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It’s not often when you find yourself with a bit of free time all to yourself. On most days, it seemed like you were forever bombarded by tasks that needed completing. Sometimes, it was the Headmage giving jobs tasks because he couldn’t be bothered to fulfill his duties to the school. Other times, it was because your friends needed help and had mastered the art of guilt-tripping you into doing them. You can’t say you were mad that you were made to do these things, but you would be lying if you were all right with lots of people taking advantage of you.
Had you been stronger, you would have stood up for yourself more, but at the moment, survival was at the very top of your priorities.
Today, you decided to leave the comfort of Ramshackle and take a walk around Night Raven College. You were well acquainted with most of the campus grounds, but you found that there was always something worth discovering. The last time you had gone on a walk, you found an abandoned classroom with a busted lock that you would often use as a little hideaway whenever you were feeling overwhelmed. On another occasion, you had wandered a fair way into the forested area behind Ramshackle and found that the silence there, while eerie, was peaceful and free from the prying eyes of your fellow students.
Over time, your wanderings had culminated in a vast network of sanctuaries that you could retire should you become weary of life as the magicless Prefect.
For now, you wanted to see where your legs would take you.
After deciding upon a direction and aimlessly walking forward, you found yourself heading towards the main campus building. Perhaps you would find a passageway behind a painting or maybe even a door that could lead you to another world! You could only hope; the last time you checked, the Headmage was up to his ears in reference texts and maps, but you were gradually losing faith in him. As you made your way up the many steps to the school doors, you found that there were a few other students milling about.
There were no particular dorms that dominated the students available, but you were quick to pick up on the fact that they were part of some club. What was it again? One of those culture clubs with a niche interest in mind? You apologized for interrupting their impromptu meeting before you began wandering the many winding halls within the main campus building.
As always, your curiosity led to your exploring the different classrooms along the west wing of the castle. Most of the classrooms were left unlocked and if you were to knock and open the door, you were either greeted with empty desks and chairs or you would find yourself ducking out the door with bashful apologies leaving your lips. There were even two classrooms–two!–in which you found yourself interrupting professors in the middle of a private tutoring session or grading a series of papers. Thankfully, the professors were mostly gracious and forgiving, and as a bonus, they were teachers you didn’t normally associate with because they mostly taught third year subjects.
As you braved the hallways again, taking time to rattle the doorknobs here and there, you caught sight of someone slipping into a nearby men’s bathroom. You happened to catch a glimpse of a broad back and teal hair before the door shut rapidly behind him, the sound of the door slamming reverberating in his wake.
You blinked, a little stunned.
There were very few people who fit that profile: tall, broad shouldered, and with a head of teal hair.
If your instincts were right, then maybe…
It had to be one of the Leech twins.
One question still remained, though: Which one?
As you traipsed through the hallway, taking the time to take a quick peek inside, you pondered your situation. Even though you spent a few days on Octavinelle’s wrong side after the release of the exam scores, you were confident that you were… amicable.
On good terms.
Sure, there were days when you could see one or both of the twins skulking at the edges of your periphery, but they didn’t bother you and you didn’t try to antagonize them either. In fact, there were times when you had enough money in your pocket that you even went to the Mostro Lounge of your own free will. If they were your servers, they often teased you, but treated you as well as they would with any other guest.
(Was it because Azul was using them to keep an eye on you? Perhaps, but again, you were still on relatively good terms. As long as you didn’t sign any golden contracts, you would be fine).
Well, if either Leech twin came out of the bathroom before you could leave this particular floor, you decided you would say hello and see where that would take you. After all, you didn’t have much to do anyway and it was guaranteed that either of the Leeches were keen on making things interesting.
As you reached the end of the hallway, the final classroom door revealed a student from Pomefiore taking a nap on one of the desks, a pile of textbooks serving as his pillow.
You stifled a laugh and began to leave the floor altogether when you began to hear a strange sound. At first, you thought you were hearing things, but as the sound became clearer, you began to realize that it was distinctly…Wet. And heavy. Almost as if something was slapping against the floor in a frenzied and confused manner.
