Author's Notes: I'm basing Devon's Unbirthday Party dress on Meiko's Strawberry Witch outfit from the Project Diva games, if any of you want to use that as a reference. Obviously, the neckline on Devon's dress isn't nearly that low, though.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early as Grim tapped Devon's cheek to wake her up. "Get up, henchman! The Unbirthday Party's today and I don't wanna miss out on any of the food, especially after we worked so hard to help 'em get ready!"

Devon yawned and rubbed her eyes as she sat up. "The party's not until this afternoon, Grim. It's not like there's any rush." She reached her arms up to stretch before getting out of bed.

"But aren't you excited to wear that new…thing you got when you went shopping with Cater yesterday?" Grim asked.

Cater had overheard Devon mentioning to Grim that she was concerned about not having anything to wear; she appreciated Cater hooking her up with a Heartslabyul dorm uniform but she preferred dresses and skirts for formal wear to say nothing of the fact that it was awkward to wear clothes that didn't fit and that uniform was noticeably too big for her. He immediately suggested they get permission from the headmaster to go shopping off campus, and a few hours later, Devon had found the perfect dress. Unsurprisingly, Cater was an incredibly fun shopping buddy (no doubt helped by the fact that Devon wasn't anywhere near as demanding as his older sisters were) and after snapping more selfies than they could count (for the sake of Devon's new Magicam account the Cater helped her set up, of course), they promised to go again when they had more time to spare.

"I mean, yeah, of course I am. That dress is absolutely bangin'," Devon replied. "Doesn't change the fact that the party isn't until this afternoon."

"I can't believe you and Cater got to go goof off when I was stuck paintin' roses again," Grim grumbled.

"Yeah, well, you didn't need a new dress, bud," Devon pointed out as she put her bracelet on. "Besides, you got that awesome Heartslabyul ribbon for the last Unbirthday Party, so I'm not sure what you're complaining about." She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and glanced down at the bracelet on her wrist. Neither the bracelet nor the mirror had shown any sign of connecting her to her homeworld again, despite her checking multiple times. She heaved a disappointed sigh, but there was no use dwelling on it. She'd get in contact with her family again; she was sure of it. But for now, all she could do was be patient.

The morning passed quickly enough. Riddle had insisted that they didn't need help with the last-minute preparations (but Devon suspected he was worried about making her injury worse; it had been an uphill battle getting him to agree to let her help yesterday), so Devon opted to finish what was left of her weekend homework until it was time to start getting ready. After making sure Grim had put his new ribbon on correctly, Devon got changed into her new dress. She wanted something that matched Heartslabyul's colors out of respect for the Queen of Hearts, so she and Cater picked out a red short-sleeved dress with black and white accents and frilly underlayers made to resemble strawberries, white sleeve coverings tied with red ribbons, black stockings, and red ankle boots with white cuffs. She did a little twirl in front of Grim after she'd finished with her makeup. "So? How do I look?"

"You look like someone who's keepin' me from Trey's baked goods!" Grim replied. "Let's get a move on!"

Devon rolled her eyes playfully, sending Zephyr a grateful smile when they chimed in that they thought she looked lovely. "Thanks, Zeph." She turned to Grim as he hopped up onto her shoulder, carefully placing the ghost camera Crowley had given her in her bag. "Alright, Mr. Bottomless Pit, we're off to Heartslabyul."

Devon, Zephyr, and Grim had barely stepped through the Heartslabyul mirror portal when Cater immediately pulled them into a hug. "Hey, Dev-Dev~! Hey, Grimmy~! Hey, Zephyr~!" He pulled back to get a better look at Devon's outfit. "Oh my Seven, you look even cuter than when you tried this on yesterday!"

Devon laughed as she returned the hug. "Thanks, Cater." She quirked a brow at him. "Were you waiting to ambush us as soon as we got here?"

"You're a sharp one, sweet girl," Cater chirped. "I'm under strict instructions not to let you lift another finger since my team's already got the tea garden ready to go. Ace and Deuce are busy getting the croquet tournament ready, Trey's putting the finishing touches on all the food, and Riddle…," He gave her a mischievous look. "Riddle learned yesterday that he doesn't stand a chance against your puppy-dog eyes. Don't get him wrong, though. He really appreciates all you've done for us, we all do. But he'd feel terrible if your rib didn't heal correctly because you didn't take it easy, especially since he was the one that hurt you in the first place."

Devon pouted. "Is he still beating himself up about that? I already told him I forgave him. Besides, all I did was help Trey with some of the baking." Even so, she couldn't help but feel touched by Riddle's concern. "But if it means that much to him, I'll hang back. What do we do in the meantime, then?"

