Chapter Text
Idia had two separate images of Azul in mind. One was the shady mob that ran the Mostro Lounge, luring people in with cryptic promises. The other was the person he played board games with, fun to play against, a solid competitor, and honestly kind of dorky. The latter was way easier to talk to than the former.
Idia had been trying to figure out what caused this separation in his mind. At first he thought it was just the location, but that theory was squashed when Azul accompanied him into town to pick up some CDs and he still could speak to Azul without feeling like a wreck.
Then Idia put it together one day when the twins invaded the club room to bother Azul. It was Floyd and Jade. They're what made Azul scary in Idia's mind. Even though they were in the club room, the second they were next to Azul, the switch flipped. When the twins aren't around he could talk to Azul all day, but when the twins are there, the situation changes and Idia wants to hide. It wasn't Azul that made him afraid, it was solely those twins.
With this divide, it's crazy to Idia that he developed a crush on Azul. His obvious hang ups aside, Azul was normally the kind of person he would stay away from based on his usual company. However, he had received too much exposure to Azul during club and became more attached than he was proud of.
So attached, he let it slip to Ortho that he wished he could attend the upcoming Premo concert with the octomer, sending his brother over the moon. It wouldn't have been a problem if Idia knew he was going earlier, but this was a last minute affair. The concert had been sold out for months, but Idia managed to get some tickets after the venue put unclaimed tickets up for resale. It wasn't until after check out that he realized he just got a ticket for Azul too. At the very least, he knew he could strings so that him and Azul could leave campus on short notice…
Normally it wouldn't be a problem to talk to Azul in club, but the problem was there would be no club between now and the concert. If he wanted to talk to the octopus, it would have to be outside of club. His next thought was just to text Azul, but then he realized those twins were always standing right over his shoulder, if Azul saw the text when he was with the twins they would be able to see what Idia sent. He wasn't going to take that risk. Meaning he had to get the twins away Azul and ask him in person. An impossible task. Well, it would be impossible for anyone other than the Shroud brothers.
Idia was nervous.
He had a made a deal with his brother, that should, in theory, benefit both of them. Ortho would get the twins away from Azul and Idia would get to ask Azul to come to the Premo concern with him. In return, Ortho got so see Idia interact with another human.
But this deal involved Idia stepping way out of his comfort zone to fulfill his end of the bargain, he had to be in school and intercept Azul after classes. It was going to be so worth it though. Assuming everything went according plan.
The shut in tries to make himself look small as he creeps through the halls. His hoodie is a layer of comfort, he's sadly very dependant on right now, pulling the hood up. He receives a few glances, but no one really seems interested in him, too busy talking to their own friends. He plants himself behind the vending machine next to the stairwell. From his research earlier he knew this was the route Azul and the twins normally took back to the dorms, but if everything went according to plan Azul would show up alone. Ortho said he could get the twins away from Azul and he trusted his brother. He would just have to wait for Azul to show up, then he could ask him to go somewhere private.
…And deal with the mortification of asking him if he wants to spend time with the shut in. He just has to remind himself Azul has never said no in the past and probably wouldn't assume this time was any different. He would have no idea how significant it was to Idia.
While he waits, he can hear the conversations of those around him. A group of Savanaclaw students nearby were being particularly boisterous. Idia makes himself smaller, they're the last people he wanted to see him right now.
"It's stupid man, you're gonna die."
"No way, I took the formula from some science club nerds, it'll work. Easiest way to getting housewarden."
"The potion working isn't the problem, he'll still just kill you."
"He won't kill me if he has a cat brain!"
"A lion brain, you moron! Lions are apex predators, if you reduce Leona down to his base instincts he'll have no beef about just killing you."
"When has a lion ever hurt anyone? It'll probably just make him sleep all day."
"He does that anyways! You're such an idiot, give that to me!"
Idia sinks to the floor when he hears them begin to scuff with each other. He wants no part of that, especially if they were trying to get Leona involved. Based on the sounds of it, Idia had to agree, that guy was gonna die.
But then Idia hears a second sound. Footsteps coming down the stairs. Crap. Not now.
Idia shoots to his feet, he'll have to get Azul out of here as quickly as possible. He pops out from behind the vending, he feels bad because Azul does flinch a bit at Idia suddenly appearing before him. Idia sends out a silent thanks to Ortho, as those twins are no where in sight.
