Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a month.

A month since she’d almost been forced to face her greatest fear in front of the entire school. Since she’d been faced with the prospect of her deepest secrets being outed to everyone and, Titan, she had been miserable that day. Terrified. Until a fearless champion had offered to take her place.

Her fearless champion.

Of course, despite her best efforts, they’d had to defeat Grometheus together in the end. They’d had that incredible, wonderful dance and done something with their magic that she’d never seen done before, creating something beautiful in the process. The memory of it all was enough to warm her cheeks and send her heart fluttering wildly the way it always did when she was around.

A month and she still couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Amity found herself blushing furiously at the thought of her champion. The human girl that had stomped all over her carefully constructed walls and torn them down, brick by up-tight brick. 

Luz Noceda, with her unfailing optimism and carefree attitude, had wormed her way into Amity Blight’s heart and built herself a nest there. She hadn’t been fooled by Amity’s aloof façade and dismissive attitude for a moment, nor had she allowed their less-than-ideal first impressions to colour her opinion of Amity.

Luz had shown her how to have fun again. She’d given her a friend to share her interests with and stopped her twin siblings from pulling a truly cruel prank on her. She’d helped mend Amity’s relationship with Willow, who she’d been forced to part with as a child. Titan, she’d even given her the courage to finally part ways with the fake friends she’d been forced to keep company with her whole life.

Amity had been so happy to get the chance to return the favour, at least a little, when they’d played that Grudgy match against Boscha, even if they had lost and she’d made a total fool of herself in the process. And almost outed herself in front of Willow and Gus. And fractured her leg. It was worth it.

Luz had done more for Amity in the short time they’d known each other than anyone else in her life and she would be forever grateful to the human for it.

It made sense, she supposed, that Amity had fallen for her so hard.

Luz dominated her waking thoughts and ran rampant through her dreams with no regard for Amity’s need for sleep. She couldn’t spend two seconds in Luz’s company without panicking, going beet red, and saying something incredibly stupid. How she hadn’t just burst into flames and died at this point was beyond her. Luz flustered her almost instantly and it had only been getting worse with time. Ever since that dance.

Frankly it was starting to become a problem. It was enough to drive her to distraction when she should be focusing on her studies. A Blight must never present themselves as having any weaknesses, after all. Perfection must be maintained at all costs. But Luz had become a great, big, dork-shaped weakness in Amity’s life that she had no intentions of getting rid of.

Except maybe for tonight. Tonight she was supposed to be finishing an abomination essay so she needed to focus or her parents would start to notice the slight dip in her most recent grades. The house was quiet and her older twin siblings, Edric and Emira, weren’t home to annoy her. It was the perfect time to get some work done.

So she tried her best to lock thoughts of the sweet human girl far into the back of her mind and think of nothing but the characteristics of abomination slime and how it could be altered for different purposes. She pulled her textbook closer to find that passage on hardening agents, her eyes dutifully scanning the text as she started idly doodling in the margins of her book. Tiny Luz-shaped abominations danced along the page, accompanied by silly, embarrassing initials scrawled inside hearts.

The first time Amity had met her, Luz had disguised herself as an abomination in one of her many hair-brained schemes. It had been a terrible idea. Dangerous and poorly thought out, but adorably dorky and so very Luz. A smile tugged at her lips before she realized what she was doing and groaned, dropping her head onto the book, her cheeks flaming.

Why was she like this? How in the Boiling Isles was she supposed to concentrate like this? Even giant, gelatinous, purple ooze monsters made her think of Luz!

Clearly she needed to get some things off her mind, so Amity set her pen down and reached over to retrieve the lock-box she’d gotten to hide her more personal items after Ed and Em had found her old hiding place in the library. At least this thing had a less accessible key.

Unlocking it revealed an ornate crystal tiara, one of a matching pair that she and Luz had been awarded after they’d defeated Grometheus together. The sight of it brought back memories of their dance, which set her heart fluttering as if on cue and she had to stamp down the excited little squeal that rose in her throat. That dance had been the best moment of her life.

Setting the tiara aside, Amity pulled out a pink note that had been torn in two and carefully taped back together. Her gromposal to Luz. She’d casually tossed it aside when Luz had teasingly asked her about it but, after realizing how stupid that had been, she’d found it before she went home that night and locked it away immediately. No sense in leaving it there where anyone could find it.

The note didn’t bring up the best memories but it had been important to her. Echoes of 'that’s what friends do' danced across her mind and she grimaced. Setting the note aside as well, Amity pulled out the only other object in the lockbox: her diary. If she wanted to get any actual work done tonight, she was going to have to vent some of her racing thoughts first.

Carelessly pushing her notes and essay aside, Amity set her diary down and opened it to the nearest blank page. The page just before it was covered in combinations of their names that made Amity blush all the way to the tips of her pointed ears. Titan, she had it bad . Dragging her eyes away from the embarrassing display, she retrieved her pen and began to write a new entry.

Intimate thoughts and feelings about the pretty human, the way she made Amity feel and all the adorably dumb stuff she did, spilled onto the page and Amity found herself so focused on it that she failed to hear her bedroom door opening.

“Amity, dear, we need to discuss this report card I received today.” 

Amity’s heart slammed into her throat and she whipped her head around to stare, wide-eyed, at her mother.

Startled by the sudden reaction, her mother paused in the middle of the room just long enough for Amity to scramble out of her chair and stand in front of her desk, surreptitiously trying to push her diary behind her and out of sight. Her mother’s face turned stern and she took another step towards Amity’s desk. Her pinched expression made Amity shiver nervously.

“Try not to react in such an undignified manner, dear. It is unbecoming of a young Blight lady,” she said imperiously. Amity swallowed past the lump in her throat, trying desperately to slow her racing heart.

“I’m sorry, mother, you just startled me. I was working on an essay for school and didn’t hear you come in.” School books were clearly strewn across Amity’s desk and she had been doing her essay at one point. It was plausible. Please, please let her mother believe it and leave.

Odalia’s cold, amber eyes narrowed just a touch.

“I would hope so,” she said, her lip curling as she glanced at the report. “If this is anything to go by, it would seem you need to be spending a lot more time on your studies.” Her mother held the offending report out and presented it to Amity, who nervously glanced at it. “I haven’t shown this to your father yet, but I will be forced to if I see more results like this.”

Amity had to work very, very hard not to roll her eyes in that moment, despite her rising anxiety. Sure, her grades had slipped a little but it was barely noticeable and, in her defense, she was still miles ahead of her classmates. Besides, she still held that coveted 'top student' ranking that her parents were so fond of boasting about.

The only time she’d even come close to losing it had been the day she’d met Luz and even then it had only been because the silly, delightfully sweet human had wanted to help Willow get better grades, like the kind idiot she was. Amity had been so frantic to get that badge back that she had nearly let Principal Bump dissect Luz, a fact that still ate her up inside.

Pushing the awful thought aside, Amity squared her shoulders and lifted her chin in that signature Blight way she had learned over the years. Poised. Collected. Above it all.

Titan, please let her mother buy it and leave!

“Of course, mother. It won’t happen again. I’ll talk to Principal Bump about adding some more extra-credit assignments to my list tomorrow.”

The thought of even more work being piled onto her already packed schedule made that familiar anxious pit in her stomach twist sharply, but she squashed it down. It was worth it to placate her mother. To make her leave so she wouldn’t discover what Amity had actually been doing when she’d walked in.

To her dismay, her mother tucked the report card into a pocket and moved closer. Her hands set sharply on Amity’s shoulders and their eyes met, sending a spike of fear down Amity’s spine. She was too close. She was going to see.

“Your father and I know we put a lot of pressure on you, dear,” he mother said in what she must have thought was a comforting tone. “But we only want what’s best for the future of our family.”

Not her future. The family’s. It wasn’t the first time Amity had heard that line and it wouldn’t be the last. Odalia tilted her chin up at her and her nails dug into Amity’s shoulders.

“Can I trust that you will do better from here on?”

Amity felt her resolve crack at her mother’s callous tone and she lowered her face to hide the pained grimace that had slipped through her carefully constructed mask.

“Yes, mother. I promise I’ll be better.”

That moment of weakness would be her undoing.

With their eyes no longer locked, Odalia was able to glance past Amity and spy the doodles on the far edge of the diary behind her. Amity heard the irritated huff leave her mother. Felt the hand leave her shoulder and reach behind her. Her heart sank.

“This doesn’t look like a school text, young lady,” she snapped as she plucked the diary off the desk and eyed the offending pages. “I do not appreciate being lied to.” 

Amity felt panic rise in her throat like bile and she made a wild grab for the book.

“Mother, please! That’s private. I was working on my essay, I swear. I was just taking a short break!” Her fingers just managed to graze the edge of the diary but her mother pulled the book out of reach and glared at her, freezing Amity in place. A dull roar of fear thrummed in her ears and she felt suddenly sick to her stomach. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t let this happen!

“Amity Blight, what has gotten into you? What could possibly be so important that it has distracted you from your schoolwork?” Her mother turned her eyes to the pages and the world collapsed around her.

It was too late.

Amity watched as Odalia’s eyes darted across the page. Watched as her brows furrowed in confusion, then surprise and, finally, anger. When she spoke, it was in a tone so dangerously low that Amity felt her legs begin to tremble.

“What is this?” She turned to look at Amity and there was no mistaking the fury in her eyes. She knew.

“Mother… I…” She was cut off when her mother turned the diary towards her, flashing the fresh new page filled with her pining over Luz in her face.

“Who is Luz? What is all this nonsense you’ve been writing about her?” 

Her mother shoved the book at her and Amity flinched back into the desk, hitting it hard enough to unsettle some of the papers laying across it. Odalia’s eyes widened suddenly and she shoved Amity aside, grabbing at something behind her. When she pulled her hand back, she had the gromposal in her hand and, before Amity could hope to stop her, she started reading it. Her lip curled in disgust and she fixed Amity with a furious glare. 

“You invited this Luz girl to Grom ?”

Unsettled and panicked, Amity could barely hear her over the terrified buzzing in her head. She needed to explain. She needed to fix it. She needed to say something!

“I… I didn’t give her the note!”

Stupid! Why hadn’t she denied it? Made an excuse? Said anything other than admitting it was true?

“But you planned to!” Her mother snarled, snapping her out of her spiraling thoughts. “Why would you ever think it appropriate to invite a girl to Grom? Explain yourself!”

Amity felt cold acceptance wash over her. This was it. There was no getting away from this now. Her mother already knew. It was too late to lie.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to steady her trembling hands by fisting them into the hem of her Hexside uniform. The fabric twisted between her fingers but the sting did little to calm her down. She couldn’t look at her mother. She could feel tears burning in the corners of her eyes. Her ears were ringing. Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe?

“I… I didn’t want to go with anyone else. I like Luz.” She swallowed thickly and looked up into her mother’s eyes. “I… I like girls.”

She’d never admitted that out loud before. Not even to herself. But she’d finally said it out loud.

To her mother.

Oh, Titan.

Odalia was silent for a long time, staring wide eyed at her daughter. Amity couldn’t look at her. She waited with baited breath, trembling all over and sick with fear. This was it. The moment she’d spent years dreading. Whatever her mother said next would change her life forever.

“No, you do not.”

What? 

Amity’s head snapped back up and their eyes met. Odalia’s expression was stony, her eyes severe and when they widened very slightly, Amity understood. She opened her mouth to agree. It was a silly misunderstanding. Of course she didn’t like girls. Her mother was right.

“Yes, I do.”

Stupid! She’d been given an out! Why hadn’t she taken it? But it was too late. Her mother latched onto Amity’s wrist without another word and stormed from the room, pulling Amity helplessly along behind her. She didn’t fight it at first, too startled by the sudden shift to react, until she realized that they were headed downstairs. To her father.

That was when she began to struggle.

“Mother, please don’t! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, her breathing ragged and broken as she pulled desperately against her mother’s iron grip. Odalia didn’t even seem to notice.

Amity’s pleas fell on deaf ears as her mother stoically marched them into the downstairs parlour, just off the main entrance hall. She caught a brief glimpse of the large double doors that could lead to her escape from this nightmare before she was dragged through a doorway and deposited unceremoniously before her father.

Alador Blight was sitting in his armchair facing the fire and it was immediately apparent that their intrusion had irritated him. The stiff set to his shoulders and the way he snapped the file of papers he’d been reading shut with an audible slap made all the air rush out of Amity’s lungs.

“I believe I asked not to be disturbed tonight.”

The simple statement would have been enough to have Amity stammering apologies and running for her room, but she was trapped there. She was forced to watch as her mother moved around to her father’s side, silently handing him the note and diary. Amity fought the keening whine building in her throat with everything she had, but a quiet whimper still managed to escape her and her father’s eyes whipped to her. He frowned and then looked down at the stolen note and book he’d been given. He had all of her deepest secrets in his hands and he was reading them.

He knew.

The heat from the fire suddenly felt horribly oppressive despite the cool, early evening air. A single bead of sweat slid down Amity’s neck and she shuddered as her father rose and turned slowly towards her. There was no accusation. No question. He simply narrowed his eyes in a deeply terrifying glare, nailing her to the spot.

“I’ve heard of this ‘Luz’ girl from members of the Emperor’s Coven. She’s that human girl that has been traipsing around the Isle,” he said. Her mother actually gasped at that.

“A human?” She looked at Amity with renewed horror. “Not only a girl but a human girl?”

Amity’s father leveled her mother with a look and she fell silent, but the horror on her face was still clearly visible when he turned back to Amity with a deep, disappointed sigh that made her skin crawl.

“You are a Blight,” he said in a tone one might use for a particularly slow or belligerent child. “Your actions and the people you associate yourself with, affect the standings of this house. Have you forgotten your duties?” Amity flinched and ducked her head, a sickening mixture of shame and guilt turning her stomach in a way she was all too familiar with.

”Blights do not involve themselves with such sick notions,” he continued. “And they certainly do not associate with lower beings. You will forget this nonsense immediately.”

His words were like ice down her spine and she fought the rising bile in her throat. Sick notions? He thought she was sick? Another nauseating wave of anxiety washed over her and Amity had to fight not to surrender to it. She ignored what he’d said about her and how it made her feel like she was a stain on his custom, demon-leather boots, choosing instead to focus on what he’d said about Luz.

“She’s not a lower being. Luz is my friend.” She chanced a glance up at her father and his eyes darkened. Oh how she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. “She’s a good person.”

Titan be damned, why was she talking back? Her father scoffed and rapped the pages of her diary with his knuckles.

“It would appear she is more than a mere friend.” 

Amity flinched but said nothing. There was no use denying it at this point. Her silence seemed to annoy him though and, with a swift flick of his wrist, her diary went sailing into the fire. Amity let out a small cry of dismay as all her innermost thoughts were set ablaze. She looked back at her father as he dropped the pink Grom note to the floor and unceremoniously stepped on it.

“I will not accept this twisted thinking in my household,” he all but growled. “When the time is right and you are of an appropriate age, you will find a suitable male companion from a family we deem fitting or we will find one for you.”

Amity had no doubt that they would absolutely force her to marry someone of their choosing. Likely someone she had never met that was just as cold and power hungry as they were.

She imagined a life like her parents’. Married off to some strange man as a business venture between covens. No love or joy between them, only a hollow marriage that projected the perfect image of the perfect, powerful family. Just endless, terrible perfection to cover up a cold, lonely life behind closed manor doors.

A flash of anger rose within her and, somehow, it overtook the cloying fear that had been suffocating her until then. She couldn’t live like that. She wouldn’t live like that! She refused to let them take her entire life from her. Her heart was pounding in her throat and she had to swallow past it to speak, but she had to say something.

“You can’t just force me to like boys.” She straightened her shoulders and glared up at her father. “I’m not going to let you marry me off to some rich family like a prized animal!” Her voice rose as she spoke and she was proud of how it never wavered. She had no idea where this defiant bravery was coming from but Amity clung to it like the most precious of lifelines. She couldn’t let them do this!

Her father’s face went red and she almost lost her nerve when he drew himself up in anger, towering over her. She felt small and fragile in front of him. Terrified, she balled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms in an attempt to hold onto that tiny spark of courage still burning in her chest. She couldn’t back down now.

“Does the family reputation mean nothing? Does your future at Hexside and with the Emperor’s Coven mean so little to you that you would throw it all away for some filthy little whore with no magic to speak of? I will hear no more of this ridiculous defiance!” 

She saw red.

That flash of anger ignited into a rage she’d never felt before and irrational, animalistic anger filled her to her very core. Face twisting into a furious scowl, she took one hard step closer to her father and delighted in how he actually took a startled step back.

“I’m tired of you trying to make me be like you! I’ll never be like you!” She shouted angrily. “I don’t care about our stupid family’s reputation! And don’t you dare talk about Luz that way! She’s the kindest, most wonderf-”

Pain bloomed across her face and stars burst behind her eyes. She suddenly found herself on the floor, blinking rapidly to clear her swimming vision. She tasted blood.

Confused and trembling all over, she pushed herself up to her knees, arms shaking with the effort of holding herself upright. The wind had been knocked out of her and she gasped for air.

Head buzzing and foggy, Amity turned to her father in time to see him lowering his raised hand.

He had hit her.

It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water onto the fire that had been blazing within her and snuffed it out in a second. He had never done that before.

Her parents were cruel. Manipulative. They had emotionally starved her and done all they could to control her with words or threats but not once had they ever laid a hand on her. They had never stooped to that. But Amity had never defied them like this either.

With a shaking hand, Amity reached up and touched her fingers to her lips, shocked to find that she was bleeding. She looked up at him in horrified silence and watched as he schooled his features, looking for all the world like nothing had just happened.

“That is enough. I am tired of this rebellious outburst of yours. Your mother and I have worked too long and too hard to have it all threatened by the whims of a disturbed child. Blights are better than this. You were once better than this. You will do as you are told!” 

He glared down at her imperiously as she trembled on the ground and Amity swallowed hard. She tried to blink back the tears in her eyes, but they were already falling. When had she started crying? A whirlwind of emotions swirled in her mind, each of them fighting to overwhelm her.

Fear. Anger. Pain. Sick, cloying anxiety that twisted her insides into a tight knot. But above all, she felt hatred. For the first time, she truly hated her father and everything he stood for. Everything her family name stood for.

“Maybe I don’t want to be a Blight,” she murmured blankly. Her father’s expression screwed up and he seemed to swell in size before her.

“I see you are determined to drag the family name through the dirt for the sake of your own selfish, twisted desires. I will not allow you to destroy everything I have worked for.” His mouth pulled into a sneer. “There are ways of correcting your little affliction. This is nothing that a quick trip to the Conformatorium can’t cure, my dear.”

Amity felt the world shrink in on her. She had heard stories of that awful place. Rumors told in secret of how witches like her were sent there only to come out… different. Like they’d somehow been stripped of everything that made them who they were. If they made it out at all.

She’d never wanted to believe any of it. It wasn't like same-sex couples were unheard of on the Boiling Isles. Willow had two dads for crying out loud! It seemed so ridiculously unlikely. Something so cruel couldn’t possibly be allowed by the Emperor. But her father certainly seemed to think it was and he knew more than most about the inner workings of the Emperor’s Coven.

A new, visceral fear enveloped her and her vision swam. Somehow she knew that if she stepped one foot into that hellish place, Amity Blight would cease to exist.

“A Blight must adhere to certain standards. Responsibilities,” her father continued. “Something you have clearly forgotten. We’ll have to remedy that. You will stay in your room until I can make arrangements to fix you.”

Fix her? Was she broken? She blinked through her hazy vision and caught movement in the corner of her eye. It snapped her back to reality just as her father made to approach her, his arm outstretched to lock her away until they could ‘fix’ her by taking away everything that she was, leaving nothing but an empty shell for her parent’s to mold into the perfect Blight.

In a blind panic she threw her hands up to stop him, fingers instinctually forming a large circle in the air.

A tall, oozing abomination rose to life between them and lashed out with a trunk-like arm, knocking her father back. Her mother screamed as he was thrown back against his armchair, glancing off of it to crash to the ground with a loud thud as the abomination stood menacingly between him and Amity. The room fell deathly silent.

Alador hauled himself up against the upturned armchair, breathing heavily. He was staring at her like he had no idea who or what she was and Amity felt an awful swell of guilt and shame overtake her.

“Who are you?” His stunned words cut right through her and Amity whimpered.

“Father, I’m sorry! I didn’t…” Didn’t what? Didn’t mean it? She had. She hadn’t intended to attack him though. Only block his path. “It was an accident!”

His face was still a mask of shock as he stared at her, wide-eyed.

“You… you are not my daughter.” She reeled back as if he’d struck her again. “I don’t recognize this foul creature you have become. My Amity would never stoop this low. She would never consort with something as unnatural as a human and she would never dare attack her own father. You are beyond saviour.”

He stood shakily, his temper gathering once more as he spoke. Her mother stood uselessly to the side, her hands covering her mouth in shock.

Why had she been so quiet? Why wouldn’t she help Amity? Why hadn’t Ed and Em come home to save her?

How had things gotten so far out of control?

“You are not a Blight.” Her father continued, his voice rising with every word until he was bellowing at her. “Get out of my house and don’t ever show your despicable face here again. Out! Get out of this house, you vile, lecherous little monster!”

Her breathing ragged with fear, Amity turned her terrified, streaming eyes to her mother. Her last hope in this nightmare.

“Mother, please…”

But her mother only glared at her and turned away. She was truly alone. Cast aside by both of her parents simply for being who she was.

All the years of fighting to do as they asked, clawing her way to the top of everything she did so she would make them proud and maybe earn their affection. All of it wasted in one night.

A loud bang dragged Amity’s eyes away from her mother to see her father blasting her abomination to pieces in a single magical blow.

“Get out!”

He took a menacing step towards her and it was all the incentive Amity needed to bolt. She scrambled to her feet and ran. She barely noticed barreling through the large double doors of the manor, desperate to get as far away as possible.

Darkness clawed at the edges of her vision as panic tightened her chest. She stumbled down the stairs at the end of the driveway and, the second she had passed the massive gates to the manor, she tore off the road and into the forest surrounding the property. She had no idea if they were following her and couldn’t risk looking back to see.

Branches whizzed past her, grabbing at her arms and legs as she ran blindly. She needed to hide but where could she go?

The library was closed at night so she couldn’t get to her secret room there. She no longer spoke to Boscha and Skara and their families knew her parents anyway. Willow had already been threatened for simply being her friend and she had no idea where Gus even lived.

Where could she go where they wouldn’t find her?

Where would she be safe?

Heart pounding in her ears and eyes streaming, she realized there was only one place she could go. One place she wanted to go.

So she ran.

Chapter Text

The Owl House glowed merrily in the forest, warm light spilling from the windows. Luz had been happily rambling to Eda about her day at school for a while now, while she listened with her usual feigned reluctance. It was becoming increasingly obvious, though, that the Owl Lady was tired. She was sagging into the sofa, her eyes drooping and Luz decided it was probably time to free her of her maternal duties for the night. She’d learned the hard way not to push Eda when she was this sleepy so, when Eda begged for an early night, Luz easily agreed.

They were saying their goodnights when loud, frantic knocking interrupted them. Luz shared a curious look with Eda. Their home was well hidden and very few people ever came to visit as it was. Who would ever think to drop by after dark? Before Luz could move to check though, Hooty, the disturbingly tube-like owl demon living in the door, began squawking wildly.

“Hoot hoot! Scary girl! The scary girl is back! Hoot!”

Luz frowned curiously. Scary girl? The only person Hooty had ever been scared of was… Did he mean Amity? Why would she be here? The Boiling Isles weren't safe on a good day and Amity was far too smart to travel alone at night. It didn't make any sense. Unless…

A thrill of excitement ran up her spine at the thought that, maybe, Amity had braved the dark and dangerous woods just to see her. That had to be it! Luz rushed for the door and yanked it open with a big grin.

“Amity! What are you…” Luz trailed off and her smile fell at the sight of her friend. Amity looked awful. Pale, sweating, and filthy, she looked like she was barely holding herself up. Her hands were clamped tightly around her own arms, knuckles white and her eyes kept darting nervously behind her as if she were afraid she’d been followed. She was twitching and shivering and, wait, was that blood on her lip? She was hurt!

“Amity?” Luz reached a tentative hand towards her, which immediately drew her attention. Amity’s eyes whipped towards her and she flinched away from Luz’s hand like a frightened deer, before she finally noticed Luz standing at the door. She froze for one horrible second and then her entire body seemed to sag with relief when their eyes met. Luz's brow creased with worry and, slowly, carefully, she laid her hand on Amity's shoulders.

“Amity, what happened? Are you ok?” Her stomach tightened when Amity took in a ragged breath, quaking beneath Luz’s hand. She had never seen her look so terrified.

“Luz?” Amity whimpered and reached towards Luz with one trembling hand, brushing her fingers against her arm like she was trying to make sure she was really there. Luz's own fingers tightened against her shoulder in concern and that broke something in Amity. She gave a strangled sort of cry and crumbled into Luz’s arms with an agonized sob.

Luz yelped and gathered her tightly to her chest. 

“It’s… It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay.” She tightened her arms around her anxiously but Amity didn’t seem able to hear her. She clutched desperately at Luz’s back, trembling fiercely and sobbing uncontrollably. Between her desperate gasps for air and the way her fingers twisted into Luz’s hoodie, Luz was almost certain that, if she hadn’t been holding her together, Amity would shatter into a million tiny pieces.

Luz was desperately forcing down her own growing sense of panic at seeing Amity this way. Amity, who never seemed to show any emotion if she could help it. She couldn’t freak out when Amity clearly needed help, but she had no idea what to do. Eda appeared behind them, looking much more awake and stared down at the sobbing girl with a concerned frown.

“Don’t just stand there, kid. Get her inside,” she said, motioning with her head and Luz didn’t need to be told twice. She scooped Amity up into her arms and carried her into the house while Eda closed the door behind them.

***

Amity clung to Luz and buried her face in the crook of her neck, fighting to regain control of herself. Luz was safe. She should be safe! So why did it feel like someone had their hands around her throat? Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and her entire body was clenched painfully tight. Blind panic clawed at her mind as painful sobs wracked her body and every breath felt hard won.

Luz sat with her on Eda’s tattered old sofa, set Amity in her lap and held her as close as possible. She rocked them gently, murmuring in Amity’s ear and gently running her hand up and down her back while Amity cried. She had no idea what she was saying but it was somehow comforting and, after what felt like hours, her body slowly unwound and her sobbing eased into shuddering, uneven breaths. She drank in the air and the cold relief of it eased the tightness in her burning throat.

When she finally calmed down a little, Amity unwound her stiffened fingers from within Luz’s shirt and Luz pulled back to carefully shift Amity onto the sofa beside her. She moved just far enough away to give her room to breathe but her hand never stopped moving over Amity’s back. She glanced up at her and it was obvious Luz was fighting tears of her own. Amity grimaced and looked down at her hands where she’d clasped them together in her lap.

“I… I’m sorry,” she finally stuttered out, taking another deep gulp of air now that she didn’t feel quite so close to flying apart. “I didn’t know where else to go. My parents, they… they kicked me out and I…” She felt another sob bubble up her throat and she buried her face in her hands, fighting not to lose the little bit of control she’d regained. 

“Oh, Amity.” Luz slid her arm around Amity’s shoulder and pulled her in close again, letting Amity lean pathetically against her while she wept into her shoulder. 

Eda knelt down in front of them and set her hand gently on Amity’s knee but hot panic flared within her at the unfamiliar touch and Amity involuntarily yanked her leg away. Eda drew her hand back immediately, which Amity was grateful for and stood with a heavy sigh.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, kid. Then you can tell us what happened,” she said, in a voice far gentler than Amity had ever heard from her own parents. She watched as Eda moved to the kitchen, gathering ingredients to make something she couldn’t see while she yelled up the stairs for King. 

When the young demon poked his head into the living room, he was instructed to fetch warm water and a towel. He glanced curiously at Luz and Amity huddled closely on the sofa together before scampering off, presumably to do as he was told.

When he came back he held out a soft, clean towel and Amity watched numbly when Luz accepted it before the furry little demon turned to set a bowl of steaming water on the table. He slid it over where Luz could reach it, dislodging a pile of dusty old books in the process and Amity found her eyes tracking them as they tumbled to the floor.

“Thanks, King,” Luz murmured from somewhere far above her while the dust swirled and settled back onto the books that lay at her feet. A shame really. They should really take better care of their books. She blinked slowly when Luz pulled away from her and tentatively slid her hands down Amity’s arms to gently pry her hands off her hoodie, which Amity had apparently had a vice grip on again.

“Amity, is it ok if I fix you up a bit?” She asked with a sad little smile and a comforting squeeze of her hands. “You’re kinda filthy.”

Amity looked up from her trembling hands, held so gently in Luz’s soft warm ones and inspected herself. Luz was right. The sleeves of her, once-pristine, Hexide uniform were shredded and there were a few long, thin scratches scattered across her arms and legs. She was also covered in dirt and leaves, her forearms and knees muddy from a fall somewhere in the woods that she couldn’t remember. She looked awful.

Grimacing, she gave a small nod and Luz’s smile softened. She carefully eased the ripped sleeves up Amity’s arms, dipped the towel into the bowl, and wrung out the excess water before moving to clean her up. Amity was prepared to wince when Luz touched the towel to her arm, but she was surprisingly gentle. She followed the soft white cloth with her eyes, watching distantly while Luz took care of her in a way no one else ever had.

She’d never experienced such tenderness from another person. Never felt so cared for. It was almost overwhelming. Tears swam in her eyes as her emotions swirled anew, but Amity found herself calming down while Luz worked.

The loud buzzing in her ears faded, her heart finally slowed and the urgent tension flooded out of her. She suddenly felt woozy. The room shifted and tilted around her and she swallowed hard. Shutting her eyes against the building dizziness, Amity tried to focus instead on the sound of Luz murmuring and tutting at her. On the feeling of gentle hands and soft warmth dancing across her skin, clearing away the dirt, grime, and fear that lingered there after her harrowing run through the forest.

“Amity?” Luz whispered hesitantly and Amity managed to crack open an eye to see that she had the towel raised to her face. “Is it alright if I…” She trailed off, shifting the towel a little closer.

Amity let her eyes drift closed again and managed a weak nod that she regretted instantly, her queasy stomach roiling from the movement. Thankfully she was distracted by the cloth brushing carefully at the dried tears on her cheeks and the sweat on her forehead and neck. By Luz’s fingers trailing worriedly over her cheek and into her hair to clear away bits of foliage that had gotten tangled there.

Under any other circumstances, this moment would have turned her into an incoherent, blushing mess but, after the night she’d had, Amity couldn’t find the energy to feel anything but appreciation for how much Luz cared about her. The tears that had been steadily building behind her eyes finally began to slip down her cheeks and she heard Luz suck in a small breath. 

“Oh, Amity, did I hurt you? I’m so sorry! Please don’t cry,” Luz said desperately, brushing at the tears on Amity’s cheeks with trembling fingers. She sounded so broken. So worried for her. Amity sniffed pitifully and scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of her palm.

“S’not you…” she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. How could she ever tell Luz that no one had ever done something like this for her before? That no one had ever been there to hold her when she’d been hurt or just had a rotten day and that this level of gentle, tender intimacy was something she had no idea how to handle. Or that a part of her was convinced she didn’t deserve it.

The last person who had ever even come close had been Willow, but that friendship had been ripped away from her years ago. 

She'd been so alone for so long.

When she met Luz’s eyes, she saw only empathy there. Of course she didn’t have to explain. Luz always understood.

Amity sagged into the sofa and let out a soft, uneven breath. She was still a little dizzy but she felt so much better. Calmer. She reached a tentative hand up to Luz’s and pulled it away from her face, giving her a small, tremulous smile. 

“Thanks, Luz. I think… I’m ok now.” That simple statement seemed to flood Luz with relief and she beamed back at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Eda returned then, with a steaming cup in hand that she carefully passed to Amity while Luz placed the cloth into the bowl of, now murky, water.

“Drink up, kid. It’ll make you feel better,” Eda said and Amity held the cup up to her nose to take a hesitant sniff. It smelled good but Luz was eyeing the cup suspiciously, so she held it away from herself. Eda was a potioneer by trade after all (when she wasn’t being a swindling con artist or running from the law), so there was no telling what she might have cooked up. It looked like tea and smelled like tea, but the prospect of drinking an unknown potion wasn’t very appealing to Amity. No matter how enticing the warm smell drifting up at her was.

“What is it?” Luz asked, leveling Eda with a flat look. She snorted in offense at Luz’s accusatory tone before flopping directly onto the coffee table, the bowl of water sloshing next to her. King scrambled to save it from spilling everywhere and carried it off to the kitchen with a huff.

“It’s tea, you numbskull. What, did you think I was gonna poison the poor girl?” Her indignant glare shifted into a snort of laughter. “Honestly, I can’t blame ya.” She shot Amity a playful wink as King trotted back into the room and, to her surprise, pulled himself up onto the sofa beside Amity.

“Knowing you it could be anything! I’ve seen what you serve to unsuspecting guests,” he sniggered. Amity stared down at the cup in her hands while Eda and King bickered back and forth. The warmth of it spread into her fingers and soothed some of the lingering shivering there. She noticed Luz watching her anxiously so she lifted the cup to take a tentative sip. Sweet and comforting, the warm drink settled her swirling stomach almost instantly and she felt the last of the built up tension leave her with a small sigh.

“See? All better,” Eda said triumphantly before giving Amity a sympathetic look. “So, you ready to talk, kid?”

Her grip on the cup tightened and Amity took a deep breath to steady herself. It didn’t help.

How was she supposed to tell them? What would they think of her? She glanced at Luz again, mortified at the thought that she might learn the truth. A truth she’d been very eager to hide from her friend at all costs. That she was now going to have to tell her. Amity swallowed the lump building in her throat before looking back at Eda, grasping weakly for some sort of deflection.

