Chapter Text
Key hadn’t told anyone outside of Dr. Park and the ophthalmologist that she had seen in the town below, but her eyes simply weren’t what they were supposed to be. A part of her knew that she had worn glasses in her previous life, but her eyesight was ten times worse now. Before, she needed glasses only when she needed to see things farther than a dozen feet. Now, her eyes could barely distinguish objects farther than half a foot away and the colors…
The sun that rose in the sky wasn’t as golden as she thought it was.
The sky was not nearly as blue.
She was alive, Key would tell herself. She would not succumb to missing things she could barely remember. But it was almost getting too much. She lost her home, her family, her purpose in life, her eyesight, and her ability to eat or even feel hunger.
It felt stupid to feel grief and sadness over silly things like her eyesight and newfound dietary restrictions, but she still felt those emotions every so often. It built and roared behind a wall that she made sure to reinforce and maintain, but sometimes…
Sometimes she could feel it cracking all the same.
Whereas the golden gleam of the twins’ eyes was brilliant, she had chalked it up to the contrast between the dark room and the dim aquarium lighting.
But now, as she gazed at the Octavinelle Housewarden’s eyes, she saw that they were a brilliant shock of calm ocean blue. Bluer than the skies above and the bluest blue she had ever seen in a person’s eyes.
It was breathtaking.
And then she saw his blue eyes pierce through her own gaze and she lost her ability to breathe.
Those profile pictures did no justice to their real-life muses if Azul was any indication.
“And who is this?” Key’s ears burned just the slightest bit when she felt his stare scrutinize her clothing. She was all too aware of the fact that she was massively underdressed compared to everyone else in the room—even Cameron was wearing clothing that actually fit him—but still. At least with the Leech twins, she didn’t get the feeling that they cared too much about what she wore, only her purpose coming to Octavinelle.
That sort of dismissal was not apparent in Azul Ashengrotto’s eyes.
With the way he was staring her down, his eyes both curious and calculating (with a hint of something else… something she couldn’t quite suss out, but still made her nervous), she knew that he wasn’t the sort of person to throw away first impressions. He was cataloguing her, making a profile and taking a note of who she was and what her intentions were. Even though he was clearly wearing clothing that wasn’t as expensive and as distinguished as the twins, he wore it as if he were encrusted in the world’s most luxurious fabrics. He was proud of himself and he carried that sort of confidence in both mannerisms and speech.
Not the sort of person Key would want to willingly hang out with, but he was still a Housewarden, which meant that he had to have at least one or two good qualities.
“Key,” she muttered loud enough that he could hear. He raised a disbelieving brow at that, so she quickly added, “And you are?”
Best not to reveal that she was going to be seeing him anyway at the first Housewarden meeting.
He straightened and bowed a little at the waist, his bright blue eyes never quite leaving hers. “Azul Ashengrotto. I am the manager of the Mostro Lounge and Housewarden of Octavinelle.”
Ah, that’s right.
He was also an overachiever.
Key nodded absently, finally realizing that at some point, Cameron had slung his arm around her shoulders. When had he done that? Before or after Key had realized just how bright and cold Azul’s eyes were? The weight was comforting, but she was all too aware of the predatory glances that each of the three Octavinelle boys were giving them.
This was worse than whenever Lady Fairchild got mad at her for turning the pages in her books too loud.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ashengrotto.” She leaned forward with an outstretched hand, jostling Cameron a little, but he managed to adjust, still draped over her shoulder as he did so.
Azul’s hands were also covered in gloves—like Jade’s—but he took the time to take one off so that he could shake her hand. Key thought it odd, but decided to let that go. They shook once and he let go immediately. For a young man who was still a teenager, he was both professional and perfunctory; Key was almost swayed by those charms.
(His skin, however, was just as cold and as strong in comparison to Floyd’s grip. Maybe even stronger).
