"H-HEY!" Deuce protested, breathing heavily as he looked back over his shoulder. "They're still comin'!"
"Hey, heeeeeey!~" Kat heard the unkempt, languid twin-- Floyd?-- call, not sounding very out-of-breath at all. "Wait uuuuup~ We just wanna talk, hooooonest!~"
"Tch--!!" Riddle scoffed, glaring back. "And just WHO would wait for the likes of YOU?! Everyone-- FULL RETREAT!"
Kat, with Cater still holding her arm, didn't even bother looking back. Holding onto the spluttering Grim, she put her head down, focusing on running.
At least it wasn't in the dark this time-- and she could actually see where they were going.
Ducking into the main castle, they kept running, passing into the foyer area and down the front stairs.
When they reached Main Street, Riddle barked another, slightly winded-sounding order. "I believe-- this should be far enough... Halt!"
Stopping, Cater let go of Kat's arm, taking a few steps back and panting.
"Hoooo... S-Sorry about the whole touching thing again, Kitty-Kat," he said, giving a wan smile. "But trust me-- you do NOT wanna get left behind with those two..."
"N-No, it's-- it's fine," Kat panted back, wobbling over to one of the statues and leaning against it. "I-- got that feeling, too... Thanks, Cater."
Grim, who'd practically wrapped himself around her arm, finally relaxed a bit.
"Haah... Haah..." He gasped, looking frazzled as he extricated his claws from her sleeve, dropping down to the ground. "G-Geez-- that was SCARY! What was WITH those guys just now?!"
Regaining his composure along with his breath, Riddle straightened up, readjusting his tie and lapels. "Humph... Well, don't ask ME-- I certainly don't have the answers. Those two have utterly baffled me ever since we were first-years..."
"Ahhhh..." Shaking his head, Cater leaned against another statue, hand on the back of his neck. "Yep-- those two definitely have a 'fuck around and find out' kinda vibe... Emphasis on the finding out."
"You got THAT right," Ace grumbled, coming over next to Kat with his arms crossed. "I wouldn't wanna target 'em if I was the culprit... Actually, I don't think I'd even wanna get anywhere NEAR 'em."
"Mmm," Deuce murmured in agreement, nodding.
After everybody managed to catch their breath, Cater grinned, clapping his hands together. "Phew-- okay, now that THAT'S over, how 'bout we make this next one the last stop on Cay-kun's Check for today? It's getting kinda late-- and I'm sure we all need a breather after that last one."
Kat looked around at the others, who all seemed pretty okay now.
She was already pretty tired, but-- hey, it was only one more stop... Fingers crossed that nothing would happen this time around.
"Yeah, sure," she agreed, standing up from her lean against the statue and shrugging. "Who is it?"
"From Savanaclaw House-- it's Jack Howl-kun, first-year!" Cater declared cheerfully. "He's a killer athlete... In fact, rumor has it that scouts from all the major league teams had their eye on him all the way back in middle school!"
"...Wow," Kat said, blinking in surprise. "A first-year? So... He's, what, like, sixteen? That's wild..."
"Yeah, it is," Deuce agreed, nodding with an impressed look. "Okay... At this time, he'd... Probably already be back at his dorm, right?"
"This time?" Riddle asked, glancing down at his left wrist. "Oh... is it five o'clock already? My..."
Lowering his hand, he looked around at the others. "According to the Queen of Hearts' rule number 346, 'croquet must not be played after five o'clock PM'. So-- I believe it would be best for me to head back to the dorm, in order to make certain that no rule violations occur in my absence."
"Tch... Whaaat, you're STILL goin' on about those rules?" Grim asked flatly, ears drooping. "I thought you'd eased up on those a little, but you're just as much of a stickler as ever..."
Riddle bristled, blushing a little as he crossed his arms. "Th-That-- isn't true!" He protested quietly, scowling. "I assure you, I have been far more lenient with the rules than I have in the past..."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!" Cater hummed with a nod. Sidling over, he gave Riddle a light, affectionate bump with his shoulder. "It may not look like it from the outside, but he really has... He's waaaay nicer than before! But, hey-- that serious, straight-and-narrow side of Riddle-kun is also a good point about him, you know?"
Grinning, he slapped him lightly on the back, nodding in the direction of the Hall of Mirrors. "So, with that being said-- we've all gotta get to the Hall anyway, so? How 'bout we all walk together?"
