*
Lumikuinen Dorm - Lounge
"Wait, WHAT?! ME?!" Ruggie widens his eyes as his ears flattened from shock.
"Wouldn't that be even easier to spot than magic?" Grim exclaimed.
"Not for Ruggie," Leona smirked, vouching for the hyena. "He's got sticky fingers and the skills to back it up. Besides, it's not like the queen's got the tiara stowed in her inside jacket pocket or somethin'. It's sitting right on her head, out in the open, just beggin' to be swiped," he says.
"That makes this way harder, actually!" Ruggie sweat dropped.
"Oh, I get it! So that's why you wanted to bring Ruggie instead of Jack," Kalim then realized. "Jack does tend to stand out in any crowd. Ha ha," he innocently laughs. "I can't think of anyone better suited to this plan than Ruggie. I'm on a board with your idea, Leona,"
"Aw, geez...Are you guys serious" Ruggie deadpanned.
"There, there," Y/n says, using her wing to pet Ruggie's head since he was the closest to her. The hyena obviously leaned into her touch with a goofy grin as his tail wagged.
"Hmph," Leona huffed a bit, a tiny bit jealous. "So, Ruggie. How many seconds do you need to switch one tiara for another?" he asked.
"Hm..." Ruggie hummed, thinking about the lion's question. "Accounting for the size of the tiara and the kind of surroundings we'll be in...I'd say about fifteen seconds," he answered.
"He says ten seconds," Leona suddenly says.
"You shaved five seconds off my estimate!" Ruggie exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yeah, because I know you," Leona grinned. "You added some breathing room, didn't you?"
"Tch. You got me," Ruggie sighed. "Either way, I'm gonna need the queen distracted the whole time for this to work at all," he pointed out.
"So you need ten seconds of full distraction," Jamil mumbled. "How would one draw attention at a Fairy Gala safely, and without raising suspicion?"
"Well, this party is supposed to celebrate the arrival of spring, right? What better way to celebrate than with a parade?" Kalim asked, looking quite excited. "We could throw a big, fancy one that leaves the queen totally star-struck! We could wear dazzling costumes and bring music troupes!" he grinned brightly.
"Ah, the classic Kalim solution: throw money and bodies at problems to make them go away," Ruggie muttered, sweatdropping a bit. "Did you forget about our limited supply of fairy dust?" he asked the reminder.
"Actually..." Isfrid mumbled. "I think he might be onto something. The Fairy Gala's centerpiece event is a fashion show, right?" he asked.
"Yup," Kalim nodded. "Anything goes on the runway, apparently. Dancing, singing...It's all fair game as long as it celebrates spring! According to Sam, it's a really glitzy show. It sounds like a ton of fun!"
"That's our angle," Jamil stated. "Myself, Kalim, and Leona will draw the whole venue's attention at the fashion show. While the queen's distracted, Ruggie, Grim, and Isfrid will switch out her tiara," he explains. He also knows full well that Y/n would be in the audience so obviously he wanted to show himself off.
"Excuse me?" Leona side-eyed Jamil. "You expect me to put myself on display for the entertainment of fairies besides the bunny over there?" he asked with a scowl.
"You'd be surprised how long ten seconds can last," Jamil pointed out. "We'll need a full coordinated effort to buy time for Ruggie. Grim, Prefect Y/n, and Isfrid will be running support for Ruggie. That leaves the three of us to do the show. You're free to say no, but I think you're the one with the most to lose if we don't succeed," he grinned mischievously.
"It would be a shame to see your pitiful self shivering from the cold," Isfrid grinned mischievously as well.
"Tch. The headmage just HAD to go and open his big mouth," Leona clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"I'll be counting on you guys. Our success is riding on you!" Ruggie reminded with an unamused expression.
"We don't exactly have any fashion show experience between us..." Y/n mumbled.
"Don't worry about that part, Jasmine," Jamil smiled softly toward her. "I have an idea," he revealed. He had left to fetch some helpers.
*
Jamil then came back. "And here they are - Our secret weapons to ensure success!" he says as two sets of footsteps were heard.
"Really? A fashion show, with THIS group? More like a potato parade," A voice says with a hint of disappointment.
"It's training time, pups," another voice declared.
