#( verse: twisted to dance in a wonderfully wicked wonderland

[madamhatter]

Che'nya places a mome rath plushie on Simeon's head. He then nods sagely and notes. “Maybe mew'd like the Broom dog one better but I figure they're too big for mewr room. Most plushies of them are dog sized.”

Gentle pressure on top of their head makes the vice prefect wake - their body jolting slightly upright from their unusually relaxed posture against the couch cushions. Oaken irises peer through heavy lids - the wooden interior and deep greens of the Ramshackle dormitory ease their increasingly restless mind. Though, their hand immediately reaches upright, hand squeezing around whatever landed on them mercilessly.

A helpless creature comes into sight when they find the one responsible for waking them up. They tilt the animal, the eyes rattling in place. The black googly-eyed thing, without any mouth, seems to possess a certain level of terror. Simeon corrects their posture, noting the mismatched red and orange legs creating the body with a head of teal moppy hair.

Soft, plush - -

"Oh no--" Simeon's grip immediately loosens. They lean forward, resting the creature on their lap. "I am so sorry." A stark contrast to the mechanical and swift motions done before, their gaze softens while inspecting through the creature. "By the Seven, please be alright."

Without pulse.

"What--" Breath balls at the base of their throat, and Simeon narrows their eyes, looking around the room. They found the culprit without wasting another second and with maroon and violet fur waving in the air. With Cheshire grin and bright yellow eyes inspecting them and their more than humorous reaction. Shoulders tense at the moment, irritation heating the apples of their cheeks and tips of their ears.

"Mister Pinka, have you broken into the Ramshackle dormitory again!?" Harshness sharpens their dagger of a tongue. Their fingers brush through the toy on their lap in comforting motions.

"You were planning on giving this to me?" Simeon's face scrunched up. They look between the toy in their hands to the Cheshire cat reclining comfortably over the couch. Che'nya, on his back, casually slides over the couch's top to help let their eyes meet. "How peculiar," Simeon's eyes avert, "but should I expect anything more unusual from you?" How strangely fond that sounded.

"You are right on that. Besides, I do not take you as someone to enjoy competition, especially against a dog. I imagine Cheshire cats are not any more fond of canines than any cat would be."

"Mome raths, this is what this is, isn't it?" Their eyes return to the plush, thumb brushing away the bangs from the toy's face. "In what I have read, I thought them to be green pigs without any way of getting back home," Simeon recounts their earlier years at the Night Raven's College library, still cursed as a mysterious older woman, drinking away their anxieties with herself nose-first in books.

"How perplexing cute." A peal of dry laughter leaves them while readjusting the mome rath on their lap. Using their hand to help keep the plush propped up, the mome rath is now resting on its butt on top of Simeon's lap.

Yet all come to a crawling silence while Simeon's eyes narrow at the plush. Their index finger prods against the red side to where its cheek would be. Smile robbed of their impending thoughts in mind, their head meekly lifts, meeting Che'nya's eyes.

"Che'nya, are you sure you wish to gift this to me? This is remarkably out of the ordinary," sincerity shines through the vice prefect's uncertainty.

"But part of me knows that me accepting this is not supposed to happen."

[madamhatter]

“Holiday..? What do you mean taking holiday is an employee benefit? The prefect bafflles me sometimes.” 

“What in the Seven is that, anyways? And why did the headmaster fly off when I asked him about it?” 

[madamhatter]

“Ignihyde is hopeless.”

[madamhatter]

SD メーカー

Third-year Ramshackle vice-prefect, Simeon Hadden.

tagged by: i think i stole it from @melatoninburst ? ?  tagging: you! 

[madamhatter]

@bigcasinc​​ replied to your post: “...Do you want to see it?” RUGGIE?

“...May I?” SOPHIE?

[madamhatter]

“The hyena and civet are at it again..”

[madamhatter]

@bigcasinc​​​ / continued from here

An estrangement turned into a rogue arrangement; such a fact still puzzles the Ramshackle prefect to this day. It wasn't meant to unfold nor develop to such a thing, a constant thought after each instance of intimacy that lingered with Octavinelle prefect. 