“I have a name. It’s Amity.” Oh sure, be rude to the people helping her, that was nice. Why had she said that? She glanced away, ashamed, but Eda was still watching her patiently.

“While I appreciate the sass, you’re stalling,” she said. When Amity’s shoulders lifted defensively, Eda sighed. “Look, you don’t have to tell us anything you’re not comfortable with. It’s obvious you’ve been through it tonight, but you’re safe here and we can’t help you if we don’t know what happened.”

Amity grimaced and forced herself to look up at Eda. She was asking a lot of a woman who barely knew her. The least Amity could do was be honest with her. Terrifyingly honest.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, her eyes dropping away from the accepting smile she got in return. She took a deep breath and eased it out. She could do this. 

“My parents… they found out something… bad. About me.” She bit her lip and peaked up at Eda, hoping beyond hope that her cagey response would satisfy her. It did not. 

“You wanna elaborate on that?” She asked, brows raising and Amity had to bite back a scared whimper. She really, really didn’t want to elaborate. Or say it out loud again. It hadn’t exactly gone well last time. She looked up when Luz rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled supportively at her. Maybe she could do this.

“My mother found out that I’m…” The words caught in her throat and she started trembling again. Titan, this was so hard. It was just two words. How could two little words be so impossible to say? Why did Luz have to be staring at her with those big brown eyes? She could do this. 

She had to do this! 

“She found out that I’m… I like girls.” A deep flush spread across her cheeks as the words spilled from her lips in a rush and she couldn’t quite meet Luz’s eye, choosing instead to stare into her tea.

Luz was frozen beside her, the hand on her shoulder twitching wildly and Eda was totally silent. No one said anything for a long moment and the tension in the room pressed heavily on Amity, so she plowed ahead before anyone could speak and she lost her nerve entirely. 

“It turned into a big argument and father, he… he told me to leave,” she blurted out. Would they send her away too? She had no idea what Eda thought of people like her and she was all but certain that she had just made things, at the very least, incredibly awkward with Luz. Her eyes stung with fresh tears and she took another sip of her tea to distract herself but it washed over her suddenly very dry tongue like ash.

“And what exactly is so ‘bad’ about liking girls?” Eda asked, as if she thought it was the most natural thing in the world. Not something that needed to be cured. Something normal. 

Amity’s head snapped up to stare at her in confusion and Eda simply raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for a response.

“I… I don’t know? Father said he had to… to fix me and he…” She was interrupted by the outraged noise that came out of Luz’s mouth and Amity turned to see Luz staring at her with an utterly horrified expression.

“He said what?” She half shrieked and Amity felt her cheeks warm at Luz’s angry sputtering on her behalf. Eda held up a hand to stop Luz from building up any more steam though and levelled Amity with a very serious look.

“You listen to me, kid. There is nothing to fix here. There is nothing wrong with you, you got that?” She said firmly. Eda sounded so sure and Luz was nodding vigorously beside her so Amity found herself unable to argue. 

“Your dad sounds like a moron,” Eda continued. “Now normally I’m rather partial to rich morons, they’re my bread and butter. But your father sounds like the kind of moron that doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it and those aren’t useful to anyone. So don’t you listen to a word he says. Got it?”

Amity was dumbstruck by Eda’s open sincerity and by the way Luz had wrapped her hands tightly around her arm in support. They didn’t hate her.

They didn’t think she was broken.

Raw emotion swelled within her again and all she could manage was a weak nod. Tears pricked at her eyes again and she wondered how there could possibly be any more left in her. Eda’s serious expression softened into something quite comforting.

“Good. Now that we’ve got that straightened out, I’d say we could all use a little sleep,” she said, standing up with a groan to take the empty tea cup from Amity. “You’re staying here tonight, kiddo. We’ll talk more about this whole mess in the morning.”

Exhausted, Amity murmured a quiet thank you, grateful that she wasn’t being pushed to explain any more right now. Just telling them this much had left her exhausted. Luz, however, had another concern.

“Eda, can you heal her? Please? She’s hurt!” She bit her lip anxiously but Eda sighed.

“Sorry, Luz. I hate to leave her like that but it’s late and I’m tapped out for the night,” she said. She swirled a finger in the air but the magic circle popped before it could fully form. Eda swayed a little on the spot and Luz deflated sadly. With a regretful, apologetic sort of smile, Eda bid them a good night and lifted a squirming King off the sofa.

“Leave them alone, furball. The poor girl needs some space. Luz, make sure she’s comfortable. We can fix her up first thing in the morning,” she said while she made her way into the hall, King struggling under her arm.

“I demand you put me down, witch! Obey me!” His adorable angry squeal was the last thing the girls heard as the two of them disappeared upstairs. Luz jumped up and nodded after Eda, apparently determined to follow orders and make sure Amity had everything she needed. She turned to where Amity was still slumped on the sofa and reached out a hand to help her up.

“Come on, I’ll get you something clean to wear,” she said, smiling down at her gently. Amity accepted the hand up, swaying a little when she stood and followed Luz to what turned out to be a small bathroom where Luz sat her down on the edge of the tub and backed up to the door.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back,” she said, motioning with her arms for Amity to stay where she was before darting out of the door. She wasn’t gone long and returned with an armful of pale purple shorts and a loose black shirt, which Amity accepted gratefully. She stood on shaky legs to change while Luz sped out of the room to give her some privacy.

Alone at last, Amity carefully changed out of her filthy school uniform, trying to focus on anything but what had happened to her that night. She paused when the fresh shirt slipped over her head and fisted her fingers into the hem of the fabric. It was soft and comfortable and smelled sort of vaguely lemony. It smelled like Luz.

That thought had her blushing to the tips of her ears and set her heart fluttering. She was being ridiculous. Now was not the time for this! Shaking her head, she patted her cheeks to get rid of that annoying rosy glow and turned to the sink to splash some water on her face. It helped cool her down but, when she looked up into the mirror, she grimaced at what she saw.

She looked paler than usual. Almost sickly. Her eyes were red and raw from crying, her hair was a mess, and, worst of all, there was an ugly bruise forming across one side of her jaw. It wasn’t big, thankfully, but it looked awful next to the dark red split on her lower lip. She stared at herself and saw a stranger. Someone who had no home or family. Someone who’s father had hit her and called her broken. Someone wrong.

Huffing at her own face in dismay, Amity turned her eyes down to the sink. She wasn’t wrong. Luz and Eda had said so. Her parents were wrong. They had to be. 

She spotted a simple comb resting on the counter next to the sink and reached for it. Her head and face were a mess, but at least she could fix her hair a little.

It wasn’t easy going. Her hair band had gotten lost somewhere in the woods and now her hair was a matted mess. When she finally managed to comb out the knots and remove the last of the foliage, she scrubbed her face with cool water for good measure, hoping she looked a little better. She certainly felt a lot better. 

She stepped out of the bathroom to find Luz in the process of covering the entire sofa with pillows and blankets, like she was trying to build a nest. 

“Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” She asked and even managed a small smile when Luz turned, but then she froze and her breath seemed to catch in her throat. Her eyes darted from Amity’s hair to her clothes and then back up to her face before she exhaled and swallowed hard. Amity self-consciously pushed her hair behind an ear and turned so that the bruise on her cheek was hidden from Luz. Maybe she didn’t look all that much better.

“Nope!” Luz piped up suddenly and Amity looked back at her, startled by the sudden shift in her mood. “I uh… I dunno about you, b-but when I’ve had a bad day, I like to curl up under the covers and snuggle with a bunch of pillows. It really helps!” She turned sharply to fluff up said pillows. “Hugging stuffed animals works too but King was sleeping on his stash and I didn’t really wanna lose a hand.”

The image of King lying atop a hoard of plushies like a greedy dragon popped into her head and Amity chuckled despite herself. Luz hit her with a dazzling smile at the small sound and, as she looked Amity over, that smile melted into a lopsided grin that made Amity’s stomach flip. 

“I like your hair down like that. It’s really pretty,” she said and Amity felt heat bloom in her cheeks. She stammered out a shy thank you, fiddling awkwardly with the loose wisps of green hair around her ears as she sat stiffly on the freshly made up sofa. Luz had called her pretty. Well, she’d called her hair pretty but that was a part of Amity. Luz thought a part of Amity was pretty!

Feeling a little giddy, Amity sank into the pillows with a sigh and pulled one of the many blankets over herself while Luz moved around the room to turn off the various lights. She thought she heard Luz say something in the dark but the second her head hit the pillow she was struck with a wave of weariness that disoriented her enough to miss it. 

Had she said goodnight? She wasn’t in the room anymore so she’d probably headed up to bed and Amity felt bad for not replying. Lying there staring quietly at the ceiling, Amity’s mind raced with everything that had happened. She was desperately tired but, with her thoughts swirling the way they were, Amity felt like she’d never get to sleep. Especially not in this strange, dark house with its shadowy corners and unfamiliar sounds. She felt small and scared. Alone.

Turning to face the back of the sofa, she curled in on herself, hiding from the dark like a child. She huddled under the blanket and squeezed her eyes shut against the shiver that ran up her spine. This was stupid. She’d been ok a minute ago. She could handle this.

Distracted by the tight ache that seemed to be twisting up her throat, it took Amity a second to recognize the sound of footsteps coming into the room. She peaked an eye open and carefully looked over her shoulder to spot a familiar little ball of light bouncing merrily through the air. Turning, she pushed herself up and watched Luz set her sleeping bag and pillow down on the ground beside the sofa before casually plopping down on top of them. While she was relieved to not be alone anymore, Amity frowned down at her friend who seemed perfectly content to watch her from the floor.

“Luz, what are you doing?” She asked curiously and Luz grinned at her.

“I said I'd be right back, remember? I figured you could use some company. This place can be kinda creepy at night if you’re not used to it,” she said brightly and Amity flushed. Oh. Titan below, that was incredibly sweet of her.

“You really don’t have to do that. Won’t you be uncomfortable down there?” She asked, but Luz just shrugged in that carefree way of hers, seemingly unconcerned.

“I already sleep on the floor. No big deal if I do it down here instead and this way you don’t have to be alone.” She paused and rubbed sheepishly at her neck. “If that’s ok…” 

It was more than ok. If she were being honest, the idea of sleeping down here alone had been wholly unappealing, so Amity smiled gratefully at her and lay back down into the nest Luz had made for her.

“Thanks, Luz. This does make me feel a bit better.” 

Luz’s smile grew and she flopped onto her back so she could look up at Amity. As she moved, Amity noticed her witch light shift along with her. She followed the little glowing ball with her eyes and found herself marveling at Luz’s strange magic.

“I still can’t believe you figured out how to do magic like that,” she said. Luz had fought all odds and done something everyone had told her was impossible, which was just so Luz. It was deeply impressive and Amity still found herself in awe of Luz’s ingenuity.

“Sometimes, neither can I,” she admitted, tilting her head up to look fondly at the little light as well. Luz sat up again and pulled a notebook out from under her pillow, along with the gem-topped pen that she always used.

She set about drawing more light glyphs as Amity propped herself up on her forearms to watch. Each carefully drawn glyph curled the paper into a ball that floated up to bounce in the air above them. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Luz do this. In fact, she’d seen her do far more impressive things with her glyphs. But she couldn’t look away. It was fascinating. 

Amity watched the dozen or so little lights hover around them, their warm glow dancing around the room and a thought struck her. This was kind of romantic. Her eyes drifted down to Luz and watched as the light played across her cheeks, brightened her eyes and lit little flecks of gold into her dark hair. She’d never seen anything so beautiful.

Heat spread up Amity’s neck and across her cheeks, sending flames sizzling to her ears. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and her mouth felt suddenly dry again. Titan, give her strength. Why? Why was she like this? This was wrong! She shouldn’t be looking at her friend like this. Her friend that was just trying to help make her feel better. She bit hard into her lip and purposefully turned her eyes away from Luz, trying hard to push back the negative voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like her mothers. She’d been on the worst emotional rollercoaster of her life and she wanted off.

She was so busy trying to school her features so Luz wouldn’t notice, that it took Amity a minute to realize she had stopped drawing more glyphs. She was staring down at her notepad with a hesitant frown, jaw working like she wanted to say something but didn’t know how. 

“Amity,” she said at last. “Would it be ok if… I asked how your parents found out?” Luz looked up at her, clearly worried that she’d crossed a line by asking and Amity stared back in surprise. She hadn’t known what to expect but it certainly hadn’t been that. It couldn't hurt to tell her.

“My mother came in when I was writing about…” She froze and swallowed hard. “Someone in my diary,” she said haltingly. Well, that had been smooth. Luz was still listening intently though, so she continued. “She was mad that I wasn’t doing my homework, so she took it and read it all. After that, she gave it to my father and…” She shrugged helplessly. Luz knew enough to piece together what had happened next.

“Wow , what is it with your family and reading your diary?” She asked, sounding so offended on her behalf that Amity couldn’t help but smile. She certainly had a point. “I’m so sorry your parents are such jerks. I don’t get why anyone wouldn’t want you around! Do they not realize how awesome you are?” 

Luz seemed so genuinely certain that she was right that Amity’s smile bloomed into a laugh and she didn’t even care that her cheeks were pink.

Luz grinned up at her and Amity’s chest swelled with affection. Luz always seemed to know how to make her laugh. Really laugh. Not the polite titter or measured chuckle she used around her parents’ associates or her old friends. A loud, free, openly happy laugh that made her snort just a little, though Amity would vehemently deny that she had. It was the sweetest feeling and Amity secretly loved the fact that Luz was the only person that seemed to bring it out in her.

“So… were you writing about the person you wanted to invite to Grom?” 

And of course she was also the only person who could render Amity speechless at the drop of a hat. A bright blush spread across Amity’s face in an instant and Luz blanched. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I mean, I already know it was a girl but you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.” She paused, chewing the inside of her cheek nervously before giving Amity a small shy grin. “If it helps… I like girls too.”

Amity froze and she stared at Luz in shock.

“You... you do?”

The blush that darkened Luz’s cheeks did things to Amity’s brain and she struggled to focus as Luz gave a little shrug.

“Well I’ve liked both before. There was this one guy when I first got to the Boiling Isles, but he turned out to be a creepy puppet monster and I stabbed him right in his pecs,” she said, emphatically acting out the action with a jab of her arm. Amity did a double take at that.

“Wait… what?” She asked incredulously. Had she heard that right? Luz laughed happily at her and shrugged.

“ Long story. Anyway, that was only for like, a day. I’ve been noticing… someone else, for a while now.” The shy tilt to her head and the way she had glanced away made Amity’s heart leap into her throat. Luz had a crush on someone. 

‘That’s what friends do’ .

She had a crush on someone else. 

A disappointed lump lodged itself painfully in her throat and Amity had to work hard to hold back the warmth building behind her eyes. Of course Luz liked someone else. Amity had been fooling herself to ever hope Luz would like someone as cruel and broken as her. 

She wondered who it could be. It was probably Willow, if she was being honest with herself. They spent a lot of time together and Willow was both very pretty and a wonderful friend. Amity, on the other hand, should be grateful she was even lucky enough to be counted as one of Luz’s friends after everything she’d done. That didn’t mean her heart wasn’t absolutely shattered though. Putting on what she hoped was a brave face, Amity smiled at Luz weakly before she spoke.

“Ok first off, don’t think you’re getting out of telling me that story at some point, but… to be honest, I don’t think I’m ready to tell anyone about the note yet,” she murmured, carefully avoiding Luz’s eyes and she was relieved when Luz didn’t pry any further. She didn’t think she could handle Luz actually rejecting her just then, if ever.

“That’s ok. Sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. I’m just really curious who was awesome enough to catch your eye,” Luz said, giving her that lopsided little grin that she so loved. Amity blushed and she smiled, despite her crushing disappointment.

“You could never make me uncomfortable, Luz. You’re my best friend,” she said, with all the sincerity she could muster. It was the truth after all.

Luz’s face brightened and she squealed, launching herself up to pull Amity into a warm, eager hug. She gushed at Amity’s sweet sentiment, nuzzling against her cheek and it was all Amity could do not to burst into flames as she nervously returned the embrace. She let out a pained hiss when Luz’s snuggling nudged the bruising on her jaw and Luz instantly jumped back, holding her at arm’s length.

“Oh no! Amity, I’m so sorry! I should have been more careful!” She apologized frantically, but Amity just stared at her, half dazed. That had been a wonderful hug. Her mouth tilted into a small smile as she watched her friend panic and stopped her with a gentle pat on the arm.

“It’s ok, it was worth it.”

Luz’s eyes widened almost comically. She clutched at her chest and let out a long, drawn out “awe” that made Amity giggle. A moment later, her smile turned into a yawn and she felt her earlier exhaustion rear its head. Titan, she wanted to sleep for a whole year . Luz noticed and grinned at her.

“We should probably get some sleep. You must be really tired,” she said sympathetically and Amity readily agreed. It had been a long, long night. 

She eased herself down and folded her arms under her pillow, letting her eyes drift shut while Luz snuffed out the witch lights. With the room plunged into darkness, she crawled into her sleeping bag and settled down as well. A skittering shuffling noise from somewhere in the room made Amity’s ears twitch and her eyes snapped open to look uneasily around the darkened living room.

“Um… Luz?” She whispered nervously. “You weren’t serious when you mentioned ‘night critters’ before, right?” 

Luz let out a very loud snort and giggled gleefully.

“Oh my gosh, Amity, I was kidding! That was ages ago, how do you even remember that? You’re adorable!” She grinned madly up at Amity, not at all perturbed by the glowering look she was giving her in return.

“Not funny, Luz,” she grumbled. Luz apparently begged to differ.

“If it makes you feel better, here.” She reached up to fish Amity’s hand out from under her pillow and tugged it down, holding it gently as she settled back into her own pillows. An embarrassed flush spread across Amity’s face in an instant. How did Luz do things like that so casually? Like it was the easiest thing in the world to just… hold a girl’s hand. Luz seemed totally at ease though and somehow that helped Amity relax.

Luz was quiet for a moment, frowning thoughtfully as she idly played with Amity’s fingers. While she was mulling over her next words, Amity was doing her best to stay calm and not yank her hand away from those warm fingers that were lightly tugging at her own. Luz Noceda had no idea she was killing her best friend. Why did her hands have to feel so nice? She wondered if Luz had noticed how small Amity’s hands were compared to her own. Amity had definitely noticed. It was hard not to when Luz so easily curled her fingers around Amity’s entire hand.

“I can’t even imagine how awful tonight must have been for you,” Luz said at last, her voice low and sad. “I really am sorry you had to go through all this.” Their eyes met and Amity could see how truly upset Luz was. It sobered her instantly. Apparently they weren’t quite done talking.

“It’s ok,” she said quietly. It wasn’t really, but Amity was so very tired and she would say anything to reassure Luz at this point.

“No it’s not. Your parents were awful to you. You didn’t deserve any of that!” Luz’s fingers tightened around Amity’s and she was touched by the tears in her eyes. Luz really did care about her. Amity smiled sadly.

“Don’t get me wrong, this has been, by far, the worst night of my life. But it was probably gonna happen eventually. My parents have always been awful, controlling jerks and I don’t think they ever would have accepted that I’m…” She found herself tripping over the words again and bit her tongue. She hated that it was still so hard to admit out loud, even though she knew Luz already knew. She spotted the understanding little smile Luz was giving her and sighed, deciding to just move on. Luz knew what she’d meant. 

“I have no idea what I’m gonna do or… or where I’m gonna go, but at least I’m free of that place.” That thought made Amity feel a whole lot better all of a sudden. Luz gave her a playfully serious look and pressed Amity’s hand to her heart.

“Well, you’re safe here and I promise I won’t let those jerks touch you ever again. As your sworn champion, it is my duty to protect my queen!” She declared, voice tilted in a silly accent Amity couldn’t place and Amity was sure she would absolutely melt. That had been the sweetest thing she’d ever heard and, wait... Had Luz seriously just called Amity her queen?  

No. She couldn’t overreact. They were friends.

Instead of wallowing in that hopeless thought, she chose to smile at Luz and play along instead. She dipped her head in as close to a regal curtsey as she could manage while lying down with her hand trapped in Luz’s.

“Thank you, my fearless champion,” she said haughtily and they giggled at each other’s silliness. When they eventually fell asleep, Amity had almost forgotten that she’d had an awful nightmare of a night because they were still holding hands.

Chapter Text

Amity was ripped, rather rudely, from sleep by an annoying little ray of sunlight slanting through a window at just the right angle to fall across her eye. She squinted against the light and groaned at being called back into the waking world. A world where she was horribly stiff, sore, and grumpy . Everything ached and she groaned pitifully, turning her face away from the light to bury it in her pillow. She shifted uncomfortably where she lay tangled in what felt like entirely too many blankets and tried to kick at them to relieve some of the suffocating warmth around her. Her foot connected with a pillow and it flopped to the floor with a soft thump.

Her bed felt weird. 

It was firmer than she remembered it being and why were there so many blankets and pillows everywhere? She groaned into her pillow again, preparing herself for the herculean task of investigating. With a long suffering sigh, Amity dragged her head just far enough off her pillow to look around and frowned. Oh. 

This wasn’t her bed.

She was on a sofa, lying on her stomach with an arm hanging over the side of it. Well, that would explain why her back was aching so much. She blinked again to try and clear the fog from her sleep drunk mind and followed her dangling arm lazily with her eyes. Oh, there was a sleeping Luz on the other end of it and their fingers were laced together. How nice. She smiled sleepily at her friend for a half second, before her brain caught up and then it all came flooding back.

Her parents had found out. 

They’d fought and she’d run away. 

She was in the Owl House. 

Luz was holding her hand! 

A light flush spread across her cheeks and, despite all the heartache from the night before, she found herself smiling. They must have slept like this all night. Luz hadn’t left her, like a part of her had feared she would. No, instead she’d stayed right by her side and held Amity’s hand all night. Her heart fluttered warmly in her chest and she felt eternally grateful to have Luz in her life. Sighing quietly to herself, Amity lay her head back on her pillow and smiled down at Luz. 

She wasn’t hers. Amity knew that. Luz had made it pretty clear that she had feelings for someone else. Someone who was probably Willow. But, for just this quiet moment, alone in the Owl House with Luz asleep at the end of her arm, Amity could pretend. She could pretend that Luz hadn’t crushed her last night. She could pretend she hadn’t been rejected by her parents and kicked out of her home. She could ignore the ache in her chest and the tightness in her throat, because Luz was holding her hand and snoring quietly beside her. Nothing bad had happened. No, she was just having a sleepover with her maybe-more-than-a-friend and life was still good and hopeful.

Until someone shattered her little dreamy bubble and snapped her back to reality by quietly clearing their throat. She looked up, mortified, to find Eda smirking at her.

The Owl Lady was leaning against the dining table with a mug in hand and the smuggest expression Amity had ever seen. Not even the twins could come close. She took a long, drawn out sip as she eyed Amity over what, she assumed, was her morning coffee and Amity felt the light blush on her cheeks run up her face and down her neck like a blazing inferno. Oh Titan, she’d just been caught mooning over Luz like a love-sick puppy.

“You looking a little red there, kid. Feeling ok?” 

It was an innocent enough question but the tone. Eda grinned and sipped her coffee again like she hadn’t just eviscerated Amity’s dignity. She glanced down at Luz and then moved away from the table to get a better look at the sleeping girl. 

“She looks like she’s gonna be out for a while. Kid sleeps like the dead, I swear,” she said with an affectionate chuckle before she turned her eyes back to Amity. “You may as well get some more sleep. I have a feeling that little chat we need to have is going to be a rough one for you.”

There was a small noise from the doorway leading to the hall and Amity tore her eyes away from Eda’s smug face to see King stomping sleepily into the room with a blanket and a stuffed animal dragging along behind him. He grumbled and flipped both up onto her, scrambled his way up to settle on the small of her back and curled into a little ball, stuffed animal and blanket clutched close. His sleepy grumping about Amity stealing his favourite napping spot faded into quiet snores within seconds and she found herself suddenly unable to so much as breathe for fear of disturbing him. Eda snorted.

“Well you’re definitely stuck there now. We’ll talk when everyone’s awake.” She chuckled and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Amity still wrestling with whether to continue feeling embarrassed or not. She lay there, staring at the stairs in case Eda decided she wanted to torment her further but, when it was clear she wasn’t coming back Amity let out a breath, releasing the tension in her shoulders with it. 

As slowly as she could manage, she relaxed into her pillow again, peaking carefully back to see that King was still sleeping peacefully. A smile tugged at her lips and she turned her eyes down to check on Luz. She was still fast asleep, her mouth parted slightly so a thin line of drool ran down the side of her face and soaked into her pillow. Amity held back an amused snort and smiled at her fondly. Titan, how could one person be so damn cute?

A yawn fought its way out of her and Amity decided Eda was probably right. A little more sleep would be nice.

***

When she woke again, it was to the quiet clink of dishes being washed in the kitchen. The room was a little brighter and, while everything still ached and stung, she felt safe and relaxed. She blinked blearily and her eyes drifted down to find Luz again. Only she was awake this time and she’d clearly been watching Amity sleep.

 She gazed down at Luz sluggishly and decided it was entirely unfair how good she looked with her ruffled hair and sleepy eyes. The content little grin on Luz’s face spread and Amity frowned grumpily. No one should be allowed to be that cute so early in the morning.

“Good morning, grumpy,” Luz said, so brightly that Amity almost forgot to be annoyed at how adorable she was.

“M’not grumpy,” she grumbled, which made Luz giggle. 

“Of course not,” she agreed, but Amity got the distinct impression she was lying and she narrowed her eyes.

“Are you making fun of me, Noceda?” She eyed Luz dangerously but the arrogant human giggled at her again. To Amity’s indignation, Luz reached up and poked her right in the nose.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, grumpus,” she said, in a far too innocent tone and Amity glared at her. Oh, it was like that, was it? She made to get up, intent on teaching this unfairly cute creature a lesson, but a spike of pain lanced along her spine and she winced. Ok, maybe she’d just stay where she was. She buried her face into her pillow with a groan and her hand tightened around Luz’s. Oh right, they were still holding hands. Neat.

“You’re lucky I’m too sore to move right now or you’d be in big trouble, human.” 

Luz squeezed her hand and when Amity looked over, she could see visible concern written across her face. Well, now she’d gone and spoiled the mood. Great.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, but Luz was already sitting up and looking her over with an anxious eye.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have messed with you like that. Of course you’re not feeling well.” She bit her lip guiltily and Amity sighed.

“Luz, It’s ok. I promise,” she said, trying her best to give her a reassuring smile. “I’m just a little stiff. I’ll be alright.”

She didn’t look entirely convinced, but she gave Amity’s hand another squeeze and smiled weakly anyway. Amity made another attempt to sit up to prove her point, but something shifted around on her back and she paused. She’d completely forgotten King was sleeping back there and his foot digging into her spine sort of explained why her back hurt worse now than it had earlier. 

Carefully, so she wouldn’t unseat him, Amity twisted around just enough to see him glowering at them from under his blanket. He looked even grumpier than she had and he whipped a paw at them in what Amity guessed was meant to be an intimidating gesture. It was largely ruined by the stuffed rabbit under his arm.

“The King of Demons demands silence! I’m trying to nap over here!” His voice cracked and Luz let out a delighted cry, leaning over Amity’s back to scoop King into her arms and cuddle him mercilessly.

“Awe, were you protecting Amity while she was sleeping? Who’s the sweetest little demon in the Boiling Isles? I think it’s you, mi pequeño gordito,” she cooed as she peppered kisses all over his skull. King squealed and struggled against her, but he was giggling between protests and Amity chuckled at the pair. She was only sort of jealous.

Eda walked into the room then, seemingly drawn by the noise, and snorted at King’s apparent suffering.

“Oh good, everyone’s awake,” she said, drying her hands on a towel that she tossed carelessly behind her. Luz paused her cuddle attack and looked over at Eda, who moved to sit on the coffee table like she’d done the night before. “Not to ruin the good mood, but I think it’s time we had that talk.”

Amity shared a look with Luz, who seemed more anxious about it than she did, and shrugged helplessly. Now was as good a time as any. She exhaled through her nose and attempted to ease herself upright, grunting when her entire body protested. Her arms stung, her back ached, and she was pretty sure her legs would collapse under her if she tried to stand. Between everything that had happened with her dad, running through a dense, dark forest and spending so much time being tensed up, it was no wonder she ached all over.

Luz dropped King onto the sofa and scrambled to help Amity sit up. Even with her help, it hurt and Amity settled against the backrest with a hiss of pain. She felt like she’d been trampled by a griffin. This was worse than any training session with Lilith or Grudgby practice ever. When she was settled, Luz immediately joined her, plopping herself down right beside her so that their shoulders were pressed together and Amity could lean into her if she needed to. She noticed Eda giving her a look, one curved brow arched and she flushed. Luz was being extra affectionate with her and, with how Eda had seen them holding hands earlier, Amity worried she would get the wrong idea. She valiantly ignored how much she wanted for it to be the right idea.

King crawled across Luz to plop himself in Amity’s lap, grumbling under his breath and Amity smiled down at him in spite of herself. She wrapped him up in her arms and pulled him in close, drawing a child-like giggle from him. He was like an oversized, grumpy stuffed animal and she found cuddling him comforting.

Now that they were all settled, Amity found herself at a loss for where to start. She really didn’t want to have to relive it. Just thinking about last night made her throat close and her chest tighten. Luz’s arm slid around her though and that helped a little. She curled her own arms just a little tighter around King, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. That helped too.

“What do you want to know?”

“How about we start with what happened to your face?” Eda asked gently and Amity grimaced. That was the last thing she wanted to think about. She glanced down and away from their sympathetic faces, feeling uncomfortable heat prick the corners of her eyes as the memory pushed to the front of her mind. The tears were starting early today apparently.

“My family is… they have a lot of expectations. They weren’t happy about me not wanting to marry a man for the sake of the family reputation and father was saying such awful things about...” She froze with her mouth clamped shut and her eyes darted nervously to Luz, who was watching her with concern. That had been too close. She cleared her throat and purposefully turned her bright red face away from her.

“A-anyway, I kind of snapped and I yelled at him. A lot. That’s when he…” She trailed off, still not quite able to believe it had happened at all, despite the evidence on her face. The room was deathly silent, until Luz made a dismayed sound in the back of her throat.

“Amity…” Without a moment’s thought, Luz threw her arms around Amity and pulled her in for a tight hug that Amity was very grateful for, even if it made her body creak in protest. She looked over Luz’s arm to see Eda frowning in concern. 

“Has something like this ever happened before?” She asked carefully and Amity felt Luz stiffen. She sank into her a little more.

“No, he’s… he’s never done that before. My parents have always been harsh but they’ve never hurt me like that,” she murmured, sighing quietly when Luz gave her a comforting squeeze.

“But they have hurt you,” Eda said. It wasn’t a question. Amity had no idea what to say to that. It was true. They had hurt her. It had just never gone this far.

“They threatened Willow’s spot at Hexide so they could force Amity to stop being her friend when they were kids,” Luz said darkly and the venom in her voice surprised Amity. She wondered how often Luz thought about what she’d learned in Willow’s mindscape. The bitter anger radiating off of her suggested she’d thought about it a lot and Amity didn’t really know how to feel about that. She didn’t like talking about her parents or the way they treated her and she especially didn’t want anyone looking too closely at her home life. It just led to people giving her pitying looks that she hated. She was a Blight. She was strong. She didn’t need to be pitied.

Though, she supposed she probably wasn’t a Blight anymore. Not after last night. And besides, Luz didn’t pity her. She was angry for her.

“Well, yes. I guess that’s a good example,” she agreed. “They did stuff like that a lot actually.” Eda’s frown deepened and she crossed her arms.

“Your family sounds like a real piece of work,” she said, her voice laced with disdain. Amity could only shrug from within Luz’s arms. It was hardly news that her parents were… flawed. King squirmed against her and she reluctantly pulled away from Luz so she could look down at him. He stood up on her lap and leaned his paws against her chest so he could stare directly into her eyes.

“Don’t worry, cupcake crusher, you’re an official member of the boo-boo buddies club now!” He pointed a clawed finger at her and his eyes narrowed. “We will exact revenge upon your enemies. Cruel, unfeeling revenge! They will kneel before the King of Demons!” He shouted, his voice rising with glee and his eyes darkening at the prospect of the potential carnage. King had to be the cutest demon she’d ever seen.

“Right!” Luz agreed loudly. “Boo-boo buddies for life!” She and King shared a very serious high five and Amity couldn’t stop herself. She laughed out loud and tugged King back down into her arms.

“Thank you, but you don’t need to do that,” she said, chuckling when King gave her an affronted look for stealing away his chance at causing chaos. “He’s not worth it. Besides, I may have sort of used an abomination to get him back already.” 

Eda perked up at that.

“You attacked one of the hoity-toity upper crusts with an abomination?” She asked, looking at Amity with an impressed gleam in her eye. “A runaway and a criminal. I like this girl’s style. You’ve got good taste, kid,” she added, smirking at Luz who grinned at her widely.

“I know right?” 

Amity found herself blushing under all of the compliments. Being genuinely appreciated, even praised, was an entirely new feeling for her and she wasn’t sure how to react. She rubbed at her neck self-consciously and winced involuntarily when her shoulder twinged. Oh right. She’d almost forgotten how much pain she was still in.

“Let’s get you fixed up before we talk about any more plots of revenge, shall we?” Eda said, eyeing the way Amity gingerly eased her arm back down. She looked over the various scrapes and bruises Amity had accumulated, lingering briefly on her injured face, before she hummed, satisfied.

