Datasets:

nyoorspace

/

toh_fanfic

like 0

“Hey Hunter! It’s, ah, it’s been a week and a half since the petrification ceremony. A week and a half since I-” She starts to fiddle with the hem of her cloak, gaze flitting to the side. “Destroyed the portal home. Not that… anyone else knows that.” She flexes her fingers. Oddly enough, she’s wearing gloves. “But! I’m recording this because- well, I, ah, I miss talking to you, I guess.”   “And this is for cleaning-” “Yes, Ms. Noceda.” “And this one- this one is for any aches, okay?” “Yes, Ms. Noceda.” “And here- here, here are some extra bandages, just in case.” “Ms. Noceda, I already have three.” “And you’re also covered in cuts, young man!” Hunter sighs, adding the fourth roll of gauze to the bag and muttering a quiet thank you. Camila pushes onwards. “Now, I really do need to get going, but I’ve left Susie another voicemail so she should be able to pick you up at some point today, but for now, you are staying downstairs and lying down, do I make myself clear?” “Yes, Ms.-” “Hunter, what have we talked about?” Hunter resists a groan. “Yes, Camila,” he replies, her name uncomfortable on his tongue. “Good,” she smooths down his hair for the fourth time this morning, but it’d been a mess the last time he’d seen it, she probably doesn’t even make a dent, “get Luz to call me if you need anything, okay?” In an attempt to not get caught having to use her name again, he says, “of course.” “Good,” she repeats, “good.” And with that, she places her bag onto her shoulder and strides off into the hallway. She calls upstairs in a mix of Spanish and English that Hunter can vaguely estimate to mean ‘goodbye, I love you’ and Luz’s voice replies in turn. It's Luz’s voice, but not Luz. It’s been a week and a half, but he can still feel his blood boil. A week and a half, with something wearing Luz’s face. They’d formed an unsteady truce, for the time Hunter had spent half-dead on the Noceda’s couch. For the first three days, he’d been too caught up in the spinning of his vision and the constant rotation of Camila and his foster parents hovering over him, debating taking him to the hospital or not, so he hadn’t said anything. (They don’t take him, in the end. He ignores the hope that the Masons had remembered his phobia of hospitals, telling himself it was probably because of the bill.) But screw the Masons. Camila Noceda was a saint amongst men, and Hunter doesn’t think he’ll ever stop owing her. She cleans his wounds and slings his right arm without a single complaint, only with the mild-mannered threat that if he brought any gangs to her door, she’d throw him to the wolves and a myriad of other things he’d lost in translation. Which, yeah. That was fair enough. He’d fumbled enough in explaining away his injuries (he would hit himself for his initial ‘I was attacked by a bear’ if for one, he hadn’t been concussed and for two, if it didn’t hurt to move, let alone hit himself), so Camila had good reason to suspect foul play. However, she hadn’t seemed to have caught on to the foul play within her own home. “Luz”, or the thing pretending to be her, has barely left Luz’s room. Hunter can only really register them in the board games left on the coffee tail and the mop of hair he sees darting through the hallway, but that's enough. When he was still mildly delirious, Camila had asked them to keep an eye on him. The conversation had been, well, stilted. He thinks they’d been trying to convince him. When they lose at Cheat for the third time, a game Luz had some supernatural talent for, they seem to realise that it isn’t working. They hadn’t talked since. Hunter is torn between being glad he doesn’t have to see so much discomfort twisting on Luz’s face and irritated that he has no opportunity to grab them by the collar and ask what the hell they think they’re doing. Mostly glad, though. A week and a half, and he still can’t move without something throbbing. Threatening them would probably hurt him more than them. Not that he’s going to listen to his body, when he hears Camila’s keys lock in the door. He waits until he hears her car leave the driveway. Then, carefully as he can, extracts himself from the blanket Camila had left him in. He hasn’t walked anywhere farther than the bathroom in a few days, and even that was with supervision. His last attempt at independence left him careening into the coffee table with one arm to catch himself. Camila hadn’t been pleased. It was less that his legs were injured, but the new balance of only having one arm available and the constant pounding in his head had left him unstable at best. He’d got off with a warning. He gets the feeling that if Camila finds him sprawled across a different piece of furniture hours later when she gets home, he won’t get off so lightly. But Hunter, ever persistent, carries on. He manages the hallway fine. The stairs are a whole different battle, and any attempt at subterfuge is ruined by the loud tumble of his phone slipping out of his pocket and down the stairs. He shoots up a quick prayer for it but he doesn’t attempt to walk back down and grab it, not confident that both his balance and his nerve would survive the journey back up. Hunter pushes on. He doesn’t knock before he pulls open Luz’s bedroom door. The creature- demon- thing- startles from their position, cross-legged on the lower bunk of Luz’s bed, hands poised just above Luz’s laptop. “Hey, Luz.” “Oh- uh, hey Hunter, you’re… up! Are you feeling better?” They seem uncomfortable. Good. “Yeah,” he answers, hand snaking behind him. The door locks with a quiet click. “And I’d like to talk.” “Oh- yeah, sure,” quietly, they close Luz’s laptop, “about what?” “About why you're wearing my friend's face.” He must say it too menacingly. Their eyes dart to the open window. Hunter kicks off in a sprint, but his balance is shot by his cast and the creature is closer, leaping off of Luz’s bed. The creature skids on the turn, hands reaching to the worn paint of Luz’s windowsill, ready to jump. Hunter grabs them by the wrist, turning hard and dragging the creature with him. His body screams in protest, the action tugging at still not fully closed wounds, but it gets the job done. The creature spins with him and loses their footing, tumbling backwards onto the floor, only just missing the wall. They make a heavy thud on impact. Hunter then watches in dawning horror as they begin hyperventilating on the floor. Shit. “Shit, shit shit shit,” Hunter half skids to the floor, almost faceplanting and barely catching himself on his one available hand. Hesitantly, he hovers it over the creature, still breathing heavily, body twisting unnaturally. Hunter had walked up the stairs determined to get answers, but he wasn’t heartless. It also helped that the creature was wearing his friend’s face and hyperventilating in his friend’s bedroom, a painfully familiar scene, albeit rare. He catches a glimpse of green and scales before the familiar tone of Luz’s skin returns, and for a split second, he’s scared, thinking the creature is about to morph into something and go straight for his throat. But then tremors run down his friend’s form, and he’s struck with a new fear: are they about to cry?! Demons have feelings too, you idiot! loops around his head alongside the realisation that okay, evil demons probably wouldn’t start panicking after one hit and a resounding chant of shit shit shit shit shit. Cool. Calm. Hunter could do this. “Can I, uh, touch you?” He asks, tone gentle as he can make it, but some strain still slips in. The creature shudders, flinching inwards. This, to Hunter, reads as a resounding no. Carefully, he shuffles backwards. Luz’s room isn’t all too big, and it’s not long before he hits the wall behind him. The back of his head bumps against the window sill, and he suppresses the urge to curse as a new wave of throbbing starts off. He lets out a quiet ugh, raising his knees to his chest. It takes a few moments, but Luz’s lookalike stops shuddering. Shyly, they turn their gaze up to Hunter, but she they still won’t meet his eyes. He raises his hands in surrender. They sigh, and then push themself up to sit against the opposite wall, crossing their legs. They keep their eyes trained on the floor. “So…” Hunter starts off with, trying to break the tension that’s settled over the room, “I’m guessing you're a demon. From the Boiling Isles, right?” “Yeah,” they respond in an unfamiliar rasp, bunching Luz’s shirt in their hands. “Cool,” Hunter says, because it's the only thing he can think of, “that’s cool.” A beat passes. “Are you a witch?” They ask him. “I don’t know.” They pause in their fidgeting, then finally meet his gaze. “Are you running, too?” Hunter feels the urge to turn away. He’s never seen such vulnerability on Luz’s face and it's almost disturbing, but he keeps his head forward, not wanting to do this creature the a disservice. “No.” “Oh,” they murmur before finally breaking their stare, eyes moving back to their lap. “Is that why you're pretending to be Luz? Because you're… running?” Silently, they nod. “Oh,” Hunter states, intelligently, “well, uh, do you have a name?” “Vee,” they answer, quietly. “Cool. I’m Hunter.” “I know. “Ah- cool.” Hunter grimaces. He’s said cool way too many times today. “Look- I’m not going to ask you what you’re running from in the Boiling Isles, but I need to get back there, soon,” Vee seems to stiffen up at that comment, but Hunter keeps going, “I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but Luz is kinda my only friend here, and I’m hers. As much as it's… kinda weird that you look like her, Luz’s mom might start getting suspicious if we start avoiding each other.” “Mo- Camila. Camila has been asking about you… that’s how I knew who you were before you showed up,” Hunter hides it, but he can feel a twinge at his heart at the idea of Camila asking after him. Only a little one though, of course. “You mean before she found me bleeding out in the woods?” Hunter attempts to joke, trying to diffuse some of the tension in the room and to distract himself from any sort of vulnerability at an adult actually caring about him. It doesn’t help on either account. Vee only hunches into themself further.  “Ah- yeah, shit, sorry, back on topic. I was just going to say, you want to keep your cover right? And I want to stay near where the portal closed, keep an eye on it in case Luz manages to reopen it on her end. For that, we’re gonna have to work together on this. At least until I can get back to Luz.” “And after you get back to her? Will you come back?” The “will she come back?"is silent, but Hunter hears it anyway. There’s concern in their voice, and for good reason. Luz- bright, loud, and incredibly unsubtle Luz would entirely break the veneer of change that Vee has made for themself. Hunter, for a brief second, wishes Luz were here instead of him. He’d never been good at planning for the future, not when personal stakes were involved. “We’ll… figure that out later. But if you're running from something, we sure as hell aren’t going to throw you back to it. I promise.” Vee doesn’t meet his gaze again, but they do raise their eyes from the floor. “And you won’t tell Camila? That I’m not really her daughter?” “No,” Hunter replies, ignoring the small twist of guilt in his chest, “I won’t.” “Thank you,” they say, just a bit louder this time, a line of tension falling from their shoulders. Sensing an end to the conversation, Hunter grabs at the windowsill behind him and hauls himself to his feet before making his way to the door. He stops, just as he’s unlocked it. “Oh and, Vee? Could you do me a favour?” They look up to him, head tilted in silent assent. “Could you stop straightening Luz’s hair? She always hated it like that, only did it when she was meeting new people and… worried.” Vee’s eyes widen slightly, but an apologetic look comes over Luz’s face. “I- uh, I can try? I’m just… a little low on magic at the moment. I was saving it for an emergency.” Somehow, it hadn’t registered in Hunter’s mind that Vee wasn’t some sort of witch or demon with a bile sack. He files it away as them being some sort of shapeshifter. “You haven’t been doing it on purpose?”  Vee shrugs halfheartedly, “I only ever saw it straight.” That twigs something in his mind. The last time Luz had straightened her hair was the day they stumbled into the Boiling Isles. He decides to think about the implications of Vee successfully pretending to be his friend for over two months with no one noticing later, when he can be angry without worrying about sending Vee into a panic. “How do you get more magic?” He asks, ever the pragmatist. Vee seems uncomfortable with the question, but answers nonetheless, “I sort of, I drain it. From magical items. But the human realm doesn’t really have anything magical so…” Hunter’s face twists as he tries to think of any way something from the Boiling Isles could have made it to the human realm. A witch with a golden grin, mismatched eyes, and years of unregulated access to the human realm comes to mind. “I… may have an idea for that.”   “Hey Hunter, me again! It’s been two weeks now, since I, well, y’know. And God, I’m really starting to wish they had internet in the Boiling Isles. I could really use your advice right now.” “Okay so- I’ll explain. Me, Gus and Willow kinda got expelled? It was Amity’s parents fault, something about ‘child endangerment’ or whatever, but then I did this weird weapons presentation for them,” wordlessly, she flicks at a glob of abomination goo still lingering on her shoulder, “I’m fine though!” “Gus and Willow kinda weren’t happy about it. But they’ve not really been too happy recently anyways so…” She sighs, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. “They miss you. I miss you. I also think they might be kinda mad at me? But- but that’s not important. But God, back on topic- I think even Amity misses you, and you’ve only talked like, twice. She asked after you earlier.” She takes in a deep breath, then finally turns her eyes up to the camera. There’s a weak smile on her face, growing in strength. “Speaking of Amity- oh my god dude, your gonna be so mad you missed this. She was really mad about her parents getting us expelled, right? So, I’m at her parents weapons presentation and I’m kindatotallygettingthecrudkickedoutofme and then the abominations arms explode! And I’m like oh my god oh my god and then who starts yelling from the ceiling?! Amity! And she called me her Luz-!!!”   Two weeks, and Hunter finds himself alone in Luz’s room with Vee. Again. They’re holding up a white and purple striped shirt. He gives them a so-so motion with his hand from where he’s sprawled out on Luz’s top bunk, Luz’s laptop and an array of news clippings he’d repurposed from the library in front of him. They place it onto the Luz pile. They’d only been at this for about five minutes but they’ve already made it halfway through Luz’s closet, Hunter splitting his attention between veto’ing any clothing that may come off as not really Luz while scouring the local news for anything Eda related. He doesn’t find himself short of content. He thinks it's a miracle that neither he or Luz had had a clue Eda existed before now. Eleven year old Luz probably would’ve made a fan club. Fourteen year old Luz might as well be a fan club, what with how she idolises the woman. He side eyes Vee, who’s now taking some weird, flowy shirt off its hanger. “Oh, definite no on that one.” Vee’s brow knits, but Hunter doesn’t really pay attention to it, only looking long enough to see it get dropped onto the not Luz pile. The most recent article he can find dates back to around two months ago. ‘Strange Woman Banned Immediately From Cafe For Creating Living Books’.   Way to be subtle, Eda , he thinks to himself. He smiles regardless. Vee is now holding up some sort of light grey mock shirt jumper. He scoffs. “I’m just saying, Luz got that as some shitty birthday gift from one of her mom’s church friends. I don’t think she’s ever actually worn it.” “But,” Vee speaks up, and Hunter nearly startles at the interruption, “I like it.” He doesn’t really know what to say to that. “Er- sure, but if you’re trying to look like Luz-” “What if I don’t want to look like Luz?” They snap, voice leaning more into their natural rasp. Hunter blinks, surprised. Vee looks like they want to curl into themselves, and quickly throws the jumper into the not Luz pile. “I’m sorry- I, I just…” they trail off, eyes locked on the floor. Hunter feels out of his depth. “Do you not want to look like Luz?” “It's not like that,” they sigh, lowering themselves to the floor. Hunter feels like he’s looming from the top bunk, so he carefully untangles himself from his work space and climbs down, sitting down at Vee’s level. Vee seems to catch his silent prod to continue, but they still speak barely above a whisper. “It’s- it’s just… being Luz has been fine. Amazing, really. After all this time, I’ve finally had a place to belong.” “But sometimes, if I catch my reflection it… feels wrong. And it makes no sense, I’m a basilisk, changing my form is in my nature , but, sometimes I just miss… looking like me, I guess.” “Its stupid, I know. There’s not enough magic to be switching in the human realm and I couldn’t even be myself in the Boiling Isles, and everything here is so good and still, I’m just not fully happy. Maybe I never will be, without pretending to be someone else. Something else.” “Clothes helped, I guess,” they finish lamely, eyes on their hands, fiddling with their fingers. “Oh- shit, uh- sorry,” Hunter apologises, surprised by the earnest confession, “I… didn’t realise you felt like that.” Vee seems to have said their piece, and Hunter searches for anything he could say to help. “Can you really not let anything slip?” He tries. Vee smiles ruefully, staring at the wall behind his head. “Not without magic, not when I can’t switch back. I’m not really humanoid, if you know what I mean.” Well, that’s a new revelation. He logs that beside the new term of basilisk in the slowly growing knowledge he has of Vee in his head. “It's… I’m just being stupid, okay? We can just go back to sorting-” “Oh, no way. Ditch the piles,” Hunter says, and Vee seems surprised by the change in plan. Hunter boulders onwards. “I mean, you’ve already convinced, like, all of Gravesfield that you're the real deal,” he says, and tries to ignore how the truth stings, “so screw it I guess. What’s changing Luz’s wardrobe up a bit?” Vee, to his shock, smiles, and then their eyes dart back to the jumper, grabbing the fabric and running it over in their palms. This is good. This is a good moment. Hunter doesn’t need to push it any farther. “Is there anything else?” His traitor mouth asks. Vee lets out a little hm? , looking up at him curiously. “Before we find some magic, is there anything else we can do? To make you feel more yourself?”  Damnit. Damnit all to hell. Damn Luz to hell, who’s voice is the one whispering in his ear to be nice to the sad basilisk-creature-person who had to pretend to be someone else to find a home. “Oh!” Vee lights up, before instantly drawing back into themselves yet again. This time though, they look more shy than anything, “not really, to be honest. It's mostly my form that I miss, and my markings, I guess.” He turns the idea of markings over in his head. “We can draw them on?” Vee, in a move shocking to Hunter, laughs a little bit. It's the first time he’s heard it. “They’re not very human,” they say, tracing a circle just above their jaw, “they’d probably look a bit weird.” “Would freckles work?” He asks, and pointedly doesn’t say Luz used to like fake freckles . She used to draw them on me. Vee seems confused by the conviction he’s showing to this idea, but they still consider the idea before giving a half-hearted nod, “I guess?” A few minutes later, and Hunter has fully raided Luz’s sparse makeup bag. Vee watches on, torn between being confused or being oddly touched by Hunter’s tenacity. He chooses not to think of whatever bare minimum Vee is used to that made his lacklustre and slightly selfish attempts at being nice are being taken as such. “Okay so, this is eyeliner, right?” He says distractedly, as he loads up a wikihow in his off hand, “I stole it from Luz once,” three years ago , “so I have an,” incredibly vague , “idea of how it works.” They seem surprised by that comment, tilting their head, so Hunter takes a guess, “human related question?” They nod. Vee and Hunter had set up a system earlier in the week that anything Vee didn’t understand about the human realm, Hunter would answer without question or judgment. Still, they seem a bit embarrassed as they search for the right words. “Isn’t eyeliner for…” Hunter quirks a brow, but he’s got a feeling he knows where this one is going. “...girls?” It's a miracle Vee has lasted as Luz for so long, one part of him thinks. The other part thinks, how the fuck do I explain gender to a probably traumatised creature from the Boiling Isles .  “Sorry, sorry,” they rush out, ever eager to apologise, “it's just, gender seems to be a massive deal here, and I’ve been trying to research it but I don’t think I’ve been doing a very good job of it.” “Nah, nah it's cool, I’m just… probably not the best person to ask,” he goes for comfort first, as he desperately tries to think of an easy way of explaining this, “gender can be confusing even if you're from the human realm. Can’t imagine how it’d look like to an outsider.” He’s only bought himself time, as Vee continues staring at him, urging him onwards. “It’s kinda complicated. Some people- most people in Gravesfield, to be honest- will say that there's only boys and girls, some people will say gender doesn’t even exist. It's all about finding what's right for you, I guess. Although, please don’t be the first group or I will have to kick you out of the Noceda household.” Vee’s eyes widen, scared. “Joke! That was… mostly a joke!” He covers himself with, even though he doesn’t really believe it as he says it. He can deal with Vee living as Luz, kinda, but if Vee ever made his friend’s mouth say anything vile, he would probably throw hands. “Look, I’m really not the best person to ask, but I can give you some links that Luz gave me once. At the end of the day though you can just be… whoever you want to be, I guess.” “I think… I think I like being a girl,” Vee says, and Hunter quietly logs a change in his head. But, God- Hunter really doesn’t think he’ll ever get over just how open Vee is. She means everything she says so much , and she’s only known him for a few days. Maybe it was the life spent hiding everything about himself, but he can’t quite wrap his head around it. “Cool,” is what he says instead, “then you're a girl then. And if you wanna change that later, then that's cool too.” “Cool,” Vee echoes him, and Hunter quietly curses his go-to word now infecting her. He pushes onwards though, eyeliner pen now in hand. “Okay, so this one is more black than brown so I’m just gonna apply it lightly but…” It takes them a few failed attempts, but by the end of it, Vee has acquired a new found passion for makeup and a shoddy smattering of freckles across her cheeks, concentrated where she’d gestured her markings to be. Her eyes are sparkling as she holds a mirror up to her face for the fourth time, Hunter having done a terrible job on the first run, smudged it on the second, and entirely forgot he was aiming for specific marking placements on the third. Unpursued leads sit atop Luz’s top bunk, but Hunter figures they can wait for a while. If he can find some magic for Vee, he’ll probably find something related to portals as well, right? Luz won’t mind if Hunter changes his focus a little. Just for now, he and Vee will do their best to not stain the carpet of her bedroom floor and later, they’ll figure this all out.   “Hey Hunter, think I was traumatised today! Turns out Hooty can twist himself into a backpack. It was as bad as it sounds.” “A lot of stuff happened today. I figured out how to make an invisibility glyph, and we went to these ancient ruins for King, turns out he’s not actually like, a proper king. I… can’t say I’m too surprised to be honest, even if I’m kinda sad for him.” “I can’t really talk much about it right now, I promised King I’d put him to bed. I promise I’ll record something more in detail tomorrow, but long story short King was just a really cute nickname that kinda exploded.” “It was really fun, exploring the ruins, even if Lilith was being kind of a jerk about it before we actually found them. She’s kinda like you like that, even if it's kinda gross to think about.” “I think you’d get along with Lilith, even if you didn’t like having to work with her at first. She can be a bit prickly at first, but deep down she’s just a total nerd. She’s really changed since she left the Emperor’s Coven.  “But don’t worry! Still keeping a total grudge since she tried to kill me. I haven’t had to wash the dishes in two whole weeks-!”   Turns out the coffee shop that Eda had terrorised was a dead end. All Hunter and Vee had managed to find after Vee grilled the barista were some weird bread worshiping rats. Once again, he wonders how the hell he and Luz had managed sixteen and fourteen years in Gravesfield respectively without ever catching onto anything strange. He’s quite deep into this line of thought when Vee suddenly lights up next to him, tugging at his sleeve. Hunter is, suffice to say, slightly alarmed. So far Vee’s emotional range has been mostly limited to one, terror and two, milder terror, so to see her look almost excited shocks him slightly. Turning to try and see whatever she may be looking at, all he sees is a group of just-older-than-preteens lounging underneath a tree, playing… cards? He blinks, then turns the familiarity over in his head. Hunter knows what playing cards look like and he’s had brushes with tarot cards and they don’t seem to match either of the ideas in his mind, so why are they ringing a bell? Vee interrupts his musings with a shy voice. “Do you mind if I go say hi to my friends?” “No, what? Of course not, I’ll just hang here.” She tilts his head at him, curious, then shrugs her shoulders and walks over. Vee has yet to catch onto Hunter’s status as ‘town enigma’, and he’d prefer her to not be introduced to it via people she probably actually liked. He’s just gonna… stand here. Look at some leaves on the ground. Yeah. It’s summer. All the leaves are on the trees. Damnit. Luz, who was wrong about everything, had always liked the summer. Freedom from school and the sun shining seemed to dull her senses to the fact that boiling heat and no structure for three whole months was awful, actually. She always had a retort for that. Usually calling him weak, which usually started a fight. He’d once made the mistake of complaining about being too hot while they were walking along a creek and she hadn’t hesitated to push him in. Maybe Hunter missed Luz, just a little. He takes a moment to think before coming to the realisation that he had very little friends who wouldn’t do the exact same. Gus, who was normal, probably wouldn’t. Willow, Ed and Em, Eda- and God, when did he start pairing ‘Eda’ and ‘friend’ in his head?- probably wouldn’t have hesitated to- Eda. That’s how he knows those cards. He doesn’t really think before he stumbles over to where Vee seems to be finishing up, standing up and saying her goodbyes before he interrupts. “Cool cards, where’d you get ‘em?” In unison, four pairs of eyes turn to him. Ah. He has made a mistake here. Desperately trying to ignore the staring- especially from the guy with an overgrown fringe who Hunter recognises as the freshman he once caught trying to do vape tricks in the school bathroom (at 10am. On a Tuesday.)- Hunter tries to salvage a more normal line of questioning. “I have a friend… who likes cards.” It is Gravesfield-wide knowledge that Hunter’s only friend is Luz. Luz, who is supposedly standing right next to him. The five of them dwell there for a moment, and Hunter considers the likelihood of himself dying instantaneously on the spot. The goth-looking girl, the one holding the playing cards, is the one to break the silence. “I bought them,” she responds, then pauses for a second,  “from the historical society.” Ah, fuck. “Cool,” Hunter answers. When he can’t find anything else to say, he just says, “that’s cool.” Double fuck. “Thanks?” She replies, sounding as perturbed as Hunter feels. He needs to end this. He needs to end this, run away, and then scream. Maybe not in that order, he’d need to deposit Vee back at home first, but he’s gonna fit that scream in somewhere. The crawling awkwardness under his skin demands it. “Well, uh, it’s been nice seeing you guys?” Vee attempts to break the atmosphere with, and it seems to work on the pre-teen side of this terrible interaction, as they very quickly begin to chime off with different variations of ‘see ya!’ and ‘text us!’. Hunter seizes the opportunity, and walks Vee away as quickly as possible. “What was that all about?” “I’m not good with people,” he leaves it at that, as he begins walking them into a direction he very much wishes they didn’t have to go, “but those cards, I’ve seen them before in the Boiling Isles.” “Really?” Vee asks, half jogging to keep up with his stride. He slows down a little bit, “I couldn’t smell any magic on them-” “You can smell magic?” He asks, once again adding this tidbit to his slowly growing infofile on Vee. “...yeah?” She answers him, shyly. That’ll be helpful, he thinks. “That’s cool,” is what he says. They cross the road, and Vee looks up in wonder at the building in front of them. Hunter represses the urge to scream. “Okay, so, Vee, I’m not gonna lie, this is going to suck.” “What?” She asks, eyes wide as they trek up the stairs. “The guy who runs this place- Jacob, well…” Hunter opens the door. Might as well get this over with. “Stay back, witch!” Vee nearly jumps out of her skin. Hunter takes a step in front of her, and the door swings shut behind them. “He doesn’t like me much.” “Are you even listening to me?!” Jacob explains as he dumps the box he was holding in his arms, circling in front of the welcoming desk. “Mhm, yeah, totally” Hunter responds with a hum, sliding his phone out of pocket and flicking it to record as Jacob begins to advance, “the witch that you and are currently within five feet of?” Hunter’s eyes flick to the town square, only a door away. More witnesses would probably be helpful, but he’s never liked spectacle. “You came into my museum!” He points a finger at Hunter, advancing as he goes. Hunter sighs. “Jacob, did you forget the protective order again? Step back.” “To hell with the protective order, that expired years ago!” “To hell with the Class-D felony you committed and that I could use as evidence in another case? And that I could now get a civil protection order against?” Jacob deflates, bravado fading. He takes a step back. “Come on, man,” he moans. “No, not ‘come on, man’. You put cameras outside my house.” “That was years ago. And I haven’t done it again!” “Jacob, I was five.” “I was a kid too!” Be calm, his inner voice says. Kill him, his inner voice also says. His inner voice isn’t very helpful. “You were seventeen!” He goes for stating the facts, for calm reasons. He yells it, for murder reasons. “Legally, that’s a kid,” “Legally, it’s not.” “How was I meant to know the age of criminal responsibility?” Hunter’s eye twitches. “I don’t know, basic knowledge? But maybe not stalking me would’ve been a great start-” “It's not stalking if it's in the public interest-” “For fucks sake, public interest is only ever used in breach of confidence laws-” “Only ever used so far. I know the law too, witch, I know how precedent works. And I’ve got proof this time, proof that you are a danger to this community. That’s why you're here, isn’t it?” “Proof?” Vee pipes up from his side, looking incredibly alarmed. Jacob blinks. Then his eyes sparkle. “Yes- yes… random girl!, I have proof this time!” “That’s really not while we’re here-” Hunter tries to interrupt, but Jacob barrels onwards. “Normally, I wouldn’t engage with witchkind directly, not after,” his eyes flick to Hunter, “government intervention-” “Conditional discharge,” Hunter drawls, reangling his still recording phone. “A poorly disguised attempt at silencing me,” he overwrites, confidently, “in fact, years ago, I too wouldn’t’ve batted an eye at such a creature walking in our midsts. I can’t blame you for falling into their schemes.” Hunter allows himself a facepalm. “Tell me, random girl, do you like having teeth?” Vee still looks alarmed, but the knit of her brows tells Hunter she is also deeply, deeply confused. She looks to him. He meets her eyes through the palm covering his face and gives a singular, defeated nod. She imitates him to Jacob. “Then you might just want to keep your fraternising with him,” he points a harsh finger at Hunter, finger hovering inches from his chest, “to a minimum.” “I can’t tell you everything, but all the proof you need is on my Mewtube, just look me up, one thousand, two hundred and thirty seven subscribers and growing by the day. And what with my new, highly anticipated evidence…” Jacob now looks directly to Hunter, “your days in Gravesfield are numbered, witch.” …that could be considered a threat, right? Fuck it, it’ll have to be enough, Hunter doesn’t think he can stand to listen to Jacob’s schtick for much longer.  Hunter will take it up with a judge if he needs to. He’s got all the evidence he needs. He taps his phone off record, but he keeps it held up. “Listen here, Hopkins.” Hunter takes one step forward. Jacob takes three backwards, hitting the wall behind him. “I can live with your stupid theories. I can live with the one-man protests in the square. Hell, I can live with you interviewing my classmates for ‘suspicious activities’.” (Technically, Hunter couldn’t live with that last one, as it’d instigated the long line of events that had landed him in youth court, but Jacob didn’t need to know that.) “But if you’ve been recording me, watching me, following me, doing any of your creep shit again, I will march you back to court myself. And who are they going to believe, Jacob? The guy with a criminal record or the teenager he stalked? Y’know, I don’t think they would mind if you ended up a bit roughed up as well. What’s a bit of self-defence in such an easy case?” Jacob continues trying to flail backwards, but behind the fear, there’s determination on his face. Fuck. Whatever he has on Hunter must be good if just threatening him isn’t working. “You think I don’t know that?” He retorts, but the rise in his pitch tells Hunter that he clearly didn’t. “Wouldn’t put it past you,” Hunter replies, but he stops his advance. Jacob looks visibly relieved, like Hunter might pull back. The thing is though, Hunter’s had an idea. “Look, Jacob. You don’t like me, I get that, but whatever ‘proof’ you’ve come up with this time-” “Stop saying it like that!” Jacob interrupts him, voice pitched enough that it sounds like a whine, “I saw you! You came out of that portal, I have video evidence-!” He saw what? That’s bad. That’s probably really bad, even he can’t remember coming out of that portal, but Hunter can’t let it get to him. He keeps going. “So you have been recording me again? It wouldn’t be on private property, would it?” Jacob looks to the side. “So lets say Jacob, you do take this ‘video’ of me to a court. I’ve seen your cameras- grainy footage? Obtained illegally? With whatever slapjob CGI you’ve put on this time? You’d be laughed straight into a cell. You didn’t go to prison last time, did you?” He pauses for dramatic effect. “I don’t think you’d like it.” Jacob pales, ever so slightly. “You're threatening me. You came onto my property and you're threatening me” he gets out, but his pointer finger is shaking, “you’re recording yourself threatening me! I can use that.” “I can edit a video too, Jacob,” he replies simply. Surprisingly, Jacob stops cowering, for just a second,  “You're the bad guy here,” he states, almost dangerously quietly, “you're threatening to silence me,” his volume picks up, “I’m the good guy here, I’m trying to protect this town- protect humanity! Protect it from things like you.” If he was younger maybe, that would’ve hurt, to be alienated so simply. But Hunter is frustrated, in pain, and more than done with this conversation. He cuts him off sharply. “Can’t do that from jail, can you, Jacob?” Jacob wilts, and Hunter knows he’s got him. He’s gotta be quick now, before Jacob gets back his nerve. “Give me your keys.” “Wha-?” “Your keys to your museum. Gimme.” “Why the hell would I do that-!” “So I can fuck with whatever illegal footage you’ve obtained and then throw some boxes around so you have a good excuse for your Mewtube followers as to why your new discovery has gone missing. That, and get my friend here some cards.” Vee perks up beside him, but she still looks incredibly out of her depth. “No! No way-” “Damn, guess me and Luz here will just have to go straight to the station then. You think a witness,” he gestures to Vee, “video evidence, and whatever shit you’ve got packed into your back office won’t be enough to send you down?” He looks torn, incredibly so. But when Jacob starts rifling through his pockets, Hunter knows he’s won. “Can you just leave a little bit of footage-” he whines as he pulls a ring of keys from his jacket pocket. “Nope,” Hunter pops as he snatches the ring from his hands. “Wait- no, c’mon man, that’s got my house keys on it-” “Do know, don’t care, we’ll leave ‘em on the counter if we’re feeling nice. Out you go.” He loops around the desk and starts shoo’ing Jacob out. Jacob complains, loudly, but in seconds Hunter has herded him out of the museum and locked the door behind him. “What just happened?” Vee asks him, eyes still a bit wide, looking incredibly small in the high ceilings and long hallways of the historical society. “Blackmail,” Hunter informs her, “justified blackmail.” “Is that allowed?” “Oh no, blackmail is definitely illegal. But Jacob doesn’t know shit, so let's get moving.” Vee wastes no time after that. To Hunter, the museum smells of lemon disinfectant and stale air. Vee clearly smells something different as she starts speed walking towards the counter. Hunter tilts his head, curious. “Magic,” she mutters, but excitement raises her volume, “I thought I could smell magic when we walked in, but it's definitely here, behind this door.” “Well then, smell away,” Hunter responds, exaggerating his movements as he throws his newly acquired keys to her. She fumbles slightly, but still manages the catch. As Vee makes her way into the backroom, Hunter lingers behind her for just a second, looking through the halls to some of Jacob’s exhibits. It's a shame, is what he thinks to himself, an old regret, if Jacob wasn’t such an asshole, I would’ve loved this place as a kid. His eyes catch on the town’s insignia, proudly displayed behind polished glass. His mind flits back to a similar golden emblem, wings outstretched alongside a sword. Weird, he thinks as Vee calls for him from the other room. The thought lingers, even as he’s trawling through Jacob’s computer (the password resting on a notepad next to it) and watches himself get blasted through an open doorway. The video has no sound, but if he squints, he thinks he can see Luz, back to the door, facing the Emperor head on. A flash, an explosion, and the doorway cuts out of reality, like it was never there. He watches detached for a second, as the him of two weeks ago bleeds out on old wooden floors. He takes his time, unscrewing the side panel of Jacob’s PC. He then proceeds to rip out his hard drive and snap it over his knee. He fucks up the RAM and power supply as well for good measure. Vee claps a little, even if she seems alarmed by his ferocity, two sets of cards now resting in her pockets. They go back home. Hunter leaves Jacob’s keys on the gutted case of his computer.   “Guess who,” Luz stage whispers, eye so close to the camera it blurs. She pulls back in one large movement, “me! And I’ve got news!” “Okay okay, so remember in my last vlog when I told you that Eda’s mom gave me some pointers? About there having been humans in Bonesborough before. Well…” With flair, she pans the camera to a pet enclosure in her room. Within it, a mouse sleeps. “I found his diary! A mouse ate it and is now projecting it to me, but that’s like, a totally different story.” The camera turns back to her. “Oh- and you're totally not gonna believe it. This guy’s name? Phillip Whittebane! Either it's a massive coincidence, or it's the founder guy! Which is still one hell of a coincidence. What’re the odds you get named after a guy who actually made it to the Boiling Isles? That’s gotta be fate, I’m telling you.” “I really think I’m getting closer to making a portal, I can just feel it. And then- then…” Her face scrunches as she thinks. “I, uh. I haven’t really thought that far ahead.” “First things first though- apologies. I definitely gotta apologise to a few people. And…” She sighs. “It's not just you.” “I’ve been drawing back from Willow and Gus. It just, it kinda stings, hanging out with them without you there, oh- Willow found that reptilian book you were asking about, by the way.” “And it's like, it's not a massive deal. We still hang at school and stuff, but just today right, Gus went on this whole adventure with some Glandus kids- and he’s barely told me anything about it. And I know it's probably nothing and of course he doesn’t have to tell me everything about his life and I know-” “But we’re kinda a pair, here, in the Boiling Isles. I can’t help but think that I just don’t fit as well without you here with me.”   Hunter and Vee are sitting on Luz’s bedroom floor, and he’s beginning to wonder if this is their thing now. Hunter had only come in a minute ago, and yet here they are, on the floor. Honestly, he’d half-expected Vee to withdraw from him, after they’d found some magic for her. Their deal wasn’t transactional, she didn’t have to help him back after he’d helped her. And yet, when he’d sent her a message this morning asking to talk through more portal ideas, she’d agreed, exclamation marks and all. But now that he’d gotten here, he wasn’t really feeling like talking. He wasn’t feeling like doing much of anything, really. Dave had dropped him off today. It hadn’t gone well. In minor good news though, Camila had finally allowed him to take off his sling. It’d been three weeks, after all. Mindlessly, he rolls his wrist, revelling in the new feeling. Vee looks at him. “I don’t want to talk about it.” “Are you sure?” She asks, and the knot in his chest tightens, “that looked… pretty tense.” Luz’s window faced the front of the house. Vee must’ve seen Dave walk him out of the car. “Me and my foster parents just got into a bit of a fight earlier, it's no big deal.” Vee’s eyebrows lift, expression questioning. “Do you… know what foster care is?” He asks, trying to dodge the obvious question. Vee stares back at him with his friend's face, expression flat, “I meant the fight.” Hunter raises his hands in defence, “hey, don’t blame a guy for asking,” but he realises he’s talked himself into a corner, so he tries to let loose just a little bit of truth, to try and ease Vee’s nerves. “It wasn’t that big of a fight. They’re just… concerned.” Vee’s gaze is unrelenting, and Hunter feels like he's under a microscope. “They don’t like that I’m going out so much when I’m injured and they don’t like that I won’t tell them that I got hurt, okay?” “Oh- I’m, I’m sorry-” “Please,” he cuts her off, and decides to feel bad about it later, “don’t apologise. I’m just frustrated right now, it's nothing against you.” Vee shuffles a bit closer to him, sitting at the end of Luz’s bed while he sits against the side. “I- uh,” Vee murmurs, and Hunter tiredly turns his face to her, “I don’t actually know what foster parents are. Are they… different? From Camila?” “They’re not meant to be,” he bites out, bitterly, but lets the anger die with his words. “It's this human system, but I don’t know, they probably have an equivalent back in the Boiling Isles. If a kid's parents are really bad, or if they don’t have parents anymore, people can train to be foster parents, and then take those kids in. I’m one of the latter, but I don’t even remember having any in the first place.” Vee looks to him, and he hates that she sees familiarity on her face. “You too?” He asks, voice quiet. “Yeah,” she responds, fiddling with her hair. She’s been doing that ever since they got Eda’s Hexas Hold’em cards, and Hunter had watched the texture changed before his eyes. Hunter told her she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to, but Vee had decided she liked it, and so like that it had stayed. “Basilisks don't really have parents. Not anymore.” He raises a brow at her, urging her to continue at her own pace. “My kind went extinct, a long time ago,” huh? Then how… “but we were brought back by bad people for bad reasons. They wanted to know how we drained magic, and I still don’t know why.” “Damn…” Hunter mutters, and is hit with the small feeling that his own sob story probably has nothing on Vee’s. He doesn’t really know what to say in the face of it. All he can think to do is lighten the mood, desperately tense for what is only eleven in the morning. Carefully, he rests a fist on Luz’s bed, facing Vee, “no parents gang, I guess.” She breathes a laugh, and quietly meets the fist bump. They both withdraw. “I think I used to resent Luz, for that,” Vee admits, and Hunter straightens up, “when I first came here, no one had ever been nice to me, I think. Then I met Camila, and she was amazing. Luz had a mom who loved her, a life… and she still ran away from it all. Why?” A familiar urge rises in Hunter, the need to defend Luz regardless of any base to Vee’s claim, but he doesn’t think he can, not right now. “I’m so thankful Luz ran away, and I know that’s a horrible thing to say, but I am. Because here, I got to be happy. But even when I got everything I wanted,” he fingers trail the freckles drawn across her face, “it still wasn’t enough.” “I don’t think anything's ever enough, really,” Hunter speaks up, “you could have the most perfect life on Earth, and there’d always be something left to bug you.” “I get that now,” she says, “everyone is just… trying their best with what they have, aren’t they?” “Yeah,” Hunter mumbles, staring into his reflection in the mirror across the wall, “they are.” They sit in silence for a moment. “Are you… sure you don’t have parents?”  Vee’s voice is quiet, but it rings loud in Hunter’s ears, his head jerking to her. She backpedals. “I- I don’t know anything, of course but… I don’t know. Your ears, your eyes… if I can make it into the Human Realm, who says you couldn’t have, a long time ago? You don’t smell like a witch, but you don’t exactly smell human either.” He stamps down the tiny flicker of hope in his chest and carefully pushes away any thoughts of Vee being able to smell that there’s something wrong with him and leans back further into the bedframe. “I think Eda would’ve noticed a toddler getting through her portal. She’s bad, but she’s not that bad. Probably.” “Why does there only have to be one portal?” Vee asks, and the idea is such an obvious one Hunter could slap himself for not thinking of it sooner. “I…” Hunter trails off, and finds he can’t think of an answer, “I don’t know, I’ve never thought of it like that before. But it's not like my birth certificate says anything about a baby emerging from a glowing door or anything-” “What?” Hunter makes a small noise of questioning, before realising that his statement would make no sense to Vee, who probably only has a vague idea of what a birth certificate even is, “I- uh, when the state can’t find any record of birth parents, the typical procedure is just to put down where the kid was found. Some hikers found me while wandering off trail. I was outside some cave or something.” “And you never thought that was strange?” “Of course I’ve thought it was strange-” his pitch raises as he goes to defend himself, but he stops, “but I’ve never thought about it in the context of magic.” He thinks of the beach below the Owl house, human trash washing up every other week. Vee looks at him, imploringly. “Every myth you humans have is caused by a little of our world leaking into yours”. “What’re the odds?” He asks the air. “The best you’ve got,” Vee replies.   “Heya Hu-” Cheep! Luz smiles as the lens is overtaken by a bright red beak. “I brought a little guest to my pity party today,” she chuckles, stretching out a finger for Flapjack to perch on. “He’s been a little lonely with you gone,” cheep! “But me and Owlbert have been keeping him company, hope you don’t mind.” Cheep! “Still, I’d kill to know what he’s been saying all this time,” cheep! “D’you think you’d still be able to translate for him through a video? My phone is kinda the entire reason I know about glyphs, so who knows! Maybe the magic will seep through or something.” She moves her hand, and Flapjack repositions himself into the crook of her neck. “It’s been easier recently, to just use a palisman. My glyphs have been going,” she flexes her palms, “kinda haywire. I… don’t know why.” She looks down to Flapjack, who lets out a discontented little noise at the change in position. Her eyes, for just a split second, flick down to her lap where her hands now lay. “Yeah… it’s weird.”   Hunter walked to the Noceda’s today, not wanting to deal with the strife of asking for the third ride of the week. Camila opens the door for him instead of Vee. She must’ve finished early today. He tries not to cringe as she invites him in. Hunter has absolutely nothing against Camila, nothing, but he can’t help the discomfort as she welcomes him in, asks him if he’s eaten today. He’s never taken well to adults trying to help him, and Camila has always made that feeling so much worse by just being so nice. Luz had always called it kinda weird, his aversion to her mom. He thinks it's reasonable precaution, not that he’s ever told Luz that. “Are you alright, Hunter?” She asks him before he can make a beeline to the stairs. “...yes?” He answers, doing his best to not meet her eye. “It’s just,” her voice is dripping with concern, and Hunter wants nothing more than to leave, “you’ve been over a lot this summer.” Please, please don’t ask the question- “is everything all right at home?” Damnit. “Yes, Ms-” Her gaze sharpens, ever so slightly, as she tilts her head. “Yes, Camila. Everything’s fine.” He prays this is the end of it, and he takes a cautious step towards the stairs. But there is determination on her face, and Hunter is hit with the helpless feeling that he’s not getting out of this one. “You know that you are free to stay here, Hunter, as long as you’d like. You just have to tell me.” He can’t help the way his face scrunches at the familiar offer, but he smooths his expression as quickly as he can. Not quickly enough, in the way Camila cocks her hip, moving her hand to rest on it. “Don’t give me that look, young man. I know you don’t like me saying it-” Hunter really, really doesn’t like Camila saying it. “But we owe you. I owe you.” “But I don’t,” he makes the useless attempt to argue, just as he’s done a million times before. Camila is undeterred. “You were Luz’s friend. I’ve always been worried for her, I always will. I was still worried that first time she brought you through the door, saying she was going to show you her entire Azura collection…” “You thought I was going to make fun of her,” he states bluntly, because he knows it's true. Camila purses her lips, gaze flickering away from him. Then, she lets out a sigh. “Yes, I did. But then you didn’t, and that meant more to me than I could ever say.” Hunter knows his ears have probably been burning since the start of this conversation, but they flare up here, and he prays to anything below or above for this conversation to be done. “She never could quiet down, my girl, but I could always tell that it hurt her, not being understood. She was walking away from herself, even if slowly. But then you brought her back. Camila pauses for a second, and Hunter hangs onto the silence… he’s never heard this part of Camila’s usual speeches to him before. It's new. “And- Dios, she’s been so different since she came back from camp, even if she enjoyed it. I’m sure you’ve noticed.” Hunter, slow as he can, nods. Distantly, he thinks he should probably tell Vee about this. “I know I shouldn’t ask favours of you, Lord, you’ve been through too much already. But if there’s something wrong with Luz, that she can’t tell me, could you bring her back again?” Hunter is maybe a little floored. And very alarmed. He’s bad with vulnerability at the best of times, but coming from his best friend’s mom? Who he’s inadvertently been lying to for the past three weeks about the safety of her daughter? He doesn’t know what to do and he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t think he can explain to Camila that whatever good he may’ve done by Luz, she’d paid back tenfold a long time ago just by being his friend. “Of course,” is what he settles on. It’ll have to do. Camila smiles, ruefully, then goes to worry at his hair. He ducks his head a little, but makes no further attempt to resist. “There’s my boy,” she murmurs, and fuck, okay, maybe Hunter’s ears were just going to be red forever, “oh, but go- go. Luz is probably waiting for you. Go do your teenager things.” Hunter ducks out without another word, but he ascends the steps a little slower than usual. His pace only picks up when he makes it to the landing, knocking two quick taps on Vee’s door before he bursts in, pushing through his mortification to remember the reason he’d rushed over. From his bag, he pulls a folder, borrowed from the Mason’s study. Vee crowds close to see. For the most part, it contains cheques, passports, and other important documents, irrelevant to them. From it, he pulls a single sheet of paper. “Vee, I’ve got our lead.”   It’s dark out. Darker than all of Luz’s past recordings. She’s outside. On a tree stump in the woods, Luz’s phone jostles, the video blurring as she does. Luz is a dark outline, sat cross legged on the stump. There’s the sound of fabric moving and paper crinkling, and the outline of a glyph lights up before sparking where it sits. It glows brighter and brighter, nearly fizzling out, before it forms a small ball of light. Luz comes to view in shades of yellow and white. It only exacerbates the circles under her eyes, painting them an ugly shade of brown. “Hey,” she murmurs, eyes half focused, “I’ve figured out what’s wrong with my glyphs.” Quietly, her hands move together. Slowly, she peels back the gloves that had become her new staple before she bears her palms to the camera. Even with the lighting, the royal blue that dapples her palms are unmissable. “So… yeah. This is why I’ve been wearing your gloves. Sorry about that, I guess. I thought the marks would fade but, as you can see,” she gestures at nothing, “they haven’t.” She makes a weak attempt at jazz hands. “I still haven’t told anyone, but I think when I broke the key, I think it had Titan’s Blood in it. Meaning that when the glass….” “Mierda, Mami’s gonna kill me for getting a tattoo without her permission,” she breathes, eyes glistening. “Titan’s blood is apparently some really powerful substance, but it's rare now. Something powerful enough to make a portal to the human realm, and somehow I got it lodged into my hands. Enough for it to mess with my glyphs, but not enough to help.” Silently, she places her face into her palms. It's a few minutes before she raises them, eyes ringed. “I’m sorry, Hunter. I should’ve ran after you. We could’ve closed the portal after us, and even if Belos did follow us, we could’ve gotten help or something. I shouldn’t’ve just left you there.” “And,” she starts, impossibly quietly, “I can’t help but worry that maybe… maybe you hit your head a bit too hard. I can still remember the sound.” “Someone found you. Someone must have. I can’t believe anything else. But… I’m still scared.” She glances behind her, surveying the woods. The wind is a quiet woosh in the microphone. Luz pulls her gloves back on. “I should be in bed, I’ve got school tomorrow. Me and Eda made a deal with the Bat Queen and everything. Palisman adoption day,” she laughs mirthlessly, “maybe I could find a friend for Flapjack.” “Or maybe not,” she adds, expression dark, “Gus told me a while ago that palismen bond through conviction, and well, I don’t know. I’ve always wanted too much.” Her hand reaches for the camera. “Goodnight, Hunter.”   “C’mon Hunter, we’re almost there.” He wheezes, arms slipping down his thighs as he reaches the top of the incline. “Vee, which one of us got thrown through dimensions only, I don’t know, three weeks ago? Her face falls. “Joke, sorry” he huffs out, breath still shaky as he exhales. “No, sorry, I should’ve,” she starts, but trails off as Hunter straightens back up, waving off her offered hand. “Forget it, you said we were almost there?” She purses her lips, but she nods, hands fiddling with the frayed corners of the map they’d bought off an uninterested teenager what could’ve been only thirty minutes ago, but felt like at least an hour to Hunter’s struggling lungs. They’d scribbled all over it with the notes they’d kept on Hunter’s phone, thankfully kept working by the hotspot he’d begged the Masons to renew a few days beforehand. He didn’t really need it, but it would be helpful if one of them (Hunter) suddenly dropped dead and they needed an airlift. They knew the forest he’d been found in from his birth certificate, but it's not like it’d specified exact coordinates. The best Hunter and Vee could do was search up the area’s popular hiking routes and circle every known cave or outcropping of rock and hope for the best. Only three out of five done, and Hunter was struggling. He was really, really hoping this next cave was the right one. How they’d be able to tell, he didn’t know, but he’d take anything over the final x on their map which was at the very end of the trail, an hour and a half away. It only takes a few more minutes before Vee suddenly stops, surveying the trees around them. “We have to go off path now, but it's this way,” she states confidently. Hunter already knows this, having marked the spots alongside her, but he follows without complaint, figuring she’s talking to herself more than him. They walk in comfortable silence, only broken but the occasional snap of twigs under their feet and the calls of birds around them. At one point, Hunter points out a squirrel, and Vee is enamoured by it for far longer than Hunter thought just a squirrel deserved. The joy of nature, he guessed, was something he would never understand. It's when the ground beneath them starts getting harder and rocks start cropping up that Hunter breaks the question. “Smell anything?” He asks, hopeful. “Uh, kinda?” He whirls on Vee at his side, but she seems anxious. “I don’t know if it's magic, exactly. It smells a lot… duller? If that makes any sense.” “Sounds magic enough to me-” She throws an arm in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. “Sorry- just, maybe be a bit more careful? I know you're excited to go back to the Boiling Isles but…magic can be dangerous.” You would know, Hunter thinks, then tries to banish the thought. “I don’t want anyone else getting hurt by it.” Carefully, Hunter raises his hand, and slowly lowers Vee’s with it. For once, she doesn’t jerk away. “Thank you,” he says, as earnestly as he can Three weeks ago, Hunter had promised Vee that whatever she was running from, they wouldn’t send her back to it. Today, he doesn’t say it aloud, but he promises that if he needs to, he’ll help her run. And maybe punch Belos again, while he’s at it. He doesn’t know for sure that Belos is Vee’s guy, but he’s put a few dots together in his head, and he doesn’t think it's unlikely. They reach the opening of the cave. It's not that dark at the mouth, lit by the midday sun, but he can see that it gets darker farther in. “Well, here goes nothing,” he says to himself snarkily, then steps forward, “if I die, tell no one I love them.”  Vee seems unamused. As he steps foot into the cave, he’s met with the underwhelming echo of his shoe meeting rock, but he continues forward. Vee follows behind him warily, fumbling with her backpack for the torch she had packed. It was probably hidden underneath the three water bottles and four sandwiches she’s cut up and placed neatly into sandwich bags. She was really getting into the cooking thing, he’d noticed. A quiet click, and a beacon of light shoots forward in front of them. Vee grins back at him. Okay, maybe the torch had been a good idea. He takes the loss lying down and her grin goes smarmy. He rolls his eyes at her, but maybe he’s smirking a bit too. The cave very quickly descends, and Hunter is careful as he clambers down the steep rock face, lifting an arm up to Vee from the bottom as she nearly skids down the surface. It's really not that steep, but Vee seems to think it is, what with the way she eyes the path, fingers digging into the rock of the wall. “I don’t know about this…” she mutters. “I’ve got you,” is all he says, and she climbs down without another word, though her posture remains tense. “See? Easy, a baby could do it,” he jokes as she makes it to the bottom, she gives him a half-hearted glare, but her head darts to the side, sniffing at something. “We’re getting closer, whatever it is.” Hunter can feel his heart beat a little faster in his chest. The torch is practically essential for the next part of the walk. They’ve lost all aid of the sun, and Vee leaves cones on the floor at every corner they turn, even though they haven’t found any diverging pathways yet. It's a little disorienting, sure, but it's manageable. They turn a corner, and Hunter can see a vague glow in the distance. Bingo. He walks a little quicker, but Vee catches on quickly and follows him in a trot. She’s as curious as he is, if not for different reasons. The corridor opens into a cavern, and luminescent water stares back up at them. The room is decorated by all sorts of columns and rock formations, but Hunter finds he can’t draw his eyes away from the rockpool in front of him. The water isn’t glowing, not exactly, but it's got an unnatural tint to it that only grows the closer he gets to it. “This is it,” Vee says, paused at the entrance to the cavern. “What… is this?” Hunter asks, only inches from the water now. “I don’t know,” Vee answers, catching up to his side, “but it's definitely related to magic. How, I don’t know.” Gently, Hunter lowers himself to his knee. Scrounging the floor before him, he comes up with a pebble. He dangles it over the water with bated breath. He drops it. The stone drops into the water unceremoniously, little rings shooting off across the water around it. Nothing else happens. Hunter was expecting more from the ominous, maybe-glowing water. “Y’know,” he continues, and still keeping his voice low, he allows himself a phrase he’s been keeping from saying in front of Vee for weeks, not wanting to make her feel less of herself, like he was just sticking near her because she took the form of his best friend, “Luz would’ve loved something like this-” The light in the room swells, and then it flares. Hunter flails backwards. Vee drops to the floor and catches him by the shoulders. The water ripples, and then it morphs. “Holy shit,” Hunter breathes. An image appears in the water. Hunter shrugs off Vee’s grip and shuffles back to the edge, trying to make it out. It's nothing more than a figure, but the silhouette is a familiar one. “Luz,” he murmurs, and he knows with certainty he is right. Behind him, Vee echos the name. The image isn’t clear, and repeating her name doesn’t define the image any more, but after weeks of nearly nothing, Hunter could cry in relief. “I don’t think it's a portal,” Hunter says, “but it's something. A connection. If I could just get a message through-” “Your phone,” Vee pipes up, and Hunter turns to her. “I’ve tried, but the Boiling Isles doesn’t have any sort of internet. Eda always had to keep the portal open if Luz wanted to text her mom-” Hunter stills, an idea slowly forming in his head. “Vee, can I have one of your sandwiches?” Vee stares at him, incredulous. “Hunter, I don’t think now's the time-” “No, no, trust me on this one.” With motions wide enough that Hunter can tell Vee thinks he’s doing something really weird, she hands him a sandwich. He opens the bag, and then unceremoniously dumps the sandwich on the floor. “Hey-!” “Vee, I’ll apologise later. Just-” he fumbles through his pockets, and the excitement coursing through him has him struggling with the bag’s ziploc, but in only a few seconds he’s sealed his phone into the plastic bag. He holds it up to Vee. “I still don’t get it,” Vee says, but at least now she can tell now he’s doing this for a reason. Her tone asks him to explain. “This pool, I don’t know how, but it's connected to the Boiling Isles somehow, it has to be. We probably can’t go through it, but maybe a different sort of connection can,” he wields his plastic-sealed phone for emphasis. She still looks confused. “I have a hotspot on my phone- that’s like, a human thing. It makes, like, a centre for connection that other devices can connect to- I think. I don’t really know a lot about phones.” “Luz has her phone in the Boiling Isles,” he takes a deep breath in, not really used to talking so fast for so long, “and as long as I’ve known her, she’s always had it set to autoconnect to mine. Little shit used to use up all my data.” Realisation seems to dawn on Vee’s face now, as her eyes flick between Hunter and the pool. “Oh,” is all she says. “Oh,” he repeats, a grin starting to split his face, “a massive oh, if this works.” With a shaking hand, he hovers his phone above the surface of the pool. He eyes the sandwich bag, not sure if it’ll be 100% waterproof. “And if this doesn’t work…” he gets out, “I was due an upgrade anyway.” With no further fanfare, he dunks his phone into the pool. Rings of water distort Luz’s silhouette, but it doesn’t fade. For a long few moments, nothing happens. He can just feel the water on the tips of his fingers, that strange fuzzy not-feeling of almost touching something.  Unnoticed to him, his touch doesn’t ring the water. Hunter can hear his own breathing, unsteady and halted, echo back at him from the walls of the cave. A moment passes, and then another.  And then, muffled by the water, his phone buzzes in his hand.  “Oh my God,” he breathes. With the moment broken, the phone buzzes again, and then again. It takes a good while for it to still in his hand, but he doesn’t feel brave enough to take it out a second too early. Eventually, it does stop. He yanks his phone out of the water, pulling it to his face. From the home screen of his phone, a list of video messages fill the screen, all with the name Luz positioned above them. He pulls his phone close to his chest, then looks to Vee. Her trepidation has all but faded now, and he thinks his excitement might just be infectious, what with the small but shocked smile on her face, her eyes still blown wide. “It actually worked,” is all he can say. Vee, shuffling closer to him, raises a palm. He’s so caught up in himself he barely understands it until she asks, “high five?” He lets his phone clatter to the floor of the cave as he damn well high fives his friend. Miles away, Camila’s phone buzzes while she’s on shift. She silently berates herself for forgetting to turn it on silent, but she still pulls it from her pocket. Mija, the name reads. Odd, she thinks, I could swear she said she broke it at camp, not that she lost it. She flicks the phone to silent, and concludes to ask Luz about it after work. After she’s watched her video messages, of course.     “I’m not upset about it.” Flapjack lets out a low chirp. If a bird could look unimpressed, he is doing all that and more. “I’m not!” Luz exclaims with her face pressed into her pillow, throwing her arms out in emphasis. Flapjack, undeterred, hops the distance of her torso, pecking at her ear. “OkaymaybeI’malittleuupsetaboutit,” she murmurs into the fabric, only to be met with a renewed flurry of pecking, this time targeted at her hair. “Oh- c’mon little dude, no!” She complains, but Flapjack still gets his way as she rolls over onto her side, facing him, arms lying loosely in front of her face. She doesn’t need Hunter to translate the expression on his face. Spill. “I know I said I wouldn’t get my hopes up, I know. I still did though, and look where that landed me.” “But everyone got one except me…” she addresses her words to Flapjack, but her eyes still wander to the picture frame by her bed, placed face down. “The whole reason I stayed here was because I wanted to learn magic, I wanted to be a witch! But I don’t even know if I want that anymore, because even when I tried my best I still managed to screw everything up.” “And- and! Even if I did know what I wanted I’d still have to go home eventually, and it's not like I could be a witch back in Connecticut. Gah, what was I thinking-!” She groans into her pillow. Unnoticed to her, her bedroom door squeaks. Still too wired to even attempt sleeping, she pulls herself to her feet and paces towards the echo mouse, content and asleep in its new enclosure. “If you could just tell me things a little quicker, bud” the echo mouse snores, completely unaware of her suffering, “you have no idea how much easier my life would be.” She scratches at her palm through the leather of her gloves. Behind her, she hears the skittering of talons on wood. Luz turns to see Flapjack behind her, struggling to pull her cape towards her. When he notices her attention, he circles towards the door, flapping his wings. “God, when’d you get so smart little guy?” She asks him, pulling her cloak up from the ground, “I think I do need to go on a walk. Get out all these bad vibes.” She pulls together the golden clasp, then outstretches a palm for Flapjack to jump onto. He does so happily. An idea pops into her head. “Say, Flapjack, you want to go have a proper reunion with some of your old friends?” He tweets happily as Luz carefully shuts her door behind her, not wanting to wake Eda or King. She does her best not to wake Hooty as she leaves. She’ll be back soon anyway. Luz pulls her cape closer as she steps out, but she doesn’t really need to. It's a little bit cold outside, sure, but one thing she's found out about the Boiling Isles is that minus the occasional terrifying phenomena, the weather rarely changes, not in Bonesborough, at least. Her friends haven’t mentioned anything about seasons yet either, so she’s unsure if the weather ever does change. These are the thoughts that occupy her as she takes the five minute trek to Hexside, a laughably short journey in her opinion, what with Eda’s aversion to any sort of standardised education, but it's convenient. She makes the Grudgby pitch in record time, if a bit slower than usual. She’s in no rush tonight. There’s a protective shield around the palismen nest, but Flapjack makes short work of it after she lowers him down to the floor. Luz chooses to sit outside, still a bit tender from her rejection earlier in the day. Flapjack continues on merrily and is met by a small chorus of sounds from the palismen inside. At least one of them could be happy tonight. Eurgh, Titan, when’d she get so angsty? She considers taking out her phone, recording another message for her mom, or maybe Hunter. But her mom wouldn’t understand what she’s upset about, and she only recorded a message for Hunter last night. That one may’ve been a bit of a bombshell. For her, anyway. She checks over her shoulder, and then checks again. Slowly, she peels off her gloves. Familiar, random patches of royal blue stare back up at her. They’d faded a tiny bit over the weeks, but they feel just as damning as the day she was picking glass out of her palms, watching as the colour didn’t trickle out alongside her blood. It’d been hard hiding the wounds from Eda and King, King especially. She knew he had a good nose, and she’d spent a whole week on her toes, denying any further injury as he stared up at her with big, sad eyes. But she’d got through it. They still sting sometimes, in flares, but Luz can cope with that. She’s fine. She is, by all rights, absolutely fine. Which is why she’s sitting on her school’s grugdby pitch at night, moping as her friend’s palisman talks to the first people who can understand him in weeks (sans Owlbert, of course). Yeah, she’s fine. Luz pulls the gloves back on. She allows herself a bit of drama and throws her head back, staring at the sky. The stars at least look familiar, as long as she ignores the occasional aircraft puttering through the sky, finishing today’s rounds. One in particularly actually looks a lot closer than the others. She racks her mind for any nearby landing pads. Maybe it's heading to the precinct in town? But only Emperor’s Coven’s ships land there. Then again, it could be one of the Emperor’s ships. As it comes closer, the familiar design tells her she’s right. Weird, that they’d go so low this early. Bonesborough’s precinct was still another ten minutes flight away, and she was positive even the Boiling Isles had laws about low flying aircrafts. It's only once the vehicle goes so low that she can make out a figure at its helm that the thought occurs to her that, hey, maybe they aren’t aiming for the precinct. When she recognises exactly who the figure at the helm is, curved golden mask and white hood pulled high, she thinks, hey, that’s probably not good. The crane of bone attached to the bottom of the ship catches her attention when its machinery starts to shudder, as if it's preparing to move. Her eyes flick to the palisman nest. The Emperor’s coven. A shortage of palisman and palistrom wood. A publicised palisman adoption day. The Emperor’s right hand man. The Emperor. The Emperor, who consumes palisman. Oh, no. She scrambles upwards, but tries to stay low. What with the angle of the ship, the Golden Guard probably hasn’t seen her yet. She runs straight for the nest, slamming the door open. The palismen startle, all but Flapjack crowding to the back, fear obvious. She whispers assurances, but there’s desperation in her voice. “Hey! Hey little guys, oh my God I’m so so sorry but we’ve got to move. Someone bad is coming, but I’m going to keep you all safe, okay?” Flapjack, thankfully, translates for her. The palismen look up to her, eyes wide, tentatively trusting. Silently, she stretches out her cloak with her arm. Without further communication, the small remaining group of palisman start to crowd into the offered shelter, some climbing into her pockets as they go. Flapjack takes his habitual position on her shoulder. “Stay low, okay?” She murmurs. She’s met by a small crowd of sound, and she takes it as confirmation enough. Keeping her eyes upwards, she shuts the door of the nest. The ship is still high enough that she’s hidden by the hull, but it's probably just been luck that she hasn’t been spotted yet. She wouldn’t manage to get away without being spotted, and she’s not sure if she could escape in time before the Golden Guard caught up to her, not with seven terrified palismen clutching onto her. She crouches behind the nest, angling herself so the incoming ship wouldn’t be able to see her. She scans the pitch, trying to think of a distraction that could buy them enough time. The bleachers are empty, nothing she and Flapjack can jerk around to make a noise. They could manipulate the scoreboard maybe, but she’s not sure if enchanting the numbers to say “loser” would work for more than a few seconds, regardless of how gratifying it may be. Her eyes go from the goal posts to the floor itself, painfully empty. Her gaze skitters across the innocuous dark circle at the centre of the pitch, and her memories flick back to only a few weeks ago, how Boscha had nearly faceplanted into it as Willow trapped her foot to reach the ball- The ball! As quietly as she can, she whispers a plan to Flapjack, if they can just- A claw of bone begins to lower itself from the base of the ship. The nest rocks against her back, and the crane creaks as it begins securing its grip. Luz doesn’t move. She’s got to make sure the Golden Guard doesn’t see this one coming. Wait for it… A stutter of movement, and the nest begins to lift off the ground. Flapjack, a familiar grip in her hands, lights up in columns of yellow. Now! Lichtenberg lines of magic trace their way through the pitch’s turf in seconds, meeting at the centre of the pitch with a harsh glow. With the help of a bit of extra juice from Flapjack and a myriad of child endangerment laws that never got passed, the grudgby ball goes rocketing upwards. The ship above Luz careens to the side, but it remains airborne. She hears a cry of indignation from above. The field shifts beneath her ever so slightly, the terrain adjusting itself the compensate for the traps that now lay beneath it. A jump cut of siren red, and the Golden Guard stands a few feet from her, staff drawn. He’d caught on sooner than she would’ve liked. “Human!” he barks, and she has to stabilise her footing, remind herself to not jump at the voice as she’d done the last time she’d heard it. It still rattles herself, but she reminds herself of the facts, just as she’d done all those weeks ago. Different pitch, Hunter’s is deeper. The guard’s words are clearer, more enunciated, Hunter has always mumbled through his sentences. This is not your friend. This is some strange, terrible coincidence. She bites back a retort, knowing that one step forward and the Golden Guard will be met with a swinging scythe. Game on, she thinks, as she slams Flapjack into the ground. Using Flapjack as a pivot, she vaults over the palisman’s nest. She doesn’t turn back to look, but she can hear the shing of a grudgby scythe cut through the air, and she hears more than sees the jolt-thunk of magic as the Golden Guard teleports out of its path. She’s halfway to the goal post when she throws Flapjack out of her grasp, dodging arrows as she goes. Flying out of here may not be the best idea because the Golden Guard could pursue on his staff, but Luz knows these woods. Plus, she’s not got any better ideas. But the half second she waits for Flapjack to stabilise in the air is too long, and her foot catches on a trap, a column of vines materialising beneath her and sending her flying upwards, her fingers only grazing at Flapjack’s staff. She lands in a hard tumble, but she manages to twist herself just so she lands on her back. It hurts, but she doesn’t land on any of the palismen hidden in her clothes.  The wasted time has allowed the Golden Guard to catch up in a flare of red, even if he nearly gets smacked by a grudgby vine in the process. He looms over her, and her scramble to grab a glyph from her one unoccupied pockets is stopped as he grinds a foot into her palm, effectively pinning it. She grits her teeth through the pain, praying the palismen in her pockets remain still. She’s not that lucky. One of them- the duck-, tries to make a run for it. It's caught in an aura of red magic. “No-!” she exclaims, free hand snaking down to yet again try and grab a glyph, but the Golden Guard sees the obvious move, and with a flick of his staff the duck palisman flies upwards, magic relocating to just its foot and dangling it in the air. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” the Golden Guard warns her. Luz stares up at him defiantly. “Oh, don’t look at me like that,” he continues, anger in his voice as he turns his head in an overexaggerated motion, “imagine my surprise, when a simple fetch mission nearly has me nearly falling off my own ship. If anything, I should be the angry one.” “Why are you stealing palismen, Golden Guard?” She spits out, buying herself time. She thinks she already knows. She also tries to kick him, for good measure. All she manages to do is scuff up dust, but its the thought that counts. Wait, actually, the dust- He sighs, annoyed, but his tone goes sharp. “Frankly, you should be more concerned with yourself. Attacking a coven official, interrupting their duties, hoarding palismen…” Slowly, carefully, Luz traces out a glyph with the heel of her shoe. “You're not even worth the Conformotorium. I think a petrification would work better, frozen forever for your crimes. I know coven policy says it doesn’t hurt but…” He stares at her, pointedly. Luz thinks she can almost catch a glimpse of a gaze. “Oh,” she drawls back in return, intimidated, trying to draw all attention to her face and not the straight lines she’s carving out, “would that be before or after you fix up the stage. Y’know, after Eda totally tore it to pieces? And set it on fire. And kicked your butts.” The Golden Guard fumes, and then digs his boot farther into her palm. And yes, it hurts, but Luz can taste victory on her tongue. “Your little fluke was nothing but-” “Cool, I don’t care,” she informs him happily, before driving her foot into the ground, willing the glyph to life. For just a second, the lit lines of the glyph shudder, like its going to break under the weight of its own magic. Luz prays to every God she knows that no please not now this is literally the worst time to act up, please- A tube of roots and thorns shoots out of the earth, twisting itself in size as it barrels into the Golden Guard, pulling him along with him with the momentum. He screams, high pitched and startled, as he goes shooting through the air along with it. Something echoes with a brutal crack as he flies through the grudgby goal. She winces slightly at the sound, but she doesn’t really feel bad about it. Screw that guy. “Thorn vault, baby!” Luz cries, relief and victory flooding through her as she skitters back to her feet. The Golden Guard’s magic had slipped and released the duck palisman, but Luz is up just in time to catch it. Taking stock of the rest of the palismen and finally reclaiming Flapjack from where he still hovered in the air, Luz allows herself a little taunt from across the field. The Golden Guard’s staff was just a little bit out of his reach, and that crack must’ve hurt him somehow, so she doubted he’d be up anytime soon. Who could take a hit like that and just stand back up? She doesn’t notice the splintered wooden mask to his right, snapped in half. “How’d you like that, jerk?!” From where he’s sprawled on the floor, just getting his elbows underneath him, the Golden Guard whips his head to face her. Hunter stares back. Luz’s heart stutters in her chest. She’s caught, motionless, just staring. She can’t decipher the expression on his face, but he doesn’t waste the moment. He grabs his staff and then jolts. She feels slow. Everything feels slow. She can feel the air shift. She sees the Golden Guard materialise in front of her, staff posed to attack, but she still can’t move. He sends her flying across the pitch, right before the “Hunter” caught in her throat can make it out into the air. Her vision blacks in the corner, and she tumbles into a gaggle of limbs as she impacts harshly on the wall that lines the bleachers. All she can do is hold onto Flapjack for dear life, but even that fails, and he tumbles from her grasp. Her upper body throbs. Luz thinks she hears, “how do you like that, human?” All she can hear is Hunter. She’s confused, disoriented. She feels like the world has been pulled out from under her and everything has been left radically off kilter. She can still breathe and she doesn’t understand how, not when everything else is failing her. When she can’t pick up any hints of an illusion, she desperately searches for differences on this figure. There’s only a few. The Golden Guard’s hair is styled to the left, but there’s still one stubborn strand sticking out of place. His left cheek is cleaved in half by an old, gnarled scar that crosses his nose and clips at the bottom of his right eyebrow. But it's all surface change, juxtaposed on a painfully familiar face. She feels nauseous. Luz can’t tell if it's her world spinning or if it was the way her stomach flipped when she hit the wall. All she knows for sure is that she will not go down like this. She lets her eyes flutter closed. Hunter’s voice, but not Hunter, is closer now. His voice lifts in amusement, just like it always did. Like it always does. “One hit like that and you're out?” He asks. She can hear a shift in fabric, and his voice becomes ever so slightly more distant, “and here I thought you were stronger than that.” He’s turned his back on her. Bad move. She opens her eyes just a sliver, so even if she’s wrong he won’t be able to tell, but her eyes meet the pristine white of his cloak. He’s walking towards the palismen, who have now huddled together outside their nest, one of them pawing at the door. “Well, apart from that mishap…” Luz’s fist closes around Flapjack’s staff. “I’d call this a mission well done.” The jolt-thunk of teleporting, as silent as she could make it. Luz aims, and she doesn’t miss. Her magic may be unreliable at the moment, but a bat to the head never was. The Golden Guard goes out like a light, and Luz is left wheezing over the body of her best friend. Flapjack tears himself out of staff form, but she doesn’t stop him. He looks to her with wide eyes. “I don’t know,” she murmurs, still woozy. The nausea hasn’t gone away. “I really don’t know.” The palismen come home with them. So does the Golden Guard, lugged onto the back of Flapjack’s staff form, secured by vines. In the morning, the Bat Queen will come for the palismen. In the morning, Luz will have to try and explain to Eda and King something she can’t even explain to herself. But for now, Luz will sit with her back to the couch in Eda’s living room, trying to ignore the body lying on the couch and failing miserably. Unbeknownst to her, her phone buzzes on her bed.

General Audiences

Raine didn't really remember what happened before they woke up. All they knew was that they were in their room, laying on their bed, sleeping soundly. They slowly opened their eyes, adjusting to the light. They felt another presence sitting besides them on their bed. They slowly sat up and recognized long, plant-like hair. "Good morning, spout! Did you sleep well?" Terra Snapdragon. Great. Why was she here with them all of sudden? They really didn't want her here. Weird, they thought. They nodded at her question, not wanting to talk to her. Not until they figured out what was going on. "Good! Hopefully with the...medication you took yesterday you feel better now." Medication…? They never remembered anything about medicine, or needing it. Something felt… off. But they decided to run with it anyway. At least until they figured things out. "I do. Thank you." "Perfect! I'll leave you alone for a minute, then!" She proceeded to stand up from their bed, heading to the door. "Oh, and don't forget to drink your tea!" Tea? They looked to their night bed and behold: a large container filled with a pink substance, the 'tea', they supposed. It radiated a weird scent they weren't used to, and the smoke coming out of it made it feel weirdly eerie. They didn't trust this. "I won't. Thank you." And with that, she left the room, leaving them alone. They eyed the tea suspiciously, and decided to take a sip. Just to try it. It tasted horrible. So they whistled onto it, changing the flavor and turning the drink a lighter color than it was before. They took another sip. Much better. They set the cup aside on the night table, and noticed a few other things that hadn't been there before. A 'get better!' balloon was floating on top of their table, and several postcards were scattered around. They decided to grab one, just to read it. It was your typical store bought card, with a basic 'get better soon!' written over it. It didn't say who it was from. They opened it, wanting to take a quick look before going to work. They spotted bold, messy handwriting, though they didn't recognize it all that well. 'Dear Mx. Whispers:' 'We heard from Terra that you were sick, so we got you this to make you feel better! Hopefully staying in bed isn't messing around with you much. Get better soon!' 'Signed, Eberwolf.' 'P.S: The balloon is ours too. It's light is really pretty. Purple, too! Darius chose it for you, though he told me to keep it a secret.' It was a nice letter, they thought. But it still felt weird, last time they checked, the two of them tried to… Oh. Now I remember. The two Coven Heads had tried to capture them. They remembered it all now. They looked around the room, something that might help them figure out why. The balloon. Just like Eberwolf said in the postcard, it was glowing. Dimly, sure, but it was glowing. They grabbed it to get a closer look, flipping it and looking at the back. Same as the front, 'get better' in white letters. They looked back at their postcard, but something was off. The balloon's glow made it look… different. They moved the balloon so that the light glimmered across the card, and behold, a hidden message. Smart. This was written in neater handwriting, they noticed right away. 'Dear Mx. Whispers:' That had stayed the same. 'If you're seeing this, it means you figured it out. Congrats. There's a hidden message.' 'That's not why we're writing this though. We want to talk to you, Whispers. There's some stuff you should know in regards to our most recent encounter. Meet me by the rooftop by evening.' 'Signed, Darius.' 'P.S: Eastern tower, 7:00pm. Do not be late. Unless Terra catches you. Then it's acceptable.' Huh. That was not what they expected. Especially when they had tried to kill them last time they 'talked'. They weren't even that close to begin with, even though they were fellow Coven Heads. But whatever. They guessed they would go talk to him. Because they had questions that needed answers, and he might just be the one to answer them. ... They arrived at the tower a few minutes earlier than expected. They weren't one for being late. Better being earlier, they supposed. 7:00pm, and Darius was nowhere in sight. Weird, considering he was the one being so strict about them not being late. Maybe they were at the wrong place. They rested their body on the rail of the rooftop. Well, not really a rail and more like a bunch of blocks stacked on top of each other. They felt a cold tap on their arm, and they looked over to find a little abomination standing beside them. It seemed to be holding something in its hand. A piece of paper. They grabbed it and unfolded it, revealing the same neat handwriting in purple ink. Darius’ handwriting. ‘Hello, Whispers. Yes, it's me. I'm not gonna be there in person, at least for now.’ The little abomination handed them another piece of paper. They unfolded it again and read it. ‘We want to avoid suspicion for now. Besides, Terra might have you wrapped around her finger at this point. Just answer this question: what do you remember from before you woke up today?’ They looked at the little abomination standing beside them. They leaned in to whisper: “You and Eberwolf captured me. I think Kikimora was there too.” Their memory was blurry around the edges, they didn't remember what happened after they captured them. But they knew the general thing. The little abomination nodded and drew out another paper. It wrote something out and handed it to them. The writing was a lot messier this time. ‘You're in the clear. We're sending you here now.’ “Sending me where-” Their question was quickly answered as they were encased in purple goo, blinding them. They quickly felt their body hit something below them. Some kind of seat. They still couldn't see anything. They heard some whispering and murmuring in front of them, but they couldn't decipher what it was. “Alright fine, we'll let them see.” They felt their sight clear up, and in front of them stood Darius (in person this time) with Eberwolf perched on his shoulder. Behind them were three beds stacked on top of each other, and the room was dimly lit, the only light coming from behind a curtain. This place didn't seem familiar to them, so they must be outside of the castle. “Where am I?”, they asked the Coven Heads. “You don't need to know that for now. All you need to know is that no one will hear us talk here.” Eberwolf let out a sound of approval where he was perched on Darius' shoulder, then moving to sit beside Raine. His little feet dangled from the edge of the makeshift bed they were sitting in. Silence accompanied them for a while, until Raine decided to break it. "So… You said you wanted to talk about 'our recent encounter'. What was that about?" "We were investigating the rumors of a member of the bard coven defying the Emperor's Coven. Turns out the little rebellion was led by you. So we decided to go there in person.", Darius answered them, crossing his arms. "And then you tried to kill us." "Less 'kill' and more like trying to...recruit you." Recruit? "What do you mean by that?" "Well...", He signaled to Eber to come beside him, and he did so. "You aren't the only one in the Coven who finds the entire thing suspicious." "So you guys…" “Yep, we're sorta against the Coven system and all that.” Eberwolf nodded enthusiastically at that, making a pleasant howl. They weren't expecting that. Out of everyone, Darius and Eber were rebelling against the Coven Sistem? Well, they really saw things differently now. “Oh.” They let out a relieved sigh. “That's good to hear.” “It's good to be having a fellow rebel in the same room as us. Right?” He directed the last part to Eber, who squeaked as he nodded yet again. They stayed in comfortable silence for a while, knowing that even though they didn't know what they were going to do, at least their true intentions were revealed without judgment. Huh, who would have thought? The moment was ruined by a noise coming from another room, separated by a thin curtain. A loud yet muffled "SHIT!" could be heard. "Oh for fuck's sake.", Darius whispered under his breath, which Raine let out a chuckle to. But they knew who that loud voice could belong to, as they had worked together for months at this point. Her voice was instantly recognizable. "I guess we should go check that out. Might as well come with us, Whispers." "Right." Their doubts were proven true as Darius pulled the curtain open, revealing a pained Amber on the other side. Patting her shoulder was Derwin, and Katya was sitting down on the low table in the middle of the room with her notebook in hand. They turned to the three of them with surprise on their faces. "Raine!", Amber said, running up to them and engulfing them in a hug. "Amber! What are you doing here?!", They replied surprised, returning the hug. Katya and Derwin came running up to them as well. "Well, turns out Darius isn't as bad as we thought. He helped us out of the Corformatorium!", Katya replied. Derwin nodded beside her, saying nothing yet looking really happy to see them. They turned to look at him, his arms crossed on his chest. "You really did that?", They asked him. "Well, we needed the extra reinforcement. The more rebels the better." They gave Darius a gentle smile. After everything that happened in the past couple of days, it was nice not being completely alone anymore. Maybe he wasn't so bad. They placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for helping them. I really appreciate it." They could have swore they saw a light blush appear on his face. He looked away, using his hand to cover his neck. "It's nothing." "Hey, Raine!", Amber interrupted them. "Yes, Amber?" "So like, I know you guys just got here but I've been thinking… Technically we can't be the Bards Against the Throne anymore..." "So, we should come up with a new name!" They let out a quiet gasp and nodded. They really did have to change the name. "What do you suggest we name our new rebellion then?" Her eyes started glowing right then and there. "Oh, I made a list!" She nudged Katya standing right beside her. "Kat, gimme your notebook!" She tugged the notebook in her hand, Katya just gripped it harder. "Hey, don't pull it so hard!", She complained. Eventually, Katya let go of the notebook and Amber grabbed it, going through the pages to find what she needed. Eventually she stopped on a page and held it up for Raine to read. The list wasn't relatively big, taking up less than half of the page, the rest filled with doodles and scribbles. Their eyes landed on one particular name. "Covens Against the Throne? It sounds perfect!" "It sounds nice...", Darius added. A sudden look of realization came on his face. "Wait-" Raine interrupted him before he could continue. "The CATTS!" Amber let out a hiss, while Katya and Derwin laughed in the background. Everwolf squealed with excitement, while Darius' face turned a bright red. He tried hiding it in his hands to no avail. "Can't we just have it named 'The Rebellion' and that's it? It's really unnecessary-" "Aw come on! It's the perfect name!", Raine begged him, trying their best to use puppy eyes on him. "It doesn't!" "It does~" Darius looked up from his hands, a pleading Raine standing in front of him. Titan, why do they look cute- "Ugh, fine! We can keep it, temporarily." Their face lit up as they threw a fist in the air. "Yes!" The rest of the CATTS (he guessed that's what they were called now) started to cause a friendly commotion, cheering loudly. "But", Darius interrupted, causing the room to go quiet. "As soon as we find a better name, we change it." "Alright then, deal." Raine stretched out their hand and Darius took it, making an agreement. Raine however, crossed their fingers behind their back, causing a quiet chuckle from Derwin. They let go of his hand, trying their best to hide the smirk that attempted to paint their face. They weren't ever sure if the two Coven Heads in front of them were worthy of their attention. But now, they notice, as they're both giggling to each other, that maybe they could get along. For rebellion's sake.

Teen And Up Audiences

Storming into his room, Adrian slams the door behind him, his tail lashing irritably. Weaving past nonexistent clutter, he audibly sighs, flopping down onto his bed near the edge of the large space, an irritated expression staining his face as a vivid heat pooled in his abdomen. He’d been having this issue for a little while, maybe a few days? It hadn’t been too long. This usually happened when he was around Darius… Or just thinking about him, he could barely keep himself together at today’s meeting, which had led to where he was now. In a sweaty heap on his bed. What were the words? Oh right, he felt hot- hot and bothered, every time he saw the fellow covenhead’s face, or his physique- everything, he wanted to melt. Frivolous thoughts clouded his mind with every word he’d said to him, their banter, in all honesty he’d found it attractive, even if Darius’ somewhat annoyance toward him was obvious. A huff followed as he shifted around, his thoughts morphed into fantasies, and suddenly he was pinned down, moaning under the Abomination Covenhead’s grasp as he thrusted in and out of him, a soft groan following as he cried out his name in the dreamlike state, but when he blinked, fiction sadly melted into reality, and he was alone. Shifting in his spot, he felt uncomfortably wet, his tail thumping against the bed, this was a new low, a high and mighty witch like himself feeling like this for one of his coworkers, yikes. Though he felt himself dripping with desire, he whined from frusturation, sexual frustration. An irritable sigh followed as he began to tug off his one piece, why was this thing so hard to take off anyway. Growling, he pries it off with some difficulty, placing it gently on the bed next to him. He’d never been a fan of his own body, tracing a finger around one of his transition scars, in a fleeting moment of forlorn. Though he snapped out of it fast, flexing a hand and sticking two fingers into his cunt, a quiet squeal followed, as he began softly thrusting in and out. As he continued, he still felt frusturated, it didn’t seem like enough, none of it did. He needed- something else, of course he couldn’t have exactly what he wanted, or what he’d envisioned in his fantasies. Glancing around, he’d caught eye of something that could aid him in this. Namely his tail, he was too horny to care about it technically being almost unheard of, and that he’d likely find his behavior wildly abhorrent later, that kind of regret, he had no time for that now. Sighing softly, Adrian positions his tail at his entrance. Inhaling sharply as he pushes the tuft in, it felt odd, like it was tickling his insides. A quiet groan echoed out of him as he pushed his tail deeper into his heat, then slowly dragged it out then back in, testing the waters. Adrian began to pick up the pace, slick coating his tail, until he let out a certain moan. “Ngh! Darius!” He paused, had he really said that outloud? Panting softly, he narrowed his eyes, he could care less if anyone heard, let them question what he’d been doing. Breathing heavily, he continued, curling the tip of his tail inside of him, practically clinging onto the bed as his body rocked quickly back and forth. A mix of moans and whines followed, he moved his free hand down to his clit, pinching the bundle of nerves in between his forefinger and his thumb “Ghh-! Da.. rius- I-I’m so cl-!” That was just about enough to drive him over the edge, crying out as he came on his tail, panting harshly as he slowly pulled his tail out, shaking his fluids off with a few soft flicks. Though he felt regret, especially at the certain noises he’d let out, at least he was satisfied.

Mature

Hunter was supposed to be meeting up with his blind date tonight. He wore elegant, brand-new clothes, got a fresh haircut and even used some cologne. Luz decided to put a bit of makeup on him for a better effect as well, although he wasn’t entirely sure if that was really necessary. And knowing Hunter, that was a lot of effort put in. He was pretty hopeful about this date. Now, he wouldn’t put it past the Blight twins to be making a fool out of him from the very beginning: from telling him about a friend that was interested in him of all people, to them texting him and then finally having him stood up. Hell, the friend could be made-up for all he knew. That was what he got for trying to socialize, he supposed. The club was fancy, expensive. It was this type of place where all kinds of relationships happened. Since he has already left his room, dressed up and took some cash, he could as well indulge in some drinks before sulking back home. He took his jacket off, hung it over the back of the chair and as he was finishing his first glass, someone gently tapped his shoulder. He reluctantly turned around, feeling bitter and generally discouraged about partaking in any more social interactions tonight. No more talking to people unless they stood behind the bar. “Is this seat taken?” the stranger asked politely, although Hunter felt like something else was hiding behind his civil tone. He just couldn’t decipher what. Hunter fought the urge to roll his eyes. But bad humor or not, he shouldn’t be mean to anyone just because he got stood up. He was raised better than that. So, he chugged down the rest of his glass, set it back with a loud clank and answered, trying to sound somewhat polite, “No.” The man smiled and took the seat right next to him. Dark skin, even darker hair, fashionable suit. Not too hard on the eyes either, Hunter had to admit. He was about to call the bartender over and get his refill, when the man cut in, “Let me buy you one.” Hunter raised his eyebrow at that, side-eying him suspiciously. Was that what you get for being the bare minimum decent? Hunter didn’t protest and let the man pay for his next glass. And the one after. The drinks served a decent punch but weren't too strong; he needed to walk back home somehow after all. Although with the saved-up cash he could even order a cab. He began sipping on his third shot when the man finally asked sympathetically, “A tough night?” Hunter wanted to snort. Was it that obvious? “I mean, I’m still here. Figures out, doesn’t it?” He answered strainingly and the stranger nodded, humming in confirmation as if he knew exactly what Hunter was talking about. “I have a room nearby, what do you say?” Hunter choked on his drink; his eyes wide open as he coughed into his fist. Damn. Good lord, that was… straightforward. He slapped Hunter's back until the boy got the situation back under control. The shock still had a tenacious hold on him. Hunter wiped his mouth with the tissue the man handed to him and he looked back at the stranger. “Sorry,” he said hoarsely. This whole situation felt surreal. What should one even say to that kind of a proposition? “No need to apologize. Could happen to anyone, hm?” he answered playfully. Hunter swore the man was hinting at something specific, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what. Did they know each other somehow? Did he know Hunter? The stranger only chuckled at Hunter’s consternation as if it was something quirky, cute. Not dead-on awkward. “So, what do you say?” Hunter worried his bottom lip with his teeth, idly looking over the room. Alcohol, miserable, lonely people all around and a bartender who looked one step away from doing the rope and chair trick. Fuck, did he drink so much he suddenly became existentialist? One thing he knew: he didn’t want to be like them. End up like them. Sudden realization of loneliness, anxiety and fear surfaced and ran through his body alongside the blood mixed with alcohol. Seconds passed like hours. The man was waiting for his answer with an easy going smile and before he knew it, Hunter grabbed his coat, stood up and turned around to him. “What the fuck are you waiting for?” Well, the man certainly didn’t lie when he said he had a room nearby as it turned out to be quite literally on the other side of the road. An extravagant hotel to go well hand in hand with the overpriced club. There was some nasty white noise buzzing in Hunter’s ears, but he still managed to catch the name mentioned at the front desk. Deamonne. A bell rang, but not the one in Hunter’s head, rather the one announcing the elevator’s doors opening. A number popped up on the small screen and Hunter had half a brain to think Good thing I don’t have a height fright before it was time to step out on their designated floor. Hunter was led to the room at the end of the hall. A card was placed in, the door fell open and mister Deamonne let him enter first with an inviting flick of his wrist. He gasped audibly while taking in the new, unfamiliar setting. The room was enormous, squeaky clean and — just like everything Hunter saw so far at this place — fancy. Now, it wasn’t like Hunter wasn’t used to wealth. Quite the contrary actually, as he was the nephew of one of the most respected businessmen in the city. But whereas his uncle preferred his house to be kept in a classic, almost modest style, the hotel clearly valued the suffocating abundance more. “Like what you’re seeing?” The man asked with amusement. Hunter didn’t answer but did he even have to? His face was like an open book. “You want a drink beforehand?” Hunter’s head hurt at the sole mention of another drink. “Oh, um, maybe just water?” He disappeared into the convenient, adjacent kitchen section and Hunter took it as an opportunity to wander around. He curiously opened another door, and his eyes were met with the sight of a cozy-looking bedroom. The bed specifically looked especially plush and soft. Well, he would probably check that out soon enough, Hunter supposed. The man startled him, but Hunter quickly shook that off, accepted the glass and almost instantly emptied it. His host offered another but Hunter politely declined. His head already felt much clearer. The man sat on the edge of the bed and Hunter joined him. His surprisingly soft touch as he tilted Hunter’s head upwards to kiss him surprised Hunter. But hey, what did he know? Maybe the bed was a reflection of one’s personality. Shoes fell off onto the floor, then pants and tops followed and before Hunter blinked again, he was sitting there naked next to his equally undressed partner. Crazy how the alcohol could affect the time. Another — this time a less gentle — touch followed by a rough kiss happened and Hunter couldn’t help but moan into the man’s plump mouth, his own hand running down his thighs. Damn, somebody here didn’t skip a single leg day. They tumbled onto the bed, Hunter at the bottom, caged by the man’s sturdy arms and chest. His face was flushed dark crimson and he couldn’t blame it just on the alcohol. He bent lower to get his mouth directly next to Hunter’s ear and he whispered out in a cocky manner, “Name’s Darius by the way. You’ll need it tonight.” Then he nipped at Hunter’s earlobe and burning heat bloomed in the boy’s stomach. It didn’t have a right to make him feel that hot. Why was this man — Darius, he reminded himself — that hot? Darius gave him a wink before moving lower and once his tongue licked a stripe down Hunter’s shaft, causing his legs to tremble and toes to curl at the sudden sensation, he barely managed to croak out, “Hunter. I— it’s Hunter.” “Pretty,” Darius commented idly and since his hand was wrapped around the base of Hunter’s dick, thumb idly caressing a prominent vein, Hunter couldn’t say for sure if he was still talking about his name. Tight heat of Darius’ mouth wrapped nearly completely around his cock and Hunter wasn’t proud to admit he almost kicked the man in surprise. And neither was he brave enough to admit that the noises slipping past his lips weren’t exaggerated. Darius was just that good. God, what a turn-around to a terrible night. Darius’ tongue gently caressed the underside of Hunter’s dick, and his head fell onto the plush pillows, eyes screwed tight in pleasure and hand tightly pressed over his mouth in a futile act of saving the remnants of his dignity. Hunter unconsciously buckled his hips, chasing the intoxicating feeling of Darius’ throat squeezing tight around his cock as the man tried to not gag. His body trembled in shock when Darius’ finger pressed against the pucker of his asshole and he whined in confusion. Darius pulled off Hunter’s dick and he bet the man was being overly seductive on purpose. People just didn’t do it that way on the daily! …did they? “I’ve got condoms,” the man said plainly and Hunter stared at him blankly. Was the alcohol kicking his ass harder than usual or was this just how those things typically went? He wasn’t exactly a sociable person after all. Darius didn’t look too convinced, and it seemed like he was about to say something else and judging by the worried furrow of his brows, it couldn’t be anything drunk Hunter would want to hear. So, saving his face, Hunter immediately rambled, “Yeah, yeah, works. Just—” Darius cut him off with a nod, as if he already knew what Hunter was going to say. As if it was some common knowledge. It was starting to be quite irritating. But then Darius’ mouth was back on Hunter’s dick, putting especially a lot of focus on his sensitive cockhead, and his finger was slowly breaching his hole and Hunter supposed he couldn’t really be mad at the man now, could he? His mind was still quite foggy, so Darius reaching out for some lube beforehand probably just slipped past his attention. Either way, Hunter felt like he was swimming. Or maybe drowning, because it was mighty hard to breathe with two unyielding fingers scissoring him. Or maybe he was just weirdly sensitive. Granted, Darius did try to calm him down, he rubbed soothing circles into the boy's supple thigh and went slow. Almost agonizingly slow. Hunter was hard and already leaking, and it was hard to not act like an enraged child when Darius pulled off his dick with a loud pop right when the coil in Hunter’s abdomen was so close to snapping loose. “Darius, please,” he whined. His body was tense, and the pleasure of the climax was looming over him, so close to coming true if not for the man denying him. Darius cooed at him unapologetically before wiping the excess drool off his own chin with his hand and sunk another finger into Hunter’s tight asshole. Fingers were rubbing so close to his prostate but never quite striking it, fueling the faux arousal inside him. After deeming Hunter stretched enough, Darius rolled on the condom and slicked it up with some lube as well. And damn, it was probably rude to stare but… Darius was packing some serious heat. Hunter blushed and averted his eyes, which was a tad silly, considering that he’d have his guts rearranged with this dick in a moment. The first few thrusts were the most painful, making Hunter cry out and stiffen, begging Darius to hold still for a moment and let him get used to the immense stretch. And thankfully, he did. From then on it only got better. Darius really knew what he was doing because soon Hunter’s cock was back to full hardness, his toes curled in pleasure and his back arched off the bed. “Hickeys are okay?” Hunter forced his brain to process the words and he nodded eagerly. He loved wearing turtlenecks anyways. Darius bit into Hunter’s collarbone and to make things easier for the man, Hunter let his head fall to the side, giving Darius’ eager mouth more space to roam. Then he sucked a mean bruise into his skin and Hunter could only moan the man’s name in reply. It all felt so good. “How about mouth?” Well, Hunter couldn’t complain about the lack of enthusiastic consent there. He hummed in agreement and canted his head up, allowing him better access. Darius’ mouth quickly claimed his and Hunter hummed contently into the elated kiss. Every inch of his skin buzzed with eagerness. The man clutched Hunter’s hair with his hand and slipped his tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss. Hunter just groaned, parted his lips wider and let himself be dominated. He never wanted this night to end, but unfortunately after some time Darius’ thrusts became more erratic, staggered. Knowing he was edging closer to his climax, Darius stroked Hunter to his own completion. Then after a few more thrusts, he pushed deep into Hunter’s willing body and came with a groan as well. Hunter whined once the dead weight on his chest became suffocating and Darius pulled his soft dick out and slid off him. The man got up from the bed to discard the used condom and Hunter whined at the loss of the extra heat. Soon Darius came back to the bed with a wet towel and wiped both of them off. Not wanting to be separated again, Hunter grasped at him sloppily and pulled him closer to snuggle to him. Darius murmured into Hunter’s ear and he positively shivered, “We can go again in a moment. If you don’t have anywhere else to be, that is.” Hunter chuckled in amusement, still blissful after his climax. “I’ve got all the time in the world.” His quivering breath tickled the man’s neck. “Just… Give me a moment.” Darius hummed affectionately and after the boy drifted to sleep, he decided to go to the kitchen and prepare something to eat before waking him up. With eye bags as dark as these he needed as much extra rest as possible, Darius decided. He put his briefs on and picked up some fruits, washed them, put them in a bowl and made some simple sandwiches as well. He didn’t know whether Hunter had any allergies, so he made sure to prepare some variety just in case. Darius was about to turn around on his heel and go shake Hunter awake, when the boy walked into the room. He was completely naked, and Darius couldn’t ignore the twitch his dick gave at the sight. Hunter yawned before saying drowsily, “Why didn’t you wake me?” “You looked like you could use some rest.” “Huh.” He heard that a lot. “What are you doing?” “Thought you might want to eat something before we get back at it.” Hunter averted his eyes and flushed. Right, they were supposed to do it again. He felt a warm, tingling sensation in his underbelly at the thought. Suddenly aware of his nakedness, an abashed Hunter sat on the couch and covered himself partially with a left behind blanket. Darius walked over, set the bowl and plate at the coffee table and Hunter plucked off a few grapes. Since they would get back to sex in a brief moment, he preferred to not eat anything too heavy on the stomach. Hunter spared an idle glance at the window while munching on his snack. It must have been really late at night already, nothing but an endlessly dark world illuminated by a bunch of colorful neon lights. “Enjoying the view?” “Sure do." It was a bit different than what he usually saw from his own bedroom window each night. The change was nice. “Want to take a closer look?” Hunter raised his brow at that. Then Darius’ hand unsubtly caressed his uncovered ankle, the touch making his skin tingle, and Hunter licked his lips, finally grasping the implication behind the man’s words. Hunter could feel his body warming up again, arousal sparking up in his crotch. “Okay,” he hushed out eagerly. He had an idea where this was going and wanted to see it unravel. Hunter stood in front of the window, gaze unconsciously wandering over the horizon. Darius pressed his body against Hunter’s back, and the boy couldn’t help but shiver, feeling the man's clothed dick pressed up against the small of his back. Still soft but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be that way for much longer. It was a different kind of intimate, one that Hunter wasn’t expecting after agreeing to this one-night stand, but he wasn’t complaining. The hotel they were in was located next to a different apartment building and Hunter was able to notice a few people standing on the balconies, smoking or chatting with friends out in the brisky breeze. He could see them but could they see him? Darius caressed Hunter’s chest with one hand, softly squeezing his breast and drawing a faint moan out of him; the other hand rested on Hunter’s thigh, in close enough proximity to his dick to make it twitch in anticipation. Damn, he felt so needy already. How could Darius make him feel that way so easily? “Ready for the next round?” Hunter nodded without skipping a beat. Darius chuckled in amusement, “So eager.” His voice was warm and soft, Hunter liked the sound of it. He was still stretched out and partially lubricated from their previous round but just to make sure Darius wet his fingers with his saliva and sunk them inside Hunter’s hole. He mewled at that and buckled his hips against the thick fingers, “Darius…” Hunter braced himself against the glass, enjoying the blissful cold against his heated skin. Then, Darius’ free hand seized him by the jaw and forced him to look in a particular direction. Hunter swallowed. And almost as if Darius could read his thoughts, the man whispered sultrily into his ear, “What if they can see you?” Hunter groaned at the thought. Would he like them to see? …would Darius? The windows were stretched out from the floor to the ceiling, nothing was being left out if anyone was curious enough to stare. He scissored Hunter, savoring the way in which his body was just yielding under his slightest touches. Hearing Hunter’s quiet mewls and the sudden hitching of his breath made Darius all too aware of his own arousal. The boy just had a way of sneaking into his heart. And pants. He broke the contact off for a moment to step out of his underwear. But Darius shouldn’t feel that way about Hunter, so he tried to smother some of the most troublesome thoughts, nipping them right in the bud. Nothing good would come out of it in the end; he knew it. “Do you think they talk about you? What do you think they say, Hunter?” Darius said to distract himself while keeping the boy’s head still, not giving him an option to shy away. He could feel Hunter swallow, then saw him in the reflection nervously licking his lips, cheeks already dusted with pink. “Would they call you names?” Darius lowered his voice, making sure to strike Hunter right where it would elicit a reaction out of him. Hunter squirmed, feeling the soft huff of air on his ear. “Y-yes?” he whimpered. God, his body was on fire. “Hm,” Darius hummed, still stretching Hunter on his fingers, despite the clearly annoyed buckling of Hunter’s hips. So impatient! “What would they say? Tell me, baby.” Hunter focused on the question, eyes locked on the figures on the horizon, swearing that their heads were turned right at him. What would they say? “That I’m a nasty slut,” he rushed out, “who likes being watched.” “Are you?” “I— m-maybe?” he whimpered unsurely as Darius’ deft fingers struck his prostate. Darius hummed. Interesting. Another clever move of his fingers had Hunter rolling his hips against his hand. “Please, Darius, just fuck me already,” he begged just shy of breathlessly. What a pretty sound, Darius thought. Fulfilling Hunter’s wish, he pulled out his fingers and Hunter groaned unhappily at the loss, hole clenching around nothing. Darius then snatched another condom and put it on his hardening cock without fanfare. As amusing as it was to watch Hunter’s needy squirming, Darius was slowly growing impatient himself. As he lined himself up with Hunter’s hole, his right arm hugged Hunter around the waist and pulled him closer to Darius. He timed his first slow thrust with a light nip at the boy’s shoulder just to watch Hunter’s face scrunch up in discomfort for a brief moment. It was… cute, in a way. Darius had to admit that. He probably shouldn’t have, though. Once he pushed in to the hilt, burying himself completely inside Hunter’s tight heat, Darius’ second arm joined the other at Hunter’s slim waist. Being somewhat pulled backward by the hips, Hunter leaned forwards and braced his hands against the window to maintain some balance. Darius’ thrusts were slow but deliberate, precisely aiming to ignite the arousal inside Hunter’s stomach as quickly as possible, make his own desire consume him and drive him to the brink of madness. “Fuck, you’re so tight.” He clenched harder around his cock at the notion. The boy was already half-mast from the slight foreplay and earlier dirty talk. Hunter’s unsteady breath left a fogged patch on the window. Darius perched his chin up on Hunter’s shoulder and the coarse hair of his beard rubbed against his tender skin. He let out a quiet, unintelligible murmur at that. Hunter’s gaze unconsciously skimmed around the view, searching for nothing in particular. However, he felt a thrill at the possibility that somewhere there somebody may be observing them, getting turned on by them. One look at a wrong time was all it would take for him and Darius to get caught. It shouldn’t be as arousing as it was. Hunter clenched tighter around his dick and judging from that and his face expression, Darius knew exactly what was crossing his mind. "You want someone to see, don't you, Hunter?" Hunter nodded, forehead pressed flush against the glass. "Yes," he breathed out shamelessly. "Want them— ah, want them to see..." He swallowed, noticing Darius' expression which edged Hunter on to continue. "Want them to be jealous…" Hunter cried out at a particularly rough thrust. Darius just couldn't help himself, there was something enthralling in Hunter's breathy, raspy voice. Still, despite the pain, Hunter dutifully rolled his hips against Darius’. "Fuck," he grunted, hands roughly gripping Hunter’s side, likely leaving some marks in their wake. "Of course you want them to see. You're such a fucking sight." Hunter could feel his face heating up, blush spreading all over it. He felt dizzy. Darius prompted him to look at his own reflection in the window. His hair was disheveled, collarbone littered with bite marks, blush was spreading down his face and onto his chest. He was a right mess. "So gorgeous. Right, baby?" Hunter nodded meekly. Darius’ hand pumped his cock unprompted, making Hunter’s body give a full-blown shudder. His eyes widened, and he could see the mischievous glint in the man’s eye reflecting in the glass. “Just how pretty will you look when I make you come, hm?” he whispered right into Hunter’s ear, voice low and sultry. Hunter couldn’t stop the moan from slipping past his lips. Darius timed the pace of his hand with that of his hips, jacking Hunter off with each deep roll into his hole. At some point Hunter screwed his eyes tight, heavy breathing intertwined with some unintelligible nonsense kept flowing from his mouth after Darius quickened his pace. He swore he heard his name a couple of times and well, if that wasn’t a big confidence boost and a good reason to show some more care to Hunter’s swollen cock. He gripped it tighter, savoring Hunter’s choked-out groan and pumped it a few times for good measure. Soon he could feel the knot in his own abdomen coiling tighter and threatening to snap again, so he erratically sped up his thrusts, blindly chasing that pleasure while making sure he was still making Hunter feel good. “Fuck, Hunter,” he groaned. Hunter shivered at the wanton noise overflowing with emotion. He liked hearing his name rolling off Darius’ tongue. “You make me feel so good.” The words sparked a warm feeling in his chest. He was doing this. He was proudly making Darius feel that way. And fuck, it felt good to do good. With another particularly rough thrust, Darius shoved his dick as deep as he could inside him and came with Hunter’s name on his lips before sloppily finishing him off. Hunter’s come spilled into Darius’ hand and some even splashed onto the window. They should probably clean it up, but instead Darius decided to leave it to the cleaning staff. Afterwards, Darius helped wobbling Hunter back into the bedroom and onto the bed and since both of them were too exhausted to go and wash themselves, they just laid down together. Hunter was quickly falling asleep, nestled close to the other’s chest. Darius’ hand was gently threading through Hunter’s messy hair. “It’s my last booked night,” he started slowly, unsure if the boy was even still awake. “I need to get up early, but you can sleep in if you’d like. There’s a scheduled wake-up call an hour before staff will come in to clean up this place.” Hunter hummed in reply, somewhat comprehending the words. He was, however, drunk and exhausted so he couldn’t be blamed for any misunderstandings. They fell asleep together, but — like promised — Hunter woke up completely alone. The call had to not happen yet because no hostile cleaners were hauling him out of the room. Good. He needed a moment to take all the events of the last night in. He got up, picked up his discarded clothes and was about to walk to the bathroom, make use of the still valid room reservation, when something on the bed table caught his attention. Now, he was fairly sure he was distinctly hungover, but it was most certainly money. Lots of money. And not some dollar bills either, they were hundreds. And next to them was a note. Hunter began reading, hoping for some explanations because his mind was blank, “Thank you for the enjoyable night.” Sounded civil enough. “I forgot to ask about the price, but I hope that’ll cover it,” Hunter read it out loud a couple more times and it just seemed to generate more questions than answers. What? Did he— Oh. Oh. “Oh, fuck.” Damn. What a night, right?

Explicit

Two brothers- both aspiring witch hunters- catch their first glimpse of the evil they've sworn to vanquish. "Execute her!" "Kill the witch!" "Hang the demoness at once!" Amongst the jeering crowd standing before the gallows stood Philip and Caleb Wittebane, watching on with curiosity. Even before their parents' death, the brothers had been inseparable. In a world indifferent to their plight, Philip and Caleb had grown to depend entirely on one another, sharing everything- from their food, water, and shelter, to their grandest hopes and dreams. Their poverty did little to curb their ambitions for fame and fortune- for respect and renown. If anything, it only served to bolster their selflessness- their desire to protect others from experiencing the same hardship they'd endured ever since their parents' passing. Philip and Belos sought to be heroes- and there was no path more noble or heroic than that of a witch hunter.   It wouldn't be an easy life- the brothers knew that all too well. It was said that witches were powerful and sadistic- manipulative and merciless. They could be anywhere, posing as ordinary people, ready to prey on the innocent and the unsuspecting. They twisted the hearts and minds of those around them until all that remained were brainwashed sycophants. And most frighteningly, they supposedly drew their power from perverse deals with malevolent beings- demons- whose power transcended the human realm itself. And yet even with all the dangers the life of a witch hunter would entail, Philip and Caleb wanted nothing more than to embark on that path together- to protect one another from the evils of a cruel and indifferent world. On the day the brothers had lost their parents, they made a promise the pair would never forget- a promise that would go on to define their destinies for centuries to come. No matter what happened- no matter what it took- they would do anything to save humanity from evil.   Yet despite their ambitions, this was the first time Philip and Caleb had ever witnessed a so-called witch in the flesh. Escorted up the stairs of the gallows by a guard was a woman who would have looked ordinary, if not for her extravagant orange hair. Her skin was pale, her yellowish eyes tired- and heavy iron bindings weighed down her wrists. A flurry of insults was hurled from the crowd as the witch reached the top of the platform. But through it all, a certain unease had begun to well up in Caleb's chest- a feeling he'd quickly confess to his beloved brother. "Is that really... a witch?" said Caleb, turning to Philip with a concerned look. "She looks weirdly... normal." Philip shook his head. "You know how devious these witches can be. Their disguises are convincing- but look closer, brother. Look at its ears!" Turning back to face the woman, it was immediately clear what his brother had meant. Her ears, though they looked normal from a cursory glance, were on closer examination pointed to an unsettling and unnatural degree. "That thing might look human..." began Philip, "But often the vilest of creatures hide themselves in plain sight." The jeering of the crowd grew louder as the noose was fastened around her neck. But the crowd soon grew hushed at the sound of the guard's voice. "The accused will now be permitted to speak their peace. But this woman has been found guilty of witchcraft, and denial of that fact will be met with swift and brutal retribution."   In spite of her position, the woman wore a proud smile, and there was a sinister glint in her eyes. "Denial? Why would I deny it? I am a witch- and I'm not ashamed of it. It's you all who ought to feel ashamed!" The audience erupted into an uproar, before once again being hushed by the guard. "Insult me all you want," said the witch, "...but I'm not the one condemning an innocent woman to death. Yes, I'm a witch- so what? What have I done to hurt you? What have I done to hurt anyone?!" Immediately, the crowd became a raucous concoction of furious vitriol- one even the guard couldn't control. Eventually, the many disparate insults had dissolved into a single phrase, chanted by the mob with overpowering ferocity. "Kill the witch!" "Kill the witch!" "Kill the witch!"   Of the many people in the crowd, only two were silent- Philip, who watched the scene with a calm, cold detachment, and Caleb, for whom the witch's words had somehow stuck a chord. With the noose fastened, the chanting intensified as the accused was led to the edge of the platform- led towards her certain end. Philip watched with a morbid fascination. Caleb watched with an unexplainable dread. And then, the inexplicable happened. The gallows erupted into flame.   An enormous ball of fire grew to engulf the platform, throwing the guard backwards into the ground and knocking him unconscious. Thick smoke rose from the smouldering remnants of the wooden platform. The witch was nowhere to be seen. The crowd turned panicked, vacating the area as fast as they physically could- but through the stampede, Philip and Caleb stood their ground, clutching each other's hand for support. "Cover your face!" cried Philip, lifting the top of his shirt to shield his mouth and nose from the smoke. Caleb nodded and did the same, before drawing a jagged knife from his belt. "She's getting away!" yelled Caleb amidst the cacophony of the crowd. But Philip's eyes were already locked onto something most peculiar- what looked to be a strange purple flame peeking out from the thick wall of smoke. Without a word and with his brother in tow, Philip rushed towards the mysterious glow, a relentless determination in his eyes. It didn't matter that they were alone. It didn't matter how fearsome these monsters were. All that mattered was ensuring the witch was brought to justice. And as long as they were together, Philip and Caleb knew they could do just that.   As long as they were together, they knew they could accomplish anything.

Teen And Up Audiences

   "Lilyyyy... are you sure you don't want to go outside? We could kick the Grudgby ball around - get some practice in... Oh! Or I could show you this place that-" Eda was cut off by her slightly older sister.      "Edalyn! Can't you see I'm studying right now, EC tryouts are only two months away!" Lilith shot back. She realized her tone, and then a little more gently added on a- "Maybe later though?"      Eda simply let out an exaggerated sigh and slumped back onto the couch, her legs now crossed over each other. Lilith was sat on the floor below her, flipping through a potions textbook while jotting down notes.      Eda laid there, fidgeting with her long yellow sleeves - still in her school uniform. Her attention shifted to Owlbert as he flew over from the kitchen, perching on Eda's lifted knee.      Scratching the top of his head, he let out a content coo. She focused her energy on Owlbert for a few minutes before being interrupted by her now buzzing scroll.   Rainestorm: Hey, are you around?      Owlbert moved to perch comfortably inside the top of her hair now. Eda bit her lip as she tried to come up with a reply to the bard's question. Attempting to keep the reply short, she wrote back "Yea!"      She reached up to pet Owlbert once more. Then focused back to her scroll, which buzzed again.   Rainestorm: Come to the hill. I've got something to show you!      Eda shot up off the couch, deep smile now planted on her pale face. She motioned for Owlbert to come forward, he did so and was quickly in his staff form.      She bent over near her sister, swiftly slamming her textbook shut, and ran to the door. Lilith grunted, clearly annoyed. "I'll be back later, Lils!"   -----   Though she had seen it hundreds of times, the sun setting over the hill that Raine and her had claimed as their own still left her speechless as she approached the hill, flying on her staff.      Raine was sat at the top. They looked to be messing with one of the strings on their violin. They too were still in their school uniform, with their red pants and long sleeves. Earring dangling, shinning in the light of the setting sun.      Landing as gracefully as she could, she hopped off her staff. "Whatcha doing out here? It'll be dark soon, Rainey."      They looked up from their violin with stars in their eyes. They had loved this hill for so many reasons. It was quiet, away from people, the snapdragons were beautiful, but mostly, the way the light hit Eda's face whenever they were atop the hill, was something Raine swore the Titan himself couldn't replicate.      Throwing themselves out of their thoughts, Raine spoke. "I was trying to study something for a performance I have next week. My moms were having some witches over for dinner tonight so I came here; it's quieter and I didn't want to disturb them."      Eda sat herself down beside them, her legs crossed. She was looking at them with amusement. Raine met her eyes and smiled brightly. "Anyhow, that's not what I've been doing."      Eda tilted her head, questioning. Looking at them in hopes they would elaborate a bit more.      "I wrote something. It's not long or- incredible or anything but- it's something. I uh, I'm kinda proud of it actually."      "That's great, Rainstorm! Let's hear it!" Eda exclaimed, enthusiastic as always.      Raine took a deep inhale, lifted their violin to their chin and begin to play. What they played wasn't too different than anything Eda had heard them play before but there was something about it... she couldn't exactly tell what it was, but something was different.      The piece they played wasn't being graded by one of their professors, it wasn't for a gig that their moms had helped them get, it wasn't a reworked edition of a known song, this piece was Raine's.      It was filled with emotion. It was deep with yearn but it had an element of joy to it as well. It told a story, and even though Eda wasn't exactly sure what that story was, she could hear it.      As they begin to wrap up their performance, Eda found herself enamored. She was looking at the bard like they were the Titan themself. Like they had hung the stars.      Raine slowly put down their violin, picking at the wood anxiously. They didn't take their eyes off of their hands, refusing to see Eda.      "That was incredible! Are you kidding?" Eda laughed, "I can't believe I know the most powerful, talented bard in the Boiling Isles!"      They could feel the blush rising to their cheeks now. Trying to gather themselves best they could, they looked up and finally met Eda's eyes. They didn't think they had ever seen her smile so big.      "How did you come up with that?" She asked excitedly, still wearing that smile.      Raine knew their face was a deep red now. They were unsure of what to say. They knew the real answer. They knew where their inspiration had come from. But how to say it? They had no idea.      "I just- I don't know... I was just out here... thinking, I guess. I think- well... I was thinking of you." Eda shot them a look that they couldn't quite decipher, nevertheless, they carried on.      "You're- well," they looked away from Eda and went back to picking at the wood on their violin, "you're so wild. You have this spirit to you that is unlike anything I've ever known. Not only that, but you have a softer side, filled with love and care. You care so much for your sister. You're so passionate about wild magic, you stick to your beliefs no matter what. You just-" Raine realized they were rambling and stopped for a moment to think.      Gathering some confidence, they lifted their head and looked at Eda. Her face was nearly the same shade as Raine's. In a soft yet deep tone, they confidently exclaimed, "you're my muse, Eda."      Eda, still hooked on the praise from their rambling before, reached out to put her hand on top of Raine's. They lifted their hand off of their violin and grasped Eda's, squeezing it lightly.      "Gee, Rainey, I'm supposed to be the one handing out compliments, after all, you're the one that just played for me. Thank you though, really." She hit their shoulder playfully. "Dingus."      Raine thought for a moment. Did she hear me? Why did I say that? Was that too much? Oh Titan, I screwed up. Does she not feel the same way? Of course she doesn't, I'm the one with the stupid crush.      "Shouldn't you be getting home?" She stood up, still holding their hand, arm now extended as they still sat. "You know I'm all for adventure but, I don't think your moms will appreciate you being out after dark," Eda noted.      Escaping their inner dread, Raine stood up, not letting go of Eda's hand. The two got on Eda's staff and flew off.   -----      "There you are Witchlet! Lilith told me you went out but didn't say where, I was starting to get worried." Gwendolyn was waiting for her daughter outside the door of their cabin.      "I was just dropping Raine off at their house, I was safe and all," Eda noted blankly.      The two walked into the house, Gwen closing the door behind her daughter. "Oh, okay then. That bard friend of yours really needs to get themself a staff."      Eda let out a quiet laugh, thinking of how scared Raine was to start carving. She swiftly walked up the stairs and into her own room.      She sat down on her bag, letting Owlbert fly off the staff to sit peacefully on the bed frame. Eda changed out of her school uniform, switching it out for shorts and an oversized black t-shirt.      She laid out on her bed, Owlbert standing on her stomach now. Peaceful for a moment and then her head shot up, now holding a confused expression.      She stood up, left her room, and walked across the hallway to knock on Lilith's door. Once... then twice... then... the door opened suddenly to reveal Lilith leaning on it.      Eda invited herself into her sister's room, pushing Lilith out of the way slightly. She sat herself down comfortably on her sister's bed, still wearing the same confused look.      "Has anyone ever called you their 'muse' before?" She asked, using air quotes mockingly.      Lilith rolled her eyes, then thought attentively for a moment. "No? Why are you asking me this?"      Eda ignored her question and replaced it with one of her own. "What exactly is a 'muse?'" she asked, using air quotes once more.      "Traditionally, it's someone or something that is a source of inspiration for... an artist." Lilith answered blankly.      "So it's not some weird bard term? You know, muse? Music?"      "No it's not a bard term. You know it actually originated from- wait. Why did you think it was a bard term? Why are you asking me these questions to begin with- bard term? Did a bard call you their muse?"      Eda was looking at her sister confused again. "Yes?" she said unsure. "Is that a bad thing?"      "I would say it's a love confession, if you ask me. In every book I've read being called someone's muse is the equivalent to that person telling you that they're in love with you."      Taking this in, the two sisters sat in silence for a moment. Eda was deep in thought. Lilith was as well.      "Bard term? Wait. Wait. Did Raine say something to you? Is that who you went to meet earlier?" Lilith thought for a moment. "I mean, I guess that would make sense."      Offended, but not sure why, Eda shot back, "what would make sense?"      Lilith chuckled slightly, oblivious, she thought. "Raine is CLEARLY in love with you, of course you're their muse. They are a musician after all."      "What? You're crazy! There's no w-"      "Come on! You two are obnoxious. They insist on sitting with us everyday at lunch, they follow you around the school all day like a lost palisman, you two even have that secret hide out! And you both insist on trading juices everyday even though you could just get the type of juice you wanted from the start! Plus, have you seen the way they look at you?"      Eda was blushing suddenly. Taking in what her sister said, not exactly sure what to make of it. She got off the bed, yelled a quick- "thanks!" and dashed out of her sister's room   -----      They looked over at their bedside table, taking notice of the time. It had gotten late fast. Raine had been pacing in their room thinking for a long while now.      Why did I say that? Who calls someone their muse? That's so dorky? I'm so dorky? Eda would never consider being with someone like me. I'm just best friend material. Dorky best friends are cute and fun, dorky partners are... dorky. No one wants that... right?      They let out a groan, and planted themselves on the floor next to their bed. Lifting their arm up, they drew a circle with their finger, summoning a wooden lute.      It was dark in color, made of wood, and was rimmed in a lighter almost tan colored wood. Raine saw it a week ago when their moms had taken them to the market.      Eda had wanted to learn bard magic, she wanted you to teach her, they reminded themselves why they had purchased the lute that they now held in their hands.      Figuring they could use a distraction from their thoughts, they moved into a more comfortable playing position, still sitting on the floor, they started to bring the instrument closer. As they went to string the first cord, their scroll summoned itself.      It floated in the air in front of Raine's face. Placing down the lute, they shifted once more and read the notification.   Calamity: You're crazy if you think I don't also think of you as my muse. Goodnight, Rainestorm.      It was simple, but it was just enough to put Raine's nerves at ease. They clutched their scroll slightly, then let it disappear. They looked back to the lute, smiling deeply now.      I think it's about time I gift this to her, they thought.  

General Audiences

Amity had gone to the owl shack one day, a habit that she had developed since she and Luz had decided to start an Azura Bookclub, their meetings every weekend. The witchling approached the door with a giddy smile on her face, a little surprise for Luz in her bag. Lifting her fist, she rapped her knuckles against the wood of the door. Hooty opened his black beady eyes, a happy shriek escaping him and Amity groaned. How could she forget that this demon was embedded in the house- basically was the house! “Hoooot! Hello little Blight, what brings you here to my humble abode?” His shill voice asked. “I came for mine and Luz’s bookclub meeting,” Amity deadpanned, “like I do every weekend. How could you forget that?” Hypocritical question considering Amity always forgot about Hooty. “Oh…” suddenly the house demon was downcast, which was a rare sight. “Luz isn’t here.” “Did she go out?” Amity giggled softly, leave it to Luz to forget that she had a bookclub meeting. “Do you know where she went?” Hooty sniffled, then wailed; his body extending until he was nothing but a pile of… whatever he was on the ground. “Luuuuuz!” The door opened slightly, not fully though with Hooty blocking it. “Hooty, what are you crying about out here? Why can’t I open the door?” “Owl Lady!” Amity was relieved to see the elder witch, she saw the woman like she did a rebellious aunt. Definitely not a mother figure, Eda lacked the affectionate tenderness that mothers had. “Have you seen Luz? I’m here for our book meeting.” “Oh,” Eda kicked against the door until she could open it all the way. “About Luz, kid. She went home.” Amity’s heart dropped but she still smiled. “Oh, that’s fine, she must have been getting homesick and decided to go home for the weekend instead. Can you tell me when she comes back, then?” The woman frowned, her gaze being casted away from the witchling. “I mean that she went home… for good.” “…what?” “She said she wanted to go back home and she did, she came here to do one thing, and that was to learn to be a witch. And… she did, in her own way.” Eda spoke her words slowly, trying not to hurt the little witch girl’s feelings anymore. “Something about camp ending and she needed to go home so that her mom didn’t get suspicious.” “But… she’ll come back eventually, right? Like, she can visit, can’t she?” Amity was hopeful, too hopeful. This was why she never let herself be vulnerable, it made her easy to hurt. “Luz wouldn’t just leave…” Eda held open the door, inviting Amity into the house, which she accepted. “Luz… she… Titan be damned, I don’t even know what to say. The kid was like a daughter to me and it hurt me when I watched her go through that door.” Amity’s ears twitched as she listened, plopping herself down on the couch. “Apparently, before she had even stepped foot into the Boiling Isles, her mom had sent her to this summer camp that was supposed to help her focus.” Eda sighed, “One thing led to another, my palisman led Luz here and she ended up staying to learn to be a witch.” “And she did,” Amity muttered. “She is one of the best witches I know, Owl Lady, uh, after you, of course. Luz liked learning all about magic, I even helped tutor her.” “Mhm. Anyway,” Eda dragged her hand through her wild mane of hair. “Luz was supposed to be in that camp for three months, and those three months, she was here. But then… she had to go back home. To her mom.” The elder witch groaned, turning away. “I can’t put it any simpler, kid, Luz left and it’s pretty likely she won’t be coming back. She’s going to go to her human school and she’ll probably forget all about this place, all about us.” Amity looked down at her boots, trying to process the information. “Forget? But… Luz loved this place. She loved us. Why- how!- could she forget?” “You know Luz,” Eda barely looked over her shoulder, “she’s pretty forgetful.” The witchling shook her head, “She didn’t even say goodbye to me. What about Willow and Gus? Did she bye to them? Did she just leave without a word to anybody?” “Hey, calm down. Shit, this is why I was trying to simplify the whole thing,” Eda came to sit next to Amity, pulling the witchling into a hug. “I’m sorry, baby Blight, but Luz didn’t want anybody trying to stop her so… I let her leave without any goodbyes.” Amity trembled, holding back emotions of sadness, anger, confusion, and anxiety. How would she break it to Willow and Gus that their best friend left the Isles? How could Luz leave them all without at least saying goodbye? Not even a card in the mail. “Can we visit her?” “Unless you want to be burned in a stake,” Eda said softly, rubbing Amity’s back, “I wouldn’t suggest it. Humans there can be pretty… violent.” Amity sniffled, “I’ll wait for her, Owl Lady. I know she’ll come back.” “Kid…” “She wouldn’t just leave! I know her, she… she’ll come back.”   That was 3 years ago, and now she was 18, about to graduate from Hexside… without Luz. Gus and Willow had a pretty similar reaction when Amity had told them back then, but neither were as committed as Amity because they learned to move on. But Amity didn’t. She still had hope, visiting the owl shack each weekend like always. Eda opened the door each hour, and Amity would sit with the woman to see if Luz would come back. Luz didn’t come back through the door though, and Eda gave up. She gave Amity the key, suggesting that she should stop too, that it wasn’t healthy. Amity didn’t care though, she… she needed Luz in her life. “Amity Blight,” called Bump from the stage at graduation. “Valedictorian of this year of students, top of classes each year, and already has a bright future ahead of her. Would you like to make a speech?” She scowled, approaching the stand. Her appearance had changed over the years too because of Luz leaving, she entered a depressive state, became easily irritable. Her features were much sharper, but she also looked so, so tired. Clearing her throat in the microphone, she leaned into it. “Thank fucking Titan, school’s over for me. And thank you to a fond friend of mine for messing me up, really appreciate it. She isn’t here, and none of you remember her. So fuck you all, fuck this school, and fuck Luz Noceda the Human.” The crowd gasped and muttered about the scene, watching Amity storm out of the graduation early even though she wasn’t supposed to. “Uh,” Bump came up to the stand. “Moving on…” Amity cried as she ran from the school’s campus, she needed to hide. She couldn’t see past them blur of her tears so she started to frantically wipe them with the sleeve of her graduation gown. Blinking her eyes open again, she looked down to the necklace under the gown, pulling it out. She had to try, she needed to try. Running off, she made her way through the town until she was in the library, pushing past people until she could get to her hideout. Once behind the closed bookcase, she pulled the key necklace over her head, fiddling with it between her fingers. “Okay, just- just… press the button.” Amity’s thumb hovered over the button on the key, hesitating. What if Luz once again didn’t come through? She could… Amity pressed the button, the portal door summoning in the hideout. She opened the door slowly, narrowing her eyes against the blinding light. From what she knew of how Luz got to the Isles, the portal should bring her to an abandoned cabin in the woods, directly behind the house Luz and her mom lived in. Cautiously, she took a step into the light, squinting in hopes of being able to see what she was doing. Creaking beneath her foot, rotting wood. The stench of something dying, probably also the wood. And trash everywhere, scattered all over the floorboards of the cabin. Amity looked behind her, the door was still open behind her. She looked ahead, the door to the cabin was wide open, showing off the scenery of the forest outside. Smiling, she ran out of the cabin, tripping over her gown as she sprinted through the forest. “I’m coming, Luz, just you wait,” she said to herself, gasping between her words. Tears were forming in her eyes again from excitement. Breaking through the forest, she had to stumble into a stop before she ran into the road where a strange, loud, and fast machine whooshed past. Amity choked on air, trying to breath. That was close. Right, the task at hand… Luz. Looking to her left, she saw a small house, the mailbox on it was painted to say: “Home of the Nocedas!!” The witch giggled, Luz hadn’t changed at all. Going up to the front door of the house, she rocked back and forth on her feet, her hands trembling. After all these years, all this waiting, she just might see Luz again. Luz didn’t come to her but Amity… Amity didn’t give up, so she came for Luz. Knocking on the door, her other hand grasped at her gown. What if Luz didn’t answer? How could she explain to a complete stranger that she wasn’t normal; that she was from an entirely different realm. The door was slowly opened and Amity leaned forward, “Oh thank Titan, you—” Who… who was this blonde girl? “Uh,” the girl blinked at her, looking Amity up and down. “Who are you?” The witch scrunched up her nose, “Who are you?” “Amber Bright,” she said. “Are you a friend of Luz’s? A cosplayer…?” Amity didn’t bother trying to understand what the actual hell a cosplayer was, shaking her head. “Um, yes. I’m an old friend of Luz’s. She and I used to go to school together and then she left, and I’ve really missed her.” “Right…” Amber closed the door slightly. “Hey, Ms. Noceda, there’s a girl at the door claiming to know Luz!” “I’m not claiming anything,” Amity hissed, pressing her hand against the door. “Where’s Luz?” The door was opened and an older woman came into her view. Amity froze, those features were similar to that of Luz’s. This had to be Luz’s mom. The woman examined her, “I don’t remember you, Luz has never brought you around.” “I… I don’t know how to explain it to you, ma’am. I’m from another realm, you see, I’m a witch!” Amity smiled, wiggling her ears. “Luz had came there and we were friends but three years ago, she left.” “Luz was in summer camp three years ago,” the woman frowned. “I’m a doctor, a vet, but I still know about people. Are you okay?” “I’m fine, please,” Amity tried to look past the two, “where’s Luz?” The woman looked at Amber and whispered something to her, then looked back at Amity. “I don’t feel comfortable with you seeing my daughter, you… you seem to be rather unhinged, no offense.” Amity panicked, she couldn’t leave, not without at least seeing Luz. “Please! I need her in my life again, she left without saying goodbye and I’m mad but I also miss her. She ruined my life but I love her, okay? Please, just—” Her pupil’s dilated when she saw her, Luz. Amber had an arm around Luz’s waist, guiding her into another room out of Amity’s view. “Luz! Look at me! It’s Amity, remember?” The woman frowned, pushing her further back, “It’s time that you leave, miss, have a good day. And get some help, please.” “Luz, please, please, please! Look at me!” She begged. Amber was still trying to guide Luz away but the girl looked back. Amity gave a broken smile, this was all she needed. To see Luz. For Luz to see her. “Hi,” she called. Luz pushed Amber off, running to the door and squeezing past her mom. “Amity, you… you’re here. How? Why?” “Mija…” The woman warned, reaching for Luz’s hand, but Luz just stepped further outside. “It’s fine, mama, she’s an old friend,” Luz grinned at Amity. “How are you?” “Really fucking mad,” Amity gasped, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. “You left without saying goodbye and I waited, every weekend I opened the portal in hopes you’d come back.” Luz reached for Amity’s hands, “I’m sorry, Ams, I just… I didn’t want anyone to talk me out of leaving. I still had a life here, after all. It’s nice to see you.” “Yeah.” The witch grasped Luz’s hands tight, smiling at how amazing it felt to be able to touch her again. This wasn’t a dream. It was real. She had Luz back. “I missed you, a lot.” “I missed you a lot too,” Luz chuckled. “Oh, how is everyone? I bet that King probably took it the hardest…” Amity suddenly felt a surge of anger. “No, they all forgot about you. Or gave up. I’m the only one that fucking waited. You know, I’m really mad at you, you left on the day of our bookclub meeting.” “Oh…” Luz frowned, “I must have forgotten about it… sorry.” “It’s fine. Um. Luz?” Amity looked up, her ears going up and down as she built up courage. “Yeah?” “I love you.” Amity leaned up to press her lips against Luz, warmth spreading through her body. She’d waited for this day for so long, it was so… lovely. Luz pulled back abruptly, breaking the moment. Amity blinked, unsure why Luz pulled away so quickly. “Amity, listen… I…” Amber stepped forward, frowning at Amity. The witch was piecing it together slowly, taking a step back. No… “I admit I liked you back then but I came back and accepted that I’d probably never see anyone again and… Amber became my confidant. I told her a lot,” Luz chuckled, “nothing about the realm but about you guys. I guess I just grew feelings and one thing led to another…” The witch was taking more steps back, tripping on the step down the porch. “Haha, you’re… you’re funny, Luz. This is… this is just a joke, right?” “No,” Luz tried to reach for Amity. “Hey, it’s okay. It doesn’t matter, you didn’t know. And hey, nice gown- oh! Today must have been your graduation day! Good job!” Amity swatted Luz away when she reached out for a hug. The brunette pulled back, her eyes wide with shock. “Ams?” “Don’t,” Amity screwed her eyes shut. “Don’t call me that. You lost that privilege.” “What? Amity, just come inside, we can talk in there.” “I waited for three years, developed feelings, fucking gave up my future in the hopes that I’d be able to see you and we could have our own happy ever after like Azura and Hecate.” Amity slapped Luz’s hand when the human reached for her again. “Don’t touch me!” Luz pouted, “You can’t blame me for that, Amity. I never told you to do any of that.” “You didn’t tell me anything!” Amity whipped around, “You left without any goodbye and- and- I don’t even- fuck you. Goodbye.” “Shit,” Luz looked at her mom and girlfriend, “I’ll be back. Amity!” Amity stormed back into the forest. She was a fool for allowing herself to open up, for growing feelings, for waiting, for coming to the Human Realm. She was a fool for Luz. “Amity, come back!” She shook her head; forget her, don’t think about Luz.  She played with Amity’s feelings, with her heart. Did Luz actually even care? Ha… what a turn of events. She walked up the stairs of the cabin, pulling out the key and pressing the button to summon the door. “Amity, wait!” Luz caught up to the witch, grabbing her wrist. “Let me speak!” “Let go of me,” Amity muttered. Luz only held on tighter, pulling her away from the door. “Hey, look at me.” The witch glared up, scowling. Stupid Luz and her stupid face, and stupid hazel eyes, stupid mocha skin, stupid curly hair… stupid, stupid Amity for still liking the human. “I’ve missed you, Amity, at least tell me how you are, if not anybody else,” Luz smiled softly. Amity snarled, ripping her hand from Luz’s grip. “I am Amity Blight,” she began, pushing Luz back, “and I only hang out with a select few. You used to be my friend Luz, but you played with my heart. I should’ve never let you become my friend.” Luz faltered, “Amity, you… you don’t mean that. Right?” “Go be with your girlfriend. Could’ve been me but you know what, you both deserve each other,” Amity turned around and stormed to the portal, not bothering to hear another word from Luz.   “Wait, Amity—”     Luz reached for the witch but missed, Amity going through the portal and closing it before she could get to her. She stared at where the door used to be. Amity was the only person that had still hung on for Luz. Eda and King gave up, Willow and Gus forgot. The witch had waited years upon years until deciding to come and find Luz herself. And Luz ruined their reunion. And Amity was the one with the key now, she’d never open the portal now. Luz grabbed at the air, she had been so close to grabbing Amity and maybe being able to convince the witch that she could make it up to her. She heard footsteps coming from behind her, the weight of them creaking the floors of the cabin. A groan, “Ew, this place is gross.” It was Amber. Luz looked over her shoulder at her girlfriend. “Did she leave? Good, honestly. She kissed you right in front of me and you and I both know that this face,” Amber patted her cheeks, “and these lips,” she tapped her finger on her bottom lip, “are mine.” Amber sighed, “Whatever. She’s gone now and your mom finished the food. Come on.” “She… she waited for me, Amber. For 3 whole years.” “And?” “She loved me,” Luz touched her lips. “I had feelings for her too… I still kinda do but.” Amber scoffed. “Um, hello? Your girlfriend, me, standing right here.” “Go back Amber. Amity waited for me, the least I can do is sit here and wait for her to hopefully come back.” Luz sat down on the floor, crossing her legs. “What? No, come on, get up. I’m willing to let this whole debacle slide if you can just get up and come with me. I’m your girlfriend Luz, not her,” Amber said, pulling at her arm. “Listen to me.” Luz frowned. Amity probably wouldn’t be like this. She wouldn’t demand anything for Luz, she wouldn’t coax Luz into things she didn’t like, she wouldn’t make her do everything she asked. “I’m breaking up with you, Amber.” “Are you serious right now?” Amber stepped in front of Luz. “We’ve been dating for a year now, perfectly fine, but now that elf girl comes into the picture for all of fifteen minutes and you’re dumping me?” Luz glared at Amber, “Yeah. That’s exactly what’s happening. And her name is Amity, and if she comes back, she’ll be my girlfriend, because she’d be leagues better than you.” “Oh my God, you’ve actually lost it,” Amber sighed, walking off. “I put up with your fantasy shit in hopes that maybe it’d blow over and you’d be normal and I could actually like you without it being embarrassing but clearly I was wrong. Whatever, bye Luz.” The brunette sniffled, quickly wiping a tear from her eye. This was okay, she had to get rid of Amber, obviously she wasn’t the right person. Now she just needed Amity to come back, to hear her out and they could have the happily ever after that Amity wanted. She waited, and waited… and waited. It was dark out and Amity didn’t reopen the portal, not once. But Luz was determined. If Amity could wait for her, she could too. Patience. She just needed patience…     Amity never reopened the door.

Teen And Up Audiences

Luz Noceda was freaking out. After Amity had left, she had flopped down on the couch with a monumental sigh. She was exhausted, her bones weary after such an eventful day, but her mind raced at a million miles a second. All she could think about was the smile on Amity’s face when she said yes to Luz asking her out - and her palm still tingled with the phantom warmth of Amity’s hand held in her own. They’d held hands before, but this was different. She was going out with Amity. They were girlfriends.  And it hadn’t just been about her. Luz looked at King with a fond smile as he snoozed next to her, recalling how he’d saved her and Amity’s lives with the powers of his… voice? That was what Eda had said, anyway. And speaking of Eda… Luz’s mentor was posed in front of the mirror, brushing back a lock of her hair. She’d returned to normal once they had gone back inside the Owl House, but Luz still wanted to ask so many questions about Eda’s so-called ‘harpy’ form. She knew Hooty must have been somehow involved, but she had no idea of the specifics beyond that. Luz swallowed, remembering Eda’s surprise when Luz had said she wanted to ask Amity out. She had talked extensively about Amity to Eda, Eda had watched them dance together at Grom, and she’d even seen the blushing mess Luz had been when she’d returned home the night Amity had kissed her on the cheek. Granted, Luz hadn’t told Eda the exact details of that particular incident, but she knew as a general rule, she was very unsubtle when it came to her crush on Amity. So the fact that Eda had been shocked… was she conservative? The idea was almost laughable, but perhaps homosexuality was frowned upon here in the Boiling Isles, like it was in so many places back in the human realm. Perhaps, despite her obvious feelings, Eda had only seen her and Amity as platonic gal pals the whole time, because that was the only thing they could be. All in all, Luz was long overdue for a chat with Eda. And she was freaking out. “I can feel you staring at me, kid,” Eda said, before turning around. She looked the same as ever, no hint of disgust or discomfort on her face. But who knew what she was thinking under the surface? “Is there a flesh eating bug on my back?” “Um, no,” Luz said, feeling her fingers start to nervously twist around each other, and wishing she had something to fiddle with. “I was just wondering. What did Hooty do to you?” “Ah! That,” Eda grinned, stretching before making her way over to join Luz on the couch. “That is a long story. I was out cold for ages! Hooty gave me a sleeping potion that… also makes nightmares and dreams more vivid.” Eda chuckled. “And I have a lot of nightmares about the Owl Beast in the first place.” “Oh,” Luz said. “So did you have a horrific nightmare about the Owl Beast that made you go all harpy mode when you woke up?” “Not quite,” Eda replied. “After all, the Owl Beast is a part of me, and I couldn’t imagine anything too horrific about myself. That’s sort of what I realised, actually. In the dream, it felt like I was awake, and walking through a bunch of memories of my life. Memories that all related to the Owl Beast, of course. None of them good. And then it was just me, alone on the beach, with a much smaller and less terrifying version of the Owl Beast. We came to an agreement, so to speak. And then I woke up… like that. Not bad for my age, eh?” “So you and the Owl Beast are like… working together now?” Luz asked. “Something like that. I’ll keep taking my elixir, but I’m done trying to battle the Owl Beast like it’s an external force. It’s a part of me. Has been for three decades now.” Eda ruffled Luz’s hair, and Luz’s racing heart was calmed by the familiar gesture. “And hopefully I can use my harpy powers for some good instead of going on wild rampages now.” “...You used them for good today,” Luz said, with a little hesitation. “So I did,” Eda laughed. “I gotta say, I didn’t think the first thing I’d be putting my wings to use for would be playing matchmaker, but life surprises you sometimes.” Luz studied Eda’s words, her tone of voice, and her body language in excruciating detail. Eda was relaxed, her head thrown back against the couch, and she was turned towards Luz with a smile. Absolutely nothing about her suggested hate, or possible rejection of Luz’s sexuality, but Luz’s stomach still twisted. She couldn’t be sure until she just asked.  “You’re not mad about it, are you?”  Eda’s eyebrows shot up. “Mad? Why the heck would I be mad? You like her, she likes you, and despite Hooty’s shenanigans, everything turned out okay. The only thing I could be mad about is that I have a bit of house repair to do, which will be a pain without magic. But again, that’s on Hooty.” Luz paused. Eda seemed totally clueless. Either she was a really good actor, or she was so laid back that she didn’t even see the point in acknowledging the elephant in the room. Which was encouraging, but Luz couldn’t ignore it herself. “But Amity and I… we’re both…” Luz fumbled for the right words. Eda leaned forward. “Kid, seriously. If there’s something worrying you, you can always tell me.” “We’re both girls!” Luz blurted. “And you’re not mad?” Eda’s eyes narrowed, but not in repulsion. “I’m not following.” Luz stood up, her nervous energy overflowing. “Eda, please. You don’t have to lie to make me feel better. If you’re homophobic, just say it!” “Homophobic? Isn’t that a music thing where all the parts are in harmony? I don’t know much bard magic myself, but it’s rather impressive.” Luz faltered. “Do you… Do you really not know what I’m talking about?” Eda shrugged. “I said as much. I don’t get why I would object to you and Amity being together. Especially because… what was your reason? That you’re both girls?” “Oh,” Luz mumbled, feeling the familiar rush of heat rising to her cheeks. It came from embarrassment, though, and not because Amity had done something cute. Eda stood up to meet her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna assume this is another human-witch culture difference. Do you mind filling me in on what exactly you mean?” Luz sighed, allowing Eda to gently lead her back to the couch. Her hands twisted around each other again. She wasn’t quite sure where to start. “Back at home, there are a lot of strict rules about love. About exactly what a relationship should look like. Everyone thinks that if you’re a girl, you’ll meet a guy, fall in love with him, eventually get married, have lots of children and live a perfect life together. And if you’re a guy, it works the other way around - you’ll meet a girl.” Luz breathed out. “But there are people who don’t exactly fit into that happy lifestyle. People like me.” Eda said nothing, but she nodded, signalling Luz to continue. “I didn’t always know I was different.” Luz chuckled. “At least, not in that way. I found loads of guys cute growing up, but then when I was around thirteen… I started finding girls cute too. And a lot of people from the human realm just don’t approve of that. So I didn’t really tell anyone." Luz’s fingers twisted together again. “I’m bisexual.” “And I,” Eda said softly, “have never heard that word before. But I’m glad you’ve told me. I assume it means what you said - liking both guys and girls?” “Yep!” Luz said. “People like me might be uncommon, but we’re out there. There’s a whole community of us. I just didn’t meet anyone like me personally in the human realm.” “Hmm…” Eda frowned contemplatively. “During my visits there, I picked up on a lot of the general differences between our world and yours. But asking too many questions would look suspicious, and I was more focused on getting human junk to sell than doing a culture study. But what you’re saying is… there are people in the human realm who wouldn’t like your relationship with Amity? Because you’re both girls?” “Yeah,” Luz replied. “That’s what homophobia is. It’s disagreeing with anyone who’s attracted to the same gender, and any relationships that come of it. Relationships that aren’t like the ‘normal’ ones everyone expects. Some homophobic people are quiet about their views, but some people can get really mean.” Eda indicated for Luz to shuffle closer, gently wrapping an arm around her. “And you thought I’d be one of those people?” “Well, you seemed kinda surprised that I wanted to ask Amity out!” Luz replied. “Even though I’m pretty obvious. I just thought you might disapprove in some way.” Eda laughed loudly, but not unkindly. “Okay, kid, now it’s my turn to tell you a few things. I was surprised when you told me what Hooty was trying to help you with, not because I couldn’t smell the romantic tension from a mile away, but because I wasn’t sure if a relationship would come of it. I’ve been able to tell that girl liked you since Grom, and I had a pretty big suspicion you liked her back. But I didn’t know if either of you would actually ask each other out. I should’ve known you’d do it, though.” “Actually, Amity beat me to saying it,” Luz mumbled. “Did she, now? Well, I suppose it’s good to have her keeping you on your toes. But, Luz.” At this, Eda’s tone turned serious. “Please don’t get it in your head that I would ever disapprove of someone you liked. Unless you were trying to romance a slitherbeast, or something. I do not care one bit that you and Amity are both girls. In fact, that thing you described? Homophobia? We don’t have that here.” Luz sat straight up. She thought back to everything she’d seen since coming to the Isles - Willow’s dads, those two guys dancing together at Grom, and the fact that Hooty had never questioned that he was trying to romantically set up two girls. She had thought she’d just been lucky enough to drop into an accepting part of the Isles, and that house demons had better things to worry about than homophobia, but- “Homophobia doesn’t exist?” Luz shrieked, leaping up from the couch. Eda made a concerned face, but Luz turned to her, beaming. “No one- no one disapproves of two guys or two girls loving each other here?” “No,” Eda said. “Unless it’s for some other reason, of course.” “I can’t believe this,” Luz yelled, her heart soaring. “I knew this place was amazing, but this is just-” “What’s all the noise about?” a cranky yet adorable voice piped up from the couch, and Luz swooped in to pick up a now awake King, holding him close to her chest. “Sorry for waking you up, buddy. I’m just excited. Did you know homophobia isn’t real here?” “What’s homophobia? Some kind of human dessert?” King grumbled. “Eda!!” Luz cried again. “I can’t believe this!” “Well, you’d best believe it, kid. We don’t have any homophobia here.” Eda smiled. “This is officially the best day ever! Man, I gotta tell Amity. Wait-” Luz paused. “I don’t wanna tell her that homophobia exists, that would just make her sad. But… Eda, didn’t you say you hadn’t heard of bisexuality either?” Eda shrugged. “We don’t have words for who you’re attracted to. Some people only date women, and some date both guys and girls like you described. But you can only really tell their preference if you pay really close attention to their love life.” “So that means that Amity doesn’t know what her sexuality is?” Luz thought aloud. “If by sexuality you mean who someone likes, I’m pretty sure Amity has a good idea about that,” Eda snorted. “She likes you.” “I-I know that,” Luz mumbled. “We all know that,” King decided to add. “But generally- she might only like girls, or guys too, or maybe she just doesn’t have a preference! I should ask her, and then maybe I could tell her what her human label would be?” “Hold on, kid.” Eda frowned. “You’ll have to tell me more about this stuff. Didn’t you just say you didn’t want to tell Amity about homophobia? Wouldn’t informing her about that just hurt you both?” “Well, yeah, in a way,” Luz replied. “But… it’s not all bad. You guys don’t have labels because there’s no prejudice. Which is still awesome, by the way. But because of the hate in our world, we came up with ways to identify ourselves as people outside of the norm, so we could find each other. We formed a community. There’s a lot of cool history, actually - I had barely started looking into it before I got here…” Luz trailed off, realising she’d started word-dumping, as she was very prone to. But Eda was simply nodding and smiling encouragingly, so she breathed out and sat back down on the couch. King immediately settled himself between Luz and Eda, getting back to his nap. “Anyway, I just… think it’d be cool to share a bit of my world with Amity, I guess? We’re proud of who we are. I’m proud of my identity. And also, we have pretty flags.” Eda grinned. “Well, you’re the number one human expert around here, kid. I’m sure Baby Blight would love to learn more about your world. And, hey. Maybe you can give me a history lesson about this stuff too. It sounds fascinating.” Luz didn’t hesitate a moment before wrapping her arms around Eda, squeezing tightly. “Thank you, for being so cool about this. I love you.” Eda reciprocated almost instantly, with no complaints about the ‘parallel arm thing’. “And I love you, kid,” she replied easily. “Don’t forget that.” Luz relished the hug for a moment longer, before letting go. “By the way, can Amity come over tomorrow? Also, can I borrow your scroll to ask if she wants to come over?” Eda smirked at Luz. “Ah, so this is the part of supporting you where I have to deal with two lovebirds in the house. But yeah, she can come over. I kind of assumed she was going to, anyway.” Luz pouted. “We’re going to work on the portal together! She’s the one who can get the Echo Mouse to work - it’s serious business, Eda!” Eda snorted. “Sure kid. Tell yourself that. I’ll just start betting with King on which one of you will blush first in the other’s presence. Now, everyone would think it’d be Amity, but you’re a mess around her yourself-” “Eda!”  Truthfully, Luz didn’t mind Eda’s teasing one bit. Her mentor casually poking fun at her over her relationship with a girl, not caring one bit that she and Amity were in a non-traditional relationship,  was all she could ask for. Hopefully, Amity would help her get the portal working again. And then she would go home and see her mom - and work up the courage to introduce Amity as her girlfriend. “Titan, after the day we’ve had I think we deserve some takeout. I’m not cooking, that’s for sure. What do you fancy, Luz?” “Um, I don’t mind. I’m so tired I’d eat anything right now,” she honestly replied. It had been a long day, but the exhaustion that made her bones ache also made her feel all tingly inside. She was Amity Blight’s girlfriend.  “I’ll just get your favourite, then,” Eda replied, ruffling Luz’s hair again. Luz smiled at the gesture, playfully batting Eda’s hands away. And she could be herself here in the Isles, free of judgement.

General Audiences

Chapter 1 ____________ LUZ’S POV Luz was bored. Even though it was her birthday, nothing overly exiting was happening around her. It was the same thing every year. Wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, attend the parade. Why couldn’t they do something different for a change. Does it have to be a parade? Could it not be a ball, or a feast, or even maybe a day with just her and her father. Was that so much to ask for? Luz was so lost in thought that she did not even hear her father speaking to her.“Luz. Did you hear anything of what I just said?” “Hmm? Sorry dad, could you please repeat that?” Luz said with a sheepish smile. Her father, Emperor Belos, sighed. “I asked you what you would like for your birthday? Honestly Luz, you need to learn to pay more attention when someone speaks to you.” “Sorry dad” Luz said looking down, suddenly very interested in her food. “Its just… I only want someone to spend some time with. I want someone I could have a normal conversation with, without them referring to me as “Your majesty” or “Your highness”. I want a friend. A real one.” It was Belos’s turn to sigh. “My dearest daughter. You know why I can’t allow it. What if someone tries to hurt you again? You know that there’s people out there that would love to get their hands on you. To hurt you, or worse, to kill you. Do you really want that to happen? I don’t want a repeat of what happened to your mother.” “I know dad. Its just… Im lonely you know? Having to hide who I am from people. Its not fair. I want to be normal for once, just to experience what it is like to have friends for a change.” Luz said while wiping away the tears that started to form in her eyes. She pushed away her plate. Stood up and mumbled about going to her room to get ready before leaving the dining hall.Walking up the stairs to her tower, she thought to herself. ‘This isn’t fair at all. Why do other people get to do normal things like hanging out with friends. Heck, I don’t even HAVE friends. The closest thing I have to a friend is Kikimora, and she’s just the person responsible of caring for me throughout the day. I didn’t even do anything wrong! Why would they try to kill me? I understand that there’s some people that doesn’t like my father. And I am the princess, so it would make sense to target me to get to him.’ She opened her door and walked into her bedroom. It was very large for a room on top of a tower. The room had a big brown carpet that covered the entire floor. Her bed was on the far side of the room, the bed was massive, it could easily have five people on it with room to spare. Not that it ever had anyone other than her on it that is. The room was sparsely decorated. There was a few posters of the good witch Azura on the one wall. She had a few beanbags in the one corner, surrounded by bookshelves chock full of books, as it was one of the only ways she could connect with the outside world through the perspective of a normal person. One wall was covered in windows from ceiling to floor, all of which could act like doors and open up to allow access to the balcony that overlooked Bonesburrow. She often spent nights lounging on the balcony on one of the beanbags that she dragged outside, looking up at the stars or at the flickering lights of the Nightmarket and the parties in the square. She often wished that she could join them. On another side of her room was a door that led into her bathroom and by extension her closet. Next to the door was where she stored all her training equipment. All her swords, bows, axes, suits of armour, and her magic related things. Like her staff, her cape, mask and all the books which she used to study.A knock on the door broke her train of thoughts. “Princess, may I come in?” It was Kikimora. She probably came to ensure that I was presentable for the parade. “Come in!” Luz called, to which the demoness opened the door and came inside. She walked over to Luz’s closed and went inside. After a few moments she came out with a dress in her hands. “Come Princess, we need to get you dressed. The parade’s soon you know.” Seeing luz’s face, she sighed. “I know it’s hard my child. I understand why you are upset. You know why your father does what he does. he does it out of love, so please don’t be too harsh towards him. But tell you what, I’ll talk to him. It is high time you had some friends of you own age, don’t you think? Now come, time is short” Luz was overjoyed, she stepped towards the small demoness and picked her up in a big hug. “thank you, thank you, thank you!” She said while spinning Kikimora around like a child would a doll. ________________ The streets were absolutely packed with people. It was after all, one of the biggest events of the year. Even though nobody knew what the princess looked like under her mask. A mask that looked just like any other coven mask, except that this one was silver and had a golden halo on top to signify that she was royalty. They loved her, for she was a very kind person. Even though she rarely appeared in public except for occasions such as these. She always helped people in need. She donated to the orphanage, she visits the hospital sometimes to check on some of the patients and much more. So regardless, she was loved by the general public. As Luz sat in her carriage, she looked around at all the people around her, and wished for the umpteenth time that day that she could join them in their partying.Her father sat next to her, waving at the people in the streets. “Luz, you should wave back at the people, it is only common courtesy. You don’t want to appear rude do you?”“Sorry dad, I was just a bit distracted.” As the time wore on and they passed through the main plaza, she spotted a green haired witch that was looking at her with awe written all across her face. Luz found her very interesting. She was standing with a group of girls, all of them wearing the uniform of Hexide. There was a pink haired triclops girl standing next to her, looking down at her scroll, seemingly engrossed with something on the screen and completely oblivious to her surroundings. The girl with the mint hair used her elbow to poke the triclops girl in her side, causing her to look up. She immediately spotted the princess staring at them.With a cocky smile she waved at the princess and blew her a kiss, causing Luz to roll her eyes under her mask. She kept looking at the green haired girl who opted for a nervous smile and a blush while shyly waving at her. ‘Interesting… I need to find out more about that green haired girl. I’ll ask Kikimora about her later.’ Luz thought as she turned around to face the front of the carriage and continued to wave to the audience, willing for this parade to be over so that she could go talk to the demoness in private. ______________ Later that evening, Luz pulled the demoness aside as they were heading to the dining hall for supper.“Kikimora, I need to talk to you for a second.” “What seems to be the problem princess?” Kikimora asked, turning to face Luz. “Well… Today at the parade. I saw this girl that caught my interest. I was wondering If you could tell me more about her?” Luz asked with a hopeful tone in her voice. “That is, if you want to.” Kikimora sighed. “Luz dear, you know you don’t have to ask me for permission. It is my duty as your caretaker to serve you. What does this girl look like if I may ask?” “Well, she had mint green hair and a Hexide uniform on… Oh! She’s in the abomination track.” “Ah… That would be Amity Blight you saw. She is the youngest of the Blight household. Coincidently you are the same age as her.” “Could you tell me what she is like?” Luz inquired with a pout on her face. “Please?” The demoness was quiet for a few seconds, pondering the question. Finally after what felt like forever she answered. “Well, Luz. According to lady Lilith, she is a very bright and talented young witch. She excels in her school work and is very popular as a result.” “How does Lilith know that?” “Well, she is lady Lilith’s apprentice. She goes to the Blight manor few times a week to train her. I’ll tell you what, when I have had a talk to your father about you being allowed to have friends. I’ll ask Lilith to bring Amity here the next time she goes to train her, so that you can meet her and decide if you like her. Does that sound good to you Princess?” Luz nodded eagerly and said. “Thank you Kikimora, I don’t know what I would do without you!” And then promptly ran into the dining hall towards her father, leaving the demoness in the hall. Kikimora calmly followed the princess towards the Emperor. ‘I have a lot to discuss with lord Belos tonight. I better start thinking about how I’m going to convince him to allow this… don’t worry Princess, I won’t fail you. My only hope is that you get along with that Blight girl.’ ________________ AUTHORS NOTES Right. This is a new fanfic I have been planning for a while now. I know that this first chapter is very very short. But it’s only a sort of introduction. The next one will be much longer, as will the rest. But for now this is the “pilot” chapter for The Light Of My Life, which will contain a lot of fluff, angst and hurt. Be prepared for a bumpy ride, as things get dark later in this fic. Chapter 2 The meeting Authors notes at the end of the chapter. But firstly, I want to clear some things up that I feel you should know in order to further enjoy this fic. Firstly. In this AU both Amity and Luz are older than they are in the series, about 17 years of age. There will be a lot of OOC ness from the characters as I will write them as I see fit for this story. Ok, let the fic commence! ________________________ She wades through the crowd So timidly Careful, shy, I wish She’d only realize The sight of her Just made my day ________________________ AMITY’S POV. Knock knock knock. Amity sighs, rolls over and pulls her pillow over her head. Knock knock knock “Mittens! You’re going to be late!” “Hmmm… just five more minutes….” Amity mumbled, finally stirring from her sleep. She didn’t feel like getting out of bed today, after all, it’s Saturday today.” She heard her door opening and two pairs of feet approaching. “Aaamityyy…. Waaake uuup… your gonna miss your date with the princess if you don’t get up soon.” Emira, her sister, said in a sing song voice. Amity shot up in her bed, wide awake in the blink of an eye. She couldn’t believe that she forgot something so important. She had a meeting with the Emperor and the princess today. She blushed bright red. “Emira! It’s not a date! I have simply been summoned that’s all. This is the PRINCESS your talking about, do you want to get petrified?” “Oh relax. She can’t hear me. Anyways, you my dear sister, need to get changed. Mother is expecting you downstairs soon, isn’t that right Ed?” Edric nodded his head in agreement and said. “Right you are sister. Come, we need to go get ready as well.” In a theatrical voice. To which Emira rolled her eyes and followed him out of the room, leaving Amity alone with her thoughts. Begrudgingly she got up out of her bed. She walked into her bathroom to prepare for the day and froze in front of the mirror. She looked awful, her hair looked like something tried to make a nest in it and she could see the lines of dried drool across one of her cheeks. I can’t look like this in front of the princess, she would immediately send me away. I can absolutely not take that chance. I need to look my best today if I want to have a chance of her taking a liking to me, now where’s my hairbrush? She dug through the drawers of her dresser in search of her hair brush and make-up. When she finally found it she smiled with glee. This is the best quality products on the Boiling Isles, it’s sure to impress the princess. Now all that I have to do is get ready. _______________ After completing her morning routine, Amity smiled at herself in the mirror. Her hair was nice and straight, combed out in her usual style, she put on her usual make-up and a little bit of blush. After all, if she wanted to impress the princess she should make herself look natural. Looking in the mirror one last time to make sure that everything was indeed as it was supposed to be, she finally went downstairs to get breakfast. Walking Into the dining room she spotted her parents and siblings in their usual places, so she took a seat across from her mother and lade food onto her plate. Her mother looked up at her, cleared her throat and began to speak. “Amity dear, today is a very important day for the Blight household. You have the honor of not only meeting the Emperor, but also to meet the princess in person. As you know, that is not an honour many people have received. You better not disappoint me.” “Yes mother. I am aware of the importance of today’s meeting, I plan to do everything in my power to impress the princess.” Amity said while eating her breakfast. She was fully aware of how big of an opportunity today was, and she was determined not to waste it. “I hope you remember that Amity. If you disappoint me today the consequences will be dire. Now that that is out of the way, I urge you to finish up so that we can be on our way.”Amity nodded and quickly finished up her food, stood up and made her way to the carriage waiting to take her to the Emperors castle. After all it was just her that was invited. ___________ On her way to the castle Amity began to panic. What if the princess didn’t like her? What if she accidently offended her by saying the wrong thing? The list goes on and on. She began to worry about what she was to say to her and how she should act. Does she look her in the eyes, or should she look at the floor. Should she kneel when talking to her or should she keep standing. It was a well-known fact that the princess was a very generous person when in public, but when challenged or disrespected bad things tended to happen to the people responsible. It was not the princess that those things, but rather the guards that always surrounded her or in some extreme cases the Emperor himself. Amity did not want to be one of those people that winded up dead because she accidently did something that was seen as disrespectful, so she would be very cautious around the princess for now. Till she could get closer to her that is, because Amity Blight had a HUGE crush on the princess of the Boiling Isles. In fact, it could be called an obsession.She would do anything for the princess and it was Amity’s mission to get noticed by her. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of large gears turning outside. It turns out that the green haired girl was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not even notice when they arrived.When the drawbridge was fully lowered the carriage began to make its way into the castle. The carriage came to a stop in front of two massive doors that was flanked by half a dozen guards in full uniform. Amity climbed out of the carriage and walked up to the doors, which opened at the orders of one of the guards, and walked into the bowels of the castle to go and meet the princess and hopefully gain her full attention. ____________ She arrived in front of the doors that led into the throne room and stopped to take a breath and psyche herself up for what she was about to do. She was about to see the princess…. oh gosh…. It’s only now downing on her that this is it, it was now or never and she only had one chance. She took a deep breath, calming herself. After all, it’s too late to turn back now. All she could do was hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. “Miss Blight, the Emperor will see you now.” One of the guards standing next to the doors said before the doors were opened. There, at the far side of the chamber, on a raised dais, sat the Emperor on his throne. Right next to him, on a smaller throne, sat the Princess. Amity calmly walked up to the dais, although she was very nervous on the inside, and dropped into a deep bow at the foot of the stairs leading up to the dais. “Amity Blight. I see that you have responded to the summons, a wise choice.” Emperor Bellos said with a deep husky voice, tapping his nails periodically on the arm of his throne. “Of course your majesty, it is my honor to be before you.” Amity said, trying to sound as sincere as she could be, which was not that hard considering the fact that she was practically vibrating from excitement at this point. The Emperor stood up and she felt a heavy presence push down on her. “I have called for you at the wishes of my daughter, the Princess. It is not my place to reveal to you why you are here. All that you have to know is that if you were to harm her in any way, or reveal her identity to anyone outside of this room there will be dire consequences for both you, and your family. Do you understand me?” “Yes my Emperor. I will do everything in my power to keep your daughter’s identity a secret and protect her with my life.” “Hmm…. I hold you to that promise. Now then. Luz, you may have her and do as you wish. I will not keep you here any longer.” At those words the Emperor vanished in a whirlwind of flames, leaving only Amity and the now named princess- Luz, behind. Luz stood up out of her throne and descended the dais and walked passed the mint haired girl to the doors leading out of the throne room.She paused in the doorway and looked at Amity who was still bowed, and said in a light voice. “Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come with me?” before turning away and walking out of the room. Amity quickly stood up straight and rushed out of the room to follow the Princess with a smile on her face. ________________________   Authors notes:Right, so. Umm sorry for the short chapter (again), I promise it will get longer. I just felt that this would be a good place to stop for now. I also promise that the fic will get faster after a few chapters. The first few chapters are for setting the ground works for the fic, so the pace is slow.

Mature

Sitting on the coffee table sat 5 wooden creatures. None of them moved, nor showed any particular sign of doing so. With a slight tap and a wobble of the wooden cardinal, Hunter nearly gave himself a heart attack when the bird rolled around the glass table, nearly falling onto the floor. Catching Flapjack with his hand, he brought the palisman up to his lap, cradling it in his hands. In some sort of pathetic desperation, they had all subconsciously agreed to keep the palismen within view, in some hope that they’d suddenly spring to life. Hunter was no exception in this shared desire, feeling stark loneliness without the Flapjack constantly by his side as he had been before. Despite only knowing the bird for, what, perhaps a week or two? It felt like losing an old friend. But, he set Flapjack back down to his place in the row between Clover and Ghost, a quiet sigh escaping him as he turned back to the book he had laid beside him. The only book that Hunter was able to find even nearly appealing in Luz’s collection of fiction novels: was a historical fiction she had “accidentally stolen from her 7th-grade teacher before she quit.” None of that made particular sense, but at least the book offered a bit of escapism--even if the human jargon often rendered it completely incomprehensible. The book was from the point of view of some sort of Godly entity. They spoke of humans as outside of their realm of existence and often spoke directly to the reader in a way that simultaneously broke away and drew him into the book. It was something that would carry you to the afterlife. The model sounded a lot like a reaper; a very rare creature from the boiling isles that manifested as an omen of death. Granted, the only person that could see this omen was the person slated to die. Directly before their death, these creatures are known to communicate with the dying witch, but with the whole thing revolving around death, there was very little credible evidence of what the creatures ever said.   Though, it seems as if “afterlife” in human terms may have a different meaning, the narrator is never explicit on what that definition was, which took its toll of frustration on him. He attempted to ask Luz, but her response was very… Luz. It didn’t make all that much sense, not to mention he was somewhat sure she was bullshitting him.   It was frustrating to not understand what he was reading, even though the actual words weren’t difficult to comprehend. It was like the book held all the tools necessary to glean a meaning via context clues, but he had no context to work with.   Hunter flipped the page, the tenses shifting from she and he to I and we. It was again their point of view.   “Far away, fires were burning and I had picked up just over two hundred murdered souls.”   Souls were mentioned a lot in this book.    Hunter grumbled, unwilling to attempt to use Luz again as a human interpreter, considering her track record. Standing from the couch, he made his way to the doorway of the kitchen, peeking his head through to see Camila, working on cooking breakfast for the six of them. Entering fully, he lightly brushed off his borrowed shirt, awkwardly addressing her by the insisted, “Camila?”   She jumped slightly, placing her hand against her heart as she turned around to greet him, a small smile on her face, “Dios Mio, Hunter you scared me.”   “Oh--Um, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that, I was just…uh…” Hunter faltered, shifting the book in his hand around his body. Despite how amiable and kind Luz’s mother had appeared to be to them all, Hunter couldn’t help but lean towards distrust and doubt in this situation.    There was a lot to account for, even when people are nice.   “Oh, it's fine.” Camila brushes it with a swat of her hand as she turns back around to the sizzling pan, “What’s wrong?”   Hunter takes a deep breath in, “Well, this book--it mentions people’s ‘soul’ a lot--the speaker talks about collecting them from different humans who die in some way.” He pauses, “It doesn’t seem to matter what the manner of death is, I don’t think. It doesn’t seem to have a form or specific lore about it which makes it really confusing--especially because the narrator just picks them up and ‘brings them to the afterlife.’” adding air quotes to his phrase, he pauses again, furrowing his brows before continuing, “Which doesn’t make much sense given the afterlife isn’t a place as much of a state of being. Someone is living out their afterlife not being in the afterlife which legitimately doesn’t make any sense. We aren’t in life--” he brings his hand up to his head, simmering down slightly when Camila turns her head to look at him, “Well, of course, I guess it could just mean something different to humans, that too…” and so his word vomit trailed off.   She nods with a smile, emphasizing the reality that Hunter had gone on much too long without being stopped, “So you want to know what I think a soul is?”   The tips of his ears felt hot, “Y-yeah.”   “Hmm,” Camila looked towards the ceiling, taking her time to contemplate her answer before delivering. Eventually, her head fell back down and she spoke, “The definition of a soul is honestly a little subjective,” Oh, lovely, “but I think a soul is what gives us life; and not just life itself.” She placed the last egg on the last plate, picking it up to begin setting the table, “Like yesterday when Luz started that prank war against Willow.”   Hunter remembers all too well. Coming in from helping Willow plant the new seeds Camila had bought for Willow’s new little starter garden. The back door was slightly ajar, which seemed out of place, but given he was fetching something for Willow, and he was rushing, his guard had been down aaand… a bucket of water fell on him and drenched him in the doorway. Luz was right then and there reverted back to ‘Human.’   “You kept shouting that you were going to,” Camila cleared her throat, deepening her voice, “Kill that stupid human once you got ahold of her!” Letting out a laugh, she placed the plate down gesturing to the counter.   He followed along, taking two plates in either hand, face red as a beet. At the very least, he thanked the titan she was far enough away to be spared from having witnessed him bust ass when his foot slipped out from under him due to his soaked boots. His lower back still had a dull ache from that fall.   “You weren’t actually going to kill her, of course, and…” For a moment, her expression faltered, “Luz was the happiest I’ve seen her since… Well, since you all arrived here.” Camila stopped what she was doing to sigh. The smile on her face looked more tired than it did before, especially when she met Hunter’s eyes, “The fun people can have, the amount that they care for each other--when they're at their best and their worst. That’s having a soul. A soul is all of those moments, good or bad.”   He almost understood her explanation, but it did little to help him understand the context of his book. If a soul was moments, how could it be held and promised things? If having a soul was having those things, then what kind of person doesn’t have a soul?   He was new to having those kinds of moments with others. Did that mean he was gaining a soul? Did he have one at all? The thought made his stomach drop, but he couldn’t quite place why.   Hunter responded stiffly but politely, nodding as he set down the final plate against the table. Camila resumed gathering what they needed, and the room descended into an odd silence. While not completely comfortable, it wasn’t nearly comforting. Hovering somewhere in between, it was succinctly broken by footsteps arriving at the kitchen doorway.   “Mornin’” Luz stood in the doorway, yawning as she acknowledged both of them. Sniffing the air, her tired eyes lit up as they fell on the table, “Oh my god pancakes, Yes!”   “G’Morning.” “Morning Mija, take Hunter and wake everyone else up, will you?”   “Got it!” As quick as Luz entered, so too did she exit with Hunter, dragging him from the kitchen. He gave a sharp groan in protest as she nearly toppled him sprinting up the stairs.   “It’s not the Covlympics, Human, slow down--”   “Human this human that came up with a better insul-- oh my god you have witch Olympics? No-No! Focus Luz,” Luz took her hand from his, slapping her cheeks, “Pancakes.”   Hunter snatched his hand back, rolling his eyes as she opened the door into the room. The bunk bed was full, Vee sleeping on the top bunk and Amity on the bottom. A small air mattress held Willow and Gus, Willow damn-near kicking Gus off the mattress with how little space Gus had and how easily she could connect her foot with his torso. Luz, fortunately, went the peaceful route as she bent down towards Amity, beginning to poke her cheek softly. Hunter made his way over to Gus and Willow, placing his hand against the captain's shoulder and lightly pushing her.   “Captain.”   Garnering all but a grunt from that, he gave her a slightly more intense shake along with a louder whisper. After a moment, and another softer noise, her eyes fluttered open. With a smile, she pushed herself up from the bed, rubbed her eyes, and instantaneously wobbled the mattress just enough to cause Gus to topple off the bed, echoing a harsh thunk throughout the room.   “Oh Titan, Gus? I’m so sorry, are you okay?”   Gus was quick to respond with a resounding thumbs up as he sluggishly pulled himself off the ground, sitting cross-legged as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, proudly announcing, “I prepared for this! Luckily there was a safety blanket to cushion my fall.”   “Still sounded like it hurt to me.” Amity groggily stood up offering her hand to the seated Luz.   Well, at least it woke everyone.   “S’Okay.” Luz took Amity’s hand as Vee, too hopped down from the top bunk in her half Luz-half Basilisk form, “Hunter will carry the injured, let us set off, my dear Sweet Potato! To: pancakes.” Luz was quick to giggle along with Amity at her joke, tugging her girlfriend out the door. Vee followed quite awkwardly after them, glancing back at the trio before sprinting behind them.   All that mushiness was practically suffocating. It had been hard enough being around the two for short spurts of time. Now he was there for everything. Euck. Looking back at the two remaining, he motioned with his head to the door, “Camila made pancakes.”   Gus shared a look with Willow, who returned a nod. Hunter could only respond by furrowing his brows as Gus dramatically flopped against the ground, moaning loudly and dramatically placing the back of his hand against his forehead, “I’m injured!” he cried, “You’ll really make an injured man walk?”   Hunter blinked, wasting barely a moment before he bent down with an overly worried expression, “Wait, actually? Are you okay?” He attempted to look for injuries but there certainly couldn’t be any visible ones from a fall like that. But it could still cause a variety of different head injuries had he fallen in the right way-- “Does your head hurt? Are you dizzy?”   “So dizzy! I don’t think I could even stand--let alone walk--But alas, no pancakes for Gus.”    “O-Oh, I could probably carry you, like she said.” Hunter awkwardly turned around, “Here,” allowing Gus to climb on his back. He heard a stifled noise sound from Willow, which he could only assume was a giggle.   Standing, he took a few steps, before suddenly stopping in his tracks.   “Uh, Hunter?”   “Y’know, actually, I read something recently that human pancakes are, like, really bad for head injuries. Maybe you should just rest instead!” Hunter made a show of putting him back down on the air mattress, attempting to tuck him in and all. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the captain grinning, making his little petty show all more worth it.   “So you’ll just stay up here; the captain and I will head down for pancakes.” He turned around to walk out, rubbing salt in the wound with a cheery, “Hope you feel better~!”   “Wait- no, a-actually--” Gus hopped up, tapping his head with his fist, “I’m already feeling better, must’ve just needed to stand up and get the blood back to my head, haha!” Gus ran to be by the other two, earning a smug chuckle from the captain, which prompted Gus’ forceful smile to turn into a pouty frown. Looks like his plan backfired.   An overly awed “Wow!” was the only thing Hunter responded with, a shit-eating grin plastered to his face as they all ventured down to the kitchen. He wasn’t some gullible idiot, nor was he going to carry a perfectly able-bodied witch down one half-flight of stairs. Though, he couldn’t deny that slight twinge of worry that had certainly plagued him for a moment after Gus’ outburst.   As the trio arrived at the table, the rest were nearly finished with their food, talking about something Hunter couldn’t care to listen to. As they sat down, the group began their daily discussion about ways to learn more about a route to get back to the demon realm, as usual coming up with near nothing, awkwardly and depressingly tapering off the conversation as no new ideas sprouted up. Eventually, each person individually would find an excuse to leave, retreating to an activity that would distract them from the unfortunate situation they were all placed in. Willow was first off, heading to the backyard to tend her little garden, Luz was next, inviting Amity out to the library down the street, Vee offered to clean up the breakfast and started promptly doing so once everyone had agreed (Hunter ever-so-reluctantly), which left only Gus and Hunter, sitting at the table as they finished their food in silence.   “I think we’ll find something soon.”   “Hm?”   Gus gave a small smile, but didn’t look up from his plate, “We’ll find something that’ll help us soon. I just have a hunch.” he stood, taking his plate up to Vee before heading out of the kitchen.   Looking down at his plate, most of the food was relatively untouched, having been overly preoccupied with the conversation. Or, at least, that’s what Hunter was trying to tell himself it was. Or anxiety over their predicament, that upset his stomach and made it hard to eat.    It had nothing to do with what lay under his glove, the red, shiny sore that had recently begun forming a horribly painful black bruise in the middle. Or how those sores had begun to form throughout his body, progressing worse and worse each day they remained here. Or how he always seemed to be tired, sleeping much more than he ever had, yet garnering worse dark circles than before he even met Luz. None of these things were to be concerned about, because Gus was right, they were going to find something. He just had to trust them. It was just some sort of illness. Maybe a human one. It would go away with time.   Hunter stood, taking his plate to the humming Vee after scraping off the majority of the prepared breakfast. He felt like utter shit for doing so, but it felt better than admitting how little he had eaten. Venturing into the living room, he looked towards the table. On it, five wooden palismen sat, unmoving, and unresponsive. Hunter picked Flapjack up again, suddenly missing every time the little cardinal would tug at his ear or hair, giving him advice or encouraging him to do the right thing. He brought him close to his chest, sighing, and set him down on the table again. As he did, little flurries of wood fell from somewhere, coating the floor in shavings. There were even some on his shirt. With a confused look, Hunter again picked up Flapjack, inspecting all around the palismen.   The wood was darker. When he pressed his finger against the spot, it dropped bigger specs of wood onto the table, creating a small crater in the wooden figure.   The wood was rotting. Flapjack was rotting.   Filled with a sudden crushing feeling, Hunter lost his grip on him, fumbling the little bird out of his hand. He barely caught him before his breathing swiftly became erratic, forcing him to set down Flapjack as his hands began to shake. Shooting sensations of hot and cold ran up and down his spine as his mind raced with the rationale of why this was happening.   What’s going on? Hunter checked on Ghost, flipping the palismen around. He nearly swiped off the cat's ear when he ran his finger along its head. It's happening to all of them. They’re all rotting. All of them are rotting. Flapjack-- Why? Why???   He crumpled down to the ground, gripping his head in his hands.   “This doesn’t make any sense.” his own voice sounded foreign in his ears, high and shaky, “This shouldn’t be happening, why is this happening? Palismen can’t rot I know this I researched them, I--”   Hunter’s voice hitched as his breathing became too ragged. Hyperventilating, Palistrom wood doesn’t rot. Palistrom wood doesn’t rot. Palismen can’t die unless there’s a witch involved. This shouldn’t be happening, this cannot be happening. I can’t lose Flapjack. I can’t!   Someone said his name. He felt a hand on his back.   I’m going to lose the first friend I ever had--   “Hunter, are you okay? Hey, hey let's pause, let's breathe okay?”   And I can’t even do anything to help--   It was the captain. She practically shoved her hand in his face. It grounded him just enough to look towards her, “You need to calm down. Breathe, like Gus said!” She counted up to four, she counted down. At first, he couldn’t stop how quickly he was breathing, but holding his breath for four, in, out… “Are you okay?”   Hunter remained silent, staring down at his gloves.   Wood shavings littered them now, having handled all of them as he checked for soft spots. It was only wood shavings, but for some reason, it disgusted him. His mind wandered even as Willow sat there with him. Does it hurt? He carefully began picking the wood from the gloves.   “...” Willow followed his gaze, remaining silent. She wouldn’t guess unless she looked at the palismen. Please don’t look, “We can talk about it later if you want.”   He grunted in response, but it seems his stomach didn’t quite agree with the sentiment. Standing up suddenly, he ran down to the bathroom, falling beside the toilet.   Pancakes aren’t black and crunchy, so why were the contents of his stomach?