"Of course," Riddle smiled, looking up at Cater, then around at the others. "Very well, then-- shall we go?"
"Right, Housewarden," Deuce agreed, nodding eagerly as Riddle and Cater started walking.
"Yes, siiiir," Ace chorused, a little sarcastically. He and Deuce started following, with Kat in between them. Grim, darting between their feet, trotted along in the front, tail held up proudly.
"Alright then," Riddle said as the group stopped in the Hall of Mirrors. "This is where I take my leave... Excellent work today, you all."
"Hey-- no problem, Riddle-kun!" Cater chirped, giving a wink and a peace sign. "You keep up the good work enforcing the rules, too... Oh, and check in on Trey-kun for us, okay?"
"Of course," Riddle declared, straightening his shoulders. "I'll be sure to give him your well-wishes. And-- ah, yes, one more thing... Ace. Deuce."
The duo of first-years stiffened, looking a little nervous. "Uh-- y-yes, housewarden?" Ace ventured.
"I'm expecting you two to look after Kat in my absence," Riddle said, folding his arms behind his back. He glanced over at Kat, standing a little off to the side with Grim back in her arms.
"Of course, it isn't as if I think of you as helpless, Prefect-- far from it. You've already proven yourself quite competent several times over, but..." Pausing, he took a small step back, putting his fist to his chin as he thought.
"...Savanaclaw is-- that is to say, many of the students can be a bit... Uncouth. Or-- hotheaded, perhaps? Even I've had my fair share of..." Pausing again, he seemed to roll the unspoken words around in his mouth for a moment.
"...Misunderstandings," he ventured begrudgingly. "With their students... Even after becoming housewarden."
"Wh-- aw..." Beaming, Kat put one hand to her chest. "Riddle-- are you worried about me? That's so sweet of you..."
"Oh, i-it's... Nothing," Riddle said hurriedly, shaking his head and giving another polite cough. "Of course, Cater will be with you as well, but-- well... In these situations, it's best to be prudent. Better safe than sorry, after all..."
"Thank you, Riddle," Kat smiled, hand still on her chest. "That's really nice..."
"It is, it is!" Cater agreed, coming over and slinging an affectionate arm around Riddle's shoulders again. "See? What did I tell you? He's WAY nicer than before! Looks like you're a good influence on him, right, Kitty-Kat?"
Winking, he patted Riddle on the shoulder again. "Don't worry, Riddle-kun-- I'll keep an eye on our precious lil' firsties and Prefect-chan for you! Don't sweat it! Right, Ace-chan? Deuce-chan?"
"Yeah!" Deuce agreed, nodding. "Don't worry, Housewarden-- we'll do our best! Right, Ace?"
"Right," Ace said, a little begrudgingly. "Don't worry, dorm head-- we'll definitely watch out for Kat, okay?" He turned to glare at Grim, held to Kat's chest like a stuffie. "You hear that, furball? You gonna have Kat's back too?"
"Wh-- Well, DUH!" Grim retorted, bristling a little bit. "Of COURSE I'm gonna look out for my minion-- if anybody starts hasslin' her, they're gonna have to deal with ME!"
Riddle pulled his head back slightly, giving Grim a dubious look, then looked at Kat.
Rolling her eyes, she smirked a little, shaking her head dismissively. "Well-- thank you for looking out for me, Riddle... I really appreciate it. See you later?"
"Of course," Riddle smiled back, folding one hand to his chest and bowing a little from the waist. "Ace, Deuce, Cater-- I expect a thorough report from you once you've returned to Heartslabyul, as well. Now-- good evening, all."
With one more small bow, he turned, walking across the Hall and up the steps of the Heartslabyul mirror alcove.
"Bye," Kat called one more time, and he glanced back, giving a brief smile, before stepping through the rippling glass of the mirror.
"Whew-- okay!" Cater piped up once they were alone in the circular room again, clapping his hands. "Savanaclaw, here we come! Come on, guys-- let's hop to it!"
With various statements of assent, Deuce and Ace followed after him as he started towards, presumably, the correct mirror.
Trailing behind the others, Grim in her arms, Kat peered into the new alcove.
The first thing she noticed were the burning lamps on either side of the steps. Shallow pottery dishes sat in simplistic wooden stands, the dancing flames casting red light over the walls.
...It was probably magic that stopped the wood from going up in flames, right?
