halfafishandawholehuman

[halfafishandawholehuman]

A guard?

The idea sounds appealing… Tsunotaro is one of the people Prathamik is genuine friends with, and oddly enough, he doesn’t seem to mind that she’s got no magic.

“It sounds appealing, but…” They sit themself down, wooden boards creaking underneath them. “Will the Fae kingdom accept us? Like… legally. Because I don’t exactly know how Tsunotaro’s guards were selected-” He starts to itch his neck. “-so even if he minds or not, it might not even be his choice... honestly, I'm not sure if there are any good jobs for us out there..."

The Ramshackle students sighs, "Not like I care. I don't have any interest in staying here." Sure, she's got friends- Ace, Deuce, and Malleus- but Twisted Wonderland isn't her home. This place isn't his, it's not where she belongs. Even if they stayed here for the rest of their life, they could never be comfortable here.

At least, as comfortable as she was back at home.

"I have my own life, my own friends... I have something ahead of me!" Something starts to fizz behing their eyes. It stings, and tries to get past the barrier in front of it, but Prathamik quickly blinks away the pain. "I was going to get money for college, just for going overseas for one year, and then, I'd be doing something I actually wanted to." They swallow something welling in their throat. "If I let this opportunity go to waste, then what will all that effort been for-?!"

He pauses. Takes a deep breath. Exhales.

The Ramshackle Prefect takes her fingers away from her neck, now rubbing the area reddened from all the scratching.

"...sorry," They mumble, "I didn't mean to lose my cool like that, I just... I don't want to let my opportunity go to waste."

A sigh leaves them.

Vulnerability is hard.

To be vulnerable in Twisted Wonderland is to be easily manipulated. As soon as the students here catch a wiff of any sort of emotion, it'll be abused to the highest degree.

So, to make himself not as exploitable, he's made himself not be as emotional as he usually is- too bad it comes with opening up being difficult for him, now. Even if it's with someone in the same situation as her.

She decides to change the topic. "If... you wanna talk about it, what was... your life like, before coming... here?"

‘we’ll both be okay’.

It doesn’t feel that way.

It doesn’t feel like they’ll both be okay- that everything will sort itself out, and the two will be able to go wherever world they belong to- especially since there hasn’t been a single way to be sent back the first time it’s been tried.

With the hope stored in Yuu’s heart comes the doubt stashed in Prathamik’s brain; and although she’s tried to find a way home herself- late nights spend reading through notes, checking out any possible library book relating to otherworldly traveling, as well as even asking random ass questions about it on an anonymous account she made on her phone- there’s a part of her that deems the entire thing hopeless, that maybe there’s no point in trying to find a way home.

Maybe he’s just stuck here. Forever.

“Ace and Deuce…” The otherworlder starts, “They’re my friends, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t belong here. Physically, I don’t.”

And in her eyes, that’s what matters.

This isn’t his home. This isn’t where she belongs. He has no magic, no knowledge about how the system works, no outstanding qualities that can help him.

“It’s… wrong, for me to be here- for us to be here. Our bodies don’t contain magic, we barely know anything about this world. How can we live a fulfilling life when we don’t have anything?”

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Amber eyes looking, blue and brown eyes peering back.

Ah.

One’s face contorts into shock.

He’s up.

The other’s just barely twitches.

Prathamik’s first to speak, “I’m sorry for coming into your house uninvited, sir, but we mean no harm! You see, this whole thing-”

“We got teleported here.” Floyd, deciding his friend is taking too long, interrupts, “So you need to tell us where we are and help us get back to Night Raven Academy.”

This guy was the closest person to us when we got transported here, so he’s gotta deal with whatever mess we’re in right now. Maybe this whole ordeal’s his fault?

Mirror hijacking is a thing, but The Octavinelle Student doesn’t remember any details about it… meh, must not be important.

