Author's Note: I don't know that I'd really call this a warning, per se, but there's a moment in this chapter where Ace's thoughts about Devon turn a little suggestive. Likewise, at the end of the chapter, if you squint you can see Devon being thirsty for Leona for about half a sentence.

The Leech twins accompanied Devon and Grim (Jack stayed behind to let Ace and Deuce know what had happened) all the way back to Ramshackle, even following them up the steps leading to the front door. Regina pulsed suspiciously, not trusting the slippery visitors in the slightest.

"I know, Regina. I know," Devon said as she opened the front door and stepped into the foyer. "I've got some news and you aren't gonna like it so-" She cut herself off when she realized that Jade and Floyd had followed her into the dorm. "Umm… Excuse you? I don't remember saying you could come in."

"Hmm, not bad at all," Jade commented as he and Floyd looked around. "I haven't been in here since Halloween but I absolutely love what you've done with the place. You've really managed to bring out its natural charm. And with this building being so close to the school, I'm certain it will make for a fine branch café for the Mostro Lounge."

"You've got ghosts and Wisps livin' here too, right? Sounds pretty rad," Floyd added.

"Why're you guys followin' us inside anyway?" Grim asked.

"Because Shrimpy put this place up as collateral in her deal with Azul," Floyd reminded him. "I mean, duh."

"Myah?!" Grim exclaimed, the implications finally starting to hit.

Devon felt Regina flare up in a mix of surprise and anger as well. She sighed and braced herself, knowing the golden Wisp was going to lay into her as soon as they had the chance.

"Unlike the rest of you, Devon didn't actually put up a power as collateral. Seeing as she doesn't have any, you know," Jade continued. "To that end, we'll be confiscating this dorm."

"What?!" Grim shouted.

Jade turned to Devon. "This dorm will belong to Azul until you fulfill your end of the bargain. As such, I'm afraid we cannot allow you to stay here until that happens."

"Don't worry, though. We'll give you enough time to pack your stuff since we're so nice and all," Floyd added.

"Once this dorm officially enters into Azul's possession, we will be disposing of any personal belongings remained," Jade warned with a cheerful smile. "I'd advise you to keep that in mind."

"Heheheh, don't worry!" Floyd laughed. "We'll give everything back if you manage to bring Azul that photo before the third sunset." He and Jade began chuckling sadistically, thoroughly convinced that Devon had no chance of holding up her end of the deal.

"Oh man! I gotta save my tuna stash!" Grim yelled as he rushed up the stairs.

"I guess I should at least grab my uniforms and school stuff," Devon muttered as she followed along at a slower pace. She could feel the twins' eyes on her as she climbed as well as Regina's growing anger. "This is a mess…"

"Okay yeah, I know this is pretty much our worst-case scenario," Devon conceded as Regina lectured her. As she'd expected, they were decidedly not happy about Devon having to leave the dorm in Octavinelle's hands. "Believe me, if I'd had any other option, I would've taken it. Those contracts of Azul's a legally binding, so the only way to set Grim and the others free was to make a deal myself and meet the conditions. Apparently most of the other contractees offered up their specialty magic as collateral for their deals, but the only magic I can use is one I absolutely do not want to allow Azul to get his hands on." She moved some more of her personal belongings into the pocket dimension Nyx had created in her messenger bag, the smaller Wisps floated around her and voicing their concerns as well. "I understand that all of you are worried, but I can assure that I looked over that entire contract before I signed it to make sure it was just the building that I was putting up as collateral. I never would've signed if it put any of you at risk."

Zephyr chimed in at that point, assuring the other Wisps that Devon had not only meticulously read over the contract before signing, but requested and received multiple copies of the document so Azul couldn't go back on his word.

"I know this isn't ideal and I can assure that I'm just as angry about this situation as you are, but will you please trust me?" Devon asked.

Almost immediately, every single one of the Wisps pulsed in the affirmative. They might not have been happy about the situation, but they knew their human wouldn't have made the choice she did without a reason. They would support their friend no matter what.

"Thanks, you guys," Devon said, relieved. "I promise I'll keep all of you safe." She slung her bag over her shoulder and picked up her staff. "Now let's show those creeps downstairs why the Ramshackle crew will always get the last laugh."

"Are you two all set?" Jade asked as Devon and Grim came back downstairs.

"Alrighty! See ya around, Lil' Shrimpy and Baby Seal!" Floyd said.