Cater winked at her before pulling out his phone. "I'm so glad you asked~!"

After taking who knows how many selfies, Cater ushered Devon, Zephyr, and Grim into the tea garden. Even though she'd spent the better part of the past three days at Heartslabyul and had a front-row seat to Aloe and Terra restoring the grounds, Devon couldn't help but be blown away at how amazing it all looked. 'Hard to believe this is the same garden Riddle obliterated just a few days ago. Guess that's the joy of magic, huh?'

"Acey! Deucey!" Cater called out, waving to the two boys as he led Devon over to them, Grim hopping off her shoulder to charge toward a table laden with sweets.

"Hey, Cater. Hey-whoa…," Ace trailed off when he caught sight of Devon's outfit. He knew she and Cater had gone shopping the day before, but he hadn't expected her to come back with something so cute. He scrambled to think of something, anything, to say, but he could only stare at his friend with his mouth hanging open slightly.

Devon giggled before placing her finger under Ace's chin and closing his mouth for him. "I'll take your stunned silence to mean the dress is a hit, then."

"You look great, Dev," Deuce said, sending her a smile before giving Ace a teasing smirk as he tried to wrangle Grim and keep him from eating all the food before the party officially started. "And you actually got Ace to shut up for more than five seconds, so color me impressed."

"You shut up," Ace grumbled as he glared at Deuce, his face heating up both because of Devon and because of Deuce calling him out. "I just wasn't expecting the change, that's all." His red eyes briefly swept over Devon's form before he averted them again, clearing his throat. "You clean up good, New York."

"Doesn't she, though~?" Cater agreed, pulling Devon into a hug. "I wasn't sure what to expect since you're from another world, but your fashion sense is on point, baby girl~!"

Devon smiled as she rubbed the back of her head. "Thanks, but I can't take too much credit there. I owe most of my formalwear fashion sense to my cousin. Valentina's a model slash aspiring designer and an only child, so…"

"So you ended up being her dress-up doll?" Cater finished.

"Yes and no," Devon said. "She does tend to dress me up a lot and she can be really harsh if she thinks an outfit doesn't look good, but I really have learned a lot from her. Besides, she's only harsh because she cares and she's never forced me into wearing anything I didn't like."

Before the conversation could continue, a trumpet sounded through the tea garden. Ace grabbed Devon's hand and pulled her toward a nearby table with Deuce (who was still hanging onto a struggling Grim) and Cater following close behind. All attention turned to the entrance of the tea garden where a freshman student announced Riddle's arrival. "Make way for our great leader! The Crimson Ruler! Dorm leader Riddle is here!"

"Three cheers for dorm leader Riddle!" the Heartslabyul students chorused as Riddle and Trey entered the garden.

"Hmm. The roses are red. The tablecloths are white. This seems a perfect Unbirthday Party indeed," Riddle mused as he surveyed the garden. He looked over at Trey. "Did you make sure there's a dormouse-" He caught himself before smiling and shaking his head. "You know what? It's fine without."

"Not everything has to change all at once, you know," Trey assured him gently. "For example, maybe you could spread the jam on your scone instead of the dormouse. Try setting the bar at "It would be nice to have this" instead of "It's worthless without this"."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Riddle agreed.

"Uuuugh, even after everything we went through, we still had to handle the garden cleanup and the prep work for the party," Ace groaned. "Talk about unfair."

"Why are you complaining? Terra and Aloe did all the heavy lifting getting the garden in order," Deuce pointed out. "Besides, the dorm leader making a full recovery is the most important thing, right?"

"Those Wisps are the real MVPs!" Cater agreed. "The garden's Magicam-worthy again, so I'm satisfied!"

"And I'm ready to chow down on all this food!" Grim exclaimed happily, eyeing the cupcakes on a nearby table.

Cater smiled. "In that case, let's-"

"Just a moment!" Riddle interjected.

"What's up?" Cater asked.

Riddle narrowed his eyes and nodded toward a group of rose trees. "I see some white roses…"

Grim, Ace, and Deuce tensed. "Aww, crap! Did we miss some?!" Ace whispered fearfully.

Cater's green eyes widened as he tried to lean toward them discreetly, his voice lowered. "Aaaah, Acey, Deucey! I thought I told you to make sure you got all of them!"

Deuce looked at Cater incredulously. "Wait, so this is our fault now?!"

"R-Riddle…This is just…" Trey began, but trailed off before he could think of a plausible excuse.

