Your pov...
Italics- thoughts
The housewarden's gaze on Ace does not falter. Trey shakes his head and Deuce looks like he's about to faint. Grim couldn't care less about the situation at hand as he stuffs his face with food. I sat there with second-hand embarrassment for Ace.
"Hey, Riddle!" Cater awkwardly greets. "What's shakin', pal? You're lookin' adorbs, as always!"
"Cater, keep running that mouth and you'll lose it," Riddle huffs a warning. "Along with the rest of your head."
"Sorry, sorry! My bad," Cater apologizes. Grim looks up to look at what was happening.
"You're the guy who put the stupid collar on me at the orientation ceremony," Grim growls as he spots the familiar redhead.
"And you're the new students who were nearly expelled yesterday," Riddle retorts. "I'll ask that you not refer to my signature spell as a 'stupid collar'. The headmage's habit of tolerating rulebreakers like you is going to send this entire campus spiraling into chaos one day. Those who break the rules should have their heads removed immediately, without exception."
"Like literal decapitation," I question. I'm starting to question my safety here. Maybe I should run away. I can't do that, what if they send someone after me and I still get killed.
"Dude, seriously," Ace sighs. "This guy looks like a wimp, but talks like a monster!"
"The headmage may have forgiven you, but if you break any further rules, I assume you will not," Riddle says.
"So, uh, housewarden, sir," Ace sheepishly smiles. "Any chance I could get you to remove this collar?"
"I had intended to remove it once you'd taken an opportunity to reflect upon your crimes," Riddle stated. "But I've detected so much as a hint of remorse in the foolishness I've heard you spout today. So I think I'll let you keep that for a while. Don't worry. The freshman curriculum is more focused on magical theory than practice. And your inability to use magic will prevent incidents along the lines of what happened yesterday. Now, if you've finished your meal, you should quit gossiping and prepare for your next class. Rule 271 is quite clear: 'One must leave the table within fifteen minutes of completing their lunch.' You DO understand what happens to rulebreakers, I trust?"
"More insane rules," Ace sighs.
"I believe you mean to say, 'Yes, Housewarden!'" Riddle instructs.
"Yes, Housewarden!" Ace and Deuce both exclaim.
"Very well, then," Riddle says, not that convinced.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them," Trey speaks up. I'm happy I didn't get sorted into their dorm. I wouldn't last a day.
"As vice housewarden, I trust you'll avoid any further indiscreet conversation," Riddle tells Trey. "Now, as per rule 339... 'The post-meal beverage is to be lemon tea with two sugar cubes.' Thus, I must go to acquire my sugar cubes. Farwell." Riddle turns to walk away and when he's far enough from the group, they exhale.
"Well that was something," I sigh.
"That was terrifying," Cater says and Deuce nods his head in agreement.
"That guy," Grim pauses. "Has some serious issues."
"You can't say that," I say as I smack the back of Grim's head.
"Hey, don't disrespect him," Deuce backs me up. There were some whispers from tables around us about the housewarden. Some students whispered about the food and others about how strict the housewarden was. Cater and Trey also listened in on the student's whispers.
"Riddle managed to secure the housewarden title before the end of his very first week of school," Trey says trying to lighten the mood. "I know he can come off a bit harsh, but he's not a bad guy. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm."
"Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers' necks," Grim asks. Cater and Trey laugh shallowly.
"Yes they would," I respond. "Especially if the strangers were doing some type of crime and the collar was a way to them. Kinda like a vigilante. Besides, it was your fault for getting collared."
"But that collar really hurt, and it shut off all my magic," Grim growled. "That's just rude!"
"You're curious about Riddle's signature spell," Cater asks.
"Well that's one way to put it," I respond.
"That means, like..." Deuce thinks about it. "It's a spell that only he can cast, right?"
"I doubt he's the only person in the whole world," Trey said. "But a signature spell is a magical ability that is, generally speaking, unique to its user. You'll learn them in class soon enough."
"Riddle's signature spell allows him to temporarily seal away the magic of another," Cater adds. "The spell is named... Off With Your Head!"
"Even the name is completely psycho," Grim shrieked.
"As long as it's not literal I'm fine with it," I sigh.
"To a mage, losing the ability to use magic is about as painful as losing your head completely," Cater continues. "Which is why all of us at Heartslabyul try hard not to violate Riddle's rules."
"And as long as you are following the rules, Riddle isn't so scary," Trey slightly smiles.
