Your pov...
Italics- thoughts
❚█══Flashback══█❚
"So what's the plan," Ace asks.
"We need to get past that thing to get to the magestone," Deuce says.
"So, we're gonna need a diversion," I say.
"Yeah, a diversion," Grim repeats. I grin at the three of them and they give me a scared look back.
"Hey, wait a minute," Deuce says.
"Don't worry, you'll all be fine," I say while still grinning.
❚█══Present Time══█❚
"H-hey, monster! Im, uh... I-I'm over here," Grim shouts.
"BEGOOOOONE," the monster roared as it came out of the mine.
"He's comin' our way," Grim says. "Y/n."
"That's far enough," I say.
"Thieef thiiis waaay tooooo..." The monster goes in 'my' direction. "Neeevvva giiive stooones! Neeevvvaaa!"
"Eep! If it lands one of those punches, we're toast," Grim shrieks.
"We'll be fine as long as we keep that thing distracted and away from the mine," I say.
"Begooonee! BEGOOOOONE!" The monster continues to roar as we lead it away from the mine entrance.
"We're counting on you," I yell.
"You bet. I got this," Ace says. "One extra-large gust of wind, comin' up!" Ace sends a huge gust of wind towards the monster.
"With a side of Grim's blazin'-hot fire," Grim shoots fire at the monster
The wind and fire combine as it hits the monster and the flames become bigger.
"How's that taste?!" Ace taunts. "With my winds fanning them, even Grim's feeble flames can become an inferno!"
"Whaddaya mean 'feeble'," Grim yells. "Ya really don't know how to shut yer mouth, do ya?"
"Let's keep this up," I say.
"Man, your robotic responses are really getting on my nerves," Ace frowns.
"Just stay calm, aim carefully... and pull out the biggest, heaviest thing I can think of..." Deuce whispers to himself. "Get 'em, cauldron!" Deuce drops a cauldron on the monster.
"Nailed it," Grim says. "The plan's workin'!"
❚█══Flashback══█❚
"All you three have to do it is distract the monster and I'll get the magestone," I explain.
"Huh?! I'm not working with him by myself," Ace refuses.
"Fine, I have a small solution for that," I say. I took a few steps back. I shook my tail to make the eight others appear and wrapped them around my body. After a few moments, I unwrapped them to reveal two versions of me. There was my original self and next to me was a more 'human' version of myself. "This clone will be able to guide you all and also provide a distraction for the monster."
"Is it able to do anything," Deuce asks.
"Not really, but it will give you social cues to move forward with the plan," I say. "Now let's get this started."
❚█══A bit earlier══█❚
As Grim and my clone baited the monster out of the mine, I was hiding behind one of the rocks at the entrance in my fox form. I hope they can pull this off without fighting each other. They lead the monster away from the entrance and I rushed into the mine. I hurried down the mine shaft, looking for the magestone.
"I don't think I'm getting anywhere in this form," I sigh then shift to my normal form. I wagged my tail for light as I continued my search. The mine shook a little and I knew that Deuce had used his magic. As the mine shook, some of the rocks on the walls fell. I went to look at a fallen pile and to my luck the magestone was there. Yes, I found it.
I shifted to my fox form and grabbed the magestone with my mouth, then rushed out of the mine.
❚█══Present Time══█❚
"How long do we have to wait for Y/n," Ace asks.
"Not much longer, I believe," Deuce says.
"She really needs to hurry back with the magestone," Grim complains.
"Uh, Grim... you shouldn't have said that," I say as I watch the monster start moving from under the cauldron.
"Dooon't tooouch iiiit," the monster shrieks.
"Look like its nearly wiggled free," Ace observes.
"Hey, Deuce! You gotta add more weight," Grim yells.
"Y-you mean something heavier," Deuce studders. Deuce ended up summoning a bunch of cauldrons on the monster.
"Is that the only thing you know how to summon," Ace asks, frustrated.
"Pipe down already," Deuce frowns. "I'm worked up enough as it is!"
"I'm back with the magestone," I call out as I approach them in my normal form. I look at the monster buried underneath cauldrons as I passed it. "Wow, that's a lot of cauldrons."
"Shut up," Deuce snaps.
"Sorry," I apologized and made my clone disappear.
"MYYY STOOOOOOONE," the monster yells. We leave the monster behind and run towards the Dwarfs' house. The monster knocks off all the cauldrons and chases after us.
