Twisted Wonderland: The Rose Red Tyrant
Author's Note: This chapter is a lot of introductions into the school classes and only covers probably one or two chapters from the game. The reason is because there's a lot of things fleshed out with my own story additions to take into account Aster's situation and getting him introduced and in a better standing with the teachers. It helps to give them more character and drive in the responsible teacher vibe that is definitely opposite to how Crowley is usually portrayed.
The part around the P.E class has the most addition to it, partially because of unnamed background characters from the game. There isn't much involved with them, and they don't have a big effect on the story, so we probably won't see them ever again after this. It was just to make Aster stick out a little less in the bad physical health situation. Other than that, I can't think of anything else. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter Two:
Thankfully, they weren't late to first period: Potionology, which Aster was relieved about since it was Professor Crewel's class, and he would hate to be late to his class. "Ah, my new home room students." Crewel said, looking Aster over, as though to make sure he was okay before glancing over at Grim who shrank a bit from the calculating gaze. Grim distantly remembered that this was the guy who was in charge of Aster's health.
'Oh, he must not like me.' Grim realized, remembering the many slight burns Aster had in fact obtained during his... spree, orientation night.
"I expect you to come to my class properly groomed from here on out." Crewel told them before glancing at Aster with a stern look. "And I expect you to take your potions at their designated time." he said more quietly. Only the two of them and maybe a beast man with higher hearing might have heard the man. Aster flushed before nodding.
"Yes sir. We're in your hands." Aster said with a bow. The teacher nodded and handed one of his own personal lab coats over to the boy, along with a smaller pair of goggles and rubber gloves.
"Very well, put these on and take a seat. Class is about to begin. We're going to start with the basics." Crewel told the class as the duo sat with Ace and Deuce after Aster put on the large lab coat- the gloves and goggles were much more fitted thankfully. "And by that, I mean beating the names and distinguishing characteristics of one hundred herbs and poisons into your tiny brains." he told the class, most of them startling. "The mycelia are another matter. But eventually, I'm hopeful you'll be able to take a walk without putting anything poisonous into your gaping maws. For now, I realize you have all the self-control of voracious hounds. But I will not abide a single student failing this class. Expect to be drilled accordingly." he informed the group of children, falling into lecture mode.
"Huh. So... does anyone know what a mycelia is?" Deuce asked. Aster was looking through the book at their space while the others already looked defeated.
"I've never been one for like, remembering what things are, ya know?" Ace admitted.
"All I care about is how to tell the yummy plants from the yucky ones." Grim countered.
"Ha! Mycelia- plural- Mycelium- singular- is the fibrous part of a type of white, branching root fungi." Aster grinned, answering Deuce's question. Potionology, for the time being, was mostly taking some notes while getting to use the safer and more common ingredients for different health potions. After class ended, Aster returned the borrowed equipment to Crewel. "Thank you for the lab gear, sir." Aster said, blinking at the potion and four breakfast bars that were being held out to him.
"You're quite welcome, Aster. I will ensure I have items more fit to your size before your next class. Now, take these so you're not too off your regime. I expect you to eat breakfast every morning. Even if you don't have food in your dorm currently, the cafeteria is open from six in the morning to six in the evening." Crewel informed the boy who nodded and accepted both. He took the potion under Crewel's careful eye. "I figured the four of you were together this morning so you all probably missed breakfast. Feel free to share with them, don't let them litter though." Crewel told him. Aster nodded.
"Thank you, sir, we'll eat these on the way to our next period." Aster promised. Crewel nodded.
"Good. I hope you enjoy your schooling, Aster. I know that without magic, it might seem pointless-" Crewel stopped himself from continuing when Aster shook his head vigorously.
"I will enjoy my schooling. Because even without magic, new knowledge is never useless. Even if others might think so. And everything I'm learning is new and that's exciting." Aster assured the man. Crewel smiled warmly at the boy's enthusiasm.
"I'm glad to hear that. Other pups could stand to have the same mind set you do." Crewel sighed. "Any how, I believe your friends are waiting for you. Don't worry, the History classroom isn't too far from here. Your professor in that class is Mozus Trein. He's very knowledgeable and I expect you'll learn a lot from him. Enjoy your first day Aster."
"You too sir. Thank you!" Aster smiled before heading out of the potionology lab. As soon as he stepped foot out of the classroom, he gave the two Heartslabyul students a bar each and opened Grim's for him with a warning about making a mess on himself or his shoulder before snacking on his own.
