I cannot
Wow.
Crowley greets us, not an entirely welcomed sight because, let's face it, the Victorian Style dropout isn't my favorite person. He's basically the bottom right now, right next to that kid that bullied me in the first grade by cutting my braid. I'm still mad about that.
"Eh—You're telling me you really went to the Dwarfs' Mine to find a magestone?" I shouldn't hit a man wearing the mask because I will hurt my fist on his weird mask. On the other hand, I am very upset.
"Uh—yes?" We're saying in chorus. Good team.
"Ah—See, I didn't think… You would go but brought the magestone back. I already went ahead and discretely completed the expulsion paperwork." Deuce suddenly has a hand on my wrist. I give him a look and he gives me one. And he's… pretty strong.
"Nyah!? The nerve! While we were fighting for our lives against a monster…!" Grim's flames glow brighter when he's angry. I'm not going to stop him if he wants to set the feather-caped expeller on fire.
"Monster…?" Mr. Headmaster questions.
"Yeah! There was a monster there!" Ace chimes in, and he looks pissy too. GOOD. "Scary, strong—it was horrible."
"Would you tell me the whole story?" I really hope when he's in that contemplative stance he cuts his chin one day. "Let us go to my office."
So, we set off down the spiraling halls of this place—I, admittedly, am not entirely fond of the structure, but it has its charm. But, we soon enter a large office, grand, with big, wide windows, and a beautiful wooden desk (mahogany?) sitting upon a fine, plush, royal carpet that leads from the door to the wall. The curtains are purple, with lovely green stars and moons on them—with a gorgeous gold fringe. Painted portraits float around of the Great Seven. I am surprised at the colors on them—the Sea Witch and her purple skin, the green skin of the Great Thorn Fairy—and the King of the Underworld is… blue-flamed. Huh.
The candles are lit with some sort of magical flames, and honestly his chair looks a bit more like a throne. King of the Assholes, I say.
"No, you explain." Grim gripes at me.
"Yeah!" Ace agrees.
Deuce just nods. He seems nervous.
I divulge into the tale, rambling about our misadventure, and to the horrifying monsters—and how we eventually won. But—I don't—talk about the voice in my head.
Since…
I don't know what that might mean yet, and in all honesty? I'm scared.
"Oh ho…" The contemplative madman starts, "So, a mysterious monster was living in the mines? And the four of you worked together to defeat it, and brought back the magestone?"
Ace rubs the back of his head with his hand, looking away. "Uh—I wouldn't say worked together…exactly…"
Deuce is once more in sync with him, "More like we had the same goal."
Now if this fucker couldn't get any weirder, he just did. The man just breaks down into actual uncontrollable sobbing. His hands somehow over his face and his mask without clawing the ever-loving shit out of himself. I—I am put off. This is a grown man. Breaking down. For some reason. This—this is so fucking awkward to listen to and watch. I—I mean I guess good on him at being able to express his emotions but at the same time I do not like him and I do not want to watch this.
"What's with him? Why is a grown man bursting into tears?" Grim is asking the right questions!
"In all of my years of being headmaster… Seeing Night Raven College students cooperate, working together hand-in-hand to face and defeat a common foe—" Yeah those are tears.
"Woah! No! I didn't hold his hand!" Deuce did not understand that phrasing at all. The panic on his face is kind of cute. Oh gosh.
Ace is in sync of dumb. "Gross! That's so disgusting, I'd never do that! Headmaster, how OLD are you!?" It is rude to ask someone's age, but I'm not saying anything because I'm wondering that too.
"I'm so overwhelmed with emotion!"
"We noticed." I comment dryly.
"No, you have an amazing talent as a beast tamer!" Crowley almost shouts in his intensity.
"Talent—beastmaster? Tamer?" I am so confused right now.
"Students of Night Raven College are selected by the Dark Mirror, coming to join an elite group of sorcerers. This of course inflates their egos, and it means they have no interest in working with others—which leads them to being very selfish, self-absorbed people that won't get along with one-another." That doesn't surprise me, given my interactions with Ace, the ass, here.
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." And now Grim's crossing his paws and grumpy. Why is that so cute?
"No, you are unable to use magic. Yet, even if you have no magic, perhaps you can teach the sorcerers to get along—to work together for a common goal. This everyday, humdrum, mediocrity may be exactly what this school needs!" Crowley the crow-face is not making me feel any better. He's smiling too much about it, too.
"But—none of what you're saying is a good thing?!" Ace is offended on my behalf and that's a bit of a comfort.
"I love being a normal girl…" I grumble a bit.
"No." The Butcherer of Crows for Fashion looks at me far too intensely with the mask-covered, glowing eyes. "I believe that you are needed for the future of this school. My educator's senses tell me so!" Now he turns to Ace and Deuce. "Trappola, Spade, I revoke your expulsions." Now, again, he's to me with a more relaxed pose. "No… As for you, I am granting you enrollment to attend Night Raven College!"
"WHAT?" Yeah, we're in sync again.
Headmaster Birdbrain seems way too excited about this, too.
"You—remember that I can't use any magic, right? At all? The whole formless soul, from another world—does that—did you forget about that?" Is this man insane how am I going to do any of the magic work in a magic school!?
"Yes! As I am so kind, extraordinarily generous…" Someone smack him. "However, only under one condition. Since you cannot use magic, you are unable to adequately complete the magical pursuits of the curriculum. And that is why, Grim, you have proven that you have the talent to become a sorcerer. Therefore, I shall enroll both of you as one student in Night Raven College. No. Grim." He's so pleased with himself.
The weird, strangled noise I hear from Grim is clearly one of joy. "I—I get to go to the school too…? As… as a student? Not a handyman?" There are tears in his eyes I swear.