"Speaking of which," Ace speaks up. "Are you still not gonna let me into the dorm until I buy a tart, Cater?"
"Don't @ me, but... yeah," Cater confirms. "That's rule 53, so my hands are tied. Also, Riddle was totally looking forward to having the first slice, he always is. So if you want him to forgive you, you better bring a whole tart!"
"What happened to 'We're all from the same dorm, let's try to get alone'? Throw me a bone here," Ace complains.
"Well you still have to follow rules," I say.
"That's one thing. This is another," Cater points out.
"A whole tart has gotta be pretty expensive," Deuce says.
"Seriously," Ace sighs. "I don't have that much money!"
"Then why not make one yourself," Cater suggests. "Trey made those three tarts by hand, after all."
"Whoa, that's so cool," I praise Trey. "I totally wanna try something you make, especially if it can make Riddle super mad, it has to be one of the best!"
"You made these tarts Trey," Ace questions. "That's incredible! That was like something you'd find at a bakery."
"I appreciate that," Trey accepts the compliments. "We do have most of the stuff you'd need, but... I'm afraid I'll need something from you in return."
"You're gonna charge me to make it," Ace exclaimed in shock.
"I don't think money is what Trey is after," I tell Ace.
"Nah, I wouldn't take more from a freshman," Trey agrees with me. "But Riddle wants a chestnut tart next, so I'm gonna need you to gather a ton of chestnuts."
"Like that's any less of a hassle," Ace sighs. "But... fine. How many do you need?"
"Well, it's for the unbirthday party, so..." Trey stops to calculate. "Probably two or three hundred?"
"Did you say HUNDRED," Grim and Deuce exclaim in unison.
"And they're all gonna need to be peeled, shelled, and pureed," Trey adds.
"Alright, I'm gonna head out," Grim frowns. I guess he doesn't want to do any work.
"I'm leaving too," Deuce says.
"You heartless cowards," Ace pretends to be hurt.
"Hold up!" Cater intervenes. "Haven't you ever heard that food tastes better if you make it with your friends?"
"I've never heard of that," I look at Cater unamused.
"This'll be a memory to treasure," Cater elaborates. "It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger!"
"Don't tell Riddle, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when eaten right out of the oven," Trey coaxes. "And the only people who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it."
"Well, when you put it that way," Grim smiles. "Come on, humans, let's do this!"
"Um, just to let you know, I have no experience in the kitchen," I say. "And I would like to keep it that way. But where can we find the chestnuts, anyways?"
"I heard there's a whole bunch of chestnut trees in the area behind the botanical gardens on campus," Trey answers.
"Alright, let's meet at the botanical gardens after last period," Ace smirks.
"We're gonna be up to our ears in chestnuts," Grim cheers.
⦕Small time skip...⦖
"There really are a ton of chestnuts just layin' around," Grim says as he looks around. Grim and I had just arrived at the area where the chestnut trees were. "I'm gonna be livin' large on chestnut tarts."
"There sure are a lot," I comment. I see Grim climb up a tree to get a chestnut but yelped in pain afterwards and climbed back down the tree.
"I don't think we can do this with our bare hands," Deuce observes as he and Ace approach. "And we need something to put them in, too."
"Maybe we can find some supplies in the botanical garden," Ace suggests.
"Let's go take a look," Deuce agrees. They start walking to the botanical garden as me and Grim follow.
"Whoa, I didn't realize this place was so huge," Ace awes as he looks around. This kinda reminds more of all the different plants Mirabel helped Isabela make while trying to save the miracle.
"If it's this large, it's got to have a groundskeeper," Deuce reasons. He looks at us. "Let's split up to cover more ground."
"Dibs on the right side," Ace calls out.
"Then how about I go left while Grim and Y/n go straight," Deuce suggests.
"Sounds good to me," I agree and we all split ways.
"Come look at this," Grim tries to get my attention.
"What's up," I question. I look to see Grim under a tree with fruit growing from it.
"There's a ton of fruit growing here," he points up to the tree. "Smells like they're ripe, too!"
"They do smell ripe but don't touch them," I scold. "We're on a mission, remember? We gotta get the chestnuts so we can't have any distractions."
"Ouch," I heard a voice say. I looked down to see that I had accidently stepped on someone's tail.
"Oh my, I am so sorry," I started to apologized.
"You've got some never stepping on my tail," the voice says. I saw a figure sitting up then he stood up.