"Idia?" Azul asks tentatively, clearly not happy to be caught off guard, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Oh you know, I was just hanging around, hehe…" Idia gives him an awkward smile.
"You were just 'hanging around' instead of hiding in your cave?" Azul is clearly skeptical and Idia can't blame him, Idia was normally never just in the hallways. While he does spare an annoyed glance to the fighting students, he isn't willing to keep Idia out of his sights for long. Clearly he things Idia is trying to pull something.
"Hey, can I talk to you in private?" Idia tries, worried he's going to make things worse.
"Can I know why?" Azul asks with his guard fully up. Idia should have known this would have happened. Azul was so paranoid, this whole situation was probably just a giant red flag to him.
"It's NBD, I just wanted to chat."
"Well, unfortunately, I'm quite busy and don't have time for idle chatter. Unless you plan on compensating me." Azul smiles.
"Uhhhhhg, can't you just trust me real fast?"
Idia words don't seem to reassure Azul, in fact he seems to become far more wary. He starts looking around him like he's worried someone else will pop out. Unfortunately, this is how he realizes Jade and Floyd are no longer with him. While he does step away from the fighting students, he doesn't seem as concerned about them. Fights broke out on campus all the time afterall.
"Idia." Azul says with a harsher tone, clearly feeling like he's been caught in some ploy. In a way he was, but it was nothing bad!
"It'll be quick." Idia tugs on his sleeve, wanting to get away from the bickering Savanaclaw students so he could properly explain the situation.
"I swear, if is some kind of trick, I will-" Azul doesn't get to finish that thought, because suddenly a vial smashes against the side of his face. He lets out a yelp, immediately trying to wipe the gunk off on instinct.
Idia hovers his hands near Azul, unsure if the potion was safe for him to touch. When he spares a glance towards the Savanaclaw students he sees them frozen mid fight. Judging by the shock on their faces, the vial must have slipped in the middle of their scrap.
Idia could care less about them however, he focus on Azul who is blinking rapidly, like some got into his eye. Idia can only watch in horror as Azul iris shift into that of an actual octopus. Then he looks up to Idia before closing his eyes. Idia catches him when he falls without a second thought.
"Crap," One of the students says, "That's Azul."
"Yeah, obviously," The other one starts to walk over, "Hey, man, why don't you just give him to us, this shouldn't be your problem."
…Did they not know who Idia was?
Regardless, the shut in would ever hand Azul over to these idiots. Without hesitation, he starts to run. As he runs, he gets a glimpse of the twins rushing down the stairwell, looking like they had just broken free from a lot a duck tape, as a significant amount of it still stuck to them. He really should have asked Ortho what his plan was. He makes eye contact with Jade for a moment, the eel looks angrier than Idia has ever seen him, which only horrifies Idia more. The shut in barely has time to think about that because the Savanaclaw students are giving chase.
How did this go south so fast? For a moment, Idia considered just throwing Azul to the twins and letting them handle it. Unfortunately, he really cares about Azul, he knows what this potion was supposed to do. He also knew how Azul talked about his relationship with the twins. Azul had made it very clear to Idia that he needed to be someone worth following if he wanted to keep the twins around. Seven, even in general Azul was obsessed with his image. Idia can't let anyone see him like this.
He can only imagine how upset Azul would be if this potion worked. There was a day in club where Azul showed up in an awful mood, because he had almost tripped and the twins had mocked him for all day. Idia can only dread to imagine what their reactions would be to this potion actually working.
He hears the sound of running behind him, but does his best to keep his eyes forward. There's no doubt in his mind that everyone chasing him is far more athletic than he could ever dream of being. To make things worse, he's carrying extra cargo right now, at least Azul is lighter than he would have guessed. Unfortunately, his resolve is weak and when he hears screaming he glances back. It seems the twins didn't like having competition in this chase, as they made quick work of the Savanaclaw students. Idia didn't even see them fall, but they're definitely on the ground now.
That doesn't mean Idia is safe, as he's clearly their next target. The worst part is he's easy prey. Luckily, Idia chose this intercept spot for a reason. This school was old and full of a lot of weird design choices. Around the corner is a closet full of crap collecting dust that he knew all too well. He practically breaks the door to the closet down, then awkwardly shuts it once inside with his foot. There's a false wall in this room that Idia always used if he ever got caught in the student rush hour. If Azul rejected him, he was just going to hide in the secret alcove until he felt better. He never expected to be hiding in it with Azul.