"Not that I'm not thankful, but..." Ace said, motioning towards the bar questioningly.
Aster sighed. "I had to get a checkup when I first arrived here the other night and we learned that I'm slightly malnourished, deficient in vitamins, and have anemia. So I have to take a potion regime to repair that, but they need to be taken with meals. I didn't eat breakfast this morning- and he figured you guys had been with me- so he gave us something to tide us over until lunch." Aster explained with a warm smile on his face.
"That's pretty nice of the guy. I thought he didn't like me." Grim said, cleaning his fur after allowing Aster to take the wrapper.
"Why?"
"He looked at me like he wasn't sure he trusted me to be around you. I figured that was because of the burns from orientation." Grim sulked. Aster shook his head.
"Don't worry, the head mage healed those. But I'm sure it was just because he heard about the whole thing and your involvement in it. Besides, you're his student now Grim. Your health and well-being come with the territory like the rest of ours do." Aster assured the cat beast who perked up and relaxed. After tossing their wrappers into a bin along the hallway, the joined the rest of Class 1-A in the history classroom.
-The Rose Red Tyrant-
Their second period: History of Magic, was taught by Mozus Trein, as Crewel had already informed Aster. He was a stern looking, older gentleman in his late 50's. He had narrow gray eyes and his neatly combed back hair was a steely gray with some streaks of white. He was taller than Aster and most of the students in the class at 5'8. From what Aster could see, he wore a standard black suit beneath long maroon robes. Attached to the man's collar was a white jabot, which was tied off with a turquoise-colored pendant. On his hands were starkly white gloves.
In addition to the man himself was his familiar, a chubby, black long-haired cat with bright golden eyes and a white muzzle, white patches of fur were spotted at his chest and the tip of his tail. Aster couldn't help but coo at the sight of the adorable cat, which got strange looks from others, before he took his seat so classes could begin.
"I am your History of Magic teacher, Mozus Trein. This is my familiar Lucius. You are here to learn the rich history of magic, and how it has sculpted the world which so many of you now take for granted." Trein told them, Lucius letting out a meow of agreement. "I grade based on classroom behavior as well as the quality of your work. Do not let me catch you sleeping in class." He warned the classroom full of students. "Now, open your books to page 15." he ordered, giving them some time to do so. "This section concerns the mage stones discovered in the Dwarfs' Mine..." he informed them, falling into lecture mode, Aster and Deuce keeping a close ear on what the man spoke of as they both took notes, fascinated. "As knowledge and awareness of magical energy began to spread across the globe at this point, this year is considered Year One of the Magic Era." he informed the group.
Aster and Deuce both ignored the yawns coming from Ace and Grim as they continued to listen to the new information they were being informed of. "Fascinating..." Deuce murmured to himself. Muttering softly as he took his notes.
"Agreed. I can only imagine how busy it must have been at the beginning of the magical era like that." Aster was agreeing. Ignoring Grim's grumbling.
"When do we get to the classes where we blow stuff up with magic?" the cat beast wondered, not getting an answer from those around him due to two of them being invested and the other starting to fall asleep.
"Ah, Mr. Merel, a moment before your next period please." Trein called as the students were putting away their supplies at the end of the lesson. Once the boy was before him with the other three waiting at the top of the stairs, he spoke. "I understand that you came here with amnesia, is that correct?" he asked the boy gently, noting how Lucius began to purr and ask for pets from the boy who happily complied while still giving the teacher his full attention.
"Yes sir. Professor Crewel is looking into anything that helps, but he says my memories will have to come back in their own time. And the head mage is hoping that classes will help something come loose." Trein nodded.
"Crewel knows his medical knowledge, but you can rest assured if there's something to help, he'll find it." Trein said. "As for the Head Mage, he's a reckless and irresponsible relic, but he does care for the children and students under his care. So, while his methods are dubious at the least, he'll still do his best for you. You have my sympathy for your plight, Mr. Merel." he told the boy sincerely.
"Thank you, sir." Aster replied, a soft and grateful smile on his lips. It was also nice to have that reassurance. "And I'm not too concerned with however long it might take to get home. I'm learning so much already and I'd like to remember something, like if there's even anyone to go back to, before returning." Aster admitted. Trein smiled.
