Author's Note: I'm sorry about the slight delay on this chapter. Hopefully it's worth the wait. I won't lie to you guys. This was a hard chapter to write. I based Devon's experience off of something that happened to me when I was younger and I had originally planned to go into more detail about what she went through, but ultimately I just couldn't. I hope you all still think it's okay, at least. Which leads me to…

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of misogyny and racism. Bullying, including the bully wishing harm upon the victim and implying homicidal ideation.

Devon opened her eyes when the as a dry breeze hit her face. She was standing in the shade of a large acacia tree as the breeze kicked up dust and sand from the ground and herds of various animals grazed around her, not at all bothered by her presence. She couldn't help but smile. 'Figures Leona's mindscape would be a savanna.' She looked up and shielded her eyes. From the way the sun was beaming so brightly, Devon figured it must have been a hot day, but she noticed that she wasn't at all uncomfortable. 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I can adjust myself to the temperature instantly in here.' There was a rustling sound, followed by an almost-roar, and suddenly a familiar white lion emerged from a nearby patch of tall grass. Devon's eyes widened and she clapped her hands together in delight before quickly kneeling to be eye-level with the lion. "Blizzard! C'mere, my sweet boy!" Blizzard trotted toward her eagerly, gently butting his head against hers in greeting as Devon ran her fingers through his mane. "I've missed you guys so much, Bliz!" Blizzard responded by gently placing his mouth around Devon's wrist, a habit he'd picked up when they'd first started to bond. It might have looked vicious to anyone unfamiliar with big cat behavior (though the behavior was by no means exclusive to big cats), but Blizzard wasn't putting any pressure on Devon's wrist.

The pair sat together for a few minutes, Blizzard nuzzling his head under Devon's chin, before Devon spoke up again. "It's been awesome to chill with you again, Bliz, but I'm on a bit of a mission right now." She kissed the top of the lion's head before moving to stand up, dusting herself off as she did so. "You haven't seen another person hangin' around in here, have ya? Tall guy with lion ears and tail? He's got green eyes with a scar goin' thorough the left one and he's…I can't believe I'm admitting this but he's handsome, I suppose, once you get past what a huge brat he is." She shook her head to get back on track, Blizzard watching her quizzically with his large brown eyes. "Seen anyone like that around here?" The lion gently nudged her hand before heading away from the acacia tree and Devon followed close behind.

The pair crossed the savanna together, Devon's head swiveling this way and that as she tried to get a good look at all the animals they passed. There were herds of zebras, giraffes, elephants, and various types of antelope, and Devon caught sight of a cheetah lounging in the shade as well. Much like when she'd first arrived, none of the animals appeared bothered by her presence, even with Blizzard now at her side; most of them barely even glanced at them as they passed.

Blizzard led Devon to a ravine. When she looked over the edge, she noticed that the colors abruptly disappeared about halfway down on the side she was standing on and were completely absent from the bottom of the ravine and the land on the opposite side. ""Looks like this is the spot where my subconscious and Leona's merge. It looks just like Riddle's," Devon commented softly before taking another look. "No. Wait…" It was difficult to see from so far away, but the plants on the other side of the ravine were in pretty bad shape, wilted and dried out, if not outright dead, almost as if nature itself had given up. She also noticed that there were no animals anywhere to be seen. "Yeah, no, this is waaay worse than Riddle's. At least all the flowers were still alive." She looked at the walls of the ravine. It was pretty steep and didn't have enough outcroppings for her to parkour all the way to the bottom. She also knew from prior experience that she had no control over Leona's territory; even if she were to try to imagine up a bridge to the other side, it would only have reached about halfway at best. The girl and lion exchanged a look. "Looks like we're doin' this the simple but risky way." With that, the two began their descent, sliding along and doing their best to keep their balance.

"Ya know, maybe it's because I've been having a lot of Lion King dreams lately," Devon told Blizzard once they'd reached the bottom. "or maybe it's because I watched Ruggie cause a literal stampede less than an hour ago, but this is lookin' eerily similar to that bit where Scar lures Simba to the gorge and the wildebeest stampede and the whole Mufasa dying thing. I'm not sure who the Mufasa in this situation is, but it better not be you." The bottom of the ravine was just as bleak as Devon had expected, nearly empty save for some parched almost-dead plants and the bones of some poor grazing animal. A little ways from where they'd landed, hidden behind an outcropping in the cliff face, was another acacia tree. It was much smaller than the one Devon had been standing under when she first arrived, but it was still able to provide cover for a small pool of water, preventing it from evaporating, and shade for a large rock underneath it.

Resting with his back pressed against the rock was the prince they were looking for, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping, just as monochrome as their surroundings. "Do me a favor, dude, and don't be dead," Devon muttered as she nudged his boot with the toe of her shoe. Leona didn't stir or respond in the slightest, so Devon gently poked his cheek. When this failed to bring about a response as well, Devon puffed her cheeks up in frustration before kneeling next to the pool of water and splashing some of it into his face. Leona sputtered as his eyes snapped open, growling low in his throat at the peon who dared to disturb his nap…only to roll his eyes and let out a noise of disgust when he saw it was Devon.

"Mornin, sunshine~!" Devon chirped.

"Can't even get any peace and quiet in my own mind," Leona complained, crossing his arms. "Seriously, of all the people they could've chosen to send in here, they pick the magicless little mouse."

"Hey, I'm not thrilled about this either, bucko," Devon shot back. "If I could've left this to anyone else, I would've, but apparently nobody else at the school can link their subconscious with someone else's." She scoffed and shook her head, her voice steadily rising. "Ya know, I don't know why I was hoping you'd show even a little appreciation. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you're a prince. So far, it seems the only that's royal about you is what a royal pain in the ass you are!"

