Ramshackle's New Student

Chapter 6: Take It In Stride

Sunny is still bedridden from getting sick.

You'd think that having one less student running around would mean less trouble for you.

You would be very, very wrong.

So wrong, in fact, that when Cable turns up a disheveled mess, missing his book bag and his mage pen, you're genuinely caught off-guard.

"Uh.. Cable, you're missing a lot there, buddy. I've noticed your blazer's gone. Was that a-"

"THE PEOPLE OF THIS SCHOOL ARE BRUTES" He exclaims exhaustedly, collapsing onto one of the couches in the main common area. Ever since the house's... awakening.. you've been putting the house back together and fixing the various messes that were accumulated. Thankfully, Trey's spell wore off in a few hours, so the paint jobs that were messed with were reverted back, but the tangible damage from that whole ordeal hasn't been a walk in the park to handle. You go to lean against the back of the couch, looking to Cable. Grim climbs up onto your shoulder, peering down at him.

"What happened?" Grim asks. You shrug and look to Cable for an answer.

Cable groans, his face buried in the couch cushion. "I made a misstep at lunch, and.. Well normally Sunny helps me out of jams like that, but he's still sick upstairs. It escalated and.. I lost a lot of my things. I'm never gonna be able to get my classwork done at this rate. The hooligans ran off with everything that fell off me like they were chasing a prize!"

"What house were they from?"

"Savanaclaw.."

"Would you recognize them if you had to point them out of a crowd?"

Cable starts to see where this is going. He just silently lifts his head and looks at you like you're crazy. You raise an eyebrow, locking eyes with him. He sighs.

"I don't want to cause more problems.. I don't want them coming back to cause me grief.. And, I DID spill my lunch on them.."

"Now, you know that's not the answer to the question I asked."

"Prefect, I appreciate your kindness, but-"

Cable begins to hear the sound of you tugging on your jacket and grabbing your keys to the dorm house. Grim grins, now standing at the top of the couch, grinning down to Cable. "Don't you worry, younger minion! We'll beat those guys up for you!" His paw punching his other paw as a show of toughness before jumping off the couch to follow you. Cable shoots up and scrambles to follow after you in a hurry.

"WAIT-"

"No waiting. Just gonna do."

"No but it was my fault-!"

"Fault or no, you need your jacket and your pen, yeah?"

"..."

"And those books?"

"..." Cable groans as he chases after you, picking up Grim as he does. He's not excited for whatever's about to happen next.

---

You show up to the Savanaclaw dorm. A shiver goes down Cable's spine. He's never actually stood on this part of the campus before, and he feels like he's surrounded in enemy territory.

Which is a great instinct, because it isn't long before Savanaclaw dorm members begin to circle you three.

"Hey, you don't belong here."

You ignore them and look to Cable. "They here?" Cable glances around and shakes his head, and you continue your walk into the dorm. This is when a Savanaclaw student steps between you and the entrance, physically blocking your path.

"You got a deathwish or something? You don't come into our territory and ignore us. I don't care if you're a dorm leader."

You look the guy up and down with a passing disinterest, which thoroughly pisses him off. His hand snaps outward and snatches up your tie, tugging you in close so he can pull you off-balance and force you to look up at him. A bored expression on your face, you just go "You happen to know where Leona is?"

"Didn't look like you were looking for Leona when you got here."

"Seems like it'd be a smart idea to talk to him, given that we're here."

"Seems like you should've arranged a pick-up, because I'm not about to forward that message-" He tugs his mage pen out of his jacket and holds it up, still gripping you by your tie. It begins to spark alight and Cable finds himself wincing as he hides behind his hands. Grim pounces from Cable's shoulder onto the guy holding you and immediately starts blasting flames to create a perimeter.

"HANDS OFF MY MINION" He begins blasting fire towards the students who start trying to close in, which quickly causes a commotion.

A fight ensues, causing you to grip Cable by his shoulder and hoist him from his fears. "Cable, you gotta fend for yourself in this fight. Grim can't do everything, and I can't fight magic."