If any gods exist out there please just let Floyd be smited and not me-

“I’m sorry for my friend’s crudeness-” The Prefect chimes in to try and remedy the situation. “-but we do need your help. As far as we can see, you’re the only one here-” And also this house is too big to navigate. “-so if you can help us, we’ll be out of your hair in no time!”

Floyd huffs, “Yeah, what she said.” Heterochromiac eyes narrow, and soon, sharp teeth start to peek through glossy lips, almost in a snarl. “But if you’re the one that caused this situation…”

If any gods exist out there please just let Floyd be smited and not me-

In a panic, Prathamik grabs Floyd’s mouth, now taking over the conversation. “Which we don’t think as of right now, we’re just really on edge right now!”

A finger hovering over the man’s forehead, the owner of that limb crouching above his form; heterochromatic eyes lazily staring into homochromatic ones.

Originally, Shrimpy protested against waking the possible owner of this house, spouting some useless things about 'caution', 'disturbances', and 'unknown'- just nonsense that Floyd was half tuned in on.

Don't blame him. Whatever Shrimpy saying wasn't really stuff that the merman agreed with; plus, coming from the person who made the plan to shred Azul's contracts, something she probably knew would badly affect him, the gibberish about 'caution' was pretty ironic to talk about.

So, Floyd woke the guy up.

"Huh?"

Blue eyebrows raise as the student realizes the stranger's awake, but not quite responsive.

That's a bit annoying.

If Floyd were in a bad mood, he would've kicked the guy out of his bed.

"C'mon, wake up."

But he's not, so he just repeatedly pokes the guy's cheek, pressing and pressing, skin smushing with skin, just trying to disturb the guy enough so he can-

His hand is slapped away by Shrimpy's.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

…hm.

“Do you know where we are?”

The way this guy’s walking, so confidently, it’s making Prathamik think this guy’s been here before.

If that’s the case, then can be either good or bad.

Having somebody familiar with their surroundings will definitely help the both of them with finding something to get them out of these handcuffs-

To test the equipment once more, Prathamik tugs on it a little bit.

-and for her to find an exit easier, but if this stranger turns out to be a more hostile person…

Mm.

They’re cooked.

He’s absolutely cooked, because 1) he’s somewhere that he has no idea of what the layout is, but his only company has an advantage in that area and if that company were to be less… favorable, then that would be bad news for Prathamik; 2) he doesn’t even know this person- he doesn’t know what the stranger is capable of, what their abilities are if they have any, if said abilities are even the same ones from Twisted Wonderland, or something entirely different; 3) Prathamik himself doesn’t have anything to defend himself with- no weapon nearby, no people to support him, no Grim- all he’s got is his fists, and he doubts it’s gonna get him as far as he wants them to.

She can only hope and pray this person is agreeable.

Ugh…

Considering their luck, it’s really likely that won’t be the case.

Guess she’ll have to prepare for some sort of confrontation… alone.

Just when I thought I could get a break…

Also, why are all the walls white?

Not an off-white, not a white that signifies years of love, but a blinding white.

It’s the kind of white seen when somebody’s vision starts to black out, the kind of white seen when a flashlight is shone in one’s face, the kind of white seen in the center of the sun.

It’s a white that hurts.

In order to not trip over herself, The Prefect is forced to squint, eyes narrowed at an almost unhealthy degree for her to just see.

Standing still, barely responsive, seemingly zoning out… they’re going through it, that much Prathamik can tell.

She can’t really blame them. After all, he himself feels pretty unnerved by the whole situation. Being stuck with a stranger, one who’s face can’t even be seen, the both of them in an unfamiliar place-

Or is this the other person’s home? Was the otherworlder purposefully brought here, while he was sleeping, and handcuffed to this masked guy- just to make her easy to dispose of?

But then, why didn’t whoever planned this kill Prathamik in his sleep? That would also be easy, she’d be pretty easy to kill during that time. And while he does have Grim, he’s… admittedly, not the best at guarding; anyone who knows him knows that, and anyone who’s seen him can see that.

So why not in my sleep?