"Yes. Only if you do not commit such fiascoes as what happened yesterday. Do we have an understanding?" He looks a little peeved at all that happened. Eh.
"I—I do-" Oh he is tearing up!
"Let's do our best, Grim, together." I have knelt down, offering my hand.
He takes it in a shake, before he jumps into the air. "WOO HOO! I DID IT!" Oh, he's so excited as he jumps for joy!
It's so sweet…
"Now, I will present to you, Grim, a magestone that is issued to every student." And a flash of magic—a collar appears around Grim's neck with a lovely, amethyst-colored crystal. The jewel is just like the wands that Ace and Deuce carry! Gorgeous, it rally pulls off his ensemble.
"A magestone?!" His paws cup it, admiring the symbol he has—the object that makes him like the other students.
"Usually, we have these magestones attached to a sort of wand, a pen—however, I suspect your paws cannot hold one properly. This is custom. I am so kind as to pay attention to such details!" He's very pleased with himself. "I am the kindest, am I not?"
But that's really suspicious. Had he really planned out those forms, then? Had he done them, if he had this prepared? Or is his magic so good he could make that up on the fly? There's something off about this weird man.
"Debatable." I murmur, shaking my head. This isn't a dream, or a nightmare, but it's insane.
"I did it! I am AWESOME! I have a cool, custom, special, magestone collar just for the great Grim!" Oh, he's basically dancing around in joy. It's adorable.
"He isn't listening to me." Crowley frowns.
"Feels great, huh?" He's not paying attention.
"No—I see Grim isn't used to human society. You are to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't cause anymore trouble." I give him a withering look.
"I'll see what I can do with my lack of magic, headmaster." Ire's dripping from my pores but I'm tired and hungry.
"Well, well, aren't you impressive? We just started school and you've gone from janitor, to student, to prefect!" I give Ace a look, because I think he's being a little shit again.
Deuce looks so contemplative, too, as he speaks. "I see… you are a dorm of two… Since you are in charge of Grim, that makes you the dorm prefect."
1. "...I don't want to know what that entails…" Mmm. That's. At least it's just Grim?
Of course, heart-face laughs. "Isn't that crazy? A prefect, a magicless prefect! Sure—cool! A prefect who can't use magic!"
"I'll have to do my best, won't I?" Is Deuce—yeah, Deuce has my wrist again because I was about to pop Ace in the mouth.
Who, of course, is laughing. "Do your best, prefect~!"
"No, I mean, Prefect No! I hope to see the same spirit you showed in the mines." He's too earnest. I deflate immediately.
"Ah, yes, I believe that does make you a prefect. Ah! I have something to entrust you with, Prefect!" He pulls out what looks like a strange Polaroid camera with some golden design around the lens. I take it, looking it over. That definitely is a Polaroid of some sort—I have one at home… where-ever that is from here. I remember messing with one more like this when I was a kid. "This is called a "ghost camera"."
"Ghost camera?" I ask, curious.
"My grandma told me about those. It's an ancient magic artifact, right?" Ace asks.
"It isn't that old." He clears his throat.
I narrow my eyes suspiciously. Is he ancient? Like, centuries old? Only a super old person would say something like that.
"—Indeed, it was invented in your great-grandmother, or your great-great grandmother's time! The camera is infused with a special magic; it captures both the image of the person, but parts of their soul."
"A part of one's soul?" Deuce is voicing what we're catching onto.
"Memories… they deepen the bond of the soul of the photographer and the photographed—the camera connects them. And the memory in the photo comes out!" That-
"Jumps out?"
"The closer the subject and photographer are, the more animate the photos become—like videos! Sometimes it can even come to life—interesting, isn't it?" He's too excited.
"Like making a ghost?!"
"Yes—that is why it is a ghost camera." He's too pleased about this. "It was a way to capture memories vividly—and Spades is correct: When the memories came to life, they would scream and call it: Ghost! People feared having their picture taken." Why is he so excited… about this…
"A camera that scares people." Ace remarks.
"That's… kind of neat…?" I guess? I wouldn't mind taking pictures and getting gifs.
"No. I want you to take photos of Grim and the other students, I want you to make as memories as possible as you attend this school." What am I, the yearbook person now?
Grim's elated? "You can take all of the cool pictures of me!"
"Especially capture the mischief the students make—those memories are important." Now I feel like he wants me to be a narc. "Taking photos sounds like a better job than writing me reports, no, No? As a prefect, keep an eye out and capture a lot of memories. Remember, I am very kind to gift such a magical artifact to someone that can't even use magic. I wonder, does my kindness have no limits?"
"Thanks." I'm too tired to argue anything with him. I'll have to get a strap for this, it's impractical to carry it around as it is. I wonder if there's something I can use at the dorm?
"The hour is late. We will talk more tomorrow." He's so happy at such a late hour too. I hate him. "Everyone, please return to your dorms."
We bid goodnight and excuse ourselves, leaving the Headmaster behind. I hold the camera carefully in my hands, and walk a few paces ahead, turning and taking a quick picture of the trio.
"Did you have to do that?!" Ace scolds.
I lower it, grinning. "I just thought I might get a picture of the three biggest troublemakers in Night Raven College. Keep my memory fresh."
Deuce looks a little offended. "I'm not a troublemaker!"
"Sure—sure-you're part of the trio now." I tease, I can't help it.
"At least get my good side when you do that, No!" Grim huffs. "Did you get my collar?" He cups the jewel. "It's amazing!"
"I did! And you look wonderful, promise." I laugh.
We get to the end of a hallway not long later, and I turn back to them again.
It's the end of an adventure. For the first time, I hope I don't wake up back at home.