You stopped in your tracks, instincts somewhat honed after several incidences of Overblot. If there was one thing you learned from this school, it was that you couldn’t play the hero. At least, not all the time. If this was a situation where a student was Overblotting or something close to that severity in nature, you needed to get help. You were a Prefect, sure, but that meant nothing.
You were human and worse, magicless.
It was that point, when you were only seconds away from bolting and finding the nearest professor for help, that you found yourself stalling in front of the bathroom door.
This was where the loud, heavy sounds were coming from.
This was where one of the Leech twins had made his grand entrance only minutes before.
And this was where you were going to leave and have someone else deal with the problem.
Yet–
You couldn’t do that. Night Raven College’s culture had taught you many things about self preservation and had hardened your kindness to something resembling steely pragmatism, but you couldn’t leave anyone you knew in trouble. It was in your nature. It was a calling for you: you had to, you needed to help.
Carefully, just like you did with the classroom doors from moments ago, you knocked on the bathroom door. Almost instantly, the sounds stopped.
But then another one started.
It started out as a growl before it was followed by a chittering sound. Chills ran up your spine as you heard something drag across the floor, as if whoever was on the other side was trying to carry something heavy and wet along the tiles. As alien and foreign these sounds were in conjunction with each other, you knew that you couldn’t just leave. You were given a job as Beast Tamer by the Headmage (whatever that was), and that usually meant that you couldn’t leave things like this alone.
For all you knew, one of the Leeches could be in trouble–a thought that never seemed plausible until now.
You knocked again.
The growling and chittering grew louder, almost manic.
“Hey, it’s me!” You raised your voice, careful to remain placating and calm. On the other side, you heard the growl abruptly cease, almost as if the one who growled was surprised. That’s good. You can deal with surprise. “Ah, are you hurt? Can I come in?”
A pause where all you heard was the sound of something slapping once more on the floor before someone deeply sighed.
“I am in no condition to open the door, Prefect.”
Ah, with the low, professional tone of voice paired with the formality of using your title, you knew it was Jade. Relaxed because you now knew who was on the other side, you pulled out your phone from your pocket, a quick call to Azul already on your mind.
Still, though, you wanted to make sure.
“Is it okay if I text Azul? Or maybe Floyd?” At Jade’s confirmation, you punched in a text message to both Azul and Floyd. Hopefully, one of them understood the urgency of this situation. Satisfied that someone outside of yourself knew that Jade was in trouble, you sat with your back against the door, careful not to accidentally open it. “Did you want to be alone? I can leave if you want me to.”
For a moment, you thought that maybe Jade had fallen asleep or was going to ignore you completely, but eventually, you heard that same, horribly wet and heavy sound drag along the floor. And then–
“Do keep quiet when you open the door. We wouldn’t want to disturb the student sleeping in one of the classrooms.”
Brushing aside the fact that Jade knew that you weren’t the only one on this floor besides himself, you stood up from your crouched position and opened the door. Like approaching a wild animal, you inched the door open slowly and as quietly as possible. There was only so much patience Jade had, and right now, in a situation as precarious as this, you didn’t want to chance getting hurt. Floyd may be the twin to revel in his violent tendencies, but something inside of you knew that you didn’t want to cross Jade today of all days.
As you moved inside the bathroom, the door quickly shutting behind you, you kept your eyes low so as to give Jade a semblance of privacy should he change his mind. The first thing you noticed was that the floor was slick with water and globules of what looked like slime. Or was it mucus? You couldn’t tell because the lights within the bathroom had been turned off, the only source of fluorescence coming from a small window high on the wall.
Furthermore, as your eyes traced the tiles beneath your feet, you could hear the telltale sound of running water… which was accompanied by the horrifying visual of all of the sinks in the bathroom overflowing with a stream that spilled over the porcelain sinks and onto the floor.
Instinctively, you ran to the sinks, mindful of the growing puddles under your feet that wet your socks and the hem of your uniform. However, before you could turn off one of the faucets, you felt rather than heard a monstrous mass slither behind you, the same dragging sound in full clarity.
In a voice that was more growl than intelligible speech, the monstrous mass hissed, “Don’t touch it.”
It was Jade.
