Episode 4: The Tactician of Scalding Sands
Episode 4-14: Lively Heel! + Episode 4-15: Unpredictable Tyrant! + Episode 4-16: Urgent Planning! + Episode 4-17: Outburst of Complaints! + Episode 4-18: Shadow of Destiny! + Episode 4-19: Unstable Leave! + Episode 4-20: Falling Underwater!
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[Scarabia dorm - east oasis]
3rd P. O. V
"Why, ain't this place is familiar." Quiinn smirk to herself, remembering her dream.
As Quiinn stare at the view before her, Grim catches her staring and asked, "Hey, what’re you spacing out for, Quiinn? Did the heat finally get to you?" To which, Quiinn ignore it.
"All of you, stop!"
"A-are we finally at the Oasis…?" Asked Grim.
"We will be resting for 15 minutes, and then we’ll be marching back towards the dorm." Announced Jamil to the group as Grim scramble around, looking for water. "Water, water… Wha—This oasis has no water! Not even a single drop!"
"Wa…ter…? Water… Do you want some water?" Kalim asked.
'Oh, he finally awake.' Quiinn thought.
"Of course! My throat’s so dry…!"
"I’ll let you taste some of my specialty cool water if you want! “Rest in the hot sands for an endless banquet. Now sing! Dance!” Oasis Maker!" As Kalim said that, Quiinn felt a droplets of rain fell on her hair and nose and realized it was raining. "Holy Jesus."
"Whoa~~!! Blessed rains, finally~~!!"
"So good~! It’s perfect for a weary body…!"
"I feel alive again…!"
"Delicious, right! I can make as much rain as you want if you need water!
My unique magic is called “Oasis Maker”. I can make a lot of delicious water with just a little bit of magic, you know~?" Kalim explain cheerfully. Quiinn sigh and sat on the ground or maybe it was more proper to say sands.
"Yanno… “Making lotsa water” sounds pretty ordinary for a unique magic…
There’re a lot of water-summoning magic, too, right…" Quiinn shot Grim a glare.
"Aw, don’t be like that. Making lots with only a little effort and magic is my Oasis Maker’s selling point. Being able to conjure lots of water during an age without proper water supplies and heating has its own merit, you know? Well, it is pretty mediocre in an age where water’s readily available, huh. Ahaha…! Still! I’m confident that the water I produce is the best one out there!"
"Now that you mention it… You have a point. It’s a gentle coolness and it’s not really tepid at all. It’s the kinda water that’s really fresh and makes me wanna drink it non-stop, yanno." Grim gave a smile as Jamil chimes in. "Can a monster differentiate between types of water though?"
That got Grim offended. "What?! Yer being rude! My sense of taste is unparalleled, yanno!"
Quiinn ruffles her hair and ignore them as her eyes traveled to whatever interesting she can find around.
Grim then tap her leg and whisper. "Don't you noticed that Kalim suddenly act like a different person? He's so strict just now. Why do you think he act like that?" Grim asked and Quiinn scoffed as she shook her head. "I wonder~"
"Hm, what’s that? Didja say something?"
"… Kalim, the break’s almost over. Let’s gather everyone and head back."
"Already? We can let them rest for a little bit longer, can’t we?"
"The sun will be at its peak if we wait a little longer. It’ll be harsher on everyone if we don’t move now." Kalim ponder and decided to agree to the vice dorm. "That makes sense. We’ll be eating when we get back, so let’s do our best!"
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[Scarabia dorm - lounge]
Quiinn plopped her head on the table with a sigh, she's going through some kind of pain right now *cough* period *cough*. She grumble and hold the pain as she ignored the conversation around her. "Shit, why now?!"
Quiinn look like a ded corpse. She's so pale. As pale as paper.
"Hey, all of you…How long do you plan on loitering here!? Who do you think you are, the king!?"
"WH-WHAT~~~~!?!?"
'Already? Jamil sure got some problem.' Quiinn's pain died down as she huffed and got up. 'Finally, why did you have to make your appearance now....' Y/N asked Quiinn if she's okay and her answer is, "Fuck no."
"He’s back to being scary Kalim again…!" Grim ran to Quiinn.
"You’re not exempted from this, Quiinn. I’ll make both of you train until late at night! To the garden now!" Quiinn snorted and shook her head. "Jamil, I have some major problem here." Quiinn called out and Jamil tilted his head. "What is it?"
"You see, god decided to make me period now. I can't go like this cuz cramps are killing me now." Quiinn place her hands on her stomach as Jamil thought to himself whether to let her stay or force her. "I'll discuss with Kalim. Wait here."
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"Kalim decided to let you stay while the rest of us go out. Don't end up running away." Jamil warned and Quiinn giggled as she hug him. "Say thank you to Kalim for me~" The gray haired girl gave Jamil a kiss and ran to her room, leaving the flustered boy. As for Grim.....well, Grim is mad cuz she can stay.
