Author's Note: I had originally intended for this chapter to be longer, but I had to take some time off this week due to health reasons. I'm feeling much better now, so I should be back in the saddle for sure for the next chapter.
"Hey Devon, hold up a sec!"
The sound of someone calling her caused Devon to turn around to see a vaguely familiar Diasomnia student approaching. She couldn't quite place where she'd seen him before, but she'd had plenty of unfamiliar students approach her ever since Azul's Overblot. Masterminding the plan to destroy his contracts-and thus free all the students he'd swindled-had made her something of a celebrity on the campus. The fact that so many of them had been eye-witnesses to Devon's blessing in action also meant that even those who weren't outright friendly with her now at least treated her with a degree of respect.
That was the upside, at least.
The downside, on the other hand…
"What's up, man?" Devon asked as the student caught up to her.
"You're friends with Azul and the Leech brothers, right?" the student asked.
'Ay basura, here we go again,' Devon thought, eying the boy warily. "…Yes."
"Sweet! Hey, can you do me a huge favor?" The boy didn't even wait for Devon to reply before he launched into his sob story. "See, I kind of ended up Azul's bad side but it totally wasn't my fault!"
"Uh-huh," Devon replied, thoroughly unconvinced. This wasn't the first time someone had approached her to try and get the Octatrio off their backs about something. She studied his face as he prattled on before quickly holding up her hand as she remembered where she'd seen him before. "Wait, wait, wait. You're in class 2-D, right? Seat 14?"
The student blinked. "Yeah… How'd you know that?"
"Because Azul told me you'd probably try to hunt me down at some point," Devon replied. "I know all about you and your buddies tryin' to be slick and pull a dine-and-dash stunt a couple days ago. Personally, I think it's pretty stupid to do something like at a business that's owned and operated entirely by people you go to school with, but you do you. He also told me that you'd agreed to work at the lounge for a week without pay to make up for it starting yesterday, but you never showed."
'Wha…," the boy stammered, caught off-guard. He recovered quickly, shaking his head and offering her a placating smile. "No, no, you've got it all wrong. I didn't mean to walk off without paying; I thought they were gonna take my meal off the bill since it wasn't made right."
"Is that why you ate half of it?" Devon asked dryly. The boy opened his mouth to argue, but Devon cut him off before he could get a word out. "You had a choice to either pay for your food or work in the lounge; you decided to work in the lounge. Azul's not asking for anything unreasonable here, so I'm not going to talk to him to see if he'll let you off the hook."
"Oh, but you'll put your dorm on the line to help a bunch of people you don't even know because they were stupid enough to make a deal with him?" the Diasomnia student asked, all traces of his earlier friendliness gone.
Devon nodded. "Pretty much. Azul was the one trying to cheat those people in that instance and now you're trying to cheat him in this one. So no, I won't be helping you."
"You don't think forcing me to work without pay is cheating too?" the boy asked.
"You don't think you should've thought of that before you tried to scam a free meal?" Devon retorted. She turned on her heel and started to walk away when she felt the boy grab her tightly by the wrist. She glanced back at him, unimpressed. "Really? This is how you're gonna play now that you're not gettin' your way? Tryin' to shake me down seems like way too much effort when you could just, I dunno, take responsibility for what you did."
"You listen to me," the boy growled. "I don't know what sort of special little power you have, but I think you've been letting it get to your head. You still can't use magic the way the rest of us can, so I'd suggest you get off your high horse and show some respect for your betters."
"If telling you that I'm not going to help you get away with stealing counts as being on a high horse, I'll happily stay right where I am, thanks," Devon shot back. "Also, I've got plenty of respect for "my betters". I just don't consider you one of 'em."
The Diasomnia student tightened his grip on her wrist. "If you keep mouthing off like that, I'll-"
A low growl rumbled behind them, cutting the boy off. The pair turned to see a Savanaclaw student-a wolf beastman, by the looks of it-standing there, his teeth bared as he glared at the Diasomnia student.
"You'll what?" the Savanaclaw student asked challengingly.
The Diasomnia boy could only sputter in response. He clearly hadn't expected a Savanaclaw student of that wasn't Jack (or Ruggie or Leona if the moon was full) to come to Devon's defense. The look on Devon's face also seemed to indicate that she was pleasantly surprised by the gesture.
"I got a bad feelin' when I saw you tailin' after her the second she went off by herself," the Savanaclaw boy said, "and I believe she told you already that she wasn't gonna help you so take my advice and back off."
"Prolly oughta listen to the guy, Diasomnia fry," piped up a familiar voice and the Diasomnia boy paled when he saw the Leech twins approaching them. Floyd rested his arm on Devon's head before giving the boy an unnerving grin. "We've been lookin' all over for ya ever since you skipped outta work."
"And to think we'd find you harassing one of our dear friends," Jade tutted, shaking his head scornfully. "Azul will be most disappointed to hear about this." He looked over at his brother. "What do you think, Floyd? Is further punishment in order?"