"Vaya, es tan alto," I muttered. The guy looked at me and I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry for stepping on your tail. I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Are you the groundskeeper," Grim asked, jumping into the conversation. "Not sure you oughta be talkin' to students that way, pal."
"Ain't nothing worse then bein' in the middle of a good nap and havin' some jerk step on my tail," the guy snarl.
"Hey, I already apologized to you," I said defensively. "At least you are capable of sleeping."
"I know you," the guy says as he steps forward. "You're the fox form orientation who couldn't use magic."
"I really wish people would stop bringing that up," I sighed. "So what if I don't have magic. I can still probably beat you in a fight."
"Is that so," the guy starts to sniff me once he's close enough.
"Hey, what are you doing," I questioned, getting a bit embarrassed from the guy being so close.
"It's true," the guy says as he steps back a bit. "You don't smell of magic at all."
"That's it," I say and grabbed his arm. The guy was shocked as I threw him over my shoulder and he landed on his back. "Say I'm magicless one more time, I dare you!"
"Feisty," he says as he looks up at me. He slightly sat up. "Y'know I still can't believe that dumb crow let a girl stay within the school."
"Huh, why is that," I ask.
"You're not exactly safe here," the guy responds. "There are people who won't treat you kindly."
"I'm not afraid of them," I state while I cross my arms.
"I think you should," the guy chuckles. "There are plenty of students that are stronger than you. Just be careful, alright?"
"I will, uh," I paused not knowing the guys name.
"It's Leona," the guy filled in. "And I guess that you're welcome at Savanaclaw anytime."
"I'm Y/n," I introduced myself. "It's nice to meet ya Leona. Sorry again about your tail."
"Leona!" A voice calls out to him. Leona groans and stands up. "There you are!"
"What do you want, Ruggie," Leona demanded. A new person approached.
"I knew I'd find you here," the new guy-Ruggie-said. "We got after-school classes today, remember?"
"I don't wanna go," Leona sighed.
"Come on, you've already repeated a year. If you get held back again, we'll be in the same grade," Ruggie states.
"Put a sock in it already," Leona snapped. "I don't wanna hear it."
"You think I wanna do this," Ruggie asked. "I'm just as tired as you are, believe me!"
"Whatever," Leona says then starts to walk away. "Watch yourself, fox!"
"That was somethin'," Grim exclaimed.
"Yo, we found baskets and tongs," Ace ,sys as he and Deuce walks towards me and Grim.
"What in the world happened to you two", Deuce asks.
"It's nothing important," I smile.
"Oh right, the chestnuts," Grim yells. "We gotta get them so I can get my tart on!"
"Let's just go collect them," I say and we all walk back to the chestnuts trees. While picking chestnuts Grim was telling Deuce and Ace about our meeting with Leona.
"No way was that guy the groundskeeper!" Ace was shocked.
"Now that I think about it," Grim pauses to think. "He WAS wearin' the golden vest of that Pajama-clog dorm."
"Grim," I called out. "It's Savanaclaw."
"Right," Grim sweat dropped. "I knew that."
"Sure you did," I giggle.
"Pfft... Pajama-clog," Ace laughed.
"There might actually be some delinquents here," Deuce thinks out loud.
"Some you say," I gave Deuce a questioning look.
"This should be enough chestnuts," Ace looks at all the baskets full of chestnuts. "Let's get these over to Trey."
⦕Small time skip...⦖
"Welcome back," Trey greets. "Looks like you got plenty of chestnuts!"
"Now you can make us some massive tarts," Grim exclaimed then started to slightly drool.
"Gross," I comment while looking at Grim.
"The bigger the tarts, the harder it'll be to peel all the nuts, so... good luck with that," Trey smirks.
"We have to peel all of these," Deuce questions.
"I can't believe that you thought we were only collecting the chestnuts," I sighed.
"What do you mean by that," Ace asked me.
"We're all gonna be helping through the whole process," I explain. "Well mostly Ace because he still has to replace the tart he ate."
"Can we not bring that up," Ace complained.
"No," I smirk and Ace glares at me.
"Alright," Trey interrupted. "Enough of that. Let's get started!"
"Yes sir," Deuce and I say in unison.
⦕Small time skip...⦖
"Finally got them all pureed," Ace exhaled.
"My arm is killing me," Deuce said.
"Me alegro de no tener que ayudar a Julieta o Hitoshi cuando están en la cocina," I sighed.
