Chapter Text
I have to report to Crewel on Thursday, and then I agreed to help Trey prepare for Heartslabyul’s weekend tea party on Friday…
Idly, you think about what you have to get done for the next few days as you walk down the stone path of the school’s courtyard.
You’re on your way back to Ramshackle Dorm to begin dinner preparation and other chores. The sun is already setting, casting a fetching orange glow across campus. It’ll be nice when the days start getting longer and the weather starts getting warmer. Grim is currently off with Ace and Deuce, probably trying to turn Housewarden Riddle’s hair prematurely gray, though you’re sure you’ll see him later back at home.
“Yuu!”
You slow your gait, turning to find the source of the voice.
“Kalim?”
Scarabia’s housewarden waves eagerly at you, with the frantic energy of somebody flagging down a bus driver. In his other arm, he’s holding something you can’t quite make out. Even from this distance, though, his smile is bright and effervescent. It’s rather awkward standing there while he makes his way towards you, so you start jogging to meet him halfway.
He’s not even winded as he skids to a stop in front of you. Athletic people really are something else, huh… “I’m really glad I ran into you!”
“Hello! Is there something you need from me, Kalim?”
“Nope!”
“Huh?”
He thrusts his hand out. A small bundle of flowers dangle from his loose grip, their petals a brilliant blend of orange and yellow, with dark spots like a leopard’s. The lower leaves are neatly stripped off, the stems bundled with a white ribbon.
“Here! These are for you!”
You accept the bouquet that he passes into your hands. Even though the petals are slightly crumpled, its loveliness is undeniable.
“Thank you. Is there some sort of occasion?”
Kalim pauses. “Hmm... oh! They kind of remind me of your name! They’re lilies! Lilies. Yuuri. Do you get it?”
“Yes Kalim, I get it.” You can’t help but return his smile. His eagerness is infectious.
While you don’t make a habit of accepting random gifts from men you don’t know well, Kalim gives off the vibes of being a “what you see is what you get” type of person – The kind you suspect to be incapable of real manipulation.
Well, that much was rather obvious, considering how he’s so nice that he actively refused to hate his best friend for trying to ruin his life. But when you look into his eyes, they’re cheerful and sparkling, nothing like the dull, unfocused sheen his eyes back when he was possessed.
“Good!”
“Thank you for going out of your way to bring them to me. They’re beautiful.” You enjoy the sensation of cool petals brushing against your face as you bring them closer to you.
“You’re welcome! I’m glad you like them!” he exclaims. Though, he suddenly turns in the opposite direction, looking for something amongst the nearby apple trees. Confused, you follow his gaze. Maybe he sensed somebody approaching?
But before you can get a proper look, he turns back to you with the same speed he looked away.
“By the way, it’s been a while since you came by Scarabia Dorm. What do you say to a banquet tonight? There’ll be lots of food and music!”
You wonder what it’s like to live life with all cylinders constantly blasting, the way that Kalim does. One thing immediately sticks out to you, though.
“Having a spur-of-the-moment party…would Jamil be okay with that?”
“Don’t worry! Jamil definitely wouldn’t mind cooking extra for you!”
This guy… did he learn anything at all from his experience over winter break? You have the immediate urge to sigh.
“Even if he wouldn’t mind, I wouldn’t feel comfortable imposing like that,” you say. “How about we schedule a party for another day?”
“You’re not imposing, though!” He says, smile never faltering.
You try again, for the sake of Jamil’s sanity. “If you want, you could come over to Ramshackle with me and Grim, and have dinner together. You recently participated in the Culinary Crucible with Trey, right? It’d be fun to cook something together.”
Kalim looks excited at the prospect. “Oh, I’d like that a lot! It’d be great to learn about the foods you like so that I can serve them at our next banquet.”
Your heart… How can somebody be so freaking sweet?
“Alright then! Let’s go let Jamil know so that he doesn’t worry about you.”
“Good idea!”
You walk with him back to the Mirror Chamber.
