"...Not to be rude or anything," Kat said. "But y'all's dorm looks like an acid trip."

She was following Ace and Deuce through the Heartslabyul dorm building's winding hallways... Or, rather... Walkways? With Grim back in her arms.

Ace laughed, glancing back over his shoulder at her. "Yeah, it kinda does, doesn't it? That's exactly what I thought when I first saw it... Oh, but don't let the dorm head hear you say that. He gets real steamed when anybody mentions how weird it is."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kat replied, nodding as she looked around.

The hallway to the dorm rooms... Wasn't exactly a hallway. It was more like a huge, open space, stretching from the floor all the way up to what was probably the castle's roof. The walls were wallpapered with wide, horizontal stripes of brick red, dark grayish purple, and sky blue. There were things all over the walls here, too... Crooked picture frames, cards, and clocks. For some reason, there were also tea sets, sitting on the walls sideways, casually defying gravity.

Wide, winding catwalks and staircases crisscrossed the room, almost weaving like ribbons. They led into card suit-shaped archways in the walls, which were probably where the actual dorm rooms were.

There was no way that magic WASN'T involved somehow with all this... Especially since there were upside-down chairs and small tables bobbing in the air, too.

The trio's shoes clacked across the black-and-white checkered marble tiles.

Holding Grim with one arm, Kat ran her fingers along the bronze latticework guardrails that hemmed in the walkways. The cool, smooth metal slid like silk under her fingertips, and she felt herself relax a little bit.

Ahhh... Yes, this is very texture. (Positive).

Eventually, the walkway transitioned into a short flight of stairs, carpeted with red velvet.

"The vice-dorm head's room is at the end of this hall," Deuce said, nodding through the club-shaped archway at the top of the stairs.

"Okay," she said, nodding back.

The group ducked through the doorway, footsteps suddenly muffled by the thick carpet underfoot.

This carpet was black-and-white checkers, too, and the walls were the same red damask wallpaper as the lounge. Rows of dark wooden doors stood neatly on either side of the hallway, with the panels carved like playing cards.

It was, Kat was pretty sure, the only 'normal' place she'd seen so far inside the dorm... The walls were even, and the doors were in straight rows, not tilted or askew at all. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that this was the hallway of a really expensive themed hotel at a casino in Vegas or something...

"...These are the dorm rooms, right?" She asked after a second. "How come the hallways aren't all... Wonky?"

"Apparently, they USED to be," Ace replied. "Like, a long time ago... Back when the dorm was first built. But it was kind of a... Tripping hazard? Like, when people tried to get up to use the bathroom during the night or whatever, they kept running into walls and falling down."

He shrugged. "Eventually, they had to remodel the halls, 'cause some people actually got hurt pretty bad... Like, broken bones and stuff."

"Oof," Kat muttered, shaking her head.

Injuries... The mention of the subject made her stomach prickle nervously.

God, I hope Trey's doing okay...

After a few more moments, they came to a stop at the furthest wall of the hallway, with a single door standing against it. VICE-HOUSEWARDEN'S ROOM, a small, antique gold plaque on the right side of the door, declared.

Stepping forward, Ace knocked twice, then turned the knob, swinging the door open and sticking his head in. "Pardon the intrusion," he called, ducking in and holding the door open for the others.

Deuce and Kat stepped in after him, murmuring their own quiet greetings.

The room was a little bigger than the bedroom back at Ramshackle. The floors were dark, polished hardwood, and the wallpaper was wide, horizontal stripes of red damask and dark, charcoal gray. There was a large, four-poster bed in the corner, hung with red velvet curtains. Trey was sitting propped up in it, legs under the covers with an open book on his lap. He was still wearing his uniform, but with his jacket and tie off, vest open and sleeves rolled up carelessly.

Cater was sitting backwards on a chair next to the bed, chin propped up on the backrest as his thumbs tapped at his smartphone. Both of them looked up, eyebrows raising as they saw the group step in.

