iThe mirror glows. /i

iHyenas sit, staring at a pillar of stone. A lion appears. Imperious. Angry. Vengeful. The cavern is yellow, the shadows, red, and the rest in black and white./i

iThey speak of the future. They are going to kill the king and his son. It zooms upon a lion I recognize… I think./i

iHe says he will be king. They need to be prepared. It fades./i

Another strange dream that bodes ill to me.

Morning comes too soon, or perhaps not soon enough. My mind's still reeling with what happened last night. That strange boy with horns. I don't know what to make of him, either. In all honesty, he probably isn't the weirdest person I've met so far, and it won't be the last strange personality I find here in Twisted Wonderland—well, really, Night Raven College. I haven't had that many opportunities to explore outside of the college campus, and as it's going, I probably won't go outside of school grounds.

A shudder goes down my spine, suddenly. I hope that isn't ill to come.

I see Grim bouncing and excited. "Good! You're awake! Get up—we need to go get breakfast!"

I sigh, getting up. And off I go to get ready in a hurry. I'm tired, mentally, exhausted from yesterday's trials. At least the evening was nice. I need to hang with Riddle more. I'm glad to see in some aspects that he's easing up and coming to terms with actual reality and not the warped bullshit from his mother.

They're going to need to talk and everyone here needs therapy. Including me.

"Let's go!" Grim calls to me urgently.

"Yes, yes!" I grumble.

This is our second big plot… third? We're involved in, I have every right to be tired.

We walk relatively silent until we're about at the Great Seven, where we're meeting up with Riddle before chowing down.

"Hey, where did you go last night? You weren't there when I went to the bathroom." Grim asks—I'm both surprised he noticed and that he cares, at all. This is a plu one to his character development and I feel a bit of pride.

"I went for a walk outside the dorm." I start. Recalling my encounter with the mysterious stranger. "I ran into a student here… Diasomnia uniform… he was tall, tall and… pale. He looks a bit like Lilia with the same pointed ears. Dark hair… And he had bright green eyes, they were glowing—and horns." I'm recalling the image of the student. "Taller than Jack Howl…"

"A weirdo with horns? What's his name?" Grim asks.

I laugh. "He was going to tell me, then he said some bullshit about being scared before saying next time we meet I could give him a name. After he lamented all about Ramshackle not being abandoned for his nightly walks. I invited him to walk around anytime—but I don't think he heard me before he vanished."

"Hmmm. Horns… dude… Hornton!" Grim declares, and I'm in a fit of laughter. That's BRILLIANT.

"I don't think anyone would like that nickname." I'm a fit of giggles.

"He can't be mad when he said you could call him anything, No!" Grim huffs at me.

"Hornton it is, but honestly? I'll probably call him whatever dumb name comes to mind." Ah, I finally calm down from laughs and giggles to snickering.

"But if Hornton's a student here—we'll run into him eventually, right? Introduce me then!" I guess he's intrigued about the horns too. "I've never seen a human with horns before!"

"Sure." Why not? But I don't think he's human. My bets are on ivampire/i. I haven't seen Lilia Vanrouge in the sun yet, either. Have I seen Crowley? Hm.

Evil school run by a vampire? Checks out.

"Morning No!" Cater calls with a grin as the pair approaches.

Riddle, though, has such a stern expression on his face as he gets right into my bubble. "...No. Your tie is crooked. Rule-breakers start with disorderly attire." That's some bullshit my clothes don't even fit.

The Housewarden of Strictness reaches, grasping my tie and starting to adjust it. There's a moment of hesitation because I feel his forearms. Oh. Yeah. Uh.

I'm going to claim I'm chubby oh my GOD.

He continue to tie it after a moment and I'm hoping he knows nothing with that sheltered upbringing. Fuck. Oh fuck I should've rebuffed him.

"—as a dorm manager, as a Housewarden, you imust/i always lead by a good example… even if there's just one other student." Riddle continues, awkwardly clearing his throat as he releases me with a nice and neat tie. "There. Good." He's smiling too. I don't think he's realized I'm an inch taller than him yet and let's keep it that way.

"Why aren't Ace and Deuce here?" Grim asks.

Good question.

"As under Rule number 249 of the Queen of Hearts, they must feed the flamingos while wearing all pink." Riddle's nonsense rules blow the mind. "But that's less important—there was another injury last night."

Great. It just continues.

"What?!" Grim shouts in surprise.

"From what I've heard, it's a sophomore from Scarabia." Cater fills us in. "Jamil Viper. In the dorm's kitchen."

"...You know… has anyone asked any of the portraits from around these incidents? They could act like security cameras… maybe." I'm not sure how long their memory span would be, given they are portraits… and not actually alive and with brains. But maybe they somehow have more brain cells than Deuce and Ace combined. Hm.

I shouldn't throw so much shade but those two…

"As it's still breakfast, we may be able to find him in the cafeteria. Let's go." Riddle ushers us onward.