It’s easy- wait, even then, why Prathamik? She doesn’t have any money, and she doesn’t hold any actual status in Twisted Wonderland; so why her? Why was the penniless, magicless, otherworldly human brought here?

Unless it’s for me being otherworldly…

Who would know that? Other than everyone else in the whole school, and this person looks like they’re an adult, instead of a school student. And why would somebody want an otherworlder?

Prathamik doesn’t know. She doesn’t know, she doesn’t know. He doesn’t know the culprit’s motive, he doesn’t know why’d they’d draw this out, he doesn’t know anything.

All she knows is that she has to find a way out, and then find a way back to Twisted Wonderland.

Safely.

If it’s possible.

…Her gut’s starting to sink.

“No.”

There’s nothing in this room- not only for helping, but literally nothing.

It’s empty.

Prathamik’s head turns to the door.

“Maybe we can look in a different room?”

[halfafishandawholehuman]

A... car?

Floyd's face goes blank.

How does a car come into this?

He's never said anything relating to a car... so how does this guy... huh?

Is he stupid or something?

And just like that, Floyd's mood does a complete 180- body stilling, lips pulling into a grin, a laugh falling out from them- clear joy radiating from his being.

"Are you stupid or something?" He echoes his thoughts, placing his hands in his pockets- much too casual for a situation such as this. "I ain't ever said anything about a car, guppy, and if you think you can squeeze one, you'd have to go back to school! His voice is just like his laugh; loud, nasally, and high-pitched.

It'd be even funnier if I told Shrimpy!

With the newfound idea, the merman turns his head, ready to call out to the human-

Ah.

His face falls, as he sees the Prefect lying on the ground next to him, rapidly shaking.

What happened to her?

Ah, well, whatever. Doesn't matter. Plus, it's kind of funny to see her like this.

"Aww, it looks like the little Shrimpy needs help!" The merman giggles, "Well- I guess I better help ya get on your feet. Aren't I just so kind?" He bends down, Floyd picking the Prefect up by his collar, setting him right on his feet. "There ya go! That must feel a lot better than lying on the floor, eh, Shrimpy?"

However, despite feeling grateful, the so-called seafood can only feel smelting hot panic slam through her body, infecting her brain and making her thing of one thing:

Grim.

Frantically jumping around the room, Prathamik's eyes try to catch even a glimpse of the ball of fur, all of objects in the Mostro Lounge blurring together to become one conglomerate mess-

There.

His eyes fix on the sight of Grim, stomach leaping to his chest.

Arms spread out, as if trying to stop the giant mouth coming his way- the feline looks scared, downright horrified, at the scene before him-mouth open, ready to spread some flames, trying to stop his imminent death.

Oh god-

Oh, god.

The scene's going too fast.

It's going too fast, there's too much happening at once and Grim is going to die and-

Grim is going to die.

Ice-cold water is poured onto Prathamik's brain.

Grim is going to die.

Blood starts to fill the Prefect's mouth.

Grim is going to die.

Lips splitting apart, a step taken forward, Prathamik prepares to rush forward, to save Grim, to not have one of the only friends she's ever made in this world die-

"GRIM!"

CRUNCH.

Prathamik doesn’t need to look back in order to know the chair didn’t work, the audible crunch of the chair telling enough for the Ramshackle Prefect.

Come on- come on- what else can I use-

Frantically, her eyes jump to every possible object she could use; immediately crossing all of them off, deeming them as useless in her goal to stay alive-

-at least, until his eyes land on the silent man standing there, not doing anything to contribute to the fight.

Does she care about eating her comrades-?

Not another thought, and the Ramshackle Prefect changes course, heading right for the silent man. Lifting Grim up, and throwing him at the cloaked one, aiming right for the face; soon standing behind the man, using him as a shield.

Man… they look like they’re having fun….

Multicolored eyes look from what Shrimpy’s doing to the weird armored guy in front of him, before flicking back up to the ceiling.