"Oh yeah? Then why'd you even bother to come after me, then?!" Leona shouted back, feeling Devon's frustration feed his own and vice versa. "You coulda saved yourself the time and energy. S'not like anyone on the outside would care, anyway!"

"Do you not understand what happened, cabron?! You went into an Overblot! You could have died!" Devon told him. "Yeah, you might be one of the most arrogant, spoiled, condescending jackasses I've ever met, but that doesn't mean I want you dead, Leona!"

Leona was very briefly stunned into silence, though he managed to keep it off his face. He was able to feel Devon's true emotions through the link, much like she was able to feel his; she was definitely frustrated with him but she wasn't lying when she said she didn't want him dead. He wasn't quite sure what to say to her, so he opted to look away and grumble under his breath. Doing so caused him to finally notice the lion next to her. "Where'd you find him?"

Devon reached down to pat Blizzard's head. "Actually, he found me. I've still got a lot to learn about how these types of links work, but apparently anything that we've attached significant importance to can appear here. Blizzard's one of the lions at the animal sanctuary where my mom works. We've been buds for a while." Leona hummed in response, but didn't say anything else. "So," Devon began as she sat down next to him with her back against the rock, Blizzard flopping down across her lap and gently holding her wrist in his mouth again. "we gonna talk about that cosmic temper tantrum you were throwin' a bit ago?"

Leona scoffed and turned his head away again. "There's nothin' to say."

"I semi-respectfully beg to differ," Devon argued. "You were talkin' about bein' a "loathed second prince" and having no place to belong…kinda sounds like your Overblot was about more than the Spelldrive tournament." Leona didn't respond. "Look, I won't force you to tell me anything if you really don't want to, but it sounded like you've been bottling up a lot of unpleasant feelings. It might feel better to get them out in the open…sort of." Leona looked toward her again, his expression uncertain and guarded. "If you wanna talk, I promise I won't judge you. And I promise that not a word of what you tell me will leave the link."

Leona studied Devon for a moment. He could tell she was being honest; she really was more than happy to listen and she had no intention of judging or repeating whatever he chose to tell her. Even so, vulnerability, especially in front of someone he wasn't on the best terms with, didn't come easily to him. The last thing he wanted was to appear weak, but then he glanced at Blizzard as the lion peered up at him from his spot across Devon's lap. Blizzard tilted his head slightly before butting his head up underneath Devon's chin, almost as if he was trying to let Leona know that, while they may butt heads sometimes, Devon was indeed a safe person to confide in. Devon's gentle smile as she gazed down at her lion friend and the kiss she pressed to the top of his head also helped; Leona had no idea she was even capable of looking at anything with that degree of warmth. If he was being honest, he didn't really have the mental energy to keep going back and forth with her, either. "Fine." He nodded toward Blizzard. "But only because your buddy there convinced me." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't think I won't hesitate to turn you to sand if any of this gets out."

Devon couldn't help but smile despite the threat. "I figured as much. Good thing I don't plan on bein' an ass about this."

Another wave of reassuring sincerity passed over Leona through the link as Devon spoke. He'd die before he admitted it, but it did put him at ease. He found his opinion of her improving once again, much like the time she'd apologized for her behavior the day they met. Devon watched him patiently as her hands carded through Blizzard's mane. Leona turned his gaze away from her, choosing to focus on the pool of water in front of them instead. "From the moment I was born, it's felt like there's a boulder on my chest that's too heavy to move."

Much like the fountain in Riddle's mindscape, the water in the pool began to ripple, eventually revealing a large open-air hallway in what appeared to be a palace. A sprawling savanna plain could be seen beyond the massive pillars and torches along the side of the hallway, as well as a large rock formation that looked suspiciously like Pride Rock. Devon guessed that Leona was much younger in this memory, most likely still in childhood given his apparent height. He was just about to turn a corner when he caught sight of two servants whispering amongst themselves and immediately ducked back behind the wall, pressing himself against and swiveling his ears to listen. There was a mix of apprehension and annoyance coursing through the memory. It was clear that Leona didn't like these servants much and was certain they didn't like him.

The first servant heaved a sigh. "Crown Prince Falena is always so bright and cheerful. I don't understand why his younger brother has to be so moody and hard to please."

Devon blinked, feeling mildly irritated herself. 'Maybe because you twats can't even bother to use his name?'

Leona looked down at the ground, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists as the second servant began speaking. "And his Unique Magic turns everything he touches to sand. Such a terrifying power!"

"Stop talking like that, both of you!" a third servant whispered harshly as they emerged from a nearby room off the hall. Leona kept his head down, but the thought that maybe this servant was actually going to stick up for him caused a small bubble of hope to rise up in his chest…only for it to burst when the servant kept speaking. "What if someone overhears you?!"

Barely suppressing a growl, Leona pushed off the wall and walked back the way he came, anger and hurt rolling off him in waves as he mentally kicked himself for expecting anything different.

"Wow…," Devon said as the memory faded away. "How old were you when that happened?"

Leona shrugged. "Not sure. All those memories tend to run together after a while. I was younger than ten, I know that."

"I like talkin' shit as much as the next person, but it takes a special kind of asswipe to talk about a kid like that," Devon commented before looking over at Leona. "I'm guessing that happened a lot?"

"Still does," Leona told her. "None of 'em have the balls to say anything to my face, of course, but I still overhear 'em from time to time. It's not even just the servants at the palace, either; I've heard Sunset Savanna's local nobles and some from neighboring kingdoms make similar comments. They're all the same, y'know. If someone doesn't outright hate me, it's usually because they're a social climber that just wants to use me for their own gain." He scoffed and shook his head. "If I'd been born first, I can guarantee you they'd be singin' a different tune. 'Crown Prince Leona is such a judicious young man. Look at how he controls such powerful magic! I don't understand how his brother can be so carefree all the time.'"