"I'm sure you do." the man comforted the boy. "Now, I asked you to stay back because I'd like to offer you some extra help. Unlike the rest of the students here, as far as any of us are aware, this is your first time here in Twisted Wonderland. This means that you're much further behind in your knowledge than everyone else. So if you're willing, I can offer books for you to look at in your spare time and offer some extra lessons during your free periods." Trein told the boy whose gold eyes brightened.
"I would love that, Professor Trein. And I really do appreciate the offer. I'll gladly take you up on that." Aster agreed. Trein nodded.
"Glad to hear it, however I don't want you pushing yourself too far, your health should always come first. But saying all that, this is a basic book that's used in elementary schools to help children. It might seem silly, but all things considered, you are technically a small child in regard to your knowledge. I hope it'll help." Trein said, handing over the tome he was discussing. Aster took the book gratefully and gently put it in his bag.
"Thank you, sir. I'll take care of it and look at it when I get my first break." Aster promised. Trein nodded.
"Very well, now I believe you'll be heading out to the sports field for your third period. Knowing Crewel as I do, he's most likely already informed Coach Vargas about your health and the limitations he's put you on for now. So you don't need to worry about overexerting yourself." he informed the boy.
"Thank you, sir. I hope you have a good day. Bye Lucius." He added to the cat who gave a pleased meow. Trein nodded as the child caught up with his friends and headed for their next class.
"You certainly warmed up to him fast." Trein mused with a grin, having already heard about the boy's beast master status. His familiar gave a meow of the affirmative. 'So Lucius just likes the boy in general. That's good to hear.' he thought, getting ready for his next class of the day.
-The Rose Red Tyrant-
Third period: Physical Education, did take place out on the sports field. There were locker rooms out here, with every student getting their own locker. Aster was relieved to find his P.E uniform already clean and waiting for him. It was the same one as the one he had been moving around in yesterday, so he figured Crowley had had it cleaned and moved here when he had first dropped off his school uniform at some point during the night. Thinking on it, he was pretty sure the uniforms hadn't been present when Ace first joined them at Ramshackle. Which would also explain how Ace had a spare uniform and his bag waiting when they had gotten up that morning.
Other students had P.E uniforms similar to Ace and Deuce's. Black athletic pants, a t-shirt that matched the main color of their dorm with their dorm emblem etched on the left chest, and either a short sleeved black top over it- like in Deuce's case- with NRC followed by their class number and seat number in the class. Or in Ace's case, a long-sleeved light weight coat that was tied around many a waist in the current warmth. Aster's own jacket- a dark gray, light weighted zipper hoodie- had followed Ace's example leaving him in his slate blue tang-top, rather than an actual t-shirt like everyone else... He might have to ask for that to be corrected, he realized, noting that he got some odd looks because of it, though it thankfully wasn't commented on.
In addition to class 1-A, there was also class 1-B joining for the P.E class. Aster figured it was a simple way to take care of more classes at once and decided not to think too much on it. It wasn't long before all the students were gathered that the coach joined them. "I am Coach Vargas, and physically educating your feeble little bodies is my responsibility." Vargas told the gathered students.
Vargas was a man around 5'7 and 30 years old with short, pompadoured brown hair, clear blue eyes, and a thin beard framing his face. He was broad shouldered with a silver whistle around his thick neck and chest. He wore black athletic pants and a red jacket with gold stripes; a golden stag head, Aster noticed, decorated the right chest of the jacket. He also spotted, thanks to the light glinting off it slightly, a golden curled arrow-shaped bracelet on his left wrist, the arrowhead a blood-colored red on the point. All in all, a very athletic man with great pride in his physique. "Great sorcery begins with a great physique!" Vargas said, regaining Aster's attention. "Behold the muscles you can build on a diet of raw eggs." The Ramshackle Prefect decided the pride Vargas had in his muscles was well-deserved considering the man was utterly devoted to physical health. " A great mage needs a great physical constitution!" The coach told them. "So I want you lot to give me 20 laps and a hundred push-ups!" The man said joyously.
Aster paled as others groaned at the assignment. He knew he had stamina- though he was unsure if it would be enough for a full 20 laps around the large field- but he knew that he did not have the physical strength to do one hundred push-ups. "Blah." Ace grumbled. "The forced exercise is bad enough, but meat heads like this guy drive me nuts." Ace complained as the students looked around, probably wondering if the coach was serious about the instructions he had given them.
Deuce was the exact opposite of Ace though, already pumped for the work. "Finally! A subject I'm good at!" Deuce cried, fist slamming into an open palm.