“It doesn’t look too bad, just a bit of bruising and a fat lip. Easy enough to fix,” she said, standing to roll up imaginary sleeves as she prepared to cast a spell. She motioned for Luz and King to back off, but neither of them moved.

“Would the two of you mind?” She asked expectantly, but Luz only leaned in closer.

“It’s not going to hurt is it?” She asked, wrapping her hands protectively around Amity’s arm. Even King looked reluctant to let Eda get near her and Amity’s cheeks warmed with gratitude. Was this what normal families were like? Protective and caring? The thought tugged at her heart and she felt an old, familiar longing well up inside her. 

She thought of Edric and Emira and suddenly missed them terribly. Had they noticed she was missing yet? A darker part of her wondered if they would even care, but she did her best to stamp that down. Things had been better between them ever since the incident at the library. She knew they cared. It was just hard to remember sometimes, after so many years of them tormenting her and it was made even harder by the fact that she’d believed her parents cared too, in their own twisted ways. But the twins were different. She knew they were. She wondered when, if ever, she would be able to see either of them again.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Eda scoffed and rolled her eyes at Luz, who was still clutching her arm possessively.

“Relax, Luz, I know what I’m doing.”

Luz stared her down for a long moment and Eda slapped a hand to her forehead in frustration.

“I get it, kiddo. She’s been through enough, I hear ya. But you’re gonna have to give me some room if you want me to heal her,” she said. Luz hummed in frustration, but she relented and let Amity’s arm go. She stayed defiantly nearby though, silently daring Eda to say anything about it. 

“That’ll do, I suppose,” Eda huffed. She looked down at King and raised an eyebrow. “That means you too, King. The two of you are smothering the poor girl.” She plucked him from Amity’s lap and unceremoniously dumped him onto the floor. His high pitched angry squeal made Amity chuckle under her breath. He was so tiny and cute.

With Amity no longer surrounded by her overprotective entourage, Eda lifted her arm and drew a large blue spell circle in the air. Two corresponding circles formed above Amity’s head and at her feet, where they pulsed once and started pulling towards each other. 

Amity’s eyes widened in awe as she stared into the complex spell matrix around her. She knew very little about Healing magic, but it was obvious from what she could see in the spell’s makeup that this was an incredibly advanced, untargeted healing spell that took a lot of skill to cast. Luz’s claims that Eda was the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles might just have some validity to them after all.

Amity watched with fascination as the spell circles swept over her, healing all her scrapes and bruises with ease. The mark on her jaw vanished and her split lip sealed back up, leaving no trace they were ever there aside from a lingering tingling sensation. No more aches or pains or even that familiar old stiffness in her shoulders. The spell had taken care of all of it and Amity let out a little breath of relief. She felt instantly better than she had in years.

“See?” Eda said to an awed Luz as she sat back down. “You were worried about nothing, you big baby.” 

Luz wasn’t listening though. She was staring at Amity’s freshly healed face with wide-eyed wonder.

“Magic is so awesome,” she whispered and Amity snorted at her.

“Dork.”

Luz laughed and they exchanged playful shoves before she shifted closer to put a protective arm around Amity again. King took that as his opportunity to hop back up onto her lap as well and glared at Eda when she smirked at him. Apparently they were determined to smother her a bit more, but Amity didn’t mind in the least.

“So, where were we?” Eda asked when they’d all settled down.

“Revenge!” King shouted, thrusting his paw imperiously into the air and Eda actually nodded.

“That’s right, we were discussing your parents. What happened after this?” She asked, motioning to Amity’s face. The memory made Amity shudder and she was very glad that Luz and King were both wrapped around her at this point.

“He said he was going to send me to the Conformatorium,” she said quietly. The thought of it still terrified her. How close she had come to… She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. There was just a little left now. She could do this. 

“He said he was going to lock me in my room until they could take me there and that’s when I summoned the abomination. He was so angry and I didn’t… I just wanted to get away.” She scrunched her eyes up, desperate not to start crying again. She’d done more than enough of that. She gratefully leaned into Luz when she stiffened and pulled her closer. Much closer.

Eda was staring at Amity in horror. The look on her face made Amity’s stomach twist uncomfortably and she turned her face into Luz’s neck, working hard to keep her breathing slow and steady.

“He wanted to send you to…” Her voice faded and Amity looked back up to meet her eyes. Eda’s face was set in a grim frown. “Well you can’t go back home, that’s for sure. I’m not about to send you back there so your parents can try and ‘convert’ you,” she spat out, sounding disgusted at the very idea. 

Even Luz looked beyond horrified and there was no way she had been on the Isles long enough to have heard those particular rumors about the Conformatorium. Amity wondered if they had something similar on Earth because Luz looked legitimately frightened and was holding Amity like she thought she might vanish into thin air if she didn’t cling to her tight enough.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go though. I’ll have to go back.” 

The thought of going back to the manor, where her parents would almost definitely make good on their threats, terrified her. But what choice did she have? Camp out at Hexside? Or in her little library safe room? Live on the street, maybe? She felt her eyes moisten and she swallowed hard at the nausea rising in her throat.

“Eda, she can’t go back there!” Luz yelped, her voice cracking with desperation. Eda raised her hand in a placating gesture.

“Easy, Luz. She won’t.” She turned to look at Amity. “You just escaped one madhouse, kid, I’m not gonna make you go back there just so they can send you to another one.”

“Where do you think she is right now?” King scoffed and Amity cracked a small smile. Just like that, the thick tension in the room was broken.

“Can it, Mr. Wiggles,” Eda said with a roll of her eyes. She winked at Amity conspiratorially and smiled at her. “You know, I try not to make a habit of picking up strays but you’ve got moxie. I respect that. And these two knuckleheads clearly like you,” she added, motioning to Luz and King.

“I don’t! She’s mean!” Hooty’s grating voice called from the other side of the closed door and Amity grimaced at the sound. She’d almost forgotten he was even there and the reminder was less than pleasant.

“Your opinions don’t count, Hooty!” Eda snapped. “Can you idiots stop interrupting me? I’m trying to do a thing here.”

“Rude! Geez! Hoot!” Hooty’s voice faded and it was blissfully quiet again. Eda pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“Anyway, like I was trying to say,” she said, pausing to glare around the room in case anyone else wanted to pipe up. When no one did, she continued. “I’m happy to help you with any other arrangements if you’d prefer but, if you’re up for it, you’re welcome to stay here. I can’t do much for you in the way of the law, what with my being a wanted criminal and all, but I can offer you a safe place to… well a place to stay.”

Amity was floored. She sat up out of Luz’s arms and stared at Eda in shock. Was she really offering to let her stay? Why in Titan’s name would she do that? Amity was nothing to her. She’d never done anything to make Eda think she was worth letting into her home, so why would she do this for her? It didn’t make any sense.

“Eda! For real? You’re gonna let her stay?” Luz asked excitedly. She looked ecstatic and turned to Amity with a huge grin on her face. Eda smiled at her warmly.

“Only if she wants to. I think she’s had enough of people dictating her choices to her, right?” She asked, giving Amity a knowing look. Amity had no words. This couldn’t be real. There had to be a catch. A condition. Something.

Guilt twisted in her gut, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe that there wasn’t some ulterior motive here. The Blights were rich. Everyone knew that.

“I... I don't have any money," she said quietly, but Eda snorted and waved her hand dismissively.

“Eh, what’s one more freeloader to add to the pile? Maybe you can keep these two idiots out of my hair while I’m working,” she said, casually shrugging a shoulder. She eyed Amity shrewdly and Amity looked away, uncomfortably aware of the fact that Eda probably knew exactly what she was thinking.

“My parents could try to make things difficult for you. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble,” she said hesitantly. She hated how much it sounded like she was trying to find excuses not to stay, but she couldn’t help it. There was always a catch. Where was the catch?

“Bah, they’d have to find me first. I’ve hidden from the Emperor for years, your parent’s don’t stand a chance. Besides, you can’t possibly be any more trouble than this one,” Eda exclaimed, nodding at Luz, who laughed and gave a guilty little shrug. Eda gave her an understanding look that made Amity feel even guiltier.

“You don't need to worry about the details, kid. I know your track record with adults hasn't been great, but you're too young to have to worry about all of this. Let me handle it.”

“What do you say, Amity? You could join the Bad Girl Coven!” Luz said, leaning into her eagerly. Overwhelmed, Amity took a deep breath and did her best to squash the skeptical voice in her head. Eda was offering her a lot of trust by letting her stay, so Amity would at least try to believe that she meant it.

“Thank you. I… I’d like that,” she whispered, managing a weak smile at Eda, who seemed satisfied.

“Great, we’ve got a deal then.”

Luz let out an excited whoop and threw her arms around Amity in a bone crushing hug.

“Oh my gosh this is so exciting,” she gushed, shaking Amity in her arms as she bounced excitedly beside her. “We’re gonna be roomies!” 

A fiery blush spread across Amity’s cheeks and she suddenly realized what the catch was.

Oh Titan, they were going to be roommates.

“I do have one rule, though,” Eda said, interrupting Amity’s internal panic and Luz’s giddy celebration. She stared at the two of them seriously and Amity suddenly desperately wished Luz would let go of her. “No funny business under my roof, got it?” 

Luz and Amity both froze before they were launching away from each other to opposite ends of the sofa. Amity could feel herself turning several shades of red that could not be healthy and an equally red Luz was staring at Eda in utter shock and horror. There was no mistaking what Eda had meant. Luz made a strangled sound and Amity agreed wholeheartedly.

“E-Eda!” Luz croaked weakly. “We… we’re just friends!”

“I mean it,” Eda said, completely ignoring Luz’s very factual and life-preserving statement. “I know what I was getting up to at your age and I do not want to walk in on any teenage shenanigans in my house. So don’t do anything you wouldn’t want me to walk in on, got it?” 

Amity let out a high-pitched groan and hid her face in her hands. Oh how she wished she could sink into the floor and vanish forever. Luz was being extremely unhelpful by staring slack-jawed at Eda, who chuckled at them and stood, brushing herself off with all the casual grace of someone who hadn’t just ripped Amity’s soul from her body.

“Good. Now that that’s settled, I have some potions to brew.” She gently swatted Luz upside the head as if to restart her malfunctioning brain and Luz yelped indignantly. “Luz can get you settled in one of the rooms. I think it’s safe to say neither of you will be going to school today. If you need anything, find it yourselves. And remember! If you wouldn’t want me walking in on it, don’t do it.” 

With that, she plucked a very confused King off the sofa and waltzed off to do whatever it was she was going to do, leaving Luz and Amity to sit alone in deafeningly awkward silence.

Amity pushed her fingers into her hair and stared at her knees, lips pressed tightly together and eyes wide, half convinced she would die if her heart didn’t stop beating so hard in her chest. Luz was sitting stock still next to her, barely breathing. Amity risked a peak past her wrist and her eyes met Luz’s. They stared at each other for one agonizing breath before they both turned sharply away again, somehow even redder than before.

An uncomfortably long eternity later, Luz rubbed at her shoulder and laughed brokenly, looking anywhere but at Amity.

“I uh…” Another half hysterical laugh bubbled out of her and she gestured towards the stairs with one hand while the other tugged at the hem of her shirt. “I guess we should go, um, go find you a room?”

Amity looked at her for a long moment. Luz was clearly just as embarrassed and just as eager to forget all about it as she was. This was ok. They just needed to calm down and pretend like it never happened. She could do that.

She inhaled deeply and sat up, forcing her heart to slow down through sheer will.

“Should we really be skipping school?” She asked and Luz blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic. She gaped at Amity for a second and then frowned in confusion, but she wasn’t blushing anymore so Amity took it as a win.

“Well… you probably deserve a day off at the very least,” she replied eventually and then she was grinning. “When was the last time you just sat around the house all day and did nothing remotely productive?”

“I’ve literally never done that,” Amity said flatly. As if her parents would ever allow such a thing. Apparently fully recovered, Luz popped up off the sofa and pulled Amity up by the hand, dragging her happily to the stairs.

“We’ll fix that right now. Come on, I’ll show you how to be a lazy, waste-of-space teenager. I’m something of an expert,” she said, proudly puffing up her chest as she grinned at Amity over her shoulder. “But first, we need to find you your very own room in the Owl House!” 

Amity very much doubted Luz had ever truly been lazy and she vehemently disagreed with the idea of her being a waste of anything. But, in spite of everything, spending the day alone with Luz sounded fantastic, so who was she to argue?

Chapter Text

The only other time Amity had been into the deeper parts of the house had been when she’d trained Luz for Grom and she’d been too distracted at the time to pay attention to the layout. Now, as Luz directed her tour down a hallway that should definitely not be there, Amity was very aware of the fact that the Owl House was a lot bigger on the inside than it should be, which implied it had been built using some very powerful spells. Powerful and expensive spells that usually involved a lot of paperwork.

Land was limited on the Titan, so most homes were small by design. The only outwardly large houses belonged to people like her family, who could afford the land required to build them, which made places like Blight Manor a visible symbol of status and wealth. If a regular family wanted more room though, they needed to use expansion spells. 

The problem was that if they were done incorrectly or not properly maintained, the spells could collapse and cause major damage to the surrounding area. Two objects couldn’t exist in the same space after all and one spell’s collapse could lead to another, and another and so on until an entire section of the town was destroyed. So naturally the permits required to use them were very long, expensive and difficult to get. There were a lot of rules and stipulations and the Construction Coven guarded the mechanics of the spells jealously. All of which begged the question: how had Eda done this?

Given what she knew of the infamous Owl Lady, Amity somehow doubted that Eda had bothered with the paperwork. Had she somehow stolen the secret from the Construction Coven? Or figured it out on her own? Either option wouldn’t really come as a surprise. Eda had very quickly shown Amity that there was a lot more to her than what people thought. She was rebellious, yes. Free-spirited and maybe just a bit of a criminal. Or a lot of a criminal based on the wanted poster she had hanging on the wall. She was also really smart, resourceful, and there was no denying that she was powerful. Amity kind of understood why the Emperor’s Coven wanted her so badly.

But Eda was more than just a powerful, rebel bad girl. She was surprisingly kind under all the sass and bluster, and she clearly loved Luz and King. Loved them the way Amity imagined parents were supposed to love their children, even though neither were actually hers. She cared about them in a worried, long-suffering sort of way, but there was also so much affection between them. Amity didn’t really know what to make of the fact that Eda was offering to include her in all of that. It was hard to grasp. After all, she’d shown up on her doorstep in the middle of the night with nowhere to go, nothing to offer in return and Eda had opened up her home to her, no questions asked. Who did that?

Eda may be a criminal but, Amity had to admit, she was also kind of amazing. Who would have thought that the wanted con-artist with a list of crimes longer than Hooty, could be so thoughtful and compassionate? So accepting in a way Amity’s own parent’s certainly never had or ever would be. She got the distinct impression that Eda just wanted to live her life free of the limitations & expectations others put on her and Amity could relate that. She didn’t quite trust her yet, but she could certainly relate. She did, however, trust Luz.

Luz, who was currently showing her a room filled to the brim with weaponry that Amity thought probably needed to be kept locked far away from the beautiful human girl who was so inexplicably good at getting herself into trouble. Luz, who had had such a profound effect on Amity in the short time they’d known each other. Luz, who was looking at her with such a captivating and… expectant smile? Oh Titan, how long had Amity been staring? She’d been so lost in her own head that she hadn’t heard a word Luz had said.

“Are you ok? You looked like you were spacing out really hard there for a minute,” Luz said, her lips twitching at the corners, which only made Amity’s brain sputter harder.

“S-sorry, I was just, uh, lost in thought. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that we’re here!”

Amity blinked. They were standing in front of a familiar door. Confusion pulled her brows down and she looked back at Luz who was still giving her that same expectant grin.

“Your room?” She asked.

“No, silly.” Luz’s grin widened, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Your room.” 

She gestured towards the door with a dramatic sweep of her arm. Not her own, but the door next to it. Directly next to it.

“M-my room?” She stammered. Amity swallowed hard because she swore she could feel her heart trying to climb its way into her throat. Before she could squeak out some sort of reply, Luz was grabbing her hand and yanking the door open to pull Amity inside.

She blinked into the dim light of what appeared to be some sort of storage room. It was packed high with boxes and old piles of junk. Trunks and chests overflowed with what looked like human artifacts that Amity couldn’t even begin to guess the natures of and the window was almost entirely obscured by a rack of old coats that didn’t look like they belonged in this century. Or in this world for that matter. All in all, it was a dusty mess.

“What do you think?” Luz asked, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. “If we clear all this trash out, it could totally work, right?” 

If Amity had any thoughts on the matter, she would be hard pressed to articulate them in that moment. Luz looked so adorably happy and the realisation that Amity would be sharing a wall with her stopped all blood flow to Amity’s brain. All she managed was a garbled, stammering response that Luz seemed to take as a yes.

“Great! I’ll just go ask Eda where we can put all this junk. Be right back!” 

And then she was gone. 

Amity took a deep breath of the musty air to calm herself down and looked around. It was hard to tell with all the junk in the way, but the room looked roughly the same size as Luz’s. Not nearly as big as her old room at the manor of course, but that was okay. She’d take the sofa if she had to. 

Besides, the last thing she wanted to do right now was think about her old room. Or how she’d probably never see it again. She didn’t want to dwell on the fact that she would never get to curl up in her comfy window seat with a good book. Never hide from the twins when they were trying to prank her. Never skip over that one creaky step when she snuck downstairs to the kitchen for a snack after a long night of studying. She would never get to go home again.

“Hey um, Amity?” Amity jumped and wiped hurriedly at her damp eyes before turning to Luz. “Are you sure this room’s okay? I know I can get a bit over excited sometimes and I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable or anything. It’s your room, you should get to choose it.” 

She looked genuinely worried that she might have overstepped and Amity wondered if maybe Eda had said something to her. That wouldn’t do at all.

“This is great, Luz, really,” she said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. When Luz’s face lit up, Amity decided she would be ok. What did it matter if she couldn’t go home? It was fine. She was fine as long as it meant getting to see Luz that happy. So she smiled. “But you’re helping me clean this place out.” 

“Of course,” Luz drawled with a deep, exaggerated bow. “The mighty Luzura is at your service.”

***

Somehow, Luz even managed to make moving dusty old boxes fun. Each new pile was a treasure trove of human junk that Luz delighted in trying to explain to her. Some of it was pretty mundane, like the old broken rack-it that Luz had said was for a human sport called ‘tennis’, but some things were a lot more interesting. Amity had been fascinated by the strange little toy cart that Luz called a ‘car’. 

Apparently humans used them for transportation, since they didn’t have Palismen, but Amity couldn’t fathom how they worked without magic. At least not at first. Luz told her they used human technology but, when Amity asked her to elaborate, she couldn’t quite explain the mechanics behind the combustion engines that powered them. She’d been delighted, however, to find out that Amity already knew all about them. Her father had been using something very similar to power his Abomaton’s at Blight Industries for years after all. That had sparked some excited theorizing on who’s world had come up with the idea first and how the technology (and all the junk that Eda collected from trash slugs) had traveled between dimensions. It all made Amity want to visit Luz’s home to experience it with her someday.

It was when Amity was clearing some old books out of a particularly heavy box that she stumbled on something confusing and, frankly, a little distressing. Something that sent warning signals flaring in her head. Did Luz know about this? Should she bring it up? Why did Eda have this?

“Amity?” She jumped and turned to see Luz looking at her with concern. “Are you ok? Your ears look kinda droopy.”

Amity felt her face turn crimson and her hands snapped self-consciously up to her ears. The paper she’d been looking at fluttered to the ground.

“M-my ears?”

“Uh huh. They get all droopy when you’re anxious or sad and they were definitely going like bwaaaaa, right then,” Luz said, using her fingers to imitate the motion over her own rounded ears.

“They… they do not!” She spluttered and Luz chuckled at her.

“Yeah, they do. So what’s wrong? Did you find something?” She walked up to Amity and retrieved the paper that was lying at her feet. Amity bit her lip as Luz read over it. It was an application form for the Emperor’s Coven mentor program. Signed Edalyn Clawthorne. 

Eda had been planning on signing up for a mentor in school, which meant…

“Oh, yeah apparently Eda wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven when she was a kid. Lilith told me about it right before she nearly had me branded when I was stuck in Eda’s body,” Luz said, nonchalantly tossing the paper back in the box. Amity’s brain stalled. Had she just said she’d been stuck inside Eda’s body ?

“What?” She yelped. 

She definitely needed to hear that story. Not only because body-swap spells were highly illegal and she wanted to know why they could possibly have ever needed to use one, but also because she desperately wanted to know what Luz had meant about Lilith. Had she really almost forced a brand on Luz? The thought sent a spike of anger down her spine.

“I’ll tell you about it later. It was a really weird day. Anyway, I don’t really know what happened. I guess things changed when Eda… well whatever her reasons were, she decided not to join.” Luz clearly knew more than she was letting on, but before Amity could ask, she looked up at her and tilted her head curiously. “You want to join too, right? You mentioned it at the covention when we first officially met.” 

That gave Amity pause and she frowned. Had Luz forgotten their first meeting? Amity sure as hex hadn’t.

“We met at school, Luz. Remember? I nearly had you dissected?” That awful day still ate at her. She was horribly ashamed of the way she’d acted but, to her surprise, Luz laughed.

“Nah, that doesn’t count, I never told you my name that day. Besides, what’s a little casual dissection between friends?” She gave Amity her special little lopsided grin. “It’s not like it was the most dangerous thing we’ve ever done together. Or the most dangerous thing that’s happened to me at school.”

It was a relief to know that Luz didn’t hold that day against her, but Amity knew she owed Luz an apology. 

“As flawed as that logic is, I still want to say how sorry I am about that day. I could have gotten you seriously hurt and that’s the last thing I ever want to do. I know it’s not an excuse but when I lost that badge… I wasn’t thinking straight and I panicked. I’m really sorry, Luz,” she said earnestly. 

Luz hopped up onto a box and patted the spot next to her invitingly. Amity felt heat rise in her cheeks but sat next to her anyway, clutching her knees nervously.

“Come on, give yourself a break. You weren’t that bad,” Luz said, nudging Amity’s shoulder with her own. The friendly jolt helped Amity relax a little and she smiled at her weakly. “Besides, I did plenty of really dumb stuff to you before we became friends. Like stealing your training wand at the Knee? Or challenging you to a duel at the covention? Or the whole thing with your diary?” 

Their eyes met and Amity was surprised at the genuine remorse on Luz’s face. She’d been so focused on feeling bad about the things she’d done in the past that she’d half forgotten that Luz hadn’t been perfect when they’d first met either. She felt suddenly like she’d been awoken to something. Some new understanding of herself and the world.

Maybe she wasn’t such a broken mess after all. Maybe Luz was right and she didn’t have to be so hard on herself all of the time. They were both flawed but they were also both trying to be better. They were growing. 

“It all worked out in the end, right? And If it makes you feel better, I’ll accept your apology, but only if you accept mine for all the dumb stuff I did. Deal?” She held her hand out and gave Amity a mock serious look that she couldn’t help but laugh at.

“Deal,” she said, matching Luz’s serious tone and taking her hand to give it a firm shake. The second she did, Luz tugged sharply and pulled Amity into a hug. It was all Amity needed to let go of any lingering regrets between them.

“Besides,” Luz said as she pulled back, giving Amity a sympathetic smile. “Now I kinda have an idea of why you were so determined to keep that top student star in the first place and I can’t blame you for going a bit crazy. I’m just spit-balling here but I’m guessing it was because of your parents.”

Amity scrunched up her face at that.

“Luz, don’t spit. That’s gross,” she said. Humans were so weird sometimes. Luz snorted and broke into a fit of giggles, giving Amity a playful shove that almost sent her tumbling to the ground.

“Not what I meant!” She laughed happily. Amity grinned back and rolled her eyes. Ok so maybe she was the idiot this time. She’d made Luz laugh though, so she was ok with that.

“I get it though. Your parents are really strict about school stuff right?” Luz asked once she’d calmed down. Amity sighed and leaned back to stare up at the ceiling. She didn’t like discussing her parents but she kind of wanted to and it somehow felt easier to talk about it when she wasn’t looking directly at her. Maybe it was because Luz always seemed so genuinely invested in everything she had to say and Amity wasn’t quite sure how to deal with that after years of no one wanting to hear her real thoughts or opinions. Or maybe it was because her pretty brown eyes were so damn distracting. Who could say for sure.

“My parents are… were very invested in my studies,” she admitted after a long pause. “It’s all they really cared about. They picked the Abomination Track for me because it's considered the most prestigious one and it would allow me to take over Blight Industries one day if the Emperor’s Coven didn’t work out. Only really powerful witches specialize in abominations. They’re really hard to conjure and even harder to control.” She felt an old, familiar pang of bitter jealousy twist in her stomach and grimaced. 

“Ed and Em got to go into the Illusions Track because they showed a lot of potential for it as kids. They’re practically prodigies. I’m… not. My parents would have killed me if I lost that top student badge for any reason. As long as I was the top student of the top track, they were tolerable.” She bit her lip and sighed. “It never felt like it was enough for them though. I always had to do more. Be better.” 

She paused, suddenly worried that she’d been rambling for too long and revealed too much. It was hard not to overshare now that she was finally talking about all of this to someone who genuinely seemed to care. She glanced down at Luz to apologize but found her listening with rapt attention. Thinking fondly of what she’d said before about liking backstories, Amity decided she could keep going. 

“I’ve never been a natural at magic like the twins,” she said and gave Luz a small smile. “I guess we have that in common. It was hard seeing them learn new spells so fast on their first try. Mother and father were always so proud. I’ve always had to make sure to read ahead and practice for hours so that no one would know I’m useless compared to Ed and Em.” 

Bitterness at her own weakness built up in her throat and burned at her eyes. She’d never told anyone about her struggles with magic before. She angrily blinked back the tears though. She was done crying about it.

“Amity… I had no idea! I thought magic came easy to you. You always make it look easy! I mean you’ve got to be the strongest witch at school!” Luz gushed. Amity smiled at her shyly.

“Thanks, Luz, that’s sweet of you. But to be honest I find most magic really difficult to master. I have to work at it a lot,” she admitted quietly. Luz tilted her head curiously.

“So training for the Emperor’s Coven… was that your way of getting to learn different kinds of magic later?” She asked. Amity paused at that and frowned.

“Not really. I mean the idea is appealing. As hard as it is, I love learning new spells and getting to use all kinds of magic would be great, but that decision was my parents’ too. Ed and Em are headed for the Illusion Coven so I was their only other option for getting in good with the Emperor. Joining the Emperor’s Coven became all I ever thought about but I think I was just trying to make my parents happy and, after everything that’s happened, I don’t really want to be associated with anything to do with my parents. Or the Emperor’s Coven. Honestly, I… I don’t really know what I want anymore.”

When she turned to look at Luz again, she found her staring at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. She was leaning in really close too. Amity felt heat flood her whole face and she leaned back a little.

“Luz… you’re staring.” 

Luz blinked as if coming out of a trance and shook her head.

“Sorry, it’s just… I can’t get over how awesome you are!” She said excitedly. Amity frowned in confusion.

“What? Luz, were you even listening?” She said but Luz shook her head vigorously. She hopped off the box and started pacing in front of Amity.

“Yes! You’re like the ultimate heroine from a fantasy novel. You had to go through something really hard but you’re still fighting tooth and nail to prove your strength. There’s dangers to overcome and villains who try to beat you down, but you never give up until you come out on top as the most powerful witch ever!” She exclaimed, her arms flailing dramatically as she spoke. She turned suddenly to look at Amity, her eyes sparkling. “You’re just like Azura!”

Heat flooded her whole body and Amity wondered if Luz could feel it from where she was staring at Amity in awe. But as she sat there, staring back at Luz, Amity realized she was wrong. She stood sharply and Luz stumbled back a step in surprise. Something was bubbling up within Amity. Something powerful and urgent that she needed to get out because Luz was so very, very wrong.

“If anyone is like Azura, it’s you!” She cried out, surprised by the passion in her own voice. “You were never supposed to be able to do magic at all, but look at everything you can do now. You literally rediscovered glyphs that were lost centuries ago and in just a few weeks. I’ve never met anyone that can do the things you can, Luz.” Luz was staring back at her in shock but Amity found it impossible to stop now that she’d started. 

“And you’re brave and selfless like Azura too! Look at how you helped Willow at the Grudgby match. Or when you helped me with Grom! You’re always so willing to help everyone no matter what and Isn’t that what a real hero does?”

She had no idea where she’d found the courage to be this open with Luz but she wasn’t about to complain when Luz launched herself at Amity and pulled her into a tight, warm embrace. She smiled happily and wrapped her own arms around her. They stood for a moment, quietly holding each other, when Amity found herself talking again. 

“You are easily the most inspiring person I’ve ever met, you big dork,” she whispered, happily giving Luz one last squeeze before pulling back. Luz was smiling at her so brightly and with so much barely constrained emotion that, for once, Amity didn’t fluster. In fact, she felt a swell of confidence at having been so honest for a change.

“Awe, you really are going soft on me aren’t you, Blight?” Luz said and Amity smirked at her. Doing her best to emulate the easy swagger she’d seen her sister use so often, she strolled past Luz and lightly bumped her hip into hers.

“Maybe just a little, Noceda.”

She fought the blush trying to work its way back into her cheeks and made a show of ignoring Luz in favour of tidying up. She was hyper-aware of the fact that Luz was frozen behind her though and Amity couldn’t quite hold back the little smile playing around her lips. Maybe Luz liked someone else, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun when her stupid gay brain allowed her to, right? And casually flirting Luz into an apparent stupor was definitely fun.

They worked in silence for a while once Luz started moving again, until she suddenly spoke up.

“So, I got to learn pretty much all of your dark secrets today, huh?” She said and Amity snorted out a laugh. If she only knew.

“Maybe not all of them, but sure,” she said with a chuckle. She turned to face her and quirked a brow at Luz. “Any deep, dark secrets you want to share so that we’re even?” 

“Seems fair. I’m an open book! What do you want to know?” She said and Amity tilted her head in thought. There were a million things she’d like to ask. Like how she’d gotten to the Boiling Isles and why she’d stayed. Or who this mystery crush of hers was and whether or not Amity was right in assuming it was Willow.

“What’s Earth like?” She asked instead, because while she felt a little more confident, she certainly wasn’t ready to hear who Luz liked that was decidedly not her. 

“It’s… different,” Luz said after a thoughtful pause. “Definitely very boring compared to the Boiling Isles but we have some cool stuff. Like the internet. I’ll show you that later, if I can get King to stop watching cat videos on my phone long enough to get it back.” They both chuckled at the unlikeliness of that.

“It’s the same in a lot of ways too, but this place actually feels a lot more like home than Earth ever did,” she admitted and the guilt on her face was painfully clear. “I feel like I belong here, ya know?”

Amity very much believed that Luz belonged on the Boiling Isles. With her. And Eda, King, Willow, and Gus of course. Luz seemed to become quieter then. More introspective.

“Kids are kind of meaner on Earth too,” she said, so quietly that Amity wondered if she’d meant for her to hear it. But she had and the sad lilt in Luz’s voice crushed her.

“What do you mean?” She asked gently, stepping a little closer to Luz. She felt suddenly very protective of her. Luz winced and looked away, but she kept talking anyway.

“Well… people here just seem more, I dunno, accepting? I wasn’t liked very much at my old school. I spent most of my time reading Azura and watching anime by myself.” It was clear she was trying to act nonchalant about it but Amity could hear the pain in her voice. She reached out and touched her arm gently, silently telling her she was there for her.

“I didn’t have any friends on Earth. I guess people thought I was annoying.” She smiled sardonically and shrugged. “No one wants to hang around with the weird kid that can’t stop talking. It probably didn’t help that I kept backup snakes in my pockets. I got into trouble a lot, which… isn’t all that different to now really.” She chuckled and smiled up at Amity awkwardly. Amity wasn’t smiling though. She didn’t like how self-deprecating she was being. She gave Luz the most understanding look she could muster, choosing not to ask about what backup snakes were for. Or what had happened to the original snakes.

“Keep going,” she said instead. Apparently it was all the encouragement Luz had needed.

“It was… really lonely,” she said, hugging herself around her middle and looking away uncomfortably. “My mom is great and I know she loves me, but she’s not always around. She does her best and we have a lot of fun together when we can, it’s just… she’s a nurse, so she’s busy a lot.” 

The hitch in her breath broke Amity’s heart and she wanted so desperately to hold her but she was terrified that Luz would stop if she did. It was clear she’d been holding on to this for a long time.

“I know she’s trying her best and she’s always been there when I really needed her, but she’s never really understood me. I… I think I frustrate her a little and sometimes it feels kinda like she’s trying to fix me too.” A bitter frown twisted up her face. “I was supposed to go to this summer camp where they teach kids to be more mature or normal, I guess. I really didn’t want to go. But, then Owlbert came to the rescue when he stole my copy of Azura and I chased him and ended up here by accident.”

Luz looked up at her then and she must have seen the devastation on Amity’s face because she gave an awkward little laugh and looked away again. “I’m sorry, I’m being kind of a huge bummer. You probably didn’t want to know all of that.” 

Amity’s heart ached for her. For both of them really. She’d had no idea that Luz had been just as lonely as she had her whole life. Their circumstances were different, sure, but they’d both felt alone. Misunderstood. But where Amity had covered her pain with bitterness and a stubborn drive to prove herself worthy, Luz had borne hers with a smile, which was somehow far more devastating than Amity could have imagined.

It was all she could take. She pulled Luz into a hug and held her as close as she could.

“Don’t say that,” she said into her hair. “Please don’t ever feel like you can’t tell me stuff like this. I’m glad you told me.” She felt Luz press her face into her shoulder and take a shuddering breath. 

