he’s picked up some martial arts, unaware to many and especially to you. One second you’re launching yourself at him, the next you’re flat on your back, a magic pen pointed at your face. It takes him a second to recognize your face and when he eventually does he isn’t happy. He scoffs, chiding you before walking away, leaving you in the same position. You’re definitely going to need to make it up to him.
Silver is simultaneously the hardest and easiest person to scare. For one, it's rather easy to find him sleeping away in some random corner of the school. It's the perfect opportunity, but wanting to see his reaction you wait until he's awake and alert. You jump out from behind a bush, arms spread out and voice attempting to sound as animalistic as possible. Your scream quickly turns into something sounding more like fear as your arm is grabbed and you’re taken down to the ground in some twisted up pretzel. After a moment of your screams, he releases you, extremely apologetic. Miraculously, Silver managed to turn you into the victim.
a/n — potential ooc for a select few.
azul’s based on octopus inking and shooting away when they’re scared.
SYNOPSIS — Being a magical girl is no easy job, especially when you have seven villains that get really under your skin. Don’t even get you started on the increasingly annoying underlings!
NOTE(s) — magical girl au, gn!reader, magical girl persona is yuuna, description of injury for both reader and OB boys, villain forms are basically their overblot forms (small exceptions), villain names are book titles, accidentally gave too much screen time to the goons.
WORDS — 5.5k
You know that your week has truly started when you detect a large amount of blot accumulating in the Heartslabyul district. It's always bright and early in the morning, you're still finishing up your breakfast when you arrive at the scene.
The Rose-Red Tyrant is at it again. Decked in red and black and card decorations. He uproots trees, destroys building with his face as red as his hair.
He doesn't talk much when you fight him beside the shrill screams that escape him whenever you land a particularly harsh hit. So you do most of the talking. He isn't that fond of that. He's one of your more stronger opponents. His attacks can be detrimental if they hit you, blocking off any type of magic you summon. Furthermore, Grim's fire can only do so much against someone that also attacks with fire. Though, that doesn't stop you from making quick work of him. With one hedgehog accidentally making its way onto the battle field and broken fire hydrant later, you manage to subdue him.
The Tyrant is tightly held in flame ribbons, shrieking and attempting to loosen his bindings. Blot leaks off him and onto the concrete forming a small puddle.
When you get close enough, you're stopped. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Ginger clones trap you in a circle, forming a human wall on all sides. Oh great. The Diamond is here.
You raise your staff, Grim shakes in anticipation, ready to hash out another beating. You shout out a chant, ready to lash the villain with a burst of flames, but nothing comes out but a explosion of confetti.
You sigh, shoulders slumping as you turn. The Clover.
There's really nothing you can do with Grim's magic being turned into streamers. You could technically fist-fight your way out, but you rather not take your chances.
Grim only shakes with rage in your hand as you watch The Spade and Heart undo your bindings on the Tyrant. You catch the murmurings of The Heart, something about not getting paid enough.
When the ribbon is finally undone, the red-head regains his composure, wiping of dust and blot off his dress. He smirks at you like you didn't wipe the floor with him. You can hardly see him over The Diamond's clones but that doesn't stop him from monologuing.
"Is that the best you can do Yuuna? You're a fool to think that you could beat me. IT'S OFF WITH YOUR--"
"-Um, your Majesty. We should leave at once. The authorities will be here soon." The Clover’s voiced is laced with hesitance. The clones and The Clover's hat cover most of your vision, but you can still make out the very apologetic look on his face. Whether that was towards you or his boss, you are not sure.
The Tyrant takes the info much more calmly than you expected. "Hmph. The next time we face off you won't be so lucky."
And then they're gone. Vanishing in a quick flash of light to who knows where.
They leave behind a furious familiar and a disinterested magical girl.
Monday's suck.
Tuesdays aren't much better. Its always around noon when the familiar scent of blot begins to formulate around the Savanaclaw district. Your lunch remains at your desk, uneaten, much to Grim's chagrin, as you race your way over to a large lush sports field. The Usurper From The Wild greets with a disintegrating piece of concrete to your head.
It's always fun with him. You two have good banter when he's in the mood.
Two large lions made of sand are on each side of him. He sits in a makeshift throne out of sandstone and dirt, a disinterested look on his face as he yawns. Everyone from the stands are long since gone, perhaps it was purposeful on his part. Neither of you would have to hold back now.