That's right. You walked in here without any magic. Like swinging at a hornet's nest while only wearing a tee shirt and shorts. Cable's overwhelmed though. You sigh and throw him out of the way of an incoming blast of fire from one of the other magic users in the area. Cable watches as you stand over him as he's crumpled onto the floor, as though you can somehow shield him from any of this. As though you're somehow more equipped to fight than he is.

His fears are screaming in his head as he sees one of the Savanaclaw students douse Grim in a blast of water. He coughs up smoke and stumbles back against your leg, the students beginning to close in. And yet, you still stand so sure of yourself.

Is this because you're his housewarden, or is this just who you are as a person?

Many of the students aren't even fighting with magic. They're closing in, and Cable can already feel their fists in his mind.

At least, until everyone's halted by a voice speaking up.

"There a reason you're makin' a mess of my dorm?"

The crowd begins to make way for Leona as he steps through, a bored and slightly annoyed expression on his face. Like he's frustrated that he even had to come out here. Behind him is Ruggie who laughs upon seeing Grim.

You straighten up, your body language a little less 'I'm gonna fight my way outta here' and much more 'Oh god, finally, someone I can TALK to'.

"Yeah. Some of your guys tormented one of my students. I'm just looking for the stuff they stole, since it's gonna hinder his studies if he doesn't get it back."

Leona gives a glance down towards Cable, who is still a stumbled mess on the ground, practically hiding behind you. He crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow at you. "You gonna fight all that kid's battles for him?" The words cause Cable to sheepishly look away, embarrassed.

You don't even take a glance back as you cross your own arms, raising an eyebrow at Leona. "I'm just here to get the books, the pen, and the bits of his uniform that were stolen. I'm not here to fight his battle, just to make sure he can do his work."

Ruggie gives Cable a half-laughing, half-pitying smirk at your words. "Oh wow, he's like a scared little bunny. You sure he lost his stuff to our dorm, and he didn't just trip and lose it down a hole or something?"

"He said the folks that he tussled with were from here, and they took his stuff as trophies." Staying to the facts as you know them, both him and Leona can tell you're not about to budge on this.

Leona looks you up and down. After the tussle with you and Azul, he knows it's more of a headache to get in your way than it is to just let you do whatever it is you're gonna do. Still, he doesn't like the way you've taken to walking in here like you own the place. Part of him wants to quell that before you start getting the wrong idea about just how much you're allowed to get away with.

Leona reaches out and grips the collar of your shirt, forcibly tugging you close to him, and away from your student. He snarls, scowling to you. "And what if my guys say they didn't do anything? What'll you do then, Prefect?" The last word is spoken with a certain level of acidity in his tone, emphasizing your position here. This isn't a personal issue you're taking with him, you came here on business. He's not about to let you make it personal. He also makes a good point. If it's just one person's word against another's, you really don't have grounds to be here.

You're fairly unfazed by the gripping and the closeup- Leona hasn't really been intimidating to you ever since you bullied him into helping you with Azul. Still, you meet him in his eye-contact, keeping your cool; "If it comes to that, then I suppose we'll have to leave. Without proof or admission, there's nothing that can be done."

Leona scans your eyes. He doesn't like that look in them. Once upon a time, you were visibly out of your element. But.. here, you're confident. Something in him kind of wants to put you to the challenge.

He releases you and shrugs. "You can come in and my guys won't strike first, but if you try to strong-arm 'em, I'm not gonna stop them from calling open season on you."

The surrounding Savanaclaw students are visibly eager, hoping you'll just give them a single reason. The air is tense as Leona walks back into the dorm area, heading off to his room.

Ruggie looks you three over and laughs as though you're pitiful to look at. "Oh man, good luck you guys. Walkin' straight into the lion's den here." He laces his hands behind his head and heads off after Leona.

You straighten your clothes, offering Cable a hand to help him up. His lips press into a frown as he glances away from you, getting up on his own, refusing to take your hand. You shrug. Whatever his deal is, you can talk it out when you're not in the midst of a hostile space.

Grim, shaking off the wet, climbs up into your arms, where you hold him as you walk.

Eventually, Cable is able to identify the people who stole his stuff, and you approach them. Cable is visibly antsy.