"Feel free to come and speak with us if you're in need of a place to stay," Jade offered. "You can reserve a guest room at Octavinelle starting at 100 madol a night."

"Thanks, but I'd rather sleep outside than stay at Octavinelle," Devon replied. "For all I know, you'll try to harvest one of my kidneys to sell."

Jade chuckled. "My, that's one vivid imagination you have. Suit yourself, I suppose." He gestured toward the front door.

"I always do," Devon retorted as she held out her staff, causing it to elongate. "But there's one last thing I need to do before I leave." She tapped the staff twice on the floorboards, the sound echoing through the halls. "Alright, everybody in!"

The words were barely out of Devon's mouth when the smaller Wisps began flying toward her to take up residence in her staff. The orb at the top of the staff glowed to match the color of each Wisp as they merged with it, resulting in various color patterns rippling across it by the time all the smaller Wisps had merged. Jade and Floyd's eyes widened in surprise; much like Azul, they had assumed that all the Wisps aside from Zephyr were more or less bound to the dorm and unable to leave it.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Devon said with a smirk. "Were you two under the impression that the Wisps would be staying here?"

"I mean, yeah," Floyd replied. "That green one's the only one that goes with you to class and stuff."

"Huh? No, they aren't," Grim corrected. "Dev's always got a bunch of Wisps with her every day, but Zephyr's the only one that hangs around outside the staff."

"I see… You never mentioned that before," Jade said.

Devon shrugged. "You never asked. Zeph's plenty powerful but even they'd be hard-pressed to use so many different types of magic. See, Wisps are naturally wary of most people, especially mages. Makes sense, considering they can use their own power to buff another magic user. I'm guessing that's why Azul's been so interested in them." She looked the twins up and down. "And after this mess with you three, I can't say I blame them for being so distrustful." She glanced down at her staff, counting all the different lights to make sure she knew which Wisps had been accounted for. "Okay, I think that's almost everyone," Devon said before looking up toward the ceiling. "Regina? Are you coming?" Regina pulsed, letting Devon know that they intended to remain merged with Ramshackle for the time being, causing her to tilt her head in confusion. "Are you sure?" Regina pulsed again, telling Devon that someone had to keep an eye on the place while she and Grim were away. They were entrusting the safety of the smaller Wisps to Devon and asked that Devon trust that they would take care of the dorm. "Fair enough."

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt this, ah…conversation," Jade interrupted, "but I'm afraid your contract states that you cannot remove the-"

Devon shook her head. "Nuh-uh. That contract only states that I agreed to put the Ramshackle building up as collateral; it didn't say anything about the beings living inside. If you don't believe me, I'd be glad to show you a copy. I made sure to get plenty, after all." She glared at them defiantly. "There's no way I would've signed that thing if it mean signing the Wisps away. Besides, they've got free will, ya know! I didn't force them into the staff-they're choosing to come with me, just like Regina is choosing to stay here for whatever reason." The staff shrunk back to its travel size and Devon promptly tucked it away in her pocket. "Let's go, Grim. See you in three days, pendejos."

"Hang on, what was that Baby Seal comment all about?" Grim wondered as he and Devon stepped out onto the front porch, the twins slamming the front door shut behind them. Devon didn't respond, but Grim was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice. "I mean, Floyd already calls you Shrimpy so who could-" His eyes widened in realization. "Wait a second! Did he mean me?!" He whipped around to face the door. "Say that to my face!" As expected, there was no answer from inside. A cold wind began to blow, causing him to shiver, and the gravity of what had just happened finally hit him. He tapped Devon's leg to get her attention. "Dev? We're not really gonna have to sleep out in the cold, are we?"

Once again, Devon didn't answer. Grim looked up to see that had her head shoved into her messenger bag. He'd seen her do it a handful of times before-something about screaming into a void-but he was becoming concerned that she hadn't come back up for air. He tapped her leg a little harder this time. "Dev?"

Devon finally lowered the bag, her chest heaving as if she were out of breath. There was an expression on her face that Grim hadn't seen before; it was definitely harder and angrier than her usual expressions but it still wasn't quite a glare. "What is it, Grim?" she asked emotionlessly.

"U-Umm…," Grim stammered, unsure of what to make of Devon's expression and tone. She'd never used that tone with him before, even when she'd been angry with him. "I was just sayin' that it was gonna suck to have to sleep out here, y'know. Since it's gettin' so cold and all."

