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Floyd
Floyd hadn't found much of interest on land yet.
Him, Jade and Azul had been on land attending Night Raven College for about two months now and, beyond their interesting classmates, the other two had found new ways to occupy their time. Jade's was a continuation of his childhood obsession, deciding to learn all he can about terrestrial fungi now that he wasn't limited to the marine kind. Azul was facinated by both the business workings of the land and the various games not available to them in water.
Floyd hadn't managed to find anything to keep his attention for long aside from his shoe collecting, though he had been eyeing the basketball club for the last week. The game seemed fun and like it would give him a chance to squeeze someone.
Though, he had found someone to pass his time with.
He'd first noticed the new housewarden of Heartslabyul at the opening ceremony of the school year.
Floyd and Jade had spent the majority of their lives with very limited vision, both in range and color. Being on land was like a flashbang of sensory information for them, and they'd had to spend a week in a dark room as they tried to adjust to the change. Luckily, Azul had done the research on the potion which made them human over the summer and realized it would be an issue, so they'd rented a room in Ultramarine City before the carriage came in order to prepare the twins.
That all to say, it was hard fro Floyd not to notice the other boy when he was so bright in comparison to what Floyd had ever seen in the rest of his life. Watching the redhead's reaction throughout the ceremony to how the then housewarden of Heartslabyul acted was greatly amusing to Floyd, watching him flush almost as red as his hair in anger.
"Oh?" Jade had questioned, noticing his brother's attention had been stolen by something. An amused grin had made it's way onto his face when he noticed the person Floyd had locked in on like prey. "Ah, don't have too much fun. I doubt Azul would be very happy if we got expelled in the first week."
Floyd had waved his brother off flippantly. "It'll be fiiiine, Jade. I just wanna say hi to the goldfishie."
And when he did, Goldfishie had just been so entertaining with how he flushed at anything Floyd did that he couldn't very well leave him alone now.
Which is how Floyd found himself trapsing into Heartslabyul, not for the first time, in search of Riddle. Azul and Jade were just being way too boring for him today, working on some kind of plan to get the headmaster to let Azul open a business in Octavinelle. Floyd hadn't been listening too much and eventually wandered off to let them be boring together while he found something interesting to do.
"Hey~, Sea Turtle~, you know where Goldfishie is?" Floyd popped his head into the Heartslabyul dorm's kitchen, finding the green haired boy and Cater.
Trey sighed, looking exhausted by just Floyd's appearance. "He's with the hedgehogs," His voice was just as tired, knowing that with Floyd making an appearance, Riddle was about to become even more irritable for the rest of the day. But he also knew already that it was a lost cause to try and get Floyd to leave without having achieved his mission.
"The wha?" Floyd tilted his head, unfamiliar with 'hedgehogs'. A land animal? "Whatever. Where's that?"
Cater sighed, putting his phone down to point down the hallway. "Take the next left and go out into the garden. You can't miss the pen."
"Thanks, Sea Bream~"
Floyd wasted no more time with the two second years, following Cater's directions and entering Heartslabyul's gardens. It was less the pen that Floyd immideately noticed, and more the bright red hair that he locked in on.
Mischevious grin spreading on his face, Floyd began quietly making his way over, planning a sneak attack. Riddle's back was turned to him so he didn't notice, and any other Heartslabyul students that saw Floyd only paled and quickly made to leave the area, not wanting to be within the fallout zone when their housewarden went off.
As Floyd got closer, he took in more details of the pen and finally noticed the tiny creatures sleeping and wandering the ground, covered in spines. Floyd paused briefly and glanced at Riddle, trying to see if there was any special protection needed for them. HIs eyes widened when he saw Riddle reaching down for one of the animals with bare hands - surprising considering the housewarden's usual gloves.
Floyd let out an ungodly shreak. Riddle jumped, whirling around in surprise, in time for Floyd to launch himself into the pen and tackle him to the ground.
"What in the - Floyd?!" Riddle's face burned. "What in the Queen's name are you doing?!"
"Me?!" Floyd's voice was high. "What are you doing Goldfishie? Touching somethin' venomous."
Riddle blinked, eye brows furrowing. "Touching… what?"
Floyd got off the red head, crossing his arms. "These animals?" he kicked a foot out lightly in the direction of one of the hedgehogs close to them, not making contact but attempting to warn it away from them like he would any fish in the sea.
Riddle scowled as he sat up and swatted at Floyd. "Don't do that." To anyone else the command would be followed with a threat of Off With Your Head, but Riddle had already learned Floyd's unique magic would simply counter it. "What in the Queen's name are you talking about, Floyd? They're just hedgehogs."
"They've got spines, Goldfishie." Floyd stated in a duh tone.
Riddle flushed, feeling like he was being talked down to even though he clearly knew more than Floyd in this case. "Your point?"
