Author's Note: Just a head's up, there is a bit of violence described near the end of this chapter courtesy of an increasingly unhinged Regina. Part of it is more slapstick but the other part is very much not.

That night, back in the Savanaclaw lounge, Devon, Grim, and Jack filled Ruggie and Leona in on the events of the day.

"Are you serious?" Ruggie asked. "You guys actually went to the Coral Sea?"

Leona sighed, pressing his fingertips to his temple. "So do you all have any brain cells between you or what?"

"Myah?!" Grim exclaimed. "You're the one who said to get the ball rolling!"

"Yeah, by comin' up with a solid plan, not by chargin' headlong into the sea," Leona clarified. "You've only got a limited amount of time to get this task done. Tryin' to take on merfolk in the water is the same as walking right into a carnivore's mouth."

"Wait… Did you guys know the twins were mermen this whole time?" Jack asked.

"Pretty much," Leona replied simply, crossing his arms.

"I saw Floyd in his natural form in a joint swimming class we had last summer," Ruggie explained. He shuddered at the memory. "Lemme tell ya, if he came after me in the water like that, I'd be done for. End of story."

"It woulda been nice to know that before they nearly squeezed us to death!" Jack chided.

Leona shrugged. "You guys were the ones who ran off without bothering to gather any information." He gave them a self-satisfied smirk. "I'd have been glad to tell you everything if you'd actually thought to ask."

"Exactly," Ruggie agreed. "You gotta have all your ducks in a row before you go pickin' fights. Shishishishi! Back in the Savanna, those who don't tread carefully usually end up as someone's dinner."

"Grrr… I thought you two had changed at least a little bit, but you're still the same scheming jerks as before!" Grim complained.

"I'm guessin' Azul was plannin' on interferin' from the moment you made the deal, huh Dev?" Jack mused.

Devon nodded. "It sure seems that way."

"Way to state the obvious, Jack," Leona agreed.

"The Leech brothers are pretty much Azul's enforcers," Ruggie explained. "They're usually the ones that collect the collateral and compensation from anyone who signs a contract with him. Rumor has it they also run interference to make sure the contract terms can't be met."

"Dirty cheaters, the whole lot of 'em," Grim grumbled. A look of despair washed over his face. "And if Devon loses, I'm gonna be stuck workin' day and night for Azul forever!"

"That's not gonna happen, Grim," Devon reassured him as she patted his head. "We'll find a way outta this." She lowered her voice, muttering to herself uncertainly. "At least…I hope we will."

Leona's ears flicked toward Devon as she spoke before he turned his head slightly to glance at her, taking in her expression. He wasn't sure he'd ever actually seen her look unsure of herself before but now he could clearly see the worry in her eyes, the concern that she might really end up losing the only home she had in this world.

"Leona?" Ruggie asked, noticing his dorm leader's silence.

It wasn't like Leona to offer help to anyone without being forced into it but…

"Azul's Unique Magic is a golden contract scroll called It's A Deal," he supplied. "It lets him take one power from any target that signs one of his scrolls. In the event of a contract breach, the one who signed will be compelled to obey any and all of Azul's orders to a T."

"It's a pretty tricky spell to activate but has a big payoff if you do," Ruggie added. "The guy's vicious, I'll give him that."

"Any ability he takes is sealed inside the contract itself and stored so Azul can use it whenever he wants," Leona continued.

Jack's eyes widened. "So the reason he was able to use all those difficult high-level spells was because…"

Ruggie nodded. "Yep. Probably collateral he's taken from other signees."

"So he's been cheating from jump!" Jack exclaimed.

"Not necessarily," Ruggie argued. "The guy's gotta have some serious magical chops to make that Unique Magic of his work in the first place, so you can't exactly call him a fraud."

"I've never put my power up as collateral so I can't tell you how it works, myself," Leona added.

"Huh? Then what did you offer up when you made your deal, dorm head?" Jack asked.

Leona narrowed his eyes and glanced off to the side, growling low in his throat. "What's it matter? It's over and done with anyway. My point is that the contracts will remain in effect as long as those scrolls are around. That's why his offers are always so carefully worded."

"And gets suckers to agree to terms they can't possibly meet," Ruggie added.

"The only way to really win against Azul is to not make a contract with him at all," Leona finished with a smirk.