Teen And Up Audiences

Her feet pounded the wet pavement as she bolted down the sidewalk through the pouring rain. Behind her, she could hear voices calling her name- probably Edric and Emira, chasing after her.    Tears mixed with the rain sliding down her cheeks, both stinging and soothing the raised red welt she could already feel growing on her face. ~   ~“This is unacceptable, Amity. How could you do this?! Detention?! Do you really hate your father and I so much that you would tarnish the Blight name in such a way?!”    Tears welled up in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to!”    “I didn’t mean to,” her mother sneered. “Enough with the excuses, Mittens. I can’t stand to hear them anymore.”    A sudden burst of anger sprang to the surface and she exclaimed, “I can’t stand to hear this anymore!”   There was an icy pause before her mother spoke again. “Excuse me?”    She should have stopped then and she knew it, but something inside of her just…broke. A wave of bottled up emotion broke loose, releasing a pent-up storm of anger and hurt. “I can’t stand to keep hearing these…these awful things you say to me! About how much I disappoint you, and how I can’t do anything right, and how awful of a daughter I am. All you ever tell me is how much I disgrace the family name!”    Her mother opened her mouth to speak, but Amity cut her off. “If that’s what it means to be a part of the Blight family, I don’t want to be-“   Her mother’s hand came down hard and fast against her face. She reeled, stunned, and fell back against the arm of the couch. Odalia glared coldly down at her daughter, clutching her cheek.    “Very well. Then I suppose you won’t be.”    Amity’s heartbeat rose up to a crescendo, then dropped again. She hesitated, then spun on her heel before her mother could stop her and bolted out the door.~ Now she continued running through the pelting rain, ignoring the cries of her siblings. Impulsively, she took a quick turn into the forest bordering her neighborhood in an attempt to lose her siblings. Her foot caught on a root and she fell hard to her knees. But she got back up almost quicker than she fell and and continued running.   She wasn’t sure exactly why she was running, nor where she was running to for that matter. All she knew was that she had to get away, just for a little while.    Up ahead, she spotted a broken down old house- and maybe she hit her head when she fell, because she could have sworn that she saw a figure cloaked in white, slipping through the creaky door and out of sight.    Still, she didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go.   Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she picked up her pace and frantically slammed through the door. And then-  She was falling. ~ Amity tumbled head over heels down the hill that the house had inexplicably dumped her out into. Roots and branches scraped her face and her already aching ankle screamed in protest. She covered her head with her arms in an attempt to protect herself, with her efforts only earning her more scrapes on her forearms and elbows.    Abruptly, she crashed into something that’d she’d later realize was a tent. A wall of canvas swallowed her, effectively stopping her fall. Amity flailed about awkwardly, attempting to extricate herself from the dense fabric.    A deep, raspy voice froze her in her tracks. The words were unintelligible, but the tone sounded like nothing she’d ever heard before- a gravely, low voice that sounded almost…inhuman.    Suddenly, something large grasped her by the back of the shirt. She screamed and attempted to break free, but instead found herself face-to-face with some sort of…monster.    The creature was lumpy and bulbous, with papery yellowing skin and three large eyes. Its head was studded with empty eye sockets, and its long tongue occasionally swept up to lick at them. As she stared in horror, its tongue wrapped around the eyeball farthest up its forehead and, with a sickening squelch, pulled it free and popped it into its mouth.    Amity screamed again. She felt lightheaded, as though she was going to pass out. Please, please tell me this is a nightmare, please.    The creature raised one finger and touched her cheek curiously with the tip of a ragged fingernail. Amity whimpered a little. Then, a thought occurred to her. If I could just get them to drop me…   Ignoring the wave of bile that rose into her throat at the thought, she twisted her head and bit down hard on the monster’s finger. It wailed, dropping her instinctively in favor of cradling its injured hand, and Amity bolted out the door of the tent and down the street.    As soon as she cleared the tent flaps, however, she immediately regretted it.    The cobblestone street was lined with stalls, each with a merchant peddling odd wares. Amity could see one sign that advertised potions, another that sold amulets, and still a third that claimed to sell cursed objects of all kinds.    The truly horrifying part, however, was the merchants themselves. Not a one looked even remotely human, though they certainly didn’t all look alike. Some had several eyes, while others had none at all. Some had pink skin, some blue, and she even spotted one the color of freshly mowed grass. Many had awful, terrifyingly sharp teeth- perfectly for eating terrified human girls.    And almost all of their heads (or, in the case of a few, one or two of their multiple) were turned towards her.    Amity froze for a moment. Then, something small buzzed by her face (a fairy?), effectively snapping her out of her trance.    She fled, zigzagging around the many arms that grabbed at her as she raced down the street. Behind her, she heard voices clamoring over eachother.  “Is that what I think it is?” “A human?” “A human girl!” “A human girl? In the Boiling Isles? How?”    Amity whimpered and forced her legs to pump faster. Whatever it is they wanted with her, an apparent oddity here, she was fairly sure she didn’t want any part in it.    Scanning the streets frantically for a way out, she spotted an alley to the side and dove for it. She leapt over a set of crates and ducked under a set of hanging laundry, feeling incredibly grateful for her years of rugby training. Behind her, multiple sets of footsteps thundered down the alleyway.   Then, ahead of her, she spotted something that made her heart drop. A brick wall, solid and unforgiving and looming directly ahead of her.    Amity felt her eyes fill with terrified tears. She’d run right into a dead end. Then, just as she was about to give up hope, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.    Through a gap in between buildings, she could see a tangle of bushes. Without stopping to think, she lunged into the narrow space, wriggling down into the brush. She curled into a ball, making herself as small as possible. In the alley she’d come from, she heard the footsteps stop.  Amity held her breath. Ahead, voices began to murmur.    “Where’d she go?” one creature growled.   “Did she fly away?” another chirped.    “Don’t be stupid, humans can’t fly,” a third voice snarled. “I think she ran into the forest. Come on, this way. If we hurry, we can still catch up to her.”    The first voice gulped. “No way. That’s where the Raven Lady lives. We don’t go there.”  The third voice snorted. “Seriously? You’re not willing to step foot in the entire forest because of that witch?”  The second voice cut in again. “I’m not. I won’t risk stepping onto her land, even on accident. You heard the rumors of what she did to those Coven Guards who came a’knocking, didn’t you?”    The third voice snorted again, but there was much less bravado to it. “Whatever. Let’s go.”    The footsteps faded away back where they came from, and Amity let out a sigh of relief. After a few minutes, she dared to get up and examine her surroundings- or what little of them she could see, anyway.    The forest was dark and gloomy. Above her, a twisted mess of branches and foliage blocked out the light- while beneath her feet, moss squished and squelched with her movements. She took a cautious step and to her surprise, the moss beneath her feet lit up as she walked.    Amity gasped. She took another step, then another. Each time, glowing pollen rose up to meet her footfalls. She giggled in amazement, daring to try a little hop. The pollen exploded into the air and she twirled in a little circle, basking in the warm glow.    She was jerked back to reality, however, when she noticed the pollen clinging to her shirt. Frantically, she tried to wipe it off, but the pollen refused to be brushed away.    “No, no no…” Amity muttered. She swiped at it again, but the glowing pollen wouldn’t budge. Amity groaned. “Mom’s going to kill me…”    Then, she looked around again and gulped. Now that the brief moment of euphoria was over, the forest looked a lot scarier than before.    Mom’s going to kill me if something else doesn’t get me first, she thought grimly.    Amity gritted her teeth. Like it or not, she had to find a way back. Resignedly, she began to walk. At first, she thought she was headed vaguely in the direction of the tent that had taken her there. After about half an hour of walking, however, she tried a different direction. Then after another hour, she tried a third.    After several more hours and several more wrong turns, Amity had to admit she was lost. She sighed and sat down on a nearby log to rest, feeling hopeless. How was she supposed to find her way home from here? She had no idea what world she was in, much less where in the world she was.    But is home really any better? An ugly voice inside of her piped up.   She buried her face in her hands. Despite her best attempts to stop them, tears began sliding down her cheeks. When had this happened? When did a horrifying fantasy world become better than home? When did her own mother become lumped in with those demons?  A soft hiss interrupted her thoughts. Amity jumped, looking around for some kind of three-headed, viper-spitting snake monster. Then, as she swung her head around frantically, another drop of rain hit the log next to her, sizzling and hissing as it hit the moss.    She stared, stunned. Then, as she processed, a third drop fell and landed on her shoulder. She shrieked and jumped away in pain.    The rain was literally boiling hot.                 Amity gasped. She glanced up and saw a layer of dark clouds above.    She started to run, covering her head in vain. Steaming drops splattered against her head and arms, water soaking through the holes in her clothes. Hot, sharp bolts of pain came from all over her body as she ran, desperately trying to get out of the rain.   She burst through a tangle of branches and found herself in a clearing. On one side, a cliff overlooked a roiling purple ocean. On the other, she could see a tower looming overhead.    Directly in front of her, there was a house, dead in the center of the clearing. It was tall and white, with a blue shingled roof and a blue-and-green stained glass window that looked uncomfortably like an eye. Amity bolted for it, desperate for some kind of shelter. Desperately, she pounded on the door.  The door opened its eyes.    “Ow! You didn’t have to be that rough. Jeez. Hoot.” The door complained. Amity stared, torn between hysterical screaming and hysterical laughter. What she’d originally mistaken for some sort of bird-shaped knocker was alive and talking. It slithered out like some sort of long, feathery snake, examining her.    “Whoaaaa! A new friend, hoot hoot!”    It coiled around her like a python. Amity whimpered, trying to squirm away. “No, no no…”    The bird-worm thing gave what seemed like a weird, twisted version of a smile. “Woooow.  Your ears are weird.”    It nudged at her face like a cat. Amity shoved uselessly at its feathery body. Suddenly, as she attempted to push it away, a drop of rain landed on her shoulder and she shrieked in pain. The bird creature noticed.   “Oh! You don’t like the rain!” It exclaimed.    Abruptly, the door swung open. The bird-worm swung her around and deposited her on the rug of a large, open living room. “There you are! Aaaaaaalllll better. You’re welcome, hoot!”   Before she could say anything (which may have been for the better), the door swung closed. There was no handle on the inside for her to pull open, even if she’d wanted to.    Amity went to sit up and observe her surroundings, but a sudden wave of exhaustion overtook her. She swayed dizzily, lowering herself back to the carpet. Her muscles ached, her ankle was throbbing, and the dozens of tiny burns peppering her body stung when they came into contact with the ground.    Maybe she could wait out the rain here. Maybe she was safe.    Amity closed her eyes. She didn’t want to fall asleep, necessarily, but surely it couldn’t hurt to just…rest. Just shut her eyes tight and try to block everything out, just for a little bit. Slowly, she felt her body beginning to relax a bit. Her breathing slowed and her mind began to sink into a dreamy sort of half-sleep.    And curled up there, drifting in and out of sleep as her body battled between exhaustion and caution, Amity Blight was much too far gone to hear the soft tap-tap-tap of footsteps approaching from upstairs. ~   “Hooty? What in the name of the Titan was all that racket?” There was no answer from downstairs. She frowned, snapping shut the journal she’d been writing in.    “Hooty?”  Still no answer. Annoyed, she got to her feet and walked briskly down the hallway towards her stairs. Her cloak, which she’d absently wrapped around herself like some sort of blanket, unfurled at her heels, creating a rather satisfyingly dramatic air to her stride as she reached the staircase and headed down to her living room.     She paused cautiously as she reached the base of the stairs. After a quick scan of the room and the windows facing outside, she determined that nothing seemed to be amiss. A false alarm, then.    Lilith Clawthorne rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She loved Hootsifer, for certain, but honestly. Sometimes that bird got on her last nerve.    She sighed and headed for the front door, preparing to give her house demon a scolding. She’d been right in the middle of drafting a new potion recipe, and now she couldn’t remember it for the life of her. This, she couldn’t excuse.    However, halfway across her living room, her foot abruptly caught on something. She yelped, flailing her arms in a rather undignified way, and would have fallen hard on her face if Hooty hadn’t swung open just in time to catch her.    “I’ve got you, Lulu!” the bird demon crowed gleefully- a little too gleefully for her tastes. Never the less, Lilith straightened up and gave him a little pat on the head.    “Yes, thank you, Hootsifer. Now what in the Isles did I-”    She glanced down at her feet and yelped, staggering backwards so quickly that she nearly fell again. Her ever-loyal friend swung behind her to catch her again, using his body as a sort of sling to break her fall. This time, however, Lilith was far too preoccupied to thank him.    There was a skinny, unconscious teenage girl lying on her carpet. She looked to be around 14 or 15 years old, with chin-length brown hair and pale skin, and was soaked to the bone. Lilith could see several ragged tears in her clothing, with angry red burns peeking out from underneath.    She gaped for a second longer. Then, the realization dawned on her and she spun around to face Hooty.    “Hooty!” The bird-tube balked at her tone. “Is…everything ok, Lulu?”     She laughed in disbelief. “Is everything ok? Hooty, there’s an unconscious child on my carpet! Why in the world did you let her in?! How many times have I told you never to let anyone into the house?! What do I always tell you?”    Hooty shrank back, hanging his head ashamedly. “My job is to keep my best friend safe, and that means only she gets to let new friends in. I’m sorry, Lulu. She just was knocking pretty hard, and I don’t like the rain either, and I liked her funny round ears so I thought…”   Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, Hooty, you clearly didn’t think. Get her out of my house.”   “But Lulu…” Hooty glanced pitifully down at the girl. Lilith gave him a dangerous glare and he sighed reluctantly. “Ok, hoot hoot.”    He drooped down the floor sadly and picked the girl up. Ignoring his attempts at making sad, put-out faces at her as he sulked towards the doorway, Lilith turned and nudged at the wet spot on her carpet with her toes. She sighed in annoyance. She’d have to get it fire-cleaned. And she’d just had it done too.    Suddenly, something on the carpet caught her attention. She frowned, bending down to pick it up. It must have fallen out of the girl’s pocket.    The object was a small rectangle of metal, with a funny little eye on the back. She furrowed her brow, poking at the eye with one long-nailed finger. She could have sworn she’d seen something like this before, but where…?    She turned it around and poked it again. Suddenly, the front lit up in a brilliant blaze of blue light. Lilith yelped and dropped it, startled. When it didn’t set her house on fire, she picked it up again cautiously.    “What the…” She nudged the smooth, glassy front again and the blue glow returned. Lilith squinted in the light, trying to place it in her memory.    Her eyes widened.    That blue glow. The thing was a human object.    Then the girl…    She wheeled on her heel. “Hooty, STOP!”    Her house demon whirled around delightedly, hovering in the doorway. “She can stay, hoot hoot?!”    Frantically, Lilith ran towards him. “Her ears, Hooty. What did you say about her ears?”    “Oh, that they were funny and round-”   She cut him off. “Let me see.”   “Sure thing, hoot hoot!”   Hooty hauled the limp teenager towards her, stopping just above her. Before she could stop him, he uncoiled and deposited the girl right into her arms.    “Hooty!”     Lilith stumbled back, awkwardly cradling the girl against herself and oh, her clean dress…    She sighed defeatedly. When this whole mess was over with, she’d definitely be making a trip to the fire-cleaner’s.    Carefully so as to keep her balance, Lilith knelt on her filthy carpet. She eased the girl down next to her, setting her head gently down in her lap. Cautiously, she brushed a lock of the girl’s hair aside to reveal one very round, very human ear.    Lilith inhaled sharply.    Hooty, hovering next to her, gave her a curious look. “What’s wrong, Lulu?”    She sighed regretfully. “What’s wrong, Hootsifer, is that this girl is a human. Meaning she came through the door. Meaning she’s my responsibility.”    As of late, she’d been daring to make more and more trips to the human realm. It was rather dangerous, for sure, but the people of the Boiling Isles paid handsomely for human trinkets. She didn’t particularly understand the allure, but she was of the mindset of preferring not to ask questions.    This, however, was not a human novelty. This was an actual living, breathing human being.    And this, she had no idea how to deal with.    She squeezed her eyes closed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Perhaps if she closed her eyes and wished, this would all be a dream. She’d wake up in her armchair upstairs, having dozed off while drafting recipes, and would wander downstairs to tell Hooty about her odd, travel-induced dream. Perhaps she’d take a break from her little underground endeavors, focus on her potions business for awhile. Yes, that would do nicely.    She opened her eyes.    There was still a human girl in her lap.    Lilith Clawthorne groaned, tilting her face to the sky. She yelped when instead of her ceiling, she found herself nose-to-nose (beak?) with a certain very long house demon.    “Can we keep her, hoot hoot?”    She stared at Hooty in disbelief.   This was going to be a very long, very tiresome affair.~   Amity’s first thought when she awoke was that she’d overslept. She’d overslept, had an incredibly weird dream, and now her mother was going to kill her. Hastily, she scrambled out of bed, (and for some reason, her bed felt much larger than usual) leapt to her feet and-    She shrieked in pain and fell backwards. A stabbing pain shot through her from the ankle up. When she glanced down, tugging up the hem of her dress to get a peek at her foot, she saw that it had swollen drastically since she’d passed out. It hadn’t looked like that when she’d fallen, but then again, she’d done a lot of running around not long after.    But if that was true, then that meant…    Footsteps sounded down the hallway. Amity tensed, fear shooting up her spine. Memories of what the demons who’d been pursuing her had said flashed across her mind as the footfalls drew nearer.    That’s the Raven Lady’s territory. We don’t go there. You heard the rumors of what she did to those coven scouts who came a’knocking, didn’t you?   The door swung open.    “HOOT HOOT! Look who’s awake!”    Amity yelped.  The bird tube was back, diving through the doorway to swoop around her. “Hiya, hoot hoot!”    Amity batted him away, shrinking back onto the bed. “Wha- where- huh?!”    A soft cough from the doorway got her attention. Both girl and demon turned to look at the source.   Standing in the doorway was a pale woman, with long, dark hair and heterochromatic eyes- one gray, one startlingly green. Her glasses- round-rimmed and pristinely polished- were perched on pointy, almost cat like ears. She wore a long-sleeved blue and black dress, with a covering of star-speckled fabric that shimmered as she strolled into the room, and Amity could hear the soft tap of house shoes, the kind her mother insisted on her wearing.    “I see you’re awake.”    “I- yeah, I- um- yes, I am.” Amity stammered. The woman raised an eyebrow.    “That was more of a statement than a question, but very well.”    “Sorry! I’m sorry!” Amity blurted. She wasn’t sure why, but something about the woman commanded an air of respect. She felt ashamed of her outbursts, ashamed of her haste to speak. If she’d spoken that way to her mother…   The woman frowned. “Easy, now. No need to apologize.”    “Sorry! Er- sorry, I mean- I’m sorry for- augh!”    The woman looked increasingly confused as the sentence went on. Amity buried her face in her hands. “Oh god, I’m sorry.”    “I…well, I’m sorry if I startled you,” the woman said cautiously. “Though you are in my house, after all.”    Amity peeked at her again. Now that she looked, she could see that the woman’s hair wasn’t black, but in fact a dark, glossy shade of blue. Sort of like…   The pieces clicked in her mind.    “So…you’re…the Raven Lady?”   The Raven Lady wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. Are the masses still spreading that nickname?” She sighed distastefully. “But yes, I suppose I am. My name, however, is Lilith. Lilith Clawthorne.”    “And I’m Hooty!”   Ms. Clawthorne sighed exasperatedly. “Yes, Hooty. We know.” She turned to Amity and gave her a wry smile. “This is Hooty, also known as Hootsifer and my personal house demon.”    She waited expectantly, and Amity realized she was waiting for her to introduce herself. “Oh, uh, I’m Amity. Amity Blight. Nice to meet you…?”    She trailed off awkwardly. Her mother had always drilled decorum into her mind, but there was no etiquette training on what to do when you’re talking to a strange elf-like woman in a realm full of demons. Lilith Clawthorne seemed to pick up on her hesitancy and nodded briskly.    “Yes, well. The circumstances are quite odd, I understand.”    She stood from the edge of the bed and walked to the window, pulling open the curtains. Amity stood, careful to keep her weight off her injured ankle, and hopped over to join her.    Outside, she could see the forest looming ahead. But for the first time, she became aware of a set of mountains peeking over the tops of the trees. When she peered closer, it almost seemed to resemble a great, horned skeleton.    “You,” Ms. Clawthorne said, “are in the Boiling Isles. Or, as you’ve probably already surmised, the demon realm. And I am not a human, but a witch. You came here through a magic door that I was using to collect human objects to sell at the Night Market. Why, I don’t know, but the fact remains that coming through my door makes you my responsibility until you’re healthy enough to go home.”    She turned to face Amity. “Now, I’m unsure how long your injuries will take to heal. A few weeks, perhaps, but-”    She cut herself off with a gasp upon finding the girl so much closer than before. “What are you doing?! You shouldn’t be up on that ankle!”    She reached a hand out and Amity flinched automatically. Her mother’s raised voice, her mother’s hand coming down against her face…   Ms. Clawthorne froze. Hastily, she pulled her hand back and lowered her voice to a much calmer tone. “I…apologize. I shouldn’t have shouted. You…should be lying down, that’s all.”    Amity nodded silently, still a little shaken. Cautiously, the sorceress put her hand out to her again. “Here, let me help you.”    Amity took her hand and let the witch help her back to bed. She settled down, curling up into a ball on the downy-soft mattress. Ms. Clawthorne stepped back and frowned.    “That dress is torn to shreds. Would you like to get changed? I’m sure I can find something that will fit you.”    Amity nodded. “Yes, please. That would be nice.” Ms. Clawthorne nodded and turned, heading out of the room. Amity tucked her knees to her chest and tried to get ahold of herself.    What was wrong with her? Yes, her mother had hit her, but only once. What kind of overreaction was that?   Ms. Clawthorne returned a moment later. She handed Amity a pair of red leggings and a black tunic with a gray neckline, then turned respectfully to let her change (smacking Hooty lightly to get him to turn as well). Amity wrestled off her torn, stained dress and tugged on the new clothes gratefully. She rather liked the way they fit her, she decided, and it was a nice change from the pastel pink her mother always forced her to wear.    She cleared her throat awkwardly once she was done and Ms. Clawthorne turned back around. She gave the girl a quick once over and nodded approvingly. Then, there was an awkward pause before Amity broke the silence.    “So…I can stay here? Until my ankle heals, I mean?”    Ms. Clawthorne nodded, looking slightly confused. “Yes, it’s only fair.”    Amity couldn’t help a grin. Ms. Clawthorne tilted her head and Amity hastened to explain. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just…well, things at home aren’t great right now, and it’s kind of nice to get away for a few weeks.”    She sombered slightly, thinking of the fight that had driven her here. “My mom…well, it’s like she only sees what I do wrong. Everything I do, I try and do perfectly for her, and yet it’s never good enough for her to be proud. Or excited. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a that’s nice, dear, if I’m not…”    She trailed off, embarrassed. Here she was, sitting in a stranger’s house, and suddenly she was spilling her guts to her like she was in one of those life counseling sessions her mother forced her to go to. When she looked, however, Ms Clawthorne’s expression had strangely softened.    The witch perched on the end of her bed and placed a gentle hand on her knee. “I understand. Yes, you may stay here under my care until your ankle heals.”   Amity smiled. ~   Of course, it wasn’t exactly that simple. Before long, she was able to hobble around after Ms Clawthorne as she went about her business. Amity found it all fascinating to watch, to the bemusement of Ms Lilith Clawthorne, who seemed politely flattered that her newfound human girl loved to watch her make a simple shrinking potion.   After a week or so of Amity hovering eagerly over her work, Ms Clawthorne gave in and allowed her to assist in the process. Simple tasks, like chopping up herbs (with the exception of rehydrated mandrakes, which was a rather disastrous occasion) and boiling the draken tears. Amity took to the work with a vigor that surprised her hostess, and she slowly began including her more and more.    As the weeks went by, Lilith found herself growing fond of the girl. Her mannerisms were sweet and polite, and her enthusiasm for everything she considered fantasy (which, seemingly, was everything around them) was  infectious. And then, there was the way Amity perked up whenever she offered the slightest bit of praise, the littlest bit of validation. If she didn’t know better, she’d say she reminded her of…well, herself. Many years younger and with much more zest for life, but much like herself nonetheless.    She frowned over the sudden rush of emotion and shook her head to clear it away. Amity glanced worriedly up at her.    “Did I do something wrong, Ms. Clawthorne? I’m sorry.”    Lilith frowned again. The girl’s penchant for apologizing was rather concerning. She thought back to what Amity had told her the day they’d met, and cursed the teen’s mother inwardly. Nevertheless, she attempted to force a small smile.    “No, child. Nothing’s wrong. I was just…lost in thought.”    Amity continued to look concerned and she continued hastily, annoyed at the way it tugged at her heartstrings. “I just have some errands to run tonight, that’s all.”    Amity perked up. “Can I come?”    Lilith pursed her lips. “Aren’t you supposed to be letting your ankle heal? Why would I bring you on an excursion that could potentially be dangerous?”    Amity pouted. “Please? My ankle’s feeling good, I promise.”    Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Does that not mean you should return home?”    There was a long pause. Amity lowered her gaze towards the floor, and Lilith could feel the sharp sadness coming from the young teen. She almost put her hand out to apologize, to tell Amity she could stay, but-   No. She couldn’t get attached to this human girl. She didn’t belong here, with Lilith.    She cleared her throat. “How about this, then. I take you with me to the Night Market tonight, one last magical adventure of sorts. Then, when we get back, you return home.”                Amity didn’t meet her eyes, but nodded. Lilith nodded as well. “Alright. Get your shoes, then- or wait, I suppose I haven’t given you shoes yet. Wait here.”                  She strolled briskly upstairs to her attic, ignoring the ache in her heart as she did.~                Amity followed dutifully at Ms Clawthorne’s heels as she strode through the market. The candlelight illuminating the alley bounced off the crescent moon buckles on the boots Ms Clawthorne had given her as she walked. Despite the excitement of the secretive, mystical market, Amity couldn’t help but feel a dull sadness in her heart.    She didn’t want to go home. That was the long and the short of it. Home was full of pressure, of standards and expectations, of disappointment from her parents. Here was full of magic and wonder, and- despite the cold exterior she put up- a witch Amity had come to care for. She didn’t want to leave.    And of course, there was the lingering fear of her mother’s reaction to her weeks-long disappearance. Amity would have liked to think she’d be worried, but she knew better.    Odalia Blight would be absolutely furious.    She was snapped out of her thoughts when she abruptly bumped into Ms Clawthorne, who gave her a funny look. “This is my stop. I’d rather not bring you in here, if you don’t mind. Wait out here, and try not to wander far.”    Amity nodded wordlessly. Ms Clawthorne frowned, looking as though she were about to say something, but changed her mind and disappeared into the tent.   Amity plopped down onto a stack of nearby boxes and sighed. She sat there for a moment, brooding over her thoughts, before a figure nearby caught her eye.    The person (or witch, she supposed) appeared to be a girl a few years older than her. She had olive skin and dark hair tied back into a high ponytail, and wore a deep purple dress that fell to about her knees. Amity noticed the journal she was scribbling in, as well as the shiny gold necklace that hugged her throat.    The girl seemed to spot her and looked up. “Need something, human?”    Amity felt her face flush at being caught. “No, I- er, I just- I- what are you writing?”    The girl perked up a bit. “Oh! I write fanfics about food falling in love.” She rolled her eyes. “Stupid boss doesn’t like it. I don’t see why though. I like food, I like love, just let me write about it!”   Amity giggled, nodding in agreement. Her mother had caught her drawing fanart once and had a cow. Before she could respond, however, the girl yelped, clutching her throat and stumbling backwards to meet the wall.    Amity gasped, jumping up and running to her side as the girl slid downwards to the ground. “Are you ok?!”   The young witch grimaced, rubbing her neck. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just this stupi- this collar the Warden’s got on me. Gives me a fun little zap when I get caught talking badly about him.”    Seeing the alarm on the other girl’s face, the witch on the ground hastened to explain. “Warden Wrath’s a former prison warden. Got fired from his job at the Conformatorium for stealing lunches. Now, he likes to pretend he’s a big bad mob boss.” She signed regretfully. “Course, his false bravado doesn’t change the fact that I lost a duel to him. I got cocky, made a bet I couldn’t back out of. Now I’m stuck here with a couple others as his ‘indentured servants’.”    She snorted and rolled her eyes bitterly. “Yeah, right. I doubt he even knows what that actually means.”    She winced and clutched at her throat again. “Ow. Ok, ok. I’m sorry.”    Amity gaped at her. “But…he can’t! That’s got to be illegal! It’s practically slavery! Surely someone can stop him?”    The girl chuckled morosely. “Oh, hon. If you really think that, you’re too innocent to be here.”    Amity frowned deeply, considering. Then, she made up her mind and held her hand out before she could stop herself.    “Come on. Let’s go.”    The girl raised an eyebrow. “What are you, nuts? I can’t just leave. Even if I wanted to try, this dumb collar stops me from going anywhere.” “Then let’s get it off!” Amity exclaimed. The girl’s eyes widened.   Amity reached out to her, then paused, waiting for permission. The girl glanced around cautiously, then turned and lifted her hair up to allow Amity to access the clasp at the back of her neck.   The thin gold collar was locked with a tiny padlock. However, Amity remembered a trick the twins had taught her when she was younger, and her mother would lock her in her room without dinner as a punishment.    Just take the end of a hair pin, jiggle it around until you find the spot where it fits. Then, move until you feel a click.   Amity hadn’t picked a lock in years. Nevertheless, she fumbled about with the pin of her earring, moving it back and forth around the lock.    “Hurry,” the girl hissed. Amity nodded frantically and tried to force her hands to go faster.    A little more twisting, one more pull and-    There was a click.   And then a horrible screeching alarm.    Heads turned to stare at them from all directions, and the girl in the purple dress quickly shoved Amity away. “Shit. I didn’t know it did that. Get out of here, now.”    Amity whipped around to face her. “No! I can’t just leave you here! We can’t just give up.”   The girl shook her head. “You’ve got to. Go enjoy your freedom, ok? Don’t waste it on a freak like me.”    Amity started to argue when a tall, lumbering figure appeared from the blackness out of the alleyway. She gasped at the sight. Standing over them was a huge, hulking demon, with a face that was all teeth and massive gloved hands.    “What’s going on here?!” he bellowed. Amity looked to the fanfiction girl for help, but she looked equally as terrified.    Before she could say anything, the man raised one terrifyingly large fist and knocked her unceremoniously onto her back. “Have you got a problem, little girl?”    Amity found herself at a loss for words. Azura would know exactly what to do in a situation like this. Azura would deliver a dramatic monologue and launch a perfectly timed attack, taking out the bad guy in one magical and non-lethal swoop.    But then, she wasn’t Azura. She was plain old Amity Blight, the youngest child of the Blight family. She wasn’t special. She wasn’t inspiring. She wasn’t even all that loved.    She felt tears springing to her eyes when suddenly, a battle cry erupted from behind the warden. Abruptly, a wave of tiny, spiky dragon fruits appeared, running on tiny stemmed legs and attacking the demon. When he howled in pain and staggered to the side, two more creatures- each wearing a similar collar to the fanfic girl - charged him and began whaling on him like no tomorrow.    Amity found herself facing the outstretched hand of the fanfiction girl. Stunned, she let the girl help her up and was met with a fanged grin.    “What, you didn’t think I’d just let you get yourself killed after you tried to help me, did you?” She grinned in the direction of the fruit-covered Warden, howling in pain as his other two ‘servants’ beat him mercilessly. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure that would work. It’s been awhile since I’ve tried bringing a character to life.”   Amity gazed at her, stars in her eyes. “That’s so coo-”    She was cut off by an angry roar from the Warden. He swung each massive fist in a haphazard arc and smacked each demon off of him, sending them flying. The fanfiction girl went to reach for her notebook, but the demon roared again and a ball of fire came flying at it. She yelped and dropped the now smoldering pages, and Amity grabbed her arm as the Warden slowly approached.    The girls backed away together until their backs hit a stall. Amity looked around desperately, imploring the other shopkeepers to help, but they just looked on with a mixture of trepidation and interest.    She closed her eyes as the older girl pushed her behind herself, bracing herself for the blow, then-   A jet of magic streaked through the air and struck the Warden directly in the back. He yelped and spun, falling down awkwardly as a figure appeared out of the gloom.    Lilith Clawthorne, her dress billowing behind her, stepped into the light. Her staff, which Amity now noticed was topped with a carved white raven, was pointed directly at the Warden’s head.    “Raven Lady,” he stammered, and Ms Clawthorne snarled at him.   “Call me that again and I blow your head off right here. What in the Titan’s name were you doing with my human?”    Her human, Amity noted, and she felt an odd sense of warmth all of a sudden.    “I- I can explain!” Warden Wrath sputtered hastily. “She tried messing with my servants, ma’am. Tried to free them. I couldn’t let that by.”    Ms Clawthorne frowned, looking around at the scene. “I see. Well, then, there’s only one thing to do.”    The Warden nodded eagerly. “Yes, ma’am. I knew you’d underst-”    The Raven Lady slammed the butt of her staff on the ground. A tremor shot through the entire marketplace, and the collars on each so-called servant shattered into pieces. The fanfic girl gasped, touching her throat in amazement, and the others did the same.    The Warden spluttered and stammered, but Ms Clawthorne cut him off with a wave of her hand. “We’ll be leaving now. Try and stop us and it won’t end well for you.”    She turned on her heel, gesturing for the others to follow her. Stunned, Amity tugged the fanfiction girl by the hand and led her after the older witch.   They had nearly made it out of the Night Market when a cry came from behind them.    “Wait!”    All three newly freed servants tensed up, but Ms Clawthorne rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to ask me out again, Wrath, don’t bother. I don’t date.”    Then, without pausing to offer an explanation, she hopped onto her staff.~ Amity sat on the couch at the Raven House, sipping on a cup of cocoa. Ms Clawthorne stood in the doorway, talking with the fanfiction girl (who they’d learned was named Katya).    “And you’re sure they’ll be ok with me showing up and asking for a place to crash?”    Ms Clawthorne allowed the tiniest smirk to cross her face. “Of course I am. You have my letter of introduction, after all. And if they decide they aren’t, you can remind them that I know exactly what they’ve been up to behind Crane’s back.”    Katya laughed. “Alright then, Raven Lady. I trust you. After what happened tonight, I can’t thank you enough.”    Ms Clawthorne smiled, and Amity noticed a genuine warmth to it. “You’re welcome. Now you’d better get going if you want to catch them before their work day starts. From what I’ve heard, Raine’s a bit of an early riser.”    Katya grinned and nodded. She waved goodbye to Amity and the young human waved back, before straddling her staff and kicking off. Amity watched her fade into the distance for a moment before Ms Clawthorne closed the door with a snap.    Amity gulped. Ms Clawthorne crossed her arms, leaning up against the wall, and raised an eyebrow at her young human.    “You disobeyed me, Amity. I told you to wait, and you incited a riot.”    Amity nodded, head down.    “You decided to play the hero, diving in to save people from slavery. You were reckless and put yourself in danger in the process.”    Amity felt tears spring to her eyes. Then, she felt Ms Clawthorne’s hand on her cheek, tilting her face up to look at her.    “And I couldn’t be prouder of you for it.”    Amity gaped at the witch, stunned. The tears she’d been holding back began to fall down her cheeks, but this time for an entirely new reason. Before she could stop herself, she dove forward and threw her arms around Ms Clawthorne’s waist.    “Thank you, Ms Clawthorne. Thank you, thank you.”    Ms Clawthorne helped her awkwardly to the couch, the girl still clinging to her the entire way. “You’re welcome, dear.” Then, she smiled and cradled the girl’s cheek in her hand again. “And call me Lilith.”    Amity laughed and hugged Lilith even tighter, burying her face against her shoulder. Lilith hummed, her own arms coming around to hold her and one hand gently petting her hair.    Amity wasn’t sure how long she sat there, cry-laughing and hugging the sorceress. She was vaguely aware of drifting off to a sort of half sleep, feeling Lilith ease her down to lie in her lap instead. Above her, she heard the sound of Hooty approaching.    “So, Lulu…she’s, uh, not going home tonight, is she?”    Lilith ran a hand through Amity’s hair. “Hootsifer, I don’t think this girl is going home anytime soon.”   And with that, Amity Blight smiled and let herself fall asleep, in the arms of a witch and the land of magic and demons.And Hooty.  

Not Rated

Amity looked down, admiring her human. Their beautiful brown hair, their soft, warm skin, the way they let out little noses as they slept. She sighed, running her hands through their soft hair. Luz was such a sweet person, so trusting and kind. They were so loyal to those they loved, it made Amity feel butterflies in her stomach when she thought of the way they defended Willow against Boscha. The pink haired girl deserved to be taken a peg, but nobody had bene brave enough to do it until the human came along. Luz was all smiles, optimism, and happiness. It was new to Amity, who was surrounded by callous, sarcastic, or indifferent people. She had hardly been happy with her life, outside of moments with the twins, before Luz came. And she was glad the human showed up, because they had made Amity take the first step in healing years worth of a toxic relationship between her and Willow. To Amity, Luz was the Sun and she was the moon. It had only been a month, but Amity felt like her life suddenly revolved around Luz. Luz just always showed up where Amity was when she wasn't home, Luz lightened up her otherwise dull life. Amity hadn't felt so strongly about them immediately, in fact it had been the opposite. When Luz had first shown their face at Hexside, Amity had been so angry at them. They had helped Willow "steal" her gold star, her place as top student. Amity had worked so hard for that position, so hard to make it to the top and stay there. Her mother had constantly pushed her, and she was finally getting the praise she deserved. And it had been taken away with one assignment. It had taken a while for her feelings to change, but slowly, they did. Amity looked around her little hide out, her eyes finding her disguised diary almost immediately. Seeing it brought back sour feelings towards the twins, but she also felt happy. It was the moment where her feelings had begun to change towards her human, and Amity couldn't be happier that it existed. Though, she wished that it had happened without Luz seeing some of her diary pages. Amity turned her eyes back to Luz, smiling. So many memories came up, one of them being the incident with the basilisk. Amity shivered at the memory of the feeling of her magic being drained from her. She had felt so weak, and empty. Amity had felt so scared that it would be the end for her, until she suddenly felt alive again. A witches life was directly tied to their magic, with their bile sac being so close to their heart. Luz had helped in defeating the basilisk, and Amity owed them her life. A lot of people did, but still... Amity was so enamored with Luz, it almost made her feel embarrassed when she thought about it. Before the human had came, she had been a very mean person to the people around her. She had been a stereotypical mean girl, and she had surrounded herself with people like that. Well, Skara hadn't exactly been a mean girl, but she wasn't the nicest person to people, especially if Boscha had already been mean to that person.  Luz had come and broken that cycle, they had tipped the ladder and sent Amity's feelings careening down the edge. The hierarchy in Amity's life had been tipped over, and while it had taken a few days to get used to, Amity couldn't bring herself to say she was mad. Amity liked Luz, she liked Luz a lot. She liked their happiness, their optimism, their loyalty, their bravery, she liked Luz's comforting aura, the way they helped out their friends, Amity just liked them for them. (If she was alone, in her room, late at night, staring up at the dark ceiling, she could even admit to herself and the air that maybe, just maybe, she was starting to love the idiotic (loving) human.) An alarm went off, Amity jumping in her seat. Luz groaned and shuffled, making Amity tense as she waited for them to settle again. When they did, Amity pulled out her scroll, turning off the alarm. She had set it so that she knew when to go home, which meant she had to wake Luz. Amity felt reluctant to do so, they looked so peaceful. Luz had been so tired at school, Amity just wanted to let them have their sleep, but she couldn't leave them here alone, especially without telling them she was leaving. Amity grabbed Luz's shoulder, shaking them lightly. "Hey, wake up. Luz, wake up..."

General Audiences

Gus sat next to Hunter on the porch, both in tank tops and knee-length shorts; given it was near 100° , there’s not much else they could’ve worn without practically melting.   (37°c if ur not #USA)   Gus glanced to Hunter’s arms, littered in scars all over, varying in length and colors. Immediately enthralled, he stared at them in wonder.   “Uh—Gus?”  Snapped from his gaze, Gus looked up to see Hunter looking back at him with the most confused expression ever.   “Oh! Sorry, your scars just look cool.” Gus stated, he sounded so nonchalant while saying it— his tone sounding so genuine. Hunter— who wasn’t at all prepared for Gus to compliment them, truly expectant of Gus to have the most repulsed reaction ever— looked away, face red with embarrassment.   After a while, they were reduced back to sitting in silence, watching cars drive by and point the occasional bird that would fly over them.                     (Gus, of course, being able to name most of the bird types with his extensive knowledge of earth’s animal life.)   It wasn’t long until Gus got distracted again— captivated with Hunter’s scars. This time, however, Hunter didn’t notice right away. or.. maybe he did and didn’t want to confront him?   “Where’d that one come from?” Gus asked, pointing towards a long, dragged out scar on Hunter’s shin. The question came out of the blue— scaring Hunter.   Forcing his attention away from a bird that had perched on a neighboring house’s fence, with red feathers making it look suspiciously like Flapjack.   “Hm? Oh. No idea. But,” He paused to roll up his shorts to reveal a series of verticle scars on his thigh that stretched down to beside his knee, “That ones from a baby griffin. It tried to climb me—but out of fear I kicked him off. You can tell it didn’t turn out well.”  Gus laughed a little, finding the experience humorous but still feeling bad for Hunter.   Not really though, it was funny.   “What about the one on your face? Your infamous cheek scar.”  Hunter’s ears perked up a bit, his fave instantly brightened, he tried to play it off all cool, relaxing his posture and brushing fingers through his hair quickly, which lead Gus to think ‘this was gonna be a good one’.   “That old thing? Got it while I was in scout training. That mountain showed no remorse. It’d been day 5, the weak ones had been plucked off with natural selection. I was searching for billtorn berries— the only natural plant that could grow and survive in the extreme temperatures that—“ Hunter was cut off by Gus mimicking snoring sounds.   “Hey! Fine okay, it wasn’t as cool as I was about to describe, but it did happen while I was on the mountain. I wasn’t careful enough with my spear and—“ Cut off once again.   “Hold up, ignoring that you somehow messed up using a spear that hard, a spear?? What year was this? The Cavewitch century? Could’ve used a dagger— or something cool.” Gus only received a glare.   “Actually, spear’s are much better for hunting at a safe distance. You can just throw it, and with enough strength and precision, you could easily take down or at least stun any animal.” Hunter could’ve gone with a more longwinded explanation on why he chose to make a spear instead of literally anything else, but he knew not everyone wanted to know the science behind why spears were more superior than daggers when it came the circumstances he was in.   Already turning his focus back onto the surrounding scenery once again Gus let out a sigh, playfully shaking his head and rolling his eyes. No matter how riveting the street was, Gus felt compelled to keep asking sbout the scars, each story he heard only making them more interesting.   “What about those ones? They look collective, like they match or something.” Gus was now pointing towards the lines on Hunter’s inner forearms, a pit grew in the bottom of Hunter’s stomach.   “I— Uhm.. don’t remember?” He knew. He fully knew, and could clearly remember where those scars came from. The shameful past of them weren’t a story worth telling.    Gus could tell Hunter was lying— but he couldn’t tell why. So, he kept pushing, meaning no harm, truly just curious.   “Liar, liar, your pants happen to be on fire. If you want to lie, maybe try not to avoid eye contact so hard, but seriously, what happened?” Hunter stayed unresponsive, his grip on the unmentioned water bottle tightened.   “Hunter? If— If it’s sensitive you don’t have to tell me. Sorry for prying like that.” Gus couldn’t help but feel bad, what was he thinking? Trying to shove his way into Hunter’s life— honestly, Hunter had a right to be mad at him, he had a right to—   “It’s.. fine. But if you’re still interested in more stories, I got loads of them.”  Hunter offered, scooting back into the shade of the overhead a little more before settling into a crisscross position.   “I mean, if you so insist. So what about your torn earlobe?” Gus layed down on his stomach, relaxing into the shade, wasting no time on taking up Hunter’s offer.   Hunter dryly laughed, “Okay— don’t laugh..but I was cutting my hair for the first time—   And their day continued like that, Gus basically interviewing Hunter on his scars until they were called back inside, Camilla deciding she’d rather not have two teens with heatstroke.       Only 2 weeks later would Gus realize where the shallow scars that layed on hunter’s arm had come from, being awoken by the Hunter’s muffled apologies, the only things to break the constant stream of “i’m sorry” being a sob, a gasp for air, or choking from how hard he was crying, Camilla only hushing him, the sounds rushing water and of bandages being cut from the roll.   The next morning at breakfast Gus was see Hunter’s arm wrapped with off-white bandages, red ink staining them. No one mentioned it, but multiple times Hunter caught brief eye contact with someone staring. Within the later morning Hunter would put on a long sleeve, which only made him receive even more pitying looks from everyone.

General Audiences

It is another night at the demon realm, well, that has been most nights since the incident. It is a nice peaceful night, at least, something Hunter has not been able to have for weeks now. Being back in the Boiling Isles has been strange, he has to hide himself more than he already does. This is not much of a problem, but it is the anxiety that induces him every time he goes out. They all see him as who he was before, and he cannot fix it, but he wishes they could change their views on him.    But that’s not what he should be thinking of, he needs to relax. He takes a deep breath, and shifts his focus back on what he is currently doing.    He is in the living room where he, Gus, and Willow all live in; reading a book with his girlfriend, Willow snuggling up next to him. Meanwhile his boyfriend, Gus in the other room wishing to get some rest. Regardless of that, though, it seems like it’s going to be a long, yet relaxing night for everyone. So he snuggles up under the blanket that he and Willow are under, and lets out a relaxing breath.    That is, until he hears the voice of Willow speak to him in a hush…yet almost seductive voice.    “Hunter.” She whispers.   He looks up from his book, seeing her face him. “Yeah?”    “The mood is set.” She says, moving closer towards him, as she puts her hands on his shoulders.    He looks at her with confusion. “Huh? What?”    “Shhh…” She hugs him tight, stroking his hair. “You know what it means already.”    “I…” He stops himself midway as he looks at her sly expression, and then the realization dawns upon him. “Ohhhh…”   With that, she grabs him close and kisses him without warning. But Hunter as always accepts her kisses and her touch, so he lets it happen, lets the entire moment slowly begin to fold. In a moment, he begins to enjoy the kiss more, kissing her back, taking over as he slips his tongue inside of her mouth. Tasting her, getting the feel of her, oh and he loves it.    He wants more, he needs more, his desires cannot hold for much longer.    He pulls away, taking some breaths, and having a moment to stare at her feminine body. His core begins to burn with a soft, comforting, yet intense heat. He stares at her eyes, seeing the glints of desire within them, before going back to kissing her.    His hands move rapidly down from her shoulders to her chest, feeling the feeling of her breasts on his hands, but it is not enough. He cannot be satisfied, he needs her more. So he goes further, all the while the heat in his crotch begins to burn up and his clitoris begins to swell more than it has already.    Oh he wants her.   However, just when Hunter is about to take off her shirt, to explore more of her body, he hears noise, and before he notices, his hands are tied together. He opens his eyes as he sees glowing magic emit from his lover’s hands, before he looks down and starts having a mild excitement outburst. This is happening? Something they have spoken of in the past? Actually happening? Oh he feels as though he could faint.    He opens his mouth to speak. His mind simply cannot process what has just happened.    “How-”    She cuts him off, a malicious grin on her face. “You didn’t expect that, hm?”    Hunter shakes his head, both in unknowing and trying to get the lightheadedness out of him.    “Well, I know you’d like it.” She says, tying the plants down to the couch, sliding off of him, before tying his wrists and legs together.    Immediately after this is done, he swears he feels the heat rise up through his entire body.    Willow looks at him, with an expression he has never seen before from her. This side of her in general…it’s just so…out there yet so…exhilarating!    As these thoughts race through his head, he notices more vines beginning to form, however these ones are now crawling around his body, Hunter shivers at the contact. The magic stops again however, as his girlfriend walks up towards him, slowly taking off her shirt as she turns around slowly. Too slow for poor Hunter to handle as he squirms with desire.    “Aww, Hunty.” She says, moving down to face him. “Why so impatient? Don’t you want me to put on a show?”    Hunter stops short, still panting with desire as he feels himself getting a bit wet at her newfound flirtatious tone. He nods, which appeases her as she smiles and stands back up. Showing off her thighs even though her boyfriend is looking at her with nothing but lust.    She spins around, being slow enough to leave him in a desperate state, yet fast enough to where it does not become too much for poor, tied up Hunter. She takes off her skirt as she reveals her panties, and that small tucked in bulge underneath.    That is when Hunter begins to start breathing heavily, as his heartbeat quickens. They crawl up to his chest, and the euphoric feeling he feels makes him shake, it begins to move around his chest, the feeling of that as well as the feeling of his binder is just perfect. He feels his breathing getting ragged, he feels like he is about to suffocate as the pleasure and intensity increases.    Now that he thinks on it, however, his binder has been restraining his breathing, it always has, but this sure is not helping. He decides, hoever, to not mention anything as his girlfriend continues to wrap the vines aroun   Noticing his sudden pale white face and sudden change of pace in his breathing, she stops. Before she asks the question at hand.    “Are you sure you want to do this with your binder on?” She looks at him, shaking her head with concern. “You’re looking terribly pale.”    Suddenly, the mood shifts slightly, as Hunter looks away from his girlfriend. “Y-Yeah, it’ll be fine!”    “Last time we did it you almost suffocated.” She says, shaking her head, as Hunter opens his mouth to speak, Willow cuts him off, looking at him seriously.    He is silent for a moment, he sweats nervously as he still is looking away from her. “Promise you won’t…grope them?”    “Hunt…” She sighs. “We’ve been over this, we discussed our limits, of course I won’t grope them.” She brings the vines closer to his body. “These vines are diligent, you know.” “Then, I will.” He agrees, “but…I’m keeping my shirt on.” He replies, moving his eyes back to hers.    Willow nods. “That’s perfectly fine, Hun.”    With diligence, Hunter manages to both undo his binder with his magic, and still keep his shirt on. Once the golden glow fades, he huffs, finally able to breathe, he takes a few deep breaths, and soon enough, he is all ready to go once more.    This time, his girlfriend leans over and gives him a peck on his lips. Before moving right up to his ear, breathing against it as it begins to twitch upon the contact. Then she whispers seductively, “Good boy.”    A wave of euphoria rushes through his body, his core begins to become unbearable as he starts breathing heavily again.    Upon that reaction, the plants begin to creep back up towards him, this time towards his hips. They creep around them, giving him less room to move, which merely increases the anticipation. Then soon enough, they grab onto the waist of his pants, and slowly remove them off of his legs, with enough effort front Hunter himself of course.    He’s anticipating the obvious, but instead, the vines go down to his thighs as they spread them open, slowly rubbing them up and down. Not touching his weak spot, but getting so painfully close, and it makes Hunter frustrated. Full of nothing but desire.    It goes on for one, two, three, five minutes, maybe more, he cannot think right now. He just wants it now.    Until they his his crotch, right on his clit, an upon that contact, he lets out maybe too loud of a moan. Then with a few more moments passing, they brush against his underwear, up, down, up, and down, causing another loud gasp out of him. It is at this point that he is practically begging for it, his eyes full of need and desperation. What is he to do? Should he beg? Should he act more desperate? Get Willow more turned on?    Well he does not have to worry about that anymore, he hears her soft sweet voice enter his ears with a question he has desired.    “Are you ready?” She asks him, using the vines to brush along his clit and his folds.    He huffs, trying to catch his breath as he feels his need and desire increase more. He squirms as he tries to maintain his composure. “P-Please!” He begs, trying not to sound too desperate.    Willow smiles, before moving the vines more, trying to get him all soaking wet, as it takes longer with his second puberty. Soon enough, after she leans over and uses her finger to test how slick he is. She nods with a grin on her face.    Just when the plant begins to enter inside of him, a voice is heard through the room.    “Aw, you guys didn’t invite me to your little loving session?”    Willow turns back to see who was speaking behind her.    “Gus!” She exclaims, trying not to be too loud, “What are you doing here? I thought you were asleep.” The younger boy scoffs, “I’m a light sleeper, you know this. Plus, knowing you two were going to be sleeping here, something was bound to happen like this.” He takes a moment to examine the current situation at hand. “Seems like Willow found her true potential.”    Hunter laughs, looking at her with dizzy eyes. “Yeah she has.”    “What can I say?” She says, her face red. “When given the right opportunity, I’ll do it.” She casts some more magic as different plants appear, pushing Gus towards the two. Much to Gus’s initial shock.    “Wait, you are actually inviting me?”    The girl laughs. “Of course, silly. It wouldn’t be fun without you.”    Gus grins, nodding, before walking up and looking at Hunter, examining his situation, from his almost stripped down state to the fact he’s restrained, completely unable to resist. A malicious glint is formed in his eyes as he keeps looking at him. “Look at you.” He finally says, “this is perfect!”    The other looks at him, with an embarrassed yet excited smile on his face as he nods in response. Before he looks around, wishing for something to happen again,    “I cannot wait to fuck you.” He says almost instantly.    Hunter merely giggles at his statement. “Aw Gus, look at you being all dom, that’s unlike you you’re always the small subby one.”    He shakes his head at that, “You don’t have the right to speak like that.” He says with a sly smile on his face, looking down at Hunter and noticing the desperation in his eyes. “It will be fun to be creative and dominate you for once.”    At that statement, a wave of burning heat engulfs Hunter in an instant, he’s starting to sweat, he’s starting to heat up more. He can’t bear it. He can’t. He needs more. “Y-Yeah.”    “Now…” Gus kneels, facing him fully as he moves his legs together, rubbing them, creating friction. “What to do with you.”    Hunter stays still, sweating even more now that there is more anticipation. “You-”    “Hey, shhhh.” He places a finger on his boyfriend’s lips. “I didn’t give you a choice to speak, did I?”    He shakes his head, feeling his legs kicking, trying to get out of the restrains. Hell, even his body is reacting intensely to this scenario. “Good boy.”    Like with Willow, Hunter begins to have a huge reaction upon that compliment, it’s perfect for him. It makes him feel like both himself, and like the slut he is inside.    Yes, yes that’s what he is.    He’s a slut when it comes to this.    And Willow and Gus both know.    Suddenly, he finds himself to have been moved, hanging more upwards on the wall, rather than on the couch. Oh, what are they planning? Are they even planning together? Oh why does it even matter, he tells himself, shaking his head.    Gus, now, with the vines placing Hunter shorter, matching each other’s heights. Begins to not go slow at all and he puts his hand right on his crotch, feeling the slickness of his boyfriend’s boy-pussy. He slowly rubs his folds, before inserting a finger inside, trying his best not to hurt him.    “Oh!” He lets out a cry, the contact of his fingers inside of him is strange as it has been.    “Does it hurt?” Willow asks, who is currently next to him, holding him to the wall so Gus can do his stuff.    He shakes his head. “N-No, but it still…feels odd…” he lets out a few breaths. “But…don’t stop please.” He tells Gus, looking at him deep in the eyes.    So, he keeps going, going back and forth over and over, keeping track of Hunter’s noises, and making sure they are all good noises. Which seems to be the case, as soon enough, he adds a second finger before long, curling his fingers like a spider, trying to find the sweet spot inside of him.   After some time, hearing his pleasures, some movements made him louder than others, it is like a puzzle. And soon enough, curling his fingers, into a hook. He finally does.    And Hunter lets out a cry of pleasure. Oh, it arouses the younger deeply, he needs him just as much. At the cry, he smiles evilly, as though planning something.    “Do you really want me to fuck you?” He asks, knowing the answer as he pushes three fingers inside.    Hunter is unable to say anything, and nods.   “To fuck your ass as hard as I possibly can?” He says again before looking to the side as he then mentions. “With, of course, enough comfort for you too.”    Oh, Hunter cannot even think, he barely evenv heard Gus’s second statement. His breathing is heavy, even with his binder removed.    “Then beg.” Gus demands, as the man below him looks at him in surprise and delight.    “Please Gus, please fuck me, I need you…inside me, please.” He begs, feeling his breathing getting heavier and heavier.    “Not enough, keep going.” The younger says, as he begins to move his hand right onto his clit, causing him to almost cry in pleasure. “Use my full name.”    His eyes widen at the sudden command, but overall obliges. “Agustus! Please.”   “Please what?”    “Please, fuck me. I want you…in my ass!” He lets out finally. Never would he have ever think he would say that, but here he is now.    “Good boy.” Gus says, taking his fingers off of his clit, leaving him pouting upon no more contact. “Don’t worry, you’ll get what you need soon.” He leans up towards his face, and kisses him deeply.    He undoes his pants, slowly but surely, though looking at his boyfriend’s state, he decides to not be too mean as he removes them quickly afterwards. He still tries to keep it at a relatively nice pace however.    Willow lets him off of the vines, having them throw Hunter back onto the couch, laying on his back face upwards. This gives her an idea, she crawls onto the couch and makes sure that she is on top of him, her face facing his as she gives him a secretive look, trying to rile him up more.    “Ready?”    Hunter gives him a look. “Agustus, if you don’t fuck my ass right now I’ll…” He sees his boyfriend’s dick, and he hyperventilates at the sight of seeing Gus’s dick and it hitting his enterance. All with a bit of magical lube in his hands.    “Aww…look at you…” He trails on, before getting himself out of a daze and going back to what is happening at this current moment. “Alright.” So, with the lube intact, Gus enters Hunter’s ass, and with enough force, Hunter lets out a cry of pleasure, feeling the nerve endings just react all around him.    As the ass fucking is happening, Willow crawls up over him more, her face leaving his eyesight, all the while removing her panties and putting them right next to Hunter. Which he can barely notice from feeling the intense pleasure already. But then, after a moment passes, his face is immediately covered by her ass.    “Cmon, Hunt! Give it all you got!” She shouts, before feeling his tongue hitting the entrance of her own ass.    He can’t speak, hell, he doesn’t even want to speak, it’s just too good. He keeps eating his girlfriend’s beautiful ass. Oh, how can he even escribe the feelings he feels. He feels Gus’s pace grow faster, which causes him to moan, which therefore gives vibrations onto Willow’s ass. Which causes her to moan and scream in pleasure as he hits her sensitive spot as well.    With the contact of Willow sitting on his face, and hearing her moans as Hunter eats her ass and tastes her balls. It is utter bliss. And the feeling of the plants up inside him, hitting his g spot, not to mention Gus fucking his ass as hard and as fast, more than he can even take. It’s perfection, and he does not wish for it to end.    He can feel himself reaching his peak, and fast, so with what he can do, he reaches a hand down    And as if it is a miracle, the release comes at him at once, and then, to his two lovers. It is intense, beautiful, divine, yes those are the words to describe everything tonight! It feels like everything lasts for a long time, one, two, three minutes at least. How can he tell this to Willow and Gus? He is not sure, but who cares right now.    The three take a moment to breathe, each one of them covered in sweat from the intense heat of the moment. There is an afterglow, a nice warm feeling that engulfs all of them.    Willow moves off of Hunter’s face, taking a breather, before sliding off of the couch onto the carpet floor.    “That was…” Hunter falters on his words as he tries to describe what has happened in his mind in detail. While feeling the sense of Gus’s cock leaving his entrance, it gives him a blissful quiver for the last time. “It…”    “Amazing, right?” Willow finishes his sentence, nodding. “I would say it was.”    “Oh it was perfect!” He says in delight.    Gus covers his mouth to laugh. “Haha, and all I did was just improvise.”    “Aw don’t be so modest, Augustus!” Their girlfriend teases. “It was perfect!”    “Thanks Willow.” He says, before he looks at Hunter. “And you seemed to enjoy it a lot too, Hunny Bunny.”    Hunter looks away, face heating up. “Not the right time for that nickname, Gus.”    “Aww but it’s cute.”    He pushes his face away with his hand, laughing at him. “Go to bed, Auggie.”    “No!” He banters back, grabbing a pillow from the couch, and throwing it at him.    Willow stands up, and looks at the mess that is the couch. “We really need to clean this up in the morning.”    “Well, it’s not morning! Sooooo.” Gus looks back upstairs. “We can go ahead and sleep.”    “Agustus you were just complaining about going to bed.” Hunter crosses his arms, shaking his head in fake-disappointment.    “That’s Gus to you, mister subby man.”    “Oh shut up.” He throws the pillow back at him.     “Oh you two, go head to bed before you act like children.”   “Alright. Alright.” He replies.    “And let’s head to the actual room.” Willow giggles, before taking both of their hands. “Cmon boys, or else I’m taking the best spot!”    “Oh cmon, as if any of that matters.” Hunter shrugs, but makes a run for it upstairs, despite the noise that it will make.    “Hunt! No fair!” She exclaims, running after him, Gus tags along too.   And so they all went.

Explicit

Sometimes, in her deepest, darkest heart of hearts, Eda thinks she should wish Luz never came to the Boiling Isles. It would be reasonable, even loving of her - Luz is such a good kid. If Eda really cared about her, she'd want her safe on the other side of the world, in a realm where the danger isn't the kind that an Owl Lady dragged her into with no choice otherwise. Or maybe, if Luz had to come here, she could have appeared in another archipelago, far from the people that would grow to love her but safe. Eda could take a little distance, take the hole in her heart to protect Luz. But Eda's never been good at selflessness, has had to choke down bile whenever she gets anywhere close. Telling Raine the truth about her curse. Joining a coven to keep the Owl House from being overrun by the Emperor, even giving her all in school against her sister because she knew she'd win. It's Luz. Eda would set the world on fire for her, but she'd never erase them meeting in the first place. Love is a prime selfishness, an ordinary, choking vice. Parenthood is fertile ground.

General Audiences

With the blinds pulled down and only a tiny sliver of light coming into the room, Alador sat at his desk, erasing and re-sketching an abomination design that he couldn’t get out of his head. At that point, he had very little idea what time it was and only a vague knowledge that it was the weekend. And he only knew that because his parents hadn’t come in to drag him off to school. All he was focused on was the design, staring at pencil markings in the dim yellow light that his small desk lamp produced. He turned to the mess of metal and abomination goop that was scattered all over the rest of the desk. “There’s just something I’m missing,” he muttered to himself. The metal was bent and broken, having been heated and reshaped many times already. It would survive more. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and drew a small spell circle to light the flame on his make-shift blowtorch. Sparks exploded around him as he welded two bits of metal together. A knock on the door caused him to jump, the flame blowing over his gloved hand. He swore silently, putting out the flame quickly. The door stayed closed and after a few more moments, the person on the other side knocked again. It couldn’t have been either of his parents. They would have just entered, knocking first only as a small warning. “Who is it?” he called out, pulling off his goggles completely and chucking them on top of the mess of paper. “The delivery guy.” Despite the attempt to put on a voice, it was clearly Darius speaking. Alador glanced down at his clothes, covered in more abomination goop than normal, and sniffed quickly at his armpits to check just how badly he smelled. He had no clue how long it had been since he’d last showered or even just changed his clothes. There was no way he was going to let Darius see him like this. “I, uh, ordered nothing,” he said, standing up to search for clean clothes. “Wrong house!” Another knock on the door. “Al, come on, I haven’t heard from you all weekend. I’m here to make sure you eat.” Rummaging through his drawers, he managed to find a whole set of clean clothing. The only problem was that he would need to shower or the clean clothes wouldn’t do much to help. At least he had an ensuite so he wouldn’t have to leave his bedroom to get to the shower. “I’ll go downstairs and make food. If you’re not down in fifteen minutes, I will come back up here and I won’t knock.” He chuckled as he moved away from the door, Alador listening to his retreating footsteps.  It was normal for Darius to turn up when he hadn’t heard from Alador in a while. It had started around a year ago. The first time he had come by worried that something had happened, having no clue about Alador’s tendency to get completely immersed in projects. Alador would never forget the face he made when he saw his state, not unlike it was now. Darius’s face had just grown more panicked with questions about food, getting him to admit that he hadn’t been sure when he’d last eaten. But it felt different this time. It was the first time that he had turned up like this since they’d started dating. In the past, Alador wouldn’t have cared as much about being seen so unclean. He showered quickly, scrubbing away the evidence of his project while his mind kept pondering over the problem he was having with it. It felt like he had been in the shower for over fifteen minutes but there was no Darius in his bedroom when he stepped out of the ensuite with fresh clothes on. He glanced at the table with its mess. He knew he was so close to finding a solution but if he sat back down now, it would only end with Darius barging in and physically dragging him down the stairs to the kitchen. He found Darius exactly there, humming an offkey tune as he stirred a pot bubbling with a variety of ingredients. Alador paused at the archway that led into the kitchen, closing his eyes to smell the food and feeling, for the first time that day, just how hungry he was. “You should open a restaurant one day.” Darius laughed, not looking up from the pot. “I assume that means you’re hungry?” “Starving,” Alador confirmed. He walked over to one of the cupboards, taking out a glass to get some water. “Is that a stew?” It was a stew and turned out to be a recipe from one of the cookbooks his parents had standing on the kitchen counter. The same cookbooks that neither of his parents had ever actually used. They had been there untouched for so long that they had become part of the background for him. He flipped through the pages of the cookbook as he drank his second glass of water, his stomach loudly complaining at all the pictures of food in front of him that he couldn’t eat. When Darius was done cooking, Alador helped to set the table and serve the food. Sitting at the end of the large wooden dining table, he started eating immediately. Darius attempted to warn him but he ignored it and burnt his tongue. Instead of waiting to eat more, he drew a small spell circle and dispensed a couple of ice cubes into his stew to cool it down. “You’re going to mess up the flavour,” Darius groaned. Fighting back a smile, he quickly dropped an ice cube into Darius’s bowl. “I’m making the flavour better.” He received a sharp poke into the side of his ribs. The ice cubes did their job and the food was cool enough for him to eat. Once he had finished, he glanced up at Darius and caught him staring. “Is this going to become a thing?” he asked, using his sleeve as a napkin to wipe his mouth. “Is what going to become a thing?” Darius asked, his lips were turned up into a smile and his face was soft and thoughtful. “I think I can guess how long it’s been since you’ve eaten, just based on how quickly you eat when I give you food.” There was an uneasy feeling in Alador at hearing that. He glanced down at the bowl and back up at Darius. “You’ve been doing this so long.” He paused, thinking carefully on his next words. “I don’t quite understand why you keep doing it. You know as soon as you leave I’ll be back at my desk, I’m so close to solving this problem. Wait–” He leaned closer, his fangs showing in a grin. “Have I even told you what I’m making?” Darius’s smile grew, mirroring Alador’s posture. “What are you making, dear?” “I–” Alador’s hands flew up to cover his face as it went red. He was completely unprepared for the casual way Darius had just called him ‘dear’. He continued speaking with his voice muffled by his hands. “I was reading some construction magic books and looking at the way they’ve started to use metal in newer buildings to reinforce the stone and bricks and wood. So I started thinking about whether I could use metal to improve abominations.” His hands were lightly pulled away from his face by Darius, who was suddenly so close that it wouldn’t have taken much for him to lean just a bit further and kiss him. “All shy because I called you ‘dear’, dear?” Darius’s eyes had that sparkle to them that Alador could only label as plotting. Alador wasn’t sure what he was plotting to do next but he decided to take charge instead, closing the space between them. Darius pulled away too quickly. “If that’s what you want to do, we should wash up first.” He stood up, picking up both of the bowls and starting back towards the kitchen. He paused, turning back to Alador. “Then we’ll go to your bedroom.” That was it, Darius was going to kill him. It took a few moments for him to remember how to breathe and a few more to pick up the glasses and run after him. “That’s not… I just… Dari, why do you do this?” “I’m really interested in what you want to achieve by adding metal to an abomination. Can you tell me more about it?” While Alador frowned slightly at the lack of an answer to his question, it was difficult to resist talking more about his project. He had put so much thought and so much energy into what he had done so far. It was pure joy to explain the specifics both to someone who was interested and who would understand what he was talking about. They washed up, Alador talking the whole time and Darius getting a word or question in here or there when he had to stop to breathe. It wasn’t until the dishes were done and they had walked back upstairs to the door of Alador’s bedroom that he even realised where they had been walking to. “I thought you were joking earlier,” he said, grabbing Darius’s hand before he could open the door. “It’s a mess in there.” Darius squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry, dear. I just want to see what you’ve been working on.” Reaching out with his other hand, he opened the door before any more arguments could be made. “I’ve been in your room so many times.” The room was even darker than it had been earlier, the sun having moved far enough that even that slit of light from the misaligned blinds was barely breaking through the darkness. Darius was frowning, Alador didn’t even need to look at him to know that. With quick magic, the blinds were opened along with the window. Alador squinted in the sudden brightness and looked straight up at Darius, worried about his reaction. The new territory of their relationship gave him a fresh awareness of the things he already knew Darius found important–and cleanliness was one of those things. “You haven’t been in here since–” “We kissed?” Darius made a kissy face at Alador. “I’m still the same person. You’re still the same person.” Still holding hands, Alador moved his thumb over the bumps of Darius’s knuckles and counted them in his mind as he did. “I know you don’t really like dirtiness.” “I do,” he turned towards the table, “Like abominations. So show me what you were talking about, maybe we can work it out together.”

General Audiences

"Sorry! I was talking with Willow and Gus, and I lost track of time and when I noticed I...   "She's in her room, kid." Eda said as she took a sip from her apple blood glass. King was sleeping soundly on her lap, still wearing the Grom tiara he had picked up after Luz threw it on the floor.   "I didn't-"   "No need to thank me, if you want to talk to her, you're welcome." The old witch finished her glass and closed her eyes as she rubbed her temples. The events of the night were still fresh on her mind, leaving her exhausted and she could feel the Owl Beast pressing against the barriers she had raised around it, shrieking for its freedom. She needed some elixir and a bunch of sleep, but it was a luxury she couldn't afford with two teenagers with tons of conflicting emotions for each other living under her roof. "Titan knows I'm too tired to deal with drama right now."   "Thanks, Eda! You're the best!" Marcy Wu paid little attention to Eda's words and began to walk towards the stairs, stopping briefly to take the Grom tiara from King's sleepy head. His only answer was a soft whine that came from a dream he was having about conquering the Isles for himself, ruling its inhabitants with an iron paw.   Marcy's heart began to beat faster as she walked the stairs. She had been friends with Luz for months now, and while she could still hear the sickening voice of familiar guilt shouting at her every time she saw her, Marcy didn't stop her advance. She was both dreading and expecting the moment to see her again and talk to her.   She tripped on the stairs, falling soundly on the floor as she blushed, embarrassed to hear the muffled laughter coming from Eda downstairs. She stood up and looked to her left, where a door covered with dozens of stickers and carved markings depicting the sigil of Amphibia's royal family. Marcy sometimes slept in there, usually on weekends, when it was easier to come up with an excuse for her absence at home. She hesitated for a couple of seconds, her hand still touching the doorknob that was cold to the touch. She had rehearsed the conversation in her mind a hundred times since Grom ended, but now that she found herself mere meters from her, the willpower she had had vanished like smoke in the air.   Marcy gulped down, bracing, and reminding herself that Sasha wouldn't be such a coward and would face the situation firsthand without any doubts in her mind. Of course, Marcy thought as she silently opened the door, Sash would have spoken to her before.   "Are you okay, Lu?" Marcy softly said as she peeked inside the latina's room.   Marcy hadn't meant to pry and interrupt whatever it was that Luz was doing, for she could clearly see that her friend needed some time alone to digest the events that had taken place during and after the fight against the Bringer of Fear. Eda knew it, King knew it and even Hooty knew it, but none of them stopped Marcy from walking upstairs in search of Luz, and even if they had tried, Marcy would have done anything to help a friend in need. So, against the voice in her head that sounded so much like Lady Olivia, which advised her to think things better and wait, she made her way into the room she and Luz shared, not caring about how uncomfortable she felt in the pinkish dress she had bought from Eda for that special occasion and even if her shoes were killing her.   Seeing how Luz was sitting next to the window, staring at the night sky of the Boiling Isles, Marcy assumed that she hadn't heard her words and decided to enter inside, hoping that Luz wouldn't be startled by her. She silently thanked General Yunnan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched and the youngest newt ever to achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army for her teachings in the art of sneaking, even if her lessons included such unorthodox stuff like using her non-existent tail to hang from the ceiling to avoid detection. Marcy was a bit surprised when she stood mere meters from Luz, still staring at the hundreds of tiny specks of light that shone brightly amidst the darkness of the black veil that shrouded the firmament, and her friend still didn't seem to have noticed her presence. Marcy did her best to avoid being hurt by that gesture, she knew Luz was probably still assimilating the events of that night, but she couldn't help feeling ignored once again when the all-familiar feeling of being ignored showed its ugly head once again.   "Luz?" Marcy gently touched her friend's shoulder with a trembling hand, worrying about not scaring her. The other girl was startled by the gesture and fell to the ground with a heavy thud as she screamed in terror. Marcy was fast to offer her a helping hand while ignoring the loud snickers that once again came from downstairs. Luz was confused for a second before realizing it was only Marcy who had interrupted her thoughts.   "Mar!" Luz exclaimed in an overly excited tone of voice, as if nothing of great importance had happened that day and she was just tired of the normal shenanigans one could expect from the Boiling Isles. She greeted her friend with a carefree smile and attitude that didn’t reflect the inner turmoil that was torturing her. "Wow, you really are sneaky, aren't you? You need to teach me how to do that!"   "Oh, it's nothing, really." Like every single time Luz praised anything Marcy did or said, the Taiwanese girl blushed faintly at the unusual feeling of being adored and appreciated by someone else. It was the same feeling she had whenever Anne or Sasha complimented her after another successful group project, but now it was different, more special, because of who was saying that. When those same praises came from Luz, they felt warmer, with a different type of care coming from them. "I had a pretty good teacher, even if General Yunnan’s teaching methods were a little... extreme."   Extreme meaning the time she sent Marcy to a castle full of bandits with the task of retrieving a full armor for King Andrias. The next morning, Marcy woke up with sore muscles and couldn't move an inch before her whole body screamed at her to lay down on her bed and rest.   "I wish I could've met her, you know? Whenever you talk about her, you make her seem like the coolest newt ever." Luz sat down on the floor, Marcy mimicked her actions and both girls stared at each other with the familiarity that came after the birth of a true friendship.   "She was! Other than Lady Olivia, she was the best. She always drove her crazy with her shenanigans. Like when she organized a ball for Andrias' court in honor of Captain Beatrix. Have I told you about the time Yunnan broke in with the head of an Alpha Mantis? I thought Lady Olivia was going to explode! And Andrias swore every single newt in Newtopia had heard her screams. And when we managed to calm her down, she got angry again when she noticed…"   For the next half hour, Marcy spoke about the many, many ways in which Yunnan used to bother Lady Olivia and other adventures she lived in the capital of Amphibia prior to the arrival of Anne and the Plantars. More than a year had passed since Andrias’ failed invasion and the rekindling of her friendship with Anne and Sasha, and Marcy had found out that it didn’t hurt anymore to think about the life she had left behind. Talking about everything that had happened in Amphibia, her involvement in finding the Music Box and her betrayal was easier now that she had Luz. It was something therapeutic and it helped Marcy to keep everyone alive in her heart, from General Yunnan and Lady Olivia, the newts she used to play tabletop RPG games with and even King Andrias.   "I guess Amphibia was so much different from the Boiling Isles." Luz said in a dreamy voice after Marcy finished telling the tale of her victory against a group of raiders terrorizing the outskirts of Newtopia. "I mean, so far nothing has tried to eat us."   "What about that Adeghast thing?" Marcy put a finger on her chin, thinking deeply about every situation when they had been about to be eaten. There was Adeghast, the demon whom Marcy had accidentally set on fire, revealing his true form. She could also count the slitherbeast at the Knee, an animal that with its big fangs and smelly breath made her feel nostalgic for Amphibia and its wild fauna.   "That's one." Luz's cheerful behavior suddenly went down, as if she had just remembered something. "And I don't know if I should count Grom in that category."   "Oh, right, Grom. I forgot about it." Marcy had to use all of her willpower to stop herself from burying her head in her hands and groaning loudly. She couldn't believe that she had wasted precious time talking about anything but the reason behind her staying up so late in the night.   "I don't know if it can eat humans, maybe it’s allergic to human meat, you know? In any case, I'm glad I didn't find out." Luz let out a humorless laugh before taking a glance at her friend. She was a bit surprised when she saw Marcy with a pained expression on her face and was about to ask her about it when she opened her mouth.   "Are you okay? With everything that happened at Grom, I mean."   Luz didn't answer for a couple of seconds, worrying Marcy more than she already was. She wished she had Anne or Sasha's ability to make things better by finding the exact words at the exact moment, but she didn't. Maybe if she were more like her friends, Marcy thought as she tried to find something to say that could fix everything, things between us would be better.   "No, well, yes. No, I... I don't know." Luz's voice came so low that Marcy had to do her best to hear her. "It's... Complicated."   "Why?" Marcy's heart began to beat faster, she could feel her head beginning to spin and she had a big lump on her throat that almost made her throw herself at the ground and cry her heart out. Her mind couldn’t stop itself from reminding her the moment Luz and Amity danced together to defeat Grom. Marcy had been amazed by the marvelous sight of Luz moving elegantly under the light of the pale, bright moon, as it was everything she always dreamed of and more. However, the little thing that bothered her was the fact that she couldn’t dance with Luz and, instead, it had been Amity the one who achieved the dream she had had for months now. Something inside Marcy kept telling her that it was nothing but cosmic karma for the time she asked Anne to break up with her boyfriend for her.   "Is it because of..." She let the last word linger as long as possible, not wishing to finish her question and have dreams shattered when Luz answered it, still holding to the faint hope that her friend held no feelings towards the green haired witch.   "Yeah. I just…" Contrary to what Marcy was expecting, Luz didn't sound excited or happy, but rather tired and defeated. "I worry about what my mom would think about this."   "Oh, right. Your mom." Marcy let out a loud sigh of relief that made Luz look at her in a weird way. Marcy blushed when she realized her friend was observing her, luckily, she didn't think much of it and kept talking.   "It's just... How could I explain to her that everything I could've done at the summer camp I'm doing it in the Boiling Isles? Sure, the whole 'living in my fantasy world' thing gets a little complicated now that we know magic is real, but I'm getting better at making friends! Before coming here, I only had you," Luz put a warm hand on Marcy's shoulder, a gesture so insignificant to her but that made the other girl blush even more. "Now I have Eda, King, Willow, Gus and Amity!"   Luz looked down at the floor, her eyes began to water a bit and her sight became clouded with a couple of tears that threatened to flow freely across her face. Marcy's heart broke at that sight. She hated to see her friend act so down, a dreadful contrast to her brighter, usual self. Marcy seldom got angry, but she could still remember that day when one of the cheerleaders mocked Luz for her failed audition at the Romeo and Juliet play. Marcy didn’t waste any time in trying to hit the other girl and instead, ran to Luz to comfort her and to make her feel good. She wished she could do something to comfort her, but all she could do was to stay next to her, joining her in her sorrow.   "I only wish my mom could see them and realize that the Isles was the second-best thing to have happened to me.” Luz managed to smile when she thought of that particular January day.  “But I know she'll hate me for lying to her for so long."   "Come on, Lu!" Marcy forced a smile on her face. She knew little things that could help her friend, seeing how she couldn’t go on a ten-minute adventure with Luz to fix her problems like Anne would have done, and she wasn’t Sasha, who could convince Luz to forget her problems, telling her she was stronger than she thought. Still, Marcy couldn’t just stay there and do nothing. "It's your mom we're talking about! She’s the second-best mom I know after Mrs. Boonchuy. She doesn't hate me even after I kinda destroyed the microwave."   "Well, to be honest I helped you too. I was 90% sure that we could put it back together." Luz laughed at the memory of that Sunday morning she spent with Marcy dismantling the microwave in a futile attempt to find something that could help them for their RPG campaigns. "Besides, we were going to throw that thing anyway."   "Really?"   "No. Not really.”   "In any case," Marcy shifted uncomfortably on her seat. She wished she could get rid of her pink dress and change it for something more comfortable, but the rest of her clothes were still in the Human Realm. "I doubt your mom would get too mad at you. She loves you, Lu. And we can always bring the gang to Earth! I'm sure Gus would love to see a fridge that doesn't try to eat whoever opens it. And your mom likes plants, right? She and Willow would get along like snails and birds!"   "And that’s a good thing, right?" Luz hid her face from Marcy, who worried for a second that she had said something wrong. Once again, she reproached herself for her lack of any word that could make Luz feel better. She was about to stand up, apologize for interrupting her thoughts and tell Eda to take her back to Earth when Luz looked up. Her eyes were still gleaming with some tiny tears she couldn't hide, and they were puffy and red, but they were full of a certain something Marcy didn't recognize, something that made her look happier than before.   "Thanks, Mar." Luz managed to show her a tiny smile before getting closer to hug her. Marcy was taken aback by the sudden gesture and, on top of blushing even harder, felt her face getting warmer and warmer. She was used to Luz’s many shows of affection, since the Latina had the habit of hugging her before parting ways after school, but she couldn’t stop feeling special by that tiny gesture. "You're the best friend I could've ever asked for."   "Yeah, best friends ever!" Marcy ignored the pang of pain that came to her heart after the word 'friend' was said, knowing that they would never be more than that, and decided to focus on the present.   "I mean it, Mar. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you." Luz wasn’t just being cute with her friend; she was being completely honest with her words. Even if going to the summer camp was something none of them could avoid, a consequence of a failed chemistry experiment of which Luz took all the blame, Marcy had been responsible for saving Luz’s scholar reputation. Her original biology project, creating a dissected Griffin that breathed real spiders, had been changed for a demonstration of the physiognomy of newts and toads. And, after they both got an A+ on their homework, Luz was able to comprehend why Marcy had offered her friendship. Because she didn’t mind her own eccentricity and bizarre ideas, instead, her new friend nurtured them and helped them grow. “I said before that coming to the Isles was the second-best thing to ever happen to me. Meeting you and becoming your friend will always be number one.”   Now it was Marcy’s turn to feel the tight knot on her throat as her eyes began to water. She began to breathe slower to avoid crying. After leaving L.A. and her entire life behind, along with her two best and only friends in the entire world, Marcy doubted she would be able to find someone as special as Sasha and Anne had been to her, someone who would accept her with all her oddities without batting an eye like they had done. And she had never been happier to be proven wrong when she met Luz Noceda, the weird kid at school, who seemed to have an uncanny ability to get herself into trouble and to alienate anyone she wished to become friends with. Marcy had seen her before, it was hard not to do it, considering how she spent most of her time outside of the principal’s office, looking down at the floor, talking to herself or reading one of those Good Witch Azura books Marcy always wanted to read. And, once they became friends, Marcy found her love for tabletop RPG games she thought she had lost after the events of Amphibia. Their friendship was as perfect as she could have imagined it to be, which made her infatuation more tragic, as the last thing Marcy wanted was to ruin things with someone who understood her so well like Luz did.   Amidst a comfortable silence, and after seeing how Marcy looked about to cry, Luz’s mind came up with an idea. Many months and many changes in her mind would happen and the Dominican girl would never be able to discover what was going inside her head that cold night. She came closer to Marcy and, moving as clumsily as a newborn fawn, she gave her a tiny kiss on her cheek.   Marcy remembered well the first time she rode Joe Sparrow and flew across the blue skies of Amphibia. The thrill of soaring the skies mounting a giant bird, the adrenaline running through her veins, the wind slapping her face, and the excitement as Joe dived down, almost crashing against some poor merchants that were just passing nearby the gates of Newtopia. At that moment, Marcy was sure that no other feeling in her entire life could compare to flying around for the first time. Now, she wasn't so sure. Marcy felt that her heart was about to explode, and her face was so red that she was sure Eda, King and Hooty could see her from downstairs. Her head began to spin, and she would have fallen to the floor if Luz weren't still looking at her. If Marcy were still in complete control of her senses, she would have noticed that Luz was feeling the same things, with her red face and her expression that indicated that all she wanted to do was to scream and leave her room forever.   Luz tried to say something, to apologize for her reckless actions, but, if she had done that, Marcy would have cut her off with another kiss and some loving words about how much she had wanted to do that for months. Instead, both girls stayed in complete silence, avoiding the other’s stares, each lost in their own minds.   Luz was close to fainting due to all the things that had happened to her in such a short time. From facing her worst fears shaped like her mother, to realizing that she couldn't keep up with her lies forever, Luz was already too tired when Marcy arrived. Still, she felt renewed at the sight of her friend surprising her with her sneaky skills. Ever since Luz dared to talk to Marcy that morning during Biology class, she had been grateful for her friendship and her willingness to put up with her shenanigans, which had been responsible for her current situation.   That was the result of the unusual friendship the two girls had formed. The words she had said before were full of truth. Luz could never thank Marcy enough for becoming her closest friend, from becoming the only person in the school who didn’t mind her fascination with fantastic worlds, magic, or imaginary monsters. Having Marcy by her side, during classes and the recess, during their free times and the lonesome slumber parties, made Luz feel less like the weird kid no one liked.   But as of recently, since they found the portal to the Boiling Isles to be more precise, Luz began to realize that something had changed regarding her relationship with Marcy. The Latina felt a certain feeling she couldn't name whenever she was close to her, a pressure in her heart that made Luz fear the possibility of dying without ever finding what all that meant. Her sweating hands, her shakiness, the fainting sensation she felt whenever Marcy got too close to her to show her the secret ending she got in a video game, all those things were not disliked by Luz but at the same time she dreaded to think about what it really meant to feel like it, as she had seen them and written about them in her fanfics. Her friendship with Marcy was too special to throw it away just because of what she felt for her.   Marcy could only wonder about the exact moment she began to fall for Luz. Maybe it had been that morning where everyone ran scared after she flipped her eyelids and Marcy stayed there, laughing for the first time in months, or that morning in Biology class, where she got to listen the endless description of griffins and their biology, of how the beasts could breathe spiders. Maybe it all began that Saturday, when Luz found Marcy staring at a shady antiquities shop and she offered to spend her entire day with her, listening to the things Marcy had planned for her C&C sessions. Maybe it was the fact that Luz was as nerdy and geeky as herself, always lost in a faraway world full of witches and warriors, dragons, and elves, but somehow always managed to find the way to invite Marcy to her own fantasies, where no one would judge them for being their true selves.   Or maybe, just maybe, Marcy fell in love with Luz that afternoon after detention near the end of the academic year when she apologized to the Latina for taking all the blame for the failed Chemistry experiment, sparing Marcy from a stain on her permanent record.   It had been no one’s fault, just a simple human error, but that little mistake ended up with the entire lab covered with foam and the school’s west wing with a deep smell of rotten eggs and garbage. Marcy knew that Principal Hal was far more strict than Principal Murphy and Luz, in an attempt to show her friend how much she cared for her, spoke with him, and took the blame for the incident. Marcy waited for hours outside of the detention room, and when Luz came outside, sporting the same goofy smile Marcy loved so much, she confronted her. The Taiwanese girl began to apologize soundly for letting her take the blame for their actions. She knew that Luz was already walking on thin ice, and she was on risk of being expelled due to the other many problems she had caused before, but she apparently didn’t care about any of it, because instead of getting angry and telling Marcy that she never wanted to see her again, like the geek girl was expecting her to act, Luz simply smiled at her, calming her down and telling her that she had nothing to worry about.   And it hadn’t been just Luz’s selfless kindness that made Marcy fall in love with her, it was the fact that, whenever she was with her, Marcy felt like she could be herself. She could spend hours talking about how a bad decision in an RPG ended up killing her crew, about how she suddenly decided to change the storyline she had planned for a Creatures & Caverns campaign because of something she dreamt that night. She could recite the entire plot of War of the Warlocks to Luz, and she would listen to her in awe as if it were the first time, and when Marcy came to her, happy about almost beating her own speed run record in Vagabondia Chronicles, Luz would share her excitement.   It wasn't that having a crush on her closest friend, both emotionally and geographically, was something that Marcy hated. It wasn’t until she felt that her only options were either to tell someone about it or explode in a burst of bottled-up emotions that she decided to tell Anne and Sasha about her predicament. It was a warm Spring night when she spoke about the way Luz made her smile, of the many things they had in common and the many things they found about the other. Of how they could play C&C for hours and never get bored of the game, of how they spent their free time coming up with new theories about their favorite books and, in general, how happy she felt whenever Luz was close to her.   Later, Sasha would tell Marcy that Anne’s neighbors had to call the police when they heard the screams of happiness that came from the Boonchuy residence. Anne had been the happiest of the two when she found out about her friend’s crush. Forgetting the things she had learned after trying to pair Sprig and Ivy together, mostly because she was 99% sure that no carnivorous Love Doves lurking on Earth, she immediately went to plan the perfect date so that Marcy could confess her feelings and ask Luz out under the light of a thousand candles. Sasha, however, was a little more hesitant about it. She feared that, with no one to help Marcy in Connecticut, the poor girl could do something brash that could cost her the friendship she cherished so much. But after talking about it with Anne, Sasha decided to support her girlfriend in her quest to create the perfect date for their friend.   “Mar, I…” Luz began to speak, not really knowing how to apologize for her reckless actions. Marcy didn’t let her finish, though, as she opened her mouth and said the first thing that came to her head.   “Don’t worry, Luz!” She was wearing a smile as fake as any jewel Eda had on her. “I’m not… I like… It’s okay, really, I…”   But Marcy couldn’t continue, the embarrassment and fear she felt over being rejected and losing a dear friend like Luz was too much for her young heart to handle. And Luz couldn’t say anything else either, as she also feared losing the only person who hadn’t treated her like a weirdo.   "You know, I thought you had gone back to Earth." Luz's meek voice broke the deep silence that had befallen upon them. Marcy stared at Luz, still shocked by the kiss, making her friend nervous about what she had said. "Not that I don't like having you here with me! I mean, here in my room. Your room. Our room! Where we sleep! Ay, carajo ."   "Huh?" Marcy didn't answer for a second, trying to make heads or tails of Luz's words. She hadn't thought about going back to Earth until her friend mentioned it, even when she knew that Sasha and Anne would be worried about her not connecting for their daily video calls. "No, no. I, well... It's Saturday and my parents are still on a business trip; they won't notice I'm gone."   "Oh, right, right." Luz knew better than to press on the topic of Marcy's parents. She had met them only once and that had already been enough for her. She could see that Mr. and Mrs. Wu cared for Marcy and loved her in their own way, but she couldn’t help but notice the coldness that surrounded the Wu household. It was hard for Luz to understand that her sweet, dorky friend could have been raised in that environment. Then she was able to comprehend why Marcy insisted so much on staying all her free time in Gravesfield’s library or at the Noceda home, where Camila never hid her glee at the sight of her only child finally playing with a real friend. And the few times Marcy mentioned something about her parents was to say something about how they left her alone once again to go on a business trip. “In that case, I’m very happy you decided to stay here! Maybe tomorrow we all can hang out together!” You, Willow, Gus, Amity, and me! Have you seen Bonesborough’s library? Oh! And Eda mentioned the carnival is coming tomorrow! We all could go there and…”   Marcy listened attentively to her friend, but one thing she said was ringing loudly in her head. Marcy knew she shouldn't feel jealous of Amity Blight, the green-haired girl who had tried to dissect her friend, the witch hadn't met Luz as long as she had, but the mere mention of her name coming out of Luz's lips made her heart clench in a tight grip that threatened to squeeze it until nothing, but a bloody pulp came out of it, the sole proof of her unrequited feelings she harbored for Luz. But Marcy couldn’t help but feel the green, ugly tentacles of jealousy coming closer and closer.   Marcy knew she couldn’t keep her feelings hidden away from Luz anymore when she ran after Eda, Gus, King, and the rest of the Hexside students and saw how her friend was saved, not by her, but by that dreadful Blight. She had to watch in awe and angst as both girls danced together under the light of the bright moon, so different from the one she loved to observe back at Amphibia, where her heart had too been broken by a different person, a girl with messy auburn hair who fell for the blonde girl with the scar on her cheek.   Maybe, if Marcy didn’t feel that way about her friend, she would think that Luz and Amity made quite the cute couple, the sweet, naïve human girl who healed the cocky, cruel witch. But her heart shouted at her for simply daring to think that.   "What do you think, Mar?" Luz asked, breaking Marcy out of the daze she was in. The other girl only looked at her, telling her with a look to repeat the question. "You know, about going to the carnival tomorrow. If you don't have to do anything else, I mean."   "S-sure! I'd love to go with you! All of you!" Marcy quickly corrected herself, not wishing Luz to make the right assumption. Fortunately, Luz didn't seem to notice and if she did, she didn't comment on it.   "Perfect! It's a da... It's settled, then." Luz showed Marcy a big, bright smile. The other girl smiled back, wishing she were brave enough to get closer and kiss her again, this time on her lips, feel her beating heart against her own and find some warm comfort amidst the cold nights of the Boiling Isles.   The problem being that Marcy couldn't bring herself to do it. She had wasted too much time talking about Yunnan and her training, their adventures together and the way the taller Newt enjoyed flirting, her own way, with Lady Olivia. She could see Luz's beautiful, brown eyes taking more time to open after blinking, she could see her slurred movements, a clear indicator that she was exhausted and in need of a good night of sleep.   But the seeds of doubt had been already planted inside of Marcy, clawing at her heart like parasites, feeding on her fears, refusing to go away. Knowing that she would never have a better chance to find answers to the many questions that plagued her mind, Marcy decided to take a page out of Sasha’s book and faced her predicament head on, asking a question she denied acknowledging.   "So, what was it like? Dancing with Amity, defeating Grom and everything. I once fought an army of pirates, but none of them could shapeshift." Marcy faked happiness in her voice. She dreaded thinking about Luz’s answer, as the same jealousy she had inside didn’t let her believe that the kiss from before meant something more than friendship. She knew that she would die if her friend confessed having an infatuation with the witch girl, because how could she, Marcy Wu, dare to fight for the love and attention of Luz against Amity Blight? A witch who had a better understanding of magic and the life on the Isles than her, a little perfect witch who would undoubtedly make Luz happier than she could ever hope to make.   "It was cool and everything but..." Luz pondered on her thoughts for a second. "I was so busy trying to not mess things up I didn't pay much attention to it. I think I was more worried about not being devoured by Grom, because I can’t remember much of it.”   "Really?" A flicker of hope lit up Marcy's emerald eyes, making her believe there was a slim chance of…   "Of course! I was sweating the whole time! I couldn't stop thinking about me falling from the abomination Amity made and humiliating us in front of the entire school! Luckily everything went well." Luz interrupted her thoughts, giggling at herself while thinking about the faces she must have made during her dance.   "Don’t say that! You danced so well! I've never seen something as wonderful as that! You looked so beautiful up there!"   A deep silence fell upon them, and Marcy felt that if the Core showed its ugly head again, asking her to become its host again, she would welcome it with open arms. She could barely think properly after the words left her mouth. All she wanted to do was to leave the room and bury her head in the boiling waters of the appropriately named Boiling Sea, but her feet didn't obey her commands and all she could do was to stare at a similarly baffled Luz, who opened and closed her mouth like a fish.   "I-I-I-I..." Marcy didn't find the words to apologize before Luz spoke. Her voice was shaky, as if she had just drunk more coffee than a girl her age should drink, and what she said almost made Marcy faint, ending with what little sanity she had left.   "You looked beautiful too, Mar! I love yo… that pink dress!" Luz wasted no time in covering her mouth with her hands, as if to avoid saying something more compromising. Marcy felt her head beginning to spin around, and if she didn't crash down to the floor was due to a willpower she didn't know she still had on her body.   "T-thanks! Lady Olivia gave me a similar one when I first came to Amphibia." To avoid any more uncomfortable confessions, Marcy decided to change the topic.   "Here! Your Grom tiara. King had it and... I thought you'd like to have it back." She pulled the golden crown with the pink gem in the middle from her bag and gave it to Luz. She stared at it, thinking about everything that little trinket meant. She thought about the dance she had with Amity, the way their bodies came close to each other, how their faces were so close they could feel the heat coming from them, and most importantly, their fight together against their worst nightmares. Luz saw Amity with different eyes after seeing how she had been strong enough to face her fears, being rejected by whoever she had wanted to invite to Grom. If Amity could do it, then Luz could do it as well.   Except that she couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking about all the possible, horrible outcomes of telling Marcy the truth. That as much as she enjoyed fighting Grom and helping a friend in need, that as much as the Grom night she spent fooling around with all of her friends was the best moment she had had in her life, she would have given up all of that for a single dance with that special girl of emerald eyes, with no prying eyes or judgmental stares from others.   So, as yet another proof that she and Marcy did deserve each other, Luz changed the topic.   "T-thanks! We have to make sure to get King a new tiara, though. Remember how cranky he got when we lost his Burger Queen crown?" Luz could only hope that Marcy hadn't noticed how nervous she was when she touched her hand.   "Shoot!" Marcy exclaimed, startling Luz. "I forgot to pick another one before coming here!"   Luz giggled at her friend's reaction. It was one of the many things she loved about Marcy, how she sometimes got so exalted about even the meaningless of things. The way her eyes grew bigger, and her lips formed that perfect ‘o’. "Don't worry, Mar. We can get him something the next time you go back to Earth."   Marcy saw fondly how Luz yawned, opening her mouth, and closing her eyes, taking a bit too much to open them again. She would have told her to go to sleep, that she was too tired to be awake, but she didn’t have a chance.   "How were the balls in Amphibia? Were they like in the Azura books, with magic and a lot of fancy stuff? Or were they more similar to the ones in Cynthia Coven, with intrigue and murders in the background?"   The Taiwanese girl smiled, remembering the multiple events she had to attend as part of King Andrias’ court. Even when she hadn’t fully understood all the etiquette required to avoid making a fool of herself, she had Lady Olivia supporting her, offering her aid so as to prevent an incident with some noble newt.   "Eh... More like the ones in War of the Warlocks, actually. They had so many rules for so many things that it made things a little boring. Well, except the times General Yunnan showed up with the head of a creature she had just hunted.” Marcy barely stopped herself from laughing at everything Olivia had to do to make up for Yunnan’s lack of manners. “Those were always the most interesting parts of the balls.”   "Oh man, I wish I could've been in one."   "Sometimes, General Yunnan danced with me. I wasn't very good, though but she never cared that I stepped on her feet, so there was that. And sometimes, if I behaved well and didn’t set anything on fire, Lady Olivia would give me a sip of her berry wine. Man, it was awfully sweet and always made my head hurt the next day.”   Luz thought about how Marcy behaved at Hexside. Luz was still the newest thing at school, being the only human who took classes there, but that didn’t stop many witches from assaulting Marcy with hundreds of questions about Earth and human life. Viney, Jerbo and Barcus never got too far from her, wishing to learn more about that strange amphibian world she mentioned and both Edric and Emira made her blush when they asked her for a dance, which she refused by saying that she didn’t feel like dancing. Even Principal Bump spoke to her, offering her the same deal he had made with Luz, but Marcy declined the proposal of enrolling at Hexside, saying that she had too many things to do and couldn’t focus on her studies. And while Luz knew her human friend enjoyed spending her time with Willow and Gus, she didn’t understand the distance Marcy put between herself and Amity, who gave her the same cold treatment, feeling not so happy about hanging out with her.   "Why didn't you dance with someone, then?" Luz also didn’t understand why Marcy blushed and avoided her gaze.   "Oh, between the fight with Grom and everything, I didn't find the right time, or the right person to dance with." A hot feeling inside of Luz woke up, making her feel angry at the thought that a witch had caught Marcy’s eye. "Maybe next year."   An idea came to Luz, who stood up and woke up towards the night table where her cellphone laid. "Well, the night hasn't ended yet, right?"   "It's twenty past four, Lu. Technically, it's no longer night. And we should go to…" Whatever she was going to say was left forgotten when she saw her friend, the cause of so many restless nights fighting against her own feelings, offering her a trembling hand. Marcy was not able to see it until many months later, while on a video chat with Sasha and Anne, that Luz was as, if not more, nervous as she, that she looked tired but also had a newfound strength in the way she moved. Marcy stared at the hand, not comprehending what was happening until her friend spoke again.   "Why wait ‘till next year?" Luz said with the same voice she used for their weekly tabletop RPG sessions, making Marcy smile tenderly at her. "Would you like to dance with me?"   Marcy opened her eyes, shocked, surprised, and overly happy for what Luz had asked. It took all of her willpower to not stand up and kiss her friend on the face. It was obvious to Marcy that Luz was tired, her hunched shoulders, the dark bags under her eyes and her slowness on her movements told her enough, but that only made her appreciate her efforts even more.   "Of course I do!” Marcy stood up too quickly and was about to crash on the floor if it weren’t for Luz’s weak nerd arms that held her close to her. Both girls stared at each other in the eye and, without saying anything else, they began to dance around the small room.   Suddenly, every fear and doubt that prowled around their hearts vanished in the air.   Marcy stopped questioning about the things that the future may hold for her and let her heart guide her movements as the only sound that could be heard came from Luz’s cellphone, playing a soft melody that reminded her of simpler times. The many questions and doubts she had were gone, she stopped thinking about all the things she had done the last year and let herself enjoy that wonderful night, promising to never forget how loved and appreciated she felt.   For the second time that night, Luz felt thousands of different feelings corroding her mind and heart, making her believe that a dreadful storm was brewing within herself. She felt tired beyond what was human, but the smile on Marcy’s face was more than enough to keep her going. It was the same smile she fought so hard everyday to see, she was sure that she could dance for the rest of eternity, until her body and soul turned to dust and her spirit went away, if that meant never seeing Marcy sad ever again.   And, even if she felt weirded out by everything she felt now that she held Marcy with her arms, it was something she never wanted to let go.   At dawn, when Eda burst in the girls’ room, her roguish, mocking smile changed to a more endearing one when her eyes looked at her students, sleeping soundly on the floor, still wearing their Grom outfits. The old witch simply giggled at them, leaving them alone and giving strict instructions to both King and Hooty to leave them alone. Hooty didn’t listen to his master and, as silent as he could, entered into the room to place a warm blanket on the couple.   At dawn, when Eda burst in the girls’ room, her roguish, mocking smile changed to a more endearing one when her eyes looked at her students, sleeping soundly on the floor, still wearing their Grom outfits. The old witch simply giggled at them, leaving them alone and giving strict instructions to both King and Hooty to leave them alone. Hooty didn’t listen to his master and, as silent as he could, entered into the room to place a warm blanket on the couple.   And when it came the time for Marcy to return to the Human Realm, the same way she did every day, she couldn’t resist telling her friends about her dance. Both Anne and Sasha smiled tenderly at how excited and happy Marcy sounded, livelier than she had ever been in months. Marcy enjoyed the last specks of happiness that fate had in store for her before the events that would shape the life of the Boiling Isles and its inhabitants forever.    

General Audiences

Eda and Raine reach their hotel room, the two had an eventful day of causing chaos in the human realm. More so, Eda is doing things that might be considered illegal, and Raine is watching her, trying to stop it from getting out of hand. Not that they weren’t having fun, they were. But Raine was trying to keep their wife from getting sent to jail. Again (according to Eda). Now, they finally have time to themselves, something the couple had been looking forward to for a while. At the Owl House, something is always happening and the house is constantly bustling with energy. So, it’s hard to have relaxation time in general. Not that either of them would complain. Both Eda and Raine love the chaotic energy the three, sometimes five, kids bring to the house, and wouldn’t trade it for anything. But, sometimes it’s nice to have a change. “Ooh, kay,” Eda sighs and falls onto the bed, “that was fun, don’t you think Rainestorm?” Raine walks to the other side and scoots to lay down next to her, “yeah, aside from the fact that we had to run from the police. I don’t understand how you do this Eda.” She smiles and moves closer, “I’m just that good. I’ve been to this realm many times.” “How are you still allowed here?” Eda shrugs, “I have my ways,” she turns and kisses their cheek, “Come on Raine, admit it, you like being a troublemaker,” The mint-haired witch lightly blushes, “I mean, it’s ok.” Raine says, a playful tone in their voice, “but, I think I like my troublemaking wife more.” They flirt. “Ah, so you like bad girls?” Eda gives them a smug look “I guess you could say that,” “Damn Rainestorm.” Eda leans in to kiss them, and they kiss her back. This quickly turns into a make-out session, and they adjust themself so they’re on top of her, and deepen the kiss. Eda slides her hands up their back to their head, tangling her fingers in their hair. Raine bites Eda’s lip making her moan in response and leans her head back a little. They move down and leave trails of kisses and bites on her neck, occasionally sucking on the marks. Eda tugs at Raine’s collar, Ranie gets the message and pulls their shirt off, then slides Eda’s dress off in a swift motion. “You’re beautiful,” Raine tells Eda, admiring her curves and lightly tracing her breasts. Eda lightly blushes at the praise, “not as beautiful as you,” she says, running a hand across her partner’s chest, tracing twin scars, and their stomach, before pulling them back down to kiss her. The two witches make out for another minute before Raine moves down her body, again, leaving a trail of kisses and hickeys. Raine massages her breast with one hand, making Eda let out a small moan. They rub the other hand up and down the inside of her thigh, sliding her underwear off, making her shiver, before going down and swiping a finger across her vulva, and clit, Eda lets out a gasp. “You’re wet for me aren’t you?” Raine teases in that low voice they know Eda likes. The gray-haired witch only lets out a whimper in response, getting more turned on. The bard continues to tease her by tracing the area around her clit but never touching it. They lean in to kiss Eda again and continue to tease her. “Raine” “Yes?” “Tie me, to the bed,” Eda commands. Raine gives her a smile, “as you wish.” They unbuckle their belt, then takes their pants off, so they’re only in their boxers, putting on a show for Eda. Wrapping the belt around the bedpost, they tie Eda’s wrist, and prosthetic, together and make sure it’s secure. “Is this comfortable?” “Yeah, now get back down here and fuck me,” She commands playfully, and bites her lip at the sight of Raine in their gray boxers. They lean back down to kiss her before rubbing a hand over her nipple, making Eda breathe heavier. Raine moves their hand down Eda’s body and lightly brushes a finger over her clit briefly, their other hand finds its way to her big hair grabs it, and pulls. Eda whimpers and tries to grind her hip against their leg to increase friction between them. “Eager much?” Raine massages her scalp and grazes their hand over her nipple. “Mmm,” Eda groans in response. The mint-haired witch stops their ministration and adjusts themself so they can touch the parts of her that she desperately wants them to touch. Raine lightly presses a thumb to her clit and their index finger finds her entrance, unintentionally easily slipping in. Eda gasps at this, “Raine-” she moans out their name, body pressing against the mattress, bucking her hips against her partner’s hand. “More.” “More what?” Raine asks, knowing well what Eda wants, and kisses her chest while slowly thrusting. “your fingers,” They easily slip a second finger inside, thrusting at a faster and steady pace, and tug her hair. Eda pulls at the restraints hard at the change in motion, Raine is worried she might accidentally break the bed. Their thumb circles her clit again, adding to her pleasure, Eda arches her back and whimper-moans. She bites her lip and gives Raine a look, “take your boxers off,” she commands of them, and they slide their fingers back out, slowly tasting her wetness, turning Eda on more. They slide their boxers off and toss it somewhere in the room. Eda pushes a leg up in between their thighs, and Raine moans, closing their eyes and gripping the sheets. A wave of pleasure hits their clit, and they feel an urge to grind down on her. “Hot.” the gray hair witch says with a smirk. Raine summons a dildo and a harness and fits it on themself, adjusting the strap-on so it’s directly over their swollen clit. Eda checks them out as they lean back down and kiss her hard, rubbing her pussy, and she gasps in their mouth. “Ready?” Eda nods and Raine moves to leave marks on her neck and chest as they first rub the fake dick on her clit before sliding the toy into her vagina. They slide a hand up her side to her breast, giving it a squeeze, while pushing the dildo all the way inside, bottoming out, before moving back and forth slowly. Letting Eda adjust to them. “Does this feel ok?” “Yeah, now keep going,” Raine slowly picks up their speed a little, making Eda moan, and tug the makeshift handcuffs again. They bury their face in Eda’s neck, and suck at the skin, while thrusting harder into her, the strap rubbing against their own arousal, and Raine lets out a gasp. “You feel so good,” Eda moans as their breath tickles her skin and thrusts her hips up, to deepen the feel of them inside her. “Mmm,” Raine groans in response, the strap pressing on their clit. Moving to suck on her breast, they start thrusting harder and faster. Their own pleasure building up from the stimulation of the dildo. Eda’s noises get louder and she pulls on the restraints. “R-Raine, oh titan,” Eda mumbles mindlessly as Raine pushes deep inside her. “I’m close, p-please don’t stop.” “same,” they groan, feeling pleasure build up in their stomach and lower area and they start to thrust more inconsistently but faster. Raine brings a hand to Eda’s clit and rubs it hard, their mouth going to her breast, and flicks a tongue on her nipple. This pushes Eda over the edge, arching her back, she presses herself more into the pillows and moans their name loud as she comes. Eda’s moans are what push Raine to their orgasm. “Fuck,” Raine shouts as they come a few seconds later and help to guide her back down from her high. They collapse on top of her with a gasp. “mmm,” Eda groans after catching her breath. “That was… amazing,” she says. Raine gets the strength to slowly pull the toy out of her and makes the strap disappear, before untying their wife from the bed. “Yeah, it was.” they rest their head on her chest again. Eda plays with their hair, “do you want me to help you?” she asks. “No, I’m fine, I think the strap was enough,” they say and wrap their arms around her. “I love you,” Raine whispers tiredly. “I love you too, my Rainestorm,” Eda responds and kisses their head, before taking her prosthetic off and falling asleep with her spouse in her arm.

Explicit

It was late, the sun had set many hours ago and clouds covered the bright moon, soon the little strips of clouds turned into thick ones and boiling rain came down as well as loud crashes of thunder     Hunter had woken up from a nightmare, jolted awake with a beam of sweat running down his face, his breathing shallow and quick causing him to feel light-headed, he grabbed tightly at his shirt, he got up from his bed and paced around for a minute intel he heard a chirp and looked up “Boy scared! Boy had nightmare”Flapjack said, flying around the blonde  “Flapjack..yea I- had a nightmare”Hunter said, sitting on the floor, landing on his knees and his arms around his chest  “Get help! Darius! He should help!”Flapjack said  “I can’t flapjack it's late”Hunter said, the bird landing in front of him on the floor  “He said come to him anytime sad!”The bird chirped, rustling its feathers, hunter chuckled at the bird's attempt to look big and scary  “I know but...I don’t want to bother him”Hunter said, getting off his knees and pulling his legs to his chest and hugging them close  “Go to him!”The bird chirped, flying up and grabbing the piece of hair that stuck out and pulling  “Ow ow! Fine!”Hunter said, suddenly a crack of thunder came, causing the boy to look at the window with wide eyes  “Go to Darius!”Flapjack chirped louder, the teen got up and walked out of his room but picked up the pace when another boom of thunder  was heard, he knocked loudly on Darius’ door and after a minute it opened  “Little birdie? What’s wrong?”Darius ask with a concern look, seeing the teen with tears running down his face  “I had a nightmar- Aa!”Hunter was mid sentence when he let out a half squeak half scream after a loud boom of thunder, he pushed his way to darius and clung onto him tightly, hiding his face in the olders chest, flapjack still nested into his hair  “It’s ok Hunter, I’m here”Darius said, hugging the boy back, after a moment Hunter pulled back first “C-can I stay with you tonight.? I had a- nightmare”Hunter asked, looking at the ground, it had been almost a year since the day of unity and he was still having nightmares and was scared of thunder  “Of course Hunter” Darius said, leading him to the bed and letting him get settled, this wasn’t the first time he’s asked to stay with him, he did it a lot when he first moved in, asking to stay in Darius’ room because he was scared or had a nightmare, he never minded it, in fact encouraged it, with how much trauma this boy had he needed all the support he could get  Darius laid next to Hunter, cuddling the boy into his chest, Hunter clenched tightly at Darius’ night shirt, every time thunder cracked his body shook he clutched tighter to Darius, flapjack had nested on the pillow nest to Hunter “Shh it’s ok”Darius soothed the teen, soon soft snores came from him and the death grip on Darius’ night shirt fell    

Not Rated

Dear Ms. Featherwhyle, I’m sure you must get letters like this all the time, and I imagine that you don’t get a chance to go through every single one of them. However, I still wanted a chance to tell you how much your books mean to me. Growing up in my household wasn’t the most pleasant experience. I had strict parents that forced me to live up to their standards as well as two older siblings who constantly got under my skin. I was even forced to break things off with my best friend and instead hang out with kids who were deemed “suitable”. As the years went by, it all became so routine that I guess I sort of became numb to all of it. Then, about a year ago, I was browsing through my local bookstore and came across the first book in your series. The moment I saw Azura on the cover, I was immediately intrigued. So I decided to read a bit, just to see if it was worth my time. Before I knew it, I had read through the first five chapters before the store owner told me that they were closing up for the night. So I decided to buy the book so I could finish it later. Between schoolwork, grudgby volleyball practice, and my after-school job at the local library, I didn’t have a whole lot of free time. But in the time I had, I couldn’t find it in me to look away from the pages of that book. I managed to get through it in just a little over a week. So I went back to the bookstore and purchased the next three installments. I even found out that the first few movie adaptations were available as well. For months, your books were the most positive part of my life. Although, to my surprise, I couldn’t find anyone else who was just as passionate about them. But then, a few months ago, I met someone whose love for Azura possibly rivaled my own. Admittedly, we didn’t get off to the best start. I had been rather hostile at the time, mainly due to a number of misunderstandings. But then, after a crazy night involving a mess at my job, she helped me clean up a rather large mess, and even loaned me her copy of the fifth book. It was because of that small gesture that I started to reconsider my opinion of her. In the following weeks, we got to know each other more and more. And with that, my life started to change for the better. I became closer with my siblings. I started to make things right with my friend that I had to break things off with years ago. And after so many years of having to keep my head down, I finally stood up to my parents when it had become too much. However, there was one other development that I didn’t see coming. In the time that I had gotten to know my new friend, I started to realize that I liked her as more than just a friend. At first, it was so scary. I hadn’t really felt this way about anyone before, and I had no idea how to deal with it. Then, after doing me a huge favor after such a hard day, I got caught up in the moment and before I realized what I was doing, I gave her a kiss on the cheek. Immediately after, I hurried inside and avoided her for over a week, worried that I screwed up so much and that she wouldn’t want to talk to me again. Then, one night, a friend of hers brought us together. After some misunderstandings, she told me that she felt the same way. And by the end of the night, we sort of asked each other out. It was still scary, but at least I knew that she was just as scared as I was. It’s been over a month since that night. A lot of craziness has happened in that time, but we’ve been able to get through it together. And honestly, right now, I think I’m gonna need her now more than ever. Recently, my friends and I had to leave our home. We don’t know when we’ll be able to go back, or how much will have changed when we return. I only recently started to reconnect with my dad, and I have no idea how he’s doing during all of this. In the meantime, my girlfriend’s mom has taken us in. We’re all still getting used to this new situation, but we’re working to get through it one day at a time. I actually recently found out that your next book is set to come out in the coming weeks, so I at least have something else to look forward to in this difficult time. Anyway, thanks again. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but your books helped me through some hard times. And of all the positive connections I’ve made over the last few months, the one I made with my now-girlfriend was the one that set it all off. And while I don’t know how it would’ve turned out if we didn’t bond over Azura, it certainly helped. So thanks for helping us find common ground. Your grateful fan, -A.B.

General Audiences

Lucía Noceda was a girl transported to the Boiling Isles and, well, you all know the story. Beats up monsters with a bat, almost keeps cooked alive, normal stuff. But in between saving her adopted family and friends’ butts she found herself falling for her once enemy- Amelia Blight. One thing led to another and then they started dating. It was cute and only awkward sometimes. They were eighteen so they had things under control, right? Lucía had been rejected before in the human realm and was nervous pulling stunts meanwhile Amelia was a touch-starved lesbian who loved that lovey-dovey type deal but wouldn’t admit it easily. They started dating one way or another and finally things were getting interesting.. One day, after clocking some rogue demons with bats and abominations, the two took a break and found a spot to crash. Amelia sat down while Lucía plopped and put her arm around her girlfriend. Amelia blushed and looked away nervously hiding her tomato face. Lucía respected her enough to look away too.“So, uh, I really liked that new move you did with your abomination magic. The way you made your arm like a rocket gauntlet and shot down that demon was like ‘whoosh.. blam!’ you know?” She did some jazz hands. Amelia giggled. She loved her dork of a girlfriend.“Thanks- I liked your, uh, bat skills?”“Aw hehe, thanks, sugar plum!” Yet another nickname to add to Amelia’s roster. They each gave each other a small kiss. Then, Amelia noticed her girlfriend had battle damage from the last demon they fought.“You’re hurt!”“Pfft.. Am not!” The witch frowned in disbelief. “Okay.. maybe a scratch.” Lucía laughed uncomfortably. Her girlfriend took off her jacket and blushed seeing her body up close. Lucía used to be a little on the ‘nerdy build’ side but after being stuck on the Boiling Isles she gained some strength. Amelia was tomato faced again seeing the rips in her clothing and her athletic build. “Uhh, sweet potato?” She snapped back into reality.“Oh, sorry! I got lost in thought for a second. I don’t know any healing magic so let’s go back to your place and see if we can find any bandages for you.” And so Lucía leaned on Amelia for support and went back to the Owl House. Making a beeline into Lucía’s room, the witch laid her down on her futon.“Stay here. I’ll look for something to clean you up with.” Amelia ran off. The human girl blushed at how concerned her girlfriend was about her. She felt bad making her worry- it was just a scratch in her mind- until she looked down and saw her torso was bleeding quite a lot. When Amelia came back, she noticed some of her blood got on her clothes too.“Amelia! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to ruin your clothes!”“Oh?” She looked down. “It’s okay- let’s clean you up.” She ignored her and got to work. “Take off your top.” Silence filled the room and both blushed. “I-I mean! N-N-No don’t do that! I’ll find another-“ Before she could finish, Lucía took off her top revealing her sports bra. You could clearly see the wound better this way instead of her usual bulky clothes being in the way. Amelia gulped and bit her lip.“It’s okay! We’re both girls so it’s not like we haven’t see a bra before!” Lucía’s smile was genuine and comforting.“R-Right! Of course!” Amelia stuttered. “Seeing my cute girlfriend in her bra, touching her torso, up close..” She blushed bright red. “I.. said too much-“ Before Amelia could do anything Lucía grabbed her hand.“Hey, hey. It’s okay. We’ll be done quick. I mean, I haven’t died before- yet.. I won’t go down easily.” She chuckled. Amelia loved her cool side but also adored her sweet side too. She sighed and let out a small smile.“Okay, I’m sorry. Let me patch you up.” She leaned in close to Lucía but couldn’t get a good angle to work with.“How about in between my legs?”“Wait wha-“ So Lucía scooped her petite girlfriend in between her legs with ease. The witch was practically on top of Lucía trying to clean out the wound. It wasn’t too deep but it would leave a nasty scar. The human saw how desperate and focused her girlfriend was working and hid her nervous smile. ‘A cutie on top of me trying so hard to help me.. That’s a girlfriend’s dream..’ After what seemed like forever, Amelia finished taping up her girlfriend’s torso.“That should be good. Sorry, I’m not as good at this as my sister.”“Aw, babe, you’re the bee’s knees!” She lunged at the cotton candy haired girl and gave her a huge hug.“Lucía! You might be bandaged up but you shouldn’t do something so extreme!”“I feel much better thanks to you! Don’t worry about it.” She smiled and looked at her girlfriend. Realizing she was topping her, Lucía blushed. “Oh, um..” She blushed even brighter. Nothing could beat Amelia’s bright red blush though.“Ah. Um..” Everything stopped. The two didn’t want to move so they stayed like that in silence. Then, the witch grabbed the back of Lucía’s head. “You really don’t think things through.” Her eyes went soft and pulled in for a kiss. It was a small peck but Lucía went back in for more. The two began making out and grabbing ahold of each other’s hands. Amelia was weak for Lucía and tried holding in everything she could but it was fruitless and she moaned softly. It pleased the human girl and she went in deeper and more intense. But the two needed air and sadly, but exhaustedly, pulled back.“Whoa. Did we just make out?” The human girl grinned from ear to ear.“Y-Yeah.. Was I okay?”“Okay? You were amazing! Can we do it again? I know we’ve kissed before but some reason I have this feeling-““What kind of feeling?” Amelia interrupted.“Oh, um,” she thought “kind of scary and anxious.. but warm and enticing. Maybe.. I want to do more with you.”“L-Like what?” Amelia asked nervously.“Like..” Lucía blushed and grazed her arms around Amelia’s clothes.“Oh..”“I-It’s okay if you don’t want to!”“No! No- nothing like that! I want to do it too! I just-“ Amelia paused. “I’m nervous I’ll mess something up..”“Well, it’ll be my first time too..” The human blushed but then looked her girlfriend in the eyes and smiled anxiously. “I love you, Amelia. I love you a whole lot! And, I don’t know, I want to show it and maybe..” She felt up Amelia’s leg. “Maybe feel how much I love you too?” The witch’s eyes sparkled; she loved this side of Lucía.“I love you too, batata.” She looked away and smiled. That was the last straw for Lucía and her urges. The horny had fully set in for her. Lucía started small and kissed her girlfriend until she felt the heat of Amelia radiate. The human put her hand on the inside of Amelia’s thigh and slowly made her way upwards. A small moan had been let out- she was getting in the mood too now too. Lucía pulled off her girlfriend’s crop top and skirt and so she did the same to what was left of her clothing.“Wow.” She said looking at her half naked girlfriend. Amelia was wearing cute, lacey black panties and bralette.“Is that a good ‘wow’?” She blushed with doe eyes.“Y-Yeah! It’s just.. wow! I mean, I never really thought about you in something like this- not that I’ve thought about you undressed before- I mean-“ Before Lucía could figure out her words, Amelia wrapped her hands behind her girlfriend’s head.“Don’t say anymore. Come here.” Lucía was down bad for her bad girl side and simply gulped and nodded. She got back on top and began fiddling with Amelia’s panties. Slowly, she crept them down off of her. The witch blushed hardcore and tried hiding her face.“D-Don’t look at my face. Just keep going..”“It’s okay!” Lucía looked up at Amelia. “I think you’re real cute when you blush.” She smiled. “Plus- that’s a good sign I’m doing the right thing!” The human giggled.“Lucía.. Thanks.” Back to work, Lucía swallowed her hidden nervousness and went for the bra next. She unhooked it and now the two were both naked. “So, what next?”“Leave that to me! Well, unless you want me to do something first?” The human asked.“I’ve.. always noticed you looking at my.. chest area. I don’t mind- actually, could you grope me?” Lucia’s eyes flared up. “You don’t have to come up with an excuse just.. go for it.” Amelia begged. So Lucía did. Lucía slid one hand from one breast down further and further. Amelia didn’t question it, just nodded and hit her lip.“I don’t want to be tough.”“Y-You’re being gentle, don’t worry.”“Does it feel good?”“Mhm.. I like this a lot. Feeling your love..” Amelia flipped over as Lucía stopped. “Do we have to stop?”“Nope- I’m here all night, baby!” Lucía winked and chuckled.“What am I going to do with you?” Amelia wrapped her arms around Lucia’s waist and smooched her forehead. “I’d like to.. make out some more.” The witch pleaded with doe eyes. Lucía went in and they started kissing passionately again. The two went back and forth finding ways to love on each other but finally, Lucía’s hidden pain from the wound was hard to hide. Amelia caught that and stopped everything she was doing.“Lucía, let’s go to bed.”“What?! Noooo..” Lucía hugged Amelia. The witch was pouting and looking away from her girlfriend.“Then lie down and I’ll take things from here.” Lucía nodded smiling and lied down. If she were a dog her tail would be wagging. “Good!” She smiled and hugged her girlfriend lying down. They were a little tired already but wanted to still spend the night together. Amelia snuggled into the crevice of her girlfriend’s neck and wrapped her arms around her head and massaged it. Lucía on the other hand had her hands on Amelia’s waist and smiled as wide as the eye could see enjoying the massaging. She let out a comical woof and kissed Amelia’s head a bunch. She giggled and soon Lucía was kissing all over Amelia.“You're all mine, Blight!”“Stop! You’re supposed to lie down!”“As long as I’m getting some love I’m fully charged!” She lifted up and flexed her arms. Amelia giggled and put her head on her lap.“I love you, my darling.” Lucía rubbed Amelia’s head and smiled.“Love you too, cotton candy haired goddess.” The two finally shared the futon as intended and looked through the window at the stars.“Hey, Lucía? I just remembered something.” The human girl turned around to look at her girlfriend.“What’s up?”“I think.. Tomorrow is our anniversary.”“No way! You’re pulling my leg!”“Pulling.. what?”“I- I didn’t mean to forget! It just feels like yesterday since I got transported here!”“You’re fine, don’t worry. Same here, actually. I feel like a totally bad girlfriend.”“Amelia Blight. You are the best girlfriend anyone could wish for! My love, my goddess, my sweetie!” With every word Lucía kissed Amelia all over the face.“Okay! Okay!” She giggled. “Well, time flies, I suppose.”“Yeah.” Lucía looked up at the ceiling. “Let’s do something special tomorrow, m’kay?” Lucía went in for the pinky promise. Amelia reciprocated it and so the ultimate promises of promises had been made.“Let’s have a good anniversary. This year has been a good one. I hope it never ends.”

Mature

Луз кинулася до дверей халупи, але порталу там не було - лише дерев'яна підлога, вогкі стіни та якийсь мотлох. Зрештою, все те саме, що було там кілька місяців тому, коли вона побігла за палісманом Іди, що вкрав її книжку. Іда...Луз почула плач Ґаса у себе за спиною та бурмотіння Вілов, яка намагалася його заспокоїти. Вона повернулася обличчям до друзів і зіштовхнулася поглядом з Еміті. Луз усвідомила, що, мабуть, ніколи не забуде цей погляд - розгублений, нажаханий, її дівчина була у відчаї, але занадто шокована, щоб говорити чи навіть плакати. Гантер все ще сидів на землі, втупившись очима в калюжу. Вираз його обличчя чітко давав зрозуміти, що хлопець не скоро прийде до тями від такого потрясіння, як битва з Белосом і втеча до людського виміру.Луз страшенно хотілося зробити бодай щось, аби розрадити їх всіх, але цього разу її оптимізм був би недоречним. Та й оптимізму в собі вона зовсім не відчувала.- Ходімо до мене, це недалеко звідси... - пробурмотіла дівчина. Ґас кивнув і витер заплакане обличчя рукою, хоча це не мало сенсу, адже надворі був дощ. Еміті та Гантер теж мовчки кивнули, і лише Вілов озвучила питання, яке висіло у повітрі.- Твоя мама не буде проти?Луз похитала головою.- Вона ніколи не відмовить людям, чи то пак відьмам в біді. - сказала вона, ледь посміхнувшись від згадки про доброту своєї мами. Але коли п'ятірка підійшла до дверей будинку Луз, вона відчула страх. Дівчина знала, що Каміла не прожене їх, але раптом вона настільки засмучена поведінкою Луз, що більше не любить її? Або принаймні дуже дуже сердиться на неї. Луз відчула, як її серце впало в п'яти, але в неї не було іншого вибору, окрім як постукати в двері.- Привіт, мамо, я повернулася. - сказала вона з сумною посмішкою на обличчі та сльозами в очах. Її мама прикрила рота рукою від здивування, а за мить кинулася обіймати доньку. Луз вдихнула рідний запах маминої куртки кольору хакі, й на мить навіть забула, що поруч з неї стояли четверо відьом.- Заходьте, а то застудитеся. - трохи нервово сказала Каміла й посміхнулася підліткам з виміру демонів. Ох і багато їй доведеться пояснювати мамі...   Каміла Носеда спокійно готувала вечерю разом з василіском на ім'я Ві, коли в двері постукали і на порозі з'явилася її донька Луз разом з чотирма наляканими підлітками. Звісно, Каміла запросила їх всередину і видала всім сухий одяг, і от тепер на дивані в її вітальні сиділи дуже різні на вигляд друзі (?) Луз, яких об'єднувала одна спільна риса: загострені вуха. Жінка не знала, як з ними заговорити, вона сподівалася, що Луз відрекомендує всіх, але її донька чомусь мовчала. Схоже, з ними сталося щось дуже нехороше.- Мене звати Каміла. - нарешті наважилася вона. - Луз, як звати твоїх друзів?Дівчина наче виринула з трансу і аж здригнулася. - Мамо, це мої кращі друзі Ґас та Вілов, - сказала вона, показуючи на невисокого хлопчика і дівчину з товстими косами.- Приємно познайомитися з кращими друзями Луз - сказала Каміла, і Ґас та Вілов силувано посміхнулися.- Це Гантер - ми не те щоб друзі, але думаю, це зміниться в майбутньому. - продовжила Луз, і блондин з червонястими очима пробурмотів щось не дуже зрозуміле собі під носа. Каміла помітила, що він був найбільш знервованим з усіх, а ще мав давні шрами на обличчі.- Приємно познайомитися, Гантере.- Взаємно. - тихенько сказав хлопець.- А це Еміті - сказала Луз і зробила невелику паузу, дивлячись в очі дівчині з лавандовим волоссям, від чого та явно зашарілася. - моя дівчина.- Вау, mija, це так чудово. - сказала Каміла трохи здивовано. - Приємно познайомитися, Еміті.- Це велика честь для мене, познайомитися з вами, пані Носеда. - стримано відповіла Еміті. "В неї такі хороші манери" - подумала Каміла і посміхнулася. Однак ця посмішка швидко зникла, коли її погляд впав на порізи на обличчях її доньки та решти підлітків.- Так, я не знаю, що з вами всіма сталося, але зараз я принесу аптечку і ми з Ві обробимо ваші порізи. - сказала вона. - А потім ми можемо про все поговорити, якщо ви захочете.Діти кивнули, і Каміла побігла за аптечкою.Чесно кажучи, вона дуже хвилювалася за них всіх, і її лякало те, чого вона не знала. Те, що змусило зазвичай веселу та гіперактивну Луз сидіти нерухомо з таким шокованим і якимось відсутнім виразом обличчя. Те, через що всі ці діти були такі пригнічені. Камілі дуже хотілося думати, що вони просто побилися з однолітками чи втрапили в неприємності через якісь дурні витівки, але вона була впевнена: все було набагато складніше. Коли її мама відкрила аптечку, Луз хутко витягнула звідти вату і засіб для дезінфекції та повернулася обличчям до Еміті.- Ти не проти? - спитала вона.- Це ліки, чи що?- Mija, давай я оброблю твої порізи, а Ві займеться Еміті? - запропонувала Каміла.- Я сама все зроблю, а ви краще допоможіть Вілов та хлопцям.Луз думала, що її мама буде сперечатися, але, на її превеликий подив, та кивнула і зосередилася на інших відьмах.- Воно не загоює подряпини відразу і трохи пече, але мама завжди це робить, тому мабуть так треба. - тихенько сказала Луз і приклала ватний диск до правої щоки Еміті, і та почервоніла, як помідор.- Луз, твоя брова...- Та то нічого, я потім оброблю ту подряпину.- Краще зроби це зараз. - сказала Еміті і подивилася на Луз трохи суворо. - Серйозно, я можу сама потримати цю... штучку біля своєї щоки.- Як скажеш, hermosa. - зітхнула Луз. Їй було соромно, що вона не змогла захистити свою дівчину та друзів від цього всього, тому вона намагалася зробити бодай щось. Однак, вона справді не хотіла дратувати Еміті своєю впертістю, тому відступила.Невдовзі всі подряпини були оброблені та заклеєні різнокольоровими пластирами, і Каміла покликала всіх за стіл. Луз трохи дивувало те, що її мама все ще не засипала їх питаннями про те, що сталося. Мабуть, вона зрозуміла, що все було кепсько. - Всім смачного. - сказала Каміла, і всі тихо пробурмотіли "дякую". Луз раптом відчула, наскільки вона зголодніла. Дівчина не могла згадати, коли вони їла минулого разу, тож буквально накинулася на страву перед собою.- Гантере, чому ти не їси? - лагідно спитала Каміла у хлопця, який знервовано тицяв виделкою в страву, покриту шаром соусу.- Не знаю... я ніколи не бачив нічого схожого на це. - пробурмотів Гантер знічено.- Обіцяю, це дуже смачно. - сказала Луз і посміхнулася.- І мій відьомський шлунок навіть не болить від цієї їжі. Поки що. - сказав Ґас і підняв два великі пальці вгору - Луз навчила його цьому жесту не так давно.- Гм, і справді смачно. - зауважив Гантер, обережно спробувавши шматочок.- Не хочу вас занадто розпитувати, адже ви втомлені, але все-таки мені цікаво: ви відьми чи демони? - спитала Каміла, явно намагаючись бути тактовною.- Ми відьми. - сказала Вілов, і Луз помітила, як Гантер напружився. Він же не був відьмою...- І дуже сильні відьми, до речі! - гордо заявила Луз, від чого вся компашка з киплячих островів почервоніла.- Не сумніваюся. - посміхнулася Каміла. - До речі, які закляття ви зазвичайвикористовуєте?- Я спеціалізуюся на рослинній магії, тобто я вирощую та контролюю рослини. - сказала Вілов. Ґас, очевидно, ледь дочекався, покивона договорить, бо відразу заявив:- Я ілюзіоніст!- У нас такі теж є, але підозрюю, ти не показуєш фокуси. - сказала Каміла, натякаючи, що їй цікаво почути більше про магію Ґаса.- Я можу змінювати вигляд речей, одного разу я замаскував цілу школу за допомогою ілюзій...Поки Ґас розповідав її мамі про ілюзії, Луз міркувала над тим, чому Каміла не розпитує їх про те, як вони опинилися у вимірі людей. Але, чесно кажучи, Луз раділа цьому: вона сумнівалася, що зможе розповісти про все без сліз, і їй зовсім не хотілося ридати при своїх друзях, які застрягли тут з її провини.- Еміті, а яка твоя магія? - спитала Каміла, і Луз миттю підняла голову, почувши ім'я своєї дівчини.- Я роблю мерзоти. - трохи засмучено сказала Еміті, мабуть, це нагадало їй про її родину.Каміла ж мала досить розгублений вигляд.- Мерзоти? - перепитала вона.- Так, це ніби монстри, якими можна керувати, вони можуть стати в пригоді як в побуті, так і в бит...- Битті подушок! З ними дуже весело грати в биття подушками! - перебила Еміті Луз.- Цікаво. - сказала Каміла, і Еміті чомусь почервоніла, цього разу так, ніби сердилася.- Гантере?- Що? - перелякано запитав блондин.- Якою магією займаєшся ти? - спитала Каміла, не знаючи, що Гантер не мав жодної магії в собі так само, як і Луз.- Я... мені не дуже вдається традиційна магія. - пробурмотів хлопець і кинув на Луз застережливий "не-смій-нічого-ляпнути" погляд. Та лише кивнула. Вона й не збиралася нікому казати, що він - Ґрімвокер. Луз добре розуміла його переживання з цього приводу, адже сама приховувала дещо, про що дізналася під час їхньої подорожі в розум Белоса.Коли всі доїли вечерю, постало питання: де всі будуть спати? Будинок Носед був досить невеликим, з двома кімнатами та вітальнею. На щастя для Луз і гостей з киплячих островів, її мама швидко з цим розібралася.- Хлопці, ви будете спати на дивані, Луз та Еміті - у кімнаті Луз, Вілов та Ві - ви будете у мене в кімнаті.- Але пані Носеда, де будете спати ви? - стурбовано запитала Вілов.- У мене є надувний матрац, який я покладу у вітальні. - заспокоїла її Каміла.Коли Луз зайшла до своєї кімнати, її охопили змішані почуття. З одного боку, все було так само, як кілька місяців тому. З іншого, на підлозі біля ліжка сиділа засмучена богиня з волоссям, як цукрова вата.- Гей, Еміті. - тихо сказала Луз і сіла на підлогу поруч з нею. - Ти як?- Нормально, а ти? - спитала Еміті якось відсторонено.- Теж. - сказала Луз і спробувала взяти її за руку, але Еміті відсунулася від неї.- Луз, чому ти не дала мені розповісти про мерзот? - спитала вона трохи засмучено.- Я просто не хотіла нагадувати мамі про небезпечність киплячих островів, а ти збиралася сказати про битви...Вибач. - знічено пробурмотіла Луз.- Все добре, але ти скажеш їй про все що... сталося? - запитала Еміті, і Луз відчула, як її горло стиснулося від самої думки про це.- Мабуть, мені доведеться, але я дуже боюся. - зізналася вона.Еміті подивилася на неї зі співчуттям і прошепотіла:- Я розумію, і я буду поруч з тобою, що б там не було, batata.- Ти найкраща. Серйозно, ти просто найкраща у всьому світі... в обох світах. - тихо, але дуже чітко сказала Луз і миттю почервоніла, злякавшись, що це було занадто. Але Еміті лише посміхнулася їй своєю страшенно милою посмішкою.- Тільки якщо ти говориш про друге місце після себе.- Дівчата, ви ще не спите? - спитала Каміла, ледь відкривши двері в кімнату Луз.- Ні, а що?- Mija, можеш вийти на секунду в коридор?Луз вийшла з кімнати і закрила двері.- Все гаразд? - запитала вона трохи стурбовано.- Це я в тебе хочу запитати. - відповіла її мама.- Так, все гаразд. - збрехала Луз. Вона терпіти не могла брехати мамі, але вона дуже не хотіла лякати її правдою.- Луз, якщо все гаразд, чому у вас всіх такий вигляд, ніби ви билися з кимось? І як ви всі опинилися тут?Голос Каміли звучав стривожено і навіть налякано. Луз зовсім не хотіла завдати своїй мамі ще більших страждань, ніж уже завдала своєю втечею на Киплячі Острови, тож вона опустила голову і тихо сказала:- Це довга історія...- Я розумію, що сталося щось погане, тому не буду змушувати тебе говорити про це зараз...- Ні, досить з тебе невідомості. - похитала головою Луз.- Все гаразд, я почекаю.- запевнила її Каміла.- Мамо, мені треба це комусь розповісти... але ходімо до кухні, хай Еміті відпочиває. Еміті зрозуміла, що Луз зібралася розповісти все мамі просто зараз, і намагалася не слухати. Однак їй і не довелося нічого почути, адже пані Носеда та її донька пішли кудись, мабуть, на кухню. Дівчина видихнула з полегшенням і роззирнулася. Кімната Луз була невелика, але затишна, з незвичайним декором. Постери з якихось людських мультиків, книжкова полиця зі всією серією Хорошої Відьми Азури... бракувало лише п'ятої, останньої частини. Еміті стало не по собі від згадки про місце, де та книжка залишилася - Киплячі Острови. "Зараз немає сенсу думати про це" - подумки сказала собі вона й звернула увагу на м'яку іграшку, що "сиділа" на ліжку поруч з нею. Плюшева тваринка коричневого кольору, назви якої Еміті не знала - вона ніколи не бачила такої істоти вдома. Гм, треба запитати у Луз, коли вона повернеться.Однак, коли Луз зайшла до кімнати, Еміті відразу забула про дивну іграшку.- Луз, все нормально?Дівчина лише кивнула, уникаючи дивитися Еміті в очі. Це було поганою ознакою - зазвичай Луз відповідала якоюсь занадто радісною реплікою на такі питання. Але якщо вона мовчала, мабуть, все було ще гірше, ніж у минулі рази. Зрештою, все справді було дуже кепсько.Луз залізла на ліжко і лягла поруч з Еміті, навіть не вкрившись ковдрою. Її вираз обличчя був таким замученим, що на цебуло важко дивитися.- Луз, ти ж знаєш, що можеш все мені розповісти? Типу абсолютно все?- Ага. - ледь чутно пробурмотіла Луз і повернулася на інший бік. - Але зараз я справді хочу спати.- Солодких снів. - прошепотіла Еміті, намагаючись стримати сльози, що зрадливо зібралися в очах. Вона розуміла, що Луз не просто хотіла спати - їй було сумно і боляче, і Еміті нічого не могла з цим зробити. Все, що їй залишалося - лягти поруч з Луз, але не занадто близько, і спробувати заснути. Звісно, це не допомогло б, але і від ще більшої втоми нікому краще не буде. Еміті просто сподівалася, що зранку їм всім стане бодай трішки легше, і що Луз не буде знову приховувати свої почуття від неї. Адже вона справді хотіла зробити все, щоб допомогти своїй улюбленій людині... Луз прокинулася рано, і це за умови, що вона взагалі спала. Дівчина не пам'ятала, що їй снилося, а що вона просто думала, лежачи в ліжку, але це точно не було щось хороше. Вона повернулася обличчям до вікна - крізь штори пробивалися промені сонця, що падали на лице її прекрасної дівчини. Луз легенько посміхнулася, помітивши, як Еміті обіймала подушку уві сні. Пощастило ж подушці...Маленький електронний годинник на тумбочці біля ліжка показував шосту двадцять, але Луз не мала жодного бажання намагатися заснути знову. Може, якісь побутові справи хоч трохи відволічуть її від спогадів про вчорашній день... день єдності. Зрештою, вона винна своїй мамі дуже багато допомоги по дому після цієї своєї витівки з втечею до виміру демонів.- Теж не спиться?Луз здригнулася і на автоматі засунула руку до кишені, щоб знайти папірці з рунами, яких там не було. Але це була всього лише Вілов.- Ой, ти налякала мене!- Вибач. - нервово хихикнула відьма. - Це нічого, що я полила ваші кімнатні рослини?- Звісно нічого, дякую. Але тепер мені нічого робити. - трохи сумно посміхнулася Луз.- Можемо приготувати сніданок, якщо це не заборонено.- Заборонено, якщо це включає вмикання плити і духовки. Хоча не впевнена, що це правило поширюється на тебе.Зрештою, дівчата вирішили приготувати всім сендвічі та зробити фруктовий салат. Щоправда, інгредієнтів було трішки замало для всієї компанії, що тимчасово проживала у будинку Носед.- Мені одній здається, що цієї маленької миски фруктів точно не вистачить на всіх нас? - запитала Вілов.- Я не дуже голодна, тому обійдуся без фруктового салату. - знизала плечима Луз. Насправді, вона просто обожнювала такий салат і була досить голодна, але все найкраще для гостей. "Особливо якщо це гості, які застрягли тут з твоєї вини" - подумала дівчина.- Але як щодо сендвічів?Луз подивилася на інгредієнти, які вона витягла з холодильника хвилину тому. Половина упаковки хліба, пачка кетчупу, трохи шинки і жалюгідно маленький шматок сиру.- Доведеться покласти всім зовсім трохи начинки. Вибач, мама не знала, що ми всі тут опинимося, а їм вдвох з Ві багато не треба - винувато пробурмотіла Луз.- Це не твоя провина. - сказала Вілов своїм заспокійливим голосом і поклала руку їй на плече. Луз знала, що вона мала на увазі їжу, але відчуття було таке, наче Вілов говорила про все, що сталося.- Дякую, ти найкраща подруга, яка у мене будь-коли могла бути. - випалила Луз на одному подиху.- А як же Еміті? - хитро поцікавилася Вілов.- Еміті не подруга, і ти це знаєш. - трохи обурено заявила Луз, на що відьма лише тихенько хихикнула.- Ти теж найкраща подруга, яка у мене будь-коли могла би бути, і саме тому я трохи дістаю тебе. За півгодини до кухні зайшла Каміла, і приязно посміхнулася дівчатам.- Мамо, ми приготували сніданок, і нічого не згоріло! - голосно сказала Луз, посміхаючись. Їй зовсім не хотілося, щоб мама думала, ніби їй сумно від повернення додому.- Чудово, але ви не мусите робити такі речі, це моя робота.- Ви й так дуже багато робите для нас, пані Каміло. - скромно сказала Вілов.- І зроблю ще більше. - запевнила її Каміла. - Давайте я приготую ще яєчню, щоб всі наїлися.Невдовзі на запах яєчні зійшлися Ві, Ґас та Гантер, останні два дуже сонні. Луз помітила, що очі Ґаса були червоні та трохи набряклі й знову відчула укол провини. Якби не її безвідповідальність, нічого цього не сталося б...- Де твоя дівчина, Луз? - спитала Каміла, і серце Луз забилося частіше, ніби вона щойно усвідомила, що Еміті справді її дівчина.- Я піду покличу її. - пробурмотіла вона і кинулася до своєї кімнати.- Вже не спиш, hermosa? - тихенько запитала Луз, відкривши двері. Жодної відповіді вона не отримала.Дівчина сіла на ліжку поруч з Еміті й легенько її штурхнула.- Шо? - пробурмотіла вона зпросоння.- Це я, Луз. Сніданок вже готовий, але якщо ти хочеш спати далі, я не наполягаю.- Ой, вибач, я проспала! - зойкнула Еміті й зіскочила з ліжка.- Спокійно, нічого ти не проспала. - сказала Луз і легенько засміялася від сонного вигляду своєї дівчини. Їй хотілося обійняти цю богиню з лавандовим волоссям, що стирчало в різні боки, але вона сумнівалася, чи варто. Зрештою, Еміті мала повне право сердитися на неї після всього, що сталося. Стоп, вона ж не знає про...- Ходімо? - запитала Еміті.- Так, вперед! - занадто голосно сказала Луз і побігла на кухню. Їй було соромно навіть думати про ту подорож у часі в присутності Еміті чи будь-кого зі своїх друзів, ніби вони могли прочитати її думки. Але як довго вона зможе це приховувати? - Як ви ставитеся до того, щоб поїхати за новим одягом для вас зараз? - спитала Каміла у своїх гостей, чи нових підопічних?- У справжній людський магазин? - запитав Ґас схвильовано, і як тільки жінка кивнула, очі хлопця засяяли. Вілов та Еміті теж погодилися, і погляд Каміли зупинився на Гантері.- Що думаєш з цього приводу?- Я? Т-та мені все одно, поїду, якщо треба. - знервовано сказав хлопець і відразу перелякався, що ляпнув щось грубе.- Дивися, ти не мусиш, якщо не хочеш. -заспокійливо запевнила його Каміла. - Візалишається вдома, тож ти не будеш сам.- Дякую, я поїду. - пробурмотів Гантер. Хоча вчора його запевнили, що Ві абсолютно безпечна, йому все ще було трохи страшно залишатися сам на сам з василіском. Крім того, хлопець відчував провину перед нею, адже імператорський ковен завдав їй чимало страждань, а він був його частиною. - Луз, ти ж поїдеш з нами? - запитав Ґас і легенько штурхнув подругу ліктем.- Га? Так, звичайно. - посміхнулася Луз, але Гантеру здалося, що вона була не дуже зацікавлена.- Тоді за півгодини виїжджаємо. - вирішила Каміла і встала з-за столу, прибираючи тарілки.- Я все помию! - вигукнула Луз і вихопила тарілки з її рук.- Я допоможу Луз. - пробурмотіла Еміті дещо знічено.- Дуже мило з вашого боку, дівчата.Коли Луміті, як їх називали Ґас та Вілов, помили посуд, всі швиденько зібралися та вийшли надвір. Гантер обережно роззирнувся, готовий до небезпеки, що може чатувати будь-де. Але хлопець побачив лише блакитне небо, зелений газон та дивну сіру дорогу.- Чому тут все такого дивного кольору? - пробурмотів Гантер собі під носа, але Вілов його почула.- Я не знаю, але мені подобається ця трава. - посміхнулася дівчина.- Не переймайся, небо у людському вимірі таке й має бути. - запевнив друга Ґас. - А от якщо воно темно-сіре...- Що тоді? - знервовано спитав Гантер.- Буде дощ і гроза, але це не страшно! - сказала Луз, що саме вискочила надвір разом з Еміті. Дівчата трималися за руки і Гантер навіть подумав, що це мило, але він нізащо б не сказав це вголос.- Всі в машину! - гукнула Каміла і сіла в якусь дивну карету синього кольору.- Гантере, будеш сидіти на передньому сидінні, бо ти найвищий. Ти ж не проти? - запитала Луз.- Та ні...Щоправда, коли Луз відкрила йому дверцята машини і хлопець зрозумів, що сидітиме поруч з її мамою, Гантер пошкодував про свої слова.- Пристебни пасок безпеки.- Ее, що?- Йой, я забула, що ти не знаєш, як. - ніяково сказала Каміла і пристебнула його дивною чорною штукою.- Ви мене зв'язали?! - обурено запитав Гантер.- Ахахпхп що? Звісно ні, це для безпеки. - пояснила жінка, сміючись зовсім не по-злому.- Мама відстібне тебе, як тільки ми приїдемо. - сказала Луз із заднього сидіння.- Аа, добре. - пробурмотів Гантер. Тепер йому було соромно, що він так відреагував. Ну чому абсолютно все у цьому вимірі мало бути настільки дивним? Як тільки вони почали їхати, Еміті взяла Луз за руку. Мабуть, їй було трохи страшно їхати в машині - на Киплячих Островах точно не було такого транспорту. Луз потрусила головою, намагаючись викинути з нею думки про вимір демонів і всіх, хто залишилися там.- Луз, а в магазині продається отой людський напій, про який ти казала? - запитав Ґас.- Який саме?- Коако... ні, каоко... - намагався згадати хлопець.- Какао? - підказала йому Луз.- Так!- Ну, ми їдемо в магазин одягу, але вдома я зроблю вам всім какао.- сказала Каміла.- Ура! Какао моєї мами найкраще! - вигукнула Луз, і Ґас радісно посміхнувся.Луз дуже сподівалася, що він не прикидався, а справді радів - Ґас заслужив трохи безтурботності та веселощів, вони всі заслужили. Але не вона, чиєю провиною було все це.Луз відчула на собі погляд Еміті, іповернулася обличчям до своєї дівчини,посміхаючись.- Хочеш щось сказати, hermosa?Еміті відкрила рота, знову закрила його і похитала головою.- Просто дивлюся на тебе... ти дуже гарна.Луз розуміла, що вона збиралася сказати щось інше, але все одно посміхнулася і міцніше стиснула руку Еміті.- Але ти найгарніша.- Ні, ти...- А я кажу, шо ти.- Агов, ми все ще тут. - жартома закотила очі Вілов, і дівчата почервоніли.- Ти найгарніша, і це кінець розмови. - тихо, але впевнено прошепотіла Еміті на вухо Луз, від чого її лице остаточно перетворилося на яскраво-червоний томат.- Приїхали!Вся компанія вийшла з автівки, і вирази облич відьом треба було бачити. Вони стояли на парковці біля торгового центру - невеликого, але точно не схожого на магазини виміру демонів.- Я що, сплю? - захоплено сказав Ґас, коли вони зайшли в приміщення, де були різноманітні магазини одягу.- Діти, послухайте мене зараз уважно, гаразд? - чітко, але спокійно сказала Каміла, і всі повернули очі на неї. - Зараз ми будемо заходити в різні магазини і ви зможете обрати собі новий одяг, але будь ласка не йдіть нікуди без мого відома і старайтеся не привертати зайвої уваги.- Звісно, пані Носеда. - сказала Вілов і решта підлітків кивнули.- Луз, ти будеш супроводжувати Еміті та Вілов, а я - Ґаса та Гантера. - оголосила Каміла, коли вони зайшли в перший магазин. - Зустрічаємося біля примірочних за півгодини.- Що саме ми маємо робити зараз, Луз? - спитала Еміті.- Обирати нові шмотки!- Гм, а з якої цінової категорії? - обережно поцікавилася Вілов.- Тут немає нічого дуже дорогого, але найкраще брати речі зі знижкою, бо так прикольніше! - сказала Луз вдавано-невимушено. Насправді, вона хвилювалася, чи вистачить її мамі грошей на таку кількість одягу, але вголос нічого не сказала.- Луз, як тобі оце? - запитала Еміті, показуючи своїй дівчині чорні джинси прямого крою.- Чудово, але це ж тобі має сподобатися.- Мені подобається... вони не занадто дорогі?Луз подивилася на цінник - 15 баксів.- Ні, це крута ціна! - сказала вона і посміхнулася. - Стоп, а де Вілов?- Ось там. - Еміті показала рукою на стенд з різними светрами та худі.- Знайшла щось, Вілов?- Мені сподобався цей светр. - сказала дівчина, тримаючи в руках зелений светртонкої в'язки.- Вау, він класний! - сказала Луз і підняла два великих пальці вгору.Дівчата вибрали ще кілька речей і вже збиралися йти до примірочних, коли Вілов помітила Гантера.- Агов, Гантере! - покликала вона друга, і той зашарівся, кидаючи якусь одежину назад в купу.- Привіт, Капітанко Вілов!- Хлопче, що ти тут робиш, це жіночий відділ. - сердито сказав Гантеру якийсь чоловік, що проходив повз разом з жінкою.- Вибачте...- Не слухай його, Гантере! Ти щось знайшов собі до вподоби? - запитала Луз, посміхаючись.- Еее, ось це. - пробурмотів хлопець, тицяючи пальцем у коротку чорну спідницю.- Чудовий вибір!- Так, тобі буде гарно. - посміхнулася Вілов.- Але мені, мабуть, не можна це купувати.- Чому?! - здивувалася Луз.- Ну, це жіночий одяг... я не хочу до комформаторіуму чи як у вас називається таке місце. - налякано випалив Гантер, і Луз засміялася.- Немає закону, який би забороняв хлопцям носити спідниці.- Але той дядько сказав...- До біса його! - сказала Луз і миттю прикрила рота долонею, бо Каміла саме підійшла до них разом з Ґасом. - Тобто, він був неправий, і ти можеш приміряти спідницю!- І навіть купити її. - посміхнулася Каміла і підморгнула Гантеру.- Дякую... - пробурмотів той.- Якщо всі обрали одяг, можемо піти до примірочних.Всі кивнули і пішли за Камілою. Луз не обрала собі жодної речі, адже мала достатньо одягу вдома, а гаманець її мами був зовсім не бездонним.- Ґасе, ти маєш чудовий вигляд!- Дякую, Луз. - посміхнувся хлопчина, явно задоволений своїм новим одягом. Він обрав сірі джинси, блакитне худі та фіолетову пов'язку на голову.Наступною вийшла Вілов у чудовій спідниці в квіточки та зеленому светрі.- Йойки, тобі так личить! - голосно сказав Ґас і широко посміхнувся подрузі.- Я це хотіла сказати! - жартома обурилася Луз.- Ви обоє маєте чудовий смак в одязі. - лагідно посміхнулася Каміла.- ЕМІТІ ТИ! ТИ! - заверещала Луз, як тільки її дівчина вийшла з примірочної. Вона вдягла чорні джинси та білий светр з сердечками різних кольорів.- Що я? - трошки налякано спитала відьма.- Ти така гарна тобі так личить цей одяг я тебе обожнюю! - випалила Луз на одному подиху і міцно обійняла Еміті.- Підліткове кохання. - буркнув Гантер, що саме вийшов з примірочної.- Заздриш? - поцікавилася Еміті.- Бро, ти маєш крутецький вигляд! Так по-людськи! - вигукнув Ґас, побачивши Гантера в спідниці та ліловому світшоті.- Тобі справді личать ці кольори. - посміхнулася Вілов, і Гантер зашарівся.- Я дуже солідарна з Вілов! - заявила Луз.- Дякую. - пробурмотів Гантер і трохи посміхнувся. Луз дуже сподівалася, що після років знущань від імператора, хлопець таки зможе відчути радість життя, навіть в таких дрібницях, як покупка нового одягу. Після оплати всіх їхніх покупок Каміла анонсувала, що вони йдуть в магазин взуття, адже "ваші черевики гарні, але краще мати змінну пару". Еміті було дуже ніяково, що мама Луз платила за неї і, очевидно, збиралася робити це й надалі. "Треба обрати найдешевшу пару взуття" - подумки постановила собі відьма, як тільки компашка зайшла до магазину.- Пані Каміло, яке саме взуття нам шукати? - запитала Вілов, озвучивши те, що Еміті соромилася сказати.- Не хочу вас обмежувати, але гадаю, щось повсякденне - кеди або кросівки. - порадила Каміла."Ще б знати, що таке ті кеди та кросівки" - подумала Еміті, розглядаючи різноманітне взуття.- Дивіться, тут венси зі знижкою! - захоплено гукнула Луз і потягнула Еміті за собою.- Ого, я бачив такі в якомусь людському журналі. - сказав Ґас, тримаючи в руках сліпони в шахову клітинку.- Вони дуже популярні! В мене є такі, тільки веселкові. І дивися, на них знижка 60 відсотків!Поки Ґас міряв взуття, Еміті намагалася знайти щось собі до вподоби. Щось з великою знижкою.- Емі, як тобі такі? - запитала Луз, і Еміті зашарілася від того, як вона її назвала.- Дуже милі. - посміхнулася відьма, дивлячись на фіолетові кеди в руках Луз.Однак її посмішка швидко зникла, коли вона побачила знижку лише 50 відсотків.- Приміряєш?- Гм, думаю, я знайду щось трохи дешевше. - пробурмотіла Еміті.- Ці кеди зовсім не дорогі, не переймайся. - запевнила її Луз.Еміті здавалося, що її дівчина сказала так просто з ввічливості, але все одно приміряла кеди, які виявилися дуже зручними. Тим часом до них підійшла Вілов з бежевими високими кедами в одній руці та жовтими в іншій. Поруч з нею стояв Гантер з пустими руками та Каміла.- Я не можу обрати, допоможете? - хихикнула дівчина.Ґас та Луз проголосували за жовті кеди, а Еміті та Каміла - за бежеві.- Що думаєш? - запитала Вілов, повертаючись обличчям до Гантера.- Не знаю, я не розбираюся в таких речах.- Ну ж бо, Гантере, твій голос вирішальний. - спробував заохотити друга Ґас.- Просто скажи, які тобі більше подобаються. - сказала Луз.- Думаю, бежеві. - пробурмотів Гантер, і Еміті кивнула з розумінням. Мабуть, жовтий колір нагадував йому про форму Золотого Гвардійця та службу імператору.Зрештою, Гантер теж вибрав собі взуття - червоні спортивні кросівки - і всі пішли до супермаркету, що розташовувався на нульовому поверсі.- Цей магазин дуже великий, тому не відходьте далеко від мене, гаразд? - попросила Каміла.- Звісно! - сказала Луз, широко посміхаючись. Чесно кажучи, Еміті непокоїла її очевидно вдавана безтурботність. Але як вмовити її поговорити, як пробитися до тої Луз, якій було боляче і страшно? Зранку, коли вони разом мили посуд, Еміті спробувала розговорити її, але Луз заявила, що з нею "все нормально, і їй (Еміті) не варто хвилюватися". Звісно, це не могло бути правдою, але щось в погляді Луз змусило відьму змінити тему.- Дивіться, тут м'які іграшки! - вигукнула Вілов.- Ооо, видра! - захоплено зойкнула Луз і кинулася обіймати велику іграшку, схожу на ту піжаму, яку вона хотіла вдягти на Ґром.Раптом погляд Еміті впав на іграшкову білу кішку, і її серце ніби провалилося кудись. Примара, її палісман...Біль і смуток за домом, про який вона намагалася не думати, налетів на неї, як порив вітру, і Еміті дивом стримала сльози.- Щось сталося, hermosa?- Ні, все гаразд. - ледь чутно сказала Еміті й відвернулася від Луз, щоб та не помітила сльози, що таки з'явилися в її очах.- Це що, жирафа? - запитав Ґас, тицяючи пальцем на велику помаранчеву іграшку.- Так, це жирафа. - сказала Луз якось відсторонено. Еміті відчувала, що вона дивиться на неї. - Емі, ходімо подивимося книжки!- Нам заборонено відходити від твоєї мами, хіба ні? - тихо запитала відьма.- Книжковий відділ навпроти, все окей.Коли дівчата трохи відійшли від всієї компанії, Луз подивилася Еміті в очі та запитала напрочуд серйозно:- Тебе щось засмутило, так?Еміті відкрила рота, щоб заперечити, але Луз продовжила:- Будь ласка, не треба приховувати це, я хочу бути тут для тебе.Ці слова викликали в Еміті спалах гніву.- Серйозно, Луз? Це ти мені кажеш?- Ее... так? - розгублено сказала дівчина, й Еміті відчула, що вона от-от закипить.- Тоді чому ти нічого не кажеш мені? Чому ти прикидаєшся, що тобі весело, коли це так очевидно, що ти страждаєш?Вираз обличчя Луз став дуже сумним, і Еміті розуміла, що їй пора зупинитися, сказатищось ніжне, але її понесло.- Чому тобі можна змінювати тему і брехати про свої почуття, а мені це заборонено? - запитала вона обурено і навіть сердито.- Пробач, Еміті. - це було все, що змогла видушити з себе Луз, перш ніж побігти в невідомому напрямку.- Луз!!Еміті побігла за нею і перечепилася через якусь коробку.   - Еміті, все гаразд? - стривожено запитала Каміла, підбігши до неї. - І де Луз?- Вона втекла...це все моя провина, мені шкода. - тихо сказала Еміті, не стримуючи сльози. Коліно, яким вона вдарилася, боліло, але плакала вона зовсім не через те." Як ти могла говорити зі своєю дівчиною таким тоном, як ти могла її звинувачувати" - лаяла себе подумки відьма.- Всі слухайте мене уважно. - сказала Каміла і зробила глибокий вдих. - Я піду шукати Луз, а ви маєте стояти ось тут, і нікуди не йти, всі зрозуміли?- Я маю піти з вами! - вигукнула Еміті, але Каміла похитала головою.- Залишайся тут зі всіма, будь ласка.Каміла пішла в той бік, куди побігла Луз, і Еміті помітила стурбовані погляди своїх друзів.- Можна тебе обійняти? - запитала Вілов, і Еміті кивнула.- Я впевнена, що ви помиритеся. - прошепотіла відьма, обіймаючи Еміті.- Дякую, Вілов. - відповіла та, поступово заспокоюючись в обіймах подруги. Луз сиділа на парковці, і сльози безшумно стікали її обличчям. Думка про те, що вона розізлила Еміті була більш нестерпною, ніж будь-коли. Вона не мала їй брехати... Але правда б засмутила Еміті ще більше, хіба ні? Луз почувалася абсолютно жалюгідною. Вона не змогла врятувати Киплячі Острови від Белоса, не змогла допомогти Іді, Королю та решті, їй не вдалося стати хорошою дівчиною для Еміті... Що вона взагалі змогла, окрім як зіпсувати життя всім навколо?- Mija, ось ти де. - лагідно сказала її мама.Луз хотіла сказати щось, хоча б вибачитися за те, що знову повелася нерозважливо, але слова застрягли в її горлі.- Хочеш поговорити про щось?Луз похитала головою.- Гаразд, тоді можна я просто посиджу тут біля тебе?Луз кивнула і поклала голову на плече Каміли, що сіла поруч з нею.Кілька хвилин тишу не порушувало ніщо, окрім звуків моторів та віддалених розмов.- Я хотіла як краще, але все пішло шкереберть... знову. - врешті-решт сказала Луз, і Каміла повернула голову до неї, уважно слухаючи.- Я помітила, що Еміті засмутилася, і запитала про це. Але вона не захотіла говорити, а коли я попросила її не приховувати свої почуття від мене, вона розізлилася. Я сказала щось погане?- Ні, сонечко. Думаю Еміті просто хотіла б, щоб ти теж говорила з нею про такі речі.- Власне, це вона й сказала, трохи іншими словами. - пробурмотіла Луз. - Але мені страшно, що вона зненавидить мене.- Повір мені, ця дівчина не змогла б ненавидіти тебе, навіть якби дуже хотіла. - посміхнулася Каміла.- Вона колись і хотіла...- Але нічого у неї не вийшло, правда?Слова мами змусили Луз посміхнутися крізь сльози.- Дякую, мамо, ти найкраща! - вигукнула Луз і обійняла її. - Я дуже рада, що можу бачити тебе знову.- Я теж, доню.- Зачекай, ти що, лишила їх самих?- Вони пообіцяли залишатися на одному місці.- Гм, сподіваюся, їм це вдається краще, ніж мені. - хихикнула Луз. - І вибач, що втекла.- Нічого страшного, але постарайся так більше не робити. - сказала Каміла. - То що, ходімо назад? * пізніше того самого дня*- Еміті, можна поговорити з тобою? В моїй кімнаті? - знервовано спитала Луз. Коли вона повернулася в магазин, Еміті відразу почала вибачатися, на що Луз відповіла ще більшою кількістю вибачень і пообіцяла всерозповісти їй вдома.- Звісно. - посміхнулася Еміті, але було видно, що вона хвилюється.- Я не знаю з чого почати, якщо чесно. - зізналася Луз, коли вони обидві сіли на її ліжку.- Якщо тебе це заспокоїть, мені байдуже, з чого ти почнеш. Я просто хочу почути, що ти скажеш.- Гаразд... Після Дня параду ковенів я знайшла часовий басейн разом з Ліліт. Ми повернулися назад в часі та зустріли Філіпа Вітбейна. - почала Луз. Її руки страшенно спітніли від хвилювання, а коліна тряслися, але вона не збиралася звертати на це увагу.- Ми допомогли йому звільнити Колектора, але він приніс нас у жертву... як бачиш, ми вижили, але...- Я думала, це Белос звільнив Колектора. - сказала Еміті розгублено. - Луз, він же не...- Белос - це Філіп. Я допомогла йому... стати тим, ким він став. Я допомогла йому реалізувати День Єдності. - тихо відповіла Луз, опустивши очі, повні сліз. - Мені дуже шкода, Еміті.- Це не твоя провина. - сказала відьма після кількох секунд тиші. - Ти не знала, хто він насправді.- Але факт залишається фактом - я допомогла йому. Я прирекла весь вимір демонів на загибель. - вперто сказала Луз, все ще не наважуючись глянути своїй дівчині в очі.Вона не мала права на співчуття, вона мусила донести до Еміті, що вона винна в тому, що сталося з Киплячими Островами.- Луз, подивися на мене, будь ласка. - тихо попросила Еміті, й Луз підняла голову.Вираз обличчя відьми не був розчарованим чи сердитим, лише...сумним. Але в очах Еміті було не менше любові, ніж до того.Може, навіть трохи більше.- Ти врятувала вимір демонів, Луз. Ти навчила нас всіх стільком речам, і я зараз не тільки про магію.- Але...- Ніяких але! Ти не раз ризикувала життям заради інших, ти билася з Белосом наодинці - й перемогла його! - вигукнула Еміті з неприхованим захопленням, в якому однак вчувався легкий смуток.- Ну, це таки правда. - пробурмотіла Луз.- Більше того, ти була готова пожертвувати собою заради Іди та Короля, ти... найсміливіша людина, яку я будь-коли знала, Луз. - останню фразу Еміті прошепотіла ледь чутно, бо говорити їй заважали сльози.Луз хотіла пожартувати, що вона, власне, єдина людина, яку Еміті будь-коли знала, але стрималася.- Але ти не мусиш робити всі ці речі - твоїм близьким достатньо лише того, що ти є.- Емі...- Дослухай мене, будь ласка. Ти зробила все, що могла, і навіть більше. Ти не винна в тому, що сталося - Белос винен.- Еміті Блайт...- Ти маєш право на різні емоції, не лише на радість. Ти маєш право на любов та підтримку, ти...- ЕМІТІ Я КОХАЮ ТЕБЕ! - вигукнула Луз і з усіх сил обійняла свою дівчину.- Дякую.. - знічено і трохи налякано пробурмотіла Еміті.- Що ти сказала?- Я ТЕБЕ ТЕЖ КОХАЮ!- Ні, ти щось інше сказала. - хитро примружилася Луз.- АААА ДОБРЕ я сказала "дякую" - зізналася Еміті. - Так, я безнадійна.- Ахахпхпх це так мило, солодка картоплинко.- Не так мило, як ти, batata.- Еміті, можна дещо запитати? - обережно спитала Луз, сподіваючись, що цього разу відьма не засмутиться.- Так, звісно.- Що засмутило тебе в магазині?Еміті опустила очі й почала знервовано крутити в руках свою підвіску.- Я побачила іграшкову кішку, й це нагадало мені про Примару. - сказала дівчина тремтячим голосом. - І про всіх, хто залишився....- О, Емі... - прошепотіла Луз співчутливо. Вона дуже добре розуміла, що відчувала Еміті, адже сама залишила на островах багатьох близьких. Їй дуже хотілося заспокоїти свою дівчину, сказати, що все буде добре, але вона справді не знала, що буде далі.- Послухай, я не знаю, як воно буде... але обіцяю, ти можеш розраховувати на мене.- Ти теж, Луз. Бо я збираюся підтримувати тебе так довго, як лише зможу. - посміхнулася Еміті й ніжно поцілувала Луз, від чого та зашарілася і почала бурмотіти щось незрозуміле іспанською.- Я не знаю, чому це так ніяково! Ти ж уже цілувала мене...- Ага, і ти ще сказала: oh crikey! - сказала Еміті голосом Луз, і дівчина почервоніла ще більше, якщо це взагалі було можливо.- Сказала та, яка відповіла "дякую" на "я кохаю тебе" - пирхнула Луз. - До речі, в мене є одна ідея, може, це трохи розрадить тебе.- Ти не мусиш розраджувати мене.- Заради всього святого, Еміті...- Гаразд, гаразд. - засміялася відьма.- Мама знає одну жінку, в якої вдома живе багато котиків та інших тваринок, їх там кілька десятків! Ми інколи їздимо до неї, і я можу попросити в мами поїхати всім разом.- Якщо твоїй мамі не важко, це було б чудово.- Що мені не важко? Вимбачте, підслухала. - сказала Каміла, що саме відкрила двері до кімнати.- Повезти нас всіх до Кетри.- Звісно, я напишу їй. До речі, я зробила какао.- Зараз прийдемо! - сказала Луз, посміхаючись. Попри все, вона раділа, що могла бути поруч з мамою.Коли дівчата зайшли до кухні, всі вже пили какао з різних горняток.- Луз, ти правду казала - це какао ТАКЕ СМАЧНЮЧЕ! - вигукнув Ґас.- Цей смак дуже незвичайний, але мені подобається. - посміхнувся Гантер. Стоп, Гантер посміхнувся?- Я дуже рада, що вам подобається. - сказала Каміла. - Еміті, спробуй і ти.Відьма взяла біле горнятко з рідиною шоколадного кольору і випила трохи.- Це справді дуже смачно, дякую.- Хочеш маршмелоу? - запитала Луз, тримаючи в руках пакетик з маленькими зефірками.- Вони дуже смачні, раджу. - сказала Вілов, у напої якої вже були маршмелоу.- І такі м'якенькі, схожі на тебе!- Лууууз...Всі засміялися від порівняння, навіть Еміті.Щось було в цих посиденьках за столом на кухні. В тому, як її друзі та дівчина знову посміхалися, як її мама жартувала разом з ними, як Еміті дивилася на неї з цим блиском в очах... Так, щось було в тому, щоб бути поруч з ними всіма і просто жити.Луз повернула погляд до вікна й побачила зірку, що падала."Ідо, Королю та всі інші, я повернуся до вас одного дня, обіцяю" - подумки сказала дівчина. Так, вона повернеться до них.Але поки що Луз просто насолоджувалася смаком какао та відчуттям, що у них все буде добре, незважаючи ні на що.