"Hey, look what Zephyr can do!" Devon said, attempting to deflect Riddle's attention from the unpainted roses. Zephyr quickly summoned three small, contained twisters, manipulating them to move gracefully (and harmlessly) around table as if performing a synchronized dance.

Much to everyone's surprise, Riddle's face broke into a smile as he chuckled softly. "I'm kidding, you guys. I'm not about to punish you over a few missed roses."

"S-Seriously?!" Cater exclaimed, his expression shifting from shock to relief. "That's so lenient of you, Riddle."

"Having said that, those roses do still need to be painted," Riddle told them. "It'll go faster if we all handle it together."

"Hang on, you still want them painted?" Ace asked.

"Don't worry, Ace. It won't be so bad," Trey consoled the redhead before looking over at Riddle. "All the same, I'm impressed. You really have changed, Riddle."

"Enough standin' around, then!" Grim shouted. "Let's get this painting stuff over with so we can start the party!"

"Alright then, everyone. Are you ready?" Riddle asked, his smile growing as his question was met with a chorus of cheers and "Yeah!"s. His grey eyes locked with Devon's brown ones when he saw her moving toward the rose trees as well. "Hold on a moment, Devon. I'm concerned this might cause too much strain on your injury."

Devon sighed. "C'mon, Riddle. I appreciate where you're coming from, but you don't have to treat me like I'm made of glass. After today, the mending potions will have my rib back to normal, anyway."

"Precisely. So let's not trip at the finish line," Riddle countered, crossing his arms stubbornly.

'Stubborn to the end, huh? Well, two can play that game, my friend,' Devon thought. Recalling what Cater had told her earlier, she shifted her expression into the most pitiful-looking pout she could manage. "Pleeeeease, Riddle?"

Riddle's expression softened just a bit but he didn't relax his stance. "That's not going to work this time. This is for your own good."

'Sounds like it's time to pull out the big guns, then,' Devon mused. 'I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but you've left me with no other choice, Riddle.' She took a deep breath and, almost instantly, tears began forming the corners of her eyes as her lower lip began to quiver.

The effect was immediate. Riddle's eyes widened and he turned his head away, trying to look at anything but Devon. "I-If you think that's going to change my mind-" He cut himself off when he heard Devon give a pitiful little sniffle, causing his resolve to crumble even faster. Thankfully for him, Trey chose that moment to walk over and place a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Alright, alright, how about this: Devon can help with painting the rose on the lower branches if she agrees to stay with us the entire time," Trey offered. "That way Devon still gets to participate and Riddle can make sure she's not overdoing it."

Devon and Riddle glanced at Trey, then back at each other. Devon nodded as she wiped her fake tears away. "I can agree to that."

Riddle cleared his throat before nodding as well. "I find those terms acceptable as well." He gently nudged Devon as they made their way toward the unpainted rose trees. "That was playing dirty, you know."

Devon shrugged and sent him a playfully challenging look. "Hey, everyone's allowed to play to their strengths, right? Well, I don't have your smarts or magical talent, so I'm gonna have to make my own advantages if I wanna make it here."

"Something tells me you'll have no trouble there," Riddle assured her. They stopped in front of one of the trees and Riddle turned to address the group. "Let's get started, then."

"When was the last time you painted the roses, Riddle?" Trey asked.

Riddle tapped his chin in thought. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Once I became dorm leader, I left those duties to the other residents for the most part."

"It's pretty fun every once in a while!" Cater told him before sending a teasing look to the freshman quartet. "Well…maybe less so with a group of newbies to look after."

Ace shook his head, but he was smiling. "Oh, so you're talkin' smack about us now?"

"I've been painting roses for days now, so I'll bet I'm way better at it than Riddle!" Grim boasted, smirking with confidence.

Riddle chuckled. "In that case, I look forward to seeing what you've got."

True to her word, Devon stuck to painting the roses on the lowest branches and stayed well within eyeshot of Riddle and Trey. Deuce, loveable good boy that he was, opted to stay on the ground with Devon and paint without using magic while Ace, Grim, Cater, and Trey used their magic to tackle the roses on the higher branches. Riddle was primarily supervising their efforts and making certain the roses were painted well, but the roses he did paint were done flawlessly and with more grace than just about all of them were capable of.

"I've been thinking about your newly-acquired staff," Riddle told Devon after they'd been painting for a few minutes. "I recall you saying that you and the Wisps have been practicing with it."