"So what are we supposed to do?!" Grim wailed.

Devon bit her thumb as she tried to come up with some sort of plan. "Yeah, I won't lie; things aren't lookin' too great for us, bud."

Leona heaved an exasperated sigh before leaning over and poking Devon's forehead. "C'mon princess, I know you've got a brain in there. Let's see you use it. That's how you beat someone smarter than you." He leaned back in his seat before smirking at her. "But if I were you, I'd work out some way to get rid of the contracts themselves.

"But those things are invulnerable!" Grim pointed out.

Leona heaved another sigh. "Okay seriously, just how dumb are you guys?"

"You're like a scammer's dream come true," Ruggie commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Grim demanded angrily.

"Why would you take Azul at his word when he told you the contracts couldn't be destroyed?" Ruggie challenged.

"Well…none of the anemone guys' attacks did anything when they tried swarming Azul before," Jack recalled.

"And it never occurred to you that that display was just an on-the-spot demonstration to bluff you guys?" Ruggie asked.

Devon quirked a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Every spell has its' limitations," Leona elaborated. "You remember how that little red brat's Unique Magic was able to seal other people's magic away, right? It seemed unstoppable at first but it had a weakness."

Devon nodded, recalling how Leona had been able to destroy Riddle's collar by overpowering it with his own magic.

"Not even the best mages can sling magic around however they want," Leona continued. "So all that bull about Azul's contract scrolls being indestructible is just ridiculous."

"So there's a way to destroy them after all," Jack mused before turning back to Devon and Grim. "Leona and Ruggie are right; we don't stand a chance goin' up against the Leech brothers underwater. We're better off going after the contracts themselves and destroyin' them but…," He paused and rubbed the back of his head, "I dunno. This feels a little like cheating to me."

"Come on, Jack," Ruggie replied, exasperated. "It's great and all that you've got principles and everything, but you've already tried beatin' Azul fair and square and got your asses handed to ya."

"Rgh…," Jack growled, though he wasn't actually able to argue.

"Let's be clear about this: you aren't dealin' with an upstanding businessman here," Leona reminded them. "Those three have cheated who knows how many people out of everything they have."

"They've got a point, Jack," Devon admitted. "Why should we have to play fair when they don't?"

Leona's lips quirked upward in a quick-and almost proud-looking-smile before he covered it up with another smirk. "Now you're gettin' it, princess. An underhanded victory is still a victory. As long as the contract is annulled, you win."

"Shishishishishi, that's our Leona!" Ruggie laughed. "A schemer through and through!"

"You haven't learned anything at all from before, have you?" Devon asked Leona, though there was no bite in her tone as she shook her head playfully.

Leona shrugged as he smiled lazily back at her. "Hey, it's like I said before: I do whatever it takes to win."

"An eye for an eye, huh?" Jack said before nodding resolutely. "Fine. Then let's spend the next two days staking out Azul so we can find the perfect moment to destroy those contracts!"

"Ah yes, very good. I've been meaning to add 'stalker' to my resume," Devon snarked.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Leona said as he stood up to leave.

"Wha-?! After all that, you're not gonna help us?!" Grim exclaimed.

Leona quirked a brow. "Excuse you? I practically gave you the answer already. It's up to you guys to figure out the rest. Later." With that, he turned on his heel and began walking back toward his room.

"Yeah, I think I'mma head out too," Ruggie said as he stood up and stretched. He followed after Leona, waving goodbye despite facing away from them. "Good luck, guys!"

"Seriously?! Those two're just a couple of heartless jerks!" Grim whined.

"Y'know Leona, it's not every day I see you offerin' up such useful advice without some kinda catch," Ruggie pointed out as he and Leona walked along one of the walkways suspended between two of the cliffsides that made up the Savanaclaw dorm.

"That right?" Leona replied, keeping his expression neutral as he walked on.

"I'm just sayin' that for all your big talk, I think you've got a soft spot for those freshmen," Ruggie teased with a playful smirk. "I mean, I already suspected you've had one for Devon ever since…the incident at the interdorms and then you went ahead and confirmed it for me by lettin' her and that monster cat of hers stay here."