With clumsy motions he gets himself and Azul into the secret nook, before closing it as quickly as he can, hoping he didn't leave any obvious signs of movement.
He feels like he's in a horror movies when he hears the sound of closet open.
"Ehh, I thought you said he went in here?" Floyd says.
"I did not say that. He rounded this corner, this is the only room he could have gotten into quickly."
Idia puts a hand over his mouth as he hears the twins begin to move and inspect things around the room. It's game over if they find the secret nook. They'll probably kill Idia then use him as a rug in Octavinelle if he's lucky. In their minds, it probably looked like he was trying to kidnap their housewarden.
"I thought Firefly Squid wanted to play, why did he go poof?"
"Perhaps he didn't want to have a game of chase, but rather a game of hide and seek."
"Ohh, hehehe, that could be fun!" Floyd basically shouts. Then Idia hears a loud crash. It seems they had no qualms over destroying the junk in this room.
The crash was so loud, feels his whole body jolt as he subconsciously holds Azul closer like a teddy bear.
He almost screams when a hand touches the side of his head, he barely stops himself in time. He ends up falling onto his back, trying to see what grabbed him. That question is answered when the octopus he was holding rests his chin on Idia's chest. It's hard to see through the darkness, but Azul is definitely smiling at him. His iris' haven't reverted back to normal either, they're still octopus eyes.
Idia has to put a hand over he mouth as Azul starts moving his hands over Idia face. The shut in doesn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. Thankfully, Azul doesn't make any noise as he inspects Idia's head, poking his cheeks and running his hands through Idia's hair. The only sound Idia can hear is the twins trashing the tiny closet.
"Uhhhhg, he's not here!" Floyd sound like he's pouting.
"Hmm, that does appear to be case, what a pickle."
"Gonna squeeze him real good when we find him for running off with our octopus."
"Of course. Perhaps we should split up."
"Yeah, whatever-"
"EEP!" Idia smacks his hand over his mouth again.
It's dead silent after that, the twins definitely heard that. It's not like Idia wanted to let out that noise, he just didn't expect Azul to suddenly try and crawl into his hoodie from the bottom. The worse part is, trying to stop him might make a lot of noise and he really can't risk that, since he can hear the twins now doing another sweep of the room.
He's glad his hoodie is oversized, because the octomer is now making himself comfortable against Idia's chest under the fabric. Idia wants to stop him, but he can hear the twins the coming close. Despite Azul acting bizarre, he was being very quiet, so Idia sees no reason to move. It's not like Azul was doing anything to dangerous.
Well, dangerous to himself. Idia can feel his own heart beating a mile a minute. Having his crush cuddling against his chest under his hoodie was messing with his thoughts. He has to remind himself that this isn't Azul, not mentally at least. His octopus half is driving right now.
Oh…
Azul is using him as an octopus pot.
"There's no where else in this stupid room to hide!" Floyd sounds mad.
"That does appear to be the case, the noise must have come from the hall." Even Jade sound pissed.
The secret nook was the right choice.
Idia's finally able to breath when they rush out of the room and he finally hears the door close. He counts to twenty, not wanting to risk them coming back at a bad time.
Once he's sure he's safe, he directs his his attention to his new problem. The octopus who attached himself to Idia's chest. There's no way he can get up with Azul just laying on him. If Azul wants his hoodie, he can borrow it for a while, it might be helpful for sneaking him off campus anyways.
Naturally, he unzips the hood to try and extract himself, but Azul reacts immediately. Grabbing both sides to try and close the hoodie again.
"Azul... I need to get out." Idia tries to reach the other housewarden. Hoping Azul will be able to meet him halfway.
Under his hoodie, Idia can kind of see Azul shaking his head. Well that was interesting. Azul could kind of understand him, meaning he wasn't entirely octopus brained. Entirely being the key word. He definitely wasn't acting normal.
As best as he can. Idia tries to sit up. It's difficult because Azul seems determined to stay next to Idia's chest with his hoodie closed. Eventually he does manage, but it's a messy process that ends with Azul basically straddling him.
Seven help him, he can't handle this. He's going to have a heart attack right here in this closet nook and no one will ever find him.
As quickly as he can, he gets his hoodie off himself and onto Azul. Zipping it up before the octomer can try grabbing the side. He even makes the extra effort to put in on Azul backwards, so the octomer couldn't mess with the zipper. Unfortunately, in his haste, he didn't bother to get Azul's arms through the sleeves, so they just sit limp on the sides. Idia would have assumed Azul wouldn't care in this state, but when he looks at Azul's face, the octopus is pouting at him.