"Nice work," Trey congratulated. "It'll be all the sweeter with your pain!"
"I don't think making food is supposed to be this painful," I complain.
"The smell alone has me droolin'..." Grim says in awe.
"You've been drooling this entire time," I corrected. "I honestly thought we were gonna lose a good portion of the chestnuts due to how hard you were looking at them!"
"I just need to add butter and sugar to the chestnut paste, and a sensible splash of oyster sauce— that's my secret ingredient," Trey says and I look at him concerned. Oyster sauce? Is he trying to sabotage Ace?
"Oyster sauce," Deuce and Ace question in unison.
"Yep," Trey confirms. "The umami of the oysters gives the cream a deep, savory flavor. I use this one here: Walrus-brand Young Oyster sauce. All the best bakers use it in their tarts."
"But isn't oyster sauce super salty," Deuce asked.
"It's probably like putting chocolate in curry," Ace suggests.
"You guys are stupid," I sighed. "Trey is obviously joking."
"You got me there," Trey laughs and Ace looks offended.
"But I trusted you," Ace whines.
"I can't believe that I fell for that," Deuce muttered.
"And here I thought that human was actually somewhat decent," Grim frowns.
"It was all out of good fun," I comment. "Loosen up some, would ya?"
"Next, I'll put in the cream," Trey paused as he realized something while looking intensely at the cream.
"What's wrong," Ace questions.
"You guys gathered so many chestnuts that we may have over done it with the chestnut paste," Trey explains. "I don't think we have enough cream to mix in."
"I'll go buy some then," Deuce volunteers. "Do they have it at the school store?"
"They pretty much sell everything there," Trey responds. "Can I have you pick me up a few other things as well? I need two cartons of milk, two packs of eggs, some muffin cups, five cups of fruit..."
"I don't think I'll be able to carry all that back," Deuce thinks then turns to me. "Do you mind coming with?"
"Of course not," I reply.
"I'll come too," Grim says. "I'm dizzy from all the stirrin' and need a break!"
"Actually Grim, can you stay here," I ask politely. I sure hope he agrees, watching over him is exhausting.
"Whatever, it's not like I wanted to go anyways," Grim says defensively. "I just didn't want you to feel lonely."
"Alright, we'll be back," Deuce says as he grabs my arm and we leave the kitchen. As we got outside, he asks: "Why did you ask Grim to stay behind?"
"I wanted some alone time from him is all," I answer and took a deep breath. "Where I'm from I don't really get to interact with others because my Gift is dangerous."
"Dangerous," Deuce questions.
"Yeah, I used my Gift against my family and they didn't like that," I paused trying to think of what to say next. "Next thing I knew, I was kept away from everyone. I was alone in the darkness, wondering what I did wrong."
"Your home doesn't seem too nice," Deuce squeezes my hand. "Well at least your away from them for the time being."
"That's right," I smile at Deuce and he smiles back.
"Oh, we're here," Deuce looks ahead of us and there is a building that looks kinda shady. "Let's get Trey's list."
Deuce and I walked into the store, I grabbed the back of his blazer and walked slightly behind him.
"Hello, can I get some he—" Deuce pauses to look around the store. "Whoa! This shop is wild! They have a crystal skulls, grimoires, taxidermied... I don't even know what animal that is."
"I've never seen a place like this before," I look around in awe.
"Greetings, my stray imps, how fare you today," a voice came from almost nowhere. "Welcome to Mr. Sam's Mystery Shop. What among my humble selection interests you? A charm from a secluded land? The mummified remains of an ancient king? A cursed tarot card?"
"Wow, that quite a selection," I giggle.
"We would like to buy all the items on the list," Deuce explains to the voice and holds up the list.
"What's this," the owner of the voice comes out and takes the list from Deuce. "Let's see... Cream, eggs and... Quite the sacchariferous list! I'll get everything for you."
"He really does stock that stuff," Deuce wonders as the person walks away.
"Who was that," I whispered to Deuce.
"That's Sam, I believe," Deuce replies. Deuce and I walk around the store while waiting for Sam to come back with the list of items.
"Here you go," Sam come back with all the items on the list bagged. Deuce gives him the money to cover everything. "It's pretty heavy... Are you sure you can carry these? Lucky for you, our 1/100th size flying saucers are 30% off today. Perfect for carrying groceries!"
"We're fine, thank you," Deuce declines the offer. "Let's go." Deuce and I leave the store with our arms full of bags.