Leona rolled his eyes. "Please. Don't make me laugh." He made sure his tone was as flippant as possible but Ruggie was right. Obviously he hadn't told anyone what had been discussed when Devon used her blessing on him to bring him back from his Overblot and, thankfully, Devon had enough sense to know to be discreet about what he'd revealed to her as well. Even so, there was no way to go through that kind of soul-baring with someone and not end up feeling just a little bit closer to them. The fact that she was somehow able to be kind to him without expecting anything in return, especially after they'd been on such bad terms before his Overblot and something that had left Ruggie baffled as well, piqued his curiosity. Before he realized it, his eyes were now drawn to her whenever she was within sight and his ears instinctively turned toward the sound of her voice. He had to admit that her company was…tolerable, especially compared to most of the other students at NRC and Ramshackle, though it was far from a royal palace, made for a decent place to waste time. …But there was no way he was about to let Ruggie know that. He gave the hyena his signature cocky smirk. "If I play my cards right, those three will figure out the octo-punk's weaknesses for me and I won't even have to lift a finger. Not that I'm holdin' my breath or anything."

"Mmhmm. I'm sure that's all it is," Ruggie replied, his own smirk still plastered on his face. He looked like he was about to say more when suddenly he whipped his head around and began to sniff the air. "Do you smell that?"

Leona sniffed the air as well. "Yeah. Smells like there's meat cookin'. Who'd be usin' the kitchen at this hour, though?"

Ruggie sniffed the air again, his short tail beginning to wag. "My money's on our favorite Ramshackle kitten." He turned in the direction of the kitchens. "I think I'mma head down there and check things out. Maybe she'll give me some of whatever she's makin' if I look pitiful enough."

Leona shook his head as Ruggie ran off. "He's absolutely shameless when it comes to food." He stood on the walkway for a moment, debating with himself, before heading off in the direction of the kitchen as well.

"Y'know, you really don't have to stay with me, Jack," Devon said as she set about cooking the meat for the arepas she was making, having made a stop at Sam's shop to pick up ingredients after their failed excursion to the Coral Sea, whipping up a quick marinade for the meat, and storing it in a small cool void (courtesy of Marina and Nyx's magic) until she felt the meat had marinated long enough. "Not that you're not welcome to hang out with me, of course; I just know you like to turn in early."

"I appreciate that but you're gonna want me here, trust me," Jack told her as he picked Grim up by the scruff of his neck to keep him from pinching any more of the ingredients. "C'mon Grim, seriously? Didn't Dev just give you some tuna so you'd be too busy stuffing your face to swipe this stuff?"

"Yeah, but I already ate it," Grim replied as he struggled to get out of Jack's grip. "'Sides, everyone knows I get some of whatever my henchman cooks up. That's the rule!"

Devon shook her head, not taking her eyes off the food on the stove. "Sorry Grim, but not this time. And Jack, please don't tell me you're keepin' yourself up just to stop Grim from sneakin' some food."

"Of course not. I know you and the Wisps can manage that just fine," Jack replied. His ears abruptly flicked toward the door to the kitchen and he turned his head to see what was going on. "I'm here to help you with the buzzards."

Devon followed Jack's gaze to see that several Savanaclaw students were hovering around the door to the kitchen, looking hopefully at the food but never actually stepping inside. Devon exchanged a confused look with Grim before refocusing on the students at the door. "Umm… You guys need somethin'?"

A few of the students jumped, as if just realizing they were plainly visible the entire time. "Uh…well…," one of them stammered. Devon recognized him as one of the upperclassmen Leona had had her fight before letting her and Grim stay at Savanaclaw.

"They caught a whiff of that meat you're cookin' and they're hopin' you'll throw 'em a bone," came a familiar voice, accompanied by approaching footsteps. Steel strode through the door a moment later, giving a side-eye to the upperclassmen. "Problem is, kid, they all watched you take on three of the strongest guys we've got in this dorm and hand their asses to 'em. That places you pretty high in the pecking order here-survival of the fittest and all-so they aren't about to barge in and demand you feed 'em but askin' for stuff politely ain't exactly in their wheelhouse, either."

Devon looked back toward everyone gathered in the doorway and quirked a brow. "Well? Is he right?"

One of the students shrugged. "Yeah, more or less."