The next thing she noticed were the bones.
There were semi-petrified-looking bones scattered around the edges of the stone steps, and even slightly embedded in the stone itself.
Sharp, curving ribs and tusks, a few scattered pieces of spine... And, decorating the rough stone arch of the mirror itself, the two halves of a bovine skull of some sort.
There were deep, crisscrossing scratches in the walls of the alcove, like claw marks... Kat shivered a little, in spite of herself.
Those were probably just for decoration, but-- still... The thought of something with claws that could gouge marks in solid stone like that was... Scary.
And combined with the bones? Something at the very back of Kat's mind-- right at the base of her spinal cord-- was telling her that going in there was not a great idea.
Quiet, she told it, shaking her head a little as Cater hopped up the stairs, with Deuce and Ace behind him. We're supposed to be evolved, remember? We wouldn't be able to get anywhere if we flipped out every time we went in a Spirit Halloween... And there's WAY worse stuff in one of those places.
The three boys passed through the mirror one after the other, making it ripple, and Kat wasn't far behind.
She looked up at the dorm emblem as she approached the mirror. It was also shaped a little bit like a shield, but, rather than any kind of heraldic symbol on it, the center was emblazoned with the stylized face of a lion... A lion with a scar across its left eye. The 'shield' seemed to resemble a dark, angular mane, and a small banner below it read SAVANACLAW in bold letters.
"Here we go," she muttered, taking a deep breath.
Holding Grim a little tighter, she stepped through the mirror. Once again, she passed through a rippling wall of water, being yanked forward like a fish on a hook.
Sunlight stung her eyes again, and the first thing she noticed was the arid, desert-like feel of the air against her skin.
Blinking hard, Kat shook her head, looking around in awe. "Oh-- wow..."
She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it... Wasn't this.
Or-- maybe it was?
It was kind of hard to determine, but... With Heartslabyul and Pomefiore already in the back of her mind as examples, she'd kind of assumed that all the dorms would roughly follow the same pattern... 'Castle in a big space'.
This place, though-- wow...
Well, for one, the dorm building wasn't exactly a castle... At least, not a European one. It actually kind of reminded her of the cliff dwelling sites in Arizona, when her family used to go to Sedona every spring break.
It was a large, blocky building, built of sandstone, with layers of lighter and darker shades running through the rock. If it weren't for the roughly hewn windows and doorways, Kat would have mistaken it for a solitary rock formation standing in the middle of a desert...
In fact, it almost looked like it HAD been one, once upon a time, but had been carved into a building from the inside out.
Banners, woven with geometric patterns, fluttered from the entranceway, and two large torches burned on either side.
There was vegetation here, but not very much... Patches of short, tough grass mottled the flat ground, and scrubby bushes clung close to the sides of the dorm. A tree stood close to the building-- a juniper? Or-- no, more like a... A baobab? Was that it?
Whatever it was, it was gnarled and twisted. A golden yellow pennant fluttered from a branch, emblazoned with the dorm's emblem.
The sky, arching away overhead like a dome, was the same brilliant blue, but the clouds were wispy and sparse.
"Wow," she murmured again, looking around slowly.
It really did look like they were standing in a desert... She could see more rock formations out in the distance, along with more gnarled, scrubby trees... Plateaus and cliffs, carved out by the wind.
At first, it actually did remind her of Arizona or Utah, but... On second thought, it looked more like... Africa? Not that she'd ever been herself, but-- this sure looked like the kind of place that National Geographic would go to film zebras getting eaten or something like that...
...Oh, and speaking of that. There were more bones. Bleached and almost fossilized by age, they lay semi-embedded in the fine, almost dusty dirt underfoot...
One, the upside-down ribcage of something approximately horse-sized, lay in the shade of the tree by the building. On the other side of the entrance lay what could only be the remains of an elephant... Complete with long, curving tusks, big enough to sit comfortably on like a bench.
If you felt so inclined.
Which Kat didn't.
"Wh-whoaaaa," Deuce murmured, looking around with eyes wide. "So-- this is the Savanaclaw dorm..."
"Woooow," Grim, still in her arms, agreed, jaw dropping open. "Did they carve this place out of a mountain? And-- hey, hey--"
Squirming out of her grip, he plopped to the ground, skittering over to the elephant skeleton. "--Check out these BONES! They're huuuuge... What kinda' bones are these, anyway?"