Kalim regales you with stories about his childhood in the Scalding Sands. It’s difficult to understand him at times – he’s got a tendency to jump from one story thread to another, and references events without realizing that you have no idea what he’s referring to. After your third question, you’ve given up on fully understanding him, but can piece enough together to get a general gist of what happened. Kalim’s energy makes it enjoyable regardless.
However, as the familiar desert scenery of Scarabia looms overhead, a figure comes barrelling at Kalim, interrupting his recounting of The Jam Incident mid-sentence.
“Uwaah! Jamil, is everything alright?”
The look that Jamil levels at Kalim could have frozen the Scalding Sands three times over.
“No, Kalim. Everything is not alright. Did you forget that you were supposed to return to the dorms early today to make up the assignment that you forgot to submit to Professor Crewel?”
The answer, judging by the horror spreading across Kalim’s face, is a clear and resounding “yes.” It looks like you won’t be cooking dinner together tonight.
“Ehehe…”
“It’s great you can find something funny about the situation, but I’m seriously worried about what he’ll do to you if you don’t have it by tomorrow. We’re starting now.”
Jamil grabs Kalim with a grip under his arms, preparing to drag him back to the dorm. Before he leaves, however, he turns and nods politely over his shoulder at you.
“Good evening, Prefect. My apologies for any inconvenience Kalim caused you.”
You bow and smile back at him. “Good evening! There wasn’t any trouble at all. Good luck with your homework, Kalim.”
In response, Kalim lets out a wail. “We were supposed to hang out, though!”
“You did this to yourself!” Jamil scolds. You chuckle and wave the pair goodbye as Jamil bodily drags Kalim back to Scarabia.
Without Kalim’s exuberance for a companion, the walk back to Ramshackle Dorm is quiet.
“You’re late, henchman,” Grim greets as you close the door behind you.
“Hello to you too, Grim.”
He ignores you. “Eh, what’s that you’ve got there?”
You hold the bouquet out so that Grim can get a better look. “It was a gift from Kalim.”
“That guy?” Grim snickers. “What, he got a crush on you or something?” He sniffs at the flowers, and subsequently breaks out into a sneezing fit.
You roll your eyes. “He gave them to me because the flower’s name matches mine.” You walk to the kitchen, rinsing out one of the glasses you’ve stolen from the cafeteria to use as a makeshift vase. “Besides, if we’re talking about gifts, didn’t he give Deuce that emerald ring the other day?”
The story, according to Deuce, is that he found Kalim’s bag with his notes and lab reports underneath a bush and returned it to him. As thanks, Kalim gave him a ring in his pocket because “it reminded him of his eyes.” Deuce tried to refuse the excessive gift, but Kalim responded by saying he had like fifty of them anyway.
Actually, didn’t Deuce receive a bunch of super-rare magic ores from an upperclassman for helping him a few months back, too? Does he possess a secret, sugar-daddy-attracting power?
Grim sneezes. “You’re right! Next time, bring home something more valuable. Not just dumb flowers- achoo! ”
Without thinking, you take a tissue and wipe at his nose and face. Grim yowls at you, before snatching the tissue away. “I can do that myself! I’m not a kid!”
Could have fooled me , you think. After washing your hands, you take out chicken and vegetables to prepare for dinner. However, even while sauteing the chicken with garlic, Grim keeps sniffling and complaining the entire time. Either you’re going to break, or he is, you think as you plate the stir-fry and fill two bowls with steamed rice.
“That’s it! I’m gettin’ rid of those weeds!” he growls, charging towards the innocuous cup you set at the center of the table, his tail lighting up.
So it’s him first, like usual.
Before you can shout “no fires at the dinner table ,” he topples the arrangement over, water spilling all over the table. Luckily, you catch the glass before it could fall to the ground and shatter.
Unfortunately, Grim doesn’t emerge from the encounter unscathed, his fur now coated in a layer of reddish-brown pollen, sneezing up a storm, wet and miserable. Tears gather at the corner of his eyes, though you are unsure if it’s because of the pollen or because he’s just upset.
You sigh. “Alright, alright. I’ll get rid of the flowers, and then we can take a bath and hopefully you’ll be fine once you’re clean.”