Devon nodded. "As much as we can. I know I can be reckless but I don't want my rib to get any worse either, so we've been taking it easy. We've already learned a lot, though, including some areas we need to improve on. Flapjack and I nearly have Warp magic down, but the others have been much more challenging. I need to get a better handle on controlling the staff and the Wisps need to learn to adjust the amount of power they put into their spells; they aren't used to channeling their power through a magic item, so they end up using more power than they need." She glanced at Zephyr as they floated around the roses, occasionally dipping to land on Ace's nose and flitting away with amusement when he tried to swipe them away. "Zephyr and I tried using a little Wind magic last night, but they fired off the spell at their usual strength instead of dialing it back, the recoil sent us about halfway across the Ramshackle lawn."

Riddle gave her an approving nod. "I'm glad to see that you've been trying to learn more. Magic staffs and our magical pens act as amplifiers for a mage's magical ability, allowing for us to cast magic while cutting down on the amount of power we expend. I was surprised when you first told me how you and the Wisps were working together to use it, but perhaps it shouldn't have been too shocking considering they are beings of pure magic. If you'd be interested…I'd like to assist you in learning to make optimal use of that staff after you've officially been deemed back at full health."

Devon blinked in surprise. "Really? You would do that?"

Riddle nodded. "Of course. I'll admit, I've never come across a situation like yours but I think this could prove to be a good learning experience for everyone involved. I'll warn you, though: I'm a strict teacher and I will not tolerate any slacking."

Devon smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll never learn anything if the person teaching me just coddles me the whole time." Her expression turned uncertain. "Are you sure, though? I'm sure you've got your hands full with your own studies on top of all your dorm leader responsibilities. I don't want to give you more work."

"You've no need to worry about that," Riddle assured her as he colored another rose. "As I said before, I imagine I could learn a lot from this arrangement as well." He paused. "Knowing you're not just out there winging it will be beneficial for my own peace of mind. The idea of you attempting to use that staff without proper guidance or control has had me concerned since you first told me about it."

Devon snorted a laugh before nodded toward Riddle. "Well, as long as you're sure it won't cause you any trouble or more unnecessary work, I'll gladly take you up on that offer."

Riddle smiled back before glancing over at the rose Deuce was currently painting. "You're slacking, Deuce! It must be a deeper red, without flaw!"

"Y-Yessir!" Deuce stammered as he scrambled to fix the rose.

"Man, I thought you were gonna let up on the rules, but you're a strict as ever, dorm head," Ace complained.

"He might ease up a little, but he wouldn't be the Riddle we know and love if he wasn't a perfectionist!" Cater said.

"If you're going to bother with doing something, you should put in the effort to do it perfectly," Riddle added. "This is all in the name of the Unbirthday Party, so I won't be holding back." As if to prove his point, he set his sights on the one tree that the residents had yet to start painting. As soon as he pointed his own staff at it, all the white roses blooming on the tree were instantly dyed a brilliant red. "Alright. I'd say that about does it."

Ace gaped for a moment before shaking his head. "A-Amazing! You did that so fast!"

"It really is impressive," Deuce agreed, nodding his head. "I don't doubt your skills, dorm leader, but this definitely proves you can lead by example."

"Practical magic use is Riddle's specialty!" Cater chirped.

"Very nice work, Riddle," Trey complemented.

Riddle made one last round to make sure all the roses had been painted to his satisfaction before nodding his head. "I'd say that takes care of the last of the preparations. Let the Unbirthday Party begin!"

"So how'd the apology tart turn out?" Ace asked Riddle as everyone found their seats back in the tea garden.

"I-I baked it, don't worry," Riddle assured him. He gestured to a covered cake stand at the center of the group's table and pulled off the lid to reveal a delicious-looking strawberry tart. "Here we are: one strawberry tart with plenty of fresh strawberries."

Trey nodded, carefully turning the stand the tart was on to get a better look. "Not bad. The shape needs a little work, but I tell you spent a lot of time on the glaze to make those strawberries shine." He smiled at Riddle. "This is great work, considering it was your first time making one of these."

"Aaaand here comes Trey with the doting," Ace said as he shook his head. "Let's at least taste it first, then you can fawn over it all you want, man."

"Hold off on cutting that for a sec, guys. I wanna snap a quick pic of the tart for Magicam~!" Cater declared, pulling out his phone to take a picture. Once he was satisfied, he put his phone back in his pocket and sat back down. "Okay, I'm good!"

"I guess Cater never changes either, huh?" Ace asked Devon as he started cutting the tart. Devon shrugged in response as she helped pass the pieces around. "Well, whatever, I guess it's cool." Once everyone at their table had been served, the pair sat back down, looking at their own pieces eagerly. "Let's eat, you guys!"