Teen And Up Audiences

The paper folds in upon itself, into a small ball of light in Hunter’s palm. He holds it there, turning his hand and caging the glyph with his fingers so it can’t rise up further than he allows. It feels warm and soft, barely there like it’ll fold into nothing if he applies just a bit more pressure. Only one of the reasons he has to do this quickly.  The heat grows. It’ll burn him if he keeps it there much longer. Luckily he’s prepared, picking up the tinted glass container he set aside for this very purpose and scooping in the light. It’s quickly sealed with a matching glass lid, casting his workstation in a soft amber glow. Hunter pushes it back on one of the low shelves, the dim light just bright enough for him to see what he’s doing without ruining the process.  The window is already shut, his hands are bare and clean and he has his supplies laid out. All that remains is one last thing.   The fabric covered bundle is laying just in the middle of his workstation. Still, unmoving. He takes great care in unwrapping it, spreading the cloth to cover his cutting board as he does it.  There.  On a stained cotton cloth, lays a twisted, fleshy mass, shiny in the low light. While on first glance, it looks like a wrinkled, disgusting piece of meat, upon closer inspection it becomes evident that it’s strong individual strands wound and braided intricately together – even though it’s admittedly still disgusting.  Very disgusting.  At least it isn’t moving. These things are infinitely worse awake, but the light is just low enough to not disturb the thing laying before him. The clear fluid seeping from it is a good sign too – it didn’t die in the brief period of time between him purchasing it, and this moment.  Well. It won’t stay that way for much longer.  Hunter takes the knife in his hand, having to fish it out from under the cloth’s edge. Aims. And brings it down before he can get grossed out about it.  The sound it produces when he stabs it is somewhere between a squelch, crunch or a wail. Hunter’s ears flatten against his head as he grimaces, trying very hard to ignore the splattering of clear, sticky blood that got all over his hand and the knife. He yanks it out with a good amount of difficulty and adjusts his grip so he can slice it into roughly triangular pieces, each one about the size of his thumb. More fluid seeps from it, covering his hands and the knife. Luckily he’s wearing an apron, so nothing gets on his clothes. Darius would probably murder him if he had forgotten – again – or worse, make him sit through another three-hour lecture on proper lab safety.  Yeah. No. Hunter could do without that.  Putting the knife in the sink and starting to fill it with hot water – the blood is an absolute pain to get rid of, and a hot soak usually helps the process along while he finishes the rest of the brew – Hunter turns his attention to the cauldron sitting to on his left. He shoves a sticky hand in the pocket of his apron, and when it re-emerges, there’s at least three glyphs stuck to it, including a fire one. He carefully peels it off and slaps it onto the small pile of firewood stacked underneath, igniting it before it can stick to his fingers again.  Now, the cauldron is filled with water, and even though it isn’t all that big, it’ll still take some time to boil. Luckily, Hunter has a way to speed that process up.  The other two glyphs he got out of his pocket are a plant glyph, and another light glyph. He discards the plant spell by dragging his hand along the edge of the metal sink and peeling it off that way, turning off the water as well before it overflows. The light glyph he keeps in his palm.  His sleeves are rolled up, and so he wastes no time in shoving his hands in the water, pressing down on the glyph as he does so. It activates in the water, the light instantly extinguished and dissolving into a burst of heat. Hunter smirks, withdrawing his hands and shaking off the excess liquid over the sink. He’s got Luz to thank for that trick, and it has proven to be a real lifesaver.  Well, for him at least. It’d give any other witch instant boils; any human as well, as Luz found out the hard way – but Hunter isn’t a witch, thick skin that can even resist the boiling sea smoothed over a framework of palistrom wood and a human bone structure, a stone sitting at the center. It isn’t something he is necessarily proud of, but it does have its uses. And if his time with the emperor’s coven had taught him anything, then it’s that if you have a tool at your disposal, you best make good use of it.  Ah. He shouldn’t dwell on that.  Next are the cuts of flesh he’s prepared. Hunter takes the cloth over the already steaming water, shaking out the pieces that stick to it and wringing out the blood. The reaction is instantaneous – the liquid in the cauldron thickens and so do the fumes rising from it. Their edges start to be more defined, coiling and reaching in a clear pattern.  A pattern Hunter doesn’t have time to watch, even if it’s morbidly beautiful. The fumes curl into wispy hands that reach out to him as he grabs another vial sitting on the shelf, pulling the cork and emptying it’s contents into the brew as quick as he can, before it congeals completely. The fumes start to thin, as the dark liquid he’s added starts to join to the other contents of the potion. Hunter grabs one of the glass stirring rods he sat down next to the light illuminating his work near the beginning, mixing it in until the streaks are gone.  The potion has thinned out again, now glowing a sickly pale red, and the fumes are just ordinary coils of steam once more, their beckoning whispers vanished.  Hunter keeps stirring, grabbing another bottle sitting on the shelf after he placed the first one in the sink. His hands are still stained and he resigns himself to the fact that cleaning the brewing station after this is going to be a nightmare, as he slowly pops off the top of this one. The top part of the glass piece is much thinner that the cap, narrow enough that barely a droplet can escape when he tips it over to add to the potion.  He counts out four drops and sets it aside, stirring all the while. The potion is trying to thicken again, and that’ll hopefully alleviate that. It certainly makes it easier to stir – which is all he’ll be doing for the next hour. Stirring.  It’s by far the most tedious step of the brewing process, but also one of the most important ones, for all ingredients to properly activate. So Hunter stands there and stirs, the clear blood slowly drying on his hands.  Luz had once tried to rig a monster-hand glyph to do the stirring for her. Suffice to say, it hadn’t turned out well. If it had, Hunter wouldn’t need to do this right now. He could instead get a head start on washing his equipment, on burning the bloody cloth and throwing out the ashes, on properly disposing of the stained plant glyph…  Well. He can’t rig something to stir for him, so there was no use dwelling on it.  Not yet. Luz and he have another glyph study session scheduled for the next Wednesday. Maybe Eda would let them try again then – most likely not, considering what happened to her brewing station the last time, but maybe if they begged her nicely enough, she’d budge.  He thinks about that, mapping out their plans for that evening while he works. The fire crackles beneath the cauldron and the light glyph fizzles in its container. It’s long past sundown, and Darius is going to give him hell for this later – titan, he’ll probably regret it himself – but right now, that’s hard to care about when he’s bathing in the warm light, the satisfaction of working on something he already knows will turn out great weighing on him.      Ugh.  Yup. Hunter definitely regrets it.  Darius does nothing more than simply raise his eyebrows when Hunter enters the kitchen and collapses in his chair, head in his hands and elbows on the table. Normally, he’d probably be telling him off for staying up late again, but he seems to think that Hunter is already sufficiently punished in this instance. Whatever. Hunter will take it.  His head is pounding and he has trouble keeping his eyes open, but at least he finished that titan-damned potion. He put it off for too long, and that came back to bite him last night – titan, he’s spending to much time with Luz and Eda – but it’s done now. It’s done and he finished bottling it without anything going wrong.  (Him being so tired that he accidentally activated the plant glyph while washing up and then had to scrub vine bits and boggart blood from the sink doesn’t count.)  He’s already tossed the apron in the washer, so all that’s left is to eat breakfast and go to school. Unfortunately, he finds himself being unable to move from his slumped over position. Well, of course he could always slump over further, but he doesn’t particularly feel like laying face down on his breakfast plate this fine, obnoxiously bright morning. “Are you going to eat?” Darius eventually asks, sounding rather unconcerned. Hunter grunts eloquently in response, and he simply sighs, grabbing a piece of toast and reaching over to put it in.  Hunter blinks more sleepy tears out of his eyes, pondering wether he could get away with simply curling up on two chairs and taking a nap before school. He might not actually get a choice, considering how heavy his eyelids feel.  Darius interrupts that train of thought by taking his plate from under his nose and putting it back, with a piece of slightly too dark toast on it.  Hm.  He lets out a loud yawn and reaches for the jam. He might as well eat something – if only, because he gets the distinct feeling that if he doesn’t, Darius would lecture him after all, which he’d still very much like to avoid. Besides, eating toast is hardly that bad, even if he still feels like he’d like to sleep for the rest of eternity. Before soon, he’s out the door and on his staff, the bottle of boggart’s decoction securely in his bag. The wind whips past his face as he flies, the fatigue chased away by the thrill of being in the air. It’s hard to feel tired when you’re high above Bonesborough, the aftersmell of a boiling rainstorm still hanging in the air and weaving through the small crowd of other morning fliers.  Only a few minutes later, he touches down on Hexside’s campus, which is still fairly empty. He’s early – the only friendly face he spots is Willow, sitting on the steps of the school. She spots him soon, and gives a friendly wave, which he returns only a bit awkwardly.  Well. It’s not like he minds having a few moments alone with her.      The burst of energy that insured that he didn’t fall asleep on his staff and crashed into something on the way predictably doesn’t last long, and leaves him desperately trying not to fall asleep in class. Unfortunately the professor keeps droning on and on about… something. Hunter lost track what feels like hours ago – he thinks it’s something about the last test they wrote. He knows he did well on that one, so he’s not exactly concerned.  Yup. Definitely getting sloppy. Edric, who’s sitting right next to him eventually kicks him in the shin. Hunter briefly considers kicking back, until he hears Ed’s name being called. Ed rummages though his bag, eventually producing his own potion. Hunter does the same, already handing it off while the teacher is still saying his name.  Well. That’s finally taken care of.  He falls asleep again for a couple of minutes while they’re supposed to do a worksheet again. Ed lets him sleep, before deciding he has rested enough and starting to doodle an ice glyph on a page in his notebook.  Hunter does kick him for that one. It doesn’t wipe the smug look of his face, but his point still stands.  “Nuisance.” he mutters when the professor is busy talking with another student.  “Jerk.”  Hunter rolls his eyes. And wonders, in a brief flash of self awareness when this has become his life. Doing homework, going to class and bickering with his seatmate. Staring at the clock waiting for the break. Like he’s nothing more than an ordinary teenager.  He is nothing more than a normal teenager, Hunter reminds himself, lips quirking upwards in the smallest smiles. He can indulge in normalcy, for now.

General Audiences

Hunter stares up at the ceiling, watching the fan above his head spin slowly. He lets out a sigh, trying to discreetly adjust himself against the bed-roll on the ground. Though wanting to get into a more comfortable position, Hunter tries not to let himself fidget around too much in fear of waking up the others around him. That is the last thing he wants to do right now. He can’t remember the last time everyone was actually able to fall asleep like this. Gus is using Hunter’s left shoulder as a pillow and Luz is doing the same with his right. Her and Hunter are usually the last awake, but tonight, he seemed to be the winner of the “I’m too stressed to subconsciously let my guard down” challenge. Gus stirs a bit in his sleep, a look of discomfort on his face as he cuddles closer to Hunter. “ He must be cold,” Hunter thinks as he reaches over, pulling the blanket up further over Gus. He felt his stomach sink in what has unfortunately become a familiar sadness about the small boy sleeping beside him.  Gus was always the youngest of everyone in the group, but he looked especially small at night when he was asleep. Maybe it was because all of his normal energy was gone in these peaceful moments or that he wasn’t full of the usual large curiosity that he had during the day, but this made him appear even smaller -even younger- than usual. Sometimes Hunter forgets that the tiny boy besides him is only 12; he’s still just a little kid. Hunter’s heart aches. Gus is too young to be away from his father. To be fair- Hunter didn’t quite understand what it actually felt like to be in that situation considering he had always greatly enjoyed the time he got to spend away from his uncle for reasons he was only recently starting to grow more aware of, but Hunter did miss Darius, so he guessed that in some way or another, he could relate.  Hunter pulls the blanket up higher on Gus once more before even adding one of his own blankets to Gus’s pile, hoping that the silent act of care will help give the small boy some much needed extra comfort. Gus is the closest thing Hunter had even had to a little brother and so he wanted to do whatever he could to help the kid he had grown so close to. The same goes for Luz. Though she and Hunter had had their ups and downs, he had grown to care for her as if she was his sister. They had already trauma bonded quite a bit after they had entered the Emperor’s mind together considering the horrors they had to face in there, but got especially close after being trapped in the Human Realm with no way back to the Boiling Isles in sight. They had grown to depend on each other.  Hunter didn’t even want to think about the things Luz must be going through right now. First, with what the two of them had seen in the Emperor’s mind and what she had learned about Philip, and now with what had happened with the Day of Unity. Hunter couldn’t even begin to imagine what could be going on inside her head. He wished he could help her -that he could take away some of the mental turmoil she has clearly been going through especially considering the fact that at one point in time, he had been a part of the problem - but he couldn’t take the hurt away from her. It was impossible. But he truly wished it wasn’t. Luz didn’t deserve to be going through all this. He did . Luz doesn’t deserve to have to solely deal with the weight of everything that’s happened within the past few weeks. He does . Luz didn’t deserve this. Hunter practically shouts that thought in his mind. He deserved to be the one hurting right now. He deserved to be the one going through all of the mental hurt after everything he had done while working under Belos’ rule; blindly obeying everything his “uncle” had told him to do. Luz doesn’t deserve this. He does. Hunter looks to the clock at the opposite end of the room, swallowing back tears of self-loathing despite the fact that he feels like they are practically on the brink of exploding out of him. It’s nearing 4am. Usually when Hunter and Luz are the last awake together, they talk about things like this as the rest of the group snoozes besides them -this system working well since both of them somehow know exactly what to say during these late night conversation moments to be able to comfort each other-, but without Luz awake tonight to stop him from spiraling, Hunter isn’t doing well at keeping his bad thoughts at bay. He feels his breath start to get caught in his throat. Before he knows it, he can barely get himself to take in a deep breath as his pulse begins to quicken. Though he tries desperately to keep himself from hyperventilating -more concerned about waking up his loved ones around him than for his own well being- it's no use. Hunter throws a panicked hand over his mouth. No one can be able to hear him struggling to breathe like this. Belos had always made sure Hunter would be harshly reprimanded for showing this kind of weakness. He didn’t want to be hurt again- he didn’t want to live in fear anymore- he just wanted to be safe; for him and his friends to be safe and not be afraid anymore. Hunter feels like his heart is about to burst out of his ribcage. It’s beating so quickly that it actually is starting to make his entire torso ache. He feels like he’s being watched. Belos is gonna know- he’s gonna find out that Hunter’s being weak; that he can’t just keep these foolish feelings to himself. Belos can’t find out- Hunter can’t handle being hurt for this anymore- he just wants to not be afraid anymore. He can’t let himself break down- he has to hold it together or Belos will make him wish he was never even created. Even though he knows that Belos is gone, deep down, he still fears him more than anything else. “ Please ,” Hunter pleads to himself, near silent. The whispers slid off his tongue far too smoothly, almost like he’d whispered these words to himself a hundred times before. “ I don’t want to be hurt anymore- I can’t- I can’t cry- I can’t do it- he’ll know- he’ll find me - he’ll- ” Hunter feels his heart drop to the floor as the bedroom door opens. He takes in a quick breath, looking up in a sudden panic with wide eyes. “Ah- sorry, cariño,” Mrs. Noceda murmurs as she sees the look of panic on Hunter’s face. She stands in the doorway to the kids’ bedroom, dressed in her pajamas and using her cell phone as a flashlight. “I just wanted to check on you all. I could have sworn I heard something.” Before Hunter can even manage to choke out a word, Mrs. Noceda’s expression drops, revealing a look of worry. “Hunter, are you ok?” she asks, concerned. Hunter opens his mouth to say something, but his vocal chords refuse to produce any sound. He knows that if he starts to talk about it, he’ll have no choice but to let it all come flooding out. He can’t show weakness- any adult besides Darius cannot be trusted. Mrs. Camila could be like Belos. He couldn’t risk being hurt anymore- he can’t take that right now on top of everything else. He just wanted to stop being hurt- to finally be safe somewhere and he was not about to risk losing his friends if he were hurt or kicked out or something. Hunter simply just nods. Luz’s mom looks at the boy, a sad glint in her eye. She glances from the boy out to the hallway laying behind her before meeting the teenager’s frightened purple eyes once more. “C’mon,” she says, with such a softness that it nearly startles Hunter. He isn’t used to people talking to him with that tone. “I’ll make us some tea and we can sit together for a while until you feel tired enough to sleep.” Hunter feels his stomach sink in panic. “But-” he tries to start but Mrs. Noceda cuts him off. “I don’t want you sitting here alone in the dark,” she says. The sincerity in her voice always takes Hunter by surprise, but he still isn’t sure if he can trust her or not. “Please. We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. Maybe just having a little bit of company might help.” To be honest having company might just make it worse , Hunter thinks to himself, but he doesn’t dare say no; he was raised a soldier and as a result of that, he knows that nothing good can ever come about from refusing a direct command. That’s what it was like back in the Emperor’s Coven on the Boiling Isles and so he can’t imagine it being any different here in the Human Realm.  “Yes, Ma’am,” Hunter says with a nod before carefully sliding himself out of the bed-roll that he and his friends had been sleeping on together, taking extra care to not wake Luz and Gus who had been using him like a pillow. Both really need the rest and he wouldn’t forgive himself very easily if he took that away from them.  Mrs. Noceda gives him a small smile that he doesn’t quite know how to read. “No need for that formal stuff, hon,” she says, softly. “Please, call me Mamá Noceda.” Luz’s mom gently reaches her hand towards Hunter’s shoulder. He flinches, trying to keep a straight face despite expecting to be hit. Mrs.Noceda’s expression changes. She slowly pulls her hand back. “I’m sorry, Hunter, I-,” she glances away before returning her gaze back to Hunter. “Let’s go make us some tea and then we can sit together for a bit, ok?” Hunter nods but refuses to meet her eye, very badly hiding the fact that he is clearly on edge. He hopes that she doesn’t demand an apology from him like Belos would sometimes do if he saw Hunter flinch when he was being hurt. He was already near tears as it is- he didn’t want to have to talk -let alone apologize- right now in fear of his voice giving away all of the emotion he had been trying so hard to conceal.  The two of them make their way into the kitchen as Mrs. Noceda grabs the kettle, fills it under the faucet in the sink, and then puts the kettle on the stove. Hunter silently watches all of this from a safe distance.  “How about some nice chamomile tea to help you sleep?” Mrs. Noceda asks, softly, turning around to look at the teenage boy standing in her kitchen. Hunter gives a small nod, treading lightly out of fear of making a mistake.  Luz’s mother had been so nice to all of them; letting them stay in her house, making sure they never go hungry, doing her best to treat their medical ailments left over from the Day of Unity, and making an effort to provide the much needed comfort that they all needed- but Hunter was always too afraid to reach out to her to ask for that comfort. After all, he had never been able to trust a parental figure before Darius and even then, they had a rocky start for a while when they were still in the Emperor’s Coven. Hunter couldn’t bring himself to show any vulnerability to Mrs. Noceda because who knows, she could seem nice and then turn on him the way his uncle -or he figures it would now be more fitting to just say The Emperor- used to. He had already been hurt by the hands of those he looked up to far too many times. Hunter wasn’t mentally in the place where he could let that happen again. And because of that, he would be perfect while living under this roof: never showing any vulnerability, never needing anything, never making any mistakes. With all of this combined, he hoped he could avoid the possibility of being hurt by Mrs. Noceda. Hunter flinches as he’s startled out of his thoughts by the sound of the kettle starting to screech. He can feel his breathing start to quicken once again. “Ah- sorry about that, I didn’t realize it’d start boiling so soon,” Mrs. Noceda murmurs, reaching down to turn off the heat as the kettle goes from screeching, to a quiet hiss, to silent. “Hunter, do you think you can grab two mugs down from the cabinet?”  Hunter nods, silently, before walking over to the cabinet where the dishes, cups, and mugs were usually kept. Deciding the safest route to do this -though not as efficient- is to grab the mugs down one at a time instead of two; he doesn’t want one to fall and shatter. Titan only knows what Mrs. Noceda would do to him. At the very least, Hunter hopes it wouldn’t be anything like how he knows Belos would react. He reaches up, struggling briefly to get a hold of a handle of one of the mugs before his extended arm finds its way back towards his center. He puts a mug covered in hand painted flowers down on the counter before reaching up for another one. This time, he aims to grab a floral purple mug with a few cartoon characters on it. Standing on his tippy-toes, he struggles to get a hold of it once again, but he is determined. He lets out a breath of relief as he successfully is able to put the second cut down on the counter, letting his arms relax back down at his side. Mrs. Noceda pulls out a seat at the dinner table. It screeches against the floor. Hunter flinches, feeling something hit his elbow as his body reacts to the sudden startling noise. He hears something ceramic shatter against the ground. Hunter turns to face Mrs. Noceda, an expression of fear plastered onto his face. “My apologies, ma'am,” he says out, his voice getting stuck in his throat. “I swear I didn’t mean to- I’m sorry- I-” Hunter can feel his heart thrumming in his ears, blocking out the sound of his own voice. He stumbles backwards away from the shattered remains of the mug on the floor, finding himself leaning back against a corner of the kitchen. He can’t keep his breathing at a normal pace. He feels like his lungs are on fire- he can’t get enough air no matter how much he heaves. “Hunter, it was an accident- it's ok!” Luz’s mom tries to reason with the frightened boy. She takes a reluctant step in his direction, trying to make sure her body language can’t be read as aggressive to upset him further. He crumbles to the kitchen floor in the corner of the room, hugging his knees into his chest as he runs his hands through his hair. Mrs. Noceda may not have much experience in this category -she’d helped Luz out of a few panic attacks from time to time- but she had a feeling this was different . “I promise, cariño. It's gonna be ok.” “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to break it- I was just trying to-,” Hunter can’t finish his sentence, his frantic breathing interrupting it. “Please don’t hurt me- I won’t do it again! I swear!” Mrs. Noceda can practically feel her heart shatter into pieces at the fear in Hunter's voice as his words frantically flood out of his mouth.  “Honey- you’re safe here! I would never hurt you!” Mrs. Noceda murmurs, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible, not wanting to frighten Hunter. “Hunter, you’re safe- I promise.” Mrs. Noceda's heart ached in her chest; her logic combined with what Luz had told her about the boy now has now made everything click in her head. Something -or she realizes she means someone - hurt him in the past, didn’t they? Hunter was the tallest of the kids -the oldest, as well- but now, as he sobs to himself in the corner of the kitchen, he looks so tiny to her. Hunter simply looks up at Luz's mom, his eyes glossy. He usually looks tired, but now tonight with a puffy and tear stained face, he looks absolutely exhausted. How long has it been since he’s actually let himself rest? “You aren’t going to do anything to me?” he says in a voice so quiet that Mrs. Noceda can barely hear. Hunter pauses for a moment before adding. “Please- if you’re going to do something to me, can you get it over with soon? It's ok- you can discipline me. I'll take it if it'll fix this. Just please- get it over with.” Mrs. Noceda just stares at the boy, tears starting to well in her eyes. Hunter gives her a confused look. But then he sees her arms reaching out to him as she moves down towards him on the floor. He squeezes his eyes shut in preparation for the worst, but no hit ever arrives. As he slowly lets his eyes reopen, he sees Luz’s mom is kneeling on the floor in front of him, her arms wide open. "C'mon," she murmurs, softly. "I promise- it's all gonna be ok." Hunter knew what a hug was -Gus and Willow had been terrified when he asked about it since he was never explained what it was while growing up in the Emperor’s Coven- but he gets it now. Hunter practically throws himself into Mrs. Noceda’s arms. The water works start up again; sobs fight to make their way out of his mouth. “It’s ok, sweetie,” the mother repeats once more in a whisper, wanting nothing more in this moment than to give the child in her arms at least an ounce of comfort. She rubs his back, not realizing until now how much Hunter had been trembling. “You’re safe now. You’re safe. No one here is going to hurt you, Hunter.” Hunter fights to take in a staggered breath. Mrs. Noceda lets out a sigh of relief, at least knowing that he has calmed down enough to be able to get deep breaths in again.  He sniffles, gently pulling away from the hug as he wipes his nose with the back of his sleeve.  “I’m sorry- this was all extremely childish of me. I should have held it together,” he mutters, his voice very clearly showing the guilt he’s trying to hide from showing in his expression. "I apologize for all this." “You are a child, Hunter. And regardless, you’re allowed to show when you’re hurting,” Mrs. Noceda softly says. “And there is no need to apologize. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me for not fully realizing the hurt you were going through earlier when I came to check on you all.” Hunter looks off to the side. “No, it’s ok. You really don’t have to apologize,” he murmurs. “I just wish I didn’t cause a scene like that.” Luz’s mom gives Hunter a kind look. “You are entitled to your emotions and you clearly seem to have had reason to respond to things in this manner in the past. That’s not causing a scene, Hunter. That’s more like a deeply ingrained survival tactic,” she murmurs before the conversation goes quiet. They sit there silently in each other’s company for a moment before Camila has to say what’s on her mind. “Luz told me a bit about you and your situation when you all first got here and I will admit that I was a bit confused considering I feel like I was missing some context at the time, but this has answered some lingering questions.” Hunter looks up at Luz’s mom, the look of panic from before now starting to return in his expression. She reaches out and gently grabs his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “You aren't mad?” he asks, quietly.  Mrs. Noceda shakes her head, giving the boy a reassuring smile. “I want to make sure you know that even though I haven’t known you long, I care about you. All of you,” she murmurs, giving his hand another squeeze. “And I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that you didn’t deserve any of what it seems you went through with your uncle- I can’t even imagine how hard it must’ve been to grow up in that kind of situation. But I promise - you will never be hurt here.” For the first time all evening, Hunter meets Mrs. Noceda’s eyes. He gives her a small smile.  A quiet “thank you,” is all he can muster right now. Mrs. Noceda opens her arms up to him again, he falls forward, burying his face in her shoulder as she gives him a tight hug. She pulls away, glancing back to the kitchen counter. “Now, how about we have those hot cups of tea. Hm?” Hunter nods, giving her a small, relieved smile. For the first time he can recall in his entire life so far, he felt completely safe around an adult.  Mrs. Noceda’s words ring in his head. “ You’re safe ”. What surprises Hunter the most is that he knows he can actually let himself believe those words.

General Audiences

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand how you keep getting yourself into these situations.”  “To be totally honest, at this point I’m not sure how I keep getting myself into them either.”  The response had come so deadpanned and matter-of-flatly, Amity couldn’t help laughing gently. She felt Luz’s hand squeeze hers, and when she looked back at the human , she was smiling at her in that way that never failed to make Amity’s cheeks redden and her heart flutter.  Classes at Hexside had wrapped up for the day, and the two of them were making their way back to Bonesborough, with no particular plan in mind once they got there. The dirt path they took went through a dense patch of woodlands, which was seldom travelled by other residents of the Boiling Isles. It was one of the lesser-known routes back to Bonesborough that Amity had discovered over the years. As such, Amity guided Luz through the woods, walking very slightly ahead of her, though not by much at all. Neither walked particularly quickly. They weren’t in a rush.  Luz was telling Amity about her day's classes, like she always did. Today had involved a giant pair of Acid-Scorpions from the Beast-Keeping Track, the Construction Track homeroom, and what Luz described as a conga-line of monsters chasing after her throughout the halls during fourth period. Amity had recalled hearing a ruckus around that time, and somehow, she’d had a feeling Luz would be involved somehow.   What Amity hadn’t counted on was the sheer absurdity of the story, and how normal that absurdity seemed to her now.  But then again, these days, there were a lot of things that had seemed absurd not long ago, but were now a regular part of her life. Even if sometimes, a part of her still struggled to believe them.  Like the hand she was holding, and who it belonged to — Luz. Her girlfriend , Luz.  “I don’t think I’m going to be allowed near the Acid-Scorpions again.” Luz laughed lightly, looking up at the trees and sky. “I don’t think they like me all that much.”  “Well, I’m just glad you’re alright.”  To that, Luz looked back towards Amity, and when she realised what she had said, Amity looked towards Luz. A brief pause followed, their cheeks both reddened at the same time, and they looked away from one another, silly smiles on their faces.  It still didn’t feel quite real to Amity sometimes, even though she and Luz had started dating at this point, weeks ago. Small phrases like that, shared dozens of times before without even thinking about it, still hit differently than they had before they asked one another out because, well, things were different now.  In a good way. But still. Different.  A part of Amity was still convinced that she was going to wake up any moment, and reveal their whole relationship had been a dream. It felt too good to be true. It almost made her afraid to go to sleep, worried that when she woke up, she’d wake up in a world where she’d never found the courage to ask Luz out. Every morning though, she found herself right back in this one — The one where she got to hold Luz’s hand. Where neither of them were entirely sure what they were doing, and were figuring it out as they went along. Where she felt nervous and happy and excited and everything in between whenever she got to be around Luz.  And awkward. Very awkward — Even if logically, it didn’t make much sense to be.  Mercifully, she clearly wasn’t the only one who felt like that.  “S-So, er…” Luz stammered, scratching the side of her flushed cheek, while she kept smiling like an idiot. She looked up, past the trees and into the sky, and pointed to it. “The, uh, that sky, huh? It’s very… grey, today.”  “Um, very.” Amity quickly agreed, looking upwards herself. The sky had been covered in grey clouds all day, but fortunately, the weather Oracle's predictions had held out so far — No Boiling Rain would fall today. The overcast weather was only temporary as well, and supposed to clear up shortly after classes wrapped up. Still, it was hard not to miss the blues and oranges that made up the sky. Days like this normally felt rather dull to Amity.  “It er… It kinda looks like it’s gonna rain.” The Human said, both trying to fill in the flustered lulls of conversation, and with legitimate concern in her voice. “Are you sure we’re gonna be fine?”  “Well, the Oracles said that there wasn’t any chance of boiling rain during the day.” Amity assured her. “It’s supposed to clear up soon.”  The answer seemed to calm Luz, at least slightly. She shrugged, “I used to enjoy the rain, back on Earth. It was kind of relaxing to watch. And less dangerous.”  “You’ve said that the rain there doesn’t boil, right?”  “Yeah.”  “I can’t even imagine that.” The Witch pondered out loud. “If the rain there doesn’t boil, what does it… do , exactly?”  “Just kind of... soaks you, really.” Luz said. Amity just looked at her with a bewildered expression, and Luz laughed slightly, and scratched the back of her head. “I er, don’t really know how else to say it, that’s pretty much all it does.”  Whenever Luz talked about Earth, all Amity could think about was how alien the Human Realm seemed to be — Grass that grew green and not red, trees without eyes, no magic at all, and rain that didn’t give people first-degree burns. Luz would describe buildings that reached into the sky, paths that stretched inconceivable distances, and giant, metallic beasts that Humanity had apparently constructed, tamed, and rode upon said paths that she called ‘cars’. All of it sounded less like a different dimension, and more and more like an alien planet.  Eventually, the path came to an end, leading the two girls out of the woods, and back onto the main pathway. Bonesborough was within sight as soon as they were clear of the flora, and they began to make their way towards it.  “Every time it’s rained here, it’s been boiling rain. I can’t imagine rain that doesn’t scald if it hits you.”  “I’ll show it to you  someday.” Luz said, smiling. She glanced up towards the sky again. “It’s really… Really…”  Her voice began to trail off, and eventually, she stopped walking.  “Luz?” Amity came to a halt, and looked back towards her girlfriend. Her eyes were as wide as Amity had ever seen them, and she was frozen in place, just… Staring at something. “What’s wrong?”  “...What…” Luz said, slowly pointing towards the sky, “...The heck is that?”  Amity looked towards where Luz was pointing — There was a break in the clouds as the overcast weather began to fade away. However, instead of the normal, vibrant blues and oranges that made up the skies of the Isles, what Luz was staring at was…  Green. Emerald green.  As the clouds parted and revealed more of the sky to the denizens below, it became more and more self-evident that the sky wasn’t just an odd colour today, but that there was something else present— Something enormous .  More clouds faded away, and a curve began to make itself known. A sphere. And it was huge. Far bigger than either the sun or the moon.  Or just a lot closer than either of them. It travelled across the sky, visibly moving from one point to another. Something of such a size moving at such a speed — Luz found herself frozen in place, awestruck and overwhelmed by the sight. How Amity hadn’t seen it until it was pointed out was beyond her, but even so, she found herself just as awestruck.  “Oh, wow .” She whispered with a smile. “The Oracle’s never mentioned that it’d be visible today…”  “What… Is it?”  For a good half-second, Amity was confused by Luz’s reaction, until she reminded herself that Luz wasn’t a native to the Isles, and that this was the first time that she would have borne witness to such an event. She returned to Luz’s side, held onto her hand again, and offered her a reassuring smile. “That’s the Elliptical-Moon.” “It’s the what now?”  “The Elliptical-Moon.” Amity repeated. “It’s a moon that orbits around the world in an elliptic orbit. Once every so often, it gets close like that,” she gestured to the huge celestial body in the sky, “so we can see it up close.”  It took Luz a few seconds to register what Amity told her. The explanation seemed to ease her slightly, but only slightly. She kept her eyes focused on the Elliptical-Moon, totally in awe of what she was looking at. As it moved across the sky, she kept her eyes focused firmly on it.  “I’ve been here for months ,” she finally said, “and I’ve never even heard of this thing.”  “It’s not something that comes up often. Or regularly. It only shows up once every few months or couple of years.”  “...Wait, that… seems  kinda… odd ?” Luz finally looked away from the moon, and back towards Amity, an eyebrow raised. “Shouldn’t it show up fairly regularly? Like how a full moon happens once a month? Isn’t that how… orbit… works?”  Amity shrugged her shoulders. “That’s just… Not how this moon works. It’s totally unpredictable.”  “Does it have something to do with magic?” Luz looked back at the moon, eyes fixated on it. Her voice was quieter than normal, and she was slightly breathless.  “That’s the best guess our astronomers have.” Amity nodded. “It’s pretty much the only way we can explain… All of the weird things it can do.” As the moon crossed over the sky, it moved close enough that one could make out individual craters, valleys, and mountaintops on its surface. There were some craters, and other regions, that almost seemed to glow and shimmer in reds, blues, and golds. It was a barren moon, but it was colourful, like the surface itself was alive.  “Like how it can move so quickly?” Luz asked, not looking away.  “And why it's so unpredictable.” Both of them just watched the Elliptical-Moon for a while, as it crossed over the sky. For Amity, it was a rare, but familiar experience, being something she had seen several times since she was a child. But for Luz, such a thing bordered into the utterly supernatural, seeing another world as up close as this with her own eyes. Occasionally, Amity would glance at her, and see that wonder in her expression.  “…it kind of looks like the Emerald Moon .” Luz finally said. “From the third Azura book.” To that, Amity blinked, and then looked back at the moon. She then narrowed her eyes, and blinked again. “It… Actually kind of does.” “Oooh, does this moon enhance magic too?”  “Unfortunately not.”  “Aw.”  Eventually, the Elliptical-Moon began to travel away from the Isles, its orbit and presumably its magic taking it away, far faster than anything an object its size could have done in the Human Realm. As the sky returned to normal, both Amity and Luz began to realise just how much time they had spent simply staring at the Elliptical-Moon - The regular one was now visible, surrounded by dark blues more than colourful oranges. Evening was starting to arrive.  “How… Long have we been here?” Luz asked, once she realised how late it had become.  Amity summoned her scroll, and checked. When she saw the time, she felt her own eyes widen in surprise. “Two and a half hours, apparently.”  “Oh. Wow.” Luz blinked. There was a brief moment of silence between them, and then Luz scratched the back of her head, awkwardly. “I, er, sorry, I got… I didn’t think I’d see something like... that today.” “I didn’t either. What’re you apologising for?”  “Just for... Getting super distracted, I guess.” Luz offered, uncertainly, like she wasn’t even certain if she should be apologising or not. “I’ve never seen anything like, well... that.”  “You don’t have anything like that in the Human Realm?” “I’m… pretty  sure some planet somewhere has something like that, but not on Earth, no. Heck, we’ve only got one moon. Well, one big one, anyway.” Luz held up her hands in front of her, wriggling her fingers randomly. “Unless you count all the tiny rocks that orbit Earth, I guess.”  “I didn’t know you were interested in astronomy.”  That made Luz’s checks redden slightly. “I er… Heh, to be honest, it was kind of the Emerald Moon in Azura that made me interested. I wanted to know if there was anything like that outside the books. There wasn’t, at least not back in the Human Realm, but it was interesting, so I just kept reading about it every now and then, and I just picked stuff up.”  Without either one of them really taking note of it, they finally began to walk towards Bonesborough again, though this time, even slower than they had been before.  “Being a witch isn’t exactly a viable career option on Earth.” Luz continued. “So I thought that I might be a writer. I thought maybe I could use some planety-moony… stuff to explain how magic worked in any stories I wrote. Since, y’know. Humans can’t do magic like witches can. I thought I’d have to come up with a reason why they could.”  “Have you ever looked into the astronomy of this world?” Amity asked, tilting her head in curiosity.  Luz blinked, then shook her head. “It… never  crossed my mind to. What with, y’know, everything else. Learning magic, Eda’s curse, Hexside, dealing with the portal being destroyed, trying to find a way home…”  She then squeezed Amity's  hand, and smiled.  “…This.” Amity’s cheeks reddened. Luz’s cheeks went redder.  “I-It’s just not something I’ve thought about since I got here.’ A brief pause followed.  “…Do you… want  to?”  “Huh?”  “I-I mean!” Amity floundered slightly, trying to find the right words. Even after dating Luz for this long, she still felt awkward asking her to do anything like this. “T-There’s a lot of really good places on the Isles to just stargaze. We could rent a telescope or something, maybe just… do  that? If you wanted to?”  “For real?”  “I-I just thought, since you found it interesting-”  Before Amity could explain herself further, she found herself wrapped up in a giant hug by a beaming Luz that nearly, literally, swept her off her feet. She had her answer, at least. After a couple of seconds without reacting, Amity finally let herself hug her girlfriend back. Renting a telescope out was easy enough, as was buying a scroll on stargazing that would tell them where exactly to look, and what settings to have the telescope on for the best image. Brief trips home followed, for a change of outfit, and to inform people in each respective house where they were going to be, and what they were doing — Just in case.  Amity had never been stargazing before — Astronomy wasn’t a subject she even knew all that much about. Only about as much as the average person on the Isles could be expected to know. Things like the Wailing Star, Moonlight Conjurings, a few other important events, celestial bodies like the Elliptical-Moon and the names of the other planets, but that was generally it. Luz could probably tell Amity more about the Human Realms’ solar system than Amity could tell Luz about the Demon Realms’.  She took advantage of the time she and Luz had split up to read through the scroll she had bought with the telescope, once she had changed and prepared a small picnic for the pair of them, sensing that they were going to be out there for a while. She also skimmed over the instruction manual for the telescope, enough to make sense of it at least.  Her suggestion that they go stargazing had been impulsive; now, she just wanted to make sure that Luz had a good time. And Amity wanted to share that with her. And so, she read, and picked up what she could, both while she got everything ready, and while she waited for her girlfriend to meet her just outside Bonesborough.  “Six hundred moons and a giant set of fangs?…” Her eyebrows raised. “How the heck do the moons keep replenishing themselves?…”  “Amity!”  Looking up, Amity saw Luz running to meet her, her outfit changed, a bag in hand, and with that excited grin on her face normally reserved for learning magic. As soon as she was next to Amity, she skidded to a halt.  “Hey.” She greeted Amity with a grin. “Sorry I’m a little late. Eda wanted to make sure I had this in case it got cold out.” She held up the bag in her hand so that Amity could peer inside. Inside, she saw what looked like a blanket, a thermal flask, and two mugs.  “It’s alright.” Amity smiled, and held out her hand for Luz to take. “Come on. I think I know a good stargazing spot.”  Taking Amity’s hand, Luz followed as the witch led her to the spot she had in mind. As they walked, she activated a Light Glyph in order to illuminate the way. The path that they took quickly became familiar, and it was impossible for Luz to hide her growing smile.  It didn’t take them long to arrive at Amity’s proposed location — It was the cliff that was the site of their Grom tree. And there, the tree remained, still taller and brighter than any other tree around it. When Amity looked back to see Luz’s smile, she knew she’d made the right choice in bringing her here. Neither of them even said anything about it. The expressions they gave one another said everything that needed to be said.  It wasn’t just for the emotional importance that the site now held for both of them that had made Amity bring Luz here, but also its genuinely perfect location for stargazing. It was away from the lights of the city, overlooked an ocean, meaning there would be no man-made structures to get in the way or interfere, and, by good fortune, was in the right direction to be able to observe all sorts of astronomical landmarks. It was just good fortune that this site was perfect for tonight, at least, if everything that Amity had read on the scroll was true.  Though even if it weren’t, somehow, Amity had a feeling that Luz wouldn’t complain either way.  Setting up the telescope itself was a fairly easy procedure, the only hiccup in doing so was the way Luz yelped slightly when she realised that at the end of the telescope was an actual eye as opposed to any sort of lenses like on Earth — but then again, this was the Boiling Isles. At this point, it shouldn’t have even been a surprise. Since Amity had actually read the instruction manual, she took charge in setting it up, while Luz helped her whenever she needed it, passing her whatever parts she needed, or helping to balance the telescope so it didn’t fall over while her girlfriend worked on it. “Okay…” Amity muttered to herself, looking down the lens, and adjusting some of the settings. Referring back to the manual, she twiddled some more settings, until the object she was aimed on — a purple star — came into proper focus, with no blur or mirror image getting in the way. “Okay… I think we’re all set up. Do you wanna have a look?”  “Yesyesyesyes yes!” Luz all but bounced up and down, like she was literally about to burst with excitement, and Amity couldn’t help but giggle at how adorable she was.  Stepping aside, Amity gestured for Luz to take a look, and the human  did so eagerly. It took her a few seconds to properly register what she was looking at, and when she did, she pulled away from the telescope, and attempted to spot the same purple star in the Boiling Isles'  sky.  “That’s the Eastern Jewel.” Amity told her, stepping next to her, and pointing towards it in the sky. “If you follow that star, you’ll be heading true east.”  “Like the North Star on Earth. Only east. ” Luz said to herself, her smile somehow getting wider and wider. “Oh, this is the coolest  thing! How do we find planets with this thing?” “Hold on.” Amity said, flipping through the stargazing scroll. “Let’s see…” The scroll was full of a bunch of terms and over-complicated calculations that she didn’t have the necessary training, education, or familiarity to understand at a glance, so it took her a while to make sense of everything. Still, she broke it down, and tried to translate it as simply as she could.  “Right...” She finally muttered, glancing back up at the sky, and then the telescope. “According to this we need to…”  She reached to twist the lens at the end of the telescope, so it would zoom out slightly. “D’you see a lot of other stars now?”  “Yep.”  “Okay, now, tilt the telescope down until you see three green stars forming a triangle, and then slowly move it left until you see a red dot.”  “Alright, but we’re talking about those green stars later.” Luz followed the instructions exactly. “Okay, I see the red dot, now what?”  “Now just zoom in.”  Luz did so, and in doing so, she found herself laying eyes on a planet.  Almost certainly thanks to the magic  that was embedded in the telescope, the planet appeared to Luz with a degree of clarity far beyond any hand-held telescope on Earth. In front of her eyes, she saw a world which looked to have dense, lush jungles and forests, all crammed into a single, enormous continent. Around all the green and golden flora though, was what looked like a vast ocean, if the shimmering and the waves were any indication. It wasn’t made of water — even assuming that it was a liquid, the ocean was a dark red colour, the same as the clouds that were above the trees. And around it all, was a set of rings that orbited right around the equator of the world, letting off their own tiny sparkles of light as they passed in front of the planet.  For a moment, Luz was literally breathless.  “You okay?” Amity asked after a few moments had passed.  “Look!” Luz said, pulling herself away from the telescope, and gesturing for Amity to look through it. “It’s a planet!”  When she saw it, the sight was just as grand and beautiful for Amity as it had been for Luz, though Amity had known what to expect—  she had been the one to direct Luz towards it, after all. “That’s Hecceuturn.” Amity informed her. “It’s the third planet from our sun.”  “Wait, third?” “Y…Yes? Why?”  “Earth’s the third planet from its sun.” Luz blinked. She then tapped the ground beneath her with her foot. “Wait, what position are we from the sun?”  “Fourth.”  “Hah! This is like the Mars of the Demon Realm!”  “The what now?” “A planet from the human  world.” Luz explained, looking down the telescope to observe the world once more. Her grin appeared across her face all over again. “This is… seriously one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen…!” It made Amity smile. “There are more planets we should be able to see from here, if you want to look for them.”  “Oh my gosh yes.” For the next few hours, without taking a single break, the pair of them scoured the night sky, trying to find the locations that the stargazers scroll highlighted, and make sense of its instructions. An hour alone was spent trying to find the sixth planet, Chawei, and the seventh planet, Tradus, took up half an hour to find. They weren’t able to find the eighth, Yilmastea, though Luz vowed to find it before the sun rose.  Of course, not every nearby world could be seen from the cliff that night. That simply wasn’t how planets worked. Some couldn’t be spotted, and those worlds, Amity showed Luz on her scroll. And when they ran out of worlds, they switched to moons, and other wonders, like the Titan’s Eye constellation, or the Hands of the Emperor Nebula.  And through it all, Luz had the energy and excitement that Amity could only remember her otherwise seeing when the human was learning about magic. It made just watching her go about trying to locate these worlds and these phenomena fascinating, and exhilarating in its own right. If she hadn’t said a word about her interest in astronomy, it would have been self-evident just by watching her. It made not watching her difficult.  After all, that was one of the biggest reasons that Amity had begun to fall for Luz to begin with.  Eventually, Amity tore herself away from the telescope and her girlfriend, to get some food from the picnic she had prepared. When she grabbed something, she sat and leaned back against the Grom tree, and just watched as Luz swept the telescope across the skies, not able to keep her enthusiastic giggles to herself.  More than anyone that Amity had ever met in her life, Luz was unapologetically authentic in everything she did and believed. In everything that she was.  About magic. About becoming a witch. About Azura. About… Everything. And more than anything else, Amity admired that about Luz.  Loved that about her.  “Ooooooooookaaaaaay then.” Blinking out of her train of thought, Amity looked towards Luz, to see her standing upright, and taking a step back away from the telescope. She blankly stared at the object for a moment, before slowly walking backwards until her back hit the trunk of the tree, where upon contact, she slid down until she was sitting next to Amity, eyes wide open, like she’d just witnessed the face of horror incarnate.  “Luz? “Amity asked, worried. “What’s wrong?”  “I just saw a planet eat a moon.”  “…Excuse me?”  “I mean I just saw a planet open it’s…. I guess mouth? And just like, nom one of its moons.”  “…Oh.” Amity let out a small sigh of relief. For a moment, she was worried something unusual had just happened. “So, you found Yilmastea then?”  “I er, guess so.” Luz blinked. “Wait, why do you say that like that's a totally normal thing to see? Is that normal here?”  “…Don’t you have anything like that back in the Human Realm?”  “Not that I’m aware of, no.” Quickly, Luz shook her head violently as she leaned back, and looked back up at the night sky. “Well that’s… an existential nightmare I’ll live with for the rest of my life.” “Are you okay-“  No sooner had Amity asked the question had Luz reached into her own bag, and pulled out the blanket that had looked a lot smaller when folded up, and wrapped both herself, and Amity in it. In doing so, Luz shifted herself so she was closer to Amity, so she could rest her head against Amity’s shoulder.  “Better now, thanks.” “O-Oh.” Amity blushed. “H-Happy to help.”  A pause.  “Are… Are you done with the telescope?” “Nah. I just need a minute to… process the cosmic horror of seeing a planet eat a moon .” Luz said, somehow finding a way to scoot even closer to Amity. Another pause followed, during which, the pair of them looked back up into the starry sky. “A lotta humans  imagine living on other planets, y’know.”  “They do?”  “Yeah. There’s a ton of movies and books about it. Meeting aliens on other planets, humans  going to those worlds, that kinda thing”  “Do you think about that a lot?”  “I… kinda already live it, if you think about it.” Luz shrugged. “This place is kind of like an alien planet if you think about it. Er, to me, at least. If that makes sense?”  “The human world sounds… alien to me, too.” Amity nodded. “I understand what you mean.”  “Yeah…” Luz nestled deeper against Amity’s shoulder. “I dunno, if humans could travel to other worlds, I probably would have wanted to. Maybe because… Maybe there would be another world out there that’s kind of like the Isles. Stuff on Earth was always… Difficult. I never really fit in.”  Amity looked down at Luz, eyebrow raised, curious where exactly she was going with this.  “I’m glad humans can’t do that yet though.” Luz carried on. “‘Cause if we could, then I might have gone to another planet. And then I wouldn’t have found the Isles. I wouldn’t have found somewhere where I do fit in. And then…” Her hand reached over, and held onto Amity’s hand.  “…Then I wouldn’t have met you.”  Once again, Amity’s heart fluttered in that way only Luz could make it.  Fighting back whatever awkwardness might have still been there, Amity let go of Luz’s hand, and slid her arm around her shoulder so she could hug her girlfriend. And somehow, against all logic, Luz found a way to snuggle even closer to Amity.  At some point, despite evidently not planning on it, Luz fell asleep. The sensible part of Amity wanted to wake her up, collect everything, and make sure that she got back to the Owl House okay.  The part of her that won was the part that wanted to just lay there with her, and worry about all of that tomorrow. It was possible that Luz would be a bit upset that she didn’t get to stargaze more.  ‘Lucky, then,’ Amity thought with a smile, before letting her own eyes close, ‘that there’s plenty of other nights to watch the stars.’   I was finally given permission to publish this online, so here it is! My piece for the Lumity Luminescence zine! This was the first zine of project like this I've EVER been part of, and I am insanely happy with the end result because it ended up being an absolutely beautiful zine! I got to combine my love of astronomy with the Owl House and Lumity, and ended up with something nice and sweet - One shots not being a particular speciality of mine, but I'm very happy to have done it for this, and more than happy to have taken part!  If you missed it, for a limited time, you can still get hold of some of the leftovers from the zine by following the link - up to August 13th, 2022. If you have the money, I do suggest it (though I might be slightly biased, admittedly). There's keychains, prints, covers, and the physical zine, where you can get this story physically, as well as two other cute stories! - https://twitter.com/thelumityzine/status/1553440335770050560?s=21&t=wei14EQeaomJil256xjkUQ  If you enjoyed this then you might enjoy some other stuff I've worked on:  Guitar Strings and Flower Petals - A Skarlow long form fic focused on Willow and Skara's developing relationship - https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686764  A Valeween Night To Remember - A story focusing on a Halloween invasion of "Cheribum" which force people to share their honest emotions with one another - https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153874  I also have a Twitter if you feel like following me there for some God-Forsaken reason - https://twitter.com/QuirkQuartz  Thank you for reading - And I hope you enjoyed! 

General Audiences

“Oh, Hunter! Your book is stupid! You look too much like Caleb for my liking! Blah, blah, blah!” I mocked my uncle. I didn’t hate my uncle, Phillip, but I certainly didn’t like him. Maybe I wouldn’t be such a loner or such a weirdo if I were to have grown up differently instead of with an unsupportive relative.    Phillip critiqued my every move, but I didn’t really care. To some things up about my life, I’m pretty much a delinquent, though I never did anything heavily stupid, like smoke or constantly skip class. All I really did was combat (I trained myself, and I’m actually really good at it, it’s one of the things I’m most proud of) but that apparently counts as delinquent behavior. I don’t mention it all that much, but I may or may not be a gigantic nerd…   “Hunter!” I heard a familiar (annoying) voice calling for me.   “Yes, Uncle?” I called back.   “Come here, and bring that book of yours with you.” Uh oh, this surely can’t be good. I swear, Phillip obsessed more over trying to destroy the book than I did reading it. Nonetheless, I went to the living room with my book despite my conscious telling me not to.   I was exploring the woods one day and stumbled across an ancient-looking book. Curiosity got the best of me, and now I have a gigantic book filled with different spells and potion combinations, though I had no idea that it was real and came from the demon realm. I was very interested in the concept of magic, but I was deemed as extremely weird for it. My uncle had been trying to destroy the book for months, but I wouldn’t let him.   As soon as I got into the living room, Phillip ripped the book out of his hands.   “HEY!” I yelled, but Phillip didn’t reply. He then left with the book outside. “What the heck?!”   Phillip quickly returned inside. “Don’t you dare try to go outside to retrieve your little book, or I’ll make sure that you stay out.   “Stay out, huh?” I whispered to himself mischievously.   “What was that?”   “Uhh, nothing..” I replied, with a purposefully gloomy tone. This was a good thing, a GREAT thing, even! I finally had a chance to escape my boring, sad, and lonely life to find something better. There was only one problem though: where would I even go? It’s not like I had any relatives or friends that I could stay with, and while I do have about a year’s worth of experience of surviving on my own, I REALLY didn’t want to have to do it again, because it certainly wasn’t fun the first time.   There was one thing I knew for certain though: I didn’t have much time, because for once in my life, it was relevant when garbage day was, and it was tomorrow. One of the biggest red flags I experienced that told him to get my ass out of the house was the fact that Phillip installed a doorknob for my room that made it so you were able to lock the door from the outside, which was pretty messed up in my opinion.   And that’s exactly what Phillip did; He locked me in my room, knowing that the window in my room was too far away from the ground for me to escape from.   Fortunately for me, I knew this would happen eventually, which is why I have a rope. Would it give my hands rope burn? No, because I’m not dumb enough to do it without gloves. Is there a chance that I’d get caught? Absolutely, but I had to try. Well, I had to choose if I had to try, because as much as I just wanted to get out of the house, I still had a problem with finding somewhere to go. I already had an emergency backpack for this situation that I’d had for months beforehand (sure says a lot about my uncle) that’s filled with things such as food, water, medical supplies, clothes, and more. If I was going to leave, I was ready. I stood there for a few minutes. My brain told me to stay, since this was the only place that would welcome me, but my gut told me to get out. The last time I defied the overall bad feeling of something, my book got taken away and I got locked inside of my room, so I ultimately decided to leave.   I devised a plan. It was 7:45 P.M. I didn’t have to worry about being interrupted by dinner, since I knew that the door would be locked until morning. My uncle would probably water the plants on the porch at around 8:00 P.M, so I would have to wait to send the rope down the side of the house. However, I decided to get to work moving my bed so I could use the leg of it to support the rope, making sure it didn’t fall until I was safely on the ground. I cleared everything out of the way and moved the bed towards the window. I did it as quietly as I could to avoid Phillip getting suspicious of what I was doing.   After a few of the longest minutes of my life, it was finally 8:00, which meant Phillip was watering the plants on the porch. It wasn’t like they weren’t already dying though, I’m pretty sure that everything Phillips touches either dies or becomes dead inside, it’s what happened to me, anyways.   I paced around the room, thinking about where to go after I escaped. “I could go downtown? No, someone would find me walking around alone and get suspicious. I could go in the forest? Hmm, that might be my safest bet, it’s pretty vast, after all,” I thought out.   I kept checking the window to check how many plants his uncle had watered. “Dude, how does he even keep these without feeling ashamed? Those plants are alive as a rock,” I laughed. Eventually, it seemed as though all the plants had been watered. I waited for a few minutes just to be sure, and set part two of the plan into motion.   I put my signature golden cloak on. The only reason why Phillip never tried to take it away from me is because my father gave it to me, knowing that I would be able to grow into it. I was wearing an oversized white t-shirt with ripped jeans and combat boots, and the cloak finished his look.    After a healthy amount of marveling at my own fashion sense, I got back to work. I slung the backpack over my shoulder and got the rope out of its hiding spot. I then lifted the leg of my bed up and put the piece of rope under it, making sure that there was enough length on the end of the rope that it wouldn’t slip underneath the bed while I was climbing down. I was disappointed to see that there was a jump that I would have to take to reach the ground, but it wasn’t too big of a deal.   I crossed his fingers and began to climb down using the rope and the side wall. I gripped onto the rope as best as I could, my hands shaking. If I were to fall right then, I would definitely get knocked out, or worse. I proceeded to climb down as calmly as I could, terrified of falling.    I got about three quarters of the way down before I saw something that made my heart sink. Some of the rope above me was breaking. I climbed down as fast as I could, but the rope eventually gave way. I landed on my right arm, which was now covered in dirt and was lightly bleeding.   “Ouch, fuhhhhh—rick-“ I said, catching myself before I could swear. I really don’t like swearing, but I got used to it since everyone at school and my uncle swore constantly.   With my arm now bleeding, I proceeded to run to the backyard so I could get my book and get out. Luckily, the book was at the top of the can, and I quickly grabbed it and put it in my bag. I needed to get out of the area before my uncle realized that I was gone, though I had no idea when it would happen.   I ran into the forest behind the house, having no idea where I wanted to go. My combat boots were designed to do well in the woods, so I wasn’t scared of much except keeping my cloak safe. “Okay, Hunter. You survived a year in the forest on your own at 8 years of age before you were actually found, this is nothing. Actually wait, that didn’t encourage me at all, that just made me think about how messed up I am..” I reflected on the past and present situations.   I walked around the forest, taking note of different things I saw. A few (suspicious) berry bushes, a really tiny tree, some flowers, just normal stuff you’d find in the forest. Some moss, a patch of poison ivy, a strange purple goop creature, a—wait, go back to that last one. A strange purple goop creature?!   My first instinct was to run in the opposite direction, but then I realized how small and passive it seemed. And it also seemed strangely familiar. However, what I failed to realize is that I was kind of just staring at the creature, so it began to run away.   “Hey, come back here! I won’t do anything to you, I’m just curious!” I yelled after the creature, sounding a bit like a little kid.   Eventually, the creature led me to an extremely old, abandoned house. “Wait, I remember this place! I stayed here during the winter of my year of survival!” The Year of Survival is what I titled the year where I had to survive by myself, which I’ve mentioned.   I walked into the house, following the purple glob. There was this weird flash of light when I walked in that lasted for a second, but I chose to ignore it. The house looked nothing like how I remembered it. There were racks of strange-looking clothes and a bunch of boxes filled with random stuff. The walls also looked like they were made out of… cloth?   As I continued to follow the creature, I realized that something was wrong. Very wrong.   “Hmm, looks like we don’t have anything new. Abomination, fall,” A strange man said. After he did, the creature, apparently called an abomination, practically sank into the ground and disappeared.   Hunter was extremely confused and tried to turn around, but it was too late. The man saw him.   “HEY SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, I JUST SAW THE WEIRD PURPLE THINGY AND GOT CURIOUS, AND I SHOULD PROBABLY GO NOW SORRY TO INTRUDE ON WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING, BYEEE!” I panicked, running away from the man.   “You’re not going anywhere.” The man pressed a button on some sort of strange key. Suddenly, the door in front me disappeared, leaving me in shock.   “Wha-What the hell?!” I whispered. I had never seen anything like it before. I then turned around to face the man I tried to run away from.   “O-Oh no, i-if you’re gonna kill me, please just do it quick…” I muttered, clearly fearful of whatever the man wanted with him.   “Kill you? Why would I kill a potential customer?” The man asked as my emotions changed from fear to confusion.   “Potential customer?” I asked as the man pulled me out of the tent. He seemed to have a small shop set up with different things I recognized. The only thing was that nobody else was at the shop.   “What would you like to buy from my collection of human artifacts?”   “Wha-”   “A human foot?” He said, pointing to a croc. “Some human candies?” He said, pointing to two batteries. “Ooh, how about a metal box that only reflects true sadness?” He asked, shoving a small TV in my face.   “Heh, nice. That’s pretty accurate to my current situation. However, that’s not what this thing does at all,” I said. I took the batteries shown to me earlier and placed them inside of the TV. I then turned it on. After a while, the noise from the TV attracted quite the crowd.   “Hm, I’m impressed,” the man said, nodding at me while taking people’s money left and right. “You seem to know what you’re doing, for a human.” I got the hint at this point. The weird purple thing, the disappearing door, and isolating a human from himself. However, I was in a pretty big shock, regardless if I knew what was going on or not.   “W-What, er, who are you?!” I stuttered.   “The name’s Darius, Darius the Abomi-master. And I’m the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles,” he introduced. “Witch? DARIUS IS A WITCH? THOSE EXIST?!” I thought to myself. I honestly just stood there, I didn’t know what to think. While panicking, I noticed Darius looking behind us.   “Well, shoot. I can see a couple of coven scouts. I have to leave, care to join me, human?” Darius offered. I nodded, not really feeling like I had all that much of a choice.   “Take my hand, human,” the witch told me, I hesitated, but I did as he said, and suddenly, a blob of purple goop appeared and sort of swallowed both of us. It only took seconds before the goop retreated to the ground and we were in front of a beautiful house.    “Welcome to the Abomi-House!” Darius said in a type of grand fashion.   “I-I think I still need some time to process all of this,” I muttered.   “Fine, human. Let’s go inside then. Steve!” Darius called out as I wondered who Steve was.   There were two statues at the front door. To my surprise, one of them transformed into an actual person (well, they were wearing a raven-looking mask, but a person nonetheless.)   “Who’s this?” The statue transformer asked, pointing at me.   “This is—wait, I never even asked for your name, did I, human?” Darius asked.   “Oh, I guess you didn’t. I’m Hunter. Hunter Wittebane,” I introduced myself to the two witches. Darius had a perplexed look on his face afterwards, but I decided not to question it.   “Nice to meet you, Hunter the human!” Steve said. He then used his index finger and this strange circle suddenly appeared. “I unlocked the doors for you guys! I’m probably gonna stay out here for a while!”   “Thank you, Steve,” Darius thanked as Steve transformed back into a statue. We went inside after that. I tried my best to stay calm in the situation I was in, though my mind was screaming to the top of its nonexistent lungs. I’m also fairly certain that I had been shaking the entire time. All of this seemed familiar, a bit too familiar..   “Alright, human,” Darius said. He paused for a second and I noticed that he was analyzing my clothes.   “Your sense of style is horrendous,” Darius pointed out in a snobbier tone than he was previously using.   “HEY! My sense of style is amazing!” I defended myself, some of my nerves going away in the process.   “Sure, human. However, what I tried to say is that your cloak isn’t actually too bad. It’s a shame that it’s torn, though.”   Torn? Surely not. I pulled my cloak in front of me so I could see it, and surely enough, there was a gigantic tear in the fabric.   “WAIT, NO! NO, NO, NO, NO! THERE’S NO WAY!” I yelled, clearly alarming the man who pointed it out.   “Jeez, human, don’t get so worked up. You can just sew it back together, it’s not a big deal,” Darius’s snobby voice returned.   “O-Oh, right… sorry..” I apologized. “There wasn’t a good reason to act like that..”   “Well human, is there a reason as to why it’s special to you?” Darius asked.   “Erm, yeah, actually. My dad gave it me before…” I trailed off. “Never mind. Anyways, besides Steve I guess, do you live alone?”   “Well, actually, I have a roommate..” Darius said. Suddenly, as if on cue, we could hear noise. It sounded like whoever Darius’s roommate was wasn’t very friendly.   “WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON I, THE KING- OF PALISMEN!” A cardinal hopped into eyesight. I lit up immediately.   “WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, YOUR ROOMMATE’S A BIRD? THAT CAN TALK?!” I yelled, amazed.   “Yes, this is Flapjack the Palisman. He’s been my roommate for years now,” Darius explained, though I didn’t really know what a Palisman was.   “How can they talk?! This is all so weird!” I whispered.   “Typically, we use potions. He loves talking, but hates when people don’t understand him,” Darius explained. I didn’t really know what potions are, but out of all of the other tracks, potions were probably the most self explanatory.   Flapjack flew to Darius’s shoulder. “Hey, who’s this?” He twittered.   “This is Hunter the human. I’m fairly certain that he’s still processing everything he’s seeing right now,” Darius replied to the bird.   “Yeah, heh…” I muttered. “I was actually thinking, though. I should probably get back to my world I guess? Can you summon that door thing again?”   “Not so fast, human. If you want to get back to the human realm, you’re going to have to do a favor for us first,” Darius said, much to my disappointment.   “Sure, I guess? What do you need me to do?” I asked.   “Well, we need your help for a prison heist.”   ——————————————————————   It was morning. Phillip woke up a bit later than usual. He fortunately didn’t have work, since it was a Saturday. He decided just to get some cereal for himself since he didn’t feel like cooking. After he was done with breakfast, it took a while to realize that he hadn’t seen Hunter today.   Phillip didn’t bother to knock after unlocking the door. After all, why would he have to? Hunter wanting ‘privacy’ is just an excuse to keep secrets from him.   Upon entering the room, Phillip was greeted by a strange sight. Hunter’s bed was altered, now being placed near Hunter’s window. In fact, Hunter wasn’t even there.   Phillip was confused. Where was the boy? He may have found a way to unlock the door, but he hasn’t done that in a while after learning that it only led to worse punishments.   Phillip decided to go towards the bed, where his confusion immediately shifted to shock. There was a rope that stretched down to the ground, but it seemed to be broken. He then searched the room, and saw a note on Hunter’s end-table. It took a few minutes to read, but by the time he finished reading it, he was in tears.   Hey, Uncle Phillip. If you’re reading this, no, this is not a prank, and yes, this is indeed from your nephew, Caleb Hunter Wittebane. I’m going to be brutally honest in this note, because frankly, I don’t think you deserve or want it to be sugar-coated. I have indeed run away. To where? I don’t know. However, I’m going to be completely honest; this is entirely your fault. You needing to know everything about me combined with the fact that you have no idea how to raise a kid were probably the main factors as to why I left. I do wish you the best though, because even though you may not have been the best caretaker, you’re still my uncle, and I still love you. I hope you don’t forget about me, and I hope that if I return one day, we’ll both be better people. Thank you for everything, Uncle Phillip, but this is the start of something big, I know it is! Don’t be upset though, because I’ll be fine. The fact that I survived to even write this letter to you after the incident 8 years ago is proof enough. I hope you can still do better without me around. I just hope that you actually at least care that I’m gone… Even if you don’t, I won’t forget about you. I promise. Love, Your Nephew, Hunter.   P.S. I may or may not have sugar-coated it a lot more than I intended to…   “This is the start of something big.” Those were a few of the words in which Hunter wrote. And you know what, he was right.   This is the start of something big. The start of something that will change everything.

General Audiences

Luz Noceda eats breakfast, as usual. Next to her is Eda, part time mom, full time crime queen (just don’t tell that to anyone). Raine left a few moments before to do something Luz couldn’t quite remember. They are probably buying groceries, Eda did mention they were short on tomatoes or something. Luz puts another big spoon of “griffin egg omelet” in her mouth, Eda calls it that since Luz started living with them. Eda’s omelet does feel otherworldly, though! It reminds Luz about her home, even though her other mom never made omelets for her. It’s just nostalgic like that! After putting her plate near the sink, she heads off to the front door, excited.“Hey! Where are you going?” Luz hears Eda shout from the kitchen.“I’m meeting Amity today! Didn’t I tell you last night?”Eda, now at the front door of their house, furrows her eyebrow, confused“I’ll be back at 2! I think”Eda opened her mouth to speak but Luz just runs off to her girlfriend anyway. It was a relatively small street, the one they lived in. But her girlfriend, Amity, lived on the opposite end. Luz’s quirky pokemon watch marked 9am on a sunny Saturday. Luz gets tired of running and stops by a stop sign, ironically. The back of the sign was full of little stickers and drawings Luz did with Willow and Gus a couple of months before. It was their little thing! The stop sign is something Luz holds really close to her heart, as it reminds her of her first days living with Eda. Next to the stop sign is a green street sign. “Bonsborough ST” with an “e” drawn next to the Bon. Bonesborough. It was kinda funny. She moved to Bonsborough street a few months before, her mom being on an important job trip. Eda was like her second mom by now, and it kinda hurt knowing she’d have to leave her eventually. But at least her mom 1 and her mom 2 lived in the same city! Luz could visit anytime, right? That’s what she tells herself, and trusts each word like she would trust a random street rat on the sewers. A lot. “Focus, Luz” the girl mumbles when she realizes she forgot where she was running to. Amity’s house was a few meters from the stop sign Luz was next to. Just a few more minutes. Luz catches her breath again and continues running to the end of the street. That house with purple walls and a “Blight” written on the door in fancy letters. Amity’s house is the last one on the street, and even though it was only a 5 minute run to Eda’s, it felt like too much. Luz’s girlfriend is always there! And Luz has to wait to see her everyday! Luz rings the doorbell. Amity answers quickly and with the biggest and brightest grin on her face. “Where?” Amity asks behind her smile.“Anywhere!” Luz answers with hers. They were having a picnic. There weren’t any parks near Bonsborough Street, but they’d do it even if it was in Amity’s front yard. And they did do it. But it’s romantic either way. Amity grabbed some snacks, and Luz put down a cute cloth on the ground, a pair of plates and plastic cutlery. This was their first date and they would NOT mess it up. It could rain, it could snow, they could be run over by public transportation, and the picnic keeps standing. With the power of love, fanfic writing and the cute flower cloth Luz brought. The only people there at Amity’s house were her siblings, Emira and Edric, the cool kids of the street and prime suspects of being the ones who wrote the “e” in Bonsborough street. They went to greet Luz and tease Amity about the inconvenient front yard picnic. “Hey, Mittens, nice first date, huh?” Emira said with a little, just a little bit of honesty. “It’s not about the date, Em, it’s about the love” Edric responded. “Look who’s talking, mister ‘fell in love with the whole street and is still single’ Blight.” “EMIRA! Why do you keep telling people that?” They kept bantering, for a long time. Amity just asked Luz to ignore them for the sake of the date. The Blight’s mowed yard was very anti-romantic and it stinged like hay under the picnic cloth, but as Edric said, “it’s not about the date”. Luz probably should have just invited Amity to hang out at Eda’s, but it was way too late to turn back now. Luz’s pokemon watch strikes 11. Are sandwiches and orange juice a decent enough lunch? It 's okay. Now Luz and Amity will have a nice picnic date with the cute flower cloth and the pink plastic cutlery. Just them, the mowed grass and the odd number of grapes in-between them. This is going to become a problem later. Amity was staring at Luz, very romantically and not in a weird way. First date, first date, first date and nothing will go wrong. Even though they were religiously staring at each other, they both heard the unison of Willow, Gus and Hunter’s scooters rolling down the street, almost cultishly. They had this weird group behavior of just scootering up and down the street repeatedly until noon. Luz burst out laughing at that just like every other time she catched them doing it, breaking the very normal eye contact session she and Amity were having. It had been a whole hour they were just awkwardly sitting at the picnic cloth. They haven’t touched the food yet. Heck, They barely talked. “So, yo Amity, how’s it going?” “It’s going” Silence, except for the incredibly loud sound of three scooters coming back downstreet. “What about you?” Amity notices she ruined Luz’s attempt at small talk. “Yeah I’m hanging in there” Hunter, Willow and Gus reached the end of the street, and quickly started scootering up the street again. “We are so bad at this”, Amity chuckled. “YEAH! It’s almost like we have never been to a picnic before!” “I have never been to a picnic before” “Then this one’s your first!” Luz grabbed a sandwich and ate it. “See?” She said with her mouth still full. Amity did the same, and they both laughed so hard Luz almost choked on the sandwich. The awkward environment was going away. In the end, they were both lying on the spiky grass, looking at the sky. Amity would have tried to find a cloud that looked like something if there were any clouds at all.Luz ‘s pokemon watch striked noon. She mumbled the theme song along with the clock. The scooter trio.. cult thing got to the end of the street again.“HEY! LUZ! AMITY!”Gus noticed them. Wow. It took them 3 laps across the street. Amity turned and waved, Luz yelled.“YOU LOOK SO EMO WITH THE ROCK BAND MERCH, PLEASE STOP”“IT WAS HUNTER’S IDEA”, Willow replied with a shell over her mouth.“AND YOU WENT WITH IT” Hunter scoffed. Was the target wolf shirt disease contagious? Would Luz and Amity ever get them back? Luz chuckled to herself and remembered her full pokemon fit. She stopped. She looked way better than the Twilight shirt cult though. Luz puts a grape in her mouth to cover the awkwardness. But there were only three????? What kind of grape only comes in three? Bon(e)sborough street gets weirder everyday. Gus, Willow and Hunter suddenly stopped their fun group activity of scootering and being emo to join Luz and Amity in their picnic. Wait! Amity thought. It’s OUR pseudo-romantic (also kind of lame) date! “We only have two plates,” Amity said with the softness of someone shushing a cat with a broom. “Yeah dudes, this is kinda a thing that’s ours, maybe someday we’ll be so lucky as to scooter up and down the street with you. Maybe even wear emo shirts from target!” Luz didn’t mean that. Luz would rather be forced to watch 20 hours of platform gameplay, actually. When she snapped back, she noticed there was only 1 grape.OhOh This was a problem. Be danged, the very low number of grapes. Luz didn’t want to get the last grape and she KNEW Amity didn’t either. Is this the end of a healthy relationship??? So unfortunate. So. Unfortunat- Oh, okay Hunter ate it. Yeah. Thank you, Hunter, for saving a relationship. Amity laughed. Willow laughed, and Gus, and Luz (Hunter did not. He’s emo) and suddenly the lame date became one of Luz’s best experiences. All of them, happily! It felt unreal. Luz almost wishes the day was ending. She wanted to see the sunset with Amity and talk about their plans for the weekend. Amity didn’t know it, but she wanted it as well.Luz 's pokemon watch striked 3 pm. She said she would be back by now. Maybe the sunset date is something for another weekend. Yeah! Maybe another weekend.

General Audiences

The first night after… it, everything is really more quiet than anything. No one wants to talk, except for Luz and her mother, who moved at some point to be in the kitchen. They spent at least an hour talking back and forth in soft voices and what might be Spanish, if Gus was hearing right.  While Luz spoke to her mom, it was Vee who brought in the first aid kit to help patch up their wounds. It happened slowly, mostly in silence and whispers. The only sound was bandages being unrolled and the rain against the window, right up until Luz and her mother re-entered the room. Luz’s face was the kind of blank that Gus had come to understand meant that she was thinking about too many things at once to put any of it into words- a haunted kind of nothingness. Her hand was wrapped around her mother’s as Ms. Noceda explained with a too-thin smile that things were going to be a bit of a tight fit, but they’d bring out the air mattress and the spare blankets and some old clothes and there would be room for everyone. “We can make longer-term plans in the morning,” she promised. Amity and Willow had murmured some kind of assent, and Hunter nodded along without words. The next thing Gus knew, he was wearing a pair of Luz’s old pajamas and lying on an air mattress in her bedroom, staring at the ceiling as the remnants of a nightmare ran their course.  (No one warned him that using that memory spell on Belos would be so… so visceral. A murder by Belos’s hand, told through his eyes. Gus can still taste that unfamiliar copper tang from where Belos had bitten through his own lip when he took a bad fall in the fight. There had been red on his hands, too, thick and tacky, because he’d killed that man- the one that said I’m not like you. Gus had wanted an older brother when he was young, back on some of his lonelier days before he met Willow. He would watch after school as half of his classmates ran down halls to catch up with their siblings to walk home together. The older ones would ruffle their siblings’ hair and listen to them chatter on about their day, and all Gus could think is that he wanted something like that. That kind of loyalty, that kind of love. Someone to walk home with. Someone to go to when Dad was busy and he couldn’t quite wrap his head around his homework. Someone like a sibling. It seemed like a promise, having someone by your side like that. It had never crossed his mind to think about what he would do if someone broke a promise like that.) He breathes in and out and tries not to think about knives or hands in the dirt or we don’t belong here . Instead, he thinks that he should be wanting to catalog this whole experience. The sound of perfectly lukewarm rain against the window, the scratch of an actual human’s blanket, the way the “air mattress” shifts when Willow rolls over behind him- he’s spent years wanting nothing more than the chance to do something like sleep in a human’s bedroom. And now that he’s here, he can’t even bring himself to enjoy it. But he can’t, because all he can think about is how tight Luz had held on to her Mom’s hand. How her house isn’t big enough for four extra witches- it was built for two-maybe-three and Gus’s house was like that, too.   Gus and his dad liked it that way, because without Mom it had just been the two of them, and even on bad days the small space reminded them that they weren’t alone. Dad’s bedroom was just down the hall from Gus’s. They ate breakfast at a table that could barely fit the extra chairs when Willow and her dads came over for dinner. They made a game out of trying to fit as many pictures they could on their too-small mantel and- And Gus doesn’t know if his house is still standing. He doesn’t know if his dad is even alive. He was in the Oracle Coven, and he took so much pride in that and his work as a reporter and- and he could be dead right now. Gus takes a breath. Counts to four, just the way that Willow taught him. He forces his mind to stop racing, and sits up to take stock of the room and focus on anything other than what’s going on in his head.  Willow is sleeping behind him, her hand wrapped tight around Amity’s on her other side. The two are breathing in sync, their sleep at least something approaching peaceful despite the chaos of the day before- pure exhaustion knocking them out, if nothing else. Their palismen are curled up with Emmiline at their feet, the three all wrapped tight around each other with an anxious kind of desperation even while asleep. Vee and Luz are sharing the bed; Vee is in a perfect coil despite the tension in the crease between her eyebrows, and Luz is face-down with her hands clutching so tight to the pillow that Gus almost wonders if she’s awake. Hunter is- Gus stops. Scans the room again, squinting into every corner and nook he can find, but finds no sign of Hunter. He’s gone. For a second, Gus almost panics. Almost. Today has been the worst day of his life and there are supposed to be six of them in the room- four witches, one human, one basilisk- and one of them isn’t here. But they’re safe in the human world, in a house bigger than just one bedroom, and he thinks he can hear a bird’s chirp from beyond the bedroom door. Gus creeps towards the door, and manages to open it without waking anyone. On the other side is the living room, ominous and near-unfamiliar in the darkness. The only light is streaming in from the window, bathing the floor and the edge of the couch in what little moonlight is shining through the heavy rain. Perched on the edge of the couch with a blanket around his shoulders, doing his best to shush the palisman nesting in his hair, is Hunter. He looks exhausted. The circles under his eyes are nearly as dark as they’d been when Gus first found him in Hexside, and he has his branded arm cradled to his chest despite swearing up and down to Vee that it didn’t hurt when he was asked. For a second, Gus considers going back to the room, and leaving Hunter to his time with Flapjack. But then he thinks of leaving him alone, and he… (Belos hadn’t heard his brother take his last breath. He’d been driven off before he was done bleeding out. Gus wonders if he’d died alone, or if his wife had made it back before he passed.) He thinks he’d rather stay. “Hey,” Gus says, voice pitched low. Hunter startles like he’s been struck. He whirls around, dislodging Flapjack from his hair, and his shoulders only relax from where they’d jumped up to his ears when his eyes land on Gus. “Oh,” Hunter finally says back. “Hey.” He moves just barely, leaving a space for Gus to sit where he can see the window, too. Gus manages to smile at him as he takes the offer, sitting down on the couch next to him. It’s small, but it’s the best he can do right now. Hunter isn’t quite able to match the expression. It’s a close thing, though. He’s trying.  For a moment, they just sit in silence, watching the rain. Gus’s shoulder brushes against Hunter’s as Flapjack flutters about. He ends up settling on the arm of the couch between them. “Why, um,” Hunter eventually starts and stops, his fingers twitching where they’re wrapped around his opposite arm. “Why did you come out here?” Out here, he says, like the living room is a far distance to travel. “You weren’t in the room,” Gus answers, shrugging. Trying to pretend he was less worried than he actually had been. Hunter blinks, sitting up a little straighter. “You don’t need to worry about me,” he protests. He tries to put a hand up to his chest as he speaks, but he uses his bad arm and Gus can see him try to hide his own flinch. “I can protect myself.” “I know,” Gus says. “I just wanted to know where you went.” “The rain kept me awake, that’s all,” he tells him, shaking out his bad hand like that’ll help the spike of pain. Sure, Gus thinks, but decides that he can have that one. “It’s weird that it doesn’t sizzle against the roof,” he offers instead of calling his bluff. “My- um,” Hunter hesitates again. “Belos, he… he told me about it. How it doesn’t burn.” My uncle, Hunter almost said, and for the first time it occurs to Gus that to be an uncle, you have to have a brother. A brother with a son. Gus already knew that, he’s not stupid- he has an uncle, one that always gives the best birthday gifts, and always makes sure to stop by for the holidays, and still remembers all his old handshakes with Dad- but… but he never thought about it. What it meant that Belos was Hunter’s uncle. (Belos only had one brother. That’s why it hurt so much when he killed him. Caleb was his only family, and the price of his betrayal was his life. Caleb was dead, and Belos was well and truly alone for the first time in his life. Caleb and Belos had the same blood, and still Caleb had the audacity to say I’m not like you. The rage that had boiled in Belos’s gut makes Gus want to throw up.) It meant that… that Belos’s brother was Hunter’s father. The timeline honestly makes no sense- the knife had been distinctly Deadwardian with that jagged angle to it, so when was Hunter born, but if Belos is still alive, then maybe- but at the same time, it answers too much for Gus to discount it. It explains why Hunter struggles with magic, why Belos wanted him back in the first place, what happened to Hunter’s family. Hunter’s father is dead, and Belos killed him. Does he know that?  Gus thinks about his own dad again, about how he would give anything to know where he is right now. He thinks about the way his dad laughed when Gus told him that awful pun about gorgons, and he thinks about how Caleb had smiled at his brother when he first emerged from the trees. “Hey, Hunter?” Gus asks. He knows his voice comes out all stilted and weird like he’s about to tell a lie, but he does his best to keep his tone even. “Belos was your uncle, right?” Hunter’s fingers clench tighter around his branded arm. He stares resolutely out the window instead of looking at Gus. “Yeah?” “Do you… do you know what happened to the rest of your family?” He wishes he hadn’t asked like that. It was too direct, too indelicate. Hunter is already starting to hunch forward like he wants to disappear into the blanket. But Gus just thinks about Caleb’s outstretched hand and the knife between his ribs, and he knows there’s no gentler way of doing this. “Belos said it was wild magic,” Hunter nearly whispers. He tells it like a ghost story, like his family was just one of Belos’s cautionary tales and not their own flesh and blood. “But he was lying. I know it wasn’t wild magic.” He sounds like he has some theories of his own. But whatever they are, he doesn’t share them. Instead, he clenches his jaw and stares down at where Flapjack has perched on his hand. “What about your dad?” Gus presses. Flapjack twitters nervously as Hunter drags a finger along his crest. He still doesn’t look up at Gus. “What about my dad?” The question is pointed. Defensive. He really doesn’t know, says Gus’s hand-me-down reporter’s intuition. (Belos had buried the memory deep. It took some fishing to find it and drag it to the surface. It was not the kind of memory you shared willingly. That’s why Gus thought it would work to stop him in his tracks. But he had underestimated Belos, underestimated his rage.) For a second, Gus tries to find a kind way to put it, but in the back of his mind he can still hear Caleb’s wheezing breath as he bleeds out, can still taste that thick copper something in his mouth that could only have been human blood, and he says without thinking, “Belos killed him.” “What?” Hunter jolts like he’s been electrocuted. Both of his hands come up to clutch at Flapjack, the bird letting out a startled cry. “I saw it,” Gus is saying, faster than he meant to, but now it’s all just pouring out of him without mercy. “When I did that memory spell on Belos. He came to the Isles with his brother, with Caleb, but Caleb wasn’t like Belos, he didn’t want to hurt anyone-” Hunter is shaking, a hand over his mouth. “No, that can’t-” he says, so quiet that Gus almost doesn’t catch it.  Gus knows he should be trying to keep calm, trying to explain this all gently, but now that he’s started talking, he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to stop, “When he told Belos that he was staying- his wife was- but he- Belos had a knife, and he killed him, he killed your dad-” He wants to tell him that he’s sorry, he’s so sorry, but Hunter’s grabbed him by the shoulders and Flapjack is chirping anxiously, and Hunter says, “That wasn’t my father.” Gus reaches his hands up to grab onto Hunter’s arms. They’re real beneath his palms, warm and grounding. It’s just them and Flapjack’s scared little song, clinging to each other in the dark. “What did you say?” Gus eventually remembers to ask. “That… that can’t have been my father,” Hunter explains. “It wasn’t my father he killed. It’s okay.” Hunter tries to smile, and just barely manages it. He’s only doing it to make Gus feel better, he’s pretty sure. (It’s okay, Caleb had said, before he saw the knife. The way he smiled- all kind and loving and every inch his brother- had made Belos so angry.) “But he looked so much like you,” Gus says, his voice sounding too loud in the quiet of the empty living room. This time, Hunter doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t startle. But he freezes, his fingers tightening around Gus’s shoulders. “No,” Hunter breathes. “I’m sorry,” Gus finally gets to say. Hunter lets go of Gus, drawing his arms in around himself. “No, but- his brother?” “I know,” Gus says. “He- he didn’t deserve it, he was good, I swear.” “But he- he was his brother?” Hunter stammers out, eyes wide. “You said I look like his brother.” “You said Belos was your uncle?” Gus reminds him. This is… okay, so he doesn’t know how you’re supposed to act when someone tells you that your uncle murdered your father, but that’s not what Hunter is stuck on, here. There’s something Hunter isn’t telling him. Something that Hunter’s been hiding. “And he lied! He was lying about everything!” Hunter hisses, tangling his hands in his hair. He sounds like he’s about to cry. “Titan, a better version of an old friend! That’s what he said, isn’t it?” “Who did?” Gus tries to ask. He feels like he’s- he’s grasping at claws, or however that human expression goes. Hunter’s freaking out, and it’s freaking Gus out, because he doesn’t know what’s got Hunter so unbalanced, because he isn’t telling Gus anything. Wait. No. Stop. Gus is panicking, right now. He can’t panic if he wants to help Hunter. If he wants to figure out what’s wrong. Gus’s dad used to tell him that a reporter can’t fall apart on the job- that part comes after. In the moment, a reporter’s job is to… to gather information, Dad said. And get to the heart of the issue. All the details will fall into place once you know what’s really going on. Hunter has his face buried in his hands at this point, his shoulders hunched and his knees pulled up to his chest. He’s the perfect picture of isolation, and Gus won’t let him do that right now. Nor will Flapjack, judging by the way he’s chirping from where he sits at Hunter’s feet. Gus takes a breath, like his dad would tell him to. Gives himself a second to count one-two-three-four the way Willow taught him. And he reaches out. Hunter’s head shoots up when Gus puts his hand on his shoulder. His eyes are wide and scared. “Hunter,” Gus says. Voice even and calm, just like Dad when he’s being really-extra-serious. “Breathe, man. What’s going on? This isn’t just about your dad, is it?” Hunter flinches when Gus says Dad. But despite himself, he takes a breath in, and lets it out. The air whistles through his teeth, just like it did when they were sitting on the floor of Gus’s fake bedroom. The thought almost makes him smile. Almost. “It’s…” Hunter starts, slow and unsure. He opens his mouth to continue. Closes it. His eyes flicker away from Gus again, down to Flapjack. “I don’t know, it’s complicated.” “Hey,” Gus says. “You can trust me. We’re in this together.” (I had thought better of you, Caleb, Belos had said. We were meant to do this together. The words were meant to be a taunt, a final blow against the man bleeding out on the ground. But he couldn’t quite manage it. Instead, his voice came out all thick and heavy like the blood in his mouth.  Because Belos was a good liar. Someday, he would be the very best; good enough to fool even himself. But that wouldn’t be for another few decades or so. And right now, he was watching his brother’s blood pool at his feet. Even he knows that he’s just made a grave mistake.) “I’m not like you,” Hunter says, and promptly freezes like he’s said something he shouldn’t. (We don’t belong here.) Gus’s fingers clutch at the hem of his shirt. But he doesn’t let his tone drop. Even and calm, just like Dad. “What do you mean?” “I’m not a witch,” Hunter confesses. “I’m not the son of Belos’s brother, I’m not anyone’s son. I’m just- just bits of scales and wood.” (Belos had stood at the edge of a pit, somewhere deep, deep underground. There was still blood staining his shoes. He looked out over the expanse of dirt and roots, and he called out for his brother. Gus could taste the hope permeating the air, as sickly sweet as rot.) “Oh,” is all Gus can think to say. It feels like the wind’s been knocked from his chest. It feels like the world has finally, finally grinded to an unceremonious halt after everything that’s been happening for the past week. “I’m a Grimwalker- I’m not real. I’m a copy of someone Belos killed.” Hunter’s arms are wrapped around his knees, like he’s trying to hold himself together. “Of his brother.” (A hand had burst from the ground. It clawed for purchase, desperate and searching. The dirt shifted and groaned. Another hand escaped. With great difficulty, something began to haul itself from its grave. That’s not Caleb, Gus remembers thinking. And then Belos threw him from his mind, and Gus was back on the battlefield.) Okay. Okay, that’s- that’s a lot. But that’s okay. It can be okay. Because now the timeline thing makes more sense, and so does the dirt-pit-thing, and the thing that Hunter’s been freaking out about since Gus told him about his dad. That’s good. That’s the heart of the issue, like Dad talked about. Gus can sort out the rest. He may not be a reporter, but he’s always been good with details. “Sure you’re real. You’re sitting right next to me.” Hunter squints sidelong at him. “That’s not what I meant.” “I know,” Gus says. “But you’ve lived your whole life being Hunter, right? Thinking like Hunter, feeling like Hunter, doing whatever Hunter does. I don’t see why Belos should get to change that.” “But it’s not that simple!” Hunter does that thing again, where he almost throws his bad arm in the air to emphasize his point, but can’t quite manage it. “Belos’s brother, he died because he betrayed him. Belos spent centuries re-making him over and over and over again until… me. What do I even do with that?” Gus wants to give him an answer, one that will make Hunter stop frowning like that. But that’s not how this works, is it? “I don’t know. That’s up to you. But you’re still here, and you’re still Hunter. Belos is gone.” “And so are the rest of the Golden Guards,” he says. “So is his brother. How could he do something like that? To our- to our family?” “He was scared,” Gus says without thinking. “And being scared made him angry- he wanted to control what made him scared, I think. And he was grieving, too. Grieving the brother he thought he was… supposed to have. So he thought he could fix it. Fix what he did. And Caleb, too.” Gus’s voice gets quieter the longer he speaks. He hates how instinctually the knowledge comes to him. He doesn’t want to know that about Belos. But Belos had been so sure he could bring his brother back, and Gus had felt it, right down to the bones. Like the feelings were his own. Hunter is staring at him now. He looks torn between concern and fear, judging by the way his eyebrows are drawn together. “What?” “I saw his memories,” is all Gus can offer up in explanation. It feels lame, coming out of his mouth. Too small for an experience so big. “So did I. But I didn’t… it wasn’t like that,” Hunter says. He won’t quite look Gus in the eyes. His mouth has gone dry. It hurts when he swallows before speaking. “But you were just watching. I was there. It was different.” “Oh.” Hunter raises a hand. Pauses for a second. And then drops it down on Gus’s shoulder despite the hesitation. Awkward, unpracticed, and genuine, he says: “I’m sorry.”  Gus blinks hard, trying to get rid of the tears welling up in his eyes. He doesn’t want to cry again tonight. Especially over this. “It was… it was really scary,” he admits anyway. “He was so angry with him. He was so sure of himself.” Hunter draws him forward slowly, clumsily, until Gus is leaning against his shoulder. “He’s gone,” he says. His voice has gone all croaky and strange, but Gus can’t fault him for it. “Yeah,” Gus breathes. “He’s gone.” “We’ll, um,” Hunter starts and stops. “We’ll look out for each other. We’ll be okay.” And for a while, that’s that. Gus leans against Hunter’s shoulder, Flapjack perching back in Hunter’s hair, and they watch the rain. The house is as quiet as it was at the start of all this, but it’s not the horrible, what-do-we-even-say kind of silence from before. It’s more of a comfortable quiet now. Like when Gus and his dad would sit at the table and Dad would read and Gus would do his homework. It’s Gus who finally breaks the silence. “The rain’s slowing down.” “It’s been going for hours,” Hunter says. “The sun’s almost up.” He’s right. It’s almost sunrise. Gus rolls the thought around in his head. He wonders what sunrise will look like back home. He wonders if his father is alone, right now. Or maybe, Gus hopes, he’s found his brother. Maybe they can wait this all out together. “Did you know,” Gus says. “That here, the rain doesn't boil, but the sun burns?” “Huh,” is all Hunter says. “Really?” (When Gus was young, he wondered what it would be like to have an older sibling. How it would feel to have that kind of assurance that someone would always, always be in your corner no matter what, just because they’re family. He had felt that assurance in Belos’s memory for a moment, beating beneath his ribs like a second heart. He feels it now, leaning his head against Hunter’s shoulder. And he thinks, a private thought meant for just him and Belos and the blood he tasted in his mouth, I’m not like you, either.)

General Audiences

Eda and Raine lay in the Owl Lady’s nest, nestled in the small corner, separate from where the three young lay, bundled up and curled up on top of each other. They loved their young but also needed space that their hide out provided. It was hard to get moments to themselves with three young that partially vibrates with energy from dawn to dusk. Now, in a rare moment, Raine was curled up with their partner, their calloused fingers beginning to tug through her hair, hoping to braid it into a fishtail. It would be easier to manage for a few days with the summer heat beginning to hold the isles in a throttling chokehold.  Eda lay half asleep between their legs, a soft purr rumbling in her chest. Her eyes were half lidded and dark. The long day of manning her human relic stand and picking their eldest up from her sister’s had tired her out. It was a miracle she had stayed awake long enough to curl up in the private space with her partner.  “You can sleep, Calamity.” Raine could see her losing fight, head bobbing with each movement. They knew she was trying to stay awake to please them. “Once I am done braiding your hair, I will be joining you. I know King and FIlia will be waking us up before dawn.” “Hmm…” Eda offered a soft groan in response before relaxing further into her partner’s chest, eyes beginning to droop close further.  With no need to fight to stay awake longer, the Owl Lady found herself drifting to sleep rather quickly. Soon, the former wild witch was asleep, dead weight against her partner’s hold, obvious to the fond look and rumbling purr.  “Good night, Calamity.” Raine hummed, beginning to tug another large knot. They would be awake for a while longer, but the lost sleep would be worth it once Eda awoke to see her hair braided in the morning.

General Audiences

You are a palisman, and there is a boy who desperately needs you. This is how you phrase it in your mind. It has been a long, long time since you have taken on a child. You have been longer without than you have been with, because it leaves aches in your little wooden chest that you cannot ignore, a reminder of what you have lost, of what was taken from you.  You are damaged. There are cracks in more ways than one. But you are a palisman, and there is a boy, and he desperately needs you. He looks like the boy who was yours, a very long time ago, and you notice, because of course you do. Because even all these years and years later you love that boy who loved you, who died with you cradled to his chest. This boy is different. He is angrier, and harsher. He has scars and hurts and fears. Sometimes you think this is why the bond works, the fact that you are both a little broken, both a little cracked. He’s very wary. He watches you. He gives you berries you don’t like. You find your new funny cloth nest smashed on the floor, your boy standing panting and vindictive a few feet away. He yells at you, sometimes, tells you to go away. He tells you that you are evil, and bad, and tricking him.  But you are patient, because you are a palisman, and you know know know your boy is good. You know it the way you know magic. It breathes in you. So you share the berries, because he is too skinny, your boy. Muscled but lean in ways that worry you. You put your nest back together without even an upset tweet, and graciously accept when he comes by with the setting sun with a tiny, poorly stitched pillow to rest your head. You tell him that he is a good boy, a sweet boy, your boy, and that he is loved loved loved. He doesn’t seem to understand it. You give him kindnesses he does not know how to hold. You say good job and good work and you do not ever hurt him, not ever. He is carrying enough hurts. You are learning this. There are so many hurts, inside of him and out. That is why he breaks your things and calls you names. He does not understand that there is nothing he can do that will make you hurt him. This is okay. You are patient. You will show him.    Your boy is also very stupid sometimes.  It is not his fault. He was taught stupid things. Somebody took the time to grow it in his chest, seeded the fields and harvested bitter, vile things. He talks about an Uncle. You do not like Uncle very much. But you do love your boy. So you stick with him. You fight with him, even against your friends, and it works because a long time ago you spent years figuring out how to do magic with the boy who once was yours but now is gone. Both of them let loose the same, breathless laugh the first time the magic thrummed through you and then into the air. You try not to think about it. You try to teach him right from wrong. You try to show him how to pull out the weeds choking his lungs. You think sometimes that it is working. You think sometimes that the roots are so deep, and feel bad for it. Missions come to fruition, others fall apart. He won't take you to see Uncle, even though he is pale and scared. You hold bandages in your beak as the blood escapes from him after the bad visits, useless when it comes to healing him. You are not made of that kind of magic. “It’s okay,” he says, your boy, your sweet boy. He is trying to comfort you. His hands are shaking and red. “I messed up. I’ll do better next time. It’s okay.” You make sure he wraps all his wounds. You tell him, I love you I love you I love you. You tell him, I’m sorry. You tell him, next time, next time, I come with. Protect you. He tells you, like a secret, “I love you back.”  He tells you, quietly, “Don’t be sorry.”  He tells you, terrified, “Absolutely not.” He is shaking so hard when he tells you to stay away from Uncle that you agree, if only so he will breathe. You spend the night cradled in his hands, pressed against his chest, and even though he has cleaned them all you can think of is the red on a set of fingers of another boy who used to love you. Who held you just like this even as he stopped breathing.  You do not sleep. You sit with your boy and listen to his heart beat. It is loud because you are small. You wish you were smaller, so that the steady rhythm could be louder. You want it to drown out all the hurts in your head. You want the reminder; alive, alive, alive. You promise yourself you will not lose him. You will not lose this boy the way you lost the last one. You will not fail him. When you next dream, it's of gardening. Your boy laughs. You do not know which one. You fly up in the sky and realise the whole field is red, red, red.   Your boy comes out of Uncle’s mind. He does not want to stay with Kind Lady Who Is Cursed. He does not want to stay with One Who Calls You Rascal. He runs. Your boy desperately needs you, and you follow him. You find him a hollow in a tree and stay with him. Rubbing against his neck, ruffling his hair, tweaking his ear. He is shaking and swallowing air, chest heaving. His heart beats fast, so fast, and you do not know how to help him. You are again useless in keeping him safe. “I’m not even real,” he rasps, head buried into his knees. You squirm into the small space so that you can lean into his cheek, his nose, wherever there is space for something other than panic. Real, you tell him. Real. You’re mine. The school is an hour away. You know it is safe. You get him to his feet and you take him flying. You find him a place to hide. You find him food to eat. You kidnap clothes from the place of lost things. He needs you, and you love him, and that is all there is to it. (He tells you about grimwalkers. Shows you pictures. He calls Uncle new names, stumbling over them until they run smooth. He calls him Belos. He calls him Phillip. There were bodies in the man’s head, your boy says. There were so many bodies, and they were all him.) (He tells you about grimwalkers. He looks so much like the boy who once loved you. The boy who once loved Phillip. The boy who is now dead.) (You know that if your boy knew, he’d be hurt. There are already so many hurts inside of him.) (You decide to keep it to yourself.)

General Audiences

Boscha glances over to Willow and sighs. Skara raises an eyebrow. "You alright, Bosch?" Skara asks. "Yeah, never been better. Why?" Boscha replies. Skara frowns. It's obvious that Boscha is lying. "It's about Willow?" Skara smiles weakly, hoping that today she'll finally figure out what his deal is with Willow."No! Maybe . . Yes?" Boscha says, before sighing again. "Ive been wanting to apologize for everything . . but how? Theyre never gonna accept my apology, not in a million years." "Do it. After class, go up to her and apologize." "Skara, I think you've finally gone insane." Boscha deadpans. "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. you'll never know." Skara giggles. The bell screams, and everyone starts filing out of the room. Skara winks at Boscha, before going over to Viney and talking about whatever. Probably Flyer Derby, the Emerald Entrails had gotten closer over the past few days and all became friends. Boscha didn't exactly like any of them, excluding Skara, being Boschas best friend. Oh, and of course Willow. Willow is the most tolerable. Gus and Viney are annoying, at least to Boscha. And whoever the blonde kid is, he's also probably super annoying. Boscha sees Willow leaving the classroom, so he quickly grabs his stuff and walks out behind her. They dont notice, until he almost falls, tripping over someone's dropped pencil in the hallway. Willow turns around and her eyes widen, before her expression turns angry. And confused. "Boscha?" Willow asks, but in a somewhat angry tone "Uh . . Hi?" Boscha responds, standing upright. "Look, before you get the wrong idea, im not here to be mean. Or whatever." "Then why were you following me?" Willow asks. "I swear to Titan I am going to murder Skara when I see her . ." Boscha mutters under their breath. He looks up at Willow."Im sorry." ". . What?" Willow's expression changes again. Boscha can't tell what it is or what it means. "Im sorry. For everything. I realized what I did was wrong and it's totally okay if you don't forgive me, but I want to restart. Please." Boscha says quickly. Willow stares and blinks. Boscha messes with his hands before freezing completely when Willow replies."Thank you." Willow replies. "I don't think I can accept your apology just yet, but . . I am willing to restart. Im glad youre finally changing." Boscha can feel himself smiling like an idiot. "This doesn't mean we're friends yet, im not ready for that just yet. But, this does mean we can restart, and dont have to hate each other anymore." Willow adds, smiling."Aw, darn," Boscha says sarcastically. "Wouldve been great to be friends with you, Flyer Derby sound fun." He adds, smiling. "You wanna join?" Willow asks, their entire face lighting up in excitement. "Uh . . Sure- Yeah!" Boscha blushes, feeling their goofy smile return. "As long as there's a way I can still play Grudgby, somehow." "Hmm . . We can try." Willow smiles. Boscha and Willow start walking again, both going to the same class next. They start talking about good strategies for both Grudgby and Flyer Derby. Willow is glad Boscha apologized, and Boscha is overjoyed that Willow is willing to someday accept that apology.

Not Rated

Raine opens their eyes slowly, but they see nothing, only darkness surruonds them, they were laying on the cold hard ground, feeling pain everywhere. They tried to stand up, but their legs couldn't carry their weight so they fell hard, a hiss escaped their mouth when their head hit the ground. It was so quiet, not that nice kind of quiet, it's the quiet before the storm, they knew something happened, but they can't remember anything. What is the last thing they remember? They took a deep breath... They were on their way home, then... They woke up here. Suddenly, they heard a loud voice coming from outside, that angry deep voice made Raine freezes.  The door opened slightly, then closed, Raine couldn't even see the face of that person. " hello stupid bard!" Raine sat down, ignoring the pain in their body,  not saying anything "are you ignoring me!!"  The person grabed Raine's neck and squeezed it hard, Raine couldn't breath or talk "it's okay! I'll teach you good manners!"  He lefted Raine from their neck, and pushed them to the wall, Raine was so scared and afraid,  they even started crying, they didn't know what happened.  "I... D...don't... K.. Know... Wh.. What.. Happened"  Raine said weakly, the person let go of Raine's neck, Raine gasped and breathed quickly.  They heard the person laughing, and steps infront of them.  "of course you don't idiot!"  He laughed so hard, while Raine was sobbing quietly "trying to act brave right? Look how coward you are! You crying like a wet chicken! Next time don't act brave and fight with someone without knowing who is that person"  He tied Raine's hands up, Raine panicked to such an action "wh.. What are you doing? Please stop, please!"  The guy didn't listen, instade he punched Raine in the face, making Raine cry loudly, another punch and Raine's lips are bleeding, other one broke their nose, he kept punching them until Raine's face was coverd by blood.  Raine was crying hard, asking foe help and trying to escape those punches, but it was useless "no one can help you now! You're gonna regret it!" . . .  Raine wakes up sweating, breathing fast, looking around them, they were sobbing although they tried not to, they didn't want anyone to hear them "Raine are you okay?"  Eda said softly, putting her hand on their shoulder. Raine jumped out of the bed, shaking and crying loudly "I'm sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you up! Please don't hurt me! I didn’t mean it I swear! Pleeeeeeease please don't be mad!"  Eda was shocked! It was the first time she sees Raine like this, she didn't know what to do.  "Raine sweetie, it's me! Eda! Calm down I will never hurt you"  Raine took their time to recognize Eda, when they did, they rushed into her and hugged her tightly, burying their face into her chest, clinging to her shirt "don't go! Please don't leave me! Stay with me! I love you! "  Raine said while crying and sobbing, which made Eda's heart shudder.  "I'm not going anywhere dear, I'm staying with you forever! Don't worry"  Eda stroked their hair, placing kisses everywhere on them, while they were still shaking and begging Eda not to leave them, until finally Raine fell a sleep.  Eda looked at them confused, what happened to them that they were so afraid? Did someone hurt them? If someone did she'd kill them now! No one hurts her Rainstorm!  A tear escaped her eyes as she looked at how tightly they were holding her shirt, the way they thought she was going to leave them. She kissed their cheek and tried to go back to sleep, she'll talk with them tomorrow! They'll be fine, she is sure about it "don't... leave... me"  Raine said while sleeping, and that was enough for Eda to make her cry the whole night.   

General Audiences

Luz and Amity giggled, sitting down on the soft rug of Amity's little hide away in the library. Amity is leaning on Luz's shoulder, armad wrapped around her waist. Luz too had an arm wrapped around Amity. Since dating, they've gotten much closer, almost never getting enough of each other. Luz shut the book they were reading with a happy sigh, "And that's the conclusion of Azura chapter three! What do you think sweet potato?" Luz hummed with a tiny giggle. Amity looked up at Luz with those golden doe eyes, they always made Luz's heart jump and flutter. She was so pretty… Amity leaned up and kissed her jaw, getting a squeak and happy giggle from Luz. She adored any noise Luz made, especially when she's taken by surprise. "I think it was fun. Especially the scene where Hecate threatened Azura to bite her, we all know Azura would be into that." Amity joked, waving her hand. Though, she didn't fail to see the light blush that quickly came and went on Luz's face. "Pfft. Yeah. Though, I can see it the other way around." Luz smirked with a giggle. Amity blinked before laughing and nodding. "Yeah I'm sure, Luzura." Amity hummed with a playful smirk. Luz snickered back before winking. "Oh yeah, you know it." Amity giggled at her words before playfully pouncing on Luz, Luz laughing under her. "Amity bad!" Luz laughed, playfully and softly punching Amity above her. Amity grabs her arms and pins them down next to Luz's head before covering her faces in kisses, only causing Luz to giggle and laugh more. At some point, heat in the moment, Amity trailed down her cheek, jaw, then neck. Without a second thought, she sunk her fangs. She felt Luz tense up for a moment before feeling her lightly tremble. Amity held her place out of shock of her actions, which only caused a high moan to come from Luz. Amity quickly pulled back and odd of her girlfriend, stumbling back again, covering her mouth. Luz pushed herself up, face a deep scarlet, looking down at the ground from embarrassment. "Amity-" "Shit, Luz I'm so sorry! I didn't know what came over me!" Amity quickly apologized, noticing how the bite blossomed red, a very small amount of blood leaking from the bite. Luz gently raised her hand towards her neck, hesitating before brushing her fingers against it. Amity watched shocked to notice how the blush deepened and Luz looked up at her with wide eyes. "Yeah. Azura would like it." The human breathed out. Amity's face quickly went red processing what Luz said. "Oh." Was all Amity had to reply with. Luz tapped and played with her hands nervously, trying to figure out what to say, well, she knew what she wanted to say. It was how she was going to say it. "Amity, do you think…" Luz covered her face with a whine, Amity's gaze softening watching her. The witch had a bit of an idea with what Luz wanted after connecting the dots. "Do you… want me to?" Amity asked after a beat of silence. Luz looking through her fingers before putting her hands down. With that, she nodded nervously. Amity felt a new but welcoming sensation in her chest and groin with her response. "Okay…" Amity spoke before scooting closer to Luz. Luz looked away before pressing her body against Amity, looking for affection. Amity shifted her spot before pulling Luz into a hug, which caused Luz to squeak from the sudden movement. The noise sparked another small but intense feeling in Amity's chest, helping a small boost of confidence. Carefully, to not startle Luz any further, she kissed Luz's lips. Luz's nervous and tense posture seemed to melt away at the kiss. Amity tilted her head slightly to deepen it, grabbing Luz's hands. She loved how Luz leaned into the kiss. After a beat, Amity pulled away with a soft giggle. "If I hurt you… too much, say something. Okay?" Amity said, her eyes now full of love. Luz's blush returned before she nodded quickly, "I will, don't worry. I trust you." Luz softly responded. 'I trust you.' Those words are so intoxicating to Amity. Luz trusted her. Luz trusted her to not hurt her with something so intimate. The words melted into her chest and stomach, slowly stirring up a possessive, intense, and hot feeling inside her. "Thank you." Amity purred before kissing the corner of her mouth, still holding onto Luz's hands. In a way, it was leverage, in another way, it was her way of holding Luz close and still. That thought sparked up a couple of feelings deep down inside her too. Amity continued to trail kisses down her jaw then next to her ear, humming as she trailed down to her throat. She felt Luz tense for a second as she stopped, hot breath heating up Luz's neck. Softly, Amity kissed her neck. Then she kissed once again before licking, making Luz's breath hitch. That small action was only stirring the feeling in Amity. The witch let go of one of Luz's hands to hold onto her back. With that, Amity finally sank her teeth. Luz squeaked before crying out sweetly, her noises laced with pleasurable moans. Amity let go before sucking on the bite, the taste of the human's blood barely there but it was making her stomach stir happily. "You okay?" Amity asked softly, her voice laced with that hot and lustful yet loving tone. "Y-yeah-! Good, wow. That's nice." Luz stuttered out with a breathy laugh. Amity giggled before kissing her neck again then sinking her teeth again just below the last one. Luz twitched and moaned, "Amity! Ah-" Luz whined. Amity had to stop there, the sound of her name being moaned out in such a way caused that stirring feeling to boil over. "You okay, hermosa?" Luz asked, noticing her hesitation. "Can you lay down? I kind of… want to try something. If that's okay of course!" Amity asked, pulling away. Luz's already red and flustered face seemed to only get worse but she nodded, obeying. She laid down and Amity carefully crawled over her. Amity purposefully place her knee in between Luz's legs, just in case if this goes well. Amity was blown away from the view she was getting. Luz was below her, hair a mess, face flushed, eyes full of trust and love. All this added with the blossoming bruises and bites made Amity almost groan. "You're… so fucking beautiful." Amity spoke. Luz looking up at her shocked before giggling. "Awe, so you are my love." Luz smiled softly. Amity smiled before gently grabbing Luz's wrists, carefully pinning them down again. Luz wiggled a bit under her before happily accepting the fact she wasn't moving. If anything, it only made Luz more excited. Amity leaned down and kissed Luz's nose before moving down to her throat, but this time, she felt more confident. Without a second thought, she bit down just above Luz's collarbone, making the young human cry out. Amity sucked the spot, loving the light metallic taste… loving the nosies that came from her girlfriend even more however. "You're doing so good, good girl." Amity teased softly. What she didn't expect was for Luz to tense and whine from her words. Amity blinked before giggling, moving up a bit to bite again, except, she was now testing her limits. Amity sunk her teeth deeper than before, sucking a little harder than before. Luz however only just moaned and gasped under the bite. Amity removed her teeth but continued to nibble and suck around the bite, licking occasionally too. "Good girl, you're enjoying this, aren't you?" Amity happily hummed with Luz's whine of approval, trying to squeeze her legs, but stopped by Amity's knee. Amity looked back at Luz's legs before smiling then looking up at Luz. "Do you need something, cutie?" Amity teased. Luz only breathed out, flustered and bothered, looking away from embarrassment. "Please… continue." Luz whimpered out, Amity's chest fluttering with so many feelings. Amity looked down at her neck before smiling softly and looking up at Luz's face. Might as well give this a shot. She moved her knee and pressed against Luz's crotch, making Luz moan and yelp with surprise. Luz seemed to instinctively try to grind against it, though, she was still pinned down by Amity. "You're so cute." Amity giggled. Luz looked so beautiful, breathing unevenly and eyes half lided, trying to gain more friction. Amity took a moment to think before an idea popped in her head. She let go of Luz's wrists only to twirl her finger to summon ropes of abomination goop around her wrists, keeping Luz pinned down. "Be a good girl and stay out, can you do that for me?" Amity purred. Luz breathed out before nodding. "Hm? I didn't hear you?" Amity pushed with a teasing smile. She didn't understand where this confidence came from, it suddenly felt so easy to win over her girlfriend, to feel confident enough to dominate over her. "Y-yeah- Amity please. Please," Luz started to beg, opening her legs and moving her head, begging to be bitten and touched. Amity never could have been happier. A beautiful human girl under her… who happens to be her girlfriend… begging to be used and touched by her. How could she not? Amity moved down to kiss Luz's jaw then moved down to neck. Unfortunately, they were in a public place and Amity needed to be weary about this. Too bad. Amity would have loved to rip off Luz's clothes but for now, this was alright. Just as she sinks her fangs in Luz's neck again, she grabs her hips and grinds her leg against her. Luz was quickly a panting, whimpering, and moaning mess. "Amity- Amity oh-" Luz gasped out. Amity sucked on the bite, humming. This was something she could get used to. Feeling Luz tremble and moan, the feeling of power, the pure love and trust, it was a feeling that Amity craved. Not to mention, the bruising and bites looks beautiful on Luz, she looked good on them and Amity was honored that she was the one marking her skin. Amity positioned her leg to be at a better angle for Luz to grind against, Amity happily allowing her to as she bit, sucked, and attacked her throat. Luz is now a whimpering moaning mess. She was desperately trying to keep quieter knowing that these walls wouldn't be able to muffle everything. She thrived under Amity's fangs, being unable to move much only exciting her more. Trying to grind against Amity in her awkward position was difficult but she was so sensitive it didn't seem to matter. A moan ripped out of her as Amity bit just under her ear, her leg grinding on her just right over and over again. She felt that intense heat pool in her stomach, quickly getting more and more intense. "Amity-!" Luz cried out when Amity sucked on the bite. Amity wondered what it would be like if she was pounding into her, how loud would she be? Would she need to be held down to keep from moving too much? Was she really this sensitive? The way her girlfriend moaned under the bites, praise, and grinding alone, it seemed to be like that. Amity couldn't have been luckier in her life over this. "Fuck fuck fuck-" Luz suddenly started to string out curses and high moans, her grinding losing rhythm. Amity's face went deep red understanding what was going on. To help along, she bit down hard on the muscle of her throat, shoving pressing her leg against her. "Good girl, just like that for me." Amity purred as Luz moaned and cried, finally being pushed over edge, whipping her head back over her orgasm. Amity sucked and kissed on the bite before giving it a final lick, pushing herself up to get a good look at Luz. The human was just now getting over her orgasm, panting heavily, face deep red, sweat beading along her face… messy hair, covered in bruises. Amity smiled lovingly, leaning down to kiss her still sensitive girlfriend. She kisses back, moaning into the kiss. "Are you alright?" Amity asked softly. Luz nodded. "Y-yeah- oh goodness. I didn't expect that I'm sorry," Luz nervously laughed. Amity shook her head, kissing her cheek. "Don't apologize. You are so cute," Amity giggled before removing the abomination goop around her wrists, pulling Luz into a hug sitting up. Luz snuggled into Amity, her panting now calming down. "Mm… maybe I can repay you?" Luz offered with a happy tone. Amity's ears flickered and her face lit up. "Sure, just not now. I want to hold and kiss my beautiful, amazing, and adorably sexy girlfriend!" Amity giggled, attacking Luz with kisses which made her squeak and laugh. "Okay okay, soon then. I want to make my beautiful girlfriend a mess too." Luz lovingly sighed. Amity blushed before giggling and nodded. "I love you." Amity kissed her cheek, "Love you too, lots." Luz hummed, snuggling into her girlfriend. She looked forward to next time. She gently brushed her fingers against her throat. Shit. How was she going to hide these?!

Explicit

THE RUNAWAY’S FINAL DAY   SCREENPLAY BY KENDAMARANIA STORY AND CHARACTERS BY SOLENLI   INT. GOLDEN GUARD QUARTERS - AFTERNOON   Screen is completely black. ADAM is narrating.   ADAM: I don’t remember much about my childhood, the early days of my existence. Except for one memory.   Hard cut to a young Adam looking through their window. The light from it is the only illumination in the entire room. Young Adam is clawing his fingers on his walls, with a visible frustrated expression in him.    ADAM (V.O.): Uncle said to me that I have to stay put in my room for the entire day, he never told me why. But through that window, I knew that I had to watch.   CUT TO:   EXT. CASTLE COURTYARDS - AFTERNOON   Show an establishing shot of a crowd and a platform, with shackles on the floor. The crowd is murmuring.   B.I. CITIZEN 1: What’s up with this? Has something happened to us?   B.I. CITIZEN 2: I wouldn’t be surprised, Belos hasn’t exactly been an active leader for us. Maybe he’ll announce a new Golden Guard.   The crowd continues muttering until a couple of Coven Scouts start rolling drums. Belos teleports on to the stage, and the crowd starts cheering for him. Belos signals them to stop.   BELOS: Children of the Isles! I am ashamed to say, we have lost a dear friend today.    Belos starts walking around the stage.   BELOS: The reason I have called all of you here today is not for a moment of celebration, but of memorial. Today, we have lost our Golden Guard to the wild witches.   The crowd gasps and two coven scouts pull the chains of a captive Golden Guard, Judas. Dressed in a bare loincloth, he’s acting like a rabid animal, trying to get to Belos. The Coven Scouts chain him down to the ground.   BELOS: Our dear Golden Guard has been cursed by the wild witches, his mind scrambled by their occult ways.   A coven scout removes Belos’ cloak and hands him a whip while he is talking.   BELOS: And the Titan has informed me that I must try and cure him of his wild magic, I will force it out of him!   JUDAS (tearing up): Belos! Please! Let me see Adam!   Before Judas could finish his sentence, Belos readies his whip and strikes him. The crowd wildly cheers as Belos whips Judas’ back, pretending to cure him.    CUT TO:   INT. GOLDEN GUARD QUARTERS - AFTERNOON   A young Adam jerks away from the window, about to throw up. He’s visibly traumatized by this.   ADAM (V.O.): I wanted to do something, I wanted to scream from my window to stop, but something in me was trying to mute everything I said.   The whip cracking and cheering crowd continues as Adam speaks. Young Adam is trying hard not to look at the window.    CUT TO:   EXT. CASTLE COURTYARDS - AFTERNOON   Belos finishes whipping Judas, now covered in red slashes in his back and torso. Judas is on the brink of death, panting.   BELOS: It seems like the Titan has told me that our Golden Guard is incurable, and that there’s only one option.   Belos snatches a spear from a Coven Guard and impales Judas. Show an extreme close up of Belos’ smirk.   BELOS: Death.   The crowd goes wild for Belos, thinking that he saved them. Judas’ corpse is covered in tears. Belos summons a tree and nails Judas’ hands to it.   BELOS: Let this be a lesson on the dangers of wild magic, for you can’t be saved by it!   Belos teleports away, and the crowd roars in applause.   CUT TO:   INT. GOLDEN GUARD QUARTERS - AFTERNOON   Show young Adam looking through the window, seeing Judas’ crucified corpse.   CUT TO:   EXT. CASTLE COURTYARDS - MIDNIGHT   Establish the scene with a shot of the castle and the Moon. Young Adam walks to the empty stage, completely alone. They’re looking at Judas’ crucified corpse, which is being pecked at by several birds. Judas is barely clinging on to life.   ADAM (V.O.): There I was, where my brother had fallen.   Judas is rasping up words to young Adam.   JUDAS: A-Adam…   Young Adam nearly falls to the ground in terror. The corpse was alive.   YOUNG ADAM: Y-yes… Judas?   JUDAS: A-avenge us, our brothers and sisters.   Judas’ hand weakly opens, showing a dagger. The dagger falls to the ground as Judas dies of blood loss. Young Adam picks up the knife.   YOUNG ADAM: I will, brother.   ADAM (V.O.): When Judas, my invisible caretaker died in front of me, I knew I couldn’t trust Belos anymore. He was a hypocrite, a man behind a mask, and I’ll kill him for what he has done.   End scene with an aerial shot of a Young Adam touching Judas’ corpse in respect, and walking away with the dagger. The scene fades out to a vintage grain effect.   MATCH CUT TO:   INT. BASEMENT ARCHIVES - LATE NIGHT   Zoom out to a brick wall with the scene being projected, and then turning off. Cut to a shot of Flapjack and Hunter watching it as an Echo Mouse closes its eyes. Camera is shot behind Hunter, ant’s eye view.   Flapjack chirps a question.   HUNTER: Yeah, we should find more of Adam’s diaries   Hunter stands up and Flapjack flies to his shoulder. Don’t cut to follow them.    END OF SKIT

Mature

Eda turned to face them. "How did you get your memories back? You know, since you didn't remember anything on the-" she hesitated. "On the Coven Day Parade." "Oh yeah, I was just going to tell you!" Raine fidgeted with their shirt. "I never lost them at all. When Terra gave me some drink I'd never seen before, I made sure to change it so it was harmless. You know, using that one trick I showed you back in school." They grinned. "I always remembered you." Eda took a step back. "You… didn't forget?" "Never." "But what you said, in that alley-" "It was all to keep you safe, Eda. All of it." They smiled softly at her as she stared. Eda was taken aback. “Do you have any idea-” she cut herself off. “How- how could you? Do you know how much I cried for you?”  Raine frowned. “I’m sorry I had to do that Eda, I really am. I'm not saying it wasn't hard on you. But we’re here together now and that’s what counts.”  "I thought you were- you fought me, Raine! I won't say it's your fault at all but-" A hurt look crossed Raine's face. Eda sighed and her expression softened. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling. These last few weeks have been hard on everyone and I guess I was just thinking about myself. I don't know what you were going through and- I forgive you." Raine's eyes widened. "Thanks. I- I didn't know if you would actually." They shifted on their feet. "So it's all okay then-?" "But," Eda took a deep breath and crossed to the other side of the room. "When we- got back together, before you were taken by Darius and Eber, we made a promise, remember?" She began to pace back and forth. "We promised 'no more secrets'." Raine's face fell.  "But Eda, there was no other way I could've-" "I know, Rainstorm, I know," she interrupted. "But what I'm saying is we can't go back to how it was. Not now, I don't know if we ever will. All I know is we can't be together at the moment." Eda blinked away a tear. "Maybe we can see how things are after the Day of Unity." Raine almost seemed to curl in on themself, become more withdrawn.  "Yeah," they said absently. "No more secrets."  They opened their mouth as if to say something else, then closed it and abruptly walked towards the door. Their hand on the doorknob, they turned to look at Eda. "Your kid should be here soon. Get ready if you need to."  And then they were gone. Eda lowered herself to sit on the bed, staring after Raine. She'd done the right thing, she reminded herself. No more secrets. She felt tears pricking her eyes, and this time didn't hold them back. Sobs wracked her body as she put her head in her hands. She'd let them go. Again.  

General Audiences

Dear DiaryToday I met a girl named Willow and I think I befriended her! My first friend on the Boiling Isles! She is awesome. She’s so cool and powerful and cute. She also has the squishiest cheeks ever. It makes me just kinda wanna squish them! So cute! Okay so, I think maybe I might have a little, tiny crush on her. I mean, if she wanted to be more than friends I’d be down for that, but like I’m also good with being friends too. I wonder what you call that kind of crush… Anyway, I also met and made friends with this kid named Gus. I think the three of us are destined to be best friends. I can’t wait to get to know them better!   Dear DiaryToday I met Amity’s older siblings, Edric and Emira, and… oh. My. Gosh. First of all, they’re really, really attractive and tall. And second of all, they’re twins and attractive twins are my downfall. Emira is so pretty, and her hair is so nice, and her eyes are so gorgeous, and her lips are freaking beautiful. And then Edric has such cool hair, and really long legs, and wide shoulders, and his smile is a smirk…! It was a very good day!   Dear DiarySo obviously, Amity is pretty. I mean, that’s like super obvious. I thought so the first time I saw her, but then she was kinda mean… but now she isn’t mean anymore. Well, maybe a little still? But she’s working on it. Anyway, she’s like really pretty. And sweet. And smart. And cool. And funny. I think I’m starting to like her.   Dear DiaryAmity is so cute when she gets embarrassed! Her face turns red and she giggles, and it’s soooo cute!! She’s surprisingly shy. And light. Oh, and last night I had a dream about her. I don’t really remember it, but I know she was being cute, but like also super cool.   Dear DiaryI think I really like Amity. Whenever I’m around her, I get so nervous and all I wanna do is just impress her, make her laugh, make her happy. Whenever I see her, I feel like I’m floating. Her smile makes me feel really good and I love it when she laughs. She’s so pretty, prettier than everybody. She’s so sweet, and thoughtful, and silly, and classy, and smart, and cute. And way too good for me... There’s no way she’ll ever see me as more than just a friend. She’s so much prettier than I am. How could she ever like me? I’m awkward. I’m weird…. There’s just no way. I hope this crush goes away soon. It’s so troublesome.   Dear DiarySHE KISSED ME! AMITY KISSED ME!!!   Dear DiaryAmity wasn’t at school today… which sucks. I really wanted to talk to her.   Dear DiaryI met someone tonight. I’m not really sure what to make of him. For awhile there, he seemed like a good guy. But then… And then that… ugh. He threw me for a loop. He definitely isn’t who I thought he was. And I think there’s at least a little good in him. He has these scars on his face and they’re actually pretty cool, but it’s also like how did he get those? But yeah, he’s good-looking. You can tell he works out by looking at his arms (I bet they feel nice). And he’s got this tooth gap that looks a little weird, but it’s cute too. And this single curly ringlet that like sticks out from the middle of his head and dangles in front of his face… But he’s kind of a jerk, so he ruins all his good looks when he opens his mouth. He licked my hand! Who does that?!? He’s definitely not Amity, that’s for sure… and I really, really like Amity. More than anyone. I… I really wanna ask her out.   Dear DiarySHE SAID YES!!! I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND NOW AND IT’S AMITY!!!!!   Dear DiaryI’ve never felt more alive. Amity is such an awesome girlfriend!! Girlfriend!! I love calling her that. I love holding her hand and kissing her on the cheek. Sometimes I still can’t believe she likes me. Girls back home never liked me. And sometimes I still just can’t believe this place in general. Homophobia is just not… a thing. It’s so nice to just cuddle with Amity and stuff without being looked at. I could cuddle with Amity for hours. Her hair’s so soft and her waist feels so nice… and she does this adorable, weird thing when we cuddle too. She pulls up her legs and tucks her toes under her feet. I don’t know how she does that, but it’s so cute. And she puts a hand on my shoulder, then lays her cheek over top it… SHE’S JUST SO CUTE! I’m glad she’s my girlfriend.   Dear DiaryToday Amity and I had our first fight. I guess it was kinda for a stupid reason, but it was serious at the time. But then we sat down and talked about I. You know, I’ve spent all this time telling Amity to be open with me and how I’ll listen and try to help her with all her problems. Yet when it came to me, I just tried to keep it in, tried dealing with everything on my own. But Amity reminded me it’s okay to need help sometimes. And that she’ll always listen and try to help me with all my problems too. I feel like we’re closer than ever. But it wasn’t fun to fight. I hope we never fight like that again.   Dear DiaryToday I realized something big. At first I wasn’t sure, but then I saw Amity’s sleeping face beside me (she fell asleep while cuddling) and I just knew it. I know it’s true. We may not have even technically gone out on a real date yet, or even kissed on the lips yet, but… I love Amity. I’m so in love with her. I’ve had crushes before, but nobody’s ever made me feel this strongly. I love Amity Blight.

General Audiences

Eda   Eda almost drops the cardboard box in her hands and stumbles on the stairs to Vivian’s apartment. She curses at herself. Eda has been alone in her house for the first time in six years, the last few weeks of the divorce have been a daze for her, so naturally, she’s not all there.    Eda guesses she made quite the commotion because seconds later, a door opens, then closes, and footsteps quickly approach her.    “Edalyn? What are you doing on the ground?”  Vivian's voice dances along Eda’s ears, softer than the night wind. Eda looks up to see her ex-wife kneeling with a hand extended. Vivian’s dark eyebrows are downturned, and her brown eyes mirror the newfound emptiness in Eda’s heart.    “Oh, I um…tripped.” She mumbles. Vivian giggles while shaking her head, wispy black curls moving with each turn of her head.    “You need to be more careful; I like you more in one piece.” Eda finally gets her bearings on her feet and hands Vivian the box.    “You left these at the Owl House.” Vivian takes the box and peeks inside before pulling something back out and gingerly placing it in Eda’s hands. It’s a snow globe. Eda tilts her head, confused.    “Why did you give this to me? It was a gift to you.” Eda and Vivian went on a trip to one of the ski resorts on The Knee on their first wedding anniversary. On their first day, the two women decided to look around a gift shop near their hotel room. Vivian kept on going back to the snowglobe. Although it’s nothing fancy, it fits nicely in the palm of Eda’s hand. The inside is a miniature scale replica of the resort. Written in big letters is “KNEECAP SKI RESORT SERENNITY, BOILING ISLES” Throughout the trip, Vivian had her eyes on it, and Eda couldn’t help but get it for her. Upon showing it to her, Vivian’s eyes lit up in the way Eda adores. Her eyes always grow wide, then pinch up on the sides when she smiles. After returning home, she placed it nicely on the mantle for all to see.    Vivian sighs softly, staring at the snowglobe with an unreadable expression.    “I think Hooty and King will be sad that I took it back; they loved it too, after all.” Eda thinks about the hours Hooty, her house demon, and King, her son, rolled it back and forth, giggling and watching the fake snow tumble inside. She smiles.    “You’re right. The boys would,” Vivian taps the box in her hands lightly before turning on her heel.    “Okay, I must put this away before I can get to training,” Vivian says. Eda shoos her away with a wave of her hand.    “You go train. I’ll get out of your hair.” Eda places the snowglobe in her shoulder bag and leaves Vivian's apartment complex.    Eda begins her route back to The Owl House. She weaves through the crowds of Bonesborough, then stops suddenly.  It’s almost nightfall, and the tavern seems empty.    “Why not?” Eda says to herself. She enters the tavern, making her presence known with her heels clicking on the floor. She props herself up at the bar and waves down the bartender.    “Pint of Apple Blood, if you don’t mind.” The bartender smiles at Eda nods their head and gets her a glass of refreshing Apple Blood. She takes the first sip and immediately feels the worries wash away from her mind. A nice glass of apple blood always lifts the spirits.    After a short while, she zones out deep in her thoughts while still sipping on her Apple Blood. Eda has been thinking a lot these past few weeks. But, first, she thinks about the future for herself and her boys. Hooty and King aren’t her blood; by the Titan, they were her family. Thankfully for Eda, they took the divorce well, and it didn’t affect them too much.    Eda is pulled from her thoughts when somebody plops beside her with as much grace as a baby deer. The sudden noise startles her, making her flinch. The witch beside her mumbles a quick “sorry” before flagging down the bartender.    “What can I get for you, friend?” The bartender asks.    “A Seersucker. Double.” The stranger replies curtly. Eda almost chokes on her drink.    “Hard night?” Eda asks. The stranger shrugs. “Guess you could say that.” Eda turns herself to face the stranger. She looks them up and down, observing them closely. The stranger has short, mint green hair with a cowlick at the base of their neck. Their skin is a light brown, and their green eyes are accompanied by thin framed round glasses. Eda feels like she’s seen them before. She recognizes their voice too, but she can’t figure out where. She thinks for a moment, then it clicks.    “Hey, are you by any chance Raine Whispers?” The stranger turns to face Eda with an eyebrow raised.    “Yes? How did you know?” Raine asks. Eda swishes her glass.    “I recognize you from somewhere but don’t know where exactly.” Raine leans back and looks Eda up and down. Eda doesn’t know if it's the drinks talking, but the stare Raine gives her makes her feel fuzzy. Eda takes a large swig of her drink.    Calm down, Eda. You’ve only been divorced for a week.   Raine snaps their fingers as their face lights up for a moment.    “You’re Edalyn Clawthorne, right? I think we had classes together at Hexside.” The memories come flooding back to her. That's right! They went to high school together.    Eda remembers how Raine was in high school, with fluffy hair, big eyes, super skinny, and limbs that looked too big for their body. Yet, despite their awkward appearance, they were always kind and willing to help.    Life has changed the two of them clearly. Now they’re at some shoddy bar drinking.    “It’s been a while,” Eda says, staring into her drink.    “Twenty-five years? Man, we’ve gotten up there in age, haven’t we.” Eda lets out a hollow laugh.    “True,” The bartender hands Raine their drink, and they take a large gulp, not even flinching. Eda can’t help but stare at them, slightly aghast.    “Oh, Titan, you are throwing that drink back,” Eda says. Raine shrugs.    “I want to forget some stuff.” Raine takes another big gulp.     “Whatever it is, I hope it gets better,” Eda says. Raine smiles sadly.    “You too,” Raine replies, saying it as if it was programmed in their mind to say it. Eda gives them a bemused stare. They gasp softly, their cheeks and nose turning a bright red.    “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to assume.” Raine says quickly. Eda laughs    “No, you’re right. Actually, I’m not having a good time either.” Eda says, taking a long sip of her Apple Blood. The bartender toddles over suddenly to replace Eda’s drink, and she happily obliges.    “Guess we’re both in the dumps.” Raine laughs bitterly.    “Yeah, being forty-six and newly divorced is something I didn’t think would ever happen,” Raine says before quickly covering their mouth.    “That just came out. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to dampen the mood anymore.” Eda shakes her head.    “Don’t apologize. Do you want to talk about it?” Eda asks. Raine shakes their head.    “Still fresh, you know?.” Raine says, their voice hollow. Eda gestures to their drink, now refilled as well.  “Clearly,” The two of them laugh.    “What about you? After all, you are also drinking your feelings, it seems.” Raine glances down at Eda’s drink, now her third one.    “Yeah, I guess I am. The divorce was finalized a few days ago. I’m still processing that I’m a single woman.”    “I wish. Still in the throws of Hell, and it’s messy.” Raine says into their cup. Eda leans back and taps her chin. She flags down the bartender.    “Hey, put their drinks on my tab. My treat.” Raine gives Eda the side eye.    “You’re in the dumps. Let an old friend help you.” Eda says. Raine smiles.    “Sure.”    Keeping her promise, Eda kept letting Raine order drink after drink, their empty glasses piling up with hers. They spend most of the night talking, joking, and catching up. Soon enough, they’re leaning up against each other, completely blasted. Finally, the bartender cuts the two witches off, taking their drinks from them. Raine groans loudly.    “Man, and we were just starting to have fun too.” Their speech is heavily slurred. Eda claps them on the back.    “Don’t worry, we can just go somewhere else!” Eda stutters over her words several times but manages to get her sentence out. The bartender hands her the bill, and her eyes bulge out of her head when she sees the price.    “Damn, that’s hefty.” Raine leans against Eda and giggles. Eda peers over the bar to see the bartender occupied with another patron. A devilish grin appears on Eda’s face. She grabs Raine’s hand, and they bolt from the bar and run as fast as they can, trying to evade the yells of the bartender for Eda to pay her tab. Eda and Raine weave through the alleys of Bonesborough before stopping in a secluded area. Raine lets out a giddy, the smell of alcohol on their breath.    “That was amazing, Eda,” Raine says. Eda chortles.    “That’s one of the tamer things I’ve done.” Raine gawks at her.    “What are you, a criminal?” Eda gestures to her wanted poster in the alleyway.    “Yes,” Eda says flatly. Raine just blinks at her, then grins.    “Wow! Pretty and has a wild side.” Eda feels her entire body heat up.    Seriously? Just because I’m drunk? Raine is good-looking, but…what about Vivian? Yeah, we’re not together anymore, but…I still love her, right?    Raine pulls Eda out of her thoughts, leading her out of the alleyway. Eda stops them by dragging her heels.    “Where are we going?”    “Oh, my apartment is nearby. We can sober up there. Is that okay?” Maybe it’s the rose-tinted lens of alcohol or how Raine’s face is illuminated by the moon and the alarm bells in her head to not betray Vivian. Still, Eda’s heart and body are screaming to follow Raine, overpowering the throws of reason.    Eda nods, letting Raine lead her to their apartment.    It’s a small, quaint place, nestled in the corner of one of Bonesborough’s apartment complexes. Eda stands awkwardly while Raine fiddles with their keys, trying to unlock the door in their drunken stupor. They finally open the door and make way for Eda to enter first.    The first thing Eda notices is how cozy Raine’s apartment is. The warm tones of their furniture and just the right amount of clutter make Eda feel all warm inside. A candle burning in the entryway makes the whole apartment smell woodsy.    Raine removes their shoes, prompting Eda to remove hers as well. Then, Raine removes their jacket.    “You can sit on the couch. I’ll make some more drinks for us.” Raine says. Eda falls into Raine’s couch with a sigh. She lays her head on the armrest while watching Raine work. They pull two wine glasses from a cabinet and a bottle of white wine from the cooler.    Eda is entranced by the way Raine moves. Every step and gesture is fluid and graceful despite Raine clearly being inebriated. They are good at hiding it, that’s for sure. But on the other hand, Eda has to rest her head to keep the room from spinning. She won’t even think about trying to stand right now. The last thing Eda wants is to fall face first into Raine’s coffee table. The light to the kitchen turns off, and Raine comes sauntering into the living room with a glass of wine in each hand.    “I’ve had this bottle for a while now. I can finally put it to use.” Raine winks at her. They sit beside her and make themself comfortable. Eda takes a sip, and her eyes light up.    “Wow! This is amazing.”  Eda says. Raine grins.    “I’m glad you like it! But, unfortunately, I’m not much of a drinker, so it’s been collecting dust.” Eda scoffs.    “Not much? You’ve had eight Seersuckers and now a glass of wine.”    “Tonight is an exception,” Raine says. They stare at each other for a moment, then giggle.    Eda doesn’t remember how long they talked and laughed. She doesn’t remember how long it took for the two of them to inch closer until their bodies were flush against one another, their noses touching.    Eda doesn’t remember who initiated the first kiss. But, to be frank, she doesn’t particularly care. The searing heat of Raine’s lips on her and the fireworks in her stomach made her lose all sense of sensibility and reason. She remembers a saying that desire overtakes all reasonable thought.    Whoever said that is right.    The red hot desire running through her body wants one thing.    Raine Whispers    ~~~   The first thing Eda notices is a headache. Not just any headache, one that feels like her head is splitting open. The second thing is the sunlight streaming through sheer white curtains.    Wait…I don’t have white curtains.   Eda shoots up from the bed she’s in, her head and tired muscles protesting. She feels movement next to her. Eda slowly turns to see Raine next to her, fast asleep. The dots start to connect in her mind as she peers over Raine’s body, covered in kiss marks.   Oh, my stars. I did not.    Eda gets up, grabs her clothes, which are strewn on the floor, and rushes into the bathroom connected to Raine’s room. She stares at herself in the mirror; sure enough, her makeup is smeared, and she has kiss marks all over her body. Eda turns on the faucet, washes her face, and tries to make her unruly grey hair look somewhat presentable. She quickly puts her clothes on and books them out of Raine's apartment.    It’s still early enough that she is nearly alone on her walk back to her house. Every thought imaginable is running through her mind. She’s been single for a week, and she went and had a tryst with a high school classmate whose divorce isn’t finalized yet…is that adultery? Eda groans while running a hand through her hair.    “I need someone to talk to.” She turns on her heel and starts walking in the opposite direction of her house. She weaves through the city's alleyways until she reaches the Night Market: The underground merchant’s guild. You can find anything here, anyone.    Nobody is out smuggling at seven thirty in the morning, but a particular friend of Eda’s lives here. She approaches a small house that is dilapidated with a sheet instead of a door. Eda walks into the house, knocking on the doorframe to make her presence known.    “Seamus, you there?” Eda says. Her voice echoes into the dark entryway of the house. Shortly after, quiet footsteps come tittering down the stairs. The light turns on, making a hungover Eda wince.   “What do you want, Owl Lady? Do you realize what time it is?” A middle-aged satyr greets Eda on the stairs with sleepy eyes and an annoyed expression. Eda drops her head and shoulders in defeat.    “I’m sorry, Seamus, I just really need someone to talk to,” Eda says. There’s silence for a minute before Seamus sighs.    “Come on, I’ll make us some coffee. No offense, but you look like the backside of a fireworm.” Seamus says. Eda chuckles and follows him into the kitchen. Eda sits down at his shoddy dining table. At the same time, he works the coffee machine, which is actually some pipes and buckets tied together. Eda rests her head on the table and groans.    “Seamus, I’m in turmoil.” He doesn’t look up from the coffee machine.    “I would hope so. There's no other reason you would be here this early and that hungover.” Seamus says. Eda props her head up with her hand.    “So, what’s the problem, Eda?”    Eda begins to tell Seamus about what happened the night before. All of the drinks, emotions, and other things. She continues with the events of this morning and how she’s feeling. Seamus doesn’t talk. By the way, his goat-like ears move back and forth, and Eda can tell he’s listening intently. That’s always one thing Eda can rely on Seamus for. If she needs to talk, he’ll listen.    Seamus sets a cup of coffee in front of Eda. She takes a sip, letting the warmth run through her. Seamus sits across from her.    “So let me get this straight. You decided to go to the bar, meet an old friend from school, get drunk, then sleep together? And you feel?”    Eda puts her head in her hands.    “That’s the thing. I don’t know how I feel.”    “Do you regret it?” Seamus asks.    “What?”    Do I regret it?    “I know emotions are running high for you, and you’re going through a lot with Vivian. But, despite that, do you regret it?” Seamus moves his chair closer to Eda and places a comforting hand on her shoulder. Eda sighs loudly.   “I can't answer that yet.” Eda’s voice is defeated. Seamus squeezes her shoulder.    “You don’t have to know the answer now. That’s the crazy thing about emotions. You usually don’t know what they mean until after they’ve passed.” Eda smiles.    “I guess you’re right,” Eda says. Seamus gives Eda a light punch on her shoulder.    “Finish that coffee and get the devil out of my house, Owl Lady.” Eda chuckles.    “Yeah yeah, give me a minute.” She says. She downs the rest of her drink and leaves as promised. The streets are fuller now, but she’s got a little more pep in her step with some caffeine. Eda feels a little better after her talk with Seamus. One thought can’t leave her mind, however.    What does Raine think? 

Teen And Up Audiences

Eda and Raine were on their hill. They had gone there to be alone, so that no one would accidentally stumble upon them. They weren’t doing anything terrible by any means, but Eda was already in hot water for practicing multiple forms of magic.  If Raine was caught teaching her bard magic they would both be in severe trouble.  Their quiet nature was soothing enough to the teachers at Hexside that when they asked to borrow a lute no one batted an eye. Nor question why Raine, the bardic prodigy, wanted to borrow a beginner’s instrument.  Honestly, with as much time as they spent with Eda, you would think someone would catch on. But no, so here they were, handing their giddy girlfriend the instrument. “Please take care of this. I don’t think I can talk my way out of detention if something happens to it.” Raine told her, only slightly anxious about what they were doing.  “Calm down, Rainstorm. I can be responsible when I try.”  Raine just hummed, looking unsure, which made Eda gently punch their shoulder. “Hey!”  They laughed softly. “I’m kidding. I know you wouldn’t get me in trouble, Calamity.”  “Hmph, sure.” She smiled then though. “Okay, Rainy. How do I use this thing?”  “Instruments act as conduits just like staffs. So, channeling your magic with intent should cause a reaction. Songs can be used to make more complex effects.” Raine explained, hands moving while they talked about the magic they were so passionate about.  Eda stared at them fondly, enjoying the excited motions they made. Anything that made Raine look that happy was good enough for her.   “Okay so if I want wind...” Eda plucked one of the strings and a very aggressive gust of wind came out.  Raine flinched a bit, but nodded. “Yeah. Like that.”  “Cool.” Eda laughed, a dopey grin on her face. “You know, bard magic is almost a way to cheat the coven system. I mean look at you, you can basically do potions magic with your whistling, you mess with the elements, it so cool!”  Raine blushed. “Thinking about switching tracks, Eda?” They teased.  “Pffft, as if.” Eda mocked. “I’m not joining a coven anyway, and even if I was I’m sixteen. I think it’s a bit late to change tracks.”  “I don’t know, with Bump as principal now you could probably convince him.” Raine shrugged.  “I think you overestimate how much he actually likes me.” Eda argued. “Okay, show me a few more things.”  Raine went over music theory, how Eda should position her hands, the beginner chords to start learning songs, and started her on reading sheet music. To their surprise Eda took in every word, actually paying attention and asking questions.  “You seem to be enjoying this.” They tried to keep the surprise out of their voice, but couldn’t help it.  Eda frowned. “Did you think I wouldn’t be?”  “Well, I mean... I guess I just thought you would get bored. Or were just humoring me.” They admitted quietly.  “Raine...” Eda set the lute aside. She scooted closer to them and reached a hand up to cup their face. “You had me sold on bard magic the day I met you, and of course I’m interested in it! I love you and you’re super passionate about it. I think it’s cute.” She admitted the last part with pink cheeks.  The praise and endearment made Raine blush too. “O-oh.” They swallowed. “I love you too.” They finally muttered. “Thank you.”  “No problem, Rainstorm.” She leaned forward, pressing a kiss to their lips. “I want to know more about your interests.” She pressed her lips to theirs again. “So I can make you happy.”  “You always make me happy.” They admitted before kissing her once more, this one longer than the others, deeper, full of more emotion.  Eda scooted into their lap, pressing a hand against their shoulder so they would fall on their back and she could straddle their thighs. She pulled back and smirked down at them. “You should write a song for us Rainstorm, and we can come up here and play it together.”   They stared up at her dumbly, and then broke into laughter.  Eda blushed, feeling suddenly embarrassed. “Was it that dumb of an idea?” She muttered looking away.  Raine reached to make her look at them again. “Not at all, Eda. It just came out of nowhere given our situation.” They smiled, motioning between the two.  “I needed to get up my courage, okay?!” Eda argued.  “Whatever you say, Calamity.” They pulled her down to press a far more chaste kiss on her. “But I think that’s a fantastic idea.”  She gave a dopey grin in return. “I’m glad.”  Eda laid her head on their chest then, listening to the sound of their heart while they stroked her hair, and enjoying the fact that this bard was hers.  They wouldn’t know for years to come just how far that song idea would take them, but at this moment, they just reveled in the warmth of each other. Of the love they felt. The song they found together. 

General Audiences

"Mie! Nee!" Tiny eight summers old Luz scrambled over the steep siding of Mie's nest. "Wake up! Wake up!" Groaning and ears pressing flat, Raine drew their blanket over their head. Nudging their wife, they grumbled, "You're daughter is awake." "She's only your daughter before noon," Eda crowed back. "Have fun with her." "Wake up! Come on, Mie, Nee!" Luz tugged on Raine's blanket, hissing as her feet went out from under her. Tumbling forward, she landed on top of her parent. "Wake up! I got something to show you!" "We're up!" Eda scooped her daughter up as the witch sat up. "Now, what do you want to show us?" she questioned as Raine slipped their glasses on.  Smiling and wiggling to free herself, the eight summers child approached the edge of the nest. Clambering back out and settling on the ground, she pulled over a spare pad of paper and a crayon over to her. "Watch this," she bossed her parents, receiving amused purrs in response. Crouching down on the floor, Luz followed the memorized pattern that she had practiced many times the last few days. She wanted to make sure it was perfect for when she showed Mie and Nee. Slapping her hand on the page, the child pulled her hand back to allow a blistering hot Witchlight float up into the air. Cupping her hands together and moving it towards Mie and Nee, she smiled. “Surprise,” chirped Luz.  Staring a look of disbelief and shock between each other, both Raine and Eda slipped out of the nest, crouching down beside their human daughter. Silent, the couple watched as bright, burning hot Witchlights filled their bedroom, causing them to hiss. Their sensitive sight was no match for the bright light of their daughter’s Witchlights.  “Luz?” Eda had pulled the vibrating child onto her lap, now fully awake. “I don’t know how you did that but good job, honey.” “We are so proud of you,” Raine added, ruffling her curly ombre hair. “You did your first spell, Melody.”

General Audiences

Darius’s first thought, on regaining consciousness, is that his hair will never recover. This is what his second therapist would have called a “defense mechanism.” They should have been more clear about who he was defending, because his second thought is a vivid diorama of how he will wrap Belos’s accursed arms in tendrils tighter than his own veins, scythe that vile green corruption from his corpselike skin and leave him in writhing, twitching halves on the Head— It was his third therapist who had really fixated on building a healthy relationship with his job. That’s out the window now, too. Darius takes a deep breath and dissects it: blood, sweat, smoke in flavors of acid and flesh and dead leaves. That’s more than enough to prepare him for what he’s about to awaken to—but he hesitates. Not that he’s scared. He just…knows. So it’s the unearthly shriek, like two ragged blades scraping against each other and the sky, that forces his eyes open. The world is blurred and muddied, but that image of the Emperor is sharpening with every heartbeat, kneeling, screaming, drowning in abomination essence that deserves better than to be poured down his lying throat— In the past, he’s experienced this rage as a tangible thing that blots out the sun—but no, for once it’s a literal shadow. The beat of monstrous wings whips away what goop he’s managed to keep on his head, but it’s the eyes, black as the eclipse, that pin him in place. The—thing shrieks again, scraping through Darius’s teeth, tightening his shaking fists as it slams like an earthquake to the broken circle. He shifts his stance, shapes that anger into blades over his hands—takes in the talons, the crest like a cloud of knifes, the vicious fangs, one longer than the rest— And then it swoops toward him, grasps the remains of his cloak and drags him forward, inches from its yawning mouth as it shrieks, “ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ—ᴀʀᴇ—ᴍʏ—ᴋɪᴅs?!” The shapes and colors snap together. He should’ve known—obviously—but he can’t help but gasp. “Eda?” The Owl Lady—never has that been more apt—flings him aside. He’s recovered enough of his faculties to soften the blow, and as the essence undulates him to his feet, he surveys the scene. It’s dire. There’s no other way to describe it, and he’d dare any of his past therapists to try. No one else is sitting up; he can’t confirm how many of them are breathing. He catches a glimpse of cropped cyan hair and suddenly his eyes can’t focus. If he’d never said anything, if he’d just let the shady feeling go— Then we’d all be dead. Pointless to think about what he could have done differently—a lesson he thought he’d finally learned. He looks out over the crowds—moving and shrieking and worse for wear, but overwhelmingly alive—and his stomach drops. He doesn’t have an answer for Eda. The little prince, and all his troublemaking little bad-influence gremlin friends, are nowhere to be seen. Neither, for that matter, is Belos. And good, because if he was, Darius would surge forward in a violet tide and tear him limb from limb— No, no. Breathe. Think. Consider your options. You can’t make progress toward your goals if you let all those hideous emotions get in the way— “ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ?!” screeches the Eda-monster, sweeping a dangerous arc over the stone circle. She slams down again, cracking the dais from its center, and howls at the sky. “Bᴇʟᴏs! ᴡʜᴇɴ I ғɪɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ, I ᴡɪʟʟ ᴛᴇᴀʀ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴍʙ ғʀᴏᴍ ʟɪᴍʙ!” She takes off, blasting Darius with remnant smoke and feathers. He doesn’t believe she’s ever been to therapy. He’s starting to wonder if she’s got the right of it. He blinks, expels the foreign matter from the hair he’s finally managing to re-coagulate, and lets himself melt into what he thinks of more and more as his true form. The Owl Lady’s fast, but he follows. Even without skin on his forearm, his sigil throbs. He’d never cared for the other schools of magic—they were all so limiting, or pretentious, or pedestrian, and obviously you don’t spend time futzing around with hobbies if you plan to be the best—and he’d by and large considered the whining of wild witches ridiculous, denying themselves the security and community of a coven for some ill-defined sense of freedom. With luck, he’ll never have to say aloud how wrong he was. He surges through the crowds, Eda’s shadow, but a shudder at the edges of his essence-form makes him pause. Competing magic—and strong, if it’s able to even begin to interfere. It’s easy to justify indulging the hunch: if he’s wrong, it’s scarcely any time lost, and if he’s right, it’s a lead. His first therapist would have pressed him to dig deeper, and that was why Darius had unceremoniously fired him less than a year after—well. Certainly no reason to think about that right now. But when he’s right, as of course he is, he notes that his breath comes a little easier at the sight of a familiar face. Dispassionately, of course. Just checking in with himself. Alador’s deep in the weeds, as usual, sweat dripping down his ridiculous scruffy hair and the fading vein-lines of his sigil’s grasp on his pallid basement-dweller skin. Drops from his fingertips sprout into fully-formed abominations—mass-produced hackery, squat and uninteresting, but diligent, clearing paths, scooping up smaller demons before they can be trampled in the chaos. But those golden eyes are wide and wild. Darius knows the answer form the first glance, but he has to ask. “You were with the kids, weren’t you?” His voice roars in this form, and he doesn’t stop it. He does shrink back to his normal stature. Alador doesn’t need anyone else looming over him. “In the airship?” “Yes, an hour ago,” Alador snarls, rounding on him, and the force of it buffets him back by the tendrils. “I’ve been a little indisposed since—wait, why do you care?” A scythe blade ripples down his arm. It’s not fair, but if it doesn’t hit skin, It doesn’t have to be. If he opens his mouth, that scythe will roll off his tongue, so he merely points up, at where the Eda-beast is circling over the throngs. “Darius, I don’t have time for—Titan,” Alador cuts himself off. Darius tries to let the chuckle up to the surface, lighten the mood a little. He’ll never forget teaching Alador to swear, or the look on Odalia’s face when he did. “That’s—that’s Edalyn, isn’t it? The kids—” His entire body slackens, and for a breath Darius thinks the spell is back on, that all of this was for nothing, that the Emperor is back in range of his scythes, his hands, closing around the man’s corrupted, brittle neck— “The kids. All of them. Amity. Titan, Amity—” If this goes on, Darius is going to witness a meltdown, and that’s just not going to work for him right now. He holds up a hand, molding it back into his glove to stifle the temptation to flood Alador’s stupid face with goop. “I get it, you don’t know anything useful. I’ll just be on my way—” “Darius—wait.” Alador takes a breath, drags his forearm across his brow. His sigil looks like a scar on top of a bruise, sickly lines spidering away from it. Darius doesn’t want to see the matching effect on his own arm. “You’re—the blond kid, right? The—the Golden Guard. Ex-Golden Guard, I guess.” Darius doesn’t like that look. Alador’s good at ignoring the world, and precious few people realize that he does it on purpose, because when he does pay attention, he feels things so much. And he always knows when you’re feeling them, too. It’s invasive, is what it is. One day they would have a talk about boundaries. “Professional obligation,” says Darius coolly, summoning his eldritch essence for another swift trip. Eda seems to have picked a direction, and the woman didn’t evade the Emperor’s grasp for a decade on end without great instincts. He’d follow her straight into the boiling sea to escape this conversation. Alador—stupid, ridiculous, everything-is-so-much-all-the-time genius Alador—grabs his arm. Darius tries to manipulate his form to let Alador fall through it, but he’s ready, solidifying the goop on his side. Figures. “If you find them—” He’s having trouble putting words together. He’s exhausted, he shouldn’t be here, drenched in sweat under a sun and moon that seem to be in the wrong place. Darius can clearly see these things as true when he’s looking at someone else. Alador fumbles a little more, then reaches down to the puddles and pulls a pair of mittens into being. “If you find them—give Amity these? She gets—she gets cold. And tell Luz that I’m so sorry about Odalia—” “I’m not your crow-phone,” says Darius, but when he surges forward again, he tucks the mittens into their own pocket of essence for the trip. There’s something wrong with the world on the way, rocks swirling in midair, but frankly he can’t spare it any thought. He never should’ve stopped to talk to Alador, never should have let the words “Golden Guard” leave his lips. He’d thought that had been suspicious, too, but—it was a dangerous job, right? People died. That was part of the deal, especially in the Emperor’s Coven. Darius had never wanted any of that, and the Golden Guard was the first to tell him he was right to avoid it, that he should follow his own path. And then he was gone, leaving a broken young man with few friends, no professional allies, and an undefinable fondness for capes. And, apparently, extremely poor taste in mentees. Why couldn’t the kid have just stayed a stooge for a little longer, stayed somewhere safe in the castle— You know exactly why. You’ve known the whole time. And you wouldn’t love him as much if he had. That voice could have belonged to all or none of his therapists, and he certainly isn’t going to take the time to unpack it. The Eda-monster is headed straight for Belos’s inner sanctum, which was now a fair bit more “outer” than it had been designed to be, and he sharpens all his extremities in preparation for what he’ll find there. If he speeds up, makes himself a little more aerodynamic, he might get the first slash in before the Owl Lady tears into the Emperor like so much lunchmeat. But when he lands, it’s quiet. Shadows shift across the tile from whatever strange weather the spell unleashed, lighting up different details in turn: vines, bits of paper, abomination goop, feathers, an extremely distressing green sludge that’s been spattered in unseemly patterns across nearly every surface. And at the room’s heart, in a place of perverse honor, the singed, broken outline of a doorframe, a pile of wood pounded to splinters beneath it. With a noise like cracking bone, the monster shrinks back to the Owl Lady he knows. She stumbles forward, and he can only call the sound that escapes her throat a laugh because it isn’t anything else. “Good one, Luz!” she says, her raw voice echoing in the ruined hall. “Nice try, but you can’t pull one over on the master—don’t think I don’t know what a fake broken portal looks like!” Darius’s essence form melts away, compressing itself out of existence in secondhand embarrassment but leaving him alone to deal with this—this. It’s so clear what she’s trying to do, and it’s not working. All it does is conjure images of the little prince fighting in the muck, or falling off the edge, or disappearing through that breaking door. And he can’t stand it. “Edalyn, please,” he says, and the damnable acoustics of the room throw his voice back at him, arch and cold and obnoxious. Is that how he sounds? All the time? “Have a little decorum.” It’s not a surprise that the bird monster is back in his face a second later. In fact he dares her to take a swipe at him. He could use a good fight. “Dᴇᴄᴏʀᴜᴍ? Wʜᴇɴ ᴍʏ ᴋɪᴅs ᴀʀᴇ ᴛɪᴛᴀɴ-ᴋɴᴏᴡs-ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴏʀ—ᴏʀ—” She swivels away, batting him with her wings before shrinking to her witch-form once again. He doesn’t react, nor does he react to the loud sniffle that rolls across the tile. “They’re smart, right?” she says, forcing belief. He fights for a moment, but he lets himself feel it. The little prince is smart, all right. Too smart by far. Always has been. “There’s not—we’ve got glyphs, we’ve got Blight goo and Willow vines, but we don’t have—” Bodies, she doesn’t say, and suddenly Darius can see those too, a field of bodies in cloaks and golden masks. But she’s right. They’re not here. Darius manages to blink them away, but they linger just long enough, drill just deep enough into his gut, that he thinks that maybe, once things have calmed down enough, it’s time to look for therapist number five. Just, you know. Maintenance. “They’re smart, all right,” he says, stepping past her to look at the doorway. It was a struggle to get through—the plants and paper scraps and fabric shreds are thick here. And little red feathers. Like the bird that the little prince didn’t think Darius knew about. “Smart enough to get out of here and leave the hard part to us.” Eda makes an indeterminate noise. Darius decides to read it as a chuckle, not a sob. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?” He looks back at her, then beyond—at the great stone pillars spiraling in the sky, the torrents of lost and frightened witches streaming back to their homes, the smoking ruin that was the great stone circle at the head, the place they were meant to claim paradise. He takes a knee beside the door and pulls the mittens out of their dimensional pocket. He sets them lightly on the step, but something keeps him there a moment longer, stopping him from rising. He concentrates, draws his circle, and pulls out an abomination-form jacket. He considers for a moment, then tweaks some of the military inspiration into something a little more modern, more free-form. Something a teen might wear. The little prince wouldn’t know style if it bit him, anyway. “Patching this place up into something worth coming back to,” he says. He stitches a little abomination nametag into the jacket, then folds it neatly, sets it down, and pointedly ignores Eda’s raised eyebrow and trembling grin as he transforms and surges away.

General Audiences

Hunter might as well be using a shield to block a hurricane, slamming a door to stop a tsunami. He clings to the jacket for all he's worth, but he can feel how futile this is. The ground is consuming him, slowly but surely, as certain as a sunset. This is it, he thinks. This is what I amounted to. All I was worth. He closes his eyes against the last of it. Doesn't know if it will hurt, or if he'll feel anything at all. The dirt claws up his face, his mouth, his nose, suffocating him. And then he's falling. There's no glyph to slow his descent this time. No cushion against the blow. Hunter rolls onto his side, groaning, but forces his eyes open—half-expecting another attack, but there's only darkness, deeper than what consumed the subconscious mind above. He blinks, giving his eyes a minute to adjust. He can tell the ground beneath him is barren soil; if it's a cave, he's far from any wall. He stands, wincing at the sharp pain behind his eyes, but he takes it as a good sign. Would being dead hurt this much? "Luz!" he calls up to the ceiling, but only his echo replies. Hunter scans the void for something, anything, when he spots an incongruity in the dirt, its clean edges out of place. Stepping closer, he recognizes it as another framed memory; this one discarded, canvas slashed to ribbons, too degraded to make anything out. He shudders and turns away, catching movement in his periphery, and gasps. Belos—? But the silhouette is too tall to be the child from before. Too lanky to be his uncle. This world's not-light reveals a wooden mask covering their face, the facade more expertly carved than the one Belos wore, and... Hunter knows it instantly. It's his mask. The Golden Guard’s. "Who— who are you?" He hates how his voice shakes, how the fear bounces back at him, but he has to say something. The man's civilian clothes are stained with blood, stemming from a tear at his chest. His sword, a larger version of the one Belos had, is composed of the same simplistic lines, like a drawing pulled from the page. Hunter can't tell how old he is, but by now he's learned to not trust everything he sees. The man was stuck here, timeless. He isn't surprised when the Guard doesn't answer. Instead, the masked figure cocks his head quizzically, as though Hunter were an unexpected, but not unwelcome, guest. He starts to approach: walking in a long stride, his footsteps as silent as everything else. Hunter takes a step back. "Don't come any closer!" Hunter may be unarmed, concussed, and terrified, but he could take him if he had to. The figure complies, stopping his advance just two yards away. Hunter watches, wary, as he holds out the ‘sword’ and makes a point of dropping it on the ground. Hands freed, he links his thumbs together and flaps his fingers. A universal sign for butterfly, or…? Hunter frowns in puzzlement, not sure he understands. "Bird?" The Guard nods, and taps his own shoulder. "You mean..." Should he mention Flapjack here? (Did it matter, if Hunter was dead?) "You mean the palisman?" He nods again, more emphatically. "He's... he's safe." He still doesn't understand who this person is, or why he's asking after Flapjack. Could he be the one who carved him all those years ago? Or was this another one of Belos' tricks? "I don't have him." The Guard's shoulders slump, disappointed—but maybe relieved, too. Hunter ventures a step closer. "Do you… do you know how to get out of here?" Best to leave the other possibility unasked. As though it were obvious, the Guard points to the ground just past Hunter. He turns and spots Luz's jacket, still lying in a heap where he lost it in the fall. "The jacket...?" Confused, he nonetheless walks over, picks it up, and notices something slip from a pocket: it’s Luz’s glyphs, their sweeps and angles all cleanly inked. He gasps, hope rushing into him. These had worked in Belos' mindscape, maybe they would work here, too! He kneels down, tapping one at random. It coalesces into a small, glowing orb that rises off the ground, a miniature sun in this endless night. Hunter has to laugh with relief. He cups it in his free hand and turns back to the Guard. He's eager to be out of here, but he can't ignore his strange companion. "Can you at least tell me who you are?" he asks. "You're a Golden Guard, aren't you? One that..." Belos killed. In response, the figure grips the chin of his wooden mask, lifting it up onto his head. Hunter's breath hitches at the dark, vacant eyes, but the smile he wears is bright and gentle. The resemblance is uncanny. "You're…” He can’t face this. “I'm..." Not here, not now. There would be time when he got out of Belos' mindscape. If he did. The Guard nods again, his smile unwavering, but maybe a tinge sympathetic now. Hunter's eyes start to sting. He blinks back the tears and takes a deep breath. If this man was long dead, there was no bringing him back. "Is there anything you... want me to tell Flapjack?" He winces, not having meant to say the name out loud, but it seems to shake the phantom to life. He jolts as if shocked, taking a half-step forward, arm out to indicate, ‘Yes, wait!’ The man cups his hands together, as Hunter often did, making a kind of nest for his palisman, and presses them to the bloody fabric at his chest. His smile quirks, perhaps abashed at his own sentimentality. Hunter nods in understanding, feeling his own heart ache. "I'll tell him." The Guard bows his head in thanks. With that, Hunter turns, encouraging the light to float above him. He kneels and checks the jacket for more glyphs. He doesn't recognize all of them, but one (vaguely diamond shaped) he remembers clearly from that night in Latissa. He tries it, the ink glowing before the paper disappears and a column of ice sprouts in its place. His eyes widen. This spell had gotten Luz to the roof of a building. Maybe it could get him back to Belos' mindscape. He turns to bid the Guard a final farewell, but the man is gone. Replaced. Multiplied. Hunter cries out. A veritable wall of spectres face him now, slashed across the darkness, receding into the black. The orb's light dances across their ragged, broken forms, revealing and concealing in turn. All wear the familiar owlish mask, all wear the white and gold, but the masks— Cracked. The uniforms— Ripped and bloodied. Hunter stumbles over his feet, bumping into the ice behind him. They're coming closer. He doesn't see their feet move, but they're closer. Closer. Chest wild with panic, Hunter turns and throws himself at the fallen glyphs. His hands are trembling, but he finds the right one, smacks it, and leaps onto the ice as it rises higher and higher. Just in time—a hand closes mere inches from the trailing sleeve of the jacket. The Guards crowd the pillar below, gazing up at him, reaching wordlessly for the one that got away.