"You never said anything? Not even when you were younger?" Devon asked. "I can't imagine your parents would've just let that slide."

"Hah! Even if my pride had allowed it, telling them wouldn't have done any good," Leona replied bitterly. "My parents are just like the rest of 'em: too busy praisin' Falena for existing to give a damn about anything else, least of all their lesser son. I learned a long time ago that it was pointless. They'd find fault with me no matter what I did to use it as a pretext to shower even more praise on my brother. Extoling the firstborn at the expense of the second." He glared at the pool again. "No matter what I do, I'll never be allowed to be the best."

The pool began to ripple again, this time reveal a room in what Devon assumed was the same palace the last memory took place in. There wasn't much in terms of furniture, so Devon wasn't sure what the room was used for, but there were some beautifully patterned rugs and wall hangings as well as wood carvings of a lion and lioness on a small table. It looked like Leona had tucked himself away in a corner of this room, only to roll his eyes when the door was flung open and another lion beastman strode in. Since the memories were always monochrome, it was impossible to for sure what his hair and eye color were, but there was no mistaking the jovial shine in his eyes despite the 'disappointed but not surprised' look on his face. His resemblance to Leona combined with the irritation radiating off said younger brother made it clear that they were looking at Falena.

"Leona! Why didn't I see you at the presentation ceremony today?" Falena asked.

"Ceremony?" Leona repeated. "Ah, you mean that self-indulgent doting parent party you threw so you could show off your son to the people. Yeah, I missed that. Must've fallen back to sleep."

"You know how important the ceremony is, Leona," Falena scolded, causing Leona's irritation to spike even higher. "I gives our people their first chance to see the face of their future king."

"Oh, it's a big day, alright," Leona agreed bitterly as he stood up. "Today's the day their second prince finally lost what little claim he had to the throne."

"You shouldn't frame it in such a way!" Falena chided.

"Man, the firstborn really has it made, huh?" Leona commented as if Falena had never spoken. "You spend your whole day napping and singing and you're still crowned king."

"Leona…," Falena began, choosing his words carefully. "You're an intelligent young man. There's still plenty you can do for this country, even without the crown."

"And if this country chose its kings on the basis of intelligence, I'd have no shortage of motivation to do something with mine," Leona fired back, pushing past Falena and walking out of the room. His anger was palpable now and he knew he had to leave the room before he did something rash.

"Leona!" Falena called out after Leona, only to be ignored. "Don't walk away from me! Leona!"

Devon watched the memory fade away as she gently rubbed Blizzard's ears, the lion's tail twitching contently. "My country doesn't have a king, so I'm not really sure how all this works, but is the presentation ceremony really that big a deal? Won't the people be celebrating their future king for his whole life, anyway?"

"I'm glad someone gets it," Leona replied. "That furball's gonna have more balls and parties thrown in his honor than he'll ever be able to keep track of. He doesn't even remember his presentation ceremony and I doubt anyone besides my brother even noticed I wasn't there!" He shook his head again, despair and frustration in his voice. "Why do I have to spend my whole life feeling this way just because I was born second? I could study every field, control every powerful magic, and it still wouldn't make a difference. From the day I was born until the day I die, nobody will ever acknowledge that I work harder than my brother ever has or that I'd make a better king!" The hopelessness Devon could feel through the link was almost suffocating. "Why did I have to be second-born? Why am I always going to be barred from being number one? Why? Why?! WHY?!" A defeated sigh as he finally made eye contact with Devon. "Life's not fair, is it?"

Devon could only stare at Leona at first, still absentmindedly rubbing Blizzard's ears. It was surprising, to say the least, to realize that Leona had been bottling up all those emotions given how nonchalant he acted about everything. His Overblot didn't really seem like much of a surprise anymore. She let out a long breath through her nose. "Damn… That sucks."

Leona let out a surprised laugh, but there was no humor behind it. "What, that's it?"

Devon quirked a teasing eyebrow. "What? Were you expecting me to ride off and defend your honor like a knight in shining armor? If you wanted a champion, Leona, you could've just said so."

"I think after all this, I'd rather have you fightin' for me instead of against me," Leona admitted.

Devon's eyes widened a bit as she grinned. "That almost sounded like a compliment. I gotta admit, I didn't think we'd get to a point where you actually wanted me on your side, but I think I'd rather have you as an ally than an enemy too."

"Hold on there, herbivore. I never said anything about us bein' allies," Leona corrected. "I just meant that it'd be convenient to have you around to deal with the servants and nobles who think they're slick talkin' behind my back. I'm still a member of the royal family and I'm expected to maintain at least a modicum of decorum, especially around other nobles, but I'd like the chance to see you go off at someone else for once. I could feel how upset you were watchin' my memories; I bet you'd have no issue tellin' 'em what you really think." The pool rippled again to reveal a montage of Devon sassing people in the courtyard (usually Ace or Grim) after they'd irritated her one too many times. The vantage point always seemed to be at the base of the large apple tree in the courtyard.

"One of the perks of having no legal identity in this world; can't start a war if people can't find where you're from," Devon agreed before sending Leona an amused look. "Didn't realize you kept such a close watch on me, Your Highness~" She adjusted so that she was leaning against his shoulder.

Leona rolled his eyes, but didn't make any attempt to move away from her to push her off. "Don't flatter yourself. You're just loud and obnoxious and hard to miss. I couldn't ignore you if I wanted to."

Devon's amused expression turned into a smirk. "So what I'm hearing is that you don't want to ignore me." She began fanning herself playfully. "Leona, if you keep sweet-talkin' me like that you might just end up makin' me swoon." Leona looked like he was about to protest, but she cut him off before he could. "We can feel each other's emotions in here, remember? I can tell you're startin' to like me. Just a little bit, but it's definitely there."