"Explain to me the appeal of runnin' around in circles! Do I look like a hamster?" Grim growled, obviously offended by the whole thing, but he couldn't say much more before he was being dragged away by Ace and Deuce to get started. Before Aster could follow, he and a few other students were called over to Coach Vargas who was looking at the six students very seriously once they approached him while the other students glanced at the group before getting started at a stern look from Vargas.
"I called you lot over because each of you have impaired health issues. Professor Crewel impressed upon me the seriousness of each of your cases, after having looked through the health records provided by your families. Understand, that while you are not expected to finish the same assignment that your classmates are, I do expect you all to put in your best effort in this class without going past your limits which you lot should know." Aster noted that that had been aimed at the five other boys with him, rather than at him.
"If I see any of you goofing off, I will be informing Crewel who will speak to you personally." Vargas sent them a sadistic smile. "And I promise that you don't want that." Aster felt a slight chill at the warning, remembering the half-hour long lecture Crewel had given him yesterday when he had skipped lunch. Huh, it was hard to believe that had just been 24 hours ago. "Today, however, I'm going to get a base line for your abilities in accordance with your health issues and the limits that have already been put down. Understand that I will know if you're slacking." he warned them before he set the six of them through their own drills that differed from the rest of the class's.
Aster noted how some students took this as meaning they could slack off their own assignment, only to have Coach Vargas somehow know when they were slacking and quickly getting them all back on track while never leaving his small group of health impaired students. Aster guessed it was another magic, or maybe an awareness similar to Aster's own. As P.E continued, Aster took note of the five other boys. A couple were from a house called Octavinelle. And he could feel an ambient magic around them that differed from the ambient magic around others. Two of which came from Scarabia, and one from Pomefiore. All five of them were from Class 1-B and they kept giving him strange looks as they continued their own drills.
The students from Octavinelle and Scarabia had very little stamina, but they did have an impressive strength. However, the ones from Octavinelle seemed unsteady on land and he wondered if their health issues resolved more around balance and steadiness. The duo was determined but never went over their limits.
The Scarabia students themselves were extremely balanced and the opposite of the others. He couldn't figure out what was going on with them until he noticed one of them wasn't putting much pressure or given any drills that relied too heavily on their left leg. Aster theorized to himself that maybe he had an accident that required him getting used to a newer or not very old handicap.
The other was out of breath more than the others and Vargas gave him several breaks to catch his breath. Aster figured that one had asthma or the magical equivalent of it if asthma wasn't a thing here. The Pomefiore student had great stamina and good balance, so Aster had no clue what was going on with him until he noted the boy got dizzy spells when reaching his limits and a harder time regulating his breathing.
Aster was discovering a lot of new things about himself too. Things that he had missed during the events they had gone through last night due to adrenaline. For one, the scars on his back were still mildly painful when he stretched or overextended himself. Apparently, the scars were more recent than just under a year old and still doing some healing, which ouch. The next thing he noted was that his sensitivity to heat was a bit more serious than he had thought. It wasn't just flames, but high environmental temperatures and elevated internal temperatures. It was also unfortunate when part way through the class, Aster had wound up mildly sunburned which had Vargas having him apply a potion that was a mix of Aloe Vera and sunscreen to protect him for the rest of the class.
And to make things more embarrassing, Aster wasn't even sure what his limits were until he very nearly passed out a little over halfway through the class. Vargas had benched him for nearly a half-hour under some nearby shade while sipping cooled water before he was allowed to continue the drills. Finally, Aster had amazing stamina, but all the other factors he was dealing with hampered it. Which sucked. He was going to have to either build up that stamina or train it to work around the handicaps. By the time P.E was drawing to a close, Aster and the other five were collapsed on the ground with those in the class that had somehow managed to complete the previous assignment.
"All right you guys. I have a basic understanding of your situations. For some of you, it's just getting used to certain handicaps before you'll be on par with the rest of the class, though I'll be keeping an extra close eye on you in future classes. Some of you will be fine once you're fully healed from previous injuries. Merel if you'll hang back after class, I noticed some rather concerning things that we'll need to discuss." Vargas told the group of six who nodded. Vargas nodded before calling out to the class. "Those of you who have finished can hit the showers! Those of you who haven't finished, stop for now and take a break before going to the showers yourselves!" Aster watched as students did as they were told, his fellow five impaired leaving themselves to get those showers in. It was a few minutes of chaos before things calmed down and Vargas turned to Aster.