"Well look what the cat dragged in." He doesn't respond to your attempt at a joke with more than a smirk. Holding an arm out, the lions pounce towards you, following their master's command.
You dispatch the lions quickly, turning them into nothing more than glass sculptures by the time you're done with them. You staff shakes as Grim sneezes, complaining about all the dust and sand.
With his familiars crushed, The Usurper finally stands up from throne, stretching out his muscles. He grins, a crazed look in his eye as he pounces like a bolt of lighting.
The ensuing battle is fierce. Your uniform is in a desperate need of a patch up in places where the villain had managed to scrape you. When all is said and done, you end up on top. He lays on his back, chest rapidly moving up and down, trying to catch his breath. You stand over him, staff pointed at his neck. Just as you are about to spout out another spell he grins again, you narrow your eyes, tensing and awaiting for any sudden movements.
When it comes it's not from him.
A heavy weight tackles you. You back harshly hits the dirt and your staff is knocked away. A large white wolf leers over you. Attempting to move is futile as your actions are no longer yours to make.
You see a hyena laid flat on the floor in front of you. His shoulders move up and down in barely contained giggles.
The Hyena and The Wolf. Great.
The Usurper manages to sit himself back up. He doesn't spare you any words, only a cocky grin that makes your eyebrow twitch. He picks up the still laying Hyena and places him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
He whistles and the wolf steps off you. The pressure on your chest disappears, but you still can't move. It's only as they get out of eyesight is your body finally yours again.
You pick yourself off the ground and walk over to where Grim is. He flops around on the group, being without a user makes him effectively useless.
You grab him and he sighs in relief before that relief quickly turns to rage at the lack of villains in the vicinity.
Tuesdays are a pain in the back, literally.
Wednesdays are peculiar. Its around peek traffic time. Those working nine to fives make their ways home. Its just around closing time when you sense a large amount of blot appear in the Octavinelle domain.
The Merchant From The Depths is hard to miss. He stands around the height of a small building. You would have to be blind to miss him. You would have called him a Kraken if you didn't take notice that he had eight legs rather than ten.
He talked. A lot. Much more than you. To put it simply, he’s very annoying.
He’s downtown. Destroying and shaking the foundation of every building he crashes into. He holds a large golden trident summoning water that pelts into you.
He is Grim’s favorite villain to fight based on the salty seafood smell that lingers on him. In contrast, he’s your least favorite. The water he summons doesn’t do you any favors, never failing to put out any flames you fight with.
You have to try a different approach to him.
“Hello there, benefactor.” He smiles up at you from your position in the air. “Have you thought about the contract previous discussed?”
He summons a golden parchment paper that size of his hand. Which, in this form, would take you a whole hour to sign legibly. The blot on his fingers stain the paper. To make matters more annoying, the font is so small that you would need a magnifying glass to understand it! The Merchant was a scammer all right.
You don’t grace him with a response, too busy angrily squeezing water out of your hair. Grim purrs in delight, lost in his own daydreams.
When you deem yourself dry enough, you focus on the villain in front of you. You summon as much of Grim’s magic into your body as possible and launch yourself at the octopus.
It doesn’t take you long to knock the schemer down a peg.
You float above him as he shrinks to a more manageable size. A small crater formed where he lays. You legs slightly burn with strain, but you ignore it.
He chuckles, lifting himself up into a sitting position with his elbows. Even in the face of defeat he still manages to slap on some bravado.
“It seems l-like you didn’t like the terms of this contract.” His eyes darts towards yours and then to something behind you. “How…unfortunate.”
You raise an eyebrow, pointing your staff you begin chanting—
“—SHRIMPYYY.” what.
A sudden weight pulls you down. You look to your legs. A sharp tooth moray grips onto them tightly, smiling like he’s won the lottery.
“What are yo—Get off me!” You struggle in his hold, the more you fight the tighter he seems to grasp your legs. Grim shouts something unintelligible as a horrid realization crosses through your mind.
Where’s the other one?
“fufufu~ now, now. Don’t hog them.” Slimy arms wrap around your midsection. You almost scream from shock as the sudden weight breaks your concentration. The levitation spell shatters. You fall. Down. Down. Down. Down.
SLAM
The concrete hurts, but the tight grip that the Moray Twins have on you somehow hurts more. They both giggle as if something really funny happened and you hadn’t crashed into the earth like a meteor at a speed that would have certainly killed someone if it wasn’t you.
Their giggles trail off and somehow their grip gets tighter.
“Meh. That was boringg!”