“‘The verge of death’?” Floyd boredly echoes, voice grating- clearly expressing his exasperation at this situation. “I don’t got any injuries on me, so I dunno what you’re talkin’ about.” He starts to rock back and forth on his feet. “If anythin’, you’re gonna be on the verge of death once I squeeze ya.”

Honestly, it sounds a lot more fun to squeeze than to have this stupid conversation.

“Actually-” The merman looks back at the armored guy. “How about I do that right now?”

Yeah, squeezin’ will be a lot more fun than this.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Indeed, this fight has taken too long.

With blows that do not connect, swords that nearly miss, this duel has almost turned into a dance. A performance, one meant to entertain, not for what it needs to be.

A battle.

A war.

Quincies and soul reapers must fight for their lives in what will be a massacre, and so, theatrics cannot be allowed here.

“Yes, let’s.”

Right after those words leave Jugram’s mouth, his opponent disappears.

Momentary shock, one second passed.

One second too late.

He can feel a blade skimming his neck, and barely within a second, he ducks, sword chopping of some strands again.

Hm.

It was a moment of being caught off-guard, but one that could’ve been his last.

I see, now.

With speed the human eye cannot process, he raises his sword up, aiming for the Soul Reaper’s legs.

Every second counts.

IT HURTS-

She needs to move.

It hurts-

He needs to move.

IT HURTS-!

HE NEEDS TO MOVE!

She cannot walk, cannot move- the pain in her leg commands her not to, weighs her down with the power it carries, able to push her down like it’s nothing and god it hurts.

But the world refuses to wait for him, and so, he must move as everything else does.

As this war does.

By the edges of her nails, skin of her teeth, she must drag herself forward, no matter what.

It doesn’t matter if her nails crack, if her teeth shatter, he must move.

Move, to get out of here.

Move, to live.

“Gh-”

One by one; drop by drop.

She uses her hands to move, blood leaving her leg at an alarming rate.

He does not care, though; he can’t care.

Every second counts.

And then, there’s a voice.

High-pitched and nasally, trying to push through the night-covered forest of Prathamik’s panic. “Prefect!” It yells, “Prefect, cmon- get up-!”

Grim.

It’s Grim.

“Gri-” barely a syllable of his name leaves their lips before Prathamik’s coughing intensely, ribs rattling with each rasp.

Fuck- I can’t speak-

She needs to, she needs to, she has to, she has to-

Before it’s too late.

Every second counts.

Pain.

The feeling of something digging into her leg, slicing right through- the sound of something limply landing on the floor, liquid pouring out- the feeling of something bursting from her leg, spreading to the rest of her body-

Hurts-

The world rushing by him, chin slamming onto something, and his leg-

Oh god her leg.

He doesn’t know what happened to it, he doesn’t know why it feels like something’s pouring out- all he knows it that it hurts.

It hurts, it hurts, IT HURTS-!

Burning, searing- reaching all the way to her head- consuming it like come kind of parasite, making her think of that, and only that- is Grim calling out to her-?

He opens her mouth, something spilling out of there- something inhuman, not belonging to someone such as Prathamik-

She’s screaming.

And Jugram, who blocks Tenjiro’s sword with his own, can hear it.

“How barbaric,” He muses, ducking underneath the blow and swinging his blade towards the Royal Guard’s legs, aiming to slice them in half.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Sorry?

“Sorry?” He echoes, “Sorry ain’t gonna cut it, guppy.”

Nails on a chalkboard, fork on a plate; Floyd’s tone is far from pleasant.

It is low, it is rubbing against his throat, and it is full of anger.

Well- of course it’d be! Floyd’s entire day is practically ruined because some dumb fish couldn’t look where she’s going and bumped into him! The feeling of somebody touching him, body against body- ugh, he absolutely hates it. He hates, hates, hates it.

And the fact that somebody he doesn’t know did it?

Sevens.

Can’t he have one good day? A day without his mood being ruined, a day without anything happening, a day without other people fucking it up.

Agh!

“I need payment.”