Like an unsupervised weed found growing in the garden, emerging each chance it can. Like a wild mushroom growing at a base of a moldy tree, wild and untouched. Like a yarn ball that tumbled out of someone's hands and unraveled.

'Out of hand,' either of them would've called it, and neither of them would call it unwanted too. A matter that came by spur-of-the-moment decisions. Stubbornness incarnate and deception extraordinaire seemed that they couldn't get enough of another.

'Simeon,' now revealed to be Sophie, never anticipated this. Every misstep and exposure to the other would only spell the worst for them. Every step they took wasn't even up the regular development staircase nor followed a path worn by traveling feet. Conceiving the journey was only indecipherable scribbles on a map that had no landmarks nor compass on it. 

The publicity of their relationship had only remained behind locked doors, or so she desperately wanted. Savor for their underclassmen and prefects, there should've only been a handful of witnesses to the budding closeness. All it should've been considered was a situation of odd pairs befriending another. 

( Even after all this revealing and knowing what little I even know of myself, how incomplete this head of mine is, why does he stay? What chance is there that this'll end sooner than I want it to? That's the terrifying art - I don't want it to, and some part of me hates me for being selfish. I don't know why, and I can't tell. My memories are here and there - only my name coming back to me.. ) 

Unfortunately, a persistent menace without any filter tended to blabber out loud without thinking of repercussions. He would go unnamed. But this unspoken person surely knows that the vice prefect is capable of an array of knives and the many ways to prepare seafood. ..Which does not startle or threaten him as he'll only laugh and refer her to her truly harmless 'basking shark-chan' self. 

Study hall was already being challenged by her lack of attention. It was enough for both of them to sit beside another other and discuss notes, acting as the shining top students and representatives of their respective dormitories. At least, the Octavinelle bunch had plenty of 'fish in the sea.’ Ramshackle was occupied by the otherworlder, a cat, and herself. Not much competition there. But today provides a risk to their bleeding thoughts - both seemingly sharing the same issue. 

She couldn't keep still and had to stand up by the desk, looking over the crowd. He stays seated at the end of the row, writing. She manages to glance over at him, and she raises a brow.

His slightly twitching hand and avoidance to look at them as she called his name and touched him revealed more than enough to her. The gull of this man to lie right to her face - - as if he'd be trying so hard to avoid her gaze if he was thinking of terrariums! 

A ploy to disrupt him was enacted without a second thought. His hat blocks the sight of the other underclassmen in the classroom; her lips remind him where exactly he was. Ka-plunk went the pen against his notebook. Those hazel-and-golden eyes stare right back at her, breaking the perfected gentlemanly façade and revealing the pure awkwardness underneath it all.

--And this man still has the gull to lean forward as if they’d been alone again. Knowing his habits, there would be residual blood on her lips if he wasn’t careful or he allowed his restrained compulsions get the better of him. Though, there is as affectionate and gentle of a touch to his as were hers. A passing kiss and nothing more to it---.

Simeon pulls away before anything else could develop, satisfied with her plan working. Typical scolds begin, “Why did you think lying about what you’re thinking of is alright? Your thoughts are your own and by no means do you have to share what they are. If something is bothering you or concerning you, you don’t have to hide it. Besides, trying that with me? Don’t make into a fool now - you wouldn’t even have looked like that if you thought of terrariums. The day you frown about a mushroom is the day you’re going to the infirmary.” It concludes with a deep huff. She returns the hat to his head, adjusts it by the corner, and turns again to look forward. 

He speaks once more, now truthfully, but still with a little twisted amusement of his own. She raises a brow, still facing ahead, whispering back to him, “That wasn’t even meant to be competitive. You decided to to be dishonest, and not only that, in the worst way possible. You’re sharper than th--” 

“Ahm-” Simeon chokes on her own words. Blistering red erupts across their face, shattering any steadiness and poise the vice prefect had. She spins at her own feet, glaring. Seemingly innocent Jade taps the end of his pen on his cheek, staring right up at her. Each word hanging off of his toothy grin and reaches her ears. 