Your hand, which had been confidently pressed onto the faucet’s knob, shook as you practically tore yourself away from it–as if you had accidentally touched a searing hot stove. As you forced your arms to relax at your sides, you raised your head and stared directly into the mirror.
Behind you, Jade was curled into himself, as if he was trying to make himself appear taller. However, the illusion fell flat because the way he curled in on himself looked uncomfortable bordering on painful. You had seen his true form a few times before, but on those occasions, he was safely in his element: free and sprawling. Here, in the dank confines of a bathroom that could only afford him puddles and a makeshift waterfall, you could see that he was struggling.
You turned around and took a few steps before bending before him, your lips pursed into a thin line.
“And here I thought Floyd was the irresponsible one.”
Jade chuckled, or at least, he tried to, but you noticed that the gills on his sides were flaring and heaving with every breath he took. Talking, or actions close to talking must have hurt him! No wonder he was so volatile even when you sent for help!
Before he could say anything or growl again, you took off your uniform blazer and headed towards the sinks. The cloth was easy to soak, but it was not an easy task to wrap your blazer around Jade’s sides. Perhaps it was old instincts rearing in him again–to not trust someone who clearly had the upper hand even if he was an apex predator in his hometown–but you were wary and a little bit insulted that he would think that you would hurt him.
Scolding him gently, you combatted the hissing and swift snapping of his jaws with a stern look. “Come on, the cloth is soaked and filled with water. It’ll keep the skin around your gills moist.” You watched as he took in your logic before he begrudgingly nodded his head in defeat.
No words yet, but you assumed that he would be teasing you and your attempts at intimidation later.
Carefully, you wrapped the blazer around his side after rehydrating it with more water. Once he was moist again, you directed him to slide or flop closer to the sinks so that he could lay under the makeshift waterfalls. It exhausted him to move closer to the sink, the massive bulk of his body hindering his speed and power, but you were available to push or drag him around the tail.
“Geeze,” you muttered more to yourself than to him. “What’s the point of having the sinks overflow if you won’t stay underneath them?”
“Because,” Jade gasped, his head tilted back so he could allow the water to flow in and around the fins that replaced his ears, “I didn’t want to block the doorway.” His bright golden eye flashed open and pinned you to the floor with his piercing, knowing gaze. “You wanted to stay, correct?”
Before you knew it, you dashed some water from the sink and straight into his face, not at all caring how he spluttered from the sudden barrage. “You didn’t want to be alone,” you taunted.
His tail whipped behind you, muscles thick and strong, but not once did you feel like you were in danger.
Jade’s eyes seemed to soften, but you dare not think that you were out of the woods yet. The gold in his eye was all the more deadly in the low lighting of the bathroom. “Violence doesn’t become you, Prefect.”
“Quit with the teasing and I won’t resort to violence.”
He bobbed his head in concession, a low hum emitting from his throat. “Then I suppose I should thank you for your services rendered this afternoon.”
“Oh, hush. You’re in no condition to speak now, even if you have running water. We can talk about payment later.”
Jade’s smile grew cold, but wide nonetheless. “So the Prefect does have fangs after all. May I have a hint as to what you want in return?”
You plopped on the ground, too tired of crouching at his side after your physical exertion and the tension that lined this encounter. Your pants and socks had long since been soaked, but now, underneath the sink’s waterfall, you were waterlogged as if you spent your time in one of the Octavinelle pools.
“You either wash this uniform or you get me a new one.” One of your fingers darted out as if to poke the blazer that still lay on his gills, but a warning growl made you stop in your tracks. You rolled your eyes, but obeyed the command. “Also, I want a promise that you won’t forget your transformation potion again. I already have had heart attacks with the Overblots. I don’t need you to add to that stress.”
“Two wishes for only one act of kindness?” He whispered the word kindness as if he was uttering something foreign to him. Perhaps it was. “You ask for too much.”
You shrugged before pinning him with a malicious grin. “I learned from the best.”
He chuckled before he finally allowed his head to rest along the tiled floor. Vulnerable now, you could easily step on his windpipe or gouge out his gills if you were quick enough.
But this act of trust spoke volumes.
“It’s a deal then, Prefect.”