Devon rolled her eyes playfully. "Well trust me, I'd love to let you guys in on these arepas-"

"Really?" one of the upperclassman she'd fought asked in disbelief. "You mean you ain't holdin' a grudge after…well, everything?"

"Eh, not really," Devon said with a shrug. "As far as I'm concerned, the issue was settled when I beat you in that fight. Besides, I don't think there's any point in holding a grudge when my energy's better spent tryin' to figure out how to bring Azul down. But as I was sayin', I don't mind cooking somethin' up for you guys, but these arepas here are for Leona and Ruggie so I can't let you have 'em. I'm also pretty strapped for cash right now so I doubt I can afford to buy enough-"

"Just tell us what you need and we'll take care of it," another of the upperclassmen Devon had taken down volunteered.

"For real?!" Grim asked as he finally broke free of Jack's grip and hopped onto Devon's shoulder. "You really wanna eat these things that bad?"

"Of course we do! Just make us some of whatever that is, we're beggin' ya!" a third student pleaded, giving Devon a desperate look.

"Hang on. Is the school store even open this late?" Devon asked.

Steel nodded. "It is. Sam usually has one of those shadow creatures of his mind the store whenever he's not there. There are plenty of students who prefer to shop when it's less crowded."

"Huh. Well you learn somethin' new every day, I guess," Devon quipped. "Alright. As long as you're willing to get me the stuff I need, I'd be happy to make some arepas for ya. I won't have time to let the meat marinate this time but I can make some salsa rosada for you instead."

She quickly wrote down the ingredients and quantities she needed and handed the paper off to one of the Savanaclaw students, prompting the group to scatter as she got back to the arepas she was currently working on.

"You know what they say about feedin' wild animals, right Devon?" Steel teased. "Now they won't leave ya alone. Ruggie's one thing but I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little surprised you decided to make somethin' for the dorm head. I've heard he can be pretty picky about what he eats. I guess it makes sense with him bein' a prince and all, but still."

Devon shrugged. "He's never complained about anything I've made for him before."

"You've cooked for him before? And he didn't find something to complain about?" Steel asked, surprised, only to bark out a quick laugh when Devon nodded in response. "He must really like you then. I mean, I think we all know he's got a soft spot for you but-"

"I suggest you stop flappin' those lips if you want to keep your ability to use them," growled a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Leona and Ruggie walk into the kitchen, Leona leveling a glare at Steel. "Do all coyotes have a habit of talking too much, Steel, or is it just you?"

"Didn't mean any harm, dorm head," Steel replied, holding his hands up in surrender. "Just makin' conversation."

"Yeah well, you oughta make like the rest of your dormmates and scram," Leona shot back.

Steel just shrugged in response before turning to Devon. "Make sure to save some of whatever it is you're makin' for me, okay? It really does smell incredible. I'll be back once the guys finish your errand."

"Sure thing, man," Devon laughed as Steel ruffled her hair before leaving the kitchen, shooting Leona one last smug look as he did so.

There was a somewhat tense silence in the room for a moment as Devon, Grim, and Jack tried to figure out what in the name of the Great Seven had just happened. Leona being grumpy was nothing new, but it seemed like Steel really got under his skin somehow. Fortunately-for Leona, at least-, Ruggie opted to break the silence.

"Hey so…you're makin' some of that for us, right kitten?"

Leona glanced over at Devon for the umpteenth time as the two of them sat in the Savanaclaw lounge. Jack, Ruggie, and the other dorm students had gone to bed once they'd finished eating and Flapjack had warped a tired Grim back to Leona's room as well, but he and Devon weren't quite ready to turn in just yet. The arepas were a big hit with everyone, naturally; not that it was terribly difficult to satisfy carnivorous beastmen, especially when meat was involved. Leona couldn't help but feel a sense of smug satisfaction when he'd heard that she'd initially only intended to make them for him (and Ruggie and Jack but they weren't important at the moment) and he made sure to keep eye contact with Steel as they ate. They truly were delicious, just like everything else Devon had made for him, yet all he could bring himself to say when she looked at him expectantly was that they were "passable". Devon rolled her eyes in response, but the playful twinkle in her eyes made it clear she understood what he was trying to tell her.