Oh all it brings back are memories of idiocy. Oh Seven this was things she had shoved into the back of her memory closet. Oh god, not the yawning, anything but the yawning. Seven, please let her remember something else--! And the next closest association coming to mind was the sound of splashing water. 

“Jade! What are you going on about?” A harsh whisper leaves her, hands gripping the table ledge tightly. “This isn’t at all the place to be talking about this! This isn’t a course on human development and health - - that sort of thing isn’t even being touched here or even for this semester. All it was had been a simple distraction! Humans aren’t as--” She starts the chopping motions with her hands. Telling herself to stop. “We aren’t wired as wildly as merpeople, especially moray eels! Just because it’s hot enough and there’s plentiful food doesn’t mean we act on this instinct--! We don’t even have that built into our minds, I--” She gulps. “And that is NO invitation for anything you’re thinking about!” 

“What make you think it’s alright to be so careless and ask that? Who knows who in the Seven could be listening and taking what they will from that?! Jade Leech, you know better than to do that--! You’re as terrible as your brother, but not in this w--”

“Hadden-senpai--” A voice croaks behind the air.  “Are you done talking to Leech-senpai?”

"A...a......Ah.” A dying squeak leaves Simeon. It is the sound of humiliation and failure, resignation to utter defeat. Her hand closes to a fist, tearing her eyes from Jade’s and looking down at the notebook. All the color in their ears stay - still redder than a Riddle’s hair - while the color from her face flounder. Her eyes squeeze shut, only imagining the polite smile on Jade’s face in all its smug glory. 

Clearing her throat loudly, Sophie turns immediately to face the student. Stone-faced and as ever grumpy looking as ever, to add to that....Even if her ears still were burning. “Were manners never a part of your discipline in your dormitory?” The student in question was a first-year Pomefiore student - a lack of etiquette was surely a black stain for the prefect. 

He stood quite taller than Simeon - as most students did - but it never concerned her the years she had been here. “Vice prefects were conversing and disruption is an unsightly thing. No less, a troublesome habit to have with your older years. Schoenheit-san has hopefully considered lessons on how to rectify that. In no imagination of mine do I see him tolerating that.”  

True to the reputation Simeon garnered at the college, the most relentless and unforgiving didn't sparse words. Between the Octanvinelle and Ramshackle vice prefect, Simeon was considered the rougher of the two by most freshmen, while Jade was politer. That was until they actually learned that it the latter you best be careful with, while the former was considerably softer and more forgiving. 

“Underclassman, what is it that you need then from Leech-san? After that interruption, I exect something worthwhile.” 

[madamhatter]

Which exam would you rather deal with: an exam against all three elements or an exam against light/dark elements?

The vice-prefect of Ramshackle, adrift in thought, glides their pencil’s tip against the pristine surface of the newly turned page in their sketchbook. Lead ribbon begin decorating the page as their gloved hand makes precise and steady movements with their wrist. Though, their sketching hadn’t any rigid planning; their hand was wandering as was their mind in the late afternoon.

All came to a halt at the query regarding exams. Simeon’s attention roused up, as did their head, acknowledging the person before them. Yet, their hand remains in movement, still drawing aimlessly on the page. 

“Whichever is needed to be done” they said, outright ignoring the fact the question about personal preference. 

[madamhatter]

“And neither of you can be denied how uncharmingly annoying you both are right now.” 

[madamhatter]

"Hey, Sophie," he fades in, his usual large grin pulling at his lips as he looks down at her. "I stole ya a lil' somethin' from my own school. Dunno what kinda tea mew like, but..." he pulls out a packet of earl gray and one of peppermint. "Take em both, nya."

Heed the warning of the Librarian, their warning hints as their glower burnt in the general direction of the invisible Royal Swords Academy student. Ever since discovering the ‘true self,’ a fragmented person without any complete collection of memories and oneself, the Cheshire has grown comfortable in regarding and utilizing the true name. Unaccustomed to the name outside of her closest peers, being the employees of Night Raven’s College, the syllables that greeted their ears were strange and uncomfortable. The mind questions the legitimacy of such a name being the true one, no less, if it was viable to openly assert at the institution meant exclusively for males. 