Azul can't do that. It's making Idia's current hear condition worse.
Azul's hands pop out of the bottom of the hoodie and grab the hem. At first Idia think's Azul is going to try and take it off, but then Idia finds himself getting covered in it. Azul aggressively pulls it as far down over Idia as it will go. Now it was way to dark to see. Idia just knows Azul is making himself comfortable against his chest again.
"You done?" Idia asks.
Idia feels Azul nod his head. Great. Guess he'll have to work with this.
"I didn't have to do this for you, ya' know?" Idia tries to chastise Azul.
He's caught of guard when he hears Azul giggle in response. That throws him for a loop. In his mind, Azul should be trying to avoid getting into a debt, not making noises Idia didn't know he was capable of. Giggling just seemed so immature. Azul is lucky Idia's the only one who will see him like this.
It takes a minute, but eventually Idia is able to get his hoodie back on properly while Azul clings to his chest. At one point Azul's glasses fall off, and Idia figures it will be easiest to just store them in his pocket. He wraps his hands around Azul's back as he slowly brings both of them up. Thankfully, Azul doesn't protest the manhandling.
Idia was nothing if not an innovator. So he gets Azul's feet on top of his as Azul holds him under the hoodie. They could actually move like this. It was slow awkward movement, but it was better then before.
It works for a few steps and Idia's able to get them out of the nook. But Azul seemed hellbent on making this difficult, because he wraps his arms around Idia's neck and starts trying to wrap his legs around the other housewarden's legs.
"Stop! Stop! Stop" Idia sputters out.
Azul was going to knock them both over. In a panic, he grabs Azul's thighs, to try and get a better grip on him. Azul responds by wrapping his legs around Idia's waist. Then he tucks his head into the hoodie
Okay.
He could work with this. He just has to focus on not dropping the octomer. It occurs to him he probably looks really stupid as he shambles out of the closet while holding up the weight of the second year. He's moving far slower than usual too. The only good news as that the hallways appear to be mostly cleared by now, there are no clubs today so most students have gone back to their dorms.
Idia slowly creeps his way through the halls, listening for any sign of life. Any time he hears chatter he reroutes himself. The school would be the easy part. To get to his dorm, however, he would have to go outside. Where there are far less places to hide. There's also no doubt in his mind those twins are still looking for him.
Or at the very least of of them should be, he knows how Azul feels about making sure the lounge is always open on schedule. Something about keeping customer trust. The twins know this too, if Idia was lucky, they both would have gone to open it. Unfortunately fate has always been his enemy, so he's on guard for at least one twin. The only kindness fate has gifted him, is the fact that Azul is staying nice and quiet.
When he finally reaches the front gates, he has try and push heavy doors open with back. Otherwise he would risk dropping Azul.
However, opening the door with his back prevents from seeing what he's walking into.
"Idia?" A voice says.
The shut in freezes, he's pretty sure he recognized that voice but he's so panicked in the moment that he can't place it.
"Ahh, Roi de Ta Chambre, what a delight to see you in the light of day." Well, that was Rook.
Idia slowly turns, he has to get passed if he wants to get to his room. As he turns he sees the other voice Trey. He really doesn't want to talk to the other third years right now, but judging by the confused looks on their faces, there a good chance they want to talk to him.
Maybe they'll take mercy on him and just let him pass, he just nods and tries to walk around them.
"Uhh," Trey laughs awkwardly, "Who's your friend?"
Idia just shrugs, still trying to get around them.
"No need to be modest!" Rook speaks up, " This is Roi de l’Effort, no?"
Idia's blood runs cold, that was definitely Rook's nickname for Azul.
"How…?" Idia mumbles.
Rook simply smiles to him and points to Azul's glasses that are sticking out of Idia's pocket.
"Azul?" Suddenly Trey looks more concerned, now understanding how weird this was, "Is he okay?"
"Yeah!" Idia abruptly shouts as he starts sweating. His shout must have startled Azul, because suddenly the octopus' hand moves from around his shoulder to grab the side of his face again, "Why wouldn't he be fine?"
Idia does his best to keep a straight face as Azul basically tries to poke his eye out.
"Are you okay?" Trey directs the question at him.
"Yeah, I'm great," Idia mumbles out as Azul pushes his head back, "GTG."