“And you as well, Miss Key.” Azul stepped back and gestured grandly at his beloved restaurant. It was like he was performing from a script that he himself had written. “I will admit, we don’t have all of the necessary ingredients for some of our best sellers, but if you like—”
“We’re good, thanks.” Cameron yawned a little into his hand, the stress of the exams and lack of sleep obviously still taking a toll on him. “You’re probably all exhausted coming here so early in the year and like… Key and I got places to be.”
Azul adamantly shook his head, a condescending smile on his face. “Nonsense! We can surely cater to your tastes. Our menu has not been updated, unfortunately—" Azul sent a pointed look at the twin on his right side, Floyd if Key was keeping track. "—but we can make do with what we have stocked in our kitchens."
"Hard pass." Cameron tugged Key closer to himself, his body heat a comforting balm against the cool air of Octavinelle. "And anyway, I can't imagine that you guys are well rested after the trip you guys took here." He said trip like it was a joke, but Key couldn't imagine how. What Key could decipher, though, was that all three of the tall Octavinelle students displayed three starkly different reactions.
Floyd bared his teeth as if he was about to bite into prey and his eyes were wide with manic glee.
Jade, on the other hand, continued to plaster a placid smile—something that made Key realize it probably wasn't a real smile at all. It was a lot like those customer service smiles that you would see on those employees who were fresh out of the will to live.
But Azul? Azul's entire demeanor seemed to clench. His geniality was there—unmuted—but there was a tension to him that made his spine go rigid and the blue in his eyes appear much darker.
"Pardon, but I think we should ask your friend what she thinks? After all, she's the guest."
And then Key felt the overwhelming power of four pairs of eyes stare down at her.
It took Key a second to gather her thoughts, but she said, "I think I'll check out your restaurant at a later date. Mr. Norton and I... We already had plans?"
Cameron shot her an encouraging smile before turning towards the Octavinelle students. "You heard the Little Bird! And anyway... My mama always told me to never keep a woman waiting, so..."
The fox beastman made sure Key was tucked deep into his side as he began heading towards the exit. All the while, he continued to smile and wave at the trio behind them, all of whom remained silent and watching.
Predators watching their prey slowly get away.
Before Key turned the corner, she looked over her shoulder and gave a slight wave.
She saw them all for less than half a second, but she could have sworn that they were looking at her as if they knew her.
Was that… Recognition?
Walking out of Octavinelle after such an interesting encounter was surreal to Key. She may not have frequented the students' dorms all that often, but she was familiar enough with the surroundings to know when they were finally a safe distance away to start speaking again.
Speaking quietly—she still had no idea what sort of beastman they were and didn't want to take the chance of them eavesdropping—she said, "You can let go of me, you know. You're acting like they were going to eat us both alive."
Cameron thought for a moment before swiftly wrapping his arm around her neck and then giving her a noogie that had her yelping in surprise.
"Come on!” Key shrieked, her voice echoing down the halls. “I surrender! I surrender!"
Little did Key know, Cameron was onto her game. If he stopped grinding his knuckles against her scalp, she would do something just as vicious in retaliation and if he knew his juniors, they would probably be walking or swimming around to get some last-minute information. Although, since he was cutting loose tomorrow, he wasn't particularly worried if they were going to find something on him. Key, however...
Poor girl.
She was going to deal with Azul for the rest of the year and then some. (And that was being generous. If Key dealt with Azul, then there was a very high chance she would also have to interact with the Leech twins. Never a good thing).
Ah, well.
Little Bird suffered enough.
Cameron eased up on her, allowing his arms to rest on her shoulders again. "Sorry, instinct."
"Instinct? To what? Annoy me?" The custodian shoved her shoulder against his side, but the smile on her face said it all. She didn't hold it against him. "Am I allowed to ask questions? Or am I going to have to figure them out on my own?"
The fox beastman hummed under his breath, before flashing his canines at her teasingly. "Well, that depends on what questions you have. And the information I'm willing to give."
"So any information on Mr. Ashengrotto?"