'And I wonder who we have to thank for that,' Devon snarked inwardly before immediately chiding herself. Getting angry with Grim wasn't going to help their situation. He may have been foolish enough to make a deal, but she'd seen first-hand how Azul preyed on people, presenting whether or not to make a deal with him as a choice that wasn't a choice. Azul was the one who deserved the bulk of her ire and she was going to use her anger as motivation to drag his sorry backside through the mud. She took a deep breath before finally looking at Grim. "Yeah, we can't stay out in the open. Guess we'd better start looking for some sort of shelter."

Suddenly, a voice called out to them from the bottom of the hill. "Oi! Devon! Grim!" The pair turned to see Deuce waving to them, Ace and Jack a couple steps behind him.

"Don't tell me… Are you guys here to help us?!" Grim asked eagerly as Regina maneuvered them down toward their friends.

"We're not really here for you, Grim, but we're partly to blame for New York not havin' a place to stay now, y'know," Ace replied before focusing his attention on Devon. "It'd really suck if you caught a cold or something because you had to sleep outside."

"Seriously? We're still doin' this? Just admit you're worried about her, Ace," Grim snarked.

"Ace and I talked to Riddle already about what's going on," Deuce informed them. "If you don't mind sleeping in our four-person freshman dorm room, we can at least make sure you're out of the elements. It's the least we can do with how often you let us stay at Ramshackle."

"Those four-person are already crowded enough and you wanna cram two more people in there?" Jack asked in disbelief. "Grim's one thing, but I'd say Dev deserves a little more privacy than that. Doesn't Heartslabyul have any vacant rooms?"

Deuce shook his head. "Trust me, we thought the same thing. But since Riddle always makes sure nobody from our dorm drops out or gets held back, we're at full capacity."

"In that case…why don't you come to Savanaclaw?" Jack offered.

"Huh?!" Grim, Ace, and Deuce exclaimed.

Devon blinked, clearly surprised as well. "Really?"

Jack looked away and rubbed the back of his head. "I made it sound like I was doin' you this big favor by comin' along during that mess with Azul but when you get right down to it, I was no help at all. And we still owe you pretty big after everything that went down at the Spelldrive tournament, so I doubt Leona will refuse." 'I kinda doubt he'd refuse even if we didn't owe you at this point…'

Deuce, Ace, and Grim shot teasing smirks in Jack's direction.

"Oh?"

"Wow Jack, you really are a sweetheart, huh?"

"Even though ya don't look it at all!"

"Sh-Shut up! Don't get the wrong idea, okay?! I just want to make sure our next round of exams are on an equal playing field. It's in my best interest for Devon to win her bet against Azul!" Jack protested.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Ace replied dismissively.

"You guys will probably sleep better at Savanaclaw anyway," Deuce told Devon.

"Yeah," Ace agreed. "Your options at Heartslabyul would be crashin' on the floor or sharin' a bed with me or Deuce." He smirked and wrapped an arm around Devon's waist, pulling her against him. "Then again, maybe you'd prefer that, eh New York?"

"Maybe I would," Devon teased back, quirking a brow and returning his smirk.

Ace's face began to heat up immediately and he quickly let go and stepped back. He wasn't expecting Devon to flirt back and he was grateful it was too dark for the others to see how red he knew his face and ears were getting. Devon's comment shouldn't have sparked this kind of reaction; they'd shared a bed before, after all, and it was completely innocent. But something about the way she said those three words had his mind racing toward some…not so innocent scenarios. It wasn't something that happened often, but it brought his brain to a screeching halt whenever it did. Not wanting to try firing off some kind of witty retort at the risk of making a fool of himself, his only option was to backpedal and laugh it off. "Heh. You know I was just kiddin', right?"

Devon's smirk only widened, causing Ace's face to heat up even more. "Were you? Hmm, that's too bad." She turned to look at Jack. "In all seriousness, I think we'll take you up on your offer to stay at Savanaclaw."

"Awesome. Let's head back, then. It's almost midnight and I'm beat," Jack replied with a yawn.

Devon nodded before looking up at Ramshackle one last time. One of the window shutters began to move on its own, waving a sad goodbye. Devon could do little more but wave forlornly back.

Ace gently nudged Devon's shoulder. "Hey. Don't look so down, okay? You'll be back in Ramshackle before you know it, New York." He gestured toward himself, Deuce, and Jack. "We'll make sure of it."