“Then, let’s finish this.”
They don't leave you in any anticipation. You yelp as electricity surges through you, the moistness of your outfit acting as a weapon against you.
The twins separate you with a huff. You can only glare as your body helplessly twitches, the after effects of the electricity still running through you. The Merchant looks down at you.
“Hmm, perhaps next time I can come up with terms that we both agree on.” He giggles like he said the funniest joke before turning on his heel (tentacles?) and making his way down the street. The two morays flank him at both sides, rambunctiously discussing their next business venture.
You’re not going to be able to move for a while so you stare at the fading skyline, trying to ignore the crying Grim and the smell of fish lingering on you.
Wednesday’s stink.
In a perfect world, Thursday’s are calm. Your world is far from perfect. It’s around dinner time when you catch a whiff of blot forming around the Scarabia sector. You scarf down the rest of your dinner as you rush into the fight.
The Schemer of the Scalding Sands is a sight to behold. Everyone has their eyes on him, not daring to look away, or rather, they can’t. The Schemer pets a larger viper that slides along side him. It glares into every scared face that it comes across.
You have half the mind to blindfold yourself as you reveal your presence to the villain.
He’s not a chatterbox, but when he gets going it’s loud and bold. He (occasionally) has enough wit to rival you!
“AHa! I was wondering when you would show up.” You don’t dare meet his eyes, rather you stare at his chin. It doesn’t stop him from trying to make you meet his eyes. You learned the hard way not to meet his gaze. It only brought trouble. “Now that you’re here we can get the real show started!”
It’s crowded. There could be some injuries if you fought here. Furthermore, that viper of his is unpredictable.
“C’mon, why don’t you—“ You bolt towards him, getting close enough to grab his collar, then launch him. His flies through the air, gaping, clearly not expecting the surprise attack. The viper disappears into red dust as he gets a distance away.
“YIPEE!” You mock, fondly remembering a past memory. You channel the magic into your legs and launch forward, flying to the direction of where you threw him.
You end up in a town square. The Schemer coincidentally lands in a fountain, well, it was a fountain before he slammed into it.
He shoots up, spluttering out water. He glowers at you, the snakes in his hair loudly hissing. Blot accumulates around him covering up to his elbows in the gooey substance.
“HOW DAR—“
You balance your staff on your shoulders, it slightly vibrates as Grim giggles. “C’mon let’s get this over with. Yuuna wants some desert!”
The battle is a tad bit harder than you expected, probably from the fact that you riled him up before hand. But you win with only a tad bit more scraps and bruises than usual.
Your shoulder makes a satisfying popping sound as you stretch it. You shout a chant and the half-conscious villain only mumbles in protest as flame bindings wrap around him.
“Job well done if I don’t say so mys—“
“—HEEEEYY.” You pause, turning around to stare at the out of breath man that runs up to you.
He places his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Then, as if a bolt of lightning struck him he jumped up with energy.
“Hi Yuuna! I-I’m such a big fan. My name is Kalim do you remember me?” He feels around his pants, before frowning at the emptiness. “can you uh—autograph my…Oh.”
You are no stranger to Kalim Al-Asim. He never fails to show up whenever a battle is fought in the Scarabia sector.
While you’re tired, you still have to look the part of magical girl, so you plant a smile on your face. “Of course I remember you. Though, I will have to say that being in an active battle field isn’t the safest.”
He blinks. Seemingly confused at your concern.
“…this is my backyard.”
“what.” You rapidly move your head side to side scanning the area. You could have swore this was the center of the town. Now that you were really looking, you could make out the large archways of the Asim state. Oh. Who’s backyard looked like this??
You cleared your throat, regaining your lost composure. “Well…nevertheless! I need to get this evildoer to confinement now—”
“Oh! Wait just—“ He cut you off, eyes darting every which way. He peeked over your shoulder. His expression went from nervous to a shaky smile. “Okay then!”
You frowned, turning around not understanding his shift in composure.
...
you cannot be serious.
The Schemer was nowhere in sight. You hadn’t even felt your restraints be broken and based off the shocked chirp Grim gave out he hadn’t noticed either. You had been too focused on Kalim to—
You did a 180’. You felt your face drop at the empty space where the young man once stood.
You stood in silence. Tightly gripping your staff. You had somehow managed to be outsmarted by a half-conscious villain and some civilian!
.
.
“Can we still get desert.”
“Shut up Grim.”
Thursdays hurt in more ways than one.
