*
"But - think as you are - pay attention! My words are a matter of pride,"
**
Cafeteria
"Stop that! Down, boy! Sit!" Isfrid demanded Grim as if he were some sort of dog. "You've got to wait your turn," he says as he and Deuce grab onto the weasel.
"Get offa mee!" Grim shouted, still on his sandwich.
"Grim, you need to learn some restraint!" Deuce scolded as he looked around to his seniors who were glaring at him. "I'm really sorry, guys,"
"Yo, Pops, gimme one of those roast beef sandwiches with," Ace ordered, taking advantage of the opportunity as he was now in the front with Y/n to looked unbothered.
"I'll have that spicy ramyun with the spicy kimchi," Y/n says, pointing over to the meal she wanted with her usual indifferent expression.
"Hey! This isn't an excuse for you to cut the line too! And why did you bring Y/n along with ya?!" Deuce shouted at Ace in a scolding manner.
Y/n managed to sneak out of the crowd without Isfrid's watchful eye catching her. After all, it was quite easy due to her short height. As she got out of the crowd with her food, she bumped into a student, causing her to let out a yelp when she tripped over her own tail from the impact. She was about to catch herself but she was suddenly caught by a familiar hyena beastmen. 'Ah...where have I seen him before...?' she thought.
Whoa there!" The hyena student says, wrapping a strong arm around her waist, picking her up. "Are you alright, lil kitten?" he asked.
'Kitten...?' Y/n tilted her head in confusion. "Oh...uh thank you I guess..." she bluntly says. 'What was...this hyena's name again...? I feel like we've met..'
"It wasn't a problem at all," The hyena kindly smiled before letting go of her waist and turned over to the counter, hearing what Grim had said about him having the last deluxe grilled cheese sandwich. "Awww, man," he bemoaned. "Looks like I'm late for the monthly bakery battle royale. And now they're sold out of the grilled cheese Leona sent me to buy for him," he sighed, holding two buns still in it's plastic package in his other hand.
"Myahahaha! I'm gonna savor the flavor of this victory!" Grim cheered in glee as he managed to escape Deuce's grasp.
"Pardon me, friend," The hyena called out, stepping over to Grim. "I see you were able to get your hands on the highly-prized deluxe cheese sandwich. Incredible!"
"Hm? Who're you and whaddaya want with my meat?" Grim asked in suspicion. Isfrid ignored the ruckus as he stepped over to Y/n and dusted off her waist, removing any hyena filth off while scolding her to stop disappearing from his sight, with him earning a sassy remark from the crown princess.
"Oh, I'm just a guy who really, really wanted to buy that sandwich you've got there, but arrived a smidge too late," The hyena explained his current dilemma with a friendly smile before smirking. "Speaking of which, here's a proposition for you...Might you be willing to trade your deluxe grilled cheese for this very exciting mini red bean bun, here?" he asked brightly, showing Grim the buns.
"Whaaat?!" Grim exclaimed, clenching his sandwich protectively. he looked quite offended by the hyena's foolish proposition. "You must be outta your mind, dude!"
"Oh, come now. Let's not be like that. Here, have the red bean bun. I insist," the hyena says, leaning his hand over in front of Grim.
"I said I ain't gonna-" Grim began to say, missing the hyena's mischievous smirk. "Myah?! What in the name of tuna...?!" he yelled.
"My paws are movin' on their own...!" Grim exclaimed in surprise. Isfrid glared at Ruggie who smirked back at him while Y/n narrowed her eyes at the sight of an magical aura caused by the effects of one's Signature Spell. Grim, somehow, voluntarily gave up his sandwich despite not wanting to make the trade at all.
"Sounds like we have ourselves a deal! Shyeheehee!" The hyena snickered. "What luck that I found a kind soul willing to trade. I swear that mini red bean bun tastes just as good!" he waved goodbye while dashing over to the exit. "Anyway, nice doing business with you. Toodles!"
"M...M...Myaaaaaaah! My deluxe grilled cheeeeeese!" Grim shouted, reaching a hand out toward the fleeing hyena with a tick mark on his head.
*
"Aw, maaan... *sniff* This is *munch* the worst day *munch* of my pathetic life!" Grim whimpered, his mood turning sour as he sat on Y/n's lap while eating. "I can barely *munch* choke down my lunch!"
"You just ate three pastries in ten seconds," Ace bluntly pointed out while admiring the way Y/n ate her food. He blushed from how much Y/n resembled a chipmuck when eating her meal.
"Still, it's rare to see a glutton like you so willing to trade for, well...that," Deuce said, sweatdropping as the crown princess hummed in agreement.