“Myaaah…” It’s really a testament to how out of it Grim is that he doesn’t protest to you scooping him up in his arms and cradling him against you like an infant. You’re starting to feel actually guilty now, mentally apologizing to Kalim as you scoop up the now-ruined flowers and toss them into the trash, wiping up the spilled water with a rag before it can stain the wood.
“There, there.” You take Grim into the bathroom and wipe his fur clean to the best of your ability. He’s still shivering as you pat him dry. He is really quite cute when he isn’t running his mouth about something-or-other, you think, but a part of you also feels like it’s very wrong for Grim to be so quiet.
Hopefully, he would feel better in the morning. You wrap a towel around your damp hair and stretch backwards in your chair. Sleeping early sounds nice, but you still have Professor Trein’s homework to complete, and it’s not like Grim can do his portion of it now. You open up your history textbook to the correct chapter and start working, the sound of Grim’s sniffles accompanying the scratch of your pen on paper.
Your eyes open to a tall, lanky ghost looming over you, his pale-blue eyes entrancing in the dim morning light, the faintest hint of cold brushing your face.
“Good morning, Evans,” you say quietly, stretching your shoulders and neck as you sit upright in bed.
“Good morning to you, Miss Yuu,” Evans responds. “Your sense of time is impeccable as ever!”
“Hehe, thanks!” You let yourself feel smug. It’s totally mundane and lame, but your secret power is waking up a minute before you need to. You can count the number of times you’ve overslept in your life on one hand.
“I’ll get you one of these days,” the ghost says, floating around lazily in your periphery.
“Good luck with that,” you say. The wooden floor is cold against your feet as you plod to the bathroom to wash your face. Once you change out of your pajamas into your school uniform, you decide to check on Grim before starting breakfast. “Grim, how are you feeling?”
No response.
You return to the bed you share with him for a proper look. It’s not a pretty sight.
“Little Grim seems unwell,” Leonard says, floating around your feline companion.
“Yes,” George says, “he didn’t even do his ‘Fnyah!’ sound like normal when I laid my palm across his neck.”
You feel the top of Grim’s head with the back of your hand.
Burning hot. He doesn’t even twitch when you touch him.
The casual calm of your normal morning routine drains away and is replaced by anxiety. Clearly, a night’s rest wasn’t enough to clear up what happened last night. You feel like an idiot for not bringing him to the infirmary at the first sign that he wasn’t feeling well. This time, being so laid-back crossed into the territory of neglect.
You’re not a particularly active person, but you don’t let yourself slow down as you run to the school’s infirmary, Grim nestled carefully in your arms.
What would you do if he wasn’t alright? It would be your fault for not handling the situation properly.
You burst into the infirmary, sweat rolling down your temples as you struggle to catch your breath, clutching Grim’s body to your chest.
The nurse wasn’t in.
Of course he wouldn’t be. Classes wouldn’t start for another hour. The infirmary is deserted.
You sigh, a wet, shuddering sound, and slump against the wall, sliding to the stone floor.
What to do now? If you started randomly giving Grim medicine, you could easily make things worse for him. The idea of waiting an hour for the nurse to show up feels agonizing too.
It hits you that you’re really alone in this situation. It’s really getting to you. You’d kept your cool even when facing imminent danger from students in the throes of overblot as a magic-less human, and when you were threatened with homelessness, courtesy of Azul.
It’s easy to forgive other people for their demons, Riddle’s fastidiousness, Leona’s apathy, Azul’s greed, Jamil’s bitterness…
But this? It feels like everything’s overflowing. From the first moment you opened your eyes in Twisted Wonderland, Grim’s been by your side, and the idea that your inaction could lead to serious consequences for him… you let yourself cry for the first time since you found yourself in this strange school, hanging on a thread dangled from the fingers of its capricious headmaster.
“Heeey~ I almost tripped over you! You should watch where you’re sitting, Prefect-?!”
You look up at who has stumbled across your pity party. “Ruggie…”
There’s an immensely uncomfortable look on his face, and he takes a step back when he sees your reddened eyes. It’s a little mortifying for you, too, since you usually try to act like you’ve got your life together, and not like you make a habit out of weeping in the hallway alone.