"I think it's funnier that all the information you have on him is based on his profile." He paused. "By the by, when you do email me, make sure you describe in great detail how surprised he is when he realizes that you're gonna be babysitting him for the rest of the school year."
"Noted." Key thought for a moment. "And the twins? Are they like... beastfolk?"
Cameron flashed her another smile, but this one was small yet filled with mirth and hidden jokes. "You could say that... but it's not accurate."
"How?"
"Well, beastfolk are usually classified as land dwellers. Beastfolk who live under the water are..."
"Oh!" Memories of her mishap upon the boardwalk about a week or so ago flashed to the forefront of her mind. " Oh ."
She thought for a moment, the truth seemingly out of her reach, before she finally manifested it into existence.
"Merfolk." She said with quiet conviction.
"Merfolk." He pointed at the bruise on her forehead, already fading into her tan skin. "It's a reach, but do you think...?"
Key thought for a moment before shrugging. "Probably? Probably not? I'm not too mad about that, actually..."
Admitting that was startling, but it felt right in a way. After Key had that talk with Mr. Harper about merfolk, she didn't find it within herself to be mad at whoever was the perpetrator. What did it matter if it was the Octavinelle students she had just met or other sea dwellers who happened to swim too close to the Isle of Sages? In the heat of the moment, she was scared, but after thinking about it, she didn't detect any signs of intentional malice. Playfulness maybe, but other than that?
She was never going to press the issue anyway.
After all, she had no proof that it was actually merfolk or an overactive imagination coupled with an accident.
In between huffs of laughter, Cameron managed to splutter out, "You are way too nice."
They continued to chat as they took the portal down into the town below the mountain. It was about six in the afternoon and the sun was slowly making its descent into the horizon. Most of the shops were still open; some of the kitschy tourist destinations were boasting a few people milling about inside, drinks hanging from their hands.
They continued walking down the streets and into another little cafe, this time a little more secluded and a lot less fancy than the one they had visited the last time they decided to eat dinner off campus. It didn't matter if the food was cheap and the server wasn't exactly the friendliest of people, Cameron had laughed it off.
He needed something greasy after spending so much time studying. Normally, he wasn’t one to stress eat, but this was a celebratory dinner and he had escaped the jaws of death (read: his Octavinelle juniors). Afterwards, he promised that he would take Key to her favorite place in the entire island—“ What is it? A tree? A playground ?”—after his dinner.
"Can you at least tell me what they serve at that restaurant of yours?"
"Better not say that to Azul's face. He'll turn blue if he thinks that I'm stealing his brand."
"Fine. Can you tell me what they serve at Mr. Ashengrotto's restaurant?"
"Hard to say." Cameron's ears twitched as he tried to think of the most common dishes that were available on the menu. "They change it up seasonally, but sometimes Floyd likes to overhaul the menu for a week when it suits him creatively. Most of the time, seafood, but they also dabble in cuisines from other countries. It largely depends on who's contributing to the menu, but it's usually Floyd who experiments whenever he feels like it."
Key scrunched up her nose, her mind trying to grasp at the details of what he had said. Phantom feelings of taste exploded at the tip of her tongue before they gradually faded away into nothingness.
"Is something wrong?" Cameron's question shocked Key out of her reverie. Had something shown on her face? "You looked... I don't know, lost or something? Concerned?"
"Do I look like the sort of person who would like seafood?"
Cameron's green eyes widened in disbelief at that question.
"Are you remembering something?"
She shrugged her shoulders before glancing down at the laminate surface of their table. It was streaked with fingerprints and marks from years of abuse. Idly, she reached into her backpack that she always carried with her to pull out some wipes. They weren't the disinfecting kind—she made a note of that in her little notebook to get some—but they would have to do.
"I'm just curious." Balling her wipe in one hand, she scanned the establishment for a garbage can and after finding one, began to rise from her seat. "Hold on, I'm going to throw this away, but I just get the feeling that I would like it. Maybe."
