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So, apparently, putting the bottled-up screams of a heartbroken widow was not the right way to turn a poison into a mind control potion. Allegedly. If Epel had asked Ace (which, as a general rule, he avoided, because anytime Ace opened his mouth Epel swore he got dumber), Ace would’ve said that technically, what Epel had created was a mind control potion.
It was just, you know. A mind-control potion that made Jack think he was in love with Epel, and made Jack want to do everything for him. Which theoretically was nice, because Epel did like being a little pampered sometimes, but this was going on a week now, and according to Crewel, it would last for possibly another week.
“I don’t know what you expected, little pup,” Crewel had said the last time Epel had asked for his advice. The professor leaned his chin on his hand as he looked across the desk at Epel. “You put Widow’s Shriek into a potion. I would’ve assumed Schoenheit would’ve stopped you, but…”
“Vil wasn’t there,” Epel muttered, slumping low in his seat. (If Vil saw him, he would yank Epel up by his hair. But Vil wasn’t here, and Crewel wasn’t a snitch, so hah !)
“He wasn’t- Epel Felmier .” Crewel sat up straight, gray eyes wide with shock. “Did you try to create a mind control potion unsupervised ?”
“Um,” Epel said, then he’d stood so fast he’d nearly knocked his chair over and ran out of the room.
Three days later, at the end of the first week with love-sick-puppy Jack Howl tagging him everywhere he fucking went , Epel was getting thoroughly sick of it.
He managed to escape with Deuce for a short while to Ramshackle- Ace had basketball practice, and Jack hadn’t managed to track Epel down after their last classes yet- and the three of them sprawled out on the couch together.
Epel laid his head in Yuu’s lap, kicked his feet into Deuce’s, and said, “Y’know, it was all funny at first. Now I just wanna punch Jack and not see him fer a coupla weeks.”
“You don’t want to punch him,” Yuu said, rolling their eyes and running their fingers on their free hand through Epel’s hair. The other was probably wrapped around Deuce’s hand where Epel couldn’t see it because they thought they were clever and sneaky. Of course, Epel, Sebek, Ortho, and Jack all knew about Yuu’s little thing with Ace and Deuce, but none of them actually cared, so they never brought it up. “No one wants to punch Jack .”
Grim appeared suddenly, jumping silently up onto the couch and walking a quick circle over Epel’s stomach before collapsing with a small whumpf .
“I don’t know,” Deuce said with a small frown, one hand coming to pet behind Grim’s ears. “Hearing him talk about Epel for two hours a day is kind of getting on my nerves.” He turned that frown to Epel. “How much longer did Crewel say this would last?”
“At most another week,” Epel groaned. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Yuu rolled their eyes again (they did that a lot) and said, “You’ll be fine, drama queen.”
“Oi! Watch yer mouth!”
Yuu laughed, and then there was a knock at the door. Epel froze, and Yuu snickered and said, “Your boyfriend is here.”
Epel scowled, feeling his cheeks heat up. “He ain’t my boyfriend!”
Deuce pushed Epel’s legs off of him and went to get the door, returning just a few seconds later with, to no one’s surprise, Jack right behind him.
The second Jack saw Epel, his ears flicked up and his tail started wagging. “Epel, there you are!”
Epel smiled, but he knew from Deuce’s wince that it was more like a grimace. He moved Grim off of his stomach and rolled off of the couch. “Heya, Jack. Um, look, I’m real exhausted, so I’m gonna head back to Pomefio- AH! HEY!”
Jack cut Epel off by scooping him up. He held Epel close, smiling cheerfully and saying, “I’ll carry you back, so you don’t wear yourself out!”
“NO!” Epel screeched, thrashing. “PUT ME DOWN!”
Behind him, Yuu and Deuce were cackling. Epel twisted to glare at them and snapped, “HELP ME, DAMMIT!”
Between frantic gasping laughs, Yuu said, “Fuck that! This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Grim, awake now, was cackling as well. “Oh, man! Ace is gonna be sooo pissed he missed this!”
“SHUT UP! HELP ME!”
Jack patted Epel’s thigh and said, “Don’t worry, Epel. I’ll put you down as soon as we get to Pomefiore!”
Epel spent the rest of the way home screaming to be put down and thrashing, only barely stopping himself from actually punching Jack.
Jack just smiled adoringly the whole time.
Two days after that, Jack nearly punched a kid for bumping into Epel.