"Are you kiddin' me?! It's still coming! It pushed off all that weight," Ace says in shock.
"Giiive it baaaaack...!" The monster yells.
"It's too fast," Deuce pants. "It's about to catch us!"
"We must strike it down, now," I say as I turn to fight the monster.
"Aww, fine," Ace says. "Let's just smash the thing. Try not to wet yourself, Deucey!"
"Same to you, Ace," Deuce says back to Ace.
"I'm gonna show ya why they call me Grim the Great," Grim says and we got prepared to fight.
⦕Small time skip...⦖
"Is it... over," Ace asks while Deuce pants.
"I think... we won? I think we did it," Grim smiles.
"That was fun," I say while slightly panting.
"All right," Deuce smiles.
"Woohoo," Ace cheers.
"Gimme a victory high-five," Grim says. They all high-fived and cheered.
"See working together wasn't that bad," I say while giggling.
"Uh... I don't think that had anything to do with it," Deuce frowns.
"Yeah! Spare us the cliches, Y/n," Ace says.
"There's no 'together' here," Grim smirks. "We won 'cause of me! This is all from me bein' a magical genius!"
"Yeah, sure," I mutter as my happy mood deflates. So much for tryna make friends here.
"Y'know... I hate to admit it, but..." Ace pauses and looks at me. "We mostly won because of your plan."
"Yeah," Deuce agrees. "If you hadn't managed to keep your cool and tell us all what to do, we never would have got this magestone. Now I won't get expelled. And wow, is THAT a relief!"
"I'm just glad no one got hurt," I sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, lessons were learned, et cetera," Ace sighs. "Can we just go home already? I'm wiped."
"Usin' all that magic made me hungry," Grim complains. "Huh? What's this?" Grim picks up a weird rock.
"Is that a part of the monster we just beat," Deuce asks. "It looks like... a magestone? But it's black as coal! I've never seen one like that before."
"What IS this," Grim sniffs the rock. "It smells amazing!"
"I don't smell anything," I say while sniffing the air.
"Are you insane," Ace questions.
"Must be some kinda fancy monster candy that it was hidin' from us," Grim says, ignoring me and Ace. "If this tastes half as good as it smells..." He eats the rock and I facepalm.
"GODDAMNIT CAT," I yell. "¡ESUPE ESO INMEDIATAMENTE! No me hagas meter la mano en tu garganta!"
"MYAAAH," Grim yells in surprise.
"Are you okay," Deuce asks.
"That's what you get for eating trash," Ace sighs.
"That... was AMAZING," Grim cheers.
"Ehh," I gasp.
"What," Deuce and Ace exclaim in unison.
"Rich in flavor and full-bodied..." Grim describes the flavors of the rock. "Like sweet, fragrant flowers burstin' into bloom on my tongue. A whole field of 'em! Right in my mouth!"
"Gross," Ace shudders. "Monsters must have real weird tastes."
"You might be onto something there..." Deuce agrees.
"I didn't know he knew so many fancy words," I smirked.
"Most humans don't take random stuff they find on the ground and just pop it into their mouths," Deuce continues.
"I once ate grass and leaves off of trees," I admit. Deuce and Ace look at me weirdly and I just shrug.
"Man, was that great," Grim laughs. "Don't worry about me. I don't got a weak stomach like you humans do."
"We'll see if you're so smug when you're sick later tonight," Ace sighs.
"Okay, let's pull ourselves together," Deuce says. "We need to get this magestone to the headmage!" We all agree and make our way back to campus.
When we got back, we were in the Mirror Chamber presenting the magestone to Mr. Crowley.
"Pardon," Mr. Crowley questions. "You're telling me you actually went to the Dwarfs' Mine in search of a magestone?"
"Why are you so surprised," I asked. "You're the one who told us about the mine."
"I didn't expect that you'd seriously do it," Mr. Crowley defends himself. "And never in my wildest imaginings did I think you would actually return with a magestone! And here I spent all evening preparing your expulsion documents."
"Are you serious," Grim angrily exclaims. "While we were fighting some crazy monster for you, you were expelling us?!"
"Monster..." Mr. Crowley questions.
"Yeah," Ace says. "There was a monster, all right. A big, nasty one. It nearly killed us!"
