Author's Note: No, this isn't me giving Devon an excuse to flirt with her other LIs for a minute since Malleus has top billing for this event. I don't know what you're talking about.
After the parade had ended, all the students and guests had gathered around as Crowley walked out onto a small stage that been put together at the end of Main Street. He gently tapped the microphone in his hand before speaking into it. "Mic test, one, two…" Satisfied, he cleared throat and began his speech. "Firstly, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to all our guests from Sage's Isle and beyond. We thank you for joining us at Night Raven College on this most frightful Halloween night! Before we get this party started, the management committee would like to say a few words. Committee chairman Vil Schoenheit, the mic is yours."
"Sir," Vil replied as he walked out onto the stage and accepted the mic from the headmaster.
"Whoa, just look at how cool Vil looks up there!" Kalim gushed, hopping slightly in excitement. "He looks so regal."
"I see he's put even more effort into his makeup than usual," Azul observed as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Now settle down. The speech is starting."
"Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Night Raven College," Vil began. "As I'm sure all of you are aware, Halloween is a very special event at our school. Naturally, this year was no exception. Our Halloween Week was nothing short of spectacular. I hope every dorm on campus was able to deliver a beautiful, scary, and fun experience to you all." He smirked. "Though it goes without saying that my Pomefiore delivered the finest on all fronts."
A loud chorus of boos erupted from the students from the other dorms.
"You're outta your mind if you think any dorm beat out Savanaclaw," Leona growled.
"The committee chairman has no place showing such bias!" Sebek shouted. "Besides, everyone knows the most glorious Halloween display goes to Lord Malleus and Diasomnia!"
"Quiet down, all of you!" Crowley scolded, sending a stern look into the crowd.
"Thanks to the efforts of one specific group, we were able to make it to Halloween night in much better form than we might have otherwise," Vil continued as the interruption had never happened. "To that end, I'd like to thank everyone who showed their support to Night Raven College. Human, fae, beastmen, merfolk, ghosts-I expect all of us to have a wonderful time tonight." He picked a glass of cider off a nearby tray. "Do everyone has their glasses? Then allow me to lead tonight's toast-" He raised his glass toward the audience, "to a fantastic Halloween night! Happy Halloween, everyone!"
"Happy Halloween!" the crowd echoed back.
"Myah! Just look at all this stuff!" Grim exclaimed happy as he looked over the buffet spread. "I ain't ever seen half of these dishes before!" He braced himself to take a flying leap off Devon's shoulder, who was too distracted by waving Ortho over to them to notice. She watched the little robot glance at Idia uncertainly, but his brother nodded and gestured in Devon's direction, causing Ortho to brighten and rush over. Grim smirked as his eyes settled on a particularly appetizing piece of meat. "I call first dibs on everything!"
Ace snatched Grim out of the air as he leaped forward and promptly handed him back to Devon as Ortho floated up alongside her. "No, the guests get first pick, ya dingus!"
"Don't worry. We've got so much food here that Grim could barely put a dent in it," Deuce assured them. "Just relax and enjoy yourselves."
"Then I shall eat to my heart's content as well!" Sebek declared loudly as he snatched up some food.
"Wha-?! Dude! I was gonna nab that fritter! How about you save some for the rest of us, huh?" Ace complained.
"All this food looks so good… Maybe I should ask my brother to make me an oral energy supply attachment," Ortho mused.
"Guess Idia really can make anything…," Jack commented.
"Don't you worry, Ortho!" Grim said in between large bites of food. "I'll make sure to eat enough for both of us!"
Devon glanced around at her friends as she piled food on her plate and noticed that aside from her and Grim, only Deuce, Epel, and Jack were still in their costumes; everyone else had changed into their ceremonial robes. "Hang on, why'd you guys change outta your costumes?"
"Because our esteemed committee chairman said, and I quote, "Those are show costumes. They look fine at a distance, but poor stitching is immediately obvious up close. We absolutely cannot allow our guests to take a peek behind the proverbial curtain. You are to change into your robes the moment the parade ends."" Ace recited. "Then he gave us one of the most intimidating scowls I've ever seen. So we had to give our costumes back."
"I still can't believe they managed to get costumes ready for every single student. Talk about chops," Jack commented as the group found an open table and sat down to eat.
"Oh, there's no way we could've managed all this on our own," Epel chimed in. "Tailors and other volunteers from the town at the foot of the mountain chipped in as thanks from bringing the island more exposure, but even then we still had to get everyone's measurements and figure out what fabrics to use…" He sighed and shook his head. "It was really rough."