General Audiences

Eda knew when the door opened without any sound from Hooty he was back. Her stomach flipped unpleasantly, and she tried to ignore the dread creeping up her spine. Taking a deep breath she smoothed a hand over the small bump of her abdomen, trying to take comfort from the innocent life there.  The life she selfishly was trying to bring into this fucked up situation…  She should leave, kick him out, it’s her damn house after all… but he was in her head.   “Who else would put up with a cursed wild witch? Face it, Eda, I’m the best you’ll ever find.”  Well, once that wasn’t true. She had someone better, someone good, and she pushed them away.  “I'm sorry, Eda. It’s over.”  She shook that thought train away quickly. Dwelling on that wasn’t going to help her situation.   A situation that just had to get worse.  Eda stood with clenched fists, not making eye contact as she let the words she spoke settle.   “You’re what?”  Eda flinched. She knew he would be mad and feared what he may do. “Pregnant.” She whispered.   The glass on the table was chucked in her direction, shattering on the wall behind her.  Eda fought to keep her tears back, knowing that was just going to make things worse.   “You stupid bitch!” He screamed, stomping toward her. “You had one job!”  Eda felt anger at that, and couldn’t stop her retort. “It takes both of us to make this happen, you know!”  She shut up when his hand made contact with her face, her head swinging sideways. She looked back at him much more subdued, hand holding her cheek. “You’re the one who didn’t take a potion. Don’t act like you didn’t know it was a possibility.” He glared down at her, making her feel small. “Get rid of it.”  Eda's eyes widened. That was something she should have seen coming, but to have it so bluntly told to her…  “No.”  Eshaal stared at her, clearly taken aback. “What did you say?”  “I said no. It’s my body here. I want it.” She stood her ground, a rarity more than not nowadays.   Eshaal started to move and Eda could sense the danger. She quickly tried to draw a spell circle to defend herself when he raised his hand.   To her horror, it disintegrated as soon as it connected. “No.” She whispered, recognizing the unfortunate side effect of a witch pregnancy.  To her surprise though, Eshaal paused. “Well, what do you know.” He laughed, but it wasn’t good-natured or amused. No, it was a dark sound that made Eda's skin crawl. “You know what? Fine. If you can keep things running you can keep the leech.” His eyes held a threat and a promise when they met hers. “If you don’t, well I can’t see you getting too far without any magic Owl Lady.”  He walked away then, and Eda let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before sliding to the floor, face in her hands while she cried.   She didn’t even know why she wanted this. Hell chances were she couldn’t even carry to term.   After all, she had lost Raine’s…  Eda shook her head. Maybe that was why. Maybe she just wanted a chance to bring something more into her life.   Titan knows she’s never felt more alone.   Eda squeezed her eyes shut, willing the thoughts away. Thinking about it was just making this harder.  She stood there waiting, continuing with sorting her potion ingredients in the meantime. It was quiet. Too quiet.  She jumped when hands grabbed her hips, gripping just a little too tightly.  Eda froze, breathing deeply as she set the knife she was holding down. “You’re back.” She muttered.  “You’re still working.” His voice was accusatory. Eda knew she worked over. She was supposed to be done by now. Supposed to be cooking. However, with her weakened magic...  “I’m sorry. I was sick earlier, and without my magic...” Eda stopped, eyes squeezing shut when the grip on her tightened further.  “I told you that parasite is more trouble than it’s worth.” He growled.  Eda forced herself to take steady breaths, ignoring the moisture forming in the corners of her eyes. “I said I’d handle it. You can pretend it isn’t even here.” She forced.  “Hard to ignore when it’s interfering with our daily life.”  “Eshaal, please.” Eda whispered, unsure what she was even begging for at this point.   He spun her around before pushing her against the wall next to the counter. “You said it wouldn’t get in the way but so far that’s all it’s done.”  “I’m sorry. It’s hard on my body and with the curse…”  “I’m sick of the excuses, Eda.” He growled. Eda shrunk into the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible. “This is the third time this week you’ve been behind.”  “If you would just be patient for a few more weeks…” She gasped, tensing and falling quiet when his hand slammed into the wall beside her head. She swallowed. “I probably wouldn’t be so sick.” She finished quietly.   “Yeah? Then what? Aches and pains? Mood swings? Cravings? What about when you get too big to move?” He growled. “Not to mention once the thing is actually here. This is more trouble than it’s worth.”  “If you hate this so much what the hell were you thinking about to make it happen?” She couldn’t help but ask, eyes welling with tears.   Eshaal tsked. “Just because I occasionally indulge in certain… fantasies doesn’t mean I wanted to live with the consequences that come with it. That’s why you were supposed to keep your thoughts in check or take a fucking potion.” The last of his words dripped venom. “Or did you want this? Clearly, your head was somewhere.”  Yes. Her head was somewhere. It was dwelling on the fact that it was near the time of year she lost Raine's baby. She thought of a what-if scenario at the wrong time. What if she had carried to term? What if that had been enough to make her open up? To make them stay?  She was also trying to distract herself, seeing as she hadn’t been in the proper mood for those activities anyway that day, but she learned early on that telling him no wasn’t an option. It just made everything worse.   “It was a slip. I didn’t think it would result in this.” And really she hadn’t. Apparently, her body didn’t care that she was thinking of a completely different witch though. Intent is intent.  “I don’t care what you thought." He grabbed her wrist, hand tightening over a still blue bruise. Eda flinched as he pulled her forward. “Last chance, Eda. Either take care of it or I will.”  “Fuck you.” She spat, knowing the consequences that would follow. She didn’t care. She was so tired.   “Hmph.” He gave a cruel smile before tossing her to the floor. “You can’t make anything easy, can you?” He said, voice dropping dangerously low. “Fine."  Eda was pushing herself up. Her back had made contact with the edge of the counter when she fell, but she tried to ignore the pain.   Eda realized his plan seconds before it happened, arms quickly crossing over her middle. “Don't!” She cried out, forearm aching where it took most of the first kick.  “You’re the one making this hard!” He shouted, lashing out again. “If you had listened we wouldn’t be here.”  “Eshaal please!” Eda begged, struggling and failing to block all of the blows. “I'll do anything, just stop!”  One particularly well-aimed kick hit her squarely in the center of her stomach and she choked, screaming at the pain that went through her.   Something snapped in her then, and Eda glared up at him. She somehow found the strength to reach over the counter and grab the knife she’d been using earlier.   It was useless though. A simple spell circle had the knife flying from her grasp and Eshaal pulled her up by her dress collar. “Nice try.”  He struck her across the face then, before pushing her backward.  Eda's head hit the counter and she blacked out.  ***  When Eda woke up her vision was blurry and she felt nauseous. She blinked slowly, realizing she was still laying on the kitchen floor.   A sudden sharp pain shot through her abdomen and she gasped. Based on the other aches in her body she could tell she had probably been hit more after falling unconscious.   Eda pushed herself up on shaky knees,  abdomen still throbbing, and that was when she noticed the wet feeling between her legs, going down her thighs.   She looked down, pulling the short hem of her dress up to reveal skin.  Blood. A lot of it.  “No.” She whispered frantically. “No no no no.” Tears formed quickly, streaming down her face. “Not again.” She sobbed quietly, fearful of alerting Eshaal.   The stabbing ache in her abdomen now felt familiar in a sickening way. Something she hadn’t felt in thirteen years, but would never truly forget.  After her tears dried up she found herself furious. She was done with this. If her body truly had rejected her pregnancy…  She drew a circle in the air. The spell connected and the knife from earlier met her hand. Her magic was back.   It was both a sorrow and a blessing. A sorrow knowing that meant without a doubt her child was dead. A blessing because she decided she was going to kill Eshaal.  Eda was stronger than him. They both knew it, but she had never been able to bring herself to fight back. She had truly convinced herself she would never find anything better.   That didn’t matter anymore. Let her die alone. She was done with him. He took something precious from her.  Eda limped her way to the doorway, finding Eshaal sitting in the living room watching the crystal ball like he hadn’t just beaten her half to death.  “Oh look.” He said dismissively. “You’re alive.” His eyes spotted the blade in her hand. “Not this again.” He sighed.  Eda drew a circle and Eshaal was blasted over the back of the couch. He cursed before pushing himself up quickly, staring at her in shock. “Congratulations asshole, you got what you wanted.” Eda spat, still leaning against the doorway with one hand clenched over her abdomen. “Unfortunately for you that also means I can fight back again.”  Eshaal let out a dry laugh. “You think you’ll get anywhere like that?” He asked, clearly amused by the idea. “Give it up, Eda.”  “Fuck you.”  Eda used her magic to lunge then, the knife aimed at Eshaal's neck.   Unsurprisingly he fought her off easily, flicking the blade away and wrapping a hand tightly around her throat. He used it to slam her to the ground, grip tightening while Eda clawed at his wrist. “If you want to die too, I’m okay with that.” He hissed.   Eda could see black spots, and she knew she had to act fast if she was going to get out of this. She changed targets and clawed his face, long nails making contact with his eyes causing him to pull back. “Fucking bitch!”   She turned to reach for the blade again before her hair was grabbed in a vice grip and she was pulled back by it.   Eda drew a circle again, attempting to bind him but he dodged her spell. Realizing her disadvantage she got her hands on a vase from the side table and swung at his head.  The impact made him cry out and release her again, but he was far from unconscious.   Eda scurried for the knife, crawling as fast as her abused body would allow. Her fingertips just touched the handle when she was grabbed again, this time by her ankle.   She cried out in frustration but refused to give up. Kicking wildly she managed one more spell and the handle landed in her hand. Eda cried out with relief.  Eda turned and used the momentum from his own grip on her to plunge the blade into Eshaal's neck. The suddenness and lack of hesitation from Eda caught him completely off guard    She was splattered with blood, likely from an artery, but ignored the grotesque feeling, as she pulled the blade out and stabbed him again, this time in the chest.   He still tried to fight, tried to get the knife from Eda, but the life was leaving his eyes fast.   Finally, after what felt like forever he fell still.   Eda knelt over him, panting heavily, tears finally overflowing. She looked around at her mostly destroyed living room. That wasn’t going to be fun to fix.   Despite the amount of pain her body was screaming with as the adrenaline slowly wore off, she managed to drag Eshaal toward the door before using a levitation spell to get him outside.   She took him to the cliff side, and then located some large stones from her backyard, placing several in various pockets of his clothing.  Eda made sure not to look at his face, at his lifeless eyes, at the proof of what she had done. He deserved it, she didn’t doubt that but knowing she took a life still made her feel ill.  Once he was sufficiently weighed down she dragged him to the edge, and with one last effort pushed him over.  Eda watched Eshaal’s body fall over the cliff, the stones in his robes dragging him down into the boiling waters. No one would ever find him now.  She panted heavily, her entire body aching. It was over. Completely over. He couldn’t hurt her again.   She was free.  Eda winced holding her stomach, thighs now completely slick with blood. She looked at the ground, fists clenched as she sobbed. He may be dead but the main damage was already done. He got what he wanted.  She needed help.  There was another wild witch Eda knew. A healer. The only healer she had deemed trustworthy since her childhood. Since the treatments her mother put her through.   All the healing coven members focused solely on her curse. When she and Raine lost her first pregnancy, they had been cold and callous in their explanation. They also made it clear how foolish they found it for her to have tried in the first place. She swore the coven off completely after that.  Then she came down with a bad case of the fire flu, and it got bad enough that her home remedies weren’t working anymore, so in a final effort she dragged herself to the Night Market in search of a healer.  That was how she met Mara. The woman was the same age as her, just as wild, and a skilled healer. The best part about her was that she didn’t look at Eda and see her curse. She saw Eda as herself, and her curse was just an unfortunate symptom.  That’s why Eda went to her when she thought she was pregnant. Mara didn’t know she had already lost one pregnancy, but Eda didn’t feel the need to share that at the time. She was too busy panicking.   Mara had been a great help though, albeit mildly worried. She was also the one who treated Eda's injuries when Eshaal was especially mad after all.   Clearly, her worries were not misplaced.  Over the many times Eda had gone to her now the two had formed a loose friendship. One that let Eda know where she resided when she wasn’t at the Night Market, which she was grateful for now.  Eda called Owlbert to her. The palisman hooted in concern, and Eda waved him off. “I’m going for help.” She forced out. “Just help me out.”  Owlbert took staff form and Eda draped her body over it, barely able to find the strength to hold on. Somehow, she managed to navigate to the other witch’s house. It was just as secluded as hers, though on the opposite side of Bonesburrow.  Her landing was far from smooth and she fell, landing on the ground and just lying there for a moment. It was only when Owlbert pulled on her collar that she managed to pull herself up just enough to crawl toward the door.  Her face throbbed, her abdomen ached, and she was covered in blood, both her own and... not. She knew her lip was split and suspected she had a black eye. Eda just wanted to pass out.  Titan, she must look like a disaster.  She had just enough strength to weekly knock on the door before she collapsed forward. If the Titan could hear her pleas that was enough and Mara would open the door. Eda laid there, likely for only seconds but it felt like an eternity to her before she heard steps on the other side of the door.  The door cracked open barely, Mara likely peeking for who it was.  Eda let out a groan and the door swung open suddenly. “Holy Titan, Eda?!” Mara knelt beside her. She carefully rolled her over and took in her battered body. “What happened?!”  In the few years Eda had known Mara now, this was the only time she had seen the woman struggle to hold herself together. Normally she was so calm and collected, but now she seemed nearly hysterical.  “Eshaal...” Eda moaned. “’s mad.”  Mara forced a few deep breaths to try and collect herself before looking at Eda again. “Okay.” She breathed. “Okay. Do you think anything is broken?”  “Dunno.”  “Alright. I’ll be careful in case.” Mara drew a spell circle and lifted Eda, the levitation spell making it so she just needed to guide her to the bed inside. Mara looked her over. There was blood caked in Eda’s hair, which was concerning since she didn’t know where it came from. A hand-shaped bruise was starting to form around her neck. One of her eyes was swelling, her lip was split. A tear in her dress let her see her purpling stomach. She could also see the amount of blood between Eda’s legs. “Eda do... do you think there’s any chance the baby...” She knew. She did, but if there was any slight chance she had to ask.   “No.” Eda gently shook her head. “M’gic’s back. Th’re gon’.” She retched, feeling suddenly nauseous. She turned her head over the edge of the bed and vomited. Mara jumped back and Eda choked on a sob. “S'rry.”  Mara herself felt lost, fighting her own tears as she shook her head. “You’re not the first patient to throw up on me, Eda. You won’t be the last. Besides, you have every right to be ill. I’m surprised it took so long honestly.” A spell circle had the mess covered so it could be cleaned later, but for now, Mara focused on Eda. “Stay still. I’m going to check you for a concussion and if you don’t have one I’ll put you to sleep while I start healing you, okay?”  “Mhm.” Eda affirmed; eyes closed now.  “Did you hit your head at all?” Mara asked, feeling around her skull.  “E’rly.” Eda flinched when she felt the tender part that had cracked against the counter. “Kn’cked ou’.”  Mara paused. “It knocked you out?”  “Mhm.”  The healer took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going to heal your head injury first, just in case, and then focus on the rest of you.” Mara went about casting healing magic and Eda was able to feel some of the pressure leave her skull. “Better?”  “Yes.” Eda whispered, then whimpered as another sharp pain shot through her abdomen. Tears sprang to her eyes when she thought of what it was from. “Put me out.” She begged.  Mara seemed to understand, and she nodded with a solemn look. “I’ll heal what I can, but with how extensive some of your injuries are the rest might need to heal naturally.”  “Okay.” Eda acknowledged.  Mara stared at her for a moment before drawing a circle in the air. “Sleep.”  Eda’s mind went quiet.  ***  When she woke up, Eda felt significantly better, but she was still in a lot of pain. Her clothes had been changed, most of the blood had been cleaned from her body, and her vomit from earlier was gone. She still felt bad about that.  Taking a deep breath had her wincing, a sharp twinge shooting down her side.  “Careful.” Mara’s voice broke the silence when she noticed Eda was awake. “You have some fractured ribs. I can’t fully heal bones.” She said apologetically.  Eda winced. “Got it. How long was I out?”  “A little over two days.” Mara said quietly.  Eda sighed. It was unsurprising. “Anything else I need to keep an eye on?”  “You had some internal bleeding. I healed most of the affected area, and... and made sure your body completely miscarried.” She said the last part quietly, and Eda closed her eyes, fist clenched in front of her abdomen. “Your cycles might take a while to come back.”  Eda nodded. “Anything else?”  Mara shook her head. “No. Your lip and eye will heal the rest of the way on their own, and I took care of the head injury. I also faded the bruising on you as best as I could.”  Eda sighed. “Thank you, Mara.”  “Your hair has a lot of blood in it.” Mara told her. “I tried to get some out but it’s so thick and it was starting to mat. I don’t know if you want to try to get it out or...”  “Cut it.” Eda interrupted.  Mara looked at her surprised. “What?”  “Will you help me cut it? I... I need something different after this.” Eda’s voice shook.  “Okay.” Mara whispered. “It probably won’t be the greatest in the world though. I don’t have much experience.”  “I don’t care. Just make it short and get the blood out. Please.” Eda whispered.  Mara helped her sit up and did as she asked, cutting her hair until it was cropped short, the thickness making it spike out some. It was different, but Eda didn’t hate it and it got the blood out. “I think that looks good on you. Wild hair for a wild witch.”  That at least got a small chuckle out of Eda. “Thank you for all of this. I’m sorry I barged in on you at home.”  “Eda, you were half dead when you got here. I’m glad you came to bother me.”  “Right.” She whispered. “Well, what do I owe you?”  Mara shook her head. “You owe me getting away from him, Eda. I don’t want money for this.”  Eda froze at those words, breaths coming quicker as she realized what she had done just days prior.  “Eda?” Mara asked concerned, noticing the change in her demeanor. “Eda, breathe for me. One two three...”  Eda did her best to stay calm, breathing as Mara asked her to. “He...he’s dead.” She finally managed to force out.  Mara’s eyes widened. “What?”  “He... I...” Eda swallowed. “After I was knocked out, I knew when I came to that I miscarried.” Eda said softly. “I was hurt and furious and... well some of my injuries were from him fighting back, but he’s gone.” She admitted. “I threw him over the cliff in my yard.” Mara had a hand over her mouth, staring at Eda in disbelief. “I know you probably think I’m a monster...”  “Eda, no. I’m just... I’m shocked and in a weird way... proud? Titan, that sounds so fucked up.” She sighed. “I’m just glad you’re free of him.”  “Yeah.” Eda whispered. “Me too.”  “If you need anything please tell me.”  “Thanks, Mara. I think I’ll be okay with time though.”  Mara okayed her to go home later that day after she promised to let Hooty help her.  Eda tried to go back to her life before Eshaal. It was hard, and there were some days she found herself waiting for him to come through the front door on instinct, living in a constant state of fear until Hooty’s loud voice reminded her that there was no one to be afraid of anymore. After a while, she got used to being able to be herself again.  She waited months for her cycle to return, for her body to recover like Mara thought it would, but it never did. Eventually, she came to terms with the idea that it never would. Be it from injury or her curse, her body had decided it wasn’t fit to carry another child.  That was probably for the best anyway. She was a wild witch, a wanted criminal, and now technically a murderer. What kind of mother would that make her?  So, she moved on, decided to go forward with her life, and even tried a few dates again, though most of those were disastrous. She couldn't bring herself to trust again, and more often than not a perfectly mundane action would make her flinch, and that was enough to end things there for most people. Other times she just found herself back in a similar cycle, but she never made the mistake of letting them move in again.   The entire situation made her feel broken, but she decided she didn’t need anyone else.  She kept her hair short for the time being. The sharp contrast to how she looked before was comforting. And it stayed that way for a few years. Eda moved on with life, and while she was lonely, she was still happier than she’d been in a long while.  Then two years later, while fleeing the Emperor’s Coven, she found an uncharted island... 

Mature

Luz has completed a working portal at least she hopes so. It was full of stuff her and her friends have gathered thanks to the journal entry's they got from the echo mouse. Luz and her friends were standing in front of the portal. Amity looked worried "are you sure this will work Luz, I know you want to go home to see your mom but I don't know if this is safe."     Luz turned to Amity smiling "don't worry Amity, this will work I know it." Amity gave an incurring smile "if you say so then I trust you." they turned Eda, King, and Hooty. Amity stayed with them to make sure it works and not so she can meet Luz's mom no way. While willow and Gus were still at school and her siblings are covering for her. Eda walked to them "are you sure this will work Luz, I don't want you or boots to get hurt."     Luz smiled at Eda "don't worry, we will have the rope's on us the whole time, so we will be ok." eda still looked worried but nodded. Luz got the ropes and gave one to amity. They tied it to there hipes while Eda walked to the tricycle, got on it and started paddling to foul the titans blood that Luz got from amity's glove. The portal powered up, and the door opened reviling it to be night.     Luz and amity were shocked, did it work. they looked to each other than nodded, they walked to the portal. Amity looked at Luz, Luz looked back at her, they both had worried expression's. Amity placed a gentle kiss to Luz's cheek. Luz blushed then nodded, Amity nodded back then they faced the portal and stepped through the door.     when they exited the portal. They saw it really was dark, they looked around and Amity saw something that caused her to be shocked. She tapped Luz's shoulder. Luz turned to see a tail tower. Amity turned to Luz "Luz, where are we?" Luz turned to Amity looking worried "I don't know, but this isn't earth I can tell you that much."     The two continued to stair at the tower then they turned back to the portal door witch was melting. Luz and Amity tried to walk through, but it was too late the portal closed trapped them there with no way back to the isles' Amity turned to Luz "Luz?" Luz just starred at where the portal was in shock "yes?" Amity looked worried "where are we, and how can we go home?" Luz turned to Amity "I don't know Amity, but who ever is in that tower has to help us right?" she then turned to look up to the tower. Amity turned to look at the tower as well and sighed "I hope you're right?" Luz and Amity starred at the tower. Luz took a deep breath and said "shall we see who is here then?" Amity nodded. They walked to the entranced doors, once Luz opened the doors. they walked inside and walked up the long stairs until they entered a room where they see a man with a gray beard and a pointed hat on his head. Luz and Amity walked to him and stopped in front of his desk. the man opened his eye's and smiled "hello, are you two lost?" Luz and Amity nodded. Amity stepped forward "yes, we came through a portal, but we accidentally came here by mistake and now we don't know how to get home can you help us?"       Luz nodded confirming what Amity has said. The man closed his eye's then he waved his hand and a portal door appeared. the man opened his eye's "this is the portal you came here in yes?" Amity nodded "yes, thank you." the man nodded "if you want to go home I won't stop you, but I sense something a miss with you two." Luz and Amity's eye's widen at that, Luz stepped forward "what do you mean?" the man starred at Luz "I mean one of you still have the shackles of abuse and your past mistakes still in you and the other is desperate to go home without thinking about the consequences of returning to your home."     Luz and Amity turned to look at each other than back at the man. Amity looked down "then how do we fix these problem's we have?" the man nodded, he waved his hand again and another portal door appeared this time this was black with a symbol on it one which was a star. The man turned to Luz and Amity "this door will lead you to different worlds, there you will learn new things about yourself's and what you want in life. But I will warn you it will not be easy, and you may meet people who may help you through it, but you two may not be the same people as you are now. I will give you one more gift if you choose to take it. I will let you decide if you want to do it."     Amity turned around and guided Luz to the door to talk to her in private "Luz, I don't know about this, about him. can we even trust him?" Luz looked down "I don't know, but he is right about you and me. your parents still have some control over you and your still trying to patch things up with Willow and I still want to go home without even thinking you, Eda, King, or any of you guys and if this can help us then I think it's worth a shot, don't you think?" Amity looked back at the man then back at the portal then back at Luz and sighed "if you think so Luz then I'm in, ok." Luz looked up to Amity "really?"       Amity nodded and smiled "yes, if this can help me end my parents control over me then I think it's worth a try." Luz nodded, they turned to the man in front of his desk. Luz and amity walked to him. amity nodded "we're in. what do we need to do?" the man nodded "leave the portal in your hand here and here is the key to the portal door for your journey." the man waved his hand and a key appeared in amity's hand. she looked at it, it looked like the other portal key, but it had the star on it instead of the eye on the other key. amity looked up to him "you said another gift for us what is it?"       The man nodded, he waved his hand and two suitcases appeared. Luz walked up beside amity and they took them. The man smiled "these are your new clothes to help you blend in with the words you will be visiting and here is one more thing that will help you on your journey." he waved his hand and amity's ear's turned into human ear's. Amity touched her ear's and felt them round. she blushed "thank you sir." the man nodded, she turned to Luz who blushed, amity blushed like a tomato at Luz's reaction then she turned to the man "thank you."     The man nodded, amity putted the case of the portal to the isles on the desk, and they turned to the portal in the wall and walked to it. Luz and amity stood in front of the portal. Luz turned to amity "are you ready, amity?" amity turned to Luz and nodded "yes, I am. i'm ready for what's to come." Luz nodded, she turned to the man "can I ask what your name is?" the man smiled and nodded "my name is Master Yen Sid and you two are Luz and Amity, yes?"     Amity turned to him and they both nodded, then they turned to the portal. Luz stepped forward, grabbed the doorknob and turned it opening it. When it opened they could see grass on buildings. Luz turned to Amity and nodded, Amity nodded back then they turned to the door and stepped forward entering the new world and starting their journey. Luz and Amity enter a new world. They could see grass on building, they could see place's damaged. Amity turned to Luz looking worried "Luz, where do you think we are?" Luz turned to amity looking just as worried "I don't know amity. let's just look around, I'm sure we can find someone who can help us." Amity nodded, they walked forward looking for someone that can help them. They walked for a few hours until they could see someone. Luz raised her hand up waving "hey, can you help us?" the woman turned to them and ran to them. when she ran up to them "what are you two doing here you need to run."     The woman had brown long hair, she wore a black dress and has a silver sword. Amity looked confused "why?" just then the ground started to shake. The woman ran behind them. Luz and amity turned around to see the groundbreaking to see a blue and silver monster. The woman jumped trying to attack it. Luz and Amity turned to each other than nodded, Luz pulled out her glyph magic she pressed on a fire glyph but nothing happened "what, I can't use glyph magic here." Amity turned to Luz looking just as shocked "here, let me try."     Amity putted her finger up and spun it around forming a spell circle but nothing happened. Amity turned to Luz looking shocked "I can't do magic, what's going on?" Luz shock her head "I don't know, I thought I could but I forgot I can't, I couldn't do it on my earth either but you i don't know." the woman backed up to them and turned her head to them "if you two are done messing around. can you two help me fight this huge please!" Luz and Amity turned to her looking confused "huge?" the woman starred to them "wait, do you two even have charms?"     They turned to each other than back at the woman. Amity broke the silence "what's a charm?" the woman looked shocked "you have got to be kidding me." the woman turned to them fully "follow me. I will tell the others to take care of this huge for us." the woman ran between them. Luz and Amity turned to look each other nodded then followed the women. After a few minutes they were near a building. Luz and Amity starred at the building in wonder. they followed the woman inside where they found other woman dressed like her. Amity blushed at that. they walked to a group amity thought it was her group. one of them stepped forward, she had long black hair and purple eye's "Kaede, did you handle the huge we were just about to leave before you came back."     Kaede sighed "ask these two, I found them while I was tracking down the huge. they didn't even know what a charm is." everyone else turned to Luz and Amity looking shocked. Luz and Amity waved slightly nervously. the woman with black hair sighed "I understand. I will take them to Moyu and see if she can get them charms then they can help us right?" Luz and amity nodded in confusion. the woman turned to her group "Riri, can you come with me. Shenlin you can be in charge until we arrive to help. understood?"     Everyone nodded, they all left except for the black hair woman and one with pink hair with pink eye's. they walked to Luz and Amity the black hair women smiled "hi, I'm Yuyu Shirai and this is Riri Hitrotsuyanagi." Riri nodded and smiled "it's nice to meet you two." Luz and Amity smiled "it's nice to meet you two. I'm Luz Noceda and this is Amity Blight." Luz pointed to Amity who smiled and nodded. Luz turned back to them "so what is a huge and what's a charm." Yuyu walked to them "the huge are dangerous monsters who showed up 50 years ago. The world tried to fight them but it didn't work then the lilys were formed, and we fought the huge for years. we live and died to fight the huge and protect our world from them. Now who are you two and why are you here?"     Amity stepped forward "we are here to help you fight the huge. but we can't use our magic, so maybe we could use these charms to help you." Luz nodded, seeing where amity was getting at. Yuyu nodded "ok. Then follow us to Moyu. where you two can get your charm's." Luz and Amity nodded. They followed Yuyu and Riri to the elevator down to the basement then walked to a room to see a woman working on something. Luz and Amity thought this was Moyu. Moyu turned to look at them, she took her googles off and smiled "hey Yuyu and Riri what can I do you for."     She then looked to Luz and Amity who waved sheepishly "and who are these two?" Yuyu sighed "they are here to get themselves a charm to help us fight the huge right?" she turned to Luz and Amity who nodded. Moyu sat on her chair and turned to Yuyu and Riri "sure but who are they. I have never seen them before, and they don't look like new students to me." Luz and Amity flinched at that. Amity sighed "fine, we just got to this world ok. we come from a different world. I don't know who much we can tell you, but we are here to help and maybe you guys can help us with something." Luz nodded "yeah, we're not a threat. we just want to help."     Everyone starred at them. Moyu sighed then looked up "I can give you two charms like Riri's and Yuyu's I guess. what color do you two like." Luz smiled "brown, please." Amity smiled "do you have one that's a purple?" Moyu nodded "I can find some for you two. If I don't i can make some for you two ok?" Luz and Amity nodded, Yuyu stepped forward "ok, if that's done me and riri need to go to help our squad. Moyu can you watch them until we get back?" Moyu nodded, Yuyu turned to Riri "Riri, let's go." Riri nodded "yes big sis."     They left the room. Luz and Amity starred at them while they left. then they turned back to Moyu, Luz smiled "so, how do these work?" Luz walked to Moyu's desk. Moyu turned to Luz "don't touch that." Luz stopped what she was doing and turned back to Moyu. Moyu sighed "look, I don't know the detail's but how about you two tell me who you really are and why you are here." Luz and Amity starred at moyu then looked to each other then back at Moyu. they sighed. Amity walked to Luz then turned to Moyu then sighed "we don't know why we are here. We are just on a journey to meet people and see if you guys can help us with our problem's I guess."     Luz nodded, Moyu leaned back on her chair looking up "I see, that makes sense. I don't know if I can help you, but I'm sure Riri and Yuyu could help you I think and about your charms do you still need them?" Luz and Amity nodded. Luz spoke up next "yes, we don't know if they can help us on our journey but they can help us here." Moyu nodded "ok, I can see what i can do you two can stay here until they come back ok, and we keep this between us just in case." Luz and Amity nodded, Amity had a thought and asked "while were at it, can you tell us about the huge and what a charm is. yuyu told us about the huge, but maybe you could tell us more about them?"     Moyu looked to Luz and Amity then sighed "I don't know what to tell you about the huge. To be honest we are still figuring them out for ourselves but as for the charms they are weapons of a lily. They are a part of us, if a charm is found without a lily that means that the lily is dead. we use rings to let our magi flow throw our charm to power them. they can change from a gun to a sword and if you two want one then you must never lose it, because it is a part of you do you understand?" Luz and Amity nodded, then Luz spoke up "does that mean we need to take it with us on our adventure?"     Moyu nodded "I don't know the specifics for world traveling but just to be sure. yes I would bring it with you just in case." Luz nodded, Amity thought for a few minutes then she remembered "hey Luz, we still have the new clothes we still have to try on." Luz turned to Amity and smiled "yeah, I forgot about that." Moyu looked to them "new clothes?" Amity nodded "yes, we got some new clothes for our journey. we still haven't tried them on yet." Moyu nodded "I see, but I think you should were what we were, so you could blend with us."     Luz and Amity nodded, Moyu nodded "ok, I will get you two lily outfits. if you two are staying here for a couple of days." Luz nodded and smiled "ok, thank you Moyu." Moyu smiled "it's no problem, you two just stay here and I will be right back." Moyu stood up and walked out. Luz turned to Amity "are we really going to stay here for a couple of days?" Amity sighed "I don't know but if they could help us then maybe we can help them out with the huge. I guess." Luz nodded but still looked worried "Amity, they can't help us fully." Amity looked down "I don't know. but it's a start right?"     Luz nodded "but who can help us fully." Amity shock her head "I don't know. But this is the start we have a long way to go. Hopefully they can help us." Luz nodded again "I hope so but what will happen to us when we get back. will we be the same people we are now." Amity looked up to Luz "I don't know but if this can end my parents control over me. then I want to give it a try." Luz smiled "ok, I guess that's fair and they can maybe help us with our problems right?" Amity shock her head "I don't think they can help us with them. but maybe we can use things like charms to help us fight the coven."     Luz nodded "your right, I'm fine with that." Amity smiled and nodded. They heard the door's opened and Moyu walked in with some outfits. Luz and amity turned to see Moyu walked to them and gave them there outfits "ok here is your lily clothes. I already called Yuyu and Riri when they get back you guys will go with their squad and you guy's should get settled alright?" Luz and Amity smiled and nodded, Moyu smiled and nodded "alright. now to find you guys charms and get your rings let me see if I can find some charms first."     Moyu turned to her desk and began to find the charms for Luz and Amity. After a while Moyu found two charms one purple with green and white on it and one brown with blue and silver on it. she turned and give them to Luz and amity "alright are these with two ok." Luz and Amity looked at them. Luz began to geek out with them and Amity looked at hers with astonishment they turned to Moyu smiled and said "yes, these are good." Moyu smiled "ok, now all that's left is your rings then we can see if you two have magi to power them. I will be right back again."     Moyu left again. Luz and Amity starred at their charms in awe. Luz turned to Amity "these are really cool huh Amity." Amity nodded "yeah, I didn't know humans could make these." Luz nodded "neither did I. we never created stuff like this." they heard the door slide open and Yuyu and Riri came in smiling at them "I see you two got your charms and your uniforms." Yuyu said walking to them. Riri ran up to Luz "that's a nice color you got there Luz and your charm is like mine." yuyu walked up to Amity "and yours looks like my charm but with purple and green."     Amity smiled to Yuyu "yeah, this is very impressive. I didn't know you people could make this." Yuyu looked confused but didn't press on it. instead she turns to Luz and Riri who were talking to each other. Yuyu sighed "well, now that you two have your charms follow us and you two can meet our squad." Yuyu began to the door but Amity stepped forward "but Moyu said she will get our rings to power our charms right?" Yuyu stopped and turned to look Amity, she then turned to look at Luz who nodded. yuyu turned back to Amity "ok, we can wait until she comes back."     They all nodded, after a few minutes Moyu came back. she sees Yuyu and Riri and smiled "hey, I see you guys are done with the huge huh?" Yuyu and Riri nodded, Riri smiled "yes we have, Luz and Amity said you have there rings to power there charm's?" Moyu nodded. She walked to Luz and Amity and gave them there rings. they looked at them then they put them on there right middle finger. Amity grabbed her charm to see what happens. after a few second's Amity could feel something weird then her charm started to light up, and it turned into a sword. Luz and Amity were shocked by this. Luz putted her ring on grabbed her charm. after a few seconds Luz could feel something odd. then her charm started to light up and turn into a sword. They turned to moyu who smiled widely "i checked your magi while I went to get your rings, and it seems you two have 60% of magi the same as riri here."     She pointed to Riri who blushed out of embarrassment "it's true." Luz and Amity smiled. Amity turned to Moyu "thank you Moyu." Moyu smiled sheepishly "hey it was nothing. now Riri and Yuyu will take you there squads waiting room right?" she turned to Riri and Yuyu who nodded. Yuyu and Riri both started to walk out of the room with Luz and Amity following behind them. they walked for a while until they entered a room where there squad was at. They all turned to them, specifically Luz and Amity. Luz and Amity waved nervously, Kaede saw them and sighed "well, now you two have your charms. Next time I won't save you."     Everyone turned to Kaede who sighed "ok, fine, never mind then." everyone turned back to Luz and Amity. Shenlin spoke up next "I'm guessing you two got your charms?" Luz and Amity nodded, they walked to the table and sat there charms down on it showing them. they leaned forward looking at them. Shenlin smiled "good choice's." she turned to everyone else all smiled and nodded. the women sitting on a chair besides her asked "so who are you, if you two don't know what a charm is or the huge are then I'm guessing you two aren't from here."     Luz and Amity flinched at that. Luz nodded "yeah, we came here to see if you guys can help us with our issues, and we can help you guys with the huge." Amity nodded, everyone looked at each other worriedly. The women turned back to them "well, how about you two sit on the couch and you can tell us what you can and we can see if we can help you." everyone nodded to that. Kaede and another girl with brown hair got off of the couch while Luz and Amity walked to the couch and sat on it. Luz took a deep breath and said "I don't know, how much we can say but in our world I'm from earth and Amity is from a place called the boiling isles where there magic and demons. There to me, it feels more like home than earth ever was but I have been trying to build a portal back home to see my mom but I don't know if I want to stay there because I have made friend's in the isles. I found people who carried about me there and a girlfriend I love but I still want to see my mom and I'm just worried about how she will react and if she will take the isles away from me."     Amity looked sympathetic to Luz then she spoke up "my parents are pretty strict. they forced me to cut ties with my best friend Willow, and they have been controlling my life ever since i was born but ever since Luz came to the isles I have felt different. I found out I was in love with Luz and I started to rebel against my parents but I still feel like they still have some control over me and I'm still trying to break it and try to be myself but I don't know how to break it." Everyone there listened to them and didn't say a word taking it all in. Kaede walked up to them, Amity looked up to see Kaede who looked a little mad then Kaede putted her hand up and slapped Amity. everyone looked shocked even Luz who was sitting beside Amity. Yuyu finally out of her shocked expression stepped forward "Kaede!"     Kaede turned to Yuyu "what, she acts like this is the hardest thing to do when it's the easiest thing to do." she then turned back to Amity "I don't know about Luz here but you Amity it should be the easiest thing for you to figure out just stay away from them and live with your girlfriend or someone else and stay away from your parents." Amity starred at Kaede then looked down "it's not that easy. the isles isn't that big compared to earth. it's small and no matter how far I go, they will still find me." Kaede was blushing mad "then stay with Luz on earth then if you love her so much."     Kaede then walked away and sat back to her seat. Everyone starred at Kaede then looked back to Luz and amity. The girl sitting on a chair next to Shenlin smiled "she's right, we don't know your situation all that well but if your parents are abusing you Amity then you shouldn't stay with them." everyone nodded then the girl with yellow hair spoke next "there right we've all been through a lot. I'm a booster lily, A group of scientist did experiments on me and boosted my lily abilities." everyone looked down remembering their own events and past treama's. Yuyu spoke up next while looking down "I killed my older sister while in my lunatic trance. it's a rare skill where I act like a lunatic and attack friend or foe until my magi burns out."     Shenlin spoke next "my home was destroyed by the huge and I don't know where my family is or if they made it out." the girl next to her spoke next "my family is back home fighting the huge while I'm here and I miss them very much." Luz and Amity then turned to riri who looked down "I lost Yuri, she was like a daughter or a friend and the government thought she was a huge but realized she was a human like us but then was a huge attack came and Yuri died saving us and I still miss her." Riri started to cry. Yuyu walked to Riri comforting her. Kaede tried to comfort Riri but Yuyu beat her to it. Kaede growled at that. Luz and Amity chuckled at that then they turned back to Shenlin who smiled "so you see, we all have our drama's and issue's we are still working on, and we can help you two with yours while you are staying here."     Everyone nodded to that. Luz and Amity smiled at that. Amity began to tear up "thank you, everyone." everyone got up and walked to Luz and Amity and gave them a hug. when they broke the hug Yuyu turned to Kaede "Kaede, will you help me?" Kaede looked confused then nodded "sure, but why?" Yuyu turned back to Luz and Amity who turned to Yuyu "we are going to train you two on how to use your charms while your here and you will join us on mission's to fight the huge is that ok?" Luz and Amity nodded, Luz got up and turned to Yuyu and smiled "thank you Yuyu."     Yuyu smiled back "you're welcome, Luz." Luz and Amity met the rest of the team. Luz started to talk to Fumi and Riri while Amity talked to Yuyu, Shenlin and Wang Yujia while Mai, Tazura, groumpy and Kaede where talking amongst themselves "so you have magic where you come from. We have magic here too. it's what powers our charms it's called magi. I think you have heard about it before?" yujia said, Amity nodded "yeah, Moyu told us. It's what powers the charm right?" Yujia nodded "yes and I could show you how to shoot my rare skill his heaven's measure. It's a sniping skill I can see far away to see my target. what's your's and Luz's rare skill?"     Amity thought about it then frowned "you know, I don't know?" Shenlin smiled "well, don't worry about it. your rare skill will come when you two ready." Amity smiled and nodded. Yuyu asked "have you ever used a sword before Amity?" Amity shock her head "no, but I used a staff before?" Yuyu nodded "ok, well I can teach you and Luz how to use a sword and how you two can focus your magi. It won't be easy though." amity nodded 'it's ok, I think we can handle it." Amity then turned to Luz who was busy talking to Riri and Fumi. Amity smiled at that then turned back to Yuyu, Yujia, and Shenlin and continued to talk to them.     After a while Fumi got her tablet and checked the time it was 6:00 "um, guys. we better hurry or we will miss dinner and our bath." Fumi showed everyone the time they all nodded. they got up and walked out of the room. Yuyu turned to Luz and Amity "you two might want to change to our uniform. We wear them all the time until it's time for bed." Luz and Amity nodded, they followed yuyu to the bathroom were they took there clothes off and putted the uniform on. When they stepped out they looked at each other and started to blush at each other. Amity coughed "well, we better get going Luz. we don't want to be late for dinner."     Amity began to follow Yuyu to the cafeteria. Luz followed not that behind. When they arrived at the cafeteria they have gone to sit with Riri, Fumi, and Kaede. Yuyu walked out, Amity thought she was going to her room. Amity turned to them trying to listen to there conversation. she turned to Luz who was just as confused as her. Fumi then turned to them "so, I heard you two don't know what your rare skill is?" Luz and Amity shock there heads " no, we just got our charms, and they said we have to wait for a few days until we find out our skill." Luz nodded, Kaede sighed "well until you guys figure it out you two can sit on the sidelines while we do the heavy lifting."     Luz and Amity frowned at that. Fumi turned to Kaede "but we don't know your rare skill yet and Riri's is charisma. So I don't know if you have any room to talk." Kaede spit in her tea. Luz and Amity both grinned at her. She turned away from them "I just want to keep it a secret until I have to use because I always have to use my charm alright." Fumi just sighed, Riri smiles at Kaede "it's fine Kaede. I didn't have a rare skill until I found out a little while after I became a lily." Kaede turned to Riri and smiled "right."     Luz and Amity turned to Fumi who just sighed. after awhile they all got up and got there dinner. When they got back to their seats they began to eat there dinner. after a few minutes Luz asked "so what's your rare skill?" she pointed to Riri and Fumi. Riri smiled "mine is charisma, it's a support system I guess." Fumi nodded "yeah and mine is hawks eye I can see from far away." Luz nodded "cool. I wonder what's our's is. right Amity?" she turned to see amity eating. Amity looked up to Luz and nodded "yeah, I wonder what we have."     Luz nodded, they turned to the others who smiled at them. A hand came on to the table. they turned to see a girl with pink with red eye's. she grind "well, well, well, I see we have new lily's here. are you going to gobble them up like you are trying to do to Riri?" she turned to Kaede. she blushed and pushed her aside "don't be dump. they are already a thing anyway's." kaede shrugged, the girl turned back to Luz and Amity who nodded the girl grind "well how about i borrow one of you and spend the night with you, huh." Luz and Amity starred wide-eyed at that. amity began to get angry. she stood up to the girl who starred at her shocked. Luz got up and grabbed Amity's hand. Amity turned to Luz "Amity, please don't start anything."     Amity smiled "don't worry, I won't start any fight's or anything like that." Luz nodded then turned to the girl "listen, we just came to visit. we don't want to start anything." the girl looked at them then turned to Riri and the others who nodded then turned back to Luz and Amity. she sighed "fine, I'll leave you two alone but if I see one of you alone, I might gobble you up." she walked up to Luz and Amity while saying that. Amity was about to punch her when they heard someone else's voice "Araya, what are you doing with them, they were just talking."     Luz and Amity turned to see a girl with yellow hair and blue eyes. Araya turned "but I was just saying hi to the newbies." the girl just sighed "by hi. you mean invite them to bed then yes you are like Kaede in that regard." Kaede stood up from her seat and turned to the girl "hey, what's that suppose to mean?" Araya turned to Kaede and grind "oh come on. we all know how you want to seduce Riri to make her yours right?" Kaede blushed "i, i, I don't know what your talking about." everyone there sighed except for Luz, Amity, and Riri. Araya walked to kaede "you say it's fate for you and Riri that brought you two together then why aren't you two as close as her and yuyu who look like something more than big and little sister. Why haven't you two got in bed together?"     She pocked Kaede's chest. Kaede moved Araya's hands off of her chest "there's no need to worry about that. fate doesn't work like that it takes time right?" Araya sighed then turned around "fine, but if Riri ends up with Yuyu don't blame her or Yuyu." Araya began to leave. Kaede sighed turned to Luz, Amity, and the other's. Luz and Amity was looking shocked while Fumi just sighed and Riri looked down. Kaede sighed again then sat back to her seat. Luz and Amity turned to each other than decided to leave them alone. Luz turned to them "I think we should let you three be alone to talk."     Amity nodded. Fumi sighed "I better leave too it might get crazy in here after that. you coming riri?" Riri still looked down and nodded "yes, I'm right behind you fumi." Riri and fumi got up and started to leave. Luz and amity walked behind them while Kaede sat there alone. Luz and amity followed them to the bath. When they got there, they could see Wang and Shenlin in the bath. They walked to a room to take there uniform's off. They got there towels putted them on and walked out and followed them to get washed up before there bath. Luz helped Amity get washed since Amity didn't know how to do it and after Amity discovered the water wasn't boiling she letted Luz help her. when Luz was done she's done the same to herself. When she was done they got up with their towels on and walked to the bath. they sait with Wang and Shenlin, Shenlin turned to them and smiled "how was dinner you two?"     Luz smiled a little "it was good but..." Luz looked down. Shenlin saw that and asked "what happened?" Amity turned to her and told her what happened. at the end Shenlin sighed "I see. So Araya happened again?" Luz looked up and turned to Shenlin "wait, this happened before?" Shenlin and Yujia both nodded, Yujia spoke next "we meet her a couple of times's but Riri told us she has been trying to get Riri or something like that." Shenlin nodded "yes, she has. we don't know why she just does it. we think it has something to do with Yuyu since everyone wanted her before riri became her schutzengel. because she was a lone wolf, but now she is Riri's big sister and as for Kaede we don't know. At first, she wanted yuyu to be her schutzengel but after her and Riri's first fight. she has been with Riri like a lost puppy so I don't know what to tell you about that."     Yujia nodded, Luz and Amity starred at them taking all of it in. amity asked "what's a schutzengel pledge?" Shenlin smiled "at yurigaoka girls' academy, "schutzengel" means a pledge of sisterhood between an older and younger student the older girl acts as a schutzengel or a guardian angel and guides the younger girl her schild it's like marriage I guess." Luz and Amity blushed at that. Luz turned to Amity. Amity smiled "if we could do that, but we are young though." Luz nodded, they turned back to Shenlin and Wang who smiled. Luz asked "so are you two a schutzengel?"     They both blushed. Yujia waved her hands "no, we are just roommates. we met in the spring and I don't know if I want a schutzengel at that." Shenlin nodded "yeah, plus we have each other and we think that's enough." Yujia nodded. Luz and amity smiled. Amity turned to see Riri and Fumi getting in and sitting next to them. Riri smiled "what are you guys talking?" Luz and Amity just shrugged "nothing." Riri turned to Shenlin and Yujia who just shrugged, Riri smiled "ok, well Luz and Amity how long are you guys going to stay with us?" Luz turned to Riri and smiled "I think we will stay for a week then we will leave in the weekend right Amity?"     She turned to Amity who nodded "yeah, we don't know how long we have to stay here, so a week would be fine. plus we need to learn how to use our charms and figure out our rare skills, right?" Riri, Luz and everyone there nodded. After there bath Luz and Amity putted there lily outfit's back on then they walked around the school. they walked until they see a man with white hair, glasses and a cane. he looked to them. Luz and Amity looked to look at him. The man stopped walking and turned to them "I don't believe I've seen you two before?"     Luz and Amity turned to face him. Luz spoke first "um, yeah, we are just visiting that's all." amity nodded, the man starred at them then sighed "come with me." he turned around and walked forward. luz and Amity turned to each other worriedly then followed him. They walked into an office they assumed it was his. Luz and Amity sat down on a couch while the man sat in his desk. He looked to them "now that we are alone why don't you tell me who you are." Luz and Amity starred at him bewildered. He knew they weren't from around here. Amity sighed "we aren't a threat to you or this world, we just want to help."     Luz nodded "yeah and maybe you guy's can help us with our problems." Amity nodded, the man sighed "I see." he got up and walked to the window. he looked outside "do you two know about a lily named Yuri." Luz and Amity starred wide eye's then they nodded. Luz spoke up "yeah, Riri told us that everyone thought she was a huge and she sacrificed herself for everyone." the man nodded "yes, that's what happened but..." the man looked down "but it was our fault that it happened. we didn't have the jurisdiction to protect Yuri, and she died because of our mistake. because we thought she was a huge." Luz and Amity's eye's open wide mouth agape, Amity stood up "how could you even think she was like that. if she was a person like you and me then why did you think she was a huge?"     The man turned his head to Luz and Amity "because there are people who can create lily's from huge. it sickens me just saying that. There are even lily's here who was experimented on like busted lily's." Luz stood up "yeah, Tazura told us she is a buster lily. something about busting her rare skill or something." Luz shock her head. the man nodded "that's exactly what it is. ever since the war with the huge. humanity had to relay on lily's to fight back against the huge. But there are some people who don't think that is such a good idea." Luz and Amity starred at him. Amity spoke next "what do you mean?"     The man shock his head. He looked out the window, it was night time. he turned back to Luz and Amity "I'm afraid that is all I can say on the matter. Isn't about time for you two head to bed?" Luz and Amity turned to the window to see it had been night. they turned to the man and sighed, Luz spoke next "yeah, it is about time for bed, but we don't have a room." the man nodded "I see, follow me. I will show you to your room." Luz and Amity nodded and followed him, they exited the office and walked to the dorms. they walk a little while until they stopped at a room. they turned to the door. Luz walked up and opened the door to there room it has a window, a bunk bed, and a place to put there charms which was already in there. Amity walked in looked around smiling "I like this room."     Luz turned to Amity and nodded "me too." they turned to see the man smiling at them "we'll if that is all for tonight. I must go back to my office good day." Luz and Amity smiled at him "good day." the man then left the room. Luz turned to the bed and jumped on the bottom bunk "I get the bottom bunk." Amity turned to Luz and smiled. She walked to Luz "well, I guess I can have the top bunk or we can sleep together." Luz sat up and blushed "I guess we can." Amity blushed and nodded. She looked down at her outfit "hey, do we have any other clothes to wear, and so we can take these off for the night."     Luz looked to Amity deep in thought "I don't know, let's see what Master Yen Sid gave us." Amity nodded. she looked around to find there suitcases. Amity turned to their charms and see's their cases. Amity smiled, she walked to there charm's and got them. she walked back to the bunk bed and gave Luz her's. Luz turned to amity and smiled "let's open them together." amity nodded. She bends down to the ground her case in front of her. Luz sat her case to her lap. Luz turned to amity "ok, on 3, ready." amity nodded, they turned to their cases "ok, 1... 2... 3."     They opened there cases at the same time. Luz puts hers on the bed and pull's out a green jacket with a strapped shirt in the case. Luz smiled, she turned to amity. Amity pulled out a pink dress with a black collar still inside. amity didn't know how to feel about it. she turned to Luz "um, I'm not sure about this. the dress I like but the collar is..." amity shrugged, Luz nodded "yeah, I get it." Luz then had an idea. She looked up to amity "hey, how about we see if Shenlin and Yujia can see how we look and let them decide."     Amity shrugged "sure." Luz nodded, they putted there new clothes back in the case's got up and walked out of there room. They walked for a while until they found Shenlin and Wang's room. Luz opened the door slightly as to not wake them up. Luz opened the door fully to see Shenlin sitting on a chair and Wang standing next to her. They turned to Luz and Amity and smiled, Shenlin spoke first "isn't about time for bed. Have you two found your room yet?" they nodded, Amity spoke first "yes, we opened our cases and found our new clothes but we don't know if we like them. we were hoping if you could see if it's good."     Luz nodded, Shenlin turned to Yujia who nodded then back to Luz and Amity. She stood up "we would love too, can you please take us to your room?" Luz and Amity nodded. They walked out of the doorway and walked to there room with Shenlin and Yujia following them. When they entered Luz and Amity's room. Luz and Amity got there cases opened them and showed them to Shenlin and Wang. they smiled. Wang spoke first "I like them. they look good how about you try them on then you guys can decide." Luz and Amity nodded, they turned around and got there lily outfits off and putted there new outfits on. Luz putted on the shirt then green jacket after that she putted the black pants on and the new shoes on.     Amity putted the black pants on first, the pink dress then the collar on her neck, and the new shoes. They turned to Shenlin and Yujia who blushed. Shenlin spoke next "oh my. you two look really beautiful." Yujia nodded. She moved to let them go to see "see for yourself." Luz and Amity both walk to the mirror and was shocked at what they saw. Amity blushed, she turned to Luz who was blushing also. Shenlin and Wang walked behind them and smiled "what do you think?" shenlin asked walking up to Amity. Amity turned back to the mirror and smiled "I love it, it feels like the real me."     Luz walked next to her "yeah, I like the green jacket and the pants are super comfy." Amity giggled "yeah, these are comfy your right." she turned to Shenlin and Yujia who were smiling at them. Wang spoke up "we think you two look great." Shelin nodded "yes and how about tomorrow you show the team this. I'm sure Kaede will freak out over this." everyone laughed at the thought. after a few seconds they all calmed down. Shenlin smiled "well, we better get to bed you two should too. Come on Wang." Wang nodded "alright, good night Luz and Amity."     Luz smiled at them "good night." Amity turned to them leaving and nodded "yeah, good night. see you two tomorrow." Shenlin and Yujia walked to the door opened it and took a side glance at them and smiled then they walked out. Amity turned to Luz "well, we better get to bed too." Luz nodded "yup, um do you want to share a bed or do top bunk or bodem bunk?" Amity blushed "I would like it if we slept together." Luz blushed and nodded. They turned to the bed. Luz walked to the bed and took her jacket off and hanged it on the side of the bed. she laid down on the bed. Amity walked to the bed and laid down with Luz. Amity turned to face Luz. she smiled "hey you."     Luz smiled back "hey you. so how do you like this place so far?" Amity smiled "I like it and my mother can't control me anymore and I'm really happy about that." Luz nodded "yeah, me too. but you know we will have to go back some time soon." Luz looked down, Amity shrugged "yeah, but I think it will be a long time from now before we have to go back besides we are on an journey right?" Luz looked up to Amity and smiled "yeah and I can't wait to see what's in stored for us." Amity nodded "me too." Amity looked back and realized the lights were still on. Amity sighed "hang on, I'll turn off the lights."     Luz chuckled "we forgot to turn off the lights. how old are we anyway?" Amity grinned then she wacked Luz on the head and got up to turn off the lights. When she walked back and laid back on the bed. She can see Luz grouping in pain. Amity giggled "maybe you are too old right now Luz." Luz looked to Amity and pouted "yeah, well let's just go to sleep ok." Amity nodded "ok, Luz I love you." Luz blushed "I love you too Amity." amity blushed at that. After a few minutes they went to sleep. Luz woke up by the light of her and amity's room. Luz groaned awake. She looked to Amity who was sleeping on her side sleeping peacefully. Luz smiled, Luz got up quietly as to not wake Amity up, she crawled out of bed and got up and walked to the mirror to get her lily uniform on. She heard someone groaning. She turned to see Amity starting to wake up, she sat up and looked to Luz, Luz smiled "sorry, did I wake you up?" Amity shock her head and smiled "no, you didn't, I just woke up." Amity got out of bed and walked to Luz. Likewise, she turned to the mirror and smiled "I really like our new clothes, I think it suits us."     Luz turned to the mirror and nodded "yeah, your right I think this is the real us." Amity nodded, Amity was about to say something, but they heard there door open. They turned to see Shenlin and Wang walking in. Luz and Amity turned to them and smiled. Shenlin smiled "good morning, we wanted to see if you two are awake and if you two want to show our team your new clothes, if you want?" they nodded Luz spoke up "yes, I think that is a good idea and I can't wait to see there reaction's." Amity nodded "yeah, me too I can't wait to see kaede's reaction though."     They all chuckled just at the thought. Shenlin smiled "well, how about we go and show them then we can go eat breakfast, ok." Luz and Amity nodded, they followed Shenlin and Wang out of there room with Luz getting her green jacket and putting it on. They walked to the waiting room, Shenlin stopped them at the door, she turned to them "me and Yujia will go in first and tell them that you guys are coming in, and I will open the door for you two to come in."     Luz and Amity nodded, Shenlin opened the door slightly for her and Yujia walked in they entered the room and Shenlin closed the door then after a few seconds, she opened the door and Luz and amity walked in. once they were in the room everyone starred at them excepted for Kaede who had her eye's closed while drinking her tea. "Well no matter what it is, I know Riri will look better with it on." Mai turned to Kaede "you haven't seen them and I think they got her beat." Kaede sighed, she looked up opened her eye's to see Luz and Amity her eye's went big and yelled "WHAT THE!"     Luz and Amity started to burst out laughing at kaede reaction after a few seconds everyone joined in on the laughter. After a few minutes of laughing, everyone calmed down. Yuyu smiled "do you like your new clothes?" Luz and Amity nodded, Luz spoke up "yes, we do." Amity nodded, Yuyu nodded "ok, we need to eat breakfast so while we go eat you two can go get your lily uniforms on and after breakfast we can start your training with your charms, and we can see what's your rare skill is." Luz and Amity nodded, everyone got up and started to leave the room. Luz and Amity were last to leave while Yuyu closed the door to the waiting room.     Luz and Amity walked to there room. Once they entered there room they took there new clothes off. Luz looked down to their cases "hey, Amity look." Luz putted her hand in the case and pulled out a brown beanie. Amity smiled, she looked down to her case and pulled out two bracelets Amity turned to Luz "these might be the finishing touches to our new clothes." Luz nodded, she putted the Bennie back in the case with her clothes. Amity putted the bracelets back in the case with her clothes. They turned to their lily clothes, and they putted them on they walked to the mirror and saw themselves's in their lily outfits. Amity smiled, she turned to Luz "are you ready?"     Luz turned to Amity and smiled "yes, I am." they turned around and walked to the door. Luz opened the door and they walked out. They walked to the cafeteria. Once they entered the cafeteria they walked to Riri and Yuyu who was sitting on the couch. They sat on the other couch Yuyu looked up to them and smiled "how do you do." Luz and Amity smiled Amity spoke up "how do you do." Shenlin and Yujia walked to them and sat tea in front of Luz and Amity on the table. They turned to Shenlin and Wang Luz spoke next "thank you." Shenlin and Yujia smiled Shenlin spoke up "you're welcome."     They walked to the other couch behind them. Amity got her tea and started to take a sip. Once she was done she sat it down on the table. Yuyu sat her tea on the table and looked to them "today, we will be training you two to focus your magi me and Kaede will be fighting you with our charm's and you two will need to block us and focus your magi understood." Luz and Amity nodded, Amity spoke next "will we know what our rare skill is today?" Yuyu shook her head "I don't think it works like that I'm sorry." Amity smiled "it's ok."     Yuyu smiled she has gone back to her tea. Luz and Amity got there tea's and started to drink them after a few minutes they finished there tea's. Yuyu got up and walked to put her tea cup away. Luz and Amity got up and done the same. When they were done they walked to the training hall. When they entered the room Luz and Amity turned to see there charms already there. Luz turned to Yuyu who was getting her charm she turned to them "I had Fumi and Mai go to get your charms and bring them here while we were eating since you two didn't know where the training room was."     Amity smiled "thank you Yuyu." Yuyu smiled "you're welcome Amity." Luz and Amity walked to get there charms then walked to the training grounds. Amity in front of Yuyu since she has the same charm as Yuyu, Luz stood beside amity with no one in front of her, Yuyu turned and sighed, she turned the other way and saw riri coming in with her charm "riri, can you do Luz while I do amity please." Riri smiled "yes, big sister." Riri ran to put the orange cover on her charm and ran to the training grounds in front of Luz. Yuyu turned to Amity "are you ready?"     Amity smiled and nodded, she ready her charm up Yuyu ran to Amity and hit her charm. Amity fell on her knees. Yuyu looked down "get up, we need to go again." Amity looked up and nodded, she got up and readied her charm. Yuyu held hers up "now the huge are organism's controlled by the power of magi that is the same power we weield as lily's that is your own body not your weapon that gives you the ability to fight so without magi a charm is nothing more than a knife." Amity nodded "right, I got it." Yuyu readied position "you're responsible with the flow you can make your weapon stronger if you can focus on guard up."     Amity lifted her charm up into a guard position. Yuyu ran to Amity and swing her charm again. Amity fell back on her but after a few seconds she got back up. Yuyu smiled "well, I see you don't give up. do you?" Amity smirked "nope, not much." Amity turned to Luz who didn't even seem like she was falling. Amity frowned "hey, what are they doing?" she pointed to Luz and Riri who seemed to be standing there yuyu turned "um Riri did you attack Luz yet?" Luz turned to Yuyu and shook her head "no, she didn't, and I don't know why."     Yuyu sighed, she turned to Riri who was just watching them. She noticed yuyu "oh I'm sorry big sis, it's just seeing you teach amity reminds me of my first time when you taught me to focus my magi." Yuyu blushed slightly "yes, I remember that." Luz and Amity turned to each other confused. Yuyu then turned back to them "ok, today we can just do Amity if she can focus her magi today then I will focus on Luz, ok?" Luz and Amity nodded "ok." Luz walked to the wall. turned around and began to watch them. Riri walked to Luz turned around and watched them. Yuyu turned to Amity "ok, are you ready?"     Amity lifted her charm and nodded "yes." Yuyu ran to Amity and hitted her charm. Amity fell back, but she didn't fall, she stood up straight with her charm up. Yuyu kept running to Amity and attacked Amity, Amity began to walked back with her guard up. She remembered yuyu's words and tried to focus her magi. her charm light up and a blue circle formed under Amity. Yuyu attacked Amity her charm hitted hers but it bouched back. Yuyu was shocked, Amity focused her magi in a short amount of time. Yuyu smiled "I'm impressed, you focused your magi in a short amount of time."     Amity looked up to Yuyu and smiled "I just remembered what you said Yuyu and tried to focus my magi, I didn't even know I had magi at all." Yuyu nodded "we were normal girl's before the huge attacked, and now we are lily's fighting the huge. A lot can change in a short amount of time." Amity turned to see Luz smiling amity grinned "well, now it's Luz's turn right?" Yuyu nodded, they turned to see Luz acting nervous "um do I have to do it now." Amity rolled her eye's playfully "oh come on, luzura you can do it."     Luz blushed at that. She got her charm and walked to the training ground, while Amity was walking to were Riri was. Luz walked in front of Yuyu and stood in a guard position. Yuyu ran to Luz and attacked her. Luz fell on the floor. Amity giggled, Luz got up and putted her charm in a guard position. They continued this after a while they heard a bell sound yuyu stopped and putted her charm down "let's go, the squad is on duty today so Luz and Amity will join us as well." Luz and Amity nodded, they walked out of the training room and walked outside to meet up with their team. Kaede turned to them and sighed "there you are. Where were you?"     Yuyu starred at Kaede threaten "we were training Luz and amity and for that matter where were you, I told you to come to help me." Kaede flinched "um, I was a little busy with something, but it went well right?" Yuyu sighed and nodded "yes, Amity managed to focus her magi, but Luz still needs time." she turned to Luz and Amity. Amity smiled while Luz blushed nervously, Kaede sighed "fine, I will be there tomorrow to help you." Yuyu deadpan's "you mean like how you were supposed to be there today to help."     Kaede flinched again. She turned around and started to leave. Yuyu sighed again, she turned to Luz and Amity "follow me." they nodded, Luz and Amity followed Yuyu to a table. Luz and Amity sat next to each other. Yuyu walked to a table next to them. Luz and Amity looked to the distance they saw something coming to them. Yuyu turned to them "do you see that. our school is not just a school it's close to a huge nest that was destroyed but recently the huge started to come back after a while. now we are just defending our home from the huge, but they can repair themselves and come back even stronger. we call them restored."     Luz and Amity starred in the distance at the huge that was coming there way. Riri and Yuyu stood up and walked to their squad. Amity turned to yuyu "what about us, what can we do?" Yuyu turned to Amity "stay at a distance and watch you two are our back-up if we require you, alright?" Amity nodded "ok." Luz and Amity got up, got there charms and walked to the side of the building to watch. Riri, Yuyu, and there squad jumped to the huge. Riri and Yuyu jumped together slicing the huge in half. It opened reviling a bunch of charm's everyone starred at it shocked "no way how many lilies did this huge..."     Mai said while keeping her distance. Luz and Amity watched in shock at how many charms there are. Amity started to remember her mother's abuse on her as she sees the fallen charm's of dead lily's. Luz turned to Amity looking worried "hey, Amity are you ok?" Amity shook her head "no, looking at those charms reminds me of my mothers abuse and manipulation." Amity putted her hands on her head and letted go of her charm. Luz walked up to Amity she was about to hug her when Amity's eye's started to glow red and her hair turned white she screamed "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"     Everyone turned to Amity's scream. Shenlin jumped to Luz when she landed she ran to Amity, but amity got her charm and jumped to fight the huge. Shenlin turned to Luz "what happened?" Luz was shocked. she didn't know Amity could do that. Shenlin turned to Luz putted her arm's on Luz's shoulders and yanking her out of her shock "hey, hey, stay with us Luz." after a few seconds Luz was out of her shock "I'm sorry." shenlin nodded "it's fine, now what happened?" Luz turned to where Amity jumped to and got worried "she said looking at those charms reminded her of her mother's abuse."     Shenlin turned to where Luz was looking "so, it's clear then, amity has lunatic trance just like Mrs. Yuyu." Luz turned to Shenlin "what can we do, is Amity going to be ok?" Shenlin turned to Luz and smiled "yes, she will be after we calm her down. we will distract the huge while you get through to Amity." Luz nodded, Shenlin turned to the huge and jumped, Luz jumped to and followed Shenlin. Luz and Shenlin met up with the others. When they landed Kaede pointed a finger at Yuyu "well, I see lunatic trance isn't just for you, huh." everyone didn't laugh, far from it, Shenlin stepped forward "we need to distract the huge for Luz to get to Amity and get her back."     Everyone nodded, they formed a plan after a few seconds they all jumped going to battle against the huge while Luz was going to get Amity back. Amity swing her charm at the huge remembering her mother's words "now dear a blight must always uphold there end of the bargin." "Amity, get away from the human." "Sever your ties with Willow and if you don't then we will." Amity continued to attack the huge until "Amity!" Luz jumped to her calling her name. Amity turned to her and swing her charm Luz used her charm to block it, and it formed a blue circle "Amity, it's me, it's Luz..."     "Look away." Luz flew over amity and landed on the ground in front of Yuyu and Riri. Luz got up and looked to Yuyu "I don't know how, but I think I felt Amity just know." Riri and Yuyu starred at Luz wide eye's. Yuyu looked down deep in thought then she found the answer. She looked up to Luz who was still confused "Luz, I think I know what your rare skill is, it's just like Riri's." Riri turned to Yuyu "what do you mean?" Yuyu turned to Riri and nodded she turned to Luz "Luz, I think you have charisma like riri which means you can get through to her like riri did for me."     Luz nodded "ok, but what's the plan I tried to get to her, but I just kept falling." Yuyu nodded "we will distract the huge you just need to get through to amity." Luz nodded, Yuyu and Riri jumped to the huge. Luz turned around and jumped to Amity. She jumped until she landed in front of Amity. Amity turned to Luz and tried to attack her, but Luz blocked them with her charm "Amity, please you need to stop, I can see blood on your face and body, you have to fall back now." Amity shock her head "no, my mother has to pay for what she did to me." Luz's eye's widen then she starred straight at Amity "KNOCK IT OFF!"     Luz yelled which snapped amity out of it. Amity began to faint, but Luz caught her. She turned around and jumped escaping the battle. She jumped until she made it back to the chairs, Luz sat amity on a chair as she started to wake up "Luz, where are we?" Luz smiled "your ok, I just had to get you out of the battlefield." Amity sat up "but why would you need to..." Amity began to remember what happened as tears fell from her eye's, she lunged to Luz and started to cry "Luz, I'm so, sorry." Luz smiled "it's ok Amity, everything will be ok. Yuyu and Riri will handle the huge you and I will stay here ok."     Amity sniffed, she broke the hug and looked to Luz and nodded "ok." Luz smiled, she got up and sat on the seat next to her. They turned to watch the fight after a few minutes Riri, Yuyu, and there squad destroyed the huge. After there fight they jumped back to them. Yuyu walked to Amity, Amity looked down "I'm sorry." Yuyu shock her head "no, it's ok it was your first time, and we didn't know you had lunatic trance like me." she turned to Luz "or charisma like Riri." Luz nodded, she looked down "I think we should leave early and go to the next world. We don't know if we can use these abilities in other world's."     Yuyu nodded "I understand but first." she walked up to Luz. Luz looked up to Yuyu "if you two are going to take your charms with you, then you need to learn to focus your magi." Luz nodded "I understand." Luz got up. Yuyu stepped back a few feet. Luz stood in a guarding position Yuyu ran to Luz. Luz began to focus her magi her charm light up and a blue circle surrounded her when Yuyu attacked Luz it bounced back as Luz focused her magi. Yuyu smiled "good, that's great." Luz smiled she turned to Amity who saw it she smiled back. Luz turned to Yuyu. Shenlin walked to Luz "so when are you two leaving?"     Luz turned to Shenlin then looked down "I don't know tomorrow, or tonight I guess." Shenlin nodded "I understand." she turned to Amity who looked upset. Shenlin turned back to Luz "I think it would be better if you two leave tonight just in case." Luz turned to Shenlin then to Amity who looked upset and nodded "I understand." Amity got up, and they all started to walk back inside Luz and Amity walked back to there room. When they entered there room Amity walked to the bed and sat down on it. Luz sat next to her looking worried "are you ok?"     Amity shock her head and turned to Luz "no, I tried to kill you and all I thought about at the time was my mother's abuse and manipulation." Luz hugged Amity. Amity hugged back after a few seconds they broke the hug. Luz smiled "we can leave tonight if you want?" Amity smiled and nodded "yes, I would like that." Luz nodded, she got up and got her suitcase and began to get out of her lily uniform and into her new clothes. Amity did the same. She was getting out of her lily uniform and into her new clothes with the bracelets on her wrists. She turned to Luz who looked ready to go. Amity nodded "do you want to say goodbye to the others?"     Luz nodded "yeah, we better go and say bye." Amity nodded, they walked out of there room and walked to the waiting room. Luz opened the door to see everyone turning to them. Yuyu smiled "are you two about to leave?" Luz and Amity nodded, Luz spoke first "yeah, were going to go to the next world, but we want to say goodbye first." Yuyu nodded, Luz and Amity walked into the room. everyone got up and hugged Luz and Amity. They hugged back after a few seconds they broke the hug, shenlin smiled "be safe out there, ok." Luz and Amity smiled and nodded, Yujia smiled "are you going to take your charms with you?"     Amity nodded "yes, we will go back to the room and get them when were done here." yujia nodded, yuyu walked to them and smiled "good luck out there." Luz smiled "and good luck with the huge." Amity looked down "I'm sorry for the mess I caused." Yuyu shock her head "no, you didn't do anything wrong we defeated the huge and that is all that matters." Amity looked up and nodded, after a few goodbyes Luz and Amity turned around and walked back to there room. When they got in there Luz got the charms and put them in there case while amity got the portal case and the key which they putted in front of the bed next to their charms.     When Luz was done she picked them up and handed amity her's. Amity took it with a slight caution but accepted it. She got the portal key and pressed the button. The case turned into a door, and it opened revealing a yellow light. Amity turned to Luz "are you ready?" Luz nodded "yeah, are you?" amity nodded, she looked up to Luz "wait, you forgot your Bennie." Luz putted her hand on her head then she walked to her case grabbing the Bennie and putting it on. she walked back to Amity who smiled "better." Luz smiled, they turned back to the portal and walked through it entering a new world. Luz and Amity walked through the portal and was on a bridge. Luz and Amity looked around to see where they are. Luz turned to see two people, she turned to Amity and pointed to them. Amity turned to see them. They walked to the side of the bridge to watch them. Then they were shocked to see one of them kiss the other girl. Luz and Amity only heard a little of what they were saying "I'm sorry Yuu." then the girl with orange hair turned around and started to run to them once she got her bag she began to run up the stairs and run off. Luz turned to Amity looking worried, Amity looked to Luz just as worried "what are we going to do Amity?"     Amity sighed. She turned to the girl with black hair looking down then back at Luz "you follow the girl who ran off while I talk to her." she pointed to the woman with the black hair looking down. Luz nodded, she turned to where the girl with orange hair ran off to and started to run after her. Amity turned to the girl who was still looking down. Amity began to get worried. She began to walk down the steps to the lake. The girl looked up to Amity. Amity stopped "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." the woman shock her head "no, you didn't um, what are you doing here?"     Amity looked down trying to think of what to say then she just decided to just wing it. She looked up "um, my name is Amity, my girlfriend and I are just visiting the city. We were on our way home when we saw you two talking and the other girl kissed you then she ran off, my girlfriend gone to talk to her. I wanted to talk to you and see why you looked sad and how can I help if you will let me." Amity smiled. The woman nodded believing in her story "ok, but um it's kinda a long story if you don't mind listening?" Amity sat done on the stair and patted a spot next to her and smiled "I have some time to kill."     The woman nodded, she walked to Amity and sat beside her and began explaining. She told Amity that her name is Touko Nanami and her sister passed away when she was young, then about how she became her sister's replacement putting on a mask to hide her true self then when that girl Yuu Koito came along Touko confessed to her but Yuu told her she couldn't fall in love so Touko kept loving Yuu until Touko told Yuu to make a promise with her not to fall in love with her. Amity blinked twice and stopped Touko "wait, wait, wait, you promised her to do what?" Touko looked down "I know, it was before the play during that time I had only one goal to do the play for my sister because it's what she left behind, but now I don't know what to do and now Yuu broke her promise to me and fell in love with me."     At this point Touko began to start crying. Amity looked down think over what Touko had just said then asked "why?" Touko sniffed "what?" Amity turned to Touko "if you love her then why did you let her leave like that?" Touko looked back down "because she broke her promise and I realize I'm afraid of Yuu, of love." Amity looked back down. She thought back on her life ever since her mother forced her to separate Willow, so she never got to experience love until Luz came and help her and now there dating. Amity looked back to Touko, she putted her hand on touko's shoulder, touko looked up, Amity smiled "I know, I don't know what you two been through, but it sounds to me like you still love her right?"     Touko looked back down and nodded "yes, but you don't know how it feels to lose someone important to you." Amity looked down and shook her head "you're wrong." Touko looked up to amity "what?" Amity looked up to Touko "I never experienced losing someone important to me dying, but I know how it feels to lose someone important to me." Amity looked back down and continued "my parents forced me to cut my ties with my best friend Willow on my birthday, it broke my heart and I had to live behind my own mask and became numb to it all until my girlfriend Luz came into my life and brought me back. She saved me from my parents, and now we are dating, and I love every moment with her."     Amity smiled. Touko smiled too then looked back down "why is the world so cruel to people like us, what did we do to deserve all if this pain." Touko began to start crying, Amity started to cry also and shook her head "I don't know but at least we have people who care about us enough to help us through it right?" Touko nodded "yeah, I guess but Yuu hates me, I probably broke her heart right now." Amity shook her head again "no, I don't think, so my girlfriend is probably with her right now, and I can tell you that she will help yuu out and if she doesn't then I can slap her on the shoulder for you."     Amity smiled. Touko looked up to Amity and started to giggle. Amity looked up to Touko and smiled. She got up and putted her hand out to Touko "so, do you want to go and check to see if she helped Yuu?" Touko looked up to Amity and at her hand and smiled "yes, thank you Amity." Touko took Amity's hand and got up, she got her school bag and walked up the steps and walked to Yuu's house with Amity following her.     Luz ran to follow the orange hair girl until she saw her entering a bookstore. Luz ran to follow her. She entered the bookstore to see someone behind the front desk who looked like that girl but older. Luz guessed this was her older sister "um, hi I saw your sister running in tears and I are wondering if I could help her somehow." the woman sighed "I see, so she confessed, and it didn't go well, huh." Luz looked confused "confessed?" the woman nodded "yeah, my younger sister Yuu fell in love with her senpai Touko Nanami, but I think Touko rejected her and I don't know why, if you want to talk to her then go easy on her. She might need some time."     Luz nodded "thank you um what's your name?" the woman smiled "it's Rei, Rei Koito and you?" Luz smiled "Luz Noceda." Rei nodded, Luz turned to the back of the stairs and started to run up the stairs. She saw Yuu running into a room. Luz guessed it was her room. Luz walked up the stairs and walked to the room where yuu went into. She walked up to the door, she wanted to knock, but she could hear crying. Luz felt bad for yuu, so she opened the door gently and took a look inside to see Yuu crying on her bed. Luz walked in quietly and closed the door gently. Yuu flinced, she turned over to see Luz turned to her. Luz froze Yuu wiped her tears "who are you and what are you doing here?"     Luz sighed "me and my girlfriend saw you crying, my girlfriend is talking to the girl that was still there, and I was coming to talk to you to see if I can help you." Yuu looked down "thank you, but I don't think you or your girlfriend can help us with this." Luz walked to Yuu's bed and sat next to her "tell me and I can give it a try." Yuu sat up and looked at Luz question "are you sure you want to know?" Luz nodded "yeah, I love backstory's." Luz smiled. Yuu sighed "alright." Yuu looked down to the floor "when I was in middle school a boy confessed to me, but I couldn't feel anything to him, so I asked him to wait for my answer. I waited until my start in high school to relised I can't fall in love with anyone, then I met Touko nanami. She rejected everyone who confessed to her until she met me. I told her my problem and to see if she can help me, but after I told that guy I didn't want to be with him. Touko confessed to me and told me she has feelings for me, but I didn't know how to fall in love at the time. so i letted her do what she wanted then the sporting event happened, and we kinda kissed in the storage room."     Yuu blushed remembering the event's. She turned to Luz who was listening to the story. Yuu looked back down and continued "but I began to feel something for Touko but after a few days I found out that Touko was wearing a mask, so she could do the student council play and being her sister who passed away, when she was little I tried to tell her that she didn't have to wear a mask and be someone else, but you know what she said?" she turned to Luz who shock her head "I would rather die then ever having to hear that again." Luz's eye's widen. Yuu looked back down "after that I made a promise with her to not fall in love with her but as time gone on my feelings for her grew, we went to the aquarium together, and I loved it, then I changed the play to help her, and it worked she is finally herself but..."     Yuu clenched her fist. Luz looked at Yuu worriedly "but I broke my promise and told her how I felt, and she rejected me, and now I don't know what to do." Yuu began to cry. Luz looked down taking in all Yuu told her. She began to remember her time in her earth before going to the isles she tried to make friends or relationships but every time she tried people have either made fun of her or laugh at her then there was Clara. Luz thought she was her friend, but Valentine's Day happened, and it ended horribly. Luz almost died she thought about her mama, so she didn't do it then she was stumbled into the boiling isles.     Where she met people who became her friends and Amity became her girlfriend but before that. Luz blushed and gushed at some guys, but her heart never beat not like how she is with Amity. But why she is bi right or did she get it wrong. Luz was too deep in thought to notice Yuu turning to her and was looking at her "hey are you ok?" Luz flinched then she turned to Yuu and nodded "yes, I'm sorry I was just thinking about something." Yuu smiled "do you want to talk about it?" Luz nodded she looked down "well, where I'm from people always bullied me for being well me then I kinda asked out guys and girls, but they all laughed and made fun of me then I went to where Amity lives she's my girlfriend. I met people that became my friends, but I never felt anything to anyone the way I feel for Amity. I mean I blushed with a couple of guys but my heart never beaten not like how I am with Amity. So I thought I was bi, but now I'm not sure anymore."     Yuu nodded "yeah, I get it." Yuu got an idea. She got off of her bed and gone to her desk and picked up a book. She walked back to her bed to see Luz confused. Yuu got on her bed and opened the book she turned to Luz "have your heart ever beaten for someone else other than Amity?" Luz looked confused, then she thought back to the old days after a few seconds "I think there was Clara, I thought she might like me, so I asked her to be my valentine, but she rejected me and laughed at me." Yuu nodded "I'm sorry for that." Luz smiled "it's ok but thanks Yuu."     Yuu smiled, she has gone back to her book after a few seconds Yuu found the page she was looking for. She turned to Luz and showed her the page. Luz read the text "lesbian?" looked up to Yuu who nodded "yeah, you said you felt something with two girls did you feel anything with a guy a heart beat or something like that?" Luz thought about it for a second then shock her head "no, I don't think so, do you really think I'm a lesbian?" Yuu shrugged "I don't know, but I have heard about these things called sponges where you like someone, but you don't have feelings to them, I think." Luz nodded "yeah, I think I had some like that sometimes."     Luz smiled, Yuu smiled "thank you, Luz, for talking to me." Luz nodded "you're welcome Yuu, and I'm sorry I couldn't help you, and you just helped me." Yuu shock her head "no, it's ok I'm glad I was able to help plus it got my mind off of what happened." Luz nodded "good." then they heard yuu's bedroom door open. And Touko and Amity was standing in front of the doorway. Yuu turned to them her eye's widen "senpai, what are you doing here?" Touko stepped forward "Yuu, I'm so sorry for how we left things back there I was so happy that you confessed to me."     Yuu looked down "but I broke our promise." Touko walked to Yuu's bed sitting next to her. Luz got up and walked to Amity, Touko looked back to Amity who nodded, Touko nodded back then turned back to Yuu "Yuu, I don't care about that promise, I should never have made you make it." Yuu turned to Touko "then why did you?" Touko sighed "at that time all I cared about was doing the play for my sister because it's what she left behind before she died, but you change the play and saved me you brought me back and when you confessed I was still in shock by that kiss and by you breaking your promise but thanks to Amity I realize that I love you and that will never change, and I'm done of being afraid, and I'm ok if you change, I mean look at me, I changed I was my sister's replacement, but then I feel in love with you, and you broke my mask piece by piece, and now I'm done being my sister and start being myself, and I would love it if you were there with me."     Touko smiled. Yuu looked up to Touko then looked back down "...why? Even though what you love doesn't exist anymore?" Touko grabbed Yuu's hand. Yuu looked up to see Touko smiling at her "it's because I love how you are and even though you're a little hesitant I love how your courage shows for the sake of others i love the way you smile as you say "it can't be helped." your short stature and the way you get worked up over it are cute too your fully hair, your hands that are cool and soft to touch, your soothing voice, I love it all." Yuu clenched her free hand "those are special to you? How do you know it's me that's special and not someone else...?"     "Of course I know!" Yuu lifted her head to see Touko grabbing her hand with both of hers "because you're the only one on my mind thinking of you only makes me happy, but sometimes I also feel like I'm about to cry." touko put's yuu's hand to her check "it makes me a soppy mess, but I don't ever want to lose you it has to be yuu I love yuu!" Yuu starred at Touko's hands they were slightly trembling, but it's not Yuu's but Touko's she's still afraid "I love you Yuu... and i also..." even so, she's still here with Yuu "I also want you to love me."     Yuu starred at Touko eye's widen she then turned to see Luz and Amity who were smiling at them then back to Touko "senpai you're really unfair even though I also wished for that unreasonable "love" you really are unfair." Touko starred at Yuu her eye's widen Yuu continued "love" is to regard someone as special I thought it would come falling from somewhere one day a grand feeling from an unknown place beyond my control but perhaps my "love" isn't from like that it was something I had to choose and reach out for myself and I have already made my choice many times since staying with your side, wising to change you, I could choose because of all the times you said you love I've decided that you are my special one nanami senpai I love you."     Yuu smiled, Touko smiled "I'm glad." Yuu was about to hug Touko when they heard sniffing. they turned to see Luz and Amity crying at the doorway. Luz sniffed "that was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard." Amity nodded "yeah, I can't even top that." Luz turned to Amity "what do you mean you can't top that?" Amity blushed mad then she turned around and started to leave "anyway's, come on Luz. Let's give them some privacy." Luz turned around and followed Amity "wait, what did you mean by that, Amity!"     They left Yuu and Touko alone. They turned to each other than started to busted out laughed. Yuu was the first to calm down "they are funny, huh?" Touko nodded "yeah, I wonder where there from anyway?" Yuu nodded "I don't know, but they helped us through our issues right?" Touko nodded "yeah, I just don't know how we can return the favor." Yuu looked down to her book. She thought of something then smiled "I think, I have something for Luz." Touko looked down to the book "what book is that?" Yuu looked up to Touko and smiled "it's a book about sexuality it can help them if they need it."     Touko nodded, Yuu got up and walked to the doorway. Touko got up and followed Yuu. They walked downstairs to see Luz and Amity in the living room eating dinner with Rei. Yuu and Touko sat with them. Luz and Amity turned to Yuu and Touko. Amity spoke first "so, did your talk help?" Yuu and Touko nodded, Touko spoke first "yes, thanks to you two, thank you, Luz and Amity." yuu nodded. She gave Luz the book. Luz grabbed it and looked at the cover. Amity took a look to Luz turned to yuu "are you sure Yuu?"     Yuu nodded "yup, and it might help you if you don't know who your interested in." Luz smiled "thank you Yuu." Yuu smiled "you're welcome Luz." Amity turned to the book then turned to Luz "what is that book about?" Luz turned to Amity and smiled "it's a book about sexuality, about what our preference is and who we like." Amity still looked confused. Luz sighed "you know what I can tell you on our way ok." Amity nodded. Yuu turned to Luz "wait, your leaving already, but you just got here right?" Touko nodded "she's right."     Yuu was deep in thought until she thought of something. She looked to Rei "hey Rei, is there a festival coming up soon?" Rei thought about it for a second then she got her phone to check. she smiled "I think there is one happening tomorrow, but it might be a long drive so you guy's will probably have to leave tonight but don't you two have school?" she looked up to see Yuu looking down "yes." Yuu turned to Luz "I'm sorry I thought it would be fun for you two to stay awhile longer." Luz smiled "it's ok Yuu, we can do it next time right?"     She turned to Amity who looked confused. She leaned to Luz "what's a festival?" Luz giggled at that "I'll tell you later, ok?" Amity nodded. Luz turned to Yuu "I'm sorry, but we might have to leave here in just a second, or after we are done with dinner." Amity nodded "we're sorry for leaving in a rush." Yuu and Touko smiled, Touko spoke next "it's ok, we get it. plus we do have school tomorrow." Touko shrugged. Yuu nodded "it was fun meeting you two, and thank you for helping me and Touko."     Yuu grabbed Touko's hand and sqeezed it. Touko smiled and sqeezed back. Luz and Amity smiled at that. They ate there dinner together when they were done Luz and Amity walked out of the bookstore and was starting to leave. Amity turned to Luz "so where to now?" Luz turned to Amity and shrugged "I don't know to the next world I guess. I don't know what we can do here anyway's." Amity nodded, they walked to where no one can see them. Amity putted the case in front of them. Amity pressed the key and the case turned into a door, it opened, and a bright yellow light appeared Amity turned to Luz "after you."     Luz putted her hand on her chest "when did you get to be so formal, blight?" Amity rolled her eye's playfully "just go you, dork." Luz giggled then walked through the portal. Amity smiled, she turned around and took one last glance at the town then she putted her hand on her face covering one side "wearing a mask, huh?" Amity letted her hand drop. she turned around and walked through the portal entering a new world. Luz and Amity walked through the portal, and they look around. Amity saw a building full of dresses. She turned to Luz who was looking around. Amity smiled "hey, let's go in there." she points to the dress shop. Luz looked to it and nodded "sure." Amity smiled. She turned and the two walking to the shop with Luz carrying the case. Amity opened the door and the two stepped in. they looked to see two girls in dresses they looked like they were getting ready for something. Amity walked to them "um hi, what are you two doing here?"   The two girls turned to them. One of them smiled she had blonde hair and green eyes while the other girl had black hair and purple eyes. Amity could tell something was wrong when she saw the other girl's expression she was sad and upset. The blonde girl stepped forward "hi, my name is Yuzu and this is Mei we are just here for a photo shot are you two here to buy dresses?" Amity and Luz blushed then they shock there heads. Luz spoke next "no, no, we are just here because Amity wanted to come here, and I'm Luz."   Amity nodded, she turned to the black hair who looked down. Amity turned to Luz who looked confused she then turned back to Yuzu and Mei Mmity smiled "if it's no trouble can I talk to her alone?" she pointed to Mei. Yuzu and Luz starred at her bewildered. Mei looked up then nodded "ok, follow me." Mei turned and started to walk to the back of the store Amity followed. Yuzu turned to Luz who just shrugged. Amity followed Mei to the couch. Mei sat on one side while Amity sat on the other. Mei turned to Amity "so what did you want to talk about?"   Amity looked to Mei worried "I just wanted to know if you are ok, when I first saw you a few seconds ago you looked like you were about to cry." Mei flinched, she looked down "so you knew something was wrong?" Amity nodded "I don't want to pressure you or anything I just wanted to know what is wrong and how I can help?" Mei looked up to Amity and let out a little laugh "help, you can't help me because I will hurt her in the end." Amity looked confused then she remembered Yuzu "you mean Yuzu?"   Mei flinched then nodded "yes, you see we are stepsisters, but we are dating, and I feel in love with her hard but now..." Mei began to start crying. She putted her hands on her head "because I will have to break up with her because I have to marry someone else." Mei was full on cry. Amity starred at mei bewildered "but why?" Mei sniffed. She turned to Amity "it's because I have to take the aihara academy, it's a school where me and Yuzu go it's where I've been my whole life all I thought about was taking the academy and becoming the chairwoman, but now I will lose Yuzu because I will have to marry someone else and for the aihara family to prosper."   Amity nodded. She knew full well what Mei was talking about, her family was the same back in the isles. "Does your family know about this. about you and Yuzu and about you marrying someone else?" Mei shock her head. She wiped her tears "they know about me having to marry someone but not about me and Yuzu." Amity nodded. She looked down "does Yuzu know about this?" Mei looked down "no, she doesn't, and I don't know what to do. I love her so much, but I might have to break her heart."   Amity looked up to Mei with sympathy "I get it." Mei looked back up to Amity "what?" Amity nodded "I get it, back home my family is the same. I still keep my relationship with Luz a secret because I know what they will do to her, it's to protect her." Mei nodded "then you see why I have to do it?" Amity shock her head "no, I think you and Yuzu will have people who will support you and help you along the way, you just have to be brave enough to do it."   Mei looked back down "but I'm not brave nor strong. I'm a coward, I'm weak, I can't even tell Yuzu I love her, and now she is going to hate me forever." Amity looked down then she turned to see Luz and Yuzu standing at the entrance. Yuzu was smiling at them. Amity smiled back. She got up and turned to Mei "well looks like now you get your chance." Mei looked up to see Yuzu and Luz at the entrance. Mei got up and looked to Yuzu "Yuzu i, i..."   Mei looked down, Yuzu walked to Mei. Amity walked back to Luz. Yuzu walked to Mei and stepped in front of her "I want to slap you or cry, but I heard what Amity said, and I think she's right. I know why we kept this relationship secret Mei but if you are being forced into an arranged marriage then I think it's worth a try but why didn't you just tell me about this. we could have figured something out?" Mei looked up with tears in her eye's "I'm sorry Yuzu, I'm so sorry, I was scared, and my grandfather would never understand and father is gone to who knows where. I just don't know what to do, and I'm just a coward, a fucking coward Yuzu and I don't know what to do..."   Mei was full on crying. Yuzu walked up to Mei and hugged her. Mei hugged back while crying on Yuzu's shoulder. Yuzu wispeared "we will figure this out Mei, I promise, but first we need to tell our parents about us." Yuzu broke the hug. Mei sniffed "but what if they don't accept us?" Yuzu smiled "then we figure something out, ok." Mei nodded, Yuzu turned around and smiled to Luz and Amity "will you two join us, please?"   Luz and Amity smiled and nodded. Amity spoke next "yes, we would love to join you." Luz nodded, Yuzu nodded, she looked back to Mei after a few seconds she calmed down then mei smiled. Yuzu and Mei began to walk out of the room. Luz and amity moved aside to let them out and followed them. When Yuzu and Mei were done they walked to there home. Luz and Amity followed behind them. Luz walked close to Amity "so, what was that about?"   Amity turned to Luz "well, I saw Mei and I knew she was upset, so I just talked to her and I knew what she was going through, so I helped her, and now I hope everything will be ok." Luz nodded "yeah, me too." they followed Yuzu and Mei to there home. When they entered there home. Yuzu looked to find there parents then she turned to Luz and Amity "ok, mom should be home here in a little while. We can sit on the couch while we wait for her to come home?"   Luz and Amity smiled and nodded, Yuzu turned to Mei who looked down and nodded, Yuzu nodded, they all walked to the couch, and they all sat down it. Yuzu turned to Luz and Amity "so, who are you two, we have never seen you two before?" Aei turned to them. Luz and Amity flinched, Amity turned to them and sighed "we were walking home when I saw a dress and I wanted to look around in the shop, when I saw you two."   Luz nodded, Yuzu and Mei nodded, Mei spoke next "ok, um thank you for helping us." Amity smiled "you're welcome." Mei smiled back after a while the front door opened and there mom walked in. they turned to look to her. Yuzu smiled "hi mom, how was work?" Yuzu and Mei's mom looked to them and smiled "it was good but who are they?" she pointed to Luz and Amity, Luz smiled "hi I'm Luz and this is Amity." amity nodded, the woman smiled "ok I'm Ume Aihara um how did you four meet?" Ume looked to Yuzu and Mei. Yuzu looked down "um mom, me and Mei have something we need to talk to you." Mei looked down and nodded, Ume looked worried, she walked over to the couch. she sat on the couch "is everything ok, Yuzu, Mei?"   She turned to Luz and Amity. Amity smiled and turned to Luz "we should leave you three alone right, Luz?" Luz turned to Amity confused. She then looked to Yuzu, Mei, then to Ume then back to Amity and nodded "yeah, we better leave you three alone." Luz and Amity got up and began to walk out. Yuzu looked up to them "you two can go to mine and Mei's room. I will come tell you when we are done, ok?" Luz and Amity turned to Yuzu and nodded, they walked to the hall and entered a room. Luz and Amity walked to a bedroom. Luz laid on the bed while amity sat next to her. Amity turned to Luz "do you think they can tell there mom, I don't want to push them, I just want to help them."   Luz sat up and turned to Amity "hey, I know you did your best, and I'm sure they will understand." Luz putted her hand on Amity's. Amity turned to Luz and smiled, Luz smiled back. Amity leaned to Luz and kissed her. Luz was surprised at first but kissed her back after a few seconds they broke the kiss. amity smiled and blushed "wow, that was great." Luz smiled and blushed "yeah, it was.". Ume turned to Yuzu and Mei "yuzu, what is going on, are you two ok?" Yuzu looked down "there is something we have to tell you, and we don't know where to begin."   Ume moved over to Yuzu and Mei and sat next to yuzu. Yuzu turned to her mom who smiled "Yuzu, it's ok, just take it slow and start from the beginning." Yuzu looked to her mom then back down "well, me and Mei aren't just stepsisters were lovers too, we fell in love with each other, I'm so sorry, mom." Mme putted her hand on Yuzu's. Yuzu looked up to see Ume smiling at them "there's nothing to be sorry about Yuzu. It's ok to love someone, and thank you for telling me but why did you wait until now to tell me?"   Yuzu turned to Mei who was looking down. Yuzu gently tapped Mei's shoulder. Mei flinched and turned to Yuzu and Ume who was smiling at her. Mei looked back down "it's because I have to marry someone else in order to inherit the academy but..." Mei looked scared but Ume knew where she was going and finished for Mei "but you fell in love with Yuzu, and now you don't know what to do." Mei turned to Ume and started to cry, she nodded, Ume smiled "I understand."   Ume got up walked to Mei and hugged her. Mei hugged her back. Yuzu smiled at that after a few seconds they broke the hug. Mei smiled at Ume smiled back. Ume turned to Yuzu "is there anything we can do, maybe we can talk to her grandfather?" she turned to Mei who looked down. Yuzu looked down deep in thought then she got an idea she looked up to them "I have an idea but..." Yuzu looked back down "if you will let us that is?" Ume turned to Yuzu with a raised eyebrow "what is it?"   Yuzu turned to Mei, Mei turned to Yuzu looking confused. Yuzu got Mei's ring and removed it from Mei's finger. Mei looked shocked. before mei could say something yuzu held the ring in front of mei. She blushed "mei, I know we haven't known each other for more than a year, but I love you and I want to be with you forever. I love you more than anything in the world. You are the most important thing to me in the world and I want to be with you forever. So will you please merry me."   Mei and Ume stood there stun. Mei started to cry, she smiled "to inherit the academy, I have to marry someone, Yuzu are you sure about this?" Yuzu nodded "yes, I know how much the academy means to you Mei, and I want to be there with you to support you and help you whenever you need me, not just as stepsisters but as wives if you will have me." Mei turned to Ume who smiled "if Yuzu thinks she is ready then I will support it, your father and I will help you two and be there for you if you two need us."   Mei smiled nodded, she turned back to Yuzu "yes, yes, Yuzu I will merry you." Mei hugged Yuzu who hugged back. Yuzu turned to Ume "hey mom, can you go and get Luz and Amity I think they were in our room." ume nodded, she turned around and walked to Yuzu and Mei's room. when she opened the door Luz and Amity turned to her. They smiled to ume smiled back "you two can come back in the living room now."   They nodded, they got up and followed Ume to the living room to see yuzu and Mei were kissing. Luz and Amity blushed at that and smiled. They sat on the couch next to them. Yuzu and Mei broke and looked to them. Yuzu smiled "thank you if it wasn't for you two I would have lost mei forever. So thank you." Amity and Luz smiled. Amity spoke up "it was nothing. I knew mei was upset, and I just wanted to help." Yuzu nodded, Mei smiled "thank you, but how did you know I was upset. we never met right?" Amity shock her heard, she looked down "because I know what it feels when you're forced to-do something you don't want to do."   Mei nodded "what did your family force you to do if you don't mind me asking?" Amity looked up to Mei "my mother forced me to cut ties with my best friend and tried to hurt the one I love." Amity turned to Luz who smiled to her then she turned back to Mei. Mei nodded "I understand but take it from someone who lived with her grandfather her whole life I mean he cares about me, but I think sometimes he cares about the academy more than me sometimes..."   Mei sighed, Amity nodded "I understand." Mei looked back to Amity and smiled "don't follow there path, just follow your own path." Amity starred to Mei "my own path?" Mei nodded "it's something my dad said that yuzu told me is that there's no one right way to live your life. People can always change the path they walk." Amity starred at Mei bewildered then she looked down "thank you Mei. I will keep that in mind."   Mei nodded but she also looked worried. She turned to Luz who looked to Amity worriedly. Ume walked to them "hey, how about we get something good for dinner to celebrate Yuzu and Mei's engagement." Yuzu and Mei looked to Ume and nodded. She turned to Luz and Amity looking worried. Luz turned to Ume and nodded "yeah, we can stay for dinner. Is that ok, Amity?" she turned to amity who nodded "yeah, I'm fine with that." Ume nodded, she turned around and walked to the kitchen to make dinner. Luz turned to Amity looking worried.   When Ume was done. Everyone walked to the dinning table sat down and began to eat dinner. Luz kept side glancing Amity who barely ate her food. Ume even got worried "Amity, are you ok, you barely ate your food?" Amity looked up to see everyone looking at her worriedly. she turned to Luz who looked even more worried. Amity looked back down then sighed "I'm sorry, i just..." Amity sighed again "it's just my whole life I've been living like what my mother wanted, but she made me cut ties with my friend and tried to manipulate me and now that I'm away from her and my family and start seeing the world. I just don't know what to do anymore."   Ume nodded "I understand, how bad was it your mothers' manipulation I mean?" Amity looked up "she never carried about me. She only used me to get a good job for the family but now that I'm being myself I don't know what to do anymore." Amity looked back down. Yuzu and Mei looked to each other worried. Mei turned to Amity "I know how you feel. I always thought I had to just become the chairwoman but thanks to Yuzu I found out that I have people in my life that can help me and people that I care about like Yuzu and mother."   Yuzu and Ume smiled. Amity looked up to Mei. Mei smiled, Mmity turned to Luz and smiled, Luz smiled back. Then she turned back to Mei "thank you Mei." Mei nodded "your welcome Amity." after they ate dinner Luz and Amity walked to the door until Ume called to them "hey Luz, Amity." they turned around to see Ume smiling at them "thank you for helping Yuzu and Mei." Luz and Amity smiled. Amity spoke up "you're welcome Ume." Luz nodded, Ume smiled "it was nice to meet you two. Are you sure you two can make it home in the dark."   They nodded, Luz nodded "yes, I think we will be fine. thank you Ume." Ume nodded, Luz and Amity turned around. Luz opened the door, and they walked out. They walked out of the building. Luz turning to Amity "are you sure, you're ok?" Amity turned to Luz and sighed "yes, it's just what mei said about that there's no one right way to live your life. People can always change the path they walk. I just don't know what to do or how to do that." Luz nodded "yeah, I know what you mean."   Luz looked down "when I was talking with yuu I might've found out that I might not be bi. I'm not straight far from it actually it's just..." Luz sighed, she looked up to Amity who was looking at her worriedly "yuu said that I might be a lesbian which I'm fine if I am. it's just I don't know if I felt anything to guys anymore. I know I feel something when I'm with you but guys I don't know anymore." Luz looked down, Amity smiled "well if you are. I think it's ok besides I might be a lesbian myself whatever that is."   Luz looked up to Amity. She then got the book that yuu gave her out and turned to the page yuu showed her. She gave it to amity. she started to blush when she started to read it. when she gave it back to Luz her face a deep red "yup, a lesbian like I said." Luz started to giggle then busted out laughing Amity became embarrass "ok, ok, where are we going now?" Luz calmed down "well, it is getting dark, and I'm getting a little tired do you just want to find somewhere to sleep for the night and go to the next world tomorrow?"   Amity nodded "yes, I think that is a good idea." Luz smiled, they walked into the city. They walked until Luz found a hotel. they went in and booked a room for the night, Luz got the key's to there room. They walked to there room. When they entered the room Luz walked to the bed and fell on the bed leaving the portal case by the bed. Amity giggled, she took her charm case off and sat it beside the bed. She did the same for Luz and sat it beside hers and laid besides Luz on the bed.   They turned to each other and blushed. Amity lends into Luz and kissed her. Luz kissed back. Luz could feel a tear on her face. She opened her eye's to see Amity starting to cry. Luz broke the kiss "Amity, are you ok?" Amity shock her head "no, I'm lost Luz, I don't know what to do, my whole life was about being odalia's little miss perfect, but now I don't know what to do with my life. I want to be with you but what about the twins, what will I do now, how will I live my life and I don't know what my path is anymore, and I'm scared Luz."   Amity was full on crying. Luz wrapped her arms around Amity and hugged her. Luz rubbed circles on her back and said sweat nothing to her. Once Amity is calmed down and stopped crying. Luz broke the hug and smiled "it is going to be ok because I will be there with you every step of the way, and I'm not going anyway." Amity looks up to Luz still worried "but we are traveling to new worlds, we don't have our magic, we barely have anything to fight with except our charms which we haven't used yet."   Luz nodded in understanding "I understand Amity. But I think we will have some help along the way. this isn't just us am's like Riri and Yuyu and there team that helped us right?" amity nodded "you're right besides they can help us fight the coven and help us with our probablem's right?" Luz nodded "yeah, your right, I love you Amity." amity smiled "I love you too Luz." Amity lend to Luz and kissed her. Luz kissed amity back. after a few minutes they broke the kiss and fell asleep.   The next morning. Amity woke up in Luz's arm's, Amity smiled, after a few seconds Luz opened her eye's and smiled "good morning amity." Amity smiled back "good morning Luz." Luz and Amity sat up got out of bed got there charm's. Luz got her beanie and put it back on. While amity got the portal case and the key. she putted the case in front of them, and she pressed the button and the case turned into a door, it opened, and it glowed yellow. Amity turned to Luz "are you ready Luz?"   Luz turned to Amity and smiled "yes I am." Amity smiled, they turned to the portal then they walked into the portal entering a new world. Luz and Amity walked through the portal to find themselves in a room, but there is something wrong. Luz and Amity looked around then Amity turned to Luz "um Luz, why are we small?" Luz turned to Amity after a few seconds. Luz looked down to see them as toys Luz was shocked "Amity, we are toys." Amity looked confused after a few seconds Amity looked down at herself then back up to Luz to see her as a toy "how did this happen, where are we?"   Luz shrugged then she looked around the room. She saw a mouse watch clock on the wall, she saw a desk with a lamp and an old TV Luz started to grin "I know where we are." Amity starred at Luz confused then they heard some voices. Amity turned to the voices and started to walk to them. Luz turned to Amity and started to follow. Amity after a few minutes they saw someone talking to another person. One was a person with a hat and looked like a cowboy and the other one looked like a spaceman.   Luz smiled widely. Amity walked to them "um, hi, I think were lost can you help us?" they turned to her. one of them smiled then walked to her "howdy you two must be Andy's new toys. My names Woody and this Buzz." he pointed to Buzz who smiled. Amity smiled "I'm Amity and this is Luz, um Luz why are you smiling like that?" she turned to Luz who was smiling widely. Amity looked worried "are you ok, Luz?" Luz nodded "yeah, I'm ok."   Luz walked to Woody and Buzz. Luz putted her hand out. Woody took it and shook it after a few seconds they letted go. Woody turned to Amity "so how long have you two been here?" Amity smiled "we just got here but what did you mean by toys?" Woody turned to Luz who just smiled then he turned to buzz who nodded, he turned back to Amity "well, when Andy is gone we come alive, but we have to stay here, so we can take care of him."   Amity nodded "ok, I guess I can see that." Amity turned to Luz who was still smiling. Amity sighed "and I'm sorry about my girlfriend, I don't know why she is like this." Woody and Buzz starred at Amity. Buzz spoke next "girlfriend?" Amity started to at them with a raised eyebrow "yes, why, is there a problem?" Woody and Buzz turned to each other than back at Amity. Woody spoke next "no, no, it's no problem we were just surprised that's all."   Amity sighed then smiled "ok, that's good." then a yellow dog came up to them "hey Woody, you want to play some checkers today?" he turned to Amity and Luz "um, who are these two with you are they new?" Woody turned to Luz and Amity and smiled "yes, these are Luz and Amity they are Andy's new toys." Luz and Amity smiled and nodded, the dog smiled "well, hi nice to meet you my name is slinky." Amity smiled "hi I'm Amity." Luz smiled "and I'm Luz."   Slinky smiled "hey, how about one of you come play me in checkers?" Amity shrugged "sure, I can give it a try." Slinky nodded "alright, come on and follow me." Amity nodded, she followed Slinky. Luz smiled, she then turned to Woody and Buzz "so what are you guys doing right now?" Woody and Buzz turning to Luz. Woody smiled "we were just talking, and we just do what we want while we wait for Andy to come back."   Buzz nodded, Luz nodded "ok, I'm going to watch Amity play checkers then." Woody and Buzz nodded, Luz turned to where Amity left and followed them. Once Luz made it to Amity and Slinky. She sees Amity losing to Slinky. Luz chuckled, Amity turned to Luz "not a word." Luz waved her hands defensively "I didn't say anything." Amity glared at Luz then turned back to the game after a few moves Slinky won. Amity looked down felt defeated. Luz smiled "not bad Slinky."   Slinky smiled "thank you, Luz, how about you play me next?" Amity turned to Luz and grinned "yeah, it's your turn Luz." Luz sighed "fine, I'll play you Slinky." Luz walked to where Amity was and got in front of the board. Amity took a step back watching the game after slinky got the game seat up again they started to play. after a few minutes Slinky won again. Luz groaned "oh come on this is unfair. right amity." she turned to see Amity grinning at her "what?"   Amity shock her head "nothing just now you can't laugh at me because I lost." Luz sighed "ok, ok, yeah your right." Luz got up, Amity got up, and the two walked to a beanbag. Once they got there Luz sat in front of it. Amity sat next to her. Amity turned to Luz "hey Luz, why were you smiling when we met woody and buzz?" Luz grinned "because we are in Toy Story it's a really cool movie. I might have forgotten some of my favorite movies from the human world, but I could never forget Toy Story. it is one of the best out there, but this is different."   Amity frowned "how is this different?" Luz shrugged "I don't know, it just is. I guess it's after the first movie or something I guess." Amity nodded. She looked down "I'm sorry about last night, I was just scared. I know a blight shouldn't be scared, I guess." Luz turned to Amity "Amity, that's your mother talking. that's not you." Amity sighed "I know, but I still don't know who I am anymore or what I want to do other than wanting to be with you." Luz nodded "yeah I get it..."   Luz looked down "like I said last night, I can still remember what yuu said and my past in the human realm before going to the boiling isles and meeting you and everyone there." Amity looked worried "can you tell me what happened in the human realm before you came to the isles?" Luz looked up to Amity then sighed "what's there to tell everyone made fun of me there and laughed at me. no one really carried about me other than my mom, but even she gave up on me and even wanted me to go to summer camp. I mean I get it. I have done some stupid stuff like the rockets and snakes, but even mama gave up on me and even sometime's I wonder if I even want to go back to the human realm at all?"   Luz looked back down, her legs close to her face. Amity looked sympathetic to Luz "Luz..." Luz looked up to Amity, she sniffed "I'm sorry, I know you have your own problem's going on right now..." Amity leaned to Luz and hugged her. Luz hugged back and started to cry "you know no one wanted to be my friend there I even liked Clara one time, but she just laughed at me when I tried to ask her to be my Valentine."   Amity broke the hug and starred at Luz "who's Clara?" Luz sniffed "oh, um, she was an old crush I had, it was before I met you and gone to the isles but don't worry I'm over her now." amity sighed in relief "ok, good." she then thought of something then asked "is that why you were so oblivious to me. even when I blushed at times before we started dating?" Luz looked at amity then looked down and nodded "yes, if you were than yes, it was because I didn't have any friends or relationship experience that I was isolated and I didn't see the signs I'm so, sorry Amity."   Amity shock her head and smiled "no, it's ok. we are together now and that's all that matters." Amity grabbed Luz's hand and squashed it. Luz squeezed back she looked up to Amity and smiled then she thought of something and signed "I'm sorry." Amity looked confused "sorry, for what?" Luz looked to Amity "I was your grom crush, wasn't I?" Amity blushed mad. She looked down and nodded "yes, you were, I was just scared about giving you that note and when you danced with me, it was the happiest thing of my life, and now we are dating, so it's ok."   Amity looked up to Luz and smiled, Luz smiled back. Amity turned to look at the room then back to Luz "so, what can we do here?" Luz looked around and sighed "I don't know, honestly, I don't know why we are here at all." Amity nodded "I think we are here, so we can take a little break from the drama and talk about our issues. that's what I think anyway's." Amity shrugged Luz nodded "yeah, you might be right besides I don't see anything wrong here anyway."   Amity nodded "you just want to leave early and go to the next world?" Luz nodded "sure." Amity smiled. They got up. Luz still has the portal case they walked to woody who was playing checkers with Slinky. Woody turned to them, he smiled "hey guys, what are you two up too." Luz smiled "hey Woody we are just about to head out." Woody got up "are you sure?" Luz and Amity nodded. Woody smiled "ok, then it was nice meeting you. Luz and Amity."   Woody putted his hand out Luz shock it first. Then Amity shock it. After they said goodbyes to Woody, Buzz and the others, they walked to under the bed. Luz putted the portal in front of them. Amity pressed the button on the key and the case turned into a door, and it opened, and a yellow bright light came out. Luz turned to Amity "are you ready?" Amity nodded "yup." they walked through the portal entering a new world. Luz and Amity walked through the portal. They saw people with masks on, there were even robots around them, a ship landed in front of them once it landed the doors open and soldiers ran out. Luz tried to say something but all of a sudden she felt like she was losing breath, Luz feel down and was slowly dying. Amity turned to Luz she was about to say something, but a solder came to them gave Amity a mask and bend down and putted a mask on luz.   Amity putted it on, pressed a button on it and Amity started to breath again. Luz had the mask on her, she pressed the button, and she could breathe again. Luz looked up she turned to Amity, and she got up "Amity, are you ok?" Amity nodded "yes, I'm ok are you?" Luz nodded "yes, I'm ok." Amity smiled "good." "Hey, what are you two doing here without your masks?" they turned to the soldier who helped them Luz stood straight "we forgot to get them on our way out here, sir."   Amity nodded, the soldier looked like he didn't believe them "it's ok trooper. there with me." they all turned to see a man in a wheelchair. he had short hair and a mask like them. The soldier nodded "yes, sir." he turned to Luz and Amity "be careful it's dangerous out here." Luz and Amity nodded, the soldier walked away. Luz and Amity turned to the man. Luz spoke first "thanks for the help um." the man smiled he putted his hand out "my name is Jake sully."   Luz shock his hand "Luz noceda." Amity smiled and shock his hand "Amity blight." Jake nodded "it's nice to meet you two. Are you new here on Pandora?" Luz and Amity turned to each other confused then they looked back to Jack. Amity spoke next "Pandora?" Jake nodded "yup, we are on a new planet called Pandora it's kinda like earth, but we can't breathe here, so we have to wear these masks." Jake pointed to his mask and he continued "and there is all these new creatures here is what I've read anyway."   Luz and Amity nodded, Jack wheeled around them then he turned to them "follow me, you two can stay with me alright?" Luz and Amity nodded, they followed Jack inside the building. once they were inside they could take there mask's off. Luz and amity followed jack to the cafeteria. they entered the room to see people already there. Luz and Amity sat next to where jack was parked and listened "as head of security it is my job to keep you alive I will not Succed not with all of you." they meet a man named Quaritch, Luz nodded, but Amity didn't trust him.   He looked scary, but there was something wrong with him, but Amity couldn't figure out why. Once they were done Luz and Amity got up and followed Jake out the room. They walked with him until they heard a voice "Jake, I'm sorry, Jake?" a man ran up to Jake he had a beard and brown hair "Tom's brother, man you look just like him, sorry my name's norm spellmen went through avatar training with him." he reached his hand out for Jake. he took it and they shook hands. He turned to Luz and Amity "who are these two?"   Jake turned to them "they are Luz and Amity they are going to drive avatars too right?" Luz and Amity nodded not knowing what he was talking about. Norm smiled "ok, well the more the merrier." Norm turned around and walked off. Luz and Amity walked to Jake, Amity spoke up "um, we don't know how to drive avatars or what they are." Luz nodded Jake smiled "it's ok. I never drive one either, and you will see in just a second." he winked at them then he turned around and followed norm. Luz and Amity stood them leaving dumbfounded. Luz turned to Amity "should we follow him?"   Amity turned to Luz and nodded "yes, we should." Luz nodded. They turned to where Jake wheeled of too and followed him. They walked until they entered a lab. they walked around until they saw Jake looking at something. they walked close and saw a blue person inside. Luz looked at it amazed "wow, what is that?" they turned to them. Jake turned to them and wheeled to them "these are the avatar's, we will be driving and this is mine."   He pointed to his avatar. Luz and Amity turned to the avatar, Amity walked to the container that has Jake's avatar. She putted her hand on the glass "this is amazing, you guys can make these." she turned to them. the man with the glasses nodded "yes, but they pay a lot of money to do this and who are you two?" Amity smiled "um hi, I'm Amity and this is Luz." she pointed to Luz who waved slightly. The man smiled 'it's nice to meet you two, I'm Max. but I don't know if we have avatar's for you two, but I can see if can you guys can drive avatar's?"   Luz and Amity nodded, Max nodded, Max turned to Norm "ok, let's get to work shall we?" they all nodded, Max laid them to a table. Luz and Amity said next to where Jake is parked. Luz wanted to touch stuff while amity just starred at the avatar's then amity turned to Jake who was doing something "is this right, I just say what I want it's on video log?" Amity turned to Norm "yeah, we got to get in the habit of documenting what we see, what we feel it's all part of science."   Max turned to Jake "and good science is good observation." Amity didn't listen to the rest. she turned back to Jake who turned to the screen "well here I am, doing science." after a few minutes Max looked up to them "ok, I think it's time for you guys to meet grace." Luz and Amity followed them. They walked for a few minutes until they entered a room where people where working and there were these containers where people were in. they walked until they saw a woman in a lab coat. She had orange hair and brown eyes, she turned to them "and here she is Cinderella back from the ball grace. I would like you to meet Norman Spellman, Luz noceda, Amity blight, and Jack sully."   Norman walked up to Grace, and they spoke in a language Luz and Amity didn't know. She turned to Jake he raised his hand out "ma'am." she starred at him "yeah, yeah, I know who you are, and I don't need you I need your brother. You know the PhD who trained three years for this mission?" she turned to Max "he's dead, I know that is a big inconvenience for everyone." she turned back to Jake "how much lab training have you had?" "I dissected a frog once." she turned to Luz and Amity "what about you, two anything."   Luz and Amity turned to each other than back at Grace and shock there heads. Grace turned to Max "you see, you see, they are just pissing at us and not calling in rain, I'm going to storage." Grace started to walk off. Max turned to her "no wait Grace..." "You know what this is such bullshit. I'm going to kick his corporate butt. He has no business sticking his noise in my department." Grace walked out of the room. Luz and Amity watched her go with worry then they turned to Max. he walked to Jake "be here tomorrow 0800 try to use big words."   Then he walked off. Luz and Amity turned to Jake who started to wheel off they followed him. they followed him to a bunk bed's. Luz and Amity picked a bed and sat on it. Luz turned to Amity "this world is cool right?" Amity turned to Luz and nodded "yeah, but I don't trust that Quaritch guy there is something off about him." Luz nodded "yeah, I get it. I don't trust him either but what can we even do?" Amity looked down thinking. after a few minutes Amity looked up to Luz "let's go talk to Grace maybe she can tell us more about this."   Luz nodded, they got up and started to walk to find grace. They walked around the place until they found grace at a table. Luz and Amity walked to her. Grace looked up to them. She sighed "what are you two doing here?" Amity spoke first "we just wanted to talk I don't trust that Quaritch person. I feel something wrong with him." Luz nodded, Grace sighed "I see..." she pulled two chairs for them. They sat down, she starred at them "Quaritch is a marine he doesn't care what we do here. He just wants his money just like everyone here, but people like me and Norman, we just want to talk to the Na'vi again, they are the blue aliens. you saw Jake's avatar right?"   Luz and Amity nodded "well, they are the people we are trying to talk to but thanks to quaritch and his thugs the Na'vi barely talk to us now." Luz and Amity looked down. Amity spoke up "I knew there was something wrong here." Grace looked at them and smiled "well, you can't change them any more than you can change the Na'vi people now if I remember right you two want to drive avatars right?" Luz and Amity looked up and nodded. Grace nodded "ok, I can find you two avatars by tomorrow alright. Now it's off to bed with you two."   Luz and Amity smiled, they got up and went back to there bunk bed. They got to there bed and took there charm case's off and put them besides the bed. Luz and Amity got in bed. Amity turned to Luz "I don't know if we can stay here. I mean here with these people. I just don't trust them." Luz nodded "yeah, me too, but where can we go. it's not like we can just find the Na'vi people or anything like that." Amity sighed "I know, I think for now we just stay with grace and Jake and see where this lead's." Luz nodded "yeah, I think that is a good idea."   Amity smiled and nodded, after a few minutes they fell asleep. Luz was woken up by someone tapping her shoulder. She looked up to see Grace smiling at her "it's time to wake up I found avatars for you two to drive." Luz nodded, she looked down to see Amity resting on her chest. Luz smiled, she gently nudged Amity awake after a few try's. amity opened her eye's. Luz smiled "hey, it's time for us to drive our avatars." Amity nodded "ok, grace found some for us?"   Luz nodded "I think so." Luz sat up and got out of the bed. Amity not that far behind, they starched then they turned to Vrace who was smiling to them "come on first you two eat then you guys can drive your avatars." they nodded, Amity spoke up "did you really find avatars for us, I thought they were expensive?" Grace nodded then sighed "I think I found some that can bond with your DNA. that's how we can link with the avatars."   Amity nodded, Luz and Amity followed Grace to the cafeteria where they ate there breakfast. When they were done they walked to the lab where they will get to drive avatars. Grace guided them to a window, they looked to see two female avatars Grace smiled "those are your avatars and over there is Jake and Norman's avatars." they turned and walked to the other side to see Jake and Norman's avatar's. They smiled after a few seconds Luz and Amity turned to see Jake and Norman walking in Jake saw them and smiled "hey guys, you ready for this?"   Luz and Amity smiled and nodded, Grace walked them to their link's. Grace pointed to Luz's and Amity's link. They walked to their link's. Luz poked at the green stuff on it then she took her jacket off and her shoes and got in hers. Amity took her shoes off. After a few seconds Grace gone to Amity's "so, how much weight have you lost?" Amity flinched "um, I don't know." Grace turned to Amity then sighed "alright then."   She turned back and continued. Amity heard something moving then she looked up to see Grace pulling something down on her "head down." Amity lowed her head. Grace looked down to Amity "just relax and let your mind go blank, ok." Amity nodded, the case closed, and it moved. Luz's case was moving too. Max was doing Luz's, they walked to Luz and Amity's avatar's. max turned to grace "do you think this will work?"   Grace turned to Max looking worried "I don't know, I hope so, Norman and Sully I'm fine with. But Luz and Amity they look like they are just kids." Max nodded "I'm going to go to Jake and norm's side." grace nodded, max walked over to the other side Luz and Amity began to close there eye's then they saw white they were going through a purple tunnel and the next thing they saw "Amity, can you hear me, can you hear me Amity?"   Amity could hear someone snapped their fingers. Amity starred at them "various control normal how are you feeling Amity." Amity blinked twice "hi?" Amity got her hands up and looked at them. They were blue, her eye's widen, Amity sat up and looked at herself. she was an avatar. Then she turned to Luz who was sitting on the side talking to someone. Amity turned to the mirror to see Grace smiling at them. Amity smiled back. She looked down to her hands, she couldn't believe it they were avatar's. Amity moved to the side of the bed after they checked them to make sure they are ok, they got up and walked out of the room.   When they were outside. Luz and Amity saw other avatar's doing stuff like normal. They walked to a cabin to find some clothes to put on, they found some clothes and put them on. Luz wore a blue shirt with black shorts and brown boots. Amity wore a purple shirt with yellow shorts and red boots. They walked out the cabin to see Jake, Norm, and Grace walking to them. Grace smiled "I was surprised to see you two made it through the link, but it looks like everything is ok."   Luz and Amity nodded, Luz spoke up "yup, everything went ok on our end but..." she turned to Jake who still had his gown on "why do you still have your gown on Jake?" Grace sighed "it's because he ran off like a child." Jake rolled his eye's "hey, I lost my legs before I did this, so you don't have room to talk." Grace turned to Jake "well listen to me marine you better not pull any more stunts like that, or we are going to have more problems understand."   Jake sighed and nodded "yes, ma'am." Grace nodded "good." she turned to Luz and Amity "ok, let's see how you do with your avatar bodies ok." Luz and Amity nodded, they followed grace. They spent the day training and seeing how there new avatar bodies work. when it was time for bed Luz and Amity were in there bed. Amity snuggled up to Luz when the lights were off, Luz and amity went to sleep. They woke up in their original bodies Amity opened the case and sat up.   Amity got up and walked to Luz's link. Luz was getting up. Amity walked to Luz, Luz looked to Amity and smiled, Amity smiled back. they turned to see Grace smiling at them "not bad for your first test run." Luz and Amity smiled, Luz got her jacket, and they followed Grace and they ate there dinner. when they were done Luz and Amity went to there bunk bed. they got on the bed. Luz turned to Amity "so did you like it?" Amity turned to Luz and nodded "yes it was awesome."   Luz nodded "yeah, I can't wait to do it again." Amity nodded, after a few minutes they went to sleep. Luz and Amity woke up to the sound of someone moving beside them, they groaned awake. Luz said up and turned to see Jake getting up, he turned to them, he smiled "sorry, they called for us, I was gone to wake you gently by moving your shoulder, but I guess you guys woke up already, I'm sorry." Luz smiled "it's ok, Jake were on our way." Jake nodded, he got on wheelchair and wheeled away. Luz looked down to amity who was starting to wake up. She looked up to Luz and smiled "good morning." Luz smiled "good morning."   Amity sat up, and they got out of bed and walked to the cafeteria. They got there food and sat in a table all by themselves while they were eating. Luz turned to see Jake wheeling away with a woman with back hair and a flight suit. Luz turned back to Amity who was looking at her confused "what's wrong?" Luz's shock her head "it's nothing, I just saw Jake leaving with someone. He must be going to talk to someone about something."   Amity nodded, then they went back to their food. When they were done Luz and Amity got up walked to Grace and followed her to the lab. They meet up with Jake and got there stuff ready to go. Grace walked up to them "alright, guys were on the flight in 10 minutes." Luz and Amity putted there avatar stuff down and followed grace, they walked behind Jake and Norman "so what did atilo want?" Jake followed her "just marines comparing tattoos."   Grace turned to Jake. Luz and Amity stopped behind Jake "yeah, well listen to me marine. you're driving an avatar now that means your in my world, got it." Jake nodded "got it, I'm here for you." grace looked up to Luz and amity who nodded. Grace turned around and continued walking. they followed her "that son of a bitch has screwed with this project enough. All of this exist, so we can go out there and build a bridge of trust to these people who can teach us so much, but thanks to Quaritch and his thugs the Na'vi won't even talk to us."     Luz and Amity walked to their links everything Grace said made Amity's blood boil. These people, the Na'vi were just living there lives before Quaritch and his people kill them. She wanted her and Luz to leave, but she didn't know where to go. They could leave for the next world but why now, Amity didn't know. They weren't heroes or anything like that they were just traveling to find out about themselves, and so they could help them.   But something inside Amity told her to stay. She walked to Luz's link and saw Luz was looking the same as Amity, Luz was thinking the same thing. Amity walked back to her link and sat on it and laid back. She pulled the thing down, and she closed the case. Luz did the same, after a few seconds they closed there eye's and gone through a purple tunnel. they woke up in their avatar form's. Luz and amity sat up and got out of bad. They saw Grace, Jake, and Norman leaving, they followed them.   They got there clothes on, got there stuff and followed them. they walked to a plaine and sat with Grace. While Jake and Norm sat on the other side, and they started to fly Luz and Amity was amazed at this. They flew for a while Luz and Amity saw some creatures. Grace turned to them and told them what they are they were amazed at all this. Grace smiled, they landed in a forest. Luz and Amity got off. when Grace got off they looked around. Amity turned to see Grace giving her something, Amity took it. She looked up to Grace "for emergency's only, I trust you two better than marine here."   She gave Amity another weapon, Amity turned and gave it to Luz. Luz turned to Grace "for emergency's only, understand." Luz nodded, Grace nodded, she turned around and walked to the pilot. Luz putted the gun in her back pocket, Amity did the same. When Grace was done the plane turned off the plane. She walked to them "stay with the ship one idiot and two other people with a gun is enough." Jake turned around while Luz and Amity nodded. They followed Grace through the forest until they saw a cabin of some sorts. they walked to it "so, how do they know where here?"   Norm asked, Grace turned to him "I'm sure there watching us right now." she turned to the cabin, and they walked in. they looked around "this was where I taught them, but now we use this place as a storage." Grace walked around while norm picked a book up and gave it to Grace. Grace took it and smiled "I loved this book." she putted on the self. Luz and Amity looked around, Luz saw here where Jake was, and she saw bullet holes on the wall, she to amity "amity, look at this."   Amity turned to where Luz was looking then looked back to Luz confused, Luz looked down "those are bullet hole's, bullet's can kill you." Amity looked back to the wall after a few seconds she finally got it. She walked up to Luz and laid her head on Luz's shoulder and whispered "what happened here?" Luz's shook her head "I don't know am's, I just don't know." Grace turned to them then she looked to where they were looking and sighed. She walked up to them and putted her hand on Amity's shoulder.   Amity lifted her head up and turned to Grace who was smiling "we have to go alright?" Luz and Amity nodded. They walked out and followed Grace and the others. They walked for a few minutes until Grace and Norm stopped. they bend down and got to work. Grace looked up to them "can you three keep a look-out please." they nodded, Jake walked away from them. Luz and Amity followed him, they got there gun's out. Jake saw some yellow flowers. he reached his hand out and tried to touch it, but it turned small.   Jake was surprised, Luz and Amity was also surprised. They turned back to Grace and Norm who were still working. Jake, Luz and Amity turned back to the flowers. Jake tried to touch another but all of them turned small and reviling a big creature with a log for a noise. Jake got his gun out ready to shoot, Luz and Amity got there gun's out. they were getting scared. Luz wanted to shot, but they heard grace talking "don't shot, don't shot you'll piss him off."   Jake turned to Grace "he's already pissed off." Luz and Amity nodded. Grace looked worried "Jake, Luz, Amity that armor is to thick trust me." after a few seconds Jake putted his gun up. Luz and Amity putted there's down then Jake ran to it screaming the creature was about to charge but stopped. Jake started to laugh "yeah, come on, what you got, oh yeah whose bad, that's right, yeah that's what I'm talking about bitch. yeah, yeah you got nothing you keep running."   The creature ran back to his friends. Luz and Amity starred at the creature bewildered "yeah, that's right get your little punk ass back to mommy yeah, yeah, you got nothing you keep running." he turned to see a black creature. It jumped in front of them. Jake putted his gun out ready to fire Luz and Amity putted there gun's up too. Jake turned to Grace then back to the creature "so what about this one run, don't run, what!" Luz and Amity turned to Grace "run, definitely run!"   Luz and Amity turned to Jake who turned around and started to run. Luz and amity ran with him. amity turned to Luz "Luz!" Luz turned to Amity grabbed her hand. They turned to see the black creature running after them. They ran until they hid under a log. Luz and Amity followed Jake, the creature tried to destroy the log while trying to get them. Jake made it out and tried to run, but the creature got his backpack and tried to throw Jake while Luz and Amity got out of the log. They lost there guns in the process. Amity turned to Luz "let's go."   Luz turned to Amity then to Jake who got out of the backpack and fell down. She turned back to Amity and nodded. They began to run again. they ran until they jumped off a cliff and landed in the water. They floated up for air until amity caught a tree branch and pulled Luz to her. Luz turned to amity and smiled, amity smiled back. They looked up to see Jake jumping off of the cliff and landing in the water with the creature stopping in front of the cliff. They turned to Jake who caught another branch. Jake looked to them "are you two ok?"   Luz and Amity nodded, Luz spoke up "yes, were ok. are you?" Jake nodded, Luz and Amity got out of the water and laid on the grass. Jake got out of the water and laid a few feet from them. Amity turned to Luz "hey Luz." Luz turned to Amity "yeah, Amity?" Amity grinned "I know this might sound mean and all but I don't care, but I would love to see my mother out run from that thing. unbecoming of a blight my ass." Luz sat up and starred at Amity. Amity looked to Luz confused "what?"   Luz's shock her head "nothing, it's just what happened to you Amity, the other night you were all afraid of what was going to happen to you and now your saying things like that." Amity shrugged "I don't know, I'm just starting to feel like I'm starting to change or something like my mother was wrong about every thing, and I'm finally starting to be my own person I guess." Luz nodded "yeah, I know what you mean that was pretty cool us having to out run that thing."   Amity nodded, Luz and Amity sat up and got up. Jake got up as well he turned to them "come on, it will be night soon, and we don't have any weapons, so we will have to make some our selves." Luz and Amity nodded, they followed Jake into the forest. Jake got three sticks, he gave two to Luz and amity, they got there knifes, Jake showed them how to craft a spear. Once they were done Jake got a lighter, he walked to a plant and got somewhat seems to be oil. Jake sat it down and tried to light a match to light it up.   Luz and Amity heard something. It was getting dark, so they couldn't see what it was. Jake finally light the fire. He got up and used it as light. Luz and Amity walked around him to see what was coming to them. They saw small black creatures they had six legs. Luz and Amity turned to Jake who was looking at the creatures and wispeared "I hope we don't have a god-damn night."   One of the creatures jumped to Jake, he used his fire stick and hit one of them. One of the jumped to Luz, Luz tried to use her spear, but it was too late. Luz fell down and tried to stop the creature from biting her. Amity runned to Luz and threw her spear at the creature killing it "get away from my girlfriend!" Amity ran to Luz "Luz, are you ok?" Luz looked up to Amity, she blushed and nodded "uh huh, look out!"   Amity turned to see another one of them running to them. amity braced herself, she closed her eye's but nothing happened. she opened her eye's and saw that the creature was on the ground with an arrow in it. They heard someone coming. they turned to see a woman running to them. She jumped over them and fired her arrow killing another one of them. she landed and turned to them. Amity stood in front of Luz who was getting up.   The woman turned to Jake and runned to him, helping him. She used her bow to hit the creatures, and they started to run off. She turned to the fire. she walked up to it, got it and threw it to the water "hey, wait don't." but it was done. Jake sighed as the woman started to walk to one of the creature's who was crying in pain. Luz and amity walked to her while Jake was trying to get his spear. The woman killed it while saying something that Luz and amity didn't understand. Jake walked up to her and bend down to her level "um, listen, I don't know, if you know this but um thank you."   The woman wasn't listening. she was still saying something. when she was done she got her arrow out of the creature stood up and started to leave. Jake sighed, then he followed her. Luz and amity got up. Luz turned to amity "should we follow them?" amity nodded "yeah, just in case." Luz nodded, they turned to where they left and started to follow them. on the way, they saw the forest start to glow. They ran not that far to meet up with Jake and the woman.   Luz and Amity stopped a few feet behind them. They could overhear what Jake was saying "what was that about?" the woman pulled Jake's hand "come, come." the woman turned away and started to run off. Jake followed her. Luz and Amity followed right behind them. They walked for a little while, until something caught Jake, Luz, and Amity's legs, and they fell down causing them to fall from the vine. They landed on the ground, they got there binds off of their legs, and they got up to see other blue people coming to them with there six legged horse's with their bow and arrow's ready to fire at them.   Luz and Amity turned to Jake who had his hands up. Luz and Amity held there hands up as well. The woman jumped in front of them and started to talk to them again in a language Luz and Amity didn't understand. a man got back on his horse and started to leave. The people with him forced Jake, Luz and Amity to follow them. They ran to a tree, they walked under the tree and they saw people who were blue like them, and they had four finger and a tail. Luz and Amity thought they were the Na'vi people.   They walked up to a man who wore red clothes. Jake stepped forward, while Luz and Amity stand behind him. The man walked in front of them and stopped Jake asked "what's he saying?" the woman turned to them "my father is deciding whether to kill you." Luz and amity gulped, but Jake walked to him with his arm raised "it's nice to meet you sir."   They all stopped him, then another woman spoke up while she was walking to them. She walked up Jake. she got a knife and cut Jake's shoulder and tasted his blood. Luz and Amity thought they were going to puke. She looked to them "why did you come to us?" Jake looked back to Luz and Amity who shrugged, then he looked back at the woman "we come to learn." the woman looked to him then to Luz and amity nodded, "we tried to teach other sky people, and it is hard to fill a cup which is already full."   "Well my cup is empty trust me, just ask Dr Augustine I'm no scientist." the woman looked to Jake then to Luz and amity then back to jack "what are you?" "I was a marine a uh, a warrior of the jar head clan." Luz and Amity rolled there eye's, they didn't believe Jake. Luz whispered to Amity "you can't actually think they will believe that." Amity nodded "I know right." father stepped forward and started speaking in a language Luz, Amity, and Jake didn't understand.   The woman in front of them walked to the other woman talked to her then came back to them "it is decided, my daughter will teach you three our way's learn well Jake sully, Luz noceda, Amity blight and well see if your insanity can be cured." they all nodded, then they followed the woman next to her. who is her daughter. They walked up a vine until they entered a place where the woman gave them new clothes "put these on."   The woman helped put Luz and Amity's on after they took there clothes off. When they were done, Jake walked up to them in his new outfit. the woman turned and started to walk up the vine. Jake followed her. Amity turned to Luz and "oh my titan." amity said without thinking. She blushed mad, Luz was almost nude. she was wearing what amity thought was a bra to cover her breast and was wearing something that was covering her private parts.   Amity looked down and saw she was the same thing. She turned to where Jake and that woman went. she caught "well, we better follow them. come on Luz." Amity walked off in a blushing mess. Luz watched her leave also in a blushing mess. She nodded and followed Amity. They walked up the vine to where Jake and the woman. they walked up to see the people were together in front of a fire while they were eating. They looked to Luz and amity they flinched, then turned to Jake and the woman.   Jake waved his hand for them to come. Amity nodded, she turned to Luz who nodded. They began to walk to Jake and the woman. once they were besides them. Jake turned to them "I see you two found your way here too?" Amity nodded "yes, we have." Jake gave them some food. Amity got it and ate some, she gave some to Luz who ate it. the woman turned to them "my name is Neytiri." Amity and Luz nodded, Luz spoke next "it's nice to meet you."   Neytiri nodded, they continued to eat there dinner. When they were done Neytiri guided them to there bed's. Luz and Amity got in there bed. Amity laid with Luz. Luz looked to Amity and smiled "are you ok?" Amity starred at Luz with a deadpan look "what do you think, I just see my girlfriend half necked and right now until we get back to original our bodies. I will be a blushing mess." Amity groaned. Luz giggled "yeah, well I'm no better I get flustered when I see you like this amity."   Luz blushed. Amity starred at Luz blushing also. Amity putted her hand out and closed the cover to there bed. Amity laid on Luz's chest, and she thought "this world will be the death of me." after a few minutes they went to sleep going back to there original body's. Amity saw a light going between her eye's "Amity, Amity, can you hear me." she heard other voices that was there. Amity blinked twice and sat up. She saw Max was with her "Amity, are you ok?"   Amity nodded "is the avatar safe?" Amity nodded "yes, it is but you guys won't believe where we were." Amity smiled. She got up and walked to Luz's link. The pilot was with her. Luz turned to Amity and smiled "hey Amity, did you just get up?" Amity nodded, she walked up to Luz "yup." Luz got up and walked to Amity. they turned to see Grace walking to them, she bent down and hugged them "I'm so glad you two are ok." Grace broke the hug "is the avatar's safe?"   Luz and Amity nodded, grace signed in relief "that's good, come on, you two can tell me what happened at my desk." Luz and Amity nodded, grace stood up. she turned around and walked to her desk. Luz and Amity followed her. They made it to Grace's desk. Grace sat on her chair, Luz and Amity sat in front of them. Grace looked to them "so what happened after you three were being chased." Luz and Amity began to explain what happened by the end of it Hrace was bewildered "you three found the Na'vi people and are going to learn to be one of them?"   Luz and Amity nodded, Luz spoke first "yeah, I guess, but I don't think we can be a part of the people like Jake." Amity nodded "yeah, we kinda come from another world, and we just came to visit, but we do want to learn from them and see if they can help us." Luz nodded, Grace sighed "I see, I can talk to them about this so you two can learn and not join the people ok?" Luz and Amity nodded, Grace nodded, Luz and Amity got up, they walked to there bunk beds and laid down on it.   Amity turned to Luz asked "so, are we really going to learn from the people. I know Grace and them want to talk to them again but can we really do it?" Amity shrugged "I guess and if we can't, we can away's leave with the portal right?" Luz nodded "yeah, you're right." Amity smiled and nodded, after a few minutes they went to sleep. The next morning Luz and Amity woke up and got out of bed. they walked to the cafeteria and got there breakfast and sat on a table alone. they began to start eaten, they watched people starting to talk to Jake.   When Luz and Amity were done, they putted there plates up and walked to the lab. They saw Jake going in his link, Luz and Amity walked to their link's. they got in their link's. Grace walked to Luz and Amity's side. She turned to Amity "ok, you two. I told Jake to talk to the father about you two." they nodded, Luz spoke next "thanks grace." grace nodded, she walked to Amity's link and got it ready. Amity laid down and putted the thing on her. grace walked to Amity "look after each other and don't do anything stupid please."   Amity nodded "you hear that Luz!" she yelled to Luz "yes, I did, thank you." Amity giggled, Grace walked to Luz's link to see Max starting Luz's link. She walked back to Amity's side to finish her link. Amity closed the case and the case moved after a few seconds Luz and amity closed there eye's, and they were transferred to their avatar's. They woke up in there bed. they got up and got out of there bed. they saw Jake leaving they followed him to the entrance.   Luz and Amity saw other people like them. Amity looked around and saw kids trying to scare Jake. He turned around and tried to scare themZ they laughed. Luz and Amity smiled at that. They walked up to them and saw Neytiri coming to them with three other horse. Jake turned around to Neytiri "well howdy." she threw him a string, Jake caught. Luz and Amity walked up to Neytiri and got on their horse's. When Jake got on his horse they rode out of the home tree, and they rode the horses to a lake.   When they got there they got off their horses. Luz and Amity walked to Jake and Neytiri she turned to them "ok, Jake get on your horse Luz, Amity, stay with me after Jake it will be your turn." Luz and Amity nodded, they walked to Neytiri, while Jake was trying to get on the horse "easy boy." Neytiri walked to the horse "Ali is female." she hitted Jake with her ear "oh ok, easy girl." he got on his horse and grabbed her ear and his ponytail, he grabbed the end of it, and they came together.   Luz and Amity starred in awe at this. The horse jumped, Luz and Amity backed away a few feet. Neytiri tried to calm her down, she turned to Jake "that is sahalu the bond feel her, feel her heartbeat, her breath, feel her strong legs, you may tell her what to do inside but for now tell her where to go." she moved back Luz thought of something "um, hey Neytiri?" Neytiri turned to Luz "yes Luz?" Luz flinched a little "um, can we use sahalu to see other people's memories?"   She turned to Amity who was looking at her then she blushed. Naytiri nodded "yes, you can, we have this tree called the tree of souls, and you can look in other people's memories from the past. if you want but only if they let you." Luz nodded "ok, thank you Neytiri." Neytiri smiled and nodded "you're welcome Luz." she turned to Jake who started to tell the horse what to do. Luz turned to Amity "um Amity can we talk?" Amity turned to Luz then she looked down "if you're going to ask if you can see my memories then..." Amity sighed "I'm sorry Luz, I can't let you see them."   Luz starred at Amity bewildered "but why I already know so much about you." Amity looked up and turned fully to Luz completely ignoring the new arrival's "it's not me, I'm afraid of what it's going to do to you. I'm just not sure if you are ready to see my mother's manipulation or her abuse on me and the twins pranks." Amity rolled her eye's at the last part then she continued "I'm sorry Luz, I just don't want you to be traumatized by this or hate me for it."   Luz looked down then she shock her head and looked up to Amity "Amity, I already know about the twins pranks and what happened to you and Willow I can handle this." Amity stepped closer to Luz not backing down from this "and what will happen if you lost your light or listen to my mother's nonsense huh, I just can't risk it Luz. I'm sorry." Amity took a step back then she turned around. she was about to go to Jake and neytiri when "you can see my memories."   Amity stopped. She turned back to Luz who was looking down, Amity walked to Luz "what?" Luz looked up her eye's starting to water "you can see my memories. I don't care because I want to know more about you amity. Because that is how much I love you." Amity blushed at that. She asked with caution "are you sure. if I see yours, and you see mine then there is no going back do you understand, no secrets, no lies, and I just don't want to see you get hurt by them, Luz."   Luz looked back down and nodded "yes, I understand, please amity, I want to do this with you." Amity looked back to Jake and Neytiri who was busy training. Amity then she turned back to Luz. she sighed "if you're sure about this then ok let's do it." Luz smiled "thank you, Amity." Amity smiled "you're welcome Luz, besides I get to see you as a kid, so there is a plus to this." Amity giggled. Luz smiled at this, they got the end of their ponytails and putted them close to each other, the string's attached. Luz and Amity's eye's widen, they could see each other's memories and feel what the other has felt.   Neytiri turned to them, her eye's widen. She turned to Jake "what are they doing?" she pointed to Luz and Amity. Jake turned to them his eye's widen. he got off the horse and ran them. Neytiri followed behind him, they got to them. He turned to Neytiri "what's happening to them?" Neytiri looked worried "I don't know..." she then remembered Luz's question early, her eye's widen as she turned to Jake "they are seeing each other's memories Luz asked me about it a few minutes ago."   Jake nodded, he turned back to Luz and Amity still looking worried "can we sever there connection by pulling them part?" Neytiri shock her head "no, we have to wait until they are done, or they would get hurt." Jake nodded, they turned to Luz and Amity getting really worried. after a few minutes Luz and Amity connection severed, and they fell on the ground. Jake and Neytiri rushed to them. Jake held Luz while Neytiri held Amity, they didn't wake up after a few minutes he figured it out.   He turned to Neytiri "they will be alright. I think they are back in their own bodies. come on we better get them back home." Neytiri looked to Jake and nodded. They picked Luz and Amity's avatar bodies and walked back to the home tree. Luz and Amity woke up in their own bodies. Amity opened her case and sat up, she got up and walked to Luz's link. Luz was sitting in her link looking scared. Amity sighed Grace ran up to them "I heard you guys came back early, are you two ok?"   Amity turned to Grace and shock her head "no, we aren't, we tried something and I think it broke Luz." Grace looked to Luz who looked scared then she turned back to Amity. Amity turned to Grace and told her what happened Grace sighed "I see." Amity nodded, she turned to Luz and sighed, she turned back to Grace "I'm sorry Grace, but we might have to leave early." Grace nodded "I understand I will tell Jake to bring your avatar's here once he's done with his date with neytiri."   She winked to Amity. Who giggled then she turned back to Luz, she walked up to Luz who was looking down. Amity tapped her leg, Luz flinched, she looked up to amity, who smiled "hey, we are going to leave to go to the next world. Is that ok?" Luz nodded, she got up and walked to there bed. Amity followed behind her. once they were there Luz got her jacket and put it on. she putted her beanie on and amity got there charm case's and gave Luz her's. she took it and put it on her back.   Amity putted hers on her back. she got the portal and the key, she turned to the side of the bed and putted the portal in front of them. She pressed the button on the key and the case turned into a door. and it opened reviling a yellow light. Amity turned to Luz who looked scared. Amity walked to her and wrapped her arm around Luz. Luz turned to Amity, Amity smiled "you ready to go?" Luz nodded, they both faced the portal and walked thought it entering a new world. Luz and Amity walked through the portal. Luz and Amity looked around. it was dark, and they were on a cliff. Luz walked forward while Amity looked down "Luz, I think we should talk about what happened back there with our avatars." Luz looked down "there is nothing to talk about Amity." Amity looked up to Luz and sighed "Luz, I know what you saw, I saw your memories too, and I know they treated you bad in the human realm, but it wasn't your fault."   Luz turned around and started to cry "and your mothers' manipulation, her abuse to you, what she made you do to Willow and what she tried to do to me, does she even have a bile sac or a soul in her body?" Amity walked up to Luz "I know it is messed up, but you didn't far any better people bullied you, picked on you and your mom sent you away to summer camp, all because you were being yourself." Amity started to cry. Luz looked down starting to cry "what is wrong with us and why do people hate us."     Amity shock her head "I don't know, but I know your mom didn't do it on purpose she just wanted to help you." Luz was about to say something, but Amity stopped her "yes, you had every right to come to the boiling isles because no one cared about you and yes, you can say your mom betrayed you too, but I think she was trying to help you make friends. I mean you didn't tell her about the bullying right?" Luz nodded "exactly my point." Luz began to get mad "so you're taking her side now?"     Amity shock her head "no, I'm not taking sides, it's just I think you should tell your mom about the bullying that's all." Luz pointed a finger towards Amity "and what about you. Your mom treats you and your siblings bad, and you didn't even tell your dad. He could have helped you against your mom." Amity began to get angry "no, he wouldn't, he took part in seperating me and Willow, and he has been working all the time to ever give a damn about us."   Luz rolled her eye's "but you and the twins could have tried like-" "like how you never made friends in the human realm." Amity cutted Luz off. Luz stood there speechless and shocked. after a few seconds Luz walked to Amity and stood in front of her "I tried Amity, I really did try to make friends but no one cared about me and yes, I took things too far with the spiders and the rockets but at least I tried meanwhile what about you huh, you never tried to fix things with Willow not until I came along and helped you."   Amity looked down then back up at Luz "I wanted to fix things with Willow, but I couldn't because of that damn necklace. Because my mom kept controlling me." Luz looked down "are we having our first fight?" Amity starred to Luz then looked down "yes, I think we are." Luz turned around, walked to the edge of the cliff and sat down. Amity looked up to see Luz sitting down then she turned to see the portal turned into a case. she looked back to Luz.   Amity sighed. She grabbed the portal case and walked to Luz, she sat a few feet next to Luz and looked down. Amity closed her eye's "I'm sorry." Luz turned to Amity "what?" Amity opened her eye's and turned to Luz "I said I'm sorry. I didn't want to fight you. you Just kept saying things that has been bothering me my whole life." Amity looked down and continued "I know dad could have helped us, but he was always to busy with his abomination's and letting mom get away with everything that I just lost all hope to fixing things with Willow, and I just became numb to it all I guess but when you came to the isles, you helped me. You gave me the confidence for me to be my own witch and be myself. You saved me from my parents, and you are my first love and I want you to be my only love."   She turned to Luz and smiled "I want to grow up with you, get married, have kids with you, and grow old with you, because I love you Luz nocceda." Amity started to cry. Luz smiled "I love you too and..." Luz looked down "I know I could have talked to my mom, but she was too busy with her job and to take care of me that I just forgot to tell her and that I just got used to it. I got into anime and manga and fanfic that I just got used to it all. I letted people bully me and I guess I got numb to it all. when I first got to the isles and met Eda and everyone else, I felt like I was finally home. I really do want to see my mom again, but I don't know if I want to live in the human realm anymore because that was never my home."   Luz turned to Amity and smiled "because you are my home. You and everyone on the isles." Amity blushed and smiled "thank you, Luz." Luz nodded "you're welcome Amity." Amity scutted next to Luz and the two hugged. after a few seconds they broke the hug. Luz looked around then back to Amity "you know there is no one here but us." Amity blushed "maybe we should move a few feet away from the cliff just in case." Luz nodded, they got up and walked to a rock. Amity turned to Luz. Luz smiled, she leaned in and kissed Amity. Amity kissed Luz back. Luz pushed Amity gently to the rock, Luz broke the kiss and moved to Amity's neck and started to place small kisses while Amity moaned in pleasure "yes, right there Luz."   Luz began to bite down on Amity's neck. Amity yelled "LUZ!" Luz leaned back and saw that she placed a hickey on Amity's neck. Amity groaned "ow, that hurt." Luz smirked "so, what are you going to do about it Amity." Amity smirked "oh who said we were done." Luz smiled "well let's get to work then." Luz kissed Amity with more passion. Amity kissed Luz back also with more passion. Amity lean to the rock while they broke the kiss. Amity pulled Luz's jacket off and got her shirt off, Luz took Amity's dress off, and they threw there clothes next to each other. Amity laid down completely necked, Luz leaned to Amity she was also necked. Luz looked to Amity "you know, I wish we had magic?"   Amity looked to Luz "why?" Luz smiled "so, I might get you pregnant." Amity blushed mad and looked away "I don't know if we are ready for kids yet Luz." Luz shrugged "yeah, your right." Amity turned to Luz and smiled "but we are ready for this, right?" Luz nodded, she bent down and got her head close to Amity's clit, putted her fingers in her clit and started to thrust. Amity laid her head back and started to moan "ah... Luz... faster..."   Luz stared to thrust faster until amity was close to cuming. Amity putted her hand out to Luz who grabbed it with her free hand, there hands intertwined. Amity moned louder "Luz, I'm about to come!" Luz nodded "then come for me." after a few seconds Amity screamed, and she cummed. Luz could taste amity's esents. Amity blushed mad "I can't believe, I just did that." Luz looked up to Amity and smiled "it's ok, it's just us here." Amity looked to Luz and nodded "you're right."   Amity turned to the moon lost in thought. after a few seconds' amity turned back to Luz "hey Luz." Luz looked to Amity "yeah, what's up?" Amity smiled "I know this might be a crazy question to ask but will you marry me?" Luz starred at Amity bewildered "what?" Amity sighed "I know, I know, it's just that we are on this journey trying to find ourselves and all but there will be bad guys out there that are stronger than belos, and we might have to help them, and we don't know when we can return or how long it will be until we are back home and I really want to live my life with you forever."   Amity looked down "you don't have to answer me right now if you're not ready." Luz got up and starred at Amity blushing "yes." Amity looked up "what?" Luz smiled "yes." Amity smiled slightly "really?" Luz nodded "you're right, we don't know how long it will be until we get home. it might be years, or months, so I want to spend every moment we have during this journey with you Amity." amity smiled "I feel the same way Luz." Amity got up and kissed Luz, Luz kissed Amity back with more passion. They laid back down. after a few seconds they broke the kiss.   Amity laid down on Luz's chest. Luz kissed Amity's head and laid down. Amity looked up to the sky "so, are we wife's now?" Luz looked down to Amity "I think so, but we need rings to show them we are married, but I don't think we need a carimony right now, so I think all we need is rings, and we are good." Amity looked up to Luz and smiled "yeah, I'm ok with that." Luz smiled and nodded, she then remembered something "but we might have to do a small ceremony and for someone to do it for us and have a marriage license I think."   Amity nodded "ok, as long as it's not a big ceremony with people I'm fine with it." Luz nodded "good." Amity laid back down on Luz's chest after a few minutes they fell asleep. Amity woke up at the sight of the sun rising. Amity looked up to see Luz still asleep. Amity sat up and got up. She walked to the edge of the cliff and smiled. She wispeared "Amity noceda, Amity noceda." Amity said it to herself to get used to it, she smiled then she turned back to Luz who was still asleep. Amity smiled.   She walked back to Luz. once she was near Luz she bent down and kissed Luz's forehead. Luz groaned before opening her eye's to see Amity. Luz smiled "good morning Amity." Amity smiled "good morning Luz." Luz sat up, she looked down and saw she was still necked. She turned to their clothes. she got Amity's pink dress and gave them to her, Amity took it. Luz gave her the black pants to Amity who took them. She turned around and started to get dressed. Luz got her clothes and began to get dressed herself. after a few minutes they were dressed.   Amity turned to Luz she was back in her pink dress and her back pants. Luz was back in her clothes with her pants on and her white and purple shirt and green jacket. Luz got up and turned to amity "so are we ready?" Amity nodded "yup, um which one to the next world or getting married?" Luz thought for a second then shrugged "to the next world I guess. we need someone to marry us, and we need rings so." Amity nodded. She looked down to her lily ring her and Luz still have on.   She got an idea. She looked back up to Luz "what if we use our lily rings as wedding rings, so we wouldn't have to get new ones plus they do power our charms." Luz looked down to her lily ring then back to Amity "yeah, it's a good idea, but I think it would be better if we get our own rings just in case." Amity nodded "ok, but where can we get our own rings from I mean, it's not like we have money or snails and no we are not stealing anything."   Luz putted her hand on her chest acting offended "I'm hurt by that Amity." Amity rolled her eye's playfully "I know how you and Eda were you know, plus I saw your memories yesterday remember." Luz smiled and nodded "ok, yeah that's true." Amity nodded "ok, well when go to the next world we can see if we can get married?" Luz nodded "ok." Luz and Amity turned to the portal. Luz putted her beanie on and got there charm cases and put them on there back's.   Then they walked to the portal case. Amity got the key and pressed it. The case turned into a door. it opened reviling a yellow bright light. Luz and Amity walked through the portal holding hands and entering a new world. When Luz and Amity walked through the portal. They were shocked to see the place they were in destroyed. They saw people sitting on the ground looking like they lost all hope. Luz and Amity looked around. Luz pointed to a horse coming, Amity turned to where Luz was pointing too. Amity grabbing the portal case and they walked up to the horse and saw two people on it.   One was a boy with blonde hair and the other was a girl with red hair. They looked down to them. The boy spoke first "hi, I'm Rudeus Grayrat and this is Eris are you two lost?" Luz and Amity shock there heads. Amity spoke up "no, we just got here, but we don't know what happened here." Rudeus smiled "I see." he got off the horse with Eris right behind him, Eris turned to see someone. she smiled "Ghislaine!" they turned to see a woman with cat ears and a tail turning around and looked shocked "lady Eris, master Rudeus."   She walked up to them, Eris walked up to her and hugged her. Ghislaine smiled and hugged back. Luz and Amity turned to rudeus who was smiling at the sight. he turned to them "Ghislaine is Eris's sword teacher." Luz and Amity starred at rudeus bewildered. they turned to each other than back to Rudeus. they asked in unison "sword teacher?" Rudeus was taken aback by this but nodded "yes, this world is magic and swordsman you can learn magic or learn how to use a sword here."   Luz starred at Rudeus confused "why do you sound like your not from this world Rudeus?" rudeus stiffened at that. he walked up to Luz and Amity and whispered "because I got reincarnated here alright, and I got my memories from my old life back, and I don't know why, so can you two just drop the subject please?" Rudeus backed away to see Luz and Amity nodded, rudeus smiled and wispeared "thank you."   Luz and Amity smiled and nodded. When Eris and Ghislaine broke the hug they all went inside a tent Ghislaine stopped Rudeus, Luz, and Amity "I'm sorry Rudeus, but Eris is the only one who-" "let him come." they all turned to Eris who didn't look back "he helped me this far, and I trust him, let him hear this. but the other two stay out." Ghislaine turned back to Rudeus, Luz, and Amity. she letted rudeus through but told Luz and amity no. Luz and amity walked to another tent. once they entered it they sat on a bed. Luz turned to Amity "world full of swords and magic, huh."   Luz laughed a little. Amity looked down. she got her charm out and used her magi. it turned into a sword. Amity held the charm in her hands. Luz looked at it then back to Amity "Amity, are you ok?" Amity turned to Luz and smiled "yeah, I'm ok. it's just I wonder if they can teach me how to use a sword. I mean we have our charms, and we never use them all that much right now anyway's." Luz nodded, she then looked down "if they leave to go train are you going to go with them?"   Amity looked down "I don't know, I mean, I do want to marry you Luz and be your wife, but maybe they can help me first. Maybe they are my chance to end my parents control once and for all..." she looked up to Luz and smiled "and then when I get back we can get married." Luz turned to Amity "and how long will you be gone for?" Amity sighed "I don't know, but I think it's worth a shot don't you?"   She looked back to Luz, Luz nodded "yeah, I think so but what about me. what can I do until you come back?" Amity shrugged "I don't know. you could stay with that rudeus person. I think he can be interesting to hang out with?" Luz shrugged "I guess he can teach me some magic I have never seen before." Amity nodded, Amity thought for a moment then got an idea. she putted her charm to the side and got up and walked out "I'll be right back Luz."   Luz was about to follow her but Amity turned to her "it's ok. i can go alone." Luz nodded, then she sat back down. Amity walked to a tent, when she got near eris's tent but she could hear crying. Amity stepped a few feet back. she turns to see Ghislaine, amity walk's to her "um Ghislaine." Ghislaine turned to see amity "yes, what is it?" Amity stood in front of her "do you know a place where I can learn how to use a sword?" Ghislaine nodded "yes, there is a place called the holly land of swords, why?"   Amity looked down "because I want to learn how to use a sword and see if they can help me end my parents' manipulation on me." Ghislaine looked confused "manipulation?" Amity looked up and nodded, she began to tell her about her mothers abuse and manipulation and about how her father just letted it happen and about how her sibling pulled pranks on her at the end of it Ghislaine sighed "I see, I don't know if they can end it, but they can help you fight it off and teacher you how to use a sword but what about your friend?"   Amity nodded "you mean Luz, I think she will stay with Rudeus for now and see if he can teach her magic." Ghislaine nodded "I see, yeah, if you have a sword then you can come with us because I think Eris is going to want to go to the holy land of swords to train." Amity look confused "train for what?" Ghislaine sighed "Eris and Rudeus told me what happened after the teleport incident so can tell you what they told me."   Amity nodded, Ghislaine nodded, so she told Amity everything she knew from the moment she met rudeus to now. at the end of it Amity's eye's widen "Eris parents are dead is anyone else they know alive?" Ghislaine sighed "we don't know, we know that rudeus family is alive, but we don't know where his mother is, but his family is alive and well." amity signed in relief "thank titan." Ghislaine nodded "yes, now if you want to come with us, you will have to bring your sword and say goodbye to your friend while I get our horses."   Amity nodded, she turned to her and Luz's tent. When she opened the tent she saw Luz on the bed, she looked up to Amity and smiled. Amity smiled back. she walked to Luz "I talk to Ghislaine, and I'm going to go with them to the holly land of swords to train and learn how to use a sword." Luz nodded, she looked down and started to cry. Amity walked to Luz and hugged her "hey, I won't be gone forever and when I get back then we can get married ok, I promise."   Luz looked up to Amity with tears in her eye's "really?" Amity nodded "yes, I promise." Luz smiled "ok, I love you Amity." Amity smiled, she leaned forward and kissed Luz. Luz leaned back on the bed as they broke the kiss panting for air "I love you too Luz." Luz smiled, amity smiled back, she looked at her hair, she saw the brown strand's with her lavender then she looked back to Luz "hey, Luz could you help me with something?"   Luz nodded, amity sat up and looked around then back to Luz "I was wondering if you would cut my lavender hair, so I could have my natural brown." Luz nodded "sure, but why?" amity smiled "because I want to start over and be myself. I mean I love my lavender hair, but I might want to try my natural brown for a little while and if I don't like it I can always's redye it when we get back to the isles."   Amity shrugged, Luz nodded. they got up, Luz walked out of the tent. Amity walked behind her, they walked around the other tents until they saw Eris walking out of a tent. They walked to her, Amity waved her hand to Eris "hey Eris." Eris turned to them. Luz and Amity walked in front of her, Eris crossed her hands "what do you two want?" Amity's eye's widen, Eris's hair was completely cut short "um, how did you cut your hair short?"   Eris turned around and walked in the tent. after a few seconds she came back out and handed amity a knife. she took it then she turned to Luz. Luz nodded, she took the knife and walked behind amity. Amity pulled her lavender hair up all of it. all they could get, Luz putted the knife close to the lavender hair "are you sure about this amity?" amity looked down "yes, I want to do this and find my own path."   Luz nodded, she got the knife close to Amity's hair and cut it. Eris was shocked by this "what are you doing?" Amity's lavender hair fell on the ground. only some of her hair was lavender while the rest was brown. Luz walked in front of amity. She got the rest of amity's lavender hair and cut it, Luz putted the hair to the ground. Luz looked to amity, she had boy's short hair now with only her brown natural hair. Amity starred at Luz "so how does it look?"   Luz smiled "you look beautiful Amity." Amity smiled and blushed "thank you, Luz." Eris walked to them. amity turned to Eris who looked confused "I'm going with you and Ghislaine to the holly land of the swords to learn how to use one and to see if they can help me." Eris nodded "ok, but what about her?" she pointed to Luz. Amity turned to Luz then back to Eris "she will be staying here with Rudeus and see if he can teach her some magic."   Luz nodded "yup, don't worry Rudeus will be fine." Eris looked down "thank you but could you not tell him where we are going, please." Luz nodded "sure but why?" Eris looked up to Luz "it's a long story just please don't tell him." Luz nodded "ok, I won't." Eris smiled "good." she turned to Amity "do you have a sword?" Amity nodded "yes, here let me go and get it."   Amity turned around and ran back to the tent to get her charm. after a few seconds Amity came back with her charm. Eris starred at it amazed "what is that, it looks cool." Amity smiled "I don't know if I can tell you even if I wanted too, sorry." Eris looked down feeling defeated "ok, I get it." they turned to see Ghislaine coming to them with three horses. she came up to them and gave Eris and amity there horses. amity turned around to face Luz "well, I guess this is it."   Luz nodded about to cry "yeah." she jumped and hugged amity who hugged back and smiled "when I get back we will get married. I promise." Luz broke the hug and smiled "yeah, I can't wait." amity nodded, she leaned forward and kissed Luz, Luz kissed amity back with more passion. Eris and Ghislaine smiled at that while they were on their horse. after a few seconds they broke the kiss with tears in her eye's amity whispered "I have to go."   Luz nodded, Amity walked back and turned around getting on her horse, she smiled to Luz who smiled back. Luz turned to Eris and Ghislaine "take care of her, ok." they nodded, Eris smiled "don't worry, she is in good hands with us." Ghislaine nodded "I will look after her just like I will be looking after Eris on our way." Eris nodded sheepishly then they started to ride off. Amity turned back to Luz and whispered "I love you." Luz smiled and whispered"I love you too."   Amity smiled, she turned her head back and rode with Eris and Ghislaine to the holly land of swords. Luz watched them leave then she turned back to her tent and walked to it, entering it. Once she made it inside, She walked to the bed and laid down on it. She looked down to see the portal case, Luz remembered amity still has the key on her neck. Luz sighed, she looked up at the sealing. she began to think back to all the times her and amity spent with each other, how she saw amity blushing, but she didn't know it at the time.   She sighed again "why didn't I see it. she liked me all a long, but I lost her now even though she will be coming back. I still don't know when she will come back to me." Luz began to feel tears while she whispered "I lost her." Luz began to start crying "why didn't I see it all this time. She liked me and I didn't see it." after a while Luz feel asleep with tears in her eye's. Luz woke up at the sound of crying. Luz sat up and out of the bed, she walked out of the tent to see Rudeus walking back to his tent in tears. Luz looked worried then she remembered what Eris said last night "thank you but could you not tell him where were going please." Luz sighed remembering last night's events. amity went with them to the holy land of swords to train and hopefully overcome her parents abuse and start over. Luz looked down and wispeared "what are we now amity are we engaged or what?"   Luz turned around and walked back in her tent. She laid back in her bed feeling lost now that Amity was gone. she rolled over and looked down to the portal case. it was still in its case form, and it still had the star symbol on it. Luz bent down and picked it up. she looked at it and sighed "what do I do now. Amity has the key to the portal and here I am sulking while she is off on her own adventure." Luz leaned back on her bed with the portal in her hand's, Luz wispeared "what do I do now Amity?"   Luz thought back to what Amity said last night "she will be staying here with Rudeus and see if he can teach her some magic." Luz putted the portal on the ground and sat up "first talk to Rudeus and see if he can teach me magic but after that..." Luz looked down and sighed "do i really not have a plan of my own, I went to the isles on my own and I tried to become a witch on my own, I can surely think if something right?"   Luz looked up to see no one there. she sighed again "I'm starting to see why people picked on me in the human realm now. I really am an idiot I don't have an original idea in my body." Luz sat back down feeling defeated and sighed again. Amity was walking with Eris and Ghislaine to the holy land of swords. Eris turned to Amity "so Amity why are you coming with us?" Amity turned to Eris "we got our swords, and we never got to use them and I want to try and to start over, because my whole life my parents controlled my life and I couldn't do anything about it but when Luz came to my hometown, she saved me from my parents, and I was able to change and be myself. but now I don't know what to do. My parents still have some control over me, and I'm trying to break it, and so I can be with Luz forever and marry her."   Eris nodded "yeah, I'm the same not the parents control, but I do love Rudeus. he is so amazing with his wordless spell casting and what happened last night..." Eris trailed off looking down blushing, Amity smiled "that sounds really beautiful Eris." Eris looked up to amity and smiled "yeah, by the way what's that string on your neck?" she pointed at Amity's neck, Amity stopped, she putted her hand on her chest. she felt something. She pulled it out of her dress, looked down and saw she still had the portal key. she smiled "well, I guess now Luz can't leave now."   She turned to Eris who looked confused, Amity giggled "I'm sorry. it's just that we are from another world. I don't know how much I can tell you but Luz and I are on a journey to find ourselves, and so we can be better I guess." Eris nodded "in your world can you guys do magic?" Amity nodded "yes, but we have to do a spell circle, but we don't have swordsman and woman. not like how you guys have it here."   Eris smiled and nodded, she turned to Ghislaine who was walking in front of them then she turned back to Amity "you said your parents controlled you. how did they do that?" Amity looked down "there is this thing called oracle magic in our world. My mother used a necklace to control me and threaten to not let my friend get into our school. so I bullied her to try to protect her, but I ruined our friendship in the process and my mother always gets inside my head to tell me what to do. but thanks to Luz I was able to try to fix things with my friend but my mother..."   Amity sighed, Eris looked sympathetic to Amity "I'm sorry. That must have been rough before Luz saved you." Amity nodded, she looked up to Eris "yeah, but I'm trying to be better now and when I get back I'm planning on killing my mother for everything she did to me. because I will get stronger to put my mother in her place and marry Luz and keep her safe." Eris nodded "yeah, I can see why, your mom sounds like an awful person." Amity nodded "yeah, you have no idea."   Eris nodded, Ghislaine stopped Eris and Amity stopped in front of her. Eris and amity looked around, Eris turned to see wolves coming, she pointed to them "wolves." amity and Ghislaine turned to where Eris was pointing too. amity got her charm while Eris got her sword out. She turned to amity and smiled, amity smiled back. they turned to the wolf's and ran to them. Eris used her sword to cut some wolves apart amity used her charm and cutted a few of them she remembered what yuyu said about her magi and focused while she was fighting the wolves after a few seconds Eris and amity killed all the wolves. They turned to each other, Eris smiled, amity smiled back then they turned back to Ghislaine who was watching them "are you two really sure about this, about leaving them."   Eris nodded, she walked back to Ghislaine. amity followed behind her "Rudeus is amazing, you know." Eris walked to Ghislaine then turned and walked in front of her. Amity walked to Ghislaine and turned to Eris "he's smart and strong, and really talented, but he still practices his magic every single day. He's really incredible, I wasn't afraid of anything because I had rudeus with me." Eris kept walking, Amity turned and followed her, she looked down thinking about Luz "so, it never crossed my mind that Rudeus might die. I can't do anything. Not on my own."   Ghislaine followed behind Amity "he was always thinking about us, but I can't do anything for him. I've been awful." Eris putted her hand to her chest then looked down to it "rudeus's hands were smaller than mine." Eris kept ran on top of a large rock and yelled "I love rudeus!" Amity looked up to Eris who looked back to them "I'll go see him again someday. I'll train and get strong enough to beat the dragon god, and then this time, I'll protect him!"   Amity smiled, while a tear came down her face. Eris looked to Amity "are you ok, Amity?" Amity wiped the tear away and nodded "yes, I feel the same way about Luz. she away's put's other's needs before her own and sometimes blames herself meanwhile what have I been doing." she walked up to Eris and smiled "I want to get stronger too, so I can protect Luz from people like my mother who doesn't care about anything but herself and I am done with the blight name. I'm disowning it and odalia is not my mother anymore because Luz is my family and I will return to her, and we will get married."   Eris smiled and nodded "yeah, I feel the same." they turned to Ghislaine who was smiling at them. Amity and Eris turned around and continued walking. Luz stayed in bed still thinking about her past action's in the human realm. She remembers what Clara did to her on Valentine's Day and how it hurt her. Luz sighed "I was an idiot back then." Luz turned her head to the sealing "why did I do all that?" she remembers her father's death when she was young "oh yeah, because my dad died, and I was trying to hide my pain and I tried to be like my dad I guess."   She remembers what her mom said before she went to the isles "even my mom gave up on me, and now I lost amity even if she is coming back, but I don't know when she will come back to me and I already miss her. She was my life, my only love and now she is gone. I don't know when she will come back." Luz almost teared up at the thought of amity never coming back to her "why am I like this and why do they all leave me and give up on me. I know amity never gave up on me, but my mom did even if she was trying to help."   Luz sighed again, she was tired of it all. of everyone making fun of her, of people giving up on her, and she was tired of people leaving her even if she knows amity is going to come back. she still didn't know when she will come back. Luz sat up "I can try to get stronger and try to start over for amity. if she is trying to change then I can too." Luz got up, she got her green jacket and her Bennie and put it on, she grabbed her charm case put it on her back and she got the portal case, and she went out of the tent.   She looked around and saw Rudeus leaving the village. Luz ran to him "Rudeus!" Rudeus turned around and saw Luz, he smiled "hey Luz." Luz walked up to him "hey, um can I go with you to where ever you are going?" he nodded "sure, I can use all the help I can get to find my mother." Luz nodded "right, also um if it's not too much trouble can you teach me magic. I know how to do my own magic, but it can't work in a new world."   Rudeus nodded "sure I can help also where is that Amity girl if I remember right?" Luz looked down "she's left to train with your friend. but she made me promise not to tell you where they were going. I'm sorry." rudeus sighed "I understand is she coming back though?" Luz looked up to Rudeus and nodded "yes, she said she is and when she gets back we can get married." rudeus starred at Luz a little bewildered and confused "um, I'm sorry can you start again like when you first met this Amity girl."   Luz starred at Rudeus then laughed sheepishly "I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself again. I can tell you on the way, ok." Rudeus nodded "ok, I'm fine with that. shall wll we be off then?" Luz nodded, Rudeus turned around, and the two started to walk to there new adventure while Luz tell's Rudeus about her and amity. 6 years later. Luz and Rudeus walked from the asura kingdom to a bar. Rudeus looked 20 while Luz still looked the same, Luz thought it had something to do with world traveling or something, but her hair got longer. Luz followed Rudeus around, but he didn't teach her magic. Luz thought it had something to do with Eris, so Luz just brushed it off, but she did try to ask him multiple times. Now Luz sat with Rudeus, they could hear someone talking, but Luz ignored him "so Rudeus are you going to teach me magic yet?"   Rudeus turned to Luz "huh, I'm sorry what was that?" Luz starred at him "I asked you if you can teach me magic?" Rudeus nodded "oh yeah, I'm sorry I forgot." Luz sighed "look, I get it Eris left you, amity left me too but-" "but at least you know she is coming back right?" Luz began to get a little angry "look, I didn't walk all the way here with you just so you can be an ass to me ok. I just want to learn magic, so I can get stronger for amity. why don't you try to get stronger for Eris?" Rudeus turned to Luz "why she is probably with someone better than me anyway." Luz sighed.   She got up "you now what this isn't working out. you're not the person Eris said you are before she left. I'm going to go find a way to learn magic myself, goodbye Rudeus." Luz got the portal case and walked out of the bar. She was outside where it was sunny. Luz sighed "how am I going to get stronger now Amity?" Luz turned her head back to see rudeus talking to someone who had blonde hair with pointy ears and red eye's.   Luz turned her head back "well, I see he's moving on already." Luz began to start walking until someone came up to her. Luz looked worried "who are you?" the woman looked up to Luz "you want to learn magic, yes?" Luz nodded "yeah, so I can get stronger." the woman nodded "then go to Ranoa Magic Academy, it's the best school there is." Luz looked caution's "how do I know it's not a trick and where is this Ranoa?"   The woman pointed to where Luz could guess is where the academy is. the woman turned back to Luz "go that way, and you will make it there." Luz nodded "thank you um who are you?" the woman nodded "call me black star." Luz smiled "thank you black star." Luz walked around the woman and began to walk to the academy. It took her a couple of day's, but she managed to make it to Ranoa. Luz could see a town, she sighed "finally, I'm almost there."   Luz walked to the gates. she walked past the gates and entered the city. Luz smiled, she was going to learn magic. She walked to the school to see student's in there uniform's. they all turned to her, Luz sighed "great, back in the human realm again." Luz was looking around until she bumped into someone. she and the other person fell on their butts. Luz groaned "ow, that hurts." she opened her eye's to see someone in front of her.   He had white hair and glasses, Luz got up and putted her hand out. He looked up to her, Luz smiled "hi, I'm sorry. I didn't see where I was going and I bumped into you." the person grabbed her hand and got up, he looked to Luz "no, it's ok, I didn't see where I was going either, and I'm so sorry." Luz smiled "it's ok, um, I'm Luz." the man smiled "I'm fitz, it's nice to meet you." Luz nodded "like wise." Luz looked down then back to fitz "um, how can I enroll here. I want to learn new magic. I tried to ask someone if he could help me, but he was no help."   Luz rolled her eye's, fitz nodded "yes, I can help you but who is that person you are talking about." Luz sighed "his name is Rudeus Grayrat." fitz starred at Luz "did you say Rudeus?" Luz nodded "yes, why?" fitz grabbed Luz's hand and guided her thought the school. Luz screamed "what did I do this time!" fitz guided Luz to a room to see a woman in her desk. She has blonde hair and blue eye's and a man next to her. he has short hair like Eris's, and he looked strict. the woman looked to them confused "fitz, who is she and why did you bring her here?"   Fitz looked to her "Ariel, she said she saw Rudeus." Ariel turned to Luz looking skeptical, Luz nodded slightly "yeah, I met Rudeus, why?" Ariel sighed, she turned to Fitz "Fitz, Rudeus is already here. I told you this morning did I not." Fits lowered his head and nodded "yes, I just got surprised, I'm sorry." Ariel nodded "it's ok, you waited a long time to see him it's normal." she turned to Luz stiffened "now, who are you and why are you here?"     Luz gulped, she stood up straight "I came here to see if you guys can teach me magic, so I can get stronger just like my girlfriend is going to get stronger with a sword." Ariel, the man, and fitz turned around, and they all starred at Luz. Ariel blinked "and who is your girlfriend?" Luz looked skeptical "why, do you have a probablem with me having a girlfriend?" Ariel sighed "no, we don't. This school is a free for all, so we don't mind we were just surprised since you are here alone."     The man and fitz nodded, Luz sighed "I'm sorry. Were I come from I know there are people who don't like same-sex couple's." Ariel nodded and smiled "it's ok. but you don't have to worry here." Luz smiled and nodded, Ariel nodded "now where is your girlfriend?" Luz looked down "she is with Rudeus's friend. I don't know the specifics and Eris made me promise not to say anything I'm sorry." Ariel smiled "it's ok." Luz looked up and smiled "thank's and her name is Amity. She said she is going to come back, and I thought I could get stronger in the meantime while she is gone."   Ariel nodded "I understand welcome to the Ranoa Magic Academy as a temporary student until she comes back." Luz nodded "thank you, Mrs Ariel." Ariel smiled "you're welcome Luz. Now we can find you a room and get you a uniform is that ok. Fitz." Fitz nodded "yes ma'am." Fitz turned to Luz "but how do you know rudeus?" Luz's shock her head "it wasn't that long me and amity met him at a destroyed kingdom I think then I followed rudeus for a while then I left him and came here."     Fitts nodded and smiled "ok, that's good, now I can show you to your room if you want?" Luz nodded "sure." Fitz nodded, he walked around Luz and out the room. Luz turned around and followed him. they walked to the girl's dorm. Fitz showed Luz to her room. Fitz opened the door and Luz walked into her new room. It had a bed, a window and some rich stuff Luz didn't know. Luz walked to the bed and sat her charm case and the portal case on the bed.   She turned to Fitz "thanks Fitz." Fitz smiled "you're welcome, Luz." Fitz closed the door, Luz turned back to her bed, she got her charm case and sat it on the wall close to her bed. she got the portal case and put it on the table close to the bed. she sat on the bed and laid down on it, she looked up to the sealing "ok, amity I'm here, and I'm going to get strong for you so we both can get stronger together." she closed her eye's and began to fall asleep.     When she woke up, she heard the door open. She looked up to see Fitz coming in with a uniform. Fitz walked to her bed and sat the uniform on her bed. Luz smiled "thanks Fitz." Fitz smiled "you're welcome Luz and tomorrow you can start school, ok?" Luz nodded "ok, thanks." Fitz nodded, he turned around and left Luz's room. Luz sat up and looked at the uniform, she picked the shirt up and looked at it, it was white with a skirt, Luz nodded "ok, this is good." she putted the uniform down and got up.   She walked to the window to see the school grounds. She looked down and blinked twice at what she saw, it was Rudeus. he didn't look like he was drunk or something like that. but something was off wasn't rudeus trying to spread his name around or something, so he can find his mother. Luz shrugged, she turned around and walked to the door. she opened it and walked out of her room to go to the lobby then outside to talk to Rudeus and punch him for being an ass to her and for not teaching her magic.   Luz walked to the entrance to see Fitz defending rudeus for something. Luz didn't know what they were talking about. so she waited until everyone left. after a few minutes everyone left and it was only Fitz and Rudeus there. Luz walked to rudeus "hey rudeus." Rudeus turned and flinched at Luz "Luz, what are you doing here?" Luz rolled her eye's "someone told me about this school and I came here to learn magic unlike you who never taught me anything."     Rudeus looked down "yeah, I'm sorry about that. I was in a bad place and I'm sorry about what I said about you and amity. I am truly sorry." he looked up to see Luz who sighed "I still want to punch you for wasting my time but I guess it's not a total waste but were both here now, huh?" Rudeus nodded "yeah, so who told you about this place." Luz smiled "someone named black star. she had a mask and black hair, but I don't know where she is now."   Rudeus looked down "I see." Fitz raised his hand, Luz and Rudeus turned to him "um, just how do you two know each other anyway." Luz and Eudeus smiled. Rudeus began to explain how they met to now, Fitz smiled "I see." he turned to Luz "so you were telling the truth after all." Luz nodded "yup, and now I want to get strong like Amity is right now and be by her side when she comes back." Fitz nodded "I can see if I can get you in the same classes as Rudeus for starter's if you want?"   Luz nodded "sure." she turned to Rudeus who nodded "yeah, I'm fine with that." Fitz nodded "ok, I will talk to Ariel and see what we can do." Luz and Rudeus nodded, Fitz smiled then he walked away. Luz turned to Rudeus "so how did you know about this school?" Rudeus sighed "it's a long story that I don't think I can tell yet." Luz nodded "ok. well I guess I will see you tomorrow then." Rudeus nodded "yeah, see you tomorrow Luz."   Luz nodded, then they both walked to different directions. Luz walking back to her room while Rudeus was walking back to his room in the boy's dorm. Amity walked back to her room after training today. Her brown hair was gotten long to her stomach. When her, Eris, and Ghislaine first got here they asked for her name. Amity blushed remembering the name she told them "Amity Noceda."     Amity couldn't believe it, Noceda, she became a blushing mess that day. She turned to Eris who was smiling at her. after that and thanks to Eris and Ghislaine she was able to train here. They putted her in the same training as Eris since they came together. Amity didn't mind and ever since then she has been training non-stop just like Eris because they both had people they wanted to protect. Amity opened the door and walked into her room, it was just a bed with a window.   She light the candle to light her room up. she putted her charm down on her bed. She has been training with it ever since she got here. they asked her if she would like a sword like there's, but amity said no, she was fine with her charm. Amity sighed, she sat on her bed still thinking about Luz. She still remembers what she asked Luz 6 years ago about marrying her. amity blushed just remembering it. She clenched the portal key on her neck and whispered "soon Luz, I will be with you soon I promise." she smiled.     she turned to see her room door opening and Eris stepped in. she looked to amity smiling "hey amity, I'm about to go train again. do you want to come?" amity smiled, ever since they came amity was Eris's only friend here. They were the only ones they talked to around here, it's almost like they were sister's. Amity nodded "sure, just give me a second ok." Eris nodded, amity stood up, she turned to face her bed and got her charm. she turned to see her pink dress.   She was wearing her training clothes there teacher gave her and Eris, and she has been wearing it ever since. she putted the pink dress on her bed. She got her charm and followed Eris to the training grounds to continue training. They walked to the training grounds. When they were there Eris and amity stood in front of each other. Eris raised her sword and amity raised her charm, she raised her magi enough as to not break Eris's sword, so they could spare with each other.   Eris smiled, amity smiled back after a few seconds they jumped and started there sparing match. Amity and Eris crossed blades. Amity smiled, Eris smiled back after a few seconds they jumped away from each other. Amity held her charm like a swordswoman would hold her sword, Eris held her sword in the same way. after a few seconds Eris jumped and swing her sword to attack Amity but amity blocked it with her charm and pushed Eris back.   Eris landed a few feet from Amity, Amity jumped and attacked Eris. she swing her charm to the side, Eris saw this and ducked then punched amity in the stomach. Amity fell back groaning "hey, can you even do that?" Eris shrugged "I saw an opening and I took it." Amity got up and looked to Eris "well if you do that then I will punch you next time." Eris smiled "I would like to see you try." Amity smiled, ever since her and Eris started there first sparing match.   Eris has punch Amity sometimes, but Amity didn't mind until now. they were about to continue until they heard someone clapping, they turned to see Ghislaine looking at them. She walked up to them "I was watching your sparing match and I can still see some improvement in both of you." she turned to Eris "Eris, you need to stop punching amity I know she is your only friend here but swordswoman don't punch there opponents."   Amity turned to Eris smirking, Eris sighed "ok, fine, I'll try to stop." Ghislaine turned to Amity "Amity, I could see improvement in you too even if it's been 6 years but your still new in the sword style, and you still need a teacher to help you with it." Amity nodded "yes." Ghislaine nodded, she turned to both of them "now the master has found a teacher for both of you if you two are ready?" Eris and Amity smiled and nodded "yes, we are ready."   They both said in unison, Ghislaine smiled "ok, I will talk to the master and tell him you two are ready, and he should be here in a few days." Amity and Eris nodded, Ghislaine nodded, she turned around and started to leave. Amity turned to Eris "were finally going to get a teacher." Eris turned to Amity and smiled "yeah, I can't wait." Amity nodded "me neither." Amity putted her hand on her chest and clenched the portal key amity whispered "soon Luz, I'll be will be with you soon."     Eris saw this and smiled "come on, let's go and get dinner." Amity looked up to Eris and nodded, Amity followed Eris to the cafeteria to get eat. after they ate dinner. Amity walked to her room but not before she could hear someone talking. she turned to see a woman laying back on a wall "so you and Eris are going to be training with us, huh?" Amity nodded "yes, but who are you?" the woman rolled her eye's "my name is Nina and your Amity Noceda right?" Amity nodded, Nina stood up her back off of the wall and walked to amity. she stood in front of Amity "why are you even here anyway. your not like Eris who wants to defeat the dragon god so why are you really here?"   Amity stood up to her "to protect the one person I care about." Nina smirked "and who is he anyway?" Amity smirked back "she is Luz Noceda my girlfriend and soon to be wife." Nina was taken aback by this and sighed "I see, she must be one lucky girl." Amity nodded "yeah, she is, and I'm very lucky to have her." Nina looked to Amity "but how do you know if she even remembers you. It's been what 6 years since you came here right?"   Amity nodded "yes, but she will remember me, I know it." Nina shrugged "you say that now but don't be surprised when she moves on and finds someone better than you." Amity looked down, Nina began to walk off. Amity continued to look down. she putted her hand on her chest. she cleanshed the portal key as it was the only thing she has that remembers of Luz. She whispered "she won't forget, we promised."   Amity almost started crying. she ran to her room. when she enters her room. she sat on her bed and tried to prevent herself from crying. Amity looked down "we promised right Luz?" she whispered to no one in the room. she down at herself, she has been training like Eris since she has gotten here. She has learned how to use a sword and has gotten strong, but amity has heard about the sword god style. So she asked Ghislaine if she could learn it.   Ghislaine agreed after a few talking with her and Eris, and now she is trying to learn the sword got style with Eris. so she can beat her mother and protect Luz and the people she cares about. So she decided she is not going to leave until her and Eris is done with there training. So amity has been training with Eris non-stop since then and she has been doing her morning exercise like Eris is doing now.   Amity smiled at that they were really like sisters, Amity sighed "do I need to stay here any more. I mean I can use a sword now, and I know I'm getting stronger by this, but Luz..." she looked back to the window then she looked down to her charm. She smiled her charm had a lot of scratches on it. She was surprised it still worked up to this day "maybe I should get a real sword like there's after all, just in case." Amity turned back to the floor "please Luz, I know this is selfish, but please don't fall in love with anyone but me. I can't bare to see you with someone other than me."   Amity heard her bedroom door opening. She turned to see Eris walking in her room. she turned to Amity "Amity, are you ok. Nina told me what she said, and I might have tried to punch her before other people stopped me." Amity chuckled "thanks Eris, but I'm ok." Eris nodded, she walked to Amity's bed and sat next to her "are you still thinking about Luz?" Amity looked down and nodded "yes, I really want to get back to her, but I know I still need to get stronger for her and to keep her safe."   Eris nodded "I get it, I'm the same with Rudeus but..." Eris looked down "I know I'm not good with words and I don't know if I hurt rudeus by leaving him. but I did it. so we can grow as people and so I can get stronger so I can fight by his side and marry him because I still love him." amity nodded "I get it, I left Luz with telling her where I was going and what I was going to do. knowing Luz she might have gone with Rudeus to somewhere I don't know where."   Eris looked up to amity and nodded "yeah, that's true and when I leave you can leave with me when we get stronger." amity smiled and nodded "yeah, and I can't wait to get stronger so I can get back to Luz and be with her forever." Eris smiled "yeah, I can't wait either." Eris got up and left amity's room. Amity smiled as she got up and got ready for bed. She putted her charm up next to her bed, she blew out the candle in her room and went to bed "don't worry Luz, I'm coming home in a little while just wait for me a little longer then we can get married, and I can stay by your side forever." amity began to fall asleep thinking about Luz and there life together.   Luz woke up at the light in her room from the sun rising. Luz groaned awake, she sat up and remembered yesterday's event's "oh yeah, I'm going to start a new school again until amity comes back and learn new magic." Luz smiled as she got up and changed into her new uniform. She walked to the mirror and saw herself in the uniform. She blushed slightly at herself in the uniform. she turned around and walked to the door opened it and walked out to go to find her class.   she walked to the school building. Once she enters the building she sees rudeus and ran up to him "hey Rudeus." rudeus turned and smiled when he saw Luz "hey Luz, good morning." Luz stopped in front of Rudeus and smiled "good morning, are you on your way to class?" he nodded "yes, and I think we are in the same class, so do you want to walk with me there?" Luz nodded "sure." Rudeus nodded, he then turned, and they walked to class together.   Once they entered the classroom Rudeus saw someone he knew "hey Zanoba." the man turned to see Rudeus and Luz. He smiled "hey master good morning." rudeus nodded "good morning." Luz starred at them confused "Master?" Zanoba and Rudeus turned to Luz, Zanoba pointed to Luz "and who are you and how do you know my master?" Zanoba turned to Rudeus even more confused, rudeus sighed "he is my friend Zanoba, I met her in the asura kingdom, and she has been with me ever since." Zanoba nodded,   Zanoba turned to Luz "so is she like your girlfriend master?" Rudeus and Luz blushed, Luz shock her head "no, he is not my uh..." Luz sighed the blush disapering "no, he is not my boyfriend, I don't even like perverts." Rudeus turned to Luz shocked "hey I'm not a-" Luz turned to him with a deadpan look "I can tell you were a pervert from the moment I met you. I even took a peak in your box when you weren't looking, and really you aren't even hiding it anymore."   Rudeus blushed fearshly. Luz smirked and nodded, Rudeus took Luz's hand and ran out the room and into the hallway. He pushed Luz to a wall "did you really look inside that box?" Luz nodded "yes, I was board, and it was just lying there since you wasn't teaching me magic and told me to stay in the room and by the way whose underwear were TH-" Rudeus putted his hands on Luz's mouth "stop talking about it and if you say one more word about it or tell anyone including Fitz or Amity about that then I will kill you were you stand do you understand me?"   Luz nodded, Rudeus sighed he putted his hands down "and those are my master Roxy's underwear, I kinda stole them when I was little eh hehehe..." he looked away blushing, Luz starred at rudeus dumbfounded "Jesus, how old are you really Rudeus?" Rudeus turned to Luz then sighed "I'm really a 40-year-old net who never had a job in his previous life ok, but I'm trying to start over and be better than I was in my previous life and why are you looking at me like that?"   Rudeus saw Luz grinning "so you are really a 40-year-old net then?" Rudeus nodded, Luz burst out laughing "oh my god, oh my god hahaha I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just haha, haha that's hilarious and here I am, found the boiling isles by accident, and you were a fat ass haha hahaha." rudeus looked down then he looked up at Luz then sighed "ok, ok, ok, yes that was funny now can you please calm down. I don't want anyone else knowing or do you want me to tell them you aren't from this world then."   Luz stopped laughing and starred at Rudeus, Rudeus nodded "yeah, I didn't think so. Now come on we need to go to class." Rudeus turned and walked to class. Luz turned and followed behind him. When they entered the class again Luz took her seat at the end of the classroom by the window. When she sat down in her seat, she turned to look out the window and began to think about Amity and whispered "don't worry Amity, I will be better and start over for you just like how you are starting over yourself."   She turned her head to see two people sitting with her on the table. They were two girls. one had cat ears, a tail and red eye's and short gray hair. The other one had long gray hair, dog ears and red eye's just like the other girl. Luz looked to them "um hi?" they turned to Luz, one of them smiled "hi Nina I think we have a new student here like us eh Pursena?" she turned to the other woman who nodded "yup, I think she will be a good fit for our trouble making."   The other woman nodded, she turned back to Luz "so what's your name?" Luz looked skeptical "Luz and you two are?" the two grinned, the one with cat ears spoke up "I'm Linia Dedoldia and this is my trouble making friend Pursena Adoldia." Pursena nodded "yup, it's very nice to meet you Luz. so what are you here for?" Luz still looked skeptical but answered anyway "um, I'm here, so I can learn magic until my girlfriend Amity comes back from her training."   Nina and Pursena nodded, Nina spoke up "ok, well I hope she gets back fast though because this place will be boring as heck." Pursena nodded to that, Luz sighed and turned back to the window and whispered "amity, please hurry." the day went fine for Luz. She met some other people that were rudeus's friends. when she met cliff she thought he would be a good friend until she told him why she is here then he went on a little rant about how she got a girlfriend and not a boyfriend then she just walked off without letting him finish then she stayed away from him.   She opened the door to her room and walked in. she sat her book's in her bed and sat on her bed. she got one of those books and began to get to work. After a few minutes Luz sat the book down and sighed "I don't know any of this. How can I get stronger with magic if I don't know how to read this or understand this." she heard a door open slightly, Luz looked up to see Fitz coming in her room. He closed and walked to Luz's bed "hi Luz, I just came to check to see how you were doing after your first day."   Luz smiled "thanks Fitz, it went fine, but I don't understand any of this or how I can read it." Fitz nodded, he sat on Luz's bed and grabbed one of the books. he turned to Luz "I can teach you how to read it if you want?" Luz nodded "sure, thanks Fitz." Fitz smiled then he looked down "hey Luz did rudeus ever tell you about his childhood friend while you were with him." he looked up to Luz she shock her head "no, I don't think so, I just stayed in the room while he was working, and he never taught me magic because he was really down for some reason."   Fitz looked down "I see ok." Luz looked to him confused "do you know his childhood friend?" Fitz looked up to Luz blushing "um, no, no, I don't know her I'm sorry." Luz looked confused "I never said her?" Fitz looked to Luz bewildered then he waved her hands while blushing "you know what, forget I said anything please..." Luz didn't listen, she got up from her bed and walked closer to Fitz. When she got near him, she starred at him and found out something was off with him.   Fitz started to look nervous "um Luz, what are you doing?" Luz didn't listen as she got Fitz' glasses and gently took them off reviling a girl. Luz backed away shocked "who are you really Fitz if that is your real name." the girl sighed, she got up and took the gasses back "ok, fine, I'm not a boy and Fitz is a fake name ok." Luz's shock her head "that doesn't explain why you are dressing up as a boy and wearing those cool glasses by the way." the girl smiled "thanks."   She shock her head and sat back down, Luz sat next to her. The girl sighed again and turned to Luz "promise me you won't tell rudeus because I want to tell him myself, please." Luz nodded, the girl smiled "thank you." she looked down "my real name is Sylphy. I was Rudeus's childhood friend his first friend I guess. He helped me with some bullies when we were kids, and we hung out ever since then but he went to work so me and him can come to this academy. then the teleport incident happened and I was transported here. I started working for Ariel and protect her and in exchange she said she can help me find Rudeus for me but now that he is here I'm really happy but when I saw you with him, I thought he doesn't like me anymore." sylphy looked down.   Luz looked to Sylphy "does rudeus know about you yet?" Syphy shock her head "not, yet, I want to wait for a good moment to tell him." Luz nodded "ok, I guess that works and don't worry about me and rudeus we are just friends besides I don't like him like that. I already got someone I like." Luz looked down blushing, Sylphy smiled "you mean Amity?" Luz nodded "yeah I do, she means everything to me. we started of as enemy's, but now we are lovers and there is no one I want more than her."   Shlphy nodded "I see, and I heard from Rudeus that you are going to marry her is that right?" Luz looked up to Shlphy blushing mad and nodded "yes, it's a long story, but we don't know when we are going to go home. So we decided we want to get married and spend our lives together." Shlphy smiled "that sounds really romantic Luz." Luz nodded "thanks, and now I'm just waiting until she gets back from her training and I thought I could get stronger and learn new magic here while I'm at it." Shlpy nodded.   "I can help you if you want." Luz smiled and nodded "thank you Shlpy and don't worry I will keep your secret for you." Shlpy smiled "thank you, Luz." Luz nodded after that Shlpy helped Luz read the books and teach her how she can do magic. Luz smiled and began to try it. she focused really hard on her mana after a while Luz felt something in her body then water appeared in front of her hand. Luz was shocked she turned to Slphy who was just as shocked, she wispeared "you can do wordless spell casting just like Rudi."   Luz turned to Slphy "wordless spell casting?" Slphy nodded "it's casting in your mind without speaking but Rudi, and I was the only ones I know that can do that." Luz nodded "I see, that explains a lot..." Luz began to feel tired Slphy saw this "Luz, are you ok?" Luz's shock her head "I feel kinda tired." Luz began to fall asleep on her bed. Slphy got up and got off of the bed "um hold on Luz I'm going to go and get Rudi." Slphy got her glasses put them on and ran out of the room.   She ran out of the girl's dormitory and ran to the library to see if Rudeus was there. She ran to the building once she was there, she opened the door's and ran inside. she looked around and saw Rudeus talking to his friends. she walked to him, she tried to calm down "Rudeus." Rudeus turned and smiled "hey Fitz, what's wrong?" Fitz stiffened then he calmed down "it's Luz, she fainted." Rudeus's eye's widen "what happened?"   He walked to Fitz who looked down "I was helping her with her work and she tried to do magic. she did wordless spell casting like you, after that she fainted." Eudeus was shocked by this. Luz never said she could do that. Rudeus figured neither did she "where is she now?" Fitz looked up to Rudeus "in her room unconscious on her bed." rudeus nodded "ok, come on let's go." Fitz nodded, he turned, and the two ran to Luz's room.     They ran into the girl's dorm and ran to Luz's room. When they entered Luz's room. Rudeus walked to the bed and sat on the bed next to her. Fitz sat on the other side of the bed. Fitz looked to Rudeus "you care about her, don't you?" Rudeus turned to Fitz and nodded "a little, we are just friends, but I can see a little of myself in her, I guess." Fitz nodded "what do you see in her?" Rudeus looked back to Luz who was still asleep.   He smiled "I don't know, I used to think life wasn't worth it. but now I have friends and a family and people who care about me and Luz told me she was bullied in her hometown for being herself during our time together, and I can relate to that." Fitz looked down "do you love her, I know she said she likes amity I think but do you have feelings for her?" Rudeus shock his head "no, our relationship is just friends or sibling relationship I guess, why?" he looked up to Fitz.   Who looked at him nervously "well, i um, I just thought since you were spending so much time with her, I was um..." Fitz turned to Rudeus who looked confused, Fitz sighed "ok, ok, fine you win. I was jealous alright." Rudeus blinked twice "why would you be jealous of Luz, we are just friends and I don't like her like that..." "Rudi." Rudeus's eye's widen at that there was one person who called him that other than his mater Roxy.   Fitz looked down and took his glasses off and looked back to Rudeus blushing. Rudeus whispered "Slphy?" Slphy nodded "hi Rudi, it's been awhile." Rudeus nodded "yeah, a long time how are you here, why are you work with Ariel, and why did you-" Rudeus was cut off by Slphy kissing him after a few seconds Slphy broke the kiss to see Rudeus blushing. Slphy smiled "yeah, I'm sorry I didn't say anything I was scared until now."   Rudeus smiled "it's ok, Slphy thank you for telling me." Slphy smiled and nodded, they turned to Luz who was staring to awake up "uh... Rudeus... Slphy... why are you two here?" Rudeus turned back to Slphy "Luz know's?" Slphy nodded "she just found out, come on we better leave her alone for a while." Rudeus nodded, they got up for Luz's bed and walked out of Luz's room, so Luz can sleep for a little while. Amity was training with Eris, Nina and Isolte Cruel.   Amity and Eris was tag teaming against Nina and isolte. Amity was fighting Isolte and Eris was fighting Nina, and they were using wood swords. Amity guarded an attack from Isolte, she pushed her back, Amity turned to Nina. She ran to her and attacked her, Nina fell on her back Eris turned to Amity, amity turned to Eris "I got Nina, you can fight Isolte." Eris nodded, she turned to Isolte and ran to her and started to fight her.   Nina looked up to Amity "well looks like you are fired up, huh?" Amity growled "shut up, you had no right to put that stuff in my head." Nina smirked "it was the truth, and now you have to accept it and face reality kid." Amity walked to Nina and swing her sword. Nina blocked it but amity grabbed Nina's sword and took it from her. She threw it to the side and walked to Nina she bent down and started to punch her. she kept on punching her remembering her mothers words and what she did to her forcing her to stop being friends with Willow.   Eris stopped attacking Isolte and turned to Amity and Nina. She ran to Amity and grabbed her and pulled her up "Amity, Amity, stop, STOP!" amity tried to get out of Eris's grip but failed "let me go Eris, let me go, I won't let her say that about Luz!" Amity began to cry as she feel to the ground. Eris sat next to her worried, Nina got up her noise bleeding "your crazy woman." Eris got up and almost attacked her when "no, she just misses her girlfriend."   They turned to see there master gal walking to them. Eris stood up "Master, I was just-" he putted his hand up stopping Eris. He walked over to Amity and bend down facing her. Amity looked up to him, he smiled "are you ok, Amity?" Amity nodded "yes, I'm sorry, I just got mad and letted what Nina said get to me." Gal nodded "I understand Eris told me when I became your master." Amity looked to him shocked then she turned to Eris who nodded then back to him "I'm sorry, I know should have told you but-"   Gal putted his hand up and Amity stopped talking "it's ok, I know you want to go back to your girlfriend, but you have to stay here to complete your training ok?" Amity nodded "and how long will it take?" Gal thought for a second then looked at Eris then back to Amity "my estimate since you are in the same training as Eris it might be one more year if you don't have bloodlust like some people."   He pointed his finger to Eris "hey, I'm starting to control it thanks to you." Eris blushed out of embarrassment. amity chuckled, she turned back to Hal "I just want to beat my mom and maybe kill her." Gal nodded "than we have work to do to right?" Amity nodded, Gal helped Amity up, once she was up he turned to Nina who stiffened "if I hear you say that stuff to her again you are on cleaning toilet job for a week." Nina nodded "yes, sir."   He turned back to Amity "now let's get back to training." they all nodded, gal turned and walked away. Amity, Eris, Nina, and Isolte readied there sword and continued there training. after there training amity walked back to her room. When she entered it she walked to her bed and sat down on it. She gripped the portal key on her chest and wispeared "Luz, please be ok and your not with anyone." Amity looked at her charm that was laying close to her bed. She grabbed it and looked at it.   she could still use magi. her charm light up and her magi symbol light up. Amity smiled "I'm almost done Luz, just one year left then I will come home to you." Amity putted her charm down, she got up and went to her door. she opened it and walked out while whispering "I love you Luz.".   Luz woke up her head still hurting, Luz groaned awake "ah, what happened last thing I remember was..." Luz's eye's widen remembering what happened. she shot up from her bed "I just did magic, and I didn't use glyph's this time, oh amity is going to flip out with this. I just know it." Luz looked around and looked confused "huh, where are Rudeus and Slphy?" she then remembered what Slphy said before she was out and gasped "oh no, does Rudeus know about her?"   Luz ran to her door opened it and ran out of her room. She ran out of the girl's dorm and ran to the school. She was running to the building until she saw Rudeus and "Slphy?" Luz wispered, she walked to them. when she got close to them "Rudeus?" they turned to Luz, they smiled Rudeus spoke first "Luz, are you ok?" Luz nodded "yes, but um you know about..." she pointed to Slphy. Rudeus nodded "yeah, she told me everything, and we are kinda getting married."   Luz turned to Slphy who nodded, she turned back to Rudeus "shit, how long was I out." Rudeus chuckled "not that long you been out for a day. We left you alone, so you could sleep. I told Ariel about me and Slphy, and we are getting married now and I'm going to train you on how to use your magic. after me and slphy get married and would you stop looking at me like that." Luz looked to Rudeus with a deadpan look "you mean like how you didn't train me when I asked you for years now."   Rudeus sighed "well, now that I know you can do magic like us, I will start training you now happy." Luz nodded "we will see." Rudeus sighed "ok, that's fair." Luz turned to Slphy who was smiling, Luz sait down in front of them "I'm sorry I couldn't keep your secret, Slphy." Slphy smiled "it's ok Luz, it wasn't your fault and Rudeus was bound to find out either way." Luz nodded "yeah, that's true." Luz smiled to Slphy who smiled back, she turned to Rudeus who looked up and smiled "so Luz can we expect you to come to our wedding?"     Luz shrugged "I guess, but I still want to work on my magic some more now that I can do it. but I will see what I can do." Rudeus nodded "oh, by the way, I met that lady in the mask her name is Nanahoshi." Luz nodded "ok, good." Rudeus nodded, Luz spent the day talking to Rudeus and Slphy. after she talked to them she has gone to get dinner. after she got dinner she walked back to the girl's dorm and went to her room.   When she entered her room she walked to her bed and sat down on it. she turned to her books she smiled and wispeared "soon amity, I can start training and get stronger for you and when you come back we can get married." Luz grabbed the books, got up and walked to her desk. she sat the books on the desk then she walked back to her bed and got ready for bed. She laid on her bed and went to sleep. It's been months since Luz found out she has magic. Ever since then Luz has been training with Rudeus and after Luz told Rudeus to stop messing around. After that Rudeus has been taking this seriously now Luz can do her magic without her falling asleep, Luz didn't go to Rudeus wedding because she was busy pratcing her magic. She has been training non-stop with her magic. She learned the water ball spell, the fireball spell and some earth spell. mainly every spell Rudeus knew about.   Now she is stronger like Rudeus. She still lives in her dorm room, Rudeus and Slphy have asked her to come live with them since Rudeus is training her, but Luz declined, it was there home and Luz didn't want to be a bother and Rudeus understood. so now Luz was in her room doing her homework. She was wearing her school uniform and putted her normal clothes on her bed. she was deep in her homework that she didn't hear someone knocking on the door until "Luz, it's me can you please open the door."   Luz looked up to the door and got up. She walked to the door and opened it reviling Rudeus, Luz smiled "hey Rudeus, do you need something?" Rudeus nodded "yes, I was hoping if you can stay with slphy and my sister's until I get back." Luz nodded "sure but why?" Rudeus sighed "I'm going to help my dad save my mom." Luz nodded "ok, let me get my stuff then I'm on my way." Rudeus nodded.   Luz turned around and got her homework, she turned to the portal case that was still on the table. Luz shrugged, she walked out of her dorm room and closed the door. she used her earth magic to lock it, she turned to Rudeus "ok let's go." Rudeus nodded "your lucky I don't have time to know why you did that." Luz and Rudeus walked to Rudeus's house. When they got there Rudeus opened the door. Rudeus and Luz walked in and looked around "ah, back in the hotel." she turned to Rudeus who looked at her with a deadpan look "don't start."   Luz shrugged, she walked to the living room to see Slphy and Rudeus's sister's on the couch. Slphy looked up and smiled "Luz, it's good to see you." Luz smiled "it's nice to see you two Slphy. I'm sorry I didn't come to the wedding, I wanted to work on my magic and try to get good at it." slphy shock her head "it's ok, I understand." rudeus walked up to them. Slphy turned to him "did you tell her?" Rudeus shock his head "not yet, I'm kinda in a hurry right now."   Slphy nodded "I understand go and save your mother." Rudeus nodded, he bent down and kissed Slphy. After a few seconds they broke the kiss. Rudeus turned around and left to go join his father. Luz turned back to Slphy "tell me what?" Slphy smiled, she looked down to her stomach. Luz looked down to her stomach after a few seconds Luz understood. she smiled, "ah, how cute you guys are having a baby?" Slphy nodded "yes, we are."   Luz smiled, she turned to Norn and Aisha who was smiling "so any guesses on gender?" norn and Aisha nodded, norn spoke first "I picked boy." Aisha spoke next "I picked girl, what do you pick Luz?" Luz thought about it for a second "hm, I'm going to have to guess and say girl." Aisha jumped in celebration, Norn pouted "why did you pick hers, Luz?" Luz shrugged "it's really just a guess." she turned to Slphy "but I'm surprised, I didn't know human and elf's can have kids." Slphy looked confused "why's that?"   Luz sighed, she sat on the free spot on the couch "because me and Amity were we are from different worlds. Amity is a witch, and I'm a human, I don't know if it can work for us and besides we are both girls." Slphy nodded then smiled "I think it can work out for you two to have a kid. besides you have magic, or you can adopt a kid if you two want." Luz nodded and smiled "thank you Slphy." Slphy smiled "your welcome Luz." Luz thought of something "so have two thought of any names yet?"   Slphy shock her head "no, we just found out about the pregnancy today." Luz nodded "ok, that's fair." Slphy nodded, Luz spent the last few days with slphy, Norn and Aisha. She helped Aisha do the chores and helped slphy cook and do stuff. Luz was helping Slphy clean when they heard the door opened. She walked with Slphy to the door to see rudeus and his friend's entering the house. Slphy walked up to Rudeus, Rudeus looked down "Slphy, I'm sorry I cheated on you with Roxy and got her pregnant by accident."   Luz was shooked by this. She wanted to punch Rudeus, but what he said next shook Luz. Norn walked to Rudeus "big brother where is father?" Rudeus turned to Norn, one his friends gave norn a sword, Norn started to cry, she looked up to Rudeus. who looked down "father... Paul Grayrat passed away." Luz was shooked by this, Rudeus walked to the table and putted his fathers reaming stuff on the table. Norn turned and walked to Rudeus "even though you went there! Why is it father had to die!"   Rudeus turned to Norn "I'm sorry... I just wasn't strong enough." "Big brother...!" Norn grabbed Rudeus's lapels, but he didn't do anything, Luz thought now was a time to step up "Norn..." Norn turned to Luz with tears in her eye's, she glared at her "don't." Luz didn't back down "Norn, I know how you feel, I lost my Father too." everyone turned to Luz even Rudeus, Norn hiccuped "really?" Luz nodded "yes, when I was young after that it was just me and mom in the house."   Luz tried not to cry but Norn letted go of Rudeus and burst out crying. Luz turned to Rudeus who whispered "thank you." Luz nodded, Rudeus got up "ok I will explain in more detail." everyone nodded, after Rudeus finished explaining his friends left all except a girl with blue hair. Rudeus walked back to the living room. Luz sat on the couch with Norn, Rudeus spoke up again "ok, now I told you about Roxy being pregnant, and she is going to be my second wife."   Everyone looked shocked, Luz turned to Roxy who looked down then back to Rudeus her eye's began to open wide "wait, so she is your old master?" she pointed to Roxy, Rudeus nodded "yes and if you tell her I will end you do you understand me." he glared at Luz. Luz gulped "ok, ok, I won't but is she really going to be your second wife?" Rudeus nodded "that is the plan anyway, but that is up to Slphy." Rudeus turned to Slphy "Slphy, I'm so sorry I broke our promise and cheated on you with Roxy and got her pregnant, I understand if you want to leave me."   Luz turned to Slphy who got up then she turned to Roxy who began to get her stuff and started to leave "Roxy." Luz and Roxy turned to Slphy who smiled "you can stay here." Roxy turned and walked to Slphy "are you sure I did cause it and I seduced Rudeus to do it and I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get pregnant." Roxy looked down. Slphy smiled "it's ok, I forgive you and besides Rudeus is a pervert, so it can't be helped." Roxy laughed, and she was starting to cry.   Luz smiled at that. She turned to Rudeus who was smiling also. Luz raised her hand up and everyone turned to her "so is Roxy going to teach me magic now. Because I would like her to teach me magic instead of you." she pointed to Rudeus who looked bewildered "what, but I taught you everything I know, and you are strong like me. Why do you want Roxy?" Luz shrugged "why not, she might know magic you don't know, and she won't act like a king or think they are superior like someone else I know..."   Luz looked away. Slphy giggled at that, Rudeus looked down "alright fine, is that ok Roxy?" he turned to Roxy who looked to Luz "that depends on can you do magic?" luz nodded, she putted her hand out and a fireball appeared. Roxy was shocked "you can do wordless spell casting too?" Luz nodded "yeah, I just tried it once and a water ball appeared." Roxy nodded "ok, after I get settled I can see what I can do to help." Luz nodded "thanks Roxy."   Roxy smiled "your welcome Luz." after that Roxy became Luz's teacher. Luz walked back to her dorm room. she enters her room and gone to her bed. She looks to the portal case and smiled "Amity, I'm getting a new teacher, and I'm going to get even stronger now." she turned to the window and started to think about Amity. She smiled, she turned and walked to her desk. She putted her work on the table and continued her work. It's been a year since Luz and Amity entered the new world. Luz has been learning new magic and been helping Rudeus and his family if they needed any help. One day rudeus wanted to talk to Luz. So Luz walked to rudeus house after school. She entered the house and walked to the living room to see rudeus with his family "Rudeus." Rudeus turned to Luz and smiled, he got up and walked to Luz "Luz, can we talk in the basement please?"   Luz nodded "sure." Luz followed Rudeus to the basement. They walked downstairs. when they entered the basement rudeus closed the door when Luz entered the room. She turned to Rudeus "ok, what's going on Rudeus?" Rudeus turned to Luz and sighed "listen, one night we had a visitor. He said he came from the future and told me a dark future was going to happen if he didn't come to stop me, and he told me to do three things to prevent it from happening." Luz nodded "ok and what were they?"   Rudeus sighed again "he told me to get the rats out that was going to cause Roxy and the baby to die, second was to talk to Nanahisi because she didn't get to go home in that timeline." Luz nodded "and the third thing." Rudeus gulped "he told me to send Eris a letter and make her the third wife and that means Amity might come back." he waited for Luz's reaction after a few seconds, Luz screamed "AMITY IS COMING BACK!"   Rudeus was taken aback by this. After a few seconds he finally calmed down and nodded "yes, I'm working on a letter for Eris and I can right Amity something if you want?" Luz nodded "yes, thank you." Rudeus nodded "you're welcome Luz and there is something else..." Rudeus looked down, Luz looked worried "what's wrong Rudeus." Rudeus looked up "I'm going to fight Orsted, and I want you stay here and watch after my family while I fight him."   Luz nodded "ok, got it." Rudeus nodded "thank you, Luz." Luz nodded, after few days Luz was helping with rudeus's armor. When they were done the day of the fight happened. Luz stayed in the house while Rudeus was fighting Orsted. Amity, Eris, and Ghislaine was on their horses about ready to leave when they got a letter. Eris couldn't read it, so Nina read it, Amity ignored it until Nina said "p.s. Amity, if you are with Eris then that's great. Luz is still waiting for you and she hasn't stopped talking about you. You are all she thinks about. Anyway, that's not the point, Luz has been doing great. She can do wordless spell casting like me. Roxy and I have been training her the best we can, and now she is as strong as me and don't worry she isn't with anyone. She has been waiting for your return and so you two can get married. If you still want that I can see if we can make it happen for you two but it's your decision not mine. she will be waiting at my home with my family while I go and fight orsted." Amity smiled and blushed at that.   Eris turned to Amity and smiled. amity smiled back almost about to cry. Eris looked forward and smiled "well, what are we waiting for. Let's go." Eris clutched her settle, and the horse started to run with Amity and Ghislaine not that far behind. It took them a few hours, but they made it to the house. Eris got off the horse and ran to the house with Amity getting off her horse and following her.   They walked to the entrance, opened the door entering the house. Eris was the first one to enter. she walked to the living room to see everyone in the room but Rudeus "where is Rudeus?" everyone looked down, Slphy spoke up "he went to fight orstead." Eris looked shocked "alone." Slphy nodded, before Eris could say more she turned around and walked out of the house "Amity, stay here and watch over them until I get back."   Amity nodded, she walked into the house and walked into the living room to see everyone. Slphy smiled "you must be Amity." Amity nodded "yes, where is Luz?" slphy pointed to the couch. She turned to see Luz on the couch talking to a kid. Amity walked slowly to her "Luz?" Luz turned her head and was shock to see Amity. She got up and walked to Amity "Amity, is that really you?" Amity nodded "yes, I know I look different with the long hair and the outfit."   Luz nodded "I like it. You look like Eris." Amity blushed and smiled "I missed you." Luz smiled and was about to cry "I missed you too." Amity was crying now, and the two hugged finally reuniting after so long. After a few seconds they broke the hug. Luz smiled "so are you finally strong enough to fight your mom?" Amity nodded "yes, and I know the sword god style like Eris, but I don't have a title like her." Luz nodded.   she looked down to look at Amity. Amity was wearing a brown shirt like what Eris is wearing with her black pants, she had her charm on her back but this time her brown hair was long to her stomach and she had a sword on her side. "did the sword master give you that?" amity looked down to her sword then back to Luz "yes they did, I was using my charm, but they gave me a sword just in case."   Luz nodded, amity smiled "so what about you. I heard you can do spell casting right?" Luz nodded, she pulled her hand from amity's shoulder and made a water ball. Amity was shocked "Luz, did you just?" Luz nodded "yup, I don't know if this can work for world traveling but for now it will do." Amity nodded "do you have the portal case?" Luz nodded "yes, it's back in my dorm room." Amity nodded "good."   She grabbed her shirt, grabbed the portal key and gave it to Luz. Who chuckled "all this time you had it." amity nodded "yeah, I'm sorry. I found out I had it while I was there." Luz's shock her head "no, it's ok. I'm glad you had it because I would have lost it." amity nodded "that's true." Luz turned to see Eris, Roxy and Slphy gone "huh, I wonder were they-" Luz figured out where they were going "oh they are gone to help Rudeus." Amity nodded "do you think they can win?"   Luz shrugged "I don't know, I never met Orstead before." Amity nodded "me neither." Amity looked down "hey Luz." Luz turned to Amity "yes, what's wrong Amity?" amity looked up to Luz "do you still want to get married?" Luz turned fully to Amity "yes, I do. I haven't stopped thinking about that." Amity smiled "good, me neither." Luz smiled after few minutes Rudeus, Eris, Roxy, and Slphy came back. Luz and Amity turned to them. Amity spoke first "what happened." Eris turned to Amity "Rudeus lost to Orsted and is now working for him."   Luz and Amity's eye's widen. They guided Rudeus to his room, Slphy and Roxy came back while Eris stayed with Rudeus. Slphy turned to them and smiled "he's going to be ok, but he needs rest right now." Luz and amity nodded, Amity turned to Luz and smiled "can we go to your dorm room?" Luz looked to Amity and smiled "yes." Luz began to walk to her dorm room, Amity followed her. They walked to the girl's dorm and walked to Luz's room. When they entered Luz's room, Luz walked to her bed and sat down.   Amity looked around Luz's room "you didn't change anything?" Luz's shock her head "no it's like everyone's dorm room. I didn't know what I wanted for my room." Amity nodded, she walked to Luz's bed and said next to her. Amity smiled "I really missed you Luz." Luz smiled "I missed you too Amity. You were the only one on my mind these past few years." Amity nodded "me too, I thought nothing but you and us getting married."   Luz looked down "are you really strong enough to beat your mother?" Amity nodded "yes, I think so, I have been training with Eris for years and I think I'm strong enough to kill odalia." Luz looked up to Amity "odalia, not your mom?" Amity shock her head "no, Luz, she isn't my mother anymore..." Amity looked down "I'm disowning the Blight name and odalia isn't my mother anymore. I mean Edric and Emira are still my siblings, but I'm done with the Blight name and everything that my family has done."   Amity looked up to Luz and smiled "I'm done with the Blight family because you are my family, and you are the only one I care about." Luz smiled "really?" Amity nodded "yes, the only thing I want now is to be with you forever and be your wife. I will fix things with Willow when we get back but if odalia tries something then I will kill her because she means nothing to me now." Luz nodded "are you free from her control now?"   Amity shrugged "somewhat, when I kill odalia, I hope to finally be free from her but for now yes. I've managed to fight it off the best I can." Luz nodded "that's good." Amity nodded "so what have you been doing while I was gone?" Luz looked bashful then sighed "I've just been trying to get stronger with my magic and I've been helping rudeus with his family when he needs help." Amity nodded "have you made friends here?"   Luz's shock her head "no, I mean besides Rudeus and his family. No, I never have because I was waiting for you to come back." Amity nodded "I understand, besides Eris I never made any other friends either." Luz nodded, she looked down "and I've been trying to change to stop being oblivious and to try to take things seriously." Amity looked worried "Luz were you ok. while I was gone." Luz looked up with a tear in her eye's "no, when you left I thought you left me and I remembered what happened in the human realm. I found out I was too stupid back then, and I was so oblivious to you back then, and I'm so, so, so, sorry." Luz was full on crying.   Amity leaned forward and hugged Luz. Luz cried on Amity, Amity pressed circles on Luz's back trying to calm her down. After a few seconds Luz has started to calm down. amity smiled "it's ok, I'm so sorry for leaving you all of a sudden. I just wanted to get stronger, so I can protect you and stop my mother's control over me, but I really want to be your wife." amity broke the hug and smiled at Luz. Luz looked up to amity "really?"   Amity nodded "yes and I promise you Luz. I will never leave you again. You have my word." Luz smiled "thank you amity, but I wasn't mad at you. I was just upset that I thought you left me. but I'm really not mad. I'm glad you are strong now, and I would really love you to be my wife." Amity smiled "thank you, Luz and I promise you. I will never leave you like that ever again, and I will make it up to you until we get back home."   Luz nodded "thank you amity." amity smiled "so what now?" Luz smiled, she leaned into amity and kissed her, amity kissed Luz back with more passivity. Amity pushed Luz down on the bed. They broke the kiss, Amity smirked "you know Eris did teach me something while I was training." Luz smiled "what is it?" Amity leaned to Luz's ear and wispeared "wait until we are back in the isles, and you have a dick then you can find out."   Amity pulled back to see Luz's blushing face. Amity giggled, she got off the bed and turned to Luz "come on, let's go check on Rudeus and see if they can marry us after that we can leave for the next world, ok?" Luz sat up and nodded "ok." Luz got up and followed amity out of her dorm room. They walked out of the girl dorm and walked to Rudeus's house. When they made it back to Rudeus's house, they saw Rudeus on his knee's in front of Eris. They walked up to them. Luz spoke first "Rudeus, Eris, what's going on here?"   Eris looked up to Luz and Rmity "Rudeus just proposed to me and I don't know my answer." Luz turned to Amity who just shrugged "don't ask me, while we were there to train. Eris has been talking about wanting to marry Rudeus for years." Luz turned to Eris who was blushing. She sighed, she grabbed rudeus, picked him up and kissed him. After a few seconds Eris broke the kiss "yes, I will marry you and I would love to be the third wife happy."   She dropped rudeus, turned around and walked back to the house blushing. Rudeus turned back to Luz and Amity and smiled "thanks, I proposed to her, and I was waiting for her answer until you two came back." Luz and Amity smiled. Rudeus got up and looked them "so I guess we have two weddings to get ready for right?" Luz and Amity smiled and nodded, Rudeus smiled "well, let's get ready." he turned back and walked backed to the house. Luz and Amity walked with him.   A few days after, they were getting ready for Luz and Amity's wedding. Eris, Slphy and Roxy helped Amity getting ready, while Rudeus and his sisters helped Luz getting ready. after a few more days Luz and amity wedding day came they had it in rudeus backyard. the same person who had Rudeus married his three wives. Luz and Amity stood in front of each other at an altar. Rudeus and his family and friends made for them. Rudeus and his family sait in there seat's and watched as The priest smiled "we are gathered here today to celebrate these two young woman Luz neceda and Amity blight. If there is anyone objects to this marriage please speak now or forever hold your peace." everyone stayed silent.   The priest smiled "ok, we will now do the vow's." Luz and Amity blushed, Luz smiled "I guess I will go first." Amity smiled and nodded. Luz cleared her throat and started speaking "amity. before I met you, people in the human realm made fun of me and laughed at me. I never had any friends or lovers. I did have crushes, but they just laughed at me when I tried to ask them out, but none of them could compare to you. When I lost my dad I was so hurt by it that I got into anime, manga, and fanfic then my mom tried to send me to a summer camp, but I ended up on the boiling isles instead and then I met you, and it was the happiest moment that happened in my life. but I was too oblivious to you until you saved me from your mother that I fell in love with you then hooty helped us, and we started dating. now we are on this journey and I realized i want to spend every moment of my life with you. Because I love you amity."   Amity was smiling and crying at the same time. After a second it was Amity's turn she spoke up "Luz, ever since I was young, I didn't think there was anything for me in life other than what other people had planned for me. Then one day you fall into my life. I was mean to you for a while but after the library incident I developed feelings for you then grom happened, and I was too scared to ask you out. but you went out with me anyway's then odalia tried to kill you and all I could think about was saving you from her. Then hooty helped us get together, and we started dating. every moment was the happiest of my life and now that we are on this journey. I realized that I want to spend every moment of my life with you and be your wife. I love you Luz noceda and that will never change."   Amity was starting to tear up. Luz smiled, the priest smiled "that was beautiful amity. Now the rings?" rudeus got up and handed him the rings. Rudeus made them with his earth magic and added blue and brown diamonds he found on his job with working with orstead. The priest got them and handed them to Luz and amity who took them and put them on each other's fingers. The priest continued "then by the power vested in me by the ranoa magic academy, I know pronouns you wife and wife, you may kiss the bride."   Luz and Amity smiled at each other than they leaned in and kissed. Everyone cheared for them after a few seconds they broke the kiss and turned to the others as they walked out of the alter. Luz and Amity walked to the house with Rudeus and his family following right behind them. Once they were inside Luz and Amity turned around Rudeus who smiled "congratulations guy's, so what are you two going to do now?"   Luz and Amity turned to each other than nodded, they turned to Rudeus. Amity spoke first "we are going to leave and go to the next world." Rudeus nodded "ok." Luz and Amity turned around and walked to a room. When they entered the room, they took there wedding dresses off and putted there traveling clothes on. Luz putted her shirt and her green jacket on and her purple pants and her Bennie on.   Amity putted her clothes that the holy land of the swords gave her on, she putted on her brown shirt with her black pants and putted her sword on the side. She turned to Luz who smiled "are you ready?" amity nodded "yup, ready." Luz nodded, she grabbed the portal case that was on the bed. Luz brought it with them, so they could leave after the wedding. She putted the portal case in front of them. Amity got the key from her shirt, and before she pressed it the door opened. Luz and amity turned to see Eris coming in "oh good, you two haven't left yet."   Amity looked confused "Eris, what's wrong, did we forget something?" Eris nodded, she brought Amity's charm and gave it to her. Amity smiled "thank you Eris I almost forgot it." Eris nodded, she then got out a black jacket one that was looked like Eris and Ghlyline's and gave it to amity. Amity looked up to Eris who was blushing slightly "it's just a wedding present for you for my sister. I guess." Eris turned away blushing, Amity smiled "thank you, Eris."   Eris turned to amity, smiled and nodded. amity turned to Luz. Who smiled "are you ready?" amity nodded "yup." Luz turned to the bed her charm case was there. Luz brought it too, so she wouldn't forget it. Luz grabbed it and put it on her back. they turned to the portal case. Amity pressed the button and the case turned into a door. it opened reviling a yellow light. Amity turned to Eris and smiled "thank you, Eris, I will never forget you or what the master has taught me."   Eris ran to Amity and hugged her "I will miss you too Amity." Amity felt like she couldn't breathe "Eris... can't... breath..." Eris letted go of Amity. Amity panted for air, Eris smiled "sorry." after Amity was done panting for air she smiled "it's ok Eris, and thanks for the hug." Eris smiled and nodded, Amity turned around, putted the jacket on and faced the portal. She turned to Luz who smiled. amity smiled and nodded. they turned to the portal and walked to the door. They turned to each other and smiled. then they turned back to the portal and walked through entered a new world. Luz and Amity walked through the portal and they saw a big screen. Luz looked down to see people working on something. Luz turned to Amity who got the portal case and turned to Luz then the people working then back to Luz "Luz, I don't think we should disturb them." Luz chuckled "ah, come on Amity it will be fine." Amity sighed "ok, let's do it." Luz nodded, she turned back to the people working and walked to them.   Amity followed Luz who smiled "hello." the people flinched then they turned around to them. They were people who had different color's on them. Amity thought it was odd. One of them walked up to them, she was yellow with blue hair "um, hello are you two lost?" Luz smiled "hi I'm Luz and this is Amity." Amity nodded "hi, um, do you have a bag we can put this stuff in?" the person nodded "hi, I'm Joy and yes, I think I got just the thing be right back." Joy walked by them and left.   Luz turned to Amity "what was that and why do we need a bag?" Amity sighed "because I'm getting tired of carrying the portal case." Luz shrugged. joy came back with a small bag. Amity turned to Joy and smiled "thank you." Amity grabbed the bag and opened it. She looked back up to Joy "are you sure all of this will fit in here?" Joy nodded "yes, it's an imaginary bag you can put all kind's of stuff in there, and it has plenty of room."   Amity looked skeptically at Joy then down to the bag. She shrugged and started putting her swords and her stuff in it. Amity was shocked that it could fit. She looked up to Joy who grinned "see, what did I tell you." amity blinked twice, she looked to Luz and held out the bag to her "put your charm case in here." Luz shrugged, she did what amity said and putted the charm case in the bag. Amity was shocked to see that it worked, she looked down to the portal case then back to Luz. A thought came up in her mind "ok, well it was nice meeting you Joy, but we must leave come on Luz." she putted the tiny bag on her back, grabbed the portal case, Luz's hand and turned around.   She putted the portal case in front of them and pressed the button. The case turned into a door it opened reviling a yellow light. Amity dragged Luz through the portal entered a new world. When the portal vanished joy starred bewildered. Another person came to her, he was red and short "who was that?" Joy turned to him "I'm not sure, they just took bing-bong's bag and left." Joy shrugged "oh well, come on, we have to get back to work Anger." Anger turn's around and followed Joy back to work.