"Keep an eye on him, Y/N."
"You don't have to order me, I know what I have to do."
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"Alright, those two from Ramshackle Dorm should be locked inside properly."
"Let’s go check the other rooms, too."
"There’s a lot more students who try to sneak out… Prefect Kalim’s probably fed up with them by now…
And it seems like he’s not listening to Vice-Prefect Jamil’s advice, too…"
"I wonder how long this will go on for… I wanna go back home already…"
"Don’t lose heart now… I wanted to spend my holidays with my family, too, but…"
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[Scarabia dorm - empty private room]
"Ugh......." Quiinn groaned at the corner of the room as she crouches down. Grim, who's keeping a lookout for the guards, can only sweatdrop. "… Are the lookouts gone? That training was so tough it made me wanna puke, yanno? The Headmaster’s practically useless… We gotta do something about this on our own. And so, me being brilliant as ever, I’ve thought of a foolproof escape plan!"
Quiinn try her best to look at Grim. "And that is...????"
Grim then bring out....a spoon. "Listen and be amazed. I got hold of something useful for escaping. Look at this!" Quiinn blank face traveled to her features. "A spoon." Quiinn said. "Why did you sounded so disappointed?!" Quiinn sigh and continue to hold the pain. "Hey, listen to me first!" Quiinn look at Grim over her shoulder. "If we use this spoon to dig on the floor, we’ll be out in no time, yanno!"
"How can a spoon did such damage against this hard floor?" Quiinn miserably sighed. "Well, at least you use your brain for once."
"Leave this to me! I wasn’t called a famous excavator in my hometown for nothing, yanno! Go stand watch by the door." Quiinn shook her. "I can't. I'm in pain cuz god hate me." She then wave her hand as four puppets appears. "Two of you lookout for the guards, other two help Grim. I'm too tired to us my power right now. For now, I can only summon puppets."
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"Took us all night, but we finally made a decent hole. My arms are so tired, yanno…" Says Grim to Quiinn so he can strike a conversation but instead got a groaned as an answer. "Does is hurt so much?"
Quiinn glare at the cat. "How dare you fucking ask me that."
Then someone barges in. "Get up, rat! It’s time for morning training. We’ll be marching to the Oasis today."
The student dragged Grim out but left Quiinn behind.
"Why didn't you take Quiinn too?!"
"Vice dorm said to leave her."
"What?!"
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"Y/N, how's your end?" Asked Quiinn as she help out her puppet with the hole they dig. "Everyone look like a dried fish here." Says Y/N with a laugh following behind her sentences.
"I can tell, btw, what's new?"
"Jamil decided to hold a meeting without Kalim knowing tonight. You better come."
"I'll be there."
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[Scarabia dorm - lounge]
"Are you all here?"
"Yes… Where’s Prefect Kalim…?" Asked one of the Scarabia student to their vice dorm.
"He’s sleeping. I gave him some sleeping draught mixed in his herb tea, so he should be sound asleep." Reply Jamil as everyone sighed in relief while Grim ask, "So, what’s all this about? I’m already so tired… I wanna go and sleep soon, yanno…"
"We’re all tired, you know? Let’s just keep quiet and listen."
"I understand that you’re feeling unsatisfied with Kalim right now. He’s keeping you all in the dorm and making you train during holidays. He’s definitely being unreasonable. I don’t think that he’s doing the right thing either." The students asked him why he had let Kalim did so. "I tried multiple times. He just didn’t listen to me at all."
Quiinn gag once again.
"Yanno, you guys can take your complaints straight to Kalim if you’re that unsatisfied with it." Grim announced to the students.
"That’s, um… Well, it’s…" They trailed off.
"What? You can complain to Jamil but not to Kalim? You’re all bark and no bite, huh." Grim scoffed at them as Quiinn did the same, disappointed of their actions.
"N-no. We’ve tried complaining again and again, too."
"But when he’s not in one of his moods, the Prefect is really nice and bubbly, so…"
"We all really respected him before this started, you know? We thought that he was better than the other dorms’ prefects."
"He listened to me when I felt lost and uncertain when I first moved to the dorm."
"He accompanied me with training until morning when I couldn’t keep up with classes and thought of leaving the school."
"He’s a little bit random and sometimes hopeless, but we really liked him a lot. It was fun being a part of Scarabia. And now…"
"Yes, Kalim’s a really good Prefect. He doesn’t play favorites and he’s very humble and approachable. I wonder what happened…" Jamil said as he "ponder".
Quiinn sighed and leaned on the pillar as Grim spoke up. "Yanno? Won’t it be better if you go and take Kalim to a doctor or something? He’s getting unpredictable, and he acts like he’s a different person. It’s very strange, yanno? Did he eat something bad or something?"
"Still, a doctor, huh… The Asim Family has their own exclusive doctor, so maybe we should return home, but…Bringing him back home like that would probably cause some kind of trouble, too…" Quiinn stood up and walked away, to tired to listen to Jamil's shit. "Where are you going Quiinn?"