"I didn't!" Grim protested, slamming his paws on the table in anger. "It's like, when he put out his hand, my paw just shot out—like it was copyin' his! It all happened so fast..." he says, trying to explain what had happened with a pout.
"Ohh, so you just went with a go with the flow kinda thing?" Ace asked as Y/n comforted the weasel by rubbing his head.
"Nah, it wasn't like that at all..." Grim says. "But I...I don't know how to explain it! Ugh, this stinks. I need to eat my feelings, stat! Deuce, gimme a bite of your pasta," he demanded.
"Get your face out of my pasta!" Deuce exclaimed. "You made your 'bread,' now lie in it!"
"Grim. Don't force others to give you their food." Y/n scolded, earning a hopeful look from Deuce. Isfrid snorted, knowing exactly what his sister was going to do. "That's my job. Now, Deuce. Be a good mate and share some of your pasta," she demanded, finishing her last bite of her meal.
"N/n...!" Deuce whined before sighing in defeat. "Okay..." he chuckled slightly from Y/n's bluntness before he offered to feed her.
"Oh, by the way, guys - the headmage said he had something he wanted to tell us after class," Ace informed the group, purposely interrupting Deuce's moment by stuffing Y/n's mouth with his own food, earning a glare from Deuce and a satisfied hum from Y/n as she happily chewed on her food before swallowing. "No clue what it could be, though,"
"It probably has something to do with what happened to Housewarden Rosehearts a few days ago," Deuce guested.
"When he went all berserker mode on us? Yeah, I bet you're right," Ace says, agreeing with Deuce.
"Maybe he wants to lavish me with a smorgasbord of succulent fish for all my hard work that day!" Grim beamed with excitement as the others awkwardly stared at him.
"Yeah, dream on, furball," Ace scoffed, cutting the short silence.
"...." Y/n took another bite of Deuce's pasta that he happily offered her. "You know, that guy who came by earlier..." she meekly mumbled to herself, tilting her head slightly which caused some of her side bangs to hover over her eyes. Ace and Deuce blushed at the way she looked, finding it oddly adorable whenever she tilts her head. "I feel like we've seen him somewhere before," she thought out loud. Indeed she has met the hyena, but she obviously had forgotten.
*
Botanical Garden - Temperate Zone
"Leooona! Lunch is served, my friend!" The hyena, Ruggie Bucchi, called out, making his way through the botanical garden to search for a certain lion.
"Grrr...Nnh," Leona groaned, opening an eye to see Ruggie approaching him with his meal. "...Is it noon already?" he asked.
"Don't tell me you've been asleep all morning!" Ruggie sweatdropped, looking a bit peeved. "You're going to fail more of your core classes!"
"*sniff* *sniff* Smells like you actually got what I asked for," Leona says, sitting up as Ruggie squatted down to the floor.
"Barely! Must you always request the most popular item on bakery day?" Ruggie asked, huffing slightly. "Anyway, here: one deluxe grilled cheese and an iced tea," he says, giving the lion his meal.
"Idiot," Leona grinned, opening the package of the deluxe grilled cheese. "When something is hard to get, it makes you want it all the more," he says before taking a bite of the sandwich.
Ruggie grinned. "It sounds like you're talking about that adorable snow-white kitten,"
"Perhaps I am," Leona smirked.
"Me, I'll eat anything, so long as it isn't moldy," Ruggie says, "But as a prince, I doubt you could relate, Your Highness," he said in a mocking manner.
Leona paused for a bit, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Hmph. It ain't like I'm first in line for succession. I'm second, so I probably won't ever be king. I'm practically a commoner, really," he says.
'Isn't Y/n the youngest in her family...?' Ruggie thought. "Speakin' of, I'll never forget the time you mistook a picture of my family's home for a doghouse," he stated.
"Did I...really do that?" Leona asked while taking another bite of his sandwich.
"You really did," Ruggie said in a dumbfounded tone. "I wish my perspective was so warped from a life of luxury," he huffed. If only he knew of his future.
"Nah, the royal life's not all it's cracked up to be," Leona scoffed. "No matter how talented you are or how hard you work, your lot in life is already decided by the order in which you were born," he bitterly says, leaning back against the tree trunk he was taking a nap on.
"...Is that so," Ruggie hummed, looking a bit solemn as he saw Leona crushing the iced tea box. "I guess I could see that being a drag. Oh, by the way, there's a housewarden meeting after school today about the Spelldrive tournament. Please try to actually show up, especially since kitten is bound to be present for the first time," he encouraged.