"Ahaha! I think so, Jade," Floyd replied. "After all," he straightened up before leaning closer to loom over the Diasomnia boy, his grin twisted into his patented 'don't mess with me' face, "messing with Shrimpy is my job."
With that, the twins dragged the hapless Diasomnia boy away, waving to Devon over their shoulders before leaving her alone with the wolf beastman that had come to her defense. "Thanks for steppin' in back there, man."
The Savanaclaw boy shrugged. "Wasn't a big deal. Like I said, I got a bad feeling when I noticed him followin' you. I know you could've handled that on your own, but pack mentality is really hard for us beastmen to fight. Especially wolves."
Devon quirked a brow. "Pack mentality?"
The beastman smirked at her. "Not sure why you look so surprised. You've earned your spot in the Savanaclaw pack so, like it or not, we'll be watchin' your back from now on." He glanced around. "Why are you off by yourself, anyway? I know that cat of yours doesn't like leavin' lunch early, but what about that little green ball that always floats near ya?"
"Crewel asked me to head to the staff room to grab some materials for 1-A's lab today," Devon explained. "Grim didn't want to come with me, so I asked Zephyr to stay behind and make sure he didn't get into trouble since I can't trust Ace and Deuce to handle it. I wasn't plannin' to be gone that long."
"Gotcha," the Savanaclaw student replied. "I'm in 1-C and I'm pretty sure we're havin' a joint lab with your class today. Crewel asked me to pick up some stuff for my class too, so I'll just come with you if that's cool."
Devon smiled and nodded. "Cool with me, but we'd better get movin' or we'll be late."
"Good call," the boy agreed. "I always get uneasy whenever he cracks that whip thing at me."
"What do you think she's working on over there?" asked one of the Octavinelle students to a handful of his dormmates that were working as servers at the Mostro Lounge. Devon had stopped in shortly after they opened their doors for the evening, requested a table near the back of the lounge where she had a view of the entire dining area, and almost immediately pulled out her sketchbook at got to work on…something. She'd been at for the better part of two hours now, pausing occasionally to glance out into the dining room and people-watching before taking a sip of her drink and getting back to work.
"No idea," another server replied. "I kind of want to go over there and make sure she's doing okay, but I don't want to interrupt either. Nothing worse than someone breaking your focus when you're clearly in the zone."
"Shrimpyyyy~!" As if on cue, Floyd strode out of the kitchen and made a beeline straight for Devon's table. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming? Now I'm gonna have to squeeze you twice as hard."
"Bring it on, Floyd. You know I'll squeeze you right back," Devon retorted, knowing full well that Floyd's squeezes were far more powerful than hers could ever hope to be. "I told Azul I'd be droppin' by today. I was gonna shoot you and Jade a text once I got here, but then I just got on a roll with this little project I'm doin' so…"
Floyd glanced down at her sketchbook to see what she'd been working on. "Is this a drawing of the lounge?"
Devon nodded. "A rough one, yeah. I'm planning on doing a larger painting of it, but I wanted to map it out first. Ya know, perspective and dimensions and all that. I'm planning on adding some non-descript people in there too, so I've watching how the customers and staff move though the room to get a sense of where I'm gonna put everyone."
"You're gonna put me in it though, right?" Floyd asked.
"I can if you want me to," Devon agreed with a laugh.
"If I may, what made you decide to do a painting of the lounge?" asked Jade as he and the handful of servers from before stepped up beside Floyd to get a better look at the drawing.
Devon shrugged. "I've always liked doing drawings and paintings of my favorite spots, so I figured I'd do a Night Raven College edition and paint my favorite spots on campus. I'm hoping to get one done for each of the dorms and probably a few around the main campus as well. I'd like to do one of Main Street, but I'm not sure how feasible it is to people-watch there since it's so high traffic. I'm not about hang out in the middle of the road sketching out the rough draft like a weirdo, so I'll probably end up just taking a few pictures to base the painting off of."
"You guys should see the one she did of Heartslabyul's tea garden," piped up a Heartslabyul student seated nearby. He got up and walked over to them, pulling out his phone to show them a picture he'd taken of Devon's painting. "We were blown away when she finally showed it to us. Riddle offered to buy it from her on the spot and hung it up in the dorm lounge. Also," He sent her a mischievous look, "I love how you kept saying you were trying to avoid putting anybody specific in the painting but that," He gestured to an orange-haired figure that looked like it was taking a selfie, "is clearly Cater."
"Hey, I couldn't help it!" Devon defended herself. "He got all pouty when I told him I was planning on keeping the figures in the painting vague and I can't resist his puppy-dog eyes. I'm a weak, weak woman, I admit it."
"Well, weakness aside, you've clearly got quite the artistic talent, Devon," Jade commented. "I'm quite eager to see how your painting of the lounge will turn out."
"Same," one of the other Octavinelle students agreed. "If it's not already spoken for, I'd be happy to buy it from you once you finish it. What do you charge?"