Well, at least we have the same idea of going to the cafeteria.

"Let's see… Jamil is tan, with long black hair… he's usually with Kalim, who has white hair, tan, and red eyes…" Cater's somewhat mumbling as we scope out for the latest victim. Then, his voice perks. "There he is!"

We approach a pair of students, just as described—black hair, both tan, the other with white hair and red eyes. Uh. He is out of uniform with that sweater and belt and all that. So why am I the one getting bullshit from Vil Schoenheit when this guy is a much bigger offender to go after? Absolute bullshit.

"Hey!" Grim approaches poorly. "You got injured last time in your dorm kitchens? Tell me about it!"

He's a horrible detective and people monster. It's. A pain.

"...Ah? What are you going on about?" Jamil acknowledges Grim at least, arms crossing as he looks down at the furball.

"Ah! The raccoon! He set my butt on fire during the opening ceremony!" Kalim gasps in fear… ish?

"Oh God Damn it." I cuss softly under my breath. I don't want another altercation right now.

"Grim, mind your words better." Riddle scolds. Good. He's also quite annoyed. But not angry, yet, at least. Phew for us all. Now he turns to Jamil and Kalim. "Apologies for disturbing your meal."

Kalim is immediately recovered with a smile. "Oh! The Heartslabyul Housewarden and the raccoon! Wow, what a strange pair!" He lets out such a big laugh.

I'm here too.

But okay.

"I am not some stupid raccoon! I'm Grim! And this is No." He at least introduces me, so, that's better, Grim—and not even as some sort of underling this time. We are having a character development day, aren't we?

"Oh! Well, I'm the Housewarden for Scarabia, Kalim Al-Asim—and this is my Vice, Jamil Viper!" He very eagerly and cheerily introduces them both to us. "It's nice to meet you both!"

"Wow… how carefree…" Grim remarks.

"It's nice to meet you two." I reply, politely. I've met these types in my life. It's not as startling as it probably is for Grim.

"Alright… so what do you want to know?" Jamil seems to be the type that gets straight to the point. I'm actually impressed—his hair has several braids and a few golden coins or something woven into them. He's got bangs covering a bit of his face, and an earring with a bright, red jewel hanging down. He's got a very… observant gaze. Honestly, Viper's pretty apt as he reminds me of a snake. He's also out of uniform, wearing a thick hoodie, dark red, instead of the rest of a proper uniform. Is he cold?

Maybe they're both from a hot climate, since Kalim's in that big, white sweater or maybe cardigan—too. Huh.

"Headmaster Crowley assigned us to investigate mysterious injuries." I explain.

"Oh, the Headmaster? Fine, then." Well, that's nice to see him a little more loose about it. "I was in the kitchens last night making food that Kalim requested." A hand to his chin, he's recalling the details of this—I notice the thick, black cuffs with a band of gold and a red stripe in the middle. Interesting.

"The fried meat buns! They're amazing! You guys should try them next time!" Uh, Kalim, why are you offering that up? You don't offer up something someone else made without their express permission. The fuck?

I mean, this is something little kids do before they know any better. My. Gosh. Then they get to stew in their embarrassment forever, as it should be! This guy's what, seventeen? Eighteen? It's a little old for that. He should already be in the horrible memory recall stage of his life. Things that haunt forever…

If you're not embarrassed by your middle school self… something is wrong with you.

Unsocialized weirdos. This entire school.

"Kalim. We're not trying to get off topic." As casual as Jamil is, he must know Kalim very well, and literally be used to this. I pity him immensely in this moment.

"Ah, my bad, my bad!" He's still grinning.

"While I was chopping, I suddenly lost control of my hands and the knife, injuring myself." Jamil explains. I can see… ah, yeah, he's wrapped up.

"But Jamil's knife-skill levels in the kitchen rank with top chefs!" Kalim interjects. "We're you tired from Spelldrive practice?" He asks, curious.

"No, I'm not that careless." Jamil remarks in a quick reply, continuing to ponder this himself. "However, it felt like I… lost control of myself, completely, for a moment."

"Dizziness?" I question.

"Most would come to that conclusion, but I've felt such a sensation before—someone's unique magic." Ah. Hm. Jamil is describing the same thing as the other victims—not feeling like you did it, but you did. And a Unique Magic…?

That makes this a lot more complicated, but also, simple: we're looking for one person.

"Oh! And Jamil's weak magic is—mmph! MM?!" Jamil has launched over to cover Kalim's mouth as he's about to blab what is probably a secret.

He's so calm about it too.

I see that Kalim is something other than happy when he puts his hands on his hips and huffs with a frown. "What'd you do that for?!"

"I am ijust/i getting to the good part. Don't interrupt." No, no, even if he looks frustrated with his arms crossed, I think he doesn't want to know what his own Unique Magic is—and fair. Seems a bit personal to me. "I believe the culprit used their Unique Magic to control the victim." Makes sense.