"No kidding," Jack and Deuce replied in unison.
"It all worked out in the end, though," Epel continued, his expression brightening. "Halloween at NRC turned out to be really fun!"
"That's true. I don't think I've ever had a Halloween quite like this one," Deuce agreed.
"The Magicam Monsters were a colossal pain, but it'll be a better memory in hindsight," Jack said.
"It was definitely a blast!" Devon chirped.
Ace rolled his eyes playfully. "Of course you think so, New York. You had the time of your life playin' up that witch character."
"She's not the only one who enjoyed themselves," Ortho said. "Seeing the looks of terror on those last Magicam Monsters' faces was positively cathartic for me! I guess I like Halloween a little more now… No, a lot more now!"
"You guys might have a point there," Ace conceded, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the din. "It did feel preeeetty good to get back at those jerks!"
"Shhhhhh! Not so loud!" Deuce, Epel, and Jack whisper-yelled as they caught sight of the headmaster approaching.
"Ah, just look at you all!" Crowley said as he stopped at their table with several faculty members in tow. "What's that old saying? The strongest bonds are forged in fire? Or maybe it was something about not truly experiencing the high points of life until you've been through the lows…" He shrugged with a smile. "Or maybe we can just say all's well that ends well!"
"What is he even talking about?" Devon whispered to Grim.
"Ya got me," Grim replied.
"Can't really blame him for being so giddy," Sam spoke up. "All these guests came to Sage's Isle to pay us a visit, after all. They spent quite generously at the local inns and shops off-campus, I might add, so the islanders are just beside themselves with gratitude."
"The management committee played their part and then some, as did all of the students," Trein added, Lucius in his arms. "None of us were expecting the wave of unpleasantness the Magicam Monsters brought with them, but all of you handled it marvelously and now we have this wonderful party to show for it."
"You're all good pups, each and every one of you," Crewel praised. "I'm proud of all of you."
"I can't believe how dependable you all turned out to be!" Vargas exclaimed. "If you lot are this good now, just imagine how much you'll improve once I train ya up a bit."
"Thank you, professors!" everyone chorused.
"I'm still puzzled as to why the Magicam Monsters disappeared quite literally overnight…," Trein began sternly, causing the group to don their most innocent expressions. Luckily, Trein smiled. "But regardless, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll make next year's Halloween every bit as wonderful as this one."
"We expect the best out of all our students, you know," Crowley reminded them.
"Thank you, sir!" everyone repeated.
Grim sniffed the air before turning his head toward whatever it was he'd smelled. "Ooh, somethin' smells tasty over there too! I'm gonna stuff my face with everything they've got! Let's move, Food Finders!"
"Were you even listening to me, Grim?" Crowley asked as the little monster bolted away. He sighed before turning to Devon. "You'd best keep an eye on him, Devon."
"Too late. He's already out of sight," Devon replied dryly. Crowley's stare never wavered, causing her to heave a sigh after a moment. "Fine, I'll run and grab him."
Ace snorted. "A dorm leader's work is never done, huh Dev?" Devon puffed her cheeks up at him and he laughed. "Okay, okay, no more jokes. How 'bout I see if I can snag you a slice of the apple pie they've got at the buffet while you're playin' Capture the Grim? I know it's your favorite."
Devon smiled. "You're the best, my dude." With that, she pressed a quick kiss to Ace's cheek before running off to look for Grim, completely missing the way his face immediately flushed bright red.
Ace could only stare after Devon for a moment as she ran off, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then it dawned on him that his friends had seen the entire thing. He hesitantly faced forward again to see that all of them were sending him smirks and knowing looks. "…What?" he asked defensively.
"Nothing," Epel replied as his smirk widened. "We're just wondering if Ace 'Down Bad' Trappola is finally going to admit that he's into Devon."
"For the last time, I am not into Devon!" Ace huffed as he crossed his arms. He might have been able to admit his feelings to himself, but he wasn't ready for anyone else to hear him say it.
"That's not what your accelerated heart rate says," Ortho pointed out. "I've been monitoring your vitals for a while now and, while your heart rate usually spikes when Devon Lopez is nearby anyway, it really jumped after-"
"Okay, that's enough outta you!" Ace interjected, covering Ortho's mouth with his hand, causing everyone else at the table to laugh.