“Mister Pinka, volume.” Muttered through gritted teeth, Simeon clutches the thin material of Che’nya’s shirt, not needing to look around to pinpoint his location. Forcefully, but much needed, the third-year student escorted the towering anthropomorphic magenta nightmare of a friend they had elsewhere. Somewhere that veered from the main hallways, from the main life of the campus. Somewhere down the beaten road, past the main buildings, and dangerously close to their affiliated dormitory, Ramshackle, that was the spot they’ve taken him to. 

Releasing Che’nya, Simeon turns on their heel to confront them, brows furrowed, annoyance apparent.  “Now then,” they take a short breath, arms crossed, “we can converse candidly without any unwanted listeners.” 

Form revealed, mischievous and prized grin on Che’nya’s face, the expectations of what was meant to be discussed or brought to their attention were substantially low. Flirtations were of the norm now, already leaving little to no impact on them, even when outside of their current disguise. After dealing with the nonsense that was teenage infautation while operating as the campus’s Librarian, Simeon had more than ample experience in working around and being unaffected by such words.

“Stolen--?” A look of disbelief warps their neutral expression. “Mister Pinka, thieving isn’t anything to nonchalantly mention, especially when you’re belonging to a institution known for quite the opposite of that!”

Though, their brows press together, clueless by what he meant. This wasn’t a case of custards and tarts that he routinely stolen from the Heartslabyul dormitory and the Ramsshackle dormitory (if Simeon ever felt compelled to bake). Something unnerved them, hearing over the words and the emphasis that it was for them. What was for them? What could he even mean? 

Unused tea sachets were presented to the silver-haired student, their eyes widening as they glance between the two bags and Che’nya. Their hand slowly clenches and unclenches, listening over the words and emphasis to take them. Tenacity in their eyes ebbed and confusion took its place. They feel heavier in their shoes, now the back of their heel digging into the dirt. Their heart beat wasn’t increasing, they only feel a cluelessness as to what to do next. Che’nya had expectations adn they were trying their damnest to figure out the next step. 

“This is...” They clear their throat, hesitation winning over their ability to articulate themselves. Glancing once more between the items and the Cheshire, Simeon rubs their arm, attention descending to the floor. The taller extends his hand, gesturing it closer to Simeon, and now their hands are balled up defensively towards their chest. Again, they look between the bags and Che’nya.

“Do I take it?” They bluntly ask yet their face is coated pink at how abruptly they spoke without thinking. “Che’nya, do I?” They ask again, more determined for an answer, despite the clear embarrassment on their face. 

A quiet exchange later, and managing their nerves, Simeon’s hand slowly curls out, moving forward. They take a deep breath, fingers hovering above Che’nya’s palm, and they pinch the teabags by their corners, slowly taking it to them.

Simeon’s head bows, inspecting the items, lost in the silence. Though, their expression softens with a small smile, their eyelids lowering with the sentimentality of the moment washing over them.  

“...Thank you,” they sheepishly murmur while beginning to thoroughly observe the teabgs.

[madamhatter]

“You’re my favorite.”

anastasia broadway dialogue starters, pt. i. | accepting | @saymecw​

Any word to ever leave the young Cheshire cat’s ever-smiling and ever-deviant lips was an immediate sentence in being dropped down the rabbit hole. The conundrum of applying rationale to the enthusiastically irrationale, it was a burden ever-lovingly thrusted into anyone’s arms whenever Che’nya was involved. Bristles of magneta and purple wave into the air, his tail never finding itself stiff and lifeless as never was he in such a mood. Fascination apparent by the squint of his eyes, the needle-thin irises sharpening as he so ever-greedily drinks in the physique of one that was ‘his favorite.’ 

Whatever do you mean by that? First inquiry on the matter, the silver-haired student’s brows knitting, thinking over each lax note of his. The tips of the Cheshire cat’s ears twitch, awaiting for a response, wishing to ascertain the next step down into the rabbit hole while watching them fall as gravity’s victim. Had Che’nya known how focused of a subject he was in their mind, he would’ve only found it ‘purrfect’ for his ‘pawper partner’ to have all their attention centered on him. However, there wasn’t an inkling if weakness behind the well-preserved mask of a student.