Leona widens his eyes in surprise upon hearing two familiar voices. "Great. Juuust great," he groaned as the two walked into the lounge
"Vil! And Professor Crewel!" Kalim beamed.
"You'll be the stars of the fashion show with our support," Vil declared. "Isn't that right, Professor Crewel?"
"But of course, Schoenheit," Crewel nods. "And I trust you'll do a wonderful job dolling Y/n up?"
"Why of course," Vil smirked.
"Ha ha ha!" Crewel and Vil laughed in unison which caused the two twins to look dumbfounded.
"Hoo boy. What a pair to bring," Ruggie mumbled, his ears pinned down from shock.
"Jamil, do you have ANY idea what you've signed us up for?" Leona asked, growling slightly.
"Look. I wasn't exactly keen on this myself," Jamil sighed. "Vil is a top model, and Professor Crewel is a fashion maven in his own right. Yes, they're going to run us ragged if we have them as coaches. But getting their help is the ONLY way to succeed. Period. Otherwise, we amateurs will just embarrass ourselves on stage in front of Y/n, guaranteed," he explained.
"No wonder Scarabia's the dorm of mindfulness," Ruggie sweatdropped. "You really are willing to go to any height to achieve a goal,"
"Your aim is to keep the queen's - no, the entire venue's - gazes riveted upon you, and steal the tiara while doing so," Vil recalled. "I call it: Operation Steal the Show. And steal you shall...or my name isn't Vil Schoenheit!" he smirked.
"...Can I go home yet?" Leona asked, not excited.
"All right. First off, we'll need to ensure you're all properly dressed. Everybody gets a fitting," Crewel announced.
"Really? Even the ones not in the show?" Ruggie asked.
"You still have to blend in with the fairies at the gala." Crewel reminded. "Just like with Y/n, I'm not about to let my pups show up to a formal affair dirty and ungroomed. Rejoice, for the most fitting attire you could wear to this party will be selected...by YOURS TRULY!"
*
Pomefiore Dorm - Ballroom
"What do you think? Are they looking sufficiently well-groomed?" Crewel asked Vil when Leona, Ruggie, Kalim, and Jamil walked into the ballroom wearing new outfits.
Before Vil could answer, Y/n and Isfrid walked into the room, wearing their outfits. Everyone's jaw dropped from how beautiful Y/n looked as Crewel looked like a proud father. "Whoa! You look so beautiful, N/n!" Kalim beamed.
"Thanks?" Y/n half-hearted thanked as she fixed her bangs.
"I have to hand it to you, Professor Crewel," Vil smiled in satisfaction, especially from how beautiful his beloved Songbird was. "The outfits have deliberately muted colors to better highlight the beauty of the wearers, giving them a stoic, mysterious look. Yet those loose sleeves and untucked shirts retain a certain rugged air - windswept indeed as Y/n looks like those beautiful butterfly spirits," he professional observed.
"Heh. It's nice having a proper fashionista here to save me a lengthy breakdown," Crewel smirked.
"You threw more outfits on us than I could count," Jamil sweatdropped from the experience. "Put something, take something off, repeat ad nauseam..."
"That was more tiring than Spelldrive training," Ruggie bemoaned, sweatdropping as well.
"You think? This is pretty normal when having outfits tailored. Right, guys?" Kalim asked Leona, Isfrid, and Y/n.
"Pretty much," Leona replied.
"You guys will get used to it," Isfrid sighed.
"I'm glad we've settled on our attire," Y/n says.
"Don't relax just yet," Vil warned. "Even a silk shirt can look like a paper bag if the one wearing it doesn't move with beauty and grace. If you want to achieve an attention-grabbing performance at a fashion show, you'll need two things: A beautiful walk, and a beautiful performance. Let's see how well the lot of you can strut," he ordered.
"You just want us to walk? I can do that in my sleep," Leona smirked confidently.
"I feel like walking is a lot harder to figure out when trying to do it as a conscious action," Jamil mumbled.
"Don't psych yourself out! Just relax and put one foot ahead of the other," Kalim brightly smiled.
*
"I must say, I'm surprised," Vil sweatdropped in disbelief. "I wasn't expecting you to be half this graceful," he admitted, judging Leona's, Jamil's, and Kalim's walk as Ruggie, Y/n, Crewel, and Isfrid stood next to Vil.