"Whatever." Leona shook his head but didn't argue with her. "Though that does actually lead me to ask: how exactly did you make this happen?" He gestured at the space around them.

"The short version is that I was blessed as a baby by a friend of the family. My parents didn't know my brothers and I were being given actual magic since it's not a thing in my world, so we had no idea any of this was coming," Devon replied as she sat up and began to rub Blizzard's chin. "This is only the second time I've been able to do it; the first was during Riddle's Overblot. It never manifested in my world…at least, not like this. As for exactly how I made it happen…I honestly don't know. I know that there are conditions that have to be met before a blessing or curse will take effect, but I'm not sure what mine are or how I met them."

Leona tilted his head as he looked at Devon, their link telling her that he was intrigued. "Since you were a baby when it was cast, I'm assuming you don't remember what the spell was."

Devon thought for a moment. "Actually, I think I do. Just before I used it for the first time, I could hear Mala's voice repeating it, like it was on a loop or something…" Another memory appeared in the pool in front of them: Devon on the ground, in pain and unable to move from where she'd been thrown as Riddle's blot incarnation reached toward her, her power erupting just before the monster could close its hand around her, and Mala's voice, loud and clear.

"Sweet Devon, may your kindness serve as the key to unlock even the most troubled of hearts and help them to banish the shadows therein."

Leona looked at Devon as the memory faded away, his expression unreadable. "Are you serious?" The corners of his lips began to quirk upward. "Heh…Heh heh…" He closed his eyes as he broke into a full-on laugh. "Hahahahahaha! Oh man, ain't that somethin'? Your kindness is what activates that little gift of yours? Guess it makes sense you've only been able to use it twice! Hahahaha!"

Devon couldn't help smiling herself as she gently pushed at his shoulder. Normally his jabs would've ruffled her, but she was starting to understand that Leona was virtually incapable of conversing with people without insulting them at least once. Besides, she knew for certain now that there wasn't any malice behind what he said. "Yeah, well it's also supposed to work real well of "the most troubled of hearts" so it shouldn't be a surprise that it worked on you. Also, I'll have you know that I am an absolute delight to be around."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night," Leona retorted, subconsciously leaning his weight against Devon this time. "So what were you doing when your blessing manifested this time? I can't remember much after that Draconia crony started goin' off on me. Were you actin' outta concern for your precious friends or whatever it is you living rays of sunshine worry about?"

"I mean, partially, yeah," Devon answered honestly. "If you'd kept going the way you were, we were lookin' at more than a few fatalities. That Unique Magic of yours is really awesome, but it doesn't play around." She nuzzled into Blizzard again, who licked her free hand in response. "If I'm being honest, though…you were the one I was the most worried about. I couldn't get my blessing to work at all until I started freaking out about you possibly dying if I couldn't get it in gear." She glanced over at Leona, who was giving her another unreadable look. "What? I already told you I don't want you dead." She might not have been able to figure out exactly what the look Leona was giving her meant, but she could feel a mix of warmth, confusion, and a little embarrassment coming from him. She fought to keep the teasing smile off her face and spare him his pride.

"Should… Should we be doin' somethin' here?" Ruggie asked, gesturing toward Leona and Devon.

"Nah. They'll come back on their own once they do…whatever it is they do in those mind links," Grim assured them. "Besides, the headmaster said a mind link should never be broken by an outside party."

"Still, I can't help but feel like we're interruptin' something here," Jack said, looking at the way Devon was holding Leona and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Feels like we should at least turn around and give 'em some privacy or somethin'…"

"I'll admit, they do look a lot more intimate than Dev-Dev and Riddle did when they linked," Cater agreed.

"Pssh, that's only because Leona's, like, way bigger than Riddle," Ace said dismissively. "Besides, everyone knows they can't stand each other. There's nothing 'intimate' about-" He was cut off as Leona's tail slowly crawled upward and gently wrapped around Devon's wrist. He could feel a knot forming in his stomach, only made worse when Cater side-eyed him with a knowing smirk.

"You sure about that, Acey~?"

"In all seriousness, though, it really does suck that you've had to deal with all that shit talk," Devon commented. Much like with Riddle, the longer Leona and Devon stayed linked, the easier open communication was for them. Leona had already laid his vulnerabilities on the table for Devon and the link made it impossible to hide their true emotions, so there really wasn't a point in keeping the walls up anymore. "I wasn't trying to be flippant when I said it before, I just know that there's not really anything I can say that'll make it better, y'know? I can give you all the pep talks in the world, but it's not gonna change anything."

"Honestly, I can handle the people talking behind my back. I have a feeling that would happen regardless of whether I was born first or second," Leona said. "It wouldn't be a royal court without backstabbing and political maneuvering, after all. What gets me more than anything else is being told 'This is exactly how far you're allowed to go. It doesn't matter how talented or intelligent you are, there's always going to be a cap on what you'll be able to accomplish.' What's the point in giving anything my best if it's never going to see any real results?"

Devon nodded. "I get that. That's why that speech your brother gave you about still being able to help the country even if you can't be king pissed you off so much, right? It sounded like he had good intentions when he said it, but it completely missed the point. Like you said before, what's the point in putting in all that hard work if there's nothing in it for you?" She paused, absentmindedly tangling her hands in Blizzard's mane as she thought. "Which leads me to wonder if the crown was really what you were after… It almost sounds like you're just wanting your effort to be acknowledged for a change…" She could feel Leona's eyes on her now, but kept her own trained on Blizzard. She couldn't feel any hostility from him as he thought about what she said. A silent memory was reflected in the pool of Leona rounding on Jack when he commented on Leona giving up despite how powerful he was. "That's why you get so frustrated when people buy into your 'lazy guy who couldn't care less' act and tell you to try harder, isn't it? It's because you do care. You just don't want to be disappointed again."