He’d slept like shit the night before, plagued with nightmares about things he’d rather not remember
(Vil, succumbing to a silent disease in front of Epel’s eyes, maniacal and cruel. Rook, eyes hard and cold as he let the arrow fly loose, even as he whispered one apology after another. Yuu crumpling to the ground when Vil struck them with a blow of wind magic, Ace and Deuce letting out twin shouts as Yuu’s skull hit the floor. Epel, bedridden for a day and a half after that, too shaky from the trauma to even imagine standing up.)
and today seemed like it was going to be no better than last night. Just a few hours into his school day, Epel’s feet were dragging along the floor and he felt like if someone looked at him wrong, he’d collapse into an Epel-shaped puddle in the school hallway.
Some Octavinelle student, still unsteady on his new legs, had bumped into Epel, hardly more than a brush of their shoulders, and Epel had gone tumbling to the ground, sprawled out on his back, thoroughly breathless.
He’d been vaguely aware of shouting, of Yuu’s voice by his ear (“Epel? Epel, can you breathe? Shit , Ace, he’s barely breathing!”) and then a startled shout.
Epel struggled to sit up, Yuu’s hand on his shoulder and Ace already running off to get a teacher, and stared at Jack, eyes wide in shock.
The kid that had bumped into Epel was now also sprawled across the floor, blood gushing from his nose. Jack’s knuckles had a bit of blood on them, too, and Epel shouted, “Jack! What’s wrong with you!?”
Before Epel could get fully to his feet, Vil and Leona came out of the crowd. Leona grabbed Jack by the arm, eyes glittering with amusement, and Vil stepped between Jack and the boy on the ground.
“Someone get this boy to the infirmary, now,” Vil snapped, eyeing the crowd.
Two kids rushed forward, practically dragging the Octavinelle boy away from the furious Housewarden.
Vil turned back to Jack, jaw tense, and said, “Jack, care to explain yourself?”
“He hit Epel,” Jack said simply, blinking like he didn’t understand what was happening. In all fairness, it was pretty likely that he actually didn’t, given that he was still thoroughly under the spell’s thrall.
Vil rubbed his brow, then turned to Leona. “Take him somewhere else, please.”
Leona raised an eyebrow at Vil but stays suspiciously quiet as he begins to drag Jack away. The wolf beastman whines and pouts the whole way, and Epel stares at the floor, ears flaming red.
Vil turns back to Epel, sighs, and says, “Do I even want to know, little apple?”
“D-don’t- don’t call me that ,” Epel hisses, eyes flicking from one face to the next in the crowd gathered around them.
Vil heaves another sigh, then imperiously says, “My, it would be a shame if I had to act on my Housewarden duties and report all of you to Headmage Crowley for skipping your classes, wouldn’t it?”
Within seconds, the crowd has dispersed. The only few who remain are Yuu, Grim, Ace, and Deuce. Vil gives them a stern look and says, “I understand that you’re worried about Epel, but really, get to class or I will have to report you.”
Ace and Deuce exchanged wide-eyed looks, and then Yuu grabbed their hands and dragged them away, calling over their shoulder, “Goodbye, Vil!”
“Goodbye, darling,” Vil calls back, then turns to Epel. “So? Any explanation?”
"Um… So, about a week ago I tried to turn a poison into a mind control potion, ‘cuz, uh-”
“ Because ,” Vil corrected, already rubbing his brow.
“ Because I just… I wanted to try my hand at something new, you know?”
“Yes…”
“And, well, Jack was helpin’ me out-”
“Helping,” Vil groaned, already knowing where Epel’s story was leading.
“Jack was helping me out! But the transformation went wrong, and- Well. Now Jack thinks he’s in love with me. I dunno when it’ll wear off. Professor Crewel says at most another week.”
Vil put his face in his hands for a brief second, then dropped his hands to his hips and said, “You understand how dangerous that was, don’t you, Epel? You could’ve gotten seriously hurt, or seriously hurt Jack.”
Epel bit his lip. “Yeah, I see that now. I won’t do it again. I just wish I could break this spell sooner.”
Vil nodded sympathetically. “Well, I’ll look into it and see if there’s any way we can. Though, if Professor Crewel didn’t find anything… I assume he looked?”
“Uh… I don’t know, actually. I kinda freaked out and ran before we finished talking.”
Vil sighed for a third time. “Alright. Well, I’ll figure something out. Go to class, Epel, and don’t worry about Jack- he’ll be fine.”
Epel gave Vil a grateful smile, turned away, and took a step, then immediately pitched forward, vision going black before he hit the ground.
Epel woke up thirty minutes later in the infirmary. Vil was sitting nearby, typing something on his phone, and Epel groaned as he sat up. “What happened? Did I pass out?”
“You did,” Vil said, looking up at Epel with a frown. “The doctor said it was likely from the hit you took when you fell. That, and exhaustion.” Vil’s frown deepened. “He said you were showing signs of sleep deprivation, from what he’d heard from Yuu.”
Epel shrugged. “I… I just haven’t been sleeping well, that’s all. It ain’t a huge deal.”