Devon took a bite of her tart piece, expecting to be blown away by the strawberry flavor…but instead an almost unbearable saltiness washed over her tongue instead! A quick glance around the table told her that the others were experiencing something similar: Deuce seemed to be frozen in place with his fork still in his mouth, Ace was staring at his piece as if it had tried to bite him, Grim looked like he was torn between trying not to gag and trying to take another bite, and Trey was examining his piece carefully, trying to figure out where it had all gone wrong. It was Cater who finally broke the silence. "Th-This tart…"

"WHY IS THIS TART SO SALTY?!" everyone shouted.

"H-Huh?!" Riddle exclaimed.

"What the heck happened here?! How do you even make a tart this salty?! What, did you dunk it in the ocean first?!" Ace demanded in between coughs.

"But I measured all the ingredients precisely and followed the recipe to the letter!" Riddle defended. "There shouldn't be anything wro…Ah!" His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. "Could it be…Could it be the oyster sauce I added?"

Deuce coughed. "Do you mean that Walrus-approved oyster sauce Trey mentioned as a joke?"

Riddle nodded. "Trey said that all the best bakeries use it as a secret ingredient in their baked goods, so it's not included in the recipe…"

"C'mon man, don't be so gullible!" Ace chided. "If you thought about it for a second, you'd have realized Trey was just messin' with ya!"

"Says the guy who nearly fell for it himself," Devon retorted, only for Ace to gently bop her on the head.

"Even if the actual amount isn't printed, it was just supposed to be a splash of the stuff! How much did you actually put in here?" Cater asked.

Riddle looked askance, his cheeks beginning to flush. "I-I mean, if you just say "a suitable amount" without listing any precise measurements, what do you expect is going to happen?"

"Pfft…" Everyone's attention was turned toward Trey, who had been strangely silent during the whole exchange. He tried to fight the smile threatening to spread over his lips, but was soon doubled over with laughter. "I didn't think I'd see the day when someone actually fell for the ole oyster sauce joke!" He burst into laughter again.

Riddle couldn't help but chuckle as well. "Ah, you got me, Trey. What a fool I am."

"It's so bad it just makes you laugh," Deuce commented before letting out a laugh of his own.

"I guess laughing it off is really all we can do, huh?" Ace mused as he started laughing as well.

Grim stuffed more of his tart piece in his mouth. "Ya know, now that the initial surprise has worn off, I actually think it's kinda good.

"Oh, I totally get ya there," Cater agreed. "It's pretty tasty in its own way."

"You're agreeing with Grim, Cater?!" Deuce asked incredulously. "You know he eats trash right off the ground, don't you?"

"Look, I'm not saying this tart belongs in a four-star restaurant or anything," Cater replied. "I just mean…"

"You mean it's good because it's not too sweet, right?" Trey finished.

Cater blinked. "Huh?"

"I know you don't like sweets, Cater," Trey elaborated.

"Is that true?" Devon asked. "But…you came to try that chestnut tart we made the other day…"

"Wh-I-Huh?!" Cater sputtered, clearly embarrassed at having been found out. "How did you know that, Trey? I never told anyone…"

"Every time we're about to eat sweets, you bring up my Paint The Roses and have me change the flavor. You hide it pretty well, but that was a dead giveaway," Trey explained.

"Mmm…well, that's embarrassing," Cater pouted as he scratched at his cheek with one finger. "I didn't think I'd been found out." He narrowed his eyes at Trey, but there was no malice in them. "Trey, this whole 'I noticed but I didn't say anything' bit you've got goin' on really has to stop."

Trey laughed. "Yeah, yeah, point taken. Tell you what: how about I make a quiche for the next Unbirthday Party?"

"That would be awesome!" Cater agreed with a bright smile. "Just make sure it's as Magicam-worthy as the cakes, okay?"

"Hmm, hmm, hmm~" hummed a familiar voice. The group barely had time to look around for the source when a head of messy purple hair appeared beside their table. Chenya smiled at them as he picked a tart piece up from the table. "Trey's sweets are always purr-fect, aren't they~?" He happily bit into his tart piece.

Riddle gasped. "Chenya! What are you doing here?!"

"Hmm?" Chenya hummed as he swallowed the food in his mouth. "I'm here to celebrate my Unbirthday, obviously. And a very merry Unbirthday to you, Riddle."

"Chenya, the Unbirthday Party is a Heartslabyul tradition," Riddle pointed out. "It doesn't pertain to you."

Chenya chuckled before jerking his thumb toward Devon and Grim. "But it pertains to the two of them?"