"...Pretty sure it's an elephant," Kat replied, still looking around.
Behind them-- or rather, in front of the dorm-- was another plateau. A rough path of stairs, carved out of the rock, curved its way up to the top of the formation, where...
Kat squinted.
...Was that-- some kind of...
...Was that a fucking Quidditch pitch?
It looked like a fucking Quidditch pitch. Shaded bleachers on one side, a large circular goal with a ring hovering inside it... Tall-- lights? Or... Maybe they were some kind of-- spinny things? Wind turbines, or something?
"It's got a totally different feel from the other dorms," Ace said.
Cater nodded emphatically. "Yep, yep-- you can say that again," he agreed. "I mean-- doesn't it just have this killer, primal vibe to it? Like, even the air here feels kinda... Wild. It's like we've totally left the bounds of civilization, ya know?"
"I guess," Ace muttered, ruffling his hair as he looked around one more time. "Okay, so... We're looking for this guy called-- Jack, right? Do we know what he looks like?"
Grim came back over, standing next to Kat's leg as Cater pulled out his phone again. "Mmm... Let's see here," the third-year mused. "Yep-- okay, he's got silver hair, wolflike ears, and a big, bushy tail!"
"Huh," Grim said, ears pricking as he looked around. "Bushy tail... Ah!"
Quickly, he tugged on Kat's pants leg, jumping up and down a little as he gestured. "Hey, hey-- how 'bout that guy, over there? The guy runnin' around in circles by himself?"
Kat looked over.
"...Oh," she said.
There was someone running laps around a sparse grove of trees off to the left, a ways away from the dorm building. As she watched, she saw a silvery-white, fluffy tail swish behind them as they ran.
"Bingo!" Cater chirped, coming over and crouching down briefly to ruffle Grim's head. "Nice eye, Gri-chan! There's no way that's not our guy!"
Ace and Deuce came a little closer, too, peering in the runner's direction.
"H-Holy shit!" Ace exclaimed, drawing back a little. "Geez, and I thought those twins were big... That guy is STACKED!"
"Yep-- guess that's why all the scouts are after him already," Cater agreed, one hand on the side of his neck.
"You're right," Deuce nodded, folding his arms. "With a build like that, he'd be an asset on any team..."
Kat looked at the runner as he came around the grove, getting a bit closer to where they stood.
...She'd thought it before, back with the twins, but... If anybody was going to be Jotaro Kujo, it would have to be this person. Even from this distance, she could tell that they were tall... And ripped. Not quite Coach Vargas level, but close, with a triangle-shaped torso that Chris Evans would be jealous of.
And those arms... And legs. Holy shit...
"Geez-- he's... Big," she muttered. "He's seriously sixteen? Jesus..."
Laughing, Cater came up next to her. "Okay, okay-- relaaaax!~" he winked, waving a hand soothingly. "Don't worry, Kitty-Kat-- if the big bad wolf tries anything, I'll be sure to protect you, 'kay?"
Kat blinked, giving him another sideways look. "O-Okay..."
She started forward, holding her elbow with Cater strolling along ahead of her and Ace and Deuce next to her. Grim, darting through their legs and scurrying on all fours across the ground, ran ahead of them, paws sending up small puffs of dusty earth.
"HEY! You!" She heard his little voice pipe up. "The grumpy-lookin' guy!"
Turning his head, the runner slowed to a halt, putting his hands on his hips.
"...Huh?" She heard him mutter, flicking an ear and eyeing Grim suspiciously.
"Just so ya know," Grim was saying, standing up on his hind legs and crossing his front paws over his chest. "You're probably gonna be targeted by some bad guys pretty soon... But don't worry-- me and my minions'll protect you! How's that sound? Cool, huh?"
"...Who the hell are you?" The former runner asked flatly, glancing between Grim and the approaching group of humans. "Why're you bothering me when I'm training?"
"Wh-- G-GRI-CHAN!" Cater spluttered, as Ace gave a long, resigned sigh, shaking his head. "THAT'S your approach? Seriously?! There's SO many problems with that-- way too many to count!"
"But I--" Grim protested, but Cater was already darting ahead. Snatching him up off the ground, he clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Grr-- grrmph!" He protested, wriggling around in Cater's arms, but Cater held him tight, turning a slightly nervous smile on the tall boy.