“Maybe you are weird, but it’s in the best way,” she continued, an affectionate smile tugging at her lips. “Sometimes you say stuff I don’t understand at all but it also somehow makes sense and that makes talking to you and being around you so much fun. I-I’ve never had a friend I could just be myself around, at least not since Willow and I were kids. I really admire how proudly you you are, Luz. You’re kind and smart and you care so much. It makes me think about the kind of person I want to be. Anyone who ever said you were annoying was an idiot. They have no idea what they’re missing.” 

Luz was trembling in her arms and her hands were gripping tightly to the back of her shirt, but Amity was relieved when she felt her small smile against her shoulder. She felt strangely vulnerable after all that but she was glad she’d said it. Luz deserved to know how great she was.

“So…” She hesitated, but her curiosity was killing her. “Does your mom really have no idea where you are?”

The sight of Grom taking on the form of Luz’s mother was burned into Amity’s mind. It had been such a clear manifestation, which meant it was something that weighed more heavily on Luz than even Amity’s fear of Luz rejecting her. That thought was terrifying in and of itself. She felt Luz shake her head and her arms stiffened around Amity.

“I hate that I’m lying to her but if I tell her the truth she’d be so disappointed and she might make me leave and I don’t ever want to leave!” It was all coming out of her in a breathless rush that made Amity pull her in tighter. “I don’t want to lose Eda and King, or Willow, or Gus… or you. I love it here so much but she’s my mom! I should want to go home but…” She sniffed, pressing her face into Amity’s neck and she could feel Luz’s tears against her skin. “It feels like I’d be leaving home if I went back.”

It was all Amity could do not to burst into tears herself. The thought of Luz leaving terrified her. She hated the idea of her not being around anymore. Hated the idea of never getting to see her smile, hear her rambling or watch her brilliant mind in action. Amity knew, without a shred of doubt, that she’d miss Luz more than her heart could bear. But what she hated most was the idea of Luz being stuck in a place where she’d been so lonely right after she’d finally found somewhere she felt seen. Somewhere she had found friends and a place to explore her creative, weird self. Somewhere she belonged.

“Luz…” What could she say? How could Amity possibly express all that she felt in that moment? She felt utterly powerless in the face of it all, but Luz laughed weakly and stood back, pulling herself out of Amity’s arms to wipe at her wet eyes.

“I guess we’re both pretty big train wrecks, aren’t we?” She asked tremulously and Amity’s brain caught on the statement.

“I have no idea what a train is, Luz.” 

Luz burst out laughing. A laugh so genuine and free that it stopped Amity’s heart and sent her stomach fluttering again. She’d done it. Somehow, she’d made her feel better. Amity reached up to wipe away the last of the tears on Luz’s face, stubbornly ignoring her trembling hands.

“I don’t want you to go either, Luz. But we still have time right? We’ll figure it out. I promise,” she said earnestly and when Luz smiled at her, it was free of pain.

“Thanks, Amity. And thanks for listening to all of that. I think I needed it,” she said before giving her a tentative look. “Could I… get another hug? You give really good hugs.”

Amity chuckled and opened her arms because she was pretty sure she was physically incapable of denying Luz anything. 

“Of course you can. You never have to ask,” she said and happily folded her arms around Luz when she moved in close.

“Ok,” Luz said, stepping back after a long, lingering hug to grin up at her. “I think that’s enough angsty backstories for today. Let’s finish your room so we can do something fun.”

Between Amity’s abominations being able to carry the heavier furniture and Luz showing off her new strength by pushing stacked boxes out of the room, they made quick work of clearing everything out. When they were done and Luz had set up a makeshift bed with the piles of blankets and pillows she’d used the night before, they stepped back to observe their hard work. 

Luz grimaced and awkwardly scratched at the back of her neck.

“Sorry. This is probably not as good as you’re used to…”

It was smaller, sure. The only décor was the depressingly empty wardrobe and the mismatched dresser that they had cleared out for her to use as storage. There was also no real bed to speak of since Eda apparently preferred nests and mattresses were the one thing she didn’t seem to have in her hoard.

It wasn’t home.

But there was a window that let in lots of sunlight and Luz’s room was right next door. 

So Amity smiled.

“It’s perfect.”

Chapter Text

As much as Amity wanted to hide from her new reality, the anxious little voice in her head would not stop reminding her that she was missing too much at school. It was stupid really. She had no one to prove herself to anymore. Eda certainly didn’t care about her grades and had actually tried to convince her that she didn’t need to go to school at all. No one was going to care if she suddenly dropped out because the only people who had cared now simply… didn’t.

The need for her parents’ approval had been what kept her going. It had given her a reason to wake up in the morning. Now all she had was this gnawing emptiness in her chest that was becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Sure, she didn’t want what they wanted. She never had and she could admit that to herself now. But no matter what had happened between them; no matter how much they had hurt her, they were still her parents and she missed them.

Maybe, if she worked really hard, she could still fix things between them. Maybe if she could prove that she was worth it; that she was powerful and respectable, maybe they would look past her flaws. Maybe they would accept her.

Maybe they would let her come home.

So when Eda and Luz offered for her to take some more time off to, as Eda had put it, come to terms with everything that had happened, she declined. She didn’t need to come to terms with anything. Now was not the time to be slacking off. Now was the time to push through and keep working. She was good at that.

She was a Blight. She was strong. She was resilient. She would do this. 

Walking into Hexside with Eda and Luz, dressed in a borrowed uniform, proved to be a lot harder than she could have imagined though. She tugged uselessly at her too-short sleeves, already knowing that they would never reach her wrists. Her parents would never have allowed her to step foot out of the manor dressed like this. It wasn’t proper, they’d say. It sent the wrong image. 

But what choice did she have? Her old uniform had been ruined. 

Its loss had been strangely painful and Amity felt foolish for getting as emotional as she had when Eda had tossed it out. Yes, it was just a stupid uniform, but it had been the only thing she’d owned. The only thing she’d been able to escape with. Now she had literally nothing.

Amity started when Luz reached for her hand and gently intertwined their fingers. Their eyes met briefly and Luz spared her a small, encouraging smile. A smile that Amity was surprised she could return. It was a simple gesture, but the meaning was clear: Luz was there with her. The gentle reminder that she wasn’t alone tightened Amity’s throat and warmed the corners of her eyes. Maybe she didn’t have nothing after all.

***

Eda led them into Bump’s office as casually as if she owned the place and Amity had to admit that she admired her confidence. Eda was entirely at ease with herself and Amity could only hope to be half that comfortable within her own skin one day. However, when Eda flopped herself into the chair in front of Principal Bump’s desk and promptly put her feet up onto it, Amity decided maybe she didn’t need to be quite that confident.  

Luz snickered at the long-suffering look on Bump’s face and Amity found herself grinning beside her, nudging Luz in the ribs to shush her.

“Hello, Edalyn,” Principal Bump ground out, clearly trying to maintain some semblance of professionalism. It was lost, however, when he roughly shoved her feet off his desk with a bit of magic, tipping her backwards to the floor. “What brings you to Hexside? Your human hasn’t gotten into any trouble that I know of.” 

Bump turned his eyes to Luz and she grinned awkwardly, waving with all the innocence of a known troublemaker.

“Nah, Luz is a good kid, for the most part,” Eda said, easing herself back into her seat. “I’m here about this delinquent.” She motioned to Amity, who scoffed indignantly, but Eda just grinned and winked at her.

“We have a few things we need to discuss about her… situation,” Eda said, rolling her hand like she was searching for the right word.

“Ah, yes, Miss Blight. I was wondering when I’d see you. Your parents paid me a visit yesterday.” 

Amity turned sharply to look at him, feeling suddenly faint. A horrible sense of dread crawled up her throat and she felt it start to close. There was really only one reason she could think of for her parents to come here and the idea terrified her.

“I’m afraid to say your parents have removed you from Hexside, Miss Blight.” 

The world tilted on its ear and Amity had to take a step to steady herself, bumping into Luz who grabbed her arms in alarm. Her breath caught in her throat and she grasped at Luz for stability. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Bump’s remorseful face. 

They wouldn’t.

They couldn’t !

After all the years of clawing her way to the top for them, had her parents really gone so far? Things had gotten really bad between them, but they were salvageable weren’t they? Would they really be so cruel? It had to be a joke. A mistake. Bump had to be wrong!

But no matter how long she stared at him in the deafening silence of the room, Bump’s expression never shifted. The twins never popped up to claim it was all a prank. She never woke from what she so desperately wanted to be a nightmare. As the seconds ticked by, it slowly dawned on her that this was real.

Amity Blight had been expelled.

Her vision darkened and a sickening ache twisted in her stomach, threatening to rise up her throat. How was she supposed to prove herself now? How was she supposed to fix everything? A wave of dizziness washed over her and the gnawing emptiness in her chest expanded into a cavernous hole that threatened to swallow her at any moment.

The loud bang of Eda’s fist slamming onto the desk snapped Amity back to reality and she took a shuddering breath as Eda snarled furiously.

“They did what ? What kind of monsters would do that to their own kid? I have half a mind to go down to that stuffy manor of theirs and-” 

Bump cut her off with a raised hand. He gave them all a long look before sitting forward and steepling his hands on his desk.

“As I’m sure you are aware, funding has been a bit of a problem at Hexside recently. For some reason, we’ve found ourselves having to do a lot more repairs this year.” 

He turned his eyes sharply towards Luz, who looked away, suddenly very interested in the ceiling. Amity blinked in utter confusion, the sudden shift in topic throwing her completely. She was very grateful for the comforting grip Luz still had on her arms.

“As such,” Bump continued. “No refunds have been made available to those who wish to remove students from school.” 

He turned to Eda and there was no mistaking his sudden smirk. Realization dawned on Eda’s face and she leaned back in her chair with a smug grin.

“Bumpy, you sly, old dog. I didn’t think you had it in you,” she said. Bump pretended he hadn’t heard.

“On an entirely unrelated note,” he said casually. “We have suddenly found ourselves with the funds available for an emergency scholarship program. An excellent student like Miss Blight seems like the perfect candidate, wouldn’t you agree?” 

Amity stared at him for a long, confused moment. It felt like her brain was moving through thick abomination ooze, but a small spark of hope lit in her chest as she realized exactly what he was offering her.

“Are you saying I… I get to stay?” 

Principal Bump nodded once with a warm smile and Amity’s anxiety melted into utter relief. No wait, that was her legs. Luz yelped as they gave way and Amity fell onto Bump’s hastily conjured abomination stool.

“Amity, are you ok?” Luz clasped her hands over Amity’s cheeks to inspect her more closely, but Amity pulled them away and leaned shakily around her to look at Bump.

“What do I need to do?” She asked. Bump watched her with concern, but when it was clear she wasn’t going to collapse again, he cleared his throat and settled back into his seat.

“Since she appears to be acting as your new guardian, Edalyn and I will need to work out some of the details; but as long as you maintain decent grades, which I know you are more than capable of, you have nothing to worry about, Miss Blight.” 

Luz let out a happy cry and wrapped Amity up in her arms, hugging her tightly to her chest.

“Yes! Principal Bump you are the man!” She said gleefully. He coughed into his hand to hide a smile before looking at Eda with what could only be described as a truly malicious grin.

“If you are planning to enroll Miss Blight under the scholarship, there is some paperwork you will need to fill out,” he said, his grin widening at Eda’s very loud groan.

“The things I do for you kids,” she muttered grumpily.

“Miss Blight will also need to select a track to study,” Bump added, turning to look at Amity who frowned in confusion.

“I’m not going to be in the Abomination Track anymore?”

He stood and moved around the room to retrieve a large stack of papers that he dumped with obvious glee in front of Eda. With a little smirk at Eda’s second groan he turned to the girls and raised a hand.

“You may, if that’s what you decide. But, technically, as you are being re-enrolled under a new guardian, you are considered a new student. And all new students must choose a track to study,” he said, twirling his finger in the air to form a spell circle that washed all the colour from Amity’s uniform. She looked down at her, now white, sleeves with wide eyes.

“Amity, this is great! You can learn whatever you want now!” Luz said. She grinned at Amity encouragingly but her mind was completely blank. This was a huge decision. The kind she’d never made on her own before.

“It’s a nice thought, but I… I don’t know how to choose,” she said quietly. Aside from a scant few illusion spells she’d picked up from the twins and the basic elemental magic all young witches learned, abomination magic was the only thing she knew. Not to mention it was the only thing that would impress her parents. 

Besides, she’d poured years of her life into trying to master it. It was familiar. Comforting. She had developed a connection to abomination magic over the years and made it her own. It would be like giving up a core part of who she was and she’d already had so much stripped away against her will. The fear of losing that last part of herself far outweighed her curiosity about the other tracks.

Eda looked up from the paperwork she was begrudgingly filling out and gave Amity a sympathetic smile. 

“Old Bumpy is letting you kids do more than one track now, right? Why don’t you give that a try?”

The idea was appealing but Amity was still hesitant. Studying all nine tracks would be a daunting task. Yes, she’d get to learn everything she’d ever dreamed of learning about magic, but everything about her school life would change. New classes, new teachers, new classmates. All she wanted was something to be familiar.

She bit her lip, ready to declare her intention to stick with abominations, when a loud gasp caught her attention and she turned to see Luz positively vibrating with excitement beside her.

“Oh my gosh! Amity, we could be in all the same classes!”

Amity smiled at her enthusiasm and had to admit she sort of liked that idea. Getting to hang out with Luz all day was a dream come true, but she kind of already got to do that, now that they were living together. Appealing as it was, was it enough to make all that change less scary?

Then Luz grabbed her hand and grinned at her with so much unbridled joy at the prospect that they’d share a schedule that, before she knew what was happening, Amity was speaking.

“Principle Bump, would it be possible for me to do all the tracks?”

With a swirl of his finger, her uniform was transformed to match Luz’s rainbow one and suddenly Amity was no longer an abominations student. She blinked in surprise and gaped at her own colourful sleeves. What had just happened?

“Very well, Miss Blight. You will need to catch up with all of your new classes, but seeing as you are one of our most diligent pupils, I’m sure I can trust that won’t be a problem,” Principal Bump said as Amity tried desperately to make sense of what was going on.

“O-of course, sir. I… I won’t let you down,” she said, feeling dazed and confused. But then Luz was pulling her to her feet and hugging her tightly to her chest. She gushed about how much fun they were going to have together and Amity allowed herself to relax a little. Okay, so maybe everything was changing and she was totally overwhelmed, but this could work. She could still study abominations and being able to perform so many different kinds of magic would be kind of awesome. They would have to acknowledge her worth if she did well in all nine tracks, right?

Principal Bump produced a schedule with a little magical flourish and handed it to Amity. She balked at the colourful array of classes spread out on the sheet and swallowed past the nervous lump rising in her throat.

“You children run along to class. I believe Edalyn and I will be busy for a while,” he said, not quite hiding his amusement at Eda’s apparent suffering. She let out a third, long groan, muttering under her breath about kids and responsibilities and Amity and Luz took that as their cue to flee, making a beeline for their lockers.

Luz chattered excitedly as they strolled down the halls and Amity tried to pay attention. She really did. But she was becoming more and more distracted by the whispering and open curiosity directed towards them, neither of which was helping her already frayed nerves. As a member of one of the more prominent witch families and a top ranking student, she was used to being gawked at, but this felt different.

She took a deep, slow breath and forced her attention back onto Luz, who was lamenting the fact that they’d missed their first lesson, which would have been with Gus. Luz didn’t seem to care that every eye was following them down the hall so Amity decided she would do her best not to either. She held her head up high and diligently ignored the stares and hushed conversations going on around her.

It became harder to ignore though, after their morning classes were over and even Luz seemed to have noticed that they were getting more attention than usual. It seemed like all eyes were on them when they joined Willow and Gus at a table for lunch. Amity bit down hard on the spike of jealousy that flared within her when Luz practically launched herself at Willow, hugging her tightly and going on just a little too much about how much she had missed her. It wasn’t fair to either of them for her to be upset over it. Luz didn’t belong to her after all. 

But she did feel a little better when Luz promptly did the same to Gus before plopping down beside Amity, opposite their two friends. Willow seemed genuinely relieved to see them both and leaned forward across the table.

“Where have you guys been? We were so worried when you didn’t come to school yesterday!” She hissed as Gus pointed his fork at them with a raised brow.

“Are the rumors true?” He asked. “Did you really run away from home?” 

Amity blanched at the open question as Willow swatted Gus’s arm.

“Augustus! Don’t be rude.” She shot Amity an apologetic look. Gus appeared unconcerned though, his curiosity seemingly getting the better of him.

“What? It’s a valid question. Everyone has been talking about it. What better place to put the rumors to rest than at the source herself?” He turned to look at Amity. “So? Is it true?”

“How did you hear about that?” She asked in lieu of answering. If there really were rumors running about the school that she had left home, it would explain all of the whispers and looks she and Luz had been getting all day. Gus seemed delighted to have been proven right.

“It’s all over the school,” he replied. “Everyone’s been talking about it since yesterday.” 

Luz bristled beside Amity, reaching up to put a supportive arm around her shoulder and Amity’s heart fluttered. She glanced at Willow but she didn’t seem to care about the small show of affection. If anything, she looked curious and… concerned? For Amity?

“She didn’t just run away, there’s more to it than that,” Luz said irritably. “Is that why everyone has been looking at us weird all day? I thought maybe they were just shocked that Amity switched tracks or something. How does everyone know already?”

“Oh, it might have found its way on to Penstagram somehow,” a sickly-sweet voice jeered. 

Amity groaned and turned to see Boscha standing behind them with her arms folded contemptuously, a wicked sneer spread across her face. Her posse of friends stood just behind her and, to Amity’s surprise, gave them all a friendly wave. Apparently that grudgby match really had changed their attitudes towards her new friends. 

Boscha, however, glared viciously at her followers and all of them flinched. Satisfied that they’d fallen back in line, she turned back and speared Amity with a smirk. 

“Looks like the little runaway decided to make an appearance. I’m surprised you had the guts to show up at school,” she drawled, eyeing her nails as if the entire conversation was beneath her, despite her having initiated it. Amity could only roll her eyes.

“Get out of here, Boscha,” she said, turning her back on the three-eyed girl. “We’re not doing this today, I’m not in the mood.” 

Boscha’s smirk grew and she leaned over, setting her hands on her hips.

“Awe, what’s the matter?” She sneered, her voice taking on a mockingly sad tone. “Sad you don’t get to live like the rest of us anymore? Can’t make those little quips about how much better you are than me now, can you?” She straightened up and tossed her hair back with a little flip of her hand. “I guess being tossed out on your ass like the loser you are must have finally humbled you.”

Willow and Gus glared at Boscha from their side of the table and Amity could practically feel the annoyance radiating off of Luz. The last thing she wanted right now was to cause a scene in the middle of the cafeteria though. They were already being stared at enough as it was. So she forced down her own irritation and shrugged, refusing to look at Boscha. She’d dealt with enough over the last few days and she wasn’t going to play this game if she didn’t have to.

“Say whatever you want, Boscha. I don’t care. At least I get to make my own decisions about my life now,” she said simply. Okay so maybe she hadn’t needed to slip in that last line but it had been just a little too much to resist getting at least one small dig in. Boscha seemed to take immediate offense though and all but snarled at them.

“I don’t get you,” she snapped furiously. “I thought we were friends but I guess you were just faking huh? Now you’re just some sad loser with no money and no social status.” She gestured to herself and the other girls behind her. “You used to be one of us! We had all the power and no one to tell us what to do!” 

Amity turned to look at her then, eyes narrowing.

“Except our parents,” she said. They glared at each other for a moment before Amity let out an annoyed sigh. “Boscha, we were never friends. Our parents forced us to hang out and you know it. You treated me and everyone around you like trash and I’m not going to accept that anymore.” 

She grimaced a little, remembering how she had been party to the bullying not so long ago, however reluctantly. 

“Not from you and not from myself. Maybe if you stopped being so obsessed with appearances, things could be different, but until you grow up and apologize for being such a jerk to my friends, there’s no chance we’ll ever be real friends.”

She caught Luz’s look of awe from the corner of her eye and turned to smile at her. Willow and Gus seemed equally amazed and she was happy to see Willow smiling at her glowingly. That was another step closer to getting their friendship back to the way it had been before, even if she was hopelessly jealous of her. Seeing her and Luz together would be painful beyond belief, but she decided having Willow back in her life would be worth it. 

“Stop acting like you’re so mature,” Boscha said, her glare deepening into a furious scowl. “You and I both know you’re not being honest about who you really are.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Amity said, but then Boscha’s smirk turned truly cruel and she let out a twisted little chuckle.

“Oh really? Coz I overheard some pretty interesting details when my dad was having his weekly meeting with your parents last night,” she drawled, motioning to Willow and Gus casually. “Have you told your little friends the real reason mommy and daddy didn’t want you around anymore?”

Amity froze and her eyes widened. She couldn’t help it. If Boscha had really overheard their parents talking, then it was a very distinct possibility that she did know the truth. A truth Amity was very much not ready to have the entire school know. Boscha saw her moment of panic and stepped back with a haughty laugh.

“Oh, so you haven’t told them! Well then, maybe everyone here would like to know the truth, hmm?” She raised her voice and motioned around the cafeteria. 

Amity felt her world collapsing around her as the panic she had barely been holding back all day clawed at her mind. She was going to announce it to everyone! Right there where practically all of Hexside was openly watching them. What little composure she had left was shattered in the wake of the cloying fear that was building in her chest. 

“After all, you’re so mature and confident now. Why hide it?” Boscha continued. “Why hide the fact that you’re a great big le-”

There was a loud screech of wood across the stone tiles, cutting Boscha off in an instant, as Luz stood so forcefully that she nearly knocked over the bench she and Amity were sitting on. Amity had to grab at the table to stop herself from being thrown to the floor, but she managed to right herself in time to see Luz standing stiff as a board and trembling with rage. She had her hands clenched at her sides and was working her fists like she was trying very hard not to punch Boscha in the face.

Amity was fairly certain the only reason Luz hadn’t just decked the girl was because she was determinedly not looking at her, staring instead at her feet, her eyes wide with anger. When Luz finally looked up at Boscha, she actually looked momentarily frightened of the human. She stepped back nervously, swallowing hard as Luz continued to glare at her.

"I used to think you were just a jerk, Boscha,” Luz said, her voice low with anger. “But you’re actually a rotten, selfish bitch!”

There was a collective gasp from around the cafeteria, none louder than the ones that came from Willow and Gus on the other side of their table.

No one had ever heard Luz use language even remotely bad before. Not when Boscha had been aggressively picking on them all day, or when they’d inexplicably lost the grudgby match because of a ridiculous rule. Not when she was hurt or mad or scared or ever.

Luz wasn’t innocent but she was compassionate, friendly and infinitely kind. Maybe a little naive at times, but she saw the good in people and did her best to light up the world around her, often to her own detriment. It was one of the many things Amity loved about her. She was sunshine packaged into a warm, beautiful person that just wanted to make everyone else happy. Being around her made Amity feel free and safe and cared for. Loved.

Luz was not the type to drop bad words on a whim.

But for Titan’s sake it was not fair how hot that had sounded coming out of her. She wasn’t sure if it was because it was so unexpected or because Luz was defending her so viscerally but Amity felt very much like kissing her right then and there, Luz’s crush on Willow be damned. She hadn’t realized Luz’s innate passion could be channeled into something this primal and it was very enticing. 

She hoped to all things good in the world that no one was looking at her right then because she was fairly certain her entire face was as red as the appleblood she’d been drinking earlier.

“Were you seriously just about to do what I think you were? Coz that’s low, even for you,” Luz hissed, lowering her voice so that the entire student body couldn’t listen in. Boscha looked legitimately terrified for a moment before she tried to school her features into a glare.

“Why bother hiding it if she’s so proud that she’d leave her whole life behind over it,” she said, voice wavering a little. Luz’s glare deepened and she stepped closer to her.

“Maybe coz they didn’t give her a choice. Or maybe coz it’s nobody’s business!” she snapped. “You don’t get to take that decision from her just coz you’re mad that she doesn’t want to be friends anymore.” She raised a finger and jabbed it angrily in Boscha’s direction. 

“Maybe you should think about how you’d feel if your parents threw you out over something you can’t control! You have no idea how much they hurt her and you have no idea what you’re talking about so just shut up !” 

She was breathing heavily, body still quivering with suppressed anger and, as incredibly attracted as she was to the girl in that moment, Amity knew she needed to step in before things got even more out of hand.

She stood a little shakily, her nerves utterly fried, and settled what she hoped was a comforting hand on Luz’s arm. Luz turned to meet her eye and seemed to deflate instantly, all the fight leaving her as Amity gently tugged her back down onto the bench with her. When they were seated, Amity turned her eyes to Boscha and gave her a disappointed look. To her surprise, real shame flickered across Boscha’s face as they stared at one another, but eventually Amity sighed and turned away from her.

“Just go. We’re done here,” she said. Boscha hesitated for a moment before turning and storming off, her gaggle of friends running obediently after her. There was total silence in the cafeteria for a minute, no one daring to breathe or move, before Gus stood on his chair and waved his arms at the students around them.

“All right, that’s enough. Show’s over folks! Go about your business,” he called out and it seemed to break the tension in the room. Normal lunch time chatter filled the cafeteria again and their group breathed a collective sigh of relief as Gus plopped triumphantly down onto his seat. 

No one spoke. Luz was staring at the table forlornly and Amity still had her hand on her arm, trying to comfort her in some small way. Willow was the first to break the silence.

“Are you guys ok?” She asked. Her look of concern was heartwarming but Amity was just so exhausted. She leaned her forehead against her free hand and took a deep, calming breath.

“That was… probably not as bad as it could have been,” she said. Gus tilted his head at her and frowned in confusion.

“Guys, I’m lost,” he deadpanned. “Can someone explain what that was about? And since when does Luz use such bad words!” He cried out, gesturing wildly to Luz with both arms. Amity sighed and blinked hard at the growing heat in her eyes. She was so tired.

“Sorry, Gus, but I’d really rather not talk about it.”

“But we could help. We’re friends now, right?” He said, leaning forward over the table. His earnest enthusiasm was sweet but it was the last thing Amity needed just then.

“Leave it, Gus,” Willow said, giving him a firm look. He huffed but raised his hands in defeat.

“All right, I know when I’m beat,” he said. Amity gave Willow a grateful smile and was glad when she returned it with her own warm, understanding one. Willow glanced between her and Luz and then promptly turned to Gus and engaged him in conversation so he would be distracted. Amity was even more grateful then. She looked to her side to see Luz still staring miserably at the table.

“Luz, you ok?” She asked hesitantly, lightly squeezing the arm she was still holding. Luz let out a low groan and slumped her head onto the table with a thunk. She had to scramble to push Luz’s plate aside so she wouldn’t land in her lunch.

“I’m sorry, Amity. I dunno if that was helpful or if I just made things worse. I just couldn’t let her do that to you,” she grunted, sounding frustrated with herself. “When will I learn to stop making big speeches at bullies? It never works!”

Amity couldn’t help the affectionate smile that spread across her face. Grand sweeping gestures were very on brand for Luz Noceda. She gently patted her back to get her attention and Luz turned to peek up at her.

“It’s ok. I think it did work this time,” she said. “Boscha actually looked like she felt… bad, which was new for her. I think you might have gotten through to her.” 

She smiled down at Luz and ran her hand down her arm to give her hand a small squeeze. 

“It was really sweet of you to stand up for me like that. Thank you.” 

Luz’s lip trembled and she launched herself at Amity who returned the hug happily before they turned back to their lunch. She never noticed the contemplative look Willow was giving them both.

*** 

As soon as they were done eating, the group fled the cafeteria. Willow and Gus had club meetings to go to, while Luz and Amity just didn’t feel like dealing with the openly staring masses. They split with the promise of seeing each other later and Amity headed for her locker (with Luz in tow) to grab some things. Thankfully she kept a lot of her stationery in there so she wasn’t totally without school supplies for the day.

Before she could even reach for the locker’s mouth, she felt a pair of strong hands wrap around her arms and bodily lift her off the ground. She yelped in surprise, struggling for a second before she caught sight of a flash of green hair and saw Emira dragging Luz along with her. She relaxed and let herself be carried away by who she now realized was Edric. 

The twins marched the two of them into a nearby empty classroom and promptly shut the door, sealing it with a twirl of magic. The second they were alone Edric grabbed her by the shoulders and started to fuss over her.

“Titan, Mittens, you scared the bile out of us! Are you ok? Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick!” He rambled, reaching up to squish her cheeks so he could tilt her head back and forth as if searching for injuries. She swatted at his hands and dragged herself back a step out of reach.

“Stop it, Ed. I’m fine! I’ve been with Luz,” she said, only half irritated with his shenanigans. She was actually quite pleased to know the twins had been worried about her.

“You are not fine! What the hell happened!?” Ed asked urgently, reaching out to pull her into a hug that she only sort of resisted.

“I’m not a Blight anymore. I thought you knew. Everyone else apparently knows already,” she mumbled against him, eyes downcast. She felt him gasp and he pulled back to look down at her seriously.

“Mittens, don’t say that! You’re still our sister!” He cried out, his voice strained with emotion. Amity grimaced and looked away.

“Not according to our parents,” she murmured. The sting of the rejection resurfaced anew and it took everything in her to hold back the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

A loud sniff caught her attention and she turned to see Emira standing near a very quiet Luz, with her hands over her mouth and tears spilling from her eyes. Amity had never, ever seen Emira look that devastated. She wanted to say something, anything , but before she could even open her mouth, Emira was upon her, clutching her tightly to her chest and sobbing over her. Amity put shaking arms around her older sister and returned the hug.

Years of the two of them actively picking on her had made her weary of them, even now, but she was very, very glad to know they cared about her this much. Maybe she hadn’t lost all of her family and, who knew? Maybe they could help her mend things with their parents.

“Em… it’s ok. I’m ok,” she said shakily, trying her best not to break down. Hearing Emira sob so openly was heart wrenching and Amity had no idea what to say to comfort her.

“It’s not ok! Amity, I am so sorry! We should have been there! I know it’s not a good enough excuse but we got caught up at school. We were pulling another stupid prank and lost track of time. If I’d known, I…” Emira whimpered and pulled her in even tighter. The use of her real name shook Amity. Emira must have really felt awful. 

“At first we thought maybe you were with your friends, but then we heard mom and dad arguing and…” Another sob escaped her and she looked down at Amity desperately. “Amity, did dad really hit you?”

Amity’s grimace and inability to meet her eye was all the answer Emira needed. She stared at Amity in horror for a second before wrapping her up in her arms again, squeezing her protectively. Amity could feel the tears running down her own cheeks now and she suddenly felt so small in her big sister's arms. 

She clutched at Em’s cowl and buried her face against her, allowing herself to be comforted in a way she hadn’t for many years. They stood for a moment, unashamedly holding each other, before Emira finally managed to pull herself together enough to loosen her hold on her little sister. Amity was desperately glad she didn’t let go.

“When we found out what they did to you, we tried to reason with them but dad wouldn’t listen to us,” Edric said, setting a comforting hand on Emira’s shoulder. “He was seriously mad. I’m pretty sure the only reason he didn’t send the entire Emperor’s Coven after you is because they wanted to avoid turning this into an even bigger scandal than it is.” He winced and looked down at Amity, regret written across his face. “They wanted to keep it in the family. We tried to stop him but he… he cast you out, Amity.”

Ice ran down her spine at that and Amity stepped back from Emira to look at her siblings in shock. Luz stepped up beside her and reached out to touch her arm.

“Uh, what does that mean exactly,” she asked hesitantly, looking between the Blight siblings with concern.

“It… it’s a really old spell. It means he cut me completely out of the family,” Amity whispered, her voice breaking a little. She felt numb. The Severance ritual was the final rejection. One there was no coming back from. There was no fixing this with grades of pleas from the twins. Her parents had well and truly abandoned her.

“What?” Luz asked, not quite understanding the gravity of what Amity had said. Of course she wouldn’t. She didn’t really understand the dynamics of the high-family politics and the covens. Amity wished she shared the same ignorance.

“She literally can’t get into the manor or anywhere near our parents anymore. If she even tries to get close the ritual magic will stop her. She also won’t ever be able to access any of the family vaults, because her bile signature will be rejected. It’s meant as the ultimate insult to a family member in our circles,” Edric answered sadly. Luz looked to him and Emira in confusion and gestured to the short distance between them and Amity.

“Wouldn’t that mean you can’t be near her too?” She asked. Edric looked insulted at the very idea.

“Of course not! We would never cut Amity off like that! We refused to do the ritual,” he half shouted. “Em kind of lost it when they tried to make us. She destroyed dad’s entire office. It was intense.” He glanced at his twin with open respect and awe, maybe tinged with a little fear.

“Well good! There’s no way she’s gonna go back there anyway. I’m not letting your stupid dad throw her in the Conformatorium!” Luz snapped. Emira looked at her sharply, her eyes suddenly glowing a faint blue.

“What did you just say?” she asked, her voice dangerously quiet. She turned to look at Amity, raw power crackling at the corner of her eyes. “Is that true?”

Amity was staring at her, wide-eyed and could only nod. Emira’s entire body stiffened and her shoulders hunched. Her eyes started glowing fully bluish white and she clenched her fists tightly. Dark green hair fluttered around her as magic seeped out of her every pore. She looked absolutely terrifying.

“Oh geez. Em, calm down!” Edric said, reaching out a tentative hand to his twin. “You can’t fly off the handle again, we’re already on lockdown as it is!” Emira turned to look at him and snarled.

“I don’t care! You heard what they just said right? I’ll kill him!" Her magic shook small objects in the room and Amity felt Luz grab at her hand. She didn’t blame her for being scared. Emira was a force to be reckoned with.