"Heya, kitten!" Ruggie called out when he saw Devon headed toward the buffet tables, her eyes scanning the people surrounding them. "Lookin' for somethin'?"
"Someone, actually," Devon replied. "You haven't seen Grim anywhere, have you? I figured this would be the first place he'd go." She smirked when she eyed all the food piled onto Ruggie's plate. "I see you haven't wasted any time, though."
"Well, duh! Have you ever seen this much good-lookin' food in one place? And it's free! I need to load up before they run outta the good stuff," Ruggie told her. "Haven't seen Grim yet, but if he's somewhere nearby, I'll bet you'll hear Riddle chewin' him out about something soon enough."
"I wouldn't need to scold Grim if he would simply learn to mind himself in public," replied Riddle's voice from behind them. The pair turned to see the redhead jerking himself free of Floyd's grip before straightening his robes huffily and walking over to them. He looked disapprovingly at Ruggie's plate. "Speaking of which, is all that food really necessary? Do you want the guests to think that Night Raven College doesn't properly feed its students?"
Ruggie rolled his eyes. "Please. As if any of 'em are payin' attention to what I'm doin'. Besides, not all of us have unlimited funds for meals, y'know. Or dorm traditions that involve stuffing our faces with cake."
"You know you can always come to Ramshackle if you need food, Ruggie. I'm always happy to share with you," Devon reminded him, though she doubted he actually needed to be told. Ruggie had a tendency to invite himself over whenever he knew she was cooking. Devon didn't have a problem with it-she was used to cooking fairly large meals for her family, after all-and as often as Ruggie told her not to expect anything in return for offering to feed him, she'd always find something in her kitchen or fridge that wasn't there before. Most often it was food from the school store that he'd managed to get at a discount due to haggling with Sam or just straight-up used Leona's money for, but sometimes he'd bring her something he made himself. She was beginning to get hooked on the dandelion tea he made; he'd shown her how to make it herself-and thanks to Aloe's magic, they never had to worry about running out-but she didn't think it tasted anywhere near as good as when he made it.
"Aaaand that right there is why you're my favorite, kitten," Ruggie purred as he slung his free arm around her waist and nuzzled his cheek against hers.
Riddle shook his head before turning his attention to Devon. "I received your text about your staff earlier, Devon. I apologize for not getting back to you earlier, but between running the stamp rally and party prep…"
"It's fine," Devon replied with an easy smile. "I knew today was gonna be busy for everyone, but I wanted to let you know what was up before it slipped my mind."
"And you're certain it wasn't the Wisps magic that created that scythe?" Riddle asked.
Devon shook her head. "That was my first thought too, but they insist that it wasn't them and Grim said he saw my blue aura appear around the staff before the blade appeared."
"Hang on. You mean that wasn't just part of the illusion?" Ruggie asked.
"Apparently not," Devon replied. "I just have no clue how I made it happen and why I haven't been able to do it before, so I asked Riddle if he wouldn't mind helping me practice with it when he has some free time."
"As if you even needed to ask," Riddle said. "I'm as curious about this whole blessing situation as you are. We've already established that the dorm leaders' staffs are more or less fixed the way they are since they were conceived as a way to pay tribute to the Great Seven. It's possible that Ramshackle's staff is more malleable since it isn't fashioned after a member of the Great Seven."
"Now that you mention it, I think I remember Leona complaining about the feathers on his staff before," Devon recalled. "Said he couldn't take 'em off since they were supposed to be some sort of traditional King of Beasts motif."
"Either way, we'll work out a time to meet up soon and see what else we can find out," Riddle promised. He glanced at something behind Devon and Ruggie, his face twisting into an expression of mixed dread and exasperation. "I apologize for cutting this short but I'm afraid I must make myself scarce for now."
Ruggie and Devon exchanged a confused look as Riddle began to speedwalk away, only for their unspoken question to be answered as Floyd barreled past them to chase after him.
"Shishishishi!" Ruggie laughed. "Riddle can't catch a break, huh?"
"I kinda feel bad for him, having to deal with Floyd messin' with him all the time," Devon said.
"Hey, don't worry about him too much. Riddle can handle Floyd," Ruggie told her. "They've been goin' at it like that since our entrance ceremony last year." He shot Devon a toothy smile when she gave a confused look. "Floyd made some kinda comment about Riddle bein' short and Riddle used magic to knock him on his ass in under five seconds."