"Clover-senpai... A-Are you okay?" Deuce asked, giving a small, polite bow and looking worried.

"How are--" Kat began.

Before she could finish, Grim squirmed out of her arms, landing on the dark floorboards with a soft thump. "Heya, Four-Eyes!" He announced, skittering over to the bed and standing up, patting his front paws on the covers. "We came to see ya! How're ya feelin'?"

"GRIM!" Kat scolded, hurrying over and snatching him up again. "That is NOT what you say when you're visiting somebody injured!"

Looking at Trey, she grimaced apologetically. "Sorry about him."

Trey laughed, shaking his head with a grin. "Hey, come on-- don't worry about it," he assured her, waving a hand. "It's fine... I'm just happy you guys came all the way out here to check up on me."

"Uwah-- hey, if it isn't the ADeuce Combo!" Cater beamed, unslinging himself from over the chair and standing up. "And Gri-chan and Prefect Kitty-Kat, too!"

Shooting Kat a wink and a finger gun, he strolled over to the other two, still by the door. Grinning, he slapped Deuce on the shoulder, then held his fist out to Ace, presumably for a fist-bump. "Did you all come to see our poor, injured Trey-kun? Awww, you're all so sweet..."

"Y-Yeah," Ace muttered as he returned Cater's fist-bump. "We did... Uh, but, Cater-senpai... What'd you just say? A...Deuce? What was that?"

"Huh?" Cater asked, blinking as he looked between him and Deuce. "Isn't it obvious? I mean YOU guys! Acey-chan and Deucey-chan! It's the combo nickname I came up with for you! Whaddaya think? Catchy, right?"

"Wh-- n-NO!" Deuce protested, blushing as he bristled. "Don't give us that kind of nickname, Diamond-senpai! It sounds like-- like one of those couple names for celebrities!"

"Aww, come on-- but it's cute!" Cater pouted. "Plus, it's faster than using both your names individually, you know?"

"That's NOT the--" Deuce began.

"Okay, okay-- enough with the dumb shit," Ace said quickly, cutting him off and moving over to the bed next to Kat. "Trey-senpai... How are you feeling? And-- what happened?"

Trey sat up a little straighter, folding his arms with a soft sigh. "Ah... That? Well-- I slipped and fell down the stairs." He shrugged, giving a wry smile.

"I couldn't catch myself, and my ankle got messed up... It's nothing too bad, but I AM gonna have to be on crutches for a while." He nodded towards a pair of crutches leaning against the foot of the bed.

Deuce stiffened, looking shocked as he glanced between the crutches and Trey. "Wh-- s-SERIOUSLY?! Crutches?! That DEFINITELY doesn't sound like a minor injury..."

Trey smiled wryly again, adjusting his glasses. "Well-- it's not broken, and there won't be any lasting damage. Once it heals, I'll be right back to normal... But, looks like I'm gonna have to sit out for the Magishift tournament."

A somber silence fell across the room.

"Maaaan," Grim sighed in Kat's arms, drooping a little. "I was hoping your injury'd be somethin' small, but-- looks like it can't be helped..."

Squirming again, he jumped back down to the floor, tugging at Kat's pants leg. "Hey, hey, Kat-- gimme that thing, okay?"

Kat lifted the flap of her schoolbag, rummaging around for a second before pulling out a small aluminum can with a blue label and handing it down to him.

Holding it in his front paws, he padded up to Trey's bed. "Here," he said matter-of-factly, depositing it onto the covers. "I brought you this-- a tuna can. Get better soon, okay, specs?"

Trey blinked, looking down at the can in confusion for a second. Then he chuckled, reaching over and ruffling Grim's head affectionately. "Heh-- thanks a lot, little guy," he smiled. "I feel better already."

"Wh-- aww..." Kat beamed, pressing the fingers of both hands to her mouth and looking at Grim in awe and warm, maternal pride. "Grim-- that's so sweet of you! I didn't think you'd actually give it to him..."