Devon nodded resolutely, her sadness becoming steely resolve. "Not before that slimeball of a dorm leader gets what's coming to him."

"I trust you were able to successfully evict Devon and Grim from Ramshackle?" Azul asked Jade over the phone.

"Yes, the two of them have been effectively removed from the premises," Jade replied, his phone on speaker so Floyd could hear too.

"You should see this place, Azul!" Floyd chimed in. "It's, like, waaaay more run-down than the other dorms but it's got a certain something."

"Indeed," agreed Jade. "I think it will make a fine addition to Mostro Lounge. Although," His tone became a little more serious…not that it was easy to tell with Jade, "I'd be remiss if I didn't inform you about the Wisp situation, Azul. It seems they aren't bound to the building as we had originally thought. It would seem that the different types of magic we'd observed Devon making use of were the result of multiple Wisps powers, not just Zephyr. Evidently, most of them prefer to merge with her staff if they accompany her away from Ramshackle. Additionally, it seems that Devon does not exert any sort of control over them; they loan their powers to her by choice. This might prove to make control difficult, if not impossible."

"Mmm…that is rather disappointing," Azul said. "I assume they all opted to leave with Devon?"

"All but one~!" Floyd chirped. "That one that brings the dorm to life is still here. Not sure why they decided to stay, though."

"Yes, that is strange," Azul agreed. "But no matter. I'm certain that Wisp and all the others will fall into line once Devon fails to uphold her end of our deal. Given how protective of her they seem to be, I imagine the threat of that girl being harmed in some way if they act out will be enough for temper any unruly behavior. We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Understood. We'll be returning to the dorm shortly," Jade said before ending the call.

Had Jade and Floyd been a little less absorbed in their phone call, they might have noticed a large golden orb emerge partway out of a nearby wall. They might also have noticed that same golden orb begin to glow an angry red before melding back into the wall.

"Absolutely not," Leona said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in response to Jack's request to let Devon and Grim stay at Savanaclaw.

"Wow. Didn't even hesitate, huh," Jack commented.

"To start with," Leona began, nodding toward Grim, "we don't allow pets in the dorm since they shed all over the place."

"Excuse me?! First of all, I ain't no pet! Second of all, I do not!" Grim protested. "Besides, you guys are, like, a billion times furrier than me!"

"We're talkin' about you right now, man, not us," Ruggie replied.

"Pretty much," Leona agreed. "Besides, our empty rooms haven't been cleaned out in months. At this point, they're basically just dumping grounds for dorm students' junk. Where exactly do you expect us to stash two freeloaders?"

"Actually…I have an idea," Ruggie spoke up with a delightfully mischievous smirk on his face as he side-eyed Leona. "Why don't we just put 'em up in your room, Leona?"

Leona, Jack, and Grim all let out a collective "Huh?!" at Ruggie's suggestion. Even Devon, who hadn't spoken a word since they'd set off toward the Hall of Mirrors, turned to stare at Ruggie in surprise. Everyone knew how territorial Leona was, so Devon, Grim, and Jack weren't sure what exactly Ruggie was thinking by making that suggestion. The deadly glare on Leona's face, however, indicated that he did and that he didn't appreciate it.

"You'd better watch yourself, Ruggie. If you keep flappin' those lips, you're gonna find 'em sewn shut," Leona warned, his tail thrashing with what appeared to be irritation.

A lesser man might have shrunk under the intensity of such a glare, but Ruggie Bucchi was no lesser man. He knew how to read Leona better than anyone else in the dorm, probably better than anyone else on the campus. He was well aware of Leona's soft spot for their friend from another world (not that Leona would ever call her his friend, of course, and certainly not within earshot of another living being) and that his tail was thrashing like that because he was flustered by Ruggie's suggestion, not because he was irritated by it.

However, Ruggie also knew that Leona had his position as dorm leader to think of; the guy had a reputation to maintain. No matter how he personally felt about helping Devon out, his pride wouldn't allow him to offer her a place in Savanaclaw outright. But if they managed to frame it the right way, they might be able to find a way for Devon to stay with them and for Leona to save face in front of the rest of the dorm. …That, and he couldn't deny it'd be interesting to watch his touch-starved and emotionally constipated dorm leader be stuck in close quarters with a ray of sassy sweetness who had absolutely no fear when it came to physical touch.