Floyd groaned. This was not entertaining. More frustrating than anything. But it would be even less entertaining in the long run if Goldfishie went and got poisoned and left FLoyd with nothing interesting on land. "Everyone knows spines means venom, Goldfishie. And color means worse venom. These… hedgehogs got both."
Riddle blinked, opening his mouth and then closing it. He pondered on the words. Floyd… was right, in terms of aquatic life, he supposed. most venomous species in the sea spread their venom through a spine of some kind, and color was often an indicator of toxicity. He looked at the tiny mammels crawling around the Heartslabyul pen. A hedgehog's prickles were a kind of spine, and Heartslabyul's specifically were very colorful.
"Floyd," Riddle tried to calm himself down. The other was simply operating under rules which did not apply to land, Riddle could not fault him for not knowing. "That may be the case in the Coral Sea, but on land, spines do not always equate to venom. Hedgehog prickles are not venomous."
Floyd squinted down at Riddle, then the animals. "You sure?"
Riddle couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Very." He paused, considering. "Would you like to hold one? As proof?"
Floyd pursed his lips, considering. On the one hand, if Riddle was lying to him, Floyd wasn't too keen on getting a dose of venom. He'd experienced it from various creatures during childhood - once on purpose out of curiousity, the rest by accident o and it was never fun. On the other, he knew Goldfishie, and Goldfishie didn't lie.
"Fine," he relented, dropping to the ground in a squat. He reached out to grab one of the hedgehogs, only to have his hand swatted away.
"Be gentle," Riddle chided. He reached down and gently scooped up a hedgehog that was wandering over to them, sniffing at Floyd curiously. He cradled it carefully and offered the animal to Floyd. "Hold it just like I am. If you hurt it, you're banned from Heartslabyul."
Floyd grumbled, but knew the threat wasn't empty. Riddle could ban him, and Heartslabyul's mirror would enforce the order. That would just be a pain he didn't need when he wanted to see Goldfishie. Following the order, he cupped his hands under Riddle's, and let the other gently plop the hedgehog into his hands by slipping his own out from under it.
It was softer than FLoyd expected, the fur of its belly tickling his palms. it's tiny claws pinched at his skin a little, but didn't hurt. The hedgehog waddled further up his arms, balancing on just one of them as it reached his elbow. Floyd tried to keep it stable and reached out with his now free hand to carefully pet at the prickles on its back.
"midback to the rear," Riddle advised, "and be firm. Don't be surprised if they flex a bit."
Floyd followed the instructions. It wasn't like petting a dog or a cat, like that time he'd wrangled Lucius, it was a thicker coat but… smooth. It was different, but nice.
"Huh." Floyd articulated. "Cool."
Riddle smiled, smug. "See? Not dangerous."
Floyd looked away, cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Goldfishie, you were right."
"I always am."
-
Azul
Dining on land was a much different experience than in the Coral Sea. To begin: nothing was eaten raw. There were so many ways to cook things on land, each bringing something different out of the food and requiring different techniques and equipment. If Azul wanted to make the Mostro Lounge, he needed to learn all he could about the food industry, and food in general, as quickly as he could.
There were two prime contenders on campus for him to study for his research. Trey Clover, whose family ran a bakery and who had knoweldge on a sector of food which didn't exist at all in the Coral Sea, and Jamil Viper, who was, according to the merchant heir who'd transferred into school a few weeks ago, an excellent cook.
Sending Jade after Trey and his baking secrets was the logical choice, considering the two shared a club and knew each other already. That left Azul to convince Jamil to give him a showcase of his talents.
"No."
"I'm sure I can offer you something in return for your services," Azul prodded. "Say, a long standing discount at my restaurant when it opens?"
Jamil sighed, pinching his nose. "No, thank you, Ashengrotto." He crossed his arms, leaning against Scarabia's kitchen counter, where Azul had cornered him after being let in by Kalim. "How do you even plan to get permission for this from the headmaster?"
An idea sparked in Azul's mind then and a smirk slid onto his face. He shrugged. "I have my plans. Perhaps that could be the payment? I tell you my plans, so you and Asim can stay out of them?"
Jamil tensed, eyes narrowing. "Kalim is involved? No, absolutely not. Keep him out of this."
Azul raised his hands. "I have no plans to influence Kalim. However, if he happens to make himself a part of the plan, I can do nothing about it."
Jamil growled. He swiped a towel off the stove handle and whipped it at the counter in frustration. "Fine. Fine. I will cook for you, and give you advice on the best ways to prepare specific meals - but only if you ask during this meal, after this I want nothing to do with you. And you tell me what your plotting. Deal?"
Azul smiled. "It's a deal."