“If you do something stupid now we won’t be able to help her at all!” Edric snapped at her angrily and it seemed to do the trick. Emira let out a frustrated scream and grabbed the nearest chair with her magic, flinging it so hard against a wall that it shattered entirely. With the release of her anger, her magic dissipated and she collapsed, panting, to her knees. 

Shaking with shock at her sister’s outburst, Amity reached out to her. Emira took her hand and pulled her down for another hug, taking deep shuddering breaths to calm herself down.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened at home. Except she broke a lot more stuff,” Edric said, giving his twin a pat on the shoulder. “Dad has had us grounded since then. We get escorted to and from school by some goons he hired. And these guys are good. We can’t even trick them with illusion clones. I guess he didn’t want us looking for you.”

When Emira had calmed down enough, she stood and pulled Amity up with her.

“I am so, so sorry, Amity. I swear the second we get the chance we are leaving that hell hole. We’ll find somewhere safe we can all go together,” she said, staring down at Amity seriously. It was a sweet sentiment but Amity knew they couldn’t do that. Not right now anyway. It would be a disaster if they tried.

“Don’t do that. You know if you run, father would never stop chasing you. He can’t lose all three of us. His reputation and plans would be destroyed. If you try to leave, it’ll only make things worse,” she said sadly. It was true and they all knew it.

“We can’t just leave you with nowhere to go! I know you’re smart but you’re just a kid! You’re our little sister, we’re supposed to take care of you!” Emira cried. Luz moved closer again and smiled reassuringly at Emira.

“She has somewhere to go. She’s living with me and Eda now. We’re taking care of her,” she said, turning her smile on Amity.

“Exactly. I’m really ok. Please don’t do anything stupid,” she pleaded. She wasn’t ok, of course. Not by a long shot. The tiny glimmer of hope she’d had that things could still go back to the way they were had been thoroughly dashed and it felt like her heart had been ripped right off her bile sac. But her sister was hurting too, so she kept her mouth shut. Emira’s face seemed to crumple and she snatched Amity into her arms again.

“I love you so much, Mittens. I’m so sorry for how mean we’ve been to you. We’ll do everything we can to take care of you. We’re going to make this right somehow. I swear!” She whispered, pressing her face into Amity’s hair. She felt Edric join the hug, pulling Luz in as well until Amity was completely boxed in by the three of them. She could barely breathe with how tightly they were all holding her, but she found she didn’t really mind. She closed her eyes and leaned into it, thankful for the first time in ages, that the twins were her family.

“I love you guys too,” she murmured.

When the hug was finally over, Edric checked his watch and winced at the time.

“We’ve gotta go soon,” he said apologetically. “If we miss any classes dad will hear about it and we need to stay on his good side right now if we wanna get some freedom back. But there’s one more thing.” He looked down at Amity. “Dad had pretty much all of your stuff destroyed but we saved as much of it as we could. It’s mostly just clothes but we grabbed some of your personal things too. We’ll get it to you later through a friend of Em’s,” he said. The slight blush that tinged Emira’s cheeks piqued Amity’s interest but she didn’t mention it. Especially when Emira dug something out of her pocket.

“We also found this,” she said, handing it carefully to Amity. It was her gromposal note; crushed and a little more torn than before, but still intact. “I’m sorry we couldn’t save your diary; it was pretty much gone when we got home. But I found the note on the floor of the parlour.” She glanced briefly at Luz and then gave Amity a meaningful look. “We thought you might want it.”

Amity pocketed the note with a small thanks, a light flush spreading across her cheeks. The note was pretty much useless now, given what she’d come to understand about Luz’s feelings for Willow.

“Before we go, is there anything you need?” Edric asked. “We will do literally anything.” His tone said he was very serious and, while a few rather amusing options sprang to mind, Amity just shook her head.

“I’m really ok, guys,” she said.

“Please, Mittens. Let us at least make it up to you a little,” Emira begged. Amity frowned in thought. They clearly wouldn’t let it go but there was nothing she could think of. It wasn’t like simply asking them to would somehow make them capable of changing their parents’ minds. Or reversing an irreversible ritual. But then a flash of her conversation with Luz from the day before buzzed in the back of her mind and an idea suddenly came to her.

“Luz needs a Scroll,” she said simply.

“What?!” Luz cried out.

“Done,” the twins replied in perfect unison.

“Amity I have my phone; I don’t need a Scroll,” Luz said, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of using the twins' need to make things right with Amity to her own benefit. Amity turned away from her siblings to give her a flat look.

“Yes, you do and you’re getting one. Don’t argue,” she said. Luz blinked at her, seemingly incapable of declining and just nodded, her eyes wide. Emira stepped around Amity to look down at Luz pleadingly. 

“Would you mind giving us a minute alone with Mittens?” She asked.

“Of course,” Luz replied. “I’ll just wait outside.” Edric unsealed the door for her and she stepped out for a moment, shooting Amity a quick smile before she closed the door. When they were alone the twins wrapped Amity up in one final hug.

“Just remember we love you, ok?” Emira said. “No matter what. We just want you to be happy with whoever makes you happiest.” The look she gave Amity was enough to let her know that they were being totally honest with her and it made her heart twist painfully in her chest. Knowing she had them and that they didn’t care about her… inclinations , made Amity feel just a little bit better. Maybe, if she still had the twins, she could deal with everything else.

“Actually, you being a big gay disaster makes you way cooler,” Edric said, giving her a teasing grin. Maybe she only needed Emira.

“Ed!” Emira laughed, swatting his arm and giving him a mock glare. “I was trying to be sincere, you moron.”

“Oh come on, you know I’m right,” he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Amity, who could only roll her eyes, not quite able to hide her smile. It hadn’t taken them very long to fall back into the old habit of teasing her but she was glad for it. Them being annoying was soothingly familiar.

With that, they pulled Luz back into the room and looked at her very seriously. The way their expressions morphed into identical protective glares would have terrified even the bravest of witches. Sometimes they could be downright creepy with how in sync they were.

“Take care of Mittens for us, Luz,” Emira said, the warning clear in her voice. “We’ll see you both the second we can get out of the house without an escort.” Luz nodded meakly and, with a quick final goodbye, the twins were gone as fast as they had appeared, running to their next classes before they would be missed. Amity let out a long breath and sank into a chair, head in her hands.

“You ok?” Luz asked gently, her hand coming up to touch Amity’s arm. She looked up at Luz and gave her a weak smile.

“I think I just need a minute to breathe. And think. The last few days have been a lot,” she said, her voice wavering a little. She didn’t want to be rude and ask Luz to leave, but she needed a moment alone to process things. Luz seemed to understand though.

“I need to get some books from my locker for our next class. See you there?” She asked. Amity hadn’t known it was possible to love Luz more, but in that moment she did. She smiled at her gratefully and nodded. 

She sat in the quiet room for a long time, not really caring if she was skipping a class. What did it matter anyway? What was even the point now? The oppressive silence felt suffocating after a while though, so she stood and made her way outside, hoping that some fresh air would help clear her mind.

She found herself wandering into the bleachers beside the grudgby field and sat there, enjoying the quiet sounds of distant school chatter and the soft breeze against her face, the sun warming her cheeks. She took a deep, steadying breath and leaned back, trying to relax. She should have known that a quiet day at school would be too much to ask for after the drama of the last few days.

From the moment that she’d found herself on the Owl House doorstep, it had been such a mad rush of activity and heavy conversations that she hadn’t had a single second alone to simply process what exactly had happened to her. Even going to sleep in her new room last night had been a blur because Luz had made sure she was totally exhausted by the time they’d needed to turn in for the night. She was forever grateful to Luz and Eda for taking her in and giving her a place to live, but she still had so much to deal with emotionally that even they couldn’t really help with. Not when it was still so fresh.

Having Luz at her side almost constantly had given her a reprieve from the creeping negative thoughts that were still buzzing in the back of her head but here, alone on the bleachers, she felt them crawling out of the darker parts of her mind, ready to overwhelm her at the first sign of weakness. She took another deep, steadying breath in an attempt to push them back and let it out in a shaky huff.

Even knowing she still had the twins, her mind couldn’t stop circling her parents. How did you deal with being so utterly rejected by the people that had given you life? How did you deal with the nightmares that followed having your greatest fears realized in so visceral a fashion?

Her parents had discovered her deepest secret and had reacted exactly as she had always feared they would. Very, very badly. Whatever small part of her that had hoped maybe they would understand… would love her and accept her no matter what, had been shattered in an instant. How was she supposed to simply move on from that? She’d harbored the secret of her sexuality for so long, terrified of the consequences should it ever be revealed, and now she was living those consequences.

It hadn’t really been that hard to hide before. She’d been too young to care about boys or girls as anything other than potential friends and, when the time came that she awoke to her leanings, there hadn’t been anyone she had really been interested in. Sure, she’d had the odd minor crush here and there. Had even imagined what it might be like to kiss a girl on more than one occasion. But she’d never really felt the need to pursue anyone. It wouldn’t be worth the effort and potential problems.

Until Luz.

When Luz Noceda had come barreling into her life like the brightly coloured comet of energy that she was, Amity had found herself utterly at a loss. The annoying human had caused her nothing but trouble from the moment they’d met, but the more they kept inexplicably running into one another, the more she found herself looking forward to their encounters. 

The incident on the knee had been the thing that sealed it for her oddly enough. She’d been so frustrated with her for being reckless and getting her siblings caught by a slitherbeast of all things. Then they’d worked together to save them and Luz’s ingenuity and bravery had ripped down all her barriers.

She hadn’t been able to get Luz out of her mind since then and had been so delighted when they’d actually become friends. It had taken a while and had involved some very painful healing of her relationship with Willow, but Amity had grown closer to Luz and she’d felt that little attraction grow into the strongest crush she’d ever had.

Then they’d danced at Grom in a magical duet that had been so perfect one could be excused for believing that they’d rehearsed it. But they hadn’t. They just worked that well together. Had such amazing chemistry that it had flowed like they were born to dance together. 

And that had been it. She’d been a complete stumbling, blindly and totally in love mess since then.

Luz terrified and exhilarated her all at once. The threat of being found out. Of being rejected by the girl she liked. The thrumming anxiety over not knowing whether she even liked girls too. Of being subjected to the ridicule of her peers and losing everything. None of it had been enough to keep her away. Luz was worth the trouble.

If only she felt the same way Amity did.

Sighing heavily, Amity slumped forward and buried her face in her hands, wishing for some reprieve from the negativity swirling in her head when she suddenly felt someone sit beside her. Startled, she sat up to see Willow innocently watching the sky like she’d been there the whole time. 

She didn’t speak. Didn’t even acknowledge that Amity was there and she wondered if she should feel awkward about sitting alone with Willow like this when their friendship was still so new. Honestly, she was too strung out to really feel much of anything. Willow looked down at Amity then, as if she’d heard her thoughts and raised an eyebrow at her.

“You look awful,” she said simply. Amity let out a snort.

“Thanks?” She muttered and Willow shrugged.

“Just being honest.” There was a slight playful hint to her tone that made Amity smile.

“I feel kind of awful,” she admitted, resting her chin in her palms and looking straight ahead again. They were quiet for a bit and it might have been almost peaceful if that slight tension between them hadn’t been there. They’d rekindled their friendship, sure; Amity had even publicly stood up for Willow and Luz, destroying her own reputation in the process to show them that she meant it. But they hadn’t been alone together since they’d become friends again and it felt… weird.

It didn’t help that she was trying very hard not to be incredibly jealous of her.

“So… are you staying with Luz at the Owl House?” The question came out of nowhere and Amity bristled slightly. Why did she care? Was she fishing for information? She tried to muster up something to say that wouldn’t make her sound suspicious or rude, but all she could manage was a small “yeah”.

There was another silence that seemed to drag on and Amity half wished Boscha would appear to start something, just to break this weird energy in the air. She hated that it felt so strange to be alone with Willow when they had been so close as children. She hated that a dark little part of her was angry with Willow for being the one Luz had chosen. She didn’t want to be a bad friend.

She wanted things to be the way they were back before that awful birthday party.

“Isn’t that a little awkward?” Willow asked casually, like she’d just asked for the time. The thought ‘not as awkward as this conversation’ sprang to mind but Amity threw it off irritably. She wasn’t going to take her mood or her jealousy out on Willow.

“Not at all. Luz and Eda have been… really great,” she said instead. That jealous little part of her that was sure Willow was looking for signs of something pinched at her brain and she added, “why would it be awkward?” 

Willow gave her a look that screamed the answer was the most obvious thing in the world and Amity should feel foolish for not knowing it.

“Well, you’re hopelessly in love with Luz right? I’d think that would make things pretty awkward.”

Well, this was a new feeling. Amity hadn’t known it was possible to feel the blood drain from her face at the same time it rushed into her cheeks. She shot straight up in her seat, staring at Willow wide-eyed, trying to decipher what she was thinking behind the innocent tilt of her head. Then Amity’s ability to communicate seemed to implode and she devolved into a stammering, incoherent mess.

“Psh, What? Wh- Who said anything about…” Oh stars, why was she babbling so much? “I’m not… Th-that’s so…” Stop laughing like an idiot! “I mean why would y-you think…” Just say something coherent for Titan’s sake! “What?!”

The flat, unamused look Willow was giving her was enough to deflate all attempts at denial. Willow knew. She’d probably known for a while. A strange mix of guilt and relief washed over her and Amity sighed. Why bother denying it? Willow knew and if she was upset about it, well Amity probably deserved it for how she’d treated Willow for so many years. She grimaced and leaned back again, clutching her knees tightly in her hands and staring at them nervously.

“H-How did you know?” She stammered. To her surprise, Willow seemed to relax and smiled at her warmly.

“Amity, did you forget I have two dads? This stuff isn’t news to me. And you’re not exactly subtle,” Willow chuckled, giving her a very knowing look. “If you’re planning on keeping your feelings to yourself, you might wanna be less of a big gay disaster about it.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that today,” she grumbled, crossing her arms and definitely not pouting. Willow giggled brightly and gave her a friendly bump with her shoulder.

“Because it’s the truth. Have you forgotten how you were acting the day we played that grudgby match? All Luz has to do is breathe in your general direction and you go into total gay panic mode,” she said fixing Amity with an exasperated smile. “You’re lucky Gus is so innocent or he’d know too.” 

Amity sank down on her seat, pressing the heel of her palms into her eyes with a loud groan. She could hear Willow chuckling at her, probably enjoying how Luz-like that had been.

“Why am I like this Willow? I’m so bad at this!” She half whined. She couldn’t deny that Luz had to do very little to turn her into a stammering, blushing mess. It just wasn’t fair of her to be so damn cute! How was a person supposed to function around that?

“Yeah, you really are,” Willow laughed lightly, clearly enjoying her suffering like the evil witch she was.

“Not helping,” Amity bit back. The genuine mirth on Willow’s face was confusing though. Why wasn’t she mad? Why was she acting like this was no big deal?

“I don’t understand,” she finally muttered. “Why are you being so nice about this?”

“What? Why wouldn’t I be? Did you think I’d be upset over you liking girls or something?” Willow frowned in confusion and Amity bit her lip. Did Willow not know or was she just being coy?

“No! You have two dads, I know you don’t think like that. I just… I mean…” Should she really be saying this? What if she didn’t know? What if she was violating Luz’s privacy right now? Willow cocked a brow at her and Amity wilted under the look. Well she’d already put her foot in her mouth at this point. There was nothing for it. “It’s obvious how Luz feels about you. I thought you knew and you… you’d be mad about my cr-crush.”

Willow blinked at her and frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean, you and Luz,” she said and suddenly words were rushing out of her. “I don’t want to get in the way of that. I would never try to steal her from you, no matter how I feel about her.” Amity hated everything coming out of her mouth. She did want to steal Luz. She wanted her to want her , not Willow. But she also wanted Luz and Willow to be happy and that mattered more. No matter how much it made her heart ache. She swallowed hard and turned her eyes away. “If… if it makes things too weird, I could try to find somewhere else to stay. I don’t wan-”

Willow burst out laughing.

Loud, full chested laughter echoed around the grudgby field as Willow doubled over, clutching her belly. Amity sat there and stewed as tears of mirth ran down Willow’s cheeks. This just felt cruel. After everything she’d been through, including willingly setting her feelings for Luz aside despite the fact it was ripping open even more wounds in her heart, Willow was laughing at her? 

Tears of her own gathered in her eyes as her chest tightened and Amity’s breath hitched in her throat. Maybe she deserved it, after everything she’d done. Maybe this was all some Titan ordained punishment she had to endure to atone. Fine, she’d atone then. She’d find a way to make up for her shortcomings somehow. But she wasn’t going to sit here and be hurt any more than she needed to be.

Swiping at her wet eyes, Amity stood and made to leave, her face scrunched up to stop the tears from falling. Willow didn’t need to see her cry. A hand latched onto her wrist and she froze, shoulders hiking up to her ears.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m not laughing at you, I promise.” 

The fact she was still chuckling made that rather doubtful in Amity’s opinion. She allowed Willow to tug her back down but she refused to look at her, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. 

“Seriously, I’m sorry for laughing.” She sounded a lot more genuinely sorry this time, so Amity peeked over her at her. Willow was smiling, but it looked more guilty than mocking. “It’s just, the thought of Luz and I?” She snorted and giggled into her hand. “Trust me, that girl does not have a crush on me and, even if she did, I’d let her down gently coz I don’t like her that way.”

Amity blinked at her in shock. She hadn’t once considered whether or not Willow would like Luz back. Who wouldn’t? She was Luz for Titan’s sake!

“Trust me,” Willow said when Amity still couldn’t respond. “You have nothing to worry about. Luz and I are definitely just friends.”

A tiny spark of hope bloomed to life in her chest, but Amity snuffed it out as hard as she could. Maybe she’d been wrong about who Luz liked, but that didn’t change the fact she did like someone that was decidedly not her.

“Ok, ok,” Willow said. “I’m going to help you out but only because you’re apparently completely useless when it comes to girls.” She gave Amity a loaded smirk and chuckled at the glower she got in return.

“Not all of them. Just this one really stupid, cute one,” Amity huffed grumpily. One that had Amity wrapped around her little finger and didn’t even know it. She felt a smile tug at her lips. It felt sort of nice, being able to admit to all of this so openly, even if it stung. Somehow, talking about her feelings for Luz made her feel less paralyzed by them.

“Why haven’t you just told her how you feel? My dads always say that it’s better to just tell someone you like them. That way you’ll know one way or the other and you can move on,” Willow said sagely. Amity stared at her like she might have gone mad.

“I can’t just tell her!” She yelped, her voice jumping a few octaves higher. Willow gave her that same unamused look from before.

 “Why not?” she asked. Amity sputtered and grasped for a reason but her brain came up empty.

“Because… because she’s Luz!” She said at last, as if that would somehow win this little argument. Willow didn’t seem to agree and raised an eyebrow at her again. When had she gotten so good at that? It made Amity immediately feel like she was being an idiot.

“And?” she asked slowly.

“And… and… ugh, Willow she doesn’t see me that way!” Amity cried out in frustration. “She likes someone else. She told me so herself.” That actually seemed to catch Willow’s attention and she tilted her head curiously.

“She actually said she doesn’t see you that way?” she asked, sounding mildly surprised. Amity hedged and looked away.

“Well… not in those exact words, no. But basically, yes.”

“You lost me,” Willow said simply. Amity let out a groan and sat forward, reaching into a pocket to pull out her gromposal note.

“At Grom, when she asked me to dance… she said it was what friends do,” she said, her voice laced with sorrow at the memory. “She only went with me because she saw my fear and wanted to make me feel better, because that’s just the kind of sweet, noble dork she is.” 

She glared at the offending note, hating the very sight of it. This stupid note was what had sparked everything that had gone wrong in her life. What had she been thinking, trying to invite Luz to Grom. Her parents would obviously have found out if she’d said yes and then they’d found out anyway. 

The awful thing was also a reminder of the fact that Luz only saw her as a friend. Would probably never see her any other way. With a pained grimace, she crushed it in her hand and tossed it aside in defeat. 

“Ever since that stupid dance, my whole life has turned into a mess, but my feelings have only gotten stronger and I can’t stop thinking about her! I don’t know what to do!” She wrapped her arms around herself again and sagged pitifully. “I just want to get over her so it can stop hurting so much.”

Willow picked up the note from where it had landed at her feet and gently unfolded it. It was damaged but still pretty much intact, if you looked past the tape holding the torn parts together. Luz’s name was still clearly visible in Amity’s neat calligraphy across the top.

“I dunno, Amity, that dance didn’t look very friendly to me,” Willow said carefully. “How do you know she wasn’t just scared, like you were?” Amity’s head snapped up at that and she turned to look at Willow.

“What?” she whispered, suddenly very nervous for some reason. Willow gave her a small understanding smile, idly playing with the note in her hands.

“Have you thought about the possibility that maybe Luz likes you too, but thinks you have a crush on someone else?” Willow asked. “She’s definitely the type of person that would put your happiness before her own. Plus, she didn’t know you like girls at the time, right? Maybe you’re both having the same stupid misunderstanding.” 

Amity stared at her in absolute shock. It couldn’t be that simple.

She wanted to reject the possibility. There was no way it could be true, right? She searched her memory for any evidence at all that Willow might have a point and, to her shock, the more she thought about it, the more she found.

Luz had certainly seemed more attentive in the last few weeks. Especially after the grudgby match. There were a lot more lingering touches and she’d definitely seen her blushing on occasion. She thought of all the tender hugs and the way Luz had become more prone to grabbing for her hand. 

Had she really been trying to disguise her own feelings under a mask of friendship so that she wouldn’t interfere with Amity’s supposed crush on some random stranger?

Fully against her will, her whole face went red, right to the tips of her ears and her chest tightened. Had they really both been that stupid this whole time? Was it possible that they’d both misinterpreted everything in the exact same way? Willow let out a bark of laughter and Amity turned stunned eyes on her to see Willow pointing gleefully at her face.

“There it is!” she giggled. “Gay panic mode!”

Amity wanted to be indignant but Willow’s open, happy laughter was infectious and she found herself laughing too. The little spark of hope flared to life once more and roared into an inferno that made her chest swell with giddy joy. For once, Amity let it.

Willow gave her a genuine look of understanding after a moment and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Look, there is still a possibility that she doesn’t feel the same,” she said hesitantly. “I’ve never spoken to Luz about this stuff because she never mentioned liking girls to me before, but wouldn’t you rather know for sure? You know Luz wouldn’t think any less of you either way.” She handed Amity the note back and she took it carefully, running her thumb over the crumpled edges.

“Just think about it, ok? For the record, I think your chances are pretty good,” Willow said, smiling at her warmly. Amity returned the smile and leaned over into her friend.

“Thanks, Willow,” she replied. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the awkward energy from before having completely vanished. There was still some lingering guilt over feeling so jealous of her, but it still felt like old times. Amity found herself smiling happily.

“I’ve missed this,” she murmured, giving Willow a shy look from the corner of her eye. Willow was beaming at her.

“I have too. I’m really glad we’re friends again, Ami.” 

That simple statement made Amity’s heart soar. Willow had called her Ami… she hadn’t done that in years. Hearing her say it relieved all the fears she had that maybe Willow was only doing this, being her friend again, because it would make Luz happy. Things between them really were healing and she was so very grateful.

“Thank you for being my friend again, Willow. I’m so, so sorry about all the things I’ve said and done to you. I was awful,” she said sincerely.

“You were,” Willow agreed with a smile. “But it wasn’t really your fault. Not all of it, anyway. And it’s in the past now.” They were both a little misty-eyed, but neither seemed to care. Willow gave her a little pat on the shoulder and stood.

“We should probably get back to class. Do you promise you’ll think about talking to Luz?” she asked. Amity smiled at her nervously but nodded as she stood.

“I’ll try,” she replied. Willow beamed at her again and turned to leave, waving at her as she went.

“Call me the second you do! I want all the details!” she called back and then she was gone, headed to her Plant Track class with a happy bounce in her step. Amity watched her leave, feeling much better. She felt ready to go back to class.

To Luz.

The moment she found Luz in her next class, she knew she needed to do it that day. Luz lit up the second their eyes met and she waved Amity over with so much excitement that Amity felt like she may as well have floated over to the seat Luz had saved for her. The small, concerned, questioning look she gave Amity when she sat, asking if she was ok without actually speaking, made all the facerflies in her heart start fluttering at once.

Luz understood her like no one else ever had. Cared about her in a way that she still couldn’t quite handle but loved nonetheless. They connected on a level she couldn’t fathom and it was clear they had mountains of chemistry. 

She had to do it. Today. 

If she didn’t she would lose her nerve entirely. She’d convince herself that Willow was wrong and Luz did in fact like someone else. Worst of all, Willow would probably never stop calling her a gay disaster for the rest of her life.

The finality of her choice was strangely calming. She had been sure that the day she finally worked up the nerve to tell Luz the truth, she would be a nervous wreck. Thankfully Willow’s advice about finding out, one way or the other, had struck a chord with her. She was obviously still nervous and she would be heartbroken at a rejection. But she also knew Willow was right about the fact that Luz would never abandon their friendship over a confession and Amity would… she would move on if she had to. Eventually. Probably.

When the bell screamed at the end of the day and they bid farewell to their friends, Amity reached for Luz’s hand and stopped her before they could leave school grounds. Luz glanced down at their joined hands before looking up at her, smiling questioningly. The faint blush scattered across her cheeks was encouraging.

“What’s up?” she asked. Amity took a deep breath and looked into those big brown eyes she loved so much.

“Would you… take a walk with me? There’s something I wanted to…” She trailed off, her throat closing with nerves for a second before she cleared it. She was not going to bail. She was doing this. She took another breath and squeezed the hand in hers. “There’s something I’ve wanted to talk to you about.”

Luz’s smile was so easy and accommodating. Like she would do anything Amity ever asked and be happy doing it.

“Sure, lead the way.” 

So it was that Amity found herself walking down a familiar path with Luz, hands intertwined. She led her along through the quiet forest, her heart pounding faster and harder the closer they got to her goal. 

Now that they were almost there, those nerves she’d been sure she would be feeling were rearing their annoying heads. She fought them down, tightening her hold on Luz’s hand to remind herself that she was still there, and pushed through the last few branches and bushes to stop at a clearing next to a cliff. A very familiar cliff.

“Oh! It’s our tree!” Luz said, running forward to get a closer look, her eyes shining with delight. Amity followed behind her and smiled up at the tree. Luz had said it was their tree. She was right of course. 

They’d made it. Together.

“I still can’t believe we made this thing by beating Grom in a magical dance fight,” Luz said, grinning at her widely, unknowingly mirroring her thoughts. “It was like it came straight out of my anime-dreams.”

Amity turned her eyes to the tree. It looked just as it had the night they’d created it. Tall and proud with a broad, healthy trunk that made it look centuries old. The pink petals adorning the top were lush and thick, glowing a faint light that was visible even in the late afternoon sun. The glow cast a lovely pattern on the area as the breeze rustled the leaves, scattering the faint pink light across the ground and their faces. 

The tree had become a landmark of sorts. People spoke of it and its strange nature often. She’d even heard Willow mention that they’d been studying it in her Plant Track classes. It had been dubbed The Witchwood.

It was special. It was breathtaking. It was theirs.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen magic combine like that before. It was really strange but it’s also so beautiful,” she mused, smiling warmly up at it. Her gaze drifted over to Luz, who seemed to be watching her.

“Eres hermosa,” she muttered breathlessly, her eyes shimmering. Amity wished she knew what it meant because the way Luz had said it filled her with a warmth unlike anything she’d ever felt.

“What?” she asked tentatively. Luz seemed to blink herself out of a daze and realize what she’d said. She probably hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Her face flushed bright red and she stumbled back a step, scratching nervously at the back of her neck and grinning a big, too wide grin that was obviously fake.

“N-nothing, it's… I uh… I was just.” Seeing Luz stammer at her like that calmed some of her own nerves and Amity gently touched her hand to stop her.

“It’s fine, you can tell me about it later. I… there’s a reason I wanted to come here,” she said. She took another calming breath and met Luz’s eyes. “Do you remember what you asked me after we beat Grom?” Luz tilted her head curiously but nodded.

“Sure… I asked who you wanted to ask out,” she replied easily. 

The brief thought that maybe Luz spent time thinking of that night too, if she could recall it so easily, gave Amity a little extra boost of courage. She hesitated, only for a second, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pink note that had caused so much trouble. A torn, tattered, crumpled, stepped-on and taped back together note that held the one secret she’d been most afraid to share. She stared at it for a moment before carefully holding it out to Luz with trembling fingers.

“This… is for you,” she said nervously. Luz stared at her in surprise.

“Amity, I really don’t need to know if you’re not comfortable,” she said earnestly. Amity wanted to laugh and cry all at once. How was it possible for a person to be this adorably dense? She was literally giving her the note and telling her it was for her and Luz still didn’t get it.

“No, I want you to. I think you should know,” she said, gently pressing the note into Luz’s hand. Luz matched her nervous gaze before looking down at the note. She carefully opened it and Amity watched as her eyes locked onto the top half, where her name was written clear as day. Amity didn’t need to see it for herself to know precisely what it said. She’d spent hours composing it after all.

LUZ,

Will you go
to Grom with
me?

Amity

She watched Luz stare at the note, her hands starting to shake a little as her grip tightened around it.

“Oh,” she whispered. Then her eyes widened. “ Oh !” 

She looked up at Amity, her voice raising suddenly.

“What? Wait… what ? Me? This whole time!” 

Startled, Amity had to swallow back the nervous little moan she could feel building in her throat. Of all the reactions she had imagined, she hadn’t expected Luz to immediately have a minor meltdown. But Luz was looking between her and the note as if she was sure she’d somehow misread it. Silently wishing for a place to go die of embarrassment in peace, Amity wondered if maybe she should murder Willow for talking her into this. 

Luz’s sudden groan made her jump and she watched as she pressed her palms into her eyes much like Amity had done earlier that day.

“Oh my gosh I’m such an idiot. You were trying to ask me out and I said ‘that’s what friends do’!” She cried out, turning desperate eyes to Amity who swallowed nervously. “Amity, I had no idea, I’m so sorry.” 

Amity let out an uncomfortable little laugh and glanced away, not quite able to meet Luz’s eyes anymore. Her heart was thrumming in her throat but she valiantly fought off the heat pooling in the corners of her eyes. If this was going to end badly for her, then she would at least try to be cool about it.

“That part kind of stung, but it’s ok,” she said, fighting to keep her voice calm. “You didn’t know and it’s not your fault if you don’t feel…”

“I would have said yes!” Luz shouted, clapping her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide and horrified. Apparently she’d been a little louder than she’d intended.

Amity felt her brain fuzz over. Had she heard that correctly?

“R-Really?” She asked, hesitant to believe it even though Luz had literally yelled it at her. Luz looked about ready to explode, and explode she did.

“Heck yeah! Are you kidding?” She cried out. “You’re the coolest, smartest, prettiest, most amazing person I’ve ever met! I would have loved to go to Grom with you, and not just because we’re friends! I only said that because I thought you had a crush on someone else and I didn’t even know you liked girls back then so I didn’t I think I had a chance and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or make things weird but I guess I’ve been flirting with you for ages like a moron anyway because I couldn’t resist and you never said anything but ay, Dios mío now I understand why you’ve been blushing so much and so much stuff makes sense now and I just… I… I’ve been talking for too long.” 

She trailed off, breathing heavily from the outburst and buried her very red face in her hands.

She’d been speaking so fast, without so much as pausing for breath, that Amity had a hard time following it all. It didn’t help that her mind had seized the second Luz had admitted that she would have said yes. It slowly caught up with her and the various parts of Luz’s little rant filtered into her mind.

“You would have said yes…”

Luz looked up at her and when chocolate brown eyes met liquid gold ones, she nodded meekly.

“You’ve been flirting with me for weeks…”

That statement sent a flush across both their cheeks. Luz nodded again. There was one final, extremely important piece left.

“You like me.”

They stared at each other, both trying to figure out what to say. Amity felt a pressure building inside her, climbing from her toes to fill her chest and flood into her head. She suddenly found herself much closer to Luz, their eyes locked. They were both trembling. She could feel Luz’s breath ghost across her cheeks. See the little flecks of dark and light browns in her eyes that made them so mesmerizing to look into. Her eyes darted down to her lips and something in Amity broke. 

After weeks of pining and frustration. After having her life shredded and everything she’d ever known ripped away like a bad infection. After convicing herself that she’d had no chance only to be proven wrong. There was just no hesitation left in her.

Just as Luz seemed ready to speak, Amity surged forward and they were kissing.

The moment their lips touched, an electrifying jolt run down Amity’s spine and Luz made an adorable little squeak but then she was kissing her back and Amity’s brain lost all higher functions.

Her hands found their way into Luz’s soft, dark hair and she shivered when she felt Luz slip her arms around her waist, tugging her closer. She pressed in too, reveling in that wonderful tingling joy that was spreading from every spot they were touching. Luz was trembling against her and Amity could feel those same tremors rocking through her as well. She was terrified, elated, nervous, and desperately relieved all at once.

An embarrasing little mewling noise escaped her throat when she felt one of Luz’s hands travel hesitantly up her back, leaving trails of fire in its wake before it pressed her even closer. It was suddenly all too much and she pulled back, breathing heavily, but she regretted it almost instantly. She wanted to dive right back in. But then Luz pressed her forehead to Amity’s and her whole world became centered on the beautiful girl that had her arms wrapped around her.

“Wow…” she whispered, as she nervously raked her fingers down through Luz’s hair and settled her hands gently at her neck.

“Yeah, wow... I can’t believe you just did that,” Luz said. 

Amity pulled her head back a little to look more clearly into her eyes and gave her a look somewhere between annoyance and pure affection.