Grim bristled defensively, turning and scowling at her with his paws on his hips. "Hey-- don't get the wrong idea here, okay?! This is just good manners! A great magician's also gotta be generous, right?!"

"Okay, okay, okay," she said quickly, waving her hands. "Sorry, sorry..."

Then something occurred to her, and she frowned, tilting her head. "Hang on-- isn't there... Um... I-Is healing magic a thing? You can't-- do something about it with that?"

Everyone turned to look at her, and she blushed a little. "S-Sorry-- I was just wondering, um... The first night here, I skinned my hands falling over, and the Headmaster, he-- healed them for me..."

"Hey, come on-- no need to apologize for not knowing," Trey smiled. "To answer your question... Healing magic DOES exist, but usually, most mages can only do it on a very, very basic level. Basically just surface-level stuff-- small cuts, bruises, that kind of thing. There are also things you can do to speed up the healing process... Magical medication, salves, potions, you know."

"Ohh," Kat said, nodding. "Yeah, okay..."

"There-- IS such a thing as, I guess... TRUE healing magic?" Trey continued, putting a hand to his chin. "That's probably the kind you're imagining... But it's very, very rare, and it can't be learned. You have to be born with it... Less than one in two thousand mages have the capacity for it, actually."

"Yeah-- that's right!" Cater confirmed, nodding. "But the drawback is, mages with that type of magic are usually pretty bad at, like, basically every other kind of magic... It's kinda like an exchange, you know?"

"Because of how rare they are, they usually end up being pretty important... But you'll probably learn more during class at some point," Trey finished, shrugging. "Basically-- it IS thanks to magic that I'm gonna be healed up relatively quickly, compared to standard medical treatment... But healing me up with a snap of the fingers? That's a no."

"Ohhh," Kat said again. "Okay... Thanks, Trey."

"No problem," Trey smiled back, nodding. "I'm glad you're so eager to learn... Maybe some of that'll rub off on a few OTHERS I could think of." He smirked, quirking an eyebrow at Ace, Deuce and Grim, who stiffened, looking guilty.

"Ahhhhhh..." Sighing hugely, Cater slouched back over to the chair, plopping back down. "But seriously-- this suuuuucks... With one of our top players, Trey-kun, out of commission, we're gonna have to redo our entire team roster from scratch! Talk about a hassle..."

"Wait-- REDO THE ROSTER?!" Ace and Deuce demanded in unison, the guilty looks on their faces suddenly replaced with eager, dangerous gleams.

Kat jumped, flinching a little at the sudden shouts. "Hey-- SHHH!" She hissed, whirling around and glaring at the two of them. "Trey's still on BEDREST over here, dammit! Keep it down!"

They both winced, looking guilty again as they stepped back.

"S-Sorry, senpai," Deuce apologized, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah-- sorry," Ace agreed.

"It's fine," Trey assured them, laughing a little.

There were two curt knocks at the door, and Riddle stepped in, still in the school uniform as well. "I thought I heard a bit of a ruckus in here," he said, quirking an eyebrow as he looked around. "What are you all doing? This is an injured person's room, you know, not a place for loitering about and idle chitchat."

"Fnyagh--!!" Grim spluttered, skittering over to Kat and taking shelter behind her leg. "I-it's Ragin' Riddle!"

Kat knocked her leg against him, making him yelp and stagger sideways a little. "SHUT," she ordered, glaring down at him. "Don't be RUDE."

"Ah-- Prefect," Riddle said, blinking in mild surprise as he caught sight of her. "You're here as well?"

"Yep," she confirmed, smiling. "Hi again. I came to see how Trey was doing-- I hope you don't mind."

"Well-- I suppose not," Riddle replied, giving a measured shrug. "Thank you for showing such concern... That's very kind of you."