"Ahaha-- soooooo sorry about that," he apologized, taking a step back and clutching the squirming Grim. "But listen, king-- do you think me and my pals over here could have just a second of your time? It's kind of important..."
Kat, Ace and Deuce drew level with Cater at this point.
The boy-- Jack?- took his own small step back, ears swiveling as he looked around at them. He had a striking, serious and objectively handsome face, with a sharp jawline and angled golden eyes. His hair was thick, spiky and messy, the white-gray color contrasting sharply against his light brown skin. It seemed to almost be a-- layered mullet, or a wolf cut...
But she couldn't tell whether he'd styled it to be so spiky, or if his hair was just naturally wild. His sideburns were frankly impressive, though...
Rather than bangs, he almost had a forelock, hanging down in a swoop in the middle of his forehead. His ears, matching his hair, were tipped with darker gray, and, as his tail gave one last swish, she could see that it was, too.
He was wearing the P.E. uniform, chest unzipped halfway over a golden yellow t-shirt, and oh my god his chest. And his forearms... And his NECK. What the hell are they feeding these damn kids here...?
Taking one last step backwards, Jack crossed his arms over his chest, nose crinkling up to the side in a very animalistic way. "...The hell's this about?" He asked, voice deep and a little rough. "Comin' up to me all of a sudden... And what's all this about-- protectin' me?"
Deuce stepped forward, lowering his head politely in a brief bow. "Yes," he confirmed, nodding. "Actually, to tell you the truth, there's kind of been a lot of weird accidents all over the campus lately... And a lot of hopefuls for the Magical Shift tournament have ended up hurt."
"Yep-- what he said," Ace agreed, hands on his hips. "And-- basically, we're trying to figure out who's behind it."
Jack looked back and forth between them, flicking an ear. "...Okay," he said eventually, still giving them dubious looks. "And? What's that got to do with me?"
Cater quickly shoved Grim into Kat's arms, stepping forward as well. "Basically-- our current plan is to figure out who the culprit's most likely to target next, and keep an eye on 'em," he explained, with a much less nervous smile. "Well? What do you say? You okay with lendin' us a hand?"
With a few more swivels of the ears, Jack looked around at them-- Kat and Grim included this time.
Kat blushed a little, looking down slightly. God, he mostly looked human, but there was something in his eyes, and even in his movements... It just screamed 'apex predator'. No actors playing werewolves, vampires, or any number of inhuman creatures could ever come close to the real thing...
"...I refuse," Jack stated flatly after a second. "I can take care of myself... I'm fine on my own. I don't need your protection... And, frankly, I don't think you'd be much good at it, either."
Oof- Kat winced a little. Yeah, he just got straight to the point, didn't he? But-- honestly, she couldn't say she disagreed with him... At least, on her and Grim's end.
Nearly the exact moment she thought that, Jack turned his gaze back onto her, raising an eyebrow.
"...An' what about you?" He asked, looking her up and down. "You haven't said a thing this whole time... Got anything to say, or what?"
Kat stiffened, jumping. "Ah-- uh-- w-well..."
Licking her lips, she held the affronted Grim like a security plushie, shrinking back a little. "It's-- I-I'm sorry, it's... Not like we-- I-- think you can't take care of yourself, you know? But-- um..."
Shaking her head, she took a quick, sharp breath, forcing herself to calm down somewhat. "Somebody-- one of our friends, actually-- has already gotten hurt, and... I don't want anybody else to end up the same, you know? Or even worse... S-So, if something happened when it didn't have to, or if you were alone when you really needed backup or something... I- I'd feel really bad about it, if there was something we could've done to help..."
She trailed off awkwardly under Jack's piercing golden gaze.
"...I told you I didn't NEED YOUR HELP," he snapped after another long stare, voice rising into a growl.
Kat flinched a little, taking a step back and looking down at the ground.
"...An' besides," she heard Jack mutter. "I'm... Probably not even gonna be targeted in the first place."
She blinked in surprise, glancing back up at him. He'd turned, starting to walk past them, back towards the direction of the dorm building. "Later," he muttered, not glancing back at them as he strode slowly off.
"Ahhh," Cater sighed, fiddling with a strand of his hair and shaking his head. "And there he goes..."
"Tch!" Grim scoffed, squirming out of her arms and landing back on the ground again. "An' after we came all this way to try and warn 'im... What a jerk!"