One of his hands, hot and heavy, claps itself onto the other person’s shoulder. Nails, sharp from neglect, dig into skin, clothes wrinkling up underneath fingers.

“You caused this, so you gotta fix it.”

In this moment, personal space is nonexistent, Floyd’s face coming close to her’s; teeth, too sharp to be normal, are extremely close to human skin.

Human skin that can be torn off.

“No.”

The answer is immediate, not requiring any sort of thinking from Floyd’s end.

“I don’t want to go to some bakery,” The word ‘bakery’ is almost spit out, as if Floyd detests even the thought of them.

He’s actually impartial to them, going whenever he’s in the mood for some sweet treats; however, at this very moment, he’s really not in the mood to go to one.

Especially since this girl bumped into him and ruined his already-bad day.

“C’mon, think of something else.” The words are painfully dragged from his throat, scratchy and placing his short temper on clear display. “Else I might have to squeeze ya.”

And even then, that might not make up for her bumping into him- gah, Floyd’s just been in a horrible mood the entire day, and this person he doesn’t even know just had to make it worse!

Can’t he just catch a break (<- the guy who’s been out of Mostro Lounge for the entire day)?!

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Bubbling, boiling, frothing.

The emotion too heavy to be described squirms beneath her skin; a parasite, crawling in her veins. It does not beg to be let out, it does not plead to be released, but rather, to stay.

To fester.

To take root within his body, to grow and bloom into beautiful flowers of the stained soil.

And she lets it.

Staring at the person in front of her, the student breathes heavily; what slips through her teeth is a sound that is not of a human, but an animal.

A beast.

Her eyes are wide, but not out of fear, no.

They are akin to a predator seconds before pouncing- no.

No, that’s not the right way to describe it at all.

It is the way a bee recognizes the human who swatted it away; the way a crow familiarizes themself with their god who has shunned them.

Swimming in his eyes is an emotion, so many, actually, so heavy and incomprehensible, that all it can fall in is one word.

Hate.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

A waterfall beating down on a man; a water gun hitting a kid.

Despite being two completely different things, they have the main effect: to prevent a person from moving.

Whether it be for years, or seconds, to stop the current action is all that is needed, and for Grim, with the little jet of water shot towards his eyes, he is certainly stopped from eating his prey.

“Gah-!”

He cries from the feeling of cold water slapping his eyes, vision temporality blinded; in an attempt to clear his sight, he’s forced to let go of the slimy little thing, wiping his eyes to quickly clear his vision.

How dare that thing-!

Fire rolling underneath his lungs, Grim can feel indignation sparking in his brain.

A speck of flame escapes his throat, and he cannot help but yell out a “Why, you-!”, soon giving chase to the little thing.

“Get back here! Nobody resists Grim the Great in his conquests!”

This pest. He shall show it who truly rules this jungle!

The frog never even had the chance to realize the danger that approached. Why would he even know when he was here by himself, just resting on this little spot and nothing more than that, so why would he even think that anyone would come anywhere close to him to cause him any harm, sure to look at him, maybe even to take a photo of him, but that was it and nothing more.

So one moment, it was sitting there in its pitiful frog, and the next, it was trapped beneath the furry paws of a creature that had no intention of granting mercy. He felt the sharp claws pierced the soft lilypad, the splash echoing through the quiet pond, sending ripples across the water's surface. 

He looked up, he could see the creature, his eyes gleamed with triumph as it looked down at the squirming creature in his grasp. 

This was it, a quick meal to satisfy his hunger. Shit!

“Ribbet!” 

The frog looked up, something strange flickered in its gaze—a spark of defiance, a hint of something more than mere animal instinct. It wriggled with surprising strength, desperately trying to slip free from Grim's grip. 

This frog didn't just accept its fate like the others. 

It had...spirit. This idiot hadn't expected that.

What was he meant to do, get eaten!

Bah!

never!

And then, it happened. 