The crowd dispersed as Devon and the student worked out a price for the prospective painting and a timeframe for when she would have it completed. Azul chimed in during the conversation (likely having materialized at the mention of money) and offered to draw up a contract confirming all the details…and offering his services to Devon as an 'agent' to help make sure no one tried to cheat her out of her hard work. She half-expected him to demand a cut of her profits as a service fee, but he made no such request.
"What can I say? I just enjoy the art of the deal," Azul had told her when she pressed him about it.
Devon rolled her eyes playfully at his response but bumped her shoulder against his gratefully before settling back in to finish the rest of her sketch, the Octatrio stopping by periodically to see how it was coming along.
"It's about time you showed up, princess," Leona commented as his ears flicked toward the sound of someone stepping carefully over and through the plants that blocked his favorite napping spot in the botanical gardens from view. He kept his eyes closed, but he knew the person approaching was Devon from their scent. "I thought our deal was that as long as it's after school hours, you come runnin' when I call for ya."
"I'm a woman of my word, mi rey, but I never agreed to come running," Devon retorted as she settled down next to the prince. She couldn't help but smile as Leona wasted no time moving to rest his head on her lap, her hands instinctively carding through his silky brown hair. "Ya know, I was a little surprised that you went for this when I suggested it as payment for helping us out with Azul."
"Yeah well, you've got a gift-," Leona began, stopping short as his brain short-circuited when Devon's fingers brushed against the base of his ears, "-and I'd be an idiot not to capitalize on it, especially if nobody else knows about this little talent of yours." He cracked one eye open to look up at her. "You'd better not do this for anyone else, understand?"
Devon rolled her eyes playfully, watching as Leona's tail twitched contentedly. "Please. As if you could stop me if I really wanted to do this for someone besides you. You don't have to worry, though. I doubt anyone would like this as much as you seem to."
"I respectfully beg to differ," Leona countered, a deep rumbling sound bubbling up from deep within his chest as Devon continued. "I have it on good authority that most beastmen would probably go feral over the scalp massages you give."
"Heh. That almost sounded like a compliment," Devon teased, only to let out a squeak when Leona's tail reached up to gently swat her on the forehead before wrapping around her wrist.
"Don't read too much into it," Leona replied as he closed his eyes again.
The pair settled into a comfortable silence. Devon continued playing with Leona's hair and gently scratching his scalp and around his ears, Leona's shifting and tilting his head to give her better access to whatever spots he wanted her to pay attention to. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt at ease with anyone touching him (not that he'd ever allowed many people to do so) and while he'd never admit it, he considered what they went through with Azul a small price to pay to be able to enjoy this whenever he wanted. He moved his head slightly, angling himself just enough to take in Devon's scent without being obvious about it, and felt himself relax enough more as that comforting 'coming home' feeling her scent always seemed to carry with it overtook him.
For her part, Devon had noticed that she'd begun to feel her stress melt away whenever she played with Leona's hair; that was actually part of the reason she'd suggested it to him from the get-go. At first, she'd likened it to how calming it was to pet Ghost, her cat from back home, but there was something about just being around Leona that had a soothing effect on her. She wasn't sure if it was how nonchalant he was about pretty much everything or if it was because he was-surprisingly-one of the only people in Twisted Wonderland she genuinely felt safe around, but she wasn't about to complain. She loved all the friends she'd made, but she'd be lying if she said some of them weren't the cause of most of her headaches.
She heard Leona's breathing even out and glanced down to see that he was sleeping soundly, his head still in her lap with his face turned toward her stomach. A warm smile spread over her lips at the sight of him looking so peaceful and before she could stop herself, she leaned down to press a quick kiss to what she could reach of his forehead. She felt her face heat up as she realized what she'd just done and she straightened herself up as best she could without jostling him. Luckily for her, Leona merely nuzzled into her stomach and didn't stir any further.
'Okay… I think that's enough impulsive decisions for today, Devon. Stop bein' a creep,' Devon chided herself. Try as she might, she was still unable to tear her eyes away from the sleeping prince. 'Even if he is hands-down one of the most gorgeous people I've ever met, inside and out.'
Devon leaned back until her back met the tree trunk she'd been resting against, a fond look in her eyes as she watched over Leona.
Ending Notes: And with that, Octavinelle is officially done! Phantom Bride is up next and I hope you all are as pumped as I am! It's hero time, Acey! Gotta save Idia from going ghost permanently and Dominic from another shot to his sanity because that poor boy is gonna be stressin'!
Looks like Devon's little demiromantic butt is finally realizing that she's catching feelings for Leona. Wait until she finally pieces together that she's fallen for four people simultaneously.
I love the idea of Azul just materializing whenever his money senses start tingling. Like, as soon as someone offered to buy Devon's painting, he's just like, "Do you need an agent? I am now your agent."
I hope y'all will forgive me for this chapter being on the shorter side. Like I said before, I was dealing with some health issues last week and I had to take some time to manage those. Thankfully, I'm doing okay again so I'll be able to give a full 100% to the next chapter.
Thank you so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Geekinthepink, out!