Mature

The hallways were long and empty of any scouts. Belos had been walking for minutes now without seeing a single door. It was getting annoying.There was a scuff from behind, the small pitter patter of feet and Belos turned around, ready to scold the latest Grimwalker on trying to sneak up on him. Instead of a demonic version of his brother's face (which was always wrong wrong wrong) a familiar mask stared up at him."Ah. What are you doing here?" some part of him knew it wasn't normal to be faced with a childhood version of one's self, that part was disregarded though as the child looked up at him."I'm tired" He said, his voice hoarse as if he had been yelling until his throat was raw."Yes, yes, this whole ordeal has dragged on for longer than I would've liked but it'll be over soon" Thinking that was it Belos turned back around but was stopped when he felt a tug on his cloak.He looked down to see the child clinging to his cloak, and if he looked close enough he could see the child was trembling."No. I wanna stop. This game isn't fun anymore" a familiar annoyance flashed across Belos' face at this."It's not a game child. Once all these demonic creatures have been purged humanity will be saved from their sinful temptations" The fact that he had to explain this in the first place was a bother but children always did have trouble grasping the larger goal of things. (He pushed away the memory of a certain person who had given into those temptations, time and time again, his will and resolve always too weak.)The child shook his head, no longer looking up at Belos but instead down at the ground, a heavyness on his small shoulders that doesn't belong to someone so young."I wanna go home. Please" the child's shoulders shook in a way that showed he was holding back tears. Belos had forgotten he had ever been this pathetic and did not appreciate the reminder."As I said, once they've all been purged we will return to the human realm-" He was suddenly cut off when the child yelled "NO!""That's not our home! Home isn't a place. Home is where we belong" the child was shaking violently now as he clung to the cloak."Yes, and we don't belong here. We belong in the human realm" Belos said through gritted teeth, his patience running thin."No" the child's voice was small now, barely above a whisper but what he said rang loud in Philip's Belos' ears "Home is where we belong. We belong with our brother. We belong with Caleb"There was a pause.Complete silence.Then Belos moved forward shaking the child's hold from his cloak as he snarled "We do not belong with that traitor" the word felt sour on his tongue, like it didn't belong there, like he was the traitor for calling his brother that. Which made no sense, Caleb was the one who betrayed him, not the other way around."You hurt him. You hurt him when he only wanted us to be happy" the annoying brat was following him now. Still no exits visible, just the seemingly endless hallway of this castle. No way to get away from those true baseless accusations."If his idea of 'happiness' was selling his soul to the devil I don't want it. What we did was a mercy" He insisted, just like he'd told himself a million times before, the excuse reasoning rolling off his tongue easily."What you did was a sin. You killed him. He hugged us and loved us and raised us, and you killed him" the words were tearing open old wounds. Wounds he had burned shut many years ago but never stayed closed for long."He chose witches over us, he abandoned us!" Philip Belos felt hysteric. If he could just find a damned door and get away from this child-!"He didn't choose, he wanted both. He wanted us" the child had stopped as he ushered those words, as if stating facts and not preposterous lies.Philip stopped to as he heard the next words from the child's mouth "Do you think he would still care for you? If he saw what you became?"It was such a simple but also such an impossible question.On one hand the idea of Caleb not caring for him was unimaginable, it simply wasn't in his naive brother's nature.On the other the idea that Caleb would still care for him after everything, still treat him as his beloved little brother sent daggers through his heart. And he didn't know why he felt that way, because he deserved that love! ...right?So Philip did what he always did when he didn't have the answer to something, he lashed out.Before he could think about it his arm morphed into a rotting corrupted mass and shot back towards the child.Instead of hitting and killing the child like it was supposed to, the child caught it and then Philip found himself being pulled toward him until he was face to face with the child. His eyes glowing an icy blue behind that godforsaken mask."Tell me, where is your brother Cain?"     Philip Belos woke with a start. His heart pounding and sweat gathering on his brow. For a second he almost lost his human form but managed to pull himself together before the rot could take over.A few deep breaths later and he was composed.He sighed, trying to recall what that dammed nightmare had been about. It was recurring. He knew.It came everytime he had to... despose... of a failed Grimwalker. Yet he could never remember what it was about.Belos shook his head. There was no use in dwelling on it. He needed to start work on a new Grimwalker. The Day of Unity was only a few years away and he needed to make sure everything went smoothly.So he ignored that small voice at the very edges of his consciousness.The singular question that had haunted the parts of his mind he dare not visit ever since the first of the many copies crawled out of the ground."Where is you brother Cain Philip? Where is Abel Caleb?"

General Audiences

Breathlessly, thoughtlessly, Luz gasped. "Jiminey Cricket," she uttered, and Amity didn't really know what that meant, but she rather liked the way Luz tended to say ridiculous little things like that. She liked it, too, when Luz huffed right after, looking up bashfully and muttering quietly, "Ah, jeez, Luz, c'mon," or something to that effect. "That was lame," she'd comment. And it was lame. In the same way that it was dorky and charming, it was kind of stupid, but so honest and painfully endearing, and Amity was distractedly intrigued by the tiny game of tug-of-war her girlfriend seemed to put herself through each time something silly slid from her lips. Lips which were, to Luz's dismay and to Amity's joy, a bit red, a little puffed up and irritated, because they had been at this for maybe an hour or so now. It was hard to tell. Neither of them were keeping track of the time, nor did they want to. How much time was there? Not enough, to be sure. Never enough. But, it wasn't something worth the concern presently. Amity wasn't paying any mind to it and Luz seemed to have altogether forgot that it existed at all. A fact which was heartwarming as much as it was other things, given Luz had so much to worry about. But what was the end of the world worth if they couldn't at the very least makeout in lieu of having a real date? Nothing, they had decided. Luz had rolled her eyes at her own commentary, lips pressed together in a thin line of vague embarrassment and maybe something else. Amity wasn't entirely sure, but it was cute and she was feeling rather selfish given the circumstances. Accordingly, she wasted no time in leaning forward once more, one hand pressed gently to her girlfriend's cheek while the other grasped less gracefully onto her forearm in a betrayal of her confidence. It's not as if she knew what she was doing either, not really, but she had so far abandoned the compulsion to reflexively bemoan herself and her eagerness. Which, really, came down to two facts. Firstly, she liked Luz. She loved Luz, though she didn't quite possess enough gumption to voice that feeling yet. Still, she loved her. And she missed her. It had been a week, but it had felt like much more. The hours themselves had gotten passively heavier with lonesomeness. It had been a week, a whole seven days, without seeing Luz and without really knowing all of what she had been going through. It had been a week and it had been terrible. It had been a week and it had been terrible and it had ended, Luz was back, and, dammit, she was going to make the most of that, even if the best they could do was makeout discreetly in a rubble strewn corner of her parents' abandoned and demolished factory. Speaking of which. Secondly, she rather liked to kiss. It was kind of shocking, actually. It was one of those things she had never felt the urge or the need to do prior to Luz becoming such a major part of her life. And, then, suddenly, she had spent far too much time thinking about it, imagining it, fantasizing about it. Not obsessively, no, but, well, it was on her mind, and she couldn't deny that, though she certainly was not about to admit to it aloud. The reality of it, she had discovered, was far superior to whatever she had conjured in her mind. Luz was wonderful to kiss. Not that Amity had anything to compare it to. She figured Luz didn't either. The experience was made better, too, by the commentary, to Luz's chagrin and to Amity's unfettered heart. They had surpassed the singular and slow pressing of lips to something a little more feverish to match their growing familiarity. Really, Amity felt like she was making up for the time Luz spent blubbering something silly. This time, in pulling back and blushing harder than Amity thought possible or healthy for a human, she swallowed an, "Ah, wow, okay, jeez. Sorry. Haha, wow." It was still cute, albeit far from the most ridiculous thing she had managed to say. "I'll shut up eventually, I promise," Luz continued to rattle and Amity could only look at her with untold affection. "I just, wow," and Amity felt the same, but it wasn't worth repeating the sentiment, so instead she let Luz groan at her own expense and glanced at her throat, framed rather nicely by the varsity jacket she wore. That was a thing, right? That was totally a thing. Duh, Amity thought briefly. Of course, it was a thing. She knew that for a fact. It was just, currently, an unprecedented thing, but Luz was seemingly committed to starting and stopping herself, making some odd little apology about her words while also continuing to say them, even though she really could make better use of her mouth. Amity, however, was in the habit of leading by example, so she nodded curtly to Luz's most recent statement, one she hadn't really been listening to, and leaned in again. Luz was caught off guard, just a little, because she turned at the same time but then gasped slightly when their trajectories didn't match like before. She gasped again when Amity found a new kind of home between her jaw and her shoulder, face cradled by this little pocket of warmth at Luz's throat. She smelled good. It was hard not to breathe it in, deeply and slowly, hopefully not too weirdly. It wasn't that weird, this spot wasn't new territory, she had clung to Luz plenty of times and found comfort here, a memory which seemed to be on Luz's mind too as she held Amity closer and tighter against her chest. It was new, though, to kiss there, which Amity did, maybe a little awkwardly but nonetheless softly. "Oh," was all Luz said this time. Amity felt her fingers curl a little more tightly against her back. Mindlessly, Amity exhaled hotly before kissing her there again. It was soft, it was warm, it felt natural. As natural as it was for her girlfriend to sigh, "Jeez lo' weeze. Shit, sorry. Wait. Oops. I didn't mean to, uh." Amity kissed at the hinge of her jaw before tucking her forehead against her neck and nuzzling there. "You're okay, right?" she asked. There were layers to that question, far too many, but first and foremost she wanted to make sure Luz was genuinely and presently comfortable. "Oh, yeah," her human had been quick to say. "Just, uh, new to this. But!" She could feel the way Luz was smiling, though she couldn't quite see it. Instead, she stared distractedly at how the rough fabric of the varsity jacket folded beneath her thumb as she made lazy and unconscious circles against Luz's shoulder. "I am having--a good time. Fun. This is fun. I love y--this. This, I love it, I just, uh. Wow, Amity. Zoinks. Wait, dammit." She was speaking fast, but she sounded truthful. Amity would, with little to no other choice, take her word for it.

Mature

Boscha saw the way people looked at her. She knew she was hated. She knew she was feared. Although she didn’t like this existence she knew if she didn’t follow it she would wind up more hurt than the people she bullied. At least that’s what she says to keep herself from breaking... “heh.” Boscha said with a tone different than her usually cocky tone of voice. She spoke to herself as she brushed her hair. She does her everyday morning speech but this time with emptiness. She takes a piece of glass from the vase she had broken the last night during a fight with her father and pressed it up to her skin until it eventually broke her skin she placed a bandage on the small cut and made sure it didn’t show through her uniform. She hummed to herself as she walked to school. When she got to the school she spoke to her teammates in her usual cocky voice they all know “You bitches ready for the game tonight!??” Her teammates chime in with a chorus of yeses and mhms. Skara pulls Boscha away from them and asks her “heyyyy! Boscha you look sickly, are you alright?” Boscha responds without hesitation with “yes.” Boscha had just finished with her school and her Grudgby match, while playing she injured her arm. She walked home in shame. “Hi fathe-“ she started before her father caught her off. “ I heard you hurt yourself in a match?” He said “ye-yes father” Boschas father smacked her in the face. She tried to escape to her room but her father uses his magic to reel her back to him. He then started his real beat down and hit her with a broken liquor bottle. After he was satisfied with how he hurt her he took of Boschas uniform and undergarments and undressed himself to. He raped her and when he finished Boscha was free to go. She ran upstairs and locked her door. She tried to call Skara for some form of comfort without telling her about what happened. Skara didn’t pick up. She decided to check her penstagram she saw a post from willow and wrote a comment ‘ew losers’. Willows responds almost immediately with ‘don’t be a bitch’. Boscha turns off her scroll and goes to bed. Willow woke up to her alarm blaring. She decided to get ready for the day. She got dressed and put her hair in a braid bun. She watered her bedside plants and made her way downstairs. When she reached the last steps she was greeted by here fathers “good morning Willow!!” They said in unison. “Good morning dad, papa!” She spoke happily and gave her fathers each a hug. They all ate breakfast together and before Willow knew it it was time to leave for school. “Bye!!” She said before exiting her home and heading to hexide.

Mature

        The Emperor's curse can be volatile.   Hunter has been on the wrong end of it enough times to know just how suddenly it can overwhelm Belos, how dangerous it can become. More and more often now, it leaves his uncle bent and wheezing for breath, clutching his chest as he wages an internal war against the beastly form fighting to get out.    Sometimes there are warning signs before an attack, migraine auras and dizzy spells that alert him, ever vigilant, to a problem with the Emperor's health. Other times it comes on in an instant.   Here, now, in his uncle's quarters, where Hunter kneels before the Emperor's bed, tending to the Emperor's needs, there is very little warning.   One moment Belos is stroking his hair, his cock heavy on Hunter's tongue, the next he is tense and shaking with the threat of a coughing fit.   Hunter pulls back, caught between the task before him and the thought that he should run and get a palisman, "Uncle-"   "I'm fine," Belos tells him, though he sounds a little ragged, "It's passing."   Hunter isn't quite so sure, but he nods and goes back to work, not wanting to keep the Emperor waiting. He grips the base of the cock before him, holding it steady to guide into his mouth, all too aware of the heat of his uncle's skin against his own bare fingers.   He so rarely removes his gloves, it feels like a whole other level of intimacy just to have that bit of contact.   Above him, Belos chuckles lightly, just shy of breathless, "Dare I say, this might be the best treatment for my ailing health."   Hunter flushes, keeps his eyes downcast. He's read books on the subject of healing, both magical and natural; he knows that orgasm can provide pain relief as well as reduce stress. Belos gave him those books, in fact, and while he may have only intended to educate, Hunter suspects he's pleased to have a nephew who can put two and two together.   He might not be able to break the curse, and the type of magical research he longs to try may be strictly forbidden, but he can help his uncle with the painful side effects of his condition this way, at least. Bringing the Emperor whatever comfort he can is just as central to his role as carrying out his orders beyond the castle walls.   "What a terrible thing to live with, a curse," Belos muses.   Hunter gives no reply; he's not supposed to. Belos has conversations like this sometimes, talking mostly to himself while Hunter listens and nods occasionally and works, whether that means gathering research notes or preparing for a fight or sucking the Emperor off.   "If you're not careful it can consume you…" He trails off into a pleased hum as Hunter pulls back to pay more attention to the head.   Belos shudders, and Hunter has to glance up to judge whether he's doing a good job or if his uncle is on the cusp of another fit. It's difficult to tell, honestly. The difference between pained and pleasured expressions is subtle, and Hunter has never been good at reading faces anyway.   Touch is a better indicator, and for the moment Belos is being gentle with him. He pets and pulls his hair in turns, just sharp enough to make heat throb between his legs, and after a moment his uncle's free hand comes to cup his cheek, thumb idly stroking the prominent scar there.   "It can be so difficult to control," he sighs, gasps when Hunter hums his agreement.   It's alright, he wants to say, I know you didn't mean to.   If he didn't make Belos so angry, if he didn't screw up the simplest things, the curse wouldn't get the better of him and make him lash out. The Emperor works so hard to control so much- apparently the violent impulses of his curse are just one thing too many.   "And Palistrom wood has become so scarce," Belos says, the end of his words nearly a hiss.   Hunter winces, works harder to swallow the Emperor down to the base of his cock briefly before pulling back to lick at the head; he's gotten good at it now, from practice.   He can't help but feel responsible for his uncle's lack of access to treatment, even if it truly is entirely out of his hands. If he could just do better, find something that works as well as palisman-   Belos makes a choked sound above him and Hunter looks up in concern. The haphazard stripe of green that runs along his uncle's face pulses with the power of the curse, threatening to spill over. The hand on Hunter's cheek spasms briefly before Belos shoves it roughly into his hair alongside the other, cradling his head like he might crack open his skull.   Hunter couldn't move away if he wanted to, and even though fear has suddenly turned his veins to ice, a small part of him, the core of him, is fighting to be brave for the Emperor.   Maybe if he does a good enough job he can keep the transformation from progressing. Maybe he can keep Belos calm, content. Maybe he can at least avoid being hit.   He breathes through the fear, tries to ground himself in the service he's providing. Even as the pressure of the Emperor's shaking hands atop his head increases, he stays on task, working his own hand along the shaft and stealing glances up at Belos to gauge how far gone he is.   It's still his uncle's face, until it isn't. Hunter watches, wide eyed in terror, as flesh twists and buckles and reforms into the snarling maw he sees in so many of his nightmares.   He can feel the transformation, the hot, smooth skin against his tongue shifting, coiling like a snake before collapsing into formlessness, a semi-solid mass of slime that fills his mouth. A shiver rolls through him from head to toe, the whole of his body rejecting the sensation so fully that he gags and chokes.   Belos is still holding onto his hair though, pushing him down, the fingers of both hands growing long and sharp, a set of wet claws that prick at Hunter’s scalp and stain his hair.   He wants to stop, he wants to curl up in a ball and hide until the fit passes and his uncle is himself again, but he doesn’t dare try to move for fear of provoking an attack. It’s painful enough contending with the bruises and cuts his uncle’s curse leaves on his skin; he can all too easily imagine his neck getting snapped, his tongue ripped out, in his current position.   He frantically lowers his gaze, afraid to meet his uncle’s eyes now that he can't be sure of what he'll find there. Sometimes when the curse takes over Belos seems lost to an animal rage, any semblance of the Emperor vanishing into a snarling beast. Other times Hunter could swear he sees intelligence in those glowing blue eyes, a sign of his uncle still there, deep inside the shifting mass of his tortured body.   At this point he isn’t sure which he’d rather see.   It doesn’t matter anyway; he started this and now he has to finish it. It’s all for his uncle’s sake, and no matter his appearance, his uncle is still there somewhere within that haunted frame. Belos is suffering from his curse and Hunter has to help him, wants to help him.   He takes a deep breath through his nose and, trembling, lets the weight of the clawed hands upon his head press him down, forcing himself to swallow more of the horrid squirming thickness in his mouth.    Belos is bigger like this, even taller than usual, with limbs that seem to stretch just a little too far, and while Hunter has never had an opportunity to take note of it before, a cock to match. What had become a familiar stretch is now a strain on his jaw, the length and girth filling his mouth noticeably bigger as the cursed flesh ripples and twists on his tongue.   He does his best to move the way he’s learned, to lick and swallow just like Belos taught him, but it’s so much harder to do when the thing in his mouth is not so much a dick as a roiling creature all its own. It spreads to fill the space, turning over on itself like an ocean wave compressed down into one thick, viscous thing. He can feel it in every crevice, slipping between the gap in his teeth and stroking along the insides of his cheeks. It slips down his throat and he gags again, unable to stifle the whimper that bubbles up out of him.   The claws in his hair tighten to hold him in place as his uncle’s mossy, skeletal hips buck up, up, forcing the entirety of his cock down Hunter’s throat, until he’s sure he’ll choke.   He has to do this (he doesn’t have a choice,) and he has to do it properly (or he may very well die.)   Hunter tries to relax, to let go entirely. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with having his throat fucked like this; usually the Emperor prefers for him to put in the work himself, lavishing him with attention, but at least once or twice his uncle has cooly instructed him to stay still while he uses his mouth, gripping his hair tight and thrusting into his mouth with abandon. In those moments Hunter felt as though he’d sunken down inside his own body, detached from his own thoughts and feelings to exist as just a hole to be filled. There was a certain peace in it, that kind of servitude.   This is practically the same (it’s not.)   He wills his mind to let go, to let him fall slack and simply be used. Maybe if Belos can find some relief he’ll change back into himself again and no one will get hurt.   The creature- the curse- his uncle- Hunter cannot decide how he wants to think of the person attached to the strange, sickening cock in his mouth- growls above him and quickly moves to take advantage of Hunter’s lack of resistance. The hips work to thrust into his mouth and the claws tangle in his hair to drag him- guide him, up and down the length.   It doesn’t feel like a cock, not really- it feels like a barrel of abomination goo poured into his mouth and dripping down his throat. It feels like a tongue, wet and heavy and sliding against his own in some kind of monstrous version of a kiss. It feels like something that would be incredible fucking him from the other end and he hates himself for thinking it, for getting wet over it, for whining in interest at the thought.   The thing in his mouth responds to the whine though, or maybe Belos himself does, picking up the pace so the slime drags over his tongue faster, plunging more forcefully into his throat and threatening his gag reflex on every second stroke.   Hunter squeezes his eyes shut hard- he already wasn’t looking, and now that he can feel the start of tears welling at the corners of his eyes he doesn’t want to see or be seen. In darkness it’s easier to disengage from where he is, what he’s doing. He can fall into the rhythm of it and let himself be moved, filled, used.   He doesn’t realize until too late that he can’t really breathe. Despite his training, despite his best efforts, fear gets the better of him.   The slime is thick in his mouth, down the back of his throat, and he’s half-afraid it will just keep going, plunging down into his lungs, his stomach, filling him entirely, and it’s the fear that makes him lose his rhythm. He misses a breath through his nose, panics when the sludge filling his mouth thrusts forward, feeling more solid somehow, and he realizes that he could choke to death like this, asphyxiate on his uncle’s cursed flesh and die a crying, slime covered mess.   His eyes fly open and he makes a frantic noise, a whimper, a plea, looking up into his uncle’s gaunt, curse-afflicted face. The glowing eyes that meet his aren’t lost to wild fury, but focused and calculating, a trace of the Emperor inside.   Hunter swallows reflexively around the squirming mass in his throat and whines again, the shape of the words he wants to say ringing out inside his head; please Uncle, please be in there, please don’t let me die, please-   The clawed fingers in his hair still hold on tight. The hips still press forward, feeding the wriggling cock into his mouth again and again.   Distantly, Hunter can feel the heat of tears on his cheeks. He can feel himself hyperventilating, breathing all wrong and making it worse, making his vision go blurred, making his lungs ache. He can feel his jaw pop in a way that feels wrong and all the while those glowing blue eyes are trained on him, watching.   He squeezes his eyes shut again, blacking out his own vision before lack of air can black it out for him, and finally, finally there is a roar from above, the twitch of the cock in his mouth. He doesn’t even taste it as his uncle comes hot down his throat, tongue pressed flat and helpless beneath the relentless squirming mess of cursed flesh.   Then that flesh is being withdrawn, the too-large mass of it dragging over his bottom lip, changing as it goes, from mossy green sludge to the pink-pale of the Emperor’s spent cock. The claws against his scalp melt away to ordinary fingers that brush his hair back and stroke his wet cheek. The beast becomes his uncle again, warm and familiar and looking concerned as Hunter gasps for air between his legs, mouth hanging open and dripping with remnants of green slime.   “Oh dear,” Belos says, sounding almost as breathless as Hunter feels, “I… seem to have lost control of myself.”   Normally so unflappable, it’s strange to see the Emperor wearing an expression that borders on chagrined.   Hunter is so relieved to see him, to hear his voice, to be able to breathe, that he cannot stop the frightened sob that escapes him, like a child waking up from a nightmare. As soon as the sound registers as having come from him he tries to save face, snapping his mouth shut and wiping furiously at his cheeks and lips, smearing away tears and viscous greenish fluid.   His uncle’s hand settles on his shoulder, startling him into looking up again. Belos says nothing, just opens his arms, gesturing for Hunter to come to him, and he does. He climbs up onto the bed, into his uncle's arms like he's been pulled to safety out of the Boiling Sea, clinging to him and shaking furiously.   His uncle's arms wrap around him in a rare embrace, holding him close like he's something precious.   "I wish that you hadn't seen me like that," he says, soft and even beside Hunter's nicked ear. The steadiness of his tone makes Hunter feel steadier too, safe in his arms after a frankly frightening experience.   "It's okay," Hunter sniffles, hating how babyish he sounds when he cries. He wants to say more but his throat is rough and aching and all his words seem to have disappeared.   He's seen his uncle's curse act up before, he shouldn't be so shaken. It's worse for Belos, surely, to undergo such a terrible transformation.   "Are you hurt?" Belos asks, and when Hunter shakes his head no, "Good. You did remarkably well under pressure."   The praise warms Hunter, a comfort from within that radiates out to meet the calming pressure of his uncle's embrace, soothing him into a quiet, shuddering state. He wants to fully relax, but his eyes don't seem to have gotten the memo, still steadily leaking tears.   It's funny; he's such a mess while Belos looks as neat and proper as ever, as if he didn't just transform into a writhing mass of cursed matter. He's fully dressed, even, everything right where it should be now that he's gotten control of the curse and shifted back to himself.   "Come now," Belos tells him, maneuvering him out of his lap and onto the bed, encouraging him to lay down.   Hunter cannot quite bring himself to let go of his uncle's shoulders, only wanting to cling and burrow further into him. His breathing should be back to normal now, but the way dreadful little sobs keep catching in his throat keeps him off kilter. He lets himself be splayed out though, distantly worried about ruining the bedding with the slime that is almost certainly staining his hair.   Belos stays close, looming over him, and when he pulls one arm free to bring a blessedly non-shifting flesh and blood hand to slip smoothly beneath the waistband of Hunter's trousers, he smiles faintly at the wetness he finds between his legs.   "You can't have been too upset, then, if you're in this state," he says, gently teasing, and Hunter's whole face goes hot with shame.   He doesn't know how to explain that he didn't mean to be aroused, that he wasn't really, his body just sort of does things, and regardless of whether he could put his thoughts to words he doesn't think he could choke them out right now. Even if his throat didn't feel raw and swollen, he can't seem to force himself to speak more than a word or two.   Words aren't necessary anyway, since as soon as the calloused tips of the Emperor's fingers slide through that damning wetness Hunter finds himself whimpering like he's expected to, canting his hips up to meet the touch whether he intends to or not.   "There," Belos says, finally untangling himself from Hunter's grasp to lean back and look down at him, "You're calming down."   He says it like it's a fact, but Hunter doesn't feel it. He's still breathing a little too hard, still blinking away tears. He doesn't argue though, doesn't say anything at all, just lays still and pours his focus into steadying his breathing while his uncle slides two long fingers inside him. This is meant to be a reward for a job well done.   He's wet enough that it doesn't hurt at all, but in truth he can barely feel it. Every sensation seems deadened somehow, drowned out by the still-fading terror of thinking he might choke to death. He hasn't been so humiliated in front of the Emperor in a long time, reduced to tears like a child, but even that feels more distant than it should.   Belos doesn't seem to mind his crying; rather than the usual look of mild irritation Hunter would expect in light of such a display, his uncle only looks strangely pleased, just a touch pitying.   The last thing Hunter wants from anyone is pity. He wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand to rub away the last of his tears, clears his sore throat and grits out, "...sorry."   For the tears, for the mistake of choking, for adding to the stress that makes his uncle's curse act up in the first place.   Belos says nothing, just crooks his fingers inside Hunter to drag a moan out of him.   Hunter barely registers the feeling of those fingers plunging in, pulling out, but when they press and rub against the right spot he is suddenly very aware of how inside him they are, how deeply Belos is touching him. He cannot stop his mind from spinning off into the thought of the slimey thickness of his uncle's cursed form moving in him.   How would it feel to have that same strange, wriggling flesh fucking something other than his throat? To be filled so completely?   He moans again, sick with himself for getting off to the thought of benefitting from the Emperor's misfortune, and Belos works a third finger into him, moving faster now.   Hunter keens as Belos presses his fingertips in a neat, circular motion against that one spot inside him, unrelenting as the sludge that filled his mouth, and it isn't long before he's coming hard, shuddering and crying out.   For the second time that night he finds himself struggling to catch his breath.   Belos slips his fingers free of Hunter's body, free of his trousers. He holds them up for Hunter to lick clean and he does so, finding the rhythm of his breath again as he sucks on each individual digit in turn. He doesn't ordinarily like tasting himself, but at least it brings a change from the lingering taste of the curse in his mouth.   "I'm sorry," he says again, lips brushing the tips of his uncle's fingers, "I was supposed to be making you feel better."   And now Belos has to comfort him. What a pathetic excuse for a Guard he is.   But Belos just smiles faintly, "You did," he says, giving Hunter a little pat on the thigh, "I feel much better."   Hunter smiles back, the motion slower than it ought to be while he's feeling so unmoored from himself, "Oh. That's… good. I'm glad."   He is. He's glad and relieved and he doesn't want to throw up the slime and semen settling in his stomach even a little bit.   "Perhaps this method of curse mitigation warrants further research," Belos suggests, one eyebrow cocked in interest.   Hunter cannot suppress the shiver that runs through him. He clenches around nothing, between his legs and up in his throat. He schools his expression though, obedient as ever, "Yes, sir," he says, "Understood."    

Explicit

The trees surrounded her, seeming to get taller each time she looked up. Her leather boots weren't made for this, they weren’t made for stepping on sticks and rocks, nearly falling on her face. Amity made her way through the thick woods, to a familiar clearing, a cliff that stood on the edge of the forest. She could see the oranges, pinks, yellows, and reds of the sunset peeking through the trees. The canopy of leaves that darkened the forest lessened as she approached the cliff side. Amity stood for a second, the forest now behind her. Her long green locks flowed behind her when a cliche gust of wind blew by her, shaking her pink frilly dress. It was like a movie, peaceful and quiet, the sound of grass blowing in the wind, and the smell of the ocean carrying its way to her nose. It was beautiful, but it would be so much more if Luz was here. Amity looked down, a dusty and damaged polaroid and wrinkled dead flowers leaned against the stone. Luz had said it was a human thing, ‘headstones or gravestones’, a marker of someone who has left the earth and said goodbye. She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms making small crescent moons in her skin. “You idiot..” Amity mumbled, hot tears pouring down face as she held her lip between her teeth, trying her best to suppress the sob that escaped her throat. Makeup ran down her cheeks, black ink staining her pale skin. She crouched down, now sitting in the grass, knees pulled up to her chest as she looked out into the sunset. “Sorry I haven’t visited in a while…” Amity mumbled, wiping her eyes and sniffling. “Mom made me re-dye my hair, and- me and Emira got into a fight..” No response. “Willow made Hunter a flower crown, he was so red..” No response. “Fuck- why am I doing this…” She cursed, slamming her fists into the earth, continuing to cry. “Talking to a piece of stone…You’re not gonna say anything! Cause you’re not here!!” Amity yelled at the headstone, she read the engraved letters, over and over again. Finally, she sighed, leaned closer to the rock and laid her head against the cracked stone. “I miss you…so much, and it’s been so hard without you…Just wish you could be here Luz…” She scrunched her eyes closed, trying her best to recall those memories of her and Luz. It had been years, and things started to get blurry. Amity didn’t want to forget, she couldn’t, she can’t forget Luz…but things seem to get foggier each second…

General Audiences

Cold. So cold. She sipped on her tea that felt scorching as it came to her lips. It was easy to forget she was in the human realm. Sometimes feeling the impending doom of any monster or something attacking her at every moment. "Hey, Hey, you need to leave now. I'll get Raine and Eda. You need to leave with your friends." He said with a bittersweet smile, he looked so happy to finally be at peace with his child. That he finally had that connection. At last he had built something but it was too late to even try, everything was going to die and he'd rather see her love than have her die for nothing. "Dad. Please. Please" "I wasn't a good dad. You deserve to live to know I tried mittens. I love you." He kissed her on the head and pushed her away with an abomination. The tea was cold. How long has she been out here? The sun was rising just as she looked up. She felt tired. She never slept, ever. Luz had become distant and with her becoming distant, she also became distant. The first week there was really the only time they had physically been close together. She felt the thumping of the floorboards as someone opened the door. "Amity?" Camila looked down at the young blight. She looked so dead, her eyes slowly rising to meet her own. "Hello Ms Noceda," Amity smiled, she looked at cold tea with a frown. "Tea's gone cold." "How long have you been out here, Querida." "All night. I got distracted by some sort of animal out here, so I decided to watch. Turns out I stayed out here all night." She said, sighing. She didn't want Luz's mom worrying about her. Camila scanned the blanket around her, she was shivering. "How about me and you grab some groceries and tea?" She said with a gentle smile, taking off her own coat and giving it to Amity. The Purple haired witch smiled at the generosity. She had always felt so safe when in the Noceda household, nobody judged her, you'd know that Luz was her daughter. Amity placed her favourite blanket down, it was black blanket with moons. She was always so fascinated by moons in the human realm. By the sky at night in general. It was so pretty, nothing like the Boiling Isles. She did miss something about it but that's fine. She got into the car with Camila, another thing she hadn't gotten used to was cars. They were so weird. She remembered the time they had all gotten into the car for a trip to the park for some time out of the house, Amity remembered how cramped it was. Uncomfortable on Luz's lap as the car rocked back and forth. "I noticed you haven't been sleeping lately. I always find you out on the front porch at night." Camila said, focusing on the road and driving, she was obviously thinking about something. "I find it comforting staying up that late." There was a silence as she came to a stop at a traffic light. Amity looking out the window, it started to drizzle. "I could get you something for you to sleep. Tablets maybe?" She said thoughtfully, tapping the steering wheel. The light turned green. "I'd much rather stay up. Nobody bothers me at night, I'm left to be alone. Hunter isn't being annoying, Willow isn't complaining about her plants, Gus isn't watching cartoons all day. Nobody bothers me. It's quiet." Camila raised an eyebrow when she didn't mention Luz, did she think badly of her daughter? Or maybe Amity had other thoughts on Luz she didn't know about. She knew that the witch was quieter than the rest, the analytical and most logical one. She stayed in the background while the others were in the spotlight. Luz and herself were the same, and usually spent their days away from the group and themselves. Being alone. Camila never understood when Luz wanted to be alone when she had friends right there. "But you're always so irritable with everyone, because you don't sleep. You need sleep to sometimes." "I know," Amity replied. Camilla took another right and they were at the shopping center to get food and new clothes for Hunter, he burnt his. Apparently he accidentally threw his favourite clothes into the fire by accident. He thought it was the "Washer" That's what Camila had said to throw them into. The two sat in silence, uncomfortable? Amity didn't know. She was thinking about Luz, she was always thinking about Luz, but she was really upset recently on how distant she's been. Like it kind of hurt, even hugs now from anyone felt abnormal because she hasn't had anything physical moments in a month or two. "I remember when Luz was going to school before she went to your world," Camila started, it was out of nowhere but Amity was listening. "School was horrible for her, she wasn't doing well in school. This girl was bullying her for being… How do I explain this to you.. Bisexual." Amity looked confused, bisexual? What was that? "Bisexual?" "It's when you like 2 or more genders." Wait, they had labels here for liking people? That's weird, why have labels for liking someone can you not like whoever? "Why?" Camila looks confused now. Amity's innocence catches her off guard. "Well in the human realm, people may not like you for the people you love, Amity." "Oh," That made her anxious, why is it different here? She was a label of some kind she didn't know about. Maybe she should ask Camila. She explains first. "But going on. She was so alone during that time, I was constantly going to that school every day to sort it out. She never talked to me, my Luz. Never spoke of her feelings, kept it locked away." Camila watched the road as they parked up at the supermarket. "But maybe, you're all the key for her to be free of that." Amity sat there, Luz never told her any of this. How she was bullied, how she was bullied for liking girls. She was guessing. This was horrible news to her anyway, because she had never been told. No wonder she hates the Human realm. Their past conversations, she didn't seem too lenient on going back. She talked about how there was nothing good there for her at all. How she was a lost cause and was useless in the human realm, that she was too much for any human to handle. It had really taken a big toll on her, from Amity's view. One specific memory she remembered on a daily basis. They were having a sleepover, sleeping in separate beds because at the time they were too nervous to be close. She had heard crying when she woke up. Now it was weird, usually that meant some child ghost was near or Luz was crying. "Luz?" "Nobody wants me, Amity," She sobbed. "Who would care even if I died here." That night, her back was sore from rocking Luz back to sleep. Rubbing her back and making sure to keep close. Once she had fallen asleep, Amity picked her up and placed her down lightly, giving her, her blanket because she was still shivering with one on. Amity was brought back to her reality, remembering she was in the car. "Just thank you for looking after her, I don't know what I would've done if she had died or got lost. Or anything bad." "I still try my best, to keep her safe." She smiled. Camilla snorting. "I don't know how you kept her alive in that demon realm of yours. It sounds deadly" They both laugh getting out of the car. Amity hated shopping sometimes though, all the sounds, textures of stuff, the smells. Everything was overwhelming, but she did usually enjoy it. It was a few times that she had to stay outside, or have these things called ear defenders. Camila would have a pair for Luz in case she needed them. They walked in. She liked this quiet atmosphere, since it was like really early in the morning nobody was here and it was just perfect. They made their way for the meat aisle, they grabbed what they needed and proceeded to go to the cold aisle. She didn't like how icy it was, it reminded her of the Blight Manor and how cold it was. She never liked living there. She'd have to heat herself up with potions even during summer which was weird. Because everyone else seemed to be warm in their cozy houses. She was subconsciously picking up stuff for Camila thinking about the Blight Manor. Someone dropped something next to them. "Amity" The 11 year old Amity Blight looked at the plate in fear, she let it fall by accident. Her abomination butler was not fast enough to grab it. "Mother it was by accident! I can clean it up, I'm sorry-'' She should've expected the slap that was given to her by her mother. She held her face for a few seconds, looking up and then looking down. A nauseating feeling in her stomach. "Next time you break or do anything," She hissed, "You're being sent to the woods to spend the night with your family of dogs." Amity zoned back in, saying sorry to the person and picking the item up quickly, as she was moving with the trolley (Shopping cart for you Americans) Camila picking up the sweets and other things for all the children, for whatever reason they all went crazy for gummy bears. She bought 5 packets of them per week. She gets a lot of chicken nuggets because she doesn't know what they eat except that. Any Spanish dishes she wouldn't make because Amity and Hunter would get overwhelmed by the smell. She watched as Camila went to the alcohol aisle. Buying herself slabs of beer. Amity doesn't like these smells. These weren't nice, they're the smell of bars you'd pass in the boiling isles. Not questioning it. They grab a few other bits and pieces before going over to the clothes section. Amity grabbed a pair of jeans for Hunter, making sure they were a certain material so he wouldn't get what she called 'icky hands' which meant he didn't like it. She was the same. Then an oversized jumper for comfort. Camila grabbed extra sets of clothes for all of them. Amity getting more moon themed clothes and necklaces. She was dressing like a 'witch' even in the human realm. She just decided to keep it that way. She looked more human with her roots growing back in and her hair being a weird dead purple. She was gonna ask for hair dye but she'll wait. They go to the till. "Hey, Camila" The elderly lady smiled while scanning the food coming down the conveyor belt. "Hello Mira," She replied with a smile back. "Who's this? She yours?" She asked innocently, scanning everything else. "No no, just looking after her while her family is away." Camila smiled, looking at Amity who was hugging her shoulders and had that look that she was dealing with the noise level and the anxiety of this place. Whether it was quiet or not. "I see, she didn't look local" Mira got the receipt, "$145 please," Camila frowned, she didn't expect it to be that much. She pulled out the purse, and looked around it for what money she had brought. She pulled out 5, $20 dollar bills. She was 40 short. How did this happen? Amity looked at the mother stressing. She didn't have enough money. Well snails. Whatever you'd like to say in the human realm. She felt guilty. Camila was providing so much for them. She had to do something. Amity drew a little circle away from anyone's view. She hadn't done this in a long time. She stared right into the elderly woman's eyes. She could see through her. She could hear random mutterings. Speaking voices she didn't recognize. She felt sick, looking at Camila who was helpless trying to fish out extra money. Trying to find a memory to grip onto to grasp the poor woman. To make her do what she wished. She finally found something. She was crying in the memory. The poor woman she thought to herself. She gently drew a circle around that memory. The mind is weakened. "Ms Noceda only has to pay 100 for the groceries." Mira smiled, her expression changing from sympathy to happiness again. "It's actually 100, my mistake Ms Noceda." She took the money of Camila, who's brow was furrowed in confusion. Her yellow eyes looked back at Amity, who shrugged. "Are you sure?" "Yes, I must have got the prices wrong." "That's quite okay." Camila smiled, before taking everything she had and putting it into the trolley (Shopping cart) She thought how in the fuck that happened that the prices happened to be wrong. Amity looked like she had nothing to do with it. They go back to the car and load everything into the trunk. At least they had enough right? At least no one knew. They went for tea tea that morning. Amity was starting to feel comfortable. ____________Later that night____________ Amity stood out on the porch, in her comfortable chair. The tea steamed, it had been only made by herself. Having that moon blanket with yellow stars around her. She looked up at the moon. It was beautiful. But she missed one thing, when she'd do this with Emira and Edric. When she'd have fights with mom and dad, they'd take her up to the roof to look at the moon. But they weren't here to protect her. They were gone. And she absolutely despised them. That's the only way she was taught to think of people. To despise them. She wished she spent more time with her siblings. If she had known. Footsteps tread lightly, her ears wiggle. The door opens. "Hermosa?" Luz steps out, she's in her normal day clothes which is Eda's jacket and a pair of jeans. "Hello," "I saw the light on, I was wondering." She said with that smile that seemed fake, everything about Luz lately was put on, the dead eyes behind every smile, the eyebrows dropping the minute no one was looking. Amity sighed. "What's up? Why aren't you asleep?" "Same to you." "I come out here every morning." "I was wondering why you're never in your bed anymore." Luz chuckled. That was fake too, none of it was real. Amity paused. She thought about reading Luzcs thoughts. But that is invasive and weird. But she continued to think anyway. Luz came forward to lean over the railing. "Amity, it's been four months since we got here." "Mhm" Luz turned away, she bit her lip. This was gonna be slightly harder for her to do. "You've been distant, I was thinking that maybe it's best if we're not… Y'know, dating." Amity's heart did backflips, front flips, every type of flip at the sound of those words. She couldn't help but start to tear up for the first time in months. "If you think that's best." She watched as Luz didn't turn back to look at her. "It's just you've been so far away from me." She said, "And you haven't?" Amity snapped, her voice slightly raising. She had expected Luz to break up with her at some point just not now when she was so mentally fucked up. "What's that supposed to mean?!" "How many times have we spoken properly in the last 6 weeks? How many times have you ever looked my way, how many times have you held my hand, you can't even be near me." Amity growled, she was bright red from frustration not being flustered by anything romantic. "You haven't even tried." "I have tried. Luz Noceda. You need to learn that avoiding me isn't something you can blame on me when it's blatant." Luz was frustrated now herself. Usually she communicated and calmed down. But right now she couldn't help it. "Well don't come fucking crying to me at night when you have nightmares about being mama's girl, or about your abusive mother." The next moment happened so fast. Amity got up, quick. Really quick and raised her hand and slapped her across the face. She deserved that one from the amount of shit that she knew that Odaila did to her. The amount of things her mother did to her that she had told Luz. Luz was wide eyed. "Following in her footsteps too." She held her face, and went back in. It was colder than before. Amity was shivering from how cold it was. She couldn't even cry, she felt so numbed from the fact any of this had happened. She knew Luz was being distant but to break up. She wouldn't think so. Now there was no going back from what had just happened. She was way too deep, she had just hit Luz. She deserved it right? Maybe she was like her mother. Maybe she'd never change, maybe all Blights aren't different. She looked at her tea that was supposed to be steaming hot as she felt like she had only made it a few minutes ago Maybe it was bad luck. Her tea had always gone cold somehow and she just wondered why. She questioned being alive at this very moment. Ending it, would make it better?

Teen And Up Audiences

The touch was tender—it made her feel more beloved than she ever had before.  There had always been a glass wall between herself and the rest of the world; she'd thrown herself at it, hoping to break through it, to shatter the clear prison and live in the world she was promised, but it never amounted to anything. All it ever did was have eyes gazing at her, confused and disturbed, as if she was a snake at the zoo. Something about her was strange, somehow. It kept people at a distance. Even her mother, who loved her so dearly, felt separated from her. That wall stood strong. When Philip put his hand on her cheek, his thumb rolling a gentle caress just beneath her eye, she felt it give. That wall, if only for a moment, disappeared. For the first time in a very long time, Luz felt seen. She felt truly, wonderfully loved.

General Audiences

After Hunter escaped his uncle's mind he started panicking and without any plan he ran out of the owl house and towards the forest. He didn't know what he was supposed to do Belos knew they where in there, and would probably want to kill them. After running for about half an hour he found a little cave he could stay in for a little while.  "What am I supposed to do know I can't go back and Belos will send people to find me, I need to find a place they won't look" He thought for a while till he remembered someone. "Willow and the team, maybe I can go to Hexside, I don't want anybody to know about this know so maybe i'll just live there for a while nobody knows, then i dont have to worry about questions, and maybe they have something on Grimwalkers in the school library "   He stayed a little longer till he finally decided to go, and there was a long way to go. He would like to just go to the school by walking from the forest  but that would not work, and the whole city was swarming with the emperors guards. He had taken his Flyer Derby team uniform on instead of his usual uniform and a somewhat knew cape, he had stolen some food so he had some supplies, and was ready for Hexside. It was pretty late when he came to Hexside so there where no students and no teachers around. He snuck in the same way he did when he infiltrated the school, and took a look around to see of there was any type of security. He looked around to see if there was any place where he would not be found, and he found a little place on the side of the big stage, he took Flapjack and put him on a pillow and made the place okey to sleep in. "So know that i have a new place to stay i need to find the library i can't do anything else till I know exactly what i am, and maybe why i was made" He walked around and tried to remember as much as he could since, there maybe could be a time where he'll need it.  He found the library and walked in, there was quaet, and a little dark but it was okey.  "So where could ther be something on Grimwalkers" He walked around for a long time till he found the book he was looking for. "Arteficial Life " it was quet old and full of dust but he didn't care. He flipped tough the book and came to the chapter about grimwalkers. "Grimwalkers are a of copy of another person, they are seen as a type of forbiden magic and has not been done many times" Hunter read though the book and he was a little happy but sad at the fact that he is a clone of someone Belos killed, and the fact that all the other golden guards are also grimwalkers that he killed when they didn't do as he said. He put the book back and went back to his hideout with tears in his eyes. When he came back he had sat down and started petting Flapjack. He wanted to go to Willow  and have some company but he didn't want her to know about him. He laid down with Flapjack in his arms and feel asleep.

General Audiences

With the rushing wind of the train carrying his thoughts away, he opened his eyes.   Chara Dyne didn’t know how he’d arrived at this train station–he didn’t remember taking a train. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t remember much else besides his name. Why was he here? He took a look around the desolate platform, the tumbling leaves his only companions–carried here from god-knows-where, much like him. The interior waiting rooms were as empty as the platforms outside, and the screens dotted around the place were blank. If it weren’t for its somewhat tidy appearance, he would have considered the possibility of the station being abandoned. Nevertheless, he straightened his coat, adjusted his goggles, gripped his gunblade tight, and began to search for an exit. Wait, gripped his what? Chara took a moment to register the hunk of steel in his hand. Bearing a curved hilt with a trigger at the guard, a wide single-edged blade, and a revolver-style chamber in-between, it looked exactly as one would expect from the name, ‘gunblade.’ A flowing emblem was engraved at the base of the blade; it seemed to be some form of heart. The truly confusing thing to Chara was why he had something like this on him to begin with–was it his? He shook his head; right now, he was more interested in getting out of this station. It wasn’t a long walk until Chara found himself in an entrance lobby of sorts, with waist-high ticket gates lining the entryway and a screen of times on the wall (blank, much like the other screens). To his left, he noticed several staircases heading upwards, though following them with his eyes he surmised that they simply led to the other platforms. He turned his attention to the gates in front of him; it seemed as though he would need a ticket to open them and walk through. Fumbling about on his jacket, he searched for a pocket he might have kept a ticket in–he must have had one to get here, after all–but found nothing. This especially surprised Chara considering the sheer number of pockets on his jacket; with its length reaching down to his knees, there must have been at least six pockets on it! And yet, even after putting the gunblade down to rest against the gate, he found nothing. He sighed in defeat as he knelt down to pick up the gunblade… Then shrieked in surprise as he felt a tap on his shoulder. In an almost pathetic attempt to scramble away, Chara slipped as he turned around, causing the back of his head to collide with the ticket gate. Hearing a faint voice through the ringing in the back of his head, he quickly grabbed his gunblade and stood back up. To his surprise, however, what stood before him was not an enemy of some kind, but a girl–one that must have been half his height at the most. She held her hands up in front of her in a kind of ‘I surrender!’ pose, and the two of them froze in place. The girl couldn’t have been older than 14 or 15, and with a brown varsity jacket combined with large, baggy pants tucked into a big pair of boots, she looked like she was dressed in nothing but hand-me-downs. Chara sighed, sheathing his gunblade on his back (he could do that?) and scratching the back of his head. “Jeez, don’t spook a man like that,” he said.  “Sorry, I’m sorry,” the girl responded, smiling awkwardly as she relaxed her arms. “I didn’t mean to scare you, you were just the first person Eda and I have seen since we woke up here.” “Eda?” Chara looked behind the girl, and sure enough, a woman was running towards the two of them. The first thing Chara noticed about her was her massive head of hair; it almost bounced behind her as she ran. The second thing he noticed was her blood-red dress contrasted against it, framing her rather beautiful figure. Before he could get any further entranced by her looks, he heard her call out. “Luz!” Ah, that must have been the girl’s name. “I told you not to run off! Especially not when we don’t know what’s lurkin’ around!” The girl ran back to the woman, apologising to her as well. Chara guessed this girl was the kind to act first and apologise second. Chara leaned back against the gate as the two now approached him, the girl a lot more energetic than the woman. “I suppose I oughta introduce myself,” he said, putting on a smile, “Name’s Chara. Chara Dyne. I’m a gunbreaker.” The heck was a gunbreaker? He wasn’t sure, but it rolled off the tongue before he could stop himself. The pair both had it painted on their faces that they didn’t know either. Nevertheless, the woman cleared her throat. “I’m Eda, the Owl Lady. And this here,” she ruffled the girl’s hair, “Is Luz the Human.” Now it was Chara’s turn to wear the face of confusion. “Are you… not, a human?” He asked, tilting his head like a puppy. Eda pointed at herself. “Who, me? Nah, I’m a Witch.” This did not answer Chara’s question. After staring in silence for a moment, he shook his head. “Well anyway, if we want to get out of here, it looks like we’re gonna need tickets or something of the sort to open these gates. I seem to be missing one, so…” Eda stepped past Chara and leaned down, coming face-to-gate with the machines and scratching her chin with a ‘hmm’. She turned to Chara. “These things watchin’ us at all?” She asked. Chara shook his head. “Everything in this place seems to be switched off.” “Plus,” Luz piped up, “I’ve been to one of these stations a few times. They usually have guards of some kind doing the watching.” Eda stood back up, surveying the area for any signs of guards. With nary a soul in sight save for the two stood with her, Eda stood back and stretched. “Well in that case,” she said, before taking a running start and vaulting over the gate entirely. Chara stared in stunned silence, causing Eda to laugh from the other side. “These things are barely waist-high,” she chuckled, “I’m surprised you didn’t think to do it yourself.” Chara looked away in embarrassment, and to his surprise, by the time he looked back Luz had already made her way over the gate. What was even more surprising, however, was the fact that they were waiting for him. “You comin’?” Eda asked, placing a hand on her hip, “Three heads are better than two, y’know.” Chara couldn’t fight the smile appearing on his face. He nodded, and with a running start of his own, he leapt over the gate and made his way over to the pair. Granted, his foot caught on the gate and he fell on his face, but he did make it over. Technically.   \ ~ * ~ /   “No signs of any bondage… And I appear to be unharmed.” Naoto Shirogane had expected an altercation like this–detective work was dangerous, especially for someone as high-calibre as herself. Despite this, however, she couldn’t help but experience a sense of deja vu at the prospect of waking up alone in an unknown location like this. Had she been forced into the TV World again? She closed her eyes, and attempted to summon her Persona. Surely enough, she felt the energy of that card appear before her. She reached forward and crushed it with her hand, and Sukuna-Hikona stood–or rather, floated–behind her in a flash of light, confirming her suspicions. Confident in her ability to protect herself, she began to survey her surroundings. She appeared to be in an underpass, judging by the cycle path in front of her and the dim, almost miserable lights above her. To her right she noticed an exit, and so she made her way out. Sure enough, as she exited she could see a highway above, though no cars seemed to be travelling across. With that knowledge combined with how dark it was, she deduced that it must have been very late at night–not that that mattered much for the TV World. She checked her sides for her gun or her phone, and while her gun was still safely in its holster, her phone was nowhere to be seen–again, not that it would have been much use here. Now that she thought about it, however, she realised that the TV World was awfully lacking in fog; while it usually would have been near-impossible to traverse without Teddie’s special glasses guiding her way, tonight her vision was crystal-clear without the need for any eyewear. Yet another mystery, she supposed. She adjusted her cap and kept walking, a hand resting on her holstered gun and her persona at her back. As she moved closer and closer to a nearby street lamp, Naoto failed to notice her shadow extending behind her–why would she? It was a normal occurrence. What wasn’t normal, however, was her shadow continuing to extend behind her and up the wall nearby, and a black, liquidy form silently oozing out of it. As the drops of inky liquid hit the ground, Naoto turned back and drew her revolver in an instant–it seemed she wasn’t alone after all. The liquid quickly began to bind together, jerkily beginning to form a more solid object; and as it formed, it began to stand, towering over Naoto’s small frame. “Freeze!” Naoto aimed directly at the creature without hesitation. The creature did not respond, instead forming what appeared to be a hand on its right side. Naoto remained focused, and as she turned her aim towards the hand, it began to shift into more of a crude claw. Naoto knew from the start that negotiation was never likely–it never was with shadows–and so she prepared herself for a fight. “Sukuna-Hikona!” Naoto directed her Persona towards the creature as she dove to her right, rolling on the ground. On one knee, she opened fire on the shadow as Sukuna-Hikona swiped at it with its blade, though both failed to leave any lasting damage. The claw swiped at Sukuna-Hikona, though it seemed more interested in Naoto than her Persona–the rest of the body seemed to move independently from the claw as it lunged towards her. As it did so, it began to form more and more into something more humanoid–Naoto scrambled to gain some distance as Sukuna-Hikona went for another attack, but the shadow was once again unfazed. Unimpeded by her assault and raising its claw once again, Naoto braced for impact– “Now, Soul!” Naoto opened her eyes, and the shadow had been cleaved in two. Its pieces hung suspended in the air for a moment, before dissipating entirely, like a swarm of flies. In its place stood a girl holding a scythe. She couldn’t have been much taller than Naoto, and her black coat left a striking silhouette in the street light. She turned around as Naoto stood up and dusted herself off, while Sukuna-Hikona floated behind her. “You okay, sir?” Her voice was calm, but concerned. Naoto nodded. “Yes, I– Thank you for your aid.” The girl took a breath of relief and scanned the area. “Seems there was only the one,” she mused. “Good. Let’s call that a win, Soul.” Naoto was in the middle of holstering her gun when the scythe began to glow, catching her attention. Then, to her surprise, the scythe disappeared in a flash of light, and in its place stood a boy about the girl’s height. If the girl’s coat left her with a striking silhouette, then the boy’s varsity jacket and jeans left him without much of one at all. “Sorry for barging in like that,” the girl said to Naoto, “But you looked like you needed the help.” “Were you watching?” Naoto asked. The girl shook her head. “We heard the gunshots from the highway.” She pointed upwards at the highway Naoto had noticed before. “I see…” The boy leaned against the wall nonchalantly, a sarcastic smile forming on his face. “I’m usually swoopin’ in to rescue chicks rather than dudes, but leavin’ someone behind with one of those things wouldn’t’ve been cool at all.” “Well, about that, I…” Naoto began, but she hesitated–she had noticed that during this whole conversation she had been instinctually deepening her voice, like when she was still hiding her gender. Old habits die hard, she supposed. “Never mind. I believe I’ve yet to introduce myself–my name is Naoto Shirogane. I’m a detective.” “I’m Maka,” the girl said, before gesturing towards the boy. “And this is Soul. We’re students of the Death Weapon Meister Academy–DWMA for short.” Naoto folded her arms in thought. “I see,” she mumbled. By now, her thoughts were starting to catch up with her. “I don’t suppose you remember how you got here?” Maka and Soul looked at each other. “Yeah, uh… Not really, I’m afraid,” Maka sighed, “We just sorta… Woke up here. I take it your story’s the same?” Naoto nodded. It seemed regardless of who had sent her to the TV World–or whatever this place was–they were on a spree. “Well, no use mopin’ about it,” Soul said, pushing himself off of the wall, “If you’re just as stuck as we are, wanna come with?” Naoto was surprised–they had just met after being forced here against their will, and they were already willing to trust her? She brushed that thought aside, however; she had already trusted them enough to let her guard down, it seemed. Had her friends rubbed off on her that much? Smiling to herself, she nodded. “Very well,” she said, “Lead the way.”   \ ~ * ~ /   The last thing she remembered was losing to that brat. Again . She and Jupiter were going to be ‘ordinary girls’. Yeah, okay. Whatever that meant. She was empty without Master Cyrus guiding her; she barely knew what ordinary meant anymore. She had ended up back at her barely-used apartment–she usually slept at HQ anyway–and passed out immediately after getting in, deciding to put everything off for a little while. And now, she was… Well, she wasn’t in Sinnoh anymore, she could tell that much. Mars looked around to gauge her surroundings as she checked for any Poké Balls on her person; she didn’t even bother to put them away before passing out. She appeared to be in some kind of park, though unlike any in Sinnoh, or anywhere she recognised at all. She had woken up next to a fountain, the running water the only sound she could hear. The place seemed to be deserted… Not that Mars was surprised–it was the dead of night, after all. A hand clutching her Poké Ball (for once, she was thankful for her prior exhaustion), she began to wander; she reasoned that knowing where she was would be the first course of action, and to do that she would need to either stop someone or find some kind of map. As she walked away from the fountain and towards the roads that marked a border between the park and the rest of the city, the silence began to set in. Mars hated it–silence put her on edge, liable to jump at shadows. As a result, when a shadow did shift out of the corner of her eye, she didn’t hesitate for a moment to turn and throw her Poké Ball at the ground. There was nothing there, of course, but as the red light began to fade, she felt a sense of comfort at seeing her Purugly stand before her. As friendless as Mars usually was, the bulky feline was the closest thing she had to a companion, and it seemed Purugly thought the same of her. Maybe that was why they made a good team, she thought. Nevertheless, with Purugly at her side she felt a little more at ease–why she hadn’t brought her out earlier, she didn’t know–and for the first time that night, her shoulders relaxed, if only slightly. The moment was short-lived, however, as soon enough she caught another shadow (or perhaps the same one?) dart out of the corner of her vision. She whipped her head around again, but… Nothing, again. This failed to calm her nerves, however, especially as Purugly suddenly began hissing; had she sensed something too? Mars began to step back carefully, scanning her peripheral again and again for any other shadows. She was certain she had seen something… Then it hit her. Or rather, she hit it . “Evenin’, little missy. You lost?” Mars leapt away from whatever she had bumped into, stumbling as she did. She had barely managed to reach Purugly’s side before she got a good look at it–it being a man. His face was barely illuminated in the street light, but even she could tell he was wearing a… Disgusting grin, for lack of a better word. He was bald, and dressed in some kind of trench coat. More importantly than all of that though, this beast was huge ! Mars could feel herself shaking as she craned her neck up to look at him, but she stood her ground. “W-who are you,” she stammered out, “And what do you want from me!?” The man in the trenchcoat chuckled, his baritone voice echoing chillingly across the empty streets. “I wantcha… Dead.” Dead!? What kind of sick… Mars gulped, taking another step back. “Nothin’ personal, of course,” the man continued, “You were just th’ first person I ran into here. Wrong girl, wrong place, wrong time.” Was he… Some kind of serial killer!? Mars didn’t hesitate. She knew ordering Pokémon to attack people was taboo, but she needed to get away from here. “Purugly,” she said, “Shadow Claw.” She pointed a finger at the man, and Purugly obeyed. The Pokémon pounced with surprising speed for her size, her claws glowing purple. Mars blinked, and heard the distinct CLANG of metal–by the time she had opened her eyes, Purugly was on the road to the side, and the man was brandishing a blade. It was straight-edged, almost rectangular in shape, and before she knew it, it was pointed directly at her. “Gettin’ your pet to do your fightin’ for ya… I’m a mite disappointed,” he chastised her. Mars’ eyes shot open in fear–she was going to die here. Master Cyrus… Tears began to form in her eyes. The man raised his sword up, Mars closed her eyes, and– All she heard was the sound of rubble, like something had been thrown through a wall. She slowly opened her eyes, and the man was gone. To her side, a building had a hole that wasn’t there before. And standing in that crude opening, illuminated by the lights inside, stood another beast of a man. This man was almost as tall as the other, with a blue mane of hair extending down his back. A white coat was draped over his back, and from what little she could see of the body wearing it, he was covered in tattoos. He faced away from her, however, something which Mars was thankful for–it gave her an opportunity to run over to her Purugly. “C’mon,” she heard him growl, “Don’t tell me you’re done already.” She froze in place at Purugly’s side, paralysed by his voice alone. She slowly turned back to him, only to breathe a sigh of relief as he had not done the same. Instead, he was standing over the trenchcoated man from before, half-buried beneath a pile of bricks. He kneeled down and lifted the man by his lapels with one hand. “I sensed a lot of power in you,” he continued to taunt him, “You’re not tellin’ me I was wrong, are you?” It seemed the trenchcoated man had come to his senses, as with a swing of his sword, he was back on his feet. As the two hulking men stood face to face, Mars knew that if she didn’t start running now, she was bound to be collateral damage–without a moment’s hesitation, she returned Purugly back to her Poké Ball, and broke out into a sprint. She didn’t dare turn back, not even as the men began to scream all manner of battle cries at each other, including an extremely vulgar declaration of invincibility from the trenchcoated man. By the time Mars was alone again, she had to have been running at near-sprint for at least ten minutes straight; adrenaline did that kind of thing to a person, she supposed. Now that she was alone with her thoughts once again, she slumped onto the curb, her body beginning to catch up with her. It was all she could do to recall the events of the last few minutes in her mind, replaying over and over again like some kind of horrific movie. Those two men… Was she brought here to fight with them? Her!? She was just some Pokémon Trainer–a high-ranking official in a criminal organisation, sure, but just a Pokémon Trainer nonetheless. The blue-haired one hadn’t even noticed her, at least… But what did that mean? Did he have no interest in her? Or was the bald one simply his target at the time? Would she be next? A cold shiver ran down her spine at the thought–unlike the bald man, she hadn’t even been able to notice him before he’d pounced. For all she knew, he could be right behind her…! “Um, excuse me…” The voice was like a jolt of electricity, shocking Mars out of her introspection. She rocketed off of the curb, immediately taking a defensive stance–apparently this had shocked the source of the voice as well, as they stumbled backwards in surprise. The two stood before each other in silence, giving Mars a good look at who had snuck up on her–to her surprise, it was a young girl. “Um,” she spoke once more, her voice clearly caught in her throat, “Are you okay?” Mars was hesitant to let her guard down, but as she got a good look at the girl, she found herself relaxing somewhat anyway. Dressed in a purple cloak that was clearly handed down to her with a matching hairband framing her messy green hair, she looked like something out of a fairytale. Mars nodded awkwardly. “Um… Yes,” she squeaked out, “Can… Can I help you?” The girl looked nervous, but nodded in return. “You’re the first person I’ve seen since I arrived here,” she said, holding her hands to her chest, “Do you… Know where we are?” Mars sighed; so, this girl was in the same situation she was, it seemed. She shook her head, her arms finally returning to her sides. “I’m afraid not,” she answered, “I… Woke up nearby not too long ago.” “Same as me, huh…” The girl looked disappointed–Mars couldn’t really blame her. She turned to leave; to keep looking for answers, Mars assumed. Before she could get far, however, flashes of the two hulking men appeared in Mars’ mind. “Hey!” Mars called out before she could even rationalise her thoughts properly. The girl turned around, curious. Mars stumbled over her words, her thoughts trying to catch up to her actions. “It’s… Not safe here,” she said, her thoughts finally straightening out, “We should stick together.” Before she had even noticed, her hand was already outstretched. She didn’t know why she was sticking her neck out for this child, but… There was something about her, some kind of aura–something that told Mars that she and this kid were more similar than she realised. The girl was hesitant–who wouldn’t be after a stranger extended their hand to them?–but Mars thought she saw a flash of terror in the girl’s eyes. Her expression shifted to one of concern, but she remained sympathetic. “It’s okay,” she said, “I wouldn’t trust me either. But…” Another flash of those two men in her mind. “I just came from that way. There are dangerous people there–the least I can do is direct you away from them.” The girl looked in the direction she was about to walk, then back at Mars. She clenched her fist–the poor girl must have been terrified. “Okay…” the girl whispered, carefully stepping towards Mars. She swallowed rather dramatically, before squeaking out another sentence. “B-but if you try anything, I know magic. P-powerful magic!” Mars blinked a couple of times, trying to process what she had said. Magic? Like… Supernatural magic? Surely she was making it up. Mars shook her head, dismissing those thoughts. Right now, the priority was getting somewhere safe with this girl. “Understood,” Mars said, making to set off. “Forgive my rudeness, but…” She supposed now was as good a time to ask as any. “May I ask your name?” The girl hesitated as she joined her, but eventually responded. “Nino,” she said, staring not at Mars but at the road ahead. Mars nodded. “Nice to meet you, Nino. My name–” Mars paused, the words stuck in her throat. An image of Master Cyrus flashed in her mind, followed by what she had said to that brat–that kid, back at Stark Mountain, about going back to being an ordinary girl. She took a breath, silently apologising to Master Cyrus in her mind. “My name is Aria.”

Teen And Up Audiences

"No one is born evil, just like no one is born alone. They become that way, through choice and circumstance sometimes beyond their control..." I. Philip Wittebane has long since been aware of the fact that he was adopted. Though his adoptive parents gave him all the love and care in the world, the lack of any blood relations still causes occasional insecurities. As a result, Philip has always been very strict with himself to make sure he does not let them down even if his naive older brother Caleb told him that he didn't need to do such things. After all... their birth parents didn't want them so what's stopping their adoptive ones from discarding them if they ever disappoints them. Right? As a result, he had placed a lot of his energy into always making sure he's not a disappointment. From joining multiple clubs to being the top student in school. Some people have called him obsessed and way too competitive, but what do they know? What's wrong with wanting to be the best so that he doesn't disappoint his adoptive parents huh? Some even said that his aggressive nature and singular focus on his goal made him intimidating to the other kids. Not like it bothered him since he would rather seek the company of adults. Where the others made friends with peers and pets, Philip befriended the teachers and other staffs in school. They were a lot more fun than the other kids, with their life stories (his favorite being his chemistry teacher who would more often than not teach all kinds of chemicals and what they can do). Though it does get irritating at times when they tell him to try making friends with other kids. It's bad enough that Caleb tells him to all the time at home. But it wasn't like he didn't try though! He was just unfortunate to have a bit of a temper which would manifest itself in him getting physical with whoever was unfortunate enough to tick him off. While he usually keeps it under control today was just a bad day for him, but he swears it was just an accident. He only meant to scare the bully that was harassing him, but when they got aggressive, one thing led to another and he now found himself waiting in the principal's office while the bully was in the nurse's office having their stab wound tended to. "Just freaking great" II. Caleb Wittebane has always considered himself to be a calm, reasonable person. Though if he were, to be honest, his patience is often tested at times, especially when it comes to his brother who would get in trouble due to their antisocial attitude and obsession with being the best just to make sure their adoptive parents won't be disappointed even though they have told him time and time again that he doesn't need to do such things but alas, Philip is just too stubborn to listen So he wasn't even surprised anymore when he found himself standing in front of the principal's office for what was probably the 20th time in a month because of an incident he had a good feeling of what it was. "Damn it, Philip, what have you done this time, " he said quietly to himself before he opened the door and walked in. When Caleb walked into the principal's office, he saw two very familiar people waiting for him there. One was the principal of the school, a stern but nice man who only wants the best for his students despite how grouchy he would come off at times. The other person was none other than his younger brother, Philip Wittebane, who was sitting in a chair while wearing an unzipped blue hoodie, a white shirt, black shorts with white lining, and a pair of slippers "Hello, Mr. Wittebane. I'm glad you could make it. " The principal said as he nodded to him "Yeah. Mom and dad couldn't make it so sorry about that" He says sheepishly as he notices Philip seemed to be a bit saddened by that but made no comment on it. "It's alright Caleb I'm sure they have their reasons. Now, regarding our current situation, I assume that you have been informed as to why you've been called here? " The principal said "Uh... Something about my brother getting into a fight?" Caleb said as he walked in and stood next to his brother, who just looked to the ground with his arms crossed. "Yes. A fight which ended in him sending his classmate to the nurse's office after he stabbed them with a pencil, hence why I called you here" the principal said as he turned to Philip, seeing him roll his eyes at the mention of his scuffle with the foolish bully. Caleb sighed at this before turning to Philip, "PHILIP, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, KNUCKLEHEAD!?" He suddenly shouted as he rubbed his left temple. "Hey! I was only defending myself!" Philip said while standing up in anger What followed next was Caleb and Philip getting into a shouting match. The principal wanted to intervene but every time he tries to speak up one of Wittebane brothers would shut him up by yelling. "... I know that you were trying to defend yourself but did you really have to stab him? You could have gotten arrested if the boy's parents press charges! What would mom and dad think?! " Caleb said sternly "Ok, first of all they're not even here and they probably wouldn't care. We're not even their bio kids remember? And second of all are you seriously scolding me for defending myself?! " Philip explained before he took a deep breath due to getting tired from shouting "If you're gonna punish me..." He pointed at Caleb "You might as well send me to military school you whining little a-" III. Philip did not object when it was decided he was to be sent to a summer camp island to fix his attitude but damn was it annoying to know he would be wasting an entire three months there. Then again he did call his brother some colorful words out of anger. "Me and my stupid mouth" Philip thought as he was now standing on the sidewalk outside of his house as he waited for the bus for Camp with his satchel on his side and his hands in his pocket. He was frowning in annoyance at the ground as his brother quietly walked up next to him "I'm sorry about what I said back at school...It was uncalled for" Philip said quietly in a remorseful tone as he recalls all the nasty things he had said out of anger towards his brother which made him cringe inside "I really need to get my temper under control" he thought to himself "Well I said some hurtful things too plus I kinda did overreact so we're even" Caleb said with a chuckle before adding "But apology accepted" Philip couldn't help but smile at that. It was a pretty common occurrence for the Wittebane brothers to get into heated arguments and even cursing each other out. While for others, one would have the impression that both brothers hated each other, it was far from the truth. Philip and Caleb care a lot about each other even if they were saying nasty things about each other at times for both knew that neither one means whatever nasty words comes out of their mouths. A fact which their adoptive parents were thankfully aware of. "So I take it that Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins aren't coming then?" Philip asked "Would it kill you to just call them mom and dad?" Caleb asked sarcastically. "I'll call them that when I feel like it" Philip said jokingly Caleb sighed in annoyance before saying "Well unfortunately mom and dad can't come because our uncle got in trouble with the cops... again. So they're bailing him out" "Typical Jacobs. I guess I only have you seeing me off to prison school then" Philip commented "Don't be dramatic Philip. It's just summer camp and its only for three months. Who know maybe you'll like it" Caleb said trying to lighten the mood "Yeah right. All they'll do there is tell me stuff that I already know about." Philip said as he turned away and pulled out his journal and began to write something on it "I bet the counselors would be a bunch of jerks who are secretly witches or anthromorphic animals...or maybe both" "Philip, this is the only way to help you keep out of trouble and finally make some friends. Plus it can help you take some time off school" Caleb said as he gently took the journal from Philip and put it in the satchel next to him. "I know you were just defending yourself, but you did go too far so can you at least give it a chance? For me?" Philip wanted to object but seeing his brother's sincere face made him lose that desire "Fine. I'll give it a shot. What's three months right?" he said with a strained smile. Caleb then got an alert on his phone for work and quickly left, giving Philip a tight hug before he walked away. Philip waited a few moments for him to be a good distance away before he went to pick up his satchel, only to grab at nothing but air and when he looked down he saw that the bag was gone. "What the? Where did my stuff go?" Philip then got up before he spotted the strangest sight. It was what appeared to be an owl carrying a large sack. A sack which also happened to have his satchel poking out from its opening. "Hey! Come back!" Philip immediately gave chase, but the creature was surprisingly quick. He watched as the owl gleefully hopped away and into what appeared to be an abandoned house. Following it inside, he discovered that it looked like a circus tent inside. The place was filled with crates and boxes filled with all sorts of weird objects "What the hell?" Philip said while looking around. Philip then suddenly heard a voice and calmly moved towards it, peaking past the tent cover to see a woman with a red scarf with white polka dots wrapped around her head standing in front of a table. "Finally, you're back!" the woman said to the little owl as it took flight and landed on top of the woman's staff, standing still as the woman started twisting it around until the owl suddenly became a wooden statue. Philip let out a gasp, but immediately covers his mouth with his hand to avoid getting caught by the mystery woman who was now going through the sack that the owl brought her. "Now let's see what you brought me today." she said as she pulled out an phone, a diamond ring and a shining golden chalice. "Garbage, garbage, garbage." Philip went slack-jawed as he watched the woman throw those items away like their were nothing before they pulled out what appeared springy eye glasses. The woman gasped at the sight of them before putting them on and seeing the eye spring pop out "Now, this is a treasure worth selling" the woman said victoriously Philip couldn't help but facepalm at the woman's stupidity. However, he immediately did a double take when the woman pulled out his journal from his satchel in the sack. The same magazine which contained all of his secrets. Philip's eyes widened when the woman held the book over a candle. "My journal!" Philip yelled and without wasting any time, he ran out of the tent and grabbed his journal and bag while quickly saying "Sorry about this! But this is mine! Thank you!" He then quickly went back into the tent, aiming to go back through the door that brought him to this place only for said door to suddenly fold in on itself into a briefcase and floated into the air out of reach. Philip then turned round and saw the lady enter the tent, holding a strange key. "You're not going anywhere," said the mysterious woman, taking off the googly glasses and showing her serious face. "Shit!" Philip yelled before he quickly put his journal back into his bag and climbed out from under the tents edge, running away until he found he was now at a cliff and stopped. Philip gasped at the sight before him. "Oh my god" Philip said in awe seeing that the world before him was now that of fantasy and monsters similar to those rpg games he used to play on his computer. However his awe quickly turned to panic when he realized his current predicament. "Oh, no, no, no, no! What's going on?" Philip stated as he backed away from the cliff before shrieking when he was suddenly approached by what appeared to be a small flying fairy "Oh, hello, little fairy. Are you going to tell me this is all a fantastical dream?" He asked in a nervous tone whilst hoping that it was really just a dream though a very strange one. The fairy just smiled at Philip before it spread out its mouth, showing them it was much larger than it should've been with teeth completely non corresponding with the fairy's size. "Give me your skin!" the fairy screeched at Philip as she approached, his face dripping with drool as she planned to eat the human's skin. "What the fuck!" Philip yelled in surprise before swatting the fairy with his bag, sending the weird creature flying over the cliff he was standing off of. "Where am I? Did I die? Am I in hell?! Oh god this is because of all the scams I did isn't it? " Philip said in a scared tone before, he felt a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder. Screaming in fright, Philip slapped the hand away and ran for his life or at least tried to as he had not realized how close to the cliff's edge he was. And Philip then felt himself weightless, the ground under him disappeared in barely a second. He was falling into what he assumed was his doom after seeing how deep his fall would be. "Caleb" He thought sadly about his brother Caleb, who would never know what happened to his foolish brother only that he disappeared, "l should have listened to you more... I'm sorry" He closed his eyes, bracing himself for what would hopefully just be a quick death. The last thing that he saw was not his life flashing before his eyes as many believed would happen when you're at death's door. Instead, what he saw was what looked like a pink jewel bearing a smiling crescent moon within in a dark void Accompanying that vision was what he could have sworn was a child's voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once "Ooh! Another human! It's been a while since one stumbled into this world! Hehehe I can't wait to tell 'her' about you! " The childish voice said while giggling Before he could even question who the voice belonged to, everything went black To be continued...

General Audiences

Amity wasn't sure what to do. That was an understatement. They were in the human realm now, the door that they used was probably destroyed or just non-functional (Belos told Luz that the door would only work for one more trip, and this seemed to be the truth for once) and even if it was there, it would probably need more titan blood, which wasn't in this realm; in fact, anything with magic was very much limited. This wasn't even accounting that no one knew in which state was the Boiling Isles, but none of them wanted to think of the possibility that there may not be a home to return to.  All they could do now, was to try to find a way back.  They knew the first door has been made by Belos a long time ago, so there must have been something else that got him to the demon realm. Hunter and Luz were in Belos' mind before, they saw glimpses; nothing concrete enough to have a clue, but a start nonetheless. And...Luz had decided to focus on it entirely. Camila has looked crestfallen about it.  "This would happen a lot," She said before, while cooking dinner. Amity has kindly offered to help with it, because even if Camila was nice and has welcomed them all, Amity was set on impressing her (Which she had succeeded, of course) "Normally would be one of her tv shows, a book, a videogame- she was happy doing so, this is different" Amity didn't doubt it.  Luz hasn't acted like herself since they got here; it has been days since Amity heard her laugh, see her smile, or even relax. She seemed so tense all the time, and for how Luz seemed to touch her neck, sitting all day in a stiff chair was probably not doing her any favours. Not that it seemed to stop her.  She would also be with a book at all times if you let her, she did daily trips to the library of the city to get new books about witchcraft and history, anything that could be useful, and would read them from cover to cover. It got to the point that Camila needed to threaten her to take the library card away because she try to bring one to the shower.  This wasn't healthy.  Right now Luz was on her desk, it was nighttime, and Camila must have taken this particular book away because she was browsing in her lati-latope, the thing that worked like a crystal bowl but was a weird rectangle for some reason. Amity wasn't the biggest fan of human technology; especially since Camila told her that harsh light was bad for the eyes. She wasn't going to let any second-hand rectangle damage the eyes of her girlfriend.  Softly she knocked on the door, to which Luz responded with an automatic "Come in" That was another thing, how often Luz sounded so...hollow, almost like a machine; that would be odd in anyone, but in her partner was especially off.  Entering her room, Luz was writing down something, her eyes still on her device; not even trying to see who checked on her. If the circumstances were different, she would admire her dedication; sadly they were.  "Luz, dinner is ready" She announced softly. "Is fine, I am not hungry, I will eat later" Luz answered, not moving from her place. Straining the fabric of her shirt, Amity wasn't feeling too positive about this "Whatever are you doing reading will not go away if you go downstairs" Or so she assumed, she didn't know about the human's version of intranat to be sure, but she could guess it would be too inconvenient otherwise. However, after learning a bit about the human world via news, it appears they tend to make things harder for themselves. Luz certainly did.  "Is fine! I just want to continue these notes, I think I got into something" That caught her attention. Walking towards her, she looked at the screen "What is it?" Luz suddenly turned the rolling chair so violently she almost fell from it, and with all of it Amity barely caught what was on the screen: a set of circles and glyphs she wasn't familiar, with and a world that chilled her to her core. Transmutation. "You are right, let's go eat it smells delicious I think my mom must have prepared maduros-" Luz's words went a hundred miles per hour, yet it wasn't her typical brand of I'm-talking-your-ears-off-because-I-am-excited, but a nervous type, the type that told her that her girlfriend must have been so deep in her work she somehow didn't realize what she said. And that it was hiding it from Amity. Despite the whole point of coming here was to get her a break and eat, Amity stopped herself before her partner could continue pushing towards the door "Luz, what was that?" "Oh nothing important, is just junk" "You said you were into something, that wasn't anything related to going back" If it was anything else, she may had feel calmer about it; but transmutation was one of those types of magics that even wild witches didn't seem keen on practicing. It was risky, the information was hard to come by and it has become forbidden before Belos became an emperor, and unlike the coven system (that between meeting Luz and the day unity had made Amity realize how ridiculous they are) this one got that way for having the tendency of going wrong in horrible ways, either when it was unintended, or when it was.  Amity wasn't sure the stories of the man who made a chimera using his own daughter and dog for it were true, yet, to be honest, something deep down told her she didn't want to find out.  The fact that Luz's face seemed so grim wasn't making her feel better. "Luz" Amity said seriously, her voice hardening "Why were you looking at that?" "..." "Luz" She insisted, taking her hand, and this time, she pleaded "Please" Her girlfriend was making an effort to not look at her, yet she couldn't stop hearing, so with a soft sigh, she said "Is just...How did Belos become so powerful?" "Why does that matter right now? He is dead" "I know, I know, is just...I don't think any other human ever got that type of power" This isn't- No, it wouldn't, she wouldn't, she couldn't.  Her grip on Luz's hand got harder "Why are you looking into this? There isn't a reason for you to do so"  When Luz didn't answer that, Amity knew what was going on. Is not like she couldn't guess it as soon as she saw it, there aren't a lot of reasons to look for this type of stuff; she just didn't want to believe it. Why? Luz was a skilled witch as she was, human or not, she was basically self-taught in a new form of magic whose possibilities felt infinite, she was on her way to becoming a wild witch. There wasn't any reason to become a monster.  "Why?" "Well, if we are fighting The Collector-" "No, Luz, there isn't any justification for this" "What's that supposed to mean?" This was the first time Luz was looking at her in the eyes, and you could see the anger rising. Part of Amity wanted to scream, the other, to cry. She decided to follow the first half.  "It means, that this is dangerous! Is serious mess up magic, I think even Eda mentioned to not mess with that!" "I think we may need it!" "But we won't!" "How can you even know that?!" "Because is not worth the risk! Who knows what could happen, especially in a realm like this were looking into magic leads to a lot of rabbit holes, the best case scenario is that it doesn't work, and the worst is one I don't want to think of!"  "It may be our only way to win!" "Don't say that" She took her by the shoulders, very serious "Don't ever say that; Luz, you are a skilled witch as you are, you don't need this, you don't need to be like Belos to win this-" "Then why it was so easy for him to almost leave me for dead!?" Feeling like someone throw a bucket of ice water, Amity stayed silent, since any retort she could conjure suddenly evaporated from her mind.  What? Taking a step back, Luz put a hand on top of her mouth, obviously not intending to say that Which means whatever this was about, wasn't about their collective battle with Belos, nor any of her previous encounters with the emperor; and if that wasn't the case, what was it? Realizing that it was too late, Luz took her hand away, her hands in a fist, and the solemn look on her face can only make Amity imagine how bad it was. But she didn't want to imagine, she wanted to know. "Luz" Once again, she called her in a plead "What is this about?" "I..." Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, looking down "Is not important, I don't want to worry you" "For starters, too late, and second" Amity put a hand on her bicep, lowering her head in the hopes to catch Luz's eyes again "Nothing related to you isn't important to me, especially this" Luz's eyes softened, and Amity wondered if she was imagining the shining in Luz's eyes, or if perhaps tears were starting to form.  Taking Amity's hand, Luz nodded "Okay, I will tell you, just, let's go to sit in the bed, okay?" Going to the bunk bed, Amity wondered if they were going to sit because this was going to be a long conversation, or Luz thinks Amity might need to brace herself for this one. It may be both. With their hands never leaving each other, they sat. Luz took a deep breath "Okay, so you know that I got to the Emperor's palace with Kikimora-" "Which was incredibly dangerous and I still can't believe you try that-" "If Hunter went there, I don't think we would have gotten him back, and I needed to look for Eda-" Luz was of course, starting to justify herself. Amity adored her girlfriend, from the deepest bottoms to the sun, but Titan if Amity wasn't thinking she would gray early because Luz going into danger for one reason or another. Before Luz could defend herself or Amity continue discussing this, Luz sighed and shook her head "We can talk about that part later, I don't think we will finish this conversation tonight otherwise" Well, that was probably true.  Caressing the back of Amity's back with her thumb (just like when they became girlfriends) Luz continued "So I am in front of Belos, and I start fighting, right? I am using different combos, which he took notice of, but you can tell he isn't fighting me seriously, just like last time. But I wasn't giving up, even when he took me with his demonic, weird-looking arm, I still wanted to do something, but I couldn't do anything like that. Then he...he started to transform me into stone" Amity used all her willpower to not screech at that revelation. She didn't know, of course; by the time she arrived with the rest of their friends Luz was fighting Belos in his real form, and nothing gave her the impression that Luz may have been under a petrification spell. She has never even seen one in real life, the closest was where Eda was captured, and that got stopped on time.  "Even when I managed to get my hands free, I couldn't even move properly, my feet were already stone. I...I felt it, my muscles hardening at first, then losing sensation on it, until it was like dead weight connected to it. I was bargaining with Belos, trying to get a way to trick him, while I feel losing my body, it got into my hips, my arms, my chest, and I- for a brief moment, when my head was also becoming stone, everything went dark. I am not sure of it Amity, but I may have been dead, even for just a moment" She couldn't cry, not when this wasn't her pain, not when Luz needed her; yet Amity knew she may later need to be alone for a moment just to sob.  Her Luz died, her girlfriend has died, and she didn't even know it; if whatever thing Luz said to Belos hadn't worked, she would have arrived to see the most important person to her turn into stone, and that was spell no one has ever been able to undo.  Luz's grasp on Amity's hand was so strong it was starting to hurt, not that Amity cared or was paying too much attention to it; because considering the circumstances, she may let her break her hand if that makes this more manageable.  "I tricked him, not sure what made him change his mind at the last second, it doesn't matter right now; I got one of those gloves to put sigils, and use it on him" Wait, so all this time Belos had been insisting on everyone having a glyph, even ready to force kids and teens for it, while he didn't even have one? And no one noticed? Amity wasn't sure if feel furious, or stupid for the fact she was so ready to serve under him. Regardless, this story wasn't about that "I thought if his life was in danger, he would stop the spell, yet he didn't, he got mad, you guys got in, and despite how hard we fought, we all almost died" There was a pause, for both of their sakes, Amity needed to take in that information while Luz well, was probably processing this as well. "Amity, I think I died, and then I had you in my arms without any of us being able to do anything to stop him from killing us all; you have an idea how useless I felt? Seen how it didn't matter how much I had prepared, how much I had investigated, the things I had learned- And then it was all for nothing?" "Luz, Belos has been alive for hundreds of years, I don't think anyone in the isles would have been ready for a fight like that-" "Then how we are suppose to face the Collector!?" She cried, eyes shut so firmly Amity thought Luz didn't want the tears to escape "We couldn't even face Belos, and the Collector beat him with the flick of his finger, he moved the moon Amity; how exactly we can face it!?" Luz was shaken, not being able to contain them anymore, so Amity let go of her hand and closed the gap between them, cradling her girlfriend in her arms. Luz seemed ready to protest for a second, maybe to continue the discussion, before Amity hummed her swiftly and put Luz's head on her shoulder, kissing her forehead. With that, Luz let it go. Despite how she wore her heart on her sleeve, if there was something Luz and Amity had in common, was that neither of them liked people to see them like this, even if the reasons were different. For Amity, was a matter of strength, her parents (mostly Odalia) taught her not to show weakness, and eventually it turned into a fear; of mock, ridicule and more, for showing stuff like this. By now, she knew Luz did it because she didn't want to burden her, Camila wouldn't do anything to make Luz feel she couldn't talk about her feelings, however, Luz had mentioned feeling bad for often she made her mom worried because of her school; this isn't even getting into how people here made her feel so out of place she didn't want to show that side just in the fear of alienating herself even more.  It didn't mean she didn't have those burdens, and Amity was proud that now Luz knew that it didn't matter what it was, Amity wanted to be there for her; happy, excited, angry or sad, Amity wanted to be part of all of it, because there wasn't a part of Luz Amity wouldn't want.  Something that Luz showed her was that love was loving a person with their strengths and their weakness, and despite how bad their first impression, part of her was glad; because she didn't think there was something as beautiful as seeing the worst side of someone, and still loving them all the same.  Amity wasn't checking the clock, so she wasn't sure how long they were there, not that it mattered much to her.  Once Luz seemed calm enough, Amity decided to her opinion "To be honest, I think you may be the key to it" "To what?" Luz asked, her voice was raspy and you could hear tiredness in her voice; if it was because she was crying, how long the day has been, or much this has weighed on her, it was hard to say.  "To defeat the collector" "Amity, I know you are trying to be sweet but you don't need to lie" "I'm serious about this Luz" Caressing her back, she didn't let her go far "How did get to Belos?" "I told you I didn't" "No, you told me you didn't defeat him, yet now you are here; you told me you were being transformed into stone, despite it you got out of it, because you tricked Belos" "It still wasn't enough" "I doubt anyone else would have gotten this far, especially since you got a sigil on him of all things. I don't have a plan to defeat The Collector, however if you ask me, I don't think we can use brute force for this one, we need to use our brain for it, and you are the best person for that job" Despite how gloomy the mood was, Luz snorted "What made you think I am smart?" "First, because you are, the school system is crap in this place so I do not care what they said about you" "Not that you are wrong but how do you even know that?" "I like to watch the news with your mom" "Amity you are going to get depressed-" "Is good to be informed!" "It will make you hate humanity" "Well, that is not going to happen because I like a certain human family way too much" She bopped her girlfriend's nose at that, which made Luz giggle. As cute as this was, not the point "And second, because Luz, how many times had been you the one who got us out of trouble?" "Usually after I cause it" "You are exaggerating; it wasn't your fault when we got a Basilisk into the school (No offence to your sister, of course), it wasn't your fault that during the Bonesborough Brawl Wrath became a horrible monster; but it was you on both occasions who had the idea of how to stop it. And this is just what I can come up with at the top of my head, I know there is more" "I don't have a plan right now" "Then we just need more time, and more information; but not this Luz, you don't need to use forbidden magic, much less to make yourself stronger" Detangling herself from Luz, she puts her hands on her girlfriend's cheeks, looking into those beautiful brown eyes that kept her awake at night who knows how many times "Not when you are perfect just the way you are" Luz smiled a little, before jokingly saying "I am not perfect" "You are not, no one is, yet it doesn't mean you need to change anything about yourself. For what is worth, I adore you, just by being yourself" Luz's eyes glisten with tears again, yet her smile only gets bigger; closing the space between them, Luz kisses her this time. And Amity is more than happy to get closer to it, and never let her go. 

Teen And Up Audiences

Philip finds himself walking through the forest behind his family’s home. The trees that surround him are tall and imposing, the leaves of each one melting into each other and blocking out the moonlight that helped guide him over the roots that threatened to trip him if he wasn’t careful. His mask wasn’t helping, and his dull wooden sword can only do so much against the tall weeds and plants. He swipes at each one anyway, grumbling at the thicker ones before hunching over at the sound of animals moving around him in the brush. It is very, very late into the night. Far too late for a child to be out and about in the woods and definitely too late for any adult to find said child that is out and about in the woods. He knows his mother will scold him for going out at a time like this instead of sleeping (curfew was hours ago), and surely she'll ground him once he's back home and not going deeper and deeper into the wilderness- But. Caleb is missing. Not long after they had been sent to bed, and not long after Caleb had told him a bedtime story before turning the lamps off, Philip woke up to the sound of a window breaking in their shared room. He opened his bleary eyes to see Caleb in front of the broken window, his carving knife on the ground. "Caleb?" he mumbled, doing his best to push himself up. Caleb turned to him, and while he struggled to see him in the darkness, he could definitely see a playful smile on his face. (It felt wrong. Too wide. Philip didn't like it.) "Don't worry, Philly," he said, putting one hand on the windowsill. The shattered glass dug into his palms, but if he felt it, he did not bother to comment on it, "I just need to go out and find someone." At this point Philip had already been able to get up enough to sit on his bed, ready to stand up and walk over to his brother. Before he could though, Caleb placed his other hand on the windowsill and with a triumphant 'Hup!', jumped out the window.  Philip scrambled towards the window, careful to avoid the glass, and watched as Caleb disappeared into the forest, his giggles echoing into the night. His brother must have been mocking him when he did that because he knew well that Philip hated the forest. One of the kids said that only hunters were allowed there because the witches had made it their home, practicing their magic on innocent wildlife and any poor human who found their way to them, turning themselves into beasts (there had been screams lately that didn't sound like it belonged to any animal). She swore up and down that she was telling the truth, so when her father came out of it one day, dragging a witch by her hair as she screamed and clawed at him, Philip found himself believing her. He was scared of having even his finger touch its perimeter ever since. It didn't stop Caleb from occasionally going into it to hide behind a tree to scare him, though. Philip could wake his parents up, really he could wake anyone in the town up for help. Caleb's loved and respected enough that they'd no doubt hurry and find him sooner than he could. The only problem now was the fact that everyone in here hates waking up earlier than they normally would and by the time he'd get a hold of any of them, Caleb would probably already be ridiculously deep into the woods. Also he doesn't want to get in trouble with his parents. Being grounded is annoying. "I have to go in myself, then." He said, leaning back and letting his grip on the window keep him from falling as he raised his head up and groaned. With a sullen look on his face, he armed himself with his mask and sword. Witches might be afoot! He had to have something, and Caleb made these with the promise that it would keep him safe when he couldn't. (It was silly of Caleb to say that, Philip thinks to himself. Caleb will always protect him, no matter what.) He raises his sword and uses it to try and get rid of the shards around the whole window, letting it fall onto the floor. Still unsatisfied with the smaller ones he could potentially touch, he places his pillow on top of the windowsill and, with hopefully the same amount of strength his brother has, pushes himself up. He doesn't manage to clear it, but his foot is just high enough to get it onto the pillow. He uses that opportunity to pull himself up the rest of the way, ducking so that the remaining shards on the other sides of the window didn't hit him. He grimaces as he feels the fabric of his suspender tear, splitting it in half so that it hung on him. He finally gets out and lands on the ground without any grace, steadying himself. He glares at the broken strap, tucks it in, and jogs over to where he saw Caleb disappear to. Admittedly, it's only when he's so deep into the forest that he can no longer see the lights of the town that he realizes how truly awful this idea is. It's dark, there are dangerous animals everywhere, there are possibly witches, he's not even sure if he's going where his brother did, and there was no way his sword was going to actually do anything against anyone. Unless he threw it, but at best his opponent is getting a concussion and at worst they throw it back at him and give him a concussion. The leaves were also getting so close to each other that there's only small holes of light now, and he was starting to wonder if he could find his way home once this was all over. "Caleb! Caaaaleb! Caleb Wittebane!" Philip calls out for the umpteenth time. His voice echoes, and he hears a few birds fly away in reaction to it, but no one responds. He can feel frustration bubbling in his throat and he has half a mind to say some choice words that his mom would put soap in his mouth for. What did Caleb need to find so badly that he had to break a window for it anyway? His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something moving quickly through the trees just left of him. He whipped his head to the side to see what it was, pointing his sword at it. "Who's there!?" He yells. He aimed to sound intimidating, but it came out shaky and unsure, "Show yourself!" Silence. Then, a monster steps out. Philip pales at its size. It- this thing was taller than any animal he has ever seen. It had a body close to that of a human, but it was skeletal, twisted and longer in every area, its claws longer than Philip's body. Its own body was black and green and dripped like it was rotten flesh falling off a dead body. Its glowing blue eyes fell on his face. Is this what a witch can really do? He thought to himself, thinking of those rumors he heard as his hand loosened on his sword until it fell with a quiet thump, How did I ever think that I could win against them? It opened its torn mouth, its eyes glowing blue as it seemingly gawked at him. Philip thought it would speak, but instead it howled so loud that he had to cover his ears. It ran straight at him and he barely had the time to jump back as it swiped one claw at him. It reached his mask, gripped it tightly, and ripped it off his head. Philip fell to the floor, crawling backwards while he kept an eye on it. Instead of going near him to attack again, it howled once more and threw his mask to the ground, using his curled fists to break it into pieces, punching it over and over again like it had personally done him wrong. He hated the thought of leaving behind something his brother had lovingly made for him, but the thought of it finding Caleb first made his stomach turn hard enough for him to run away with a renewed vigor to find him. It appeared to be satisfied with its work though, returning its focus on him and running on all fours. He took advantage of his smaller form and squeezed between the trees, occasionally looking back to see the monster try and get its body through before finding another way. It screeched every so often to remind him it was still there, tearing through the weaker trees like they were water. He began to gain some ground, but because Philip is never allowed to have anything go well for longer than a few moments, he fell. And like the world wanted to add more insult to his already bad injury, he fell where the forest began to slope down, forcing him to roll. He covered his face and made himself as small as possible. He lost track of how long he had been rolling, but when he finally stopped, he realized that it was quiet. He uncurled himself and stood up. The monster was nowhere to be seen. It likely saw what happened to him and stopped before it could follow suit. Philip took that moment to sigh with relief. A laugh echoed behind him.  He turned around. No one was there. But even with that, he followed it, for the voice behind it was unmistakably Caleb's.  After everything, he finally found him. (He was so happy to have finally found his brother that even as Caleb laughed over and over again, as if guiding him towards him, he failed to notice how it never changed pitch or tone. Like a memory playing over and over again.) The laughs turned silent when he found Caleb, staring at his brother's back. Despite the arduous journey to get here, he was surprisingly free of any dirt and debris he should have gotten, not a strand of hair misplaced on his head. He held onto a stick, and Philip noticed that his free hand looked unharmed. When his brother did not even move an inch at the sound of Philip walking up to him, he called out, "...Caleb?" Caleb's head snapped so fast that Philip thought it would break. There was barely any light between them, but it became clear to him that something was terribly wrong. Caleb's eyes. They were gone. As if someone had simply plucked them out and replaced it with the void. (What did his eyes look like again? Philip had thought to himself at that moment.) As if nothing was wrong, Caleb locked eyes (voids?) with Philip. He smiled and put a finger to his mouth. "Shh. Not too loud." He said, "You'll spoil the witch hunt." The lack of eyes momentarily forgotten as something about that statement screamed wrong, wrong, wrong to him, but Philip couldn't figure out what it was. His brother hated witches, just like him, right? That didn't stop the confusion from coming out of his voice as he said, "You're hunting a witch?" "Not just any witch," Caleb's grip on the stick made his knuckles turn white as he pointed at something right next to Philip, "I'm hunting the Witch King." He learned that turning his head to look at something has brought him a lot of misfortune so far, but he risks it to see what's beside him. He expected something as horrid as that monster, but he saw a man instead. He was far older than Philip was, wearing an outfit that came straight out of his stories of kings and queens. His hair was long, but it did not hide his pointed and scarred ears. The most noticeable thing was that stripe of green on his face and he felt like he wasn't reaching a conclusion he should have. He didn't say anything. He just stared at Philip, then looked at Caleb with an expression that held emotions that Philip couldn't quite name. Caleb held Philip by the shoulder, pulling him back, "I won't let him hurt you, Philly!" He now stood between him and the Witch King, shoving the stick in his face, "You're in trouble, sir! Witches aren't welcome here! Shoo! Shoo!" Philip looked at his own unarmed self and then at Caleb's stick. "We should leave." He whispers, shaking his brother's shoulder, "He's not doing anything. We should go before anything happens." "But if we go now then we'll never get him!" Caleb says, "He could terrorize us later!" "Mother and Father will be mad at us for leaving." "And the whole town will be mad at us if they find out that we let him get away!" "But- but I'm scared." Caleb turns his head to look at him, and Philip sees something like curiosity appear in his brother's face before that cursed smile comes back. His eyes crinkle. Philip looks down to avoid it all. There's a knife in his hand now.  Blood begins to stain Caleb's shirt. The Witch King sharply inhales. "But, Philip," He says slowly, "Why are you so afraid of yourself?"   _______   Philip Wittebane wakes up in his bedroom. Moonlight lazily enters his room through the skylight above him, and when he raises himself up to see his surroundings better, confident that he'll see glass on the floor, he hears the sound of rain outside. It's pouring outside. The rain melts the weeds that grew through the cracks of his walls. Rain does not melt things at home. He is in the Boiling Isles.  He is in his chambers in his castle.  He is not in the forest.  He is not home. And Caleb is still dead. Philip stands up and walks to his window. The Boiling Sea had created steam that fogged the glass, the efforts of the Construction Coven ensuring that it stayed resilient against the onslaught it always faced. He mindlessly traced shapes into it as he gazed at the land. This version of Caleb had been following him in his mindscape for a very long time now. It didn't show itself the moment it saw him and made a point to stalk him instead, watching him like he was some wild animal that would tear it to shreds the moment it had a chance to. When it finally did show itself, it referred to him as the 'Witch King' and swore to take him down before running away. Philip did not go after him. The next time it appeared, it excitedly rambled about how much its brother had grown! What a shame it seemed to miss so many moments it could have made memories with him! Did he still have his mask? His sword? Wouldn't a witch hunt sound good now that he's old enough to wield real weapons? Why did he look so miffed? After dealing with its barrage of questions, he watched it frequently flip between those two moods, one moment wishing for his death then the next swearing up and down that it would protect him from all the evils of the world. Weeks of experiencing this later, he had discreetly asked Hunter about it (AKA pose it as something happening to someone else), knowing that the boy kept his head in hundreds of books, though he didn't necessarily approve of all of it. He could get just a little too close to the truth, but for once he needed whatever knowledge that child would have. He barely paid attention to the words that came out of his mouth, but he was able to pick out whatever seemed most important. Something about how it shouldn't be possible for two inner selves to exist within a person's mind, that the only way something else could appear was through emotions so intense that they take form and haunt them. Something like guilt, he had suggested. Preposterous. What reason does he have to feel guilty? Everything he has done has been done to keep humanity safe. What are a few mistakes here and there in the grand scheme of things? But then again, he doesn't find himself particularly happy with everything in his life. He's far away from home, he's the only human in this realm, and these witches, so inhuman like and yet so similar to a human, continue to exist and live just like any person would. Kissing their loved ones goodnight, raising families, families like the one Philip had destroyed when he plunged that knife into his brother's heart and twisted and twisted and twisted. He ruined lives. He ruined the future of so many, and for what? Respect from those who did not even live during his time? The Collector had reminded him that hundreds of years have passed already. His life's work, so agonizing and so life draining, could mean nothing in the end- His finger presses so hard into the window that he feels the rain and steam's heat. That cuts him off from his train of thought. If his human form wasn't already so frail, he would have hit himself for letting doubt creep into his mind. All that time spent chipping away at his goal, fraternizing with the things he hated most, carving himself into their image and tolerating an unholy child from the heavens, and he still continued to question himself. How preposterous. How insane of him. Everything that he has done will culminate in this world's end, and he is smart enough to see that, something that no one else in this miserable place could begin to comprehend. That is why he must be the one do it. Because he is right. He is always right. And when he is right, he will set out to reach his goal, and it will all be worth it. (Because it has to be. It has to be. For his home, for his brother, for himself.) His reassurances did nothing to soothe his mind, but he went back to his bed anyway, raising the covers higher to block out the beginning rays of the morning. And maybe, just maybe, to block out the feeling of eyes like the void staring into him.

Teen And Up Audiences

She can still hear the music. A single note, long and drawn-out, stretching into infinity. It was supposed to be forever. Then come the individual notes, the quick trills of a song, not lasting quite long enough to catch. Almost like them. And then the second instrument creeps in, fitting perfectly with the first. A lovely blend of high and low and everything in between. It carries out the remainder of the song, save for the final few notes. Those are soft, quiet, and eventually ring out into stillness. They are alone, just like she is now. She shouldn't be alone. If someone were to walk over to her at this very moment, and oh, how she wishes someone would, perhaps they would see this scene as something different than it is. Perhaps they would see someone mourning lost love and a past that hasn’t been theirs for quite some time. Perhaps they would see someone grieving. Or perhaps they would simply look around them and take in the sea of fallen bodies, and the gasping breaths, and the sky that is slowly unraveling. And then they would forget about the two that sit in front of them, for no one is more important than anyone else, not now. She wishes that someone would come over here, if only to prove that not everyone is dead. Which she knows can’t be true, for those without coven sigils couldn’t be. But those people are only children, and children can’t grow up nearly fast enough to win a war. No one stands, though, or stirs, or runs up to her. So she’s left alone, just like one of the parts of the song was. People surround her, but none of the people that she wants to see. That she needs to see. Some of them stir, but not the one in her arm. She wishes that she wasn’t the only one with open eyes right now, but she is. And she’s terrified that this will become her new reality, and that sends a new shock of fear into her heart. It’s cold and icy and grips her like cuffs. She is never scared, or at least not in front of those who require her to be brave, and yet now she is. Only, perhaps she no longer has anyone that requires her to be brave. At least not now, not when there is someone slumped in her arm and she can barely see their chest rising and falling. Not now, when her children who are both hers and not, are off battling the biggest battle of their young lives. Not now, when the world seems to be falling apart at its very seams. She is alone, and she should be used to being alone. She was alone for years–perhaps too many years, but at least now she has experience with loneliness. Only it seems that now she is scared of it. It is this that makes her head drop, mess of hair falling down around her face and onto them. Their head is in her lap and covered in a spiderweb of cracks, too many to count, and yet she finds herself trying to come up with a number anyways. She doesn’t realize that she is crying until she watches a drop of water hit their glasses, sliding down and landing on their cheek. It’s like she is a rain cloud and her tears are her rain, falling on everything below her. Her shoulders start to tremble, too, and from afar it could have seemed as though she were laughing at a joke. But nothing is funny, not anymore. She feels feathers begin to sprout on her arm but she doesn’t notice. Okay, maybe that is a lie–she always notices, even though it’s been happening for twenty-seven years. But it’s not what’s important right now. Tears continue to fall, eventually wetting their face as much as they do hers. For a second, she can pretend as if they’re still here–as if they’re crying, too. But they might never cry again. That thought only makes the tears fall faster. “I’m sorry,” she manages to whisper. “I’m so, so sorry, Rainestorm.” # Something is wrong. Eda knows it as soon as she hikes up Snapdragon Hill, her ponytail whipping back and forth in the wind. The whistling sound the snapdragons always make when the wind catches them is the loudest it’s been for a while, but Raine isn’t joining in like they usually do. In fact, Raine doesn’t even glance up as she sits down, curling her legs to the side and running her fingers through the grass. They’re quieter than usual, knees pulled to their chest and arms wrapped around them. She tries to meet their eyes but they won’t look at her, hiding any hint of emotion behind a pensive, tight-lipped expression. Eda feels a chill go through her and she swallows, suddenly nervous. But she’s never nervous, and especially not with Raine. Raine, her partner in everything above and below the Titan. Raine, the one person who’s been there for her for as long as she can remember. She feels the telltale prickle on her arms and her eyes widen, just the slightest bit. She draws a small breath, not wanting to let Raine know that they’re worrying her. Then she scoots a little closer, watching the wind tousle their mint hair, watching the way they anxiously play out a conversation in their head. “Hey, Rainestorm?” she says gently. They startle, eyes darting around to land on everything but her before eventually finding her golden gaze. Eda tilts her head, concerned. Dread snakes through her stomach and she clamps her hands tightly over her wrists. “Why’d you ask me to come here? Is something wrong?” She tries to keep her questions light and airy, because she knows they hate when anyone barrages them with anything they’re expected to answer. But it’s hard, because she hasn’t been on the receiving end of their silence for years. “Oh. Um.” Raine swallows, then swallows again, unable to look at her for more than two seconds. Eda decides that they need time to think and she looks to her arms. Small but noticeable bumps have begun to dot her skin, and the longer the silence ticks on, the closer they get to breaking the surface. She grimaces and scratches at them, hoping to press them back down into her skin, and for a bit it works. And then she sees a tiny little creature scamper over the grass, and the owl within her rears its head. No, she tells it. Not here, not now… But her body does not belong to her for a second, and the instincts hidden deep inside her take control for that time. Her hand shoots out, hands cupping the small creature. It looks like a vole, and while the thought of consuming it makes her want to puke, she can’t help but lift it to her mouth. Then she realizes that Raine is staring at her. Usually, they stare in a way that makes it seem like they’re not staring, but they actually are, and whenever they’re caught in the act they always blush a bright red. But now they are staring, and it’s blatantly clear that they’re staring, because their green eyes are wide and their mouth hangs open. Eda prepares to lie. “WOAH!” they exclaim. Their eyes, still wide, dart between her and the vole. She quickly snaps her mouth shut. “What are you doing?!” Eda gasps a few times, quickly shoving the vole behind her and dropping it to the grass. The owl beast whines angrily, but she ignores it. “Haha!” she says loudly. Too loudly. Her irises are small now, and she rushes to fix her mistake. Well, not fix it. Cover it up. Conceal this side of her that no one can see, not even them. It’s for their own good. “Uh, nothing! I’m fine!” She laughs, only it comes out far more nervous than anything she does ever is. It’s a lie. She can’t even pretend it’s true, but she can’t tell them that. She can’t tell anyone that. No one would understand. And even if they would understand, they’d still be in danger. No, it’s better this way. She’s told this lie so many times that it’s natural. Maybe at first that realization would have hurt her, but now she’s grown numb to it. And surely it’s a good one, otherwise Raine would have questioned it. Right? They have to believe it. They always have and always do. But as she looks at them, watches their face shift and change, displaying a complicated spread of emotion… she realizes that maybe they always knew she was lying. That maybe, they’ve been giving her the benefit of the doubt… for years. And she starts to realize just why they asked her to meet them here. # The first voice she hears is not theirs, and oh, how she wishes it was. She doesn’t pay attention to who begins to sit up and whisper in hushed voices to those awake. They aren’t anyone she knows. The Coven Heads are still unconscious. They are still unconscious. The sun may have been moved, but the world is still falling apart. The sky is suddenly too bright, and too still–the calm before the sky. No clouds scud across the sky, no birds chirp. It is as if, for just a few moments, everything has simply stopped. The calm before the storm. The owl beast twitches within her. It doesn’t like this, either. She swallows thickly, then glances around. She knows no one who has risen, and while she knows it’s unfair of her to think of this, wonders if any of them are from the Healing Coven. But even if they were, the draining spell has left them all, well, drained. Even though her arm once bearing the Bard Coven sigil was… removed, she can still feel a lack of energy in her bones. She can only imagine that the pain is a hundred times worse for them. Ah, the coven sigil. The one thing she swore she’d never get; the symbol she’s spent her entire life fighting against. On her wrist in a second once she realizes it’s the only option to save the people she loves. And she’ll do it again in a heartbeat if it means she’ll get another chance to save them. She told them that it would be one last adventure. She just hadn’t expected her words to be true. She blinks back tears but they fall anyway. Darn. She thought that she was done with crying. “You’ll be alright,” she whispers. She gazes down at them, their face blurring through her tears. “Right?” And she hates the way that her voice breaks on the word. Hates the way that uncertainty now flows through her veins. She used to be sure of so many things. Sure that she was the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. Sure that she had nothing to lose. Sure that she was no one’s mother or partner or sister or friend. Sure that Belos could be beaten without anyone getting hurt. Then she lost her magic, gained two children, found someone she thought she’d never see again, shared a burden with her sister, and gained an alliance. Then the world started to crumble around her feet and no one was spared. And now she is sure of nothing anymore. No, she realizes. She is sure of just one thing more. “If there’s one thing I know about you, Rainestorm,” she says quietly, running her hand through their hair, “it’s that you’re strong.” For a second, she thinks she sees them twitch, but it must just be her eyes. Her eyes, which are, Titan below, once again filling with tears. “That hasn’t changed,” she adds, a sad, forlorn smile settling onto her face, “not even after twenty-seven years.” # Raine’s face steels. Only it’s not one so much of fury, Eda realizes, as it is one of… hurt. “You’re lying again,” they say. They look away, lift a hand to the side of their head and let their eyes drop closed. Their face is a tapestry of confliction, and when they speak again, Eda is surprised at their tone. “It’s like I don’t even know you.” It’s like I don’t even know you. Their words echo in her head and her face falls. All of a sudden, she knows what will happen, and fear and pain clamp down on her heart. She never wanted this to happen. She never wanted to hurt them. “So, I’ve made a decision.” Raine turns away, pain bleeding into their voice. It pins Eda in place. “I’m joining the Bard Coven, and…” She can only sit there as her life falls apart. “I think we should see other people.” Eda is too shocked to cry. Her lies have finally caught up to her, it seems. She should have brought down her walls when she had the chance, but now they’ve taken a hammer and reinforced their security. She feels like she’s falling, and maybe she is. But if she was, Raine would catch her. They always do. Except… they were just the one to make her fall. “I’m sorry, Eda,” they say. Their voice trembles, but they continue on. “It’s over.” #She makes herself breathe, an action she shouldn’t have to think about but now does. Breath. The eternal divider between life and death. Such a simple thing, yet bearer of the heaviest weight. She looks down at them again. She doesn’t remember ever stopping, but perhaps she did for a moment as memory took hold. She wants their eyes to flutter open and meet hers; wants their lips to quirk up into that crooked smile she loved. Loves. “Maybe I shouldn’t even be here,” she mumbles. She swallows and watches the shallow, far-too-small rise and fall of their chest. “What we had ended years ago, and it was all thanks… all thanks to me. Just like this is.” She wonders distantly if, perhaps, she should move Raine to lie beside her. Surely, embarrassment will take hold when they realize their head was resting on her lap. This was often the case when they were younger, and the two would braid flowers into each other’s hair. But they are not young, not anymore. She decides against it, though. They’re not well, and the ground looks far too uncomfortable. She can just laugh it off if they grow flustered upon waking. She’s good at that sort of thing. Hiding the hurt and the pain to protect something. Someone. That’s how this mess between you started, reminds a voice in their head. And you don’t know if they’ll wake up. “You’re better off without me.” She laughs bitterly. It isn’t the first time she’s come to this conclusion, but it’s the first time she’s spoken it aloud. It stings. The truth often does. Lies are much more comforting, but she’s tired of lying. And don’t they deserve her honesty after all this, after being drained of energy and almost of magic, all because of her? Because she messed up? She blinks back tears once again. She wishes they would stop coming. She doesn’t deserve to cry. “I shouldn’t be here,” she repeats, voice now a broken whisper. Her arm tightens around them. “But I can’t seem to let you go, not after I just got you back.” # Their words ring in Eda’s head, and she turns away from them. It’s over, it’s over, it’s over. She feels the owl beast squirming, begging to be let out. It growls, low and fierce, and she feels her body vibrate. Slight pain blooms in her wrists and lower arms, and she watches in fear as feathers begin to sprout. Her hands tremble as they start to transform, turning from normal to monstrous. Because that’s what she is, isn’t it? A monster. A beast. And now Raine is going to leave, and it’s all because of the unwanted creature residing in her. A groan escapes her and her pupils shrink. She has to fight not to double over as the owl beast fights for control. It’s a silent struggle, hidden behind her hair and her turned back and her tall, tall wall of lies. Shadows begin to crawl into her vision, blurring out the peaceful purple sky. Another groan falls from her lips, but it’s not so much hers as a monster’s. She can’t let Raine see her like this. She can’t, she can’t, she can’t— “Are you okay?” Raine asks, and she can feel desperate tears welling. Too late. “Is this the curse?” they press. Despite having broken up with her less than a minute ago, they’re surprisingly concerned. They didn’t want to do this, she realizes, but I forced them to. They’re giving her one last chance. But she can’t take it, because to do so would simply put them in danger. Maybe it’s hurting them both, but she can’t hurt someone else. Not after last time. So she laughs, laughs like she always does. It’s small and sad and scared, but it’s also a wall. They offered her a hammer and she only added more bricks. “Ha ha!” she manages, gritting her teeth. If she can just keep it at bay for a few moments longer… “It’s fine! Everything’s normal!” Her voice is painfully fake. She doesn’t even try to mask the lie, because she knows that they will see through it. They always have, always let her get away with it, always gave her another chance. But now it’s gotten old, and now she’s paying the price. So she says the last thing she has, the one thing she knows will stop them from facing her or touching her or being hurt by her. “You can leave now!” And oh, how it hurts. Telling them to leave while she grips the sides of her face, unable to even look them in the eye. But it’s the only thing left to say. “I can’t do this anymore,” they say. She can hear the pain in their voice, though they try to cover it with irritation. With a sigh. She’s tried so hard not to hurt them, but it seems that she still has. And then they turn away, and she’s left by herself on a hill full of whistling flowers. That’s the last time she goes to Snapdragon Hill. # “I would take it all back if I could, Rainestorm,” she whispers. And she would. But she can’t. And it is all her fault. “I am so, so sorry for hurting you. For making you feel like I didn’t trust you. For ruining… this. Us.” She squeezes her eyes shut, because Titan darn it, she’s crying again, and she doesn’t know if she’ll ever stop. Somehow losing her arm doesn’t hurt as much as the possibility of losing them. “I’ve even come to terms, in a way, with the owl beast,” she continues. “I’m trying to be better about not hiding it anymore. And… I think that you—that you breaking up with me because I kept lying…” Her voice breaks, and she takes a moment to put it back together. “I think it helped me start telling the truth to those I care about.” She bows her head again, hand shaking, arm gripping them. “And you? I care about you. I never stopped.” There are more murmurs around them. More people are waking up, more people are not dead, more people are reuniting with those they love. So why can’t they? “I need you to wake up,” she pleads, and she hates it. Hates feeling so helpless. Hates the way her voice quivers and stammers and shakes. But she still can’t find it within herself to lie to the person who deserves her honesty the most. “Please, Rainestorm. Please.” She opens her eyes—she didn’t realize she had closed them—and the silly, foolish, hopeful part of her expects to see them looking back. But they’re not. She manages to muster a few shaky breaths. There’s one last thing she can say. She must’ve thought it a thousand times once reuniting with them, but never aloud. Certainly never to their face. In fact, she hasn’t said it in twenty-seven years. But they’ve never been so close to death, either. “I never stopped loving you,” she says quietly, “and I’m not about to now.” She smiles, but it quickly falls flat when there’s no one to return it. White begins to seep into the edges of the sky, slowly forming a vortex. People start to stir and stand, looking about with confusion on their faces. She just sits there, the person she loves lying with their head in her lap, eyes closed. She stops fighting the tears. She stops fighting the pain. She just… stops. And for a second, everything is silent. Then. A voice she never thought she’d hear again speaks. “I might have been the one to end it, but I never stopped loving you, either,” they whisper. Their voice is raspy and dry. But when she looks down at them, they’re looking up at her through tear-streaked glasses. “You did…” They cough. “You did make my glasses all smudged, though.” For a second, she just stares at them. Then she laughs. She throws back her head and laughs. “You’re a dork,” she says with all the edge fourteen-year-old her would have said it with. “But… a loveable one.” They blush bright red, the tips of their ears pointing down. She realizes what she’s said and blushes red, too. “I…” She swallows, throat suddenly dry. They lift their head slightly, still blushing. “May I… Can we…” they stammer, tripping over their words. Her heart starts beating unnaturally fast and she watches as their eyes dart from her eyes to her lips. She doesn’t want to get her hopes up, but it seems they’re already sky high. “Can I kiss you?” Their cheeks burn bright red as soon as the question leaves their lips, and they quickly glance away. “I-I mean, never mind! I… You probably just said that because… you were worried. Um, just forget about what I said about loving you—you’ve probably moved on and you’re probably mad at me and—” She cuts them off with a kiss. It’s a bit awkward, because even though they’re awake, their head is still lifted above her lap. But she bends down anyway, and they twist their head to meet her. It’s short, and ends far too quickly for their liking. But it also ends with the whisper of a possibility. “Woah,” they stammer, face flushing the brightest red she’s seen in years. She laughs, though she can feel her own face blushing, too. “Dork.” “Dingus.” They sit up and face her, green eyes locking with gold. Then she’s reminded of a certain parade a few days and she punches them. Not as hard as she would Warden Wrath or a coven scout, but enough to make them yelp. “What’d you do that for?” they exclaim, rubbing their arm. “That was for lying to me,” she replies, punching them again. “I thought that you’d actually been brainwashed by Terra! I was–I was worried about you! And then you joined–or started, maybe–another rebellion and didn’t tell me? I could have helped you! Or you could have, at the very least, gave me a sign that you were okay! And then you did this…” Her voice trails off, and her gaze falls to her lap. Her hand rests on her lap and clenches into a fist, nails digging into her palm. “I thought you were dead.” And it’s true, she realizes with a cold, wooden dread. She did think they were dead. “Oh…” Their eyes fill with obvious pain. “I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you so bad. But… I needed… wanted to keep you safe. And I suppose that was rather selfish of me, wasn’t it? I mean, you ended up having to get a sigil anyways. I just… I couldn’t see you get hurt.” They gently take her hand in theirs, focusing on uncurling her tight fist. “I’m sorry.” “You better be,” she says, sharp and fast. She’s tired of being sad. She wants to go back to being snappy and snarky, like she always is. But then she looks at them again. Them, with their wise green eyes and white-streaked mint hair. She can suddenly see everything that she’s missed over the years they’ve been apart; how much they’ve changed. How much both of them have changed. She sighs, and her shoulders fall. She hadn’t realized they’d even been raised. “Sorry. But I… I get it. That’s…” She takes a breath. “That’s really why I kept so much from you about, well… the owl beast. My curse. It’s… unpredictable, y’know? So I guess I thought that by keeping you in the dark, I would also be keeping you safe. And I’m so, so sorry for that.” She pauses, but not quite long enough for them to say anything. “But… I really would take it all back if I could. I was the reason we fell apart, and if I’d just told the truth from the start, maybe neither of us would be here–” “But you can’t.” The hardened resolve in their voice makes her jump, just a little bit. They slowly meet her eyes again. “You can’t take it back, and you can’t surround yourself with ‘if onlys’ and ‘what ifs.’ But…” They smile. “You can go forward. Both of us can.” Maybe she’s not quite done being mad, but for the moment, her anger melts away. She sees two people recognizing their mistakes and working to fix them. She sees the person she’s been apart for for so long, too long, right in front of her and there. “That sounds nice,” she says softly. “I… think I’d like that.” “I think I would, too,” they respond, voice just as genuine. “I’m trying to be more… open about my curse, too,” she admits. “But it’s still kinda hard.” “No one’s saying we have to change overnight,” they remind. “I think simply trying is good enough. More than good, in fact.” She finds a smile flooding her face. Despite the battle her kids are fighting right now, despite the battle everyone is fighting right now, despite the swirling sky and the almost childlike cries coming from the castle… she is happy. Not about everything, and not forever, but for now, for this small, imperfect moment, she is. “I really do love you,” they say, smiling at her. “And… I love you, too,” she responds in kind. Suddenly, their noses are inches from each other and both of them are holding the other’s gaze, warm and strong. “I’m going to kiss you,” she says. “I know,” they reply. So she does. She leans in and they lean in and both slightly tilt their heads, lips locking. Warmth floods her body as they kiss, and her arm finds their back, tugging them closer. Their arms wrap around her, and for a few seconds it’s like everything is fine. Like everything is as it should be. Even when they pull apart, faces flushed and their head resting on her shoulder, it feels safe. Secure. Then the child’s cries she thought she was hearing earlier grow louder, and louder, and louder. The sky starts spinning faster, and faster, and faster. The world starts to unravel, leaving both of them at its center. “If we’re gonna play Owl House, we’re gonna need an Owl House!” The voice echoes around them, filling her ears. The owl beast squirms within her. They grip her tighter, fear flashing in their green eyes. Then a blinding white begins to creep into the corners of the world, and she takes a hold of their hand, fingers locking desperately together. Something is happening, but neither know what. The ground starts to float around them, and a weightlessness begins to fill her chest. She grips their hand tighter, needing to stay with them, needing to stay together– But the wind is too strong, and as the world spins and changes and falls apart, so to do the partners in everything above and below the Titan. Their fingertips brush each other, and they fight to find their way back to each other– But it’s too late. And Eda Clawthorne and Raine Whispers are pulled apart as the world is covered in nothing but white. Empty, empty white. The music fades away.