"Just hear me out, okay?" Ruggie continued, his sly look never wavering. "You're used to havin' people around to do everything for ya, right Leona? We can just put 'em in charge of servin' you instead of chargin' for room and board. Sounds like a win-win to me."

Leona growled low in his throat. "Ruggie, you little…"

"Y'know, my injuries from the Spelldrive tournament still haven't fully healed," Ruggie pressed. "I'm not sure if it's 'cause of that potion I drank or what but all the hard work I've been doin' has really been causin' 'em to flare up recently." He gave Leona a look, causing the lion prince to shoot a 'not this again' expression back at him. "And if I might remind you, Leona, my life was put on the line thanks to you. So I'm thinkin' I'd heal up a lot faster if our friends from Ramshackle could help pick up some of the slack."

"Tch. You're a regular mercenary sometimes, you know that?" Leona grumbled.

Ruggie shrugged and put his hands behind his head. "C'mon now, it ain't like anything I said wasn't true." He quickly caught Leona's eye and subtly nodded in the direction of three students sitting in the dorm lounge to watch the whole exchange take place.

Leona followed Ruggie's nod, looking in the direction of the students he'd indicated. He recognized those three: they were the ones who had picked a fight when Devon, Grim, and the Heartslabyul herbivores barged into Savanaclaw before the Spelldrive tournament and they'd made no secret that they didn't like that Devon and Grim had been hanging around the dorm more often after Leona's Overblot. Most of the rest of the dorm were indifferent to the pair so long as they didn't get in the way and a handful had forged something of a friendship with Devon, at least (usually because she'd given them food at some point), but there was still a minority that were convinced that Devon linking with Leona and bringing him out of his Overblot-induced rampage was a fluke, if not an outright lie. They felt she had no business hanging around; there was no place for weaklings in Savanaclaw, after all, and she'd be nothing without those Wisps behind her. If he was being honest, he was getting tired of listening to them complain without actually challenging her to settle the matter. An idea quickly began to take shape, something that would kill two birds with one stone if Devon was able to follow through.

Speaking of Devon, Leona turned his attention to her once again. She'd yet to say a word since they'd arrived with Jack, which wasn't like her at all. Outwardly, her expression seemed blank but Leona could see the storm raging in those brown eyes. She was clearly angry-not that he could blame her given the situation-and trying to keep a lid on it. If she really hoped to be able to win against Azul, something had to be done about that first.

"Fine," Leona said, "but I'm not about to let just anyone cozy up to me." He glanced toward the three upperclassmen again. "Oi, you three! Front and center!"

The trio stood up and rushed to their dorm leader immediately. "You called, dorm leader?"

"Well lookie here! It's those freshies who spied on Savanaclaw just before the Spelldrive tournament!" said the second.

"Didn't think our prey'd come back on its own! Heheheheh!" the third laughed.

Leona looked back at Devon and Grim with a smirk. "Fight these dorm students. If you win, I'll let ya stick around as my gophers. Savanaclaw's got no use for dead weight, even if you're just stayin' for a few days."

"You can't be serious!" Grim whined. "I'm already worn out from-"

"Don't worry, Grim," Devon interrupted, her voice soft but filled with barely-concealed fury. "I'll handle this myself."

"Haw! You can't be serious!" the first of the upperclassman trio laughed. "What does some silly little girl really think she can do?"

"Why don't you come at me and find out?" Devon challenged, tilting her head to the side until her neck cracked. "You might be too dense to realize it, but I'm in a bit of a bad mood right now. Whaling on you three sounds like a great way to work some of that anger out."

"Psh, please. We all know you're just gonna have those Wisps do the fighting for you," protested the second student. "I'd like to see you try and fight us on your own!"

"And so would I. But I doubt I'll have to try," Devon retorted, pulling her staff from her pocket and tossing it to Jack. "Are we doin' this or what?"

The third member of the trio studied her for a moment and laughed, cracking his knuckles. "You know what? Why not? I could use a little light exercise before bed. No magic, just fists. Let's do this."

"Is all of this really necessary, Leona?" Jack asked as the fight began with Devon dodged one opponent before sweeping the legs of a second and knocking him to the ground.

"It's survival of the fittest in Savanaclaw, Jack," Leona replied, kicking back in one of the lounge chairs to watch. "If your friends wanna stay here, they've gotta prove themselves." He sent a sideways glance toward the wolf beastman. "Don't tell me you're worried about her."