"Hello, I've heard you three are in possession of some things that belong to my student here." You stand in front of the three students who are lounging by one of the Savanaclaw pools. They look up at you three and laugh.

"Oh is that what he said?"

"Nah. We've never seen this guy in our lives, right?"

"Right. So obviously you've got the wrong guys."

The three look at you challengingly. You glance back to Cable and then back to them. "Alright, how's this; Let's play a game. If I win, you give him his stuff back."

This perks up their interests. One of them grins. "And if you lose?"

"Yeah, what's our prize then? What's our incentive to play?"

"I think if you lose, you've gotta do whatever we say for a whole day."

"Oh yeah! Definitely!" The group begins to laugh, but their laughter is cut short as you promptly agree.

"Alright. I get to name the game, though."

The three begin getting up from their spots, and you're able to really see just how much.. bigger they are. Taller, stronger-looking, and the three of them certainly stand out as an intimidating trio in comparison to you, Grim and Cable. "Alright. Though, it has to be something we can do here and now."

You nod and look around. Your eyes glance over the pool. You can't really out-compete them in athleticism, but you could out-compete them in weird skills.

Being able to scream your lungs out for a whole night didn't come from nowhere, after all.

"Alright. Breath holding contest. Last to hold their breath under the water wins."

The three smirk and begin getting into the pool. You begin taking off your jacket, handing it off to Cable, who tosses it onto Grim, who is bewildered. "Wait, I'm participating too."

"Cable, I've got thi-"

"I'm not a scared little rabbit!" He snaps. You blink, glancing around before looking back to him. Grim, digging himself out from under your jacket throws a punch at Cable's shin, causing him to wince and reach down, killing the momentary tough vibe he had going on there for a second.

"Take that! I am NOT a coat rack!" Grim's fists are still at the ready to fight. You sigh.

"Grim, can you watch my jacket, and the competition?"

Grim looks out over the water and then nods to you affirmatively. "I'd rather not get wet again anyway."

"C'mon, Cable. Let's get in." As you say this, you unbuckle your uniform belt, handing it off to Grim. You're gonna be soaked anyway, but you'll be damned before you ruin a good leather belt on a dare. You slip into the pool, followed by Cable. You two look over the three students who're smirking. It's three against two, but you still don't shy against the odds. Grim counts you off and you all dunk into the water.

It's not much of a surprise when Cable is the first to fail. As he comes up from the water and looks around to see that he's the first one to fail, he frustratedly growls and takes a splash at the water. One of the Savanaclaw students comes up for air and sees that you're still under and he laughs. "Awwh man. I came up because I didn't expect EITHER of you to last that long."

A few students in the area are starting to take interest. They heard the stakes, but you're lasting longer than they expected.

It's when the second Savanaclaw student comes up for air that people begin to actually wonder if you've got a shot at this, garnering a few more watching eyes. Cable watches you from the sideline, having frustratedly hoisted himself out of the pool. His clothes are soaked. The second Savanaclaw student actually sounds impressed that you've lasted as long as you have.

It's when your head comes up next that Cable's heart sinks. The third Savanaclaw student isn't far behind you and he surfaces to hear the triumphant taunting of the other two students.

"Oh man, there was no WAY you were gonna beat us."

"We're some of the best swimmers in the school!" They high-five each other and laugh at your expense. Still, head held high as you regain your breath, you starting to hoist yourself out of the pool, Cable can't help but wonder why you're not freaking out right now.

"We wanna see your sorry butts here, tomorrow morning, first thing!" The winner of the contest smirks.

As you emerge from the water, you look like a wet rat. Your clothes soaked, and not having been made for this kind of abuse. You wave your hand as you grab your belongings. "We'll be here tomorrow morning."

"All three of you!"

"Hey now- I didn't compete!" Grim stops in his tracks and points dramatically at the other three.

"Yeah, but the deal was, you guys do what we want for a whole day. Maybe you should've tried."

The smug looks on their faces is enough to drive Grim up a wall, but before he can leap for them, you yank him into your arms, which are soaked, and he lets out a scream "AHHH- MINION, YOUR ARMS ARE SO WET"

"We're going, Grim. Tomorrow, we'll all be here. We're people of our words."