Teen And Up Audiences

"eda will you please teach me a spell" luz practically begged while doing the puppy dog eyes. eda tried to resist she really did but those damn eyes are so hard to so no to. "Ugh, fine, alright I will teach you a spell" luz gasped excitedly "thanks so much eda, you won't regret this." after the second light spell eda showed luz she could feel just how close she was to falling unconscious and then proceeded to fall asleep. "oh god, my love for magic killed eda" "luz wait, look eda is fine, she is just asleep" luz looked over and saw eda mumbling something about "shiny things" in her sleep "oh thank god, she is alright. we should get her to her bed" "what, why do I have to help" "because I can't do it on my own king" "ugh fine but only if I get to teach you more about demons'' "ok" and so luz and king worked together to pick up eda and drag her to her room and while they were trying to get her in the nest, luz accidentally knocked over some potion on eda's nightstand. "oh no, I hope that wasn't important" "I'm sure its fine luz now let's go" "ok ok I'm going, just keep your fur on" and they both left the room neither seeing eda shift in her sleep. luz and king were in the living room when they heard a loud crash and saw a creature break down hooty, and charged in and then it saw them and screeched both kids got up and ran upstairs with the beast giving chase and while they were running luz felt her phone fall out of her pocket and break. the two kids ran around a corner and hid in eda's room hoping the creature wouldn't find them and then they saw what the crash was and it was eda's window being missing and eda is also missing "that thing got eda!" luz and king were panicked not knowing what to do only for a large hand to crash through the door and then the creature saw them and crashed the door down cornering the two kids. luz and king didn't even get a chance to run before the creature had got them. eda woke up with a horrible taste in her mouth and felt something weird all over her so she got up and looked in the mirror and the first thing she saw was blood. blue mixed with red and eda panicked "oh dear titan please don't tell me I did what I think I did" and she turned around and saw kings skull head on the ground and eda screamed in anguish, eda broke down crying, she just murdered her apprentice and king. eda didn't know what to do with herself until she had an idea. lilith's day was great so far, she didn't have to deal with kiki or the golden brat today or that was until three brisk knocks on her door were heard, "yes kikimora" "the emperor needs you in the throne room" Lilith then walked to the throne room wondering what he wanted. lilith entered the throne room and bowed before belos "you may rise Lilith" "I want you to perform a raid on the owl lady's house" "yes, my liege" "by yourself" "I have intel stating that her house demon is unwell" "you may go now, Lilith" lilith flew to where her sister's house was and saw the door on the ground "unwell is one way to put it" she entered the house and the first thing she saw was eda and Lilith screamed. of all the things he saw in her time, this was the worst one. her little sister had killed herself and she had no idea why then she saw a note on the table marked for her and read it.   dear Lilithif you are reading this then well as you can see I'm gone. Lilith saw tear stains on the paper that were not hers. I transformed for the first time in a long time and I did something horrible. She saw many more stains on the paper as if Eda couldn't write down what she wanted to write. I had an apprentice named luz noceda and a demon kid named king, they were 14 and 8. Lilith hated that she used past tense and an idea of what happened. lily I slaughtered them. so if you are reading this, I love you and goodbye. sincerely your younger sister Lilith just stood there shocked. Slowly she just looked up at her sister and cried. she cried harder than ever before. Lilith had a funeral service for eda and the two kids, her parents were distraught and so was she and after that, no one had ever seen Lilith clawthorne ever again.

Not Rated

She tried to be brave when the Warden came for her. For the sake of her two fellow rebels, Katya did her best to keep up an air of false bravado, though she was fairly certain that Derwin saw through it. She did allow herself to cling to their hands, however, as the thundering footsteps drew closer, heading towards their cell with clear purpose in mind.    It wasn’t hard to guess their intentions.    Their cell door slammed open and she barely had time to press her eyes closed and say a silent prayer before a massive hand seized her by the throat. Warden Wrath slammed her against the wall so hard she swore she could feel something in her body crack.    “Welcome back,” he snarled, digging his nails into the side of her neck. She struggled weakly in his grip, her own hands coming up instinctively to claw at his grip- to no avail. For all the Warden’s weaknesses, he had one thing going for him that she absolutely didn’t- his strength. One hand had her completely helpless.    Through the haze of pain and lack of oxygen, Katya could see the rising panic in both Amber and Derwin’s faces. Amber wailed her name, attempting to reach for her, and Derwin just barely managed to grab her in time to pull her back.   The Warden glanced downward at the two witches, huddled on the ground by the single cot in their cell and grunted. He loosened his grip, letting Katya go, and she dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap.    Before she had time to collect herself, he had ahold of her upper arm instead and had begun hauling her towards the door. Amber quickly wriggled free of Derwin and scrambled towards them.    “Let her go! KATYA!”    The younger witch managed to grab Katya’s free hand, clutching it desperately as though she could protect her if she held on. Katya felt tears spring to her eyes. Despite only knowing her for a few months, she’d come to love the girl like a little sister. Amber could be bratty and abrasive at times-an instinct that came from her time growing up on the streets-but she was also fiercely loyal, and a wonderful friend. The fear in her tear-filled eyes hurt Katya worse than the crippling hold Warden Wrath had on her arm.    She swallowed back her own tears. Be brave, be brave…    Katya gave Amber a weak smile and squeezed her hand. Before she could do anything else, the Warden growled and wrenched her away. At the same time, he kicked out with a steel-toed boot and sent poor Amber flying backwards into Derwin’s arms. Katya cried out, reaching for her instinctively, but the Warden dragged her out into the hall and yanked the lever to slam the door closed.    As he hauled her away, Katya stole one last glance at Amber and Derwin. Her fellow rebels, her partners-in-crime, her friends. They huddled together, tears in both their eyes, watching Warden Wrath drag her to what could very well be her death. She bit her lip, feeling something warm and wet trickle down her cheek, and mouthed three words to them that she prayed they understood before she was around a corner and out of sight.    She remembered an offhanded remark Raine had made to the Owl Lady, the day of their protest in the square. The day they truly made a difference.    Hey, if you’ve got nothing to lose, we could use the help.   They’d groaned about it to her later, believing it to sound too fantastical, too dystopian. She remembered laughing at them, joking that it was, on some level, true. They were all, in some way, alone in this world. Orphans and runaways and juvenile delinquents, every member of the BATTs had nothing left to lose.    Except, apparently, for eachother.   The Warden threw her to the ground in a dark, dingy dungeon. She attempted to sit up and face him, but he ground a boot into her chest and forced her back down.    “Anything to say for yourself, little storyteller? Perhaps an apology, or a plea for mercy?”    Katya glared defiantly up at him. Then, she took as deep of a breath as she could manage under the Warden’s foot, summoned all her courage, and spat in the massive demon’s face.    Warden Wrath reeled, momentarily stunned. Then he growled and, wiping at his cheek with his free hand, began winding up for a blow.    Katya let herself fall back into the floor, a single tear sliding down her cheek but a smile on her face. The Warden’s fist approached rapidly until it was only a moment away from hitting her jaw.    She closed her eyes.~   Days, weeks, months. An eternity. With no windows in her cell, Katya had no way of telling how much time had passed. She supposed it didn’t really matter. The only thing that really changed with the passage of time was whether or not the Warden would get bored and find a new way to torture her. One day, it was a simple beating, the next he’d come in with a whip or a hot poker. Once, he’d even as far as to lock her wrist in a vice grip and pull, pull until something inside snapped.    She’d screamed herself hoarse several times over. Every once in a while, when she was forced to stop for a gulp of air, she heard Amber or Derwin calling her name. Once, she could swear she heard Raine’s voice nearby.    That was when Katya decided she’d begun to hallucinate.    She lay there on the floor of her cell for however long went by. What was real and what wasn’t, she couldn’t tell. One time, she saw a vision of her parents, hovering over her with blurry faces and smiles stretched so wide it had to hurt. She buried her face in her scarred hands and screamed a muffled scream, and when she looked up, they were gone. Another time, she surfaced to consciousness just long enough to see a dark-skinned man clad in shades of deep purple crouched over her. He pursed his lips and pressed a gloved hand to her forehead, mouthing the words I’m sorry.    The night the Owl Lady came for her was the only one that stood out.    The Warden had stopped mid-beating (and she was grateful for the chance to catch her breath) and paused, raising his head like a wolf tracking prey. Abruptly, he turned and pounded off into the hallway, leaving the door ajar. Katya tried to muster up the strength to crawl for it, but quickly fell back onto the ground when her vision flashed sickening shades of red.    She curled into a ball and silently begged her body to just black out, slip into unconsciousness before he came back. And she did.    Sort of.    Her mind floated somewhere on the cusp of awareness, drifting through a haze of pain and exhaustion. Footsteps approached and what little was left of her braced herself for the blow and-    It didn’t come.    Did she imagine it? But no, she heard a voice…    No.    Voices. One calling her name.    Well, at least she knew for certain she was hallucinating now. Because there was no way that both Raine Whispers and Eda the Owl Lady would be standing here with her. Or over her, she supposed.    They seemed to be arguing, Katya noted. She wondered morosely when she’d ever heard them argue before. She’d read somewhere that everything you see and hear in a dream, your brain was recycling from memories of something you’d encountered in real life. But then, did that apply to torture-induced hallucinations?    The Owl Lady’s voice seemed to be getting closer. Katya kept her eyes closed and listened to the sound, finding it oddly comforting to hear- despite being sure that it wasn’t real. She soaked up the sensation of Eda’s shoes tapping on the cold brick floor, Eda’s voice murmuring her name, Eda’s hand on her shoulder-    Wait.    She could feel Eda’s hand on her shoulder.    She could feel Eda’s hand on her shoulder.    This was real.    Her exhaustion-riddled mind could barely process it. She was vaguely aware of a cloth being draped around her shoulders, of a gentle hand cradling her face and strong arms pulling her close and then-    She felt as though she were floating.~   There was shouting and crashing and the rush of movement. Someone cried out her name. She felt the stomach-dropping sensation of soaring into the air, for the first time in what felt like forever feeling a cool breeze hit her face. She summoned up what little strength she had and wrapped her arms around Eda’s neck, murmuring an inaudible ‘thank you’ into the wind. The older witch said nothing, but squeezed her a little tighter. Then, they were coasting downwards, and-    When she awoke, the first thing she felt was warmth. Something soft and downy was wrapped around her, encasing her in a cocoon of soothing heat. Underneath her was more of the same softness, the just-so give under her body weight offering the sensation of sinking into a cloud.    Katya stirred, attempting to rouse her brain and body from the deep sleep she’d apparently fallen into. Her eyelids felt so heavy, she wasn’t sure she could get them to open just yet.    At the movement, she heard a surprised ‘hm’ coming from next to her. A hand- much colder than Eda’s, yet still somewhat soothing- came to rest on her forehead. This sparked her curiosity, and she forced her eyes open to look at the witch hovering over her.    The woman wasn’t Eda, that was for sure. In place of a wild gray mane, she had long, curly dark hair with a streak of white running through it. While one eye was gray, to match her sister’s (for surely that was who this was), the other was a startlingly bright green. She was dressed nothing like Eda, wearing a dark skirt, a tan shirt with a blurry image that resembled a battery, and glasses. Still, she had the same pale skin, the same slender build, and her features bore the same concerned expression.    She twisted her head towards her bedside attendant, and Lilith Clawthorne immediately pulled her hand back with an embarrassed look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that you were awake. That you are awake!” She turned her head towards what Katya presumed to be a doorway. “Eda, she’s awake!”   Katya tried to speak, but her throat seemed to clench up around the words. All she managed was a sort of soft croaking sound. Thankfully, Lilith’s ears perked up and she immediately turned her attention back to the girl.    “Oh dear. Here, you should drink something.”    She plucked a glass of water from a side table that Katya hadn’t yet noticed and knelt at her side, holding the glass to her lips. Katya took small, grateful sips from the glass, eventually daring to take it from Lilith’s hands. To her surprise, her hands only shook slightly as she held it.    Once she was finished, she handed the glass back to Lilith, who set it down on the table. There was a pause before Katya dared to try speaking again. Though hoarse, her voice did manage to make an appearance, and she noted that this may well have been the first time in weeks she’d actually spoken a coherent sentence.    “Where…are we?”    Lilith smiled weakly. “We’re at Edalyn’s house. Or to be more precise, we’re in a room of Edalyn’s house that I forced her to clear out so we could treat your injuries.”   Katya giggled, although her ribs ached when she did. “And did she just happen to have a mattress lying around in here?”    Lilith laughed. “Actually, yes. Eda’s cursed form sheds a lot of feathers, and apparently they make surprisingly good bedding. That’s been Luz’s latest hobby, anyway. Luz the human, I mean.”    Katya hummed, snuggling back down into the covers. “I remember her, alright.”    Footsteps approached and the Owl Lady appeared in the doorway. She grinned upon seeing Katya talking with her sister.    “Hey, kid! Welcome back to the land of the living.”  She perched at the end of Katya’s makeshift bed and ruffled her hair. Katya started to smile, but stopped upon seeing the weary look on Eda’s face.    A blur of memories flashed across her mind. Eda, bolting down the hallways of the Conformatorium with her. Eda, slamming down a piece of paper and sending vines to wrench open the doors of each individual cell, creating enough chaos for her to toss Amber and Derwin their staffs (or rather, toss Amber Katya’s staff- she left home too young to have one of her own) and book it out a hole someone blasted in the wall. Eda, fussing over her in the dead of night, tipping potions down her throat and applying balms to her cuts.     She remembered one of the first things she’d said to the Owl Lady when they last met. Thank you. How can we ever repay you? She’d never really thought about how close she’d come to being in mortal danger that day. Now, here she was again, and it was just beginning to set in that Eda Clawthorne had just saved her life once more.    She fumbled for words helplessly.  Lilith sat up, concerned, but Eda waved her off with a one-handed gesture.    “Hey, it’s ok. It’s ok.”    She touched Katya’s cheek gently. The young witch closed her eyes and leaned into her hand, letting it ground her against the wave of emotion suddenly crashing over her. Eda slid closer to her and folded her in her arms, murmuring soothing words against the top of her head.   “Shhh, shhh. It’s alright now. You’re safe.”   Katya didn’t cry. She felt as though she’d run out of tears, and besides, there were some times where tears simply didn’t do the job. Instead, she nestled against Eda and soaked up her words.   She was safe.   Eda never pulled away, simply held her. After a long moment, Katya opened her eyes and noticed that Lilith had disappeared. She raised an eyebrow at Eda curiously.    “Hm? Oh, Lily,” Eda murmured, stroking the girl’s hair with her free hand. “She probably went to get Amber and Derwin. They’re downstairs, if you’re up to seeing them.”    Katya nodded, settling back down. She didn’t ask about Raine. She’d heard the argument, heard Eda’s angry exclamations, heard what they said.    “Just because this girl is a bard, doesn’t mean I have anything to do with her actions. The Bard Coven isn’t responsible for what individual witches do, and I won’t let you blame me for her stupidi-”   She shook her head. She wouldn’t let herself think about it, wouldn’t let herself think about them. Raine, who’d comforted her in the hospital when she was forced to take the bard sigil, a few months after her escape from prison. Raine, who’d taken her under their wing, given her a place to stay and people to believe in.    Raine, who’d seemingly betrayed her.    She refused to think about them. 

Not Rated

The year was 1814, and Eda feared her time was running out to find a partner; she was already 31, and with her family’s reputation at stake, and with how little money they had to support themselves, she needed to ensure that her sister, Lillith, had a partner by the season’s end.  After many failed seasons, Eda found that the easiest thing was to help her older sister find a partner—as hard as it was.   Due to her insistence on finding someone who could make Lillith the happiest she could be, Eda had gone through at least half of the ton’s eligible bachelorettes; most of them claimed she was the issue.   “Maybe you should focus on finding someone for yourself, dear sister,” Lillith pointed out one day, moments after a possible suitor practically ran out of the Owl House.  The younger shook her head. “Out of the two of us, you’re definitely the more likable one. I just scare them away—have since coming out.” Eda scrunched up her nose. “Besides, it’s not like any of them are any different than the others.”  “I can think of one,” Lillith murmured innocently. Her younger sister shot her a look of irritation.  “No. Absolutely no. We broke up a long time ago for a reason.” Needless to say, Eda was a bit bitter about what had gone down.   “A reason you haven’t chosen to disclose with me,” she pointed out. “You two were in love once, you know.”  “We were courting,” Eda replied bluntly. “I’m not sure what their reason was .. they just told me one day they didn’t want to see me anymore.” Lips curved downwards, and Lillith moved to comfort her sister.   “I’m sorry,” she said, wrapping both arms around her. Eda’s head collapsed against her shoulder limply, and she grumbled.  “It’s not your fault,” Eda muttered. It’s theirs.  Nights she spent lying awake, wondering their reason for demolishing her heart the way they did. Eda thought they were getting somewhere—that maybe one day they might have proposed to her.   But the day she thought they would, they did something much, much worse.   Eda then shook her head and backed out of her sister’s hold. “It doesn’t matter; that’s over. I have to move forward with my life.”  Lillith nodded. “Well, I’m sure there’s someone out there that will make you just as happy, if not even more.” The younger gave her a light smile. She doubted it, but nonetheless, the sentiment was appreciated.   “Thank you, Lily,” Eda said. She then shook her head. “Anyway, who’s the next on the list?”  “You scared them all off,” she half-joked. “Honestly, I think we’ve gone through enough poor souls this morning, don’t you think?”  Eda shrugged. She needed to stop by the market anyway to pick up a few thinks, maybe stop by the modiste. She found without anyone taking up her time, she had a hell of a lot of it on her hands. “I’ll be heading out then,” Eda replied. “I have some things to do other than terrorize every woman on the block.”    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    The market was nice; Eda enjoyed wandering about—mostly, she spent her time in the market pickpocketing strangers, spending said strangers' money on things. Fun things like that.   As her time in Bonesborough grew, so did the predictability of the townspeople; at this point, she could get away with practically anything.   And while, yes, nabbing up a husband or wife was a focus of hers, there was more to a woman than her love life. Eda aspired to make her mark on this world, one way or another—maybe even make her name in the books one day.   The redhead was so distracted by her own thoughts, she soon stumbled into a familiar face. Eda took a step back and was about to scold the stranger for their total lack of attention – even if it were completely her own wrongdoing – and shoo them off.   However, she stopped, deciding irritated silence may suit this specific situation better. The stranger before her was none other than her ex, Raine Whispers. Scarlet red lips curved into a disapproving frown. Eda had to be civil about this.   Besides, it’d been six years since the two courted—surely Raine had forgotten whatever reason they once had for hating her so much that they would break things off for no reason.   “Whispers,” she uttered, as calmly as she could.   “Edalyn --” they stopped when she arched a brow at them. Right. She hated the full usage of her name. “I-I meant Eda.”  “What’re you doing around here? Aren’t you too busy kissing the emperor's ass to show your face in Bonesborough?” Eda asked, brow remaining suspiciously arched.   If she was getting under their skin at all, they didn’t show it. However, their calm demeanor felt hostile in a way. “My family isn’t connected as closely to him as you might think, actually.”   Eda let out a small hmph.   “If you must know, I’m taking part in this years’ season,” Raine finished.   The redhead felt as if her jaw may drop to the floor if she at any point let the muscles in her face relax—instead they were held stiffly, and an equally frigid, forced smile crossed her lips. “Oh, really?”  “I’m not getting any younger, and I don’t suppose my mother’s will decide to have another child, so if I don’t marry soon, my bloodline won’t really be thing anymore, I guess.” The bard shrugged, eyes averting from their former lover.   They were aware of the dangers of putting themself out there again—but things were different now.   She wasn’t in the way.   Raine would find a wife, but they would find one with whom they knew they could love. Even if it wasn’t with Eda, they would find happiness elsewhere.   Eda grimaced. She knew the ladies who attended the local parties, and everything they were about. None of them were right for Raine—not really. A majority of them were stuck up and snobbish.   Of course, it’d been years, so who’s to say Raine wasn’t into those sorts of women.   “Well, good luck to you then,” she said, faking a supportive smile. Titan, she had to get out of this conversation immediately. Eda knew how idiotic it was, still pining for them after they’d broken things off for titan knows what. She couldn’t be strung up in their charm, and she definitely couldn’t try to make her way back into their impossible heart—even if she was tempted. Eda had to get out. “I should really get going; Lily is waiting for me.”  “Al--” before they could finish, she disappeared into the crowd. “..right...” Raine frowned a bit.       ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    Walking back to their home, Raine had a lot to think on. They were aware of how much Eda probably loved seeing them today—and being reminded of what they’d done to her. It was cruel, but they knew it couldn’t have been helped. Not at the time.   They weren’t sure of her statues now, but from the looks of it and how much better she seemed to carry herself, it looked as though it had at least improved.   Not like any of that actually mattered to Raine; they would be in love with her even if she were a servant scrubbing bathroom floors.   It was her involvement that forced the two apart. Terra Snapdragon, the Whisper’s family’s patron, – Raine despised her with every fiber of their being – informed their parents of the Clawthorne family’s low statues in society, and how the dowry that came with asking for Eda’s hand wouldn’t be much.  And so, the night they had planned to ask her to marry them, Raine’s life ended. Their life – their dear Calamity – was heartbroken.   After that, Raine was devastated; they weren’t home more than half of the time, and their mothers worried for them. Terra had assured them that everything would be fine, and that Raine would get over it.   But they never did.   To this day, they still loved Eda Clawthorne more than anything their gifted talents had earned them. More than a high seat in society, or even recognition by the emperor for their impressive skills as a bard.  They kept this fact tucked deep in their heart. Even if Ms. Snapdragon kept them apart, Raine would always hold Eda’s existence as high as if she were a goddess—even if that was only a mere fantasy.   When Raine had told their parents and Terra of their intention of rejoining society, none of them did anything to stop them; Eda’s name wasn’t mentioned, but they were sure it crossed at least one of the elder’s minds.  They knew courting her was probably impossible when she probably wished they were somewhere frozen on The Knee, or six feet in the dirt. Nonetheless, they were determined to make this season a productive one—Eda Clawthorne, or not.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    “The NERVE of them! Just deciding to hop back into the season just because they feel like it!?”   Eda was pacing – more like stomping – back and forth, her hands balled into fists. Lillith sat comfortably on the sofa, sipping a cup of tea.   “Did they miss getting screwed or something?!” Eda said rhetorically. Her older sister rolled an eye.  “Pretending I didn’t hear that. Maybe, have you considered, they’re finally ready to move on?”  The younger redhead scoffed.   “You should too,” Lillith pointed out.  “Weren’t you encouraging me getting back with Raine this morning?” Eda asked, lifting a brow.  “That was before I was aware that they had moved on,” she replied.  Eda shook her head. “Whatever. They can’t do better than me, and they know it. I’ll show them.” There was a mischievous smile growing across her face.   A groan left her sister’s lips. “What are you plotting?”  “Nothing!”   Something.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------      There was a ball that night, and it was obvious enough that Raine would be present at such an event—Eda had a gut feeling. Lillith called it idiotic, but she had to see what they were up to.   “Maybe this is why they broke up with you,” she muttered sarcastically. Eda softly smacked a hand on Lillith’s shoulder.   “Do I look alright?” she asked, tugging at her sleeves. Eda was wearing a long red dress that hung off of her shoulders, lacy red sleeves covered her forearms, and the skirt was a deep blood red color made of satin.   “Are you attempting to woo them back to you?”  Eda scoffed and snorted. “No.”  “That’s attractive.” Lillith sighed. “If they want you, they’ll let you know.”  The younger redhead groaned. “What, is there something I need to look out for? A sign that says ‘I made the biggest mistake of my life, please take me back’?”  Lillith shrugged.   “Whatever. I can do this, right?” Eda looked to Lillith for reassurance. This was just like when she was a kid—as if this was her first encounter with the bard, and she needed Lillith to tell her everything would be okay. That she should be herself.   Eda felt that that was probably what got her into the predicament.   “Yes, of course you can.” Lillith gave her a small smile; the moonlight beamed off of her circular frames, and her hands went to rest on the younger’s shoulders. “I’ll be right there with you, alright?”  Eda’s lips spread into a thin, nervous smile, and she nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. You’re right.”    The two stepped into the ballroom—it was vast and beautiful, with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, large windows peeking out into the gardens, and decor that Eda assumed must have cost the owner millions.   Her stomach began to churn, nerves bubbling to the surface. “Maybe this wasn’t-”  “Go.” Lillith gave her back a gentle nudge.   Stepping out further into the room, Eda glanced around; bodies swayed around the dance floor, creating a sea of colorful skirts and suits. She fiddled with the dance card tied to her wrist, nervously tapping her foot—until she felt a finger poke her bare shoulder. Eda twirled around quickly to meet the very bard she intended to attract.   “Raine!” she yelled quietly, backing up a few inches. “Don’t do that!”  “Sorry.” They gave her a lopsided grin, and for a moment – if not a very brief one – she felt like she was 18 again.   However, after remembering the context of the awkward situation, she straightened up. “I didn’t know you would be here,” she murmured.   Yes, you did, you came here for that very reason. Lillith’s voice rung in the back of her head. Eda ignored it.   “I told you: I’m re-entering this matchmaker event,” they reminded. Eda gave a silent, curt nod.   “You look nice,” she finally said after a few moments.   They were wearing a beautiful black dress decorated with lace on the sleeves and a clear, red fabric on the skirt. “Thank you,” Raine said, a light blush creeping up on their face. “As do you; that dress looks beautiful on you.”  She ignored the horrible shade her own must be turning right now. Knowing you look beautiful and being told you look beautiful were two entirely separate things—and one obviously excited her more than the other. “Thank you,” Eda muttered.  The two stood awkwardly for a moment before the bard cleared their throat. “Would you like to dance,” they asked; Eda noticed their eyes searched for names on her dance card to ensure that she was available to.  The redhead nodded. It was impolite to refuse a dance from someone unless you were reserved—and Eda had no desire to decline anyhow.  Raine led her to the dance floor, and a feeling of nostalgia fell over both of them. Raine placed an arm around her waist, and Eda took their hand.  “I wanted to apologize,” Raine started as the two began to dance. Eda rolled her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. “My family’s sponsor threatened to stop unless I married into a wealthy family.”  “By the looks of it you didn’t,” Eda stated bluntly, however nothing about her tone indicated she was irritated.   “Well, I refused to.” They tried to find a better way to explain. Raine twirled her outwards before bringing her back into their arms; Eda was close against their chest, face turned to look down to theirs before returning to her initial position.   “Why disappear for so long?” Eda said. “Not even Darius could find you.”  Her eyes never left theirs as they danced. “I know. I’m sorry—I wish I was able to tell you what was going on at the time.”  “Your family’s patron is scary,” she commented, taking a turn to twirl Raine around.   They nodded before landing back in Eda’s arms. “I shouldn’t have let her get in the way though. For that, I’m eternally sorry.”  She was silent; the band had ended just as quickly. “So, you still love me then?”  Raine’s lip quirked into a small smile, and they gently squeezed her hand. “I never stopped.”  It was as if her breath escaped her; Eda couldn’t help but smile. “Neither did I.” She returned the gesture and murmured softly: “Let’s get out of here.”  There was a lot to talk about, and it was easier done without prying eyes of the high houses of Bonesborough listening in.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    “Edalyn!”   The redhead was sitting in the drawing room, flipping through a book when her mother came bustling in. “Edalyn, dearest, there’s someone here for you.”  “A caller?” Lillith looked up from her own book. “For Eda?” She glanced over at her sister as if to ask What did you do?  Eda stood up with newfound enthusiasm. Ever since clearing up that the Clawthorne family had made quite the reputation for themselves, Raine had gotten approval from their family, as well as kept their sponsor’s money, and had been able to freely court the woman whom they’d spent eternity pining for. The bard walked in after Gwendolyn, flowers in hand and a smile on their face. Eda straightened her skirt and beamed at them.   “Rainstorm,” she greeted.  “Calamity,” they returned.   Eda took a step forward and received the flowers graciously; Gwendolyn provided a vase for them and set them down on one of the end tables.  “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” Raine said, taking a seat next to her on the sofa. “I know it’s a bit soon, but I should’ve done this a while ago—besides, I think we know each other well enough, yeah? This past month has been … well, I think it’s been one of the happiest ones of my life.”  Lillith set down her book, and Gwendolyn covered her mouth as the bard moved from the couch to kneel before Eda; they took a small box from their pocket. Eda felt her eyes begin to prick with tears.   “Eda Clawthorne, will you do me the great honor of marrying me?” Raine opened the small box, revealing a golden ring with a beautiful orange stone inside.   Eda nodded quickly and allowed them to take her hand, slipping the ring onto her finger. She beamed at Raine, who scooped her into their arms in a hug; Eda pressed a kiss to their lips, a giggle of happiness escaping her own.  It was the happy ending they both deserved, and even if it took several years, it was all worth it.  

Teen And Up Audiences

The Day of Unity has begun. Luz and her friends faced Belos—or rather, Philip, in hopes that it would be possible to stop his plan. Everyone gave their best, but it was in vain, as they slowly realized that Philip was much stronger than they were, especially in that form. “Luz, watch out!” Amity shouted, but unfortunately, Luz didn’t have time to react fast enough to dodge Philip’s attack and was thrown off the bridge and fell onto the ground. “Luz!” “I am fine! Don’t worry, keep fighting!” Amity hesitated for a moment, but nodded and turned back to help their friends. Luz looked around and saw some stairs. She was about to get up and run to try and help the others, but then… “Luz!” A voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked behind her and saw King running towards her with his arms outstretched, “Are you hurt?” “N…No, don’t worry, King…” “Damn it!”, Luz thought. It seemed like an impossible situation for them. She tried to get up. “Isn’t there anything we can do?!” “It’s pointless.” Luz looked forward, behind King, and saw Kikimora in the Abomatron, weakened by the Draining Spell. She stared at Luz and King, who stared back, listening to her. Belos can't stop the spell any more than they can. Only the Collector has that power. “Who… is the Collector?”, asked King, slowly approaching her. “Neither witch nor demon, a child from the stars.” Kikimora answered, looking away and looking at his arm with the clan mark on it. A child? “Belos only talked to him when he thought no one was around, but I was always listening. Belos was afraid of him.” “Take us to him!” Luz speaks quickly. King nods, also waiting to go and help. “If it means kicking the Emperor’s butt,” Kikimora, with her Abomatron, strands up slowly and shows a staircase leading downwards behind her, “gladly.” Quickly, Luz, along with King, rushed down the stairs, with Kikimora following behind. She can’t waste any time as her friends hold Philip. Reaching the deepest part of the Titan’s Head, Luz and King saw several masks and broken skeletons on the floor. It was a horrible sight. “What is this place?”, King asks, a little startled. “Where the failure ends up.” Replied Kikimora. Luz swallowed dryly. The two looked around and spotted something on the ground and walked over to it. A crescent-shaped mirror. Hesitating, King stared at that glass object and touches it. It begins to glow and a black shadow emerges from it. “Leave me alone! I don’t associate with fibbers.” The shadowy entity begins to speak. Was that the Collector? He looks around and seems to be a bit confused, for some reason. “Wait. I can see you—” He points at Luz, and seems to completely ignore Kikimora who was behind them, “but I know there’s someone else there, I can feel it! But why can’t I see you?” Both Luz and King were confused too. Luz looks at King and notices that his collar was glowing. Does that symbol make him invisible to the Collector? King notices this too and takes the collar off his neck. The Collector jumps in surprise and approaches him from the ground. “You look like that bully who put me here! No way, are you his little Titan baby? I always wanted to play with you, but your dumb pops hid you.” He said, using King’s shadow and transforming into several different figures as he spoke. “Hey, do you like hide and seek? I’ll hide first!” “Mr. Collector!” Luz interrupts him and gets his attention. “Please. We need your help. Belos is up there fighting with my friends and everyone on the Boiling Isles is in danger, we need you.” “Yes, we need you to stop the Draining Spell, please!” “Mister? You two are sooooo boring…” The Collector exasperated sighs. Luz was about to panic and run out of ideas until King stops and starts talking. “Well, you know what’s better than hide and seek? A game called… ‘The Owl House!’” he says. “Ooh, how do you play?” The Collector asks curiously, looking like he was quite interested in this ‘new game’. “Oh, it’s so fun, like, the most fun! And I can show you if you want. We’re gonna need a lot of players, like, a whole island’s worth of players.” “Uh… that!” Luz understood and internally thanked King, “Ah, The Owl House. Wow, how I love that game! But, uh… aw, shucks. “W-What’s wrong?” “Well, gee, everyone’s gonna perish from this ding-dang Draining Spell.” King said, in a disappointed tone, “Guess we can’t play that awesome game after all. Man, it was fun though.” King turned around and walked away, looking like he was going to leave, but the Collector was quick and appeared on the floor, stopping him. “Wait, if you’re a Titan, you can let me out. I can stop the spell! And we can play together!” A light of hope has come to Luz and King. “Golly, you would do that?”, exclaimed King. “Wait, you’re not tricking me into doing your chores like Philip, are you?” “Us? Like Philip? Never!” Luz nervously said. “Yeah, never! Pinky swear!” King offers his pinky finger out to him, and Luz does the same. The Collector laughs. Then a growl was heard, and the ground began to shake. They immediately knew it was Philip upstairs and began to get a little more nervous. “I'll even let you out right now. W-What do I need to do? D-Do-Do you need my... blood?” “No, silly! But… I will need something.” The Collector said, his shadow moving closer to Luz. “I’ll need a physical form, and that’s where you come in, human.” “Me?” Luz points at herself. “I’ll need her body to be able to leave completely. Phillip said he had someone who would do it, but now that he liked to me, I don’t think that person will show up. Then you will have to help me so that I can help you, and then we can play! So, are you in?” The Collector explained and asked Luz. She hesitated. Would it really be right to do this? What if something went wrong? But also, her friends and the whole island depended on her, and she had to hurry. There was no way. She had to save everyone. This was the only way. “Lo siento, Amity, Eda, Willow, Gus, Hunter, Mama... I have to do this.” “…Okay. I accept!” The Collector smiled. He put his hand through the mirror with his pinky. Taking a deep breath, Luz and King approached him and put their fingers on the mirror, more precisely where his pinky was. The mirror began to glow brightly. On the ground appeared his face with the sun, stars, and the phases of the moon around it. In Luz’s hand, a shadow began to appear that traveled all the way down to her body. “Luz!” King yelled, but it was in vain. Luz screamed and fell to her knees on the ground as the shadow consumed more of her body. Her hair changed color to a pure white, and slowly the color of his skin changed as well. Half blue, half orange. Her face and eyes glowed as the Collector could be heard, laughing loudly. The crescent-shaped mirror cracked and fell to the ground. Luz's body glowed so brightly that King and Kikimora had to shield their eyes. And then, silence. ### Everyone was exhausted. Amity, Willow, Gus, and especially Hunter, who was on the ground, weakened by the Draining Spell, could no longer fight. Philip stood in front of them. He raised his hand, turning it into a scythe, ready to attack. However, just when everyone is protecting themselves from the attack, closing their eyes, and preparing for the worst... it doesn't come. Slowly, they open their eyes. “Whatcha playing?” A hooded person stared at them while holding the end of the scythe. This person looked like… “…Luz?” Amity asked, clearly as confused as the other, or even more. Why was she like this? How did she stop the attack? Those questions fell aside as Philip immediately realized who it was, slowly backing up. “Collector?” Philip says, causing the Collector to glare at him. They didn’t look happy at all. “You’re, just as promised.” “As promised? I remember someone throwing me off a bridge. I’m not angry though, thanks to the human who helped me.” The moment they mentioned the “human”, everyone behind them froze, worried and wondering what exactly happened while they were fighting. Amity, especially. “Say, you wanna play tag?” The Collector, with a smile, twirls their finger and pulls Philip closer. “I’m it.” They tap Philip’s nose lightly, causing him to be launched against the wall, above the door, reducing him to a puddle of mud, to the shock and surprise of the others. The Collector laughs, covering his mouth. “Too slow.” they say. Then, they turn their attention to the others, and ask, “You guys look slow too. Do you need a head start?” Stuck, they were unable to respond as the Collector approached them. Luckily, King appeared in front of them, blocking the path. “Woah woah, Collector. Buddy, pal! Remember what we talked about? You gotta help all my friends outside, or, uh, we won't get to play "Owl House".” King looks back, trying to get the message across to the others. "Ah... Owl House. I love this game. The memories last a lifetime!" Amity started, and the others followed. "I play it every day!" "I play it every hour" Hunter was so scared that he couldn't form a sentence. He only smiled and squealed nervously. “I’ll explain the rules later, but remember, we need a lot of players.” The Collector walks forward and everyone clears the way. They look outside and see the crowd of people, slowly dying from the spell. “Hmm. “Okay!” And with a simple "boop", he stops the Draining Spell by simply moving the moon beside the sun with a touch of their finger. Everyone affected by the spell begins to wake up. “Well…” Amity begins, thinking carefully about her words, after seeing what they’re capable of. “I-It’s done, right? N-Now… about Luz…” “Huh?” The Collector turns and faces the lavender-haired girl. “Oh, the human? Oh no, I can’t let her out yet.” "...Huh?!", was what everyone was thinking. Amity turned pale. “I mean, then we won't be able to play, will we? Besides, I can't risk you breaking your promise, after what Philip did, King.” They explained, "But don't worry, she's right here," they tapped their finger on their head, "and she can see everything. That way we can have a lot of fun!” The moment they said this, King realized what a mistake this could have been. The Draining Spell has stopped, but now they have a new problem to prevent. The Collector put their hands on his chin, thinking about something, causing the others to become slightly concerned. Until they began to laugh. Quite a bit. “If we’re gonna play Owl House… we’re gonna need an Owl House!” He began to float in the air, and disassemble everything around them, preparing to start the game. Everyone could only stare as they smiled, having a great time. “We’re gonna have a blast, everyone!” The ground began to be destroyed as well, causing them to move away. Willow, realizing the danger, began to look around for some sort of exit. Looking back, her eyes spotted the portal turned on. This was it! “I think there is a way out.” She warns the others, pointing to the spot. Everyone sees it and starts running to safety... except for Amity and King, who was on her shoulders. Willow looks back and tries to call her, holding her arm. “Amity, let’s go!” “Luz. She... we can't just leave her like this! We were so close to getting her back, I can't lose her like this again!” She says, her voice weak and her eyes already forming tears. As soon as they reach the portal, it begins to flicker, but the light returns when Hunter opens the door. It was raining, but it was harmless. “It's human rain. It's okay,” Gus says, looking at Hunter, but he also noticed the absence of his friends, and they both look back.  “You two, come quick!” Hunter shouted. Willow noticed that the portal was falling apart and tried to hold the pieces together with the plant vines. She was trying, but the Collector pulling made it difficult. “A-Amity, King, let's go quickly!” “Willow...I-I have to save Luz... we’re going to find another way.” As they spoke, the Collector realized what was happening and started to drag King away, but Amity grabbed him, with Willow, trying to hold her back with the vines so she wouldn't be taken together. “King! You promised you'd play with me! You pinky-swore!” “Amity.” King called her, "You need to go. Luz wouldn't want you in that danger either. I failed to keep her safe, and I don't want to risk all of you, too.” “N-No...” “Don't worry. I will rescue her, no matter what it takes. Luz will be fine!” Before Amity can respond, King inhales deeply and uses his sonic shout, losing his grip to Amity and causing her, Willow, Gus, and Hunter to get knocked into the portal and Human Realm altogether. Amity quickly gets up and runs to open the door again, but nothing happens, leaving the group trapped and helpless. Everyone is in shock, Gus begins to cry, and Amity stares at the inside of the empty house that previously led to the Demon Realm. They didn't know what else to do now. Willow slowly gets up. Even though they are lost, they have escaped and must continue. “Guys, let's see if we can find a place to stay.” Hunter nods and helps Gus, still crying, to stand up. Willow looks at Amity and moves toward her. Putting her hand on her shoulder, she tries to comfort her. “We'll be able to save Luz and everyone else. We’re going to get back somehow, okay?” It was not okay, and she knew it herself. Amity didn't say anything and didn't even turn around. After all, who could blame her? The plan to stop the spell had "worked," but it ended up unleashing a possibly far worse threat, and even managed to take Luz’s body. Was there still hope? No one there knew, but they couldn't stand still. After a few seconds, Amity nods slowly, still with tears in her eyes. The group continued through the small forest, following an open path, until they came to a house. There was light coming from inside, it looked like someone was there. It might be a bad idea to go and talk to a human right now that they are lost. What if they notice your ears? What if they panic? What if something happened to them? But in this situation, they just needed to have a place to rest and think about something. Taking a deep breath, Willow went and knocked on the door. She waited for any response and all she could hear was the sound of rain. However, she heard footsteps approaching. Everyone's heart beat faster each time the sound of footsteps increased. Then a woman opened the door. She had dark skin and short brown hair. They thought she noticed that something was wrong, whether it was the fact that there were four children in the rain, the bruises on their bodies, or the expressions on everyone's faces. "Hello, miss... Can you help us?"

Teen And Up Audiences

He’s learned a lot about himself, Since he’s been given the time to   He’s learned that He likes splashing and rolling about In the fountains that sprung up From the almost-end of the world.   He likes birds— Sharp-Jawed Larks from his native world And Cardinals, in his sister’s. Cardinals, in his father’s.   He likes strong girls And shy boys And the moth-winged person in his history class.   He likes skipping history class Considering he already lived through it.   He likes falling asleep on the couch His kind-of-adoptive-mom, kind-of-distant-cousin running her nails along his scalp.   He likes sunflowers And feeling sore from laughing.   He’s learned he’s good at sports And that feeling sore Doesn’t have to come with the emotional ache.   He’s learned That he’s bad at cooking And bad at singing But good at picking out bouquets And good at wood carving.   He’s learned What color scars long-healed are (Spoiler alert, They’re an almost shiny Pearl white)   He’s learned Gravestones can be shaped like Arches Or flowers Or whole islands   And not cradles Or pits Or dishes Or brothers.

General Audiences

What she’s doing can’t be called healing. It’s far too late for that; the wound is too deep, too broad, too deliberate, and there’s far too much blood on the slab already. It’s a miracle the body was still alive, at all, when her desperate search ended, at the bottom of a pit in the blackness inside a long-dead skull. But at the same time, it shouldn’t surprise her at all, because her beloved isn’t a witch, and isn’t fragile in the way Asteria’s kind so often are. So she grasped that shaking, gasping form, and began a desperate race against the natural order of things. What she’s doing can’t be called healing, no; at this point it’s tug-of-war, magic against magic, her sigils biting hard and holding the soul because that’s all she can do alone. The guilds will be no help, she knows, and each glance at the wound makes her stomach turn over, but she holds on anyway because sometimes that’s all there is. Part of her still wants to believe this was done in anger; that this was a furious impulse, blood-clouded rage. She knows that’s what her beloved would want. But no; the wound isn’t a gash, it’s an incision, long and wide and carved with hands far, far too delicate for a crime of passion. The perpetrator wanted something specific, and peering down into the space where a stolen rib should be, Asteria has a sickening idea of what that something was. But, two can play at that game. What she’s doing can’t be called healing, no, it’s closer to necromancy, the kind of thing that even in this wild and woolly world gets frowns and hushed whispers from respectable folk. But Asteria wants to be respected, not respectable, and her family know how to play with things that others won’t touch. Transference of life has been her craft from the day she first held a whittling knife; give it the right form, the right intent, and the right timber to take it, and the land itself will fill in the blanks. There’s far more power there than most people realise, a weight to playing god with wood, and she knows far too well that the would-have-been murderer knows that too. So she stands, grim and steady, over her beloved’s pallid form, and counts out her plan again. Wings flap anxiously around her head, as crimson as the blood on the slab, but she ignores the anxious twittering. What she’s doing can’t be called healing, but it’s close enough to cover some of the same ground; salve on the wound, staunch the flow, ready the sigils for binding and hold the soul with everything you have. “That’s it,” she says finally, wiping her forehead, dark skin pricking with sweat. Her companion acknowledges with another twitter, and lands cautiously at her beloved’s side. Brown eyes peer out from a black-flared face, and red feathers ruffle with worry, and for a moment, Asteria isn’t sure she can do this. What she’s doing can’t be called healing; it’s deeper, older magic, equivalent exchange, and both of them know what’s up for the offering, how much value must be taken. She can’t make the sacrifice; she isn’t the one imbued with strong, ancient magic, but she can’t ask that little, fragile cardinal to make it either. If it was her, she would take the knife in a heartbeat, for herself and her beloved and their unborn child, but it isn’t. The bird seems to understand; he chirps softly, and hops up onto the shivering, clinging body, right to the rim of the wound, and stares down Asteria with intent. They’ve been over this, more than once; neither can do it without the other, and both want it, for the sake of the body on the slab. So she takes a deep breath, and takes up her whittling knife, and swings it clean and high. It’s over in a moment. What she’s doing can’t be called wounding, no; it’s still wood, still carving, still what she’s always done, but still she winces as she puts the bird’s left eye out, and leaves a scar right down across the lid. From the wound comes ichor, glowing blue, and it falls down slowly, agonisingly into the wound, and onto the severed stump of the missing rib. And for a moment, nothing happens; for one long moment, Asteria is afraid, she’s come too late and burned her last chance and hurt her only friend for naught. But then there’s a glow, and a quiet crackling of new-grown bone, and in a moment she trips all of her sigils and knits the surface closed and holds her breath. What they’ve done can’t be called healing, but nobody else would know that now. Least of all the one who first took a knife to her beloved, the monster, who scorned his own sister for being such and for cavorting with Asteria’s kind as if his own was superior. He’s tried this too, she knows, but he’s already pushed it too far; one eye for a rib will keep her beloved whole for at least as long as Asteria makes it, if the times are kind; but too much lifeblood breeds dependence, and that’s a road one has already fallen down. And sure enough, as Asteria quiets her thoughts and sets her whittling knife down, the body, no, the woman, her wife, gasps suddenly, as her soul takes back its rightful place. And one Clawthorne witch embraces another, no longer grim and steady, tears brimming for how close in the balance things came. And a little bird settles down between them, with one eye sealed shut, and chirps quietly in relief. In time, an emperor will pretend to mourn a brother he never had, and fight to fix what cannot and should not be fixed; a pair of witch-women will settle far into the mountains of the Knee, and the Clawthorne line will blossom from their cabin; and a cardinal palisman will watch over another line, false-grown and bent to ill-fitting shape, until such a time as another can be spared. But tonight, there are tears and kisses and hope, because what they have done cannot be called healing, but yet, there is no grave to fill.

Teen And Up Audiences

Well, this was it.It was their senior year, and Raine couldn't be more ecstatic.Every day, they got to see Eda, and Every day, they would try to convince Eda that bard magic was more than just playing music.For example, sitting in the cafeteria with their apple blood- swaying their feet impatiently, waiting for the sweet, snarky, and sarcastic redhead they had come to love. Idly humming a melody and writing down the notes. The notes to a song, a ballad of their soul.They had written songs before, but- nothing ever quite like this. In a way, it was sort of a gromposal? a relationship purposal? Proposal! that was how that word was spelled. Why was English such a hard language? Their thoughts were immediately interrupted as Eda slammed down her tray, sitting down across from them. Jeez, Eda looked... Tired. More tired than usual. The redhead's left eye twitching was always a giving tell that one, Eda was about to explode, or two, Eda was going to make something **else** explode, or three, she was going to make someone else explode on purpose. Not on accident like that one time in potions class and the teacher accidentally touched Eda's cauldron. Well, maybe it wasn't an accident the more they thought about it- "Vice Principal Bump is really getting on my nerves," Eda huffed, shoving some food into her mouth. "Just because I don't want to join the potions coven, or any other coven, I'm labelled as a threat to the emperor. What kind of bullfrog is that?!" Raine watched as she took a large drink from her apple blood box. "A threat to the emperor?" Raine mumbled, carefully eating their own chicken nuggets. "Thats insane, you're like the chillest witch I know." Eda snorted, "Yeah, well, there's nothing I can really do about it. My goal is to be the best in grudgby for my last year. I'm going to get star player again, but I swear to Titan, if Bump suspends me from playing this year, I'm gonna turn him into a toad." The image of Vice-Principal Bump with his long hair, in toad form, made apple blood rocket out of raine's nose in a fit of laughter.of which, made Eda laugh so hard she spat out some of her chicken nuggets. The pair made eye contact at the mess the other witch was in and burst out laughing again. Raine waved a hand, clutching their sides with their hands, a fit of laughter causing their ribs to hurt. "Mercy! Mercy, please! Oh, my Titan it hurts!" it also didn't help that they were binding, but Eda knew that they needed to be careful.Eda reached a hand over, gently placing it on Raines' shoulder. "Okay, Okay, Easy there Rainestorm. We don't want you hurting your ribs again. Those are mine to eat and no one else!" Eda laughed, and snorted, rolling her eyes. Did. Did Eda just flirt to them? at them? or is Eda a cannibal? All were highly likely, and grammatically incorrect!Raine eased their breathing, inhaling and exhaling slowly. They did bind rather tight today, but besides that- They knew Eda was hiding something. Why did she suddenly want- well, no coven at all? Eda tapped her fingernails on the table. "The Coven tryouts are in a few days. I'm really nervous, okay?"Raine blinked. Eda- **Admitting** to being nervous? That wasn't a good sign at all. "Is... that why you don't want to join a coven?" Eda sighed, Dejected, "No, it's just- What if I'm not good enough for **any** coven. I mean, you know Lil and I want to be in the emperor's coven, but there's only one spot left. And in order to do that properly, we have to have a witches' duel. I don't want to fight my sister. Even though she's smarter, I'm stronger- and I can't live with... stifling her dreams. Even if it means I'll be a target for the rest of my life." Eda picked at the pile of green mush on her tray with her fork, spinning it around in her fingertips. "I love Lillith too much to prevent her from flourishing. So, when the time comes, I'm going to refute my position... so that she can get in. So that she, can be everything she needs to be." Raine felt their heart sink. Eda was really going to give that opportunity away? why? I mean, the emperor's coven would be the best option for her. In a way, they sort of understood. Eda was a natural born troublemaker... She was always the center of attention within her parent's life- but it was exhausting. They watched over her like a hawk- not even allowing Eda to go to the grossery store alone, while Lillith begged for even the simplest amount of attention. Lillith was always being a goody-two-shoes, though... but in the end, Raine thought it would be a downfall. "So- you're giving up this opportunity so your parents will finally notice and be proud of your sister for once instead of being on your case the whole time?" Eda nodded, poking at what was supposed to be a tater-tot, but it was so solid and stale it was like eating a rock. "She deserves their love and affection just as much as I do, or rather- their silly lectures." Eda snorted and gave a half-smile. "I mean, I am her sister. And granted, at times I haven't been a good one... causing trouble all the time, rebelling against the coven system, flinging tater tots in the cafeteria." Eda threw a tater tot as she said that, her signature smirk painting her face. "I still love her." "Well, it's your decision. I'm still not sure what coven I'd like to go into. I'm not that strong in bard magic."Eda immediately grabbed their hands, squeezing them lightly."Rainestorm, look at me."Raine's sage green eyes met Eda's bright and golden yellow's, the pair staring at each other. The romantic tension was thick enough you could cut it with a knife."You are so powerful, Raine. I know you can do great things, hex! maybe even one day you'll be the bard coven head! but don't you **ever** doubt yourself. You can do it, and you will. I believe in you. And that's saying a lot coming from the witchling who accidentally blew up a teacher!" Eda winked and smiled. Raine's heart leaped in their chest. Oh, Titan.They were in too deep. Raine bit their lip as the world around them began to spin. They were hidden behind the bleachers, watching the arena carefully. They were so worried about Lillith and Eda, while they were sisters- they both still had to show up for the duel to even join the emperor's coven. The air was tense, was it with anticipation, or with fear? They didn't know. As their arms raised in unison, Lillith charged at Eda, but in a firm voice, she called,"No. I refuse to battle my sister." The stillness of the arena was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Eda cracked her signature half smile, walking over to Lillith. "I've decided that covens' aren't really my style, don't forget me when you're a big shot sis." And with a farewell hug, Eda walked away... out of Raine's sight. Raine felt a sigh of relief escape their lips. Until They heard cries of pain, cheering from the crowd- but they couldn't see anything- what was happening? where was Eda? At the sound of rocks being thrown, they ran out from their hiding place. Raine ran for hours. Or it felt like it. They called Eda's name as loud as their voice would allow for as long as they could take it. They inhaled slowly, one more time. "EEEDAAAA!" Their voice was so hoarse it was barely a whisper. Their feet were aching, they had run miles at this point. They were covered in sweat; their heart was pounding so hard. Raine felt their knees give out beneath them. Tears welled in their eyes, as frustration caused them to punch the ground until their fists were bloody. They tangled their fingers into the mop of light blue hair that had collected twigs, a bird's nest, and an entire colony of fire ants. Why. Why were they so pathetic?They couldn't even find their best friend. Let alone someone they wanted to pursue as a partner. But would Eda ever feel the same about them?They were scrawny. They weren't powerful. And even after all of these years of being friends, they couldn't even find out what had happened to her? Those pained cries were reminiscent of an owl, not of Eda. And Eda wasn't an owl... was she? Raine felt their stomach groan loudly in hunger. By now, the sun was setting over the horizon... They hadn't had a drop of water, or a crumb of food. Their binder was digging into their chest, the sweat coating the binder causing a rash to break out. But still, they pushed themself up, gripping onto the bark of a tree for support. "I'm not giving up on you, Edalyn." Their raspy voice echoing across the forest. "Do you hear me?" They breathed, "I AM **NOT** GIVING UP ON YOU!" They placed one foot in front of the other, legs shaking. They smelled horrid, they were a mess, but they needed to find Eda. Even if it meant leaning on a tree to throw up nothing but stomach acid and bile. Even if it meant the blisters forming on their heel burst open into a festering wound. Even if they were so tired, they could just sleep on the forest floor. Because... They inhaled deeply, and what was left of their strength came out in a cry."I LOVE YOU EDALYN CLAWTHORNE!"As their voice echoed among the maze-like yet cavernous forest, they drooped their head down in silent cries for their love to come out. Cries for a sign, for something, for anything- just reassurance that the fiery orange haired witch they had come to love, was ok. But they were greeted by nothing but eerie silence. There was one more thing that they could try. One more thing with the last ounce of strength in their body.They got out their notebook, flipping the pages open to the song that they had wrote for Eda. Attempting to wipe away tears that kept falling down from their eyes.... adjusting their glasses and summoning their violin...They played.They played it over and over until their fingers were bloody. Until they could no longer speak. Until the tears on their face were so dried up and salty it burned. And as they stared up at the sky, weariness taking over... A familiar pair of golden eyes were the last thing they saw. Raine woke up at the taste of a warm soothing elixir gently running down their throat. Their sage green eyes looked around wearily. Where... where **were** they?"Don't move around too much," Eda's voice mumbled softly. "Your body is still in shock, so please just rest." Eda's gentle hands brushed their rat's nest of hair, trying not to tug on any of the knots.Raine felt a blush form on their face. "How did, where- What?" Their voice was still hoarse from their search earlier."Don't be stupid, Rainestorm- We're in a safe place. I come here often to... Think. You're pretty beaten up, and you **desperately** need a bath. I think the firebees outside croaked from your smell." She gave a half-smile, snorting a bit. "Alright, up and at em'- but be easy on those feet. Actually, you know what?" Eda picked them up with ease, laughing a bit. "Yeah! okay! Bath time for Raine!" Raine felt their face flush more as they were dragged (not exactly **against** their will) into the bathroom. Eda turned on the tap, gently setting Raine on the toilet. "E-Eda, I don't want you to see me naked! That was supposed to be at-" Eda laughed, "What, at grom? come on. Raine, we need to stop beating around the thornbush. You like me, I like you, It's just as simple as that. Although," Eda paused, perking up ever so slightly. "Your song is what helped me find you. I never knew you had feelings for me... let alone feelings that- intense and complicated." Raine just wanted to disappear, or vanish into a shell- something, anything had to be better than this. Their brain hadn't exactly processed what Eda had said before, far too focused on oh titan she actually heard it she probably thinks I'm a freak- and oh hex why is she **looking** at me like that they definitely messed up- They were snapped out of their internal monologue as Eda delicately placed her hands on their shoulders. "Raine, Look at me." Her voice was calm, and level, yet gentle. "What happened was not your fault. You obviously were looking for me for hours, and... I feel so guilty for putting you through that." Eda gently reached a finger under their chin. "But something happened at the tryouts today. Something... I didn't really expect. I think- I think someone cursed me. And- I don't know with what, but don't judge me, or the rumors that come out about it. I'm just gonna straight up tell you." Eda inhaled ever so slowly. "I don't know what I turn into- but when I came to, people were all gossiping about... some sort of owl beast. And I didn't know where else to go but my secret place here. And I heard your voice, and your song, and... then I found your body. You were so weak and hurt, and so I ran to get an Elixir, and bought you here. Please don't be upset with me." Raine stared at the fiery-haired woman in front of them. Obviously, they knew Eda was the one that took care of them, but... once their brain did catch up to their body, they blinked. "You- You actually like me? but- but I'm so weak, I'm scrawny, I'm smart but I'm stupid-"They were cut off by Eda's lips gently pressing into their own. The way her fingers gently combed through their knotted mess of a hair. Euphoria flooded their veins, and as the pair pulled back for air, Eda was blushing. Raine was practically a tomato. "I love you too, Raine." Eda smiled softly, gently grabbing their hands and squeezing them lightly. "Now, come on. I want to get you properly taken care of. you're exhausted, hungry, and hurting." Raine couldn't help but smile lopsidedly after a few moments,"You know, you'd be a great mom." Eda audibly laughed, snorting and shaking her head. "Raine, I failed the Parental class in Home Hexonomics. The egg literally exploded. I don't think I'd be a good mom, but maybe a Mama. Sassy, takes no bull from anyone." Eda snapped and flipped her hair. Raine snorted loudly, "Okay, Mama Eda. Care to help me into the bath?" Eda rolled her eyes, helping them undress and taking off their binder. She visibly winced at the rash appearing on their chest. "Oh, Raine, I'm so sorry."Raine shrugged. "Nothing we can do about it now. Unless you have some Mandrake root ground into powder." Eda offered an arm, gently lowering them into the warm bath. She grabbed a cup and began wetting down their hair. As Eda lathered shampoo in their mop of mint green hair, Raine couldn't help but relax into her touch, the gentle humming of what Raine and Eda would one day call Raines Rhapsody. As the soap was washed from their locks and lathered once again with conditioner. Eda looked down at them with loving eyes. She leaned down, planting a gentle kiss on their forehead. "You won't be able to play for a while, your fingertips need to heal. So... I was thinking. Could you teach me to play the mandolin?" Raine couldn't help but smile, "Of course, Eda. After all," "We're in this together, now and Forever. I promise."

Mature

It’s a year after the Kerberos mission failure. “Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14. Begin descent to Kerberos for rescue mission.” A girl with short pink hair sat at the pilot seat of the ship, pushing the steering handles down towards the planet the ship was approaching, directing the ship. “Ugh.” A boy in the engineer seat groaned at the sudden ship movement. “Amity, can you keep this thing straight?” He asked the pink haired girl nervously. “Relax, Augustus, I know what I’m doing.” Amity rolled her eyes, annoyed. “Besides, it’s not like I did this!” Amity jerked the steering handles to the side causing the ship to quickly jerk in that direction. Augustus groaned at the sudden movement making him feel very nauseous and fear spread over him. “Don’t be such a baby Augustus! If you can’t handle a little ship rocking why are you even here?” Amity sneered. Augustus didn’t respond, and only tightened his grip on his seatbelt hoping somehow miraculously it would prevent him from being sick. “We’ve picked up a distress beacon!” A girl with circular glasses interrupted Augustus and Amity’s conversation. “Alright, Willow, track the coordinates.” Amity ordered, flipping switches and pushing buttons around her. Willow nodded in response and began tracking the coordinates. Amity went back to steering the ship down to the planet, followed by the ship beginning to shake due to an issue. “Amity!” Augustus cried, his body stiffening as his nausea worsened. “Well, Augustus, maybe if you’d do your job you’d know we have a hydraulic stabilizer out, that you need to fix!” Amity barked at him. Augustus reached for his seats tablet but the sudden movement and rumbling of the ship made him gag. “Oh no.” “Augustus! Don’t you dare! Fix the damn hydraulic stabilizer, then puke.” Amity said angrily. “Amity.. I lost contact. The shaking is interfering with our sensors!” Willow turned her head to face Amity. “Augustus!” Amity turned to face Augustus, who was shaking in his seat. “It won’t respond!” Augustus unbuckled his seatbelt, and stood up and hunched over from his nausea. Amity’s ship’s screen then targeted the coordinates. “Ugh never mind I’ve found it.” she muttered. “Prepare for approach in visual.” “Amity I wouldn’t recommend that because of our mechanical and.. Augustus issues..” Willow squeaked nervously, trying not to annoy Amity any further than she already was. Augustus nodded in agreement, unable to talk due to his current state. “Stop worrying! The ship can handle it.” Amity rolled her eyes and proceeded with her plan, only for the ship to rumble more. “See? It’s… nodding! Willow, call them down and let them know the ship is here.” Willow got up from her seat to follow the order, and grabbed hold of the walkie talkie device. “Attention, lunar vessel-“ she was cut off from the ship rumbling yet again, loosing her balance and knocking her to the ground. “Willow! What are you doing?!” Amity gasped as she watched her crew mate fall to the floor. “Augustus! Fix. The. Shaking.” Amity ordered yet again, grinding her teeth in frustration. “I’m trying!” Augustus yelled back. His effort of communicating backfiring horribly as he then gagged and vomited into what he was working on. Willow went back to trying to contact the lunar vessel. “Attention lunar vessel, this is Galaxy Garrison Rescue Craft One victor Six Three Tango. Coming in for landing and extraction.” Willow turned her head to look out the pilot’s window to watch the landing. Amity put on a calm face and against all odds semi-safely landed the ship at the correct coordinates. The pilot’s window went black and a computer voice played as “Simulation successful.” Appeared on the screen. Augustus let out a sigh of relief and fell back into his chair. The doors of their ship flew open and their instructor stood in front of their exit. “Roll out!” Amity, Augustus, and Willow lined up next to their fellow students. Their instructor marched to the front of them. “Just because you landed does not mean you didn’t make multiple mistakes.” He barked. “Let’s go over them all, shall we?” He turned to face his other students, calling on them one by one. “The engineer puked in the main gear box.”“The comm spec removed her safety harness.”“They never fixed the hydraulic stabilizer.”“They kept arguing.” Amity gave a death glare at her two teammates. Augustus and Willow gulped nervously. “I don’t care how good you three are individually. It doesn’t matter unless you can work as a even half decent team.” The instructor yelled. “These mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Kerberos Mission!” “That’s not true, sir!” Willow snapped at the instructor. “Excuse me?” He snapped his head back towards Willow. Amity elbowed Willow in the arm and covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry, sir! I think she hit her head when she fell out of her chair.” The instructor grunted in response. “Hmph. Next!” He called the next group into the shuttle simulator. After the semi-successful flight simulation the day had come to an end. Staff members walked around the halls to round up the last of the students and send them to their dorms for the night, the students obeyed and began to go to their dorms. All except for two. Amity peeked around the corner, scanning the halls for any higher ranks that could potentially disrupt her plan. “Are you sure we won’t get caught?” Augustus whispered nervously. “Augustus, if we’re going to do well in class we need to get rid of your ship-sickness.” Amity replied in a whisper. “We’re going to find Willow, go back to the simulator, master the missions, get you over your nausea..” The lights turned off in the halls, signaling that it was slightly safer for the three to sneak out. “Alright, if you say so…” Augustus said, still unsure if the plan was good or not. Amity and Augustus quickly and quietly snuck throughout the building on their search for Willow. Only having one encounter with a security guard, where Amity hid behind a trash can while Augustus thought it would be smarter to hide inside it. Augustus crashed to the floor causing a very annoyed Amity and trash scattered across the floor.As the two turned the corner they watched Willow run out of her dorm, a large backpack at hand. “Where is she going?” Amity whispered, Augustus shrugging in response. Amity and Augustus followed after Willow, leading them to the top of their building. Willow sat at the edge of the building, computers and notebooks scattered around her. Amity crept up behind Willow, pulling the headphones off her head. “You aren’t supposed to be out of your dorm after curfew.” She raised a brow. “Amity!” Willow gasped in surprise. “N-neither are you?!” She questioned, putting her notebook and headphones down next to her. “What are you doing?” Augustus whispered, still afraid and on edge about possibly getting caught. “Just um..” Willow paused to think. “Stargazing?” Amity brushed Willow’s poor excuse to the side and began examining the gadgets surrounding her teammate. “None of this looks like Garrison tech. Where’d you find this all?” She asked. “Augustus am I built it.” Willow responded. “Or, Augustus gave me various pieces I needed and I assembled it together.” “So that’s what you’ve done with all of it?” Augustus’ face full of surprise. “What do you use this all for?” “I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system with it all!” Willow said, feeling very accomplished and happy to finally get the opportunity to talk about it. “All the way to Kerberos!” “Kerberos? You have a very strange relationship with that place. You go ballistic whenever the instructors bring it up.” Amity raised a brow suspiciously. “Teammates don’t keep secrets so spill it.” Willow paused, trying to figure out where to go from there. “Alright. I’ve been researching the Kerberos mission for a while now. It wasn’t lost because of a mistake or malfunction like the instructors always say.”Willow slapped Augustus’ hand away from the gadgets she had. “I’ve been scanning the solar system and I’ve picked up alien radio chatter!” She said excitedly. Augustus was over the moon, his eyes were wide and engaged in everything Willow had to say. “Aliens?” Amity said, not believing a word coming from Willow. “Great. First one of you has motion sickness, and now my teammates gone crazy!” Amity laughed, trying to keep her cool. “I’m serious, Amity!” Willow objected. “They keep repeating ‘Voltron’ and tonight I’ve heard it more times than I’ve ever heard.” “Aliens are coming to enslave earth!” Gus cried, covering his head with his hands in worry. Suddenly the PA turned on, their instructor over the microphone. “Attention, students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown. Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students must remain in the barracks until further notice.” Amity, Willow, and Augustus wildly looked around, trying to figure out what they’d do next. Augustus looked at the night sky, only to see a glowing red object flying straight towards them. “Guys? Is that a meteor?!” He asked, terror flooding through him. The other two looked up at the flying object in the sky, completely terrified. Willow snatched the binoculars she had next to her, and looked through them at the object. “It’s a ship! And not one of ours!” She gasped. “What?!” Amity gasped in disbelief, grabbing the binoculars from Willow. “It’s not one of ours!” “Oh my goss the Aliens are coming for us!” Augustus freaked. The flying object crashed near by in the desert like terrain. Willow shoveled all her gadgets and gizmos into her backpack and began running to the roof exit. “I need to see what’s in that ship!” She yelled, motioning her arm to signal her teammates to follow. Augustus and Amity ran after her. ____________ The three teammates sat on a cliff over looking where the alien ship had crashed. Willow had set up her computer to spy in on what the Garrison we’re doing about it, they having already set up tents and guards around the crash site. “Ugh we’re going to get caught! Look at all those guards!” Amity exclaimed, putting down the binoculars she was using. “We never should have left the barracks.” Gus whined. “Shh! I think I hacked into one of the cameras set up, look!” Willow hushed, calling the two over. On the camera it could be seen that a woman with a robotic arm and ginger hair with a gray streak was fastened to a table, people in radioactive protective suits around her. She was clearly resisting and trying to break free, the poor scientists struggling to calm her down. “You have to listen to me! They will destroy earth!” She warned, continuing to try and break the restraints. “Aliens are coming!” “That’s Eda Clawthorne! She was a pilot on the Kerberos mission!” Amity gasped, pointing to the screen. “I told you the Kerberos crew wasn’t dead.” Willow smirked. “Listen to me! We must find Voltron it’s our only hope!” Eda yelled at the scientists. “We have to get her out.” Willow said flatly. “Are you blind? There’s too many guards we have no chance.” Amity objected. The three teammates brainstormed their plans on how to sneak in and get Eda Clawthorne, none of them being able to agree on one. Then 4 sudden explosions went off near the crash site. “Oh no no no they’re here! The aliens are going to steal our skin or our brains!” Augustus cried. “No they were just the distraction we need. From her.” Willow pointed down, a blue object was driving over to the crash site while the Garrison ran to the blast. Amity picked up the binoculars and focused in on the mystery girl who was sneaking into the crash site. She wore a brown variety jacket and a purple hood over her head. “It’s that girl who got kicked out of the Garrison.” Amity explained. “And she’s going to beat us in there unless we get moving. Now.” She got up and started running down the cliff, leaving her teammates just like that. “Who?” Augustus questioned. “Luz Noceda.” Amity had to yell her reply back, since she was already too far away. The other two followed after her to try not to lose her. The three made their ways into the crash site with ease thanks to the explosion distraction, and that Luz had knocked down all the remaining guards. Luz had an unconscious Eda Clawthorne hanging onto her by her shoulder when the three team mates had finally caught up. “What are you doing with Ms. Clawthorne.” Willow demanded. “Who are you?” Luz questioned as Willow walked over and threw Eda’s other arm over her shoulder. “We’re the ones saving Ms. Clawthorne.” Willow replied. “Good we’re on the same page. Now hurry up before they come back.” Luz said with a sigh of relief, thankful she hadn’t been caught. Willow and Luz carried Eda out of the crash site and placed her onto Luz’s small blue hover bike. The Garrison who left already returning quickly. “Mind if we catch a ride with you?” Augustus asked, already climbing onto the bike. “More like can this hold all of us.” Amity commented. “The more friends the better!” Luz smiled climbing onto the bike. “But no, so you better hold on.” Luz began steering the hover bike recklessly trying to dodge the perusing Garrison. Across the dessert, down cliffs, through tunnels. The screams Amity, Willow, and Augustus let out were enough to shatter glass if there was any around. They ended Luz’s horrific hover bike ride at a small shack far far from the Garrison or anybody. Where they would all be staying waiting for Eda to wake up.

Not Rated

     “Can you guys keep a secret for me?” Vee asks suddenly.      There’s a lull in conversation between the four of them and the room is quiet. Not silent, there’s the heater going in the corner, and Cora sorts through her cards to make sure that they’re all facing the same way, and there’s a little click noise from where June’s nails that he hasn’t bothered clipping in a while hit the screen of his phone. But no one speaks, and it is quiet.      “Totally, what’s up?” Cora asks, looking up at them for a minute to show she’s listening and then back down at her cards.      “You okay, dude?” Kei asks.      “Oh- I’m fine, it’s, um, not a bad kinda secret, it’s just.. well I guess you’ll understand when I tell you. Can you.. promise not to freak out too badly though?” Vee requests.       The three others share A Look and agree.       Vee has scripted this part in her head for days now, just to try to make it feel less daunting. She’s not sure it worked. But regardless, she knows what she’s supposed to say. “So, after Luz and I decided to both live with mom and attend school here, we told everyone that I lived with our grandparents most of my life and we switched places because I wanted to stay with mom and Luz didn’t want to go to camp. But we weren’t really telling the truth about that.”      Vee waits a few seconds to gauge their friends’ reactions. Cora hums encouragingly to tell them that it’s okay to continue with her story.      “We aren’t really twins. We’re not biologically related at all. I’m- I’m a shapeshifter.”      There’s silence.       “I wanna ask if you’re kidding but you just look so serious when you say that,” Kei says.      “I am,” Vee says. “I can show you what I really look like, but fair warning, I don’t look human, like.. at all.”      “Show us,” June says, excited.      Vee doesn’t know what she was expecting from this and she also isn’t quite sure why they weren’t expecting a positive reception. These are her friends. They’re kind, and have accepted everything thrown their way. She takes a deep breath and lets her human disguise melt away.       Their sweater and skirt remain, though the t-shirt and leggings she was wearing under them do not. They’ve noticed this, looser clothing tends to stay when she shifts.       Vee closes their eyes, anxious about their friends deciding that this was too strange for them and leaving. Or, asking her to leave. This is Cora’s house.      “That is so cool,” she hears Kei say.      “I thought you had a thing for swimming,” June says. “You’re like.. a mermaid.”      “Basilisk,” Vee corrects. She opens her eyes.      Her friends all stare at her in awe, not a trace of judgement in their expressions.      “Tell us everything. If you don’t mind, anyway,” Cora says.      Vee shivers, not because she’s cold, but because all that nervous energy that built up has to go somewhere. “Okay, so, what do you want to know?”

General Audiences

(See the end of the chapter for notes.) Golden lights swam in his vision as he tried to pry his eyes open. Warm browns and yellows seemingly engulfed him as he lay on a bed. A dim light flickered on the right wall, casting weak shadows across the room. The walls were exposed brick, tinted a light shade of brown, or so he assumed, with a darker brown wainscot and golden chair rail. The ceiling was painted a dull beige, with no fixtures decorating it.   The bed creaked as he tried to shift. The mattress was comfortable and the pillows even more so, evidently made out of feathers plucked from the swans of Apollo himself. He could swim in this bliss for the rest of his life, but he knew rather well that all good things must come to an end.   Firstly, he did not own a bed, his money spent on his experiments and pursuits of science. His couch sufficed him well enough for his temporary (and mortal) needs of rest and rejuvenation. Secondly, he noticed a man wearing a plague mask (did he finally get involved with a cult?) walking towards him. When did that man enter? He searched for his gun, just in case things got messy. He couldn’t feel the holster under his arm. Well, they must have taken all of his weapons. Such a shame, he had recently figured out how to make a contracting dagger without those fancy hinges. He searched for anything that could be used as a weapon. Nothing in this room seemed to be useful. Unless, if he could unscrew that wall lamp…   Before he could make any move, the man raised his hands in surrender. He must have looked nervous, or at the least skittish. “I’m just here to check on you. You are not in danger.” His voice held a little surprise, as if he didn’t expect Ford to be awake. He approached carefully, as if Ford were some lost, scared animal. He supposed he did have the tendency to look like a pathetic miscreant at times. He stared at the man, calculating his options. He had to stay calm, be the pinnacle of tranquility and composure. Unfortunately, he was none of these things. He felt disoriented and nauseous, and all he could do was panic. His mind was racing, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. He had a thousand questions, each assuming a fate worse than the previous.   Was he held for ransom? Was Bill playing a trick on him? Was he finally dead, and this was the afterlife? If this was the afterlife, why was he not burning in hell? He could not have been kidnapped. If the contrary were true, then this was the worst kidnapping across the entire multiverse. He knew a thing or two about kidnappings and divine retributions.   Before that man could get any closer, and lose Ford his height advantage, he slid out of his bed and threw his full weight into a punch, uppercutting the man. His mask flew off, and he clutched his nose. Blood dripped down to the carpet, painting it a deep red. Wasting not a single breath, Ford sprinted towards the door, and ran out as fast as his cramped legs could take him.   He kept on running, past golden decked hallways decorated with splendid tapestries. Some depicted glorious battles, others with people cowering before a god-like figure, bathed in a halo; and in Ford’s humble opinion, shown disproportionately towering over others. They held a staff with a strange contraption on top, circled by a golden arc and glowing red. They wore an even stranger mask, with deer antlers on top and empty holes for eyes. It was also gold. Far too many gold things in here. Every now and then, he came across a tapestry with an insignia of wings and a sword behind a shield. Ford decided he did not like the look of that. This perplexing maze must be some sort of castle, and that insignia the symbol of an empire, or perhaps some branch of the military. His mind kept circling back to that figure. The blank, empty holes in that figure’s mask bore into his mind and soul. He had the distinct impression they were following him, watching him. They’re just paintings, they’re not staring at you.   He jumped down flights of stairs, hoping his knees wouldn’t buckle. He saw glimpses of shadows, running, hovering behind him as he skidded across corners. They were shouting something, but he couldn’t understand their yells over the sound of blood rushing in his ears. He saw no windows, no doors, no way of escaping. Even the ventilation mesh had no way of being opened. All he could do was run until he found something. Something that would lead him out of this castle.   His heart started to sink as he realized that there may not be a way out.   As he bolted through the long hallways and went deeper into the castle, he saw pipelines running zig-zagged along the ceiling, coming down to the floor by creeping along the walls without rhyme or reason. The tapestries got fewer in number and the rug changed from a warm brown to a murky, dirty one. He dived across a turn somewhere deep in the heart of the castle, littered with metal scraps, and crouched in an alcove. His heart was beating so fast he was afraid he was palpitating. He was sweaty, nauseous, and all his joints were screaming from the unexpected, well, everything. He could hear footsteps getting closer, but he had no energy to get up and find a better hiding spot. Black spots started to circle his vision. He blinked rapidly to try and get them out of his eyes.   Sitting alone in this alcove, with thunderous footsteps approaching him from somewhere and everywhere, the castle’s dim lighting and warm, oppressive colors, he promptly began to panic. Breathing was hard, thinking was hard, and trying to calm himself was the hardest. Ford felt as if he were choking on the opulence of it all. His vision was disoriented, and the ringing in his ears had gotten only louder. He tried to lay back against the wall, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a doorway, tucked into the next alcove in the wall in front of him. It was made out of plain wood and with a plain handle. Black soot covered the edges and the hinges. One which wouldn’t be out of place in his home, but here, it was more out of place than him.   He calmed his nerves as best as he could and crawled the way across the corridor, wheezing hard, and pushed the door with all his remaining power. He was surprised he didn’t pass out on his way.   The other side was unlike anything he had seen before. Bright lights illuminated the room, in stark contrast to the dimly lit hallways. His eyes took their sweet time to adjust to the new surroundings. Blinking rapidly again, he saw half a dozen workbenches arranged in rows of three with more tools lying haphazardly on them than he could count. A massive metallic arch was laying at an angle on the other side of the room, kept on a raised platform with small stairs leading up to it. Wires ran crisscross from everywhere to everywhere. In the center of the room a clean circular table was kept, probably brought in new as the ground below was charred and blackened. Something small was kept on it, covered with a cloth. He felt a cold air rushing from behind him, even though the door was closed.   He didn't remember closing the door.   He shivered as goose bumps dotted his skin. His panic returned, but it was minuscule compared to his previous state. He saw movement at the edges of the room but he couldn't follow it. He turned around, eyes darting, trying to catch whoever was here. He made his way to the center, staggering and tripping.   His neck tingled again and he felt compelled to look up. He slowly craned his neck up and saw a colossal mirror on the ceiling, with impressively detailed baroque gold borders. It was so massive Ford had to wonder how he did not see it before. Still staring up at the mirror, his breath caught in his throat, he saw three hands materialize out of the floor and drag him down. He hissed in pain as the claws dug into his skin. He searched for some way to squirm out of their grip, but as he struggled against his confines, a sharp gold wing lifted his chin up.   His eyes trailed up, moving of their own accord, taking in every detail of the glowing red light, the metallic staff, the heavy-set gauntlets, and the flowing cape falling from his assailant's shoulders. The insignia he saw before on the tapestries was imprinted on the clip of the cape. Ford gulped down hard as the wing pressed further on his throat, threatening to cut it open and spill his blood. He dared to look up at his attacker’s face, lest he should die by making them wait for too long. Piercing blue eyes met his. Heat flooded into his entire body from where that cold metal staff met his throat. They narrowed their eyes on him, and cocked their head to the left. They spoke in a deep, soft, almost sultry voice. Ford whimpered.   “Hello, human. Haven’t you caused me enough trouble for one day.” psst talk to me on my tumblr triple--a--threat. no idea why hyperlinking isn't working. also a huge shoutout to edoro and thewiglesswonder for co-piloting this ship. this is your fault /j

Teen And Up Audiences

Gravesfield Connecticut, October 31st, 1655. A peaceful town on the eastern coast, snow had yet to fall for the year, while pumpkins grew on long vines, covering the patches of land where they grew. Corn had been harvested, beans were dried for the winter, and meat had been smoked and salted. All was going well in their little puritan town, the church bells rang, and people filed out of the churchhouse, laughing and talking as they made their way home. Except for one of them, who was still sitting in the pews, eyes locked on the bible he had in hand. Everybody in town knew the man, 22 years old, and still no marriage. He was something of an oddball, physically weak but easy to anger and even easier to get ranting about God’s will. Likely stemming from the traumatic deaths of his mother and father, accused, tried, and convicted of witchcraft when he was just 13, two of the first that died at the gallows during the ongoing witch hunt. And unlike most of the families who lost loved ones to the ravenous witch hunters, he held no ill will against them. In fact, he held them in the highest regard, hoping to one day follow in their footsteps and become a witch hunter himself… …To the utter horror of his brother. “Phillip! Let’s go! We have to finish patching up the roof!” Caleb called inside, Phillip carefully closed the holy book, placing it down on the pew and following his brother out. It was truly strange that Caleb and Phillip could possibly be related, aside from superficial things such as Caleb’s natural platinum blond hair, different facial structure, and taller height, he was also much friendlier, more outgoing and helpful, and unwilling to judge based on past sins so long as the person aimed to do better. Everybody knew Caleb Wittebane as a pillar of the community. His little brother not so much. Rumor had it that the trials that killed Tobias and Modesty Wittebane were brought on by a sin or a different kind, one that involved another man, and the reason the siblings looked so different. Both brothers vehemently denied these claims, but did they believe it? Who could tell for certain. But there was enough evidence to speculate. After all, Phillip was the only brunet in the family, and he bore a striking resemblance to the man who accused his mother of bewitching his wife. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was why Phillip always preached that humans were born of sin. He was projecting his reality of having been born of a wife cheating with another man. Maybe he thought he had to be perfect in God’s ever-watching eyes to absolve himself of his mother’s sin.   The brothers had inherited their father’s cabin near the edge of town, and along with it a well and pond that stood on the land. The house was old, falling apart and rotting, but they called it home. A hole had somehow formed in the roof of the old house, and with the snow coming soon they’d need to fix it as soon as possible. Caleb took a ladder and climbed up onto the roof, Phillip holding it still. Phillip handed him some new tiles and nails, along with the hammer. Caleb got to work fixing the roof tiles, ripping up old ones and placing down the new ones, sealing the hold so no water would leak inside. He was almost finished when he turned to his brother, who was staring at him. “Hello?” Caleb snapped his fingers, “Earth to Pip.” Phillip snapped back to reality, “Hm?” “You were staring again,” Caleb went back to hammering, “Got something on your mind?” Phillip looked down, leaning on the overhang, “You look just like Dad, is all. I remember helping him do this just like I am now a few months before he was discovered.” Caleb smiled, “I get that a lot. I miss him, I really do.” Phillip went to say something, but decided not to, going back to leaning on the overhang and watching his brother work.   Once the roof was patched, the two went inside to begin working on preparing dinner. Caleb giggled a little at his brother praying over every single ingredient, but after he asked for a blessing for a tablespoon of butter, it got kind of old. “How many times a day do you pray, nowadays? First it was in the morning, at meals, and at bedtime, then it was wherever you had free time, now it’s over every single thing you do.” “I do it because it helps calm me. You hardly pray at all.” “I pray at every meal, and at night. That is a very normal amount of praying. But sure, if talking to God helps you feel better, so be it.” After what must have been Phillip’s 38th prayer that day, and dinner, Caleb climbed out onto the roof again, both to make sure there were no leaks, and to gaze up at the stars. The sky above darkened, only the tiny dots of stars brightened the abyss above them. It was beautiful, calm, soothing. The frigid air still and quiet. “Mind if I join you?” Phillip asked, Caleb motioned for him to climb up, and Phillip laid down next to him, holding a journal close to his heart. “Do you think Mom and Dad are up there somewhere? Looking down on us from heaven?” Caleb asked, “I wonder which star they’re on.” Phillip was sketching the constellations in his journal, recording his thoughts on the natural beauty of God’s creation. God, God, God, God, God, God, God. Do you think that God ever got sick of him? He was rather needy, frankly speaking, and anyone who has ever had to deal with a very, very talkative and curious child would know what I meant. I’m almost getting sick of typing it and I plotted this story for Gods sa- oh nevermind. “I don’t know, I wouldn’t even say for certain that Mom is up there.” “What do you mean?” Caleb sat up, “You know what everybody says. I know you’ve heard it. No matter how good or pious you are, we can never escape the sins of our mother. Me especially. I am the consequence of her mortal sin.” “Don’t say that! Phillip, you aren’t a consequence! She loved you! Dad loved you! I love you. You were never an unwanted child no matter how much you try to convince yourself of that.” “What Mom did-” “Was wrong, yes. It was wrong! I’ll admit that! Anyone would! But she and Dad made amends! I know you were only 7 when it happened, I don’t expect you to remember them talking it out, but I do! I was old enough to listen and understand that she atoned for her sin. You don’t have to bear the weight of a sin already absolved!” Phillip looked down, taking in what was laid in front of him. “I- I need some time to think.” He climbed back inside, “Wait-” Caleb said, “Yes?” “It’s the 31st, All Hallow’s Eve.” Phillip looked back, “I- I think I can sleep alone this year.” he said as he climbed back through the window.   It was Midnight, and Phillip couldn’t sleep. Staring at the ceiling as rain pounded the newly fixed roof. He was on edge, likely the spirits of the dead that were almost certainly roaming the streets outside, playing tricks and stealing items. Thunder struck, and Phillip bolted upright, grabbing the musket off the wall and holing up in the corner, eyes on the small window across from him, that looked out over the property. He saw someone run across the yard, tripping over the pumpkin vines and landing face first in one of the squashes, cracking it open, as they stood up he saw their pointed ears, discolored skin, and most horrifyingly of all, their staff which allowed them to fly . This was a real witch! Physical! Real! Bride of Satan! Able To Kill Him And Drag Him To Hell! Gathering his strength, he bolted to Caleb’s room, slamming the door behind him. Caleb was sitting by candlelight, working on whittling a small bird effigy, I think he said it would end up being a cardinal. Ne nearly cut his finger off when his little brother burst into the room, “There’s an honest-to-God witch in the yard!” Caleb looked at him, concern in his eyes, “Are you sure?” The look in Phillip’s eyes told him he wasn’t lying. Caleb looked out the window, Phillip hiding behind him. He saw it too, the witch jumped into the pond and Caleb watched as she didn’t resurface. Quickly, he grabbed jacket and ran outside, Phillip gripping the musket behind him,   The two of them peered into the pond, and neither saw a witch. Instead they both witnessed the water morph into different colors, and shapes, like they were peering into a mini galaxy. Stars glowed within the water, until something floated to the surface, a carved wooden lizard. Caleb went to grab the wooden item, when the damp group beneath him gave way, sending him face first into the water. Phillip shrieked and grabbed Caleb’s other arm, only to be pulled into the water as well. It was so cold, so, so cold. As soon as his body hit the water, he went into shock. He gasped, only to inhale water. He couldn’t see, it was too dark to make out anything. He tried to scream out, but nothing. Finally after what felt like hours, he surfaced. Gasping for air and coughing up water. Someone pulled him from the water, setting him down on the ground. Looking up, it was Caleb, with a terrified look on his face. Once he was done sputtering, Phillip realized why Caleb was so afraid. He wasn’t in the pond anymore. He was in a huge lake. It was hot and muggy, the trees a different color, and the very ground looked different. They were no longer home. Phillip sat back on his knees, looking at where he and his brother were. He turned to Caleb, terrified, “We’re in Hell, aren’t we?” He said, panic rising in his voice, “How? I was so good- I did everything right! I- We- We were good!” Caleb grabbed his shoulders, “Phillip. We aren’t in Hell, I know we aren’t, you’re right, nothing you’d ever done would justify it. We just need to figure out where we are, okay? This isn’t a place of witches and demons, we’re gonna be fine.” Just as scared himself, Caleb picked himself and his shell-shocked brother up, following a trail of footsteps to see where they led. Phillip clung to his arm like a Koala, trying desperately to assure himself that it was alright. Everything was just fine, they were just lost, is all. Once they reached the village, it only got 10 times worse. Whatever these people were, they weren’t human. Pointed ears, horns, discolored skin, extra eyes, extra limbs, extremely large or barely a foot tall. All flying around on staffs carved with those wooden animals. Phillip broke away from Caleb, running off into the woods. Caleb only barely managed to catch up, grabbing Phillip’s arm. Phillip let out a pained scream, Caleb pulled him into a hug, both of them dropping to their knees. “I- Don’t- Understand!” Phillip sobbed, “How? Why? What did we do??” “I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know-” “Are you two okay?” Someone behind them stopped, Caleb looked back, a pointy-eared woman stood a few feet off, holding one of those carved animal staffs, Her’s was a red cardinal. “Where are we? We aren’t from here.” Caleb answered, The woman got closer, gasping at something, she pointed to her ears, then to Caleb’s, “You’re- You’re human!” “Yes, yes we are,” Caleb squeezed his brother closer, “I don’t know how we got here, can you tell us where on Earth we are?” “Oh, honey. You’re not on Earth anymore,” The woman said, “What?!” “What’s your name, hon?” “Caleb, Caleb Wittebane, and this is my brother, Phillip,” “Well, Caleb and Phillip, Welcome to the Boiling Isles.”

General Audiences

USJ! USJ! USJ! Class 1-A was listening to Thirteen telling their speech about the dangers that come with quirks, when a dark fog formed and out came dozens of Villains. The most notable ones were the man made of fog, the brute with the exposed brain, the man with disembodied hands all over and the villain who ended over twenty heroes' careers non-violently who's been making big in the media, The Arch-Duke. He had a Quirk that completed the piece of soul of his victim's past lives. It seems to only have three uses and can only use it on a person once and they gain abilities from their past life minus the weaknesses if those had to do with an organ they don't have in this life.    He blasted three random students with his Quirk, which knocked them out.    Hand-Man introduced himself as Shigaraki Tomura and his group as the League of Villains.    "That is a stupid name," yelled Arch-Duke, "and I named my Quirk Relivation. Also they should wake up in 3 hours."   $$$$$   Midoriya, Hagakure and Todoroki were hit by the Arch-Duke and Aizawa was worried, they all had potential and they could quit. All he knew was that he got flashes of their last lives.   "Alright, let's check each one," said the Arch-Duke. "Okay, so Hagakure Toru, she was Luz Noceda in her past life, who seems to be able to turn paper into light, not too useful. Todoroki Shouto was Fire-Lord Zuko previously the Banished Prince, definitely dangerous, avoid him. Midoriya Izuku used to be Jeffrey Woods, bullied to insanity, became a serial killer for 30 years before getting caught and having 20 years of therapy and living the rest of his days in prison peacefully."   Aizawa just sighed. Of course the Problem Child was a rehabilitated villain in his last life. They're going to need the Prankster hero: Poultry Man and the Shrapnel hero: Shard Barrage.    $$$$$   After the magority of the Villains were defeated and Kurogiri, Shigaraki and the Arch-Duke fled. The three students hit were brought to the nurses office. Principal Nedzu called Poultry Man and Shard Barrage. They arrived half an hour before the students woke up.

Mature

It’s often the quiet parts of your life that feel the most wrong. It’s funny; I never was very good at finding myself moments to breathe. Life moves fast when you’re busy. You barely notice it going by, until you suddenly encounter that momentary respite from the clutches of time. You find yourself thinking the strangest of things. Trivial things. Not that they feel trivial in the moment, no. You’d think to yourself, “Gee, I hope Belos didn’t see Flapjack today.” As if Flapjack was the biggest problem in my life at that moment. As if I myself wasn’t in danger every day I woke up. I’d hate myself, hate my stupid heart for feeling so fondly of him. Why should I care, I’d think, if Belos decides to kill him on a whim. One less problem, I’d think with my head. But not my heart.    I could live without one of those. They only ever get in the way. Belos is what matters, my head would say. The blood in my veins pumps for no one but him. Every inch of my being is for Belos; a tool, I should be, for to prove myself worthy of being a Golden Guard is all I was ever born to do. It was always easy to listen to my head; it spoke mostly what I wanted to hear. The heart isn’t so forgiving. When the head tells you you’re happy, the heart asks you, “Are you really?” When the head gives you an order, the heart asks if you’re sure you should. Whatever did I do, to deserve this torment? These questions would forever elude me. I. Know. What. I. Am.   And then silence. And the heart would say at last, “Then why aren’t you?”   A year has passed since the death of Belos. As if to prove itself a nuisance, the heart would nag at me with an unwelcome “I told you so,” at every following moment. When suddenly you realize that your head—the one thing you thought you could rely on to tell the truth—was wrong the whole time, you begin to see the heart in a different light. You get all these confusing signals, like people... friends... suddenly being “there for you”, whatever that means. They’re here to tell you that your heart has a purpose. Well, it’s one I’d still rather ignore. The human realm is too... quiet. On the Boiling Isles there was noise everywhere. It helped to drown out the nonsense my heart would spout. To silence the little part of my head that wanted me to admit it might be right. That night, as soon as we arrived here, it didn’t even feel like much had changed. The sky was loud, thundering and pouring safe rains from the heavens. I hated the feeling of rain. It didn’t kill you here, like on the Boiling Isles, but one night couldn’t undo sixteen years of experience. The feeling of danger remained. So I wanted to get inside as soon as possible. Luz’s home was a wreck of sobs. A confusing mix of joy and despair. I couldn’t do much but sit in the corner and let the noise of the house drown out everything I had to think about. I wanted to go to sleep, so I did. First chance I got, and nobody tried to stop me. Sleep, a perfect escape from my thoughts. I slept for a long time. And for a long time I thought that feeling would sustain. I hoped I would find something difficult to distract me, like I found every day on the Boiling Isles. But it didn’t take me long to find out it wouldn’t be the case. In the human realm, you don’t walk the streets knowing you could encounter ten wild animals that could kill you in ways you couldn’t even imagine. In the human realm, you don’t get to sit still and let distraction overcome you. You sit still, and there’s peace. Quiet. Room, to think and to feel. And I hated every minute of it. Like those brief moments of respite in the Boiling Isles—where your heart would get its only chance to tell you what it thinks, and your head would harass you with all the things you’re doing wrong and all the ways your life could be instantly turned on its head—the human realm consisted of nothing but those moments. Every waking moment you feel things you don’t want to, and think things you wish you didn’t. And like the Boiling Isles, where you find yourself thinking trivial thoughts but stop yourself because you know there’s a million things more important, you’re always ready for the next big, bad thing. You know there’s no such thing as a real, permanent break. Belos may be dead, but he can always come back. The Collector may be back in the Boiling Isles, but who’s to say he won’t pop up here out of boredom? There’s no time to rest as long as these threats still exist. We must be ready. We must not let our guard down. These are the thoughts that have plagued my mind for a year now. And every time I find myself thinking something small, something trivial and stupid like, “I hope I see Willow today,” I’m forced to stop myself. To remind myself that this is not the end. This is only the beginning. But most of the time I feel like the only one who thinks that way. Willow was the first to move on. After only a few months of nothing from the Boiling Isles, she suddenly seemed calmer. More at-peace. She’s probably just pretending, my head would say to me. She has to see the truth. Then after a few more months it was Amity. She might not have truly believed it, but still she stopped talking about her siblings. About her father. As if she’d come to terms with their deaths. Nobody in the Boiling Isles could have survived, she’d maybe thought. Not that I asked her what she really thought, of course. I don’t quite get the feeling she likes me all that much. Gus came next. A few months later he was back to his joyful self. Marveling at all the “wonders” of the human realm. Bugging Luz and Camila to tell him all about everyday items and what they do. Again, maybe he didn’t truly believe it was over. But I didn’t want to ask him. Last was Luz. Actually, she hasn’t quite come around yet. I can always find company with her, and pick her brain about what she thinks happened, or what could possibly still happen. I always know where to find her. Most times of the day she’s either with Amity, or by the abandoned house with the door where we came. She’ll spend hours alone at that door, opening and closing and opening again all without asking for a bit of company. So occasionally I’ll provide it. Some days she’s more talkative than others, but then again so am I. Neither of us truly know what to expect anymore. But I feel I know her well enough at this point to know when to leave her alone.    Like I said before. It’s often the quiet parts of your life that feel the most wrong. That’s how I felt at first, but... It’s not as if all is wrong. I’ve come to learn that having room to breathe is a good thing. I actually feel well rested most days. I can’t remember a single time I felt well rested on the Boiling Isles. It’s comforting.  Comfort was a bad thing on the Boiling Isles. Something to be ashamed of. If you found yourself comfortable, you were doing something wrong. But here, it’s simply how you are. Everything here is made for the sole purpose of comfort and convenience. Everyday inventions, scattered about the house, exist to make something easier or automatic. There’s chairs, beds, couches, and they’re soft. Beds on the Boiling Isles weren’t soft. Not any that I slept on, at least. It’s like the human realm is always embracing you. Whispering in low tones into your ears to let yourself rest. Calling you. Telling you it’s okay. You’re not in the Boiling Isles anymore, Hunter. You’re safe. It’s over. At first I hated it. I wanted to go home, to the only home I ever knew. No matter how uncomfortable, or how unforgiving it may have been. It was the only place I felt like I could keep my mask on. To pretend to be this confident, capable person. The Golden Guard. That was who I was, and I could wear it proudly. The more time passed in the human realm the less I felt that way. The human realm wanted to be what made me feel safe. But maybe that was something else... Something a little more personal. Here I have something I didn’t have in the Boiling Isles: friends. Luz, Amity, Gus, Willow. They’re my only true friends. Not my comrades, not my soldiers. I’m not their superior. They listen to me when I’m upset. They embrace me when all I want to do is cry. Not that I want them to see me like that, but they pretend to not care. They pretend, for me, that they’re willing to comfort me through anything. Why would they do that? They can’t truly care for someone like me, someone who’s done so many terrible things. To them, too. So I know they’re pretending. They couldn't love me like they love each other. It’s just not possible.  That’s the one thing my heart and mind could both agree on. That they may say such sweet and comforting things to me, but it can’t be real. Maybe someone told them to do it, maybe it was Camila. Gosh, Camila. It’s like she can see right through me. She’ll give me these looks when I’m with the group. When everybody’s laughing, and I’m trying to pretend like I get it, but she’ll see me across the room and she’ll look at me with understanding eyes. Like she’s saying to me, I know what you’re going through, and I’m sorry. She’ll sit me down and have these long conversations with me. About how I’m “not alone,” and that I can talk to her or anybody else. Somehow I feel she’s the only genuine person. The only one who says what they truly want and feel. I appreciate the gesture, Camila, but I don’t think you’d quite understand what it’s like. You don’t know what I’ve done. You’ve lived your life in this... boring world. This tiny, quiet world. It’s nothing like the Boiling Isles. You wouldn’t understand. So I smile, I nod, and I say everything is fine. But she knows I’m lying. She always knows.   But the worst part is that it’s working. Luz, Amity, Gus, Willow, they’re all my friends and I... like it. It scares me how much I like it, how much I’ve grown to depend on them. I never depended on anyone in the Boiling Isles. It’s too unreliable, too risky. I was the only one I could trust. But what choice do I have? I’m alone if not for them. I have to let them pretend, for me. If I don’t, I’ll just be alone with my thoughts again. Like I am right now.    “But what if”, my heart would say, “she wasn’t lying?”. That’s right. The heart does like to play tricks on me. There was always one person I couldn’t quite read. Willow. Maybe it’s just because she and I always got along the best. We’d never run out of things to talk about when we were together, and as fate would have it, we were together a lot.  Willow. Something about her was different from the rest, I could feel it. It wasn’t an obvious difference, like the way she acts or the way she looks. It was something much more subtle. So subtle even, that I still can’t exactly place what it is. Maybe she’s the only one who’s telling the truth when she says she cares for me. Maybe she’s the only one lying. Maybe she’s just... a much brighter person. But what does that mean? I don’t have enough experience with people to draw any meaningful conclusions anymore. On the Boiling Isles I knew only two categories of people: superiors, and inferiors. People I obeyed, and people who obeyed me. Not this. Not someone in the same physical situation as me, experiencing all the same things I am. Not someone who says she wants to help me. She must have an ulterior motive then, my head would say, that’s what’s different. She wants something from you. You just don’t know what. And my heart would tell me things I can’t decipher in response. Why can’t I just know? Why must this be so complicated? But the one thing I knew for sure about her was that I respected her. She proved herself a strong witch from the day we met. Her plant magic is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen, as well as been on the wrong end of. She’s a force to be reckoned with, and I’m happy to have her as a friend. In spite of what I said earlier, I actually trust her the most. I know she would never betray me.  It shouldn’t have come to my surprise that just as I was thinking about her, she would somehow end up right in front of me. After all, I often find my mind wandering to the thought of her when I should be focusing on something else.  “Hey,” a familiar voice said, with a pencil tapping the edge of my book. I lowered it to find none other than the subject of my thoughts, sitting right across from me at my table. “What’cha reading?” I could feel my face getting hot. I thought I was alone here. In the quiet, where I could read in peace. “Ah, Willow!?” I found myself exclaiming as I dropped my book onto the library floor, losing my place. “Oh!” she said, bending under the table to help me pick it up, “Sorry, Hunter!” Clearly she didn’t see that I was already halfway under the table, or else she wouldn’t have done that. Our hands reached out at the same time to grab the book, and they touched for only a split second. Like a knee-jerk reaction, my head shot straight up into the bottom of the table. After a series of curses, I finally found myself above the table, clutching the back of my head where I hit it. There Willow sat, holding the book in front of me and wincing as if she’d shared my pain. “Oooooooooooh, I’m so sorry!!!” I took the book and forced a smile. “N- nahhhh, ‘s okay! I’ve had worse, heh.” I could feel prying eyes all around me. Right. Libraries are supposed to be quiet, and here I am injuring myself over a touch.  “History of Gravesfield, huh?” She recited the title of the book, hoping to steer the conversation away from my pain, “You must really like this town, then?” Fortunately it worked, because in an instant I forgot about the dull throbbing in my head. “Well,” I started, “It’s less that I like it, and more that I’m trying to figure something out.” Willow’s ears perked up a bit. She claimed to love hearing me talk about things I was interested in, even when most people seemed to tune me out. “Oh?” she inquired, “Do you wanna tell me about it?” An empty question, really. She knew I would. “So,” I began, “It all started when I noticed the town seal. It looks like this.” I showed her my notebook, in which I had copied the symbol from the town’s welcome sign. The symbol was of a bird, in the middle of what appeared to be a window. “This is the town seal.” Willow nodded along as I talked. “Well, it also happens to be identical to the sigil of the Golden Guard. You may not recognize it, but I do.” “The Golden Guard?” she said, “Like from the Boiling Isles?” “The only Golden Guard I know of.” “But how’s that possible? “Well...” I paused. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Willow creased her brow in thought. “Have you found anything of note?” I sighed. “No, I haven’t.” Bringing the closed book up to my head, I buried my face into the cover. “And it’s so boring too!” Willow let out a laugh, a genuine one. “I’m sure it is! When did anything of note ever happen in this town?” As usual, we were on the same page. “I know, right?” At this point we were both laughing a little too hard and a little too loudly. Eyes were glancing at us once again from around the room. Not that we cared anymore. “Plus,” I said, “I’m not even retaining what I’m reading!” “Oh, I can relate to that,” Willow responded, “Every time I read I’m like, accidentally thinking about something else. So I make it to the end of the page and realize I forgot to actually comprehend the words!” “Wow,” I said, “I thought I was the only one.” “Heh. You’re not alone. Welcome to the terrible-at-reading coven.”    I didn’t realize just how much I was smiling until I felt it fade from my face. When was the last time I felt this... home? Definitely not with anyone else, that’s for sure.  “Yeah, well...” I tried to remember what I was saying, “Nothing here seems to point in the direction of witches.” “Bummer,” she said, resting her face on her hand. She looked... cute. Her hair all floofy, her glasses slightly crooked where her hand bumped the temples, and a smile on her face like she could sit here an eternity and still be having a good time. It wasn’t the first time I thought that of her, and it wouldn’t be the last. But it’s not a thought I enjoyed having. What’s the purpose? The easiest thing to do would always be to avert my gaze. Stop letting myself relax to the point where I think things so loosely. She’s my friend. That’s all. I respect her too much to let myself enjoy her company more than I should. I could feel my face burning. Why do I get like this only around her? It doesn’t make sense. She’s just a friend. We’re not like Luz and Amity, whatever they have going on. I can’t have something like that. My purpose is elsewhere. I need to stay vigilant. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel the smile fade from Willow’s face too. In the silence that followed, the dull pain in my head began to slowly fade back in. The distraction was over. She looked down at her free hand, the one that had touched mine earlier. For a small amount of time she seemed lost in her own thoughts, until finally she spoke again: “You... don’t like people touching you, do you?” The question caught me off guard. It wasn’t anything I’d ever thought of, but now that she brought it up I felt I needed to come up with a sensible explanation. “I, uh... Well...” was the only thing I could get out. Willow said nothing. “I never really... I mean, I guess... I- I learned from a very young age, that... The only reason someone would touch me is if they wanted to hurt me.” I lowered my head down. “So I guess, subconsciously, I’ve never really felt comfortable being touched. Heh.” Willow’s ears lowered. “Oh,” she said, “I see.” Suddenly my ears perked up, and my head raised higher: “I mean!! Not that I think you’re going to hurt me or anything!” “Oh, no no!” said Willow, “That’s not what I was thinking at all, don’t worry!” She and I were looking directly at each other now, a hint of fluster on her face and probably mine as well. “Okay, good.” A few more moments of silence pierced the conversation. “So, uh,” I started again, “What exactly... were you thinking?”  Willow lowered her head: “Just that it’s a shame. What he did to you. It’s not right.” “Well... I- think he’s dead now.” “Think?! You saw what the Collector did to him, didn’t you?” “He’s skipped out on death more than once. I wouldn’t put it past him to survive that, if only out of spite.” “Pfft.” Willow chuckled. “Imagine not dying purely out of spite.” I found myself smiling again. “It’s certainly not out of character for him.” And once again, the mood was lifted. We were giggling and chuckling amongst ourselves, this time doing our best to avoid disturbing the tables around us.    But I think it's safe to say they were a decent bit disturbed.   To break the air around us, an artificial beeping sound suddenly filled the room. My digital watch; I’d previously set an alarm for 6:00. “Ah, geez.” I’d forgotten that Camila wanted me home for dinner by a certain time. “Heh, right,” said Willow: “Quesadillas!”  “Only my favorite,” I replied, standing up to pack my things into my bag. “That’s actually why I came here,” added Willow, “to let you know we’d be having dinner soon.” “Hmm? But how’d you know where to find me? “Camila told me,” She smiled. “Hmmm? But I told her I’d set an alarm to make sure I’d be back in time. You didn’t have to come, you know.” “Weeeeeeell...” she said with her hands behind her back, “I wanted to.” I looked away for only a split second as I shoved my notebook in my bag, but when I looked back she had a few small flowers in her hair. I could’ve sworn those weren’t there before. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed something like this, however. She almost always has flowers in her hair when I see her, so I usually just chalk it down as my memory being hazy.  Flapjack sat still on the library table, asleep. With a quick whistle from me, suddenly he had perked up and immediately flew onto my shoulder. With a heft I lifted my bag and slung it over my other shoulder. “Ready?” I asked. “Sure!” she replied. We sauntered over toward the door. I’d already checked out my book, but still the librarian caught my eye on the way out. “Got your book?” she inquired from behind her desk. “Yep, safe and sound!” I said, patting my bag. “You sweethearts have a wonderful day!” And by the time we were out the door, the cool breeze hit us both as we walked through the empty parking lot and back toward the house. Gravesfield was a pretty small town, and everything was practically within walking distance of everything else. It wouldn’t take long to make it back home.  The autumn air felt great. It was one of the few things I could safely say I liked more about the human realm. Autumn was nothing like this back on the Boiling Isles. There it was either too cold, or too hot. Too dry, or too wet. Here... it was perfect.  It didn’t take long before Willow had already started up another conversation: “Heh, can’t believe you’ve been to the library so much that nobody even questions your ears anymore.” I smiled:  “Honestly, Luz made it sound like a much bigger deal than it actually was.” “She really did! Sure, I get a few weird looks but in the year we’ve been here I’ve only really had a handful of people ask about them.” “Same here.”   When we first arrived, the thought of us going out in public terrified Luz. She stressed to us how normal peoples’ ears are round, and that our pointy ears would make us stick out like a sore thumb. Eventually she came up with a response we could give if anybody gave us trouble for them: They would say, “What’s up with your ears?” and we would say, “I’m prepping for a cosplay!” Whatever that means. And if they followed up by asking what for, we could say, “It’s for a convention coming up soon.” And if they followed up further, we could say “it’s out of state, you wouldn’t know about it.” Personally I found it a bit over the top, especially considering I’ve never had to use anything outside the “prepping for a cosplay” line. Most people lose interest right about there.    “Yeah,” said Willow, “It’s always so weird seeing people out in public with such... weird ears.” “No kidding. Always feels like something’s missing from them.” “Heheh, like I still find myself doing a double take whenever I see how round they are. Haven’t quite gotten used to it.” “It’s strange to think that to them, we’re the ones with odd ears.” “I know!!! Like, do those ears even work? Can they still hear out of them?” “They’re so... tiny. I think not.” “I’m inclined to agree, since Luz can barely hear us even when we’re shouting her name across the house.”   And that’s what got me. I laughed way harder at that than I probably should have. It felt like the funniest thing I’d heard all day. “Hahahah, woah there buddy. You good?” said Willow with a hand on my back as I tried to catch my breath between wheezes.  “Fine!!! Thanks!”   And a thought occurred to me. A thought just then that I hadn’t considered before. When Willow said what she said about Luz’s ears, I found it more than hilarious. It was an amazing joke. But... was it really? She wasn’t really trying to make me laugh. So why did I? And then I thought harder... Would that joke have still been funny if it had come from someone other than Willow? I tried to imagine Gus saying it. “She can’t even hear us when we shout her name across the house!” he said. It didn’t get more than a chuckle out of me. Now was Amity. “She can barely even hear us when we’re shouting her name across the house!” she said. Nahhh. She wouldn’t say that. I can’t even imagine her saying that. Luz? No, that’s herself. Vee? Maybe. But would it have been funny?   And then I remembered Willow. Only a moment ago, with a smile on her face and the breeze in her hair. The evening sun bathing her in a beautiful orange hue, reflecting off her glasses in the most perfect way it could.  It was her. She made it funny, because it came from her.   I think I understand now, I couldn’t help but think. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing, I desperately wanted to feel. She’s the only one that feels like home. Not like the Boiling Isles, not like the misery and pain of it all. Home. Perfection. Bliss. I didn’t even know the meaning of those words, but they felt right.  I don’t know what it is I’m feeling, but I want to let myself enjoy it. For now. A guilty pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless. I felt like I could be me with her. I didn’t even know who that was. Me? He’s a foreign concept. A distant idea I couldn't dream of reaching. But someone right in front of me makes me feel—in spite of how distant it seems—that it’s possible. That I’m out there, and I can find who I am and be that person.   But there’ll always be that tugging feeling at my chest. The one that tells me no. Comfort is a luxury you cannot afford. She is not your future. Only he is. And my mind would flash with images of Belos. My sole superior. The only “father” I ever knew.  And I watched him splatter into a pile of literal goo. Unrecognizable. Dead; gone beyond recognition. And at what? A flick?  And of course I can’t find comfort in that either. He might’ve ended up a genocidal maniac, but he was still the only one in this world I could call my father. A confusing mix of terror and... relief? In death he can no longer hurt me; he can no longer manipulate me into doing his dark deeds or kill me when my usefulness has come to an end. But he can no longer be my support, either. He might not have been a true father in a literal or figurative sense, he might not have loved me like I thought I loved him, but I was still his child. A grimwalker, however, so not a real one. Not even a real child. But nonetheless his. Life was just so much simpler when all he had to do was give an order and I would follow it, without question. When I knew my purpose. I was the Golden Guard. And now back here, I’m a nobody. Just a nobody with weird ears and traumatized friends.    But right there, in the middle of it all, was Willow Park. And I wanted to believe, despite everything I’ve ever known, that she was here to stay.

General Audiences

Darius sat down on the side of Hunter’s bed. “Are you hurt?” Silence. “Hunter, I need to know if you’re hurt.” The boy curled up into a ball under the blankets. “I’m fine.” He mumbled. Well that was a relief. The boy had fallen out of his bed, and Darius had happened to be awake enough to hear it. “That’s good. Are you okay?” “I already said yes.” “You said you weren’t physically hurt. I want to know if you’re okay emotionally.” Hunter didn’t say anything. “Do you not want to talk right now, little prince?” He was quiet for a minute more. Darius started towards the door. “It’s just frustrating, y’know?” Hunter whispered as Darius reached for the doorknob. The little prince sounded like he was inches away from crying. “What do you mean?” Darius said, walking back over to the bed. “I know. I know I should be over this by now. I h-have no reason to be scared anymore. But I am. It’s irrational. But I can’t shake the feeling that this.. this is all just… I don’t know. That un- that belos was right. That he’s the only one who really cared. I know that that’s not true, that it’s ungrateful, but I just. I can’t stop thinking it.” “Hey.” Darius pulled the child into a hug. “It’s not ungrateful. It’s never ungrateful to have doubts. And as for being ‘over it’, there is no right time to be over it. This is trauma, for the titans sake. It’s not just going to go away because you’re in a better place now. You’re going to heal at your own pace, and that's okay. I’m here for you. Eberwolf is here for you. And Raine, and Eda, and everyone else. And we all care about you, so, so, much. Okay?” He nodded. “I… thanks, Darius. I’m gonna go to sleep now.” “Okay. Goodnight, little prince.”

Not Rated

Eda settled down on her arms and knees slowly. The gravid weight of her stomach rested on the bed, a plush mass of pillows taking some of the burden off of her hips and breasts as she let her head rest between her propped elbows and displayed her exposed cunt to the cold bedroom air.  At the first touch of warm, heavy hands on her ass, Eda couldn't help but moan softly.  “Raine…” A soft kiss was placed between her shoulder blades. Hands slid up over her ass and down, to cradle her rounded stomach.  “You look so beautiful like this,” they murmured. The vibrations of their voice right over the scars where her wings sprung forth as the harpy was delicious and it echoed down her spine.  “You’ve been bred very well, haven’t you, songbird?” A drop of slick rolled down her thigh.  “Yes,” she breathed.  A sharp bite to her shoulder blade made her gasp.  “Speak up,” They said sternly.  Her thighs tensed, a pulse of want throbbing in her clit.  “Yes,” she said more loudly this time.  There were many downsides to pregnancy, so many aches and pains.   But titan did she love the way it made her spouse stare.  Even now when she was practically at the waddling phase, she was never hurting for Raine’s doting affections.  Fortunate, considering how often she burned with a bone deep need for their touch these days.  Raine touched her slit, rubbing between her folds teasingly.  “Oh, unh, R-Raine…”  “You’re so sensitive, now,” They said, pleased. “I’ve gotten so many new sounds out of you, Songbird.”  They brushed her clit.  Eda moaned high and desperate.  “Just the slightest touch and you’re desperate for me, aren’t you sweetheart?”  They kneaded her plush ass and thighs and began to lick and nip at the expanse of her sensitive back, following the trail of her spine and delighting in Eda’s helpless moans as she shook and fought not to rock her hips.  Raine’s teeth grazed over her ass and bit down. The pain was hot and heady and went straight to her cunt.  Slick was leaking down her legs in earnest now, and they licked it up eagerly, but did not go to its source like Eda so desperately craved.  “Raine,” She moaned. “Raine, please-”  Two fingers brushed over her folds, gliding easily without friction. The sudden pinch on her clit made her shriek, legs shaking.  “Now, now,” Raine chided firmly. “It’s a little early for you to be acting so needy, don’t you think, Songbird?”  “After all-”  Their breath was hot on her cunt.  “You have a very long night ahead of you, darling.”  Eda swallowed thickly, feeling lightheaded.  “Then again,” They mused. “It’s not everyday my cute little birdy is this polite. You’re always forgetting how to behave-”  Raine punctuated their words with a sharp bite to her thigh.  Eda clenched her trembling cunt and moaned helplessly. Her sore nipples pebbled and she knew the pillows cushioning her chest would be soaked soon enough.  “-That I suppose good behavior should be rewarded.” She loved the way her heart was pounding right now. The prickles of sensation where Raine was gripping her thigh and sweet, torturous jolts of electricity from the way they were playing with her cunt like it was their own personal toy.  Many times, when Raine took her to bed, intent on working her over, Eda would be in the mood right about now to run her mouth, to bite back, or touch herself when she deemed her spouse not to be moving fast enough for her tastes. It was fun to be a right pain in the ass and watch their eyes darken and even more fun to be punished and taught a lesson.  They were especially good with rope which, in all honesty, might have been entirely how she ended up in this position; heavily pregnant with leaking breasts and an overwhelming mess of hormones in her blood that drove her maddening levels of lust at all hours of the day.  Alternatively, she had this-  Glorious days when it was just so easy to go down to that place in her head where she could just be Raine’s good girl, their prized, pretty songbird, and there was no push-back from her pride at all, only the desire to behave and be rewarded.  “What do you think, Songbird?” they asked lightly while teasing her labia. “Do you think you deserve a treat? Have you been good enough for a reward?”  Eda opened her mouth to beg but Raine leaned down to lick a long, slow stripe down her cunt and her jaw went slack instead.  “Uuunhh!”  They pulled away and she whimpered at the loss.  “What was that, sweetheart?”  “Puh-please!” She sobbed. “Rainst-Rainestorm please, I need it!”  “What do you need?”  She couldn’t decided if their calm, level tone of voice was hot or infuriating but the steady, pulsing, unrelenting ache between her legs was quick to make a choice for her.  “You! Please, please, Rainey, I need you so-hic-b-bad!”  “Shh,” They soothed, leaning over her and rubbing their slick-soaked fingers over her stomach lovingly. “Deep breaths, sweetheart, there’s no need to work yourself up.”  Yes, there fucking was.  Raine damn well knew it too, but fuck, if she didn’t want anything so badly as for them to keep cooing softly at her like she was the most precious thing in the world, so she leaned into their touch when they started to stroke her hair and obediently focussed on her breathing. It wasn’t as easy to do as it was just a few months ago, but they seemed content with what shallower puffs she could manage with her lungs fighting for space with a very big, kicky baby.  “That’s it, good girl,” Raine praised softly. “You’re following orders so well today!”  She hummed and rubbed her cheek against the blankets happily.  “I think my songbird does deserve to be spoiled after all,” They sang. “Does that sound good, sweetheart? Do you want to be worked over until that pretty little head of yours can’t think anymore?”  Slick gushed out as her cunt clenched and she moaned loudly.  “Please…” “Then you just need to make one more choice for me, Songbird.”  The hand in her hair tightened just enough to make her whimper.  “Do you want my fingers or tongue, first?”  “Tongue! Fuck, please, I want your tongue!”  “My pleasure,” Raine breathes, dominance wavering just for a second as they move just a tad too quickly to get their head down between her thighs.  Her cunt is swollen, hot and enflamed and dripping.  The sound Eda makes when they finally seal their lips around her clit is unlike any other and solely for them.  Eda can imagine so clearly what Raine looks like between her thighs. The contrast of their soft, pale hair against her own reddened, marked up skin. Knows how much they love it when they have her so desperate that she squeezes around their head just enough to try and keep them there, even more so now that she’s put on more weight for the baby.  “O-oh fuh-ngah! Haaah, aanh, unh, ah!”  Her moans fuel them to press their tongue into her entrance and roll just the way she likes. They can tie cherry stems between their tongue and the twisting motion against her front wall serves just as well to drive their wife to tears, humming into her dripping folds and coaxing her to gush just so they can drink her up like she’s the best thing they’ve ever tasted.  “R–Raine-ple-ah-ease-oh!” They get two fingers over her clit and rub in firm circles. Eda ground her hips in time with the motions, legs shaking so badly it was a wonder she was still holding herself up.  Raine is gripping her thigh hard enough bruise and they shove their face further into her cunt.  They sealed their lips over her clit and sucked-  “Aah, Raine!”  Eda screamed as she came, vision whiting out.  Her thoughts fuzz over as Raine works her through the aftershocks. She’s panting and mewling, still jerking slightly.  Eda’s eyes gloss over as her legs finally give out, feeling herself slip down somewhere quiet in her head.  Raine is quick to direct her fall so that she lands on her side, kissing her softly.  Their face is soaked with her slick and Eda can taste herself on them.  “There we go, what a good girl!” Raine cooed. “No more big thoughts for you. Just focus on feeling good, hmm?”  They slung a leg over her thighs and kissed her more firmly. They grasped one of her breasts and began to knead the sore, swollen flesh slowly.  Eda broke the kiss and whimpered as they pinched her nipple, fluid leaking out and all over their fingers.  “Just look at you,” Raine said. “Bred so well. You’re glowing, songbird, such a pretty mama.”  They backed away and Eda whimpered.  “It’s okay,” They soothed. “Don’t worry, I’m not nearly done with you, songbird.”  Raine quickly unbuttoned their trousers and pulled out their hard length, rubbing themselves a few times, pre-cum smearing over the head.  They pushed Eda’s thighs apart, lifting one up and eyeing the swell of her stomach and the red, sloppy mess they’d made of her cunt with pride.  Out of habit, they slid two fingers inside of her first to check that she was nice and wet and loose, moaning softly at the way Eda’s eyes rolled back and she gripped the sheets around her.  Trained so well to anticipate their cock.  Raine settled carefully between her thighs, and couldn’t help but rub their length over Eda’s clit teasingly, just to see her whimper a little more before they finally lined themselves up over her entranced and breached her slowly.  “Haa-agh.” “oooh, fuck, Songbird,” Raine panted, trembling as they fought to keep still. Even as well as they’d prepped her, it was still a tight stretch, and they needed to wait a few moments for her to adjust.  They held out until Eda began to whine and quirm and clench around their length and they began to thrust slowly, angling their hips differently each time until they were flush against Eda’s pelvis and she squeaked in a way that told them they had found her g-spot.  Raine pushed her leg back more and picked up the pace, thrusting harder. Eda jolted with the forced of it, breasts bouncing, the filthy slap of slick skin against skin fueling something dark in their chest.  Eda threw her head back and Raine sunk their teeth into the pale expanse of her throat, marking up every inch of skin they could reach. They sucked red, blooming bruises into her collar bone and trailed down further, further still until they reached her breasts and they took one into their mouth.  Eda shrieked and her leg kicked out. Her arms flew up to find purchase on the expanse of Raine’s broad shoulders while they lavved tight circles over her nipple, fucking her faster just to feel her whole body bounce and know she was crying and moaning because of them.  Raine rubbed a hand over Eda’s stomach and released her nipple with an audible pop before moving on to give the other the same treatment, the odd sweetness of the fluid that was not quite milk coating their tongue.  they felt the tautness of her belly, how full and bred she was with their child.  Theirs.  Eda Clawthorne loved them, so much she wanted to have another child with them, had cheered when they threw out her contraceptive potions and spent every day afterwards giggling with excitement at the thought of adding a baby to the owl house, with Raine Whispers.  She was such a stunning mother already, but hell and hellfire if it wasn’t something else to see Eda, their Calamity, their pretty, precious songbird, round and soft, bred full with their seed, so happy just to let them spoil and dote on her every waking hour. To rub her feet and massage her back and eat her out and fuck her brainless.  “Unh, uh, uh, unh,” Eda moaned in time with their thrusts and they rubbed their fingers messily over her clit to pull her closer to another peak. She was so wet that their fingers practically glided over the swollen nub and they pressed down a little harder.  Eda’s eyes rolled back and she dug her nails into their back, scratching them to ribbons in her ecstasy.  Her moaned got higher in pitch and Raine savored the sound as they did with every other that fell from from her lips.   When Eda comes again her cry is a song and Raine falls over the edge at the sound of it, thrusting fast and sloppy while they pump her full.  “Oh, oh, Eda,” Raine moaned as they came, lungs heaving. Their back stung in the open air of their bedroom but it was worth it just watch Eda’s face as she failed to regain her senses with how hard she had come. Her jaw slack, cheeks blazing red from arousal and exertion.  Raine pulled out slowly and they both winced.  Eda’s sopping cunt fluttered and dripped with slick and cum, dripping and sticky in all the most tantalizing ways.  “R-raine…” Eda breathed, thighs tensing.  “Oh, love,” They said. “Do you need more?”  “I-it won…” She shuddered and leaned fully against the pillows, spreading her legs further. “Won’ stop”  They didn’t doubt it. Eda’s hormone spikes had consistently proven to be incredibly intense.  “It’s okay.”  They gathered some of the cum leaking from her twitching entrance and smeared it over her clit.  Eda whined weakly.  Her voice was getting hoarse.  They entered her quickly and found her G-spot without ceremony. They rubbed their thumb over her clit while thrusting their fingers sharply.  “Oh,” She sighed, relieved. “Oh, oh, mmm.”  Their cock twitched.  “I’ll take care of you, Songbird.”   

Explicit

“Luz, we’re here.”   Luz lets out a tired groan. “Five more minutes…,” she mumbles sleepily.   The motion of the van stops, and Luz jerks up. She wipes the drool off of her face and inspects her surroundings.    “This will be your new home,” her mother, Camila, announces. “Now help me unload some boxes.”   The Noceda family had just moved into Bonesborough, a small town located in Connecticut. Luz had never heard of this town before, but her mother had told her that she had found new work in this town. Everything had happened so suddenly, and before she knew it, they were already in Bonesborough.   Luz gets out of the car and helps her mother unload boxes from the trunk of their tiny little van.   Luz’s new home was a tiny-sized family home, just enough room to fit her and her mother. It’s homey, I like it! Luz thinks, a smile on her face. I wonder which room will be my room?   “Luz, do you want to introduce yourself to our neighbors? Tell them that the Noceda family just moved into town,” her mother suggested.   Luz nods. “Of course, but will you be okay, mama?”    “I’ll be fine, mija.”   Luz exits her yard, starting with the neighbors on her left. She walks onto their porch, her feet stepping onto their ‘Welcome!’ mat. She rings the doorbell once. She could hear loud footsteps rushing to the door from the inside.   “Ah, sorry about that!” an old man with a bushy beard opens the door.   “Hey there, mister! I’m Luz Noceda, and my mom and I just moved in next door!” Luz exclaims.   “Oh, welcome to our tiny town! We’re the Park family, and we’re glad to have you in town! I also have a daughter around the same age as you! As a matter of fact, let me call her down right now.”   The man closes the door slightly for privacy, and Luz hears muffled voices and footsteps. Eventually, the door opens again, but this time a girl her age is standing at the doorway.   “Hello! My name’s Luz! Your dad sure was a talker, huh?” Luz chuckles.   The girl smiles kindly. “I’m Willow. Yeah, sorry about my dad, he can be quite the chatterbox.”   Luz grins. “No worries! Well anyway, my mom and I just moved in next door. I don’t really know my way around here, so if you don’t mind, maybe you could show me around?”   Willow sighs. “Listen Luz, I would love to but I just don’t think I’m the right person for this.”   Luz furrows her eyebrows. “What? What do you m–”   And with that, the door shuts on her.   Luz is left puzzled, and she exits the Park’s lawn with many questions running through her head.   What did she mean by the "right person"? Does she just not like me? Oh god, was I being too obnoxious?   Luz shakes her thoughts away, moving onto her other neighbor.    As she approaches her neighbor’s lawn, she can sense a negative energy from the house. The house itself was run-down and old, some parts of the house broken and a bunch of cracks through the walls. The lawn had tall grass that hadn’t been mowed in years. Clearly this house hasn’t been well-kept. It looked close to a haunted house.   There was no doorbell, so Luz knocked three times on the door. There was no response, so Luz knocked again.    She could feel a chill up her spine, and she felt as if something was watching her from behind. This house did not pass the vibe check.   “Alright! No response! Time to get the hell out of here!” Luz exclaims, rushing out of the neighbor’s yard, and back onto the sidewalk.   God, that house was creepy! Luz thinks, walking back to her home. Once she had entered her house, she let out a sigh of relief.    “Luz, are you okay?” her mother asks her.   “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”   “If you say so. Ah! Also, I enrolled you into the local highschool nearby. You’ll be starting on Monday, just giving you a heads up.”   Luz heads upstairs. She sees some of her stuff unpacked in the farthest room, and assumes that that was her room.    Well, today was certainly eventful. I hope school has more to offer.     Hexside High. A school for the elite. A school that challenges students to be the best version of themselves. A school that’s made legends, and has only legends in the making. The best of the best.   “We’re here, mija.”   Luz stares out the window, a gigantic building overshadowing her mother’s tiny van.   “Mom, this is my school?!” Luz panics, turning to her mom with a nervous expression.   “You’ll do great, mija. There will be great people here,” her mother reassures her, giving her a soft smile.   Luz reciprocates with an awkward smile.   “Y-Yeah…”   Luz bids her mother goodbye and watches as her mom takes off, leaving Luz all alone.   Her first class was biology, and man, Luz swore that this school was a maze. There were so many halls to maneuver through, and so many classrooms that she lost count.    She eventually made it to her classroom just barely on time, and was forced to introduce herself to the entire class.   “This is the new transfer student, Luz Noceda,” the teacher announces.   Luz could feel the stares of the students. “Hey! My name is Luz. I, er, hope to get along with everyone! I like The Good Witch Azura and anime! Also, I–”   “That’s great, Luz. Please take a seat.”   Luz nods, and takes a seat in the empty seat in the back. The lack of interest from the class saddens Luz just a bit, but doesn’t discourage her.   Wait, is that Willow?   “Ah! Hey Willow!” Luz whispers, recognizing her deskmate.    “Oh. Hey, Luz,” the girl replies monotonously.   Luz rubs her chin. Willow had a fortress built in between the two of them, and Luz couldn’t get through to her. It was difficult, but it was just another obstacle. Luz made it her new goal to befriend Willow!   The bell rings after first period ends, and just as Luz was getting up, Willow had already rushed out of the classroom.   Where is she off to in such a hurry? Luz wonders.   Luz follows her, and she ends up in a secluded hallway. She watches Willow from behind a wall as she is cornered by a group of girls.   “You forgot to pay for our lunch yesterday, Willow. What happened?” a girl with pink hair and blue eyes probes, her figure arching over Willow’s.   “I… I forgot–”   “Willow, you know what happens when you forget these things, don’t you?”   “Boscha, come on. Maybe she really did just forget,” the dark-skinned girl behind her said.   “No, she has to learn her lesson.” Boscha smirks at Willow.   Luz clenched her fists. “Hey!”   The girls turn to face Luz.    “If this isn’t bullying, then I don’t know what is. Willow doesn’t need to pay for your lunch, or anybody else’s for that matter!”   Boscha raises an eyebrow. “And who are you?”   Luz hesitates.   “She’s the new transfer student,” the girl with mint-colored hair beside her answers.    Boscha scoffs. “Do you even know who we are?”   “I don’t care who you are. From what I’m seeing now, you’re all just a group of bullies!”   “Fine.” Boscha folds her arms and smirks devilishly. “If you’re so bent on defending Willow, how about you take her punishment for her?”   Luz bites her lip nervously. “And what is that?”   “Break into the Owl Lady’s home.”   “What?!” all the girls let out a deafening shout, shocked.   “Ouu, now that’s a challenge!”   “Shut it, Skara. Will you do it or not, transfer student?”   Luz chuckles. “I’ll do it! I’ll take on your foolish challenge and prove all of you wrong!”   Boscha and Luz give a firm handshake, sealing the deal.   The mint-haired girl watches closely, her arms folded.   “Meet us in front of Willow’s house. We’ll be waiting,” she says.   And with that, the bullies leave Willow and Luz alone, with Boscha’s laugh echoing in the hallway.      It was 9 PM, nearly bedtime for most of Bonesborough. However, for this group of teenage girls, it was just the beginning.   “I see you actually had the guts to show up, transfer student,” Boscha remarked.   “Of course I would show up!”    Boscha rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Let’s just get this started. After all, Willow lives next to the Owl Lady anyway.”   Luz raises an eyebrow as she follows the girls to the house beside hers.    Wait, this is the Owl Lady’s house?!    The group of bullies turn to Luz expectantly. Luz would be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid. After all, she had already gotten bad vibes from this home, and now that she was being forced to go inside, she was even more nervous.   “I’ll go with her,” Willow says, stepping in.   Boscha raises an eyebrow.   “Let her go with her! It’ll be more fun that way, especially when only one of them comes back out!” Skara exclaims.   Boscha groans. “Fine. Now hurry it up you two, we don’t have all night.”   Willow and Luz are pushed by Boscha into the lawn of the Owl Lady. They both turn back to Boscha, and she mouths a hurry up to them.   God, she’s so impatient, Luz thinks, annoyed.   “Luz, you don’t have to do this,” Willow whispers worriedly.   Luz smiles reassuringly at her. “No, I have to. We have to. We’re going to go in, and come back out like badasses and show them what we’re made of!”   Luz leans in towards Willow. “Now give me a smile, because we’re going to absolutely prove them wrong!”   Willow giggles. “You’re right, we wi–”   A bird flies off of a tree on the lawn, letting out a quick hoot! The two girls freeze and quickly turn to the source of the noise. Luz gulps, and slips her hand into Willow’s. They both squeeze each other’s hand for comfort.   The two girls finally approach the Owl Lady’s door.   “Wait, so who is the Owl Lady anyway?” Luz inquires.   “Oh, I forgot you’re new around here. Well, I guess I’d describe her as a scary story? I mean, everybody here has heard about her, and she’s been around as long as I could remember. Nobody actually knows who she is, and if she even exists, but I guess some people got spooked by this house and started making up stories about it. Apparently they’ve seen a monster resembling an owl looking outside of the window, and now the whole town’s scared of her and this house.”   Luz takes a moment to process this information. “Wait, and we’re going into her house?!”    Willow smiles in resignation. “You can still opt out if you want.”   Luz shakes her head. “No, I’m going with you.”   Luz takes her trembling hand and knocks on the Owl Lady’s door three times.   The two girls stand in silence. No response.   Luz takes her hand to knock again, but then the door slightly opens, revealing nothing but pitch black.   Willow and Luz exchange glances. Luz slowly opens the door, and the two girls take a step inside. It was dark and dusty, and the floorboards creaked with each step.   The door behind them shut.   “Wh-what is happening?!” Luz panics as she tries to open the door, but it doesn’t budge.   “Uh, Luz?” Willow nudges her.   Luz turns around, and sees a dark figure looming over them.   “Run!” Willow exclaims, taking Luz’s hand as the two girls rush deeper into the house.    “Oh my god, we’re gonna die!” Luz cries, her heart thumping loudly. The inside of the house was much bigger than what the outside made it out to be, and there were so many twists and turns that it made Luz confused.   “Where are we going?!”    “I don’t know, but we need to get away from whatever that is!”   They rush upstairs, and run through a long hallway. However, they reach a dead end as the end of the hallway only reveals a small window and a table with a vase.   “Oh my god, we have to jump,” Luz tells Willow.   Screeching and howling is heard from inside the house.    “Willow, we have to jump! ” Luz desperately tries to open the window. Her face is filled with fear as she turns to Willow. “It’s stuck.”   Footsteps could be heard coming closer towards them.   Willow grabs the vase off of the table and smashes it into the window. “Let’s get out of here!”   Willow and Luz jump out the window, and fall down into a bush. They hurriedly recover and run to the gate. They reach the gate and burst out back onto the sidewalk.   The two girls pant heavily, their hearts racing.   “Oh my god.” Luz was speechless.   She could hear sniffing from Willow.    “I’m sorry Luz. I’m sorry that I’m weak, too weak to defend myself from Boscha. I’m sorry that I shut you out the first time we talked. I just didn’t want you to be friends with a loser like me. I’m sorry that I got you tangled up into this, and I’m sorry that I almost got you killed. It’s all my fault.”   Willow breaks out into sobs, her glasses covered with tears.   “No, it’s not your fault.”   Willow looks up at Luz.   “You’re so strong for going in there and facing off against that creature we saw! You took me by the hand and led us away from it, and you broke the window like a badass and saved us! You’re caring for trying to protect me from Boscha and the Owl Lady, and you’re kind and considerate.”   Luz grins at Willow. “And you are going to prove Boscha wrong,” Luz holds up a feather in front of Willow, “with this!”   “Well, it’s disappointing that you two didn’t die,” Skara says, inspecting the feather. “How do we know that they didn’t just pluck this off an owl?”   “We saw them go inside,” the mint-haired girl answered simply.   Boscha groans. “Fine, I guess you two pass the test. I’ll leave you alone for now, but don’t forget your place.”   Luz and Willow smile at each other.   “We did it!” Luz exclaims, and Willow lets out a yeah! The two girls cheer happily.   The mint-haired girl watches them, and then inspects the feather.   “Amity, you coming?” Skara calls.   The girl flinches. “Ah, yeah. I’m coming.” Luz and Willow have become much closer since the incident with the bullies. Luz was proud to call Willow her first friend and her best friend.   The two shared a lot of the same classes, and they went over to each other’s house often (they’re neighbors after all).   Luz introduced The Good Witch Azura series to Willow, and lent her books to Willow. Luz learned that Willow had an interest in gardening, and would help Willow take care of her plants.   However, the two never forgot what they saw inside the Owl Lady’s house.   It had been a week since then, and the two girls were planning to hangout after school. The last bell had just rung, and they had planned to meet up at the entrance of the school.   Luz was already there, as her class was right by the entrance, and she could see Willow approaching.   “Hiya!” Willow greets.   “Willow!” Luz exclaims, giving her a hug.   “I need to tell you about what my teacher did in my creative writing class today! He’s honestly such a jerk, and he never–”   Luz yelps as she bumps into someone, falling back on her butt.   “Oh crud, I’m so sorry! I should’ve watched where I was going. Here, let me help you pick up your papers.”   Luz grabs a sheet of paper, and inspects it. “ ‘The Owl Lady is more than just a myth’? “    She looks at the person she bumped into, who was a small, brown-skinned boy.    “Listen, you may think this is just some random crap I’m spewing out, but I assure you that the Owl Lady is real, and that she’s from another planet!” the boy exclaims proudly.   Luz nods, interested. The boy’s advertising was certainly working. “And how do you know that she’s not from here?”   “Well, I’ve seen–”   “That’s all good and well, Augustus, but we should really get going,” Willow said, butting in. She gives him a smile.   Augustus nods, and hands her a paper. “Take one, and see what you think. Maybe you’ll even consider joining my research!”   The boy runs off, trying to chat with other students roaming the halls.    Luz glances at Willow. “Did you know that boy?”   Willow sighs. “Yeah, I do. Don’t get me wrong though, he’s a really nice kid. We’re sort of friends, you could say. It’s just…,” Willow pauses, picking her words wisely, “he’s two years younger than us. He may still be caught up in his own little world, you know?”   Luz frowns. “I guess I understand where you’re coming from. But others have said the same thing about me before, and honestly, being invested in a story is nothing to be ashamed of.”   “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry about that.”   Luz smiles forgivingly at Willow, and clutches the piece of paper. “And listen, I’m kind of interested in what he has to say. Could we visit him tomorrow?”     “Listen, Augustus, I’m not interested in your little fantasies. Go talk to someone else about it.”   The student rolls the poster up into a ball and throws it in the trash.   Augustus walks over to the trash bin and picks up the piece of paper. He unrolls it, and stares grimly at the paper.   “I’ve seen it, I know that there’s more to the Owl Lady than what people say,” he mutters.   Suddenly, he’s pushed onto the ground, dropping a stack of paper onto the floor.   A group of kids laugh at him, running away. “Freak! Maybe you should’ve stayed in eighth grade, because you certainly act like one!”   Augustus frowns. He swore to never let the bullying get to him, but today was difficult. He wasn’t even supposed to be in highschool, but due to his high intelligence, he was bumped up two grades. If only somebody told him how harsh highschool would be.   “You okay there bud?” a voice asks him, handing him the stack of papers he dropped.   He glances at the source of the voice. “You’re… the girl from yesterday?”   “Yeah, my name is Luz Noceda! How about yours?”   “I’m… Augustus Porter.”   “Oh, Augustus, eh? How about I give you a nickname for short, like Gus?”   “Nickname? Wow, isn’t that only reserved for friends?”   Luz smiles. “Who said we couldn’t be friends?”   Luz reaches her hand out to Gus, who reluctantly accepts. He gets up to his feet, and also notices Willow behind Luz.   Gus chuckles, regaining his confidence back, but also in relief. “I see you two have come back. Are you interested in joining the Owl Lady Study Association?”   “Wait, the– what?”   “The Owl Lady Study Association, also known as OLSA!” Gus exclaims.   Luz and Willow exchange glances.   “Oh well, we didn't think that far ahead yet. But we definitely want to see what you’ve been studying! Maybe you could give us a tour or something?”   Gus hums in response, deep in thought.   “Alright then! I’ll take you two to a place where multiple sightings of a gnome-like creature have been reported!”     “Are you sure this is safe?” Luz asks as the group of teenagers walk through a pathway in the forest.   “I’m positive!” Gus replies.   “Have you, uh, been through here before?” Willow asks.   “Well, no… but I’m sure it’s still safe! As a matter of fact, we’re already here!   The group stops. In front of them are glowing blue flowers that light up the darkness of the forest. They seem almost unreal to the human eye.   “Woah,” Willow remarks, the gardener of the group. “These are beautiful.”   “But where’s the little gnome?!” Gus exclaims, panic evident in his voice. “It’s supposed to be here! ”   Willow sighs. “You know Augustus, maybe these things aren’t real.”   Gus turns to Willow, holding back tears. “B-but…”   “I know you really like these stories, and I think they’re really interesting too. But some of these stories aren’t real, they’re simply just fiction! Sometimes, it’s better to acknowledge this and leave these stories behind.”   Gus looks down, avoiding Willow’s gaze. The weight of her words rest on his shoulders. “Yeah… I guess you’re–”   “There!”   Gus and Willow turn to Luz, who’s pointing at a tiny figure in the distance. “The little gnome is right there!”   Gus takes off, sprinting towards the figure. Luz and Willow follow him.   The creature notices them, and quickly runs away. It goes further into the forest, hopping on small logs and rocks.   “Get back here!” Gus shouts.   “Weh!” the creature squeaks, climbing an isolated tree.   The group reunited as they all surrounded the tree.    “Nowhere left to go, bud,” Luz mutters, wiping sweat off of her forehead.   The creature trembles, searching for a place to jump. There’s a tree nearby, but it doesn’t know if it’ll make the jump. The creature leaps off the tree, reaching for the other tree.   The group watches intensely as they gather under the creature, hoping to catch it.   “Uh oh,” it says, quickly falling down. “Help me!”   The little creature falls straight into Luz’s arms, driving her down to the ground with it resting on top of her.   “Luz! Are you okay?” Willow asks, running to her.    Gus examines the creature. “What are you?”   He reaches a hand out, but the creature slaps it away. “Hey! No touching!”   “It looks kind of like… a dinosaur?” Willow notes, rubbing her chin.   “If that’s your way of saying Demon King, then thank you very much!”   “Aww, you’re so freakin’ adorable!” Luz says, embracing the creature. “Who’s a good boy?”   “God, stop it! I’m not a–” the creature purrs as Luz scratches its belly.   “Wait! I can’t be here right now! I got to collect flowers for–”   “Oh, no you don’t! You don’t get to go anywhere without answering any of our questions first!” Luz exclaims, hugging the creature tightly.   The creature attempts to escape, but gives up once it realizes there’s no chance.   “Yeah, who and what are you?”   “You don’t know the name of the great King of Demons? My name is King, and I’m somewhat of a legend around these parts–”   “Never heard of you.”   “Shut up! Anyway, I was once a powerful Demon King, until my crown was stolen and now I’ve lost all of my power which resulted in this tiny form!”   Willow raises an eyebrow, skeptical. However, Gus and Luz were enamored by the demon’s response.   “So you really have powers?” Luz asks.   “W-well, yeah! Of course I do!” King replies.   “What were you doing out here?” Willow questions.   King lets out a nervous laugh. “Well, you know, I was just strolling out in the forest! I just happened to stumble upon these beautiful flowers and wanted to pick them!”   The group exchanged glances.    “So, you’re saying you just decided to go on a walk? Where did you even come from?” Gus asks.   “Hey! No more questions! In fact, since you guys are here, you are all now my minions! I could make you guys pick the flowers instead!”   Luz pursed her lips. “Fine. But you have to stick close to us. Once we pick the flowers, you have to promise to answer all of our questions.”   “Fine,” the tiny demon replies.   King hops on top of Luz’s shoulders, and hugs her around the neck snugly. “Now get going!”   He immediately falls to sleep, leaving the group in silence.   “Are we sure it’s okay to trust him?” Willow asks. “We’re not even entirely sure of what, who, or where he came from!”   “I don’t know either, but we can have him answer our questions later,” Luz says, picking the blue flowers off the ground.   The teenagers continue picking flowers, unsuspecting of the creature that watched them. It wasn’t until a squirrel beside Willow was snatched and swallowed that she was alerted of the creature.   She screams, “RUN!” to which the group runs, waking King up from his sleep.   “What is happenin– Titan, is that a trash slug?!” King exclaims, holding onto Luz tightly.   “A– what?!”   “A trash slug! It devours anything it sees, in which it’s going to devour us!”   “Not helping!” Luz tells King.   The group slides under logs and hops over rocks. Gus throws pebbles at the creature, but nothing seems to affect it.   “I knew we couldn’t trust you!” Willow exclaims at King, her panting getting heavier. “Can you at least use a little bit of your powers to defeat it?!”   King gulps, his grip on Luz tightening. “I… I can’t.”   “What do you mean you can’t?!” Luz panics. “You said you had powers!”   “I lost my powers!”   “Can’t you just channel that energy back somehow?!” Gus suggests.   “No! I can’t! I don’t have powers at all! I lied about it, all of it!” King confesses.   The group runs into a dead end, facing a tall mountain, with the trash slug cornering them.   “Does it have weaknesses?” Gus asks King.   King ponders. “I… I remember someone telling me that if it eats salt, it’ll revert to a weaker form.”   “We don’t have salt on us!”   “I do, actually,” Gus replies, holding up a small bottle of table salt.   “Why do you have that?” Willow asks.   “Oh, you know, if I encountered a vampire or something?”   The trash slug growls, ready to feast.   “When it attacks, I throw it in its mouth, and we run, alright?”   The trash slug readies itself.   “1…”   It arches back, ready to lunge at them.   “2… 3!”   It attacks, and Gus tosses the bottle of salt into its mouth, and the group quickly run around it and back to where they came from.   The trash slug roars as it slowly shrinks in size. It’s back to the form of a little slug, with zero intimidation.   The group finally runs out of the forest, and back into the comfort of their town. The group stops for a breather, panting heavily.   “This is why I don’t do track,” Gus comments, leaning onto Luz for support.   King watches the teenagers in silence, guilt and shame evident on his face. “I’m sorry.”   The group turns to him. They all let his apology sink in.   “I… I really wasn’t trying to get you guys killed or anything, I swear. I genuinely was just going in there to pick those flowers. I didn’t even know that thing would be there! I’m sorry for lying to you guys about my powers and for almost getting everybody eaten.”   Luz smiles. “It’s alright, buddy. Sometimes we all want super cool magic powers. Though it would’ve really helped if you actually did have some, you still helped us defeat the monster! And hey, just by being your little demon self, you’re already pretty cool.   King smiles weakly. “Thanks.”   The group starts walking home, and Gus parts ways with them as his house is on the other side of town.   “Wait,” Willow says, grabbing Gus by the hand.    He turns to face her, looking her straight in the eyes.   “I’m sorry for ridiculing you earlier. That wasn’t right of me to do that, and it wasn’t right of me to tell you on how to live your life. Also, thank you for saving us back there.”   Gus smiles, holding back tears. “No, you were right. I let my fantasies take over, and I almost got us killed! But, uh, thank you for believing in me and for being my friend.”   The two hug each other tightly.   Willow and Luz walk home together with King. The lights were out from everybody’s house, with the streetlights dimly lit.   “Well, thank you guys for picking flowers and taking me home. I… I actually really appreciate it,” King suddenly announces as he hops off Luz’s back.   “What?” Luz questions, but sees King racing off towards… the Owl Lady’s house?!   “You live with the Owl Lady?!” Luz exclaims, shocked.   “Uh, yeah? Of course I live in the Owl House! Don’t be afraid to visit sometimes! It would be nice to have some minions around to help with my duties!” King replies as he casually strolls into the Owl House.   Willow and Luz share a look of confusion.   “Is he the Owl Lady?!” “Do you guys want to go watch the rugby game tonight with me?” Gus asked, holding up three tickets.   “Sure!” Luz replies.   Willow and Luz take a ticket each.   “Though, I have no idea how rugby works,” Luz admits, staring at the ticket. “I don’t even follow our school team!”   “It’s simple enough, and you can probably catch on quickly, so no worries,” Gus said, grinning. “And Luz, all you need to know is that we probably have the best team in the state!”   “Woah, really?”   “Well, we certainly do have a lot of good players. Not to mention our star player, Amity Blight,” Willow said.   “Uh, who?” Luz furrows her eyebrows.   “Oh, right. She’s, uh, the mint-colored hair girl who always hangs out with Boscha.”   “She’s our star player? Of course I should’ve seen it coming! Jocks always happen to be bullies,” Luz mutters grumpily.   “She’s not just the star player and captain of the rugby team though. She also has the best test scores out of everyone at Hexside, and her family happens to be stinkin’ rich!” Gus said.   “She’s one of those kids,” Luz mutters, scrunching her nose.   “She used to not be so bad before,” Willow tells her, rubbing her arm. “In elementary school, she was a very outspoken but bubbly kid. She was quite the nerd to be honest, in a good way. However, once we reached middle school, she changed and sort of placed these walls up around her and shut everyone out.”   Luz frowned. “What happened?”   “I–”   “Sorry guys, but I gotta go! I have a bunch of assignments that I should finish before the rugby game. See ya later tonight!” Gus interrupts, grabbing his backpack.   “Ah, I should get going too,” Willow said. “Bye Gus, bye Luz.”   “Yeah… later tonight,” Luz echoes Gus’s words.     Turns out, Gus was a rugby fanatic.   Not only that, but tonight happened to be between Hexside and their rival school, Glandus.   The bleachers were all filled up to the brim, with one side representing Glandus with purple and white, and the other representing Hexside with blue and yellow.   Luz could barely talk to Gus or Willow, nor could she even hear herself. The stadium was roaring with conversations and cheering.   Then, the rugby players came out. The audience stood up, cheering for their school team or for their favorite players. Both sides would compete to see who cheered the strongest and the loudest.   Gus joined in, cheering Hexside! Hexside!   Willow stayed seated, waiting patiently for the actual game to start.   However, Luz was oblivious to highschool sports games. She looked below onto the rugby players, her eyes gravitating towards the mint-haired girl. Amity Blight .   After a few minutes, the game finally starts.   And wow , Amity indeed was very good at rugby. She was speedy and sturdy. She was both an immovable object and an unstoppable object at the same time.   Amity was running down the field towards the opponent’s end. She dodged every tackle, and things were looking bright until someone tackled Amity from her blind spot. Her foot twists, and she falls down harshly.   The crowd gasped, watching the scene in silence.    “Is she okay?” someone asks.   “No, not our star player!” another exclaims.   Everybody watches as Amity Blight is escorted out of the field.   The crowd lost quite a bit of their energy after that. The match resumed, but the cheers were less enthusiastic, and it seemed as if most of the audience had lost their interest.   “I mean, it goes without saying that everybody comes to rugby matches to see Amity. If she’s not here, then nobody wants to watch,” Gus said. “I’m still quite excited though!”   Luz frowns, watching the game but her mind on the incident that just occurred.    Was Amity Blight really that important?     “Amity Blight! I expected you to deliver and score a victory for your team out there! Goodness gracious… if you can’t even win a rugby game, maybe you’re better off quitting.”   “W-what?!”   “Hush child. I don’t have time for this. If you don’t win your next game, I’m making you quit this foolish sport.”   Now, Luz didn’t mean to eavesdrop on this conversation. She separated from Willow and Gus because she needed to use the bathroom, and now she was just trying to leave the stadium.   Luz watches as the woman (who she assumes is Amity’s mother) walks away from Amity, leaving her to her thoughts.   Luz wasn’t the type of person to judge or assume things about someone, but she developed a dislike for Amity’s mom for disregarding her injury and her feelings.   Luz tries to slip away as quietly as possible, but the moment she steps out, Amity turns around and spots her.   “You–!” Amity starts, but then winces in pain as she grasps at her thigh. She’s standing up with crutches and wearing an ankle brace.   “Hey, hey, be careful,” Luz says, supporting Amity’s weight.   “I don’t need your help…,” Amity murmurs.   “Oh come on! Look at you! Just let me help you get to where you need to go, and I’ll go away!” Luz exclaims, irritated.   Luz helps Amity exit out of the stadium, and the two girls sit on a bench outside. It’s dark now, but there is still a big crowd outside.   The duo sits awkwardly in silence.    Finally, Luz gets up. “Well, if there’s nothing else, then, uh, I’ll get going now.”   But before she leaves, Amity takes her by the hand. Luz faces Amity, their faces close to each other.   “You saw nothing today,” she tells Luz.   Luz frowns. “Yeah yeah, I wouldn’t tell anyone else anyway. Hey, you got a ride at least, right? Don’t want a helpless and injured girl to be out here alone. See ya.”   And with that, Luz leaves Amity alone.     The day after the game was buzzing with gossip.   What’s gonna happen to the Hexside Banshees? Will Amity Blight recover in time for the next game? Will Hexside fall off the charts?   “I didn’t know rugby was this big,” Luz said. “Every turn we take, we see people talking about the game last night.”   “I guess it’s kind of a culture shock for someone who just moved in a month ago,” Gus shrugs. “Our town just has a lot of good rugby players. It’s been the biggest sport here since forever.”   Luz hums in response. “I wonder how Amity feels with all that pressure and with all this gossip?”   And as if on cue, Luz bumps into someone, and falls onto her bottom.   “Luz, are you okay?!” Willow asks worriedly, helping Luz to her feet.   “Yeah, I’m fine,” Luz mutters. “What’s with me and bumping into random people at Hexside?!”    “Sorry about that, cutie.”   Luz looks up at who she bumped into, and sees a set of twins.   “Do you think we went a little overboard with it?” the guy asks, nudging the girl.   “Nah. If anything, we didn’t do enough,” the girl replies, grinning.   Luz looks over at what the twins did. On the wall, there were sheets of paper taped all over. Luz takes a closer look, and realizes that they were diary entries. She reads one that dates back to February of last year.   Mom is always so harsh on me. She always lets Edric and Emira get away with everything. She even lets them dye their hair, while she tells me to never dye mine! It’s so unfair. Why do I have to be the only one that upholds the family name?   Luz furrows her eyebrows. “Hey, these are someone’s personal thoughts. It’s not nice to expose their thoughts to others, more or less the whole school!”   “Aw come on! Loosen up a little, would ya? We’re just having a little fun,” the guy said, wrapping his arm around Luz’s shoulders.   “And your way of fun is to bully someone? This is too much, and you guys should take it down.”   The girl chuckles. “How about I propose a deal then?”   Willow puts her hand on Luz’s shoulder, shaking her head. Luz hesitates, debating her options. She’s taken up deals proposed by bullies before, and most times it’s gone wrong. It went right with Boscha, but that was because she had Willow with her. This time, she was the one picking the fight, and by herself, too.   Still, it’s not right. Luz will always stand up for what’s right.    “Fine,” Luz replies, her voice firm.   The girl smirks. “We’ve actually already put up a ton of these diary entries on multiple walls around the school. There are some in the math wing, art hall, and in the cafeteria. If you take all of them down before school ends today, we’ll stop putting them up.”   “And you’ll stop bullying this individual?”   “Of course,” the guy butts in, smirking.   Luz frowns. “Deal.”   “You can meet us at the front of the school when you’ve finished,” the girl says. The twins finally leave, and Luz is left with a mission.   “Luz, you don’t have to do this. Seriously,” Willow tries to convince her. “Those two are notorious for their pranks.”   “And I can’t let them keep doing it! Someone has to stand up to them!”   “Well, it doesn’t help that they’re seniors. Also, they’re–”   Gus is interrupted as the bell rings.    Gus and Willow watch as Luz takes down the taped papers one by one.    “It’s fine. Don’t worry about me guys,” Luz tells them reassuringly, giving a soft smile.   “I guess we can’t make you go to class, but… you really shouldn’t miss any more classes after this. We’ll help you after we’re done, or if we find any!” Gus exclaims.   Luz gives a thumbs up.   The two leave for class, leaving Luz to take down the papers herself.   Luz didn’t want to intrude on the contents of the papers, but there was nothing else to do.   She reads a diary entry from June of last year.   It’s suffocating in this household. I can’t even rest at home. I always have to act perfect in front of others, even my family! I’m always monitored on what I do, and even if I do go out, there’s only so much I can do without Mom complaining.   She reads another entry from two years ago.   I wish I had someone to talk to or somewhere to go. At least Edric and Emira have each other. I have no one.   Luz clutches the paper. She just wants to give this person a big, warm hug. They deserve so much love, and Luz wants them to know that. She wants to let them know that they’re not alone. She wants to let them know that they don’t have to be perfect, and that it’s okay to be vulnerable.   Luz finishes with the first wall, and marches towards her next one. She starts with the art hall, as it’s the closest spot to where she was.   There are more diary entries on the walls, all of which contain the person’s everyday life, passions, hobbies and interests, and personal feelings. Luz learns quite a lot about this person.   They play piano, violin, and the guitar. They did ballet when they were young, but quit due to lack of interest. They know how to speak 4 languages, including English, Mandarin, Japanese, and German. They love reading and writing, and happen to like The Good Witch Azura as well.   We would be very good friends, Luz thought.   This person was very talented, and had a lot going for them.    After finishing with the art hall, she moves on to the cafeteria. There was already a crowd surrounding the wall as people whispered in confusion.   “Excuse me! Coming through!” Luz exclaims, cutting through the crowd and quickly taking down the papers.   Everybody murmurs as they watch Luz tear the papers from the walls.  Luz paid no mind to them.    Luz quickly finishes, and moves on to her next destination. However, when she arrives at the math wing, there were no papers to be found.   They lied to me!   Luz ran out of the math wing, and to the next hall. Then, to the next hall, and the next hall. She forgot how confusing Hexside was. She cursed Hexside for having so many halls.   It was already getting close to the end of school, and Luz wasted no time in finding the last wall. She searched every corner, running in the intricate maze called Hexside. Students and teachers watched as she raced past them, some yelling at her to watch where she was going or to slow down. She didn’t stop to reply.   It was no use. Luz slowed down to catch her breath, and that was when the bell rang. It meant she failed. She couldn’t protect the individual’s privacy.   She curls herself up into a ball. She felt hot tears falling down her cheeks, as she clenched her fists in disappointment and shame.   Who was she if she couldn’t protect others? Who was she if she couldn’t stand up to those who hurt others? She just wanted to be like the heroes she had read in her books and seen in her shows.   “Luz? Luz, are you okay?” a voice calls for her.   Luz looks up, and sees Willow and Gus. Willow kneels down and puts her hand on Luz’s knee for reassurance that she is there for her. Gus sits beside Luz to let her know that he won’t abandon her.   And miraculously, in their arms were stacks of paper.   “During lunch, Willow and I happened to see the twins putting the papers up at the gym. We took them down, and waited until the end of school to catch up with you,” Gus explains, flashing a soft smile at Luz.   “Luz, you were there for us. Now this time, we’ll be the ones here for you,” Willow told her.   The three of them embrace each other in a hug. It was warm and loving.    And Luz remembers that it’s okay to ask for help. She also remembers that she has people she can turn to.   “Thank you guys,” Luz said, smiling.   Luz takes all the papers in her arms, and stands up. “I think I’m ready to face them.”   Willow nods. “Good luck. We’re cheering you on.”   Luz takes her leave and rushes to the front of the school. She sees the twins waiting for her, and approaches them. They spot her, and the guy smirks.   “A little late, aren’t you?” he teases.   “The papers were taken down before the bell rang,” she replies, her voice unwavering.   “Fine, fine. I guess we gotta uphold our end of the deal.”   The guy takes the papers. “I guess our plan for our baby sister failed.”   Luz raises her eyebrows. “Sister? Who’s your sister?”   “Well of course, the one and only–”   “Edric! Emira!”    All three teens turn around, and Luz is greeted by the sight of–   “Amity Blight?!”    Amity’s face is tomato red, and her face is filled with anger and embarrassment.   “What are you guys doing with my diary?!” she questions.   Edric whistles to avoid the question, and Emira simply giggles.    “Come on, baby sister. We were just having fun. However, this gal here–” Emira pats Luz’s head,”–helped take down your papers. You should thank her for that!”   “I don’t care! Give me back my diary!” Amity says, walking with her crutches towards Edric and snatching the papers out his hands.   “And you–” she turns to Luz with a cold glare, “–need to stay out of my way.”   A car arrives for the Blight siblings, and they drive off.   Luz is only left with realization, confusion, and questions.