Jack shook his head. "Not at all. I'm worried about them." He nodded out toward the fight just as Devon rammed her elbow into one of the upperclassman's solar plexus. "I mean, you know she's not in a good mood and you still decided to sic her on 'em. It seems almost cruel."

"But it means that when Devon hands their rear ends to them, it'll stop all the complainin' they've been doin' about how much she's been comin' around," Ruggie pointed out. "It also means she'll be able to walk around the dorm on her own without someone keepin' an eye on her since beatin' those morons down in front of everyone means it'll shut any other naysayers up."

"Keepin' an eye on…," Jack trailed off, looking over at Leona. "You never had any intention of turning Devon and Grim away, did you?"

"Shishishishi… 'Course he didn't," Ruggie replied before Leona could make up some excuse to save face. "He can't have the rest of the dorm thinkin' he's actually fond of someone, though, so he figured he'd solve one problem with another."

"Ruggie…," Leona growled in warning, still not taking his eyes off the fight.

"Myahahaha!" Grim cackled. "Who knew you were such a sweetheart, Leona!"

Leona finally tore his eyes away from Devon to level a glare at Grim. "Let's be clear about one thing, furball-I'm not doing this for you. The fact of it is that, like it or not, I owe that herbivore my life and I don't like owin' people favors. As much as I'd love to leave you to fend for yourself to clean up the mess you made, you and her are a package deal."

"Myah?! Excuse me?!" Grim exclaimed. "Whaddya mean the mess I made?! Devon's the one who offered up Ramshackle."

"Yeah. To try to get you and those Heartslabyul morons out of your deals," Ruggie pointed out. "If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't have stuck my neck out for you the way she did."

"Hey, it's not like I asked her to put our dorm on the line!" Grim argued.

"I was at the conversation, Grim. You totally did," Jack reminded. "You couldn't bust in there fast enough when Azul made the suggestion to Dev." He sighed. "Ya know, I've noticed that you tend to take advantage of Devon, Grim. And you do it kind of a lot. Do you even realize how much she does for you?"

Grim looked at him skeptically. "Like what?"

"Well for starters, there's the fact that she always buys those expensive tuna cans for you because she knows you don't like the cheaper ones," Ruggie pointed out. "Not to mention all the extra food she has to buy to try and keep up with your appetite when you're already on a limited budget."

"Like you have any room to talk," Grim retorted. "You're always comin' over to scavenge for food."

"True, but I also bring a little somethin' with me each time I do," Ruggie pointed out. "Nothing too big, just dish soap or laundry detergent-"

"Which you buy with my money," Leona interjected but didn't say anything further.

"-stuff I know she'll get some use out of," Ruggie continued as if Leona hadn't said anything. "If it doesn't look like there's anything she needs, I help her fix up that discarded furniture she keeps findin'."

"Food aside, there's also how often she has to get you out of trouble with the professors, Grim," Jack added. "I've seen her apologize on your behalf I don't know how many times. Heck, the only reason you and Ace didn't get slapped with a suspension for that fight you got into last week was because she went to bat for you guys. I'm surprised her patience has held out for as long as it has, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's about to hit her limit."

Grim blinked. This was news to him; he and Ace had been given weekend detention for that fight, something they'd both considered a rather light sentence considering they'd broken some vials of important potion ingredients in the scuffle. He had no clue Devon had been involved but now that he thought about it, it was really the only explanation that made sense. He also recalled that Devon had barely said a word since they'd left Ramshackle and remembered how she'd withdrawn into herself in the weeks leading up to Halloween when she'd been feeling homesick. Now he took another look at her fight with the Savanaclaw upperclassmen, how much force she was putting behind her blows and the anger in her eyes; she was clearly taking out her frustration on them. He barely suppressed his shudder at the thought that he was responsible for at least some of that rage.

He didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts as Devon threw the upperclassman she was squaring off against over her shoulder. He landed on the ground with a thud, struggling to get back the wind Devon had knocked out of him. The second upperclassman had been crumpled in a heap for a while now, trying to come back from a swift kick to the groin. The third tried to sneak up behind Devon to catch her off-guard while she tried to catch her breath, leaping toward her when he thought he saw an opening. Unfortunately for him, Devon dropped down into a split at the last second and he went sailing over her…and flew head first into the lounge pool.

