Bonus Chapter 3: Octavinelle Wishes
Azul's Wish:
In Azul's room…
Azul makes his wish, "My wish is… for the Mostro Lounge to flourish more than ever before."
And his Wishing Star glows.
"That's a very Azul wish, but it's so bland and predictable," Idia says.
"Idia! You're saying the quiet part out loud!" Ortho says.
"That wasn't very nice," Briar says. "However, I did remember that we wanted to make a second Mostro Lounge somewhere on campus. At first he wanted to use Ramshackle Dorm for it. But we're cool about it now."
Azul scoffs, "Hmph. I don't care what others think. After all, I have made thorough preparations to ensure this wish comes true!"
"Wow, Azul Ashengrotto. I've never seen anyone prepare for a wish," Ortho says.
"What did you do?" Briar asks.
"I'm specifically referring to a business collaboration involving the Lounge's three most popular menu items," Azul says.
"A collaboration?" Azul questions, "You mean like when a café does a big event for an anime?"
"Exactly," Azul says with a smile, "Our café is in Night Raven College, which is a major name among arcane academies. That branding carries quite a bit of weight. We've already received offers from businesses, and are in the planning stages. If this collaboration succeeds, opening a second branch or even a third wouldn't be out of the question." But then frowns, "The trouble is, the headmage got wind of it. He insisted that if we were to use the Night Raven College brand in our marketing… Then the school would be entitled to royalties. I mean, seriously. How greedy can one man be?"
"You're one to talk," Idia says.
Briar sheepishly smiles. Sadly, Briar kind of understands Azul's goals.
Then Ortho says, "You know, Idia… I'm starting to think Azul Ashengrotto's wish isn't actually a wish. It's more like a goal."
"Yeah, that tracks. He always talks about how much he hates RNGs when we're doing Board Game Club stuff," Idia says.
Azul laughs, "Heh heh heh... I'll make my wish come true. You can take that to the bank!"
"Uh... Azul? I'm not trying to take the wind out of your sails, but that's not what this event's about…" Idia replies, sounding unsure.
Floyd:
In Floyd's room…
Floyd makes his wish, "My wish? I wish for new shoes."
And soon Floyd's wishing star glows.
"I've seen you pouring through shoe catalogues before, Floyd Leech. You must really like footwear!" Ortho says happily.
But Idia says, "Can't you just buy some? Why would you use your wish on that?"
"You don't get it, Firefly Squid. They're not so easy to come by," Floyd says, "Here, lemme pull 'em up on my phone," And shows them a picture of the shoes, "These ones here. The laces are pretty basic, but check out the shape of the toe box. Cool, huh?
"Ooh! The color's nice—black with blue highlights," Ortho says.
"Have to admit, they look pretty cool," Briar says.
Trinket looks at the shoes curiously.
"Good eye, Lil' Clione and Shrimpy," Floyd says, "These shoes are hand dyed. I wanna get a pair in my own custom colors!"
"Interesting. So with shoe nerds, it's cooler when your gear's custom painted, just like with model kits…" Idia says, but then says, "Wait, wait, hold up! Those are Ténèbres shoes! That brand's so lux, even a fashion noob like me knows about it. Lemme look up the price…" and checks on the price, and he spittake, "3,600 thaumarks?!"
"That's pretty steep!" Ortho says, shocked.
"Oh my, that's really expensive," Briar replies.
"Yeah, so you see what I mean about them bein' hard to get. My feet have gotten a bit bigger over the last year too. Prolly need to resize my lasts…" Floyd says.
"Your LASTS? Like, those foot-shaped forms they use for shoemaking? Your shoes are custom dyed AND scratch built?!" Idia says, still shocked.
Then Ortho says, "Idia, I just looked it up and apparently for shoes, the term is 'bespoke,' not 'scratch built.'"
"I still can't wrap my head around this. Do students even need that level of footwear?" Idia questions.
"My pops gave me some advice before I came on land," Floyd says, "'People with no eye for detail don't deserve respect. When you're on land, pay special attention to your feet. Spare no expense.'"
This shocked everyone to hear that statement.
"Whoa... He sounds kinda scary, TBH," Idia says, shocked, "Who IS your dad, anyway?"
"You really wanna know? See, it's like this…" Floyd says, sounding scary.
Idia quickly says, "Uh, I changed my mind. Don't tell me. I get the feeling if I knew the truth, I'd wind up sleeping with the fishes."
"Should I change out my feet for a model that looks like leather shoes, so people'll respect me?" Ortho asks.
Briar giggles, "I don't think you need to do that, Ortho."
"Uhh... This guy's more of an edge case. Trust me, you don't need to emulate him," Idia adds.
Jade:
In Jade's Room…
"You're asking for my wish?" Jade questions.
Then think for a minute, "Hmm... I'm afraid nothing comes to mind."
"Really? But then we can't collect your Wishing Star!" Ortho says.
But Idia says, "Hold on. I don't believe that for a second. You're the vice housewarden of Octavinelle, a dorm that's basically run by a perpetually scheming greed elemental. There's no way you don't want something."
"Oh dear. Clearly someone doesn't trust me," Jade replies.
Then Idia says, "Look, I don't care what you wish for. We just need you to say something so we can do our jobs. Like, I dunno... You could wish for Floyd and Azul to stop making trouble."
Briar sheepishly smiles, "I don't know about that."
Jade chuckles, "Heh heh heh. But their continual defiance of expectations is what makes them so amusing. Actually, that gives me an idea. I'll give my wish to Azul and Floyd."
"What?" Briar and the Shroud brothers ask.
"As a gesture of gratitude for all they do…" Jade says and makes his wish, "I wish for Azul and Floyd's wishes to come true."
Then his Wishing Star lights up.
"You're using your wish to make others happy? That's so nice of you, Jade Leech!" Ortho happily says.
"That's kind of sweet of you, Jade," Briar says.
"Congrats, dude. You just won the trophy for Most Insincere Wish Ever," Idia says.
Then says in thought, "Source: Me."
"Please, I assure you my wish was entirely genuine. Yet you refuse to believe me. How sad…" Jade says, and saddens.
"Oh no," Briar says, worried.
Ortho yelps, "Ack! Don't cry, Jade Leech!" Then turns to Idia, "Idia, you know better than to bully underclassmen! Tell him you're sorry!"
In his thoughts, Idia says, "Ugh, now he's turning on the fake waterworks."
And says out loud, "Yeah, whatever, sry. I def believe u... Not that I care whether you meant it or not."
"I'm so relieved you believe me. Heh heh heh…" Jade replies and hands the group the star, "Here's my Wishing Star."
"Thank you, Jade Leech! I hope your wish comes true!" Ortho happily says.
"Bye, we'll see you later," Briar says.