Then he turned his attention to Grim, folding his arms delicately and shooting him a disapproving look. "And I can assure you, Grim, that I am far from, as you put it, 'raging'. As long as you all follow the rules, I'll have no reason to be anything less than pleasant."

Shutting the door behind him, he moved across the room, stopping at Trey's bedside.

"...How are you feeling, Trey? Is there-- anything you would like to eat? Or something you'd like to drink? I'd be more than happy to fetch it for you, if you'd like..."

Snorting with quiet laughter, Trey sat up a little more, folding his arms. "I told you you don't have to be so worried about me, didn't I? Relax-- I'm gonna be fine."

"Yes, I know, but..." Riddle's posture actually slumped a bit, head lowering almost guiltily. "That injury... It happened because of me. It's-- my fault..."

"Wh-what?" Ace asked, eyes widening. "What's-- that mean?"

Riddle turned, giving him a suspicious look. Then he sighed a little, shoulders drooping. "Oh, very well... I suppose it's alright to tell you all. Earlier, I had some business to discuss with Trey, so, during lunch break, I went to the third-years' classroom to find him. After I'd spoken to him, I was trying to head back down to the cafeteria, when..."

He trailed off, biting his lower lip.

Kat didn't even think anyone was breathing at the moment-- they were all focused hard on Riddle, waiting for his next words.

"...I suppose I must have-- slipped, or lost balance," Riddle admitted after a few moments. "I nearly fell, but Trey-- well, he tried to catch me, but we both ended up falling. Even then, he still tried to shield me-- he bore the brunt of the impact. Thanks to that, I was unscathed, but Trey..."

The silence fell again.

"Hey, come on now-- it wasn't like I ended up breaking your fall on PURPOSE," Trey spoke up after a second, smiling. "It was just how we ended up falling, alright? Stop beating yourself up about it-- you don't control the laws of physics."

Looking past the still-dejected Riddle, Kat caught Trey's eye. Cocking her head almost imperceptibly to the side, she raised her eyebrows.

A small flicker of guilt passed across his face, and he lowered his gaze a little.

...Yep, thought so.

"Yes, but-- even so," Riddle murmured after another moment. "You never would have gotten injured if you hadn't tried to catch me..."

"Yeah, but even if I hadn't, you would've just used a flight spell and caught yourself, right?" Trey interjected, grinning wryly. "I should've known that-- so, it really was a stupid move. But that's on me, so you don't have to worry about it. It's just the consequences of my own actions, right?"

"Yes, but-- still," Riddle protested back. "You were only thinking of--"

Ace sidled over to Kat, bumping the side of his arm into her shoulder. "Psst-- hey, Prefect," he breathed. "D'you think..."

"...Mmm," Kat hummed quietly, putting the knuckle of her index finger to the tip of her chin. "Yeah, probably... I can't imagine Riddle randomly falling down stairs."

Sighing, she folded her arms, watching Riddle and Trey have their quiet semi-argument. "This... Might not have been an accident."

"Hey, hey-- come on, Riddle-kun!" Cater piped up, getting back up from the chair and walking over to Riddle. "I get it, really, but being all dark an' gloomy about it isn't gonna help, you know?"

Grinning, he slung his arm around Riddle's shoulders, patting him on the back before releasing him. "Sure, it sucks that Trey-kun's not gonna play, but that means that you've just gotta bring your A-game instead! Show 'im there's nothing to worry about! Right?"

Riddle blinked, looking up at Cater, then back at Trey. "A-Ah," he ventured after a moment. "Yes, I suppose you're right... Very well, then."

"THAT'S the spirit!" Cater grinned, slapping him on the back again. "Now-- come on, you guys, we've annoyed Trey long enough. Let's let 'im get his rest, okay? Go on, now-- shoo, shoo, shoo!" Flapping his hands at Kat and the others in a hurrying motion, he herded them towards the door.

Grim scurried over, weaving through their legs, and with one last "Get well soon, Trey," they exited his room.