Devon waited until he'd broken the surface of the water, struggling to get the water out of his nose, before giving him a flat, "You done?"

A chorus of uproarious cheers erupted from the other Savanaclaw students gathered in the lounge, along with a few jeers toward their fallen dormmates. Leona's green eyes zeroed in on Devon as she stood with her back to him, shoulders rising and falling as she caught her breath for real this time, and his lips quirked up just slightly at the edges, unnoticed by another who wasn't looking his way (which was pretty much everyone, save one incredibly amused hyena). The three challengers staggered back to their feet, the third one fishing himself out of the pool as Devon turned and walked back toward Jack and Grim.

Leona finally stood and glowered at his three dormmates. "I can't believe you three got your tails handed to ya like that. And by a herbivore, at that! All of you are an embarrassment to Savanaclaw."

"Yipe!" yelped one of the upperclassmen in response. "W-We're sorry, dorm leader!"

"Save it. Just get outta my sight," Leona ordered.

Grim smirked at Leona as the students scrambled out of the lounge. "A promise is a promise, y'know! That means we get to stay here for three days!"

Leona pressed his fingertips to his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on. Even so, he'd given his word. "Grr… Just remember that if you cause even the slightest amount of trouble, you'll be outta here so fast it'll make your heads spin." He sent them a withering glare. "Got it?"

"Y-Y-Yessir!" Grim stammered as Devon nodded wordlessly.

Leona kept his eyes trained on Devon for a moment longer and was mildly pleased to see that the fury in her eyes when she'd first arrived had ebbed somewhat. Good. She wouldn't be able to work out a way to beat Azul if she was too consumed with her own rage.

Grim heaved a sigh of relief. "At least we don't gotta sleep outside."

"Alright Jack, go ahead and bring some spare bedding up to Leona's room." Ruggie said, nudging Jack with his elbow.

Jack nodded as he handed Devon back her staff. "Got it."

"Shishishishishi…," Ruggie laughed quietly, whispering (mostly) to himself. "Lucky~! Thanks to our Ramshackle buds here, I got to coast down easy street for three whole days!"

A growl rumbled in Leona's throat as his ears flicked toward Ruggie. He immediately turned his glare to his right hand man. "I heard that, you ass. You're in for it later." He refocused on Devon and Grim, jerking his head toward the lounge exit. "Follow me."

"Daaaaaang," Grim said as they stepped into Leona's room a few minutes later. "Now this is a wild man's room if I've ever seen one."

Devon couldn't help but agree as she looked around. Savanaclaw already gave off a pretty primal vibe as it was, but Leona's room was something else. She wasn't surprised to see clothes and various objects strewn about on the floor or the unmade bed-Ruggie complained pretty frequently about having to pick up after Leona when he stopped by the nab some food from Ramshackle. The earth tones matched the Savanaclaw vibe to a T, but what really impressed her were the floor-to-ceiling windows that gave her an amazing view of the night sky.

"Quit scamperin' around, furball," Leona said, pulling Devon's attention back to him.

To her brief surprise, he'd already changed out of his dorm uniform and into a pair of black sleep pants, apparently deciding to forego a shirt. As she tried-and only mostly succeeded-to keep herself from getting too distracted by how very in shape Leona was, she recalled that she'd seen him use magic to swap outfits before, much like what Zephyr tended to do for her when she was in a rush. Speaking of whom, the Wind Wisp wasted no time zapping Devon into her own pajamas for the night.

"I'm goin' to sleep," Leona announced as he flopped down on his bed and pulled the blankets over himself before fixing Grim with one final glare. "If you disturb me, I'm makin' you into a rug." He closed his eyes and fell back against his pillows, his breathing evening out instantly.

"Wha-?! He fell asleep in less than three seconds!" Grim whisper-yelled.

"We should keep it down, then," Devon replied. "The last thing we want is to wake him up."

Devon couldn't help but smile to herself as she scrolled through the group chat she shared with her freshman friends. Jack had brought the spare bedding by earlier and Devon and Grim had settled in on the couch in Leona's room to sleep. Grim was currently looking contemplatively out the window from his perch on the back of the couch and Devon wasn't quite ready to go to sleep right away.