The frog's mouth opened and a jet of water shot out, hitting him square in the face. It was a feeble attempt at defense, but the water was cold, and it smelled faintly of the pond, a scent that was not entirely unpleasant to the creature who often found himself around such places. As he started to wriggle and begin to try and worm his way out of this awful mess.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

The kraken?

The sea of raging tides, the manic cries of lightning bolts; within the enigma that is Floyd’s mind, a stream of light peeks through.

A stream of recognition.

“Oh, that thing!”

Eyes closed in glee, Floyd releases his hair from the baby-like tug of the Prefect, the merman’s arms moving to lie one on the head of her.

She has been made into an arm rest.

“It ain’t no myth here, Shrimpy,” He almost sings, “The kraken’s real, but it hasn’t really been seen in decades.”

Or was it centuries? Floyd doesn’t remember; Jade’s better suited for recalling that knowledge.

“The only evidence of its presence is the mutilated remains of a merman.” The Octavinelle student giggles. “It doesn’t have an appetite for humans, really- just sea animals, since they’re, yknow, in the same environment as it.”

The way he speaks, it’s almost as if he thinks the Prefect is dumb. Stupid, for not knowing this information that his species is familiar with.

With his free arm, he lifts up the strand of hair that’s differently colored than the rest. “Sure, it’ll take down ships, but that’s rare, and just cause it got caught in the crossfire of whatever the kraken’s fighting.” His smile widens. “So ya don’t gotta worry! No fishman’s got an appetite for humans, especially for a little shrimp like you. You’re too small for that- you’d just be a little snack for us!”

He laughs, high-pitched and disgusting, at the thought.

Of course it’s a myth that merpeople eat humans! Why would they, anyway? Humans would be an unreliable source of food; after all, they reside on land, and to catch one would be a means of long-term baiting, luring, and capturing. Plus, most humans wouldn’t even fall for those tricks- only the dumb ones.

So, no. It’s a complete and total myth that’s been made up- something used as a cautionary tale to little guppies that keep going to places they don’t belong.

If that’s the case, then why’s Floyd doing it?

Because Floyd’s being a little shit.

Undeterred by the tug on his hair, the student only grins wider, eyes crinkling with the smile on his face.

“C’mon, have a little fun, Shrimpy,” He baits, voice muffled by the arm of Yuu’s skin. “I ain’t gonna eat ya, so why’re you so stressed?”

[halfafishandawholehuman]

A yelp forced from her throat as she’s sent tumbling down, head hitting the floor and sending stars across her vision, pain blooming from the back of her head.

Gh-!

Planting his hands on the ground, Prathamik prepares to get up-

Only for a force to hold her still, sensations similar to a hammer bludgeoning her face, sending the student to go stumbling across the floor.

Dammit-!

Breath knocked out of him, the Ramshackle scrambles to get to, standing on wobbly feet to face the threat.

Her vision interpreting nothing more than blurry colors, she has to fumble to catch the club- dropping it, before picking it back up.

What the hell is going on-?

Ragged breaths are all that fills the room, words processing in the Prefect’s mind, realization taking place.

A test.

This is a test.

A way to train, a surprise quiz of sorts, from somebody who he does not know.

The intentions are kind, but the execution hurts.

Yet, she does as the other says.

Either way, I don’t have a choice.

As shown earlier, escape is not an option.

Brandishing the club, Prathamik steps forward, crouching down to swing at Mateo’s face.

@ncophyte

Why is he-

A step back, only to be changed into a last-minute duck, the Ramshackle Prefect’s legs stretching into an almost painful split.

It happened too suddenly.

A person, someone that Prathamik has only heard the name of, charging at the otherworlder without any sort of warning.

Oh God-

He’s been attacked before- stray dogs, Grim, overblots- he’s been attacked before, so he can defend himself okay enough.

Not when she’s the direct target, though.

He scrambles to get back up, shuffling away from the assailant, eyes flicking to and about-

Where’s a way to leave, where’s a way to-

Stray dogs, Grim, overblots; if she can, she’ll run away- if she’s in a position to, Prathamik will try and escape- if there’s nothing stopping her, she’ll leave it to everyone else-

A chair.