"Pff-- yeah, with that opening you pulled, who in their right mind would ever listen to anything after that?" Ace snorted.
"Kah! Man, you humans-- you're always so fussy about every little thing people say!" Grim retorted, putting his paws on his hips. "It's a real pain, I tell ya!"
"Okay, OKAY," Kat interrupted, walking between them and holding up her hands. "That's enough of that... Let's just go, alright? It's too hot out here... Or in here, I guess."
"Yeah," Cater sighed in agreement, nodding. "Looks like Jack-kun's not open to collab-ing with us, so-- hey, at least we tried..."
"Yeah," Deuce agreed, wiping his forehead on the back of his hand. "And the Prefect's right-- it is hot in here. It's like a real desert..."
Turning, the group started making their way back towards the dorm building.
As they approached, Kat spotted something, though... There were three figures, loitering in the meager shade of the tree in front of it.
...Whuh-oh. Her stomach gave a nervous lurch as they turned their heads, catching sight of them. They were all wearing the school uniform, but pretty messily-- untucked shirts, rumpled jackets, and no vest or tie in sight.
They were all also big... One was about the same size as Jack, while the other two were a little more like that lion-eared person.
And speaking of ears-- all three of them had animal ears, twitching on the tops of their heads. One set was tall and triangle-shaped, covered in black fur that contrasted with the reddish color of the owner's hair...
Jackal ears, maybe?
The other two had small, pointed dark brown ears, a little further down on the sides of their heads than right on top.
What animal was that? She couldn't name any off the top of her head... Whatever it was, she got the feeling that it probably wasn't from any kind of prey animal.
Elbowing each other, they nodded in the direction of Kat's group, standing up straighter.
She and the Heartslabyul entourage slowed to a stop about ten feet away from the tree. The loitering students were already walking towards them, long strides bridging the distance quickly.
"OI!" One of the students-- with a messy head of dark brown hair-- barked, voice deep and gravelly. "What're you pipsqueaks doin' all the way out here, huh?"
The Heartslabyul boys pulled back as well, exchanging glances.
"Hah?" One of the students-- the one with the reddish hair and the black triangle ears-- asked, putting one hand on his hip. "Well, well-- if it ain't a little herd all the way from Heartslabyul House! Long way from home, ain'tcha?"
"Heheheh!" The third and final student, with obviously poorly bleached hair, laughed. "Hey, I know-- you guys are runnin' errands for Little Lord Red-Baby, right?"
The trio split apart, starting to stalk around the group in opposite directions.
"Don't tell me," the brown-haired one continued, mouth quirking up into a lopsided grin. "Did ya think you could waltz on into OUR turf an' just stroll right on back home no problem?"
"Uh," Deuce muttered, trying to keep all three of them in his line of sight at once. "Does anybody else think this pattern is-- kinda familiar...?"
"Ah-- ahaha!" Ace piped up, with an insincere laugh. "Well-- I mean-- we're already on our way out, so... Sorry to bother you!"
He tried to dart towards the tree, but the reddish-haired student stepped in front of him, cutting him off. "Aw, come on-- what's the rush?" They asked, chuckling. "Since you came aalll this way for a visit, why don't ya stick around an' play with us a little?"
"Oh, shit," Kat hissed quietly, stepping back again as Grim skittered behind her leg. "Dammit-- not this again..."
"Oh-- heeeeey," the brown-haired delinquent said, eyebrows raising. "Wait a sec..."
Sidling over to the reddish-haired compatriot, he elbowed him in the ribs, nodding at Kat. "Ain't that her? The chick?"
Oh, geez, Kat thought, stiffening. That probably wasn't good...
"Huh?" The reddish-haired one asked, looking curiously at Kat. "Hey-- I think you're right! Let's see here..."
Smirking, he took a step forward, looking her up and down. "Glasses, pink sweatshirt, always got a ratty little gray tanuki hangin' around-- yeah, that all checks out... Heh! So this is the girl who's been rattling around campus since the start a' the year, huh?"
Stepping a little ways in front of her, Deuce raised an arm slightly, as if to shield her. "Yeah, and? So what if she is?" He asked, and even though she couldn't see, she could tell he had that dangerous expression on his face again. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Ehhhhh," the bleached-hair bully drawled slowly, coming around the other side of the huddled group and cocking their head at Kat. "I guess she's pretty okay-lookin'... For a human, that is."