Fridays are days where people around your age go out and live up the night. Unfortunately for you, your night is occupied by the blot forming over the Pomefiore district. You dart over, wanting to finish it as quickly as possible to get back home.
The Maquillaville lights are bright and blinding even for this time of night. Though, unlike usual, the streets are empty. A few citizens run past you as you catch sight of the villain.
The Beautiful Tyrant (his words not yours) beckons you over with a ink covered finger. The terrain around him is slightly disintegrated, floating up in small chunks. Yet, not a single speak dares to touch him or his dress.
He's a conversationalist, all right. Whenever you make a comment he snaps right back as if he already had what you will say memorized.
Thick, black miasma forms when you get close enough. It takes everything in your power not to launch into a coughing fit.
"Tone it down will ya?" Your voice strains, but you make it work. "You trying to give me popcorn lungs?"
"I wouldn't want to hurt the star performer...Not too badly at least." He says the last part in a mumble. You strain your ears to hear. "And besides, who will tell me that I'm the fairest of them all if not you?"
There's a teasing bite to his words that makes you chuckle.
However, there's no time for small talk. Muttering a small chant to yourself, you launch in the air. Grim's yells in relief at the fresh air.
The area is clear. All residents have evacuated safely, which means there's no need to hold back.
This'll be the show of a lifetime.
The sky explodes with blue and purple light as you clash. A small part of you fears that if the fire comes into contact with the miasma it will light the town in flames like oil, but it never comes.
With a final hit, The Beautiful Tyrant lays flat on his back against the polished concrete of Maquillaville, flame ribbons wrapped tightly around him.
He doesn't say much, only the subtle twitching of his lips tells you that he's still conscious.
You land on the ground just as a black police van turns the corner.
"Looks like I won the skirmish this time." A single hatted man steps out of the van. You release the restraints just as they're replaced with handcuffs. "Tell me how Vargas is in jail. I'm sure he'll love some company."
The Tyrant is hauled up, he lifts his head to meet your eyes, a sharp grin on his face. He doesn't look that upset for someone that just lost.
"You got lucky. Until next time, Yuuna."
He's loaded into the back of the van just as something crashes into you. It not hard, just enough for you to temporarily loose your balance.
When you turn to meet the assailant, the first thing that greets you is the back of their blond head.
"I-I'm sorry!" They're bowing, almost at a 90 degree angle. Impressive. They don't allow you to get a word out before they are snapping back up, light blue eyes watering.
"I didn't mean too—I just wan—no needed to get your autograph!" They sudden tense and their voice turns sharp as if every word is painful to get out. "Please...sign my super rare...Yuuna plush."
There's a moment of silence as you take in the blond. Their blond hair is pulled up into two twin tails with little bows. They wear a light green dress with black buttons.
Cute. They almost look kinda familiar with those big blue eyes.
"Uh, sure." They step into your space, holding a plush and a marker. You take note, like a weirdo, of their scent. They smell like jasmine, lavender, and something else you can't quite pick up. "And who should I make this out to?"
Before they can respond, the back of the van slams shut. You fleetingly glance at the same officer as he passes you. He raises his cap to you, revealing sharply cut hair and friendly green eyes that sparkle at you. wait.
why is there only one officer?
"Au revoir~" He sings it in a sickly sweet cadence that has you gasping.
The Hunter.
You try to move, really you do, but you take one step and come crashing down into the dirt. The marker and plush comes launching out of your hands, but it never touches the ground. Delicate hands scoop them up.
You're tired. It comes quick, almost blinding you. A poisonous perfume. Or well, one that makes you pass out.
A blond wig is thrown into your line of sight. You hear an annoyed 'tsk' as it steps over you and towards to passenger side of the van. You see a flash of periwinkle.
The Poison Apple.
"Took ya long enough!"
"I apologize, Monsieur!"
"Yeah...yeah."
Grim is screaming for you to get up from somewhere behind you, the faint sound of the staff rolling around is almost humorous, but you're too tired to pay him any mind.
In fact, you're too tired to do anything at all.
The gentle hum of the van's engine starting up again is the last thing that you hear before you succumb to the slumber.
Fridays are tiring.
Saturdays are meant to be relaxing. No work. No clients. Just a day to yourself. And for the most part it is. That is until 2am when you’re awoken by the sound of an alarm telling you that blot has accumulated over the Ignihyde sector.