Idia stumble his way down the stairs, but lets out a distress sound when Trey grabs has arm.
"Hang on, Idia," Trey speaks softly, "Clue us in here, we can help."
"It's so tragic, you feel the need to handle all on your own," Rook speaks up, "You're needn't put on a brave face for us, let us assist you through your hardships!"
Rook reaches out towards the lump under Idia's jacket, clearly wanted to help since Idia had been struggling to hold the octopus after so long. However, the blond freezes when Idia instinctively turns his body.
"Pass," Idia starts to step down the stairs. Anyone watching would be able to tell this was an ordeal for Idia.
"Okay, okay, how about I just hold him till you get down the stairs and then you can tell us what happened." Trey tries.
Idia simply ignores them and starts to walk faster. As fast as he can, at least. He doesn't hear them following so he risks glancing back. It seemed Rook was about to try and follow him, but was stopped by Trey grabbing his arm. The Heartslabyul vice housewarden is whispering to Rook very intensely and Idia has zero desire to wait around to learn what they're talking about.
When he reaches the bottom of the staircase, he sees that both vice housewardens are gone. Idia knew that was an ominous sign, but he had to keep moving. While Trey and Rook didn't see Azul fully, that was still more than Idia was comfortable with sharing. He has to hide Azul right now, before anyone else can find out. Once Azul is safe in his room, he can look up a cure.
Luckily, he was in the secret nook for long enough that most students are no longer milling about and the escapade by the stairs is his only random encounter.
Upon reaching the safety of his room, he immediately collapses onto his bed. While Azul wasn't the heaviest person in the world, Idia had been carrying him for far too long and needed a rest. He's so tired he decides to rest his eyes for a minute.
Just a minute.
_________________________
When Idia wakes up, his room is dark. His automatic light had assumed he went to bed for the night. At first he's a bit disoriented, but he snaps back to reality when he feels Azul softly breathing on his chest. So the octopus had fallen asleep too. Idia realizes this was probably going to be his best chance for escape. As carefully as he can, he unzips his hoodie to get the octopus off his chest. Once Azul is comfortable on his bed, he puts his hoodie back on him. Idia even puts him in it the right way this time.
He hoped that it would be a small comfort for whenever Azul woke up, as Idia couldn't keep letting the octomer use his as an octopus pot. He would never be able to get anything done, even if a traitors part of him did like having Azul that close.
Quietly, he makes his way out of the room so he can run to the bathroom. He cringes a bit at how messy his room is, but it's not like he was expecting a guest.
Once he's back, he'll figure out to help Azul. He never heard of a potion like this one before, it's not like it was something that could ever effect him. Idia can only assume those Savanaclaw had messed it up, because it sounded like the recipient should be reduced down to base instincts. However, Azul was still able to respond to his questions. He understood what Idia was saying, even he couldn't respond.
When Idia finishes, he stares at himself in the mirror for a moment, he kind of looked like a wreck. It's not surprising, this wasn't even close to any of the scenarios he imagined playing out. He had let himself hope for acceptance, but prepared for a rejection. Instead he got neither. Instead, he had a clingy octopus he had to hide.
Maybe, this was a blessing in disguise, Azul always paid off his debts. Surely Azul Azul would go to the concert after learning all Idia had done for him. Sure it wasn't ideal, but it still was a guaranteed acceptance.
He walks back to his room at a quick pace, eager to see Azul again.
He looks to Azul, who's sitting in Idia's bed and staring at his legs like he's never seen them before. When Azul realizes Idia is back, he gives the Shroud a distressed look. Idia has to bit his lip, when he realizes Azul is looking for his other legs.
The octopus had understood Idia earlier, so he tries to give Azul some reassurance, as he sits on the edge of the bed,"You're human RN, your tentacles were magicked away."
Azul just shows Idia his leg again by wiggling it around. Okay, so he didn't understand that one. Maybe simple questions only from now on.
"You good?"
Azul just tilts his head. It was kind of a response, that was good news.
The bad news is Azul seems to have found a new favorite activity. Kicking Idia. He uses one leg to try and draw him closer and the other one to kick him. Naturally, Idia gets off the bed and away from him.
He's not surprised when Azul gets up to follow him. Idia sits in his computer chair, knowing it will be harder for Azul to kick him from this spot. He's caught off guard when Azul starts looking at his anime figurines. Gently reaching out to touch them like he had with Idia face earlier. Idia can't blame him for wanting to look. It was an impressive collection after all.