"What about you, then?" Leona deflected, trying to shift attention away from his own insecurities. Devon didn't push any further, despite their link telling her she was right; clearly, this wasn't something he was ready to talk about yet and certainly not with her. "You say understand not wanting to put in the work if there's nothing in it for you, but you and that furball of yours came after us for the sake of total strangers. I could maybe understand if someone from your dorm had been hurt but…"

Devon held up a hand to stop him. "Hold on there, bud. Grim and I didn't start investigating the accidents out of the goodness of our hearts; the headmaster waltzed up to Ramshackle and made us offers we couldn't refuse." She shook her head. "I think that man gets a kick out of threatening to throw me out if I don't do what he says. And I've got nowhere else to go in this world so…" She shrugged. "He also promised Grim he'd be able to play in the tournament if we caught whoever was behind the accidents, though I'm still not sure how he plans to make that happen." She grinned over at him. "I've gotta say, having Ruggie use his Unique Magic to cause the injuries was devious in all the best ways. For the sake of pretending to be a decent person, I can't condone it, but I know plenty of people in my world who'd benefit from that power giving them a little nudge…down a few flights of stairs."

Leona let out a quick exhale through his nose, not quite a laugh but still a sound of amusement. "For all the good it did. You guys figured out it was him faster than I thought you would."

"The only reason we realized our dear Ruggiford was behind the accidents was because he used his Unique Magic on Grim to force him to hand over his sandwich on the last bakery day," Devon explained. "If it hadn't been for that, there's no telling if we would've figured out Savanaclaw was behind what was happening, let alone what the endgame was."

Leona felt his eye twitch, frustration building in him as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Is. That. Right."

Feeling the frustration in the air, Devon instinctively reached out and grabbed Leona's hand, rubbing small circles on the back of it with her thumb despite not being sure he could feel it through the gloves he was wearing. Leona's frustration gave way to confusion and Devon's cheeks began to warm as she realized what she was doing. She met the lion beastman's gaze, his eyes flicking toward their hands before looking at her questioningly. "U-Umm… Sorry about that. My dad does this for my mom whenever she starts to get upset and it usually helps so…" She realized she still hadn't let go of his hand and quickly pulled away. "Yeah…sorry if that weirded you out. I know not everybody's on board with casual touches like that."

"Don't worry about it." Leona chuckled, feeling how flustered she was. "Seein' a lot of different sides to you today, herbivore. Figured you'd at least buy me dinner before jumpin' right to the unprotected hand-holding." Devon snorted a laugh and Leona felt an unusual sense of pride at having set her at ease. "I have to say, though, you're one of the last people I expected to be jokin' around with, especially after the way we met."

"Uuuugggh," Devon groaned as a wave of embarrassment washed over her. "Why you gotta bring up old stuff, man? I apologized and everything."

"I remember. And I appreciate it," Leona told her. He watched her carefully and noticed her posture was becoming more guarded. The snoozing lion in her lap had pressed himself as close to her as he could, acting as a sort of weighted security blanket. "I'm getting the feeling that there was more to what happened than just you bein' in a bad mood that day." He could feel her walls starting to go up, but wasn't about to let that stop him; he'd bared his soul to her so the least she could do was return the favor. "You started to say something when you apologized to me, but you cut yourself off and said you weren't going to make excuses. I like that you owned up to your behavior, but it's had me curious for a while now."

Devon stared at Leona uncertainly for a long time, her hands tangling in Blizzard's mane again to keep them busy. Leona returned her stare, his eyes uncharacteristically patient. She could tell he wasn't going to force her to say anything if she really didn't want to, though of course that was almost enough to compel her to tell him right there. Still, she hesitated. She didn't like revisiting her memories of the person who had made her life hell when she was a child, didn't like how scared and small he had made her feel back then. Nobody knew the full extent of what had happened aside from her therapist back home, but…well, it clearly hadn't been easy for Leona to share what he did with her. If he'd managed to swallow his pride and let her see him at his most vulnerable, surely she could do the same. It was an interesting way for this weird, nebulous, not-quite-friendship they were forming to start, but hey, it was no different than what had happened with Riddle. She gave Leona a determined nod. "Alright. But just know that if I find out this has been repeated, I will annoy you for the rest of your life."

Leona rolled his eyes playfully. "As if you weren't gonna do that anyway. Somethin' tells me I'm stuck with you now, whether I like it or not." Devon didn't laugh this time, just continued to look at him with an almost imploring expression on her face. "Don't worry. I've got better things to do than air your dirty laundry. Whatever secrets you share'll be safe with me."

Devon couldn't help but smile at that. Despite Leona's gruff tone, she could tell he was serious and it made her feel better about confiding in him. "The reason I lashed out the way I did when we met was because you reminded me of someone I had the misfortune of knowing back in my world." She shook her head. "Actually no, that's not quite right. It's kind of hard to explain…"

"Take your time. I got nowhere to be," Leona said.

Devon bit her lip as she tried to find the words. "It wasn't so much that you reminded me of this guy physically. I was twelve the last time I saw him, but something tells me you're way better looking than he could ever hope to be."

Leona smirked. "I'm a little surprised you admitted that so easily."

"C'mon, man. I may not have liked you before, but I have a working pair of eyes," Devon replied.

Leona quirked a brow, the smirk still on his face. "So you like me now?"

"I mean… I find you slightly more tolerable," Devon said, gently nudging his shoulder with her own. "Anyway, it wasn't about you guys looking similar…it was more about the way you looked at me that day."