Riddle, taking up the rear, closed the door behind him, then joined the others as they began walking back down the hall. "Alright," he said, falling into step next to Kat with his arms folded behind his back. "Thank you for checking in on Trey-- I'm sure he appreciated it very much."

"It was no problem," Kat assured him, smiling.

Riddle nodded, smiling back. Then he paused, glancing over at Cater for a moment.

Cater glanced back, and they seemed to exchange a meaningful look.

"...Would it be too much trouble if I asked you to stay for a chat?" Riddle asked eventually, turning back to her. "And Ace and Deuce as well... I could offer you a cup of tea, if you'd like."

"I was... Actually JUST about to ask the same thing," Kat replied, grinning. "Good timing... And I'm okay on the tea, but-- maybe a glass of water?"

"Ooh-- hey, did Trey make any sweets before he got hurt?" Grim piped up at her feet. "I'll take some a' that, if there's anything left!"

"...Ignore him," she told Riddle flatly as the group continued back out into the main 'hallway' area. "Just the water for me, thanks."

"Wh-- HEY!" Grim protested. "Come on, Kat-- I was just askin'! What's the matter with asking?!"

Rolling her eyes, she continued walking, resolutely ignoring Grim as Ace, Deuce and Cater tried to hide the sounds of their stifled laughter.

A little while later, Kat was sitting in one of the chairs in the dorm lounge, with Grim in her lap.

"Thanks," she smiled, accepting a glass from Deuce.

"You're welcome, Prefect," Deuce smiled, nodding. Walking over to the couch, he sat down next to Ace, looking around a little nervously.

Riddle, sitting across the coffee table from Kat, crossed his legs elegantly, turning his gaze to Cater. "Alright-- Cater. What was it that you didn't want to say in front of Trey?"

Cater, seated casually a couple chairs away from Riddle's, chuckled, shaking his head. "Heheh-- that's Riddle-kun for ya," he grinned. "Sharp as a tack, as always..."

Turning his head, he raised his eyebrows at Kat. "...Actually, I got the feeling that Kitty-Kat and company might know something about what happened to Trey-kun... Am I wrong?"

Riddle looked at Kat now, too, brows knitting slightly. "Really?" He asked, tilting his head. "Is that true, Kat?"

For some reason, the glass Deuce had given her had a straw in it... A pink, bendy straw shaped vaguely like a flamingo.

If you squinted.

Kat started fiddling idly with the straw, crossing her ankles and shifting for a second.

"Actually, yeah," she admitted. "I-- kinda do... It's a long story, though, and-- for now, it's nothing DEFINITE, but..."

She glanced down at Grim, then over at Ace and Deuce. Then she sighed, hanging her head a little.

"...Basically, the Headmaster thinks that... Somebody might be trying to throw the Magishift tournament. So... Trey's accident-- it might not have... Been one. An accident, I mean."

Author's Notes:

Fuck the Hunting Season nickname. All my homies hate the Hunting Season nickname.

*Makes more shit up about the inside of the dorm building*

Yeah, having half-asleep teenagers traverse funhouse halls on their nightly pee-runs seems like a real safety hazard.

...I was trying to figure out how to insert one of my RP muses (who I haven't actually written in... god, it was before the pandemic, I think) into TWST. Being a mystical waif healer ingenue is, like, central to her character, so... I kinda decided that the healing in-game is probably just a game mechanic? And what I came up with just kind of feels... Right. You know?

So, even though that character doesn't have anything to do with this particular series (although I might do something separate with her at some point, because I'm having a lot of muse for her and TWST right now, but I'm too nervous to log back into my RP blog(s) on tumblr after it's been so long), I'm keeping the concept.

(...I might do something with her and TWST later, though. Because... TWST hyperfixation still go BRRR, and I also miss my smol, pink Snow White ballerina bird princess. I'm love she. My dorter, whom I basically crafted myself from basically no information in the background lore of an anime.)

(...Watch Princess Tutu.)

(This is a threat./j)