"Hey, you're the guy with all the cat puns we met the other day!" Grim shouted as he pointed his paw at Chenya. "What dorm are you in, anyway? You never answered Devon when she asked you."

"Oh, Chenya doesn't even go here," Trey supplied. "He's from Royal Sword Academy, Night Raven's College's biggest rival school."

Deuce whipped his head around to look at Chenya. "You go to a completely different school?!"

"You go to freakin' Royal Sword Academy?!" Ace chimed in.

"Wait, so there's other schools of magic?" Devon asked.

Before anyone had a chance to answer her, a group of students sitting within earshot visibly tensed. "Did someone just say Royal Sword Academy?!" one student demanded.

"One of those stuck-up assholes had the nerve to show their face here?!" another growled.

"Where are they?! We'll toss 'em out!" a third declared.

Chenya's golden eyes widened as the party's mood shifted and the bloodlust from the mob of students became palpable. "Oops! Well, I got my tart so I'm thinkin' it's about time for me to scurry on home. Hmm, hmm, hmm~!" The beastman's humming continued as his body began to disappear.

"He's gettin' away!" the first student called out, having noticed Chenya's disappearing act.

"After him!" the second one shouted as a group of Heartslabyul students rushed off in the direction of the maze.

Grim and Devon blinked after the angry mob. "What gives? Why'd they get so aggressive all of a sudden?" Grim asked.

"Yeah, that went from 0 to 100 real quick," Devon agreed.

"That's to be expected," Riddle explained. "Most of the Night Raven College student body see Royal Sword Academy students as their mortal enemy."

"I mean…RSA's kicked our butts for the past century so I can't really blame them," Trey added.

"Hey, hey, no more harshin' the vibe!" Cater interjected. "This is supposed to be a happy fun time! So let's kick back and celebrate our Unbirthday!"

"Nyaha!" Grim cheered. "I'm gonna eat till I burst! A very merry Unbirthday or whatever!"

"Hey, New York," Ace began as he pulled a pack of playing cards from his pocket. "Whaddya say we show these guys that Texas Hold 'em game you taught us the other day?"

Riddle blinked. "I'm sorry…what's a "Texas"?"

"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Devon quipped as she and Ace began explaining the game.

"Hey, Dev-Dev, can you do me a solid?" Cater asked as he and Trey plopped down next to Devon to watch the croquet tournament with her. The rules dictated that, as dorm leader, Riddle was to participate in every tournament while the remaining participants were determined by lottery.

Devon was not selected for this particular tournament (though, funnily enough, Grim was), so she'd opted to find a shady spot on the lawn where she could watch the chaos unfold and snap a few pictures with her ghost camera. "Sure thing, my dude. What's up?"

"I was hoping you could settle a bet between me and Trey here," Cater said as he gestured toward Trey. "Ace calls you "New York" because that's where you live in your world, right?"

"That's right," Devon confirmed.

"Well, Trey thinks that having a New York in your world implies the existence of an Old York too," Cater continued. "I, on the other hand, am of the opinion that adding the word "new" onto anything automatically makes it sound fresh and trendy. A 'next big thing' kinda deal, y'know? So we were hopin' you could tell us what the deal is."

Devon giggled. "Well, I guess you're both right, in a way. New York City is probably one of the trendiest places in my world. It's one of the leading fashion hubs in my world, but it also has significant influence on the financial, entertainment, and art circles as well, not to mention its impact on the LGBT movement. At the same time, Trey's kinda right too. When it was first settled by the Dutch, New York was actually called New Amsterdam after the capital of the Netherlands. The name was changed to New York when it came under English control and the king ended up renaming it after his brother, the duke of York. So there was and still is a York, but there was never an Old York…I guess." She blinked. "I realize the names of those countries mean nothing to you guys and I have no way of showing you where these places are, but I hope I'm still getting the point across."

Trey chuckled before gently ruffling Devon's hair. "You seem pretty well-versed in your world's history, Dev."

Devon shrugged. "I guess so. I'm not an expert or anything, but I've always really enjoyed history." She smiled. "Myths and legends are probably my favorite things to study and my world has a ton of 'em. It always bummed me out that people would just dismiss them because they thought they were boring, so I actually made a channel on this video sharing site back home, YouTube, where I would post little semi-animated summaries of them."

"That's…really adorable, actually," Cater said as he gently squished Devon's cheeks. "And a little unexpected too. I hadn't taken you for such a nerd, Dev-Dev."

"Cater…," Trey said in a warning tone.