Is it because I’ve been supplying an unorthodox amount of tarts for your secret supply as Mister Clover's latest occupation in Heartslabyul left you dried of a new source? Is it because I’ve allowed you access into locations that you might’ve otherwise not known of? -- Most of the time being the Ramshackle dormitory and my bedroom, so it mustn’t be that. Is it because of my willingness and tenacity to make a fool of myself whenever you’re around, already volunteering to play the adhesive to student conduct and etiquette, when you simply undo it all? Perhaps. Is it because you enjoy peppering empty words to me as if they were a lover’s kisses, only then so cold and so unfeeling? Those emotions are adequate for someone like me. So, who am I to blame you?

Whistling winds and humming branches pull away Simeon from the upcoming banter they feel at the tip of their tongue. The pair had been seated underneath a tree that overlooked the main property of Night Raven’s College, one that was optimal in keeping Che’nya away from harassing all the students during their busy day and also in soothing Simeon’s nerves as the high foot traffic and enclosed spaces of the castle’s hallways was already making her want to retreat to reclusive habits. 

They slowly move their hands forward, cupping it, as the sunlight bleeding between the leaves pooled in their palms. A warm feeling, one rarely known when most of what they’ve known in their life was from these four years as the College’s ward. Glimpses of a past life flickered in-and-out, a dying light that was already failing and succumbing to the ghosts of memories from that time long ago. The security that memories brought was absent, the reliance of past experiences was absent, and the fulfillment of understanding one’s self was absent. 

All that remained is this belligerent fool named Sophie. The one who forgotten and the one who was forgotten, an ironic yet perfect tie into this cycle of idiocy I endure in having to relive these ‘human’ things that so many have done before. So many that I might’ve done before, yet I cannot confirm that.

If only I did have some memories that went beyond feeling burnt and covered in ash. Maybe then I could understand the strange comfort I find myself to be whenever beside him. Why is that the case? I’m unsure. I believe that with time, I could tell, but time has proven to be a bigger obstacle than aid. For now, I will only think of simple things. Like, I’m a favorite of what exactly, Mister Pinka?

Deathly quiet, Simeon reclines against the sturdy bark of the tree, taking a deep breath. Tickling fur underneath their chin, their hand gently raises and glides through the now coiling tail that greets their cold flesh. Slowly, their chin rises, their eyes meeting Che’nya’s once more. 

Finally, they reply.

“You’re the only one.” 

Yet, it was with the same mystery and perplexing tone they answered with.

[madamhatter]

Perpetually absent on the most ordinary school days, the ‘transfer’ student crosses their arms and observes the hellscape they managed to avoid with their reclusive nature.Arms crossed over their chest, realizing they themselves could’ve been an accessory, or worse, a target, to the fury of a bouquet. 

Their eyes roam, spotting the duo, minus one sensitive superior, who were almost responsible for the Ramshackle dormitory being stolen. So, they’ weren’t on the menu for the young lady....

However, Simeon opened their mouth, unsympathetically chiding: 

“Slap ‘em again.” 

[madamhatter]

bigcasinc inquired:  ✎- Floyd! Send in “ ✎ “  to put our muses in this generator and write a starter (OR) drabble based off the prompt we get! | accepting | @bigcasinc​​

PROMPT: Sophie: You know, there was a time that I would have died for you.

Dilemmas like these should’ve been handled by the assigned personnel with such previous skill or misfortune to be given such a job title. Such a tale of trouble belonged to the third year. What worsens this blow to their pride was the ongoing and repeated offense that almost always occurred in Octavinelle territory, and it was almost always them that needed to be called forth. 

Maybe it was from the bloomed kinship between them and the students, most taking to them like a sibling. Considering the age differences between them and the ‘leads’ too, they were naturally designated as the eldest and, unfortunately, the shortest. 