He watched as Devon began to sketch absentmindedly as she looked up at the stars, something he was quickly learning was becoming a habit of hers. He'd overheard her mentioning to Jack that she'd noticed the stars looked different in Savanaclaw than they did at Ramshackle, which made sense given that all the dorms existed within their own dimensions. Similarly, the stars in both places looked nothing like the ones from Devon's world, so it felt like there was always something new for her to see. He sat up and scooted closer to her to see what she was drawing, curious about how she was able to move her hand so confidently without even looking at what she was doing.

"What's the deal with these keys, princess?" he asked.

Devon jumped, slightly startled. She was off in her own world and had completely forgotten Leona was with her. She looked down at the paper she'd been doodling on only to see that she had, in fact, been drawing keys once again. She sighed and shook her head. "This again?"

Leona quirked a brow. "Again?"

"For over a month now-not long after your Overblot, actually-, I've been catching myself drawing keys like this when I let my mind wander," Devon explained, flipping through the notebook she was holding to show him pages of notes filled with identical keys doodled in the margins. "I have no idea what's causing it or what it means, but Lilia seems to think it has something to do with my blessing. Like, it's a sign it's getting stronger or something."

"Great. Just what I need, your powers getting even more annoying," Leona snarked.

"Hey now, that "annoying power" saved your life, good sir," Devon snarked back.

"Hmm, so it did. Well forgive me for leaping for joy. I've got a bad back, you know," Leona replied before reclining again.

Devon giggled before turning to face him. "Y'know, I'm a little surprised you're hangin' around out here with me. I figured you'd just head back to your room like everyone else."

"Normally I would, but the furball's in there right now," Leona replied, "and between bein' stuck alone with him or with you… Well, it's really no contest."

Devon let out an exaggerated dramatic gasp.

"Oh no…," Leona groaned, realizing too late what he'd said.

"Do my ears deceive me?!" Devon exclaimed. "Has the great Leona Kingscholar finally admitted that he is actually fond of a little semi-magicless human like me~?" She stood up from the lounge chair she was sitting in and flopped down onto the one Leona was reclining on, nestling herself between his legs. "I think this the best day of my life!"

"You're impossible," Leona grumbled, but there was no real bite behind his words.

Devon was pleased to see that he made no attempt to move away from her; in fact, his tail had lazily wrapped around one of her legs. "Impossibly amazing? I know. It's just one of my many genetic gifts." She giggled again as she settled back against him. "Y'know, for what it's worth, I'm really glad you recovered from your Overblot."

"Yes, princess," Leona replied dryly. "I'm also over the moon that I didn't die in a fit of blot-induced insanity."

"Great. Glad we're on the same page," Devon replied as she reached up to boop Leona's nose, ignoring the dirty look he sent her at the action. "I know we didn't exactly get off to a great start but I'm still kinda glad I had that initial bad impression of you. Because I'm having so much fun learning how wrong it was."

Leona could only sit there, completely stunned and unable to think of anything-snarky or otherwise-to say in response, though his tail did ever-so-slightly tighten its grip on her leg. He was grateful that Devon didn't try to push him to respond nor did she turn around to face; he couldn't risk her getting a look at the completely flustered look on his face. It had been over a month now since he and Devon had become at least slightly friendlier with one another but he still wasn't used to her unprompted compliments. Sure, his brother would make try to compliment him whenever Leona was forced into a room with him, but it always came off as condescending, a way to placate him since there was no way for him to inherit the throne. The fact that Falena didn't seem to realize how he came across irritated Leona even more. Devon though…she didn't waste her breath complimenting his intelligence while lecturing him in the same breath about how he could put it to use; she made sure to compliment the effort he was already making, letting him know that at the very least she saw and appreciated what he was doing. She made sure to say something after every Spelldrive Club practice she went to; he was grateful Epel usually went out his way to invite her since it saved Leona the trouble of doing it himself and having to admit that he actually wanted her around. It might not have been an entire kingdom singing his praises, but he was coming to realize that having even one person make him feel seen and understood was a far better feeling than the droning of a bunch of sycophantic courtiers.

He and Devon sat in comfortable silence for a while as he tried to make sense of the sea of emotions raging inside of him. He glanced down at her, tempted to order her to take responsible (somehow) for making him-ugh, feel things when he noticed her looking at the stars again. It reminded him of something he'd heard back home when he was a child. "You know, in the Sunset Savanna, they say that the stars are actually the great kings of the past and that they'd guide you if you ever felt alone."