Devon shook her head. "He's fine, Trey. I don't think being a nerd's anything to be ashamed of. Besides, he's hardly the first person to be surprised by it. I wish I could say I'd always been enthusiastic about other school subjects as well, but it mostly just started out of necessity." Trey and Cater shot her questioning looks, so she elaborated. "I'm not sure if there are similar rules here, but back home you have to maintain a certain GPA if you want to be involved in athletics. Up until recently, I was a cheerleader, meaning I had to keep my grades up if I wanted to stay on the squad. Figured I should try to at least get some enjoyment out of it since slacking wasn't an option."

"Well, whatever works, I guess," Trey replied. "Maybe implementing a system like that here wouldn't be such a bad idea. I can certainly think of a few students here that might benefit from it."

Cater nodded. "True, true~!" He nudged Devon again. "You said NYC is just one of the trendiest places in your world, right? Does that mean there are other ones?"

Devon nodded. "Yep. NYC's definitely one of the big ones and since I grew up there, I've been all over it, but I'd like to see the other ones someday too. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do after high school, so my plan is to take a gap year once I graduate high school to travel around and see some of these places." She blew out a breath. "Of course…that depends on me getting home first and there's been no word from the headmaster about any progress on that end."

"Is there any particular place you'd want to see the most when you get back to your world?" Trey asked.

Devon thought for a moment. "Well, my family is of Latin-American descent so I'd really like to see some of those countries." She chuckled to herself. "Though I would like to make a quick stop over in Devonshire, England. Gotta pay my respects to the place I share a name with, y'know; it's even spelled the same way. I have no clue what it's like there but it's supposed to be really pretty."

"Devonshire sounds like…the most adorably cozy name I've ever heard!" Cater exclaimed. "I know nothing about this place, but I already wanna see about buying a cottage there." His eyes lit up with an idea. "Oh my Seven, what if you changed Ramshackle's name to Devonshire?"

Devon shared a look with Trey. "Can I even do that?"

"I don't think there's any rule that says you can't," Cater assured her. "Ramshackle's not technically the dorm's official name, right? You told me that you and Grim started calling it that because of how run-down it is, so changing it to something else shouldn't be a big deal."

"Changing what to something else?" Grim asked as he hopped into Devon's lap, Ace and Deuce flopping down nearby as well.

"Apparently there's a place in Devon's homeworld called Devonshire and Cater's trying to convince Devon that she should change Ramshackle's name to that," Trey supplied.

Ace snorted. "Dude, that would be awesome." He poked Devon's leg. "You are the dorm leader, after all, and Ramshackle isn't an official dorm anymore so theoretically you could change it."

"Nuh-uh!" Grim protested. "Why should my henchman get her own shire?! If we change the dorm's name to anything, it should be Grimshire!"

"…Do you even know what a shire is, Grim?" Deuce asked.

"Do you?" Ace countered.

"Shuddup!" Deuce growled as he glared at Ace.

Devon heaved a content sigh as she, Grim, and Zephyr returned to Ramshackle that evening. Grim immediately headed upstairs to take his bath and turn in for the night, but Regina stopped Devon before she could follow him. Apparently one of the campus ghosts had stopped by while they were out with a package for her. They brought Devon to the kitchen and, sure enough, a large box was sitting next to the table. It was much too large for Devon to lift, making her even more curious as to what was inside it. She and Zephyr shared a glance (as well as they could considering Zephyr didn't have a face) before Devon took out a box cutter from a nearby drawer and sliced through the tape on top.

"Holy poptarts…," Devon muttered as she reached into the box. Inside was an entire brand-new kitchenware set: pots and pans, cooking utensils, measuring cups and spoons…basically everything Devon needed for a functional kitchen, complete a new set of dark blue plates, cups, and bowls. As she began taking the items out and placing them on the table to take stock of everything, she couldn't help but gasp as she pulled out a new food processor and silverware set as well. She couldn't help the giddiness she felt as she pulled each new item out of the box. "Look at all this, Zeph! I don't know diddly-squat about brands in Twisted Wonderland, but I know high-quality stuff when I see it." She let out an excited squeal. "I can't wait to bust this stuff out and… Oh dang, I'm turning into my Papa." She looked back in the box, hoping to find a card or something she could use to identify the sender. "The only person who knew I needed new kitchen stuff was Deuce but…all of this had to have cost a pretty penny and he only gets so much allowance from home. I hope he didn't bleed himself dry…"