Though, the relationships themselves were beyond conventional -- but most everything was at Night Raven College. There was an odd request or two from Mister Ashengrotto. Or by the Leech brothers, both up to mischief that could’ve broken the entire school -- had it not be for the human’s quick thinking.

Thankfully, by some sliver of a miracle, today’s incident hadn’t occurred in Monstro’s Longue. If the lounge owner was expecting them to nearly drown themselves with 2000 gallons of water being sprayed into their face from a crack in the glass, he must’ve been mad. However, there was as much splashing and water being dealt with...

Waters splashed around, aggressive whipping sounds audible over their shoulder, their patience was sound, but their concerns scaled. The student, kneeling before the shattered glass, turns immediately to the sound of thrashing. “Oi, stop it,” they click their tongue, wagging their finger to the rowdy culprit.

Submerged in a large tank of saltwater had been the true form of Floyd Leech. Speckled, dark, and mute teal arms were crossed on the edge of the tank, expression soured and mood spoiled. Unlike their restrictive and calm sibling, Floyd, as noted by the third year, never felt the need to hide their feelings and was more than comfortable with their bitey intentions. However, he holds himself well whenever he was ‘on the clock’ with his duties -- even with his eccentricities. 

The gallons of saltwater spilled and large-as-their-head scattered glass had a certain 191cm merman’s name written all over it. The victim was one of the tanks that the dormitory was known for. However, this one held a special purpose. It was one of the smaller emergency ‘transfer’ tanks used for when any of the younger and smaller Octavinelle students couldn’t control their glamor well enough or ‘dried up’ too soon.

“Mister Leech, the abrasiveness and brattish behavior aren’t going to undo anything. What would any of those trepidations accomplish for your current predicament? I won’t take it that you’re acting out as if you felt like you were in a quandary.”  Chiding the merman never had any benefits, especially whenever his emotions frayed rationality and only created a frenzy. However, as they gathered the remaining pieces and ensured that no stray shards were on the floor, the third-year couldn’t remain silent. Their usual position was to deliver reprimands. Just, however, not in this current form. 

Slowly, and ignoring the discomfort filling the gap of their kneecap, the student returned to their feet. Crossed arms stiffly over their chest, they raised their head, glowering as the merman sulked in the other larger emergency tank.

“I thought breaking the bog the first few instances would’ve taught you something. Sprinting and springing towards or into anything smaller than what can carry you means they’ll break. Be it toilet bowls or students’ backs.” The silver-haired student shakes their head, sighing out loud. They close their eyes as the expected unpleasant retorts were given by Floyd. 

Turning on their heel, the student softly opens their eyes, looking over their current ‘clean-up’ set. Asides from the perfectly stacked pile of glass and unanimated mops and buckets, there was a stepstool. They step forward, the student looks at the stepstool and places the tip of their shoe underneath the seat. They spent a moment or so adjusting their foot and its ankle, murmuring something nonsensical With a calm hum, they kick it forward.

Landing right onto its feet, right in front of the other and unbroken tank, the third-year was already was moving forward. Their scarred hand slithers into the depths of their jacket’s pocket. A sealed and compact bento box was soon in their palm and, holding their breath, the student opens it. 

And there was the sweet smell of deep-fried octopus with fresh mayo squeezed over it.

“Take it.”  A suggestion, it was not as they shoved the takoyaki into Floyd’s mouth. They closed the bento box, and if one were to peek in, there were particularly snack favorites for some notable students. It wasn’t any secret just how soft they could be. 

They click their tongue, returning to glare at the merman. 

“You know, there was a time that I would’ve died for you.” Simeon remarks. “Now, that time is used to clean up after you and your brother.” 

[madamhatter]

bigcasinc inquired: ✎- Jade Send in “ ✎ “  to put our muses in this generator and write a starter (OR) drabble based off the prompt we get! | accepting | @bigcasinc​​

PROMPT: Jade and Sophie sleeping on top of each other (in the bed, couch, where ever you prefer) when Sophie flops down on the floor. 

Per the headmaster’s directive, and given the timing, Simeon was to live or at least associate with the Ramshackle dormitory. To better strengthen the fabricated identity was his reason for such arrangements. Yet, the leading corvid had other motives that didn’t go unnoticed. 