“We could have been doing that this whole time ,” she exclaimed, unable to stop the smile spreading across her cheeks. Luz let out a little giggle and smiled at her in shared exasperation at their own stupidity.

“We’re kind of stupid aren’t we,” she grinned and Amity laughed happily.

“I believe the term is ‘gay disasters’,” she said. Luz let out a bark of a laugh and gave Amity a gentle squeeze.

“Ok, I have no idea where you heard that but it’s great,” she chuckled.

“And accurate,” Amity quipped. Luz snorted and rolled her eyes.

“And accurate. But seriously, I don’t want there to be any dumb misunderstandings this time so I’m just gonna say it, ok?” She pressed her forehead to Amity’s again and their eyes locked. “I really, really like you, Amity. And again, just so we’re totally clear, I don’t mean just as friends.” 

Amity laughed giddily.

“Pretty sure I got that at this point. I really like you too, Luz.” 

They both laughed happily and Luz pulled her in for a tight embrace. It was, by far, the best hug she’d ever had because she got to push her fingers back up into Luz’s hair and press her face into her neck and she could do this whenever she wanted now! Luz’s lemony scent surrounded her and it made Amity feel dizzy with joy. Why had she waited so long to do this? She felt fit to burst with the warm, glowing bliss that filled her to her very core. She never wanted to let go. She was startled, then, when Luz suddenly pulled back to stare at her in wonder.

“Wait, does this mean I get to call you my girlfriend now?” She asked breathlessly. 

Amity stared back for a second before a small smile spread across her lips, her cheeks pink and warm.

“Say it again.”

Luz did her one better and kissed her. Maybe Amity needed to give Willow the biggest hug in the world for talking her into this.

Chapter Text

The walk through the woods was punctuated by a lot more giggling and blushing than it would be on any other day. Of course, it wasn’t just any day. This day was special. It was magical in a way that had nothing to do with spell circles or glyphs. It had very quickly become Amity’s favourite day, because she’d finally done it! 

She’d finally confessed. 

She had a girlfriend ! 

She came to an abrupt halt at that thought and tugged on the hand held firmly in her own, grinning when the girl on the other end of it stopped to look at her in amused exasperation.

“ Again? ” she asked as Amity stepped in close.

“Yes,” Amity replied, leaning in to press her lips to Luz’s for the umpteenth time that day. 

Despite her apparent protest, Luz returned the kiss with enthusiasm, reaching up to tug at her neck, pulling her in closer. The sensation sent delightful shivers down her spine but, when Amity tried to step in even further, their feet caught on each other and they tipped backwards with a combined cry of surprise. Apparently there hadn’t been any room left between them.

A few awkward, stumbling steps later, Luz let out a gasp as her back smacked against a tree, saving them from a fall. They were both giggling like idiots, flushed bright pink as they caught their breaths. 

“Smooth,” Luz teased, making Amity huff out a laugh as she leaned into her.

“Shut up,” she snickered back. 

Their eyes met and for a moment they both froze, staring at one another as delightful tension built between them. Then Luz let out a little snort of laughter, pressing her forehead to Amity’s and they dissolved into joyful giggles again. 

The air was charged with something new and exciting and, when Amity looked up again, Luz was giving her a soft look that made the facerflies in her stomach flutter wildly. She swallowed hard. Her head was spinning in the most delightful way and she was pretty sure she was trembling all over but she didn’t care. Not when she got to pull Luz in for another sweet kiss.

The feeling of Luz’s lips against her own. The way her breath ghosted across her cheeks. The way she was threading her fingers into Amity’s hair, making her pointed ears twitch as her fingers grazed them. It made Amity deliriously happy and still so very nervous all at once. 

Neither of them really knew what they were doing but it didn’t matter. She delighted in the way their noses bumped or their teeth clacked when one of them got a little too eager. They could learn this together. Amity was a perfectionist after all. She was determined to be great at it, no matter how much practice it took.

Amity reveled in her newfound ability to simply kiss Luz whenever the mood struck, even if it turned them both into blushing, lovesick messes. For almost two months she’d pined over this girl she was sure she’d never be able to have, because what were the chances she liked girls too? Or that she liked Amity back? It had seemed utterly impossible.

But now… She drew back to stare in awe at the flushed girl in her arms. Luz speared her with a smug little grin and tilted her head.

“Satisfied?” she asked snarkily. 

Amity had to swallow down the nervous little lump in her throat again. Titan, she liked her so much.

“Ju-just… needed to make sure it’s still real,” she said breathlessly. “That I’m not just having a really good dream.”

Luz giggled against her mouth when Amity leaned in again. 

And again. 

And again. 

She was laughing and protesting the little pecks, but she was kissing back anyway. Amity had no intention of stopping. Everything inside of her was alight with buzzing energy and it didn’t take long for her to become totally overwhelmed. Amity buried her flaming face into Luz’s shoulder, much to her apparent amusement.

“You’re not dreaming, you sap,” Luz chuckled, lightly pushing Amity back so she could look her in the eyes. “This is definitely real and I’m totally not complaining, but if we keep stopping to do this, every five minutes , we’re never gonna get home.” She smirked at Amity playfully as she reached up to boop her nose with a finger. “Besides, this tree is kinda scratchy.”

“It hasn’t been every five minutes,” Amity pouted at her but relented, stepping back to allow a still giggling and blushing Luz to stand up and take her hand again, leading her back onto the path to the Owl House. 

It wasn’t her fault that kissing Luz was so nice.

When Luz laced her fingers with Amity’s and drew her in close, Amity decided she was alright with just walking for now. Even the novelty of walking hand-in-hand with the girl of her dreams, who was now also her girlfriend , was enough to send her heart fluttering. Luz idly grazed her thumb over Amity’s fingers as they strolled down the path and she had to force down an excited, gushy squeal. Titan’s foot, she was embarrassingly smitten.

Flushed with joy, the two exchanged playful, teasing nudges with one another as they walked around the last bends in the path, bringing the Owl House into view. What they found there was a surprise to both of them.

A familiar girl, dressed in a fashionably ripped, multi-track Hexide uniform, was having what appeared to be a very enthusiastic conversation with Hooty. The large fish hook in her ear glinted in the late afternoon sun as she nodded along to Hooty’s incessant rambling. Amity recognized her as one of Luz’s friends from her brief stint in the Detention Track, though she couldn’t remember her name. They hadn’t had much opportunity to interact beyond the girl helping to save her and the rest of the school from a Greater Basilisk.

“Viney?” Luz called out in surprise. The girl, apparently named Viney, turned to them and perked up when she noticed the way they were pressed together.

“Well, look at you two!” She said, smirking at them mischievously. “Guess I’m gonna have some good news to take back with me!” Amity and Luz shared a confused look before stepping apart, though Amity defiantly kept a tight grip on her hand.

“What are you doing here?” Luz asked curiously, tilting her head in confusion. “Not that it isn’t great to see you, but I didn’t know you even knew where this place was.”

“You mean other than talking to this fascinating house demon? You never told me you lived in a living house , Luz! That’s so cool!” Viney gushed, turning to look up at a preening Hooty.

“Finally! Someone who gets me!” He puffed up proudly. “We’ve been talking for ages coz you guys took so long to get home, hoot!”

Viney snorted, eyeing the two of them with a smirk.

“Gee, I wonder what could have possibly kept you,” she snickered, wagging her eyebrows at them. Both girls flushed bright red but Luz seemed to take it mostly in stride.

“We got… held up,” she said, shooting a little grin at Amity, who only blushed more. 

It was one thing to be confident enough to kiss Luz when it was just the two of them. It was entirely different when faced with other people she barely knew. She was still new to being ‘out’ after all. Titan, she was barely out as it was! Very few people knew the truth and years of keeping her secret made it strange to be open about it in front of others at all. She huffed awkwardly, trying to cover her embarrassment as she turned to Viney, eager to change the subject.

“Did you really just come here to talk to the bird-tube? How can you stand listening to it for so long?” she asked, genuinely curious how anyone could stand that grating voice for more than a few seconds. Hooty squawked indignantly.

“Rude!” he grumped. Viney laughed but shook her head.

“Nah. As interesting as this guy is,” she said, jamming her thumb in Hooty’s direction, “I’m actually here as a favour to the twins.” 

Amity’s eyes widened at that.

“Ed and Em sent you?”

She’d never officially met Viney before today but it was feasible that she knew Amity’s mischievous siblings. They were notorious trouble makers afterall. It wouldn’t surprise her if they’d had encounters with the Detention Track students and their hidden maze of tunnels in the school. Actually, it would explain a lot about how the twins seemed able to just appear out of nowhere on a whim.

“Yup,” Viney replied, raising her hand to draw a little spell circle in the air. The resulting levitation spell lifted several bags into view from around the side of the house, depositing them carefully in front of the door. “They asked me to bring these to you.” 

Amity was momentarily stunned as she stared at the fairly large pile of her belongings. There was a lot more than she had expected. From the way the twins had been talking, she’d thought she would be lucky to get just a few pieces of clothing. It looked more like they had rescued her entire closet and then some.

The absolute relief of knowing she wouldn’t have to keep borrowing clothing from Luz for the rest of her life was palpable. She’d already been worrying about what she would wear in the morning since Luz only had so many school uniforms. Besides, as often as she’d secretly fantasized about getting to wear Luz’s hoody, it had always been reciprocal in her sappy romantic daydreams.

“Oh my gosh! This is great! They saved so much stuff!” Luz gasped. “This is really cool of you, Viney! Thank you!”

“Don’t worry about it. Mittens here is Em’s little sister, I’m happy to help,” Viney said, grinning devilishly when Amity scoffed at the use of her nickname. The fact Viney even knew that name sparked a thought in her though and she narrowed her eyes. Emira had seemed awfully flustered when Edric had brought up her mysterious ‘friend’.

“How exactly do you know my sister?” she asked. It couldn’t be what she suspected, could it? Surely Emira would have mentioned it. Viney gave Amity a knowing look.

“You didn’t think you were the only one didja? Em is just a lot more discreet than you, girl,” she said. Luz’s eyes widened comically as she gasped out loud.

“ No way! You and Emira? For real?” She squealed. 

Amity, on the other hand, was far from excited. Viney didn’t even need to confirm it. The implication was obvious. Her sister had a girlfriend and had apparently had one for a while. 

She was like Amity.

Emira had just never thought to tell her little sister that they shared something this big. Pain bloomed in Amity’s chest and all the joy of her afternoon drained out of her like abomination goo from a broken cauldron, leaving behind a deep, lonely ache that stifled her breath a little. She hadn’t had to go through all of this alone. She hadn’t needed to be so confused and unsure for so many years. Maybe if she’d had someone to talk to, things wouldn’t have gone so horribly wrong…

“Oh, no wonder she was so mad!” Luz exclaimed.

It made sense. Emira’s reaction to what her parents had done to Amity had been a lot more visceral than Edric’s. Especially considering the fact that she was usually the more level-headed of the twins. After all, it could have easily been her. Viney grunted and rubbed uncomfortably at her neck.

“ Yeah , Em was pretty messed up when she told me about all this. She did say that your parents wouldn’t handle this sort of thing well but I didn’t think they’d take it this far. I don’t think Em did either,” she admitted, turning to look sympathetically at Amity. 

She blinked against the burning sensation in her eyes, trying hard to stifle the feeling of betrayal that was settling in her stomach, but it was probably written very clearly across her face. Luz’s arm settling around her shoulders helped though.

“Why didn’t she ever say anything? She’s known about my feelings for Luz at least since Grom but I… I had no idea …” She murmured, her voice wavering. Viney sighed sadly and gave her arm a comforting pat.

“She feels awful about it, trust me,” she said, looking directly into Amity’s eyes to make it clear she was being sincere. “It took a lot to get her to calm down enough to function yesterday. I promise, Em never meant anything by it. She was just scared of what would happen if anyone found out, just like you. She’s wanted to talk to you for ages, but she was terrified. You two should talk about it now though. You both need it.”

That, at least, Amity could understand.

She’d been devastated at first, when her siblings had found out about her secret, terrified that they would out her, whether intentionally or not. Ed clearly knew about Em and Viney but the twins did everything together so it made sense. Amity’s own relationship with her older siblings had only just recently started to improve. She supposed she couldn’t blame Emira for being afraid of sharing something so monumental with Amity when it had been her mission to get them busted for their antics for so long. 

She leaned into Luz and took a steadying breath, feeling the tension in her shoulders ease.

“Y-you’re probably right,” she managed, pushing down hard on the lingering sense of betrayal. She didn’t want to be angry at her older sister when she’d seen how distraught she was. Not when she knew exactly how dangerous it was to be gay in their family. Being mad at Em wouldn’t change what had happened.

Amity was frankly in a better situation than her sister at the moment anyway. She got to be open about who she was if she wanted. Emira would have to keep hiding or risk their parent’s considerable wrath. She met Viney’s eye and smiled at her weakly. 

“Can you ask her to text me or something? And… tell her I understand? I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not hurt but… I do get it.” 

Viney smiled at her gratefully.

“Of course I can. I’ve actually gotta get going,” she replied. “I promised the twins I’d report back when you got your stuff.” 

“Thank you, for bringing me my things,” Amity said sincerely. “I appreciate it. You didn’t have to.” Viney chuckled when Luz leapt forward to give her a quick parting hug. When she let go, Viney shrugged nonchalantly.

“Don’t sweat it. I’m scoring major girlfriend points right now,” she said with a wink. “I’ll see you two cuties around ok?” With that, she trotted off, calling back a promise to come have another chat with Hooty when she had the time.

“Byyyyyyye new friend!” Hooty drawled from his door. “I miss you already!”

Luz and Amity grimaced, hurriedly carrying the pile of bags into the house to get away from Hooty before he decided he wanted to keep talking. It took some effort, but they managed to dump all of her things into her new room. The prospect of having to unpack it all was daunting though. Luz glanced at her and grinned sheepishly.

“You wanna do this now or can we do something else? Like literally anything else…” she said. She gave Amity the biggest puppy dog eyes she’d ever seen, leaning in close with her hands clasped near her chin. Amity’s heart seized at the sight. The girl was playing dirty! Luz had no right to be that adorable.

“Oh come on, that’s not fair. You can’t make that face at me and expect me to be able to say no!” Amity reached out to playfully shove the offending face away, making the other girl laugh heartily.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about! This is my regular face,” Luz giggled innocently. Amity snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, sure it is. Anyway, I don’t really feel like dealing with this right now either,” she said, gesturing to the pile of bags. “And we have a ton of homework to do. I could actually use your help catching up with some of the classes if you don’t mind,” she added. Luz’s eyes lit up as she bounced happily on the spot.

“I’d love to tutor you!” She cried enthusiastically. “Obviously I can’t help you with the actual spells but I know all the theory really well! And maybe you can help me figure out some new glyphs!” 

That idea was certainly intriguing. Luz’s own personal brand of magic was fascinating to Amity. It would be interesting to see how she went about discovering new glyphs.

They made their way downstairs together, where Amity set about getting their school supplies arranged on the coffee table while Luz headed into the kitchen to snag them something to nibble on before joining her on the sofa. Eda and King hadn’t returned from the market yet so it was blissfully quiet in the house as they dug into their homework and snacks.

Luz’s thorough knowledge of magical theory was incredibly helpful in getting Amity started on all of her new classes. Switching tracks mid-year was usually hard enough as it was, now Amity had eight new, very different subjects to learn on top of her abominations with almost no experience in any of them. 

Thankfully, Luz was an enthusiastic tutor. She was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for and was eager to discuss each new topic in as much detail as Amity wanted. Luz worked incredibly hard to make up for her lack of natural magical ability. Being a dedicated, hard-working student herself, Amity admired Luz’s diligence in the pursuit of learning everything she could about magic.

They’d been drifting closer on the sofa as time passed and it wasn’t long before they’d shifted from sitting side-by-side to reclining together instead, sharing the book in Amity’s hands as they discussed their theories on the subject of abominations. Of course it was a little hard to focus on the intricacies of summoning magic considering her current position.

Luz was propped up in the corner of the sofa while Amity rested with her back against Luz’s chest, head set comfortably under her chin. When she tightened her hold on her waist and leaned down to press a quick kiss to the top of Amity’s head before propping her chin there again, Amity decided this was absolutely her favourite new way to study, distractions and all.

They’d been at it long enough for the sun to start setting and, as the lights in the house came to life with the growing darkness, their quiet, giddy little study bubble was burst by the front door swinging open. A tired-looking Eda and King trudged into the house just in time to catch them in the midst of a chaste kiss. Eda let out a loud laugh, pointing at them dramatically from the doorway.

“Hah! I knew it!” She cried triumphantly and, if it weren’t for the fact that Luz was still holding onto her, Amity probably would have fallen off of the sofa with how hard she’d startled at the intrusion. Eda didn’t seem to care that she’d interrupted them, turning to King with a huge grin plastered across her face. “Cough it up, furrball. I win!” She smirked, holding out her hand with a grabbing motion. 

King griped under his breath as he pulled a bag of snails from somewhere within his collar and tossed it at Eda’s head. It smacked her square in the nose before dropping into her hand, but she cackled gleefully as she counted the coins anyway, ignoring the grumpy, grumbling demon that was now stomping further into the room, his arms crossed.

“Eda! What the heck?” Luz yelped as she and Amity scrambled to sit up on the sofa. Her face was about as red as Amity’s but that didn’t stop her from glaring at her mentor in annoyance.

 “Oh come on, kid. You think I was gonna pass up the chance to win a bet against King?” Eda laughed, waving the little bag of snails in the air, as if to taunt King further. He let out a humph, turning his head away in an adorable pout.

“You were taking bets ?!” Amity asked indignantly. Had she been so obvious? Actually… yes she probably had been. But still!

“Obviously. King was convinced you would never work up the nerve to make a move but I could tell you have the stuff. And it only took two days! Impressive,” Eda said, winking at Amity. Luz huffed indignantly.

“How do you know I wasn’t the one that asked her out?” 

Eda could only snort at her apprentice.

“Come on, kid, be serious. You’re an oblivious idiot when it comes to this stuff. Blushy Blight over there was way more likely to break first,” she said, jamming her thumb in Amity’s direction.  

Eda had a point. But, in Luz’s defence, she hadn’t exactly been the only oblivious one. They’d both been stupid about the whole thing and Amity had needed a push to make a move in the end.

“Actually, Willow had to talk me into it,” she admitted with a sheepish grin. Luz turned to her with an amused smile.

“Really? I’ll have to give her the biggest hug tomorrow!” She said, unknowingly mirroring Amity’s own thoughts on the subject. Eda simply shrugged as she tucked the little money bag into her hair

“Well, the point is you did it so I won.”

She paused and looked down at them with an uncomfortable expression. “Come to think of it, this could be kind of an issue. I joked about it before but I have even more reason to say that doors will be kept open in this house now,” she declared. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you two figured this all out but you’re also living together now. Am I going to need to have a talk with the two of you about… this stuff?” She asked, waving her hand between them awkwardly. 

Amity and Luz both yelped, darting as far apart as the sofa would allow, their faces bright red.

“Eda, we’re only fourteen! We literally just started dating this afternoon! We do not need to talk about that!” Luz whined, her eyes wide and embarrassed as she patted her burning cheeks, trying to hide her very obvious blush.

She looked absolutely mortified at the thought. Amity couldn’t agree more, nodding vigorously from her side of the sofa. She was not ready to think about anything that might require closed doors or talks … Just the implication was enough to send her brain spiraling into a mild panic. Kissing Luz was great but even the thought of… more , was enough to completely break her. Nope. Not ready. Not for a long, long time.

Eda stared them down before, seemingly satisfied, she let out a long, relieved breath. 

“Thank the Titan, because I don’t think I’m ready to have that conversation with you either. Just…” She pulled a face, swallowing thickly. “If things change and you do need to talk, come to me will ya? I’m happy for you kids, I really am, I just want to make sure you’re not getting into anything you’re not ready for.”

Eda left for the kitchen in a hurry, eager to get as far from this conversation as possible with an oblivious King following after her, demanding snacks as compensation for his loss.

Once alone, both girls took a moment to just breathe, trying to calm down. The air in the room was incredibly awkward now and they were both looking anywhere but at each other. Amity took some comfort in the fact that Luz seemed just as uncomfortable as she did. At least they were on the same page about this particularly sensitive subject. 

When she’d sufficiently calmed her racing heart, Amity glanced at Luz apprehensively. Thanks to Eda’s, there was a gaping distance between them that needed to be closed. She’d been enjoying herself before the rather abrupt intrusion, but the thought of lying against her like with Eda in the house was enough to drive Amity’s anxiety through the roof.

She did still want to cuddle though. Should she ask? That seemed awkward. It had happened naturally before, so should she just wait it out and hope they’d do it eventually? That was far too uncertain, especially considering how weird the energy still was in the room. She glanced over again and noticed Luz was giving her the same longing look that she knew was on her own face.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she shifted closer until they were sitting next to one another again, not quite touching, but close enough that it wouldn’t take much. Luz caught on immediately and grinned, tension melting from her as she lifted her arm for her. Amity sank against her girlfriend, thankful when the tension between them dissipated. They settled against each other with contented sighs. Ok, so no need to ask then. Apparently Luz was just as eager to cuddle as she was. Good to know.

“I’m glad we don’t have to worry about hiding this from Eda,” Amity admitted, leaning her head onto Luz’s shoulder. It was comforting, knowing Eda wasn’t judging them at all. She’d never have gotten acceptance like that from her parents. The very thought of ever being able to snuggle like this with Luz in Blight Manor was laughable. Not that she’d get the chance now.

“Nah, Eda is cool, despite all that… other stuff,” Luz chuckled, tossing an exasperated grin at the kitchen before turning to look down at Amity again. “Did Willow really talk you into telling me?” She asked, her look becoming teasing. Amity laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, she did. She gave me a really good pep talk,” she admitted. Thinking about it made her sit up suddenly and Luz gave her a curious look. “Actually, that reminds me, she wanted me to call her when I told you. Do you mind?” 

Luz pretended to think about it for a second before yanking Amity back into her arms again.

“Only if we do it like this,” she said with that lopsided grin of hers. She was doing that a lot today and it was frankly quite unfair. How was Amity expected to resist that? Heart fluttering, she decided she just wouldn’t bother resisting at all. She was perfectly ok with getting to snuggle Luz all she wanted, even during a call with Willow.

With a hastily drawn spell circle, Amity summoned Eda’s crystal ball from across the room so she could call their mutual friend. It didn’t take long for the girl to answer, her eyes lighting up when they landed on Amity and Luz curled up together.

“Oh my gosh! Amity, did you…?” She hesitated, glancing between them before raising her eyebrows questioningly. Amity couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her lips as she nodded. Willow let out a loud, excited scream. “You did it! Oh my gosh I’m so happy for you guys!” She gushed, beaming at them brightly.

“It’s all thanks to you! You are the greatest friend ever , Willow!” Luz said, pressing a kiss to Amity’s temple, giggling when her already rosy cheeks deepened to a rich crimson. Amity huffed playfully and pushed her away before turning to Willow.

“She’s right. You’re the best, Willow. Thank you ! Honestly, I don’t think I’d have been able to do it without you.”

Willow rolled her eyes at her good-naturedly, mumbling something that sounded distinctly like ‘disaster’.

“I have my moments,” she said aloud. “Now spill! I want to know everything! How did it happen?!” 

Amity let Luz tell her the story, enjoying the way she gushed about it all like it had been some epic romantic scene from a fanfiction. In reality, it had been kind of embarrassing and awkward but she wouldn’t trade that moment for anything. Not when the results had been so perfect. When Luz moved onto the tale of their walk back to the Owl House however, Amity raced to clamp a hand over her mouth, eyes wide and face bright red.

“Luz! I don’t think Willow needs to hear about that ,” she said hurriedly, giving her a look somewhere between pleading and stern. Luz grinned sheepishly.

“Yeah… probably not. Guess I got kinda carried away,” she chuckled, pulling Amity’s hand away from her mouth to give it an apologetic squeeze. When Amity looked back at the crystal ball, Willow wagged her eyebrows at her with the smuggest look she’d ever seen. Oh Titan, this was going to be a thing now, wasn’t it? Willow was never going to let her live this down. She found herself smiling at the thought.

“So are you guys gonna be open about this at school or do I need to run interference to help keep it quiet?” Willow asked. Amity and Luz shared a look at that.

“It’s up to you. I don’t care if people know but I get it if you wanna keep it quiet,” Luz said gently. Amity hesitated. 

Did she want to keep things quiet? She hadn’t actually considered coming out to the public now that her parents knew, too distracted by everything that had been happening to even think about it. The incident with Boscha had been terrifying, yes, but that had partly been because she hadn’t wanted another choice stolen from her. She’d already been through enough without being forced out of the closet on top of everything.

She’d stopped caring about appearances thanks to Luz and her new friends but this was something entirely different. Amity had become a private person out of necessity, but was that still what she wanted to be? As a kid, she’d been a lot more open. It hadn’t been until she’d lost Willow’s friendship that she had started to put up those walls Luz had so happily knocked down. Now that she’d shed her ‘little miss perfect’ façade, was she ready for everyone to know the real her?

To her surprise, the thought didn’t scare her as much as she’d expected it to. The thought of all of Hexside knowing and judging her was deeply terrifying, but she knew at least Willow, Eda, the twins and even King (Gus didn’t know yet but she was fairly certain he wouldn’t care) all accepted her as she was. Who else really mattered? And then there was the fact that Luz, who constantly inspired Amity to be herself, was her girlfriend now. 

In the end, Boscha had been right about one thing: she didn’t need to hide anymore.

A petty part of her was almost excited to flaunt it a little. What better way to get back at her parents than to show the world who she really was? They wouldn’t be able to pretend she didn’t exist if all of the Boiling Isles knew their daughter was queer. Amity smiled at Luz warmly then.

“No, it’s ok,” she said at last. “I didn’t want Boscha yelling it to everyone in the cafeteria today, but that doesn’t mean I want to hide either. The only people who I was really worried about finding out already know anyway and there’s not much they can do to me at this point. I don’t care what people think anymore. If they don’t like that we’re together, they’ll just have to deal with it,” she said resolutely. 

Luz beamed at her proudly and squeezed her into a tight hug, nuzzling their cheeks together with a gushy little squeal.

“So I get to show off that I got the prettiest girl at school to be my girlfriend?” She asked, giving Amity a smug little smirk that made her heart stutter.

“Technically, I got the prettiest girl at school to be my girlfriend. But yes, you do.” Ok, if she got to flirt this openly with Luz whenever she wanted then she was pretty sure she was going to enjoy being out. Willow rolled her eyes at the two of them playfully.

“You guys are such saps,” she said, laughing when Luz stuck her tongue out at her. A loud sneeze from the kitchen interrupted them and they heard Eda groan.

“For the love of Titan, I think I’m allergic to all the mushy nonsense going on in there,” she grouched, just loud enough to make sure the girls heard. They all snickered at that. “Will you two get off the crystal ball and come eat dinner already? I want to turn in early tonight,” Eda added loudly.

With a quick goodbye to Willow and a plan made to see her at school the next day, the girls ended the call. They made their way into the kitchen together, where King and Eda were already eating what appeared to be take-out of some kind. Not the healthiest of meals but, from what Luz had told her about Eda’s culinary experiments, it was probably the safest option. Amity resolved to learn how to cook for them. It was the least she could do.

As they sat to eat, she noticed that Eda looked particularly exhausted. Dark circles had formed under her eyes and her movements were sluggish. She’d seemed pretty quick to tire over the last two days actually. 

Amity glanced over at Luz, who was devouring her meal with unabashed gusto, chatting enthusiastically with King at the same time. She felt a smile tug at her lips. Luz was even adorable when she was completely ignoring all forms of table etiquette. She didn’t seem at all fazed by Eda’s apparent exhaustion though, so maybe it wasn’t worth worrying over. Deciding to ask Luz about it later, Amity finished her meal and was quick to try to gather the plates. Eda waved off her offer to do the washing up though, claiming she would just use a little magic to deal with it in the morning.

“Stop worrying so much, kid. You’re gonna get more wrinkles than me. I may not act like it all the time but I’m the adult here. You let me worry about taking care of you and not the other way around, yeah?”

Amity sighed, glancing away uncomfortably. She hated feeling like a burden. Reluctantly setting the dishes down, she followed the others into the living room. Eda yawned loudly, stretching her arms over her head with an audible cracking noise before turning to the teens and giving them a serious look.

“I need to make an ingredients-run at The Knee for my potions business tomorrow. I’m leaving early so you’re probably not going to see me before you go to school but I’ll be back in time for dinner. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” she said, eyeing them for a moment to make sure they understood. “Amity’s in charge while I’m out.”

“What?” Luz and King yelped in unison, staring at Eda in shock. King pointed an imperious paw at Amity, glaring at her darkly. His murderous gaze only made him look more adorable.

“Usurper!” he yelled furiously.

Eda lifted him off the ground with a roll of her eyes and tucked him under her arm, totally unfazed by his squirming.

“She’s clearly more responsible than the rest of you knuckleheads,” Eda said simply. “I’m gonna hit the nest now. Don’t go to bed too late, kids.” 

Stifling another heavy yawn, she made her way upstairs with a still struggling King. The girls went back to the sofa and Luz lifted the abominations book they’d been reading earlier, flipping through it once they’d settled in. Amity set her hand on the book, lowering it so Luz would look up at her. She hesitated.

“Has Eda seemed a little tired to you?” She asked. “It’s just, witches usually get energy from our magic and Eda is pretty powerful so it seems strange for her to be so fatigued all the time. Is this normal for her?”

Luz glanced up at the stairs, her face twisting up with worry that she’d clearly been hiding for a while. She set the book aside with an anxious little sigh.

“Eda is… well…” She seemed hesitant, frowning as she thought. After a moment and a few glances between the stairs and Amity, Luz sighed again, sitting forward. “You live here now so I guess it’s kind of important that you know the whole truth. You remember I mentioned that Eda has a curse, right?” She stared at Amity defensively. Amity couldn’t blame her, curses had a certain stigma to them.

“I do. I’ve heard about it before actually, but I don’t know any details,” she admitted. It wasn’t common knowledge for kids her age, but her parents had spoken in hushed, judgmental voices of the wild, cursed Owl Lady that was evading the Emperor, so Amity had at least known that much. “If her curse is draining her this much then… I didn’t realize it was this bad.”

“It’s not,” Luz said hastily. “Or at least, it wasn’t. She was fine when I first got here but she’s been getting tired quicker lately. I think it’s getting worse and she’s trying to cover it up.” 

She frowned, staring down at the clenched fists resting on her knees. Her shoulders were hunched, her eyes clouded over. Amity reached out to gently take her hands, running her fingers over them in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. She hated seeing Luz so worried but she may well have a very good reason to be.

“How long has she had it?” She asked hesitantly. 

Curses were tricky. She was no expert of course, but she’d heard stories. From what Amity knew of them, the longer you left them untreated, if they were treatable at all, the worse they tended to get. Luz sighed and shook her head.

“Since she was a kid. She doesn’t remember how she got it but, if she doesn’t take an elixir every day, she turns into this big, feathery owl demon with black eyes.” 

Well, now she understood the alias and taste in decor.

“ Oh . That… explains a lot,” she said. A worrying thought plagued her though. Why did Luz know what Eda’s cursed form looked like? The implication was more than a little unnerving. “Has… has that happened before? Has she ever transformed around you?” 

Luz winced, her hands tightening under Amity’s. 

“Once, yeah. But it was kind of my and King’s fault,” she rushed to say. “Eda is usually really good about drinking her elixirs. I was just pestering her to teach me magic and she was already weak that night. I exhausted her before she could drink it and she transformed. She nearly destroyed Hooty...” She froze at that last admission before chuckling awkwardly, trying to cover her slip up. “On the bright side, that was the night I learned the light spell.” 

Ignoring the painful pun and very obvious deflection, Amity was about to ask for details when they were interrupted by a little bwoop-like sound coming from Luz’s phone that was resting on the table.

Luz scrambled for it, giving Amity a weak grin. “Sorry, I should check this. It’s probably my mom.” 

She turned her focus entirely to the phone and Amity pursed her lips. Luz clearly didn’t want to discuss what must have been a pretty traumatic night. It was eating her up inside not to know but she also didn’t want to upset Luz anymore than she already was. She’d let it go. For now. 

So instead of pestering her for answers, she watched curiously as Luz typed a rapid message into her phone. Amity could see the screen clearly but she couldn’t understand anything on it. Frowning, she tried to make out the words, conscious of the fact that she was being a little rude by reading over Luz’s shoulder like this, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.

“Luz, what language is that?” She asked after a few back and forth messages. Luz jumped a little at the sudden question, glancing between Amity’s curious face and the texts from her mother. 

“This? It’s Spanish,” she said, gesturing to an earlier message on the screen. “See? You’ve heard me say hola right? It means hello. And this word just means mom.” Amity hummed thoughtfully.

“Is it a commonly used language on Earth? I’ve never heard anything like it on the Boiling Isles,” she asked. Luz shrugged a little as she set her phone back down.

“In some places, sure. I mostly just use it with my mom though,” she said as she slugged a casual arm across Amity’s shoulders to pull her into her side, like it was the easiest thing in the world. Amity felt heat rise in her cheeks but she certainly wasn’t going to complain. A comfortable silence settled between them as she considered her next words.

“Could you teach me?” she asked, giving Luz a hesitant little smile. Luz looked genuinely surprised at the request.

“You want to learn Spanish? Really? But it’d be totally useless to you here,” she said incredulously. Amity smiled and shrugged, feeling the warmth in her cheeks grow.

“It’s not useless if we can speak it to each other right? Besides I… I like the way it sounds and it seems like it’s important to you and… I want to learn more about where you come from.” She glanced away bashfully, feeling a little silly for asking. But she genuinely did want to learn, so she looked back at Luz, only to find her beaming.