General Audiences

“Hey, mom. I’m back.”Camila’s eyes widened with shock, then quickly filled with tears. “L-Luz? You’re actually here?” She took a cautious step towards her, then reached out. “It’s you, right? Not a reflection? Or some other creature?”Luz took her mom’s hand. “It’s me.”Her mom pulled her into an embrace that probably crushed another few of her ribs. She let herself get lost in her mother’s scent, the sound of the rain, the light pouring in from the door, and the overwhelming sense of home.Camila finally released her and held her at arm's length. “Oh my–what happened to you?”“I’ll explain everything…can we come inside?” Luz swiped at her face. Camila had been so focused on her daughter that she hadn’t seen the other children behind her.“Yes, of course. Is everyone alright?” *Quite a few bandaids and explanations later* “And he was a witch hunter all along?”“I know, right? If this were in an Azura book, it would be the CRAZIEST plot twist ever. But it just turned out to be pretty sucky for us.” Luz sipped her tea.“And we have to find a way back. That’s the most important part of this. We have no idea what’s happening over there.” Amity looked at her feet. “I have no idea if my parents…”They all fell quiet at that.“Well, there’s obviously no magic in this realm.” Camila had caught on surprisingly quickly. “You five–well, six” she patted Vee’s head “Are the only magical things here.”Luz set down her tea. “Well, there’s no point in trying to figure it out right now. We’re all exhausted, we should get some rest.”Gus’s voice was hoarse when he spoke. “Uh yeah, I’ve been thinking on that one while everyone has been talking. Where is everyone going to stay?”They all looked around. It was clear the house was not big enough to accommodate everyone.“I can sleep on the floor.” Hunter offered.“Me too.” Said Willow.Camila considered. “I suppose I have some sleeping bags from that camping trip me and Luz went on…it’ll have to do for tonight until we can find more options in the morning. I’ll be right back.”The kids sat in silence while Camila went and looked in the garage. No one seemed to want to break it. It was so sudden that the chaos of the Boiling Isles had disappeared along with the portal. After the planning and the scheming and the realizations and failures, the silence surrounding them felt too harsh and too filled up with the weight of what had happened, and what was probably happening.Luz thought about Eda. She thought about Raine. She thought about King. King was perhaps the best hope the Boiling Isles had. They could use his blood to make another portal, or maybe when he was fully grown he would have the power to make a portal on his own. With the Creator undoubtedly wreaking havoc, would the ingredients still exist?Camila entered the room, her face obstructed by the sleeping bags she was having a difficult time carrying. She set them down on the floor and then brushed her hands on her pants.“Well, we have two of those, plus the couch and Luz’s room. Vee’s been staying in that room so far…”“I can stay with you.” Luz sprang up from the couch. “Someone else can take my bed.”“Me and Willow are taking the sleeping bags. Gus, do you want the couch?”Gus shrugged. “Sure.”“And Amity will take my room. Is there anything else that we want to discuss before we head off to bed?”Hunter shook his head as he grabbed a sleeping bag. “Even if we did, I’m about to pass out. Good night, everyone.”Everyone said goodnight and shuffled off to their respective rooms.Lying in bed, Luz couldn’t help but feel the presence of her friends downstairs. They had been together throughout all this, so parting from them, even for a few seconds, felt strange. She was happy to be back with her mom, but she couldn’t deny the feeling that she had found another kind of family in her friends. *Amity POV* It was strange to be in her girlfriend’s room without her. Amity had imagined Luz giving her tours of her human room, when they had made a working portal and knew that they could go between worlds whenever they wanted. But so much had happened since that original fantasy, and now here she was, in the dark, looking at a room that felt like a stranger’s. There were photographs of Luz and her mom, yet as Amity inspected them, she didn’t see any other people. That had always been a concern of hers when they got back to the human realm—did Luz have other friends? An ex? It sounded ridiculous, but she could never shake off the suspicion. But she had come to understand that most humans didn’t like Luz, maybe for the same reasons that Luz got along with everyone in the Boiling Isles.There was a trophy from a poetry contest on the mantel, but that was it. More room had been made for other future trophies, and the shelf seemed depressingly empty. A window above the desk had been left open, curtains fluttering in the wind. Amity walked over and closed it. She looked down at the desk. It was messy, as was expected, and had pens and papers strewn about. She picked some of them up, revealing old drawings and scattered words, an old Azura fanfiction that Luz had never finished.Sighing, she turned off the lamp and sat down in Luz’s bed. This was what felt strangest of all. Luz had spent countless nights here. What had she been thinking about? What thoughts occupied her mind before it drifted off to sleep?Amity closed her eyes. She tried not tothink of her parents. She tried not to think of her siblings. She tried not to think of what she’d lost. *The next morning* Hunter was the first awake in the morning. When he’d worked for Belos, he’d always awoken at dawn to begin his next mission. But this morning there was nothing for him to accomplish, so he merely sat up and began quietly wandering the house.He’d never imagined what a human house would look like, and certainly never imagined staying in one. There were the oddest things in the kitchen–they kept all their food in a cold box, which somehow stayed cold without any spells. Their food was foreign to him as well. Apple juice…could that be an odd version of apple blood? It was certainly a different color. Perhaps ‘juice’ was just a different word for blood.He shut the door of the cold box and moved on to the living room. They had a TV, like the ones in the boiling isles, but their TVs all had little creatures inside them that operated the dials and switches. He doubted that those existed in this realm.It was raining outside. He’d never heard about rain in the human realm. Obviously this place wasn’t called the Boiling Isles 2.0, so perhaps their rain was a milder temperature. He looked out the kitchen window. No one was outside.He crept towards the front door and turned the knob slowly, wincing as the hinges creaked. No one stirred. He eventually got the door open all the way and stood in the doorway. The smell of the rain was different. It didn’t smell like it was burning at all. In fact, for once he quite enjoyed the scent. It was fresh and new and reminded him of a memory that he couldn’t exactly recall.Cautiously, he put out a hand. The rain was cold. It was so strange, looking at the rain falling on his skin and feeling no pain. Was this what humans felt every day? They could just waltz out into the rain, the only thing on their mind the mild inconvenience of getting wet? It seemed almost unfair that others could enjoy the things that he couldn’t.A step. Then another. The rain didn’t suddenly turn boiling, as he kept expecting. Eventually, shutting the door behind him, Hunter stepped out fully into the rain. He looked around at the rain, how it splashed onto the ground rather than hissing and steaming. It felt good on his skin. And this was how some people had always lived. This was a luxury that humans could afford. What other freedoms did they have?The sun was rising, slowly lighting up the neighborhood. Hunter had never lived in a place like this, a real house. He never thought he would live in a real house. And he never thought that it would be so nice. So this was what normal people got. It had never occurred to him that his life with the Emperor’s Coven had been so crazy and so miserable. Normal people got to wake up in a bed that was their own surrounded by people they loved and step out into the rain without getting boiled alive. That was what normal people did. And now that he knew what being normal was like, he wasn’t sure that he would ever let it go. For the few drowsy seconds before Amity awoke, she thought she was in her own bed. She expected to look around and see the familiar hot pink walls, the poster of Lilith from the Emperor’s Coven, the picture frames and books. But the walls were painted blue, and that was what shattered her fantasy. The sun was already shining through the window. She looked around for a clock, but all she could see was some weird device that blinked numbers at her. So she slid off the bed and headed downstairs. Walking down the stairs, she could already hear the sound of breakfast being made, if rather chaotically. There was a general clanging of pots and pans, the hiss of something being fried on the stove, and a lot of conversation. Was she the last one awake? Turning the corner, she saw mayhem. Gus was frantically fanning some smoking monstrosity on the stove, Hunter had managed to spill some mysterious liquid and Willow was attempting to clean it up. “Are you guys trying to make food?” “We don’t know what any of these human items are. And Gus tried to use a fire spell to light the stove, but I think that they work differently here.” Hunter grabbed some more napkins to mop up the mess. “I don’t know how to turn this off. There are all these dials and none of them are doing anything!” Gus’s face was now almost entirely engulfed by smoke. He began coughing. “Oh no, what is going on here?” Luz emerged behind Amity and quickly rushed past her. “Gus, why is there a fire?” “I thought that you used fire spells here too, but looking back, that was not a good idea.” Luz quickly turned off the stove and grabbed the pan, running it under the water. “What were you even trying to make?” “We saw something that said ‘pancake mix’, and it kind of sounded like tancakes, so we tried to make them but I think it just all ended up being very flammable.” “Wait, tancakes? What are those?” “They’re cakes, but they’re tan, so we call them tancakes.” Luz paused. “That actually makes a lot of sense. Anyways, everyone out of the kitchen. I don’t trust any of you all to start a fire that we really can’t put out.” Everyone shuffled out of the kitchen, looking slightly ashamed. Amity joined them on the couch. “Does anyone know what time it is?” Amity asked. Gus looked down at his watch. “No, my watch has stopped working ever since we went through the portal.” He stroked the head of his watch. “I miss you, little guy. But I was looking through some drawers in the kitchen, and guess what I found?” He dug around in his pocket, then held up a small object triumphantly. “Ta-da! A papor clip! I can’t believe they actually have so many in the human realm! It’s like a dream come true!” No one else seemed very excited about the papor clip.“Oh, is everyone up already?” Camila came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes. “I heard quite a ruckus, otherwise I wouldn’t be up at this hour.”“Sorry.” Willow looked ashamed.“It’s all perfectly alright. I know you kids have been through a lot and it’s understandable that you’re restless. But let’s get some proper food in you before people start going off on adventures.”Luz came bustling out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her pants. “Mom, you’re awake! Is Vee still asleep?”Camila walked over to give her daughter a hug and a good morning kiss on the forehead. “Yes, I’m surprised that you’re up. I always remember you complaining about getting out of bed in the mornings.”“Well that was when there was nothing exciting to do during the day. There’s so much to do, how can I possibly waste another moment sleeping?”“Calm down, Luz. Sleep is important. (Author’s note: I am writing this at 1am). Now, what are you cooking up?” Luz hurried back to the kitchen. “Oh no, I think these might be a bit burnt—I turned up the stove too high again. Curse my youthful impatience!”“I’ll take this over for now. Go be with your friends.”Luz nodded and walked over to the living room, sitting on the floor across from Amity. “So, what’s the plan?”Gus looked around in confusion. Hunter yawned. Willow looked at her feet. Amity stared at the ceiling.“Come on guys, we have to come up with something. Eda and King obviously need our help, and we don’t have a moment to spare!”Still, silence. “Don’t push your friends.” Camila advised as she set a plate of pancakes down on the table. “I’m sure they’re all very tired, and not everyone can run off of sheer nervous energy.” Amity speared a pancake with her fork. They did indeed look just like tancakes, if a little flatter. Luz’s mom had put some things that looked like chocolate ships in them, except that she was pretty certain these things didn’t float around in their food. Meals should be consumed at the dinner table, not on the couch. Don’t act like some teenage disappointment, Amity.It was clear her mother’s nagging voice in her head had followed her to the human realm. They all ate in silence. Amity looked at Luz. Luz looked anywhere but Amity. She looked like she might explode if forced to sit and eat for another moment. Finally, when everyone had eaten their fill, Amity spoke. “Our first step should be seeing if we can still do magic in this realm.”Everyone looked at her, expressions ranging from understanding to nerves at taking action again.“That should be easy. Still, if there is magic, it may be unpredictable. We should find a contained area to—“ Luz was cut off as Gus drew a circle in the air. A huge block of ice suddenly materialized in the air, its sharp ends nearly cutting up the opposite wall.“Gus! Why would you do that?” Willow snapped.“I didn’t mean to cast it like that. I was trying to make an ice cube.”“You need to have more control over how much magic you put into spells!”“But I’ve always had good control.”“Well—““Gus is right.” Amity interrupted. She could hear her mom reprimanding her for poor manners. “He’s always been good with control. I think it’s something about the quantity of magic in this realm.”“But you all have bile sacks, right? Even if there is more magic in this atmosphere, it should only affect my glyphs.” Luz looked deep in thought. “Besides, why would there be more magic in this realm? It’s the human realm. It’s kind of known for not having magic.” Hunter shrugged. “Just saying.”They all sat and thought for a little while. “Well, we obviously need to experiment with this one a little more. But what would be a good environment? We need somewhere shut off from the general public, with lots of open space, where people are guaranteed to stay away from.” Amity obviously knew nothing about the human realm, but every realm had to have some abandoned spaces.“I know the perfect place! Mom, what day of the week is it?”“It’s Sunday. Why, Luz?”Luz got to her feet, looking determined. “We’re going to break into my school.” *a few objections, some scheming and the formation of a plan later* Luz led the group around the back of the building. Pulling out the map she’d found from a quick google search, she consulted their location. “Okay, I know my sense of direction is very unreliable, but we should be in the right place. The window above us has a broken lock. We can sneak in through there.”“Uh…one problem.” Gus pointed up at the window. “How are we supposed to get all the way up there?” “I’ll give you guys a boost, then circle around to the front. Once you’re all in you can unlock the front door.”The group nodded. Luz laced her fingers together and bent down. Everyone looked at her in confusion. “Step on my hands!”“What?” “It’s too risky to use magic when we don’t know how it’ll work. So step on my hands and I’ll help you up.”No one looked very confident, but there wasn’t a better plan. Gus cautiously stepped on Luz’s hands, obviously not putting any weight in them. Luz started to launch him up, but he lost his balance and fell. “Gus! Are you okay?” Luz rushed over. “Yes, I’ll be fine. Continue without me.” Gus dramatically flopped over, a hand on his forehead. “Nonsense. We leave no one behind. Get up, Gus. Let’s do this.” *One break-in later* “Wow. This place is echo-ey.” Willow looked around at the massive gym. It was perfect. “Oh wow, do you have echo-selves in the human realm as well?” Gus asked excitedly. “Uh…not to my knowledge. What are those anyways?” Luz almost didn’t want to know. “Whenever there’s an echo in the boiling isles, that means that there’s another you yelling back to yourself, but they’re smaller so their voices don’t reach as far.” “Yeah. That’s not something we have here.” “Is this place fireproof?” Amity looked concerned. “I have no idea.” Luz proclaimed proudly. She scratched her chin. “Yeah, I think we should stay away from fire spells.” “Alright. Here goes nothing.” Willow drew a circle in the air. Vines erupted out of the circle, hitting the wall and spreading quickly. “Woah. I did not mean for that to happen.” Luz drew a small light glyph on the floor. When she tapped it with her pencil, a huge sphere of light knocked her backwards. “Okay, so we know this affects my glyphs too.” They experimented with different kinds of spells, but by the end of an hour they had all arrived at the same conclusion: being in this world amplified their spells to an almost uncontrollable amount. “So how are we supposed to use magic when it’s this powerful?” Willow asked. “I guess we’d find some way to weaken our magic?” Luz shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t see this as an entirely negative development. If we’re fighting big bad guys like the Collector, we could really use this power up.” “But the Collector’s magic will be amplified too.” Gus pointed out. “For practical, everyday stuff this just won’t do. I say we find a non-permanent way to weaken our magic, so that we can use it for more practical stuff. Does that make sense?” Everyone nodded, except for Hunter. “I don’t think my magic can be weakened any more than it already is. I’d probably end up with no magic, like before.” Luz walked over to him. “I guess you’re right, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t have any magic as well. What do you say to attending a Luz Glyph Bootcamp when we have some free time?” Hunter hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

General Audiences

Marcy bit her tongue, tying a few more knots with the multicolored thread. Her hands were clumsy, but after a few hours of practice, she was getting the hang of this. She was almost done with her third and final friendship bracelet.   And… there!   She untied it from her water bottle, where it’d been anchored, and smiled. Another challenge complete. Nothing could stop her!   Satisfied, she grabbed her phone and snapped a photo of all three friendship bracelets she’d made.    A messy green one, from when she’d still been figuring out the process. A much neater blue one, though it still had a few tangles and bumps, because Anne cared more about the thought than the neatness of things. And the red one she’d painstakingly tried to make perfect, and felt more proud of than she probably should, because Sasha cared about fashion, and Marcy needed it to be something Sasha would actually wear.   By habit, she opened her messaging app to the “BFFs 🐸🦎🗡💕💅💎”  group chat, ready to send the picture…until she caught sight of that stupid, stupid message in the corner of her screen.    Her arch nemesis.    No service.   The absolute worst part of this evil boring summer camp was the lack of WiFi.    True, Marcy had gone months without internet back in Amphibia, but at least it had been exciting. She’d gotten to walk around in armor, and wield a crossbow.    Summer camp was just… wearing cheesy t-shirts that were slightly too big and making friendship bracelets. Friendship bracelets were kind of fun, at least. They were a cool challenge.    Even if she didn’t have her friends to share them with.    She was fine.    The squad could video chat for hours on end when summer ended.   She probably deserved much worse than this, anyway. She didn’t have the right to complain.   She turned up the volume on her headphones, trying to drown those unwanted thoughts out.    It was getting better. She was working on herself. She’d survived the near apocalypse. She’d survived moving. She could get through … however long arts and crafts lasted today.   The power of the audiobook versions of the Vagabondia Chronicles novelizations would save her. She was a tactical genius for downloading those beforehand.   “Excuse me, Marcy?”   She turned up her volume even louder, maxing it out. She couldn’t handle human interaction. Not now. Her fingers were tired from tying all those little knots, her head hurt from the loud volume on her headphones which, well, was beside the point.    What had she been thinking about again?   “Marcy! Marcy Wu!” the voice said, louder.    Shoot.   She was in trouble.   Marcy pulled one headphone out, fumbling and dropping her phone in her haste to grab it and pause the audiobook.   “Sorry, sorry!” she called, crawling under the picnic table to pick up her phone, and bumping her head on a bench.    Finally, she managed to get the audiobook paused, panting with more exertion than it should’ve taken.   She hopped back on the table, with her feet on the bench. She liked being up there, so she could be eye level with her camp counselors. Why were high school girls so tall, anyway?   Newtopia had been so much fun, with endless surfaces to climb. What she’d give to be in Andrias’s pocket right about now. Or on top of Olivia’s vanity. Maybe hanging from a support pillar on the palace ceiling. No one could call her short when she was a little gremlin who could find her way up any surface.   “Hey, do you think we could get some giant pillars here?” Marcy asked. “For climbing practice, and surveillance in case of an attack, and most importantly so I can be tall?”    Marcy did her best puppy-dog eyes, the kind that always worked on general Yunan.   The counselor that’d been calling for her—Marcy didn’t remember the girl’s name—sighed, putting a hand to her forehead.   “Marcy…”   “Yes??” Marcy asked. She wasn’t going to get her pillars, she could tell. She wasn’t a trusted royal advisor and revered soldier here.    Yet.   Since this particular conversation was going to be pointless, though, she was impatient to get back to her book. It was just getting to the good part, with the sweet, heartfelt found family moment and the rainbow lasers of violent death.    Gosh she loved the rainbow lasers of violent death.   “How did you get your phone back? Again?”   “Oh, that?” Marcy laughed with a snort. “Your locks are super easily pickable. I can help you find some more secure ones if you want! What’s the camp’s budget this year? Because, personally, I think your first priority should be buying some nicer paints for the rec room. We don’t have anything in bright enough neons. Also some newer board games. I can’t believe you guys don’t even have any of the Killer Shark Death Killer Island games, how do you even—“   “Marcy! That’s not… ugh.”   The counselor glanced over to the other tables, looking for backup. When it became apparent that no one was coming, she sighed again.   “Look, just. Give me your phone.”   Marcy grimaced.   “Do I have to?” she asked. “I get really bored without it, and then I start fidgeting, and then I tend to break things accidentally because I’m flapping my arms around too much, so really, I think it’s better—and safer—for everyone if I just hold onto—“   “Phone. Now.”   Marcy stuck out her tongue, and muttered some amphibian curses under her breath, but handed the phone over.   “Listen, I know that you like… saved the world from lizards with the power of Kpop and Anime, or whatever, and that’s super cool for you! Also super not covered in my training! But still… you can’t just… Marcy!”   Marcy, now bored of this conversation, had just clicked the button on her wireless headphones, remotely resuming the audiobook. She probably wouldn’t have gotten caught if she hadn’t started mouthing the words dramatically, but there were only so many sacrifices she was willing to make for the sake of logical strategy.   “That’s it. Give me your headphones, too,” the counselor said.   “Urghhhh” Marcy groaned, throwing them in the counselor’s direction. They landed on the grass a few feet behind her.   “Do you ever listen?” She turned around, fumbling for them in the tall grass, as Marcy flopped backwards onto the table, knocking her water bottle to the ground, loudly.    Whoops. She’d pick that up later.   “I listen all the time,” Marcy said, petulantly.   “Then what are you supposed to be doing right now?”   Marcy laughed.    “I know that, obviously! We’re making friendship bracelets! I did all that already. I’m way ahead of you all.”   “Actually, everyone’s already done with those.”   Marcy’s eyebrows furrowed. That couldn’t be right. She glanced around, and, well, darn. All of the yarn was either put away or wrapped around people’s wrists, and now the tables were covered with paper and pens, where campers were settled in groups and writing frantically.   “…oh.”   “Now, we’re writing letters home.”   Marcy grimaced.   Her parents were… they were cool, really! They had been doing so much to try and accommodate her, to understand how she felt, even if they’d never get it. It was just…  this place would never be home.    Books were right, her home was where her heart was, somewhere in Los Angeles, probably stealing money from arcade games or blasting Kpop tunes. Or maybe her heart was in Newtopia, in a palace that must be mostly rebuilt by now. But those thoughts were dangerous, made her skin crawl and her stomach twist.   “I don’t think I want to do that, actually!” she said, cheerfully. “I’m a good enough writer already. It wouldn’t be very enriching for me. Plus, my parents learned to be cool with me being in another dimension for seven months. They can handle a bit of silence. I’ll just… um… if you give me my phone back, I can entertain myself with Vagabondia Chronicles! Then it’s a win-win, as they’d call it in Amphibia!”   “We call it that here, too. Just… ugh… you can’t…”   “Please?” Marcy asked, desperately. She held onto her counselor’s shoulders, staring her down.   “Listen, It’s very cool that you saved the world, and I appreciate it a lot,” she brushed Marcy’s hands off of her shoulders. “But, you do still have to do your assigned work.”    “Andrias wouldn’t treat me like this,” Marcy muttered, angrily grabbing some paper from the table. It wrinkled in her fist.   “Isn’t he the guy who betrayed you, and literally stabbed you in the back, mortally wounding you?” her counselor asked, handing her a pen. Marcy snatched it up.   “Shut up! You weren’t there! You don’t know me!”   “I saw him blow up half of Hollywood on the news.”   Marcy stuck out her tongue again.   “Anyway, this is the assignment. You have to write a letter that answers at least three of these questions.”   Marcy huffed but accepted the paper. She could just get this over with quickly. Then maybe she could write her own story on leftover paper. Anything to pass time that didn’t involve existential angst about the way that nothing was permanent and she’d maybe be lonely forever.   “Wait, what kind of questions are these?” Marcy pressed her face closer to the paper, like that would make the words change into something less stupid.   No luck.   Someone who has a birthday in the same month as you   The name of another camper’s pet   Another camper’s favorite color   Someone who shares a hobby with you   The list went on and on that way.    “How in the heck would I know any of this stuff?”   “By talking to people. That’s the point.”   “Ughhhhhhh. That sounds dumb.” Marcy rolled off of the table and onto the ground.   “Listen, the point of this camp is to teach you all how to act like normal people. Which includes things like, interacting with other humans.”   “I already learned my lesson,” Marcy groaned. “I had an awesome anime moment where I realized that I wasn’t going to run from reality anymore, even if it was hard, and I told the collective that, and then I got locked in this infinite void and I thought—“   “That’s fantastic for you. Now apply that skill and stop running from this assignment.”   “I think I may hate you a little bit.”   “Hate me while you go talk to people.”   Marcy was about to argue more, she would’ve come up with a brilliant counterargument in a few moments, really, but she was interrupted by a hissing noise from the table next to her.   She’d spent enough time studying creatures in Amphibia, and then studying humans after she got back, to know that it wasn’t a human noise.    The counselor’s gaze snapped to that table, where another lone student sat. These far tables were the best for not being bugged.   “Hey there, Noceda, what’s wrong?”    The girl looked up in shock, like a deer in the headlights.   Marcy almost took the chance to steal her phone back, but got distracted looking at this other camper. A girl her age, the only other person sitting alone. She looked… terrified. Holding a pen in her hand awkwardly, biting her lip, sitting straight and tense.   “Nothing is wrong!” the girl laughed. “I’m just practicing making noises. As humans do!”   Marcy may have been on a mission to talk her way out of the stupid rules of this camp, but she couldn’t just ignore a comrade in need.   “Hey, um, do you need some help with that pen?” she asked   The girl squeaked in dismay, leaning back as Marcy scrambled over to her table. Before she could move, Marcy had already lept onto the table in a single bound—looking awesome as she did it—and sat down right beside the girl, grabbing her paper.   “Oof, yikes, girl, have you ever held a pen before?” Marcy asked, taking in the mess of scribbles.   “Yes. I know how to use… this tool.” The girl said defensively, then winced, eyeing the pen in her hand like it could bite her.   “Oh! I’m so stupid, sorry,” Marcy said, smacking herself on the forehead. “That sounded mean. I wasn’t trying to attack you, it’s just, it’s honestly kind of impressive how you manage to not know… shoot that sounds mean, too.” She sighed loudly. “I would kill for your backstory.”   “Please do not,” the girl said, backing away even more.   “Oh! No worries, it was just a metaphor! I’m really nice, usually. I only ever killed… a few people…? And they were technically already dead I think. And also trying to destroy an entire planet.”   “O-oh. Okay.” The other girl didn’t look very convinced, but she was clearly trying to smile anyway.   “Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Marcy Wu. You probably know me as the BFF of that one anime girl who saved the world with the power of Kpop and blue anime magic. I also got anime powers too, it just wasn’t on film, which is kind of unfair but I maybe deserve that for the whole betrayal thing. Also I got possessed by a hive mind so I know the mystic wisdom of an eon of amphibian rulers. I’m also really good at chess. Like, really really good. Do you play chess? Do you want to? I can teach you if you don’t know. People think it’s an inherent talent or something but that’s nonsense, anyone can practice and improve!”   She remembered that she was talking to someone and tried to snap back to reality. The girl was scanning her surroundings, clearly looking for a way out.   “Hey, wait,” Marcy said. “I’m sorry for rambling. I’ll try to be quiet. What… um… what’s your name.”   “Luz Noceda,” the girl said, with practiced quickness. “Of Earth.”   “Oh my gosh, that’s so cool. I’ve gotta start introducing myself as Marcy Wu of Earth and Amphibia now. Thanks for the inspiration!”   “You’re welcome?”   “Oh! I remembered what I was talking about!”    Marcy yelled a little too loudly, making the girl flinch. She’d already forgotten her name. Darn.   “I was gonna ask if you want me to write your letter for you. You’re clearly struggling. And I’m kind of avoiding mine right now for my own personal backstory reasons.”   “Oh, no, I don’t need that—I’m perfectly capable of—aughh!”   Marcy grabbed the girl’s face, making their foreheads touch.   “Listen to me. It’s totally cool. My best friend Sasha is super dyslexic. Don’t tell her I said that. She’s touchy about it. I probably shouldn’t have told you, whoops. Just forget I said it. And my other best friend Anne is… well, she’s Anne. I’m used to transcribing for my girls. And also doing all of their homework.”   “You really don’t have to—“   “Too bad! I want to!! Who are you writing this letter to, anyway? We can at least start by putting the address on the envelope.”   “Oh, um…” the girl blushed and looked away. “I… I know the answer to that, definitely, I just…” her hands shook.   “Oh, no worries, my memory sucks too.” Marcy shot finger guns at her. “There’s no shame in being forgetful.”   “I didn’t forget, I remember where I have lived for the past… some time… because I lived there for real, and wouldn’t—“   “Hey! Does anyone have this girl’s address written down!? She forgot it!” Marcy called.   “I’ll get it!” Another counselor yelled back.   “…or you could just do that,” the girl said, the fight draining out of her body.   “So who are you writing it out to?” Marcy asked.   “My mother,” the girl said, quickly. “See,” she said, “I do know things.”   “Yep, you do!” Marcy said. “So should I start with ‘Dear Mom,’?”   “I told you, you don’t have to—“   “Dear Mom,” Marcy narrated aloud as she wrote.   “Listen to me!” The girl growled, her voice echoing in a way that didn’t seem quite human. She grit her teeth, and Marcy swore she saw the girl’s eyes blink sideways.   “Listen, I can—“ she made a frustrated noise, grabbing the paper back. “I can handle myself just fine. But if you insist on helping, can you maybe just… show me how to do this myself?”   Marcy’s mouth dropped open, and she shook her head to clear this. What she’d give to have her notebook with her right now.   “Where did you say you were from?”   “Earth,” the girl said, defensively. She glared.   Okay. So she wasn’t going to talk. Marcy could work with that.   “Okay. Cool. Yeah I can teach you to hold a pen. It’s really not too bad, with practice.”   The girl nodded, still eyeing Marcy.   “Um… sorry if I’m overstepping. I’m not too good with boundaries, but, well, as someone who’s lived on Earth for most of my life? Most people don’t introduce themself as ‘from Earth.’ Most of them aren’t even aware there’s other worlds, here.”   “What are you saying?” The girl asked, looking even more suspicious. She had the same glint in her eyes that Yunan or Sasha got when they were expecting an ambush.   “Just, like, it’s cool as heck to introduce yourself as being from Earth, but if you’re trying to lay low, you can introduce yourself as ‘from Connecticut’ or something.”   The girl blinked in surprise. This time, it was obvious that her eyelids were at a 90 degree angle from human ones. Marcy tried not to stare too hard.   “I am Luz of Connecticut,” the girl whispered to herself. “Did that sound… normal?”   “No one is normal, silly,” Marcy said, playfully shoving the girl’s shoulder. She winced at the contact. “Sorry. But it sounded good, yeah!”   The girl nodded, still not letting her guard down.    “So, how do you hold this… pen?”   “Wait!” Marcy said. “I just had a thought.”   She bolted back to her table, scooping up all three friendship bracelets she’d made.   “Here! So um, I really need these two, sorry,” she shoved the red and blue bracelets into her pocket, “but you can have this green one! As a symbol of our new friendship! That’s a big Earth tradition.”   “Yes. Of course. I am from Earth so I know that already.”   Marcy laughed, tying the bracelet around the girl’s arm.   “Now we’re friends! And nothing can ever seperate us!”   The girl swallowed, her eyes lingering on the band.   “Here,” she said, voice a little thick. “I should give you one as well.”   “Oh you don’t have to—oh my frog that is gorgeous.”   The girl had pulled out a friendship bracelet that she’d evidently made, weaved with greens and yellows and blacks.    “I want to give it to you. For our friendship,” the girl said, smiling as she tied it around Marcy’s wrist.   “How did you learn how to make these so nicely?” Marcy asked.    She shrugged. “I’m a fast learner.”   “Well then you are going to get the knack for writing really fast. Did you want me to show you that now?”   “Yes please,” the girl said, finally relaxing just a bit as she scootched closer to Marcy, watching intently as Marcy picked up the pen.

General Audiences

The rain pattered against the leaves outside the window, a cold dew dribbling down the petals of flowers and onto the sheet of glass, slightly leaking into the room, but not enough for it to be of any concern to the Nocedas. A ceramic bowl was perched underneath the sill in order to capture any spillage. The bowl was made ten years ago, with a rather crude painted illustration of a man with a beard, a stout woman, and a child, holding hands on a sunny day. That sunshine had long since come and gone. So, too, did the man with the beard. The family was left with a bowl that served as a harsh reminder of death, gloom, and separation. Luz’s room was dark. Both she and her stand-in had abandoned it. It didn’t seem right for Vee to keep up the charade. The room was sparingly illuminated with the lightning being shot down from the heavens during this dreary night. No other light had shewn through the curtains of this utterly childish and untouched tomb. That was what Luz called it, during her days of fantasizing over vampires. A coffin she would rise from, like a gentleman of the undead. Perhaps it was out of misplaced hope that her dearly departed father would rise and return. Maybe her obsession with witchcraft, her eventual departure from the land of the human, had been out of some wish to bring him back with necromancy or demonic pacts. Camila had often wondered what persuaded her own daughter to leave, ever since the day she returned. Only to be pulled back into that dark and horrific hellscape. She didn’t dare converse with her pastor about this. She would be excommunicated, and without the community emanating from the church, she would have no sense of normalcy left to keep her tethered to Earth. Maybe she feared she would get wrapped up in the dark arts as well, attempting to reach her hand into that forbidden world only to be pulled into it head first. Or worse, return with the knowledge her carino had been lost. Luz used that term, demon, like it was nothing. Vee, despite her childlike demeanor, was from a class of demons so powerful that they were hunted to the point of extinction. Mayhaps, Camila had thought to herself, wide awake in bed, she could domesticate Vee. Raise her to be human, to turn away from magick. She was an animal, no matter how sophisticated her language and thoughts were, no matter her power to lay the Earth flat at the lift of a finger. She was an animal. A serpent. And Camila was a veterinarian. She physically shook her head, clamping her eyelids shut at the mere thought of such an immoral thing. She had the thoughts of a human. She had the will of a human. She must be treated like one. And how on Earth was she supposed to turn Vee away from magick? That was her sustenance! She wouldn’t starve a human. And Vee was no more a threat than a human would be. She stared at the ceiling. Her brain was working at a million miles an hour, trying to take her mind off of the Demon Realm and her niña’s escapades. This was her night for the past month and a half. “Camila?” Her breath hitched at the sound of the slithering. The gravelly, gruff, but somehow rather whiny voice of Vee, her child. Her sweet sweet child. A demon that acted like an angel, a young woman she was lucky enough to have the opportunity to raise for three months. What was she thinking?! Vee… “I’m sorry.” “For what?” “I-I’m sorry?” she stuttered, “This is a human way of saying ‘I didn’t quite hear you.’” Good save, she told herself. She shuffled around in her comforters, looking up at Vee to see her right beside her bed, looking down at her with a somewhat wavering smile. The glistening scales shined as the light from the lightning hit them. Her big blue eyes blinked the wrong way. “What’s wrong Vee?” “I’m getting hungry,” she said, “could you fix me up some of that soup? I’m… still not sure how to make it.” Oh. She did only show her once. “Right. Vee, you know how to read English, right? There’s a recipe that I can print you.” Vee sighed, her tail flicking around from one side to the other as she did. “I… like the way you make it, Camila.” “Camila? Now Vee, we went over this, call me Mom. You never had one, so let me be one to you. Enough with being so proper.” She reflected on the story Vee told her, of the resurrection and horrific experiments at the hands of the Emperor. She quickly perished the thought. Her daughter was more than just her trauma, she surpassed the torture as Number Five and all Camila could do was love her Vee. If she wanted to talk about it she would have broached the subject. Instead she complimented her on her cooking. She got out of bed, clasping a hand over her shoulder. “Sorry I got a bit upset. I just want to be there for you. I’m glad you enjoy my cooking, Vee.” “Mhm,” Vee happily responded. She slithered toward the door to Camila’s bedroom at the same pace as her mom, leaning into her embrace. Soon enough, they reached the kitchen. Luz’s room was on the top floor, and with Ms. Noceda’s continued insistence to “be yourself,” Vee had stopped appearing in the guise of Luz. This meant she couldn’t really go up the stairs, so Camila made a makeshift bedroom in one of the guest rooms on the first floor. After her husband’s passing, many on her side of the family showed up to comfort her through the grief, and now with her daughter lost in what boiled, no pun intended, down to Hell, it was used for just the same purpose. Housing a family member who helped her cope through sadness. Camila shaved off the skin of a carrot, cut it up, added some vegetable broth, a touch of paprika, some beets, peas, diced ham and asparagus, set it on a low heat, and left Vee to watch it simmer as Camila got into some better clothes. Pajamas wouldn’t suit cooking, and she certainly felt chilly enough to warrant some heavier garb. She settled on her favorite attire, and walked back to the kitchen to add the most important ingredient. She cut a bit of the Hexes Hold’em cards off, and stirred it into the pot. The steam felt good on such a cold and rainy night. The card was Death, which from what she heard from psychic mediums on TV didn’t signify death as a concept, but rather change and transformation. She supposed it made sense. Death was just the reshaping of the soul into something metaphysical. Maybe that was too abstract. Who knows, maybe something would change soon, maybe her life would transform. She sipped a bit of the soup, and it tasted just as she remembered her mamá used to make it. She looked out the window. It was really coming down out there, the thunder rumbling like a hungry belly. Come to think of it, she was a bit peckish too. Perhaps she could double the servings, but then it would take twice as long. She eventually decided to open a few tabloid news sites. Crazy conspiracies, celebrity gossip. Harmless “switch-your-brain-off” fun. So long as the conspiracy theories weren’t as loony as the drivel that one museum guy was spouting. Frog land? That sounded goofy enough to pass the time. Vee was seated at the table, watching her stir the pot and licking her lips with her forked tongue. I’m sure you know what happened next. Heavy knock at the door. The door creaked open, and Camila saw five children in various disheveled states, soaked to the bone. And one of them was her daughter. She was going to need more servings of soup.

General Audiences

The room was silent. Hunter blinked a few times at the window-less-but-comfortable living room. The floor was made of dark oak, the walls a pale blue, and the furniture was a deep color of green and vey comfortable. He was currently sitting on a large sofa, but there were other plush chair of the same color around the medium sized room. A gold coffee table with a glass top was in front of him. There were also a few gold standing lamps gently lighting the room. The young Golden Guard also noticed tons of plants, some hanging from the ceiling, some sitting next to the furniture, one on the other wise empty coffee table. Wait. What am I doing? I need to get back to my duties! Belos will be so upset! "Hey," said said a dark haired and pale boy next to him. Hunter (totally didn't) squeak at the boy who just appeared next to him from the shadows. Flapjack, who had been resting in Hunter's hair, tweeted in shock. The boy sighed and stretched. He was dressed in all black, besides the worn brown jacket he wore over his skull shirt. His hair was like Hunter's, unruly and a bit long, besides the fact that it was raven black. "Who are you?!" Hunter demanded. "Nico di Angelo. Who are you?" "The Golden Guard!" Hunter realized Nico was a human. "You're a human! Just like Luz! Are both of you a team?!" "Uh no. I don't even know who Luz is. Also you have pointy ears. Are you an elf or something?" "I'm the Golden Guard!" "Ok. Do you know why we are here, Golden Guard?" "No! Do you?" "Nope." Nico sighed and closed his eyes only to have them snap open again 5 seconds later. "My powers don't work here-" "You have powers! You should join the Emperor's Coven!" "What? No, no sorry. I don't care." "Did you just respect the Emperor's Coven?!" Hunter grew red like when Amity is overcome with gay panic. "How dare you!" Flapjack twitted at the Golden Guard. "Calm down Hunter. He's a human and he doesn't understand. He isn't even from your world." "You're right Flapjack," Hunter whispered to his palisman. "You can talk to your bird?" Another voice said from behind him. Hunter turned to see another human. This one had the same skin and hair color as Luz, but was a guy wearing brown overalls with a soot spotted white button up shirt. He had a toolbelt around his waist and an orange tee beneath his button up. The other human boy smiled and turned to the other human called Nico. "Hi Nico, what are we doing here Death Boy?" "Nico. Who is this..." "An idiot," Nico answered. "His name is Leo Valdez." "You're so mean!" Leo said with a sarcastic suffering tone in his voice. "I can't understand why I'm here with you humans!" Leo gasped and sat next to hunter. "Dude! He's an elf!" "I'm the Golden Guard!" Hunter wished he still had his mask. Leo Valdez didn't need to know how much he was creeping Hunter out. Flapjack got bored of being in Hunter's hair so he flew around the room. Leo watched in awe. Flapjack spun and did backflips before landing back in the mop on Hunter's head. The quiet and calm was interrupted by two men appearing out of thin air and sitting on two of the green armchairs facing the couch. One was a muscular blonde that wouldn't stop shaking. The other one had dark hair and a burn covering half of his face. "What the-" Nico started. The shaking blonde looked up and his eyes frantically scanned the room. The dark haired one with the burn on his face made eye contact with Hunter. The blonde stopped shaking and looked up. "I died." He said plainly. "I actually died. Shit. Well, who are you guys?" "Nico di Angelo. The boy in the overalls is Leo Valdez." "I'm Finnick," the blonde said. "What about you?" He asked Hunter. "Hunter." "Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation," The boy with the burm announced. "What now?" Leo asked. "Anyone got any-" Zuko was cut off by a girl suddenly appearing in the middle of the room. The blonde had a birthmark, a faded scar on her cheek, and wore a long purple skirt along with a pale blue shirt and black leather jacket. It was Sasha Waybright, therapist. She was holding a note. "Hi guys. I'm here to give group therapy." Sasha just wanted to get this over with. She had had a long day but now she was in another dimension. Again. A group therapy session was the last thing she wanted right now. It was Anne's birthday after all! Now she would have to explain all of this to Anne and Marcy. Great. Just great. Sasha looked at the note in her hand. All these bois need therapy!Uwu <3 Sasha rolled her eyes. The sooner she started the sooner she was done.   Zuko didn't trust the elf. Or anyone. But they all looked tired. At least he could relate to them on that level. It was infuriating to not have captured the Avatar yet. And yet that was how things currently were. The blonde girl said something Zuko didn't bother paying attention to. That was when the elf spoke up, his voice was weirdly endearing for some reason. "What? ThErApY iS fOr tHe WeAk!" The blonde girl laughed and sat on one of the green chairs. "My name is Sasha. Nice to meet you too." A small one eyed red bird emerged from the elf's hair. Sasha watched it fly to the elf's shoulder. "So let's start with names and some ice breakers. Who wants to start?" The boy in overalls started to speak. "I'm Leo Valdez. But I go by many names. The ladies love me." "Shut up Leo," the black haired kid said. "I'm Nico." "You two know each other?" Sasha asked. Nico nodded. "Sadly." "I'm Hunter. The Golden Guard." It was my turn. "I'm Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." "Finnick Odair," the guy next to me said. "Well alright everyone," Sasha started. "Nice to meet you all. I'm sorry that we are all here. The sooner we all talk, the sooner we all get to leave this place. I'm going to take a leap of faith and say that you are all from different worlds or alternate realities. And yes, those do exist." "Cool," Nico said calmly. "I knew that already," Hunter bragged. "Uh ok," Finnick sighed. I forgot how to form words. What was going on? "So where are you all from?" Sasha asked with a smile. "The Fire Nation." Sasha nodded. "Panem," the guy next to me said. "Me and my best bud Nico are from earth." "Me too...Whatever," Sasha caught herself. "How about everyone say their pronouns and favorite shape?" We all did as Sasha said. "Okay. Nice, nice. Mine our she/her and I love triangles because they are the strongest shape. Now that we all know a little about each other let's lay down some ground rules. This is a judgment free space. What happens in this room stays in this room. And be nice to each other." Sasha really used her hands when she spoke. If she was a fire bender this place would be all flames by now. "Fine. But how do we get back?" Elf boy-Hunter said. "We are starting to do that now." Hunter sank back in his seat. "Ok. What is something that any of you would like to talk about? Something that happened, a recurring problem, overwhelming thoughts, unresolved conflict? Anything is ok. This is a safe space. Hunter how about you start. Anything at all you want to talk about. You could even say a memory you like. Whatever you want." "Well there was this time, my uncle ,Emperor Belos left me and some other new recruits on a mountain to see who came back alive. Good times, good times. I tripped as I was getting firewood and "hurt" my leg. I couldn't walk back to the others and it hurt too much to even crawl so I just stayed there. It was a snowy mountain and I wasn't wearing anything warm, and a lot of people hated me, so I ended up laying there in the snow for a while. Haha. No one knew where I was. Or cared. That was when a monster came and I thought I was going die. It was big and hungry." Sasha nodded. "Well it was looming over me and I poked it's eye. It clawed at my legs a ton before it's eye finally burst open, that was it's weak point, and died. I still have scars haha. Well then I eventually managed to start crawling, but I didn't find anyone I was with. The funny thing is I had gotten lost haha. But no one cared if I was dead or alive, normal for the Emperor's Coven. So eventually I was able to walk as I leaned on a stick. I ended up making it back to the others right before we were done with our survival challenge. It had been a week and no one had even known. When we got back to the castle I slept for two days and woke up to a new trial. That was fun. This guy Chris used me as bait because I couldn't stop coughing and it was really loud, I was really weak back then, so being bait I got poisoned and swallowed by this monster. See the thing is that monster had really strong poison and it's stomach acid would dissolve my bones in moments so I had to stay above the acid. Haha. Some times I wake up and think I'm still in that monster's stomach haha. Good times." "Is that it?" Sasha asked. "Well no actually. So after the other coven members killed the monster we all had to go to a meeting in front of Belos. Of course, this is embarrassing haha, I ended up falling asleep 'cause poison. That was a rough week. But I got punished haha. Belos says that was the week I learned to be the Golden Guard. Funny right?" I chuckled in the silent room. It was a little funny. "Do you really think that's funny Hunter? Or do you think that you might be using humor so you don't have to deal with the pain?" Hunter stared at Sasha. "What pain?" "Well you didn't like being left behind right?" "It was all a part of me becoming a man." "How old were you Hunter?" Sasha asked. "I was nine." "Hunter...," Sasha started. "No nine year old should have to go through that." Leo started laughing to himself. He was also trying to hide it until he ended up bursting with giggles despite himself. "What's so funny?" Finnick asked Leo. "I beat you Hunter," he laughs. "What?" Sasha says with worry. "I got traumatized when I was eight. Beat that bitches." Finnick blinked and frowned. "What's trauma?" Leo flipped over the table. "Stop!" Sasha screamed as she caught the table before it hit the ground, throwing herself under it. "Leo what in Hades was that for?" Nico muttered. "I bring the drama." "He doesn't want to talk about his trauma," Sasha said with strain as Finnick and Nico lifted the heavy table off of her. "Let's not flip over tables," I said to no one in particular. "So Leo," Sasha began. "What happened when you were eight?" He stopped laughing. Then got up. "You can't leave Leo," Sasha stated calmly. "Heh," Leo chuckled. This was going to be almost as disastrous as Uncle's tea puns. Nico was done with Leo's dramatics and was worried about Sasha's back form throwing herself under the table. "Leo are you okay?" Sasha asked. "We can skip you for now." Leo nodded and sat back down, not making eye contact. "Okay. Who wants to talk next?" "I can go," the blonde dude said calmly. "Sure Finnick," Sasha encouraged. "So back in Panem we had this thing called the Hunger Games. Everyone who lived in Panem, except this one rich city, had to participate. Ages 12 to 18. Every person from that age group in the districts might have to participate. 1 boy. 1 girl. It didn't matter how rich you were, or how much your family loved you. If no one else from your district volunteered than you had to participate." "Can you go into more detail?" Sasha asked. "Oh the Hunger Games is a fight to the death that's broadcasted all across Panem." "Shit," I muttered. Even the therapist didn't have anything to say. Leo was even shutting up for once. "So anyway I did that when I was 14 and won," the muscular blonde leaned back casually. "Oh and by the way you have to kill the other person from your district. So years after we had to do it again. Then we rebelled and not everyone died. Then I died after some stuff. Now I am dead. But let's focus on the teenagers who are still alive." Sasha blinked. Zuko cleared his throat discreetly. "Well I'm very sorry about that," Sasha said quietly. "Oh it's fine, I mean if I had to say how I felt about it I would say, I'm super angry. I was married. And so close to being free. But no. No. No." Finnick cracked his knuckles. "I die towards the very end. After everything." Finnick was smiling but also seemed like he wanted to flip the table. I felt bad for the guy but I was barely able to stay awake. Couldn't I have just taken a nap instead of therapy? I couldn't even stay awake. I needed a coffee. If I just shut my eyes real quick no one will know... "I find that physical exercise helps me with my anger. So I would suggest trying to stay active. I don't know how that works since you died..." Sasha trailed off as she tugged on her jacket. "I'll try to do that. Thanks. Can we move on to someone else? Without flipping over a table maybe?" "Sure. Nico? Nico?" Leo pulled on my hair. The sharp pain disrupted my sleep. "What the heck man?!" "Dude. We're in therapy. Stop sleeping," Leo sighed. "Dude we're in therapy don't flip over a table." Leo grunted and looked away. "What's something that is currently troubling you Nico?" Sash asked. "This session," I sighed. "Okay. Well, how about you just say something that annoys you in your day to day life." "Fine. Leo." "Something you can change, something you can solve." "Leo." "Let's not talk about killing our friends," Sasha laughed nervously. "I could take you," Leo whispered. I turned to the annoying child of the the god Hephaestus. Flames licked across his fingers. He gets magic here?! I drew my sword. "No! No, no, no!" Sasha yelled as she got in between us. "What's your problem with me Nico?" Leo spat. "Your existence." "Guys. Stop!" "At least there aren't rumors about you!" "You think I care? Why would I ever give a shit?" The elf boy tried to hold me back. But he was skinny and sleep deprived. I lunged for Leo. "Calm down!" Finnick shouted as he got up from his seat. Zuko was watching the fight with a resigned air. Leo squirmed and pulled out a crowbar from his toolbelt. He almost got the chance to swing it. But Sasha pulled it out of his hands and deflected my sword. "Enough," she said calmly. The therapist can fight?! Doesn't matter. I'm still after Valdez. His hands glowed with fire as he ran towards me with a cocky smile. Sasha deflected my jab at him and Leo punched me in the gut, leaving a scorch mark on my shirt. Sasha didn't seem to care and disarmed me in my moment of weakness. Leo laughed as I got up. I punched him back. He took it well and repeated the motion. Strong arms pulled him back. Finnick. Sasha turned to us all with a murderous look in her eye. "Timeout." "Finnick you put Leo in one corner and watch him. Make sure he doesn't set anything on fire. Nico, oh you're already in the opposite corner, stay there." Sasha turned onto Hunter and Zuko. "Don't do anything stupid. Don't set anything on fire, no flying, no anything. Just sit and talk or something. We'll regroup soon, ok?" "Ok." Hunter said as Zuko nodded.   Zuko wanted to test his bending. Did Sasha just tell him not to? Yes. Was he going to listen? No. If his Uncle were here he would be upset with him, but his Uncle wasn't here <:) Hunter droned on about a game with brooms and magic. Zuko focused on centering himself and his bending. It wasn't like Hunter was saying anything important anyway.   Nico sulked over his shirt. But it wasn't just that. Or even Leo just being Leo. This time of year was always hard for him. But then Leo didn't help always being so annoying. He couldn't just...stop. Not for 1 second because gods forgive Nico try to breathe and process his thoughts when they were together. Leo also never listened to him. Whenever he told him to just shut up he took it as a joke. Couldn't he just understand that Nico hated him? That it actually wasn't a joke, serious annoyance bloomed in him, and whenever Leo was around he mentally celebrated once he leaved? "Hey," Sasha said as she sat cross legged beside him. "Hello," Nico said flatly. "So things go pretty crazy back there." "I suppose." Sasha leaned against the blue wall and smiled. "I've fought a friend like that once." Nico stiffened. "What? You?" "Oh yeah. Back when I was thirteen I went to another dimension. Frogs, newts, toads...Grimes." Sasha wiped a tear from her eye. "So I know that fighting like that doesn't help." "He's just so annoying." "Are you being serious?" "Yeah I'm serious," Nico snapped. Sasha nodded. "It's kind of hard to tell, actually." "Sorry I'm not a ball of sunshine," Nico said sarcastically. "Well all the stuff you say is drenched in darkness so I can't tell if you are serious or not. I don't think Nico can tell either..." "I'm not always like this," Nico muttered. "Oh really? What are you usually like?" "Usually people can tell if I'm being serious or sarcastic. Leo never can though. He's so stupid and annoying." "I don't think Leo is stupid. Annoying sometimes I can understand," Nico chuckled. "He did flip over a table after all. But I don't think he's stupid. Maybe he just has some problems understanding sarcasm. I have a friend who does that and she isn't stupid. She's also clumsy, and a little oblivious sometimes, but that doesn't make her dumb. It's just her personality." "Yeah well Leo is dumb." "And you think he's dumb 'cause he won't leave you alone?" "Yep.' "You don't think he might be lonely?" "Wait...am I being selfish?" Sasha twirled her hair on her finger. "A little. I think both of you don't understand how the the person is feeling." Oh my gods. What would Bianca think of me? What would my mom think? Why am I so selfish? I can't even be a good person on my dead sister's birthday? Why am I like this? Why can't I just be good like her or Hazel? Percy wouldn't be this awful. Tears stung in Nico's eyes. Percy actually cares about the people around him. You can't even be a good person on Bianca's birthday. She would be disappointed in you. You know it. Nico di Angelo the selfish gay kid that no one likes. Everyone loves Percy Jackson. Why would anyone care about the stupid emo son of Hades? "Nico?" Sasha asked. "Leave me alone," Nico said as he tucked in closer to the corner, not wanting anyone to see him cry. "Nico is something wrong?" "Yeah," Nico hissed. He was so angry. At Leo. At himself. At everyone and everything. "Everything is wrong Sasha. And nothing can fix it." "Oh Nico," Sasha said quietly. "You can fix things with Leo-" "It's not just about Leo!" Nico whispered harshly as he he brainlessly turned his tear stained cheeks to Sasha. "What's it about then?" Sasha said softly. "Why should you care? You just want to get out of this place. No one really cared about the selfish Nico di Angelo. Not anymore." "I do care Nico. And what do you mean by anymore?" Nico couldn't form the words if he wanted to. His throat was tight with guilt and he was really crying now. He felt so small, and hated that Sash was watching him. He was crying about himself on Bianca's birthday. Gods he sucked. "There's something else. Leo is just easier to blame right?" Nico nodded. "It is so easy to blame something or someone. When we put blame on others we don't have to focus on how we feel because we are so busy with blaming the scapegoat. But not everything is that simple. We mess up ourselves. Others get mad and even after they forgive we still don't forgive ourselves. And you carry those mistakes you made with you everywhere. But it weighs you down. Makes you cry in a Walmart parking lot at 3 pm. That guilt...it sucks. It really sucks. It really, really, really sucks." "Yeah," Nico agreed. "But it helps to talk about it." "Why would anyone want to talk to me?" Nico sobbed softly so no one would notice. "Well Leo sure does. I'm sure he isn't the only one. Am I right?" "I guess..." "I encourage you to talk to people about how you feel, even if it's weird at first. You can start with me if you want. Or just keep crying, that's ok too." "You really want me too?" Nico said as he wiped some of the still streaming tears from his face in vain. "Yeah." "My sister Bianca." "Uh huh," Sasha nodded. "Today is her birthday." "Ok." "She died when I was ten..." "I see. That's really difficult Nico. Thanks for telling me." "She was so good. She would be so...I don't know." He did know but he couldn't articulate the feeling without crying more. His eyes were finally drying. Nico looked at Sasha. She was actually right. He did feel a little better, even if he only had said a little. His chest felt lighter and his throat wasn't tight anymore. Was this what friendship felt like? Or was this what therapy felt like? Could the actually overlap... "You're a human Nico." I'm actually a half blood. Not important. "You are going to make mistakes. And you can still fix things with Leo. I never knew Bianca...But I think any good sister would forgive her brother as he's trying his best to make her proud." Nico made a squeak as he inhaled a breath, his heart melting into mush. Sasha laughed lightly and smiled. "You really do care," Nico blurted out. "Of course I do. It's my job. Caring about people and finding ways to help them." Nico smiled. "I'm ready to go talk to Leo." "Okay," Sasha said as she stood. The two found Leo and Finnick on the couch a Zuko stared off into space as Hunter talked about something. Nico sat across from Leo on a chair and Sasha sat on the one next to him. Leo was fidgeting more than normal. He was the poster child for ADHD, unable to sit without moving around, but he was extra fidgety. Constantly switching up what he was dong instead of doing a few things at once. "So," Sash started warmly. "Let's talk out." A small fireball from Zuko's left palm shot to the floor and started a small fire. "What the fuck Zuko!" Sasha screamed as she frantically stomped it out with her boot. "Seriously we are trying to talk about our emotions and shit and you thought a fireball would be a GOOD IDEA!?!!" Sasha completely stomped out the fire and turned red. "Sorry about that. Please forget that I swore in front of all of you. But please no more fireballs Zuko, I still shouldn't have said that though." Finnick was barely able to stifle his laughter. Annie was the same way.

Not Rated

So this is the Owl Lady. They let out a low whistle. Not just because she’s gorgeous, red dress clinging tight to her body, but also to put some vibrations in the chains above her head. One abomination wrist bound to flesh, restrained high above her head, forcing her to stand on just her tiptoes. Always a good entrance for the Head Bard. Just a hint of their true power. She towers above them like this, their eyes barely come up to her chin. Her thick grey hair tied in a sharp ponytail, still so tall and intimidating. She’d be downright terrifying anywhere but here, bound up in the castle dungeon. In the harsh, low candlelight she looks… oddly tiny. It shrouds the strength they know lies beneath that… alluring facade. She shudders a fraction at their whistle, her gold fang glinting in the candlelight of her cell. “So I hear,” They begin, “That the Infamous Owl Lady has been running around with a group of rebels. Highly wanted criminals, at that. Care to share? I’d sure love to hear where your little group has been meeting.” It doesn’t matter that her eyes are covered with a sleek black blindfold. A smug smirk covers her face, her lips pressed tightly together. “But of course, you’re not much of a talker, are you?” They set down their bag on the long table beside them.  “No, you haven’t said a peep since you got here, have you? My coworkers are saying they’ve had some rather interesting encounters with you. Poor Sinthia is still recovering from that death hex." Her lips twitch up, amusement coloring her pale, pretty face. “So many ways they’ve tried to get information out of you. Other witches might even use a whip to get you to open up,” They add casually, watching the quick, subtle flinch that runs through her. “But they sent me for better reasons.” Still the stubborn witch keeps her mouth firmly closed. Well, they can fix that. “They sent me to make you sing.” What a sweet sound she makes, a sharp inhale as her muscles go stiff. Bard magic was always designed to affect the emotions of whatever patrons might be listening to. Whether it invokes the highest levels of elevated joy or desolate sadness, it’s done in a way that can, occasionally, manipulate the listener on a deep level. It can be done in a way that brings pleasure. It can ramp up arousal to the point that it becomes unbearable. And that, they’ve learned, is a perfect way to get what they want. All they have to do is give her a few good feelings in return. “That’s right. All you have to do is listen to my voice.” They croon, testing their voice before settling on a firmer timbre. “Let it cloud your mind until you feel like opening that pretty little mouth.” Still, her smirk remains, only shaken slightly. Flattery will get them nowhere with her. “Doesn’t that feel good? Don’t you want more of that?” They suggest, lowering their voice level to something deeper, thicker. “I can do so much more if you tell me where the rebels are. I can make you feel so good. ”  Her scarlet red lips pull at the shift in intonation. The slightest downturn before righting itself. “You’re not even resisting. You want to tell me, don’t you? You want to spill all your little rebel secrets until there’s nothing in your head but pleasure.” A low, rumbling growl from the back of her throat. Maybe she’s more feral than anticipated. They grin. “How long can you hold out, Owl Lady? They made me head of the Bard Coven for a reason. I can keep going aaaaall night. For as long as it takes.” Her hands flex, and a slight, helpless pout drifts over her face. What is bard magic for, if not to watch that pretty face twist, turning just a little redder? “I know it’s right on the tip of your tongue. I know you’re just dying to tell me so we can keep doing… this.” The Owl Lady tugs on her binds, almost imperceptibly. But they notice. When it comes to her, they’ve learned to always notice. “I can stop once you tell me about the rebels,” They goad. “But I don’t think that's what you’d like, huh? I think you like this. I think you like being taken apart, I think you like being given pleasure while you just stand there looking pretty.” Maybe she’d deny it if she opened her mouth. Maybe it would look convincing if she didn’t shift from side to side, nonchalantly scanning for any means of escape. “You’re not even denying it. You’re hanging on every word, every sensation when you don’t even know how good I can really make you feel.” A sweet, tiny whimper slips out her mouth. “I can give you that.” They encourage. “All you have to do is say the word.” Her lips press into a thin line, fang poking into her bottom lip. Emboldened, they take a step forward. “Doesn’t that sound so nice? You don’t have to think at all. Just let the words slip out and I can make you feel even better.” Her thighs squeeze together and she grunts. “You act like a big bad rebel but you’re falling apart. All because of a little bit of magic.” They chide. “That doesn’t sound so powerful to me.” Such a shame too. All that height over them and she shakes from head to toe. Her position raised the hem of her dress up a few inches, and from this angle, they can see how she rubs her slick thighs together. An image comes to mind of just what they could do between those, and they smother it quickly. “You’re just a powerless little princess, aren’t you? A cute little prisoner who just wants to be spoiled.” She snorts. Weak, unconvincing, and infuriating. They frown. They step closer, close enough for her to feel their breath on her neck.  She shudders, and they pause there for just a minute, letting their hot breath fall as a reminder of what's to come, before leaning up into her ear. “You act so big and bad. But I think you just want to be a good girl for me.” They stress their voice just a little, so thick in contrast to their regular voice, and she spasms. “Mmph-” “Oh?” They tease, grabbing her chin and forcing her eyes level with theirs. “Are you finally ready to talk?” They rake their eyes down her body. Goosebumps raised on her skin, her face pinched up and so conflicted. Her nipples point through her shirt and they grin. By now they know her cunt is throbbing. “F-f-” Their eyebrows raise, a smirk slowly gathering- -only for her to kick her foot clear towards their face. They catch it easily. They frown and grip her ankle tight enough that they’ll be a bruise. “Fuck you.” She struggles, trying to pull her leg back but they keep a firm hold around her ankle. “Ah ah ah, ” They chide, clicking their tongue. “That’s not what a good girl does.” “Ngh.” She pants, sweat dripping down her forehead. “Don’t you dare-” They bend her leg, pushing her knee up high and she groans. A quick circle in the air, and another glowing rope materializes around her knee, holding it aloft. Her calf dangles there useless as she kicks it. She wriggles fruitlessly, trying to regain control of her legs. No such luck, as she struggles to regain balance.  “Besides,” They say, eyes raking down her body. “All you’re doing is giving me a fantastic view.” The position forces the hem of her dress up, and they feast their eyes on her thick, creamy inner thighs. Stretch marks point between her long, spread legs. Thick, soft gray hair that fades into tiny feathers near the top of their thighs. And a dark, wet stain over her lacy red panties. They take a deep, shaky breath. “Sweetheart, give me a color.” Eda heaves. “G-Green.” They breathe a sigh of relief, and lean in to kiss her nose. “Thank you. Safeword?” Her face scrunches up so cutely and it's a struggle to keep from doing that again. “Viola. You dork.” They ignore that, cup her ear and press their lips against her opposite cheek. “Are you okay to keep going? Can I touch you?” “Please.” One more kiss on her lips, and they linger for just a second before stepping back.  “Still don’t want to talk?” They ask, with a slight note of disappointment. “I suppose we’ll have to take a different approach then.” The Owl Lady freezes, distress written across her face even as she pants. Without the sound of their voice in the air, all rings throughout the room is silence. Their heels click against the floor.  Up close they can see just how well they’ve already done with her. She's bitten her lip enough times to make that red lipstick smear, how her mouth hangs open in a pant, exposing that sharp gold fang. They step around her, tracing their eyes on the long curve of her back. Her ponytail swings back and forth as she tries to settle, to regain some balance, some control. But while she does that, they instead feast their eyes on the curve of her hips, the bend of her spine, and the cinch of their waist they’d be ever so pleased to run their hands across. They circle around, and find themself more delighted by all they see. Not unlike a bird of prey, and the irony makes them chuckle. Her head swings back and forth, trying to follow their step across the room however fruitless it is with that blindfold. From up close, they can see the sweat dripping down her forehead, dotting the fabric and gathering at the sides of her dress. They whistle a catcall. No magic this time, but still a lovely blush comes over her face. They reach a hand up as far as they can, and wrap their fingers loose around her wrist. They squeeze, enough for her to feel the strength there. They drag their hand down slowly. Feeling the gooseflesh it brings. They pull their hand away just as it reaches her taut shoulder. She shivers. But she keeps her mouth defiantly closed. They reach out a hand for a caress over her raised inner thigh, palming at the flesh. Just as deceptively soft, as soaked with slick as they were hoping for. She jumps and twists quickly, trying to keep track of them but they’re gone in a flash, returning to circle around her. A hand ghosts down her side, over her ribs, down to squeeze one of her hips too quick for her to flinch away. “W-what are you-” A light smack on the ass and she yelps. Finally, they come to a stop just behind her. They wrap their arms around her waist, feeling all those miles of pale skin tense up under their touch. They frown at the high-necked collar of her dress, keeping them from seeing the pale skin of her neck, but find that their lips fit nicely in the few inches the dress leaves exposed. And they know their lips are talented, so it doesn’t take much before the Owl Lady begrudgingly rolls her head to the side, bearing more skin for them to mark. They dig their teeth into a spot under her chin and suck. The thought of her wearing their marks for days is unfathomably exciting. The most powerful witch in the isles. Putty in their hands. Her breathing rags, quick and keening. Her stomach is taught with her hands stretched upwards, finding the bumps of her ribs even through her dress. They feel the muscles contract as they rub over it. “I didn’t know the Owl Lady was so ticklish.” They hum against her neck, and they can feel her shudder, even without their magic. “I-I’m not- Their hand fits nicely under the back of her knee, and even as her muscles tense they dig their fingers into the lovely softness of her inner thigh. They stroke down her thigh, rubbing up and down slowly, drifting closer and closer to- A sweet little gasp, so quiet that they wouldn’t hear it if they weren’t a master musician. “You like being touched here? You like having someone play with these cute little feathers?” “N-no…” “I don’t believe you.” They smirk. “Princess.” Brushing against the crux of her thigh, against the edge of her panties, they can feel just how much she’s seeped through them. They run their fingers along the lace, feeling the edges of tiny feathers mixed with gray hair, before moving to her center.  The Owl Lady grits her teeth and huffs. They let one hand play there, rubbing so gently over her panties that they know she can’t get any real friction like this. The other drifts up slowly, caressing her ribs before drifting over her chest. They cup her breast tentatively, testing the feel of her in their hand before palming the flesh.  No bra, and that’s a convenience. Easier to squeeze, brush their fingers over her nipple and feel it harden under their touch. “O-oh-”  “Sensitive here, are we?” They ask, gripping harder instead of letting her answer. She contorts like she can’t decide whether to try to squirm away from the touch or lean back into it. “I should bring in some photographers. So everyone can see just how soft-” They punctate with a sharp pinch to her nipple, delighting in her squeak. “The Owl Lady really is.”  “Y-yel-” “Or,” They backpedal quickly. “Maybe I’ll just keep you alllll to myself. How does that sound?” A quick nod from her and they continue. “When was the last time one of your little rebel friends touched you this good?” They punctuate with a soft stroke over her cunt, grinding the fabric against her entrance. “Nngh- ” “Must’ve been a while, then.” They click their tongue. “Well that just won’t do. Not when you look so pretty and desperate to tell me what you know.” So wet. They’re almost proud of themself. “How about this,” They offer. “You tell me the information, and I’ll fuck you whatever way you like. Sound like a deal? ” They punctuate by slipping inside her underwear, fingers poised just below her clit. “Ngh - never!” She bucks against their hand, one last attempt to keep them away. They click their tongue. “But doesn’t that sound so tempting? Doesn’t the thought of feeling good make you lose your little mind?” They circle her entrance, the tips of their fingers slipping in her slick and just brushing over her clit. She hisses.  “O-oh.” “Such a shame, you do have such a pretty voice.” They say. “Imagine what noise I’ll have you make if you just tell me what I want.” “N-uhhh.” She moans as they lean into her neck, hot breath tracing up from her shoulder to her neck, and finally settling to licking a stripe behind her ear.  “I wonder if you can get off like this?” They say idly, pressing the pad of a finger against her clit. “If a big bad rebel is just that sensitive.” She jolts, crying out. “No, that’s not enough for you, is it? Not enough for the little rebel princess?” They grab her face, pinching her cheek. “How about this, then?” She growls, baring her teeth- Immediately melting into a moan as they suddenly push inside. It's one thing to know her cunt is throbbing and another to feel it for themself, her slick walls clenching around their fingers. Her back arches, hips grinding against their fingers without abandon. “Fuck!” They grin, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her back against their chest. They drag their fingers in and out slowly, testing to see what makes the Owl Lady squirm. And she does, her aloft toes curling when they drag against her front wall, as they push their fingers in deeper, as they ever so gradually speed up their thrusting. She whines, and pushes against their firm hold, to no avail. They move their thumb to circle her clit, still so agonizingly slowly. “Mmmn-”  “Is this what you like? You want to get off so bad?” They murmur against her neck. She hesitates. Then nods. They crook their fingers and she jolts. “Then you know what to do.” “Mn- M’not-” “Yeah, you are. If you’re going get what you want, you’re gonna tell me exactly what I want to hear.” They prod their fingers a little further, searching for the spot that makes her- “Fuck!” She pleads, throwing her head back. “Oh, oh, please there-” Her breath quickens, like an approaching crescendo. “Last chance, Owl Lady. Tell me where the rebels are, and I’ll really make you feel like a princess.” They punctuate with a firmer stroke to her clit, and now they can feel the way she dances on the edge. The way all her nerves are on fire, how lights flicker behind her eyes as she comes oh so close to finishing. “N-n- nuhhhplease-” “Look at you begging.” They mock. “Look at you whining. You really are some spoiled little thing.” They lean in close to whisper in her ear. “We’ll have to see what we can do about that.” One last flick over her clit, and they pull their fingers out Her skin is so hot it clings to theirs, sweat and slick sticking to them as they pull their hand out of her underwear. “No!” She shrieks, pulling hard in her chains as she chases them away, before throwing herself back against them. “Nonono -” They wipe their fingers on the front of her dress. “Aww, is this too much for you? Were you too close?” They coo. “And here I was thinking the Owl Lady was some big bad bad villain. But you’re just mewling like a little kitten.” They return to groping her breasts, squeezing and playing as she squirms. Only the barest bits of pleasure as they thumb her nipples, a stark contrast to her near-peak.  “Isn’t it so hard holding onto those big thoughts? Too big for a little dumb thing like you. Maybe I ought to help you let go of some.” “F-fuck y- oh. ” Their hand slides down her chest, over her stomach, and returns to cupping her. But not moving.  She bucks, desperate for friction but they wrap their other arm around her waist, press her back firm against their chest. “I’m right there for you.” They turn their head to kiss under her ear. “All you have to do is say the words.” She grinds her teeth. “Ngh. Please.” “So polite!” They tease, rewarding her with a flick over her clit. “But, no. You know the word, Owl Lady.” They rub her firm over her underwear, just brushing over her entrance. They let their other hand come up to her back, skimming across her shoulder blades. They trace over the thin, lean muscles of her back, and the way they tense up over their touch. “You know, I have been doing some reading up on your curse.” They say casually, reaching for the zipper on her dress. “And how it does some… interesting things to areas where feathers would be.” A little jolt of realization goes through her as they down the zipper all the way, and get the first hint of the dust-soft skin of her back. “Oh titan-” They pull the two sides of the dress away, fully exposing the expanse of her pale back. Littered with scars, a few scattered tattoos. Just as soft, and enticing as they anticipated. They eye the small outline of feathery bird wings, falling just below her neck.  After years of musical training, especially on the strings, magic is as embedded in their hands as their fingerprints. They focus on it, gathering up the jittery energy in their fingerprints, before tracing the little inked prints. The Owl Lady shivers, and whimpers. They smooth a palm down her back, dragging their nails and scratching lightly. Just enough for her to feel it. And feel it she does, leg kicking in the air as she pushes her hips back, pressing into more of that delicious feeling. Her thighs clench as much as they can, firm around the hand between her legs, as she bucks back and forth. “Haa-agh.” They’ll allow that, for now, her gathering just a little pleasure as they keep their hands away from her inner folds.  Not unlike playing an instrument, fingers along the body, and listening to the sweet sounds she makes, hitting all the right notes. Tracing the area around her scars makes her stutter, her hips bucking out of rhythm. Their fingers wind up on the space between two identical, vertical scars- “Is that chirping?” They tease. “N- oh.” She cuts herself off with a moan, as they surge to press their mouth against her back. They lave their tongue over the apparently sensitive spot and press an open-mouthed kiss there. “Mn– ngh-” “You know,” They press one more kiss there to feel her buckle under their assault. “You do make such pretty sounds. If only you’d make the right ones.” Their hands pause for just a moment, then trace the outline of their name. Not permanent of course, but it makes something in their stomach flip. “Ah-hh-h f-fuck-” She whines and thrashes. They snort, just short of a full, mocking laugh. The only thing left pale on her, the tips of her ears, turn red and twitch, and tears begin streaming down her face. They press their other hand against her entrance finally and she gasps, so ready for that action but they stay only long enough to soak their fingers in her slick, before pulling away again. They raise their hand up to her mouth, devilish smirk covering their features. “Open up, princess.” She snarls and lunges for their hand, sharp teeth flashing in the light. They yank their hand away just in time. Heart pounding, they frantically check their fingers before breathing a sigh of relief. “Tut tut, Owl Lady. As Head Bard, it’s rather important that I keep my hands intact.” “Go -to - hell.” She sobs angrily, punctuated by a heavy breath. “So vulgar.” They cock their head. “But then, maybe you’d prefer if I didn’t use my hands at all?” They pull away from her completely.  “N-no…” They can hear the don’t go written in her tone clear as day. Their hand reaches out before they know what they’re doing. They pull it back immediately. They take a half step back, and draw a circle in the air. Something heavy drops into their hand. “Any guesses, princess? Or is that too hard for a dumb little thing like you?” She says nothing, only light sobbing and the clink of her chains shaking. “Don’t worry. You’ll find out.” A light buzzing fills the room. The Owl Lady goes rigid. “Wait-” “Oh, it’s much too late for that.” With that, they grasp the fabric of her underwear and pull, ripping and leaving her cunt bare and fluttering in the cold… And shove the vibrator against her clit. The Owl Lady screams. “And just think, all this could’ve been avoided if you’d just told me what I wanted to hear.” But it’s unlikely she can hear them know. Not with all the shrieking, the clanging of the chains as she swings back and forth desperately, searching for any way to relieve herself. Their other hand sinks into the plushness of her thigh, steadying the wand against her clit at an angle they know is brutal. A spell circle pressed hard enough to indent, and a pair of straps materialize to keep it there, so completely out of her reach. They step back once more, this time crossing the room for a chair. Though not, they note, without grabbing a firm handful of her ass. The Owl Lady throws her head back and wails, as the vibrator leaves her dangling just on the edge of yet another peak, stopping only enough to let the edge slip out of her grasp before starting again. “Well,” They mutter, more to themself than for her. “Isn’t this a lovely show?” The interest between their legs catches their attention. Sure, she can’t see them, but they spread their legs all the same. They let an exaggerated moan fall out of their mouth, but not without a bit of true pleasure in it. Hard not to be turned on when a gorgeous woman is struggling for them, when they’ve been able to touch every inch of her as much, and lavishly, as they want. Her ears flatten down against her head, and she whines deep and guttural. They could really make better use of her mouth if they just undid those chains and bent her over- They dart their hands between their legs to distract themself. Some light stroking and they know it’s not going to take long, not while they watch the Owl Lady twitch and scream, hips bucking as if there was something, anything there to satisfy her. Are they imagining it, or is there a choked, cut-off version of rainstorm in between her cries? They listen intently but it’s drowned out by sobbing. She yanks her arms violently, pulling hard on her wrists. She strains again and again, her whole body trying to wrench herself free. No such luck, and the vibrator clicks off once again. “You’re pretty when you struggle like that. Making this so easy.” They sigh, pleased as they find their own rhythm. Slow and firm, letting their pleasure build without a rush.  The Owl Lady squirms, heaving as she once again tries to escape the stimulation before succumbing once again. Another flood of slick hits the floor and she whines. Her hands flex and claws appear as if that's going to help and oh, this isn’t going to take very long at all, is it? The neck of her dress slips a little down her shoulders, exposing the tops of her breasts and they eye the motion hungrily. Really, The Owl Lady is something to admire. All those tales of exploits have nothing on her strength here. All that pleasure and still she holds her ground. They’re certainly not going to tell her that now, not when their leg shakes as they speed up a little. She keeps such secrets and it’s incredible to test her limits and find her so stubborn on the other end. But what is it going to take, then? To get what they want? Her hips roll, desperately seeking out friction but finding none. They do the same, finding the perfect, exquisite pressure of their own hand, and bright, white light sparks blot out their vision.  It’s bright and pulsing, euphoric colors whiting out their consciousness as they come, set to the lovely sounds of her whining and crying. And yet still, they can’t help but wish it was a different hand, with long fingers and sharp nails between their legs instead of their own- They take a deep breath, and then another before grasping the side of the chair to pull themself to their feet. Their legs shake, ever so slightly, before they regain their balance. Her crying is suddenly less hot after their climax, and a lot more… gut twisting. Her head hangs down in front of her chest, hips still gyrating weakly. How she’s still standing, they have no idea. They frown and stand in front of her.  How can someone so mighty look so wrecked? Makeup smeared with sweat and tears, running down her cheeks and splattering on her dress. Her arms shake, from exhaustion or arousal they can’t tell, but slick runs in streams down her leg, gathering into a puddle on the floor. But still, they can’t help but find her so dangerously alluring. Something in them longs to grab onto that thick silver ponytail and pull, get her down on her knees and watch her cum from a different angle. But alas, they have a job to do. They settle their hands on her waist, heavy over her hips, and feel her jump. “How many is that by now? Too many to be worth holding onto your pride.” They let their thumbs play along the bottom of her ribs, and hear her breath hitch just a little more. “But here we are.” “Pleas-se.” They grab the sharp point of her chin, slick with tears and she squeaks. “Say it.” “I c-aan’t” She hiccups. “Pleasepleasepleaase I can-ngh-t.” “Sure you can.” They encourage, perhaps a little too soft, a little too encouraging. “I know you can.” More tears spill down her face, her mouth drops open in a long, excruciating gasp. “Breathe, E-Owl Lady.” They catch themself. “You… you’re no good to me if you’re passed out on the floor.” “I nee-ed-” They wince, force their hands away from her. “You need to tell me where the rebels are. I won’t help you until you do that.” Don’t touch don’t touch don’t do it Whispers- “I need-” She hiccups, jerking her torso. “ P-p-ple-” She cuts herself off with a choked cry. She needs… she needs. And they’re just standing there, watching her while she’s helpless. She’s tormented and their heart twists so violently they swear there’s a crack. She’s heaving and crying, oh so desperate and gorgeous… and theirs. They take a sharp breath, and it doesn’t help hide their moan.  “Oh, Eda.” “Y-you’re b-br-e-” “Fuck the scene.” They breathe, and drop to their knees. The fastest spell circle they’ve ever drawn in the air, and her raised leg drops down limply. She thrashes, kicking her legs in a desperate attempt for friction, swinging back and forth in the air. They grab her thighs, shove them apart. It forces a new, harder angle on her clit and she cries out. “R–Raine-ple-oh!” They pull their hand away from her thighs and thats torture but only for a second to make a sharp, piercing whistle. The cold stone walls of the chamber fades away, and witch lights blink all around the two of them, drifting against warm wooden furniture and sputtering out over the nest a few feet away. So much warmer, and the change in temperature washes over them both. Their room. They pull away the vibrator and Eda spasms, writhing back and forth. “Nono please-” “Please let me take care of you. Please, Eda, I can’t take this anymore.” They look up at her pleadingly. “Viola, whatever, please. ” “Yes! Titan-” They waste no time, pushing the straps down to the floor and throwing her legs over their shoulders, hands on her ass to pull her dripping cunt to their face. The position gives her a little leeway, and the muscles in her stomach contract as she tries so hard to hold herself up. Her cunts so swollen and red, they think for only a second, before burying their face into her folds. Never in their life, even with all the times they’ve been between her thighs, have they ever heard her make that noise before, a cry so relieved and yet so desperate. Her thighs clench thigh to either side of their head, and it's the strength there that makes them moan into her cunt. Even after all the time dangling there, all the torment she’s still so strong, so intent on keeping them right there. It’s tight enough to choke them and oh, what a blessing that would be. Time for pleasantries and reassurances will come later, as they lick a firm stripe over her clit, listen to her cry out and do it again, again, again.  “ I-inside! Ple-ase I n-ah!” They haul her up a little more so the angle is right to press their tongue against her entrance before licking inside.  They moan into her entrance and the vibration makes her kick her legs wildly.  They know all her spots like the back of their hand and pretending otherwise irritated the edges of their ego. So they press their tongue against her front wall and drag. Their nose bumps her clit and she mewls, still so wet with her tears. They shift one hand to her lower back, the other coming around to stroke her clit with two fingers. Just the pressure, just the speed she adores, her favorite way to be worked all the way to completion. Hovering just on the edge, she begins trembling wildly. “R-rain-ssstormmm please!” They pull her so close, pull her folds against their mouth and suck. She gushes as she comes, soaking their face, and hands, and dripping onto the floor with a loud, piercing cry. “Raine!” “I’m sorry, you want what ? ” Eda wiggles her eyebrows. “You heard me.” “I heard- um-” They stutter, can already see the rims of their glasses going foggy. “I- I was expecting you to say you wanted a human trinket or a day without the kids or… something else." “I mean, the kids really do need to be gone for it-” “Eda!” She snorts, not a smidge of the embarrassment they know is flooding their own face. “C-can you just explain?” “What’s there to explain? I want to roleplay. I want you to tie me up and torture me into submission. Maybe even…” She shivers happily. “Humiliate me a little.”  They sputter, and with all their bard training, no words come to mouth.  She has to see that and she smirks. “I think it’s hot. Head Bard and the Owl Lady, hmm? Seeing what secrets you can get outta me. What do you think?” They’re no saint, but they always have a soft spot for the soft, sweet, adoring vanilla sex with her. They like looking in her eyes, watching her pretty face twist in pleasure as they make her feel good. But still, there’s something… interesting there. And she’s got to see that, with that evil glint in her eyes. She slides up next to them, shifting a hand to rest on their thigh. “Isn’t it kinda hot? Having me all tied up at your mercy?” She leans her head onto their shoulder, an innocent gesture compared to what comes out of her mouth. “All that power over me, you can do anything you want. And I know you love touching me-” They squeak, hands flying to cover their face.  She moves a leg up, throws it over theirs, and moves to straddle them. “And you know what I like.” She says, ignoring them. “You know what I don’t like. I like the idea because I know you’ll make me feel good. I trust you, Rainstorm.” That makes something bloom warm and bubbly in their chest, even if she’s asking for something so, so filthy . “I’m … uh, I’m open to it. If you’re sure that's what you want.” They decide, face still scarlet. “But what are the boundaries here? Power is a two way street Eda. I need to know what’s on and off the table before we do anything.” They’d only worn a muffle for her once, but the idea of not being able to talk, not tell her what they like and praise her for what she’s doing… they were not a fan. “I mean, I don’t want you to hurt me-” They suck in a sharp breath. “Eda I would never-” “I know.” She blesses them with a brief kiss. And then another. And another. “I wouldn’t either. And that’s not what I want.” “So… um…” Their mind wanders at her roaming hands, feather-light across their shoulders, raking down their back. “W-what is it? That you want?” Eda hums, leaning into their neck. She places one sweet kiss over their shoulder, over their sleeping clothes. Then one next to that, and next to that, until she trails up under their ear and they shiver. She leans into their ear, and lowers her voice to a sweet sultry whisper. “I want to see what you do to break me.” They kiss the side of her knee.  “Happy birthday.” She twitches, tears still pouring down her eyes. “R-r-rai-” They stroke gently over her outer thigh, long touches up and down. “Just breathe, baby. That’s all you gotta do.” She shudders, her entire torso shaking with her hiccups and effort. Her face, her chest is red and splotchy, and her tears track down her neck. “It’s okay, I’m here. You’re all done.” They soothe, manipulating their bard magic once again, albeit this time in a calming, gentle way. “Can you tell me what your name is?” “Eda-” She sobs, sucks in a breath. “Cl-Clawthorne- Whi-s-pers.” “Mhm. Good job.” They reward her with another kiss, this time over her stomach. “And what’s my name?” “Raine C-Clawthorne-Whispers.” She takes a few more deep breaths. “My Rainstorm .” “Perfect, Calamity. Let's get these off you.” They stand, undo her from the binds on the ceiling. Without the support, she goes fully limp. Her knees buckle. They catch her easily, shifting her head to the top of their chest. “Raine -” “I know, I know.” They soothe, sinking down to their knees. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” Still, she sobs, shoulders heaving. “Rainstorm.” Something in their heart clenches. They reach around her gently, pull at the tail of her blindfold, and pull the silky fabric away. Teary sun and moon eyes stare back at them, pupils still blown wide from her high. They smooth their hand around her head to cup her cheek. She leans into it instantly, her sobs quieting only slightly. Their hand grows wet from her tears, and they wrap their arms around her tight. One hand buried in her hair, the other splayed over her back. They stroke her back gently, rocking back and forth. “Baby? Can you tell me if these are happy tears? Or overwhelmed ones?” They ask cautiously. “That’s all you gotta do for now.” She nods, shakily. Their heart twists. “Okay. Thank you for telling me.” They press a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m gonna take care of that.” They get one hand under her knees to lift her and she winces as they jostle her sore arms and legs. They stand, Eda curled protectively in their arms, and carry her over to the nest. They’d bought extra pillows to pad the thing, and as stupid as Eda thought that was, she limply sinks right down into them with no complaint. She rolls onto her belly, arms snaking around a pillow before clutching it against her chest. They reach for a box they’d prepared earlier, pulling out a bottle of water. “Look up for me, sweetheart. We’re not finished yet.” She whines, pressing her face into the pillow. “I know, I know, you’re gonna get to sleep so soon. But first I need you to drink this for me.” They press the straw to her lips, rubbing soothing circles into her back as she takes slow sips. They keep their voice warm and syrupy, thick with magic and adoration. “That’s a good job, Calamity, there you go. Let's get this off you.” They pull the straps of her dress off her shoulders and guide her to lift her hips so they can tug it off her body.  Even after all that, it’s still a nice sight, so they take a few seconds to appreciate it as they reach over the side of the rest for their own large sweatshirt. It takes a bit of maneuvering to pull it over her head and guide her arms through the shirt holes, but worth it as she buries her face in the soft fabric and sighs. “Do you want your prosthetic off?” They ask gently. Drowsily she shakes her head. “Okay. I’m gonna clean you up now.”  “Mhm.” She mutters, turning back to the pillow and dozing, and for now, that’s enough.  They pull a wet towel from the other side of the nest. Nice and gentle on her inner thighs, stroking only enough to clean up her mess. Still, her cunt is so violently red and swollen in a way that has to hurt. Their face twists in guilt, and they reach to clean her off- She kicks her heel, albeit with much less force than last time. “I know, too oversensitive. But you’ll feel so much better-” She whines, flopping onto her back and rolling away. “Okay, fine.” They sigh, tossing the rag away. “But you’re taking a shower tomorrow morning.” Her lips crack into a smile, eyes peeking open. “R’you… gonna… joy me?” Their smile grows huge, and they lean over to plant an ecstatic kiss on her lips.  “There’s my Calamity.” In contrast, their own clean-up is minimal, shucking off their clothes and magicking away the remnants. They shuffle to lay beside her, pulling the covers up over her shoulder. They wrap their arms around her waist, her head beneath her jaw. “Just rest for a few minutes. I’m staying with you, not going anywhere.” They kiss her hairline. “Rest and then we’ll talk.” It doesn’t take much convincing, as her eyes roll back, her eyelids fluttering shut. Could be an hour, could be just a few minutes as they watch her sleep. She snores like a slitherbeast, and they could say that's what keeps them from joining her in a nap, but really they’re just so enamored with the way her nose twitches, her ears flick every so often. They begin to mumble something like a lullaby, thick and sweet and nonsensical. Something for pleasant dreams. Their eyelids droop under their own song until they’re only aware of the soft rise and fall of her breath ghosting their chin, the distant rumbling of her snores, the thick lulling nonsense their song has become. Eventually, she shifts slightly, curling a little more into their arms. They awaken just in time to see her face wrinkle up, and press her head deeper into the pillow like she’s annoyed at the world for waking her up. A familiar thought and there’s a surge of gratefulness, they get to wake up to her. And of all the witches in the worlds, she wants them there. Right next to her at her most vulnerable. They lift their arm, and drape it heavily over her shoulders to massage, gently kneading the knots out of her muscles. It’ll ease some of the soreness tomorrow, and right now it makes her purr. They murmur into her hair.  “Talk to me, Calamity.”  She pouts, voice ragged and hoarse but oh so adorable. “You broke.” Raine blushes. “I’m sorry. You were just so- I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry.” “S’okay.” She rasps. “I was about to call it too. That was a lot.” “It was intense,” They agree, grabbing the water and passing it to her. She takes it gratefully. “Are you okay? Did you still get what you wanted?” They might’ve made her see stars but something shrivels and dies in their chest at the thought of ruining her birthday. “Are you kidding?” She picks her head up quickly, too quickly and her head bobs lightly. They brace one hand on her cheek. “Raine, that was incredible.” Somehow, somehow she still makes them flush red, even when their face between her legs had her screaming. “R-really?” “Really.” Eda takes another swig of the water bottle, before tossing it off to the depths of their room. “Titan, Raine, that was hot. Unbelievably hot. Your voice…” She shivers. “I’m glad. I uh, I thought it was really… yeah.” They admit. “Aww,” She cooes, and presses a quick kiss over their lips. “How on the Titan are you still shy after that?” They bury their head in her hair, half for her comfort and a half so she can’t see how red their face gets. “S’not hard. You’re stunning, Eda.” If they’re going to be redfaced, so is she, titandamned it. “It was… really hard to not give you everything you wanted.” They admit. “Listening to you standing there, crying out for me… honestly I’m shocked I lasted as long as I did.” She snorts. “So, you broke before me?” “Eda!” She laughs, full-bodied even in her raspy voice.  “Just don’t let it go to your head.” They warn. Like she isn’t already so spoiled by them. Like she isn’t wrapped up in their arms so constantly, being doted on as if they’d rather die than be doing anything else and they both know it. Eda hums, squeezing them a little tighter in her arms, intertwining her legs with theirs. “Well, you do owe me a new pair of panties.” She grins. “I didn’t know you could do that.” They chuckle, bashful. “I didn’t either.” “Nice surprise.”  She leans up for a kiss. “For my birthday.” “For your birthday.” They agree and kiss her one more time. “Is there anything you didn’t like? Why did you call yellow?” Eda snuggles down against them and buries her head in their neck. “Don’t like other people involved. Even if it’s just the idea, I don’t…” She hesitates. Hugs them a little tighter. “I understand. I won’t do that again.” They tangle their fingers up in her hair and get their hand up against her scalp to kiss her forehead. “Anything else?” Eda leans her head into their hand and they take the hint. They scratch lightly against her scalp. She sighs happily, going languid in their arms.  “Nope.” “You’re sure?” “Very, very sure.” She sighs, snuggling into their chest. “Anything weren't into?” “No. That was… that was perfect.” They ease her hair out of its messy ponytail, sweeping the hair out of her face and over her shoulders. They pet down the top of the thick, tangled mane, burying their fingers in the strands. “... you’re perfect.” Eda's breath begins to even out and they feel themself doing the same. But maybe… just one last thing… “You know,” They say slowly, not meeting her eyes. “If there was something else you wanted to include… or something you wanted I wouldn’t be opposed to… we could maybe… try again? I’ll do better next time. If you want a next time.” Eda sleepily grins. “Two months til yours, Rainstorm.”

Explicit

Prologue The old, broken-down house was a lot more like a second home now.  She and the others had spent so much time here, especially in those first few months. Her mom had finally insisted on cleaning the place up. "If you're all gonna be here half the time, it ain't gonna stay a pig pen!" she'd said. There was proper furniture in the front room, older stuff from a resale place, but sturdy; the kitchen was still without plumbing, but the coolers and rebuilt shelves held plenty of snacks and nonperishables – the selection now wider since they’d acquired a tiny solar generator and put in a small fridge; the walls and floors had been dusted and fixed up with plywood in the gaps and holes, the outside also boarded up strategically with clear vinyl mounted inside the windows to keep water and air out; and battery powered lanterns had been hung from the ceilings of the main rooms, flashlights placed throughout just in case. Many a meeting and brainstorming session had taken place in the front room. Their notes and books were still scattered about and stuffed into shelves and bookcases. The huge whiteboard was still marked up down and sideways with no spare space and the second whiteboard on the opposite wall was just as bad. Luz remained quiet, head bobbing slightly to the music in her earbuds as she eyed the others amid their organized mess. Vee nodded along as Gus talked, his hands gesturing wildly, the two good at calming each other by recounting and listening to each other's Human Realm theories and factoids. Willow was adjusting Hunter's hip pack for him, tutting at him for not making it tight enough – a bad habit that everyone was sure he kept up on purpose just to have an excuse for her to fix it. Amity… was with her mom. Luz bit her lip, seeing her mom's very motherly expression. Amity's head was turned away, but she knew what she was feeling. She'd spoken about it often enough. More and more as this day crept closer and closer. All four witches were feeling it. Sure, she wanted to get back to the Demon Realm too, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't where she was born. It wasn't where she'd grown up. It wasn't where her family was, cut off completely and suffering an unknown fate. And eleven months was so, so long. Eleven months, five days – Luz looked at her watch – twelve hours and seventeen minutes. She took a deep breath. Looking at her phone, she turned up her song. "I'm just search'n for a piiiiiiece of miiiiiind," she whispered the lyric as it played. The song, Traveler by the Talbott Brothers, felt right in more ways than one. She'd shared it with Amity but hadn't quite gotten around to letting her know what all it meant to her personally. But those golden eyes had seared her with understanding, and she'd known then she hadn't needed to say a word. Nope. Don't think too hard. Luz looked back up. A smile curved her lips.  No words existed that were quite right enough to express how it made her feel when her mom hugged Amity close. Those same strong hands that had been present for her whole life were so willing to provide that support for someone she cared so much for. It fostered such a warmth in her chest. She sincerely hoped that never changed. The two separated and looked her way as if they'd felt her gaze on them. She smiled wider when her mom waved her over. "Mija, how are you feeling?" Camilla asked. Her voice was gentle and understanding was in her eyes. Luz heaved a big sigh, tucking her phone and earbuds into her pocket. "Well. Nervous is an understatement and scared sh- uh, super scared for what we'll see," she managed, rubbing the back of her neck. Camilla gave a soft laugh. Luz caught Amity's gaze, sharing a small smile before stepping up and enveloping her mom in a hug. "I love you, mami." Her mom's arms wrapped around her tight and she could have sworn she felt a small shake as her mom buried her face in her hair. "I love you, too, carino." There wasn't much more to be said. But that was okay because they'd said enough. They'd long moved passed the discussion of what had happened in the Boiling Isles, that first sacrifice Luz had made to save a life that had become so important to her, where that path had led her and how it had come to bring her and four others back into the Human Realm. Her mother had long accepted that the Demon Realm would be a part of Luz's life, and she'd accepted her friends and those she'd come to love as family she'd never had. She was even eager to meet them. Luz' eyes started to sting, and she clenched her teeth, squeezing her mom harder. Don't think too hard. "It's okay, baby," Camilla cooed, nuzzling closer. "It'll all be alright." You can't know that. "I know, mom." But I hope to God you're right. She pulled away and gladly accepted her mom's loving touches to her cheeks, thumbs wiping under her eyes. There were no tears this time, but it was something her mom had always done for her when she was upset no matter her eyes' moisture level. A knock at the back of the room pulled everyone's attention to the entryway into the hall. There stood Cynthia Severell, one of the two people who'd made this day possible. “We’re on the clock, ladies and gents.” She gestured behind her. “Five minutes ‘til showtime.” Luz looked around to the others. Their wide eyes held that same guarded optimism that she felt. Eleven months. It echoed in her head. We’ve changed so much. Her gaze hovered over each minute change in both appearance and demeanor that was clear in her friends – Hunter’s longer hair and healthier color, Willow’s broader shoulders and thicker build, Gus’s acquired height and stronger jaw, Amity’s fuller figure and longer hair, still dyed purple in an unspoken solidarity towards what they left behind – and each one of them held a maturity that seemed out of place. But despite everything, they were still Hunter, Willow, Gus, and Amity. And she was still Luz the human.   And today they were going home. That’s what she kept telling herself anyway. Putting on a brave face for them was hard. Them putting on a brave face for her was hard too. They’d all broken down more than once. They were still here, though. They’d kept going, kept searching, kept trying. Today we’re going home. Luz took another deep breath and smiled. Her smile turned into a grin as stinging crept into her eyes. “Ready guys?” she asked. They all smiled and nodded back. “Geronimo, baby!” Gus hollered with a fist pump. Luz snorted. “Not quite yet but let's get back there before Cyn thinks she has to drag us!” She took Amity’s hand, relishing the tight squeeze. The shuffling footsteps following behind them were just as welcome. The group tromped down the hall past the kitchen and spare room, filing into the bedroom at the back. The heart of the operation. Luz bit the inside of her lip, eyes aimed at the equipment and monitors, watching intently as the Dream Team did their thing. Lex, the mechanically inclined side, all baggy clothes and well-worn beanie with her hair flowing scraggly down her front was at the main system, running checks on the connections. She'd already triple checked the physical lines and was powering through the diagnostics like the Energizer Bunny. Cynthia, the brains of the operation, looking ready for a board meeting with her pencil skirt and slicked back ponytail, was at the auxiliary console. Her fingers were a blur as lines of code ran down the three monitors flashing in front of her slim glasses. These two crazy ladies were the whole reason this was even happening. Six months into their search for ways to create another portal, they’d found these two on a backwater internet forum. Cynthia was the one who did most of the talking, going on about the reality of other dimensions and citing all her proof on the matter. Lex chimed in occasionally with some smart remark or sarcastic quip that always put the detractors’ tails between their legs. But it was when Cynthia started going on about their research and how they were sure they’d found a way to tap into leyline junctions to open the barrier between realities that Luz and the others really started paying attention. For all her own research, Luz had been trying to find objects or substances in the Human Realm to recreate what she’d done in the Demon Realm. She’d never considered using the Earth itself as an access point and power source. The two disregarded scientists had been hesitant to believe Luz’s story and assertions at first. Her pictures had been picked apart as clever editing and magic tricks, her tales a fanciful narrative that they weren’t going to fall for. After nearly a month of trying to convince them to at least come to Connecticut and see for themselves being met with Cynthia’s mile high brick walls, it was Lex who’d surprised them by requesting something rather simple in the way of proving themselves. Pictures of everyone’s ears. Luz caught on immediately. She inundated Lex with dozens of pictures – closeups of front, back, up, down, pulling, pinching, folding, yanking! Every possible thing she could think of as genuine and off the cuff as she could manage to show just how real her friends’ different features were. She even had them take pictures of her and her mom’s ears side-by side with the others, doing the pulling and folding and so on, just to show against a normal human by comparison. Sixty some-odd pictures and a few flushed and irritable witches later, they had an arrival date confirmed. When Cynthia and Lex finally landed, met everyone in person – Vee being the real smoking gun for them – the project started rolling forward before the sun had even set. More than four months of planning, setbacks, and careful maneuvering through legalities concerning the abandoned property the old house rested on had led them to this moment. Luz had no idea how to thank them properly for all this. Their only request was they be allowed access to freely explore and document the Demon Realm. While she totally understood that want, she was still plotting in the back of her head how to really pay them back. If it even works. Luz shook her head. It will. It will, dammit. “Look’n a-o-kay this side,” Lex chimed. “How ‘bout you, Cyn?” “Purring like a kitten,” she responded, smirk coloring her bright red lips. “Aight, kitty cats.” Lex took a swig of her tea, checking her watch as she did so. “Two past nine. Time to roll.” “Lex! Get that out of here!” Cynthia fumed. Luz couldn’t help a smile and a headshake at the familiar antics. Lex merely made a face, but readily gave her tumbler over to Vee who’d slithered over to retrieve it. “Alright, everyone,” Cynthia stood, tapping a few buttons before facing them. “You remember the drills. Stay against the wall here. If anything goes wrong, single file out the door, down the hall, and out the front to the street. No chances and no heroes.” Several affirmations accompanied the head nods. “And,” Lex raised her arm, two fingers poised in a peace sign, “everyone cross your fingers,” she said, doing the same with hers. “I still don’t get it,” Gus whispered, but did as told. Luz snickered and crossed the fingers of her free hand. She looked at Amity as she squeezed her fingers tighter. Amity’s golden eyes met hers and she could see all the emotions swirling there. Above all was hope, though. Luz took another deep breath and leaned forward. Amity closed the gap and their lips met for a brief but insistent moment. “On my mark,” Cynthia called out, retaking her seat. Luz looked to the free-standing doorway at the other end of the room, looking awful similar to the patchwork construction that became of the first door after Belos had put it back together. Powerlines, bundles of wires, and thick cables branched off it going every which way, most of which through holes drilled in the back wall to get to the experimental machines these mad scientists had been working on for longer than they'd even known the group. Her gaze drifted to the big golden-yellow eye she’d painted onto the front, the dark slit seeming to see everyone at once. She didn’t care if it was kinda childish. It felt right for some reason. “Five.” Her nerves bubbled up instantly, crawling up her throat like nightmarish tendrils. “Four.” She swallowed hard, clenching her crossed fingers so tight they hurt. “Three.” Amity’s hand squeezed hers back, the pressure welcome as an offset to the pain in her right hand. “Two.” The air had gone still along the wall. Everyone was holding their breath. Herself included. “One.” Please, oh please, oh please, let this work. “Mark.” Cynthia and Lex both slammed their hands down on the big red buttons to their sides. The buzz of electricity charged the air. Sparks went off in the room accompanied by flashes from tiny electrical arcs flickering off the door frame. A whirring noise was heard outside as the machines revved to their full capacity. For a moment that lasted forever, that was all that happened. A flash erupted from the other side of the door and electrical arcs jumped out from it to caress the walls, floor and ceiling. Cyn and Lex both stood. Luz’s legs trilled with sudden, barely restrained energy as her heart started thundering in her ears. After a few tense seconds, the electrical arcs shrank. They receded inward further and further until they died out altogether. A pleasant hum took their place, emitted at a constant pitch from the door. They were all silent for several seconds. Camilla was the first to speak up, asking the only question on everyone’s minds. “Did it work?” Lex let out a loud breath, shoulders slumping, before stepping back to her console and checking the monitors. “We’re… reading green. Fluctuation is constant, within limits.” She turned her head to Cynthia. “What do you got?” Cynthia’s eyes were glued to her monitors. A huff left her lips before a smile spread across her face. “Yeah. Green. We’re green.” She looked to Lex before looking back to the others. “We’re green everyone!” “So, it’s working? Right?” Gus shot, his voice a perfect blend between terrified and excited. “Sure shit, boyo,” Lex said with a laugh, leaning on the console, eyes darting back to her readings. “Now we just gotta open the door.” Luz took a shaky breath. Everyone’s eyes landed on her. Don’t think too much. It had been an unspoken agreement that she would be the one to open the door the first time. Now that the time had come, she wasn’t sure she was ready. Amity squeezed her hand. Don’t think too much. She nodded. “Alright. Let’s see what we see.” Her words sounded braver than she felt. Her grip on Amity’s hand held fast as she started forward. They stepped carefully passed the consoles, though it was more their trepidation over any need to be careful, the path having been kept free of any wires or cords for some time now. It was only four steps to the door. Now that she was right in front of it, she could feel a subtle warmth radiating from the surface. Another deep breath and she looked back at Amity. Her beautiful, strong, resilient and altogether incredible girlfriend set her jaw, squared her shoulders, hardened her eyes, and nodded. Luz nodded back, turned to the door, and gripped the knob. Warm to the touch, smooth, and heavy against her hand. Okay. She turned the knob and pushed. The door swung open easily, not a creek or a shiver to be heard. Luz stared. Then let out the breath she’d been holding. It was a hallway. It was a bit dark, no sconces or candleholders to be seen, though ambient light seemed to come from either side of the door. The wall facing them was a faded grey color with deep brown wainscotting lining the bottom. Solid wood floor with a faded rug completed the picture. The view was rather underwhelming. But then the smell came to her. Aged paper and muted spices overrun by a wild, fresh scent with a minerally tinge to it. It lacked the dusty undertones she remembered, and there was a bit of something else mixed in, but that didn’t change the reality that made Luz’s heart race and her fingers go numb. It was the Owl House. She looked back to Amity with wide eyes. Recognition colored her expression as well. The squeeze at her hand reminded her to breathe. “Wow.” Her eyes darted to Cynthia who’d spoken, then to Lex who was staring just as intently, then to the others who wore expressions of mixed emotions. “Remember the plan, Mija,” her mom said suddenly. Luz forced her chest out, inhaling a massive gulp of air before nodding her head. Cynthia promptly came to her senses. “Right, the plan. Okay, yes- as discussed, you two first, slow and steady. Keep contact on the walkies. At any sign of trouble and I mean any sign, you call it out, get back to the door, and we shut everything down. Got it?” Luz nodded again. “Ten-four.” She felt for the walkie at her hip, a large professional grade item, black and imposing with a long antenna. She gestured for Amity to check hers as well, finally letting go of her hand to readjust her backpack straps. Amity performed the same checks, hefting her backpack up a bit higher and shaking herself. “Let’s do this, Luz,” she said with confidence. Luz spared one last glance to everyone else in the room. Dread, anxiety, concern… hope. She committed that to memory as she turned back to the door. The first step was remarkably easy. She grabbed the doorframe cautiously, leaning forward to peek her head through. There weren't as many pictures on the wall as she remembered. But she did remember the hall butting into another hall at a T on the left. That means- she whipped her head to the right. Her closet door. Just a few strides away was the door to the closet that had been her room. Clenching her teeth and swallowing her nerves, Luz stepped through the door fully. The familiar groan of the wood floor met her ears. The carpet was just as sturdy but soft as she remembered. She looked down the hall, her heart buzzing a beat faster at the familiar angle that led… Amity's hand on her shoulder caused her to stiffen. Seeing her wide eyes, scared and cautious, caused her to breathe again. They nodded to each other. Grabbing her walkie she held the button, ignoring the slight shake in her hand. "We're moving in. Gonna check this room." She couldn't make herself say more. "Ten-four." The confirmation hadn't come through the walkie. Luz blinked and looked back through the door. Lex smirked at her and gave a thumb's up. Oh. That's right. We're only like fifteen feet away from them. She gave an awkward grin and returned her own thumb's up. "Deep breaths, baby!" Camilla called softly. The flush burned as bright as her embarrassment. Amity squeezed her shoulder and gave a small smile. Luz nodded and put her walkie back on her belt. Her next step was hesitant. And so was the one after that. Amity was right behind her, hand still on her shoulder, matching her stride. The slight shift of the wood, the sound seeming loud in the stillness of the hall, made her realize just how quiet the house was. Or at least, the upstairs. A flicker of a thought that maybe the house was abandoned came to her mind. She hadn't seen the upstairs all those months ago, after all. She, King, and Hooty had gotten right to work heading to the knee as soon as they'd found the clue. But that thought was quickly dismissed. The house was too clean, and certainly the pictures still hung and the rug neatly placed wouldn’t be a thing the scouts would have left like that, right? They were at the closet door. Amity's hand felt like a vise on her shoulder. Reaching out, she paused right at the handle. She forced another deep breath, slow and steady this time. Okay. Just… open the door. Her hand felt like lead as she gripped the handle. Another unsteady swallow and another moment staring at the latch followed. Amity's breath ghosted her hair. "Luz… I can-" She pressed the latch and pushed. The door swung open with that same rickety creak she remembered. The inside was not how she remembered. But… that wasn't a bad thing. The room was open, neat, and tidy, the center of the floor clear of any objects or debris. But along the left side was the old chest and some boxes. The right had a clothes rack and shelves. She immediately recognized some of her clothes – her Grom outfit, her otter costume and even her Hexside uniform. In the shelves were books and papers she recognized, her own handwriting staring back at her, and several trinkets she remembered and some she'd forgotten. She looked at Amity peering over her shoulder. That spark of hope was stronger in her eyes. It warmed her chest as much as anxiety continued to make her knees weak. Looking back into the room, Luz stepped away to cross the space to the window. Peering through the stained glass, her eyes started to sting again as she saw the familiar expanse of grass leading to the forest, the slope leading to the beach and the lapping waters of the ocean. The purple-orange sky and fluffy peach clouds of the Demon Realm loomed overhead. Luz bit her lip as she felt Amity squeezing next to her, looking out just as eagerly. "It seems too good to be true," she whispered. "We don't know that yet," Amity whispered back. Her voice was hesitant, her face guarded. "You're right," Luz said back. "We gotta see more." Those golden eyes met hers and she knew Amity understood what she meant. She grabbed the walkie and took one last look out the window. "We're headed to the next room," she said. "Ten-four." They exited faster than they'd left, shutting the door silently behind them. Their steps further down the hall were more urgent, but still careful, not wanting to announce their presence just yet. By the time they'd made it to the next door, arguably the more important door, Luz felt like her throat would close up and her knees would give out. However, behind the dread had awoken an intense need that hadn't been so strong before. When her hands gripped the door handles, the desire was so overpowering she almost couldn’t breathe.  She needed to know that Eda was still here. She needed to know this was real. Pushing the doors open with a little too much force, her breath caught in her lungs when she caught sight of the bedroom. The room was so familiar, so similar, but also different. In the left corner was Eda's nest, but it looked newer, as if it was newly made. It was bigger, lined with comforters and pillows, and likely with a mattress in there as well. Her side-table and chest were still there, her plants and knickknacks were still on the ledge leading to the balcony, though there were more windchimes hanging than before. Along the wall with the window, nestled to the right of it was a collection of violins, sitting in stands and gleaming warmly in the light filtering into the room, Eda's mandolin hanging on the wall just above them. The vanity and mirror were newer, bigger, holding bottles and brushes she recognized as Eda's and then other items that were clearly someone else's. The big chest was still there, a few clothing items draped over it as if left in a hurry. The whole room was much tidier than it had ever been in her memory, the trinkets, bottles, books and random other things either not present or tucked away in an orderly fashion. The vanity pricked her attention once more as she realized there were pictures and papers taped to the mirror. Without thinking, Luz hurried over, Amity's footsteps close behind. The stinging in her eyes turned to burning. The picture of her, King and Eda at Grom was up at the top left. Underneath that was a picture booth reel holding five pictures – Eda and Raine. The sequence passed from the two of them smiling happily, to making goofy faces, Eda holding Raine's face to the side and nipping at their cheek, Eda laughing hysterically as Raine cringed down red-faced, and then Raine holding Eda tight and kissing presumably her ear. Their face was obscured by Eda's, the woman clearly getting got by her own game considering her shocked expression and cherry red cheeks. Tears were already threatening to overflow when Luz looked to the left side of the mirror. The gasp that tore into her throat was painful enough to make it happen, but her mind sputtered at the sight that caused it. A photo of Eda, Raine, King and… The Collector? Luz crawled onto the vanity top, hands on the mirror as she got as close as she could. Sure enough, it was all four of them. And they looked happy? Raine was bottom right, grinning wide into the camera while The Collector's arm was hooked around their neck from the back. The boy was also grinning, white hair a mess without the cap and eyes wide and happy. Smashed to his side was King, grinning so openly his mouth was fully shown, his teeth glinting from under his skull. And to the bottom left was Eda, eyes crinkled with such a bright smile Luz thought she'd be blinded just looking at it. Luz looked to Amity, utter confusion hurting her head. Amity was looking below the picture, though. She followed her gaze to the note taped underneath. Mom, Ahzen, I just want you to know that I love you both SO much. I don't know what I would do without you, and I don't know if I could have made it through everything without you. I know Cahl feels the same, even if they're not good at saying it. I know it's gonna be hard while we're gone, and I know that everyone is still not sure how to make the portal happen, but I also know that if anyone can figure it out, it'll be you two. When you do, can you please tell Luz that I love her? And tell her I've missed her so much. And tell Gus, Willow, and Amity too? And Hunter. I mean, I didn't know him long, but I know Darius misses him. I don't know how long Cahl and I are gonna be gone, but hopefully you'll be able to get to Luz and the others before we get back. I love you both and I can't wait to tell you about all the awesome adventures Cahl and I are gonna have! Take care of each other! And take care of Luz when you get her back! I love you! King Tears flowed freely as she read and reread the letter. Her arms shook as she held herself up on the mirror. She shook her head, sinking to sit on her feet. A loud sniff beside her had her looking at Amity. She was covering her mouth, her own tears leaking down her cheeks. When they locked eyes, their arms were around each other in a flash. Luz tried to keep herself together, squeezing as tight as she could. "Everything's okay," came Amity's whisper. "Titan, Luz… everything's okay…" Luz tried to breathe in, a grating hic of a gasp the result. "Let's find them," she croaked. They didn't try to sneak anymore. Shaky legs and desperate steps carried them out of Eda's room. Hand-in-hand, they hurried along the hall, crossing the stretch to the top of the stairs- “Are you ready?” Luz froze, Amity halting with her. It was Raine's voice, drifting from the kitchen to the left of the staircase. “Yeah, yeah, just…" Her breath caught in her lungs as odd little mechanical noises accompanied Eda's reply. "The gears in the wrist are catching again.” “Again? I thought you- wait. Did you not oil it when I told you to?” “Eeheheheh-” “Edaaaaa!” “I’m sorry! I was distracted!” “Uh, huh.” Luz's eyes burned, and her chest ached, and her hand squeezed Amity's so tight she was vaguely concerned she'd break her girlfriend's fingers. “What! You can’t blame me – I’ve got the Isles’ classiest distraction waltzing by me on a daily basis~” “Oh, stop it!” “Especially in that outfit." Eda's whistle carried up the stairs like a warm wind.  “Eda!” Her giggles were musical, like a song Luz had never gotten a chance to hear her sing. Rustling noises took over, glass bottles and other objects shifting around on hard wood shelving. “I thought we had a bottle down here.” “Uuuuh, I may have brought it up with me the other night, actually.” “Mm, okay, I’ll go up, you keep looking. Be right back.” “Okay lover~” “Pssh!” More musical giggles erupted, but this time from the both of them, a duet Luz had hoped for almost a year ago. Her mind failed to take in the fact that sharp heels were clacking against the floor, coming closer to the stairs. She failed to recognize what that meant, so stuck as she was in the shock of having heard voices she'd been afraid she would never hear again. Amity, evidently, was in the same boat. Because when Raine Whispers rounded the corner, they both stood frozen in place. Raine was fiddling with the cuff of their very nice shirt that was covered neatly with a long, silvery-black, form fitted vest that tapered to tails at the back, a small smile on their face at the exchange they had yet to realize was overheard. Then they grabbed the rail, took a step, and looked up. Luz could only stare as their smile dropped and their eyes went wide. They stared back, their form frozen just like the girls. Luz couldn't breathe. Raine's mouth fell open just a fraction, their eyes darting between the two of them. She couldn’t think. As if in slow motion, Luz watched dumbly as Raine's hand came up to their mouth, cupping it as they stepped back off the step. Their other hand came to join it as they took another step back. Their eyes suddenly looked wet behind their glasses and their expression morphed into pure shock and disbelief. "Raine?" Eda's voice chimed from the kitchen, inquisitive and still playful. That changed in an instant. Too fast and yet too slow at the same time, the sound of chair feet scraping the floor and rushed steps filled the air. "Raine? Raine, what's-" There she was. Eda burst out from the kitchen, hands on Raine's shoulders, concern and a hint of anger on her face as her eyes followed Raine's stunned gaze only for her words to die on her lips. Luz stared back at those same mismatched gold and silver eyes, same painted red lips and gold tooth peeking out, same dark eyeliner and lashes, same fluffy grey and silver hair. She was in a much nicer dress though, a black number with silver embroidery that clashed starkly with the strange bronze colored glove on her right hand. Say… say something! Luz took a shaky breath. She couldn't look away, couldn't even blink. But she didn't want to. "Eda?" It was as if she'd broken some spell over the four of them. "LUZ!" Eda was up the stairs in a flash, Raine on her heels. Luz didn't even have a second to move from her spot before Eda's arms were crushing her in a harsh hug, nearly tackling her to the ground in her frenzy. "E-Eda," she whimpered, her hands gripping onto anything, her face burying into Eda's hair. "Titan, Luz… you're here, y-you-" Eda's voice slipped into sobbing, wails and gasps deafening in the wake of the silence they'd been so hesitant to break. Luz couldn't hold herself together anymore and her own sobs joined Eda's. She heard more and managed to crack open an eye and see Raine stifling Amity in the same way, gripping her arms and hair like they thought she would disappear. "I can't- this can't be-" they managed. They pulled away, but only enough to hold Amity's face, and look at her like they couldn’t trust their eyes. "You're back! You're both-" they looked at Luz, tears streaming down their face, "you're both here!" They crushed Amity in another hug and Luz had just enough time to see the sheer and utter relief on Amity's face, tears streaming down her cheeks too, before Eda moved. Warm, wet kisses peppered her face then, Eda's hands shaking as she brought her in for one kiss after another before her arms wrangled her neck again. "Yurr heerre," Eda whined. "You're r-real, you're heeerrreeee!" Luz choked back a whine of her own, squeezing around Eda's middle like she thought her life depended on it. "I'm here," she managed. "I'm back." A hiccup wracked her body. "I'm back, Eda!" A loud sniffing sound came from the side and Luz wrenched her eyes open to see Raine stepping back from Amity, hands shaking as they tried to draw a spell circle. "I need to call Alador," they managed, a scroll finally materializing in their hands. "Dad! M-my dad!" Amity cried, her voice cracking. Raine nodded, their whole body starting to shake as they fiddled with the scroll. Only a few seconds of rickety typing preceded a ring and an instant answer. "A-Alador, Alador-" "Raine? What's going on- are you alright!? Wha-"Raine wasted no time, nearly tripping on their own feet to shove the scroll into Amity's hands. "Alador! L-look!" Amity's knees visibly wobbled. "Dad!" The silence from the scroll only lasted a split second. "Amity- A-Amity!" Rustling sounded on the other end. "My baby-girl, Amity – is that you?!" Amity nodded, her hands now shaking as she held the scroll in a death grip. "Yeah, Dad… I'm back… we're back!" "Amity!! Oh my Titan, Amity!" Sobbing came so fast from the other end. Luz closed her eyes tight, her head swimming and her legs feeling weak. "We- we gotta call the others!" Raine said. "The others!" Luz's eyes shot open and she reached for her walkie. Eda moved just enough to let her grab it, but otherwise kept her arms locked in place. "Guys! Guys! C-come out! Get out here! They-they're here, they're okay, hurry!" Her voice faltered as her sobs overtook her again. "It worked! We-we did it-" She couldn't say anymore. She couldn't hold back her tears, her elation, her frustration her everything. Eda's death grip held her steady, and she gladly buried her face into the older woman's neck. The others' footsteps thundering down the hall were nothing compared to her own crying. She listened and watched as more tears followed; as Raine hopped from one kid to the other, holding, hugging, and touching as if they didn't think any of them were real; as more calls were made on theirs and Eda's scrolls; as more shouts and screams and sobs of joy joined the din. Eda finally pried herself from Luz to check the others, holding them close, peppering them with kisses all the same, seeming to need to check the realness of them just as Raine had. Luz tried to wipe her face, but knew it was such an utter mess it made no difference. As distracted as she was, the second set of arms wrapping around her didn't startle her in the least, but what did surprise her was the realization it was Raine holding her close, their glasses held in their hand as they buried their also ruined face into her hair. "I'm so happy you're okay, Luz," they whispered, their voice cracking, their body still shaking. Her tears that hadn't been done anyway ran fresh once again down her face as she crushed them in a bear hug. "S-same," she sniffled loudly, "I can't even s-say how happy-" she bit her lip and squeezed tight. Their last interaction slammed into her mind and her eyes darted to Eda, currently wrapped around Hunter who was crying into her shoulder. "You… you did it. You kept her safe!" A watery laugh escaped Raine, their earing chiming as they shook their head. "Of course," they breathed. "I promised, didn't I?" Luz nodded into their shoulder, another shaky sob leaving her. She continued to cry openly and held on as they cried too, their tears wetting her hair, their grip secure and unyielding.   This was everything she could have hoped for and more. They'd done it. They were home. *** ~Three Months Later~ "YEEAAAHHHAAAAAAHAHAHAAA!!" The fresh cool air whipping at her cheeks and rushing through her hair was perfect in the early morning light of the Boiling Isle's sky. Luz opened her eyes, grin splitting her face as she brought Owlbert back under her and directed him into a looping arch, breaking her fall in one graceful move. Amity's laughter chimed from just behind, easily keeping up on her own palisman. The two raced back up to the rib they'd jumped from, rolling around each other in easy loops. Once they’d made it to the top of the rib, they landed with ease and Luz went to lay down, pulling Amity with her. “This was a great idea!” Amity said, still huffing from the rush. “Heck yeah!” Luz agreed. “I can’t wait ‘til I can do all this on my palisman.” Little chirps preceded the weight on her chest, and she scratched Owlbert’s head. “Awe, don’t worry, I love flying with you too! But it’ll be nice to finally meet my baby.” Amity rolled to her side, leaning her head on her hand. “I can’t believe it’s still not hatched.” Luz heaved a sigh but smiled. “Well, when it’s ready it’s ready.” She’d been worried at first when they’d been trapped in the Human Realm. They came to realize that magic dissipated from objects there, like heat fading from an ember. But witches didn’t lose anything, since their magic was produced in their body. Palisman then, were a question mark. Obviously, they weren’t witches or demons, but they were technically living things. Right? Right. As time went on, the other palisman suffered no ill effects. They didn’t lose the ability to shift into their active forms, their channeling capabilities didn’t waver, and they had no cognitive loss to speak of. So, she’d bit her tongue and treated her egg no different than she would have otherwise. When they’d established the new portal, even amid the utter chaos of reunions, celebrating and associated PR, one of the first things she’d done was ask Eda if her egg was okay. To her immense relief, Eda confirmed it was. “You’ve done good, kid! It’s healthy and vibrant, exactly what you want it to be.” She’d then assured Luz that palisman eggs were tricky business, because it leaves the critter to be more self-sufficient, lets it think more not just about what it is but who it is. It also lets it get to know her better before it makes its choices. Evidently, she wasn’t the only person to ever carve an egg. “We should do this more often,” Amity said in a flighty tone. Luz looked at her, seeing that she’d shifted to her stomach with her chin resting on her forearms. Her golden gaze was on the ever-brightening sky, a small smile on her lips, cheeks tinged a soft pink from the wind and chilly air. Luz grinned. “Yeah, we should.” Amity turned her head, resting her cheek to her arms now, her smile growing. Then it faded slightly. “Have you talked to Mom yet?” Luz bit her lip. “Luz, you’re running out of time.” “I knoooowww,” she whined, rubbing her hands into her eyes. “I just… I don’t know how to break it to her. She’s worked so hard for me for, like… ever! I mean, I know things have changed, and that she’s accepted these changes, and last year went to shit anyway, but…” She sighed. “I just don’t know how she’ll take me wanting to be a high school dropout.” “But you’re still going to school! Just not on Earth.” She cracked a smile, shifting her head back to Amity. “Yeah, but it’s not the same.” “But it’s what you want,” Amity asserted gently. “I know. And I know- at least, I think I know she knows that too. And it’s not like it’s not a better opportunity for Vee too, because she’s so much more at home in HR. She doesn’t want to be here any more than I want to go to school there!” She looked up at the sky, watching the remnants of the deep violet fade into a peach-kissed lavender. “I just… don’t know.” Amity was quiet a moment. Then the backs of her fingers brushed Luz’s cheek, prompting a small blush and glance. Amity smiled. “I think she’ll understand. She’s such an amazing person, and she’s been so supportive and kind through all of this. I don’t think that’s gonna change.” She giggled. “Besides, I know we know who Vee is, but technically everyone back there thinks she’s you. So, technicallyyy, you aren’t dropping out,” she finished with smirk. Luz scoffed. “Yeah, but MOM knows, too!” she said with a laugh, Amity laughing with her. “Not like I’m gonna sneak that by her!” They settled down after a few moments, a comfortable silence stretching between them. Until the wind picked up. “Probably time to go,” Amity commented. “We got up super early and my stomach is finally catching up.” “My house or yours?” Luz questioned as she stood. “Yours. I’m sure Dad and Lex are already up making their noise and I’m kinda not in the mood to talk over it right now.” Luz let out a snicker. “Good thing Ed and Em keep them from starving to death!” Amity barked a laugh. “More like Darius. He’s the one who’ll drag them by their ears to the kitchen.” She wrinkled her nose. “And to the shower. I swear, those two are like the best and worst influences on each other.” Luz shrugged as she stepped over Owlbert’s staff. “Hyperfixation bros, tell’n ya!” “Oh, I don’t need you to tell me!” Amity quipped, seating herself on Ghost. “Believe me, they’ve kept me up plenty of nights.” Luz grinned. “At least it’s with machine noises and not moans!” She kicked off immediately, laughter bubbling up as Amity flushed. “LUZ! That's a horrible untrue rumor!” "You never knoooow!" ~*~ The fresh, mineral-tinged morning air was always lovely to wake up to. They’d never really appreciated living so close to the ocean until now. Though, they knew it had less to do with the ocean itself and more who they shared the view with. Raine took a deep breath, the spicy scent of Eda’s hair filling their nose. They were both on their stomachs dominating the bed’s mound of pillows with the comforter kicked off in the warmth of the night. Even with the excessive heat, Eda still insisted on all the pillows and blankets surrounding them. Part of her nesting instinct. Raine could live with that. Especially, since it forced her to wear her hair tied up high, a tank top and only underwear to bed. They weren’t one to sleep half naked personally, but as they shifted to roll an arm over her back, they noticed they’d evidently peeled off their shirt in the night. They knew Eda was just fine with that. A soft noise came from her lips and Raine snuggled more into her hair. They pulled their arm back, drifting their hand along her ribs and up to her shoulder, feeling how she had her own arms up over her head as they ghosted their fingertips over her skin. A small shiver and light exhale met their efforts. Warmth of a different kind flared and Raine smiled, dragging their hand back down, tracing the strap of her tank top with their callused fingertips. As their hand descended further, gliding over her shirt, dipping along her spine, a sleepy moan left Eda and she shifted, arching her back. What a rewarding noise. They rolled down just so, moving to nuzzle into the nape of her neck while their hand drifted over the small of her back and down her rear, their touch ever gentle and barely there. Eda let out a quiet gasp and sigh, arching more, pushing her butt into the air for more contact with their hand. There was a little time before the morning really started, right? Raine leaned into Eda, lips dragging languidly over her nape while they traced their fingers down the back of her thigh and then pulled back up, splaying them out to cover as much skin as possible. She shivered again, angling her shoulders up and lowering her head. The hint was loud and clear and Raine was hardly of a mind to ignore it. They opened their mouth wide to drag their teeth over her neck before biting down just hard enough, their fingers curling into the bridge between her legs as they gripped her left cheek tight. Eda hissed through her teeth. “Uuuhhhn- Raine,” she breathed. Oh, now that was truly music to their ears, and they oh-so-desperately needed to make more. Their hand swept up, fingers sliding beneath her underwear as they readjusted to bite down again- “Good MOOORNIIING! Hoot, hoot! Did you have a nice flight?”   Raine and Eda groaned in unison, both falling limp into the pillows. “Titan’s sake,” Eda grumbled. “Was just getting good, too.” Raine merely gave a weak moan, clenching their legs together. “Oh well,” they mumbled. “I suppose it’s better than getting interrup- MPH!” Eda’s lips were hot and insistent, her fang scraping deliciously against their skin. Even if they’d wanted to push her away, her thigh squeezing between theirs and pulling up against their heat killed any thought of it. Their gasp was her opportune moment and goodness they never tired of the taste of her tongue on theirs – morning breath be damned. Feint words from somewhere other than the bedroom made it into the haze, but they could pay no mind as Eda grinded down on them, her thigh rubbing against their sensitive cradle just right. Another gasp and a groan and they couldn’t stop their head rolling back into the pillows, breaking the kiss. Eda chuckled evilly on top of them. “One for the road and now we’re both worked up,” she purred, nipping their chin. “Edaaahh,” they whined. “I was already worked up!” She giggled maniacally. “Uh huh, so I feel.” Another nip and she was off them, jumping up and stepping out of the nest. “I’ll make my shower quick so I don't use up too much cold water! Think about cute fluffy things or something to calm down," she teased. They groaned, rolling over to hide the evidence of their state of mind and pull a pillow over their head. "Love youuuu!" Eda sang. "Love you, toooooo," came their muffled response. When the door opened and shut, they remained in place, breathing heavily and making their face uncomfortably hot. After a few excruciating moments, they finally removed the pillow and rolled back over. They hissed at the material of their sleeping pants shifting over their crotch, hips twitching at the contact. "Should've known better," they muttered. Nevertheless, the day had begun, and they had to get up and be a responsible adult. Another pitiful groan left their lips and they sat up, hefted themself to a stand and gingerly crawled out of the nest. They made it to the vanity, reaching automatically for their glasses. When their fingers brushed the frames, it happened. Mild, at first, but within seconds the pain bloomed from a light pressure to an excruciating ache. They were winded, as was often the case, their legs quivering as they leaned against the vanity top. Soon enough, the weight of standing was too much, and they sank to their knees, folding their upper body over the vanity and holding themselves up on their elbows. They clenched their eyes tight, gasping for air as they waited. It had never been this bad before. Raine remembered all too well this ache plaguing them during the years after they and Eda had separated. At least once a year, sometimes more frequently, always because they hadn't tended to their physical needs. Usually, they'd be in bed in the middle of the night and could just wait it out, keeping perfectly still on the good nights or writhing hopelessly on the bad nights. Only once had it happened during the middle of the day, though that was still an odd, unexplained event. Luckily, no one had been around as they'd been alone in the room checking the string instruments. But walking to the wall and leaning there immobilized for several minutes had been as nerve-wracking as it was painful. They'd sooner jump into the boiling sea than tell a student, or fellow teacher, or anyone else ever that their cradle had tensed up to such a degree they were in near unbearable pain. But they'd thought they were passed all that. It hadn't happened for almost two years leading up to the Day of Unity, and that first several months after… But when the sixth month had rolled around and they and Eda had their first "incident" as they'd jokingly come to call it, the pain had returned. They'd reasoned it out as being a side effect of easing back into being sexually active. The two of them were taking it slow after all, more careful with each other than they'd ever been in the past, more communicative, more considerate, more concerned about each other's mental stability than fulfilling any physical needs. But then it had happened again. And again. And again. And again. And now a sixth time. Always when they and Eda weren't able to continue their amorous actions to their natural conclusion. They were starting to get worried. As abnormal as the event seemed before, it certainly felt more so now. The pain had finally faded from the white-hot ache to a dull pressure. Raine shivered against the warm wood of the vanity and shifted to drag their feet underneath them. Standing brought the familiar tension into the junction of their thighs. But it was faint, as it usually was. They huffed, leaning on their hands as they let their weight settle, the slight pressure pinpricks flicking like static from the base of their tailbone to the very center of their core. They sighed. Reaching for their glasses, Raine finally put all their weight on their feet. They stood still as they planted the frames on their nose, pinching the nosepiece to root them in place. Opening their eyes, they grimaced slightly at their reflection. At least I don't have to spend much time sitting today, they thought, annoyed at their strained expression.   The details of why they wouldn’t be sitting melted into their mind and anther grimace colored their face. "Works better than cute and fluffy," they grumbled. ~*~ "And then I ate a bug, and then I stared at that new flower between the cobblestones, and then-" "Hooty, I appreciate the play-by-play, but you don't have to give me every detail," Luz said with a smile, looking fondly at the house demon. "But I like telling you everything! It leaves no room for imagination!" Hooty retorted. Luz snickered. "Well, you're not wrong." She turned back to her egg on the windowsill, grabbing it up from its sunlit pillow. "What about you, huh? You like Hooty's stories?" she asked in a baby-babel voice, rubbing her cheek to the side of her precious bundle. "Of course they do! It's the best part of their day – isn't that right Little Luz?" Hooty wrapped around Luz's middle and twisted to boop his face to the other side of the egg. She erupted in giggles, a now expected result every time Hooty called it that. "You're gonna have to unlearn that when they hatch and tell us their name." "Until then, I have spoken!" Hooty insisted, swinging his head around wildly. "Well maybe you can speak a little less until we get some coffee in us, huh?" Eda hollered from the doorway. "Good morning, Eda, good morning Raine," Amity called from the table. "There's coffee in the pot already." "Oh, thank you, Amity," Raine said, darting from behind Eda along the counter. "I'm gonna need it." Luz couldn't help a Cheshire smirk as she noticed Raine's hand drag along Eda's back and side as they parted. Why it warmed her heart so much to see them so touchy with each other she wasn't sure, but she was here for it all the same. "Rough night, huh?" she asked conversationally. "Not so much," Eda answered for them, headed to the stove. "More a rough morning to look forward to." Raine scoffed as they took down two cups. "Oddly enough, it's not all that bad. The magical exertion takes more of a toll than anything." "Oh? Why- oooh, you're doing that thing with Terra." Luz's face scrunched up, but she dispelled it quickly to kiss her egg and put it back on its pillow. She heard Amity shaking herself in her seat and looked to see her face in a similar state. Their eyes met over the rim of her cup and Amity rolled hers theatrically as she took a sip of her coffee. "I'll keep my mouth shut," she said, her voice muffled into the cup. Eda snorted. "No need, I've been on about it since day one." Raine groaned. "Please don't make me think too much about it," they said, pulling blood lily nectar from the fridge. Luz patted Hooty's side and scratched his head, smiling as he purred happily before unwinding from her. "I mean, she's been… behaving, right?" she questioned, heading to the table to pick up her own cup of bean juice. "Well. Yeah," Raine answered, pouring a third of the nectar into their cup and a fourth into Eda's. "That's one way to put it." "I still don't understand why- mmph." Amity closed her lips around her cup brim. "What? Why she's playing nice?" Eda asked, an amused tinge to her voice. She reached up and grabbed the griffon eggs. "You two eat yet?" "No, we were actually trying to figure out what to make," Luz answered. "And I was more wondering why you'd be willing to work with her," Amity grumbled. "Scrambled eggs and gorebeast slices coming right up!" Eda spouted, ducking to grab a large cast iron pan. Raine sighed. Loudly. Luz bit back a snicker as she exchanged a glance with Amity. They took a moment to pour coffee out into both cups before turning to the fridge to grab out the gorebeast meat. "It's for a good cause. An actual good cause, this time. And with the… unique nature of the project, we're unfortunately in agreement that we're the only two skilled enough to handle it." Amity let out a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a grumble. "Yeah, that," Raine commented with a smirk over their shoulder. Eda chuckled. "Hey, she keeps her hands off you, that's good enough for me." Raine grimaced. "How do you want it sliced?" Eda paused from oiling the pan. "Thin, medium, medium, thick," she answered, pointing with her spatula to Luz, Amity, Raine, and herself respectively. "And if anyone wants veggies with it, bring them over now or suffer." Luz and Amity left the table to head for the back door to access the garden. "Whaddaya want, Raine?" Luz called behind her. "Three sun peppers, please." "Ten-four!" Out amid the plants, foraging through the leaves, creeping vines, and thick stems, the conversation was hard to get away from. "I just don't see why they have to work with her, you know?" Amity continued. Luz took a deep breath, examining the available peppers while thinking. "They don't have to, I guess. They could have assigned someone else to do it, another skilled bard." Amity growled. Luz knew where this was coming from. It wasn't simply her concern for Raine's relationships, professional or otherwise. Amity still hadn't said a word to her mother. No one had bothered to tell Odalia about them getting back into the Demon Realm. She'd apparently found out from the CB. Not that she could do much about it: She was behind bars in the conformatorium, she and a choice few other witches serving hard time for their part in the Day of Unity and events surrounding it. It was only due to an almost unanimous decision not to use Belos' methods that they didn't suffer petrification. Though, serious consideration had been given to Terra's suggestion of feeding them to her boar-traps. Either way, Odalia had written a letter – the only form of communication allowed her – requesting Amity come visit her. Amity hadn't sent a response. She wouldn't have even read the letter had it not been for Ed and Em's insistence. They didn't talk to their mother either, but they read what she sent them if only to keep track of what she was saying. Alador steadfastly stood by all three of their decisions not to speak to her, and his lawyer had the easiest job ever making the case during arbitration. Odalia's defense failed miserably at proving she hadn't acted as a direct threat to her own children – regardless of her actions condemning the rest of the Isles. Amity remained resolute in her opinion that no one – child, adult, witch or demon – should be forced to communicate or cooperate with those who'd helped make the Day of Unity happen. The only issue with that stance was there was an awful lot of grey area. "I'm sure if anything really… goes screwy, Raine'll be the first one to take action." Luz had tried for a reassuring tone. It didn't quite come out that way. "I just don't get it," Amity mused, her gaze boring into the squash she was holding. "They shouldn’t be coven heads anymore. I know they determined the coven system has to be reformed slowly, I know the sigils are still a problem, but all those people who were at the top shouldn’t be allowed to remain on their thrones." "Well," Luz shrugged, "not all of them are-" "Graye was the only one-" "But the trials-" "I know!" Luz bit the inside of her lip. Amity's shoulders drooped. "I know, I know. I watched the recordings with you, remember. It just…" she rolled back on her heels and slumped over her folded legs. "It just feels like they got off easy. They were at the top, Luz. They're supposed to be the best of the best, the most powerful witches of their fields. And none of them except Darius and Eberwolf felt something was wrong?" Luz averted her gaze. Unwanted memories of her time with Philip rolled to the surface, swirling with what she and Hunter had experienced when in his mind. "I dunno, Amity. He's always been… a really good manipulator. Heck, if I hadn't…" she squeezed her arm, "if I hadn't caught him writing in his journal…" She froze when Amity's arms wrapped around her shoulders. Leaning into her hold, Luz sighed, accepting the nuzzling. "Maybe I'm just angry," Amity murmured. "It's just so… none of this… should have happened. You know?" Luz nodded. "Yeah. I know." She turned, giving a small smile as her skin brushed against Amity's and they were nose-to-nose. "But at least we got to meet each other." The light in Amity's eyes was breathtaking. Luz grinned, leaning forward just a hair- "Are you two ok-AYOOPS!" They broke apart at Raine's outburst and subsequent slamming of the back door. "They're perfectly fine!" the Head Bard called, voice carrying out the kitchen window. Luz groaned, but with a grin on her burning face as Amity's giggles rang musically in her ears. ~*~ "HA! I fukken told you!" "No need to sound so happy about it!" "Happy!? Oh, nah, bud. Tickled pink? Absolutely!" Alador tried not to grin. He really did. But that was a hard task to accomplish when around Lex. "I dunno, you seem to revel in my failures quite often." "PFFT!" the human woman scoffed. "Failure is just another step towards 'almost there.' Besides, have you not noticed my fuckups? Geeze, like every other day up in here." They were surveying the smoking remnants of his latest attempt at making their experimental converter work. The point was to take the Isles' Magical Energy and convert it to a form similar enough to Earth's Leyline Energy, shortened to M.E. and L.E. respectively, so as to allow a bridge between portals. AKA, one step closer to moving the portal's event horizon from Eda Clawthorne's house to a more appropriate and less invasive location. Even if the source location remained the same, if the doorway itself could be placed elsewhere more convenient, it would make communication and cooperation between their worlds easier. And since this wasn't opened with magic, but technology, it wasn't as easy as just picking it up and carrying it around. "Worth a shot, though. Got some good data from it," Lex commented, turning from their heap of now inactive equipment to head to the chalk board. Alador sighed, looking at her as she walked away. Ordinarily, she wore clothes several times her actual size, and had done so today. But working with the machinery had proven to be a bit precarious with her baggy shirts, so he'd become accustomed to her shedding the shirt, working alongside him in a form fitted tank-top. He'd offered to purchase a lab coat for her, but she'd continuously refused. She was surprisingly adept at avoiding nicks and cuts, and when impacts did happen, she shrugged them off without a second glance. He watched as she grabbed the chalk, still amused by her customized work glove – the thumb, index and middle fingers cut off. That seemed to defy the point of the work gloves, something he'd mentioned, but she'd insisted she needed to "feel the tools" to use them properly. Alador blinked. I'm staring again. He cleared his throat. "So, what do you think we need to change?" "Eeeeh, good one, captain. Not sure," she answered, eyes glued to their notes and rough schematics. He walked up beside her and crossed his arms, looking at the board as well. "You seemed ever-so-sure a second ago." "I was sure it wouldn't work, not of what would tank it." "Options?" Darting his gaze to the side without moving his head, he noted how she pursed her lips, tapping the chalk to them as she thought. "I get upping the power output, but without a destination point clearly defined we're looking at overheating." "Which it did, but I still don't believe we've failed to define." "But it's been overheating the whole time, so that could just be a constant." "That sounds more plausible." "And, no, the destination vector is not clearly defined." "I don't know how we could make it any clearer." "Just because we don't know doesn't mean that isn't the case." Alador sighed. Again. "There isn't anything else we can-" "UPUPUP! I don't want to hear it!" Lex interrupted, raising her hand at him. "That is not true, we don't know that." Now he groaned. "Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" "Again! Just because we can't think of other ways doesn't mean they aren't there!" "That's just dancing around the point." "That's stating a fact!" "You want facts?" Both Alador and Lex whipped around to the front of the workshop to see Darius standing in the doorway, arms crossed and a menacing glare on his pristine features. "You two are a total mess! You look like you've been drenched in week old dirty dishwater! Did you forget to turn on the fans again? And have you even had a proper breakfast yet?" Alador glanced to Lex, catching her warm brown eyes in a shared look of sheepishness. "Uuuuh-" "HexMix and coffee don't count!" Darius shot. "Both of you, up and out." He waved a silk-gloved hand, pointing towards the doorway that led into the house with the other. "You're not spending another minute in here until you get some proper food and at least a wipe-down! Titan, every day with you two," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. Lex cocked her hip and gave a lopsided grin. "Oh, come on, bootyful – we got work to do!" Once again, he failed to hold back a grin. While he'd never admit it aloud, he was thoroughly amused at how Darius' expression morphed when she used that nickname. The coven head always looked like he was either going to rage or bust up laughing and it was such an odd juxtaposition to see on his otherwise smug and collected face. The witch in question took a step forward and leveled a finger, glaring right at the human who clearly wasn't fazed. "Don't make me drag you." He then pointed to Alador. "Both of you. House. Now. I will not have my brightest scientist and our human cohort looking as if you've been wallowing in the pits." Alador let out a laugh, Lex chiming in alongside. "As you say, Head Witch," he said in a mock-regal tone, inclining his head. Darius rolled his eyes again, his broad shoulders drooping momentarily, marring his tailored suit with wrinkles. He turned and waved Lex towards the door. Her theatrical groan and show of hanging her head before peeling her gloves off only added to his good humor. There'd been a lot of that lately – good humor. The feeling was light and airy, and he wasn't ashamed to admit he welcomed it. Titan knew, he'd felt such a crushing weight in his chest for far too long. Darius appeared to appreciate it too. Whether it was Lex's personality, or his change in attitude as a result of it, or the combination of the two, he wasn't sure, but it was nice to have easy interactions with the man again. It was also nice that having Lex around somehow made him less uncomfortable having Darius around. As the three filed into the house, Lex, himself, then Darius, he felt the familiar uncertainty that always plagued him when he thought too much on the topic. He was quick to push it to the back of his mind. Despite the insistence on self-care, he and Lex did have work to do, and being forced to eat a proper breakfast wouldn't stop them brainstorming at the table. ***

Explicit

"Shh.. I know a way." Cal whispered. They grabbed Hunter's hand and led him around the other followers, putting on their own mask in case they happened to be caught. "Wow for someone I literally just met a week ago you know your way around here… how long did you say you've been here?" Hunter asked in a whisper voice. "Ever since I was little… I have no memories of my childhood, all I know is I've lived here too long, and I've put up too much of a fight for them to get rid of me." Cal answered as they hid behind a wall waiting for other guards to pass. Moonlight streamed through the windows as they neared the entrance. "Get rid of you? Why would they get rid of you? I think you've got it all wrong, because my uncle would never do that." Hunter said with a smug look on his face. Cal sneered at his comment and yanked him to the side as more guards passed. "Damn.. it's gonna be hard slipping past the entrance guards with two of us. And I don't think you know him as well as you think you do." Cal led Hunter up the stairs, spotting a nearby vent high up on the wall. "Careful, and do exactly as I say." They commanded as they put all their focus onto jumping off the ledge of the stairs and catching the ledge of the vent. They pushed in the grate and climbed inside, motioning for Hunter to do the same. Hunter followed, seeming to do so with ease. "If you don't like him so much, and you know the castle so well, why don't you just leave?" Hunter asked. "You said nobody would notice if you were gone! I mean, I've never seen you before and I'm like, the top tier!" "No, you're wrong, I was wrong. He would notice, and he would hunt me down because he can't have me running around out there. He said so himself!" Cal looked back at Hunter as they climbed through the vents. "Well that makes no sense. You don't even do anything." Hunter's tone became more and more aggravating. "Because I'm not allowed to! I don't have magic, I don't have anything. And.. I struck a deal with the emperor to stay alive." Cal sounded sad. Finally, they came to another grate that Cal removed and motioned for Hunter to follow. Hunter went first, falling out of the vent and onto soft grassy ground. Cal came afterwards, landing just barely upright. "Haha..! You really did it, you got us out!... But Cal, I really don't think he wants to kill you! I mean, why would he want that?" Hunter asked. "There are.. many reasons. I know secrets I shouldn't know. But you're a lost cause, so I'm not telling you anything!" Cal said, brushing themselves off. Hunter almost got defensive, but quickly backed off and sat down on the soft grass. He looked up at the moon, maybe he didn't want to know. It would only make him mad anyways, besides, what could this random guard know that he didn't? Cal sat beside him after awhile, before pulling a small notebook and pen out of his satchel. He rested it on his legs and leaned against the castle wall, doodling away. "What's that?" Hunter asked after a bit of silence. He pointed to a figure in the drawing, a strange one with sun and moon patterns. "The emperor is a scary man, but what I've seen is much scarier." Cal said. They didn't know Hunter all that well but they did want to protect him. Hunter just wouldn't listen even if they felt courageous enough to tell him what they saw. The two sat outside until sunrise, Hunter watching Cal doodle and asking questions about their pictures. Eventually, Hunter's eyes began to droop. He rested his head subconsciously on Cal's shoulder and fell asleep very fast. Cal rolled their eyes and looked up at the now brilliantly pink and orange sky. They got up, picking up Hunter with all their strength and struggling to push him back up into the vent. They struggled, but managed to get Hunter back into his room, no questions asked by the people patrolling the halls as long as Cal had their mask on. After dropping Hunter off in his room, Cal slipped into the emperors chamber… Good, he wasn't there yet. He was very very rarely ever gone, but Cal was usually sneaky enough to do what they needed to do. They tapped the shiny slab of stone with a crescent pattern, and a familiar shadowy figure came out. "Cal!" A voice shouted. "Shh.. Remember what I said? If I get caught I'll never be able to talk to you again, because I'll be dead. And without me, you only have one friend. And it's the worst friend ever!" Cal crossed their arms. "Don't worry Cal, once I'm free, things will run smoothly for me and you! Best friend!" The Collector said with a big smile, morphing into various shapes as he spoke. Cal giggled. "When you're free, we can break out of this place and go play on our own." Cal knew how to appeal to the collector by now, all in exchange for this being's help. The collector had a little too much faith in Belos, but Cal could change that overtime. "I love that idea! So much, you don't even know. Now, what is it you need, ahem, sir?" He asked, being fully compliant with Cal. It took a lot of warming up, and a lot of time, but finally they were on decent terms. "You flatter me with your titles. Convince the emperor to let me have a mission.. with the Golden guard. I'm tired of not being able to do anything and I know he'd listen to you." Cal said, their tone becoming slightly more strict to show they meant business. The collector always seemed to sneer and get a bit snotty whenever they used that tone but they did indeed comply everytime. "Fine. But what do I get in return?" The collector asked. "You and I both know that the emperor isn't going to free you anytime soon. His plan isn't in full swing yet. What if I told you I could find a way to do it sooner?" Cal asked with a smug look on their face. "You want to let me out? Soon you say?!" The Collector got extremely excited, the ground beginning to slightly shake. Footsteps began echoing down the hall. Cal gasped. "I'll talk to you later." They whispered as they left, covering the stone with a nearby cloth. Cal hid behind a wall, listening to make sure they weren't caught. Belos entered his room and pulled the cloth off the stone. "Collector, I thought I heard your voice." He said.. "Not me!" Thank goodness the collector was on Cal's side of things now. They left back to their room and swiftly fell asleep.–It was around 11am now. Cal had gotten a few hours of sleep, but there was a knock on their door. "Uh, come in." They said sleepily, it was Hunter. "Golden guard… it's you. Why are you bothering me and how did you find my room?" They asked. "I have, ahem.. news. You're invited on an important quest with me, to go find more palisman. Also, here." Hunter tossed a cape much like his with a similar emblem except in a silver gray. "Today you're my apprentice, gray guard." "Wowww… they really outdid themselves on this one." Cal whispered under their breath, impressed by the collector's work. "Huh?" Hunter seemed confused but brushed it off. "Whatever. Here, you can borrow this for the day. The emperor said this role isn't permanent unless you do a really good job so don't get cocky." Hunter tossed a staff much like his own at Cal. "Don't you worry sir, I'm ready." Cal sounded both confident and slightly mocking.

General Audiences

   Hunter found himself looking over at the alarm clock Luz had left behind in what was now his permanent bedroom - what was her old bedroom. 9:23am he read.      I haven't been up before 9:00am since I left the coven, he thought to himself as he pushed off the blankets and stood up. Letting out a yawn and stretching his arms above his head.      Looking around, he took notice of the odds and ends Luz had left behind. Some pictures, a few of King's plushies, or as he preferred everyone referred to them as his 'obedient servants,' a strange charger, scrolls didn't need to be charged though, a desk with a small mirror, as well as some other random trinkets.      Luz hadn't left the Boiling Isles permanently, of course. She decided that she would take the smaller room as Hunter would be staying in the Owl House full time now, and she was now going back and forth between the Isles and her own realm to be with her real mom too.      Eda seemed to think it was a good idea. Hunter was starting to appreciate the bigger space. It was a little bigger than the room he had taken residency in at the castle. Though, he hadn't taken the time to make the place his own yet. At least Luz's stuff made it feel less empty, he thought.      Looking over at the desk, he reached out and grabbed a small black comb that laid atop a few pictures that Luz had printed. One from what seemed to be a dance? A few others and the photo from the first Emerald End trails win. It was... nice she printed that one for me.      Comb in hand, Hunter brushed it through his hair at the slightest attempt to look presentable. He realized it seemed silly to want to look made up to go eat breakfast. Especially since no one else will be. But, he was still new to the house and it felt like the right thing to do.       Avoiding the mirror, he placed the comb gently back onto the desk. Glanced at the pictures that it was laying on before, and started to head out the door, closing it softly behind him, as to not make a sound.   Walking through the small hallway and through the living area, he noticed King still peacefully asleep curled up on the very worn out sofa.      He eventually came to the kitchen. Eda was sat at the table, seemingly half asleep with her hand holding her head up, snoring loudly on and off. Raine was by the stove, looking over at the table, gently laughing at Eda's current position, cooking something that smelt good but Hunter wasn't exactly sure what it could be.       "G'morning!" a way-too-chipper-for-the-morning voice came from behind him along with a swoosh of air. Luz most've stayed over last night, he thought as she raced from behind him and threw herself into the chair next to Eda, causing her to wake up with alarm.      Eda looked at Luz, hissed slightly, which Luz replied to with a giggle and then turned to Hunter as he stood in the doorway slightly overwhelmed by the scene. "Morning, Blondie. Luz wake you up too?" she asked with an exaggerated yarn.       Hunter shrugged in response with a soft laugh and walked over to the stove where Raine was now concentrating their focus. As they approached, Raine turned to him, "Hey, morning! There's some coffee I brewed earlier if you - wait. Can you have coffee?" they cut themselves off, remembering that Hunter was close in age to Amber who was definitely no longer allowed to have coffee.       "Of course he can have coffee, you expect him to deal with all of us without coffee?" Eda shot at the bard with a snort. "That - that's fair, well - help yourself!" Raine finished, and went back to preparing the food.      Hunter walked over to the cabinet and went to open it. Wait. Which one has mugs? he questioned, then shook his head still not remembering exactly which cabinet was the right answer, lifted his arm and opened the cabinet closest to him to find - Aha! He grabbed a white mug, turning it around to read it. Thirty & flirty?      "Oy! Not that one," Eda who was now up from the table, grabbed the mug out of his hand and replaced it with a plain brown one. He accepted the mug, filled it with coffee and sat down at the table across from Luz.      Sipping at his coffee, he looked over to Luz who was frantically going through what Hunter assumed to be her school bag. She let out an - "Ugh! I know you're in here!" and continued to rummage in the bag.       "That's a lot of frustration for this early in the morning," Raine noted as they placed down a plate in front of Luz. Then placed another in front of Hunter.       Luz's plate was filled with scrambled griffin eggs, a piece of bread, and what looked to be fairy bacon. Looking at his own plate, Hunter noticed he had the same but his eggs were a bit more seasoned and seemed to have bits of pepper in them. That's what smelt good.      Less interested in her bag now, Luz focused her attention on the food. Raine returned back to the table. Laid down a plate in front of Eda, placing a gentle kiss on her head and then gracefully sat themselves down.       Hunter looked over to see that Eda's plate looked like Luz's, and Raine's had looked like his own, peppers and all. They must've remembered we both enjoy spicy food. Huh.      "These are super good, Rainey! Way-to-go not burning down the kitchen and all," Eda spoke, knocking Hunter out of his own thoughts.       "Funny you still think I'm gonna burn the kitchen down despite the countless meals I have successfully made for you in here during the last few months," Raine shot back, grabbing Eda's hand that rested atop the table.      She replied with a soft, seemingly genuine smile which quickly turned into a laugh when Luz made a disgusted noise followed by - "You guys are so sappy. Bleh."       Raine, now gently laughing, looked over at Eda, then to Luz. "Oh, like you and Amity are any different?" They took a bite of their prepared food.      Luz blushed slightly, smiling. "I guess you're right," taking a bite of her food, then added - "Hunter knows a bit about being sappy now too," she said grinning.      "That's not true at all!"      "So what was that crow-call I was forced to overhear last night between you and Willow? Sounded pretty sappy to me."      "W-wha- you don't know what you're talking about! We were just planning!" he protested.      "Planning? What kind of planning?" Luz's grin was growing.      "Stuff! We were going to meet up later today!"      "So a DATE? A sappy DATE?"      "No! Mayb-no! It doesn't matter!" Hunter went back to focusing on eating his food and looked over at Raine, who was smiling, looking amused, as was Eda. "Thank you Raine, This is good."       "Anytime," they replied.       Eda interrupted, "Sooo, where will you be later today then? Mr. Planning."      "Just near downtown Bonesborough, by the library and possibly the community garden center," he said, then thought for a moment, "If- if that's okay of course. If you need me here to-"       "Of course it's okay, kid. Just let one of us know before you leave," Eda said, cutting him off.      Hunter, not knowing exactly what to say, simply smiled and went back to eating his breakfast.       "You're starting to look a little scruffy there, Hunter," Raine noted gently.      Reaching up to the piece of hair that stuck out in front of his face, Hunter stroked it. "Yea, I don't know, I guess I could get a haircut but flapjack seems to like the little piece and I don't mind-"       Cutting him off again, Eda snorted. "Not the hair, kid. Seems you've got some facial hair coming in."       Facial? Wha - oh. He moved his hand to feel over his right cheek. Oh. They were definitely right. How had I not noticed?      Lost in his thoughts, Hunter couldn't recall the last time he looked at himself in a mirror. Sure, he passed at least two every day but, he never really looked into one.       He knew he had scars. He knew his face showed the trauma that he deeply wished to keep inside and hidden away, best he could.       Not even just his face, his arm still held faint reminders of the draining spell. Faint spiderweb scars ran up his arm from where his sigil was. Much like the rest of the Isles.      With all of that, he hadn't really found reason to want to look in a mirror. Figured he couldn't change these things. Why bother seeing them?      "If you'd like, come find me later and I can help you with that," Raine said softly, breaking Hunter from his thoughts.      "You should take them up on that - especially before your DATE!" Luz nearly screamed, flicking Hunter's head, dashing off after putting her own plate away.      She might have a point.   -----      It was early afternoon now. Hunter was sitting on the sofa in the living room with Flapjack perched happily on his knee, as he read.      The Owl- Eda's bookshelves certainly were interesting. There was a mixture of pretty much every topic one could imagine. A lot of books on wild magic, some that seemed to come from the human realm, and a lot of old bard textbooks for whatever reason.       Though Hunter found them all interesting in someway or another, he settled on one titled "Planting Wild," which was mainly about how wild magic could be found in all different types of plants on the Isles. Willow would probably like it, he thought.      As he turned a page, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He immediately went to close the book and hide it behind him - wait. Why am I doing that? He slowly rested it back on his lap.      "Oops! I didn't mean to startle you, sorry about that." It was just Raine.      "Oh- it's okay! You didn't, I mean," Hunter stated.       Raine made their way down the stairs completely, dropped something off in the kitchen, and made their way back to the living room. Sitting down on the chair next to the sofa.       Slowly closing the book, Hunter placed it on the coffee table and turned to look over at Raine, who had summoned their scroll.      "Hey - um, you mentioned earlier you might be able to help me with the whole," Hunter gestured to his face awkwardly.       Focused now completely on Hunter, Raine called off their scroll. "Yes, of course. Do you have a free moment now before you get ready to leave?" they asked gently.       Hunter nodded.       "I see... c'mon," they waved him to follow and got up off the chair to walk down the hallway to the small bathroom.    -----      Opening the downstairs bathroom door, Raine flicked the light switch on and kneeled down to start looking for something in the cabinet.       "Aha! Here we are," they said, grabbing a blue duffle bag that had the Healing Coven's sigil sewn into it. "With all the work I have been doing with helping witches recover, I accidentally brought home some of the extra resources that we have been giving out, resources that happen to include razors and abomination-cream."      Hunter grabbed the small purple canister that Raine handed him. Huh.      They closed up the duffle, shoving it off to the side and brought their attention to Hunter, who was holding the can he had been given, reading just about all the information he could consume from the label.      "It notes here that this is a special type of abomination goop that SHOULD NOT BE combined with any type of abomination magic, kind of weird," Hunter said.       Raine smiled softly, and went to explain what exactly Hunter should be doing with the objects he was just handed.    -----      Getting the hang of it now, Hunter spoke, "I feel stupid for not noticing it, the last potions Bel- they had me on seem to be different than the ones I'm on now."      "Happens. When you switch methods, sometimes things happen faster than they did before. And depending on the potion there might be different effects," Raine said, now sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "You went with Eda to pick the new ones up the first time, right?"       "I did, yea. I was specific on the type I wanted, so I really shouldn't have been too shocked by the new changes."      "Luckily nowadays those potions are more customizable. When I was a little younger than your age, it was a little more 'one size fits all.'"       Raine laughed softly and stood, watching Hunter wash off his face. "Not too shabby, kid. I remember when I had to teach myself," Raine let out a genuine laugh and continued, "lets just say I was just lucky your mo- Eda had listened in on some healing classes the week before."       Hunter dried his face with a towel Raine had handed him. He found himself looking in the mirror. Not as part of a task, but to look at himself. To actually look.      He took note of the scars - the new ones, and the old ones. Grazing over them with right hand. I don't look so bad.      "Excited for your plans tonight?"       Hunter nodded, "I am. It's nice to get out." He thought for a moment and then added, "Thank you for the help by the way."       "Anytime. I mean it, never be afraid to ask for it. We are all here," Raine said with a gentle voice, and walked out.   -----

General Audiences

As Edas arm ripped off, she still felt it attached to her body. But she had just watched it crumble before her eyes... She moved her arm, the one that wasn't there, back and forth in disbelief. Acid rose in her throat as Raine fell limp in her lap, the cracks in their skin illuminating her ripped dress. Shit. "Raine!" Eda called, beginning to sob. "No, no, no– Raine, don't! Please, you can fight it!" She begged weakly. She grabbed their wrist, mind fogged, digging her nails into the sigil in their skin. They began to bleed, but the cracks just glowed even more vibrantly. She scratched harder, the blood beginning to drip down their arm. "Raine, please, don't go!" She sobbed, nails fully soaked in blood and pieces of shredded skin. Eberwolf was the first one to wake up, nearly an hour later. It crawled over to Eda and Raine, its entire body filled with a constant sharp pain. Mewling, it pawed at Edas nails, still half engulfed by Raines arm. It shook its head, panicked. Stop it! You're hurting them! "They're gonna die if I don't get it off!" Eda screamed, throat raw. She still wasn't aware of much that was happening. Eber sat there helplessly, not knowing what to do. It was strong, but Eda was strong, too. And twice the size of the beast. It didn't know if it could help. It scampered off, looking for a certain purple-haired coven leader. Darius. Darius! Wake up! Eda's hurting Raine! I don't like this! Darius grumbled, his body tingling unpleasantly. "Shit, Eber..." He whined, "It hurts..." Eber put a paw on his cheek, the glow beginning to fade. Better? "A little. Now what's going on?" Raine's hurt 'cause Eda tried to fix them. "Oh my Titan, Edalyn–" Darius mumbled as he sat up, Eber pushing from behind, helping him up. Darius pressed his hands on his knees, shoving himself up. Eber grabbed his hand, dragging him over to the bard and the wild witch. "Holy fuck..." Darius grimmaced, taking in the scene. Blood was caked to pretty much everything, and next to the two was a grey sludge, some of it still dripping out of Edas mouth. Normally, Darius would've cried at just the thought of puke, or blood. Right now, he was just focused on making sure the both got out of here, and probably away from each other. "Edalyn?" Darius muttered, stepping around the puddle to kneel next to it, shoulder to shoulder with Eda. He cautiously brought an arm up to wrap around Edas shoulders. She nearly screamed at Darius. She wanted to shove him off, to get him away from her Raine. She didn't have that strength anymore. So, she did what any put together, calm, responsible witch would do. She sobbed, and hard. Darius wasn't very sure how to help, especially because her sobbing was making her heave, more of the sludge dropping into the pile. Well, maybe he could help in his own way. "Eber, can you please pull her hair up? There's a hairtie on my wrist." Darius whispered. The beast nodded, pulling the hairtie off of his wrist, before quietly walking up behind Eda, putting her hair into a loose ponytail. "Thank you..." She mouthed, closing her eyes for just a minute. "Of course. Can you keep your eyes shut for me? I'm here to help." He soothed, rubbing the upper part of her bloody arm. "Please help..." Eda wasn't much of a begger, but sometimes, points needed to be made. "Okay. Now, Eber, can you please make Raine stop bleeding?" Eber nodded, Darius glad that it has a secret interest in healing magic. Can't be a beastkeeper without it, sometimes. "Eda, right now, Eberwolf is going to stop the bleeding and make sure that Raines vitals are stable. It's not going to hurt either of you." "Promise?" Eda squeaked, eyes shut harder than before. "I promise." Eber gently licked the blood away, its paws around the wound, the bloodflow stopping nearly instantly. "Now, Eber's going to lift your hand. This might sting just a small bit for Raine, but they're still asleep, so they won't feel it." Darius didn't have the heart to tell her that this would definitely hurt, specifically for Raine. Even in their sleep. Eber nudged her hand with its head. The bard grumbled in their unconscious state. Eberwolf frowned. "They'll be okay," Darius breathed gently, looking into Ebers eyes. "Hey, we're gonna have to separate you and Raine so that we can clean you two up. Is that okay?" "No, don't take them..." Eda mumbled, eyes filling with tears as she vigorously shook her head. "Edalyn, I'm going to take care of them. If somehow, I hurt them, you have free reign to punish me in any way you believe is appropriate." Darius said in a firm voice. "Okay. But if they get hurt..." She shook her head. "I know." Darius was beginning to get sweaty, but for once, being clean wasn't his highest priority. It was saving his friends. "Eber, lift Raine for me. I'm taking Eda home." Where will Raine go? "We'll figure that out when it comes to it." Eberwolf nodded, lifting Raine by the shoulders as Darius scooped Eda out from under them. She was immediately lying in his arms, whimpering sadly. "It's okay, Eda. I'm taking you home." "Luz can't see me like this... King– oh, Titan, King..." Edas breath picked up, her eyes finally opening. "Your kids will be just fine, Eda. They're strong." "What if they're hurt?" "They'll get help." "What if they're gone?" "They aren't." "What if they're in the human realm?" "Then they'll find a way back to you." "What if they don't want a way back to me?" Darius sighed. "Let's go home, Eda." "I don't want to." "I'm sorry." Darius began to walk away, towards the now well-known Owl House. Eda was a struggle. When they got to the Owl House, Darius had numerous scratches across his face. To Darius' surprise, the owl face on the door snakes out, its eyes opening. "Eda!" He screetched, "You're home! And you still have an arm! King brought over a friend! His name is The Collector!" Darius' face scrunched up in confusion. Edas scrunched up in anger. "Let. Me. In." Eda growled, and that's when Hooty realised that Eda was sprouting grey feathers left and right. "Owl Beast?" The door asked. "What?" Darius questioned. "She's got feathers!" The head witch looked confused, "I thought she always did." "Stop being an idiot, Darius. I need to help King." Eda wasn't in any state to help King. She was out of breath from just saying that sentence. But Darius opened the door, anyway. When he walked in with Eda, the woman was the first to spot King. Darius was the first to spot The Collector. "Lu–?! Eda!" King greeted. Eda caught his slip. The collector was the first to speak, "So you're the infamous Owl Lady? You look weak!" "Darius, put me down." Eda demanded. Honestly, he didn't want to know what would happen if he refused. So he set her down. She stumbled a bit, but eventually caught her footing. She kneeled down to the ground as King ran up to her, wrapping himself around her neck. "What happened?!" King yelled into her shoulder, almost crying. Darius felt a bit out of place, standing over top of everyone else. He sat down next to Eda. The Collector sat criss-cross next to him with a shit-eating grin. "Not a word." Darius commanded quietly. "No promises!" The Collector smiled even wider. "Things got a little messy, Kiddo. But I'm okay." Eda told king, "Where's Luz?" King didn't answer, only hid back into her shoulder. "I made a new friend. His name is The Collector. He's nice." He mumbled, eyes filling with tears. "King? Where's Luz?" "And I didn't even get hurt! The Collector taught me a fun new game, it's called Uno! The cards remind me of Hexes Hold 'Em cards!" King was sobbing by now. "King, answer me!" "A–And– We got snacks! On the ship! They were really good!" "What's going on?" Darius frowned, looking Eda in the eyes. "He won't answer me!" "King?! New friend...?" "I made a friend, Mom! The Collector!" "Who's Luz, anyway?" "The human, Collector. She's the human." "Mom, my head hurts." King sobbed, giving up on distractions, "I miss Auntie Lilly, and I miss when everything was normal, I missed you, I miss Luz." "Where's Luz, Bud? Can you tell me?" King let out a sob, "I sent her to the Human Realm, it was her only chance to get back... I'm sorry, Mom." Darius felt himself break out in a nervous sweat, and The Collector looked concerned. Eda didn't know whether to be pissed, or thankful. "It's okay, I'm here, King. I'm not mad." Was that the truth, though? Darius' scroll began to ring. "If you'll excuse me?" He stood up, quickly exiting the room. The three looked as he ran out. King flinched at the loud noise, hiding in Edas arms. The Collector came over giving King an awkward, yet tender pat on the head.   "Darius? It's Raine. Tell Eda to meet me at the healing coven tent in town."

Mature

A Blight and a BAT "There you go, Mrs. Gossamer," Emira said soothingly as she finshined tying off a bandage around the leg of an elderly Arachne demon. The woman smiled at her between her pincers, eight eyes crinkling. As Emira started placing healing patches at regular intervals and infusing them with magic, she continued, "Just remember to keep off that leg for a few days and you should be right as sunlight. I'll get a physician over here to sign off and you'll be free to go." As Emira stood up and stretched in place, her smile unwavering even with the faint circles beneath her eyes from faint magical exhaustion, Mrs. Gossamer chuckled. The sound was clicky but not at all unpleasant. "Oh child, you must be a fresh new intern from Hexside, hmm?" she asked in a warm voice. "Yes, ma'am. Why?" Emira replied. "Sweetheart," she said fondly, checking a watch, " I guarantee that none of these patients will want to be checked out for the next hour. Especially us old folks." Emira opened her mouth to ask why, but her words were stopped by someone entering the room. He was a tall young man with dark … everything. His shaggy hair was a shade away from midnight, his skin like rich ebony, and his eyes the color of rich choke-oh behind a small pair of glasses that accentuated his soft features. He was dressed in a familiar uniform, one almost identical to the famed Head Bard, Raine Whispers, who was engaged to Eda the Owl Lady. "Good afternoon, everyone," he called in a soothing, laidback voice. The atmosphere of the room seemed to immediately lighten at his words. "I'm Derwin Croone of the Bards All-For the Titan, or the BATs." There were a few chuckles and laughs at the name and he smiled shyly. Had his skin been any lighter, Emira was certain his cheeks would be pink. He traced a spell circle that summoned a high stool for him to sit and a bassoon to his hands. "For the next hour, prepare to be led on a journey," he gestured wide as if painting a picture, "into the depths of recovery." Derwin lifted the mouthpiece to his lips … and the deep music that poured forth slowly rose up into a higher, fluttering tenor. Derwin then moved on to a series of folk tunes, his toes tapping as he played. And along with the music poured magic, a cherry-red shimmer in the air that enveloped the room. Emira gasped as she suddenly felt lighter, her heels leaving the ground even as she still stayed grounded. Patients gasped or sighed in relief as they floated just shy of off their beds, the pressure taken off of their injuries. And even more, the healing glyphs on various body parts began to glow with violet magic. Emira traced a quick circle and examined a patch on Mrs. Gossamer to find the magic inside slowly beginning to swirl and to beat like a heart to the rhythm of the music, easing more naturally into her leg. "Make your rounds, sweetie," the old demoness said kindly with a sigh of contentment. "Listen for as long as you can. You'll live longer, I'd wager." Emira smiled and nodded, checking up on the other patients with the lightness the magic brought about easing her sore feet and aching fingers, while always keeping part of her attention on Derwin's music. And, if she were honest with herself, sneaking occasional glances at the bard as he transitioned smoothly from one piece to the next. Quick shanties to slow lullabies, it made no difference. He kept the music coming and the magic flowing. After his promised hour, Derwin wrapped up a moving piece that had to be Raine's Rhapsody and finally lowered his bassoon, the instrument dissolving into magical storage. "Thank you all," he said, his breathing a little ragged. "Rest easy and get well soon." Emira kept him carefully in the corner of her eye until he left, then leaned against a cabinet and took some deep breaths. It felt like traces of the bard's music were still flowing through her, easing her faint aches and clearing her mind. And yet her heart was pounding and she felt flushed. Oh, Titan. "Was I right, or was I right, dear?" Mrs. Gossamer said smugly. "Thank you so much, Mr. Croone," a receptionist said as Derwin checked out. "The patients are always so happy when you and your friends have your performances." "Hey, I'm just happy to help," Derwin said with a smile. He turned and let the smile waver at the faint throbbing in his bile sac, something that always happened after a long performance at an infirmary. Using even faint Bard magic for so long would drain even the strongest of witches. Well, except for Raine. But they were an exception rather than the rule, a true prodigy whose skill far outweighed any lack of strength. "Keep practicing," Derwin chanted to himself under his breath, a mantra Raine would so often use. Practice strengthened the bile sac, made the rhythms come more easily, and made the magic flow naturally with familiarity. "Excuse me!" Derwin straightened and turned his head to find a girl in a Hexside uniform approaching, clutching a messenger bag at her hip. He blinked at the dark blue sleeves that contrasted sky-blue tights. A multi-tracker? "Hi," the girl said as she caught up. "I, um, I was doing rounds for my internship when you had your performance, and I just-" She laughed. "Just 'wow'! It was just- amazing!" "Thanks," Derwin said, cheeks warming at the praise from a stranger. "A friend of mine came up with the idea. Some old wild magic texts said that Bard magic was once used to supplement Healing magic, and Raine has been experimenting with that." "You call a head witch by their first name?" Emira asked, a slim eyebrow arched teasingly. "Well, they were my teacher long before becoming a head witch, so …" "The BATs, right?" Emira asked. "My sister is dating Luz Noceda. I've, uh, met Head Witch Whispers a few times." "You're Amity's sister?" Derwin asked. He narrowed his eyes and looked her over before nodding in a sagely manner. "Yeah, I can see the resemblance." He couldn't help but crack a smile and offer a hand to shake. "Derwin Croone, but you probably already knew that." "Emira Blight. And yes, I did." They stood there for a few seconds before Derwin glanced at a watch and summoned his staff capped with an elk palisman. "Look, I need to get going. But maybe I'll see you around?" "Uh, yeah. Totally. Really hope so," Emira said, summoning her own staff capped with a goose with a bell in its beak and fiddling with the end of her plait behind her back. "Same. Good night, Emira." Derwin smiled and mounted in a standing position before flying off with a departing salute. Emira waved back dazedly before blinking hard and pinching herself. "Oh Titan, there's no way I caught a crush that fast." She placed her hand to her chest and spread out her stance. "I'm Emira Blight! There's no way!" Her confident expression cracked and crumbled into unease. "Right?" she asked her palisman. Liberty animated atop her staff and did something rarely heard from her: she honked, rather than jingling her bell. "I'm in trouble," she admitted. "So, what's their name?" Emira startled from her reading, or attempted reading, of her Illusions textbook in the seclusion of the Blight Manor study to look at her little sister. "What?" "You're blushing, Em," Amity noted, a tad smugly. "So, what's their name? That should also tell me if it's a boy or a girl." "It's just someone I met at the infirmary," Emira waved off. "No big deal." "Emira, you don't exactly fall easily. So if someone's got you blushing like that, they're definitely more than nothing." Amity crossed her arms and leaned backward against a bookshelf. "So dish." Emira weighed her options before sighing. "Sister's secret?" "Completely confidential," Amity agreed. "So …?" "His name is Derwin," Emira admitted. "I met him about a week ago at the infirmary I'm interning at for the Healing track. He's a member of Raine Whispers's BATs and plays for the patients twice a week, using Bard magic to help them heal better." "Yeah, Eda mentioned that a while back," Amity said. "And Derwin's the dark one with the pince-nez, right? I'm pretty sure he's the only guy in the group." Emira nodded. "So have you actually talked to him?" "As a matter of fact, yes," Emira said primly. "After each of the three performances I've seen. He finishes around the time I do and we've talked a little each day." "I'm guessing you haven't told him about your feelings," Amity surmised. "No, I haven't," Emira said without shame. "We've only known each other a week, after all. I want to get to know him even better before I do anything … rash." "I think that's a healthy mindset," Amity said with a smile. "From your excessive experience, right," Emira teased. "Out of the three Blight heirs, which of us has had a year-long, healthy, constructive relationship?" Amity asked haughtily. "That's … actually fair," Emira admitted, reining in her pride. Pride was something of a Blight family curse, she knew. It had soured their father's friendship with Darius that had only begun to be repaired after the Day of Unity, it had been the root of their mother's worst traits, it had pushed Amity to lie about the reason she broke off her childhood friendship with Willow … the list went on. Further discussion was interrupted by a knock on the door and Edric peeking into the study. "Oh, hey Mittens," he greeted warmly, if a bit awkwardly. "Uh, Em, can I borrow you for a little bit? For a private talk?" The sisters traded a quick glance before Emira marked her page and waved to Amity before following Edric to his room. He locked the door and sighed before sitting at his vanity chair. "I need to get something off my chest and you can't tell Mittens," he said. "Oh man, what did you do and why wasn't I invited?" Emira teased. "I didn't do anything," he whined, "unless …" He swallowed and lifted his glasses, which he'd begun wearing openily without a concealment stone after the Day of Unity, to rub his eyes. "Unless you count catching a crush." "Good on you, Ed," she smiled. "But why talk in private? Amity's open to this stuff now, too." "Because of who the crush is — and before you joke about it no, Titan, it's not Luz!" "Okay, you got me," Emira laughed, raising her palms in surrender. She took the spot next to her brother and rubbed his back. "So why the secrecy?" "Amity can't keep a secret from Luz, and Luz would run with this from the remains of the Head to the Toes," Edric explained. "So it's one of Luz's friends?" Emira prodded. "Yeah," he admitted, fiddling with his thumbs. "It's Viney Melamphos." "The multi-tracker Troublemaker on the flyer derby team?" Viney asked. She thought over what she knew of Viney. "Viney … Huh. She's cute!" Edric smiled tightly and nodded his head. "Yeah, dammit, she's really cute." His tight smile loosened into something almost love drunk. "She's tough as a direwolf, but so gentle with patients and animals. She's smart, too; gotta be in two of the most intense tracks, especially at the same time." "So, how are you gonna approach this?" Emira asked. "Not sure," Edric replied. As he spoke, Emira listened and decided to try and help out her brother. "So they're dating now?" Derwin asked, about a month later. Emira had offered to buy his lunch as a thanks for his amazing performances that remained volunteer work. He'd tried to get away, but Emira had insisted, using every subtle feminine wile she knew. Which was quite a few. After a few token bits of resistance, he'd agreed. "Yeah," Emira giggled. "It's so cute! Viney's a sweet girl with a tough center, and she'll keep Ed out of trouble. Kind of like Amity and Luz's dynamic, really." "I'm surprised that he went to Hunter of all people for advice," Derwin mused. "I mean, the guy's mind is sharp as a sword point and he's a great friend, but not exactly a master of romance." "Great friend?" Emira asked. "My mentor-slash-parental figure is engaged to his surrogate aunt," Derwin said. "We're at least friendly. He and Steve actually invited me to go to Lake Lacuna with them for the Equinox." "Oh, wow …" Emira said quietly, carefully strangling the pit of stupid jealously that rose up. "That sounds fun." "It'll mostly be trying to help Hunter cut loose a little without Willow to keep him calm," Derwin admitted. "Well, that and relaxing on the beach." 'A beach littered with scantily-clad young adults!' Emira screamed in the back of her mind while she kept up a smile. "Are you taking partners?" she asked coyly. "Steve's got his girlfriend, Severine," Derwin laughed. "And two of my best friends are going, too. Kind of a girls' outing for them." "Well, I hope you have fun," Emira said. "It's not for four months," Derwin said bemusedly, eyes twinkling over that soft smile. "But I appreciate it." 'Titan, I'm so screwed,' Emira thought. It took a full week of Amity's encouragement for Emira to muster the nerve to ask Derwin out to dinner. She'd even gone so far as to pep talk herself in the mirror. "You are smart, strong, and sexy," she told herself, looking straight into her reflection's eyes. "Any guy or girl would be lucky to catch your eye. So go out there and make it happen!" Emira checked into the infirmary for her next internship shift and made a fire-beeline for the room that she knew Derwin would be performing in. She smiled as she entered, even wider when she saw Derwin … and the expression fell to confusion at the sight of another girl talking to him. One second glance, a very pretty girl dressed in a uniform identical to Derwin's. "Emira!" Derwin said brightly, waving her over. Emira fixed her smile back in place and approached somewhat cautiously. The girl turned to look at her and smiled wide, revealing prominent fangs. "Em, this is Katya," Derwin said warmly. "Another of the BATs." "H-Hello," Emira greeted with a small wave. She tried to keep a lid on it, but doubts and insecurities were welling up. Who was this girl to Derwin? Were they childhood friends? Were their other feelings there? Were they dating and Derwin had never mentioned it?! "So you're the famous Emira Blight," Katya said enthusiastically, wrapping the Blight up in a hug before separating and looking her up and down. "Derwin's told us so much about you. Also, you're sister's sweet but kind of stuck-up." Emira couldn't help it; she laughed. "Oh Titan, yeah, she can be. She's gotten better, though." Emira pushed down the fact that Derwin had talked about her to his probable friend-slash-possible girlfriend. "Uh, ladies, if you'll excuse me for a moment," Derwin interjected, pointing at an elderly witch in a lab coat, "I have to talk to the physician really quick. Raine needed some information." "Go do your nerd stuff, Winny," Katya said, waving him off and looping an arm over Emira's shoulders to draw her into a squishing half-hug. "We'll have some girl talk before the show." After a long, unimpressed look at Katya, Derwin nodded and walked away, Katya turned an eye on her. "Okay, so you've got a thing for Derwin, right?" she said, her tone far from accusatory and more like a gossiping cockatrice. "W-What?" Emira stammered. Mother Titan, was she stammering?! She was Emira Blight, smooth and sultry heir to the family! Not some socially-stunted dork! "I've got an eye for this stuff," Katya said by way of explanation. "And with that same eye, I get the feeling you'll do right by him. So, as his oldest friend, I say go for it." "You want me to ask him out?" Emira asked in shock. "Totally," Katya said. "In fact, I think I can help." She released Emira and summoned a tambourine that she rattled for a moment. "Raine taught me a trick to quell your fears, something they use for their stage fright. A kind of courage spell that lowers your inhibitions a little." Her eyes glittered with mischief. "It can make this a little easier, huh?" Emira blinked owlishly, placing her hand over her stomach where a thousand butterflies seemed to be at war. She felt the tension in her spine that rose up every time she tried to ask Derwin out for anything more than a friendly bite after their work. And she made her decision. She nodded. "Alright," Katya said. "Hold still." She tightly shook her tambourine, the zills chattering, and Emira felt magic flow into her body, much like when Derwin would perform. She felt herself lift gently off the ground, her hair suspended as if underwater. But more than that, she felt renewed confidence flood her very being! The magic ended and Emira settled back onto her feet. She breathed deeply and smiled, turning on her heel and marching up to Derwin. He seemed to be finishing his talk with the head physician and turned to smile at her approach, the smile wavering at the force of her confidence. He opened his mouth to say something- Emira grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him down into a full-on kiss, pouring her feelings and intention into the contact with a delighted hum. She pulled his lips from hers with a hearty smack and sighed wistfully. "You. Me. Dinner. I'll buy," she said, firmly and without room for doubt. "Wh- Uh," Derwin seemed to have trouble thinking, blinking vacantly behind his pince-nez. "Wha-ho!" Katya jeered. "I expected confidence, but that was bold!" Emira shifted her grip to hug Derwin's arm. "I guess your spell worked, huh?" she giggled. "No, not really," Katya replied, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. "That spell only lifted you up a bit. The rest was all you, in your head." Emira's expression went blank as she processed this. And then she blushed as hard as Amity or Alador on their best day! "Oh Titan!" She jerked away from Derwin as if she'd been scalded, covering her face in mortification. "Oh, Mother Titan! I'm so sorry, Derwin! I thought- I wouldn't-!" She groaned and wished she could just melt into a puddle of goo. "I understand if you never want to see me again." "But I didn't say no." Emira's thoughts came to a screeching halt and she peeked from between her fingers at him. "What?" "I didn't say no," he repeated, brushing his thumb over his cheek. "And I don't want to say no. In fact, er …" He looked up and Emira glanced over her shoulder to find Katya giving him a shooing motion with her fingers. "I was actually gonna ask you the same thing after the performance." His bashful expression turned teasing. "And I do mean ask, not tell." "So, that's a yes?" she asked, just to make absolutely clear. "Absolutely," he laughed. "How about tomorrow night? I'll pick you up at seven?" "…Okay," Emira giggled into her palms. "Well, now that that's settled," Katya said, tracing a spell circle to summon Derwin's bassoon that she tossed to him, "we have a performance to get to. And I think you have work to do, Em." "This was wonderful," Emira cooed, clutching Derwin's arm as they walked the streets of Bonesborough a few weeks later. "I'm glad," Derwin said fondly, leaning his jaw onto her head. "But I feel kind of bad that you insist on paying for everything." "Oh, not this again," Emira scolded lightly. "My family is loaded. And how much does a bard make, even on the personal staff of a coven head?" "I just don't want you to think I'm only interested in money," he said morosely. "Or for your very powerful father and sister to think that." "Well, luckily for you, they don't know yet," Emira chirped. "I've got you all to myself. And I know for a fact that you don't care about money, honey." "Oh, come on," Derwin whined teasingly. "I asked you not to call me that." "Is it better than 'Winny'?" she asked innocently. "It's just as bad," he reasoned. "Don't you agree, Emmy?" "No," she said shortly. "Then we have a deal, yes?" he darted back. "Doesn't a Blight always uphold a deal?" "Fine, a bargain, then," she sighed, nuzzling deeper into his arm. She squeaked as Derwin stopped in his tracks, spinning her to face him before catching her and holding her in place by her hips. He looked down at her with those dark eyes with a warm smile. "Sealed with a kiss?" he asked, his voice husky. "Oh, yes," she gasped, and threw her arms over his shoulders to draw him to her. The kiss was deep, but not obscene. Emira hummed as the grip on her hips rose to her lower back, and she hugged his shoulders closer in reply. "Hello!" The two jumped apart in shock, only linked by one hand each, and Emira's face turned whiter than a ghost. Edric stood with one hand on his hip and the other arm around Viney's waist, grinning for all he was worth. Hunter and Willow were standing with them, curled into each other and apparently content to watch the show. "So, anything interesting happen lately, Sis?" Edric asked, grinning even wider. "E-Edric," Emira stammered. "W-What're you doing here?" "On a double date," Edric said innocently. "And who's this?" "I'm Derwin Croone," Derwin said, offering a hand. "A member of the BATs." "A pleasure, Derwin," Edric said, taking the offer handshake. "Funny thing, dear Em hasn't mentioned you at all." "She hasn't?" Derwin asked, looking a little hurt. "I've told Amity," she said quickly, then looked at Edric. "And you were having your own love troubles." "Love?" Viney asked teasingly. "Like," Edric said quickly. "That's not what she said," Viney countered. "Really like," Edric said through gritted teeth. Viney laughed and kissed his cheek. "It's nice to meet you, Derwin," she said. "I'm Viney. I go to Hexside, too." "Viney …" Derwin said slowly before his eyes brightened. "Oh! Luz has mentioned you. You were one of the original multi-trackers, right? You and the group handled that Greater Basilisk?" "That's me and my pals," Viney confirmed and gestured between the twins. "We blazed the trail for folks like these two tricksters." "Does, uh, does Mr. Blight know about you?" Derwin asked. "Dunno," Viney shrugged. "And honestly, I don't care, y'know?" She hugged Edric closer. "This Mr. Blight is all I need. For now, at least." "What if we introduced you both at the same time?" Edric offered. "That way Dad only has to go through it one more time?" "Emira?" Derwin prompted, looking at her with those deep, earnest eyes. How could she say no? "Okay," she sighed fondly. "Well, since we've been forgotten here," Willow said bemusedly, summoning Clover, "I think Hunter and I will head home." They both mounted the staff and Willow waved as Hunter gave a mock salute and they kicked off to fly toward Willow's home. "Sorry!" Edric called back, the word ringing with laughter. "See ya later!" "Care to join us on the way home?" Derwin offered. "As a last bit of double date? Emira's told me so much about you, Edric. It's nice to put a face to a name." "I'm sure," Edric teased. "Mine looks so much like her's, after all." "Ew, Ed," Emira groaned. "Way to make it weird." "I think it's cute," Viney laughed. And with much more teasing, they all started the way toward Blight Manor, the couples hand-in-hand … and the twins bumping affectionate shoulders.