"...."
"Consider me impressed, Jamil," Vil smiled.
"You humble me with your praise, Vil," Jamil thanked.
"You were rather poised yourself, Kalim," Vil also praised. "Perhaps home tutoring does make a difference,"
"Wow, you think? Heh heh. You're making me blush," Kalim innocently grinned. "I don't know if I'd say my poise comes from tutoring though. It's probably just because I like to dance," he stated.
"Kalim's studied traditional dance since he was a child. I'm a bit into street dancing myself," Jamil informed, clearly showing himself off to Y/n.
"Ah. That would explain why your core muscles are so well-developed," Vil nodded before he turned to Leona. "And on the other side..." he mumbled, his facial expression shifting drastically.
"...." Leona stared at Vil.
"Leona. What was that UTTERLY ABYSMAL gait?" Vil exclaimed, his tone completely different from when he was praising Jamil and Kalim which caused Isfrid and Ruggie to choke on air to keep themselves from laughing.
"What?" Leona huffed. "I walked the same as the Scarabia guys,"
"You most certainly did NOT. You have none of Jamil's flexibility or Kalim's class," Vil criticized. "Your feet drag along the ground. Your posture is atrocious. Your head bobs when you walk, and you swagger like some kind of ruffian. Some prince and future king of Permafrostine you are. Are you sure you're not just the royal jester? Actually, no - saying that does a disservice to jesters everywhere," he bluntly insulted.
"Something tells me that we're gonna need to hire a dance instructor for Leona when it comes to Permafrostine to train," Y/n sweatdropped. All of her soulmates will attend Northern Lights University after their 4th year to learn from the best of the best about the necessary subjects to become part of the imperial family.
"And etiquette lessons," Isfrid snickered quickly.
"Yowch. He's not pulling any punches," Ruggie sweatdropped.
"Your future instructors will be just as harsh, Ruggie," Y/n bluntly states.
"Oh..." Ruggie's ear pinned down from fear a bit.
"Schoenheit," Crewel spoke up. "I think for a pup poorly trained as Kingscholar here, we'll need to start with the basics: walking on two legs. Otherwise, we might as well be chucking a newborn kitten down the runaway," he warned, causing Leona to growl lowly.
"I think you have the right idea, Professor Crewel," Vil admitted. "We can't expect an elegant performance from Leona when he doesn't have the fundamentals of walking down," he bluntly says. "And if both his gait AND his performance need work, then I'd prefer to focus on walking with the limited time we have. As loath as I am to admit it, Leona could make an eye-catching main model if we leverage that air of smug superiority he gives off," he says before turning to the Scarabia boys. "As for you two Scarabia gentlemen, I give your runway walks tens across the board. It's time for you to move on and try a dance. Your job will be to deliver a dance performance that livens up the venue and gives your sorely lacking main model some much-needed punch-up. Taking everyone's talents, or lack thereof, into account, this is the only solution,"
"Agreed, Schoenheit," Crewel nodded in agreement. "Your plan is the only one that can even out our Kingscholar-sized deficit,"
"pffft..."
"I question if the two of us are good enough to cover how bad Leona is," Jamil pouted slightly.
"We'll give it our best. I told Leona I'd look after him, and I will!" Kalim innocently declared.
"hehehe..."
"I'm embarrassed to be part of Savanaclaw right now," Ruggie sighed upon feeling secondhand embarrassment. "Sorry, my dorm's housewarden is giving you guys so much extra work,"
"Just sayin', I happen to be an expert at walking on two legs," Grim smirked. "Feel free to hit up ol' Grimmy for some coaching, since ya clearly need it,"
That was the final straw for the person giggling, which was Isfrid who collapsed onto the floor, laying on his side while clenching his stomach. "Pffft... HA HA HA HA! Just wait until Malleus hears about this!" he rolled on the floor laughing as Y/n trembled from holding in her laughs.
Leona growled at Isfrid as he glared at the others. "Okay, I'm starting to get REAL SICK of-"
"QUIET!" Crewl sternly ordered. "I will tolerate no pointless yipping! Here's the plan, pups: take lessons from Schoenheit and put on the best possible performance you can," he commands.
"Let's get started with some Fairy Gala lessons right now!"
~To be Continued~