“ Awe , Amity, that’s so sweet! I’d love to teach you! And hey, since no one else knows it, it could be like our own little secret language. We could talk about whatever we wanted and no one would know!” She gushed. Amity giggled at her enthusiasm. Lovable dork!

“Don’t get carried away,” she said, though she had to admit, having a secret little thing they shared sounded really nice. It was getting late but Luz spent a few moments teaching Amity some basic phrases. How to say hello, goodbye, sorry and, her personal favourite, what ‘hermosa’ meant. That had spread a flush across Amity’s cheeks and had earned Luz a kiss.

They agreed to call it a night shortly after that, the following day being a school day. When they reached their rooms, the two girls stood awkwardly between their doors, not quite looking at each other. Luz was rocking back and forth on her heels while Amity rubbed uncomfortably at her arm. It was clear what they both wanted but neither of them made a move. How was it still so weird when they’d been doing this all day? 

Somehow it felt different when they were standing in the darkened hall outside of the rooms they slept in. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Luz puffed out her cheeks and frowned determinedly before darting in to press a quick kiss to Amity’s lips.

“Night, Ams,” she said, smiling up at her affectionately. Flushed and smiling, Amity scrunched up her face in thought, trying to remember what she’d just learned.

“Uh, b-buenas noches, Luz?” She said, somehow managing to phrase it like a question. The words felt strange on her tongue but it had sounded right. Right? She hoped desperately that she hadn’t totally butchered the pronunciation. Luz squealed happily though, throwing her arms around Amity.

“That was perfect!”

Ok so it was a little embarrassing, but it had made Luz so happy that Amity decided she didn’t care how silly she had sounded. They parted then, giving each other lingering, sappy looks as they slipped into their respective rooms. Safely behind her closed door, Amity leaned back against it to bury her face in her hands, a long, giddy squeal escaping her throat. By the Titan, this had been the longest, best day of her life. 

Grinning like a total, lovestruck fool, she glanced around her room before her eyes landed on the pile of bags they’d left in there earlier and her smile fell. She groaned at the sight, having totally forgotten about them. It was far too late to think about unpacking her things now. That was tomorrow’s problem. 

She dug through them until she found something to sleep in and then promptly ignored them for the night. She’d much rather go to sleep and get to the wonderful, Luz-filled dreams she knew were in her immediate future.

***

True to her word, Eda was already out of the house when they woke the next day so, after a quick breakfast and a goodbye kiss for King courtesy of Luz, they left for school earlier than usual. It wasn't a long walk per say, but it was definitely going to take longer than a staff flight would have. They may also have been walking a little slower than was strictly necessary, enjoying the early morning air in the quiet of the forest as they strolled hand-in-hand down the path. When they finally arrived, they found Willow and Gus hanging out together near his locker, chatting amicably. 

Ignoring the not-so-subtle looks people were giving them, Luz dragged Amity to their friends before scooping Willow up into a great big hug. Amity surprised them all by clutching Willow just as tightly as Luz was, the two of them crushing the poor girl between them. Their bright laughter filled the hallway as they all tried to talk at once, Willow gasping out congratulations while Amity and Luz thanked her profusely. Glancing over to the other, very bewildered, member of their group, Willow giggled and shrugged helplessly at Gus, who was staring at them all in open-mouthed shock.

“Best wing-witch ever!” Luz cried gleefully when she and Amity eventually released Willow. Gus tilted his head, frowning at the three of them in confusion. Amity felt a little bad. They had kind of been leaving him out of the loop.

“I’m even more confused than I was yesterday,” he deadpanned. Turning to Willow, he gave her an annoyed look. “Am I allowed to ask what’s going on this time?” 

Sparing Willow the need to explain, Luz tossed an arm around Amity’s shoulder and dragged her closer. 

“Thanks to Willow, Amity is my girlfriend now!” she declared with a proud puff of her chest. Gus’s mouth fell open again as he looked between them with wide eyes, sputtering incoherently. Amity grinned sheepishly, giving him a little wave from under Luz’s arm.

“You two are dating ?” he exclaimed, loud enough for several other students to look up. The whispers started almost immediately and Amity rolled her eyes, in spite of the flare of nerves in her belly. It was a good thing that they’d already decided to be open about it because she was pretty sure the news would be all over the school by the end of first-period.

Totally oblivious to the whispering students around them, or perhaps simply not caring, Luz grinned and let out a happy, “yup!” Gus stared at them wide-eyed for a second before he tilted his head again, folding his arms.

“Huh…” he said simply. “Did not see that coming.”

Willow snorted beside him and gave him an incredulous look.

“Gus you’re more oblivious than Luz,” she said, laughing at Luz’s very offended expression.

“Hey!” she huffed, clearly trying very hard not to smile. Amity nudged her side with an elbow.

“She’s not wrong,” she chuckled. Luz stumbled back, clutching at her chest as if deeply wounded.

“Et tu, Amity? I can’t believe this! Betrayed by my friend and my girlfriend? How could you!” She gasped dramatically. Gus looked between the giggling girls in exasperation, his face dropping into a flat stare.

“I need more guy friends,” he deadpanned. Luz turned to him with a grin and pulled him under her arm, rubbing her knuckles into the top of his head.

“Don’t be like that, you goober. You know you love us. Come on, admit it!” 

Gus laughed, flailing his arms in protest. 

“Alright, alright! Fine!” he scrambled away from her, grinning. “It’s gonna be weird seeing you two being all lovey dovey though.” 

Amity shrugged and slipped her arm around Luz’s shoulders, who squealed happily at the open display of affection. She was only trembling a little.

“You’re gonna have to get used to it,” she said with a smirk and, feeling bold, she pressed a quick kiss to her blushing girlfriend’s cheek. Gus let out an “eep”, rushing to cover his eyes with an arm.

“My innocence!” he yelped, making the girls laugh. 

The group was forced to part ways until lunch when the bell screamed loudly through the hallways, signalling the start of classes. Walking down the hallways with her hand fit snugly in Luz’s was another delightfully new experience for Amity. 

People were still staring and whispering but it seemed different than the day before. To her surprise, she even spotted a few students smiling at them encouragingly, which made her flush. There didn’t seem to be any ill intent or snide remarks, just students interested in the latest romantic gossip, so she allowed herself to relax. The fact that it seemed to be just the typical Hexside rumor mill actually put her a little more at ease.

The rest of the day went surprisingly smoothly. There were no confrontations in the cafeteria, no awkward pep talks or weepy encounters in classrooms. They briefly caught sight of the twins between classes but Ed and Em didn’t approach them, choosing instead to yell very obvious, very embarrassing congratulations from across the hall when they saw her holding hands with Luz. Luz flashing them both a huge grin and a thumbs-up did not help. The twins’ matching wolfish grins promised tons of teasing in her future.

All in all, it was a good day. One where she got to be a regular teenager, enjoying new lessons and taking terribly inefficient notes thanks to her adorably distracting girlfriend.

She particularly enjoyed the healing class they had at the end of the day, even if they hadn’t learned a spell for it yet. She found herself drawn in by the subject somehow. The professor promised they would be learning a basic healing spell the following week and Amity was excited to try it. In the meantime they’d been given the theory on the spell so that they could study its casting method and effects for homework.

“Knowing you, I’m pretty sure it’ll come in handy,” Amity said, as she and Luz left the class. Luz leaned in close to flutter her eyes at her playfully.

“Awe, you wanna take care of your boo-boo buddy?”

Amity rolled her eyes at her and reached up to flick one of her rounded ears.

“More like patch you up the next time you do something reckless.” 

They’d promised Willow and Gus they would spend the afternoon together, so it was fairly late when the young couple finally walked into the Owl House, the sun having already set. It was strangely quiet in the normally chaotic house. There was no arguing, no witty banter, no bubbling cauldrons or squealing demons. Just eerie silence. 

A faint rustling sound caught their attention and the girls followed it into the kitchen, where they discovered King rooting around the cupboards in search of food.

“King, has Eda come home yet?” Luz asked hesitantly. King popped his head out of the cupboard to glare up at her in clear annoyance.

“No and the King of Demons is hungry! I demand sustenance!” he snapped, scrambling up Luz’s leg to hang off her shoulder. “Make me dinner before I eat one of you instead!” 

Luz pulled him down into her arms and held him close.

“That’s weird. She said she’d be back by now…” She glanced over at Amity before putting on a forced smile. “I guess I can make us some dinner instead. I’m sure she’s just late.”

They ate in silence that night and Amity missed the boisterous energy immediately. The tension reminded her too much of home. She may not yet fully trust Eda, but the Owl Lady was doing a lot for her. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.

When they were done, they tried to do a little homework but it was clear they were both too distracted. Even King seemed upset. He’d curled himself up beside Luz and was watching the door with anxious eyes. Eda could very well just be held up somewhere. She could have decided to stay on her trip another night because she’d found some good ingredients. She could have been about to walk through the door at any second. But something felt off and it gnawed at Amity’s gut. She could tell Luz felt the same.

Eda still hadn’t returned when they eventually decided to go to bed. They’d stayed up late into the night waiting for her but there was still one more school day left in the week so they needed to get some sleep. Their goodnight kiss felt forced and when Luz drew back, the apprehension was obvious in her eyes. Before she could slip into her room, Amity grabbed hold of her to pull her into a tight hug.

“I’m sure she’s ok,” she murmured into Luz’s shoulder. She’d wanted to sound comforting but the slight quiver in her voice made Luz clutch onto her tightly.

“Yeah… Eda is tough. She’s probably fine,” she replied quietly. Neither of them quite believed her.

Chapter Text

Eda still hadn’t returned when they woke the following morning. As if by some unspoken agreement, Amity met Luz in the hallway the moment the sun rose so they could search the house, but they found no sign of her. Her absence lay heavily over them, suffocating the usually boisterous mood once again. 

Eda brought wild, chaotic energy to the house that was somehow comforting. Maybe it was because she sort of reminded Amity of the twins. Whatever it was, she missed it desperately and that realization startled her a little. It was strange how quickly she was becoming attached to the Owl House and its ragtag occupants.

Amity sat at the dining table with Luz and King, staring worriedly at the conspicuously empty seat across from her. Picking idly at the breakfast on her plate that Luz had so kindly made for them, Amity wondered how much worse they must be feeling than her. Her relationship with Eda was still fresh and she couldn’t claim to know or trust her nearly as well as they did. Luz’s mood, in particular, worried Amity. She’d learned that Luz had a tendency to cover negative emotions with a smile and the one she wore now was telling.

She was attempting to appear chipper but Amity knew better. She’d barely touched her food. Wasn’t speaking. Wasn’t even fidgeting in her chair with that constant need to move that Amity had grown so fond of. No, instead her leg was bouncing rapidly under the table, the rest of her body held stiff and taught. The nervous tilt to her smile and the dark circles under her eyes were a clear indication that she had slept about as much as Amity had. That she was worried. That she was not ok.

Had she spent the night carefully listening for signs of Eda’s return home too? Luz turned to look at Amity, her smile slipping briefly before it was forced back into place and attacked her breakfast with enthusiasm that she obviously didn’t feel. 

King was picking at his food in much the same way Amity had been doing earlier. Despite his constant claims to the contrary, Amity knew he was a big softy who wore his heart on his nonexistent sleeve. Afterall, he’d barely known her the night she’d arrived at the Owl House but he had made every effort to comfort her anyway. Looking at him now, the tiny demon seemed downright lost.

Amity hated seeing them like this.

Desperate to comfort them, she reached for Luz’s hand to carefully pluck the fork she was currently staring at from it, setting it down so that she could lace their fingers together.

“Hey, it’s gonna be ok. This isn’t the first time Eda’s been gone for a few days, right?” 

She was fairly sure she’d heard Luz mention spending the night alone at the Owl House on more than one occasion. That had to mean something. Maybe it was all fine and they really were just being dramatic. Eda would walk through the door and they would all laugh at how silly they’d been. Luz’s smile became a little more genuine when she gave Amity’s hand a light squeeze. The gesture eased some of the squirming feeling in Amity’s gut.

“Well, she did kinda disappear for three days a while ago,” Luz admitted. “I guess it’s not totally out of character for her.” 

King perked up from his spot beside Luz, his head snapping up so he could nod along as she spoke.

“That’s true,” he agreed. “Eda does whatever she wants. She probably just got distracted by something shiny. That witch has the shortest attention span I’ve ever seen and I’ve met Luz.” 

That drew a real laugh from said girl and she nudged King playfully.

“Hey! Way to call me out there, buddy! I guess you have a point though. Eda can be pretty easily distracted.” Luz shrugged, a small grin spreading across her lips. Some of the tension left her shoulders and Amity felt relief well up inside her. Maybe they were all just overreacting after all.

“Ok, so we all agree we’re worrying over nothing right?” Her question was met with hesitation that didn’t exactly inspire confidence but, eventually, Luz looked up at her and nodded, a determined sort of expression settling on her brow. 

“You’re right, we’re being silly,” she said. “Eda is the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. She knows how to take care of herself. She’ll be home tonight for sure.”

The confidence in her voice seemed to settle them all down a little. At least enough to finish breakfast and get ready for the day. Without Eda to take him to the market, King left to take one of his morning naps while Luz and Amity headed to school. Amity was glad to see he had a little more pep in him as he scampered off to the sofa.

As they made their way through the forest towards Hexide, Amity could clearly see the hesitance in Luz’s normally easy stride. She’d left space between them, likely in the hope that Amity wouldn’t notice, but her usual bouncy steps were closer to plodding and she held herself much more stiffly. Regardless of what she’d claimed earlier, Luz was still obviously worried about Eda.

It pained her to know that Luz still felt the need to hide her negative feelings to spare the people around her but she could hardly fault her for it. Sure, she had opened up to Amity when they’d cleared out her room, but years of habit couldn’t be undone in just a few days. 

Her own difficulty in expressing herself gave Amity a unique perspective on the matter. She knew trying to force Luz to open up would only make her lean harder into the smiles and false bravado, so Amity decided she would need to try a less direct approach. Swallowing past the nervous hesitation, she slid in a little closer to Luz as they walked, slipped her arm around Luz’s and clasped their hands together. 

Physical affection was still new to her. It was difficult to initiate, even now when they’d spent so much time cuddling and kissing. Especially when she wasn’t riding the high of their mutual confessions anymore. It had been so easy when she’d been deliriously giddy and not stressed out for once in her life. Now, with a clear mind and access to physical affection whenever she wanted, she found herself both fearing and craving even the smallest touch. 

If she could, she’d spend all day with her hand nestled in Luz’s, or with her girlfriend’s arm slugged warmly over her shoulder. She didn’t want to come off as clingy and weak though, or risk scaring Luz off with her incessant neediness… She frowned internally at the stupid thought that had sounded suspiciously like her mother. Titan, her parents had really done a number on her.

It was getting easier to be sure, but there was still that lingering fear of rejection and reproach that she needed to get past. She knew Luz liked her. Knew she felt the same way Amity did. She’d made that very clear and Titan only knew how touchy Luz could get. The girl wouldn’t just understand Amity’s desire for closeness, she’d revel in it. But just like Luz still felt the need to hide behind her smile, Amity still found it hard to believe that it wasn’t a weakness to want a hug or to have her hand held. Everytime Luz accepted her though, it became a little easier to be vulnerable with her and Amity hoped Luz felt that way too.

Luz stiffened beside her for a second, glancing down to where Amity had intertwined their fingers before looking back up at her. Amity kept her eyes set forward and simply walked as if nothing was out of the ordinary. If Luz wanted to pretend that she was fine to make them both feel better, then that’s what they would do. 

For now. 

Amity trusted that Luz would open up when she was ready. In the meantime, she would do what she could to reassure Luz without words, no matter how scary it might be.

She saw the small, grateful smile Luz shot her from the corner of her eye and relaxed instantly, leaning into her just a little as they walked. Of course Luz wouldn’t pull away. She never did. 

Courage bolstered, Amity spent the rest of the day doing much of the same. Any time she caught sight of Luz’s smile faltering or her shoulders stiffening, Amity would talk to her without saying anything at all. 

A squeeze of her hand that said she wasn’t alone. 

A light touch to her elbow to say it was going to be ok. 

A lingering kiss on the cheek or pat on her bouncing knee that reminded her to calm down.

With a valiant effort to ignore how much it made her blush, Amity made sure to shower Luz with all the affection she needed to make her feel better. It helped that it didn’t take long for Luz to realise Amity needed it just as much and to reciprocate with her own gentle touches.

It was drawing attention of course. Their relationship was no secret after Gus’ loud proclamation in the hallway the day before and they certainly hadn’t tried to hide it, but this was a lot more physical displays of affection than anyone had ever seen or expected from Amity of all witches. Luz was well known for her touchy-feely nature but Amity had always been so reserved and private before. 

People stared. They whispered. 

Even Gus and Willow seemed surprised by her behaviour, though neither called her out on it until Willow pulled Amity aside at lunch to privately question her. Once Amity had gotten through a brief retelling of the last two days, Willow seemed worried too, though more for Luz than Eda. She’d offered help if they needed it, but that decision would ultimately be Luz’s. Now knowing the full story, Willow and Gus played their parts too by distracting their human friend with playful, friendly banter throughout the day, for which Amity was very grateful.

As classes progressed Amity half expected people to make fun of them. Yet somehow, no one made a comment or joke at their expense all day. In fact, by the end it seemed as if people actively avoided looking at them, their curious stares turning to hurried glances away instead. 

It was almost as if they were afraid to be caught looking, which struck them both as weird. Neither of them had an explanation for it though, so they chose to ignore it for now and simply do as they pleased. If no one was going to bother them, then Amity was perfectly happy to comfort her girlfriend and be comforted in kind.

When the final scream of the bell tore through the halls of Hexside, the girls made excuses with their friends, said their goodbyes and cut a hasty retreat back home, eager to see if Eda had finally returned. Luz burst through the front door, ignoring Hooty’s whines to be gentle and hurried into the living room, Amity right on her heels. 

King, who was wringing his paws together on the sofa, jolted upright at their sudden entrance, deflating instantly the moment he saw them. He sank down and the heavy look on his face made the pit in Amity’s stomach twist uncomfortably. That face didn’t look like good news.

“She’s still not back?” Luz moved over to the sofa to scoop King into her arms and the little demon clutched needily at her neck.

“No.”

The silence that followed was immediately oppressive. Amity swallowed thickly and moved closer so she could rest a hand on Luz’s shoulder, giving King a comforting pat on the back.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said, in what she hoped was a soothing tone. “She could still come back later tonight. It’s early. How about we work on some homework. If Eda’s not back by dinner, then we start to worry, ok?” 

Luz let out a breath and nodded. It was all they could do for now.

They spread their work out over the coffee table in front of the sofa and did their best to focus on getting some studying done but it proved futile. King’s nervous pacing near the door was a huge distraction and Luz had practically glued herself to Amity’s side, which was distracting for an entirely different reason. 

Not even a group call on the Crystal Ball with Willow and Gus had been enough to get their minds off of Eda’s apparent disappearance. Luz’s leg bounced throughout their discussions on plant and illusion magic with their friends, the movement jiggling against Amity’s own leg since they were sitting so close.

When dinner time eventually rolled around and Eda still hadn’t come home, the three of them gathered in the kitchen. No one spoke for a moment, instead sharing uncomfortable looks from across the table. When the silence drew out for a little too long, Luz grunted and sat up straight, her shoulders squaring seriously. It was time to talk.

“Ok, we’re officially worrying now, right?” She met Amity’s eyes and Amity couldn’t help but grimace. King’s anxious little whine only made her feel worse.

“Eda may sometimes disappear for days but she always tells us when she’s gonna do that. I don’t like this…” he murmured, scratching nervously at the table, his sharp little claws leaving dents in the scuffed wood.

The sound was grating at Amity’s already fragile nerves, so she reached over and plucked him from his seat, ignoring his little yelp of protest as she set him in her lap. Luz gave them both a fond look and settled her arm around Amity’s shoulders. They all needed a little comfort, it seemed.

“King’s right, Eda is pretty wild but she keeps her word. To us anyway…” She said with a wry smile before a frown settled across her brow again. “She’s been gone for two full days now, something must have happened.” 

There was no denying it at this point. Amity knew Eda wouldn’t simply abandon them for days on end without warning. Everything she’d learned about the witch during her stay and through stories from Luz painted Eda as a caring, if slightly criminal, mother figure. Wild, sure. A reckless con artist at times. Even bordering on occasionally childish and irresponsible. But she was not neglectful. Something was wrong. 

With a steadying breath, Amity eyed her girlfriend seriously.

“Ok, what’s the plan?”

Luz blinked at her before frowning and looking down at the table in thought. The arm around Amity’s shoulders tightened slightly. Almost defensively. Oh, she wouldn’t...

“There’s no school tomorrow so I’m gonna go to The Knee and find her.”

Oh, she would apparently. Did the girl seriously think Amity would miss her very specific phrasing? Amity leveled Luz with a very annoyed glare.

“Not without me you’re not,” she said, backing away so that she could look fully into Luz’s eyes. 

The arm that had been hugging her so tightly, slackened and fell to Luz’s side. They stared hard at one another, both waiting for the other to cave. Amity’s glare deepened just a touch. Luz may be stubborn but she’d never gone toe-to-toe with Blight will. This was a battle she absolutely would not win.

“I’m coming too!” King piped up, hopping from Amity’s lap onto the table and it was enough to break their staring contest. Luz glanced down at him before nodding and looking back to Amity.

“We have no idea what happened. It’s too risky. King and I do dangerous stuff like this with Eda all the time, it’ll be safer for you to stay here.”

Her determined frown and pleading eyes did very little to change Amity’s mind. If anything, it frustrated her more.

“If you think I’m letting you run off on your own to get yourself killed then you’re not as smart as I thought you were!”

Luz winced and her face twisted into a pained grimace. Amity hated that she’d been the cause of that expression but there was no way she could give in. Luz needed to understand how irrational she was being.

“Amity, please! Eda could have been captured by some weird monster or bounty hunters or… or the Emperor’s Coven!” Her breath quickened and she reached out to take Amity’s hands into her own, squeezing them nervously. “Heck, as far as we know, Eda only planned to be gone for a day. That means she probably didn’t take enough elixirs with her to last this long. She could be in her owl beast form right now and you’ve never seen her like that!” 

Amity’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought about that at all. It was entirely likely that Eda’s curse had gotten the better of her by now, regardless of whether she’d been captured or not. She was supposed to take an elixir every day and if she had only brought enough for the one she was meant to be gone then…

“This is way too dangerous! You’ve been through enough already, I don’t want you to get hurt!” Luz cried.

Amity blinked and frowned again. Eda potentially being in her cursed form meant it was even more imperative that they worked together. How could Luz not see that?

“You think I want you to get hurt?” she asked incredulously, gripping Luz’s hands tightly in her own. “Like you said, we have no idea what happened. If she was captured, how do you plan on saving her alone? Do you honestly believe you’d be safer without me? We’re supposed to be a team, Luz!”

Luz flinched and looked away. The vulnerable look in her eyes made Amity’s chest clench painfully. 

“I just… Eda’s already missing and probably in trouble. I don’t wanna risk something happening to you too.”

Amity sighed heavily and tugged Luz into her arms. Luz gripped tightly at her shirt, burying her head into Amity’s shoulder as she slid her fingers into Luz’s hair. She was trembling. Terrified. Amity leaned her own head down against Luz’s and pulled her closer. 

“Well I’m not risking something happening to you either. I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not,” she whispered into her ear, all the frustration flooding out of her.

She knew Luz was only trying to protect her, as misguided as it was. How could she be mad at her when Amity would gladly tie Luz to a chair somewhere in the house if she thought it would stop her from running head first into danger. But they had no choice in the matter. Eda needed them. 

“Besides, I want to help Eda just as much as you do. She’s done a lot for me.”

Luz let out a shuddery breath against her neck before sitting up out of her arms. Their eyes met and she visibly deflated.

“Ok... fine,” Luz said at last. A deep frown settled on her features and she pointed dramatically at Amity. “But we can’t tell Willow and Gus! I don’t wanna put them in danger too. And we have to be careful!” 

The snort of laughter that escaped Amity was loud and very sudden, surprising them both. The tension between them vanished and Luz grinned at her.

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that? Since when are you ever careful?”

Amity smirked at her girlfriend, who shrugged helplessly. Luz could hardly argue the point. It was already out of character for her not to want help on a mission. She lived for wild adventures with her friends. Her being the cautious one was practically unheard of. An annoyed huff drew their attention to King, who was glaring at them from the table.

“If you two are done being saps, can we get a move on? Eda’s not gonna save herself!” He folded his short arms imperiously at them and Luz’s grin widened as she nodded determinedly.

“You’re right, King. We should pack some supplies and leave first thing in the morning. It’s too late to go out there now.” She glanced up at the ceiling, tapping her chin with a finger, a thoughtful pout on her lips. “Eda said she was going to The Knee so we’ll need to leave early. It's a long hike without Owlbert to fly us there.”

The prospect of having to hike all the way to and then up The Knee was daunting to say the least. Amity had made the trip several times in her young life and knew from experience that it wasn't an easy walk.

Knowing they’d need to be well rested and energetic for such a strenuous hike, Luz and Amity set about the task of preparing themselves. Luz bustled around the house with King, the two of them gathering what they could for the long trip. Warm clothes, a tent in case they’d need to stay overnight, various tools and knickknacks Luz thought might be useful and, most importantly, as many elixirs as they could find. 

While the two of them packed, Amity set about making them a hearty dinner and preparing what food she could for the trip. She was far from an expert chef, but she and the twins had spent enough nights alone at the manor to know how to take care of themselves and she’d made sure to watch Luz on the occasions that she’d cooked for them over the last few days.

She relished the chance to use her meager culinary skills to be helpful in some way. She could hardly help them pack when she had no idea where Eda kept everything; this was the least she could do.

When they eventually sat down to eat and come up with a more solid plan than ‘find Eda’, Luz gushed over the meal, much to Amity’s embarrassed delight. She knew Luz was over exaggerating to make her feel better and to lighten the uneasy mood, but it hardly mattered. Amity basked in the praise anyway. If it helped them briefly forget the dire situation, then it was all for the better.

They all retired to bed shortly after dinner, knowing they would have to rise before the sun did if they wanted to make good time getting to The Knee. When they reached their bedroom doors, Luz stopped Amity with a gentle tug of her hand. She was staring nervously at her feet, teeth working at her lower lip as she scuffed the wood floor with the toe of her sneaker. When she finally looked up, there was remorse in her eyes that caught Amity off-guard.

“I’m sorry.”

Amity tilted her head curiously, thoroughly confused.

“For what?”

“For trying to make you stay behind. You were right; we’re a team.” She swallowed thickly and reached out to wrap a stunned Amity tightly into her arms. “I hate arguing with you. It sucks. I know you’re super powerful and strong and you can handle yourself, I just…”

Before she could build up any more steam, Amity cut her off with a gentle kiss. It was all she could think to do. Luz blinked at her owlishly when Amity pulled back. 

It was incredibly sweet that Luz felt the need to apologize after such a small argument. Neither of them liked confrontation but it had been a necessary one. Amity understood her fully, after all. She couldn’t bear the thought of something bad happening to Luz, but that was why they had to work together. Protect each other.

She was just glad that she’d managed to convince Luz before the girl ran off without her. She was also very glad their first fight had been a small one and that they had gotten past it without any hard feelings.

“Luz, it’s ok. I know you meant well, but you can’t protect me from everything. It's not exactly easy for me to think about you getting hurt either. I care about you too, dummy. We’ll just have to watch out for each other. Deal?”

She reached up to thread her fingers gently through Luz’s hair, smiling when she leaned into the touch. 

“Deal,” Luz said, moving in to press a kiss of her own to Amity’s lips. 

Her grip on Luz’s hair tightened a little as she leaned in closer. Something about the way Luz was holding her filled Amity with courage. They would be ok. They had each other’s backs. 

They could do this. Together.

***

The following morning was a mad rush of activity. Hooty woke Luz before sunrise and her frantic, terrified yelling for him to get out of her room was more than enough to startle both Amity and King awake. 

Before Amity’s half-awake mind could register what was happening, they were out the door and trekking to The Knee, heavy backpacks and supplies in tow. Luz had stowed King in the hood of her cat-eared sweater, the little demon having promptly fallen asleep the moment they’d left the house.

The journey took all morning and part of the early afternoon. They arrived at the foot of the mountain an hour or two after noon, at which point King’s incessant grouching for food forced them to stop and rest. 

Both girls were honestly glad for the break; it had been a long walk. It was also a perfect time to don their winter wear as the chill of the snowy mountain was starting to send shivers down their spines as they approached its base. 

“Ok buddy, do you know where Eda usually goes for supplies?” Luz asked as they sat to eat a quick lunch. She and Amity were huddled together on a fallen log just off the marked path, cuddled close for warmth as much as comfort. King sat at their feet, tilting his boney head up to look at them. He scratched at his chin with one little claw, his eyes scrunching up in thought.

“I’m not sure. It’s been a while since I went on one of these trips and I don’t know what ingredients she wanted.” 

Amity frowned. The Knee was huge and heavily wooded. They needed some where to start or they could be there for days looking for Eda. 

“It’s not going to be easy to find her if we’re just wandering around aimlessly up there. Maybe we should split up and look around?” She asked, glancing at Luz, who turned to her sharply, eyes wide. 

“No way! I’ve seen enough horror movies to know splitting up in the woods is never a good idea!” She said emphatically. “Things always go wrong when you split the party. We came here together and we’re sticking together!” 

Her reaction had been so strong and immediate that Amity found herself unable to argue.

“Ok, we’ll stick together,” she agreed. “But we need something to go on at least.” 

Relieved, Luz leaned against Amity as they all thought. There had to be somewhere they could start looking. Luz’s eyes lit up suddenly and she sat up to look between her companions.

“What about those ruins where you and the twins were practicing the fire spell? Maybe we can start there and use that as a base or something?”

“You mean the Witch Arena? That’s a really good idea, Luz! It’s pretty easy to find and there’s plenty of foliage around it. Eda might have gone there looking for ingredients,” Amity said, grinning at Luz’s triumphant expression. She opened her mouth to speak again but King snapped his claws at them, drawing their attention. 

“Hey! Less talky, more walky. We’re burning daylight here!” he huffed. Amity was inclined to agree. The climb wouldn’t take too much longer but she’d prefer not to do it in the dark.

After a quick cleanup they continued along the path that angled up along the side of the mountain. They followed the winding safety rails as they climbed higher, careful to avoid slipping on the icy ground while keeping an eye out for any and all signs of the Slitherbeast. It had been a while since their last visit but neither of them wanted to find out if the hulking white monster remembered them.

Amity’s breath puffed visibly in front of her as they stopped at the top of the trail. Without the constant crunch of her winter boots in the snow to cover it, her ragged breathing sounded deafening in the still woods. They’d finally reached the top and it was the first time they’d stopped since their lunch break some two hours ago. She was exhausted. 

Luz, who stood beside her, didn’t look like she was faring much better. She was breathing just as heavily as Amity was, bent over slightly and clutching one hand tightly to the shivering lump at her chest that was King. 

He had crawled into Luz’s furry coat a little while ago and was snuggled in there to hide from the cold, despite having his own little scarf, jacket and mittens, along with a pair of earmuffs that Amity questioned the use for. King had no ears to speak of. Were they keeping his horns warm somehow? Shaking the random thought from her head, she took a deep, refreshing gulp of frigid air that burned into her lungs and squeezed the hand held in her own.

“The arena’s not far from here. We should keep moving before it starts getting dark,” she huffed out, slowly catching her breath. Luz groaned tiredly but nodded, following Amity as she gently tugged her forward. They plodded further down the path until the first of the broken stone pillars came into view. 

The sight was enough to give them both a little burst of energy and they hurried forward, rushing into the Witch’s Arena in hopes of finding any signs of Eda. Luz skidded to a sudden, stumbling halt at a stone archway that led into the central area, leaving Amity to scramble not to bump directly into her. She had come dangerously close to toppling both herself and Luz into the snow. King poked his head out of her jacket at the jerky stop and glared up at Luz.

“Watch it, will ya? If you fall on me I will be forced to smite you and it’s too cold for smiting!”

Luz gave him a distracted pat on the head, her eyes trained ahead of her.

“Sorry, King. But look!”

She pointed her free hand into the arena, the other still wrapped securely in Amity’s. Following the gesture, Amity’s eyes fell on what appeared to be an empty campsite. Someone had set up a horned, patchwork tent against one of the crumbling walls of the ancient structure, a firepit set just in front of it.

They approached cautiously, eyes darting about for any signs of life. Snow had gathered on top of the tent and around its base, as well as over the long dead coals of the fire. The camp looked completely abandoned.

“That’s Eda’s tent. We used it last time we came here,” Luz muttered, eyeing the tent in confusion. “I guess she must have decided to stay for at least one night.” 

Amity met Luz’s eye and an unspoken conversation passed between them. Without a word the girls split up, Luz taking King to check the tent while Amity moved closer to the firepit, drawing a spell circle in the air to reignite the coals with her pink flames. The magical fire sprang to life instantly, easily melting the snow that had gathered there and crackling merrily, flooding the immediate area with warmth.

The fact that Eda had clearly decided to stay at least one night wasn’t surprising. They’d guessed it was a possibility earlier. She could have any number of reasons for wanting to spend the night on the mountain, but she wouldn’t have stayed any longer than that. Not without sending word somehow and especially not if she didn’t have the elixirs she needed. The firepit being stone cold and the lack of footprints in the snow when they’d arrived didn’t bode well either. 