Devon snorted. "Ya know, I can totally picture it. And he made such a fuss about Grim and me makin' a mess of this year's ceremony. Granted, that was before he mellowed out a little, but even so…"
"From what I hear, there's always some kinda ruckus at the ceremony every year," Ruggie replied. "It's never been because of a fire-breathing monster and a magicless girl from another world, though. Although…I guess we can't really call you magicless now, can we?" He glanced behind Devon and smirked. "Hey, kitten. Do you trust me?"
"Not with that smirk on your face, I don't," Devon replied hesitantly as she arched a brow.
"Shishishi! Smart girl, but you'll thank me for this later," Ruggie said cryptically before looking back at whatever he saw behind her. "Yo, Jamil!"
Devon's eyes widened, but before she had time to do anything, Ruggie took the opportunity to semi-gently shove her backward. Thankfully, a pair of arms caught her before she could completely lose her balance, but she was almost too afraid to look up and see who they belonged to…almost. She looked up and, sure enough, a pair of dark grey eyes were staring quizzically back at her. She glared in Ruggie's direction, only for him to send her a mischievous grin before disappearing to the crowd.
"Oh, come on! How did he even know?!" Devon exclaimed, only to realize too late that Jamil could hear her.
"How did he know what?" Jamil asked, causing Devon's face to get warm. "And what was that all about, anyway?"
"N-Nothing," Devon mumbled, feeling herself relax in his arms as she caught the scent of spices that always seemed to hang around him. "Thanks for catching me, by the way."
"Don't give me too much credit. As much as I'd love to tell you it was some act of gallantry, I was mostly propelled by instinct," Jamil deflected, though he couldn't quite bring himself to let go of Devon yet. "Are you alright?"
Devon nodded, turning in Jamil's arms so that she was facing him now. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled up at him. "I'm glad I-kinda literally-ran into you, though. I didn't get a chance to tell you before, but you looked amazing as a werewolf. Deep red really suits you."
Jamil glanced briefly off to the side, still unused to compliments that he didn't specifically try to earn or weren't being used to butter him up in some way. He was unable to pull his hood up over his head since that would require letting go of Devon and, while he found himself quite surprised by his unwillingness to part with her, this wasn't really the best time to question it. Instead, he brought one hand up to begin playing with some of her curls. "I could say the same for this hair color. I know I complimented your costume before, but the dark blue truly looks wonderful on you." He gently took one of the curls between his thumb and index finger and pressed it to his lips.
Devon practically blue-screened at the intimate gesture, but thankfully (or not), a loud voice helped her unscramble her thoughts.
"It does, doesn't it? You really do look great, Dev!" Kalim shouted. He'd been standing a little ways behind Jamil, and Devon had once again been too distracted by Jamil to notice him, but now he was front and center once again.
As he watched Kalim invite him in and take over the conversation, Jamil thanked the Seven that he was a pro at keeping a neutral expression no matter what he feeling. He was irritated that Kalim had interrupted them, but he also felt that familiar rush that he got whenever he realized that he, not Kalim, was the one Devon's focus was naturally drawn to. Sure, Kalim had a tendency to loudly pull her attention to him, but Jamil could keep her attention while barely saying a word. This had happened a handful of times now, and Jamil craved Devon's attention and praise more and more. Not just from Devon, either; he wanted to show everyone how brightly he could shine when he was given the chance.
'I just need to hold out for a little longer,' Jamil thought. 'Once we get through final exams… That should be the perfect time to put my plan in motion…'
After finally managing to excuse herself from Kalim and (reluctantly) Jamil and a brief run-in with Chenya-whom she promised not to reveal to her fellow NRC students-, Devon continued her search for Grim. Shockingly enough, she didn't have any luck finding him at the buffet tables, so she opted to simply walk along and try to look as inconspicuous as possible.
"Looking for something, potato?"
Welp, so much for looking inconspicuous.
"Kinda," Devon replied as she turned to look at Vil. "I've lost track of Grim. Normally the blue fire in his ears make him easy enough to spot, but he's got his hat on right now so…"
"I see… It could be a problem if that little beast of yours lets his appetite get the better of him," Vil mused. "His lack of impulse control is practically legendary on this campus. You'd best track him down right away."
'No shit, Sherlock,' Devon grumbled inwardly. "I would appreciate it if you didn't refer to Grim as a beast, Vil. He might be a monster, but he's not some feral, rabid, manace."
Vil sent her a look as if to say, 'Are you sure about that?'