"Really?" Devon asked, blinking sleepily up at him.

"Yep," Leona replied. "Personally, I think it's just a way to keep little royals from actin' up. Everyone knows that stars are just balls of gas burning billions of miles away."

"Maybe, but I think it's nice to have something like that to believe in," Devon said as she closed her eyes.

Leona was about to make some comeback about Devon being too sentimental for her own good, but when he looked down he saw that she had fallen asleep. 'Of course she did,' he thought, rolling his eyes despite the small fond smile on his face. "Now I'm gonna have to carry your dumb ass back to my room, princess," Leona mumbled, knowing full well that Devon couldn't hear him at the moment. "I'm not sure how I feel about your little habit of makin' me carry you places."

It was true; this would be the third time in a relatively short span of time that he'd ended up having to carry her. The first was after Grim knocked her out in the Spelldrive exhibition and the first time he realized that she actually had the potential to look pretty cute when she wasn't getting on his nerves. Once he'd been sent to the infirmary himself, he had a hard time focusing on much except how sweet she looked as she slept. The second time had just been a way to keep up an act to get them out of having to attend some assembly Crowley had planned: something about the board of education coming to visit the campus or something. Neither of them were looking forward to it, so Devon hatched a plan to get them out of it, urging Leona to play along with her. They'd arrived at the Mirror Chamber in their ceremonial robes like everyone else, but Devon pretended to pass out a few minutes in with Leona only managing to catch her on reflex just before she face-planted onto the floor. They'd been excused from the ceremony but Devon had been rather insistent on him carrying her all the way back to Ramshackle "so nobody would get suspicious".

"I'm not in the mood to stand up just yet," Leona said quietly as he began to play absentmindedly with Devon's curls, "so I guess I'll just ask that red Wisp of yours to warp us back in a minute."

Meanwhile, in the Octavinelle dorm lounge…

"Devon and Leona, hmm?" Azul mused thoughtfully as he crossed his arms.

"Indeed. It would appear that she has taken up temporary residence at Savanaclaw," Jade supplied.

"I see…," Azul replied, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "That… Well, that falls just a bit outside of my estimations, I must admit."

"So what're we gonna do here? You want me to squeeze him and be done with it?" Floyd asked hopefully, eager to get a hit in on someone after Regina managed to maneuver a large paperweight to land on his head after he'd deflected everything else they'd thrown at him with his Unique Magic. The incident had left a decent-sized lump on his head and Floyd had been in a funk ever since.

Azul deliberated for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I think it's best to leave Leona be."

"Pardon me, but wouldn't it be best to nip this in the bud?" Jade interjected. "Leona would make for a troublesome enemy, after all."

"Leona is a rather slothful lion at heart," Azul reminded them. "It isn't like him to stick his neck out for the benefit of another. I suspect he only allowed Devon to remain at Savanaclaw because he owes her for her assistance during his Overblot. As such, I doubt he'd go to any further lengths to assist her. I agree that he isn't someone I'd want as my enemy, but I also know that he feels similarly about me." He gave the Leech twins a confident smirk. "He's not about to make an enemy of me by choice."

"So you'd prefer not to kick the hornet's nest, as they say," Jade summarized. "Very well. Understood."

"Maaaaan… And here I was hopin' I'd finally get to wipe that smug smirk off his face too," Floyd huffed.

"Just continue keeping an eye on Devon for the time being," Azul ordered.

"Of course/Yessir," Jade and Floyd agreed before leaving to turn in for the night.

Azul stood up to head back to his own room when he heard his smartphone ring. He checked the caller ID and saw that it was one of the dorm students he'd sent to scope out Ramshackle to see how they could best arrange the building as a Mostro Lounge branch location once Devon inevitably failed to fulfill the terms of her contract. He was aware that he might be jumping the gun just a little since Devon still had two days to get the picture from the museum, but he also knew that the deck was stacked in his favor. "Yes?" he said as he answered the call.

A horrendously loud cacophony could be heard on the other end of the line. He could just barely make out the screams of several of the other dorm students he'd sent to the old dorm over the sounds of slamming and scraping and what sounded like at least a couple of them being dragged along the floor.