You’re still rubbing the sleep out of your eyes when you make it onto the scene. Grim is babbling, still clinging onto the last remnants of tiredness. Due to his lack of focus, the transformation spell was clumsy. Your bows are all crooked.
The Watchman of the Underworld is large, the size of a small skyscraper. The mech he pilots is gaudy. Too many small useless details that make your head spin. Furthermore, the bright blue flames erupting from the top of its head hurts your recently awoken eyes.
“MWAH HA HA. This time it’ll be game over for you, Yuuna!” You can faintly see The Watchman in the control room from the mechs glass eye.
He talks a lot. In lingo you haven’t used since middle school. He did tend to go quiet when he was mad though…new goal set.
“Take a gander at this!” A laser beam shoots out from the other eye, straight at you. You barely have time to dodge, rolling onto a nearby building. Your sleeve has been completely singed off. Damn it!
This mech is all new and improved, you can tell that much. You can hear him cackling as you get up, dusting off your uniform you grip your staff tightly, it simmers with magic.
The Watchman is tricky to fight. The mech is huge, it could easily destroy everything in its path, either purposefully or accidentally. You didn’t think the guy drunk with power cared about a few buildings. Along with that, it was fire repellent, which meant no fire magic.
You channeled magic into your body. Seems like you would have to tear it down bit by bit.
With one last appendage ripped of the mech you launch yourself into the glass eye of the mech, leg first. You see The Watchman’s expression get increasingly more terrified the closer you get. He raises his arms in a defense, his hair turning more orange by the second. The blot covering his body would act as a shield, but it would protect him. You were sure of it.
He just manages to dodge out of the way as you break in. You crash through the glass, it breaks easily under the pressure of your foot.
You tumble slightly, but quickly regain your footing, holding a defensive position.
“This ends now.” He doesn’t pay you any mind, too busy rapidly tapping away on a holographic screen.
“Are y—Are you seriously ignoring me!?” The nerve of this guy!
You begin a chant of restraints but quickly fall out of balance as a sudden rumbling takes hold of the control room.
You don’t have enough time to resume your chant as a small cylinder pod comes out of the ground and opens up, and a small humanoid robot opens its eyes and launches itself at you.
You yelp as you’re pushed back through the glass and into the cold night air.
The humanoid has flame blue hair and sharp teeth like his creator. Though it takes you a second to recognize him. He looks different from last time you saw him. He now wears mechanical black tactical gear, probably flame repellent. You can’t see his holograph yellow eyes as they’re covered by a black dog mask..? Moreover, the rest of his body shares the same dog-like features his hands—no paws are sharp, same thing with his legs, now paws.
Ortho. Last time you saw him he was unmoving on the ground, having overworked his energy system.
Good to know he was back in working condition.
You can’t help but let a grin form on your face.
“Long time no see!”
He doesn’t indulge you with a response but you can see his, now uncovered, face beam.
His boosters shoot you downwards. Straight into the ground. Grim is panicking, flailing around in your hand. You’re moving so fast that lifting your arms is almost impossible, so, you don’t try to. You summon as much defensive magic into your back at you can.
The landing onto the concrete isn’t that bad. It still hurts, no doubt about that, but at least you have the ability to stand up. It’s clumsy and your hold on your staff is weak but—
In a flash, Ortho rips the staff out of your hand and spears it away from you. Grin’s screech slowly fades away with the increasing distance.
You furrow your eyebrows and look at the boy. “That was rude.”
He shrugs sheepishly, vocalizes a quick ‘sorry!’, and then blasts off towards the control room of the mech, no doubt going to flee with his creator.
You look in the direction of where Grim was thrown and sigh. You don’t have to have the staff in your hold to use Grim’s magic but it becomes much more unstable. And the Ignihyde sector has already seen enough destruction tonight.
You jog over to the yowling cat. He’s stuck in between some rubble, sounding like he’s about to cry.
By the time you free him The Watchman and Ortho are already gone. The mech slumps over, still standing.
The lights in the control room are off.
Saturdays are a struggle.
Sundays are melancholic. You’re mentally preparing to go back to work the next day. Dreading it, you attempt to get some shut eye.
It’s around 5am, just about when the sun is about to come up when you hear it, or rather feel it. Soft vibrations that jolt you awake. You rush to the Diasomnia district prior to your blot senses going off.
You feel The Lord Of Malevolence before you see him. The vibrations are ten time worse in the area, every step causing buildings to shift and creek. He's large, almost tall enough to hit any landing planes.