Two images appeared side-by-side in the pool in front of them, both from Devon's perspective: one of Leona glaring at her on the day they met and another of a younger boy, likely in his early teens, giving her a similar look. He looked to have light hair and eyes, though it was impossible to tell exactly what color they were through the memory. Leona was surprised at how similar their disdainful expressions looked side-by-side, though he noticed one difference that immediately put him on edge. He wasn't sure if the mix of unpleasant emotions he was feeling through Devon was influencing him, but there was something about the look in the boy's eyes, something…off, something that made him think this kid could and would hurt someone and enjoy it. He glanced toward the girl in question to see that her gaze was laser-focused in Blizzard, as if she didn't want to risk making eye contact with the boy despite him only being a reflection. He could hear her heart beating faster and her breathing pick up. He started paying closer attention to the emotions he was picking up from her. It was hard to get a solid read on what all of them were, but the two he was picking up most prominently were anger and, unexpectedly, fear. Devon had clearly been afraid of this boy when she was younger and likely still was, given her reaction to his reflection (one that she'd created, no less), which only made him more curious about what had happened between them. He waited until she'd gotten her breathing under control, her face buried in Blizzard's mane to ground herself and stop the panic attack they were both afraid was on the horizon, before speaking up again. "Who's the brat? Must be bad news if he's got you this shaken up."

"That's putting it lightly," Devon agreed as she looked up. Blizzard nuzzled under her chin in an attempt to calm her, causing her to smile at him gratefully. She nodded toward the reflection, still refusing to look directly at it. "That serial killer in the making is Brick Mitchel."

Leona gave her an 'are you serious' look. "His name is Brick? Seriously?" Devon nodded. "Damn. No wonder he looks like he's about to go on a rampage. His parents must've really hated him."

Devon shrugged. "Maybe. All I know is that he had it out for me pretty much from jump."

Another memory appeared in the water, this one completely silent. A much younger Devon was walking down the aisle of a school bus, about to get off at her stop. She froze up as she felt eyes on her, a chill trailing down her spine. She looked behind her to try to find the source, only to see the boy in the reflection staring daggers at her. He didn't drop his gaze when he realized she'd noticed him or when the kids in front of him moved briefly into his line of sight; it seemed his stare became even more hostile. He made no move to get closer to her, but Devon couldn't shake the feeling of being marked. She wanted to get as far away from the boy as she could but she couldn't bring herself to move away or even break his gaze. Thankfully, a touch on her arm shattered the unpleasant tension and she turned her head to see Dominic looking at her with concern. There was no sound as his mouth began moving, yet the pair watching could tell he was asking Devon if she was okay. The look on younger Devon's face wasn't visible, but Dominic looked convinced when she nodded her head and gently tugged her toward the doors of the bus.

"Well… that was ominous," Leona commented. "Why was he so pissed at you?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I learned after the fact that Brick's mother left him and his dad when he was younger. Dunno the full story there, but the dad was pretty much a textbook misogynist and thought his ex-wife was getting too "uppity" once she decided to go back to school to get her degree. If Brick was exposed to that, and I'm pretty sure he was, maybe it made him hate women too. I have no idea why he targeted me specifically, though," Devon answered. "I was ten years old when this happened and he was twelve; our paths didn't cross very often. I'd never even seen him until that moment, let alone had a conversation with him." She shifted a bit to hide a shiver. "That was the start of the worst two years of my life."

Leona watched as more still images passed over the water, each one featured Brick giving Devon that same unnerving glare. "And you just put up with that freak starin' at you like that for two years?"

"Oh please, I wish it had stopped at staring," Devon replied. "No, he only kept that routine up for about a month or so. Always that same half-crazed-half-false-sense-of-superiority look, always in a place where he knew I would see him. I guess he decided it was safe to escalate things when I didn't say anything about those glares. Not that it would've done much good if I had; the school couldn't really go about policing whether or not someone looked at someone else."

"I was wonderin' about that, actually," Leona said. "I'm not trying to make light of what you went through because I can tell how freaked out you were, but I have a hard time imagining you takin' that layin' down. Most herbivores from the other dorms would rather run with their tails between their legs than face my dorm students, but you didn't even bat an eye."

"Yeah, well I wasn't always this picture of amazingness you see before you," Devon replied with a weak laugh as she tried to lighten the mood. "Believe it or not, I actually used to be really shy and insecure. If Brick had come at me now, I doubt he would've scared me nearly as much, but back then I just tried to keep my head down and avoid drawing any attention to myself." Blizzard nuzzled her again, causing Devon to kiss the top of his head. "Anyway, the staring thing had been going on for a while and I'd foolishly let myself believe that was as far as it was going to go." Her eyes hardened into a glare as she looked across toward the opposite wall of the ravine. "Unfortunately for me, he got up the courage to approach me one day."

The pool rippled as another memory appeared, this one showing Devon hastily gathering up her things after school, hoping to get out and away before Brick had the chance to glare her down again. There was an unpleasant swirling of emotions in the air: dread, anger, and a sense of resignation as well. 'It'll be fine,' the younger Devon thought to herself. 'Just finish up here and link up with your brothers and you'll be golden.' She was so hyper-focused on getting ready to leave quickly that she didn't notice the person coming up behind her. He spoke up once he was directly behind her, causing her blood to run cold. There was no need for her to look behind her; she knew exactly who it was.

"I hope you get murdered. And I hope I get to see it happen. I wanna see the light leave your eyes as you bleed out."

Devon's heart began beating erratically, the pit of fear in her stomach only growing as she struggled to keep her breathing steady. She didn't want to give Brick the satisfaction of knowing how badly he'd rattled, but she suspected he already knew. She wanted to push past him and get away but, much like the first day she saw him glaring at her, she couldn't bring herself to move. She heard a voice call her name and she glanced to the side to see Dominic appear around the corner. Brick immediately moved away from her and melted into the crowd of students in the hallway.

"And that was more or less how it went for the better part of two years," Devon said, rubbing at her arms as if to will the negative emotions away. "He kept up the glaring on the days he couldn't corner me somewhere, but when he could he'd always have something to say about what a waste of space I was and how he hoped I'd die in some sort of violent way."

