Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When the Octatrio first went on land to attend NRC, they had to briefly go through a camp to teach them how to walk, wear clothes, and the law, well, most of it anyway. Now, this camp was quite rushed, as it had been the first time in years that merpeople had actually bothered to go onto land, and the only reason it existed in the first place was because Crowley didn’t want to get sued. So that should paint you a picture of the quality.

But fear not, for Azul, Jade and Floyd had adapted quickly to their new settings, like a fish to water. They had integrated into human society perfectly as could be. In fact, no one had even realised they were inhuman until much, much later in the year! Which would be their answer should you ask them (Azul made Floyd and Jade sign another NDA to not mention land camp.)

However, due to their interactions with fellow second(then first) years, if you were to ask one of the sophomores, you would realise that for being organised crime, the fish mafia was not very subtle or successful at hiding their secret, at all.

So when Yuu and the first years had decided to ask their fellow upperclassmen what had happened, they all got a little closer to revealing the truth…

Azul.

“ Silver!” Sebek yelled at his fellow retainer, “ Your hair is a mess! How can you serve Waka-Sama with that atrocious mess on your head!”

p Blinking wide awake, Silver quickly patted his head to confirm the mess. It wasn’t as bad as Sebek claims it to be, but he did feel quite a few stray tufts.

Grabbing his bag, Silver reached inside for his comb and started brushing his hair. Raising his eyebrow, Sebek commented, “ So it looks like even you at least know the importance of appearance to carry around a hairbrush! But it would be better if you just not mess up your hair at all!”

“Yes, Sebek” Silver sighed, yet a fond smile remained on his face as he agreed. “Actually, I didn’t always realise my hair would get so messed up when I slept. Whenever I asked my fellow classmates why they didn’t tell me, they said I could pull it off and that it was intentional?”

Shaking his head, Silver recalled the confusion he felt, he still didn't actually understand.

“In fact, it was Azul Ashengrotto who helped me remember to check my appearance usually after I fell asleep somewhere, he even inspired me to put a comb in my bag to use…” Silver closed his eyes and remembered how shocked he was however, at Azul’s particular way of combing his hair…

He was revising his notes in the courtyard, when he had dozed off. Luckily, he was awakened by soft tapping of the shoulder, “Silver? Are you quite alright?”

Startling awake, Silver felt his face flush as he realised one of his fellow classmates had already found him asleep somewhere, so early in the year too! He must think of Silver to be lazy or worse!

Just as he was to thank and explain his condition to this kind classmate, he had started rummaging in his bag, only to pull out a fork? “Oh dear, it seems that your hair got tangled up while you were asleep. Fear not, for I am quite benevolent.” Putting out his hand, the kind classmate had offered up the fork. Did he expect silver to eat? Would that fix his hair?

The two had stared awkwardly at each other for a bit, when the kind classmate sighed, and used the fork to start… combing his hair?! He was quite good at it too! Was this some ancient barbers’ technique?

Right when he was about to ask, the kind classmate had stopped, putting back the fork into his bag, he smiled and said, “There! All done. Now, make sure to not fall asleep so carelessly again, it would mess up all my work. And remember, Azul Ashengrotto had helped you oh so benevolently out of the kindness of his heart!”

Laughing, Azul walked away, When sliver had gotten back to his dorm and relayed the situation to fath- Lilia, he had pondered for a while thoughtfully before coming to a conclusion, “Oh! Yes, I remember now! One of the mermaids I met had used forks as hairbrushes! When I asked why, they said their princess had brought back these human artifacts and had spread human knowledge across the sea. They called it a … ‘dinglehopper’!”

Silver frowned, he had heard of merpeople coming to land thanks to fath- Lilia, but it happened so rarely that only one instance was clearly documented on the human world. And though there is surface level knowledge on the Coral Sea and its inhabitants, Silver wouldn’t know how to defend against their attack patterns… No! These (probably)merpeople are friendly! One had even helped him! He…

“…ver! Silver! You fell asleep again, wake up!” Sebek bellowed in his ear. Awake once more, Silver quickly apologised to Sebek. “ So? How did Azul-senpai help you realise the importance of appearance?!”

Shaking his head, he recounted the events to Sebek, who was quickly shocked at the merpeople’s customs. “ Forks?! He dared to touch your hair with a fork?! How insolent!”

Silver quickly shut Sebek up by retorting, “It was within good intentions, besides, that was Azul’s culture and it was interesting to learn a bit about it.”

“ I… suppose the act was harmless in the end…” Sebek admitted. Still, he was surprised at how blatant Azul was with his species, according to his other first years, him and the twins were quite secretive about it. Ah well, he supposed they simply got it wrong, as humans do. Now, where was he in his rant…

Chapter Text

Jade.