"I see! Now it makes sense why no one saw anything, it wasn't off except to the person being controlled." Cater looks… pleased?

"And in the heat of the moment, the victim would not be able to differentiate between carelessness or purposeful maliciousness." Riddle continues. Stern. "I did not feel like someone was controlling me as I fell down the stairs, either."

"That makes it impossible to find the culprit… what to do now?" Cater laments.

"A person using magic to control others?" Grim questions. "HA!" Ah, why did he have to startle me with that shout? "If I had magic like that, I'd take peoples' bread every day!"

"iNo, Grim./i" I scold. Ugh.

I have a migraine forming, I swear.

"...You'd use it to steal bread… are there not better ways to use that power?" Riddle looks so disappointed in him too. I feel this, intimately.

"And then, I could talk all of the mincemeat sandwich—huh." Oh? Something interrupted Grim's food chain of thought? Pretty sure that's impossible.

That… reminds me. "Speaking of that…" I remember the unfair trade not long ago that upset Grim so much with… Ruggie, wasn't it?

"AH!" Grim may have come to the same conclusion as I?

"Ah!? What? Why is there yelling?!" Kalim, why are YOU yelling too?

"I figured it out! I know who has the Unique Magic we're looking for!" Grim shouts.

Oh good. Glad you're caught up too.

"What did you say!?" Riddle clearly wants the answer.

"Ruggie Bucchi." I drop the name, easily. Huh.

"...You mean… the one from Savanaclaw?" Cater doesn't look… excited.

Yeah. I feel.

I take in a breath. "The incident with the mincemeat—Grim would have never traded, and mentioned the same thing that all of the victims had said: their body moved on its own. Between that, and that Savanaclaw has no injuries for their dorm members when we have other dorms suffering injuries… it makes sense."

Riddle waves his arm. "Then we will find and interrogate him. Immediately."

"I don't think it's going to be that simple." Because nothing we do ever is!

Cater pulls out his phone. "Well, Ruggie Bucchi… ah! Class 2-B."

There's a bright smile of accomplishment as Riddle first turns to the Scarabia pair. "Thank you both for your cooperation."

Kalim laughs. "It's not a problem at all! I have no idea what's going on, but good luck with whatever it is!"

Uh.

Does.

Does he need to join the no-brain cell club with Deuce and Ace?

Grim of course leads the cavalry to the classroom. I try to rush after and stop him from barging in and interrupting, but I am far too late for that.

"And here we go! Where is Ruggie Bucchi!?" The vengeful Grim shouts to the class.

Fuck me we're going to get such a weird reputation over all of this.

Ruggie stands up, casually putting his hands behind his head. He looks… bored.

"Ugh—what do you guys want this time?" He's annoyed. Maybe he doesn't suspect that we suspect him yet? "No matter what you do, I'm not paying you back for the sandwich." What a grin he has with his shrug. Interesting.

I.

Have a bad feeling.

"Ruggie Bucchi. We are here to question you about the consecutive injury cases regarding many students here, at school." Only Riddle could give this stern delivery.

"Hmm… that's not a very nice topic…" Ruggie's expression falls. His ears are alert. Great.

"We'd like you to come with us for a bit." Cater's expression is… smiling, but his eyes are suspicious. There's a lot more to him than the cheerful Magicam addict. Besides manipulating poor, helpless freshmen from other dorms into doing his dirty work.

"Okay, okay—just don't hurt me, alright?" I'm so suspicious of Ruggie. How his ears are low. How… dramatic this is?

He comes out to the hallway with us, at least. And once we're down the way, and more out of the flow of traffic…

Riddle begins.

"...We must be cautious to not fall victim to his unique magic." Riddle starts. "...With my iOff with Your Head…/i"

Ruggie interrupts. "How can you do that without your magic pen?"

Oh fuck I knew it.

Riddle startles, wide-eyed and angry as he pats for it. "Where is my pen!?"

Riddle's collar, and Cater's pen are missing too. AH, fuck us.

He's not only controlling actions, but he's a pick-pocket. Just our luck. We are so royally fucked right now.

"What a bunch of rich kids." There comes that Ruggie laugh, too. "Wide open and so easy to rob!

"What magic did he use to do that?!" Grim's so put-off too.

"Burn him." I tell Grim. What?

"Please, I don't need magic to steal from you!" He's grinning so wide, too.

"Seriously, Grim, set him on fire right now." Because someone on fire is going to have a hard time using their Unique Magic and focusing on anything else but putting it out. "If I stay, you're going to attack me… bye bye!"

And there he goes.

There's a reason I told Grim to burn him.

"WAIT!" Grim shouts after him.

"Wait!" Riddle also shouts. "If you do not halt this instant it is OFF WITH YOU-!"

"Riddle, stop!" Cater grasps his arm. "You're still recovering from Overblot—you can't do that without your pen!"

We of course take off after him…

But fuck us, this is a disaster.