Ace waited with trepidation as his housewarden ate the tart he had made...with a lot of help from the vice housewarden Trey.

Riddle finished the first slice...and to the relief of everyone, removed the collar around Ace's neck.

"Acceptable, but if I ever catch you eating food from the communal kitchen without permission again..." said Riddle, glaring at Ace. Ace nodded fervently at the warning.

Tsunami beamed at them both, and was preparing to leave.

Riddle then turned his attention onto them.

"You two are out of the dress code," he said sternly.

Tsunami blinked in odd synchronicity with Grim.

"We are?" said Grim.

She would have let out a squawk of surprise if she could (though Grim did just fine in that regard) when Riddle used his magic to change their outfits to match the rest of the dorm.

"Consider this a thank you for preventing any social faux pas, and for helping my errant card soldier correct his mistake," said Riddle. "And while cats are not allowed during formal parties, service animals are entirely different."

Tsunami beamed at him.

"Is it because service animals are technically classed as 'medical devices', and not pets or strays?"

Riddle smirked at them.

"Correct."

"I'm confused," said Deuce.

Tsunami turned to explain, but Riddle beat her to it as he was more than happy to enlighten his dorm mates.

"Service animals are specially trained to specific tasks...which in Grim's case is to provide emotional support and translate for Tsunami. That's why they are permitted to enter areas normally forbidden to animals entirely such as stores or entertainment like movies and such. Legally, they're classed as 'medical aids', rather than pets and there are strict laws about them."

"No, I know that...I meant about the part where Grim normally wouldn't be allowed," said Deuce.

"Rule number twenty three of the Queen of Hearts is that 'One must never bring a cat to a formal affair.'," said Grim, translating for Tsunami. Riddle looked rather pleased she was able to cite the exact rule number.

"So long as Grim is here as a 'service animal', he is permitted to stay," said Riddle firmly.

The party was a lot of fun, and quite mad. Tsunami made Riddle laugh openly when she managed to nail an intruding cat beastkin with striped fur with her tea when he startled her.

Tsunami made a point to approach Riddle after, as he seemed really stressed.

"If you ever want someone to talk to, I'm always free. It's not like I could repeat anything without Grim," wrote Tsunami.

Riddle blinked at that.

"I'm fine," he said.

"No, you're not. I know what someone under extreme stress looks like. I'm guessing you're under a lot of pressure from an external source...likely a parent. I've had to deal with a lot of entitled narcissists who think their child should be number one, instead of the odd mute girl," wrote Tsunami. Even with her board, you could feel the dry tone.

Riddle looked at her shocked.

"From what little Trey and that cat mentioned...I'm guessing your parent is a doctor or other high stress occupation, and has been putting pressure on you for a while now. Add in Ace's nonsense, having to put together the party and deal with newbies who don't know the Rules, and it's clear you've been stressing out with no outlet."

Riddle stared at her, hard.

He slumped, slightly.

"What do you suggest?" he asked. It was clear he was at his limit.

"Take a day off. Have Trey handle the dorm, and just take a 'me' day to re-evaluate your priorities. Your mother isn't here to force you into anything," Tsunami wrote gently. "And I am a very good listener. If you just want to come by Ramshackle to vent, I don't mind hearing you out."

Riddle slumped slightly. He looked as exhausted as he felt.

Tsunami welcomed Riddle to Ramshackle with a pot of fresh tea suggested by Trey, and some snacks that went with it.

It wasn't the first time she had acted as an unofficial therapist, and it wouldn't be the last.

~*~*~*~*

Grim did a slight twirl in his snazzy new vest. The test had been a little weird, but Tsunami had been nice enough to help him study for the exam, and he was now a "certified service familiar". Apparently that particular test was a lot easier when the one taking it was able to talk.

Since the vests didn't need to be in one particular color to be considered 'official', Tsunami had one made in Night Raven colors so it could act as Grim's student uniform. Something Crowley was all too happy to humor, since Grim and Tsunami were now a package deal.

Tsunami was already looking into getting patches that were designed to look like the crests of all seven houses, since Ramshackle didn't have one. She was pleasantly surprised when Riddle presented her with the ribbon bearing the Heartsabyl crest on it, which she then sewed into the vest.

However the implied message was received, that she was welcome to visit the Heartsabyl dorm anytime she wished and would be considered an unofficial member.

It was nice, how easily everyone accepted her.

Tsunami cheerfully picked up Grim, who settled around her shoulders like a furry scarf, and went to visit her friends.

Only to find Riddle attempting...and failing...to get away from a rather tall student from another dorm. She frowned, as the other boy was clearly attempting to court Riddle, but Riddle wasn't having it.

Silently sighing, she went to rescue Riddle.

His mismatched eyes were very interesting, and his markings were very pretty. However she could tell Riddle was desperate for an escape.

She tapped Riddle on the shoulder, and he looked at her in surprise and some hope.

"Riddle-sempai, I was hoping you could give me some advice on some of the homework Crewel-sensei gave us. I keep getting some of the plants mixed up," said Grim.

Riddle had a grateful expression in his eyes, glad to have a legitimate excuse to get away from Floyd.