“House warden? When did you first meet Jade-Senpai?” This question was suddenly asked in the monthly tutoring session between Deuce and Riddle. Raising his eyebrow, Riddle decided to entertain Deuce’s question, they had been studying for quite a bit now, and a break would help Deuce to relax to ensure optimal learning later.

“Well, I had first seen him at orientation due to his brother, but I did not take much notice of him due to his brother’s behaviour.” Recalling orientation, Riddle frowned, “ We did exchange greetings during our first class of the year, but I never had a conversation with him until a few days later. And for the most odd thing…” Riddle muttered the last part.

“What was it?” Deuce let curiosity get the better of him, what was odd enough that even the house warden of Heartslabyul had found it strange?

“Well…”

It was a normal day, as any other. Classes went by smoothly, and he hasn’t even encountered Floyd yet. Except. When Riddle started taking his notes out from his bag, Jade had sneezed. Nothing wrong with that, though he didn’t cover his nose…

However, it was Jade’s reaction that weirded Riddle out. He had frozen on the spot, shock evident on his face. Looking down, Jade started touching the bridge of his nose and pressing down, almost as if trying to make his body do something

Almost afraid to ask, Riddle eventually got curious as to what Jade was doing. “… Jade, may I ask what you are trying to do?”

Stopping his ridiculous actions, Jade turned to Riddle and smiled. “Riddle, it seems that my body did something quite peculiar. Something exited from my chest to my nose and left, and now the top of my nose is tingly. Knowing how knowledgeable you are, do you have any clue on what just happened?”

“… Do you mean sneezing?” Riddle was confused, how does someone not know what a sneeze is? And to describe it in such a weird way… /p “Sneezing? What is that?” For a split second,Riddle could see and hear the rare tone and look of surprise and shock from Jade, before it was replaced with curiosity. “…What an odd thing to say…” Riddle muttered under his breath. However, according to his research on Night Raven College before attending, the institution did accepted many, many different types of students, personality, appearance, and species wise. Perhaps Jade was one of the many students enrolled in the academy that was of a different species that wasn’t used to sneezing, or maybe the climate was different enough that sneezing was a rarity. I suppose I could indulge his curiosity for a bit, if only to sate his curiosity, if not his terrible twin brother might decide to chase him all over again. Riddle thought, before spending the next 45 minutes explaining to Jade what a sneeze was and how it worked.

“Jade-Senpai didn’t know what a sneeze was?!” Deuce couldn’t help it, he yelled out in surprise. “Quiet! You are breaking rule 253!” Riddle scolded. “ And yes, Jade did not know what a sneeze was. I suppose it comes with him being a merman and all. They have gills to breathe, and further research shows that they also cannot cough.”

“But…” Deuce frowned, “According to Yuu, the twins had told them that they had been able to disguise their background quite well. This… doesn’t exactly seem like well—“ Shaking his head, Deuce remembered rule 129, no spreading of misinformation of the second Tuesday of the month except when eating cookies while doing a flip. Perhaps Yuu was wrong, they couldn’t get everything right after all… “Now, back to studying!” Riddle declared, and what can Deuce do but follow his House warden’s order?

Chapter Text

Floyd.

“ Jamil-senpai, how long have you known Floyd?” Taking a sip of water, Jamil considered the question for a while before answering.

“Well, that depends on your definition of ‘known’, unfortunately due to that octopus, I’ve talked to the twins more times than I can count. But I guess the first time I really talked to him without Azul or Jade threatening me, it wasn’t exactly for good either…” Jamil seemed to grow more and more irritated and haggard as he continued, as if simply thinking of the octatrio tires him, which Ace understands.

Sighing, Jamil asks Ace, “Do you know why there are so many ponds or fountains with fish around the school? Or why Sam sells bottled salt water?” Ace shook his head. “ That all started from this one incident…”

It was club time, which for Jamil meant ‘time for himself without having to babysit Kalim’ walking into club, Jamil allowed himself a rare smile as he started warming up training.

Everything was going smoothly as could be (at least with Floyd in the club), Floyd didn’t decide to cause a ruckus, actually joining in, Jamil didn’t receive any urgent calls or text from Kalim or anybody else regarding what stupid thing Kalim has gotten himself into again, and most importantly, no insects. ( One time he found a spider in the corner of the court, right where the water cooler was. He doesn’t care that they’re arachnids, they’re evil and disgusting and creepy and- )

So when Floyd opened his mouth, Jamil prepared for the worst. Except all he asked was, “Ehhhhhh, sea snake~ I ran out of water, can I drink yourssss?” Pausing in his excercise, Jamil shook his head and pointed to his left.“No, Floyd. There is a water cooler to your right, just walk a bit and you’ll see it.” “‘Kay, sea snake~”

Going back to practicing his shooting, imagine Jamil’s (not, really with Floyd around, anything and everything happens) surprise when not even a minute later, he could hear a yelp, retching and then groaning.