He trudges through, blot creating almost a snail trail after him. Green eyes lazily scan through the town.
The Lord never talks much. You were no therapist but he almost seemed...sad? Though it didn't really matter when he's creating millions of dollars worth of property damage. Your job was to defeat him, get him out of his dragon form. and down to a manageable size.
When you float down in front of his eyes he remains silent, he exhales, smoke erupts from his nostrils, tiredly. It seems like he knows what's about to happen. Though you doubt he'll go down without a fight. It would make your job too easy.
The Lord is never fun to fight. He doesn't give you anything to play off of. No teasing remarks. No degrading. Kinda borning.
He's a master of all elements, able to switch seamlessly. Furthermore, his sleep magic, if it hits, would be deemed unfavorable. You're pretty certain that your aurora-eyed savor won't come to save you a second time.
Grim grumbles with uncertainty. The sleep had long since left both of you.
The smell of ash fills the air as you ready your staff.
With a few building decimated with a human shaped imprints imbedded in the walls later, The Lord was defeated.
He shrinks down, temporarily filling the district with steam. You slowly descend, a blank expression on your face. Fights like these made you remember yourself. You took on the persona of Yuuna for a reason.
The Lord, now at human-size, sits in almost a fetal position. His eyes, tired, are the only part of his face that isn't covered by hair, blot, injuries, or a combination of all three.
"Sorry about this." Its the only pleasantry you can muster. Blue flames tightly wrap around him. He doesn't fight it.
You can faintly make out the sound of incoming police sirens.
"It seems like our time is up."
"It seems so." He gives you a small smile, almost apologetic. "Good luck, Child of Man."
...good luck?
A small pair of arms wrap around your shoulders, giving you a tight squeeze. You feel your heart drop to your stomach. You hadn't sensed a thing.
"Boo!" You don't move. You don't even react. A head leans on your shoulders. You turn your head to see exactly whom you've feared.
The General.
You see his pink highlights and toothy grin for a split second before he's removing himself from you. You spin your body in his direction, staff at the ready just as a bolt of green propels into you.
The breath is knocked from your lungs. Through bleary eyes you see The General wave goodbye to you before making his way to his master. You're in no position to worry about that as The Bolt is tackling you through a building.
You land on your back, his weight pressed into your midsection, locking his arms around you so tightly that you're sure to have bruises in the morning.
You whack him with your staff, huffing through a chant as his impossibly tight hold somehow manages to get tighter. Your spell is only about half as effective as it normally is but it gets the job done.
In a flash of fire he's thrown off you into nearby rubble. You take the time while he's discombobulated to regain your balance. The back half of your uniform is ripped to smithereens, revealing your now cut up back. The morning air stings as it brushes against it.
The Bolt yelps in pain, slowly regaining his bearings. You won't allow him to. Just as he peaks his head out the spell is already on your tongue, now infused with a little bit of healthy rage.
The spell never hits, though. A silver blade reflects it into the side of the building.
BOOM
The Knight stands there. As elegant as ever. The falling rubble makes him look annoyingly cool. His helmet firmly over his head, not a single hair escapes it.
He points his sword at you, saying something to your assailant in the rubble. Whatever they are discussing is debatable topic based on the way The Bolt strongly argues back. Their conversation is cut short by another blast of flame the shoots towards them.
The Knight in the nick of time manages to push The Bolt out of the way and they go tumbling. He shouts something at his companion, marking the conversation effectively over.
The Knight is quick to regain his balance, a fierce determination to his stance.
You inhale. Hold your breath for a few seconds. Exhale.
Your battle takes you through the multiple floors of the building. It’s irritating how graceful his movements are. Always parrying your slowing attacks. Hitting you with a barrage of confusing movements. Never hurting you too badly.
It’s when you reach the highest floor of the building do you put your foot down.
"Fight me!" Your hands are white from the intensity of your grip on your staff. Grim whimpers in your hold. You know that The Lord and General are probably long gone. You refuse to accept another failure. You'll at least capture their underling. One or both. It doesn't matter.
The Knight pauses, slightly shifts his weight foot to the other. You prepare for another attack that never comes.
He cocks his head towards the broken window. The intensity of which you both fought having destroyed the glass long ago.
As if some sort of signal was shown he straightens back up. Stiff as a board. His sword lowers and he has the utter audacity to bow.
“You fought well. Thank you.” It catches you off guard. You hate how sincere he sounds.