"So how do Gifts work," Deuce asked, trying to start up another conversation.
"Um... I guess they are kinda like magic but only certain people get them," I try to explain. "I only know of two families that have Gifts, one being my family and the other is the Madrigal family. Both families obtain Gifts from a miracle that was given to them."
"Miracles," Deuce repeated back confused.
"Miracles are objects with magical power," I clarify. "The Madrigal family's miracle is a candle, where the flame never burns out, but I can't seem to remember what miracle is with my family. There are ceremonies when a member of the family becomes of age and they receive a Gift. I never had a ceremony though... my Gift just kinda appeared one day."
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that," I look over at Deuce and he was very sincere. He looked at the bags I was carrying. "Hey, those bags look like there heavy! Do you need some help?"
"No, I'm alright," I smile. "These are nothing compared to me sometimes helping Luisa carry all the runaway donkeys."
"Carry donkeys," Deuce questioned.
"Yep, just like you heard," I reply. "I can carry 11 donkeys at once without breaking a sweat!"
"Wow... you must be really strong," Deuce exclaims. "But you also don't look that strong."
"I use my Gift to make my muscles look smaller," I say. "I prefer to look fit with slight muscle definition rather than just looking like a bunch of muscles. Not like there is anything wrong with that! Luisa and Coach Vargas look good the way they are, but it's not really the way I wanna look."
"You can really use your Gift like that? I would like to learn mo—" Deuce got cut off as he collided with someone and his bags fell onto the ground. We both look at the bags. "T-the carton of eggs is totally smashed! And now the bag's dripping egg goods everywhere."
"Why don't you watch where you're going," the person that collided into Deuce says. The guy looks at us and seems to recognize us. "Hey, you're the jerks who broke the egg yolk on my carbonara!"
"I've had enough of you punks," the second guy joins in. "You need to learn your place!"
"Esto no puede estar pasando ahora misso," I mutter.
"You're the ones who darted out at us from around a corner," Deuce objects. "And you tried to pick a fight with us at lunch over an egg that you were still totally able to eat! Now you've gone and destroyed six of OUR eggs!"
"You're worried about the eggs," I questioned Deuce in disbelief.
"So what? You sayin' that was our fault?" The first guy pushed back at Deuce.
"I am," Deuce confirms. "Please reimburse us for the eggs and apologize to the chickens."
"No puede ser," I look at Deuce like he's gone mad. "¿Cómo van a disculparse con las gallinas? ¿Hay siquiera gallinas en el campus?"
"Well, looks who's got his big boy pants on," the second guy grins and cracks his knuckles. "You sure are makin' a big deal outta some stupid eggs."
"What," Deuce frowns. We seriously need to get back. I can't believe them right now. Am I gonna spend every moment in this place involved in a petty fight?
"They haven't even touched the ground, so they're still edible. Quit whinin'," the first guy comments.
"Deuce, we need to leave," I try to get his attention.
"You should thank us for savin' you the trouble of crackin' 'em!" The second guy grins then both of the guys start laughing.
"Excuse me," I gasp.
"That ain't funny," Deuce snapped.
"Huh," the first guy quit laughing.
"I said: THAT AIN'T FUNNY," Deuce raised his voice. I jumped back, away from him as my ears flattened against my head. What the heck was that? It's like a switch was flipped! "You don't get to call my eggs stupid. You don't get to call ANY eggs stupid!"
"Hey Deuce, it's not that bad," I call out to him.
"Those eggs may not have gotten to be chicks, but they were gonna make some amazing tarts," Deuce ignored me and continue his rant. "Do you get it yet? DO YOU?!"
"What's with this guy all of a sudden," the second guy questioned.
"You owe me six eggs. If ya ain't gonna pay me for 'em, then you're gettin' a bruise for each one," Deuce threatened.
"Let's not do that," I pleaded.
"Are you serious right now," the first guy frowned.
"Buckle up, jerks," Deuce exclaims as he starts throwing punches.
A/n-
Vaya, es tan alto- Wow, he's so tall
Me alegro de no tener que ayudar a Julieta o Hitoshi cuando están en la cocina- I'm glad I didn't have to help Julieta or Hitoshi when they're in the kitchen
Esto no puede estar pasando ahora mismo- This cannot be happening right now
No puede ser- No way
¿Cómo van a disculparse con las gallinas? ¿Hay siquiera gallinas en el campus?- How are they going to apologize to the chickens? Are there even chickens on campus?