"Boss, we've gotta get outta here!" the caller yelled. "One of those Wisp things is still here! I thought you said they'd all left when Jade and Floyd threw the girl that was livin' here out!"

"I said most of them had left when Devon and Grim were evicted," Azul corrected. "It seems the one enchanted the dorm decided to remain. I highly doubt one Wisp can be causing you all that much trouble; Regina might have landed one hit on Floyd out of pure luck but I'm certain all the bluster I'm hearing is just an intimidation tactic."

"You don't understand, Boss!" the student protested, trying to make it through a doorway before Regina could slam it shut on his face and rapidly open it back up to hit him with enough force to break his nose. "Whatever this thing is, it means business! Without Floyd's magic, we've been tossed all over this place, some of us were lost for hours in some kind of underground maze after it dragged us through a door in the lounge, we've been pelted with all manner of sharp and/or heavy objects, and every so often there's this… Well, I'm not really sure what it is but it sounds like a horrendously loud screech. We've been trying to wait it out but I think that's only making the Wisp angrier so-"

The student was cut off another scream from one of his dormmates as he was dragged toward the kitchen via the floorboards. The student on the phone with Azul was helpless to do more than watch as his colleague was tossed into the air, his eyes widening in terror as the oven door opened on its own, the inside heating up so intensely that honest-to-goodness flames erupted from inside it. Unable to stop himself, the dragged student fell head-first into the oven, the impact leaving him unable to move for a few quick seconds. The student on the phone rushed over to pull his dormmate out but the damage was already done; he could already see the burns beginning to blister.

"Hello?" called Azul's voice from the phone. "What's going on over there?"

"Well it looks like we can add what are most likely third-degree burns to the list of injuries sustained at this Seven-forsaken place," the student remarked. "Seriously we need to-" He was cut off again as a large knife rocketed towards them and stopped just short of the pair before cutting into the burned boy's dorm uniform scorched jacket. All the color drained from the caller's face as a jagged 'HA HA HA' were cut into the fabric. "Yeah, I'm rounding everyone up and we're getting out of here, Azul. Now. This Wisp is clearly out for blood now."

"Understood," Azul agreed. "I've got some healing potions on hand for anyone who has been injured. I'll be waiting for you all in the lounge." With that, he disconnected the call and glared down at his phone for a moment. "Seems I won't be able to do much more until I bring Regina under my control via Devon." He nodded to himself. "Very well. There's just a couple of days left anyway."

Once again, Malleus had managed to slip past Sebek and Silver to go on one of his solo night walks. He appeared outside of Ramshackle dorm intent on calling on his favorite child of man when he saw the front door open on its own and a gaggle of Octavinelle students were flung outside. He could immediately sense the anger radiating off of Regina, which he found odd considering how mellow they tended to be. He also noticed that several of the students were injured and more than a few were limping. He went on his way, deciding that tonight might not be the best night to visit the dorm.

"I wonder what that was all about," he mused. "I shall have to ask my child of man the next time we see one another."

Ending Notes: Yeah, Regina gets a little weird when their charges aren't around. A very protective parent, indeed.

I don't want to say too much about the new event on the Japanese TWST server because I don't want to spoil anything for the English-only players, but OMG I have been waiting for an event like this for forever! I can't wait to cover it! There's so much potential and I absolutely love events that take us away from the main NRC campus!

That incident Leona recalls about Devon pretending to pass out is a little summary of what I envisioned for Devon's ceremonial robes vignette. I'm thinking about posting a collection of little short stories as a companion piece for this story that serve as Devon's card vignettes (her school and PE uniforms, labwear, ceremonial robes, etc) if people would want that. She'd have a few event cards as well, though she wouldn't get one for all of them. Let me know if you guys are interested. I want to get farther in the main story before I start worrying about the vignettes but it never hurts to get the idea out there.

I can imagine Floyd being just a little paranoid coming to Ramshackle after the Octavinelle arc is over. I can also imagine Regina holding a grudge against Azul for a while after the arc ends and doesn't really let up with it until after the mess in Scarabia. That's part of the reason why the Octatrio's hangout time with Devon usually happens either at school or at Octavinelle. Azul doesn't need to see Regina magically tying the curtains into a noose whenever Devon's got her back turned.

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