A chair, lying inches from his grasp.

A distraction.

A way to escape, to preoccupy the enemy, to blind them and run out the back door, finding somewhere safe-

Before she knows it, her hands are gripping onto the old Ramshackle Chair, swinging it to smash it against the other student’s body.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Grim is a first for a lot of people.

First talking cat, first animal to enroll in a school, and the first feline to go clothes shopping.

Grim The Great, trendsetter for everything! He shall be praised and adored for taking dares and leaps of faith, worshipped as the first cat to do anything.

And a distinguished cat must have nice clothes, else he shall be ridiculed by all the other people. Or so he hears.

“Name the price, and I’ll busy it!” He shouts, “I got more than enough coins for what I want!” A paw lifts up the bag of coins around his neck, the heavy thing jingling with each shake of it.

Months worth of savings (that he stole), for this specific moment.

For some clothes! Is it too hard to ask for, goddammit?!

“Just show me whatcha got, and if you don’t have what I want, I’ll have ya make it from scratch!”

Recently, Grim’s been finding himself envious of the other students’ uniforms.

Those clothes, snugly wrapped around them; the articles easy to find, easy to wear, and easy to move in-

It ain’t fair!

It ain’t fair, he says! Why do they all get the new, polished clothes, and Grim doesn’t get any?! He wants a uniform of his own- and sure, he’s got a bow and a sparkly gem, but it’s not enough! It doesn’t make a statement that he’s part of NRC! He just- he looks like some cat with a magestone, and that isn’t fair!

He’s tried to bring this up with the Headmage, but that featherbrain said that ‘it’s too expensive’.

As if!

But there’s no use arguing with him about that. After all, he’ll only hide behind a wall of stupid excuses, eventually sending Grim back to his dorm because he’s ‘much too busy!’

…ugh.

So, as a last-ditch attempt, he stole his roommate’s money and came here, a store he’s heard many great things about from his peers.

“Listen up, pal!” Standing on his hind legs, Grim points towards the one at the front desk. “I need some clothes that fit a guy like me! Think you can do that?!”

If the store’s as good as it says to be, then it definitely can!

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Try  to  fluster  my  muse.  Do  whatever  it  takes  to  make  them  blush!

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Send  🩹  to  patch  my  muse  up  after  a  fight. (Send  🔄  +  🩹  to  reverse  the  outcome.)

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Thinking rationally? Oh, what a hilarious concept!

Floyd is anything but rational. Whatever he wants to do, he does; who cares if it’ll cause long-term irreversible consequences! The short-term enjoyment is more than enough reason to carry out whatever impulsive thought he’s concocted in his mind.

So, the little Shrimpy’s words fall deaf to the eel’s ears.

All that’s provided as a response is a grin from the towering Floyd, the merman soon leaning down, a shadow casting itself over Yuu, and-

Yippe!

Arms wrapping around her stomach, he picks her up, and tosses her into the air; not much unlike somebody throwing pizza dough into the air.

@halfafishandawholehuman sent || (From Floyd)

“👁️v👁️”

Why was he looking at her like that? Whereas normally she might just ignore it had it come from literally anyone else, when Floyd was doing it, it became much more difficult to ignore. Was he staring at her like that cause he was a predator and had deemed Yuu as his prey in that moment? Was it because she had something on her face or on her person she just didn't see? Maybe he was just in one of his bizarre mods again; either way she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end her conscious telling her to get out of his path.

The unknown factor of what or why in that moment leaving Yuu with a sense of unease.

"Floyd...?" She spoke softly. "Why are you looking at me like that? Let's, you know, think rationally here before doing something too crazy." If he already had his mind made up though, there was really no stopping him.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

No.

No, she cannot.

When Crewel had given him the rundown of the lab, Prathamik’s professor made sure to stress what would happen if ingested in any way, shape, or form; that consequence being a sort of… dancing disorder.