If I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.

Unfortunately for Jamil, the universe hates him, because Floyd specifically called out his name. “Sea snake!” Running, then he was getting squeezed. Ugh, why him. Now he has to scrub extra while showering to get rid of Floyd’s sweat too. Floyd’s voice lowered into a threatening whisper, “ Did ya think you could poison me with that weird water~ I thought sea snake woulda been more patient before biting, but if ya want to get squeezed that bad~”

Jamil didn’t resist against Floyd, knowing doing so would only make him angrier. Instead, Jamil replied hastily, “I’m not sure what was wrong with the water cooler, but I assure you that I have no intention of harming you” yet “and why would I want to bite you?”

Slowly the firm lock on his neck thanks to Floyd’s elbow was released, turning around, he saw Floyd’s disappointed face (Of course, he’s disappointed he couldn’t kill someone), “Awwww, Sea snake didn’t do it? Then why’s the water taste so awfullll.”

Frowning, Jamil thought as he considered the risks of poisoned water at school. If Kalim’s source of water was affected too, then perhaps he could conjure water and then boil it before giving it to Kalim? No, Kalim might run out during the day, and Oasis maker would be too excessive, since Kalim probably doesn’t know how to precisely control the amount he can conjure-

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by Floyd shoving his water bottle into his mouth, making Jamil involuntarily drink water. He was lucky Jamil didn’t choke!

Except, why was the water salty?! Swallowing it down reluctantly, Jamil lowered the water bottle out of his mouth and sputtered, “What was that?! And why was the water salty?!” “Ehhhh, whad’ya mean Sea snake~ This is what normal water is, straight from my water bottle~ Thought ya stayed silent cuz you were thirsty~”

“In what universe would I mean that?! And you had water all along, why didn’t you drink it? And why is your water salty?” Jamil asked, he swears he should really stop asking for his own sanity but he was just too shocked.

“Ehhhh, didn’t feel like taking my water bottle out, too much trouble.” Of course he did. Rolling his eyes, Jamil replies, “That still doesn’t answer why your water is salty.” “Salty? How?” Floyd seemed genuinely confused by his statement. Floyd took a sip of his own water himself, and looked at Jamil questioningly. Before he could ask why Floyd wasn’t affected by the salty water,(though that might just be Floyd being Floyd) the doors to the indoor court opened, revealing in all his slimy glory, Azul.

Not wanting anything to do with that suspicious student that was also unfortunately his classmate, Jamil grabbed his bag and sped into the changing room, wanting to get away from that weird and attention-grabbing nuisance as quickly as possible.

While leaving however, Jamil overheard a snippet of their conversation.

“Azuuuul, the water here is trasshhhhh.”

“Yes, Floyd. That’s what I’m here to talk to you about. Unfortunately, Jade and I were hapless victims to the water system today as well, which is why we must bring this matter up to the headmaster at once!”

“ Ehhh, something interesting again?” A short pause let Jamil know that if he cared enough to stop and check, would reveal a toothy grin on Floyd’s face, “Hah! This is gonna be funny…” Poor Crowley “ What???? The fish mafia threatened Crowley twice?! Damn, what a wimp…” Ace shook his head in disappointment of the headmaster. But then again, he guess he kinda expected it? A loud bang reverberated across the room, startling Ace, but Jamil remained unfazed, used to the Octatrio’s dramatic antics already. “Crabby~ Heard’ya talking shit about me?”

Oh shit

Chapter Text

+1.

“Alright weaklings! The headmaster has decided to start a new programme to get stronger!” Students of all dorms muttered and murmured, whispers exchanged among the crowd. Some looked excited at the sudden change, others more wary.

“This new programme requires us to use one of Octavinelle’s pools since from now on until the end of the programme, we will be learning how to swim! However, later on we’ll progress to the actual lakes in the mountains! The hike and the swimming should make all of you get stronger!” Immediately, the students groaned and moaned, complaints were already being made. “Seriously, that’s why we had to walk all the way here….” “We had to buy swimming trunks for this!?” “Another thing to fail at …”

“Silence! Due to the size of the pool and the fact that the Octavinelle students use it too, the headmaster decided to combine three classes into one per lesson!” Well, that explained why there were so many students and unfamiliar faces.

Despite all the grumbling and complaints, after Vargas left to change himself, the students started walking to the changing and showering rooms nearby to change into suitable attire. Except three.

“Azul! Jade! Come onnnn, let’s go in already!!!!” The crowd of students watched as Floyd was practically vibrating on the spot due to excitement, barely being held back by an amused Jade and a struggling Azul.

“Floyd! No, I am not going in for one, and two at least take off your clothes!” Azul yelled, but since Jade was just holding Floyd’s arm, not even trying to fake pulling him back, and Azul was only so strong, Floyd not only ran into the pool, but also dragged Jade and Azul along for the ride.