"Ugh. What a headache," Leona grumbled.
"As the housewarden, you get the biggest room in the dorm. You could at least make a token effort to do the corresponding job," Ruggie scolded.
"All right already. Fine. Stop whinin'. Ahhh..." Leona yawned. "Now that my belly's full, I'm ready for another snooze. Wake me up after lunch break is over," he says, laying down immediately as he rolled to the side, quickly falling asleep.
"I'm not your alarm clock, Leona!" Ruggie shouted, staring dumbfoundedly when Leona rolled to the other side. "You know I have my own - ah, he's already out,"
"*Sigh* Anyway, that weasel in the cafeteria and his freshmen friends...Where have I seen them before?" Ruggie pondered out loud before he shivered. "Brrr...that glare from Isfrid gave me the chills," he shuddered, not noticing how Leona's ear twitched in annoyance upon the hyena mentioning the ice prince's name.
*
Headmage's Office
Right after classes were over, Y/n, Grim, Ace, and Deuce headed toward the headmage's office with Isfrid heading back to the Minka to prepare something. Upon stopping at the door, Y/n politely knocked. "Headmage, may we come in?" Deuce asked politely.
Ace opened the door. "How's it going, sir?" he asked as Y/n who carried Grim under her arm, walked inside first with Deuce and Ace following afterward.
"I see you've all arrived. Thank you all for coming," Crowley says, looking up from his desk. "I've summoned you all here today for one very specific reason to discuss the incident that happened the other day with Mr. Rosehearts now that the Heartslabyul incident is behind us..." he informed. "If you're to become mages, you need to fully understand the malady that befell him,"
"You guys called it 'overblot,' right?" Deuce questioned curiously.
"Yes, that is correct," Crowley nodded.
"My brother told me a little about it. He said that could happen to anyone who builds up too much blot," Ace recalled. "Who knew that building too much blot could turn you into that,"
"Okay, but what's all this 'blot' stuff about, anyway?" Grim asked.
"What are we talking about again?" Y/n asked, tilting her head to the side. Her forgetting about the topic had Ace and Deuce sweatdrop while Crowley chuckled, kinda expecting this.
"I suppose it would behoove us to start with the basics for your sake and Y/n's," Crowley says. "I shall teach you all you need to know, for I am just so exceedingly gracious!" he beamed before he began explaining. "*Ahem* Now, 'blot' is a form of waste that is created as a byproduct of using magic. Just as cars run on gasoline, and in the process, expel dangerous gases as exhaust...Casting spell consumes magical energy, and in the process, expels blot,"
"That doesn't sound very healthy..." Y/n stated. 'It sounds like magic has a carbon footprint as well...'
"Yes, quite so," Crowley nodded, agreeing with the crown princess. "Research into the nature of blot has been conducted since time immemorial. And yet, we still understand little about it. All we know for sure is that it is terrifically toxic, and excessive amounts can wreak havoc on a mage's mind and body,"
"I guess that's why Grandma was always naggin' me to not overdo it with the magic, huh?" Ace said, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Here I thought she just didn't want me to break stuff,"
"Power and peril are two sides of the same coin," Crowley stated. "Even the greatest of mages cannot cast spell after spell without consequence,"
Y/n sweatdrop silently, balling her fist over her chest upon hearing this information. 'Reminds me of Isfrid telling me about the dangers of not having my Heart of Aurora sealed inside of me...' she thought.
"So you're tellin' me I'm gonna get sick if I keep usin' magic whenever I want?!" Grim exclaimed, freaking out a bit as he trembled.
"Not necessarily," Crowley says, reassuring Grim. "Perhaps a demonstration would prove more efficient than a mere explanation," he says, standing up from his chair with his hands on his desk. "Oh, gentlemen! I have a little job for you!" he announced, earning confused gazes from the group.
"You rang, Headmage," One of the three ghosts says, appearing above the group.
"Ghosts?!" Ace and Deuce gasped.
"Would you be so kind as to help me put these young students through their paces?" Crowley asked before looking over to Y/n. "And Y/n, I would like for you to watch them so they don't get physically injured, okay?"
"Mhm..." Y/n meekly nodded.
"T-This seems like a bad idea," Deuce panicked.
"Yeah, okay. Wel'' go a round or two with 'em," The 2nd ghosted nodded as they floated down over to the boys, preparing their magic.
"Now, students, ready your magical pens," Crowley commanded Ace and Deuce who quickly whipped out their pens. "Prepare to receive a special lesson from your headmage!"
"Seriously?!"
~To be Continued~