"Alright Merel. Like I said, some things are concerning." The man told the boy as he crouched to the student's sitting level. "First, your sensitivity to the sun and heat. I'll give you a couple vials of that potion you used. Leave one in the lockers for P.E and carry the other one around in case you wind up outside for something. One application before class and halfway through class. Remember that. One of the ingredients in this potion is frigid blossom. It'll help with tempering your sensitivity to heat and work to keep you cool." Vargas said, handing over two slightly frosted, medium vials of the white-blue potion.
"Thank you, sir." Aster said. The potion had been a blessing on his skin, especially with the mild sunburn that was already healing. 'Magic,' Aster decided, 'Is brilliant.'
"You're welcome. I'll be letting Crewel know as he's your primary health provider. Expect to be learning more about this potion in one of your upcoming classes, alright?" he added. Aster nodded. "Next, I noticed that your scars are still healing and sensitive. Your best bet for that is to do light, non-exerting stretches while they heal to prevent stiffening. I'll also mention this to Crewel and hopefully you can get a mild numbing potion if the pain doesn't start improving." Once Aster nodded his understanding, the man continued. "Finally, your lack of awareness to your limits. The best we can do with that is work you until you start recognizing them without going overboard like you did today. So for a while keep an extra observant eye on how your body feels as you do different things. And if you do find those limits, let us know so that we can be aware of how close you are to reaching them." Vargas told the boy who nodded.
"Thank you, sir, I'll do that." Aster promised.
"Good. Until we get those things in particular figured out, you'll continue to be on limitations. Now, I believe your friends are nearby waiting on you to hit the showers. You have a break next before lunch, so make sure you eat a healthy one." Vargas told the boy, helping him up.
"Thank you, sir, I will. Promise." Aster smiled at the man, waving goodbye as he went and joined his friends. Vargas watched the group head off before turning to the others that were still present. He'd be sure to mention his observations and concerns to Crewel who would take care of things from there.
-The Rose Red Tyrant-
The group of four were relieved when they stepped into the shade of the interior hallways of Night Raven College. It was their first break of the day. "This so-called magic academy feels a lot like a lame, ordinary school." Ace grumbled with a sigh. "It's not exactly what I expected. But at least the collar isn't going to be as much of a problem after all." he decided to look on the bright side of the situation.
"Yup, meaning more time for you to figure things out in regard to your house warden." Aster replied with a smile, adjusting his bag which now held his new potion, to a less painful position.
"Yeah, yeah. You with me on that, Grim?" Ace asked, wanting to hear the cat's opinion as the only other one to have worn it out of the four of them. They were met with silence. "Hm?" The three humans looked around and noticed a lack of flaming ears.
"Oh, man? Where did he go?" Aster groaned, still sore and tired from P.E and getting a headache from a lack of food.
"Out the window! Running across the yard!" Deuce cried, the other two joining him at the ground floor window that looked out into the courtyard.
Sure enough, there was Grim griping about the classes. "No way am I putting up with this boring routine day in and day out! I'm Grim, Sorcerer Prodigy, and I don't need no one to teach me how to blow stuff up!" He yowled indignantly. Aster just knew that people were watching in either amusement or annoyance at the situation.
Aster was very annoyed with the whole thing. "Cutting classes on his first day. The head mage is going to be furious..." Aster grumbled. 'But not as furious as me.' The prefect thought angrily. "Making me chase after him while sore and tired. See if he gets any tuna for a week!" he muttered darkly, and unintelligible to others around him, under his breath.
"Boy, that guy is not a fast learner." Deuce sighed.
"Not a good look to lose your only student on your first days as a prefect." Ace teased Aster, getting a very annoyed look in response. "Want help catching him?" the ginger asked. Aster really should have been more suspicious at the offered kindness.
"Yes, thank you!" He replied.
"I do love the chocolate croissants at the co-op." Ace said cheerfully.
"I'd do it for an iced latte at the cafeteria." Deuce added with a sly smile. Yeah, Aster really, really should have been more suspicious of the offer. Aster gave the two boys a scarily blank look, making them nervous.
"He's getting away Aster." Ace said. "Do we have a deal?" he asked, getting just a little nervous.
Then the smaller boy gave such a cheerful smile that the two Heartslabyul students felt themselves relaxing. "Done and done!" Aster chirped.