Eager to change the subject, Devon continued, "Anyway, I'm glad I ran into you. I've been thinking about what you said and I think I'm going keep my dark blue hair. I really like the way it looks and I've gotten a lot of compliments on it, so if you could recommend some dyes I can use, I'd appreciate it. Preferably one that's not super expensive, though. As much as I'd love to splurge and get top-quality stuff, I'm still livin' on a budget."
"While I can appreciate your predicament, I'm not about to suggest you use anything that doesn't meet my standards. And those standards are very exacting," Vil said. "Luckily for you, I happen to model for a brand that makes some of the best dyes in the industry, so it shouldn't be any trouble getting you the color you need."
Devon was tempted to ask why Vil was so willing to just hand what was most likely a pretty pricey dye over to her, especially since she wasn't a Pomefiore student, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, Epel had mentioned during one of his 'Ramshackle Rant-fests', as they'd taken to calling it whenever Vil's etiquette lessons got to be too much and Epel stormed over to Ramshackle to vent, that Vil made something of a habit of pushing his dorm students to "become the most beautiful version of themselves". Maybe that's what was happening here? "Thanks, Vil. I appreciate it."
Vil nodded. "You can expect the dye delivered to Ramshackle within the week." His expression softened just a bit. "You're making the right choice. The light blue color you'd dyed your hair before was fine, but the darker blue works much better with your complexion and draws more attention to those expressive eyes of yours."
Devon continued meandering through the tables looking for Grim after parting ways with Vil, eventually stumbling upon her favorite lion prince. Leona's trademark glare looked more intense than usual and he seemed to be directing it at his phone.
"You'll burn a hole in your phone if you glare any harder," Devon quipped as she walked up next to him. "What's the matter, Sourpatch?"
Leona sighed before shoving his phone back into his pocket. "Nothing. Just family irritatin' me."
"Cheka gave ya a call?" Devon asked with a smirk. "He wanna wish his favorite Unca a happy Halloween?"
Leona rolled his eyes. "What brings you over to my neck of the woods?" he asked, changing the subject. "Figured you'd be partyin' it up with the rest of those freshie friends of yours."
"That was the plan before Grim disappeared on me," Devon answered. "So now I gotta find him." She eyed his ceremonial robes. "But before I do, I need a moment to mourn the loss of your pirate costume."
Leona sent her a flat look.
"I'm serious!" Devon assured him, her voice sincere despite the playful smile on her face. "Granted, you wear every outfit like you're doin' it a favor but Pirate Leona was somethin' else. I really am gonna miss getting to see your…," She paused for a split second, just barely catching herself before she slipped up, "hat every day. Yep, definitely the hat. That's what I'll miss most."
Leona quirked a brow as his lips curled into an amused smirk. "You ain't as slick as you think, herbivore. I know perfectly well what you liked about that costume and I know it wasn't the hat."
Devon laughed and held her hands up in surrender. "Alright, you caught me. I really wasn't trying to be weird about it or anything but," She gestured toward his chest, "once I noticed I had a really hard time looking away. You aren't too creeped out, are you?"
"Please. After the past few days of those Magicam Monsters grabbin' at my ears and tail, I think I can handle bein' your eye candy for a bit," Leona replied, his tone somehow terse and reassuring at the same time. Normally he would've teased her the moment he noticed her checking him out, but he'd opted not to so he could-inwardly, of course-bask in the fact that he was the only one in Savanaclaw she stared at. It's not like his dorm was lacking in the muscle department but nobody, not even Jack, got the same kind of attention from her that Leona did. He found himself enjoying feeling her gaze on him more than he'd ever admit and trying to subtly show off the teasing amount of his chest his costume exposed whenever he noticed it. "You'd better be careful though, or I might start thinkin' you've got a thing for me."
Devon shrugged, arching a brow challengingly as she leaned toward him. "So what if I do? Would that really be so bad?"
Leona smirked back, his tail flicking contentedly as he leaned closer to her as well. "Ya know, one of these days that smart mouth is gonna get you in trouble and I'm not gonna be the one to bail you out."
"Yeah, yeah. Just like how you didn't help me out when Grim knocked me in the head at the Spelldrive tournament, right?" Devon challenged. "C'mon, we both know you like me a little bit."
"Child of man."
Devon and Leona straightened up and turned to see Malleus approaching them. A dark look passed briefly between the two princes, so fast that Devon didn't notice it as she put her hand up to wave.