It seemed Jack had sent out a text to the group chat shortly after their meeting with Azul to let the others know what was going on. Ace and Deuce mentioned talking to Riddle to see if Devon could stay at Heartslabyul with them while Epel, though sympathetic, didn't think it was a good idea to extend an invitation to Pomefiore because he didn't want to expose someone he actually liked to Vil's…Vil-ness unnecessarily. Sebek, meanwhile, admonished Ace, Deuce and Grim for getting into this situation to begin with, sparking an argument between the three of them to the point that Epel got fed up and created an entirely separate group chat between himself, Jack, and Devon entitled 'Holders of the Brain Cell'.

"Hey Dev," Grim whispered, pulling Devon's attention away from her phone. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

Devon nodded as she put her phone away. "Always."

"Are you… Are you mad at me about this whole thing with Azul?" Grim asked hesitantly, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it.

Devon sighed. As much as she wanted to lie to Grim, she knew it wasn't going to do either of them any favors. "Honestly…yeah, I am. Just a little bit, though, and not for the reason you probably think."

"Oh…," Grim replied dejectedly, ears drooping sadly, before the second part of Devon's sentence sunk in, causing him to tilt his head. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"I'm not mad at you for making a deal with Azul," Devon explained quietly. "I mean, I was at first but then I saw first-hand how he manipulates people, backs 'em into a corner by picking at their weaknesses and insecurities. Besides, a ton of people took his bait, even upperclassmen who should've known better so I don't think it's right to only fault you here."

"Are you angry about Ramshackle, then?" Grim asked.

"Mmm…yes and no," Devon replied. "I'm not blaming you for us losing Ramshackle for the time being. That was ultimately my choice, so it's on me if we lose it. What I'm angry about is how quick you were to demand I do something about the whole anemone thing when Jade and Floyd approached us in the cafeteria earlier. I get that you're in a crappy situation but the fact is that it was your choice to sign that contract and then you just…I dunno, expected me to swoop in and fix it when it didn't go the way you'd planned. You didn't even ask me to, either; you just said "I'm counting on you!" and then you were dragged off. I just… Sometimes I feel like…" She struggled to find the words, not wanting to be too hard on the little monster. He could be an absolute pain in the rear but she still loved him like family.

"Like I don't appreciate what you do for me?" Grim finished for her, recalling his conversation with the Savanaclaw boys earlier.

"…Yeah," Devon replied hesitantly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, okay. You're like a little brother to me and I certainly don't mind doing things for you. I'm not expectin' you to grovel at my feet every time I do you a favor or anything, but I would like a thank you every now and then."

Grim was quiet for a moment as he let Devon's words sink in. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't actually remember the last time he'd thanked her for anything. For him, actions always spoke louder than words so he didn't feel the need to vocalize his gratitude but…he also couldn't remember when he ever did anything to thank her either. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she had a point earlier: she didn't really stand to gain anything by making a deal with Azul. The terms of the deal didn't actually give her anything even if she did manage to meet Azul's terms and if she didn't, she'd lose the only place she could really call home in Twisted Wonderland. She knew that and she made the deal anyway to try and help free him (and Ace and Deuce and everyone else, but they weren't the ones who mattered right now). He hummed to himself before climbing down from the back of the couch and onto Devon's stomach on all fours, butting his head underneath her chin in a gesture of affection while taking care to avoid bopping her in the face with the anemone on his head.

"I guess I can see where you're comin' from," he said. "Every good boss knows when to show their appreciation for their henchmen and I've been doin' a pretty bad job. For what it's worth, I really do appreciate you stickin' your neck out for me the way you are. And for gettin' me outta trouble with the teachers so much. And for takin' care of me all the time. You're…You're like family to me too, Dev." He gave her a determined look. "And I'm gonna do whatever I can to help you. We are not losin' Ramshackle to Azul."

Devon smiled gently at Grim and reached up to rub behind one of his ears, making sure to be careful of the anemone. Her smile only widened when she heard him begin to purr. "Thank you, Grim. I appreciate that. Don't you worry, okay? We'll stick it to Azul so bad, he'll have nightmares about makin' deals for months. We've got this."

Ending Notes: Devon and Grim are temporary Savanaclaw residents now! And since Devon kicked the crap out of those jerk upperclassmen, nobody's going to make a stink about it. We also got some quality Devon and Grim bonding time which is always nice.

Now that the Club Wear Jamil card has been released on the Japanese server, I'm even more excited to write Devon going to one of the Basketball Club's games at some point. Like…I need to write her reacting to him.

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