Vil was silent for a second, and Epel worried he was going to push the matter, but in the end, all Vil said before he stood up was, “It isn’t a huge deal, Epel. Not ain’t .”
(The word did sound ridiculous on Vil’s tongue.)
“Alright, alright.”
“The doctor wants you here for another hour, then I want you back at Pomefiore, understood?”
Epel barely restrained the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes, Housewarden.”
Vil paused, then reached over and delicately stroked Epel’s hair, the same way his Gran used to. “I’m worried about you, Epel. I won’t force you to talk, but if you ever want to, I will listen. Not because I have to as your Housewarden, but because I care for you as your teacher. Your friend.”
Epel smiled up at Vil, feeling surprisingly warm. “Thanks, Vil. But, really, I’m okay.”
“Alright. I’ll see you this evening, Epel.”
Vil was gone a second later, and Epel sighed, slumping down into the sheets and preparing himself for a long few hours in a silent infirmary.
Two days later, Vil stopped Epel on his way to the kitchen. “I thought I should let you know that Jack is back to normal now. All we had to do to accelerate the process of wearing off the spell was keep him away from the object of his affection. That is to say, keep him away from you.” Vil absently looked away, looking down at his phone as it chimed with a series of chirps. A small smile touched his lips, amused and annoyed all at once, and then he shook his head and looked back at Epel. “He’s embarrassed, but I think he’d like it if you stopped by.”
“What’d you do to keep him away from me?”
“Oh, I-” Vil paused as his phone chirped again. He looked down, his smile growing slightly. Then, once again, he shook his head and his violet eyes met Epel’s. “I’m sorry. I called in a favor to Malleus to get Sebek’s service and offered to pay Ruggie to help keep an eye on Jack.” Vil flipped his hair- he hadn’t braided it yet- over his shoulder and added, “For all his flaws, Bucchi is remarkably competent at guarding things and people.”
“Yeah, I bet. I mean, that’s what Jack said the King of Beasts’ hyena’s jobs were, right? Guarding and patrolling ‘n’ stuff.”
Vil smiled. “Very good, Epel. As much as our dorm obviously shows more reverence to the Fairest Queen, it’s good to know as much as you can about the other Seven as well. Keep up the good work, little apple.”
Epel ducked his head, smiling at the praise. “Thanks, Housewarden.”
Vil nodded, then his phone chirped for a fourth time, and he became distracted. This time he didn’t refocus on Epel, merely murmured, “I have to take care of this. Excuse me, Epel,” as he turned on his heel and walked back toward his room.
Epel shook his head, wondering who had Vil so distracted, and went into the kitchen to make his morning coffee.
After classes were let out for the day, and Epel made it through another Spelldrive practice without passing out, he went back to Savanaclaw with Leona and Ruggie. The entire way there, Ruggie sent Epel knowing little glances, snickering to himself. Epel wished he could punch Ruggie, but he settled for glaring at the hyena when he wasn’t looking.
Ruggie lead him to Jack’s room (Leona disappeared somewhere - Epel had given up on trying to keep an eye on him ages ago. He didn’t know how Rook did it.) and Epel knocked before cautiously poking his head in.
Jack was sitting on the bed, looking at a textbook in a way that made Epel pretty sure he wasn’t actually seeing any of it. He started when the door opened, looking up at Epel and immediately flushing. “Oh, Epel- hey.”
“Hi,” Epel said. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, sending Ruggie a glare that made the hyena cackle as he started down the hall. Epel turned back to Jack and said, “I’m sorry about that potion. I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”
“Oh, it- I don’t hold it against you. I mean, I knew there was a risk.” Jack shrugged, picking at a thread on his blanket nervously. “I just- I’m sorry for embarrassing you all of last week.”
Epel shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t all bad. I mean, having someone offer to carry all of my stuff around was kinda nice,” he joked.
Jack laughed, ears twitching. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Please do…” Epel looked down at the floor, then back up at Jack, and said, “Are- Are we cool?”
His voice had squeaked, and he cleared his throat, trying to cover it up. But Jack was a beastman, so of course he heard it, and his tail wagged slightly, much to his obvious annoyance. “Yeah,” he said, ignoring the wag of his tail. “We’re cool.”
“Cool, cool…” Epel looked back at the floor, then grinned and looked up at Jack. “You wanna hear some absolutely filthy gossip I heard today?”
Jack’s relief was obvious, and he nodded, scooting over on the bed so Epel could join him. When Epel sat down, crossing his legs, his knee ended up pressed against Jack’s thigh, and they were shoulder-to-shoulder (bicep, really).
If either of them noticed how Epel’s cheeks reddened and Jack’s tail wagged harder, they decided, by some unspoken agreement, to say nothing.