Beauty & The Beasts (Twisted Wonderland x Reader)

Game Night -67-

"Ugh. Yet again, Kalim ignored my input and made an arbitrary decision. Does he have any idea how much extra work that means for me? Rrrgh. Well, he's asleep now. Surely the rest of tonight should go smoothly." Jamil mumbled to himself with clear annoyance written over his features. Sighing, he rolled his neck to work out the cricks. "At least now I can get some rest."

Suddenly there was a small series of knocks at his door. With a twitching eye, the vice housewarden whipped himself around and made his way over. "Seriously? A visitor? At this hour?" He grumbled. Upon opening the door, Jamil's grasp on his sanity immediately loosened when he saw the false smiling face of his fellow classmate.

"Good evening, Jamil." Azul said in a pleasant tone. Floyd giggled, waving a few fingers at Jamil from beside his boss/housewarden. "How's it hangin'?" Face falling into a scowl, Jamil groaned. "Gh! What do you want?" He exclaimed with a snarl.

Two new faces popped out from behind Azul. Grim, still situated in your arms, frowned. "Geez, I know it's late, but there's no need to get your fur in a ruffle!" The cat cried. You just gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry to disturb you, Jamil." You apologized softly.

Jamil's face suddenly fell into a blank look, quickly clearing throat. "O-Oh, Y/N. I apologize for that outburst, you simply caught me by surprise. Whatever may I assist you with?" The brunet said with a reproach to his prior greeting.

The two Octavinelle males quickly tried to repress their laughter before Azul took ahold of the conversation. "Well, you see, when Kalim gave us a tour of the treasury, we spotted a board game I've never seen before. I asked Kalim to explain the rules, but it's still not quite making sense to me." The octopus said with a small shake of his head.

Floyd nodded. "It's this wood board with little divots, and you put gems in 'em or something? How's that work?" Jamil made a noise in recognition. "Ah, I recognize the board. That's a popular game in the Land of the Scalding Sands." He answered. Azul hummed. "As a member of the Board Game Club, I'm always looking to try new games. Would you care to play a round with me?" He asked.

Excitedly, the eel began to clap. "Aha ha, me too! I wanna see what you've got, Sea Snake." Raising a fist, Grim shouted, "The great Grim never misses out on a competition!" You nodded. "I'd like to play, too, if you don't mind." You said calmly.

Feeling cornered, Jamil folded with a sigh. "Kalim's gone to bed. I don't see why not. My dorm room doesn't have enough space for all of you, though. Let's play in the lounge."

Soon enough, the five of you were gathered around the game, playing easily once Jamil had explained the rules. "WOO! I win! That's three for me!" Floyd exclaimed rather loudly as he threw his arms up in the air. Jamil huffed, a small smile forming at the edges of his mouth. "You're tough competition when you're focused, Floyd." He confessed.

Concurrently, Grim slumped in your lap, a defeated expression plastered over his face. "Mrgyah! I lose again! You're relentless, Azul." The feline whined. Azul smirked in response, raising his chin up proudly. "That brings me up to five to zero. I'd be an affront to the Board Game Club with anything less, of course. Meanwhile, Jamil's at... two to three, I see." The octopus mumbled.

Jamil nodded in confirmation. "Hm? Oh, yes. It's been a while since I last played. I suppose I've gotten rusty. Back in the old days, Kalim would spend hours a day making me play with him, insisting on going until he won a game. Despite his middling skill. Imagine that." Azul hummed. "Ah, I see." Suddenly his voice dropped to a murmur. "Mm, yes, that would explain it."

The brunet's eyebrows rose up. "Explain what? You sure love your cryptic little asides." He asked. Azul waved a hand in dismissal. "Forget I said anything. So, you and Kalim essentially grew up together, correct?" The octopus inquired.