"And you never said anything?" Leona asked, his expression unreadable once again, though the emotions passing through the link indicated that he was very much disturbed by what he witnessed. "Not even to your brothers?"

Devon shook her head. "I was too afraid to say anything. As far as I knew, he wasn't doing this to anyone else. I thought if I told anyone and he got in trouble, he'd know it was me and maybe decide to take me out himself." She let out a short laugh, though it sounded mocking. "Ya know, I wish I could tell you I wised up and kicked his ass so high he was wipin' his face when he went to the bathroom, that I got it together and finally stood up for myself. But no. The only reason he finally left me alone was because my family moved to a different city and I had to transfer schools. I started seeing a really talented therapist not long after we moved, which did absolute wonders for my mental health and confidence which, in turn, helped make me who I am today."

Leona quirked a brow. "Hang on, I thought you said you never told your family about what happened. How'd they know you needed a therapist?"

"Oh, they still don't know the full story behind Brick," Devon confirmed. "I started seeing my therapist over a different issue." Her eyes widened when the pool started to ripple and she willed them away before anything could be revealed. "That's a story I don't really wanna get into now, though. The Brick story ended up coming out, though, and I thought I'd managed to move past it after so many years of not seeing him. But then I saw you in the garden that day…" The images of Leona and Brick glaring side-by-side appeared in the pool again. "When you hit me with that glare, for a split second all I could see was Brick…and all those unresolved feelings came rushing back. It was like I was that scared little girl again and then I got angry for feeling scared and then I lashed out and then I got mad at myself for lashing out because unresolved trauma doesn't give me a free pass to treat people badly." She took a deep breath. "Honestly, I'm not even completely sure what it was about you specifically that triggered a trauma response to begin with. You're not the first person to look at me like that since the Brick incident and I doubt you'll be the last. Back home, I've gotten sneers like that from people for any number of reasons: that I'm a woman, that I'm Latina, that I'm under the age of 40, you name it, but I've never had that happen before."

"Has that happened since you got here?" Leona asked. "The discrimination?"

"Not with regard to my race or gender, but I've heard the whispers about me bein' magicless ever since the entrance ceremony," Devon replied. "It's started to die off ever since Riddle's Overblot, but I still hear the comments occasionally. As much as I hate being written off over something I have no control over, none of them come close to makin' me feel as shitty as Brick did." A feeling of self-loathing began to permeate the mindscape, small at first but growing quickly. "I wish I'd been able to see then what I see now: that Brick wasn't the big boogeyman he tried to make himself out to be. He was just a little bitch boy with mommy issues and a need to feel powerful for once in his pathetic life. I should've figured something was up when I realized he only ever approached me when I was alone. You know somebody's not as tough as he wants you to think when he's afraid of Dominic." Another self-deprecating laugh as she clenched and unclenched her hand on the ground next to Leona. "I love my younger brother with everything in me, but he's never cut an imposing figure in his life. The rational part of my brain realizes that, but the emotional part can't seem to get with the program." She shook her head again. "I hate that I let him make me feel so small and powerless, Leona. I really do. And the sad thing is that the more I think about it, the more I realize how powerless I really am. It's been bugging me since I got here, but I'm starting to realize that I can barely do anything on my own. I was only made a student, and not even a full one at that, because someone has to babysit Grim, I'm useless in classes where we have to use magic, I can't even fight without the Wisps, and this," She gestured around the area. ", is only possible because somebody gave me this power when I was a baby. I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it is to have to admit how weak I really am."

Leona stayed silent, allowing Devon to vent. He knew there wasn't anything he could say to make the situation better. He was a little surprised that he had an urge to try to make this better at all, but he didn't like the emotions he was picking up from Devon at the moment. He couldn't blame her for feeling the way she did and he was certainly no stranger to them himself, but for someone who was usually so confident and bright to be reduced to such a state…he couldn't help but wonder how long she'd been holding all this in. He didn't realize what he was doing until he felt his hand rest on top of hers, gently rubbing circles into the top much like she had done for him earlier. "Listen good, herbivore, because I'm only gonna say this once," Leona began, trying to distract her from looking at their hands and mentally steeling himself to kinda-sorta…compliment someone. "You can't go back and change what happened with that prick in your world, so there's no point in beating yourself up over it now. That asshole saw an easy target and he went for it. It's as simple as that. Thing is, you're not such an easy target anymore. Even when we met, you didn't let me make you feel small. You didn't just take it like you did before and as irritating as it was to be on the receiving end of that misdirected anger, I have to respect that you didn't take the easy route, tuck your tail, and scurry off. I don't know where you got the idea that you're useless on your own, but you managed to win those Wisps over somehow without magic. I know for a fact that Wisps can't be controlled and that green one sure doesn't seem to listen to that furball you live with. Unless I missed something, there's nothing in recorded history about Wisps ever willingly helping a living being." He looked away for a moment, suddenly very aware of her eyes on him. "I know I laughed at that whole 'kindness makes your blessing activate' bit, but the implication there is that it won't work at all if you have any sort of ulterior motive. I didn't really believe you before when you told me you didn't want me to die. I thought you were just lookin' for a weakness to exploit, but hearing about the conditions for your blessing…there's a part of me that wants to be sick at how saccharine the whole thing sounds, but it takes strength to choose kindness over hatred."

Devon could only stare as Leona finally met her gaze again. "I… That… I did not expect that from you, Leona."

"Don't get used to it," Leona replied quickly. "Like I said, I'm only gonna say it once." He glanced down, realizing that his hand was still resting on top of hers. Devon glanced down as well before looking up at him with a smirk, causing Leona to pull his hand away. "You tell anyone about that and I'll turn you to sand." He noticed the negative feelings she'd been communicating through the link were growing dimmer and her usual brightness and humor was starting to return. "Seems like you're feeling more like you again. That works for me; I'd much rather have you back to your annoyingly confident and determined self than listen to you throw yourself a pity party and whine about how you weren't strong to deal with a situation you should never have been expected to have to deal with."