She hurried away from Cameron's gaze and towards the garbage can.
When she returned to her seat at the bar area, Cameron had already been served his food and her customary glass of water was standing proudly at her place.
"To answer your question," Cameron said as he took a bite out of some pasta, "I think you would be the sort of person who likes sweets. Maybe something with flaky crusts and warm fillings. But fish? Maybe?"
Did she like sweets? Every time she happened to see them in storefronts or in the dorm kitchens, she thought they looked cute to look at, but… She felt no hunger for them. Hell, she couldn’t even smell them either!
"Sweets? Any reason why?"
"Because you're so sweet?"
Unbidden, a wide smile bloomed upon her face as she registered his words. But then—
"Hold on, why was that phrased like a question?"
"I just said that you were sweet!"
"Were? Past tense?"
They bantered some more as Cameron finished his pasta and his soft drink, but most of the time, Cameron's speech was impeded by the food that he had crammed into his mouth. It was mildly disgusting, but their time together would definitely be cherished once Key got over the fact that Cameron had come very close to spraying her with bits of noodles covered in tomato sauce.
Other than the fact that the fox beastman continued to evade the more probing questions about his Housewarden and his closest associates, he was very good company. (Key knew that whenever she finally made good on her promise to start emailing Cameron, she was going to grill him even harder). The tone of their dinner was jocular and merry, which concluded in Cameron getting a selfie with Key.
(She covered her face with her notebook, but made sure to flash a peace sign at the camera).
"Come on, Birdie! My ma's been asking about you—"
"You've been talking about me?"
"Kinda hard not to, you're weird."
"Thanks."
"You're very much welcome. It's good to know that you finally understand my wisdom." Cameron finished the rest of his drink. "But yeah, ma thinks that you're a good kid. Or something." Cameron's cheeks might have appeared flushed, but anyone could say that it was probably a trick of the low lighting. "So, come on! Without covering your face?"
Key swished some water in her mouth before abruptly swallowing and throwing a grin at Cameron. "Nope. I like my privacy."
Cameron shrugged, not willing to pursue the matter further. Instead, he scanned all the silly pictures that he and Key took and added a few filters to some of them while others he cropped out some details he didn't like.
"Would you like me to email these to you?" He grimaced as he asked that, still very much concerned that she was very much adamant in not kowtowing to societal pressures like downloading Twisted Wonderland's most popular app. "Or do you finally see sense in downloading Magicam?"
"Not a chance. I'm above social media."
After paying for their dinner—it was mostly Cameron's dinner—they finally ventured out of the cafe and into the street where Cameron expertly guided her into a bookstore.
It was an adorable little place, one of those stores that you wouldn't pay attention to if you were in a hurry, but if you allowed your eyes to wander, to take in the sights, you would find that it was one of the more interesting places that you could find in such a tourist-heavy destination. The sign on the storefront was aged and engraved onto a wooden placard that hung from a pole; it swung to and fro as the night breeze jostled it upon its hinges. Cozy golden light lit up the storefront windows, revealing a plethora of books, both new and old, on display. Past that, the viewer was welcome to a sight of tall bookshelves that were boasting tomes that ranged from historical textbooks to trashy erotica that Zaria often took back to the dorms.
Key paused on the sidewalk outside of the bookstore, her eyes wide and taking in everything.
"Toldja that we'd go to your favorite place on the island."
"I don't see the arcade, Cameron."
"Oh shush, you're smiling and I'm not going to blow the last of my allowance for you to kick my ass at Twistunes."
"It was only one time!"
"We went twelve rounds and you won ten of them! And those losses were because your glasses slipped off in the middle of the dances!"
"That's why it's my favorite place on the island! It's because it actually has something that I'm good at!"
Before Cameron could object, Key took hold of his elbow and tugged him inside excitedly. She was vibrating with so much happiness that she was practically skipping and dancing in the aisles. There were so many selections available and the newest arrivals included novels and cute shoujo manga that Key liberally flipped through.