"YOU might be, but I'M a monster! I am not beholden to the word of man!" Grim struggles against you and you sigh, taking him out of the dorm. Cable follows after you quietly. The Savanaclaw students around are snickering at the scene.

Up on the balcony, Ruggie laughs, turning to look to Leona. "They lost their bet. What a ridiculous Prefect. They're always making so much noise, but they never really seem to have the skill or strength to back it up when they need it."

Leona, laying on his bed lazily tugs a pillow over his head. "Great. Sounds riveting. Go get me some dinner."

"Y'know, Leona.. If those three won and those Ramshackle dorks have to do anything they say for a whole day, and everyone in this dorm has to do what you say..." Ruggie trails off, hoping to plant an idea in Leona's head.

Leona's ears perk up. That is a very interesting prospect. Ruggie, seeing Leona's ears fidgeting at the thought, begins to leave. "I'll go getcha that food. Lemme know whatcha think."

If Leona takes to the idea, Ruggie wonders if he can score a day off.

---

Back at the Ramshackle dorm, Cable finally loses it. "How can you be so calm!? We lost, and now we don't get my stuff back AND we lost our dignities in the process!"

You shrug. "Eh, I'm not particularly worried about it. Besides.." You grin to Grim. "We've got all of tomorrow to find your stuff."

Cable pauses. You didn't lose on purpose, did you? "Was.. that all part of your plan?"

You laugh, waving off the notion. "Oh of course not. I really did try to win. God, it would have been so much easier to win. But, sometimes, you just gotta work with what you've got."

Cable's brow furrows. You've got no plans at all. You're just doing whatever you want on a whim. You're just going in without even thinking about it! It's infuriating! It was a mess before, but at least he could have spent tomorrow getting books from the library to supplement his studies. Now you've dragged him into some whole scheme that isn't even half-baked!

For the first time since he got here, he really begins to wonder if he's in the right dorm. He thinks to Riddle. Though strict, Riddle isn't the kind of person to cause this much grief. And he has powers! He's someone that he can look up to! Someone who.. he wouldn't look so weak next to.

...

Powerless, you still stand taller than him, and he can't help but resent you a little for it. In some ways, before this whole incident, he admired you for your tenacity, thinking you to be a voice of order amidst a chaotic dorm. Against the odds, you seemed like someone who had done more than a magicless person should have ever been capable of. After all, you've always kept your cool, and you seemed to get things done..

But now he just feels like you're the source of chaos yourself!

He's in a dorm that's ruled by chaos, and the stark contrast to where he feels like he belongs is so palpable that he can't stand it. He quietly dismisses himself to head upstairs. You don't really think much of it, though, because unlike Sunny, Cable's emotions aren't so.. loud.

But Cable can't stop thinking about it. Just how much of these antics is he expected to put up with?

---

"You there. You're the ones that won against that prefect, yeah?"

The three Savanaclaw swimmers look up to see Leona, arms crossed, in front of them. Proud of their bounty, one exclaims "Heck yeah we are!" As his elbow is wrapped over his buddy's shoulder, and he flexes his other arm triumphantly.

Leona looks over the three. "I heard there was a prize."

"Yeah, them and their dorm dorks have to do whatever we want tomorrow!" The one who won proudly grins.

"I want your prize."

The three pause, glancing between each other. The joy is stalled as they realize what he's demanding. The one who hasn't spoken yet crosses his arms, deciding to stand up for their prize. "And if we don't want to give it to you?"

Leona smirks. "Wasn't a request. You're going to tell them they answer to me tomorrow. I've got some personal beef with that prefect, and I'd like the chance to make them pay for it. Though, you're free to try to overturn my decision. If you think you've got it in you."

The other two kind of slink back, the third giving pause. He's seen Leona wipe the floor with people. Leona only ever settles disputes on the field, in a Spelldrive fight. He's not one to wail on you unless you step on his toes or get physically aggressive first, and he's not one to take no for an answer.

The confrontation boils down to whether these three think they can take Leona on in Spelldrive.

...

Tomorrow, you'll be answering to Leona. The dispute on the matter was settled off-the-field.