"Pleasure doing business." Ace turned to Deuce. "Now, Deuce, should we clean up the mess made by the worst Prefect to ever set foot on campus?" Ace asked.
"I can already taste that latte, Ace." Deuce grinned.
"I'm counting on you, so if you want your treats, you better catch him fast." Aster's scarily calm voice informed the two taller boys who very quickly felt a shiver of fear slip down their spines. So, to placate the terrifying boy, they ran after Grim, Aster right on their heels as Ace grabbed up a net from a nearby closet. Aster didn't bother asking how he even knew it was going to be in there. They were able to catch up to Grim who kept his distance.
"You should be a good little Grim-lin and get back to class." Ace said.
"You're not really going to haul me back, are you?" Grim asked petulantly.
Deuce laughed as he stretched. "For freebies? I'd haul you back twice."
"What does that even mean?!" Grim screeched, not liking how the odds weren't in his favor. Then he let out a cat like screech. "I'm not going back to dumb boring classes! You can't make me!" Grim turned tail and ran after blasting a weak but bright blue flame at the Heartslabyul boys to slow them down. Thankfully, it didn't take too terribly long to catch the cat though there were a few hold ups when Deuce and Ace got distracted with squabbling that Grim would take advantage of to get a bit further from their grasps. But the two boys did catch him, the very scary Aster keeping on their heels and almost making them feel like they were prey being hunted was a big help with that.
"I've had it with these boring classes." Grim whined to Aster, who was not feeling at all sympathetic to the creature.
"Then I guess you'll just never become a great mage then, will you?" He asked rhetorically in an icy tone. Grim, Ace, and Deuce shivered.
"When did you get all bossy?" Grim groaned before turning on the two boys when Aster pulled ahead of them and hissed quietly. "What did you do to make him so mad?"
"We didn't do anything." They whispered back furiously.
"Boys, it's lunch time! Let's get to the cafeteria!" Aster ordered. The trio knew better than to argue and quickly chased after the boy. Aster was thinking on their chase, which had lasted around five minutes. Ace and Deuce had caught Grim surprisingly quickly and he felt that they did deserve those treats. Especially Ace who had done really well without his magic to help him out. Their group entered the cafeteria and Aster and Grim were brought to a stop as they looked around to take it in. He hadn't been in here yet when the other students had been eating and found he was not ready for such a large grouping of people, all who towered over him. It honestly made him nervous, not that he showed it though. With Ace, Deuce, and Grim at his sides, however, he stepped into the room more fully.
"Finally, it's lunch time!" Grim crowed, gaining their little group some looks but not much else. He began to drool as he spotted the buffet and the many types of food. The smells were incredible, Aster thought, and his stomach grumbled loudly, to remind him that not only had he not had dinner last night, just like the others, but he had only had a breakfast bar that morning. Ace's stomach echoed his own and the ginger gave a light blush at the amused look Deuce sent the two of them. Grim was shouting at this point the different dishes he had spotted, and had done so right in Ace's ear, getting a yelp from the ginger.
"Shh! Dude, inside voices!" Ace hissed at the cat. "Where was this energy earlier today?" he grumbled.
"Aster, grab me the grilled chicken! There's only one left!" Grim cried as they approached the buffet. Aster just sighed, realizing the futility of getting through to the gluttonous cat in the face of food. "And an omelet! And those jelly-filled breads!" Grim squealed excitedly, like he was in paradise, which considering how hungry they all were and Grim's love of food was probably a lot closer to the truth than not. In his excitement, however, as they were trying to get to a table, he ran straight into another student, falling back on the ground. "Ow!"
"Hey, watch where you're goin'!" A tall, white-haired boy from Heartslabyul growled at Grim.
"I am so sor-" Aster began, only to be ignored as the guy continued screaming.
"M- My carbonara! You broke the yolk!"
"Whoa, that's messed up! Pokin' the egg's the best part!" The first student's red-haired friend cried. "You better make this right pal." the boy said, grabbing Aster by the collar of his uniform, which got a severe reaction out of Ace and Deuce who both jumped forward and harshly shoved the boy away and Aster behind them. Aster sighed as he straightened up his uniform, ignoring that their group was totally getting some unwanted glances.
"Thanks boys, but I'm not a delicate flower." He soothed them, the words sounding almost like a lie even though he couldn't figure out why. He wasn't a flower, after all. And he certainly wasn't that delicate.