"I'll be waiting by the register, okay? I got a budget, so don't get too liberal with your purchases, kay?"
"Don't worry, I got it." Cheekily, she skipped backwards into another aisle—stationery—which included brush pens, calligraphy sets, planners, and notebooks. "You're not going to buy anything?"
"Nah, I'm already set for tomorrow."
With that, Key set off for her own personal mission.
Stepping into the store, she already knew what she was going to get. The library at Night Raven College was well stocked and if it wasn't, she could talk Zaria into getting her some new books if she was desperate. What she really wanted was a new notebook. Despite her small, cramped handwriting that took advantage of any and all spaces in her notebook, she was going to run out of paper soon.
For months now, she had been cataloguing names, locations, and the many references she found about Disney. There were other notes like scheduling, speculation about different universes, and what textbooks and references could best serve her interests. Most of it was written in shorthand—a practice that survived her fuzzy memories of writing down notes from her favorite encyclopedia entries—but her handwriting was too illegible to read anyway.
Hmmm... but with a fancy notebook (because this was a fancy bookstore with equally fancy stationery), she would need a new pen. Or two. Maybe even a highlighter.
Okay, so one of those cute notebooks... Maybe the one with the flower designs, there were some nice selections with that branding! Oh, Key knew what she wanted! There was a light lavender notebook with thick pages (the kind where you can use those really expensive ballpoint pens that didn't bleed through) with bright yellow and orange flowers sprouting upon the cover.
Hmmm... What were they called again?
Daisies?
Daffodils?
Forsythia?
Marigolds?
She thought they looked the most like marigolds.
What a lovely flower.
For some odd reason, it made her happy.
As for her writing utensils... There were some ballpoint pens with thin tips, at least 0.3mm with pure black ink that wrote beautifully when she decided to try it out on the practice pads located near the selection of pens. For now, she'd get one pen and maybe one of those ink refills just to keep it safe. And, just because she wanted to see how much money Cameron was going to put on the line for her, two highlighters one in light lavender and another in blue. A quick test revealed that they were light pastel and didn't bleed.
Nice.
Tearfully, she bid adieu to the lovely shoujo isekai manga (and some of the tamer erotica that Zaria would love to read at the dinner table if Horace and Dolly weren't there to chastise the snow leopard beastman).
"Took you long enough." Cameron was hanging out at the counter, a paper bag folded over and grasped in his right hand. Key eyed it in curiosity. Did he buy a textbook or something when she wasn't looking? The paper bag held something that was too thick for a notebook and by the looks of it, noticeably heavier, but not as tall as some of the textbooks she had seen in the NRC library. "You know Sam sells those things too, right?"
"I also know that the prices and quality are better here, too. And," she placed her haul onto the counter, "you're paying, so why not?"
Turns out that Key hadn't broken Cameron's budget at all. In fact, Cameron encouraged her to get more stuff, but she turned him down. It wasn't like she was in want for anything else that couldn't be provided at NRC or from elsewhere at a later date.
And she had to admit, while it was nice for someone else to pay for nice things like a notebook and pens, that didn't mean she would guiltlessly take advantage of Cameron's seemingly no-strings-attached kindness. She had been prepared to put things back, not to add more to the bill.
As the cashier bagged up the purchases in another paper bag, Key tried to press Cameron for what exactly was in the bag, but he had merely dodged her attempts by painstakingly counting his change.
“Don’t worry about it, Little Bird. It’s all on the house… on one condition.”
“I knew the other foot was gonna drop, I just didn’t expect it so soon.”
“Ha. If you can put all of the stuff into your backpack and carry it back to the school then you don’t have to pay me back at all.”
“Sounds too easy.”
“That’s because it is, Birdie.”
Key shook her head and complied with his request. She didn’t have much in her backpack anyway, so her newest purchases alongside Cameron’s package didn’t weigh her down too much.