To be more specific, a disorder that causes someone to dance and flounce around like a headless cockroach, feet unwilling to listen to their owner, just dancing and dancing until the body drops dead from overexhaustion.

To this stranger’s question, Prathamik nods.

“Sore throat.”

Immediately, she winces as the words leave her mouth, regret ebbing its way into that heart of her’s.

If only we didn’t try and pull off that spell…

It was stupid.

Utterly, and ridiculously stupid.

A spell that Ace made, which could theoretically amplify someone’s voice- to which Prathamik volunteered himself, thinking nothing could go wrong.

How his hopes backfired on him.

To be honest Prathamik doesn’t really know what exactly she’s ‘cooking up’.

Most he knows is that during the one day he was off from school (he had a fever that wouldn’t go away, and he was forced back to his dorm by one of his teachers), Grim had messed up in alchemy class- which led to Prathamik redoing the entire thing for his companion.

When the stranger looks into the cauldron, soon asking her question, the Ramshackle Prefect can only assume she’s wondering about the pink liquid.

The human looks over at the paper next to him, which is just a hand drawing of… a bunch of different ingredients he needed to mix together in order to make… something.

Prathamik doesn’t even know what it is. Is- is it a rock?? A bone??? She doesn’t even know.

Yet, he hands the paper over to the stranger, hoping it’ll give her an explanation of sorts.

[halfafishandawholehuman]

Close, huh?

To be in a place that’s so close, yet so far from where he’s originally from may do more harm than good, but at the same time, he doesn’t have much to do.

Prathamik’s already finished his assignments for the week, and there are no important labs or tests. If there are, he can always make them up, so…

Why not?

“Sure.”

With a nod, he stands up, pushing his chair in.

“When do you need me to be ready?”

Schneewittchen peeked her Head around the corner and spotted them. She hadn’t really interacted with too many of the student body outside of her dorm of Pomefiore and the other girls that attended this school but it’s time to change that! She does like meeting new people but she’s simply a shy bird. Swallowing her nerves, she took a few steps out then approached Prathamik.

“Hi,” Snow greeted quietly with a smile. It’s just the two of them. Great!

@halfafishandawholehuman

[halfafishandawholehuman]

This was a violation against his rights!

He who has served without failure, who has gone above and beyond, who has done everything that one could do, who has worked for so long to make the world as it was, he who shines the brightest, the strongest of the strong, a frog! This was a violation, that witch, she had no right to take one look at him, dismiss him, mock him, think that he was not good enough at all, and he had lashed out, killed her, he was sure he had shredded her to pieces, but she came back, mocked him more and then cursed him.

A frog in the mud then it was.

This would not be the end of him, this would not be how it ends, he will live, always, he always comes back, he always finds a way to overcome everything that is thrown at him and this will be no different than all the times before, as he sat there for a moment and sighed, this pond, he hated it, he hated this lilypad, he hated everything that there was here, he had no powers, none he was trapped and so he was going to have to try and escape, get out of this pond, this garden and try and find, someone, anyone at all that can help him!

Help will not come for the little frog.

Not unless some kind, innocent soul stumbles upon the frog; and out of the purity of their heart, assist the little thing in whatever troubles it.

Grim’s not that kind of person.

Far from it, actually.

Why would Grim the Great need to assist pathetic prey? They’re my food source!

He is not kind, innocent, nor pure.

He is the (soon-to-be) greatest mage in all of history! Assisting other living organisms is something beneath him!

Especially a frog.

A tiny, helpless frog, to which Grim sees it as nothing more than a snack.

Why should he help it when he can just eat it?

Grey paws creeping along the ground, the magebeast creeps towards his prey, blue eyes watching each of the little thing’s movements.

It’s still….

Perfect chance for Grim to pounce.

And so he does.

A glorious battle cry (more like a meow) from him, and he attacks, paws descending down onto where he last saw this frog.

Snack acquired!