He stares, tugging at the bandana of his dorm uniform. Clear as daylight, he’s telegraphing that he’s wishing he could be anywhere else at this moment. Then, he sighs, before squatting down to meet you at eye level. “What’s eating at you, Yuu?”
You bite back an “I’ll be fine.” Ruggie is resourceful, so maybe he could even help you. In a halting, hiccuping tone that eventually grows steadier, you recount the past day’s events leading up to this moment. In the meanwhile, Ruggie is surprisingly patient, only leaving your side to grab a fisful of tissues for you to wipe your face with.
He seems very experienced with comforting people.
“Wow, you’re pretty clueless, aren’t ya?” Ruggie says, left hand cupped against his face as he squats. He stops himself, as if he just realized he should be considering your emotional state. “Uh, that is… I’m pretty sure I know what’s wrong with Grim. Let me have a look at him.”
At his coaxing, you lay Grim out on one of the beds. Ruggie lays a hand on Grim’s head and casts a spell you’re unfamiliar with.
“Yep, it looks like his system’s fighting off a pretty bad allergic reaction,” he explains. “Every spring at home, a handful of kids get this too, when they get too wild while playing in the fields.”
He goes to the supply cabinet - you can’t help but trail after him - and extracts a few sprigs of dried herbs and roots. You look over his shoulder as he grinds together nettle leaves, rosemary, and turmeric with the ease and confidence of a professional.
He explains every step in a calm and even voice as he does it. As he presents his concoction to you, you realize that he was doing that for your benefit, trying to fully calm you down while also teaching you how to reproduce it.
“Here,” he says, pouring the powder into a cup. “Mix this with water and have him drink it. If he’s having trouble keeping it down, you can add a spoonful of honey, too.”
You take the cup and give him a grateful look. “Thank you so much, Ruggie. You’ve really helped me out here.”
He grins. “ I’d say ‘no problem,’ but I just came by to pick up some supplies in advance for the Spelldrive Club’s practice later today. I’m actually pretty busy, you know!”
You bow low. “I’m sorry to take up so much of your time!” Hopefully, Leona wouldn’t chew him out or anything. Not that he has much of a leg to stand on when it comes to being productive…
“If you’re sorry, you should make it up to me, shyeheehee. By, let’s say, buying me lunch for the next month~”
“That’s fine,” you agree instantly. A month’s worth of meals is going to wreak havoc on your purse, but considering what Ruggie’s done for you, you can’t imagine refusing his request.
His smile turns into a scrutinizing squint. “You know, when you respond so earnestly, it’s hard to feel good about pushing you around… But it’s not like I’m gonna decline free food. Score!”
“Well, isn’t friendship just people mutually pushing each other around in perpetuity?” you ask, smirking at him.
“Ah, there’s your spine back. If you’re sayin’ stuff like that, it means it’s fine to keep taking advantage of you, right?” He winks at you as he heads out of the infirmary, bandages and antiseptic tucked under an arm. As he crosses the threshold of the door, he pauses, one hand resting on the doorframe, and glances over his shoulder at you. “Oh, but… while monsters aren’t the same as actual animals, you should keep lilies away from real cats! They’re as good as poison to them, just so you know.”
Ruggie’s statement echoes in your ears as he leaves you alone with Grim, the silence settling around you save for the sounds of the water kettle heating up.
You can’t really be upset at Kalim, since he had such innocent reasoning in giving you those flowers. It’s not like you knew that they’d have such a catastrophic effect on felines, so you suspect that he wouldn’t, either. If anything, you’re lucky that lilies don’t have the same effect on monsters as it does cats.
Once the water starts bubbling, you dissolve the powder Ruggie created for you and let it cool to a drinkable temperature, before gently feeding it to Grim. When the nurse enters the infirmary, you explain the situation to him and leave for class. You’d have to explain to your professors and friends why Grim wouldn’t be in classes, too..
Things seem subdued without Grim around. You can’t wait for him to be back to his regular, exuberant self.
When classes let out, you wave goodbye to Ace and Deuce (who promise to drop by after their respective club meetings) and make haste towards the infirmary.