Water splashed out of the pool from all sides, completely drenching the onlooking crowd of students. When the wave of water finally fell however, the scene that greeted them went like this.

In the middle of the pool were three figures. Two of similar look circling the one in the middle, instead of the usual fair skin of theirs, a whitish green colour was seen on their faces, trailing onto their chest till their hip, with a faint white on their wrists. Their arms and sides were instead a mix of dark green and teal, with four dark greenish-blue stripes decorating their arms, along with large fins attached on both arms. On their faces were specks of green and teal, and two stripes in both cheeks. What was most notable on their face however, were the fins where their ears were. A glance into the water shows two winding tails, each longer than the twins in human form. Stripes littered across symmetrically along their tail, a dorsal fin on their backs had continued from their chest to the tips of their tail. One was chuckling happily, a small grin on his face just barely hinting at his sharp teeth, his movements more elegant and controlled. The other had a large smile, happily showing all his teeth, he moved around Azul playfully, sometimes even trying to bite on of the tentacles or Azul’s neck.

In the middle of these two entwining… predators, was a large creature, even bigger than the two large beings surrounding him. He had pale, grey skin on his face and chest, slowly fading out into an inky black on the rest of his body,but still appearing in specks throughout the dark abyss of black. However, the pitch black ink slowly turned into a stunning purple at the tips of his tentacles, which were curved so half were at face-level, swatting away the twins when they got too near. Azul’s eyes already were a bright, piercing blue on land, but when in his merform, they held a different intensity, like a rare sapphire, they shone brightly in vivid colour, contrasting the dark, subdued colour of the rest of Azul’s body. Despite looking slightly uncomfortable, he looked right at home in between those two. He shot glares of annoyance and irritation towards the eels whenever they tried to bite him again. Together, in that form, the three never looked so… comfortable. Like they inherently belonged in the water, which, the students now realise, they do.

The students on land were rooted on the spot, made frozen by the rare, unique sight currently swimming in the pool. They were held frozen partially due to fear, their instincts telling them that these three were not to be messed with, don’t move. The other half as to why they weren’t moving, was due to the sheer admiration on these, powerful, strong forms. In NRC, the strong rule and are admired and respected. So seeing these giant forms, that are four times their size, simply floating in the pool, the students couldn’t help but stop and admire.

Which lasted a whole two seconds, because Azul remembered they had an audience, a bright blue blush filling his face, similar to the colour of his eyes, and then darting off into the depths with a splash. The twins laughed and smiled, all their sharp teeth on display, glancing over the crowd, as if to acknowledge their staring, knowing the beauty of their merforms and the wonder it brings, before swimming down, following their friend with a predatory gaze. For a while, the group of students just stared at the now empty water, still in shock and disbelief on what they had just witnessed. Before eventually gaining life again, surprised yells and whispers filled the poolside, discussing and wondering about the events that just took place. When,

/“What are you all standing there for! Didn’t I tell you to change!? And why is everything wet, and — wait, where is Ashengrotto and the Leeches?”

Bonus:

Octavinelle was eerily quiet, but that was to be expected. Most of the students had gone to bed, Mostro Lounge had closed for the day, and currently, only three students stayed awake at this hour. Inside the VIP room, Azul and the twins were having their daily report ( sometimes gossip) session. A frown can be seen on Azul’s face as Jade recounts his report on the current rumours and verbal exchanges that occurred that day.

“Some of the first years were asking about us? All on the same day?” Azul was suspicious, this particular group of first years never were up to any good (like he can talk), and anything involving them would likely go south, so hearing that they were gathering intel on the trio was quite worrying.

“No worries, Azul.” Jade smiled, and Azul’s worry just increased tenfold, “I believe they simply were subconsciously affected by the Ramshackle prefect’s … interesting fascination with us.”

“Hah, ‘interesting fascination’ my ass!” Floyd cackled from his current position on the couch, “She’s as creepy about us as Jade is when he sees, ugh, mushrooms . Yesterday, she even asked if she could collect my sweat, sweat! Then I threatened to squeeze her, but she looked as happy as sea otter, so I just left.” Floyd grumbled, recalling the events with irritation and the slightest sense of fear.

“Oya Floyd? You, running away from you dear ‘shrimpy’? You haven’t done that in a while.” Jade chuckled, though he takes note to avoid the prefect from now on. Perhaps he should try to stop her meetings with Rook…

Groaning, Azul massaged his temples. Why can’t anyone in this school be normal, even a magicless human from another dimension has gotten weird once they started attending this wretched school…( Azul, you’re one of the weirdest, you know) Shut up, weird narrating voice.

Ah well, hopefully the prefect won’t find our mer forms too interesting.