Teen And Up Audiences

The tranquillity of the still afternoon came to a prompt close at the sound of the apartment door slamming shut. Eda snorted and woke from her nap, her mane of ever tangled hair pointing in all sorts of directions. She grumbled and raked a painted finger through the knots, pulling out one of Raine’s crumpled music sheets, before stretching out the aches in her back and going to detect the meaning behind the sudden ruckus. She didn’t have to search far. Her partner bounded into the small space, hastily dropping their violin case. Their face was in a complete state of disarray, Eda barely managed to let out a confused “Raine?” before they collapsed onto the pillows where she’d been sitting a moment prior, letting out soft and depressing moans into the stuffed padding. Still half awake, Eda awkwardly sat by their side on the couch’s edge, reaching out to carefully stroke her fingers through their mint locks in an attempt to calm them down. “Raine? What happened?” she asked, stifling back a yawn. They let out a short sigh before turning their head to look up at her. Eda held back her smirk at Raine’s smushed face and crooked glasses, their deep frown suggested that jokes would be the very last thing they wanted to hear currently. “That stupid wedding…” They huffed before turning their head back into the pillows to continue with a muffled “There were too many people watching. I couldn’t do it.” Ah. There it was. Since making the decision to purchase themselves an apartment, a dream which sprouted between the pair ever since Eda decided to drop out of Hexide, both of them had been forced to take up extra work. Eda concocted various household potions within their cramped kitchen to sell during market days, occasionally she’d also sell slightly more curious remedies at the night market. Raine performed at local bars whenever they could. However, a few weeks ago they’d been approached by a couple who were seeking performers for their wedding. The high pay had caused Raine to rush home excitedly that very evening - they'd been religiously practising the couple’s chosen pieces since. What Eda felt to be overdramatic and pompous solos had been forcefully drilled into her head over the course of the last couple of months. Though she wouldn’t trade the warm, golden hum of their bard magic seeping through the apartment for the entirety of the isle’s riches. “Titan, I can just be so pathetic at times. What sort of a bard has severe stage fright.” They sighed heavily, their voice was laced with a deep self hatred. They’d told themself this at least a million times beforehand. Eda raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Rainestorm, you are about the furthest from pathetic anyone could be.” She recited this as a fact, it was a fact, yet her steady tone and utter certainty failed to ease Raine’s self-consciousness. They let out a monotone hum in response. She knew that they were starting to ruminate, as they turned their head away from the pillow once more she saw that their mouth was set in a jagged line, their eyes aimed at the window by the couch though unseeing as they relayed both recent and past times their stage fright had succeeded in dragging them down. “Raine-” she cut in, her voice lowered and gentle, tethering them back, “it’s just a fear. Hell, we all got em, and they make you feel like ass cause that’s what they do best. You just gotta show them who’s boss.” She attempted to add a sense of overly dramatic flair to that last part, flashing her devilish smirk, and though they smiled slightly their gaze still remained clouded. Eda could sense that her statement wasn’t going to sink in, she knew that Raine would beat themself up over this particular fiasco for weeks following - especially with the money it could’ve brought in. She had to find a distraction of sorts. Something quickly clicked. “Hey, how about instead of focusing on everything that went to crap today we focus on the fun stuff.” Eda began, her face breaking out into a softer grin. Raine’s frown deepened in contrast, “Eda, nothing remotely fun happened today.” “Our problem precisely.” Eda got up off the couch and strode in front of where her partner lay, they cast a curious glance though she could sense that in the mild confusion their mood was starting to blissfully shift. “We gotta go out and make some fun.” Raine propped themself upwards, their elbow resting against the couch’s arm. “Meaning?” They raised an eyebrow though Eda could tell that they’d quickly pieced together what she’d schemed. “Let’s dress up, and go get absolutely hammered. Titan knows you need it.” Eda returned to the couch and grasped their hand, her amusement and excitement at the idea was quick in enticing Raine. The smile that slowly formed on their face was finally a genuine one, they let out a breathless laugh. “It’s been a while hasn’t it.” “Oh, titan knows we both need it.” Eda quipped. With the fluster of moving into the new apartment, unpacking, decorating, and, of course, work, the couple found that quality time together had become somewhat of a rarity. Within the last month alone they’d only found the energy to go out on two dates, this deep want to simply forget and spend the night in Eda’s arms, swaying and dancing with apple-blood in their veins suddenly felt like somewhat of a paradise. They ran a hand through their hair, before casting her a warm smirk and planting a quick kiss to her lips. “I’d love to, Eda.” - Raine sipped at their iced beverage, the condensation from the glass dampening their hands, causing them to be wiped sloppily on their top as they attempted to search for Eda among the jostling crowd. The air was hot, sticky and painstakingly humid, vapour from smoke machines caught the ever-changing lights in whimsical and wild shapes. Raine cursed softly as they suddenly became aware of their now wet top, a sleeveless black turtleneck which they knew with a smug coyness drove Eda wild - tight fitting on their body and putting their toned arms on display. This they’d stupidly decided to pair with loose leather pants, their legs felt just as sticky as the room’s atmosphere. Though Eda had claimed she’d be just a moment, Raine swore at least ten minutes had passed. ‘Swore’ might be a bit too sure concerning their current disposition, their mind placed in a slightly drunken haze, the warm buzz distorted certain things though they insisted they were still able to maintain a train of slightly coherent thought. Yes. Eda had definitely been too long. That much they knew for certain. However, just as they set their drink down to conduct a search, there she was. In her halter neck mini dress, the colour of dark wine, barging her way through dancers with a mildly disgusted look on her face. She didn’t look as if she’d been sick, if anything she looked slightly relieved, though her face was definitely pinched and sour. She was still able to cast them a welcoming grin, and as soon as she approached the bar she clasped at her half-full apple-blood and promptly downed it in one go. The pained expression disappeared as her palette was thankfully cleared. “Where’d you go?” “Bathroom.” She responded easily, ordering yet another apple-blood whilst she twisted her used straw. “For-,” Raine hiccuped, “fifteen minutes?” Raine saw her eyes dart away, they could sense the truth of her words wavering, “I just felt sorta-” Eda twirled one of her hands in the air, “off.” “Off?” “It’s no big deal Rainestorm, nothing I couldn’t handle.” She took a loud slurp at her new drink. “Was it-,” another hiccup, “Was it curse related?” Eda let out a light cough, it amazed her how even when they were drunk they could still read her like a book. She let out a short nod, she didn’t want to bullshit them, not now. She hoped they wouldn’t prod, her mind also mildly dizzy as she sipped at her, titan, seventh apple-blood? “M’ fine, Raine.” “Okay.” They put their drink down and moved to entwine their hands with hers, regardless of intoxication the soft gaze they gave her had an edge of seriousness and worry to it. Eda felt frozen under their eye. “Please tell me, we can go whenever you want-” Raine was cut off by yet another hiccup and huffed a quick curse. Eda giggled, but in order to soothe their fears and move on she responded with a prompt “Sure thing, however...” Now that she had their hands she cast them a snarky grin and slowly pulled them towards the dancefloor. Quickly catching her drift, Raine started to slowly sway to the pounding beat as Eda gathered them up in her arms, capturing them in a swift dance. Hand in hand the pair spun and jumped in time to the rhythm, song following song, obviously lacking in coordination thanks to the apple-blood. Eda would occasionally place her hands on Raine’s waist, drawing them in with a light gasp for a quick kiss, before returning to dance - Raine laughing softly and in return giving her a warm hug, resting their head on her shoulder, or whispering blissful nothings and promises for later in the evening to her whenever the music’s volume dipped. Eventually the time came for their feet to start aching, Eda’s especially, trapped in a small set of black heeled boots. When yet another song came to a close she leaned forward. “Let’s get out of here.” She told them, her voice husked. They were quick to react, their drinks left on the bar, Eda’s arm interlinking with theirs. They left the club in a series of hurried and messy steps, slightly tumbling into the cool outdoors. The moon hung high in the sky. The night cloudless, it shone as an illuminating spotlight, outlining the dark streets of Bonesborough in sharp shapes and deep eerie blues. Useful as the streetlights flickered and dulled, providing poor sight. They kept close to each other as a chill set in, Eda adorned in Raine’s jacket for they’d insisted. “Titan, it's cold.” They eventually uttered, their breath misting slightly. Eda let go of their hand and wrapped an arm around their shoulders, allowing her warmth to spread, she then proceeded to shift their jacket off and wrapped it around them both. Though it did little to help, Raine leaned against her heavily and left a quick kiss on her cheek in appreciation, they then continued. Eda’s heels clacked loudly against the cobblestones, echoing across empty alleyways and streets as they spoke together in hushed whispers and laughs. By the time they eventually made it to their apartment building Eda’s feet were borderline numb, the agony the boots had provided quite suddenly hitting her. Spotting her obvious discomfort, Raine paid no mind in hastily scooping her up into a bridal carry to the sound of her delighted and giddy gasp, carrying her up the two flight of stairs it took to get to their apartment. Carefully they returned her to her feet and jumbled about for their keys, opening the door with a steady click to which Eda promptly shut it with a wave of her hand once they’d both bounded inside, Raine kicking off their boots. Eda approached a slightly panting Raine from behind, the trip up the stairs having taken its toll, wrapping her arms around their waist and nuzzling at their neck whilst they caught their breath. She then cast an all too telling kiss on the spot. A part of them knew this would be what the night would come too, a knowing, growing want had crashed itself upon the pair as the evening had gone by. They cast her a look, eyeing the door to their bedroom across the hallway - “Shall we?” “Please.” She hastily replied, quick in taking their hand. The sheets were soft and welcoming as Raine landed on them, sinking slightly into the plush. Eda, once more, tapped the door to their bedroom shut. She then dove on top of the covers to join them, grasping at the zips on her own boots in mild frustration in order to chuck them across the room as quickly as possible. Raine giggled lightly from where they lay, reducing their giggles to a warmed smile as Eda turned towards them, taking one of their hands in hers whilst her other cupped their cheek, finally kissing them long and slow just as she’d hoped too whilst watching them dance under the electric lighting at the bar, their glasses digging into her nose but she couldn’t find the will to care. They moaned softly in appreciation, deepening the kiss and sliding their tongue over her teeth, stopping at the golden fang. When the couple both broke for breath Raine let out a breathless and whispered “Thank you.” Eda hummed thoughtfully in response, taking in their deeply blushed face and slightly swollen lips, “You know I love kissing you Raine...” Raine laughed lightly in response but shook their head. “Not that… Well that, but not just that,” it was now their turn to cup Eda’s cheek whilst she shifted her position to lay beside them, they allowed their fingers to intwine in her hair, twisting the lush orange strands around in thought, “Thank you for the dancing, for everything, I had a great time.” Eda smiled softly, she wrapped her arms around them and placed her forehead against their own, her voice slightly cracked with the events of the evening, she mumbled “Anytime Rainestorm…” before leaning in to catch their lips once more.

Teen And Up Audiences

Another quiet night in the castle. The nights were quiet back in Connecticut too but something feels different about the comfortable silence stretching out between her and Emperor Belos. No, she reminds herself giddily. Between Philip and I. Philip—as he has insisted she calls him—sits at the ornate writing desk he keeps in his chambers, scribbling away with his long-feathered quill at paper after paper after paper… The amount of paperwork he does is unbelievable to Luz—doesn't this guy know how to let a load off? All he does is work, from sunup to sundown. But she knows the Emperor is a busy man, burdened by the glory of ruling the mysterious and unruly Boiling Isles. Just the thought of such fantastical power makes her heart soar! And so she leaves him be, simply resting on his four-poster bed and watching his elbow move side to side as he writes. At least he's dressed down. If he was still in his Emperor's uniform, she might have to throw a fit. He looks handsome in his poofy-sleeved shirt and tight pants. Like the Goblin King from Jim Henson's Labyrinth or even Howl Pendragon sans his coat. With his strong nose and his silvery-blond hair out long behind him, fluffy and curling, he certainly fits the description of a Ghibli character. Luz can't believe her luck. When she'd fallen into the Demon Realm, she'd never imagined she'd be found by a foxy old king—a human hero, destined to take down this Realm of Evil! It's still a little hard to believe he even took her in, let alone that he's into her too. With that thought in mind, she stands from the bed and makes her way over to him, fully intending on distracting him from the mountains of paperwork. An empire can't run if its emperor is overworked, after all, and she knows just the way to relax him. For the sake of the Isles, of course.

Mature

Luz pov Luz slowly opens her eyes, she quickly stretches and basically jumps up when she remembers it’s a school day.Luz loves magic school, it’s always so much fun, there’s so much secrets there and she want to know them all.and her friends Willow and Gus are amazing, and… she blushes as she thinks about her, Amity. she’s so cool, cute, talented and mysterious, everything about her is awesome,her black nails, the way her ears move around when she’s embarrassed,how her tail swings from side to side when she’s happy or nervous, and her beautiful green hair that’s always in the same half ponytail. “Luz? Luz?” Eda says, waving her hand in front of luz’s face, “you gonna eat, or just stare at it with a creepy smile.”“oh, r-right, sorry.” Luz laughs, honestly a little embarrassed. she quickly eats her food, and the second she’s done, she grabs her bag and immediately runs to the door,but gets stopped by little arms around her hanging leg, “Luz, you forgot to hug me!” King yells angrily but very cutely.“aww, that’s right little guy i’m sorry.” she says as she picks him up and hugs him tightly,“okay, that’s enough, h-hey! i said that’s enough! let me go!” he yells, trying to wiggle himself out of her grip.she places a few kisses on his forehead and places him back on the ground, he quickly runs to couch and disappears from her sight. “bye Eda!” she yells and runs out the door, way to excited for school.surprisingly, she manages to run all the way to school without tripping or getting tired. when she reaches school she immediately spots Willow and Gus, she runs up to them and hugs them tightly.“woah, hey Luz” Gus says as he’s lifted up in the air, Willow laughs “hi Luz” Luz sets both of them down, “hey guys! i’ve missed you sooo much, can’t believe we didn’t hang out in the vacation.”“i know, but now, we can be together all day again.” Gus says, Willow nods and Luz hugs them again with tears in her eyes.“i love you guys so much.” she quickly says, “we love you too Luz, we’re all the best of besties.” Willow says. “yeah” Luz says, wiping her tears away, “by the way, where’s Amity?” she asks.“she already went inside while we waited for you.” Gus answers, Luz gets a little sad hearing Amity didn’t wanna wait for her,but Amity has always been top of the class, and she probably didn’t wanna mess that up, Luz understood that. they walk inside and talk until the bell rings, they all go to their classes, and for Luz, her first class was abominations track.she walks in class and takes a deep breath, she looks at Amity who is drawing something, and smiles at her, making Amity quickly look away.Luz raises an eyebrow, does she not like her? what if she has a weird smile? oh titan, was that cheesy? before she could continue her thoughts the teacher walks in, “hello class, please pay attention.”the class doesn’t listen, now he yells “CLASS!” everyone immediately shuts up.“now, that your all paying attention, lets starts” Amity pov Amity walks in class and quietly sits at her desk, she’s first here, that’s good, she really isn’t in the mood for much noise.she grabs a piece of paper and starts drawing fanart of azura and hecate. today had been very painful and there are 5 reasons for that,first, she falls off her bed, second, she forgot to eat, third, her siblings kept ‘pranking’ her,fourth, her parents kept talking about how ‘a blight must be perfect’ when Amity started to hyperventilate,and fifth, the hallway was way to loud, she always felt like the world was to loud, to annoying,but today everything just seemed louder than normal, more painful, like it physically hurt her. she hears the bells rings and she quickly covers her ears, why was everything so loud? she hated it.she goes back to drawing, she doesn’t understand why but she was angry, like, really angry, why was she like this? she doesn’t understand. as soon as she hears the door open she flinches, even the door hurts her ears, she turns to see who it is, Luz.she blushes and her ears start flapping, Luz smiles and her and Amity quickly turns her head and covers her ears, but not for the noise.she really hopes Luz didn’t see her ears, that’s so embarrassing. but soon that feeling of love goes away as the other students come in, the chatter and laughter filling the room that was once quiet.keys clanging and people tapping their pencils on the desk made her cover her ears again, tears start to fill her eyes.she hears the door opening again, she looks up to she the teacher, he yells way to loud, she doesn’t understand what he said,but the class doesn’t get quiet, which drives her crazy, then the teacher yells so loud that Amity almost falls off her chair. she hears the teacher talking but still can’t hear a word he’s saying, she places her hands on the table and notices she’s shaking.her breathing gets heavier the more sounds she hears, people tapping their desks, or quietly whistling or whispering.she hears a pencil fall down, she flinches and feels the tears falling from her eyes dropping to her nose and falling onto the desk.she clenches her fists and stares at the door, wanting to run out but to scared to, she doesn’t wanna get in trouble. after a few minutes she hears her name but doesn’t respond, she doesn’t have the energy to.she hear her name again but still doesn’t respond, after the third time she she snaps, she quickly stands up and runs out of class. she runs down the hall until she finds a bathroom, she opens the bathroom door and goes in one of the stalls,she locks the door and places her feet on the seat, grabbing her hair and hyperventilating,tears running down her face as she tries to hold in her sobs. Luz pov Luz stares at Amity, why is she crying? is it because of me? but what did i do? was it my smile? is she okay?she taps her foot and and her finger in the same rhythm. she hears the teacher “ms.blight?” she turns to the teacher who is in front of her, “ms.blight?” he says again but impatiently.“Amity Blight” he says, making his abomination lower him to her level,she hears Amity bang her fists on the table before she stands up and runs out of class, her loud sobs breaking Luz’s heart. she wants to cry just hearing Amity cry, her heart starts to physically hurt, was she really that i’m love?she takes a deep breath and runs after Amity, but when she enters the hallway Amity’s already gone,so Luz decides to check for the most likely place for someone to have a breakdown, the bathroom. she opens the first bathroom door she sees and hears Amity sobbing loudly.“Amity?” she speaks softly, the sobbing softens but is still there, “can we talk?”“mhm” Amity responds, she hears a stall unlock and open, she stands in front of it to see Amity curled up in a ball,her head between her legs but her eyes looking up at Luz, Luz’s heart completely shattered at the site. “can i… come in?” Amity waits a bit before shaking her head, “okay, i’ll sit in the other stall.”she opens the other stall and sits down, she hears Amity lock her door again, so Luz does the same.“what’s wrong?” Luz asks, resting her head on the side of the tiny stall. Amity doesn’t respond, “okay, wanna wait before talking?” Luz asks her, “mhm” amity responds.“that’s alright, i can wait.” Amity pov why did Luz wanna talk to her? Amity was just a nuisance to her, she was sure of it.Luz was only pitying her, there was no way Luz actually liked her, not like Amity did.no, Amity didn’t like her, she loved her, she doesn’t know why, she doesn’t wanna feel this way, but she does, why? after about 20 minutes Amity finally talks “i can talk now.” she says quietly.“alright” Luz sighs, Amity hears a stall unlocking, then she sees shoes in front of her stall.Luz sits down, her back facing the stall door, “what’s wrong Amity?” she asks softly. Amity wanted to tell her the truth, but she knows Luz’s just gonna laugh at her, that’s what her parents told her.no one actually cared about her, just them, they wanted her to be safe, that’s must be why they always say that. “i don’t know” Amity responds, Luz sighs “you know, i’m not just pitying, i do care about you, a lot.”she’s lying, oh no, it’s back “Amity, can you please just tell me what’s wrong i just wanna help.” SHE’S LYING, DON’T TELL HER“i’m not forcing you to, just… maybe it’ll make you feel better.” it won’t. “please” Amity’s sobs get louder than before, “please don’t Amity.” Luz says, sounding like she’s on the verge of tears.“i’m sorry Luz.” Amity says in between sobs, “for what? you did nothing wrong.” YOU DID “but i did”“then what did you do?” Luz asks her, YOU’RE WEAK “i’m weak” she says,“Amity, you’re one of the strongest people i know, you’re not weak.”YOU ARE “then why does it say i am.” Amity says, sounding broken, “what do you mean?” “the voice, it says, i’m weak” she respond, “the… voice?”“it keeps telling me, it sounds like my mom, but i know it’s not, but it sounds like her.”Luz keeps quiet for a few second, Amity hears her sniffing,“oh Amity… i know how bad your parents are, but you can’t let them control, you like that.” she says, clearly crying. she sees Luz stand up, “can i come in now? please.” Amity waits a few moments before unlocking the door.she sees the handle turning, she looks up to see Luz, tears rolling down her cheeks.before Amity could say anything, Luz gives her a tight hug, pulling her up, the hug is so tight she feels like her bones might break. “Luz” she says, trying to escape the hug, Luz lets go and sets her on the ground, she puts a bit of Amity’s hair behind her ear.“please, tell me why you ran?” she says, Amity pulls her back into a hug and bury her face in her chest,Luz softly places her hands on Amity’s back, stroking in kindly. “the noise, it was too much, and, this morning too, just, a hard day.” YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TOLD HER she lets out another sob.“are you sensitive to noise?” Amity takes a deep breath,“i, um, yeah, normally it’s already loud, but today was just louder, like i said, hard day,so, because of that i had… umm, a sensory overload, and uhhh, i have autism.” “oh… i didn’t know that.” she says, “i mean, i know it’s not the same but i have actually adhd.” she responds.“you do?” Amity asks, surprised “yeah” “but, Amity, there’s something i’ve been wanting to tell you.” Luz says stilling her movements, “what is it” Amity responds.“i… uhhh… i have…” she takes a deep breath, “i have… a crush on you.” she says quickly and a little loudly. … … … “you… you have a crush, on me?” Amity asks, shocked couldn’t even described her right now.Luz likes… her? but Amity’s so weak, how could someone like Luz have a crush on her?“yeah, it’s not just a crush, i think i’m in love.” Luz admits. Amity starts sobbing again, Luz panics and lets her go, grabbing her face gently but shakily.“A-Amity?! are you okay? did i say something wrong?” she says look at Amity with worried but anxious eyes. “why- *sniff* why are you making fun of me?” she says sobbing, “making f- of course i’m not making fun of you Amity, i love you.”“you’re lying! there’s no way you like me, you’re… amazing, and i’m just… i’m just me.” Luz’s tears flow down her face “Amity, you’re the most beautiful and talented person i’ve ever met.”“wouldn’t make of you, ever.” Amity looks at the ground, why does she actually believe her?her tail wraps around Luz’s leg, her arms tightly wrap around her waist and grip at her back.she cries the loudest she has ever cried, and she has no idea why, “i- *sniff* Luz… i love you too, so so much.” her small hands grip on Luz as if she’s the only one who can save her, or maybe she actually is.Luz wraps her arms around Amity as well, “do you wanna go out me?” she asks.Amity yells, “yes!” still sobbing, Luz smiles, “i’m so glad you’re here with me, it doesn’t matter if you’re different than the others,because i am too, and to be honest, i think they’re the weird ones, because i think you’re perfect just the way you are.” Amity quickly unwraps her arms and places her hands on Luz’s face, Luz’s eyes widen,“can i… can i kiss you?” Amity asks, making eye contact with Luz, without even looking away once.Luz’s mouth is open and is moving, but the only thing that came out is “yeah” as she stared into her now girlfriends eyes. Amity gets on her toes and slowly closes her eyes, their lips touch and they both melt into the kiss, sinking into each other’s lips.Amity wraps her arms around Luz’s neck, pulling her closer, and Luz places one of her hands on Amity’s hips, and the other on her back,pulling her waist in, it was a good first kiss, not the best, but definitely good, after about 2 minutes the bell rings and the kiss breaks. Amity slowly places her feet back down on the ground, she wraps her arms back around Luz’s waist and places her head in her chest.Luz hugs her back and lays her head on Amity’s head, “so the meds you have are for your adhd?” Amity suddenly asks.“yeah” Luz responds, “isn’t it time you have take them now?” Amity asks, “you’re the only one i need.” Luz says.“no you should really take them.”

Not Rated

It’s a normal day at Hexside. Well, as normal as it can get. Eda is causing havoc as usual, and Raine is cheering her on. To be specific, the chaos being caused is on the sports field, and Raine is waving around a huge GO HEXSIDE! Banner while shouting out emotional support. Eda tries not to look off the field, since she knows she has to be focused to win.  She has to catch the Rusty Smidge, or else there is no way they are winning this game. Just then, she sees it. It is just out of her reach. She uses a burst of plant magic to reach the Smidge, and grabs it quickly before it can fly away. “Ha!” She shouts in victory. The bell rings to signify the end of the match, and Team Hexside wins. As everyone high-fives and the crowd cheers, Raine gets out of their seat and runs towards Eda. They embrace her in a giant hug, with the banner acting as a sort of blanket.  “You did it!” Raine says, their eyes gleaming with excitement. “I know! Take that Glandus,” Eda says. “Yeah!” Raine says, pumping their fist in the air. “We can do anything, me and you together. Anything we want.”                                                                 ************************** Eda is waiting, laying down in the couch. She stares at the clock and groans. Lilith gives her a glance from where she is studying. “Just wait for them, Eda. They’ll come eventually.” Eda gets up from her position. “But Raine is never late! Something must’ve happened.” Lilith tilts her head. “Wow.” She says. “I don’t think I have ever seen you this worried about somebody. There must be something special about them, huh?”  Eda’s cheeks tinge the slightest shade of pink. “Nah, it’s not like I-” And then comes the sound of someone knocking on the Clawthorne’s door. “Raine!” Eda shouts out as she runs towards the door. Raine waves, a smile on their face. Eda hugs them, and Raine laughs. “Chill out, Eda,” they say. “I only went on vacation for like, a week.”   “I missed you!” Eda says, finally letting go of Raine. “Now, come on, I want to show you the secret spot I found.” Eda starts running and beckons Raine to follow her. They both start running, the afternoon shining on them.  After a few minutes in the woods, they reach a hill. It is small, but Eda has arranged a few pillows and some food. Flies are surrounding it. She frowns. “Aw man, the food’s spoiled. Sorry Raine.” But when Eda looks up from the food, Raine doesn’t seem disappointed or sad. Instead, they are smiling. Their eyes interlock with hers. “Eda,” they say, “I didn’t come here for the food. I came here for you.” And then they are both  leaning in, into a long-awaited kiss.  It feels. Eda doesn’t know how else to describe it. It feels like everything she expected and nothing like she expected. It is a firework of a feeling, a fight of hot and cold running through her body.  When they finally pull apart, they both are slightly embarrassed. Raine is blushing, their eyes averted. Eda is doing the same. Come on, she thinks. Be the first one to make a move!  And so Eda brushes her hand against Raine’s. Raine blushes even more, their cheeks now a flaming pink. But then they tentatively put their hand on top of Eda’s. And just like that, without saying anything, they are together. ************************* Raine and Eda are stuck inside Hexside because of the boiling rain. The school halls are crowded, and somewhere in the confusion, Eda lost Lilith. So now it is just Raine and Eda, standing in the Secret Room of Shortcuts, sipping hot chocolate Eda stole from the teacher’s lounge. Raine looks thoughtful. “What is it, Rainstorm?” Eda asks them. “It just came to my mind that this is the first time we are alone since we kissed.” Raine says. “And before you can say anything, Eda, I mean properly alone. With no crowds or Lilith or rest of the school.” They take a sip of their hot chocolate. Eda tilts her head. “Huh. I guess you’re right.” A silence follows. But not an awkward one. There are never awkward silences with Raine. They are Eda’s comfort zone.  ******************************** Eda and Raine are inside a fish restaurant near the shore. They are talking the day away. About school, Grudgby, the new billboard promoting dying cream. But there is one thing they are both clearly avoiding. The fact that they are here on a date.  Yesterday, Eda summed up the courage to ask Raine on a date. “Can you go out with me?” She asked. Straight-forward, she had thought would be the best. While Raine initially looked shocked, they agreed. And so here they are, having the time of their lives. But it doesn't feel right, ignoring the fact that it's a date.  Eda is just about to say something about it when the food comes. They ordered a giant plate of ocean pasta. They both dig in, inhaling the pasta, until they start eating the same noodle. Raine laughs. Eda grins. Raine slurps up the pasta, and Eda finds her lips on theirs. And then they are kissing, yet again.  This time it is short. But in those fleeting moments, it feels like dozens of memories with Raine pass through Eda. It is a photo album of a kiss.  "Well, that was great." Raine says after they stop. This time they are not shy to hold Eda's hand underneath the table. "This is an awesome date." Eda announces confidently.  *****************************  Eda looks at herself in the mirror. She is trying not to cry. Raine’s voice still echoes in her ears. “I’m sorry Eda. It’s over.”  Stupid, stupid Eda, she thinks. Stupid her for thinking this would work out. She drinks multiple elixirs to keep the owl beast down. But it still wasn’t enough to hide it from Raine, Still not enough to keep it at bay. She hates herself for this. No, not herself. The owl beast. Eda collapses on the floor, sobbing. This wasn’t supposed to be how it was going to go. This wasn’t it at all.  ******************************* Eda is sobbing about Raine again for the first time in decades. They lay on her lap, the energy leaving their body. She is losing them all over again. 

General Audiences

Something new for me! I'll admit I have only watched a few episodes of this show, but got asked for some queer fun and how could I say no? Set a few years after season 2. Eda's prosthetic is based on myoelectric prosthetics for somebody with a below-the-elbow amputation, if you wanted to look them up for a visual. Just uses magic as a battery instead of, you know, a battery. -TOH- As Eda raised her hands to finish fixing her cape, she noticed the motor function of her fingers had diminished. A few attempts at flexing confirmed her suspicions, so she reached in to her pocket and pulled out an elixir. As she poured it on to the prosthesis, it glowed faintly before settling. After a minute, she ran through the various patterns of finger shapes, then nodded to herself as she was satisfied with the response. "Now behave yourself." "Who are you talking to?" Eda turned and saw Luz sticking her head around the door, so she held up her prosthetic arm. "Just this. I had to recharge it, and then I told it to behave." Luz giggled, shaking her head. "We're ready when you are." "I was born ready!" Eda insisted, and gave her fancy cape a final swoosh before she followed Luz out. Capes were really about as formal as she got, and even then she felt the occasion had to deserve such a thing. Today was certainly one of those rare occasions. Eda caught sight of her reflection as she passed a window, appreciating the way her navy blue cape glittered with movement, and how it didn't quite match her dark red dress but didn't violently clash either. Not quite formal, but she was making an effort. As she smiled, her fang glinted in the candlelight. "Are you done admiring yourself?" Luz joked, when she turned to see Eda staring at the window. Eda winked, then ran a hand through her hair before she continued moving. "My cape is sparkly! I got distracted." Luz rolled her eyes, but she was grinning all the same. They made it through the final door with no further distractions, and Eda felt her smile widen further when they looked up. Raine had a similar cape on over a black shirt and trousers in the same shade of red as Eda's dress. Sort of matching, but they didn't like to wear red on their top half as they felt it clashed with their green hair. Eda thought that was silly, but she also wanted Raine to feel comfortable. Raine looked up at her, their smile soft and happy. Eda smiled back, and Raine reached for her hand when she got close enough to them. Their friends and family gathered around the two, though Luz and Amity were occasionally distracted by looking at each other. Ah, young love, Eda thought to herself. She'd been there. And then lost it. And now... now she'd found it again. Eda raised her prosthetic hand to join her organic one, and Raine took it just as willingly as they had the other. "Ok, are you two ready?" Lilith asked as she stepped up and placed herself directly behind their joined hands. The sisters had repaired their relationship over the years, and Lilith had been touched to be asked to be their binder. "Ready, Rainestorm?" Eda asked, grinning. Raine's cheeks flushed lightly, but they nodded eagerly. They were following older marriage rites, though with her curse they'd had to re-work it a little, and were using fabric rather than magical bindings. It didn't matter all that much to either of them; everything important was already there - their marriage, and their loved ones. "Alright. Do you both enter freely in to this union?" "We do." Both answered in sync. Raine's fingers tightened around hers, and Eda squeezed back reassuringly. They still got stage fright when everyone was focused on them, and Eda had made sure their vows weren't too long for that very reason. After all the two had gone through together, there weren't many promises left to make to each other that they hadn't already proven to one another. Lilith draped a strip of material over their hands. "Will you share in each other's pains, joys, weaknesses and strengths?" "We do." Lilith nodded and draped another. "And will you honour and respect each other, and seek to grow through this union?" "We will." Lilith draped the third, and looked up to the two of them. "Then I bind you together, and may this knot last as long as your love for each other does. Good luck Raine, she's your problem now." That set everybody laughing as Lilith quickly tied a knot to join the fabric bands together in place of magical loops. "And I could not be happier about that." Raine answered, their eyes damp with unshed tears behind their glasses. Eda wasn't worried and knew they were happy tears, as she had to blink back a few of her own. Eda leant in and kissed them, hardly even noticing the sound of their family and friends clapping and whooping around them. Raine beamed as they parted, still holding her hands in theirs. "Is it time for cake yet?" A voice sounded from the ground, and when Eda looked down she found a very hopeful looking King staring up at her, whilst Raine slipped their knotted fabric bindings off each of their hands and pocketed it. "Is there anything that distracts you from food?" Luz laughed as she leant down and picked the young Titan up. He shook his head, pointing over at the cake that was waiting and plucking at his bowtie. "I was promised cake to wear this! You know how I feel about clothes. Almost as bad as Hooty does!" "I refuse!" Hooty piped up. Everybody chuckled, and Eda twirled Raine round with a smile before pulling her lover close. "Cake?" "Sounds good to me." Raine nodded, and they headed over to the food table. Eda cut King a small slice before he got ideas about leaping face-first in to the entire thing, and soon everybody was occupied stuffing their face. It was very delicious, Eda conceded. And Raine looked utterly adorable with icing smudged on their face, and tasted even better when Eda kissed their sugary lips again. The soft smile Raine always had on their face whenever Eda twirled them only made her want to do it more, something she'd done ever since they first met and started inventing their various secret handshakes. "I'm very glad you decided to come along and make the free drink taste good." Eda said as she hugged Raine to her side. Raine rubbed the back of their head shyly, then nodded. "Me too. I don't know what gave me the confidence. You were just so... different, I couldn't resist." "I am pretty irresistible." Eda answered. Raine laughed. "No argument from me." They adjusted their glasses, then reached over to the table and held a recognisable carton up to Eda. "Apple blood?" "I love you." Eda answered, and Raine beamed. "I love you too. I know you were just saying it because of the drink, but-" "I wasn't. I was thinking how I love that you made sure we had it here today, because I forgot, so it had to be you." It was the non-alcoholic version, which Eda appreciated all the more - she'd drowned a few too many sorrows with the other version. The carton was just a sweet, nostalgic treat. Especially as a gift from Raine. Raine flushed cutely, bashful and ever so lovely. Eda kissed their cheek, just to see their cheeks grow even redder, then reluctantly let go of their shoulders to get the carton open. She'd mastered use of her prosthetic, but a couple of fine motor functions were still a bit tricky. It was much better than nothing, and she completely understood - and was grateful - that Raine had gotten rid of the sigil she'd taken (probably saving her life in the process), and at the time had thought it was going to be their final action before the spell completely overcame them. She was even happier and more grateful that everything had ended up being ok. And that Raine was there with her. Once she had the straw in place, Eda slurped at the juice with a smile. "Good?" "Mhmm. Thanks Rainestorm." Eda enjoyed their little ceremony immensely, spending time with their loved ones and getting to marry Raine (at last), the warmth and comfort she felt surrounded by them all. Luz and Amity were sickeningly adorable together too, and Eda wondered how long it would be before they ended up in a similar position to herself and Raine. King, unsurprisingly, ate everything he could get his little paws on before he took a nap. Hunter and Willow were terribly unsubtle in their shy, longing looks at one another. Eda barely resisted the urge to yell at them to kiss and get it over with. They danced and dined and laughed, the freedom to be so relaxed in the air all around her. She was almost sad when it was over, though there were things to look forward to after the ceremony was done with, and then Eda would be back with the others again in good time. "I wanna go too!" King protested as they began to say their goodbyes. Luz rolled her eyes and scooped him up in one arm, using the other to hug Eda and Raine in turn. "Trust me King, you really don't. You two have fun now! We'll see you soon." Once they had said their farewells to everybody, they headed out and climbed aboard a flying broom - Hooty was spending the time with Luz and Amity, because Eda knew her dear palisman would have gotten lonely whilst all her attention was on her new spouse. The flight wasn't terribly long, though they were definitely outside of the Boiling Isles when they landed. Eda looked around them, then turned to Raine. "Where are we?" "Just a little place made by some of the Construction coven. There aren't many quiet places that are also warm, and I know how the cold hurts your arm. So I chose here. It's a vacation spot." Eda saw there was a cabin a little ways away, and they were surrounded mostly by calm waters and a quiet night sky. It was a little eerie, as Eda wasn't really used to quiet nature. "Plagues?" "Next major plague isn't due for about a month according to the charts, and the minor ones only really happen back there in the woods. We're safe here, and it's warm!" Raine spread their arms out, smiling. Eda was touched by their concern for her arm, and she drew Raine in for a kiss. Raine responded happily, nuzzling Eda's neck when they parted. They made their way to the cabin and Raine lit the candles, showing that their small amount of luggage had been sent along ahead. Good. There were things Eda needed in there! The fireplace was soon lit, and Raine pulled out yet more cartons of Apple Blood from their bag. The two removed their wedding cloaks and hung them up - between the warm air and the romantic setting of a roaring fire, it was definitely too hot for the extra layer. Raine pulled their knotted bindings from their pocket, and put them away securely in their bag. "We can decide where to put them later, I just want to make sure they stay safe for now." Once they took off their shoes, Eda and Raine settled down together on the sofa with a carton of juice each, the fire crackling in between the slurping sound of straws. It was a nice, quiet moment. Eda wasn't usually a fan of such things, but she appreciated getting to take one with Raine after the energetic day they'd had already. When they were done with their drinks, Raine shuffled closer and curled up in Eda's lap, their hair tickling her chin slightly. Eda stroked their back, smiling as she heard the little sighs of contentment Raine let out. Her chaotic energy couldn't be quelled forever though, and Raine seemed aware of it as they looked up at her, a swirling mix of love and desire visible in their gaze. They had such pretty eyes. "Want to show me the bedroom here?" Raine swallowed softly before nodding and climbing up out of Eda's lap. They led the way, and Eda followed as soon as she picked up the smaller of her two bags. Raine took off their glasses and placed them down on the side, then turned back to face Eda. The bedroom was nice. Probably. Eda only really had eyes for her spouse, beautiful in the candlelight (well, they were beautiful always, but they looked especially pretty in the candlelight at that moment). Eda placed her bag down and reached for Raine. They moved willingly, tilting their head slightly as Eda leant in for a kiss. She loved kissing Raine. And touching them. She began to work on their shirt buttons, eager to feel their skin under her hand. She'd mastered the art of undoing buttons one handed when she was still getting the hang of her prosthetic, and was happy when the fabric parted to expose their soft chest and stomach. Her hand stood out, pale against Raine's darker skin as she traced idle shapes over their chest. Raine was slender and not especially muscular, which was fine by Eda and she delighted in exploring every inch of them. Raine slipped the shirt off fully and placed it atop the nearby chest of drawers, blushing lightly under Eda's keen gaze as she drank in the sight of their now-bare top half. She dragged one fingernail over Raine's nipple, enjoying the way they gasped as their nipple swelled in response. Ever so sensitive, responsive to her every touch. It was lovely. "Want to help me out of this?" Eda asked as she gestured to her dress. Raine nodded eagerly, aiding Eda in removing the dress and they were careful to navigate the material properly over her prosthesis, her oval gem and her forever-wild hair. Her dress joined the shirt on the drawers, and she had to snap her fingers to draw Raine's attention back up to her face. "Trousers off, Rainestorm. They'll only get in my way." Raine fumbled in their haste to comply, the bottoms joining the growing pile of clothes before they turned back, cheeks flushed a dark red with a mix of anticipation and that adorable fluster they were prone to. The two moved up on to the bed before they were kissing again, Raine's skin hot under her hand as she ran it down their chest and side. Her weight tilted awkwardly, and Raine immediately pulled back in concern when Eda hissed in pain. "What's wrong?" "Leant on the mechanical elbow wrong, that's all." Raine frowned. "Want to take it off? I don't want you hurting." "Not yet, just need to be more careful." Eda appreciated their concern, but having two hands was going to make her plans for the night much easier. After a bit of adjusting, she pulled Raine back in and continued running her hand over their body, teasing trails that never quite reached any of their hot spots. Eda simply couldn't resist flustering them all the more, squeezing their soft hip and butt enough to just press her nails in. Raine didn't like pain, but a slightly rougher touch now and then was enough to have them whimpering softly in the back of their throat. Eda loved to hear it. Their cock pulsed against her stomach, seeking more contact and finding little. Eda's own arousal was reaching a point she could no longer ignore it, so she reluctantly peeled herself away from Raine's mouth to strip off her underwear. Raine followed suit, leaving the two of them naked. She eyed their cock as it twitched lazily on their belly and felt herself clench in need. It took little time to make up her mind, and Raine was very agreeable as Eda climbed on top of them to straddle their hips. "You don't get to come yet." Eda warned, and she adored the way Raine keened, their eyes already hazy with lust. They nodded their consent before Eda continued, and both shared a low groan of relief when she seated herself on their cock, savouring the feeling of reconnection. Their hands rested on her thighs, and it was hard not to feel a little overwhelmed by that earnest, genuine look of pure adoration on Raine's face as they looked up at her. She moved slowly at first, just to let herself enjoy the sensation. Those small rocks of her hips soon were not enough to satisfy Eda, and so she began to move with more speed, more purpose. Their cock stroked inside her perfectly, shaped just right to slide along the most sensitive nerves and send warm, radiating pleasure through Eda's body and she let herself soak it up fully. Only Raine made her feel as though she could let her guard down so completely. They looked thoroughly debauched under her already, hair damp along their forehead where they had begun to sweat, that beautiful flush staining their cheeks as they bit down on their lower lip, though it did little to quiet their moans and whines. Eda ran her hand down over their chest and fought the random urge to tickle their stomach, in case Raine jerked and bucked her off. Once they were both thoroughly turned on and wound up, Eda somehow managed to find the will to peel herself off of Raine. They whined in protest, their eyes wide and pleading. "Roll over for me?" Eda asked. Raine's expression changed from distressed to excited, and they scrambled to comply, turning over and raising up on to all fours. Ever so eager, she smiled to herself as she grabbed her bag from the side and opened it up to empty the contents on to the bed. Raine trembled with need, twisting their head to make sure Eda hadn't just disappeared. As though she was about to leave when Raine's cute butt was right there! As she picked up the harness, Eda prayed to Titan that her hand behaved long enough as she fastened it in place. It did, and Raine's breath hitched when they turned back and saw the deep crimson (it was her colour, ok?) dildo bob between her thighs. She dumped lube on to her not-metal hand (she had made that mistake before. It was a pain to clean!), smeared it over her fingers and then pressed one in to a very-eager Raine. They groaned, rocking back for more before she'd had chance to even move it. It didn't take much to relax Raine enough for her to fuck them by that point, but Eda did so love to tease them until they were desperate for it. However, she was also pretty desperate herself, so Eda pressed a second finger in, spreading the lube around and ensuring their body was ready and receptive to penetration. When she stroked their prostate, Raine shuddered and whined, clenching at her fingers needily as their cock dripped. They were so gorgeous like that, almost mindless with desire and babbling pleas for more, too aroused to be embarrassed in the heat of the moment. "Ready for my cock, Rainestorm?" Eda asked. Raine nodded, twisting around to lay on their back again. "Want to see you." Was their explanation, and Eda had no complaints; she loved to watch their face as they went to pieces under her. Or on top of her, when she was in the mood to have Raine ride her. But just then, she wanted to see them writhe and claw at the sheets. Raine spread their legs to fit Eda between them, lifted their hips to help her press in to them. Eda took her time and watched Raine's face, observing the way every sensation played out in their features - the initial push that stole their breath, followed by the relief at being filled properly. They wriggled until Eda was at the right angle, then nodded and let out a long, slow breath. "I'm good." She smiled and reached over to stroke their face, completely in love with the beautiful creature that turned their head and kissed the blank skin of her wrist. Raine smiled back, then wriggled their hips impatiently again, urging her to move. It was a plea Eda couldn't deny them, and as she started to thrust she fell in love with every little sound Raine let out, from the soft huffs and pants to the higher, needier cries. Their cock lay swollen and neglected on their belly, dribbling precum with each of Eda's thrusts. Eda adjusted herself a little, happier when she felt the base of her toy press just right for her to grind against when she fucked Raine, pressure on her clit enough to have her moaning in sync with them each time she bottomed out. Raine leant up, seeking more kisses that Eda was more than happy to give them, licking playfully at their mouth and tasting faint traces of apple blood on their tongue. It only made Raine more delicious, in Eda's totally unbiased opinion. As she thrust into them harder, Eda thrilled in the way her bard devolved, their hands twisting in the sheets, hips arching up off the bed as they ground themself down to feel Eda even deeper. Their hunger for more was such a turn on, and Eda found herself wondering how she ever got anything else done when fucking Raine in to a puddle of goo was an option. Eda felt the rush take her first, the erotic display of Raine losing their damn mind as she topped them combined with the pressure against her clit enough to get her off. Raine whined and pleaded "don't stop" when her rhythm slowed in the midst of orgasm, and Eda managed to claw back enough sense to continue fucking them, Raine's hand reaching down to tug urgently at their cock until come splattered over their chest and stomach, their body twisting and tensing as they cried out. When it was over Raine melted in to the bed, white fluid bright against their darker skin as their chest heaved with ragged breaths, their expression dazed and blissed out. "Wow. I always forget how intense that is, and then you do it to me again." Raine commented, still breathless and their face tensed briefly as Eda eased herself out of them, then fumbled to undo her harness so she could lay down next to her very pretty spouse. They shared a few lazy kisses, reluctant to move and clean up the mess they'd made of each other when basking in the afterglow was so much more appealing. Raine hated to sleep feeling so sticky though, so they eventually rose up on shaky legs to wipe themself down. Eda sighed dramatically before she followed suit, and just about remembered they needed to put out the fire in the other room before they went to bed. Nobody would have let her live it down if she had somehow managed to burn down a building without even casting any magic. They crawled under the covers together, Raine soft and pliant and snuggly. It was very cute. Eda took off her prosthetic before she got fully comfortable - she'd fallen asleep with it on before, and that was just an awesome way to have her arm hurt a bunch when she woke up. As they curled up against Eda's chest, Raine leant up to steal goodnight kisses before they settled down again. Eda wrapped her arm around them and counted her blessings all over again that they had finally made it to that point. All because Raine had turned up and offered to make her drink taste better when they were teenagers. Faking her own death had been the most inspired prank of her life! -TOH- QUEER ELDER LOVE! They're adorable! Also Eda has big Top vibes, so of course this is how their wedding night went down.

Explicit

A noite sempre foi uma criatura misteriosa. Em suas sombras, carrega mistérios e segredos que são impossíveis de serem testemunhados durante o dia. O ar frio toma conta do mundo e o silêncio reina. Algumas pessoas gostam de usar aquela oportunidade para festejar debaixo do brilho da lua e das estrelas, outras aproveitam as sombras aconchegantes para adormecerem e viajar para o mais pacífico dos sonos, e na Casa Coruja as crianças ficam agitadas e buscando qualquer desculpa para não terem que adormecer. — Eda, por favor, só mais um episódio! — Luz implorou para sua mãe de consideração com olhos de cachorro sem dono. Eda balançou a cabeça. — De jeito nenhum, Luz. Eu prometi pra sua mãe que colocaria você para dormir cedo para ir à aula amanhã. — Mas, Eda! — Nada de mas. Todo mundo pra cama, agora! Apesar de não quererem, todos foram forçados a subir para seus quartos. Hesitantemente, os irmãos se deram boa noite e foram cada um para seu quarto. Uma a uma, as portas foram se fechando e as crianças se puseram a dormir. Não queriam, por medo de terem pesadelos, mas não tinham outra escolha; seus corpos estavam cansados e eles precisavam descansar para recuperar a energia. Quando Enzo Gabriel foi se deitar, ele adormeceu praticamente no mesmo momento, sem passar um segundo a mais acordado. Quando ele abriu os olhos de novo, estava em um lugar totalmente escuro. Enzo Gabriel rapidamente percebeu que não estava sozinho. Ele sempre sabia quando tinha alguém por perto. Virou-se na direção da sensação pulsante e encontrou King levitando perto dele, de olhos fechados e roncando baixinho. — King? — Enzo o chamou baixinho e King logo abriu os olhos. — Enzo? Ele fez que sim com a cabeça. — Estava se escondendo dos pesadelos? — perguntou à King. — Uhum. — O pequeno titã maneou a cabeça. — Eu não sei como cheguei aqui, mas acho que pode ser a nossa conexão agindo. Enzo concordou. Ele e King frequentemente invadiam os sonhos um do outro sem perceber, às vezes até se faziam não sonhar com nada. Era estranho e eles nem sempre ficavam confortáveis com isso, mas ajudava a manter os pesadelos longe. Também explicava a razão de eles serem tão grudados no mundo desperto.  Enzo pegou King no colo e o aconchegou em seus braços. Ele sabia exatamente onde fazer carinho para deixar King cansado. King bocejou e encostou a cabeça no peito dele. — Seria legal ter um lugar para podermos ficar para fugir dos pesadelos, para onde fugiríamos e não precisaríamos nos preocupar com dormir. — De repente, os olhos de King estavam abertos. — Espera, dá pra fazer isso? Enzo Gabriel ponderou por um instante e sorriu. — Eu tive uma ideia. Juntando as palmas uma na outra, ele usou seus poderes e a habilidade do sono para criar pedras do puro nada. Então, amontoou uma em cima da outra como fazia em seu tablet até formar uma torre com o topo arredondado. Com um estalar de dedos, ele a transformou em roxo escuro. — Pronto! — Ele puxou King para dentro da torre e para o cômodo vazio. — Esse pode ser nosso quarto. Na torre mais alta pra vermos todo o mundo! — Uma torre pra cada ou vamos dividir? — Podemos fazer Torres próximas. Seremos vizinhos! — Enzo pulou no lugar e bateu palmas. — Isso vai ser tão divertido! O que mais? O que mais? Antes que King respondesse, Enzo Gabriel o pegou no colo e voou com ele para fora do quarto e para o mundo lá fora. Quando King acordou na manhã seguinte, ele se sentiu revigorado. Uma noite inteira sem pesadelos e babando no travesseiro, ele não podia pedir por mais. Ele e Enzo passaram a manhã e tarde toda desenhando e planejando o futuro de seu pequeno reino dos sonhos. Na noite passada eles construíram suas torres e passaram as horas seguintes organizando tudo, nem perceberam que era hora de acordar até o despertador tocar a todo vapor.  Luz e Hunter deviam achar que eles estavam planejando um RPG, pois não acharam estranho os ouvirem falar de uma cidade dos sonhos. — Crianças, hora de dormir. — Eda os chamou ao fim do dia. Hunter e Luz foram resistentes, mas Enzo Gabriel e King subiram correndo para seus quartos. Tão rápido que os outros dois irmãos acharam estranho. — Caramba, eu nunca vi o Enzo Gabriel tão empolgado pra dormir …Tem algo de errado. — Sem a menor dúvida. King e Enzo Gabriel adormeceram e, para sua felicidade, compartilharam o sonho novamente, bem do jeito que deixaram. Cada um acordou na cama da própria torre, do jeito que deixaram seus inconscientes. Será que tinham criado novos corpos dentro daquele consciente? Antes que King pudesse se fazer mais perguntas, Enzo Gabriel apareceu em sua janela. — Você trouxe o desenho? King ergueu o papel e sorriu. Os dois saíram do quarto imediatamente e foram terminar de construir. King gostava desse tempo a mais que passava com Enzo Gabriel dentro de seus sonhos. Ele se sentia confortável com seu irmão. Enzo o fazia sentir que pertencia. Toda vez que Luz chegava falando de algum feitiço novo que ela aprendeu ou Hunter exibia suas habilidades no Flyer Derby, King era lembrado que ele nunca pertenceria ao mesmo mundo deles. Os mais velhos de seus irmãos, mesmo não de nascença, eram bruxas, enquanto King nunca teve alguém com quem compartilhar suas frustrações. Ele era o último Titã, o último de sua espécie, ninguém poderia entender como era isso, e doía. Com Enzo, King não se sentia assim. Seu irmão o fazia sentir pertencer a algum lugar. Nenhum dos dois era bruxa ou demônio, não tinham mais ninguém além do outro que entendesse a dor de estar verdadeiramente sozinho. Foi isso que os impulsionou a virar amigos logo no início. — Acabamos! — Enzo anunciou ao terminar. King nem percebeu que ele estava trabalhando. O reino estava pronto, feito de forma mirabolante e elaborada, como um labirinto. Enzo parecia bem orgulhoso de seu trabalho, enquanto King permanecia quieto. — O que foi? — Enzo perguntou, acolhendo seu irmão mais novo em seus braços. — Eu estava pensando se seria possível trazermos a Luz e o Hunter pra cá também. Você sabe, já que eles têm pesadelos também. Apesar de aquele ser o mundo deles, King gostaria de ter algo em comum com seus irmãos. Algo sobre o que pudessem conversar durante o dia, algo que tivessem em comum. E Luz e Hunter mereciam um descanso das paranóias e medos que os afligiam a noite. Enzo Gabriel levou o indicador à boca e estreitou os olhos. — Hum… Talvez seja! — Sério? — Eu tenho um plano, mas só vai funcionar amanhã à noite. Enquanto isso, vamos criar alguns cidadãos pra nossa cidade! — Podemos usar as peças de xadrez do Hunter. — Isso! — Enzo celebrou a ideia com um sorriso de orelha a orelha. — Vamos colocar um pouco mais de vida no nosso reino. Naquela noite, King dormiria e encontraria todos os seus irmãos no mundo que ele e Enzo Gabriel construíram juntos, sãos e salvos e longe de pesadelos. Ele mal podia esperar. O tempo de tarde parecia demorar mais para passar do que a noite, quando costumava ser o contrário. Agora que ele não tinha mais pesadelos, os dias em que ele não tinha nada para fazer pareciam durar uma eternidade. Em situações assim, era bom que Enzo Gabriel não fosse para a escola. Ele sendo uma criatura que existe desde antes de a magia ser criada pelo cadáver do Titã, não precisava de aula alguma, o que fazia sobrar muito tempo para ele passar com King, além de ele inventar os melhores jogos. Quando finalmente chegou a hora de dormir, King não deixou de perceber que Hunter e Luz estavam suspeitando do comportamento dele e de Enzo, os espionando pelo canto de olho e xeretando as coisas deles quando achavam que eles não estavam olhando. Ao se deitar, King sorriu para si mesmo, pensando em toda a diversão que eles teriam juntos ao chegarem no novo reino. Ele e Enzo acordaram em suas camas, como sempre, e esperaram para ver Hunter e Luz saindo de suas torres para ver o mundo ao seu redor para se apresentarem. King tinha preparado aquele discurso o dia inteiro. O primeiro a colocar a cabeça para fora foi Hunter, que estreitou os olhos para aquele mundo e procurou qualquer coisa familiar por ali, mas não encontrou nada. — Mas o que…? — Hunter! — Luz gritou de uma torre próxima, balançando os braços para que ele pudesse vê-la. — Luz! Onde estamos? — Ele gritou de volta. Aquela era a deixa dos mais novos. Enzo Gabriel levitou King com seus poderes e o levou para o centro das duas torres, de um ângulo em que os dois pudessem vê-lo e ouvi-lo. — Bem-vindos, cidadãos, ao nosso reino dos sonhos! Onde os pesadelos são apenas um sonho! Esse slogan é idiota. Por que você me deixou falar isso? Enzo Gabriel riu e flutuou ate King, pegando-o em seus braços. Hunter e Luz se encararam, completamente confusos e processando a informação. Hunter foi o primeiro a, aparentemente, entender. — Vocês criaram um espaço na própria mente só para fugir de seus pesadelos? — Yep. E vocês estão convidados a brincarem aqui também! Sempre que terminarem, é só subir para suas torres e ir dormir, e então acordamos no mundo real! — Enzo sorriu para si mesmo, muitíssimo orgulhoso do trabalho que ele e King fizeram com aquele lugar. Hunter começou a surtar, como ele obviamente faria, reprimindo os irmãos por fazer algo assim no impulso e não falar para ninguém, enquanto Luz parecia tentar entender o submundo em que foi jogada. — Que incrível! — Ela exclamou e jogou seu corpo da janela da torre. Sendo um mundo de sonhos, ela conseguiu se fazer flutuar sem muita preocupação. — Carambolas, isso é maravilhoso! Tente você também, Hunter! Hunter pareceu querer segui-la, mas ele hesitou. — Isso parece errado. Os pesadelos têm um propósito. Fugir deles é como fugir dos seus próprios pensamentos. — Para de ser chato, Hunter! — Enzo Gabriel bateu o pé e inflou as bochechas. — Nós fizemos um mundo incrível sem pesadelos. O que mais você quer? — Nada! Só disse que parece errado. Eu li sobre essas coisas antes e sei como se reservar em algum canto da própria cabeça pode causar no psicológico físico do indivíduo. — Não é a minha própria cabeça. É o nosso reino, e se você não quer brincar, pode voltar pro seu sonho de morto. Aposto que o Philip monstro vai amar te ver de novo. Os lábios de Enzo se distorceram em um sorriso perverso e ele observou Hunter estremecer. Não tinha prazer em ver seus irmãos sofrendo, mas Hunter tinha a ousadia de ser trazido ao mundo de Enzo e King e falar que aquilo era errado, sendo que eles nem estavam machucando ninguém dessa vez. Um verdadeiro absurdo! Hunter bufou e esfregou a mão no rosto. — Eu não tenho escolha, tenho? — Se não quiser voltar pros pesadelos, nope! — Enzo sorriu inocentemente. Hunter sabia dos riscos de usar esse tipo de escapismo, sim, mas, apesar de tudo, ele não sabia se o que ele leu se encaixava com o que Enzo estava fazendo. Do ponto de vista dele, ele poderia ter feito uma dimensão inteira do zero sem nem perceber, e não seria Hunter quem descobriria. Sem contar que ele não estava afim de voltar a sonhar com Belos o matando. Hunter sentou no parapeito da janela. — Então, como que eu faço para flutuar aqui? Enzo Gabriel sorriu e estendeu a mão.

General Audiences

  HB_Bestprincipal     (To) Here it is. Feast thine eyes upon my naturally blessed beauty and wither!! [Attachment x2] [Preview]/[Download] [Preview]/[Download]   I’m such a 👾🦴✊😽 and you want all of it, you’d be like 😈🧠💥🔥💦, right? You and I we would have a 🤏💀🗣️☝️☁️☄️ kind of time   Tell ur new boytoy i say hi 😉😏🤭 ask him if he measures up lol u kno u miss my ASS 👋🍑   dont lie hhhun (From) What? Who is this? Is this a joke? I don’t appreciate the… pictures. Vaguely artistic as they are. If this is some bizarre catfish or something, I know someone who can track you. (To) OH SHIT   OHFUCK AJFSDHFSFBGS   IMFFFFFFF   DRSHDYUBK Im,, drunk k sry   Who did i even send this to. I ment for drius   If u tramitized 4 life thts mb i hope its not a minor   Im gonn aget arresrtesd shit   Just relizecd i can ur profile but look im seeing double of my own fingers rn Principal Bup[,m???   Fuck meeeeeeeeee    wait wrong choice of words NO   If the rest of the hexxc board hears about this they will not only fire me, they will  Idk   Shacve my head in myy sselnp   Sleep   Please don’t tell an21     Tail4Days   (To) I shouldn’t even respond to this, but I feel the need to be courteous. I do not know your identity. Other than someone on the school board, apparently.   (From) Maybe it should just stay that way if you haven’t guessed… oh, Titan this has sobered me right up like a hundred slaps to the face. After I paced a bit waiting for response and splashed my face with cold water too   (To) Tell me. Then I will decide the course of action. Since it appears to have been an accident, I can’t promise anything, but I would prefer to avoid getting you into trouble unnecessarily.   (From) Sigh.   Adrian Graye Vernworth. Usually just Adrian GrayeLOng story short I had issues with my family This is my alternate account   (To) Hmm.   (From) It was a complete accident, I assure you. I have no idea how on the Boiling Isles I sent that to the wrong person. Blaming the cups for hitting message w/o noticing the profile   For context (if it matters) I was trying to get back at my ex. I know he’s on a date and wanted to make it look like he has a side hustle. Which in retrospect was a horrible plan, especially since he probably would’ve figured out it’s from me… I doubt his date would’ve even seen his phone. The finger slip has saved my ass from his theoretical retaliation. Curse my being such a lightweight and doing awful, idiotic things when intoxicated.   What the hell   I guess I’m still a little… 🚀🐈🤒👻   I don’t know why I sent all that,  Try to forget about all this     Cats_Meow   (To) Revenge is a high-risk recoil spell. Ultimately, you will only hurt yourself for no reward.   (From) I see you went to my actual profile. Sorry that it’s morning   Wait no past noon now   But I   Fell asleep on the floor   Thanks for the hot advice   I should try to stop destroying my life further, honestly, but I’m a mess A hot sexy mess but a mess nonetheless   I should probably sotgp msging you now   (To) I don’t really mind. If you need someone with whom to talk.   (From) WOW   That is so kind im not crying ur crying   I dont desertvet this   You sound like a gentleman who shldnt be associating w/ me at all (To) If you have more to get off your chest or you just want to talk about your day, I’ll be here.     HB_Bestprincipal   (To) 🙀🌈🤯   OK soI’m fully sober now.   My “Ex”   We had an arrangement. You know, the kind where you get together for sex. But then we both got on the Board of Occupational, Recreational, & Educational Decisions.    Yes, it spells out B.O.R.E.D. Deamonne and Snapdragon fought over the name for weeks, so Crane did… that. I just call it the Head Witch Showdown where I place bets with Eberwolf and L. Clawthorne on who is going to “win” each meeting 🤪   A majority of them agreed on “outings” for us all to bond or whatever. It was dumb. But he and I started hanging out, and I caught feelings like a fool.   (From) You aren’t foolish. You can’t help the way you feel about someone when you connect with them.   (To) Well.   I confessed, which was also stupid. Told him I wanted more. He turned me down. Told me I would be “too much”. It isn’t the worst thing I’ve heard. Behind my back, others have said “clingy” “high maintenance” “spoiled brat” “melodramatic” etc etc   But it’s the first time something like that was said to my face.   I pretended like it didn’t rip my heart out   I started acting like a petty asshole tho   I wouldn’t be surprised if he knows what he did to me, but I act like idek what he probably knows. It’s so fucking 🥶☠️👣😈🗡️🤕 You know? (From) So fucking cold-hearted that he could walk away without realizing the pain he’d caused and left you feeling like there’s something broken with you? Did I understand that right?   (To) NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THE EMOJIS   HOLY SHIT   DARIUS WOULD FAKE LIKE HE DID BUT HE DIDN’T   MARRY ME   Uh, scratch thatComing on too strong there lol, sorry   I didn’t know you were willing to cuss. I enjoyed that.   (From) It’s quite alright. I’m sorry that happened to you.   But, hear me out, perhaps there are things you could improve about yourself going forward. I’m not suggesting that you change for anyone, just to look inward and reflect. It also sounds like you could use a bit of self-love.   Also, I swear if the situation is dramatic enough to call for it, or if I’m quoting someone. This case was the latter.   (To) Self-love? People think I’m conceited tho   (From) It’s not the same thing. I mean that you act out to cover insecurities, which people perceive as entirely egocentric behavior. In a sense, it is.   If this review is unwanted, let me know. Despite that we’ve been messaging for a short time, I find myself concerned for your wellbeing.   (To) That is so sweet You care about me more than my own living familly did even tho I was such a 🥴😰👞👅🌓   (From) I seem to have gotten quite distracted by these messages. If I don’t respond for a while, I’m catching up on paperwork. (To) Hey. Been a “minute”   I slipped into Covention under an illusion. I don’t like being swarmed by little wannabes. Not that I don’t like children… I just don’t like upstarts who think their illusions are impressing anyone. Or worse, Bard “enthusiasts” who have no idea what they’re doing.   Anyway, I saw you briefly before that fight between the Titan’s Order Coven Head and… what Coven did Eda head again? Bad Girl Coven? She was amazing. I don’t know why she calls her coven “Bad”?   (From) As I understand it, “bad” as used in that context means “rebellious”.    (To) Admittedly, between your introduction of the Head Witch and the near tail end of Hawthorne v. Hawthorne, I was scrolling Penstagram, I think I missed something but whatever   IDK if they were genuinely in an disagreemnt or if it was staged  Gave Eda a follow on Penstagram anyway   (From) I follow her as well. Though we’ve had our differences, she’s a dear friend of mine.    (To) I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side, that’s for sure   (From) Decidedly not.   (To) I’ve seen you around before, of course. You’re a natural speaker, short and to the point. I’ve heard that I “ramble endlessly” and “go on ridiculous tangents” or they “don’t know what that means” when I comment on something.    Cowards never criticize me to my face. I could take it!!! I’d probably punch them in the face, but I’d honestly think on it later.   Anyway…   Oh shit they were right Nvm that   You looked handsome up there.    When you walked past me earlier, I had this weird feeling in my stomach, I think I ate an offering from the Baking Coven that went south, so I didn’t say anything to you. Then I tripped over this little demon that was getting cupcakes too and I just dklsfjdsklfjds   Couldn’t find you after the thing but maybe it’s for the best   (From) If I may comment, at worst it sounds like you had anxiety, or possibly you were just nervous about speaking to me in person. It’s also entirely possible you did eat something spoiled or incorrectly concocted.   I wouldn’t have made fun of you tripping. I am not easily amused, especially not by physical comedy, I likely would’ve checked you for injury.   I thank you for the compliments.   (To) I’m not annoying you with all of this am I?   (From) Not at all. As strangely as this began, I’m glad for it. It’s nice talking to you.   (To) I just remembered this started bc u saw my dicc   I choked on my coffee 😿   I once again apologize for that. What a way to meet someone. It was certainly an impression, yes?     Cats_Meow   (To) Sorry I have not gotten back to you the past week. It has been hectic at Hexside. There’s this new student, and she’s caused… waves, to put it lightly.   (From) I thought the… reminder… scared you off OMT I am definitely NOT epically relieved, and I didn’t hug my scroll to my chest while breathing a noise I would want no one to ever hear   Yeah, I heard about that… new student A human if I recall??? The board is all in a tizzy. That’s so weird. A live human. What are humans like??   (To) Re: What are humans like? In a word Chaotic.   (From) Eda Clawthorne 2.0?   (To) Her pupil, in fact, exclusively prior to enrolling here.   (From) I GOT IT ON THE NOSE!!! RUSTY SMIDGE FOR ADRIAN ALL OF THE POINTS   Maybe if we follow each other on Penstagram we can keep better track of what’s going on?   (To) I don’t post that often, but alright.   (From) Hmm, I can’t help but notice there’s no pictures of a spouse?? At Covention I noticed you were there alone. Are you just a private man? I understand if that’s how it is.   (To)  For your information, I’m not married. Single in fact. Unlike in your case, my former partners had quite a lot of courage, and they called me boring, stern, dispassionate, and when I was much younger, dweebish and embarrassing.   (From) They may have been bold, but they had no brains to give up the chance to be with YOU. Those traits tend to go hand in hand, I’ve noticed.   You seem brave, but in the compassionate and considerate way   U r probably the most upstanding and interesting person I’ve ever talked to u make me use my words instead of trying to hide my emotions behind silly little icons   (To) I’m not feeling particularly courageous at the moment. (From) Why?   Hieronymus?   Hello?   You’re probably busy again. I can wait.   If something is bothering you, you can tell me. This goes both ways. Please message me back 😿😿😿   Fucking hell how do i always mess everything uip I dondf evans know wahtsh i didd dht????? Pls tell me i thoht u werent liek dath   Got pretty wasted last night oof Sorry about my last messages, if you’re even reading these anymore. I understand completely, that after me opening my heart to you,   Maybe you wouldn’t want to be direct and hurt my feelings. Well, I’d rather hear something, anything from you. I don’t get by Hexside much, since most of my jurisdiction involves my alma mater, St. Epiderm. I saw you in the market and thought about talking to you… I almost did it… but I didn’t want to seem stalkerish. I already rewatched ur adorable Hexside tour on Penstagram so many times   I was really starting to like you. Really, really like you. I miss you. Sorry that I was… too much, I guess.   Goodbye, Hieronymus. Even with this ending, I enjoyed talking to you.     HB_Bestprincipal   (From) My deepest, most sincere apologies. I hope you will check this. Your apologies would be accepted if they were necessary, but they’re not.   You know that chaos I mentioned? It got even more out of hand. The least of the events was an irate mother having the human and her friends expelled, and they kept trying to break in. I’d like to tell you more about it in person if you’d agree to meet me.   It’s no excuse, however. I could’ve sent quick messages to let you know I was here. Whenever I thought about opening the DM… I found myself stopping due to what I had been planning to say to you after the last message. More accurately, I didn’t have much of a plan but more of just an idea.   Instead I watched your videos on Penstagram and fretted in a manner not befitting my advanced maturity.   If you can forgive me, I would be grateful.   (To) Is this real life or a dream?   (From) Since you seem to be waiting for a response to this in particular It is real   (To) Full disclosure I had to put my scroll away, then scream, then cry into a pillow.    (From) Are you going to be alright?   (To) I am now. I ate so much ice cream the past while, watching dramas on the crystal ball   It’s a good thing I have a fast metabolism for my age. I may need to start hiking up the knee and back again, regardless   Btw, are YOU alright? Did anything DANGEROUS happen???   (From) A thing or two but it was… handled. My life at work has gotten more interesting, honestly. These pupils are quite spirited and have reminded me why I got into this line of work in the first place.   (To) Aw   I’m sorry for my dramatic and needy overreactions. I heard some of the news. I had HOPED you were just really caught up in shit but IDK your last message was so fucking cryptic I didn’t know what to do with myself   (From) Again, you don’t need to be sorry. I didn’t intend to stress you out.  It may have been over the top, but I was well aware of your insecurities. I should’ve known it was possible you’d assumed the worst, since it happened once before that as well.   (To) I will live!!! I’m just uh So glad you’re talking to me still   Embarrassing to admit but true…   (From) I missed you as well.   (To) You’ve seen right through meee   You’ve seen my worst and you’re still willing to put up with me. Incredible. A witch could not ask for a better friend.   Or… 😉   NEvermind!!! I didn’t mean to press send on that one lskdfjdsfhds   BY THE WAY what did you mean by that “not feeling courageous at the moment”??? It has been bothering me so much. I’m sure it’s rich, ME asking for clarification, when I’m usually the one confusing everyone with my vagueness.   (From) I wanted to ask you - Will you have dinner with me sometime, Adrian?   (To) Oh.   OH   SWEET BABY TITAN 😻🙀🌈🤯   As a romantic date? Right? I’m reading this right ?right??!?!?!?!21113454   (From) Yes.   (To) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA   oF course  Iwill hanSOEM   😻😻😻🎵🎶❤️🔥⚡💥🎂👬   Wat r words. What is air What am i but a humble 🌿 waiting to 🍂⬇️   (From) Please sit down and take some deep breaths 🤨 I’ll face call you to discuss the details     Cats_Meow   (From) Ugh this day can’t go fast enough Can’t wait for tomorrow bby Bet ur gonna knock my socks off   Oh. Should I wear socks?   Don’t answer that. I need to message Raine and Eberwolf.   (To) Excited to be seeing you then. I hope a simple dinner isn’t too lowkey for you.   (From) Not at all! It’s refreshing!   Aw, I just got the abomination carrying flowers that you sent me! They’re lovely The note was so cute, the abomination is cute, you’re so incredible 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺   Omt wait did you tell the abomination to listen to me??? I’m keeping it  It’s my pet now   (To) Glad you liked them 😊     rainey.day   (To) 🌧️🎻🧙 HELP   I’M FREAKING OUT   CROW PHONE ME NOW   Please?   (From) Why do I talk to you For Titan’s sake. I have a lot on my mind right now, Graye. But fine.   (To) THANKS I HAVE A DATE   With Hieronymus Bump   DO I EVEN REMEMBER HOW TO DATE 🤔   (From) Wait WHAT Ok I’m sending the crow right now     RAISEDBYDIREWOLVES   (To) Eber Eber   (From) Grr Drian Wat u want   (To) 💣⚔️🤷♂️👨❤️💋👨🕯️👀   (From) Wat Y do u do this   (To) Sorry, I have a date And it’s been a long time I’m nervous about wrecking it I don’t know what to wear   (From) Hhhh forget about ur past ⏳🌟 Dont be a lil clown baby 👿😒😼🤡👶 Wear clothes dummy   🙈 (To) 👍😋😎🙏   Very helpful. Gotta go I’ll update you   (From) 😏🥳   (To) I didn’t think this would happen Figured I just wasn’t relationship material   (From) 👹🤬🙅   (To) Raine dressed me. I’m feeling lowkey in a neat, approachable way [Attachment x3] [Preview]/[Download] [Preview]/[Download] [Preview]/[Download]   (From) 👌     rainey.day   (To) Can’t rly talk but cute brown hoodie went over well thx for letting me borrow    Bonus kept me warm on the way to the restaurant, though his presence helped with that too…   (From) You can keep it.   Titan, you’re soooo smitten   (To) Ok date ended now. I think Hieronymus likes me.   (From) For your personality?   (To) I know, I was surprised too Don’t let me mess this up.   (From) You’re on your own. But I believe in you.   (To) If you can get the other Head Witches to believe in me too, perhaps the raw energy of that combined will keep me afloat.   (From) Aside from Eberwolf and L, they don’t like you. And I think Eberwolf just likes making fun of you. Use good judgement, remember your empathy lessons, he already likes you, you’ll be fine.   (To) That’s fair.   Good luck with Eda on your part? I think?   (From) Don’t even go there with me.   (To) You yearrrrrrrrrn Make.a.move!!!   (From) Does a kick to your nethers count as a move?     RAISEDBYDIREWOLVES   (To) Breaking news: SUCCESSFUL DATE   (From) gg U make claim?   (To) Uh, he’s not the type to put it out on a first date! We’re taking it slow, Titan’s blood Eberwolf!!!   (From) I assumed coz its u Horny jail resident   (To) This is different. He’s special.   (From) Vomit.   (To) I know that’s ur way of saying ur happy for me 😸   (From) Get outta my dm u goo goo ga ga head (To) Platonic kisses and hugs!!   (From) NOOOOOO   (To) 🤗🤗🤗     Cats_Meow   (To) I just saw the new images on your Pensta   You actually got someone to finally go out with your ass??   It’s a Titan’s miracle   Don’t screw it up   (From) Fuck you Darius   (To) Not anymore   Fuck your new beau good so he doesn’t realize the dangerous road he’s taken.   Didn’t know cradle robbers were your style   Always thought you’d become a snail pops eventually, with your granny’s old money. You know. spoiling someone MUCH younger who sleeps around on you (From) What cradle? I am a fucking adult Is that just u wishing u were younger than me Did u want my money and name   Get in line behind my former classmates Snail digger   (To) It occurs to me, that isn’t a potential conflict of interest is it? You and him   School related influences, after all   (From) WE CAN HANDLE OUR OWN SHIT FUCK OFF BEFORE I MUTE YOU   (To) You’re the one still following me, pal I could not care less if I didn’t know you existed   (From) REMIND ME WHO WAS JUST STALKING MY POSTS?!   (To) Ugh, Alador sent me a link and curiosity got the better of me.   (From) HE WHAT   (To) He follows you for some reason.   (From) I’m messaging him   (To) Don’t you fucking dare.   (From) Duh he’s Alabomdor_1 comments on all my Fashion Tips for Losers videos    How’d i miss this We can gossip Why didn’t I think of this?   (To) Stay away from him.   Adrian.   Adrian.   ADRIAN!!!!!!   (From) teehee     HB_Bestprincipal   (To) GOOD MORNING IF DARIUS HAPPENS TO ASK WE FIRST MET AT THE BAR HE MUST NOT KNOW ABOUT THE SALACIOUS PICS   😘   (From) I already told you something similar when I departed from your doorstep, but I had an extremely wonderful time last night. 😘   (To) SAME 💯 I had a good time too. I almost thought you weren’t going to kiss me goodnight 😉 I’m so glad you did. I haven’t stopped thinkin about you.    Well, you’ve been on my mind a lot for a while, to be honest.    If I’ve ever felt about anyone the way I feel about you, I can’t remember it.   (From) 🥰   To address that… early morning message that arrived while I was asleep… Mister Deamonne hasn’t sent any messages. Yet? Should I be worried?   (To) No, it’s just he contacted me. I found out from him Alador (his boyfriend) is following me, and I started talking to the guy. We hit it off (as friends). Darius MIGHT try to pull the same shit, but with you, as in trying to get dirty details.   So, more importantly, when are we meeting up again?   (From) I’m afraid I likely won’t be free until next Friday night and the following Saturday.    The good news is that on Friday there is a “Couples Festival” being hosted at the fairground, if you’d be interested.    It’s usually… geared toward the younger crowd, but I have a feeling both of us might appreciate attending such an event after so long without a nice relationship.   (To) I would love to go to the fair with you  I could use a little getting in touch with my youth    My garbage ass high school boyfriend who dumped me at graduation thought it sounded lame, and sad as it is, that was the last time I had anything resembling an actual relationship opposed to just seeking carnal pleasure and whatnot.   Until you that is!!!     Cats_Meow   (To) Goodnight 😘😊   (From) Night night! Sending my affection!!~   Mmh I hope we can share breakfast one of these days   (To) I’d like to cook for you.   (From) I am so backed up on Penstagram after Friday My picture of us holding hands is surprisingly popular   (To) I think your followers like seeing your softer side.   (From) I thought about banking it (taking more pictures of my vulnerability for the attention) but then I felt guilty about wanting to do that WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME   (To) Adrian, sweetheart It’s called a conscience.   (From) The pet name again that you said at the carnival!  !!!!   How would you feel about Dearest DarlingKitten ?   (To) Whatever you like, my treasure.   (From) I meant for me to call you, honey apple.   (To) I know what you meant, beautiful 🥰   (From) OK, HANDSOME Wait What was I talking about…? (To) Is that rhetorical?   (From) Ehaha, Yeah   (To) I thought so.   I found the “kitten” suggestion interesting. Wouldn’t that be a nickname more befitting yourself?   (From) Someone used the word at me sarcastically in school, and I’ve been repurposing it ever since I like the irony of using it for a partner who’s older than me Also Why does everyone think I’m a cat? Besides you know, the tail and fangs Plenty of witches have extra attributes   (To) Oh. In addition to those, you use cat emojis a lot, and there’s your username as well. Apologies for my assumption.   (From) I don’t exactly refute it most of the time lol I may not be a cat afaik but I definitely vibe Hence the username, emojis, and all the cat themed pics and videos It’s possible (and likely) there’s demon in my ancestry but idk what   (To) I see. Well what you are either way is purr-fect to me.   (From) Hieronymus!!!!! 🙀🙀🙀     HB_Bestprincipal   (To) Idle thoughts during a dull meeting   If human hearts don’t have bile sacs, do they weigh less? Would that make them work much differently in dark potions? Not that I make dark potions. I may have dabbled a bit directly after graduation, but that’s JUST a rumor!   If Darius didn’t have that… Abomination thing going on, would he just be bald? I think so. Would it be shiny? Would he wax it? Would Alador wax it for him???   Alador gets really clumsy around him, it’s hilarious. They’re already together, yet. He acts like he’s still a crushing schoolboy who fears the “popular” kid he’s crushing on will laugh in his face. How had he ever been married to a woman like Odalia? No wonder he used to get pushed around.   Not that it was right of her but pfft. Poor guy. She probably sniffed it out or something.   Copy and pasted that paragraph to Lilith, Eberwolf, and Raine. Raine kept their poker face (damn), but I made the other two laugh out loud   (From) Hello Sweetheart 💖💖   I think… human hearts would react differently. Please do not go anywhere near that kind of potion making. It’s dangerous and for the desperate who lack options.   If I was the jealous type, I’d be worried that you’re obsessing a bit over your not-really-your-ex ex, but I know that’s just you being you.    Don’t think I didn’t notice those eyes of yours when that white-haired witch was talking to me at the fair a while back. I thought it was adorable, though. You have no reason to be threatened, my gorgeous and exhilarating boyfriend. (To) 😻🙀🌈🥵   Forgive me my tendency to be rather territorial, pumpkin I don’t believe you would stray, I just don’t like guys lookin at you. I don’t even want to think about how your exes used to look at you, the assholes   Who the hell thought you were boring by the way??? You’re so devoted and passionate, fun and thoughtful. Titan, I have more feelings about you than I know what to do with.   I wish I could take them out and put them in a jar for a while, just to look at them (From) Those would be my exes who thought that, as you well know, and you are not going to tempt me into giving you their names. I don’t want to find out what you’d do with that information, but I appreciate your offense on my behalf.   I too have a flood of feelings, first daily, and now sometimes hour-by-hour, with a tendency to hit me unexpectedly when I have the chance to think about you. Every day as yours and you’re mine feels like a blessing of the Titan.   (To) Holy apples    You are getting SO railed tonight 🍌🍑👅👏😵💫   (From) 😳🥰   (To) If you don’t mind, that is   I know you said you never topped before when we   Made   Did the   Uh   You know   And you topped. For the first time. Still not over that I got to be first at something with you. I couldn’t admit then, I haven’t topped either. I’m totally down for whatever (within reason), just my past partners weren’t and guessing it was the same for you.   But I don’t know if you were sick of it   (From) I don’t mind.     Cats_Meow   (To) I heard you got a boyfriend, boss!! I checked out his Penstagram. NOICE (From) Oh, hi Severine, you’re talking to me again? 🎭😸   I am sorry for being such a pain in the ass, that silent treatment was deserved. A true artist admits his mistakes and grows from them. So I’ve recently learned. Better late than never   (To) No problem, I’m happy you’re on a journey of self recovery! Reparations and forgvineness are soup for the soul!   (From) AND YEAH UR BOI AINT SINGLE NO MORE 😼😼😼😼😼😻😻😻   (To) Aw, are you guys in love?!!?   (From) 🙀 I didn’t study for this pop quizz   …   …   Maybe   …   I think im gonna tell him   (To) LET’S FUCKIN GOOOO   Gonna make a post rq if you don’t mind with #Bumpdrian !!!!   (From) Go for it   Oh.   Wait.   (To) ?   (From) Severine. SEVERINE IM IN LOVE WITH HIM   (To) yEAH!!! I thought we established that. You’re doing great!   (From) IM GONNA TLEL HIMM  WILL HE SAY IT BACK   (To) DW you’ve got this!!     HB_Bestprincipal   (To) Really, Bumpikins, Adrian Graye?   Well, I’m not judging. To each their own You could’ve done worse   As long as he treats you right there won’t be a problem   Grats on scoring a young hotty. RRRow!!   (From) Hmph. Thank you Edalyn.   He just messaged me the letter “E” and nothing else. Did you threaten him with bodily harm if he does cause a problem?   (To) Someone had to You can give Raine the “if you fuck up” talk if you want?   (From) I will pass on that. Your sister likely has it covered.   (To) Lily is about as intimidating as a toothpick. Raine’s far more badass than they let on.   (From) Now I’m told you sent images to Adrian of my time as Vice Principal… specifically from the Hexside v. Glandus v. St Epiderm staff only Flyer Derby Fundraiser Match.   (To) You’re welcome   (From) Where did you even get those?   Edalyn?   Adrian has come to the office.   …I’ll talk to you later     Cats_Meow   (From) Btw check out simply.steve on Penstagram, he was my 50 thousandth follower, and I followed him back.    He did a cover of one of my dad’s songs, so cool.    dad passed away when I was 6 😿😿 I don’t remebmer much but he and mom (also not with us, childbirth complications) were skilled at Bard magic especially & Illusions as support. Family legacy more about Illusions on my dad’s side but I have deep respect for Bard   (To) I’m sorry about that. I’ll take a look and a listen. Hope you’re having a nice day, and your colleagues aren’t giving you too much of a hard time.   I love you.   (From) The only one I allow to give me a ~hard~ time is you! HAHA! I can’t believe I said that yesterday, the 3 big words   And BEFORE we even made love that evening    wow I just re-read some messages and saw that I chickened out of calling it that before, pathetic.   That is the human term isn’t it, chicken out? I saw Hexies using that phrase in Penstagram comments. You can also call someone “a chicken”? Are they known for fear of commitment?   (To) I believe that is correct, though I’m not sure about the latter. My generation as students used something similar, calling each other a no neck giraffe.   (From) 😹😹😹   Everything I used to flinch away from comes more easily with you, it’s wild   I guess that means I have a lot of neck? You certainly seem to appreciate my neck, at any rate. Even with my fairly high collars I’m exposing evidence of my love life to the others. Darius has rolled his eyes three times. L and Eber gave me a thumbs up when I walked in.   There went a tangent   (To) I enjoy them.   (From) You know, I was actually so scared to tell you How i felt   (To) Admittedly, that was fairly obvious to me. I am of course, happy, that you got through it.   (From) Mmm! I’m glad we’re saying it now tho!! NO regrets! I love you !!       simply.steve   (From) I heard you stood with Raine, Darius, Eberwolf, Lilith, and some others against those heinous decrees that those other Coven Heads tried to pass. Who even proposed the permanent sigil thing?   (To) Some anti wild magic “activist”. Creepy ass dude.  I don’t know how he got on the board.   (From) Huh   Well, based on what I heard, he sounds like a real piece of shit   (To) Nymus found out one of his students was trying to get his social accounts shut down. Brilliant young Illusionist. I lended a hand to make sure he didn’t get hurt.   (From) How did that end up?!   (To) It’s mostly worked out.    The admins of Penstagram and Screamer locked his accounts from being able to post or direct message, and put him on a watchlist when his abusive treatment of his ward was exposed, as well as the exploitation of some other kid with weird powers? He should’ve been hard banned but apparently he didn’t technically break any of their rules 😒🙄   I’ll be called to witness at his trial soon, hopefully we can all put him away.   Oh yeah, and I gained a lil admirer in that kid He’s quite talented and insightful, would’ve rubbed me the wrong way in the past but Luckily I put that nonsense behind me, and we can share our individual knowledge about Illusion magic. (From) Very cash money! 😎  My brother started saying that, I think I used it right.   (To) 👈👈😎😋🧃🐌🐌🐌🐌   Also, I quit my job.   (From) Oh my Titan! Are you ok???   (To) I’m alright. I feel so free! I’m helping my friends with a little project.  What’s going on w you?   (From) Thought about leaving Titan’s Order, but instead I got the guts to approach Head Witch Lilith and press her with some of my concerns. We’ve been discussing how to make Coven enrolling and guidelines less strict. 🤔🤔   To kinda counteract all the controversy after the board’s in-fighting   Instead of having exclusive groups, we’re thinking about like, a sponsor and tutor system. Witches and Demons won’t “join” covens but rather support each other and pursue whichever and however many magic practices that they desire   There will still be minor covens though as usual, since they never really had restrictions in the first place, and the Titan’s Order will remain to oversee it all   (To) It seems the stars are aligned. Raine and Eda are opening a place where students and young adults can be supervised to explore their options outside of the pressure of the school system   (From) Oh that makes sense! Lol They’re clearly doing this to complement each other (To) TTYL I have to get ready for my anniversary as a couple dinner. He makes me so happy and I think I make him happy too, I’m trying (From) Congrats! I totally ship it dude! (To) Thank you 😸😸       Cats_Meow   (To) Double date? Tmrw night   (From) Hey Alador! Sure!!!   I can mess w ur mans right Just a little teasing   And telling embarrassing anecdotes to you   Does he whine about us chatting??   (To) Fine with me, Adrian, as long as it’s all in good fun. And yeah, he gets weird about it when he looks over to see me messaging you.   In a couple of weeks Darius and I were thinking of going on a trip. Would you and Pinricipal Bump be willing to watch the kiddos? I don’t want to leave them with their… with Odalia… for too long…   (From) Absolutely! LOL you can call him by his first name. See you tomorrow.   (To) Laughing my ass off~   Uhhh wrong person   (From) Please tell me what’s funny   (To) Come on, Dare-Dare don’t be like that.   Wrong one again Titan help me   (From) HAHAHAHAHAA   (To) He’s going to kill me for letting the nickname slip   (From) Sorry, already commented it on his latest post. He just told me to get fucked, which, honey, hate to disappoint but my man is at his job I’m not that sleazy.   You’re welcome to show him this message.   (To) Laughing out loud~   Yeah he isn’t actually angry at me, but he does look constipated.   (From) You know about initialisms?   (To) Is that a spice?   (From) You’re such a Dad 🤦♂️😽 Let me direct you to the video about being Cool without being “Cool” ..       HB_Bestprincipal     (To) Miss you darling! 😘😘   (From) We will see each other when you come over tonight. Regardless, I miss you as well. 😘😘   (To) BUUUUT I NEED CUDDLES RIGHT NOW I’M GONNA EAT THE COUCH CUSHION   (From) Listen to some music, sweetheart. You will have me when I’m done from work. Love you.   (To) Love you!!!!!!!!   Up for something interesting tomorrow?   (From) Yes?   (To) Double date with Darius and Alador!   (From) That’s an interesting concept. I take it that they’re already on board?   (To) It was Alador’s suggestion. Darius is being reluctantly roped in, I think. So?   (From) Only if you try to behave.   (To) Hieronymus!!   (From) Adrian.   (To) Alright, alright. Can I have one dig at him?   (From) One. After that each dig at him is how many times your orgasm is denied once we are together alone.   (To) Oooooooooh heehee You don’t play around do you Hot   You know that just makes me want to get on his nerves even more, right?   (From) Oh dear.   Well, I must go listen to parents complain. Open Doors is starting, if you forgot, I’ll be at home a little later than usual.   (To) I did forget nooooooo   I will be good and patient for youu   Don’t work too hard Save some for me!

Mature

September 1st 1989 Dear Diary, I believe I'm a good person. You know, I think that there's good in everyone, but—here we are! First day of  Highschool! And uh... I look around at these kids that I've known all my life and I ask myself—what happened? I sighed as I looked around Hexside at the horrid sight. Ever since high school had started, the madness began. Sure, I've been bullied for as long as I've known. Even before starting high school this year, Hexside always served me a bully on a silver platter. It's always the same names over and over again. “Freak! Slut! Burnout! Bug-eyes! Poser! Lard-ass!” Everything just seemed so much easier back in grade school. Then we grew up and this happened. Sometimes I wish for things to go back to the way they were. On the bright side, it will all be over soon. I’ll just continue counting the days until we're out of this dungeon called school. My university letter will be here and that’s my cue to get out of here! The dream of being in a much more sustainable environment. Everything will be so clean, so fresh, so… not covered in gum. Anything at this school just had to have gum on it. Chairs, tables, desks, you name it! Maybe, just maybe, when I get out of this hell hole, I can finally perfect my plant magic. Abominations never worked out for me, but I'm positive that plants are my specialty. As I walk to the lunch tables, I'm greeted with the usual: Augustus smacking the lunch tray out of my hands. It was the norm. Just because he was a great illusionist doesn't mean he should have the right to ruin my lunch! “Whoops,” He held back the urge to laugh. “Augustus Porter,” I roll my eyes, “Top illusionist, eighth year of smaking lunch trays, and being a huge dick,” I spat at him. His hand raised his right hand, looking as if he was about to cast a spell on me, “What did you say to me, half a witch?” He glared at me, his finger starting to swirl into an illusion spell. “Ah! Nevermind!”  I quickly duck as a spell is blasted right over my head. The line of fire just grazing the top of my head. You’d think that magic in the hallways would be against the rules, but is actually encouraged among the students here. So much for safety here. At this point, I don’t even stand around to sulk around my floor lunch. I just move along to my seat. “Hey, Luz.”  “Hey.” I sit down at our lunch table. Luz and I had been really good friends for a while. I suppose befriending the new kid had its perks. No one would ever think of being friends with half-a-witch Willow, but Luz was different. She didn’t care about that, because she stood out a bit too. “Is movie night still on tonight?” She looked over, taking a bite of her PB and j. “Of course, you're on Jiffy Pop detail,” I give her a smile. She takes out her phone and begins to scroll through it. Soon, a picture of a movie cover pops up and she shoves it right in my face. “I rented Monster Slayer Academia: The Movie for tonight!” “Again Luz?” I giggled, “aren’t you able to recite that whole movie by now?” “Hey! I'm just a sucker for complex plot lines and character development!” She shrugged, beginning to scroll through the tons of anime edits on her penstagram. Though, the moment just had to be ruined (once again.) The sound of his voice practically echoed through the entire lunchroom when he spoke. Even when he wasn't yelling, he was still so loud! “Watch out! It’s Luz the Human, ahhhh!” His hand swept across the lunch table. Once it reached Luz’s lunch tray, it was flipped over on the ground within seconds. I could see her depressed facial expression from the corner of my eyes. I looked up at Mattholomule. He was pretty smart outside of your average nine covens. I would say it's equivalent to being an anime nerd like Luz. “Pick that up, Matt!” I’d yell as a slammed my hands down on the lunch table. He shot me a glare, “You talking to me?” He pointed to himself.  “Yes, I am! What makes you think that you can just pick on my friend? It’s ridiculous. I think the wild witches are waiting for you to go and join them!” Matt gave me a good stare, right in the eyes. Or so I thought… His face inched closer, and closer, and closer with that stupid-looking grin on his face. His finger raised up, poking me right in the forehead as he spoke, “You have a zit, right there.” I groan as laughs his ass off, watching as he runs back over to Gus to give him a fist bump. “It’s alright Willow!” I hear from beside me, “I really don’t mind it anymore. And at least I’m self-aware that I'm a little different at Hexside, “She smiled, pointing to her round ears. My hands fall back down to my sides as I slump back into the small lunch table seats. Glancing down at my diary, I debate on writing once again. At this point, that book is filled with a whole bunch of Gus and mAtt incidents. “Back at it again with the diary?” Luz ask. “I’m not sure,” I sigh, “I have been writing in it a whole lot lately, but the only thing interesting in this book is every bad thing caused by Gus and Matt. The Titan is really giving me some mixed signs.” “Does the titan know what he’s doing?” I push the diary far into my backpack after closing it, “Who knows, just need something live for.” “Something to live for,” Luz hums as she scans the lunch room, until something caught her eyes, “What about them?” Her voice went from curious to... Even more curious. This was definitely worth looking at, maybe even worth living for. I look over to where Luz is gazing at. And to my surprise, it almost looked like a pep rally in here. It was like the Titan was providing a spotlight for the cafeteria entrance. Angels sing and their songs ring in every student’s ear as they all turn their heads to see what all the gossip is about. Some students even stand up to welcome them in. The top students, the perfectionist, the best of the best, the grudgby girls, the… whatever other name there is to describe perfection. How anyone would do anything to be just like them. I glance over to Luz who is absolutely mesmerized by them. “I would give anything just to sit at their table,” her head rested on her hands, “People might just take me seriously for once.” “Oh Luz,” I sigh, “You know how horrible they can be!” “I know, I know, but you just can't help but love them, am I right?” “Not really,” I groan and look back over to them, strutting down the hallways just to enter this smelly old lunch room. Luz wasn't really wrong about the first part. She and many others would do absolutely anything for them or to be like them. They practically bow down to them like these girls are some kind of gods who run the whole world. This is definitely going into my diary later. No one even really knows what to call them. They're just Beautiful. I like to call them the Grudgby Girls, or just by their actual names. There’s Skara whose part of the grudgby and flyer derby team. Her parents are loaded so she can do all these sports. Boscha is captain of the team. not the most popular, but she still acts like a snake. Lastly, there’s the all mighty, Amity Blight. Star grudgby player, top student in the abomination class, and one mythic bitch. Lunch passes with the usual gossip, drama, and bowing down to the grudgby girls. Even Luz was practically hypnotized by them, specifically Amity. I wouldn’t doubt that she had the hots for her, but I wasn't going to be the one to cheer her on. “Do you think Amity will ever notice me?” “Very doubtful,” I tossed my bag over my shoulder just as the bell rang. “Aw man,” Luz stood up as well with her bag, “I’ll see ya later, Willow!” “See ya,” I wave goodbye to Luz, watching her make her way through the crowd of kids. And now I'm back to being alone. No friends other than Luz. But the grudgby girls had friends. I mumble to myself as I walk down the hallways and into the bathrooms. Speak of the devil, there they are. I quickly glance over to them, noticing Boscha throwing her guts up into of the toilets. The smell reeked through the bathroom and the grunts echoed off the walls. Amity and Skara stand beside her near the stall. Almost like they were her bodyguards. Trying my best to ignore them, I walk over to the mirror. My fingers run through my messy dark hair as I tie it back up into two low pigtails. As I do so, I can hear them talking. “Grow up Boscha, puking isn't that bad,” Amity spoke. Unlike Amity, Skara offered more help to her, “Maybe I could take you to the nurse?” “Yeah,” Boscha rolled her eyes, “Like that’s going to help.” She didn’t seem to like Skara’s offer, but she’d start to regret that when she lowered her head down to the toilet again. The sounds of her puking made me want to gag. I soon came to realize that we were alone. It was just me and the Grudgby Girls. It gave a bad feeling to my stomach. Maybe I should go and try to throw up too. Just the thought of the girls closing in on me gave me such a stomach ache. I was alone, with no one to defend me if the worst happen, except… “Amity! Skara!” a voice spoke, “and is that Boscha in there?” I turn my head to see the illusions teacher standing a few feet away from the girls. Thank the titan, I was saved. “I see you girls have missed the bell with all this vomiting, I'm going to have to give you detention for a week,” The teacher spoke. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a slip of paper. I watched the terror form on Amity’s face as she did so Amity then stepped up, “But our friend Boscha wasn’t feeling well, we're in here to help here.” The teacher chuckled, “A nurse is always an option too. Besides, your gonna need a hall pass!” It was so quick. I didn't even remember doing it. Within that short conversation, I did it. Reaching into my bag, pulling out a pen and jotting something down. Quickly turning around, I held out a hall pass. “Actually, all of us are out on a hall pass. For the yearbook class,” My face grew hot and my hands were sweaty as she took the paper from me. The teacher looked down at the paper, examining it closely. Her tongue clicked to the roof of her mouth. I didn’t even bother to look over at Amity at that moment, I just hoped it really worked. “Well, it looks likes you are all listed on here,” she gave a stare before returning the paper back to me, “Make sure to get to class though,” And with that, she walked out. I sigh in relief and hold the paper tightly in my hand. But I was far from relief now. I felt the presence of Amity and Skara circling around me. They both peered over my shoulder, looking at the slip of paper. It wasn't long before the paper was snatched from my hands. My body trembled as I watched the two of them examine the paper. Just as the teacher did. “This forgery,” Amity pressed her finger to her bottom lip, “It's perfect. Where did you learn to do this, Willow?” Sometimes I forget that we knew each other when we were younger. I went over ot her house almost every day until the day she told me off. Calling me half-a-witch, and making me leave early. We haven't spoken since. But now, things were about to change. “Just over the years, but,” my hands fidget, “But, I have a request,” “And that is,” Amity’s voice grew annoyed already. “Let me sit at your lunch table for just one day, no talking necessary. I can’t handle the constant disrespect and if I sat with you guys, maybe they could stop.” Skara and Amity gave each other a quick glance before laughing. I could already see it now. The Grudgby Girls now bulling me for the rest of the year. I regret asking at all. “I could also do report cards, permission slips, and absence notes,” I added. Boscha’s head peeked out from the bathroom stall, “prescriptions?” “Shut it, Boscha,” Amity’s hand raised.  She gave me a closer look. Her attitude seemed to cool down and she was open to talking now. Skara examined me as well. “You know,” Amity began, “For a little wallflower like yourself, you've got good bone structure.” Skara’s handed came up to hold each side of my face, “And your skin is so silky smooth. That’s very important.”  “I think she should lose a few pounds, don’t you think?” Boscha rose up from the ground. Amity hummed before turning back to her little group. They gathered in a small circle, only faint whispers to be heard. I was getting nervous as to what would come next. Amity turned around once again. All the girls had their eyes on me now. “Oh Willow, we can make you so beautiful. Maybe a little make-up, and we can work with this,” she smirked, “Bosha, I'm going to need your makeup bag and Skara! Your brush! We're going to make this wallflower beautiful.”

Mature

"Why can’t you see how much I love you, Caleb?" It's a simple list of ingredients. They lay still on the table before him: the breath of an ancient beast, tucked within the breast; the heart of power, round and bright as an eye; all-too-familiar streaks of greenish blue, wrapped around its layered core like skin. And in his arms, the glittering grey selkidomus scales. They're heavy, but not as heavy as his heart. "I won’t let this world or that witch take you away from me forever." Soon, he tells himself. The witch may have won, but Philip will come out in the end. When Caleb rises like God's own son from the ground, rescued from the cold hollow of death, he'll be better, smarter—this time, he'll stay. He'll take Philip's hands in his own, look at his brother with those wide brown eyes, and he'll smile like nothing was ever the matter. "You'll see soon." The words are whispered like a prayer, dark like a promise. "I'll show you the way, my love. The true way." What's left of the man who once was Caleb Wittebane does not reply.

Mature

Me: Is asexualWhen she has three A’s in her name: OH TAKE ME NOW~

Explicit

The day after the break up made everything feel like a distant dream. Eda woke up in a pile of her own feathers, the anxiety already bubbling at the pit of her stomach.  Last night she was drowning in her own tears, now it was the feathers. She could never catch a break. Getting up was a struggle but she could get through it, she always would.  Eda pushed herself to change into new clothes; she hadn’t changed since yesterday when she came home and collapsed into her nest. She put on cozy pajamas and her skin felt the relief of being freed from her dress.  Eda tried not to replay last night’s memories, but she found that her mind easily drifted back to Raine. It was going to be hard to fix that.  A hoot was heard downstairs. Hooty provided at least a bit of support and Eda appreciated that. She wouldn’t be able to handle this alone. It made her wonder how Raine was doing now. “Hoot, hoot! Hello, Eda!” How Eda could find a shrill voice like his so comforting was beyond her.  “Morning, Hooty. Can you lock everything up today? I can’t deal with any distractions right now,” she groaned, a hand rubbing her face and the other grabbing a cup of apple blood. For Titan’s sake, even that reminded her of them.  A hoot resounded through the house, “Isn’t Raine coming around today?” Eda felt a sting in her chest as her ears drooped, and she gulped down the rest of her beverage. “We broke up, Hooty.” “Oh… I’m so sorry, Eda,” he let out a dejected hoot and looked away. “Is there anything I can do to help, maybe? Hoot?” Eda stretched her arms outwards and Hooty came rushing in, his beak in a small frown. Eda felt tears pricking her eyes but she promised herself not to make a huge scene out of it. She tightened her hold on the demon once more before letting go.  “Thanks, Hooty. I’ll call you if I need anything.” Being without Raine was like trying to relearn how to walk. Eda knew there was a point in her life where she wasn’t around them 24/7, but it was so far away that her lungs ached when she tried to breathe without them with her.  Raine wasn’t just her partner, they were also her best friend and her twin flame. It was always both of them together for years. How does one go from having everything to feeling hopeless?  Eda felt her heart constrict. Through a window, she watched the sun hit its peak. She had to pick herself back up, she just had to.  But for now, she’d let herself silently cry just a bit longer. When Eda saw Raine again, it was a strange feeling. They were older, of course, but they still shone so brightly like all those years ago.  Something in their eyes hinted at a different story, and Eda was sure she wanted to know.  Coming across the BATTs was a coincidence, but something about this meeting made Eda believe that she was meant to talk with Raine again.  “Rainestorm.” “Haha, haven’t heard that in a minute.” It had been so long. So long without a special nickname, and even worse, so long without it coming from that special someone.  Every touch or hand hold threw Eda back to her teenage years; days where she didn’t have the curse and when everything didn’t come spiraling down and crashing onto her. It felt freeing in a way.  She had no idea how Raine felt now, but every glance or form of eye contact would send them both into a flurry of emotions. A look told Eda a thousand unspoken words. As they caught up, Eda felt the blood rush to her cheeks once more, just like when they were younger. Maybe things never changed between them. Or at least, her feelings still remained.  Eda’s ears fluttered when she heard Raine get closer to her, their voice just barely above a whisper. “I really missed you, you know.” Eda gulped, trying to wear away her flushed face. “I missed you, too.” Raine’s hand was so, so close. Eda wanted it to be closer. She wanted to interlock their pinkies, just like when they were young lovers.  Raine took the initiative and placed their hand on hers, caressing her fingers. They sat in a certain silence that allowed them to be themselves for once. When Eda looked back at Raine, she saw them already looking at her. The look in their eyes could make anyone swoon.  “I’m glad I found my way back to you.”

General Audiences

It's getting late. Midnight is nearly upon you. The darker the sky grows, the more you're feeling the weight of sleep's shroud. For all your sleepiness, though, your girlfriend is as awake as ever; Luz is trying to show you the latest fantasy anime, eyes glued excitedly to the screen, and so you keep your own sleepy eyes wide open.  She's adorable. Her blue nails glitter as she points at the screen, calling your attention to the parts she thinks are cool or meaningful. Her smile wraps itself around quiet words as she spoils things before they happen because she's so excited for you to see it, for you to know it.  You didn't know she's already seen this one. She's rewatching it just to show it to you. You really want to stay awake with her, to show your appreciation by being an active participant, but sleep calls to you, loud and irresistable. Her chest is warm and soft beneath your head. Her arms around you are comforting, lulling you into a sense of total security… Despite your best efforts, you keep falling asleep, woken every few moments by an excited gasp or another long explanation of what's just happened on screen. You can't even find it in yourself to be grumpy, even in your sleepiest state. She's precious like this and seeing her happy and eager like this just delights you. It's the stuff of dreams; you wonder, as your eyes fall shut again, how much of this you'll remember in the morning.

General Audiences

Weird, that’s what Edric felt today. It was like he was detached from reality and was a walking robot of little too nothing. But it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter that he had ripped everything after the 15th of his calendar, didn’t matter anymore He took every step carefully, every step in short order. He quit his part time job first, to be honest his fellow workers and boss were so kind. He didn’t deserve it He sold every single thing he had left, his room was barren and dense. Even Emira commented on how sad it looked. Even now Edric didn’t have the emotional process to think of his sisters He closed out the frail bits of money left in his bank account, the money he saved for something long ago. He can’t even remember now because the memories are to faded Finally he stacked it all up in a little pile, carefully placed into an envelope with the words “the money I owe you” when he came to his Dads room he found both Amity and Emira sleeping there as well snoozing away in peace. Even though they didn’t admit it they did have nightmares and sometimes Dad made it easier Alright, placing the money he left   It was so early in the morning, early enough for nothing but cars and frail sunlight. Here Edric Blight, powerful awesome and cool found himself on a bridge to die The water was cool and calm, the little fish dancing around and waiting for food. He could feel himself now, upon a bridge falling down, static and white light burning his eyes down Down DOWN He was snapped from his thoughts as a crackle entered the air, it was fireworks upon the side of the bridge. A family set beautiful fire works of and happily enjoyed each other’s company And for a moment Edric Blight lost the tiny pieces of pride he had left for a new feeling entered. Instead of what he thought he would do today he decided to walk away and figure out something else To put it simply Edric wasn’t always like this. A long time ago he was smart, quick witted, someone who cracked jokes and had many friends in little circles. Sure he only ever hanged out with Emira in his spare time but it wasn’t that big of a deal Wherever Edric Blight went friends stung along with him. I mean the ladies loved him! Amelia, Cat, hell Boscha respected him enough to chill with him. And even if that year Emira his true bestie was not in his class it didn’t matter because Edric Blight was on top of the world But everything changed and Edric couldn’t blame anyone but himself It was just another day, tedious and boring but another day in any sense. Fiddling around with his eraser he did really miss Emira next to him at his desk. But it began to be quiet for a moment as Teach came in “Alright class settle down, we have a transfer today so be nice alright?” Bria perked up “hey Edric I hear it’s a guy! You might have another friend!” Edric simply rolled his eyes, even if it was a dude would he be as cool as him? But finally the new kid walked in, and it was a oddity to be sure. He had pale blonde hair, magenta eyes, a quiet face that while not smiling was filled with emotion. He was very uptight be be honest and seemed a bit on edge “This is Hunter Wittebane, wanna introduce yourself?” Teach spoke in his usual monotone voice. But the kid didn’t move for a moment, still staring at the class What was his deal? Edric went back to fiddling with his eraser, punching little holes with his pencil into it. The kid keep staring and finally Teach tapped his shoulder. It was like the kid activated finally and quickly opened his bag Whispers were coming now as the kid took out a writing book, with the name “notebook for conversations” and everyone looked on as the pages were opened “Hello, my name is Hunter Wittebane. May god bless everyone today The words were big enough to see but small enough in neat little crevices “I would like to understand everyone though this notebook” Alright this was odd, a random student shows up with a weird notebook and silence? “If you wish to talk with me, please use this notebook for each conversation” What the hell? Why a notebook? To be honest Edric was intrigued and so was everyone else still whispering in confusion But finally the kid flipped the page one last time and brought it up for everyone to see the simple yet quiet words. “I’m deaf” And for a brief moment the new kid smiled just for a moment in a hopeful glance. And Edric could not believe what the hell that would happen now At first New kid wasn’t all that bad, despite being deaf. He had cool facts and was pretty fast at writing. But than problems started up and things went down hill. “Alright remember to file this, page 15 and- New kid was obviously struggling so Bosh helped him out. It wasn’t that big of a deal since she only had to help him every once a week since he would just write the new stuff down later. But it didn’t help to much in making a good reputation for him Music is what took the kid down, the choir contest was a big thing for everyone and the entire class had been working super hard to do it right. But at New kids first practice he sounded like a dying animal. Off key, off time, and it sounded like someone stepped on a dogs tail. Even when Bria told him when to start it was obvious they were not winning “Guess what Ed! Next year we’re finally gonna be in the same class again! Mom bribed the school for us!” Emira was practically giddy and Edric was just as excited. “Sweet I have to admit Em it is boring without you in class, promise to cause just as much chaos?” Ed and Em quickly did their famous handshake before dashing of to class. It might have been the last time they did it as well   “Dipshit” was what Boscha whispered when Teach was in every word a dipshit. But anyway though New kid needed Bria to point out what to read, and like choir practice nobody could understand anything. His voice was too quick, mushed together, and it was like a gurgle of spit. The only words Edric could make out were “stubborn” and “apologize” “Alright that’s good. Edric you go” Ed stood and looking at the pages an idea came to his head. I mean it was just a joke right? And this class was so boring a joke wouldn’t kill anyone So of course the class clown he was Edric slurred and imitated New kids voice which got a reaction, music and flowers to him. “That’s enough Edric” sitting down again all he could think was the laughter radiating the room. See it did make everything better! But of course every day comes to an end and the routine starts again. Sure he had to wait for Em and Mittens before walking home but it wasn’t that big of a deal, he was used to it. Waiting by the play area though out of the corner of his eye he noticed New kid all alone, climbing the bars aimlessly To be completely honest, New kid was starting to piss Edric off. It was annoying how much the kid didn’t know how to socialize or even just do normal shit. So of course tiny pebble came the kids way and he turned to the famous Blight “You know if you actually want friends you should stop bringing that notebook around alright?” But New kid didn’t seem to be phased really, instead walking towards Edric confusing him “What do you want?” New kid pointed towards Edric, back to himself, and finally shook his hands together “Ca w Ds?” What the- Edric was confused, nobody not even his own Mom made him this confused. So like a child, he picked a small handful of dirt and blasted it at New kids face “Your such a freak!” New kid almost seemed paralyzed for a moment, not moving any longer and frozen in place. It didn’t matter to Edric never did. He had to find his sisters now no point waiting for this random kid. Walking away he couldn’t notice the dimming in New kids eye “So who here would like to learn sign language?” The other teacher happily called for everyone hoping to find someone. But the class was perfectly quiet nobody bothering to even move. “Jeez isn’t the notebook enough?” Boscha said loud enough for at least a few people to hear. She didn’t seem concerned at all when she rolled her eyes at the suggestion as well But to everyone’s surprise one kid decided to learn, Willow Park. She was even kinda giddy happily understanding and trying with Wittebane. But what did that make her anyway? A goody two shoes of course. And that’s exactly what Boscha said to Willow almost everyday “Willows more of a freak than Wittebane to be honest” was another comment thrown around by a few others. And one day Willow never came back, leaving an empty desk in her place. Edric could notice in every way, hell Mittens and Willow could have been besties if his baby sister were a little bit older So one lazy afternoon, Edric took things up a notch. “Cat you write over there yah? I’ll get this one!” Bria and Boscha were giggling watching his art unfold. “Don’t you think your going a bit to far Ed?” Boscha said still with that laughing smile “Nah I could go further! So let’s put it at that!” Throwing the chalk to the board the gigantic sentence was on display. “Thanks so much Wittebane, you ran away Willow! Hope your happy!” “It’s brilliant if I say so myself!” But the moment was quickly interrupted when Wittebane actually walked into the class. He stared aimlessly at the board for a moment but quickly Edric saved the moment. “Oh no how could anyone write this?” Dramatically erasing the board, Em always said he was a drama kid It was quickly blank again, but Wittebane stood unmoving for a moment before picking up the chalk and writing thank you. He still didn’t smile but he was grateful. “Y-yah ok. I gotta go guys gotta get Mittens” Waaah! Edric screamed into the paper microphone, and Wittebane was obviously shocked. “Alright that’s enough Edric” Teach went back to the class and Edric couldn’t help but continue to giggle But he couldn’t notice Boscha had an idea, or rather a curiosity of sorts. She went up to the kid asking “Hey Wittebane what’s in your ears?” wondering curiously. “Oh those are hearing aids, maybe this means Wittebane can finally hear!” Bria replied tilting her head “Mind if I see them?” Wittebane clipped one of them off and held it quaintly. “Yo Bosh! What the hell is that?” And in an instant Boscha grabbed the hearing aid and threw it to Edric. “Holy shit this is gross!” Before Edric threw it out the window far far away The entire week or more was like this, trying to see who could get Wittebanes hearing aids and Edric was the winning champion. Burying them in the dirt or throwing them in the trash was always fun. Not to mention writing and drawing shit in Wittebanes notebooks, and continuing a raid of hilarious fun For the first time class wasn’t a boring dull! He has made everything better hell even his Mom agreed that this was a good thing, so one day he took it a step further and in a flash ripped out Wittebanes hearing aids again He squeaked in pain before covering one of his other ears. The laughter was gone now as Bria concerned came over to check on him. And when a trickle of blood came down Wittebanes arm it was obvious Edric did kinda screw up   “Sigh I better find Em soon, I need someone to practice pranks with!” Edric was sighing with Amelia and Cat before Wittebane came strolling in. “Move your in our way” but Wittebane didn’t move instead writing in his dumb notebook. Edric began to move himself away from him but a notebook was shoved into his face. “I’m sorry” “Your not sorry, you just want pity!” Edric grabbed the notebook and watched as Wittebane began a new idea. He did it again, the weird gesture of his hands. Pointing to him, pointing back, than shaking his hands. Looking up to Edric his face was hopeful But Edric didn’t have time for some weirdo, some weird kid like Wittebane. So he instead tossed it into the little pond and walked away with his friends giggling in his step He didn’t notice Wittebane stepping into the pond, half drenched looking for the notebook. He didn’t notice Wittebane praying to someone in that cold dirty water He didn’t notice how bad things had gotten “Hello class I’m disappointed to be here with this piece of news” The principal was quiet and the room felt odd in every way. “I just got a call from Mr Wittebane that all four pairs of Hunters hearing aids have gone missing or have been damaged. Now hearing aids are very expensive and bullying is most likely at play” Silence filled the area and Edric was snapped to reality. “So if you know what happened come forward or we will have to bring in your parents.” It felt like something broke through Edric and for the first time he realized this wasn’t a game. This wasn’t another trick he could get away with and he felt a cold shudder Slowly he tried to raise his hand, slowly in perfect fear trying to get up. “Edric we know it’s you” and in another motion the Teacher slammed the blackboard. Immediately Edric stood up with a nervous smile on his face “Boscha what do you know?” Teacher asked and Edric was surprised to her reply. The girl next to him, the girl he considered a friend quickly spoke against him without hesitation. “Well he can be sorta mean to Wittebane, if that’s anything” Edric was completely shocked more so when Amelia chimed now. “We tried telling him to stop but Edric just kept at his games” “W-that’s not true! I’m not the only one! The boys did it and the girls as well! Your all lying!” But his efforts fell on peering eyes as a little wimper came from Bria. “I-I would never do such a thing!” And it became apparent that Edric Blight had screwed up ——————- “See you tomorrow Ed” here he was now sitting in the pond with his books and papers spewed in the waters. He was honestly shocked and it was static burning his brain. Cat pushed him in, he knew her as his bestie and best confidant in every way. But I guess he was kidding himself He didn’t bother to find Em or Mittens and went straight home. Entering the gigantic mansion that was their house he could here his parents arguing. Edric tried to get away but Em caught him first “There you are! Jeez I had to get Mittens by myself asshole! And Dad is pissed about something, what did you do?” Her voice was worried but Edric was too filled his resentment and shock to care. But he still couldn’t move as his father came out “Edric I got a call from the school what happened?” Emira was now even more afraid before Edric snapped. “Fine it’s true alright?!” Turning to face them he saw the shock and disappointment on his Fathers face and the horror on his twin sisters face. Shame spread Edrics face and in a flash he ran up the steps away from everything, away from the screw ups he had committed ——————- All he did that night was hide in his closet, hugging his knees and hoping his parents wouldn’t find him. But he heard a knock at the door, and in some stupid act like always he opened to find his Fathers quiet face “Edric I need to tell you something right now” bending down to his son he sighed and Edric knew something was wrong. “Your Mother and I are getting a divorce and you’ll stay with me full time, along with your sisters.” It felt like the world had turned upside down in a liminal pass way. It felt like everything was different, everything was now a living difference. “Edric I need you to know this is nobody’s fault except for mine and your Mothers. It was something I should have told you about sooner and I’m sorry for that” He felt numb, and yet it didn’t hurt as much as it might have. “If you want to see your Mother more often we can change the schedule. And don’t worry I will answer any question you have.” “Does Emira know? His Father nodded and gently laid his hand on his sons shoulder. “I know this is confusing and I’m sorry I haven’t been around enough to help. For now know that we will be with you ok?” Edric finally broke and hugged his Father close letting himself bring down the gaurd Everything would be ok, it would be. Despite everything Edric knew it had to be ok. It needed to be ok. It felt like the world had fallen apart for Edric Blight now. For one his friends hated him. Stealing his shoes, pushing him down the stairs, dunking water onto his head. It was every little game he played on Wittebane but now he was the victim His Mom barely talked to him about the divorce, she seemed more like this was a business deal lost than her own damn kids. So in some cosmic weird way Edric didn’t mind staying with his Dad full time. The papers, the talking, the moving it was so much. But at least he had Emira who after time of being pissed was there to comfort him in his situations. He felt blessed to have her and it was nice when she hugged him and made sure he came home not wet But it didn’t matter because life sucked. Packing, going to school, listening to Amity cry it was so much. And it wasn’t going to stop no matter what happened next. But of course life had to go on and for Edric it did go on Another tedious day, dropped into the pond again and shoes stolen. He may as well return to class and fetch his other stuff right? But as he looked through the door he noticed the figure of someone, that someone being Wittebane “What the hell is he doing?” Edric matched forwards pushing Wittebane away and realizing the amazing surprise. His desk was shiny clean. No marker words about how he was a failure or a monster, no passive aggressive words about how he should leave It was clean, a tidy clean desk. And in that moment Edric snapped and pushed Wittebane away. “Don’t touch my stuff you freak!” But the blonde kid looked at Edric and actually smiled. It was soft, small, but a quiet peace offer But Edric was too mad for this, to angry at the world and the kid who ruined everything. “Stop looking at me like that! If you want something to say say it!” He couldn’t help himself now pushing Wittebane into the desk and trying to get some sort of answer “If you want to say something say it!” And in a flash Wittebane bit his hand. “What the hell why did you bite me?!” It was a raging battle now of kicking and Wittebanes strange voice as the two clashed. But in a turning event Wittebane pushed Edric down and got on top of him shaking him in frustration Edric already kicking back but for some reason he was overpowered by the pure insanity that was Wittebanes voice. “Ib tri ttt bst I ca!” Edric couldn’t understand anything and it made him mad, what was he saying?!. But finally though Wittebane relented and stopped in defeat. His quiet voice echoed once more before he ran off and didn’t look back After that Wittebane never came back, he wasn’t their with his notebook or the cloth to clean Edric”s desk. And for the next few years Edric Blight lost a lot He lost his friends, his reputation, his Mother, his innocence. And no matter what he couldn’t blame anyone but himself now. Emira and Amity were his only friends and even than they had a life outside of their pathetic brother So that’s why Edric was here on that bridge so early in the morning. But in one final decision he decided he needed one more thing to do. Was it stupid, soul crushing, and most likely end in traumatization? Probably but it was what needed to be done

Teen And Up Audiences

Stitching up at his light purple leggings, Darius hummed peacefully, mending a stubborn stitch that had ripped with force after a particular guard had accidentally dragged their spear far too close past the Coven head, as they rushed to their assigned station- earning them a heavy scolding from the older man.   It was midday and he was seated in his office, earning himself the break Coven heads got that the guards often didn't. He couldn't lie, Darius pitied their poor souls- although maybe not the foolish, little one who had ruined his perfect garments. Sighing, he placed down the fabric in hand with the needle laid on top of it and grabbed for the cup of coffee he had prepared earlier, as he took in a big sip.   "Dada!"    Almost choking on his drink, Darius placed the mug down on his desk and turned to the little witch's voice that rung, coming through the door that he cursed himself for forgetting to lock. Last time he checked, he had no children, but the little 'menace' that waddled into the room wasn't his son.   "Hunter! What are you doing here?!" Alert, Darius gave a quick circle of his finger to pull the fabric and needle away from his lap, before the little boy could run up to him, as he stood. "Uncle Belos said I could explore the castle and I wanted to see you!" In a sweet, high-pitched tone the four year old clung onto his leg, looking up at him with a wide, toothy grin with no need to hide the gap that lay between his two front teeth. At that, Darius couldn't help, but smile. "I'm glad you did, little prince." With a ruffle of his shaggy, short, blonde hair Darius kneeled down to his level.   "What are you doing, Dada?" Curiously, he eyed over the torn garments with his round, ruby eyes akin to the stone itself. "You can't call me that Hunter…" With a sigh, Darius returned to his handiwork, trying not to think too hard on an impressionable child's words.   It's not that he necessarily disliked Hunter's fond attachment to him, finding the boy to be a pleasant company whenever he was on babysitting duty or the witchlet happened to stumble upon him during coven duties, but it did bring to light many questions surrounding him Darius held silently.   "Why not?" Hunter questioned with a childish innocence. "Because…" Darius stuttered, "Actually, nevermind." Hunter gave a hum and swiftly moved subject, leaning over Darius' lap. "What's this?" He pointed a finger to the perfectly neat stitch Darius had sewn in with a matching thread. "That is my sewing, little dove." He smiled softly over the young witchlet. "Can I help?"  "I'm afraid you're too small for that, but you can watch and learn." With an instructive point of his finger he demonstrated his technique to the boy who watched with a stubborn pout before speaking up. "But I wanna help!" Throwing up his hands, he pleaded. "No Hunter! You'll hurt yourself!" Darius scolded with a harsher tone that made the young boy wince, eyes watery at an instant, as he curled up his fists by his side, biting down on his lip.   At this, Darius panicked, putting his craft aside and holding the boy's shoulders. "Wait, wait! Don't cry!" However he flurry didn't do much to aid the boy's rush of tears and wailing. "No no no, stop it!"   "Coven head Darius?"    Turning his head desperately, the coven head was met by the eyes of Raine Whispers, a fellow colleague who looked over paperwork despite not being a coven head themselves. It appeared they had been alerted by the sound of the boy's crying. "Is everything okay?" Their soft green eyes had clear discomfort in them. "No!" Darius snapped, still holding Hunter, kneeling to his level, "Help me calm him down!" He commanded. "Why's he crying?" Walking over to the two, they crouched down. "I just told him he can't help me sew! You know how children are, they have fumbly little hands! He'd hurt himself!" Through his fluster he rapidly spoke, Hunter continuing to cry out in despair. Raine raised a brow and looked Darius in the eye. "Did you yell at him?" "Well- I- a little bit! He wouldn't listen!" He threw up his hands. Rubbing their temples, Raine sighed. "That's why he's crying, you won't get anywhere by yelling at him."   Patting Hunter's head, they got the young boy to face them. "Hey, hey, it's okay. Darius wasn't mad at you, he was just worried, okay?" With a soothing tone, they calmed him, Hunter facing them, as he wiped his eyes with his stubby hands. "Everything's alright." With a pout Hunter sniffled, looking at Darius expectantly. "Are you angry at me?" "Of course not, little prince." Wrapping his large arms around the boy's small size, he patted his head. Hunter hugged back, squeezing.   "How about I teach you some music, if you can't sew?" With a warm smile Raine asked the boy who looked at them excitedly, nodding his head. "Yes yes, why don't you do that elsewhere?" Darius commented, soft tone, yet sassy emphasis. Not being the biggest fan of noise disturbing his quiet workplace. "Why do that, when I have my trusty flute right with me? And I'm sure Hunter would love to show you what he can do." With a cheeky smile, they grinned at him.  "Yes!" Delightedly, the boy looked up at Darius with a starry-eyed look that only made him sigh. "Then why don't we start our lesson?" Taking a seat on the decorative, red, velvet couch that Darius kept in his office, Raine sat Hunter down next to them, while Darius let out an exhale. "While you two do that, I'll be getting back to business." He huffed, returning to his stitching, as Raine chuckled and Hunter giggled along with them.  _   "This is a song I always play when I'm sad or upset."    With an inhale, the bard pressed the wooden pipe instrument to their lips, blowing out a sweet, harmonic melody that Darius smiled along to, as the essence of love, peace, light and comfort pushed out the sadness that they connoted to. The high pitched rhythm tapped in and out, making the room the threes own private, quiet choir of the bard's song, the quiet look of admiration and wonder Hunter gave that spoke more words than could be said and Darius' occasional hums.   "That was amazing!" High pitched, Hunter squealed with a blush and a twinkle. "I will admit Raine, you have a way with instruments." Darius pitched in. "Why thank you, years worth of practice in the bard coven helps." They sassily pitched in with a teasing smile. Putting down their flute, a soft smile came to their lips. "My Aunt taught me that song. I was about 5 when I sprained my ankle and to distract me she taught me it." Rubbing the back of their neck, they blushed. "She sounds like a good woman." Darius nodded. "She was." They rested their eyes with a smile back. "Anyways, now it's your turn."   Handing the instrument to Hunter, they laid back, letting him experiment, as the boy tilted around the tube structure, poking his thick fingers in the holes. "That's not how you play-" Darius pitched in before Raine shushed him. Eventually the boy decided to blow into the top, making the worst noise the two had ever heard.   Raine winced and Darius gritted his teeth. "How about we try it a different way…" The bard took the flute from his hands, correcting him gently. _   Laying back on the small wall that encompassed the side of the window, Hunter laid back, sat on the sill, looking down at the boy in his lap who had glassy, gold eyes that were wet under the moonlight's kiss that had fallen in love with him too. His coarse hands brushed through fluffy, green hair like feather dawn, as he murmured something to Hunter, arms wrapped around him.   Hunter had swooped by to his window after a rough night with his mother and although Hunter had no interaction with the rather desperate woman aside from the Emperor's deals with Blight Industries, he could only imagine how daunting living with a witch like her could be. The boy had tears streaming down his pale face, his concealment stone had been disregarded in his misery, as he laid vulnerable in front of the guard boy. Hunter knew how much Edric valued that piece of jewellery, yet right now it seemed his looks he fussed so often about were the last thing on his mind.   In the silence of the night Hunter thought, what could comfort Edric? What would comfort him? The boy's wriggling digged something to his thigh and Hunter perked up, pulling out his flute that fit perfectly into his obnoxiously large pockets.   It was a gift for his 7th birthday, after about 3 years of studying under Raine Whispers, it was the closest he could get to bard magic, he had acquired his own instrument to continue the craft. Nowadays, it often lay disregarded and neglected with the increase of his duties that chewed up and swallowed the little time he had for himself, but recently he had started carrying it around on him, practicing the craft on creeping, silent patrols under the cover of night, the whistling of the wind passing through his songs.   Tugging it up, he held it in his hands, inspecting the fine cuts and whittling. Edric's golden eyes peered curiously up at him.   "Do you just always have that with you?" He gave a humourless chuckle. "Well, I suppose?" He thought for a second. "Would you like to hear a song?" He offered, cheeks tinting pale, powdery pink. Edric smiled curiously. "Sure, I'd like to see what you can do, goldie."   Breathing in, Hunter held it up, before preparing to blow out a gentle tune into the night.   "Someone taught me this song to play when you're sad or upset."

General Audiences

  "Night ya little rascal!"   Eda peppered a giggling King's skull with kisses, before tucking the little blanket right up, gently smoothing it over him. King cuddled little François closely.   Large eyes filled with unease, he looked around his new room. Jean Luc sitting in the corner, his minions all cuddled up to him in the small wooden bed they'd put together earlier today. It all had the same comforting familiarity.   Eda had even strung up a few fairy lights, just to liven the place up a bit.   But without his big sister to cuddle up with, something about his new room just felt so... empty.   "It still feels weird without Luz." King mumbled. Eda placed a hand on his skull, gently stroking.   "I know, buddy." She whispered softly. "But you're gonna start growing into a huge titan pretty soon! I think you're gonna need a little more space for that!"   King considered. He smiled, nervously fidgeting under his blanket.   "Is Luz gonna grow too?" He asked sleepily.   "She will, but not as big as you!" Eda scratched his little tummy, King wiggling about in delight.   "But will she change?" He whispered nervously.   Eda sighed sympathetically, smoothing out King's blanket.   "Everyone changes as they grow up." Eda whispered softly. "Ah, it's just a part of life. It doesn't make it a bad thing."    She smiled softly. "I can't wait to see the people you two become. Y'know, I have no dang doubt that she'll always love you right to the boiling seas and back."   King nodded sleepily, drowsiness beginning to overcome the little titan.   "What if I get lonely in here?" He whispered.   Eda gave a kind smile, tooth peeking out from the side.    "What, with all your friends?" She asked, picking up one of the small bears.   "Minions." King corrected drowsily.   "Ah. I'll tell you what." She said, gently gathering up each and every 'minion'. "These guys are gonna make sure that they keep you company."   She held up a floppy elephant, button eye hanging by a thread.   "Who's this little guy?" She asked.   "Elly." King murmured.   "Ah, a little lady. Sorry, Elly." She corrected, tucking in the small elephant next to the small titan.   She held up another bear; a freaky looking clown doll with a floppy hat.    "That's Fabian." King muttered sleepily, sliding his thumb into his mouth.   "Nice to meet you, clownface." Eda tucked in the little clown, making sure each teddy cuddled up closely to the little demon.    By the time every minion was tucked up next to the titan, she could barely even see King's little sleepy face, beginning to drift off into the land of dreams.   Carefully, quietly, Eda began to stand up. She removed her heels, ready to creep out so as not to stir the kid. But a little voice made her halt.   "Eda.." King sleepily said. "No matter how big I grow... I'll always love you."   Eda's heart melted. She kneeled on the small bed, pressing her lips against her son's skull.   "I'll always love you too, goop." She said, before plastering a small kiss.   She made her way to the door quietly, creeping over the creaky floorboard she knew all too well.   "Can you leave the door open?" King whispered. "Just a little bit?"   Eda turned and nodded, her heart melting a little again. He looked so safe, all tucked up, thumb in his mouth.   "Night, King." She whispered softly, opening the door.   She crept out, carefully closing the door until it lay just to, a little strip of the titan child's room peeking out into the hallway.   So, so quietly, she might've put it to her brain playing tricks on her,   "Night mum."

General Audiences

He hated days when he felt like this. It wasn’t even a feeling that was discernable. He couldn’t ever pinpoint where it started or how it escalated. One moment he’s sitting on his bed practicing his sewing or reading a book, the next his hands feel painfully tense and can’t seem to flex them properly. No position he situates himself in feels right. Some kind of restless energy overtakes him, so he paces the room, but it doesn’t get any of it to leave his system. Then he’s left frustratingly snagging his fingers through his hair desperately trying to shake off whatever in Titan’s name has overtaken him.   Sometimes he’ll jerk his limbs in a way that pulls a muscle, leaving him not only in discomfort but also in pain. Sometimes he digs his hands into his skin, the barrier his gloves provide saving him from the possibility of gouging into it till he bleeds. Sometimes he curls into himself and smacks his fist repeatedly into his knee until it numbs.   Other times he attempts to ignore it, but that usually leaves him crying out of frustration, which may be even more pathetic than the other reactions. At least with the other ones he could pass off any bruises or soreness as getting a little beat up on a mission, or the pacing on contemplating an important decision for the Emperor.   Crying over nothing? Pathetic. Belos would punish him if he witnessed it, no doubt.   And right now, that’s what he felt like doing. Because nothing was working, and he couldn’t focus because everything felt indescribably wrong and nothing he did could ease the discomfort. He almost considered ripping apart the sheets on his bed in what would most likely be another futile attempt to compress the boiling chafe but was stopped by a startling knock on his door.   Suddenly, he was aware of how heavy his breathing had gotten and desperately tried to calm the rising in his chest as he opened the door.   A coven scout stood on the other side, regarding the disheveled appearance of the teenager in front of him for a moment before handing off the letter in his hand with a brisk, “From Emperor Belos,” before marching off.   He was being sent on a mission with Darius to check in on the construction site preparations for the Day of Unity.   Great.   He and Darius had been on better terms since his mission to Hexside. He’d even given him a few sewing lessons! But going on a mission when he was like this meant he would have to bottle it up until they returned, and then it would be even worse. Right now, it was unbearable. He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like when he got back. Death might even seem like a more viable option, if he was being honest.   Even worse, what if he couldn’t bottle it up? What if Darius saw him acting like this? That’s even worse! He had just gotten the coven head’s approval and has a relationship with him that actually makes him feel weirdly… safe. He can’t just lose all of that over him being idiotic.    His one consolation was his mask. At least Darius wouldn’t be able to see his expressions. All he had to do was keep his composure. Just keep his hands still, walk normal, and keep his head up. That’s it. Darius would probably relish in the rare silence of the Golden Guard.       —       He didn’t account for how loud this mission would be. Every little noise felt like it was stabbing him directly into the eardrum.   He kept his hands clasped to each other as he walked, making sure to move in such a way that his cloak covered his body at all times. At the very least, fidgeting with his hands, as inappropriate as it was, made it easier to resist the urge to cup his hands over his ears at each loud bang.   “Progress on the walls for the Day of Unity is going smoothly!” the coven scout reported to Darius and Hunter. “We ran into a little setback with some angry fire bees, but other than that construction is going just as expected. At this rate, we should finish the structure no later than a week before the Day of Unity.”   “Good,” Darius responded. “And the Abomitons are accounted for, correct?”    “Yes, sir. They will be positioned around the walls and within the walls in order to keep the people inside safe from any wild witches that may be attempting to stop the Day of…”    Hunter felt himself zoning out, unable to focus on what the scout was saying over all of the noise and the bright sunlight. He kept his focus on keeping himself moving, stopped whenever Darius stopped, and so forth. Darius seemed to be doing most of the talking anyways.   Darius gave Hunter a quizzical look over his shoulder, “You’re awfully quiet, Little Prince.”   The scout was no longer walking with them. When did they leave? “I’m… inspecting the walls. As ordered.”   Darius let out an amused hum. “By staring at the ground?”   Hunter quickly corrected his posture and tightly squeezed his wrist. All of the sights in front of him looked out of focus, making his head spin a little. “I don’t need you to… patronize me,” he squeaked out, wincing as he said it. He needed to focus.   A loud bang from a pillar falling to the ground somewhere in the distance caused Hunter to flinch, which he attempted to suppress. It must not have been good enough because Darius was eyeing him suspiciously.   The noises around him and the sights in front of him began whirring into one big blob that circled him, slowly taking away the air he breathed. He couldn’t distinguish any of his senses from the other. The itch underneath his skin began throbbing and he couldn’t help but bring his arms up to hug himself and squeeze as tight as he could on his arms to try and ground himself.  He was so overwhelmed he didn’t realize he stopped walking or that he began to hyperventilate.   Darius turned to properly face him. “Little Prince…?”   He had to focus. He had to focus. Keep still, keep his head up, stay quiet because he’ll make those weird noises if he doesn’t, and keep his hands underneath the cloak, do not put them against his ears. Don’t think about the tears burning in the corners of his eyes. Just focus. Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus–   A hand placed itself on his upper arm and everything came crashing down. He reeled away from the contact, hands clasping to the sides of his head, and he cried out. “DON’T.”   Taken aback, Darius retracted his hand in surrender.    He felt a few eyes piercing into him from coven scouts who heard the shout and he curled into himself a little more. He willed himself to get his hands away from his head, only managing to keep them hovered away from his ears. He looked up and saw Darius’ face, which despite the scouts’ masks staring at them, was focused on him alone. No one else.   Hunter slowly lowered his hands awkwardly to his side and cleared his throat. He had messed up with Darius, but he was hoping his silence would at least save himself from the scrutiny of the coven scouts.   His entire body was shaking, but he desperately hoped that he had composed himself fast enough to let his slip-up slide without consequence. But Darius’ face went from something akin to shock to furrowed brows accompanied by a frown, making Hunter shrink into himself just a bit more.    Darius sighed. He sounded disappointed, or angry? Or tired? Annoyed?    Suddenly, the two were being surrounded by abomination goo, and, with a wave of Darius’ hand, they were teleported out of the construction site into… somewhere. Trying to take it in made his stomach queasy.   Hunter choked on his breath, panic and adrenaline overtaking the discomfort. He attempted to get out an apology, or an explanation, or a word, anything, but his voice remained uncooperative. He stood there pathetically, shaking and hyperventilating over nothing.   It felt like his chest was collapsing and he was vaguely aware of his knees dropping to the ground. He grasped at the grass and dirt beneath him as if it were his lifeline and made one last attempt to croak out an apology, but instead, it came out as a disgusting sob that sounded more like a dry heave. Maybe it was, all his organs did feel like they were failing him at the moment.    He felt like yelling out in frustration, but all sounds were dying at the tip of his tongue. Everything was too much, and it hurt, but he couldn’t move and he was going to be punished because he couldn’t keep it together for one mission and Darius was going to tell Belos that he was acting like a child the entire mission and then Belos was going to be disappointed, or worse he might be angry and he might- And he would- And-   “-nter. Hunter,” a voice demanded along with his mask being lifted off his face, “you need to breathe.”   A faulty inhale turned into a violent cough, causing him to double over. Before he could faceplant into the ground, a pair of sturdy, gloved arms caught him and held him upright by the shoulders with a heavy but gentle grip.   Hunter couldn’t figure out what he was looking at. He saw purple, but he couldn’t focus on anything and his chest hurt and Belos was going to-   “Hunter,” the voice said more softly, “exhale. Your lungs are going to shrivel up at this rate.”   He let out a shaky breath and then took in quick short breaths.   “Deep breaths, take your time.”   Slowly, the pain in his chest subsided.   “There you go.”   His eyes went in and out of focus as he started to take in more of his surroundings. He realized he was no longer digging at the ground, instead, his hands were latched onto Darius’ arms, “Darius?”    “Just keep taking deep breaths. I’d prefer you to not puke all over me.”   “I’m- I’m sorry. I didn’t. I mean- I’m-”   “I said deep breaths, Little Prince.”   Hunter closed his eyes and counted his breathing and brought his hands onto his lap. Darius kept his on Hunter’s shoulder.   “I know that was inapt of me, please don’t tell-”   “I won’t tell Belos.”   “...Why not?”   “Why would I?”   “Because you- What are you trying to gain by keeping my secrets?!”   “I’m not trying to gain anything.”   “If you’re hoping I’ll do something for you in return for- for keeping Flapjack a secret and giving me sewing lessons and- and hiding my pathetic, unacceptable behavior, then I’d rather you just-”   “Pathetic?” Darius echoed.   Hunter squeezed his hands into the skin of his thighs as hard as he could through the gloves and fabric.   “Kid, you had a panic attack.”   “Over nothing.”   “Over nothing,” Darius riposted.   Hunter dipped his head further down attempting to curl into himself as much as he could with Darius restraining his movements. Something about his tone made him feel like he was in trouble, but also not? He didn’t understand.   “So would you like to tell me what ‘over nothing’ means to you?”   “It’s stupid,” he deflected.   “I can tell you that myself if it is, which I highly doubt.”   “How would you know?”    “Prove me wrong then.”   Begrudgingly, he mustered up enough courage to glare at Darius, “I don’t know. Okay? Sometimes I just get really agitated for no reason and then I had to go on a mission where everything was loud. And I guess that’s just so terrible that my body thinks it needs to physically hurt at times too. Like I said, it’s stupid.”   “Oh, Titan, give me strength,” Darius muttered under his breath. “Hunter, you know I’d tell you if something you did was stupid right?”   “You have before,” he started squirming around little by little in Darius’ grip. He knew he was acting like a child about to have a tantrum, which was even more unbecoming of him. He was the Golden Guard, he shouldn’t have tantrums.   “Right, that’s not stupid.”   “How is it not?” all this questioning was hurting his head.   “You said loud noises hurt?”   He could feel tears building up in his eyes and desperately wished he still had his mask on to hide them.   “What else?” “This is frustrating!” Hunter yelled out.   “How so?” Darius said unnervingly calm for Hunter’s taste.   “You’re making no sense! I don’t understand this!” he fought back his tears. He was not going to cry. Not after everything else that just happened.    “What don’t you understand?”   “Why aren’t you mad at me? I should be getting punished for acting childish.”   Darius sighed and opened his mouth, but closed and shook his head. “When you get agitated for no reason is it because there’s actually no reason? Or are you just saying that because you think it’s not a reason?”   “I don’t know. I don’t know!” In an attempt to get the itchy feeling away, he grabbed at his hair and started pulling. Tears were finally starting to fall down his face. All he could think about was how pathetic he was.   “First,” Darius said, gently grabbing Hunter’s wrist and pulling it away from his hair, “grab something other than your hair. Second, have you ever heard of sensory issues? Oh, who am I kidding, of course, you wouldn’t.”   He glares at him and grumbles, “No need to insult me.”   “Oh, I’m not. That wasn’t directed at you.”   Involuntarily, he let out a low whine, that sounded more like a disgruntled hum. The feeling was coming back more and more with every word Darius said. He didn’t understand any of this conversation because he didn’t have the energy to figure out Darius’ intention and he failed a simple mission and now he’s making noises like he’s a toddler. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the world, and his hands clenched and unclenched into fists as if they were trying to grab at the air.   He felt Darius stand and the moment his grip left his wrists, Hunter’s hands went right back to his hair, which resulted in a sigh from Darius. He braced himself for the impact of some kind of punishment, but when none came he hesitantly opened his eye. Darius was offering a hand to Hunter to help him up.   “Now come on, it’s been a long day and I’d like to clock out for the night. I’ll make sure to give you a few books on sensory issues for you to read later.”   Abomination goo surrounded him again.   “And word of advice? If your body is fighting with you over it, maybe that’s your sign to just cry it out.”   “Um… Okay.”   And just like that, he was back in his room. Flapjack rushed over and chirped nonsense around him.   “Hey, Flapjack.”   Flapjack bumped into his head worriedly.    “I’m fine, I’m fine, bud. Just um…” he sniffled, “I think I just need a moment.”

General Audiences

Hunter had not always hated his hands. They were ugly and scarred, and Belos always told him how ugly things should be hidden away, something to be ashamed of. And with that, Hunter kept his gloves on, even when he didn't require to keep uniform. It was easier that way, and avoiding looking at them when hygienics were involved was something that he mastered overtime. This didn't change when he got to the human realm, even after his Uncle was gone. If anything, Hunter tried harder to keep his ugliness hidden from his new friends. They would see the scars and the burns and scratches that never healed properly, and they would hate him for it. As it turned out, this was harder in the human realm, because more people kept watch of him, worried about him. It was unnerving at best, terrifying at worst. Hunter was never popular in the Emperor's Coven, envy and his age a great factor of it. Everyone had been handling the aftermath of the last moments in the demon realm differently. Luz seemed the angriest, and the only one who hasn't shed a tear yet, besides Hunter of course. Gus had been watery eyef and the most clingy, Hunter knew his friend needed his support badly, and stayed close to him. Willow was trying to keep strong, but Hunter still saw the toll on her, he had resisted so many times that he wanted to hug her. Amity was still cold towards him, it was hard to see how she was handling everything. Hunter didn't react much, but he had been resisting the urge to rip his gloves off and scratch his hands until he sated how itchy they felt. That was when Luz saw his fidgeting, the third night when everyone had been preparing for bed (they all had been sleeping in the same room, needing to stay together, thankfully Ms. Noceda understood), she sat next to him on the floor. Subconsciously, Hunter had been rubbing his gloves together, and grinding his knuckles together until they felt bruised. He hadn't really noticed Luz next to him. Luz watched his hand movements for a few moments, and then they reached over and gripped both his hands, stopping their movement. Hunter stilled at her grip, and slowly turned to look at his friend. "Hunter," Luz said carefully, analyzing his face, "Don't do that, let yourself breathe, you can take these off," and Luz made a motion to slowly start removing his protective shield from his ugliness, Hunter jerked back. "No!" he said. In his surprise, he spoke louder than he intended. Hunter feared to make a scene, even though they were alone in the room. "You can't." He was scared that they would insist, force him to show her his ugliness, so she would scoff and tell the others how disgusting he was, but- Luz made no motion to move closer to him, they observed him like a wild animal. "Okay," she said, evenly. Her eyes were looking Hunter up and down, trying to piece together the puzzle which was his mind. - Whatever Luz concluded from that night, Hunter didn't know. All he knew was that Luz decided to back off after that, they didn't bring it up again. Hunter hoped that would be the end of it, but no. They always were unruly, that damn human. Luz had been teaching the group of teen witches human customs, encouraged by Ms. Noceda. She wanted to keep everyone busy and calm, not thinking about what was happening in the demon realm. A few days ago, Luz had shown everyone how dishes were washed in the human world. No magic assistance, just "good old fashioned soap and water," as Luz had said with a smirk. After that was when Luz decided that Hunter should do the washing for the day. "Not hard hermano, just make sure you take your gloves off so you don't soak 'em," They winked at him, and patted him lightly on the shoulder. Hunter shivered, and cast her a sour look, knowing what she was trying. They were trying to be subtle, but he knew better. Luz was never the smoothest when it came to what she wanted, and Hunter knew she was dying to know what his issue was with his gloves. Luz was stubborn, but Hunter could one up her anyday. "Don't want to burn myself, would just rather keep them on," he didn't want to acknowledge his outburst from the other day, even though Hunter knew he could easily guilt them if he pleased. Everyone had been careful around Hunter so far, they saw him as fragile. He was anything but that, though it rendered helpful for a time like this if he so chose. Luz would never truly want to make him uncomfortable, they just aren't aware of how ugly Hunter is underneath those gloves. Luz narrowed their eyes at him, but didn't say anything more. They watched him soak his own gloves as he washed the dishes. He would need to go out and air his gloves out in private, but it was worth it if he managed to keep his ugliness hidden. - The second attempt Luz made was through Vee. Hunter and Vee have had uncomfortable interactions thus far, so he was unsure what measures Luz went through to get her to talk to him. Luz had dragged Hunter over to Vee, claiming that she was looking for someone new to practice palmestry on. "Her friend from school has been showing her how to do it, come on Hunter, don't be an ass," Luz muttered to him as they dragged him over. Hunter was nearly impressed with her scheme, guilting someone was usually an effective approach, but Hunter could imagine Vee didn't want to talk to him. Whatever bribery Luz went through to get the basilisk to talk to an ex-Emperor Coven Head will go to waste. His Uncle had been horrible to her kind, the least he could do was let her be in peace without someone horrible like Hunter getting in her way. Luz dragged him over to Vee, and he looked at the basilisk on the floor with a pack of cards and candles of some kind. Hunter couldn't help but feel a slight pang of relief when he saw how safe and secure she looked. That was, until he walked in. "I'm sure she will find someone else to practice on Luz, I know she doesn't want to interact with someone like me anyway," Hunter lightly pulled himself out of Luz's grip on his arm. With a frown, Luz looked at Hunter, attempting to look him in the eyes, and he shuffled uncomfortably, not meeting her gaze. "Excuse me," Hunter said, then turned his back on Vee, and made his way back past Luz. - Hunter expected some new scheme from Luz now, and was on alert whenever he saw her at this point. He wasn't going to avoid them by any means, but he expected the next attempt any day now. There hadn't been anything yet, but Hunter knew that people could be cruel and lure you into a false sense of security. That was always when they would strike. Which is probably why Hunter was so suspicious of Willow when she asked him to take off his gloves. The day had been particularly boring, no chores, Luz and Amity were out on a date, and Gus had recently discovered what human carnivals were, so Ms. Noceda took him out to one. Leaving Willow and Hunter alone to their own devices. At first, the two of them kept to doing their own interests, although stayed together in the same room. They both were reading, human books were entirely different from witch literature, and it had been very fascinating to all of the witch teens. Eventually though, Hunter finished his book about fantasy gods and demi humans (very strange stories, but very entertaining, Hunter tried to not think about what his Uncle would say about his immaturity and unproductiveness). And with that, Hunter decided to cook something, and surprise the Captain with a food they could share for the two of them. Human cooking had turned out to be very simple, at least for the most part. Luz introduced simple recipes that were common, but also showed what "box mixes" were for baked sweets. It was almost like potion making, but instead of working with liquids that could burn your face off, and angry insects, it was only sugars and powder. It seemed quite simple and stupid, but Hunter found comfort in the process. He has made a few things so far, cakes and lemon bars (what a strange name, but very delicious), and some other weirdly named sweets. Hunter would never admit that while he liked the baking itself, seeing everyone enjoy it and tell him he did a good job was his favorite part. Ms. Noceda was kind enough to buy more of these mixes for Hunter to experiment with, so as he looked through the cardboard content, he stopped at something he had not seen yet. "Pound Cake?" Hunter read aloud, it looked simple enough, but he was curious of the name. Did you need to beat the cake before it was finished? He flipped the box over to read the directions, and was surprised to see that there was no mention of pounding the cake's batter at any point. It was no matter though, he hadn't made this particular treat yet, so Hunter decided to give it a try. The process of gathering the supplies, reading through the steps, and watching the wet contents cook in the oven was soothing to Hunter. Luz had poked fun at him when they first saw him watching as his cakes would cook through the oven door. Hunter brushed it off through, because maybe Luz didn't appreciate it, but Hunter savored the moments when he saw the cake finally take form and start to smell of sweetness and warmth. Seeing that the pound cake had seemed finished, Hunter pulled on the oven mitts (Ms. Noceda had been horrified after seeing Hunter retrieve his first cake with just his gloved hands) and took the cake out. After checking that it was not gooey in the middle, he deemed it done, and poured the soft cream over the cake, as it was the last step on the box. Usually Hunter would leave his creation to cool for a bit, but he made it with the intention to eat it now, preferably with the Captain as well. He carefully sliced a few slabs off the cake, arranged them nicely on a platter, and made his way back into the sleeping area where Willow had been reading. Hunter opened the door to see that Willow was no longer reading, and instead had a few tubes out, with some brownish green goo coming out of the one she was squeezing. The smell of the pound cake mixed with the earthy scent of the goo, and Hunter nearly melted at the comforting nature of the two aromas together. She looked up as Hunter entered, and smiled lightly at him, "Hey Caleb," she said. After greeting him however, Willow immediately went back to her craft, Hunter saw now that he was closer, a few flowers had been etched out on her hands with the goo. "Captain, I made something, Pound Cake? I still don't understand the name but," Hunter shrugged, setting down the plate on the bed and sitting down next to her. "What are you doing?" Willow pulled herself away from her hand where she seemed deeply concentrated, and smiled at Hunter, then looking at his most recent sweet creation. "Looks great Caleb, I'm doing something Luz showed me yesterday, it's called Henna." She moved her hand over to show him further, "This goo is made of plants, you put it on your skin, and then it dries, then wash it off and the pattern will remain." Hunter lightly moved his hand under hers, lifting it to see her artwork better. It was beautiful, with plants and flowers lacing together on her hand and forearm, coming together to make a beautiful design. He told her so, as she inspected his dessert and took a bite of the first slab. "How did you make something like this? It's so... nice," He didn't have the proper words to say to Willow, so many adjectives were bouncing in his head, but his heart fluttered too hard at the thought of saying it all to his Captain. "Thanks," she grinned, if she saw Hunter's nervousness, she didn't show it, "Hey, this is really good!" She motioned to the cake with her head, only using one hand for eating with the fork, leaving her hand with the drying paste to rest. Hunter, caught up staring at her beautiful hand, jerked back to reality with her praise. "Ah, it wasn't much, you just follow the directions pretty much," Hunter tried a different piece of the cake himself, and woah, it was pretty good. He never knew how much he loved sweet things before the human realm (probably because Uncle never permitted him to have much, and definitely not sweet treats like this). The two friends sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both enjoying Hunter's baking. Willow would look down at the slice she was having, then into space, in thought. Hunter was still caught up in the beauty of Willow's hand, was attempting to be subtle, but failing hard. Willow caught onto this fairly quickly, and figured to ask, "Hey, you want me to do some on your hands? I'm excited to see how it will turn out, would love to see it on someone else if you trust me enough," Willow was unassuming as she said this, but Hunter knew- "Did Luz put you up to this?" He didn't mean to say it with so much malice, but it hurt. Luz isn't usually the type to tell other peoples secrets, but yet... they must have. Willow tilted her head, looking confused, "Put me up to what?" she took another bite of her cake slice, and Hunter blushed as he realized. "S-sorry, it's nothing. Thank you for the offer Captain but... it's okay. Your hand looks beautiful though," Hunter looked down at his own gloved hands, his right gripping his left hard. Willow saw this, but instead of directly acknowledging it, she said, "You know... sometimes, I don't like how my hands look." Hunter stilled, looked at Willow, "You do?" He couldn't understand why, all of Willow was beautiful, her hands too. They were unscarred, and smooth, clear. "Yeah, I sometimes see them and wish they were longer, my fingers are so short, I used to want to play the piano, wasn't able to because of my fingers," she flexed the hand that didn't have the drying henna on it. "And today I kinda felt that again, just wish my hands were different, but then I started doing the henna," she glanced down at her work for a moment, "and it helped somehow, made my hand into something beautiful, something I got to choose to create." Hunter stared at her, he stopped squeezing his hand, and considered Willow. She seemed to understand... somehow. Hunter couldn't comprehend it still, why she disliked her hands, but she still understood. She would think his were disgusting though, right? Of course Willow would. Making art takes time, but if Hunter took off his gloves, she would tell him that there was nothing that could be done. He was too ugly. "Hey," Willow touched his elbow lightly, "You don't have to obviously, but I know you keep those gloves on for a reason... having something to look at, something that will fade, but is still beautiful, might help." she shuffled for a moment, and folded her hands in her lap, "I used to draw on myself when I felt like this, but henna... feels different. It's almost comforting, knowing that I made this design? It's something I could control with my body." "I don't trust myself to make something beautiful," Hunter blurted, resisting the urge to flinch at his own voice in that moment. Willow blinked at him, "I could always do something on you, if you were comfortable with it, of course," Hunter tensed, because he was still afraid. Willow would see his hands, and be disgusted. 'She is offering though,' a small voice in the back of his head reasoned. It had been so long since Hunter had properly looked at his own hands... "Okay," he said, looking into Willow's eyes evenly. "Just... promise me you won't tell the others," She smiled, "My lips are sealed," and with that, Hunter slowly took off his gloves. They were scarred, but somehow different than what he remembered. Hunter stared at them for a moment, before Willow interrupted his thoughts, "Which hand do you want me to do?" She was hardly even looking at his hands, not avoiding them, but uncaring of how they looked. "Uh..." Hunter gulped, "Both?" Willow smiled, and then gently moved his left hand down on her knee. She made sure to move the plate behind them, then said- "Try not to move much," she then looked down at his hand, seemingly deep in thought. "What do you want me to put on you, Caleb?" She looked up at Hunter with a sparkle in her eye. "Anything," he fidgeted, but Hunter still tried his best to not panic at the fact that Willow was seeing his hands. She nodded to him, then moved to start the first line. Willow was steady, and confident with her lines. Her design on Hunter was turning into something similar to what she had on her own hand, floral and loopy. It was beautiful art. After finishing the first hand, she carefully moved his other hand to her knee now. Hunter lightly blushed, realizing how close they were to eachother, and that his hand was literally touching the Captain's knee. She didn't seem to care though, and she didn't seem to care either that Hunter's hands were disgusting. She was just focused on her art. Time passed, but Hunter couldn't be sure about how much. The two of them were just caught in the moment, Willow concentrating, Hunter transfixed. Then, at some point, she declared that she finished. Hunter just stared. His scars were mostly gone, and for the bits that could still be seen, were just background noise for the beautiful patterns that took up his skin now. The indents and pale bits of scar that he hated so much were turned to raindrops, leaves, and flower petals. It was so different from what he was used to, but so beautiful. He couldn't believe that he was thinking of his hands as beautiful. "Willow," he said, quivering with emotion, "Thank you," Willow didn't ask, didn't judge, she merely smiled and replied, "Anytime, Hunter." - Later, after both their hands dried, Willow helped show him how to clean off the paste. The color underneath was lighter, so Hunter could see his scars under the design. Even with that though, the witch realized that he didn't mind that. His scars... actually complemented the design. The whole concept was foreign to Hunter, but he wanted to become familiar with it. His scars were still ugly, but at least they could help make something beautiful grow, like the flowers growing up his hands, through to his fingers. Hunter smiled at Willow as she washed her own dried henna off, and realized that his Captain planted a seed for something beautiful; it didn't matter that it was on his hands, it just mattered that it was wonderful.

General Audiences

Alador pulled his coat tighter around him. The wind was blowing harshly down the streets and clouds were gathering quickly in the sky. Convincing his parents to let him spend the night at Darius’s house had been easier than he had expected, but that expectation of an argument had caused him to put off asking for too long. He could only look to the sky, silently asking the Titan for help, as he walked faster. He wanted to make it to Darius’s before the first drop of boiling water hit the ground. He didn’t quite succeed in that. He hastily drew a spell circle to make a small forcefield while sprinting down the pathway to the front door of Darius’s house. He knocked and the door flung open almost immediately. As he leaped inside, he almost knocked Darius to the ground. “Titan, Al!” Darius swore, looking down at where Alador had landed on the floor. He’d somehow managed to smoothly land on his knees. He grinned up at Darius, flinging his arms in the air in celebration before the pain hit. He must have had a few drops of rain land on his head and hands. “Happen to know any healing magic, Dari?” “No.” Darius sighed. One hand on his hip, he offered the other one to Alador to help him up. He waved it away and stood up on his own. “But I have a first aid kid. Let’s get you fixed up before you collapse again.” “Hey!” Alador said, following Darius up the stairs. “I didn’t collapse. I was leaping to safety.” A smile played at Darius’s lips as he turned to glance back at him. “A feat of athletic prowess.” The two boys managed to fumble their way through applying burn scream and bandaging the spots on his hands. Alador flinched when Darius applied a very generous amount of pressure rubbing the scream onto his scalp and insisted he could fix up the other burns. As he fiddled with the edge of a bandage on his hand, Darius took another out of the packet. “My hands are fine now, I don’t need that.”  He didn’t put it back. Instead, he started opening the wrapper. “Your head.” “Darius.” “Yes, Alador?” Before Alador could say another word, Darius had formed two gloves from abomination goop over his hands and was pressing down his hair around the burn. Alador squirmed out of his grasp, sliding off the chair. Unlike his earlier luck, this time he landed on his butt. He wasn’t further injured but his face grew warm. He felt around in his hair, trying to find out whether Darius had succeeded or not. “You’re such a jerk sometimes,” he groaned. Of course Darius had actually done it. Trying to peel one of the edges off, he just pulled uncomfortably at his hair. Alador decided that he needed to get revenge for that. Taking inspiration from one of Darius’s favourite little tricks, he formed three small balls of abomination goop. They floated in the air, waiting for him to send them off with a flick of his fingers. From his spot on the ground, he couldn’t see Darius so he just had to hope his uncertain aim would be good enough. Flick. The first ball was sent off as Alador stood up. He heard the sound of it hitting something. Flick. He heard Darius swear under his breath and he turned around to face him. There was abomination goop on the wall and some more on the half-open door. Neither of them had hit their target. As well as the last ball that was floating just in front of Alador, there were another three in front of Darius. Darius, who had a sparkle in his eye that Alador understood too well. “Scared, Dari?” “Of you?” Darius laughed and flicked one of the abomination goop balls at him. He leaned to the side, the ball flying past his ear. “Never.” He took a step towards Darius. “Is that all you’ve got?” As he watched Darius’s mouth twitch and his forefinger curl in, he sent off his final projectile. There was an attempt to duck but it was too late, abomination goop landed on Darius’s forehead, painting it purple. Darius growled while he laughed.  “You’d be a handsome abomination.” He froze, surprised by the words that had come out of his own mouth. And his face was warm again. His thoughts spun as he fumbled words to try and save himself. “But I wouldn’t so there’s no point throwing those at me.” One ball of goop landed on his nose and the other landed in his hair. He didn’t even try to dodge them. He was too focused on the words he had said to Darius as they kept repeating in his mind. Handsome? Had he really said that? He was never going to live that one down. It was going to be fuel for Darius’s teasing for weeks, at least.  “I think you’re a handsome abomination,” Darius said. And there it was, Alador thought, the beginning of such teasing. He looked for the glint in Darius’s eyes, the smooth upturn of his mouth but instead found the other boy with his arms crossed and his ears twitching slightly.  Alador had spent a lot of time learning how to read Darius. There had been too many times where Darius’s playful teasing had caused confusion or even hurt so he had decided learning to understand when it was teasing would help him avoid that miscommunication. But the way that Darius looked then didn’t line up with how he usually would when teasing, all grinning and smug. It was unexpected and didn’t make sense so Alador decided that he was reading Darius wrong. “Already starting to tease me about it, huh?” He watched Darius’s body change and become more open. “You make it so easy.” * * * Alador sat cross legged in front of the small coffee table while Darius laid on his stomach on the plush beige rug. Two small cauldrons and a few bottles of abomination goop were scattered around them. Being in the same track meant that for the most part, both of them were in the same classes and they could help each other out while completing homework. They switched between periods of silence, Alador explaining equations, and Darius helping him with the finer practical techniques. Occasionally, Alador would glance up from whatever he was doing to catch Darius staring at him. It didn’t happen just once and by the fifth time, he found himself growing self-conscious. “Are you that worried I’ll stain the rug?” “Of course I’m worried about that,” Darius replied. He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wearing clothes that didn’t have at least two purple stains.” Frowning, Alador led the small abomination he had made further from the rug. “Better?” “Mhm.” Darius had stopped looking at him. He was intently looking down at a textbook instead. When it happened for a sixth time, Alador sent the abomination straight back into the cauldron, stopping mid-sentence in his notes. “I’ll do the rest when I get home tomorrow.” He closed his notebook, and folded the corner of the page in the textbook before closing it as well. Shoving them back into his backpack, he looked back at Darius to find him still staring. He sighed. “Why do you keep looking at me?” “I wasn’t teasing earlier.” At first, Alador wasn’t sure what he was talking about but then he remembered the whole ‘handsome’ incident from earlier. “Huh?” Darius stood up, stepping around books and cauldrons to sit next to him. “I don’t want you to think I was joking.” His chest expanded with a deep breath as he looked directly into Alador’s eyes. “You’re handsome. I think so, at least.” His stomach was tumbling, nervous butterflies fluttering into his chest. He didn’t know what to say. Was he supposed to tell Darius that he was handsome too? That seemed like the correct thing but he didn’t want to lie for politeness sake. It wasn’t a topic that he’d considered before but it didn’t take much thought to decide that yes, Darius was nice to look at. In the way that abomination-coloured wildflowers or the orange hues of the forest looked. He liked looking at him. “I won’t say it again if that makes you uncomfortable.” Darius mumbled the words, shuffling to make more space between them. “No,” Alador said quickly. He had already called him handsome once that night, there was no reason he couldn’t give another compliment. It wasn’t something usual for them but that didn’t seem to be an issue for Darius. And it wasn’t an uncomfortable idea to Alador with the threats of teasing stripped away. “I think you’re beautiful.” Darius’s face lit up, his fangs visible in his wide smile. He shuffled closer to Alador, turned towards him. “Can I have a hug?” he asked. His voice was clear and confident, a contrast to Alador’s shaky voice. They’d hugged before but as Alador nodded and strong arms squeezed around his shoulders, his heart was pounding in his chest. He wrapped his arms around Darius’s waist and took in a few deep breaths to try and calm his heart, the smell of coconut and firebee honey surrounding him. When Darius pulled out of the hug, he didn’t move far. His breath was warm on Alador’s face. “I–” He shook his head. “No, that’s…” “That’s?” Darius lifted a hand and held it next to Alador’s face. “Can I?” Oh. The pieces clicked into place and Alador only then understood. It wasn’t just behaviour from that night that made him understand but looks during classes, words that he had assumed were teasing, Darius asking for hugs increasingly often. He had been so oblivious. He hadn’t even suspected it. “I should just say it. I want you to understand and then I can ask if you feel the same way.” Darius dropped his hands down to his lap but he stayed close, knees pressed up against Alador’s. “I like you. In more ways than just as a friend. I want to hold your hand and I want to go out on a date with you. I want to kiss you.” The beating of Alador’s heart pounded in his ears, making the silence loud. When he spoke, his voice was quieter than the beating. “I think I’d be willing to give it a go. I don’t know how I feel. I like looking at you, I like spending time with you, and I like hugging you at least.” There was a soft smile on Darius’s face. “I still want to be your friend if that’s all you want.” He lifted his hand again to hover near Alador’s face. “Can I kiss you? I won’t ask again tonight if you say no.” The air was thick and Alador wondered, with a quiet thought, if Darius would taste the way he smelled. His fingers tapped a nervous rhythm on his thigh. “Yes.” Darius’s eyes widened. “Your cheek or your lips?” Breathing in slowly, he placed a hand over Darius’s and guided it to rest on his cheek. In answer, he leaned forward and pressed their lips together. He wasn’t sure what he expected but Darius’s lips were soft and warm. There was a lot of touch that Alador didn’t enjoy, where things felt intense and painful against his skin. The way that his lips were tingling against Darius’s was the opposite of that.  “Was that okay?” Darius asked as they separated. Alador could only nod in response, his voice caught in his throat. Licking his lips, he tasted the sweetness of firebee honey. Darius’s hand dropped from his cheek and held his hand instead. Another touch that felt good. When he found his voice again, he spoke clearly. “I like kissing you and I like holding your hand. When we go on a date I’ll have all the data I need to make my conclusion.” Darius snorted and rolled his eyes as he leaned forward to kiss Alador again.

General Audiences