"Hey, Horns!" she greeted. "Good to see ya!"
Malleus offered her a small smile. "It's good to see you too. I hope you've been enjoying yourself. I understand that you're looking for Grim?"
Devon nodded. "Yeah. Little booger ran off on me. Probably swipin' food somewhere."
Malleus nodded his head toward the buffet tables. "Lilia tells me he saw Grim over that way just a moment ago."
"Are you kidding me?! I was just over there!" Devon exclaimed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She sighed and shook her head. "Ah, well. Duty calls, I guess." She smiled at Leona. "I got you to smile, though, so I guess my work here is done."
"You got me to smile?" Leona repeated dryly.
"Well…I got you to not scowl as much," Devon corrected herself. "You look slightly less murderous now, so I'm counting that as a win." She waved before turning in the direction Malleus had indicated. "See you guys later!"
"So, Horns, why don't you tell me the real reason you came over here," Leona said as he and Malleus watched Devon head off in search of Grim. He let out a quick, derisive laugh when Malleus shot him a glare. "I can't believe she actually calls you that. I also can't believe the crown prince of Briar Valley would allow himself to be called something so ridiculous. I thought you guys were all about decorum and titles and all that mess."
"That's not your concern," Malleus shot back. "I also don't recall giving you permission to refer to me by that name, Kingscholar."
The truth was that Malleus wasn't entirely sure what possessed him to approach Devon and Leona the way he did. He'd overheard Rook pointing out the "interesting dynamic" forming between the two to Vil and looked over to see his human friend and the lion prince getting quite comfortable in one another's personal space. Something about the way they were looking at each other rubbed Malleus the wrong way and before he realized what was happening, he was walking in their direction, the only clear thought in his head being working out an excuse to get Devon away from Leona.
"Oh? So the Ramshackle herbivore's an exception, huh? Wonder why that is?" Leona mused mockingly. "Oh, right. It's because you don't want to tell her your real name. What, are you too afraid to tell her who you really are? Scared she'll start cowerin' in fear like everyone else once she knows her good buddy Horns is actually Malleus Draconia?"
"Once again, my reasons are not any of your business," Malleus replied icily. "I doubt I have anything to worry about even if she does somehow discern my identity." He shot Leona a smug smirk. "After all, she witnessed your Overblot firsthand and still chooses to associate with you."
Leona growled low in his throat before giving Malleus a smirk of his own. "Maybe, but at least I've always been upfront with her. You might have a point about her not being afraid of you, but how do you know she won't be angry about you having lied to her for so long?"
Malleus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I've never once lied to her-"
"A lie by omission is still a lie," Leona interjected. "The longer you wait, the worse it'll be when the time comes to tell Devon the truth." He shrugged before walking back toward the tables. "Eh, it's not like it's any skin off my nose either way. Go ahead and keep up the lie, for all I care. Risk losing the only person you can actually consider a friend."
With that, Leona walked off, leaving Malleus to his thoughts as he stared off in the direction he'd sent Devon.
Ending Notes: Ah, the rivalry of the princes. It was only a matter of time before Devon was brought into it. I almost didn't make Leona as big a jerk here, but I figured it was fine since he told Malleus to his face that there was no point in having his ceremonial robes laundered since he'd never be invited to anything anyway. Clearly he has no issue pushing our favorite dragon's buttons. I also really like the idea of Malleus and Leona both being insecure about Devon's relationship with the other. Leona's already established to have a pretty big inferiority complex concerning Malleus anyway, and I can see Malleus being envious of how mutually playful and teasing Devon and Leona's relationship is since something like that probably doesn't come naturally to him.
Also, Leona 'I Won't Bail You Out No Matter What Trouble You Get Into' Kingscholar… *checks notes for Octavinelle* Are you sure about that, sir? Like Ace mentioned in the Spectral Soiree event, Leona takes care of his people and, whether he likes it or not, Devon's his people now.
I'd also like to clarify something real quick: I've mentioned this before, but Devon's love language is very much physical touch. She tends to get very touchy-feely with people she's close to (provided they're okay with it, of course) and this can include kisses on the cheek or forehead since, to her, those aren't inherently romantic. It's not shown in the story but she does always communicate this to people once she thinks they're close enough to make sure everyone's on the same page and to make sure she has their consent to give them smoochums sometimes. Kisses on the lips are another story, though. Those are reserved for when there's romantic feelings involved.
Thank you so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Geekinthepink, out!