"Would you kindly relate this story in full," Mr. Crowley asked. As we had told him everything, from beginning to end, Mr. Crowley took us to his office.
"So a mysterious monster was living in the mines," Mr. Crowley recites back to us while thinking. "And the four of you worked together to destroy it, and then brought its magestone back to me?"
"I don't know the I'd call it 'working together'," Ace interjects.
"It was more like we just happened to share the same goal at the same time..." Deuce adds.
"Oh, gracious..." Mr. Crowley starts sobbing.
"What is this guy's deal," Grim asks. "Burstin' into tears in public? At his age?"
"In all the decades I've worked at this school..." Mr. Crowley sobs while looking at his hands. "The day had finally come when students of Night Raven College have joined hands together to defeat a common foe!"
"Whoa! No!" Deuce gets defensive and Ace frowns. "No way would I join hands with that guy!"
"Okay," Ace tries to clarify. "One, there was no joining of hands. Gross. And two, exactly HOW old are you, Headmage?"
"Does high-fives count as holding hands," I ask and Ace hits the back of my head. I gave a small 'ow'.
"At this moment, I am moved beyond words," Mr. Crowley still looks at his hands. "This incident has proven my hopes were justified. Y/n, my doubts are alloyed! For you... You possess the talents of a beastmaster!"
"I feel offended somehow," I sigh. "And haven't you called me that before: 'beastmaster'?"
"My students have all been selected by the Dark Mirror for their exceptional talent and potential," Mr. Crowley explains. "But great talent begets great pride and big egos. Most are so self-reliant and self-centered that they even consider cooperating with others."
"You make it sound like that's a bad thing," Grim frowns.
"Because technically it is," I say. "I witnessed it first hand what happens."
"But you, Y/n, possess no magic," Mr. Crowley continues. Wow, let's just keep bringing it back up, shall we? "Yet in spite of that— or perhaps because of it— you were able to convince those who CAN use magic to work together for a common goal. The everyday, humdrum mundanity you possess may be exactly what Night Raven College needs!"
"But... none of those words are good things," Ace frowns.
"If you bring up 'magic' one more time, I'm gonna freeze you," I threatened.
"Y/n..." Mr. Crowley gets my attention. "I am convinced that people like you are necessary for the future of this school. My educator's intuition tells me so. Trappola, Spade— I hereby revoke your pending expulsion! Furthermore, Y/n... I am granting you the qualifications necessary to attend school at Night Raven College!"
"WHAT?!" Ace, Deuce, and Grim yell at the same time. I can't believe I got use to these idiots being so loud.
"If that mean I can stay here longer, sure why not," I say. "But are you sure that's what you want to do? I've never been to school."
"Of course," Mr. Crowley grins. "This is extraordinary kind of me. Don't worry about your past school records. However, there is one condition. Your inability to use magic is, for a mage, unacceptable. You would not be able to adequately pursue the school's curriculum. As for you, Grim... Your actions today have made it clear that you possess sufficient talent to become a mage. In light of the total sum of your respective circumstances, you and Y/n will share single enrollment at Night Raven College."
"I... I'll get to go this school..." Grim gasps. "As an actual student? Not a janitor?"
"Correct. However," Mr. Crowley looks at Grim. "There must be no further incidents like the one that occurred today. Are we clear?"
"Y/n, I... I finally..." Grim starts to tear up and I move to hide behind Deuce.
"This is going to be troublesome, I just know it," I sigh and rest my head on Deuce's back. He goes stiff then relaxes some.
"I FINALLY DID IT," Grim cheers.
"Accordingly, I will now present to Grim the magestone that is issued to every student here," Mr. Crowley smiles, and ties a necklace with a stone on it around Grim's neck.
"Heh! A magestone," Grim is at a loss for words.
"It is typically attached to the 'magic pen' that each student uses," Mr. Crowley clarifies. "But I suspect your paws cannot handle implements. Therefore, I have a custom solution for you. Is it possible that I am, in fact, too kind?"
"Ah, sweet," Grim cheers. "I look awesome! A magestone collar, to be worn only by the legendary archmage, Grim!"
"You're not listening to anything I say, are you," Mr. Crowley asks Grim.
"Do you really need to ask him that," I question as I take my head off of Deuce.