Devon's smirk turned into a smile as she leaned her head against Leona's shoulder, laughing when he tried (barely) to shake her off. "Awww~! You do care!" She giggled again when she felt a hint of embarrassment from him, her smile becoming gentler. "You can pretty sweet when you want to, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah," Leona replied dismissively, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "Enjoy it while you can because once we're back outside, this will not be happening again."

Devon nodded. "Fair enough." She sat back up before gently patting Leona's shoulder. "But seriously, thank you." She rubbed the back of her head. "Usually I'm the one giving the pep talks; it's not every day I need one myself." She watched him for a moment before she spoke again. "I really appreciate you opening up to me, y'know. And letting me open up to you. It's kinda…freeing, in a way, to have someone besides my therapist know the full story about Brick."

"Well, given how stubborn you are, I have a feeling you would've pulled it outta me eventually," Leona said. His tone was dismissive and flippant but Devon could tell he was glad to have had someone listen for once. He peeked one eye open to glance at Devon, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "As far as rescue parties and confidantes go…I guess I could've done worse."

"Mmm, high praise coming from you," Devon fired back playfully. "And I'd be happy to offer my services again, if you decide you want them. For the confidante part, at least. I'm really hopin' I don't end up havin' to rescue you again." Leona looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Don't give me that look, man. That's exactly what we've been doin' for the past…however long we've been linked. I know you're used to people having an ulterior motive for trying to get close to you, but you've already established yourself that I don't. If it makes you feel better, you can frame it as me trying to make sure that that," She pointed at the pool, where images of Leona's Overblot form cycled across the water. ", doesn't happen again." She and Leona studied the images for a moment. "Although…I have to admit I'm kinda diggin' that whole fit you had goin' on. Between that and your roar-"

"Stop," Leona interjected. "Stop right there. I can feel what you're feelin' in here, remember? I get that you've got good taste and all, but I don't really need a front row seat for how it makes you feel." 'I'll keep that bit about the roar in mind, though. Something tells me I can have some fun with that.'

"Fine, my bad," Devon conceded. "I'm serious about the confidante thing, though. Feel free to drop by Ramshackle if you're worried about people overhearing."

"What about the furball?" Leona asked.

Devon blinked, surprised Leona didn't refuse her outright like she'd expected him to, but recovering quickly. "Don't worry about Grim. The Wisps were kind enough to show me some of Ramshackle's secrets. There are places in that building I haven't shared with anyone, not even Grim."

Leona looked at her skeptically, despite knowing her offer was sincere. "But you're fine sharing them with me?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Devon answered bluntly, gently tapping Blizzard to get him to move so she could stand up. She was surprised to find that her legs hadn't fallen asleep despite Blizzard laying on her since they'd sat down with Leona, but she figured that was part of the magic of the mindscape. She stretched, cracking her back as she did so. "Look, I'm not about to nag you or force you to take me up on my offer or anything. I'm just putting it out there for you." She turned to look at him. "Like I said before, I know I can't do anything to change your circumstances, but I can at least promise you that you've got someone in your corner whether you like it or not." She recalled something her therapist had said to her during one of their first sessions, when she was having trouble opening up. She held out her hand to Leona with a gentle smile on her face. "All I can do is give you my hand. Whether you take it or not is up to you."

"Tch, could you be any cornier?" Leona scoffed. He looked from Devon's outstretched hand to her face before he smiled (a genuine smile, not the cocky smirk he usually sported) and sighed, reaching out to take her hand. "You're somethin' else, herbivore."

There was a flash of light the moment their hands touched. When it faded, they were standing on Leona's side of the ravine as the monochrome savanna before them slowly had its natural colors restored. Clouds gathered overhead, releasing a gentle rain that began restoring the dried and wilted plants while animals could be seen returning to the area.

"Uh… Is that supposed to happen?" Leona asked, looking down at his hands to see that his own colors had been restored as well.

Devon giggled. "I think so. Riddle's mindscape was rose maze so his didn't play out exactly like this, but the colors returning is definitely a good sign. There should be a-" Devon was cut off as a door materialized in front of them and opened into a bright void. "And there's our way back."

"Fantastic. I've had enough soul-baring for one day," Leona commented. "Let's go."

"Just a sec," Devon said. She knelt down to wrap her arms around Blizzard's neck, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "Be good, bud." Blizzard butted his head against hers before turning and walking off onto the plains. Devon watched him go for a moment before turning back to Leona. "Okay, time to go back."

The pair walked through the door together, each very much aware of the change in their relationship. They weren't sure how it was changing exactly and neither would go so far as to call themselves 'friends' just yet, but it was…a start.

Ending Notes: Another impromptu therapy session down! Devon and Leona no longer hate each other, so now I can start building up their relationship. I can't tell you guys how long I've been wanting to write more positive interactions between those two! You know Leona's gonna milk that open invitation to hang out at Ramshackle for all it's worth. It's not one of his usual haunts, so no one will think to look for him there when he skips class. The fact that he gets to hang out with his favorite napping buddy (not that his touch-starved and emotionally constipated ass would ever admit it) is just a convenient perk and totally not a main draw at all. I feel like Leona's the type of person who'll act like he hates when Devon hugs or snuggles him, but he never does anything to push her away or tell her to stop. He'd probably be the type to get all pouty whenever Devon calls his bluff and lets go of him too, but refuses to admit he wants her to hold him again.

In other news, I ate some mushroom jerky the other day and all I could think about was Devon bringing some back for Jade if she ever worked out a way to travel between worlds.

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