Using your sudden bewilderment, he pounces. Grim is knocked out of your hand. He slides towards the other side of the room. You bolt towards the staff. The Knight bolts in the opposite direction.
You began vocalizing the spell before you even touch Grim. You snap around, holding Grim like a minigun as a burst of flames engulfs the room.
When the smoke clears you jump up. Nothing. You run over to the window, broken glass crunching underneath your shoes. Wild eyes scan back and forth and back and forth and back and forth—nothing.
No Knight. No Bolt. No General. And especially no Lord Of Malevolence.
The feline is quiet. Your harsh breathing fills the scene.
“Let’s go home, Henchman.”
…
“okay.”
Sundays are wretched.
Monday is tomorrow and you’ll do it all over again. Hopefully next week is more satisfactory.
A/N: Yuuna is good at their job I swear! This was originally going to be a longer Vil fic but I never got the momentum to finish it. I really did enjoy writing this tho!
— based off my headcanon that if yuu was a playable character they would get perfects in the lessons until crowley comes in.
WORDS: 1.6k
— ALCHEMY
Alchemy is one of the easier classes for you. Most of the practical assignments don’t involve magic, rather a herb or chemical you’ve never heard of, still hard, but obtainable.
Due to this unfamiliarity with the basics, it requires complete and utter focus when mixing a concoction. An extra grain of salt will have your project blowing back onto you. Stirring for too long will have the color changing to a calming lavender to a toxic green. Perfection is needed for alchemy.
So, holding the ingredients with one hand and the instructions in the other, you carefully drop a single—
“Hello class!” The door slams open as the annoyingly sing-song voice enters the room. The entire bottle of chrysanthemum petals falls into the cauldron. Your face turns white, hands still in the air, slightly twitching. “Ah, I hope I’m not interrupting.”
From the corner of your eye you see every student straighten their backs. Shocked faces turning concentrated and focused, measuring and studying their concoctions like their lives are on the line. You hear Crewel chastise Crowley, but you’re far too focused on the bubbling and fizzing of your project. You look at the instructions, flipping through pages just as Grim returns to your pot, locking in after fighting with Ace and Deuce for the last 15 minutes.
You have no idea what you're looking at, none of the pages describe what to do when you've accidentally put an ingredient ten times more than necessary. And neither does Grim based on the confused hums he's letting out.
You take a seat on the floor, tightening your lab goggles while glaring at Crowley. After a few moments of staring he notices, walking over with a bright smile on his face.
"Why, hello there, Prefect!" He peers over the cauldron, "doing your best I suppos—" He freezes, realizing what his face is directly over. You would be lying if you said you didn't slightly enjoy the frightened look on his face. You cover everything under your eyes with your hands.
"You should really learn how to knock." Your voice is muffled and the headmage has barely any time to pull away before the cauldron explodes, covering you, him, and everyone in a nearby radius is bright red goop.
— HISTORY
While alchemy is manageable, history is not. It's hard to get a grasp of a concept when you don't have the basic background knowledge all the other freshman have continually learned over the last 15 years. The amount of children's picture books you've checked out from the library would have been embarrassing if you had any dignity left to spare.
While you have no doubt that Trein is a good teacher, he's been doing this for awhile after all, it doesn't make learning an entirely unfamiliar concept easier when he's droning on in the most boring fashion. Deuce, on your left, is nodding off besides you, pen threatening to slip from his fingers, while Ace, on your right, has been asleep for the last ten minutes, having his notebook standing up and blocking him from Trein's view. You can barely hear the sounds of Grim snoring over the whirl of Ortho's internal fans somewhere behind you.
None are your friends are making this easier.
“Now, who can tell me a reason on why the Great Rose War started?” Trien’s voice rings out, startling few from their slumbers. Your eyes struggle to remain open, but you still flip through your notebook, looking for the section asked. The pages are filled with a mixture of elegant penmanship and unintelligible scribbles with the occasional doodle in the corner. It honestly depended whether or not you were able to grasp the simple concept.
Luckily for you, The Great Rose War was nice and highlighted, having been taken on a good day.
The answer is in clear bullet points. You slowly raise your hand, looking around and noticing you’re the only one doing so. Trien picks on you with a tilt of his head, nodding when you give a correct answer.
You relax back into your seat, the quota of you being called on for the day is complete, willingly at that.
Leaning into your open palm, you flicker between rest and wake. A little power nap wouldn’t kill anyone-
SLAM
A nearby window is shoved open, a lanky figure crawls through and stands tall, placing his hands on his hips.