"Of course," he said relieved. "I can understand how someone from a non-magical background would have some issues with magical plants."

Riddle shot a glare at Floyd, before they walked off.

Once they were out of earshot, Riddle turned to Tsunami.

"Thank you for that," he said with relief. "Floyd can be a bit much at times."

"He's a moray, he likely doesn't know any other way of courting," said Grim. Grim blinked and looked at her. "That was courting?"

Riddle was looking at her oddly too.

"What do you mean he's a moray?" said Riddle.

Tsunami blinked.

"Couldn't you see his markings?" Grim asked, though his tone was just as confused as Riddle's expression. "Markings?"

Tsunami pulled out her board and began writing.

"He had pretty distinct markings, usually associated with mermaids that have a built in toxin in their scales. Add in the his eyes, which were clearly having trouble with the stronger lighting on the surface, and it's pretty obvious he's an eel," she wrote.

Riddle was outright staring at her now.

"How do you know he's a mermaid?" he asked, utterly baffled.

It wasn't something Floyd or his twin Jade advertised. Riddle knew very well that they took special potions to walk around as humans, and only a select few were even aware of the fact they weren't human.

Riddle only knew because Floyd was a pest and once his potion had worn off by accident. Jade had to go and retrieve an extra vial of it before he was allowed out of the pool. That and how fast they were underwater...no human was that quick.

Tsunami tilted her head, not understanding why Riddle was looking at her like that.

"It's obvious?" she said. Honestly, she had pegged the taller boy as a mermaid the second she saw him. It was only because of his markings that she even knew what type he was. Her aunt had a ton of books about the subject, and she had loved reading them.

Grim made a face when he realized Riddle was still going to go over plants for their alchemy class. Riddle was very pleased to see Tsunami taking details notes on the subject to be used later.

He was even more pleased when she managed to rope Deuce into their impromptu study session, and to a lesser extent Ace.

After the study session, which was made better by the tea and snacks Trey brought out, Tsunami worked with Deuce over how to sign properly.

He was a surprising quick learner, though he did keep mixing up how to position his hands to 'speak'.

Tsunami was patient, as it was rare for anyone to get those right on the first try.

It was through Cater that she learned of the on-campus restaurant known as the Monstro Lounge. Just hearing about it and seeing the odd picture from Cater piqued her interest.

The place was absolutely beautiful, and she fell in love with it immediately.

"Oh? Talk about a rare guest," said a voice.

She turned to find...another moray, only this one had markings that looked like they were the reversed mirror image of the one bothering Riddle before. Which made perfect sense, as they were near identical twins, likely from the same egg.

Tsunami beamed at him, causing him to blink. She took out her board and wrote "This place is rather beautiful. I like it!"

He smiled at her, a bit warmer than before.

"It is rather homey, isn't it? What would you like to order?"

Tsunami perked up and mentally went over what she had on her. She had enough to buy a drink at least, but she fully planned to be a regular.

She perked up when she found out that they were hiring, which meant she could earn money while spending time in such a fun place. While she couldn't act as a waitress, she was reasonably good in the kitchen.

Azul looked at her application, pleasantly surprised by the fact the lone female student was wanting a job and showing a bit of common sense in regards to her situation.

While he would need a bit of demonstration of her cooking skills, if nothing else she could clean tables or wash dishes.

Tsunami walked out of the Lounge with a very cheerful attitude. Her cooking skills had been good enough to act as a secondary cook and keep things going, rather than cleaning tables or doing dishes.

Cooks also made more than just cleaning up, which made her even happier. While Crowley was 'kind' enough to let her stay without having to pay for her tuition, she did like to have spending money.

She wondered how Azul would react to the news she knew how to make the most basic of sushi. One of the perks of working at Takesushi was that the chef was more than happy to train her how to properly prep and cut fish for sushi dishes to make at home. Not enough that she could help him with the dinner rush, but enough that she could make it at home.

In Ramshackle...

"So you got a job at the Lounge?" said Ace. "How does that work?"

Grim was sitting on a chair, nibbling on some snacks. Once he finished he translated for Tsunami.

"I'm working as a line cook, since it doesn't require as much talking as a waitress or hostess. I'm not that good at mixing drinks yet, but I can at least use some morse code to communicate in the kitchen," said Grim.

"What do you mean?" asked Deuce.

"While being able to communicate is important in a kitchen, we can also make do with basic signals. Like one knock on a hard surface to acknowledge an order, or a one-two rhythm to ask them to repeat an order, or three quick taps to send the order out," said Grim. "While the place does get busy, it's not at the same level as a high-end restaurant."

Azul was rather accommodating, and honestly putting a system in place could prove beneficial later. Tsunami merely had to take a quick look at the dishes he wanted her to make, before getting to work and making them to his satisfaction. Sure she had plenty of room for improvement, but that could be resolved with practice and a bit of instruction from Jade.

It was awkward for the next two weeks, but once everyone became comfortable around her, things smoothed out. It didn't hurt that Grim mostly stayed in the corner with a full belly and would let out Tsunami's snarky comments during the rush hours. They had quickly learned he had a 'range' for his ability to translate for her.