‘Kind,’ as he advertised himself to be, the headmaster still had his own curiosities and suspicions regarding the human that needed answering. And, what better way to gain answers than to assign a staff member to such a task? He wasn’t attentive over the whole ordeal, to begin with. To assess and report to their superior, Simeon took another burden. It was one that they should’ve refused. Yet, their fidelity made it nay possible to ignore. 

Retiring to the dormitory wasn’t entirely necessary for Simeon. The rooms were bigger than the cramped-unit they originally and currently live in. However, they preferred their ghosts haunting their minds and not shaking their bed. And, they believed that anyone would prefer some privacy whilst changing their bandages and treating their burns.

One night, Simeon recalls. I’m so kind that you don’t need to stay there for the entire semester. Just please, keep an eye on our new student for one night and see how they’re adjusting. They’re our guest, after all. Our very new and interesting guest.

Out of the generosity of their heart, and the gratitude they held towards the headmaster, they decided to spend a week. And how that week practically spent them-- 

Simeon’s memories were already clouded,  yet it hadn’t occurred to them that their mind would’ve gone adrift while attending to the Monstro’s Longue. The last they recalled was...

Ankles crossed, the student was shifting and sorting through contracts, reading through the fine print and agreements. Their main business was cross-checking with one of Mister Ashengrotto’s trusted footmen, the emotionally maintained but mentally scarring Jade Leech. 

These contracts happened to ones that weren’t using the dorm leader’s unique magic, as most of the signers hadn’t any outstanding ability to remove. If the conditions of the contract weren’t met, well, the Leech twins were more than capable of handling it.

“This stack has Savanaclaw students have who’ve decided to contract but failed to meet to the agreements,” the young student gestured their hand to their left-hand side. “Your brother is already handling a personal order from Mister Ashengrotto,” they nodded, “this is most likely going to be easier than what he’s currently assigned.” 

Composure fixed onto his face through a polite smile, Jade folds his hand over his chest, accepting the compliment. No complaints, no backtalk, but he was as capable of creeping underneath their skin when he felt particularly poised and interested in doing so. Olive and golden irises followed not their hand gestured, but remained on their face -- Simeon had already picked up on this but, they voted to ignore it. 

Several passive comments were made when Simeon first arrived, inquiring about the maintenance of the human body and the cycles required by the body to follow. What an interesting way not to directly comment about my eyes, the human thought and they shrugged it off. 

While they continued to maneuver and manage the conversation, it wouldn’t hide the fact their eyes were sullen and dark bags marred underneath their otherwise sharp eyes. “Now, ---” The light of their mind flickered, and they heeded no attention to it. Though, the disregard also included their words slurring and their conscious blanking and their body slowly teetering...

And all came to a stop.

Restlessness must’ve been a requirement for whoever lived in the Ramshackle dormitory. Long since abandoned and grim, it was until the arrivals of the mirror-hopper and the azure, hot-tongued cat that life returned to the unfortunate remains of a once-great dormitory. How the pair ever managed themselves in this wretched and abysmal lodging was beyond Simeon’s understanding.

Admittedly, the ‘third-year’ curbed any possible interactions with the other-worlder and the feline. In both their best interest and protection, they maintained themselves as an observer, as opposed to an entrant. Imposing their presence into the newcomer’s strained schedule wasn’t a thought Simeon enjoyed. Alas, the truth of the matter was simple: they wanted nothing to do with the duo.

All these thoughts subsided in the vast blankness of Simeon’s mind -- and Simeon occupied the space as a mere creation of Sophie Hatter. The epicenter of the experiences and memories gathered by Myrtle and Simeon, but most of Sophie’s were severed and covered with an inescapable fog. 

Succumbing to the darkness, Sophie urged herself to question what is going on. Her physical body, it must’ve reacted to something and crashed while holding itself by a hair. Flashes of consciousness tried to break through, yet the entirety of her body was numb. Nothing was responding and all she could conceive at that moment was that she was alive--.