That was fine, as long as he was being gentle. He gets into a small routine, spend a second looking at his computer, then make sure Azul isn't moving the figurines from their spots. He had put a lot of care into the arrangement afterall. This pattern continues until Idia is looking at some potion website.
His whole body locks up when he hears a loud snap.
He's on his feet faster than even he knew was capable of. Sadly, he's met with Azul holding two halves of his Dynoma Squada Ambrosia figurine in both his hands. Cleanly snapped in half. The cheerful face of the anime girl seems to mock Idia, since her legs have just been ripped from her body.
Why in Twisted Wonderland would Azul do that? He was being so gentle before!
Idia can't breath, he can't bring himself to even speak. That figurine was out of production, only a handful existed.
"You dumb octopus!" Idia scream in Azul's face. Ignoring the fear and panic on the others face as the shut in moves him away from the shelf, tears the broken figurine out of his hands, and goes to check the short cabinet he had in the corner. It wasn't that big, so Idia's frustrated when he can't find this hot glue gun right away. Then he remembers. Without bothering to shut the cabinet door, he gets up. Far too panicked to worry about tiny details. Or to spare a glance to the octopus who was the currently cause of all of his distress.
Ortho had borrowed it for a school project and had yet to return it. He speed walks out of the room and down the hall. The only thing that stops him from kicking open his brother's door in a blind rage, is remembering there was a chance Ortho's roommates be in the room. If Idia broke down the door, he might terrify everyone, himself included. He slows down to pull his phone out of his pocket.
Idia: u in ur room?
Ortho: Yes!
Idia: is it safe for me to come in?
While Idia is waiting for a reply, the door suddenly opens and his brother is hugging him.
"I'm sorry, Idia, there was probably more that I could have done to help…"
It takes Idia a moment to remember what led him into this situation in the first place and a blush takes over his face. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever assume it would have ended up like this.
"Shall I prepare some snack and we can play games in your room tonight?"
"No, sorry, can't tonight," Idia shakes his head, "Azul's in my room right now."
Ortho's sadness morphs into delight, "Oh, that's great news!"
"Nooo, no no no, it's not, he's an octopus."
"Yes?"
"No like he got a face full of animal brain potion and now he's acting like he doesn't know what legs are! Look what he did!" Idia holds out the figurine for Ortho to see.
"Oh… let me get you the hot glue gun…"
"It'll never be the same…" Idia mumbles as he stares at the two broken halves.
"Idia…" Ortho returns with the hot glue gun, "If Azul Ashengrotto currently has the mind of a common octopus, was it safe to leave him alone with the rest of your belongings?"
Idia's eyes snap up to his brother, "Crap."
As Idia runs back down the hall, he no longer knows who to feel frustrated with. While Azul broke the figure, Idia knew that he wasn't really there mentally, he should have just called Ortho to bring the hot glue gun. His brother doesn't seem to be taking this situation lightly either, reaching the door just before Idia.
Idia wasn't sure what he was expecting when he came back, but he wasn't expecting the room to be empty.
His heart starts beating so fast, he thinks it might explode. Suddenly, the figurine is discarded and forgotten on his bed as the brothers starts looking around for the octopus.
Under the bed, in the closet, under his desk, everywhere an eighteen year old could reasonably hide. Every time they check somewhere new, they still can't find the second year. Idia's movements become more frantic with each passing moment. He'd never be able to live with himself if something happened to Azul because of him. It was his fault for thinking he knew best, he never should have taken Azul, he should have let Trey and Rook help, he never should have left Azul alone.
"Idia calm down! Your heart rate is 37% faster than average." Ortho's voice snaps Idia back to reality.
Idia takes a breath, Ortho voice is grounding. Idia feel his heart beats slow. He just needs to focus on what Ortho is saying.
Unfortunately, it's short lived, as there's a sudden knocking on his door. Normally, Idia would just ignore it, but Ortho is here and Ortho doesn't think twice about socializing.
"Sorry, but now is bad time, please return at a later date." Ortho says floating over to the door.
"Ortho? It's Vil. Is Idia there? I need to speak with him immediately."
Idia tenses, as if today wasn't bad enough for his heart rate. Why did Vil want to talk to him? Ortho looks to his brother for approval, but Idia is locked in place. This was too much, even with Ortho here.
Then things get worse.
"Ortho, this is Riddle Rosehearts. Come speak with us immediately."