Once their purchases were secure, the both of them used the gate to get back to NRC. Once their feet stepped outside of the watery surface of the mirror, Cameron turned to her and said his goodbyes, his voice trying to cover up a yawn while he tried to wave her away. Unfortunately, Key couldn't help but add one last quip as he began walking away towards his dorm.
"Tired already? You could give Mr. Alastair or even Mr. Horace a run for their money—you're basically an old man at this point!"
She giggled into her fist, but then abruptly stopped with a shriek when Cameron darted towards her, as if he was about to attack.
"Looks like I'll have to take your gifts back if you don't show me the proper gratitude!"
Again, he made another mad dash towards her, his fingers barely grasping the straps of her backpack, but Key continued to evade. It continued that way for a couple more seconds, his movements calculated and quick. Meanwhile, Key was trying very hard not to laugh or get too close to him. Unfortunately, the both of them knew that if Cameron truly wanted he could easily just steal the bag from her. It was all an elaborate pretense that humored him and gave Key some much needed exercise and enrichment.
Finally, the predator in Cameron must have been too impatient with the chase because he finally lunged at Key and knocked her to the ground. It wasn't the most gentle fall that Key ever had, but it wasn't so much painful as it was shocking. That bout of surprise gave way to bemusement when Key realized that Cameron was halfheartedly trying to steal the backpack from her shoulders.
"Okay, okay!" She laughed as she lobbed the bag at the fox beastman.
Cameron pouted. "Oh, come on! You know that it's not fun if you just give up." He tossed Key's backpack up and down into his arms before holding it out to her. "Anyway, I gotta go now because a) I have to meet with the Headmage in the morning and b) I'm guessing I'll be accosted by... three of the new second years."
Key canted her head. "Mr. Ashengrotto and the Leeches? Should I be worried?"
"Nah. They can be very persistent, though, so I'll just have to duck inside my room before they can catch me."
Well, so long as Cameron wasn't going to get into any trouble...
"Okie dokie then! Good night!"
"Ugghhhh. Sure."
And he was off like a shot, his tall, slim figure blending into the darkness the farther he ran.
Back in the custodians' dorm, Key readied herself for bed. Her return wasn't eventful, but she did accidentally bump into Horace who was on his way to the kitchen for a soothing cup of tea. She had apologized profusely, but he laughed and bid her goodnight because it was going to be a long day tomorrow if past Housewardens' personalities were anything to go by.
Well. That was certainly an omen, but Key had yet to figure out if that was positive or negative.
Either way, Key was only seconds away from collapsing into her bed, but she was hit with the urge to organize. Besides, it wouldn't do to keep her new notebook and stationery cramped in her backpack for too long. And, if she was being honest, she would probably forget about it for much too long and then it would all get crumpled. It was as she was digging through her bag that she realized—
The package that Cameron had left her was still in her backpack. Looks like she had another reason to see Cameron off tomorrow. However, just as she was about to place the parcel down, she saw Cameron's sprawling script on top of the brown wrapping paper.
The words upon it read:
You really thought I was just gonna let you off the hook with just stationery? Nah, I got something better for you, especially since Lady Fairchild keeps complaining that you’re going to wear out her antique books one day. You still don’t owe me anything, okay? This is just a thank you for all your help this summer and to get you settled in better.
Carefully, Key removed the brown paper away from what was hidden inside. Although the paper was thin and fragile, she wanted to save it. It would be a waste if she didn’t.
And inside? Once the wrapping paper had been removed, her jaw dropped and she just about shrieked in delight. Out of respect for Horace’s and Zaria’s sensitive hearing, she kept it down a minimum, but she did allow herself a little dance.
As a thank you, Cameron had given her a treasury of fairy tales. Thick and well bound, the pages were gilded in gold and the cover was shimmery, the illustrations of differing fairy tales transforming from one to another. Not once did the illustrations repeat. It was always different, but the brilliance of one was easily overshadowed by the next.
It took a while, but Key eventually went to sleep, her heart bursting in happiness for the first time in a while.