It is a death-like sleep, she reasons. Perhaps something happened to my soul? Was I cast out of my body by a fae or unsightly creature that had I long dreaded exist in my forgotten life? Or, has my time concluded on this plane... The curse stealing away my mortality, what an irony.

However, she found herself floating on nothingness and staring at a blackened sky. Not all was lost, that should’ve been the upside. Tranquility found in the nothingness isn’t ever soothing. It immobilizes and allows it to come...

Bright, blinding, it was all that Sophie could connect to her past. Black is disrupted by the faint slit of needle-thin red peering only steps away from where she laid. All the air she imagines herself to breathe is running short -- her mouth tightly shuts, refusing to scream. Though, all the air in that space -- it rapidly dissipates as it looms closer. 

Razor red claws reach forward, silhouette engulfed in flames, wild orange licking out in curls unspeakable in its mass. No recognizable features of a body existed. All that survived was its approaching form, touch reaching out and closing it on Sophie’s throat. 

Squirming little form underneath the flame, she was a moth caught in the fire. Tears began growing in the corner of her eyes. Writhing comes from panic, urging herself to live and run.

Please no, no, no --

Hot, blistering pain overwhelms the back of Sophie's left arm. Clothes burning off and the skin revealing its patchy, scarred self down her back-- 

THUD.

Struggling breath, sharp pain, painful light glare -- her body slowly raises, black gloved hands struggling to grip anything around her. A terrified gasp leaves her, yet her expression was blank and emotionless with a glaze over her eyes.

Dream, a dream --- 

A trembling Simeon awakens back to the world. Aquatic walls greet their eyes as they blink rapidly. Bountiful underwater views of coral reefs were before them, faint glow of purple hanging on the walls. A large octopus metal insignia hung over the glass paneling as there were lilac, transparent curtains drawn away. 

Dor..mitory....

Turning their head slowly, Simeon spotted two sharp shoes -- dual-toned black and white. Eyes slowly trail up to find gray slacks and white-gloved hands resting on a humanoid’s lap--.Their eyes slowly trail up and upon spotting a fixed white bowtie and fixed purple shirt, it was simply,

Jade.

Unbeknownst to Simeon, the eel easily carried their body and escorted them out of the Monstro’s Longue. Not wanting to distress and disturb the upcoming busy hours, as Azul would’ve despised a hiccup in their business, the vice-head had taken them to the Octavinelle dormitory’s common area.

He was seated on the large curved gray couch, one that could’ve seated almost a dozen students. Though, his gaze was distinctively hinting that any other individuals should’ve steered clear away and not disturb. If that didn’t help, a simple flash of his razor-sharp teeth signaled to the freshmen to leave their second-in-command alone with the Ramshackle student. 

Their motionless body had been adjusted to lay across the couch, head resting against Jade’s leg. Short silver locks grazed against the fabric of his pants. And the most interesting detail he observed was the warped expression and range of emotions Simeon carried besides their usual ones. He expected humans were meant to sleep beautifully and peacefully, that much he read and heard from the non-merfolk and in their books. 

But, Simeon looked troubled.

A forceful breath finally left the human, shaking body now relaxing and their hands about to push themselves off the ground. Yet, their legs were still weakened and it was a pathetic attempt to regain their footing. 

They finally choked out something to say, 

“Mister Leech, I must’ve had a fainting spell. I deeply apologize for that. I hope I wasn’t a nuisance to you and your busy schedule--” Simeon spoke, true to how the persona was. Yet, a softer voice left, a peek to how they truly sounded as Sophie. It was soft, ashamed, and almost inaudible. “I’m so sorry.” 

If Simeon wasn’t careful, they’d fall.

[madamhatter]

Finished a skeleton for Sophie’s TWSTD’s AU! Not all information is inputted (needing explanation and details to explain things. Consider this a tag drop too!\

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( verse: twisted to dance in a wonderfully wicked wonderland | plenilunium )  ( verse: twisted to dance in a wonderfully wicked wonderland | novilunium ) ( verse: twisted to dance in a wonderfully wicked wonderland | cornicularis )