Why was Riddle here too? He hasn't even talked to these two since the last housewarden meeting a week ago…but he did talk to Trey and Rook. He almost want to laugh at how rotten his luck is. After Trey and Rook had just disappeared, he should have been even more on guard.
Ortho looks to his brother for a hint of how Idia might want to handle the situation. Sadly, Idia has to assume he just looks like a mess. Meaning the brothers just stare at each other as Riddle aggressively bangs on the door.
Through the aggressive knocking, he hears a sigh, then the knocking ceases. Before Idia can ask if they left, Vil is speaking again.
"Idia, I know you're in there," Vil says curtly, "Come speak with us immediately, we know about Azul."
Vil could be really scary. The exact can of person Idia would never want close to his sanctuary. However, in this case, Vil sounded so scary that Idia was afraid of the consequences for not opening the door. Idia pinches his fingers together and points to the door. Ortho gets the message and lets the door slide open a crack.
"Hello, Vil Schoenheit, Riddle Rosehearts, how can we help you?"
"Open the door, Ortho." Riddle says with a healthy amount of anger.
Ortho looks to Idia, who shakes his head in a panic.
"I apologize Riddle Rosehearts, unfortunately I'm not able to comply."
"Even if we had a cure for Azul's little condition?" Vil asks.
"Wait what?" Idia shouts from the back of his room.
Ortho seems to take that as permission to engage in a full conversation, as he opens the door more. Idia feels a healthy amount of shame when Riddle and Vil lay eyes on his room. They both look so judgemental about the giant mess.
"You deem this an acceptable living space?" Vil deadpans.
"I was gonna clean it later…" Idia lies.
Riddle cuts Vil off before he can call Idia out, "Where is he?"
The room is silent for a moment before Idia can bring himself to answer.
"Lost him." Idia says bluntly.
The next pause is far longer than the first. Idia feels like the three of them stare at each other forever while Ortho looks on anxiously. It's Riddle who finally breaks the silence.
"Idia," Riddle's voice is low, "What do you mean you 'lost him'?"
"Guuuuuhhg, means IDK where he is…" Honestly, Idia feels like they're wasted time right now, every minute spent talking, is a minute that could be spent looking for the octopus.
"Elaborate." Vil crosses his arms.
"Let him alone for a minute, when I got back he was gone…" Idia opts to exclude the details.
"He currently has the mind of a cephalopod and you deemed it acceptable to leave him to his own devices?"
Idia puts his hands up, "You think I'm not mad at myself for it? How'd you even know?"
Riddle sighs, "After Trey told me about his encounter with you, I looked into the matter. It wasn't difficult. Based on what Trey described it had to have been a potion, so I tracked down the students responsible and handed them to Leona."
Rest in peace to those students, then. First a beating from the twin and now one from Leona. He looks to Vil, curious as to why he's hear as well, but not brave enough to ask. However, Vil's always been good at reading others.
"I've been wanting to use Octavinelle as a set for a while, but had no desire to enter a contract with Azul. I merely saw an opportunity and am taking advantage of if. Well, if he was here I would be, but unfortunately someone lost him."
"How long ago did you lose him?" Riddle asks with a harsh tone.
"IDK, he was alone for like two minutes, but it wasn't that long ago?"
"There's a good chance he's still nearby, we need to stop wasting time and start looking before he hurts himself." Riddle huffs.
"He's not going to hurt himself…" Idia tries to come to Azul's defense. He may be an octopus right now, but he still was able to understand simple things.
"Idia, he's an octopus, they learn about the world around them by touching things. Now can you think of everything that's dangerous to touch Ignihyde?" Riddle condescends.
Idia simply swallow his pride and nods. He did know that octopuses like to grab things they shouldn't. He just learned it the hard way. Riddle is the fastest to start moving, not caring about getting the approval of other to search for the octomer. Vil follows, albeit with less urgency. Once Idia is able to collect himself, he and his brother are moving quickly once more.
Because Riddle mentioned it, now all Idia can think about is the dangerous machinery that get left around Ignihyde constantly. Everything from power tools to uncased engines. Then Idia's stupid mind shows him images of Azul's face right after he yelled at him. How those octopus eyes looked like they were going to swell with tears. To make things worse, Idia just left him on his own, not even trying to reassure the second year who wasn't in the right mind.
The figurine Azul broke feels like it means nothing to him anymore. He would break it again if it meant seeing Azul safe.