"Y/n," Mr. Crowley looks at me. "As you can plainly see, Grim remains oblivious to the customs of human society. You are to keep a tight rein on Grim, and ensure there are no further incidents!"
"Wow that's quite the promotion," Ace smiles. "From janitor to student to prefect, all in the span of a day."
"Oh, I see," Deuce says. "So if your dorm is just the you two... And the headmage is putting you in charge of Grim, that makes you... the dorm prefect."
"Well, that's gotta be a Night Raven first," Ace grins. "A magic-less prefect?"
"Say magic-less one more time, I'm putting you six feet under," I threaten Ace and he puts his hands up still grinning.
"But sure, why not," Ace continues l. "Whatever works!"
"Alright, this can't be that hard," I try to prep myself up. "I helped save a miracle, nothing could be harder than that."
"Good luck to you, Magic-less Prefect," Ace laughs. I go to throw a couple punches at Ace but Deuce holds me back.
"Ah. Yes," Mr. Crowley interrupts, making all of us look at him. "I suppose this does make you a prefect. I just so happen to have a job for you, and that title will make it easier to foist... er, I mean, congratulations."
"You are very very shady, you know that right," I sigh. Mr. Crowley goes behind his desk and starts shuffling through his drawers.
"Now, I have something for you," Mr. Crowley pulls out an old fashioned camera and puts it on top of the desk. After Deuce lets go of me, I approach the desk. "This is called a ghost camera."
"Ghost," I questioned and slightly tilted my head.
"Ooh, my grandma's told me about those," Ace says as he also approaches the desk. "Those are, like, super old magic items, right?"
" I would hardly consider them 'super old'..." Mr. Crowley clears his throat. "But it may indeed have been invented when your great or great-great grandmother was a child. It's a camera enchanted with a special kind of magic it enables the user to photograph not just the subject's physical form, but parts of their soul itself."
"Wait, that sounds... sketchy," Deuce says.
"What made you draw that conclusion," I asked. Deuce looks at me and I silently laugh.
"They're called Memories," Mr Crowley continues. "Here's the thing: when the soulbond between photographer and subject deepens... The Memories captured in this magic camera's photos come jumping out!"
"Soulbond," I question. "Jumping out?"
"When the photographer and subject grow closer, their photographs grow animated like videos..." Mr. Crowley explains. "And sometimes the photographs take on corporal form and slip out. Is that not what you youths would call 'wicked keen'?"
"Most certainly not," I frown.
"That almost sounds like ghost photography," Deuce says.
"Very astute. Hence the name 'ghost camera'," Mr. Crowley continues to explain. "I understand it was developed as a more vivid way to capture moments in time, in an age before video. As Spade observed, in days of yore, when people saw Memories jumping out of photos, they would get spooked and yell, "Ghost"! I've heard many a tale of people who were deathly scared of being photographed by such cameras."
"This tech sounds like way more trouble than it's worth," Ace sighs.
"Y/n," Mr. Crowley calls out to me. "I would like you to photograph Grim and the other students with this camera, and make a record of your campus life."
"Sounds like the perfect way to immortalize all my finest moments," Grim declares.
"Absolutely not," I shut down Grim's 'idea'.
"Make especially certain to capture the mischief caused by certain students who struggle with impulse control," Mr. Crowley suggests. "Keeping a photographic journal sounds far less tedious than writing me lengthy reports, wouldn't you agree? As a prefect, consider it your duty to maintain a sharp eye on your surroundings and record them. Note how generous I'm being in providing a rare magical item that even someone like yourself can use. Is my kindness not beyond all reckoning?"
"Thanks, I guess," I say and I take the camera.
"The hour had grown late, so further details shall have to wait till the marrow," Mr. Crowley ushers us out of his office. "You are all dismissed. Return to your dorms."
"Good night, sir," Deuce says and Mr. Crowley shut the door in our faces.
"Well that was an adventure," I yawn. "Come on Grim, let's get some sleep."
"Right," Grim says and I pick him up and carry him away from Ace and Deuce, back to the dorm.
"Huh, they just left," I hear Ace say.
"It's been a long day," Deuce says. "Let's head back to the dorm ourselves."
"Alright," Ace hesitantly agrees.
A/n-
¡ESUPE ESO INMEDIATAMENTE! No me hagas meter la mano en tu garganta- SPIT THAT OUT! Don't make me shove my hand down your throat
————————
End of the prologue