Upon entering, you instinctively raise your arms to catch the dark blur that crashes into your torso.
“Yuu…!”
It’s Grim. You’re about to ask how he feels, but you’re interrupted.
“Oh my, if it isn’t the Prefect.”
Of all people, Jade Leech stands in the infirmary, right next to the bed you laid Grim on earlier in the day. As usual, not a single hair on his head nor thread of clothing is out of place as he greets you with a placid, polite smile.
“Good afternoon, Miss Yuuri. I hope that you are well, and that whatever is afflicting Grim has not had any ill effects on you.”
“Good afternoon,” you greet. “I’m fine, thank you.”
On the inside, you feel unease rise up the pit of your stomach. Was there ever a time you had gotten involved with the trio from Octavinelle that didn’t involve massive amounts of grief and trouble?
“That makes me happy to hear.”
You didn’t know how to respond after that, so you just smile. The silence is awkward and heavy. You take the moment to observe Grim, who appears to be paralyzed with fear in the presence of a predator higher up in the food chain (relatable), but otherwise well. What a relief.
“Is there something you wanted to discuss, Jade?” you ask. Better to get it over with. You figure that if you try to escape from whatever he wants, he’d probably make you suffer a bit before manipulating you into doing it anyway, so may as well cut to the chase without the extra suffering. If it’s unreasonable, then you’ll figure something out from there.
He smiles self-deprecatingly “You must be wondering why I am here.”
You are, but you’re unsure if you actually want to hear why.
“The truth is, I was looking for Grim. Three days ago, some roughhousing on his part caused an experiment of mine in the greenhouses to unfortunately be destroyed. All those poor mushrooms…as you might imagine, I was quite heartbroken.”
You frown at Grim in your arms. If he had to ruin anyone’s stuff, did it have to be one of the more troublesome guys on campus?
“However, when I took a trip to the mountains to gather new samples, I had the opportunity to obtain some new species of mushrooms and flowers I hadn’t before, so I am grateful for that. I was able to draft an experiment even more robust than my first iteration, but this version requires more than one pair of hands to set up. I thought I might ask Grim for assistance as recompense for damaging my experiment in the first place… however, it seems like he is not in a state to assist me.”
You jostle Grim lightly, any soft feelings lingering in your chest weighed down by irritation. “Hey, you should apologize to Jade properly.”
“Mnyah…” Grim mutters, burying his face in your chest. You sigh. Even though his request is far more reasonable than you expected, it isn’t hard to see exactly what Jade wants you to say. For all your harsh words just now, you would prefer that Grim take the time to rest rather than be subject to whatever Jade might put him up to.
You spoil him, don’t you…?
“Jade, if it’s acceptable to you, then I’ll help you set up anything you need,” you say, mentally signing away your free time for the foreseeable future. “Grim is not really in the state for anything strenuous, but that doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t take responsibility. I’ll oversee his punishment at a later date.”
“Very well, I shall accept your offer,” Jade says, a pleased smile on his face as he inclines his head. “Grim is very fortunate to have a housewarden as responsible and mindful as you.”
He leaves the infirmary, letting you know that he would be waiting in the greenhouses for you. Grim takes this as his cue to spring back to charming and annoying self.
“Thanks, Yuu… I thought I was done for!” Grim says, clinging to your shoulder. “Plus, who wants to work with mushrooms anyway? It sounds so boring!”
You scowl at him. “I don’t have a choice in the matter, thanks to someone. I won’t name names.”
He returns your scowl with a toothy smirk. “You’re not so bad for a henchman, you know that?”
“In return, you’ll be cleaning the dorm for the next two weeks,” you snap.
“What?! But I don’t wanna!” He flails a bit, and you wince at the thread he pulls loose from your uniform’s shoulder.
“If you prefer, I can go let Jade know that you feel well enough to help him after all.”
“Actually, cleaning the dorm doesn’t sound so bad!”
You roll your eyes and text your two best friends, asking them if they could watch over your son while you work with Jade to atone for said son’s sins.
What was the worst thing that could happen? It was just lab work.
(Famous last words.)