"Eh-- too nerdy for me," the reddish-haired, triangle-eared one scoffed. "I'm not into the mousy little bookworm types..."
Didn't ask, but okay, Kat thought. And why does everybody keep calling me 'little?' I'm five foot seven, for fuck's sake! That's pretty tall for a cis girl in the U.S., according to statistics!
"Yeah, I am a girl," she snapped before she could stop herself. The words almost seemed to bob up out of her throat, borne up by another surge of bubbling exasperation. "So what? And I don't remember asking for your opinion, either!"
The three students looked around at each other again, raising their eyebrows.
"Pfft-- HAHAHAHA!" The brown-haired one cackled, doubling over and slapping his thigh. "You just got TOLD, dude! Nice goin'!"
The bleached-hair one guffawed hugely, throwing his head back. "EHEHEHEH! Wow-- good thing you're so energetic, huh? 'Cause I just got the PERFECT idea about what we should play!"
Grinning, they looked around at the other two. "I'm feelin' kinda nostalgic, so... How 'bout a nice, old-fashioned game of tag?"
"Ooh-- not a bad idea!" The reddish-haired one agreed, nodding. "Sounds like fun, right?"
"Tag, huh? That takes me back," the last bully agreed. "Ya know, back when I was a kid, me an' the other neighborhood brats would all pretend to be animals... Like predators versus prey, that kinda thing!"
Grinning menacingly, the trio stepped closer, hemming the group in on all sides. "Obviously," the bleached-hair one smirked. "Since this is our turf, we'll get to be 'it' first... So! I guess that'd make YOU guys the prey, huh?!"
Shit, Kat thought, trying to draw back even more without stepping on Grim or bumping into any of the others. Shit fuck god dammit... God, I am still so bad at running.
"How 'bout we give you all a niiiice little head start?" The bleached-hair delinquent was continuing. "On your marks... Get set..."
"HEY."
As dramatic interruptions went, it really wasn't very impressive, all things considered. In fact, it was barely any louder than a sternly spoken word... Even so, the note of authority in the single syllable was enough to carry it through the hot air like a stone.
"Knock it off, you three."
Hang on... This voice-- where had she heard it before...?
Kat looked back towards the dorm building.
...Two figures were making their way out of the entranceway, loping over towards them. One-- strolling behind the other, arms crossed behind their head, had sandy hair and an oversized jacket. The other, striding tall and slow with one hand on his hip, had long dark hair, light brown skin and a golden yellow vest.
...It was him.
Again.
The guy from the greenhouse... Leona.
Author's Notes:
Kat during Prologue/Chapter 1/Chapter 2: I hope nothing bad happens.
Kat during Chapter 3 and onward: I hope whatever bad thing happens now is at least funny.
(...Mood, tbh.)
Anyway, THE GOOD BOI IS FINALLY HERE!!!! Big pubbie!! Woofer!!! (Oh, and Leona finally makes his entrance into his own damn arc... Only took him 12 chapters but whatever. It's extremely on-brand for him tho, TBH. He was probably sleeping.)
...I had to go look up Jack's Nendoroid to figure out what tf was going on with the back of his hair and. It's a wolf cut. It's a literal wolf cut.
...Was that on purpose? Is it a fucking pun?????
(Also, what is it with these boys and wolf cuts/mullets? Idia, Malleus, Jack...)
...Also, am I the only person who thinks Jack's forelock looks like a dribble of soft-serve ice cream? Or, like, piped frosting?
...I literally can't fucking tell what kind of ears the lorge Savanaclaw background characters are supposed to have. Monkey? Bear? Something else???
My brother suggested raccoon, which... Yeah, I looked it up, and they do look pretty similar, but... I think they'd be a little bigger if they were raccoons? The ears, I mean? And plus, these guys are supposed to be all lorge and buff, so I don't think a raccoon'd really fit.
(On a completely unrelated note: I ordered stuff from Epic Cosplay Wigs to make my Black/Dark/Wicked Lady/Princess Lady Serenity wig, but... The color is wrong. It's too dark.)
(And they also gave me the wrong color bun extensions. They're princess dark pink mix instead of princess pink mix.)
(So I'm returning everything and getting the same things in fusion vanilla pink instead. Which I might have to dye anyway.)
(I'm disappointed because I was really hype to start styling the wig, too.)
(NBD, I just wanted to complain a little bit.)