After digging around in the box for a moment, Devon finally pulled out an envelope with the Heartslabyul crest on it. Inside was a simple card and, having seen the notes he left in his cookbooks while she was helping him bake the day before, she recognized Trey's handwriting immediately as well as signatures from her other Heartslabyul friends. By this time, a few more of the Wisps had come out of hiding, curious to see what had been in the large box, so Devon opted to read the card aloud: Hey, Dev: We hope you don't mind, but Deuce told us your kitchen supplies weren't in the best shape. We still can't thank you enough for all the help you've given us, so we wanted to get you something to make your life at Ramshackle a little easier. Hopefully this set doesn't make you sad to look at as well. Don't forget that Heartslabyul's doors are always open to you if and when you need us. –Trey Clover

Devon couldn't stop the warm feeling bubbling up in her chest as she set the card down. "That's it. Each and every one of those cuties is getting the biggest hug I can muster when I see them tomorrow, whether they like it or not. But since I can't do that right now…" She pulled out her phone. "Time to express my immediate gratitude via selfies on Magicam~!"

Before she could even open the app, she noticed she'd been tagged in a post on Cater's Magicam page. Curious, she tapped the notification, only to be met with a selfie that Cater had apparently taken shortly after she'd left. He was making an exaggeratedly sad face and the caption read: "TFW your favorite, most adorable underclassman leaves the party without saying goodbye to you. #Betrayal #TheAudacity #BabyYUDoDis #IThoughtWhatWeHadWasSpecial"

Devon snorted a laugh as she typed out a comment, keeping it in all caps for exaggerated urgency: I'M SORRY MY LOVE I THOUGHT YOU WERE BUSY WITH DORM STUFF #BabyTakeMeBack

Cater's response was immediate and in all caps as well: I'M NEVER TOO BUSY FOR YOOOUUUU #FineButJustThisOnce

Devon shook her head with a fond smile on her face as she set about figuring out the best angle to get most of her new kitchenware in the selfie. 'Things may have gotten off to a rocky start when I first arrived, but here's hoping the worst of it is over.'

Little did Devon know that things were just getting started. Over in the Savanaclaw dorm, two beastmen, one lion and one hyena, were laying plans of their own.

"Looks like the guys over in Heartslabyul are havin' another one of those fancy parties with a huge feast," commented the hyena as he looked out the window of his dorm leader's messy bedroom. "Maaan, I'm jealous. How come Savanaclaw doesn't have any gut-bustin' traditions like that, Leona?"

Leona crossed his arms and scoffed, his bright green eyes glaring at nothing in particular. "Tch. What's so great about a party where all you do is stuff your face with cake and cookies under the afternoon sun? Sounds pretty pathetic to me." His glare lessened slightly as he refocused on the hyena, lowering his voice. "That's not why I called you here, Ruggie. Is everything coming along on your end?"

"Everything's comin' along smoothly. Just leave it to me!" Ruggie replied confidently.

Leona allowed himself a cocky smirk. "Let those idiots waste their time sippin' tea. They'll all be crushed under our heel soon enough. That goes double for that prick Malleus, too. They'd better be prepared…"

Ending Notes: And with that, my friends, the Heartslabyul arc has come to a close…just in time for Savanaclaw to swoop in and steal the show. I'm excited to really get a chance to write Devon's interactions with all three Savanaclaw boys, especially once she likes them enough to start cooking for them. You know she's going to shoot right up the list of Ruggie's favorite people once that starts.

I feel like Devon's ability to cry on command has an effect on most of the boys, even if they don't want to admit it. Some of them are more or less immune: Ortho has sensors that can probably tell him if she's really upset or not, Vil's a professional actor (but Devon's genuine tears do actually have an effect), Trey's younger siblings probably try the same trick, and Lilia and the Leech twins are…Lilia and the Leech twins, but most of the other boys would probably cave eventually. Once they become friends, Azul will always cave to Devon's tears even when he knows they're fake. Heck, I bet Kalim would start freaking out if she so much as sniffled within earshot of him and Devon's like "Dude, calm down. It's just allergies."

If it's not already obvious, I'm a really big fan of the found family trope, so I'm really happy to see Devon building hers. Though hers is less of a "over the course of our epic quest, we realized that we found the familial bonds we'd been searching for in one another" situation and more of a "I woke up in the same dumpster as this group of idiots who then immediately proceeded to force themselves into my life and increase my problems by over 9000%. …It's barely been a week but I would take a bullet for any of them, no questions asked" kinda situation. Actually, that's probably how she'd introduce her TWST friends to her family if she was ever given the chance.

The YT channel Devon runs in her world draws inspiration from Overly Sarcastic Productions channel. They've got tons of interesting videos about mythology, history, classical literature, and tropes. It's all presented in a really fun and engaging way, so I'd definitely recommend checking them out!

Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome! Geekinthepink, out!