Jamil was intriguing, Azul could admit. There was a change in his behavior after Kalim arrived at the school that was noticable to anyone who paid close attention to people, like Azul. He was more guarded now that his charge was attending the school, which made sense he supposed. Of course a body guard would be on high alert while on the job. But there was also a weight that seemed to drop onto Jamil's shoulders that hadn't been there before Kalim's appearance. And Azul had noted a noticable dip in Jamil's grades, removing him from Azul's radar of academic rivals - Riddle was currently his biggest problem on that front, and not even Floyd's mission to be the housewarden's personal menace was giving Azul a lead. Still, it was a puzzle Azul could admit to being deeply interested in solving, so perhaps this dinner could serve more than one purpose.
Azul watched Jamil began preparing the meal and idly pulled out a notebook of questions he and the twins had compiled about various ways to cook meat and what to do and not to do in the kitchen. What exactly were you able to microwave and what couldn't you was at the top of the list - they had broken Octavinelle's microwave a few days ago when Azul tried warming some soup in a thermos and they still weren't sure what exactly went wrong. Still, it was only a matter of time until that microwave was destroyed, Given that Floyd had been running experiments to see what happened to anything he could get his hands on if they were put inside.
Jamil slammed a container of uncooked meat onto the counter and turned to look at Azul incredulously at the question. At the genuine look of innocence behind the question, Jamil pinched his nose and muttered something under his breath that sounded extremely vulgar.
"You might be worse than Kalim," Jamil said dryly. "And that's saying something."
Azul huffed, slightly offended. "Well, we've only had these commodities for about three months, and we've hardly had to venture into the kitchen before this given the school provides meals. Give us some grace, please."
Jamil couldn't help but snort lightly. Azul, in his mind, looked like a miffed child, pouting over being reprimanded. "Sure. The thermos is what broke your microwave - don't put metal in them. Plastic is also a no. Use ceramic or glass plates. And if there's liquid or even meat in the dish, cover it with a paper towel before you put it in, it might splatter while warming up."
Azul nodded, writing notes as Jamil explained, ever the diligent student.
They continued through the meal preparation with Azul watching Jamil cook while asking him questions about various techniques and ingredients while cooking. Finally, the meal was prepared and Jamil slid a plate across the table to Azul.
"And what have you prepared for me?" Azul asked.
Jamil served himself a dish. "Curry. Kalim won't eat it, so normally I don't make it, but it's my favorite and I suppose I have an excuse thanks to you."
Azul hummed. "So will you be making something else after we finish?"
Jamil nodded, then narrowed his eyes and jabbed his spoon at Azul. "That's not an invitation to make this last longer. You're leaving once we finish eating." Azul held his hands up in mock surrender.
Jamil stayed still for a moment longer to get his point across, before nudging a basket of flatbread towards him. "Its best eaten by scooping the curry onto the naan and biting into it."
"I assume the bread is naan?"
Jamil nodded.
While Azul grimaced at the thought of putting bread into his body on top of an already hefty meal - he'd have to do a recalibration of his planned meals tomorrow - he followed the advice, not wanting to offend Jamil by not taking his word on how to eat his own cuisine.
Taking a bite, Azul froze.
He dropped the naan onto his plate and opened his mouth, letting his tongue loll out and the bite of food in his mouth fall out. Jamil watched him with wide eyes.
Azul spluttered, wiping at his tongue and then grasping for his glass of water.
"What on earth are you doing?" Jamil asked, bewildered and offended at the reaction to his food.
"What," Azul started before draining his water completely, "did you put in this? Why is burning my mouth?!"
Jamil blinked. Then blinked again. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. Azul glared at him, still fanning at his face, which was bright red and sweating.
Jamil stood, making his way to the fridge. "I- haha - I put in the normal amount of spice for curry!"
"Spice?" Azul questioned.
Jamil pulled a jug of milk out and poured some into Azul's now empty glass. "Drink that. Pfft. Yeah, spice. It's… well its cooking ingredients we get from plants that give flavor to our cooking. Curry uses an assortment. I should have known any amount would be too much for someone who only ate things raw a few months ago."
Azul glared at the comment, but found that there wasn't any heat behind it, which was… strange for Jamil, who seemingly had at least a little bit of true annoyance behind everything he said constantly. He took another look at the other teen, who was still finishing recovering from his laughing fit at Azul's pain, putting away the milk. He looked… less tense than Azul had ever seen him before, his eyes bright with a genuine kind of joy Azul hadn't observed before. Like he was carefree. Interesting. Azul… enjoyed this new look on Jamil.
How intriguing.
Azul took a drink of the milk before him, finding that it soothed his mouth far better than the water had. "Yes, well… tell me more about these spices then." He picked his naan back up, "And I will endeavor to improve my tastes, now that I know what to expect."
Jamil snorted and took the plate away from Azul before he could scoop more curry up. "No, there's no way you can eat this without suffering, and as appealing as it sounds, torturing you isn't likely to get you to reveal your schemes. I'll let you have some of what I make Kalim, and I'll go light on the spice."