"I'm going to need that grilled chicken as compensation." the first boy, who Aster was calling a delinquent in his mind, told him and Grim.
"No way!" Grim growled. "Hands off my bird chump! I need my protein and I am hangry!" Grim's fur began to puff up in his agitation and anger.
"That's no way to speak to an upper classman." the red-haired boy said, taken aback slightly by Grim's attitude. "Catch me outside and I'll teach you some respect!" He growled at Grim.
'Definitely delinquents.' Aster realized tiredly in his head, already knowing they weren't getting out of this with a fight. And they just had to do this in the middle of the damn cafeteria. Deuce seemed concerned about the whole thing too.
"Excuse me, but it said in the handbook that fighting with magic was prohibited..." Deuce trailed off, confused and wondering if maybe he wasn't understanding something.
"Fighting?" the first delinquent smirked. "You got it all wrong. This is just me helping an ignorant freshman know his place."
"Now let's see just how many ways there are to skin a cat!" The second delinquent said a blonde third joining them, and this time Aster bristled at the very clear threat to his dorm student. Deuce sidled up next to Grim to provide back-up if it was necessary while Ace subtly placed himself between Aster and the three upper classmen. Thankfully, Grim knew to hold back until one of the delinquents, the one with white hair, sent the first attack at Grim, which was a mid-grade water spell. Aster called out for Grim to dodge instinctively and for Deuce to send a floral attack to the red headed delinquent. This canceled out the water attack he was about to send Grim's way, noting that the fiery ears meant Grim's weakness had to be water.
Aster kept a close eye on the fight, only stepping in when one of their opponents tried to send a sneak attack at Deuce or Grim. Or when they used a higher-level spell that really shouldn't be used against a freshman on only their second- or in Grim's case their first- day at the official academy. He scowled at the underhanded attacks that the blonde that had joined sent towards his friends and decided rather quickly that they needed to even out the odds.
All of them were rather new to the academy and Aster especially was new to his abilities and he was struggling to keep up with three different opponents, each with their own weaknesses and specialties. Slipping out from behind Ace, he approached the blonde from behind and in a completely instinctual move, kicked his feet out from under him before flipping him in mid-air and sending him to the hard stone floor with a painful sounding thud. He did make sure the blonde's head didn't crash into the stone, not wanting to seriously injure a fellow student. Then, while the blonde was dazed, Aster took his magic pen from him and glared at him.
He hadn't even been involved in the initial argument and only two had been in the fight properly. When the blonde tried to get up, probably for a counter of some kind, Aster pinned his neck in place with his right foot in warning. The freshly polished black loafer glinting just a bit dangerously in the light of the chandeliers. Ace had come to his side, making sure to keep an eye on the blonde so Aster could keep an eye on their friends. The distraction Aster had caused had been just what Deuce and Grim needed to get the upper hand, and with a few well-placed fire spells from the two of them on Aster's orders, the fight was finally ended. Aster sent one more warning look to the alarmed blonde on the floor- who was almost a full foot taller than him- before releasing him and tucking the pen into his front pocket when he sat up cautiously.
With that, the trio ran off much to the amusement of the watching student body. Grim laughed at the retreating trio. "I knew you were all talk! You better hope I never see you again!" Grim called after them arrogantly, only to let out a yelp when Aster picked him up by his collar unexpectedly.
"If you hadn't ran into them in the first place by being rude and not watching where you were going, none of that would have happened." Aster scolded his student who grumbled under the boy's gaze. He pouted and looked away but didn't bother apologizing. Not that Aster was expecting him to. The group of four were finally able to get to a table that had mostly empty spots and finally sat down to eat, Aster's potion being delivered by one of the cafeteria ghosts upon seeing Aster finally about to start eating. Aster thanked him before downing it and allowing the ghost to spirit away the vial.
"I can't believe this. Textbook bullies at an academy that's supposed to be famous for producing exceptional mages..." Deuce trailed off. Aster placed a comforting hand on the bluenette's back.
"Sorry Deuce, but you're going to find people like that no matter where you go in life." Aster informed the poor boy who just seemed even more disheartened at the news. The group began to eat.
"So, I saw your guys' dorm," Grim began, munching down.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Grim!" Aster reprimanded the cat sternly who swallowed his food before continuing.
"But what are the other ones like?" Grim asked.
"I'm sure you're familiar with the statues of the Great Seven?" Someone asked from behind them.