“Do excuse me!” Trien only sighs at the headmages’ theatrics.
The classroom is flipped upside down. Everyone straightens at attention, your eyes widen, sleep disappearing as you rapidly look around the room.
Taking advantage of everyone’s attentiveness, Trien rapid fire shoots out questions, multiple hands going up with each one. You turn towards your friends, watching as they answer the questions with such ease as if it was breathing. Five seconds ago they were sleeping!
Too lost in your thoughts you miss the speed in which everyone is called, forcing Trien to turn his attention to those not raising their hands.
Your name being called turns your blood cold. Too focused with observing the absurdity of the situation, you completely missed the question, being left in the dust and forced to stutter out the first answer that comes to mind.
The classroom goes silent, the buzz of Crowley’s appearance instantly snuffed. Your face feels hot as Trien’s eyes narrow. He corrects you without having to say you’re wrong, moving swiftly along.
“Hmm,” Crowley places a clawed fingernail to his chin. He stands directly in front of where the students sit, eyes lifted towards the ceiling. Your eyes dart towards him, slightly twitching. “What a shame. I expected better.” You grit your teeth, sinking into your chair as the class continues.
— FLIGHT
You don’t have any magic, which in a magic school, is kinda important. Gym, or flight class is something you can’t take part in. There are, of course, aids, pre-enchanted brooms, to name one, but considering your magic reserves are zero ( 0.00 ) there would be no way for you to control the movements.
At first, you had been bummed out, though that had quickly faded upon realization that this could be your free period!
That joy lasted all of three minutes.
Vargas had pushed you back into the locker rooms before immediately forcing you to run laps around the area where everyone practiced their techniques.
Now, you jogged your third lap, lightly panting from the exertion. Ace and Deuce waved from atop their brooms as you passed, Grim was far too busy trying not to fall off his to pay you any mind.
Your legs ached, tense from the errands you had been forced to run a day prior. That and the constant back and forth walks to Ramshackle took a toll. You didn’t dare show any exhaustion, the fear that Vargas would notice and run with you, shouting encouraging words that didn’t feel too encouraging when he clearly wasn’t struggling and you clearly were.
Forcing your thoughts away from the pain in your legs, you thought about everything and anything. What were you going to eat for dinner? How long would it take you to compete your homework tonight? Would Hornton come and visit or would it be an off day?
Before you knew it, the fourth lap was complete. As you neared, you could hear the laughter of your classmates, all splayed on the grass taking their five minute breaks. The water bottle in your backpack was calling your name, you could feel yourself cry from the relief. Or maybe that was sweat. Why was a jumpsuit apart of the gym uniform anyways?
However, when you were about to stop, the gods themselves heard your relief and sent their strongest soldier.
He descended from the sky like an angel, or in your case, a devil, laughing all the way down. How he managed to do that without a broom is far beyond your knowledge.
“Pop Quiz!”
Everyone sprung up and away from the grass like it was a tub of electric eels, running to grab their brooms. Your classmates, including your slacker friends, soared into the air when Crowley dared to even look in their direction. Students that normally struggle, fly as tall as buildings. Some do a spins in the air. It’s a flawlessness you don’t think would be possible any other time.
On instinct, your feet carry you away from the scene, your head still turned in the direction, pace a fast walk rather than a run.
The headmage’s appearance was both a blessing and a curse. The attention was all off you. Blessing. The same man that was responsible for your soreness was in the vicinity. Curse.
Once again, at the mere thought of you obtaining any pleasure, the gods step in. In your path is a rock, not particularly a big one, but not a pebble either. Just big enough to hinder your path. Your attention, still grasped by the flight show, missed this detail.
You tripped, head twisting, arms flailing, you hit the concrete. Asphalt digging into your skin. You cursed, brushing it off you while shaking away any pain. The stinging subsided fast enough, you’re lucky you caught yourself in time AND that everyone is too distracted to notice your little slip.
Oh, you’re feeling relief? Nuh uh.
“Run faster now, Prefect!” Crowley calls out, hands cupped over his mouth to amplify the sound. He fully turned to direct all his attention at you. “Those laps aren’t going to complete themselves!”
Eyes wide, you slowly turn, still on your hands and knees. There’s a calmness that expands over your body, like some sort of parchment paper. You closed your eyes. Then you exploded.
Your shouts of indignation carried across the track, following the bird as he gleefully trotted off, a pep in his step.
