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Once again, Malleus had not been invited to a ceremony.
He ought to be used to this by now, but it was absurd and too much of a coincidence. He sometimes assumes that people forgetting to invite him was a deliberate act on their part. Some sort of a joke, perhaps, though it would have been an upsetting one.
Several other factors could have played into this as well, he thought. He was aware of how intimidating his presence was to most students attending Night Raven College, and many must have found ways to avoid him, whether due to respect or fear. Though, for him to remain uninvited every single time…
He pouted, letting flurries of snow fall freely around him as he sulked on a bench by Ramshackle dorm. It was a place Malleus loved to visit, an abandoned corner of the school that few knew the existence of, and even fewer would come to visit. From here, he could see the main building of the school illuminated by the exterior lighting, magnificent against the backdrop of the starry night sky.
Silver and Sebek must be looking for him now, but Malleus decided to take his time and sit here for a while longer before returning.
The tranquility of this place allowed him to dwell in his thoughts. He does prefer the tranquility of this place over the ruckus that could be caused when the entire student body was gathered in one place, but he certainly doesn’t dislike the liveliness of said events. Alas, he always ends up learning about what had happened only after the ceremonies have ended.
Snow piled on the grass, forming a soft carpet of tiny ice crystals around the bench, and his brooding contemplations were cut short when he heard someone’s voice not far off in the distance.
“Man, the ceremony was so boring!”
Malleus looked in the direction of the voice, to see a student approaching the gates of Ramshackle, donning ceremonial robes, with teal coloured hair lit up by the moonlight.
“That’s one of the twins from Octavinelle,” he mused to himself. “Jade… no, Floyd Leech.”
He wondered whether or not to take his leave, ultimately coming to the conclusion that his presence here shouldn’t be bothering anyone, and like he had previously decided, he was going to stay here for a while longer.
Floyd seemed to spot Malleus as he approached, and began making larger strides towards where he sat, waving his arm at him.
“Hey, Sea Slug-senpai!” he shouted.
“Leech, is it?” he said. “It’s not often that someone comes to this place. What are you doing here?”
“Azul told me to check on Ramshackle,” he answered, sounding irritated. “I was all like, ‘I don’t wanna~,’ but he said I get to skip the dorm meeting we’re gonna have if I came.”
It appears that he’s sulking, too , Malleus thought. He was a bit curious about what business Azul could possibly have with Ramshackle, though.
Floyd glanced at the ground by Malleus, and almost immediately, his expression brightened up.
“Eh? Is that snow?”
He ran over and squatted down by the snow, poking at the surface, then picking up a handful and playing around with it.
“No way!” he said with a laugh, “it’s the super duper fluffy type of snow! Why’s it snowing so early in autumn, is the weather haywire or somethin’?”
Before Malleus could respond, Floyd shot back up with a wide grin on his face. “Oh! I got a good idea!”
He ran off at twice the speed he had wandered here with, leaving Malleus frowning in confusion from the abrupt conversation. Was he supposed to… wait for him to return?
That was the correct assumption, it appeared. Some moments later, Floyd came running back with two bottles of something colourful in his hands.
“Shaved ice syrup,” he answered when Malleus asked him what the bottles were. “Stole them from Mostro Lounge’s kitchen. This is what gives the colour and flavouring to the shaved ice items we sell, all you need to do is give the ice a few squirts.
“This one’s blue raspberry flavour,” he said, holding up the dark blue bottle, “and this one’s lime,” he held up the green one. “Oh, and I also got some bowls.”
He brought out a bag that had been hidden underneath his robes, in which were a few paper bowls with Mostro Lounge’s logo printed on them. It then occurred to Malleus what Floyd wanted to do.
“Are you going to… dig up the snow from the ground?” he asked, a little dubious of the notion of eating snow that came straight from the ground.
“Dunno where all this snow came from, but it looks safe enough to eat,” he replied cheerily. “The snow’s thick enough, and fresh fallen snow isn’t that different from shaved ice made by machines.”
Malleus supposed he might have been understating about the snowing he caused. While it was a flurry by his standards, and he had caused much larger inconveniences during his emotion fluctuations in the past, it must have been quite the amount of snow for non-fae people. Perhaps he had been sulking a little too much.
“Sea Slug-senpai, you want one too?”
Malleus widened his eyes in surprise as Floyd handed him a paper bowl and a spoon. He felt a smile slip onto his face.
“I’ll graciously accept your offer,” he said.