Azul sniffed, unwilling to admit he was grateful but releaved to not have to put that… hell fire of spice back in his mouth. "Very well, thank you."
-
Jade
Jade had only been on land for a few months at this point, but much on land already intrigued him. To begin, there was a plethora of new fungi for him to discover, and after doing research for Azul's new business Jade had been delighted to discover one could cook the otherwise inedible, poisonous kinds and make them delicacies. Additionally, the people on land were so different from those in the Coral Sea, and Jade found it quite fun to people-watch and observe the differences in behavior and mannerisms across people.
But the fungi did remain his main form of entertainment and intrigue, which is why he founded the school's mountain climber's club. Hiking itself was a decent way to pass the time, and Jade found the difference in effort compared to his explorations in the sea quite interesting, but the main enjoyment came from the various discoveries he made while on his expeditions.
Thus, when he went on a hike he always made sure to pack the equipment needed to dig up any new fungi he found or to chip away an interesting rock. He was preparing that equipment for the hike he had planned today when Trey stumbled across him.
The two vice housewardens were good friends by this point, having to coordinate matters between their two dorms - as Riddle and Azul were more inclined to begin squabbling with each other, and Riddle avoided Octavinelle as often as he could anyway, in order to avoid Floyd. They were also both prone to activities involving gardening and found themselves in the green house together often enough to strike up conversation quite often.
Jade found he quite enjoyed the other's company, and so was not disappointed to run into Trey in this moment.
"Ah, hello Trey," he greeted, "Here to get ingredients for more baking?"
Trey offered him a smile. "Yeah, we've got an unbirthday party coming up."
"Ah, those do often require a few days of baking in advance, you've mentioned," Jade noted, sliding a hand spade into his hiking pouch.
Trey noticed and furrowed his brows. "What are you doing here today?"
Jade hummed, "I'm preparing to go out on a hike. There's a mountain between here and RSA I've been meaning to explore for quite some time. Today's as good a day as any."
"Is it?" Trey asked skeptically, looking outside of the dry haven of the greenhouse to where rain was pounding down on the ground. He himself was still soaked through from his dash over.
Jade snorted, "A little rain is nothing to me, Trey." It was true that rain was different from the sea which Jade grew up in - it would always be strange to him to be wet but not surrounded by water. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but it wasn't so bad as to cancel his existing plan for the day.
"Well, I suppose so," Trey acknowledged, "But I wouldn't want you out there when we're still only on the edge of the storm. There's supposed to be lightning later, Jade."
Jade paused. "Lightning?" He'd heard the term before. It was spoken of in the Coral Sea, but more as a myth when describing the storms that were experienced closer to the surface of the sea. Since coming to land, it had been mentioned but he, Floyd and Azul all had yet to experience it. It actually sounded like more of a reason to enjoy his hike today, to finally get to see this aspect of storms they'd only ever heard of.
Trey raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, lightning. You know what that is, right?"
Jade bristled slightly at the implication of lacking knowledge, but let it drop. It wouldn't be the first time he or his companions were unaware of something new. "I've heard of it - flashing lights during storms, yes? I've never had the pleasure to experience it before."
"That's… an oversimplification," Trey explained. "Lightning is electricity from the sky, and water is very conductive, I'm sure you know."
Jade shrugged, "That's not particularly true in the Coral Sea. The salt water's conductivity means electricity doesn't travel very far, and it travels along the surface of water rather than down. My only experience with electricity is from electric eels - the fish or mers. "
"Ah," Trey said, "Well, Crewel's stressed the danger of it in our experiments with electricity. And fresh water is a lot more conductive. If you go hiking in the rain and get struck by lightning, while you're alone, that wouldn't be good."
Jade hummed, seeing his friend's logic. "Yes, I suppose you're right."
Trey's shoulders sagged a little in relief that it seemed like Jade wasn't about to do something dangerous. "Right, so it would be better if you resheduled your hike. Sorry."
"No, no. That's alright. Thank you for the information. It is always best to go under proper conditions. I suppose the path would be quite muddy with the rain anyway." Jade unclipped his hiking gear and placed it down on the table he'd claimed for it. "Would you like any help preparing for your Unbirthday Party?" His day was now much more free, and Azul would be quite peeved if Jade reappeared early and he had to rearrange the new Mostro Lounge's schedule to accomodate another worker he hadn't been expecting today.
Trey shrugged, "If it's not a bother. I need to collect strawberries."
Jade picked up an empty basket from nearby. "It is not. I'm pleased to be of help, Trey."
The two set to work, making their way to the strawberry patch and talking about various other topics, from school to complaining about their dormmates. Yes, this might not have been Jade's first plan for the day, but it was still quite enjoyable.