"Sleep. I'm tired to hear your shit."
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"Quiinn, wonder off at this time will get you into trouble." Warned Y/N to the gray haired girl but she kept quiet. "Your mood getting the better of you." Y/N said, trying to strike a conversation but once again, she was met with silence. "Fine, suits yourself. I'm trying to be helpful here but it seems like you don't need me."
"Y/N, I'm sorry. I'm just focusing on their discussion." Y/N scoffed. "Are you worried?" Y/N asked.
"No—Kalim!"
Quiinn hid in one of the room nearest to her and let Kalim past by her.
"Looks like they have another training coming. I'll head back to my room."
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[
Scarabia dorm - empty private room]
"I’m so tired… I can’t move another step…" The grey cat plopped down on the bed and Quiinn nudges Grim to look at the hole they made. "Ah, Quiinn! The hole widened! The both of us can fit through it. I'll go first."
Grim jumped in into the hole as Quiinn waited until it's her turn.
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[Scarabia dorm - hallway]
"Whew… We finally made it out."
Quiinn quickly cradle Grim and started running when she heard footsteps behind them. She hid inside the storeroom and sigh.
Quiinn turn on the light and met with the carpet.
"Wha—That shocked me…! I almost screamed…! This is Kalim’s treasure vault. Rich people are really something, huh! They don’t even lock the doors." Says Grim as he check the lock of the room.
"Forget that Grim. We need to go out now."
"But how—oh~ oh-ho. You're a smart one, Quiinn."
Quiinn chuckle. "Why, thank you." Quiinn then asked the carpet permission to ride on it and it happily lend a hand. Grim climb up to Quiinn as she hopped on the carpet. "Alright, let's go."
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[Sky]
"Yahoo!!! We did it!!! The prison-break was a success! We are free men~~~~~!!"
"I'm a girl but that works too."
Grim then take a peek at the students below and laugh when we they angrily pointed at him and Quiinn, who's up in the sky.
"Hehe! Try catching up if can!"
"Let's see.....how to maneuver you, dear carpet."
Grim then decided to maneuver it as Quiinn panicked. "Um… I remember Kalim pulling on the tassel over here… There!" The carpet suddenly felt alarmed and change direction. "Uwah!? It suddenly changed direction! Hey, listen to me!"
"That's not how you maneuver it, Grim!"
"GYAH!!!! I’m getting dizzy!!!!! STOP!!! STOP, I TELL YOU~~!!"
"AND I TELL YOU TO JUST LET ME TAKE OVER!!" Quiinn yelled as the cat finally let go of tassel. "Calm down, carpet!"
"AHHHHH~~!! We’re gonna crash into the mirror~~~!!"
"Ahh...."
"Fuck!" Quiinn rubbed her head as she look around. "Now where the fuck are we?"
"Oh, my. I was wondering who would be visiting so late at night." Jade voice popped up as Quiinn throw a pen but he managed to catch it. "Oh, I thought it was someone else. Sorry."
"I came here to check if there’s a sneaky thief around, but it’s just you two…How boring…" Quiinn furrowed her brow at that. "Oh, you find it boring? You're the one who said to visit you but oh well sorry for disturbing and bring a boringness. We'll head back to our dorm now." Quiinn stood up and cradle the dizzy Grim in her arms as Floyd stop her and apologize to her.
"There’s nowhere to run, you sneaky bastards!"
"Ah, talk about guest."
"Stay put and behave!"
"Wha–!? They chased us this far!? You’re all so persistent!" Grim growled at the students as a familiar voice spoke up. "What is this ruckus so late at night?" Asked Azul, who finally made his appearance.
"You’re Octavinelle’s Prefect Azul Ashengrotto…!"
"What is going on exactly?" Azul asked.
"This doesn’t concern Octavinelle! Can you hand those two over to us right now?"
"Oh, my, now that I look closely, these two on the floor are Quiinn-san and Grim-san. I almost mistook her for a dust cloth since she looked so dirty." Quiinn gave him a death glare and scoffed. She gave a middle finger to him. "Don't talk to me." Said Quiinn to Azul who's sweatdrop at her words.
"Azul! Can you please shoo them away?" Grim asked.
"Hmm..."
"We won’t let you off easily if you don’t hand them over right now!" Said one of the students persistently.
"Hah? Who do you think you’re talking to?" Floyd glare at them as Azul chimes in. "I cannot allow any sort of scuffle here in Mostro Lounge. This is a gentleman’s place, after all."
"What’d you say? Are you interfering?!"
"Don’t mind him. It’s a test of strength then!"
"Hmph, I am afraid that I cannot make a deal with such rowdy customers. Jade, Floyd. Please chase them out."
The twin obliged.
"Yes."
"Ye~s"
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Saturday, 23 October 2021