Amity stood warming her hands over the fire, eyes scanning the area for trouble when she heard Luz emerge from the tent behind her, the flaps covering the entrance fluttering as she brushed them aside. She and King stepped up beside Amity and Luz held her hands out near the pink flames too, a deep frown settling on her brow.

“It looks like all of her stuff is still in there,” she muttered. “It’s like she went out looking for ingredients or something and just… didn’t come back.” 

That was partially good news at least. If all of her supplies remained untouched, she probably hadn’t been captured by bounty hunters or the Emperor's Coven, both of whom would have raided the camp for sure. It still left the possibility of a monster attack, though there didn’t appear to be any signs of one. King trotted up to Amity and held up a little round bottle that she took to inspect. The label identified it as one of Eda’s elixirs, entirely empty and cork reinserted.

“We found this inside too. There weren’t any more though,” he said, eyeing the bottle with trepidation. Just the one bottle, which meant she hadn’t intended to stay the second night. Amity shuddered at the implication, glancing up at Luz and biting her lip worriedly. Luz huffed out a breath and turned to look into the woods.

“She’s gotta be somewhere nearby,” she said. The scared but hopeful lilt in her voice made Amity immediately reach for Luz’s hand again, which she squeezed gratefully. “We only have a few hours of daylight left so if we’re gonna look for her, we should go now.”

And so they looked.

True to her word, Luz refused to let them split up, which Amity was honestly thankful for. The heavily wooded mountain could be a little scary at the best of times, but the fact that they were looking for someone who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances made it feel downright creepy.

Much like Luz, Amity was a fiction lover. She’d read plenty of books and heard many stories about adventurers lost in the woods. Things tended to go south fast. She was glad for Luz’s hand never leaving hers.

King was darting around them as they walked, ignoring Luz’s loud calls for Eda in favour of sniffing at every rock and tree he could find. He scurried around and under bushes, hunting for any sign of Eda that his heightened demon senses might find.

The sun had just started to dip in the sky when the girls heard King call out to them from a little ways ahead. They hurried to catch up to him, finding him resting his paws against a tree with several large, jagged claw marks gouged out of its trunk.

“Well… that’s not ominous at all,” Luz murmured, her voice wavering nervously. She glanced anxiously at Amity who shifted a little closer.

“Don’t freak out. This could have been made by anything.” 

She hesitated and frowned up at the deep scratches with concern. It was the first unusual thing they’d seen on their search. Slitherbeasts didn’t mark their territory this way and there were no other creatures on The Knee large enough to leave a marking like this. 

“Maybe we should look around here a little more. If Eda was here when this happened there'd be more evidence, right?” she added.

King puffed up his furry chest and gave a sharp salute. “I’m on it!”

He darted off into the underbrush, rooting around while the girls looked for signs of Eda having been nearby. Amity quietly hoped they didn’t find anything. She didn’t like the idea of what it might mean if Eda had been there when those marks had been made. 

She and Luz froze at King’s sudden little “weh” from somewhere in a bush nearby. They turned to see him struggling out of the branches, dragging something behind him. With a sharp tug, he tumbled out into the open with a sack full of ingredients clutched in his claws. Attached to the sack was a very familiar staff.

“That’s Eda’s!” Luz cried, darting to snatch the staff into her hands. She turned it over to peer at the tip and let out a little gasp of dismay. “Owlbert’s not here! Eda would never leave Owlbert behind!” 

She looked up at Amity desperately, fear etched across her face before turning panicked eyes to the trees. She called out frantically for the little owl palisman, her voice echoing through the woods as she dashed back and forth. Startled by her sudden panic, Amity ran to catch Luz, reaching out to wrap her arms around the trembling girl. She held her tightly to her chest, pressing her forehead to Luz’s to force her to look at Amity.

“Luz! You need to calm down. We’re gonna find them, ok? It’s going to be ok, but if you keep yelling like that we might attract whatever did that to the tree.” 

She clamped down on her own fear as hard as she could, hoping Luz couldn’t feel the way her heart was pounding. They needed to be more careful. Luz swallowed and clenched her eyes shut, visibly trying to calm herself down.

They both froze suddenly when a fluttering noise and quivering little hoot drifted down from somewhere above them. Eyes snapping open, Luz turned sharply to look up into the tangled foliage of a tall tree behind them. There, hiding within the leaves and snow gathered on the branches, was a shivering Owlbert, drawn out by Luz’s calls. Luz let out a keening sound from somewhere in her throat, her grip on Amity tightening with relief.

“Oh, gracias a Dios … Owlbert, c’mere buddy!” 

The tiny brown palisman peered down at them wearily before his eyes lit up with recognition. With a happy little hoot, he fluttered down and landed on Luz’s outstretched arm, hopping along it to nuzzle up against her cheek. He was shivering against her as Luz reached up to gently tuck him closer to her neck, giving his head a tender little scratch.

Amity watched them interact with fascination. She’d never seen anyone cuddling another witch’s palisman like that, but this was Luz afterall. The girl was known for doing the unheard of. 

Owlbert looked up at Amity and watched her carefully, his eyes narrowing. She gave him a weak little smile from where she was still wrapped up in Luz’s other arm and the Owl tilted his head, hooting curiously. He hadn’t awoken from Eda’s staff since Amity had moved in so she could hardly blame him for being unfamiliar with her. These weren’t exactly the ideal circumstances for a first meeting either.

“Don’t worry, Owlbert,” Luz said when she spotted his wary look. “Amity is a friend.” Luz looked down at her and grinned at the annoyed look Amity was giving her. “Ok, so maybe more than a friend ,” she added, yelping when Amity pinched her side.

“Har, har, very funny, Noceda,” she huffed sarcastically, happy at least that the relief of finding Owlbert had calmed Luz’s panic enough for her to be cracking jokes. Really stupid, not at all funny jokes. She turned her eyes back to Owlbert, who was still curled up at Luz’s neck. “If he was hanging around here, then Eda can’t be far. Palismen don’t usually stray from their witches.”

Luz gasped and scooped Owlbert into her hand, bringing him down so she could look at him. “Is that right, buddy? Is Eda somewhere nearby?”

He fluttered about on her hand, nodding his head rapidly. Luz laughed with relief and pulled him a little closer in her excitement. 

“That’s great! Do you know where she is? Why aren’t you with her? Is she ok?” Her rapid fire questions startled the little owl for a moment before he began hooting in earnest, gesturing wildly with his wings. Unfortunately, given that none of them were bonded to him, they had no idea what he was trying so desperately to say. “ Lo siento , little guy, I don’t understand. Can you slow down for a second? Maybe do some charades or something?”

Ruffling his feather in obvious frustration, Owlbert hopped off Luz’s hand and flew off into the gloom of the slowly darkening forest. Luz yelped after him but he fluttered back almost immediately, dropping a bundle of something dark into her hand before landing on her shoulder again. Amity eyed the pile of what appeared to be large grey feathers curiously. She glanced up to see Luz staring at the feathers with wide, fear-filled eyes.

“Luz…” King murmured from his spot at their legs. “Those look like…”

“I know, King.” She hesitated and looked up from the feathers to Amity.

“Maybe we should head back to the campsite. It’ll be dark soon. We can figure out what to do next from there,” Amity said, stepping back so she could lightly tug Luz forward. She followed without hesitation. 

The sun had almost fully set and stars had begun to surface in the dark veil of the night sky. They cut a hurried path directly back to the Witch’s Arena, the deepening shadows of the forest seemingly pressing in on them as they all but ran to the relative safety of the still burning campfire.

When they arrived, Amity turned curious eyes to Luz, who was idly fingering the feathers in her hand, eyeing them with trepidation. It didn’t take a genius to guess where they had come from. She reached out to lay her hand over them, drawing Luz’s attention.

“Luz, these are Eda’s feathers, aren’t they?”

Luz flinched and turned away, staring worriedly into the fire.

“I… I think so, yeah.” Fear pulsed through her veins and Amity stepped closer to Luz, King clutching at the fabric of her winter coat nervously. Luz wrapped an arm around Amity and held her tightly. “We could still be wrong,” she said hesitantly. “Maybe Owlbert was trying to tell us Eda was attacked by some big bird or a gryphon or-”

She was cut off by a high, unnatural screech that cut loudly through the silence of the forest, echoing eerily against the sides of the mountain. A terrified tremor ran up Amity’s spine, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

“What in seven hells was that? I’ve never heard anything on The Knee make that noise before…”

Luz and King shared a horrified look as Owlbert hooted mournfully from Luz’s shoulder.

“That… that was Eda.”

Chapter Text

A second, much louder screech sent them all scrambling for the meager safety of the tent. The soft hide walls wouldn’t do much to slow Eda down if she discovered them, but being in an enclosed space helped them all feel a little more secure. Amity stood to the side, arms hugged around her middle as she watched Luz pace around the tent, face grim.

“This is bad…” King said from where he was sitting, arms folded and head bowed so he could frown at the ground. “Eda’s probably been like that for a while now, which means she’s gone full-owl for sure.” 

“What does that mean exactly?” Amity asked slowly and Luz paused mid-step to look back at her before turning suspicious eyes on King.

“Well, last time she transformed it was only partially and I got through to her, so she turned herself back,” he said, tapping at his boney chin with a claw in thought. “I don’t think we can count on that working this time.”

Luz’s eyes narrowed into a concerned frown.

“King, what are you talking about? When did that happen?” Luz asked, her tone stern, but Amity caught the hitch in her breath. 

Apparently Eda had been transforming more than even Luz knew about and it was clear that scared her. It worried Amity too, but she was more concerned with how stressed out Luz was right then, so she moved closer, slipping her hand into Luz’s. Her fingers tightened around Amity’s, but she looked no less worried as she watched King.

“It may have been when you borrowed Owlbert that one time,” he said, poking his claws together guiltily, his eyes averted.

Luz and Owlbert shared a brief look that screamed there was a story there but now wasn’t the time to pry into that, so she leveled King with a serious look.

“Ok, we’re definitely talking about that later but we have more important things to deal with right now. What did you do to snap her out of it?” 

King scratched nervously at his scruffy neck.

“My rage squeal. It made her laugh and she sort of just...‘woke up’.” 

Amity opened her mouth to ask what exactly a ‘rage squeal’ was but she was cut off by another hair raising screech. It sounded further off, which was worrying in its own way. Eda may not be stalking them at least, but she was on the move. The thought of what might happen if she found her way off the mountain and into Bonesborough was terrifying. They needed to do something and soon.

“King’s method could be a backup plan, but we probably can’t guarantee that she’ll be able to snap herself out of it, right?” She looked to Luz and got a nod in response. “Right, so we need something a little more solid. How did you turn her back the first time this happened?”

“Eda’s demon form is light-sensitive so I used a really big light spell to stun her and then we force fed her an elixir.” 

Simple. Effective. Kind of ingenious. It was very Luz. Amity smiled at her and nodded.

“That sounds like a more reliable plan. Let’s do that.” 

Luz, however, looked less than enthused, her mouth twisted up skeptically.

“The problem is Owl-Eda is hard to pin down. She’s really fast and she’s got so much room to move around out here. How are we gonna keep her still long enough to stun her? I don’t think tossing a blanket over her head is gonna be enough this time.” 

Luz made a good point. They needed a way to keep her in one spot long enough to set off a big enough light glyph, but how? She had her abominations but Amity doubted they could keep up with Eda, especially somewhere so cold where their semi-liquid state would be compromised. Abominations didn’t do well in below freezing temperatures. It was the whole reason she’d tried to use her training wand instead of summoning one when they’d fought the slitherbeast before. 

They all fell silent, trying desperately to think of some way to contain a large demon with little to no resources. After a few moments, Amity felt Luz perk up and turned to look at her. Luz was watching her with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.

“Amity, I think I might have an idea. Do you remember what you did on the hill last time we were here?” Luz asked eagerly. 

Amity’s eyes widened with recognition almost instantly. That day had been ingrained in her memory for more than one reason. It was easy to recall the exact moment Luz was referring to.

“That… that could work. We’d need to time it just right, but it could work.” 

A lot could go wrong but if they could pull it off… 

Luz’s bright grin was enough to bolster Amity’s confidence. They’d faced worse than this. They had dealt with fear demons, slitherbeasts, monstrous fictional characters brought to life, a fiery mindscape version of Willow and, worst of all, Boscha. They could handle Eda. They could do this. 

She felt a whole lot less confident when, not long after, she found herself floating over the treetops on Owlbert. They’d ironed out the plan pretty quickly, deciding it was best to keep it simple. Overly complicated plans and Luz Noceda did not go well together. So after a brief argument over who would act as ‘bait’, which Amity had won, she left Luz in a clearing to prepare and took off on Owlbert in search of Eda. Staring down at the dark, foreboding forest below her, however, she had to wonder if ‘won’ was the right word. She didn’t feel like much of a winner. 

In fact she felt a lot more like a tasty hors d'oeuvre being served on a floating stick.

Trying hard to push that disturbing thought down, her mind wandered to Luz. Hopefully she was feeling less exposed where she was busy prepping her part of the plan. When they had separated, Amity had flown in the direction they’d last heard Eda’s screeching coming from so, in theory, Luz should be safe where she was. 

Amity on the other hand… 

Well she’d been the one to argue that it should be her up here so she could hardly complain. She wished Luz was with her though. They had both been a lot less uncomfortable with the idea of ‘splitting the party’ once they’d realised there were no nefarious witches or monsters involved, but that didn’t mean Amity was enjoying being alone up here.

“Pspspsps! Eda ! Here girl! Come get the shiny!” 

Ok so not totally alone. 

She rolled her eyes and glared down at King, who was sitting behind her on Owlbert, waving Luz’s glowing gem pen around in the air like it was some sort of beacon.

“King, what are you doing? She’s not a cat,” she snapped irritably. King just shrugged, ignoring her annoyance entirely.

“Hey, have you ever seen Eda’s owl form? Because I have, so maybe you should leave the Eda-tracking to the experts and just make sure we don’t fall out of the sky.” 

Click click.

He went right back to calling out for Eda like she was a lost house pet, clicking the pen off and on repeatedly to flash the light and Amity had to stifle an annoyed huff. King was adorable but he could be very frustrating. 

Click click. 

She winced. They needed to take this seriously.

Grumbling, Amity turned her eyes back down to the trees, scanning them carefully for any sign of movement. It was a clear night, the moon high and mostly full, so it wasn’t terribly hard to see, but the forest was dense and Eda’s feathers were apparently quite dark, if Luz’s drawing of her was accurate. She wasn’t going to be easy to spot. 

Click click. 

She grit her teeth. The constant clicking of the pen behind her was grating at her nerves and she had to fight not to snap at King. 

Click click.  

She didn’t want to be a jerk when she knew most of her irritation was misplaced. 

Click click.  

She was cold and scared and the constant tension of not knowing where exactly Eda was, was eating at her self-control. 

Click click. 

Wincing at the annoying sound, she focused on the tree-line, searching for any signs of movement while trying to put King out of her mind. 

Click click. 

Why was it so loud? 

Click click. 

What sort of pen could drown out the sounds of a forest? 

Click click. 

Wait… 

Click click.

The forest was quiet. Unnaturally, unnervingly quiet. She froze, her throat constricted, knuckles whitening as she gripped the staff tighter. The forest beneath them was totally silent. When had that happened? How long had it been since she’d heard the chirping of night critters in the trees? She felt sweat beading at her neck and swallowed hard. 

Click click.

“King…” He ignored her, muttering in annoyance as he kept clicking the pen. The little glowing gem suddenly seemed far too bright. 

Click click.

“King... I need you to put that thing away now,” she said slowly, her voice shaking, eyes locked on the trees. Had that branch just moved or had she imagined it? 

Click click.

“What? But we need this to attract Eda,” he huffed, still clicking at the pen and glaring at her like he thought she was stupid. She felt pretty stupid in that moment. This was a terrible idea. Why had she volunteered for this? 

Click click.

“Will you shut up and listen !?” She hissed at him and he frowned, tilting his head.

“To what ? I don’t hear anything!” 

Click click.

“ Exactly .” 

He stiffened with understanding and his claws faltered on the pen. It slipped from his grasp and fell down into the trees. Amity felt a brief flash of guilt as she watched the pen disappear, the glow fading away as it was lost amongst the leaves. Luz really liked that pen.

They fell silent, both staring down at the trees anxiously, eyes darting in search of any sign of movement. Fear thrummed in Amity’s throat but she forced it back down. This was what they wanted after all. They needed Eda to find them. She would not run. She would not panic. Luz was counting on her to fulfill her part of the plan and there was no way she would let her down. Amity was no coward.

They floated in absolute silence for a long moment, Amity’s grip on Owlbert almost painfully tight. A cold wind rustled her hair, sending a shiver down her spine and she shuddered, eyes shut for just a moment as she braced herself against it. 

Click… click.  

Her eyes snapped open and she stared hard at the little pink light hovering in the trees. 

Click... click.  

The light blinked out before reappearing, bobbing slightly in place. She bit her lip, fear crawling in her gut as she watched the little pink light move about. It lifted, drawing close to something sitting on the branches. Straining to make it out, Amity leaned over for a closer look and her eyes widened. 

Click... click.  

Pink light reflected off of black, cold eyes. 

Click... click.  

Long, sharp teeth were revealed within a wide, almost fascinated smile. She couldn’t help the gasp that slipped past her lips and Amity cursed herself for a fool. 

Click… crunch.

Those empty, black eyes snapped up to them, a clawed hand crushing the pen effortlessly between long gnarled fingers. The little pink light died. 

With a vicious snarl, the huge beast burst out of the trees, launching itself at them with frightening speed. A terrified scream ripped its way out of Amity’s throat and she yanked hard on Owlbert, the staff shooting upwards just in time. The beast, who she now realised was Eda, swung at them, claws just missing the bottom of Amity’s boot. 

Eda fell back into the trees with a crash, snarling and hissing as she broke through the branches. That had been far too close. Trembling all over, Amity shook herself hard and grit her teeth. Time to put the plan to action.

She hovered in place for just long enough to take a deep, steadying breath before she angled Owlbert down and dove straight into the trees. This was so stupid. She was an idiot for doing this. 

She absolutely refused to die tonight.

Wind whistled in her ears, drowning out the sound of King’s startled squeak as they dove. A growl caught her ear and she instinctively pulled sharply to the side just as they broke through the tree-tops, narrowly missing the claws that had swung at them from a tree branch. She weaved Owlbert through and around the branches, the forest blurring around her sickeningly as they twisted and turned to escape Eda, who was jumping from branch to branch in an attempt to get at them. 

The scrabbling sound of her claws raking across wood and the heavy cracks of broken branches echoed loudly in the deathly silent forest, spurring her on even faster. Adrenaline coursed through her, heart racing as they dodged slashing claws in a mad race to the ground below. By some miracle, they managed to reach the snowy forest floor, where it would be easier to fly, without any of them being eviscerated. There was no time to be relieved though.

Eda thumped heavily into the dirt just behind them, kicking up a spray of snow that pelted the back of Amity’s head and she was forced to urge Owlbert forward before she could get her bearings. They dodged and weaved through the trees with Eda thundering after them. 

Which way was Luz? 

She stared hard at the trees that whizzed by her, desperately looking for something familiar after their disorienting descent. They had intended to draw Eda’s attention. They’d wanted her to follow them, but her sudden appearance had totally thrown Amity off and now she had no idea which way to go.

The crunching of Eda’s claws pounding closer through the snow filled her ears and she felt panic building in her chest. Where was she supposed to go? Which way? The trees all looked the same! 

Where was Luz ? 

Her brief hesitation gave Eda just enough time to catch up and she leapt at them with a hair-raising shriek. Amity yelped, veering upwards out of reach. Eda passed just below them and landed in a tumbling mess of feathers, broken branches and dirt. Powdery snow was thrown into the air as she slid along the ground, digging in her claws for purchase before darting at them again. Amity picked a direction at random and flew as fast as she could push Owlbert to go, the little palisman pumping his wings hard to stay ahead of his cursed master. 

She was totally lost now. The trees blurred together. It all looked the same ! In coming up with the plan, they had failed to account for getting lost in the damn woods in the middle of a chase. She was an absolute idiot! Eda’s heaving breaths were getting closer. She was going to be on them any second now and it would be all Amity’s fault. 

Tears stung her eyes and she wasn’t sure it was entirely from the biting wind whipping at her face. Just as she was starting to lose all hope of ever finding her way, she felt King frantically tug at the back of her coat.

“Look!” 

Amity looked up to where he was pointing and saw a break in the trees off to the side. Her heart soared. Somehow, against all odds, they’d found it. Aiming for the opening, she flew hard. It was just a little further. They were going to make it!

They broke through the tree line and Amity felt her heart stop. Luz was standing just ahead of her, next to the huge light glyph that she had traced out in the snow, watching the forest on the other side of the clearing for signs of Amity and Eda. She was on the wrong side! 

No… Amity was on the wrong side! 

In her mad dash through the forest, she had somehow managed to circle around the stupid clearing and now it was too late to correct her course. Luz was standing directly in her path and Amity had led Eda right to her .

“Luz! Watch out!”

Luz looked back over her shoulder, eyes wide with shock as they briefly met Amity’s. Eda burst through the trees in a huge leap and Luz had just enough time to throw herself to the ground with a startled cry before Eda leapt over her, swinging once more at the staff. Her aim was true this time and she landed a solid hit, pitching Owlbert forward sharply and throwing Amity over the front and into the air. 

The world spun around her as she crashed to the ground but somehow, using the momentum of her fall, she managed to get her hands underneath herself and rolled up onto her knees. Dazed and dizzy, shaking frigid snow and dirt from her eyes, she found herself staring directly at Eda.

The moon shone down into the clearing, giving Amity her first clear look at Eda. Teeth bared and snarling, eyes black as pitch, hands clawed and back hunched. 

She was terrifying. 

She was monstrous. 

An awful sadness crept over Amity at the sight of her. Knowing about the curse had not prepared her for the reality of it. She couldn’t imagine having to deal with something like this for her whole life. It was too cruel. She felt a great wash of sympathy for Eda and a deep anger for whoever had done this to her. But only for a second. 

The brief moment was shattered when she saw Eda’s claws flex in the snow, saw her shoulders bunch and Amity knew she was about to attack. Thanking the Titan and whatever other deities that might be listening that Eda had slid into the middle of the glyph, exactly where they wanted her, Amity raised her hand and drew a massive circle in the air. It glowed brightly just as Eda started to run. 

“Amity, wait!” 

Luz’s shout came too late. Amity was already thrusting her hand upwards, drawing a huge cage made of woven light out of the ground to encircle the entire glyph in the snow. A strangled scream cut from the other side of the clearing as the cage rose high into the sky, just in time for Eda to slam face-first into it. 

The bars sizzled against her feathery head and she flinched back, hissing and glaring murderously at Amity. She swiped viciously at the bars but the burning light forced her back again and Amity let out a breath of relief. The cage was holding. Luz’s crazy plan had worked. 

A loud, pained cry drew her attention and she looked past the cage to see Luz collapsed in the snow, smoke rising from her hands.

“Luz!” 

Scrambling to her feet, Amity darted around the cage, King scurrying along beside her from where he had landed with Owlbert clutched in his paws. Luz had buried her hands in the snow by the time Amity reached her so she couldn’t see what had happened, but the pain on her face was clear. Tears were streaming from her eyes, her face twisted into an agonised grimace. Dropping to her knees beside her, Amity reached tentatively towards Luz.

“Let me see,” she said, gently pulling Luz’s hands out of the snow and turning them over. A horrified gasp slipped past her lips. Luz’s gloves had been scorched away, revealing angry red burns criss-crossed over the entirety of her hands, the skin glossy and already blistering. It looked excruciating. 

Guilt consumed her and Amity felt suddenly sick to her stomach when Luz bit back a sob. Her spell had done this. It was the only explanation. This was her fault. 

She had hurt Luz .

“Oh Titan, Luz, I...” Tears welled in her eyes, her fingers tightening around Luz’s shaking wrists. Luz sucked a breath in between her teeth as she pulled her hands away to carefully press them back into the snow.

“I-it’s not your fault,” she whimpered weakly. “E-Eda broke the glyph when she landed. I… I was trying to fix it when you made the cage but I wasn’t fast enough.” 

The glyph was broken ?

Amity turned to look into the cage where Eda was prowling around the perimeter, swiping at the bars in search of a weak spot. Sure enough, there was a wide swath cut through the glyph where Eda must have landed and slid across it. They’d planned on using Owlbert to activate it once Eda was trapped, but that was impossible now. 

Just along the inside edge of the cage, Amity could make out a section where Luz had attempted to redraw the outer circle. She must have had her hands pressed right into the snow when Amity had raised the cage. She had literally burned the cage right through Luz’s hands. 

Her breath hitched and she looked back down at Luz’s hands in abject horror, shame and self loathing rising in her throat like bile. Luz was shivering beside her, her breaths coming in sharp, broken bursts, tears still spilling down her cheeks, which only served to make Amity feel worse. Luz was in so much pain and she didn’t know what to do to help. Amity reached out for her hesitantly but froze, hand outstretched, when Luz looked up sharply with a gasp.

“Amity! Amity look!” 

The urgency in her voice startled her and Amity whipped around to look behind her. To her horror, Eda was standing in the centre of the cage, spreading a pair of large wings that she hadn’t noticed before. She flapped them slowly, as if testing her range of motion. They just managed to fit within the cage, the very tips only slightly grazing the bars. A hungry smile split her face and she eyed the open sky with glee. Amity’s eyes widened, jaw falling slack in shock.

“She can fly ?!” 

Holy Titan! It struck Amity suddenly that Eda had basically been toying with her in the woods. She’d been able to fly this whole time, but she’d chosen to run. It was like she’d been enjoying the chase. 

Like she had been playing with her food. 

The disturbing thought was interrupted by King’s loud cry. “She’s gonna get out!” 

He pointed his claws up to the open end of the cage and Amity knew he was right. Leaping to her feet without a second thought, she drew a new circle in the air. Connecting her magic with the ends of the cage, she held out her hands and grabbed at the air as if she were holding the bars between her fingers. With a sharp tug, she drew her hands in and the cage followed, forcing it down into a dome shape just as Eda threw herself into the air with a heavy flap of her wings. 

She slammed into the very center of the dome, tumbling back down with a furious screech and Amity felt the impact rattle through her. The cage wasn’t meant to be manipulated like this. She was frankly surprised she’d been able to bend it at all. Groaning with the effort of holding it closed, she turned to look at Luz over her shoulder.

“I… I can’t let go of this spell or the cage will open again. What are we going to do?!” 

She hated asking anything of Luz right then, injured as she was, but Amity’s hands were full with keeping Eda contained. Luz pulled her own hands free from the snow and flexed her fingers, yelping in pain at the slight movement.

“I can’t draw a new glyph like this…” She said desperately. 

No, of course she couldn’t. Amity had ruined her hands. 

Another powerful shock surged through her when Eda slammed herself into the top of the cage again and Amity felt it give way just a little. Her arms shook visibly from the strain, sweat slipping down the back of her neck in a frigid line. Illusion magic was hardly one of her strengths; in fact it had been a shock when the twins had managed to teach her this spell in the first place. 

She was certain she wouldn’t be able to keep Eda in for very much longer. The demon was already picking herself up off the ground, growling darkly and shaking the snow from her feathers in preparation for another jump. They were running out of time.

Amity’s eyes darted around for a solution. Something. Anything that would help. There had to be a way to fix this. Another impact within the cage sent her to her knees, a wave of dizziness darkening her vision for a second. She distantly heard Luz calling her name but her mind was reeling with the effort of maintaining her spell. Her breath became ragged and quick, ghosting in the cold air and stinging at her throat. Panic pulled at her senses as her eyes roamed the area shakily. 

How had it all gone so wrong so fast? 

Their plan was meant to be simple. Easy. Lure Eda into a trap and stun her with a giant light glyph. Now Luz was badly injured, the glyph was useless and it was taking everything she had to simply keep Eda contained. Worst of all, she was about to escape. 

Eda was going to get out and do Titan only knew what to them and there was nothing Amity could do to stop her. Her strength was failing. One more hit and the cage would open. She could feel it. If they were going to do something, it needed to be now !

She saw Luz holding her hands to her chest, calling out to Eda. Begging her to stop. King was clutching at Luz’s coat in fear, pressing his little body into her side. Something at his feet caught her eye and Amity squinted to make it out in the dim moonlight. It was one of Luz’s plant glyphs, half pressed into the snow where King must have accidentally stepped on it. There were more scattered about, the little leather pouch Luz kept them in having presumably fallen open when she had ducked out of the way earlier. 

Fire, plant, ice and... light! 

Could they use the paper glyphs? No, Luz had said their size mattered and these were all far too small. Eda might be fascinated by the little glowing ball for a second or two but they’d need a hundred of them all at once to produce the kind of light they needed to stun her.

But something about the plant glyph tugged at her memory and her mind slipped to Grom night. Luz had used one of her little plant glyphs then too and it had managed to create a huge tree. One that towered over the others around it imposingly. A tree so large it had become a visible landmark in the forest near Bonesborough. But the glyph hadn’t been the only magic involved then. Her eyes widened as a spark of inspiration sizzled in her mind. Maybe… 

Luz sucked in a sudden breath and when Amity met her eye, she knew they’d had the same idea. Luz lunged for the glyphs, grunting in pain as she scooped one up and slapped it onto the cage in one fluid movement. For one breathless moment nothing happened. Then Amity let out a cry as Eda threw herself into the dome once more. The impact sent her reeling and she lost her hold on the cage. It sprang open instantly, leaving Eda looking up at freedom with a sinister grin on her face. She crouched down, wings spread wide. 

The light glyph sank into the cage.

A humming whine grew in the air as the bars started to glow. Eda hissed, folding her wings over her eyes and curling in on herself as the cage shone brighter and brighter. The humming grew into a loud buzzing, the bars of the cage vibrating now as the light became physically painful to look at. It was still getting brighter. Realising what was about to happen, Amity turned and dove at Luz. She pulled her tightly into her chest, tucking Luz’s head into her shoulder before pressing her own face into the soft fabric of Luz’s winter hat. 

Eda’s pained screech tore through the buzzing as the cage erupted into a huge pillar of light that flashed high into the night sky, instantly turning night to day. It burned so bright that Amity’s vision filled with white even with her eyes clenched tightly shut and pressed against Luz. The buzzing cut off sharply as the light suddenly vanished, leaving a deafening silence in its wake.

The first thing Amity noticed was the sounds of the forest coming alive around them again. An owl hooted somewhere in the woods, critters skittering about and insects chirping once more in the trees. The girls pulled apart from one another, dazedly blinking the bright after image out of their eyes. It took a moment for them to adjust to the sudden darkness but they eventually turned to see the aftermath of their spell. What they found was Eda, unconscious on her back in a circle of charred, exposed dirt, the snow around her melted away. 

Too stunned to move, they could only watch as King pulled his head free from the snow where he’d buried it to hide from the light. He scurried over to the bag they had stashed near the tree line earlier in the evening, dragging it over to Eda and promptly stuffing the elixir he pulled out of it straight into her mouth. The golden potion drained into her and she swallowed it reflexively in her sleep.

Nothing happened.

“Uuuuh… Luz? This usually works. Why isn’t it working?” King asked nervously. Luz bit her lip.

“It’s been a few days, maybe she needs more. Try another one!” 

It took four. 

Four elixirs before Eda finally turned back, her body shrinking in on itself and feathers vanishing to reveal the Lady within the Owl. Amity had never been happier to see anyone in her life. Now they just needed to get her back to camp so that Amity could fix what she’d done to Luz. Somehow.

The trip passed in a blur. With Eda draped over Owlbert, King holding her in place and Luz sitting behind her at Amity’s insistence, there was no room on the staff for anyone else, so Amity was forced to walk beside Owlbert. Regardless of how tired and achy she was, she was frankly quite happy not to be on the staff after her harrowing flight anyway. 

When they finally made it back, Amity settled a still unconscious Eda into the tent, leaving King to watch over her and she and Luz moved to sit, exhausted, by the fire so Amity could inspect her hands. She held them up and frowned. The burns looked even worse in the light. Raw and red, Amity could only imagine how much it hurt. Luz was trying to put on a brave face but there was no hiding the pain in her eyes.

“Oh, Luz… I’m so, so sorry.” She scrubbed angrily at her eyes, blinking back the tears in frustration. She shouldn’t be crying. Luz was the one in pain, not her.

“Amity, it’s ok. It wasn’t your fault. If you’d waited even a second longer, Eda would have…” She winced, looking away with a shuddery breath. “I… I’d rather have some burned hands than think about what could have happened to you if you didn’t put up that cage in time…” 

Amity really didn’t want to think about that either. Or about what might have happened if their last ditch, hair-brained idea hadn’t worked. The entire plan had very nearly ended in disaster and that terrified her. Swallowing past the thick lump that formed in her throat, she turned to focus on Luz. 

“Let’s get you fixed up.” 

Amity was fairly sure that they didn’t have anything in their little emergency healing kit that would help. Searching through it, she pulled out a small jar of burn ointment and looked at it doubtfully. It was barely enough to cover one of her hands and, even then, it wouldn’t do much. Luz seemed equally uncertain and looked up at Amity with a weak little smile.

“I don’t suppose you did the healing track homework already?” 

Amity stiffened, her hands tightening around the jar.

“I… I did but… you know I’ve never had much luck getting new spells to work without a training wand.” She bit her lip and looked down at Luz’s hands hesitantly. “I’ve only read the theory, Luz. I don’t know if I could actually perform the spell.” 

Luz reached out to her but seemed to think better of it, grimacing at her injured hands.

“D’you think you could try? You’re so much better at magic than you think. Please, it… it really hurts.” 

She stared at Amity pleadingly, her voice so small and vulnerable that it broke Amity’s heart. No matter what Luz said to the contrary, Amity knew it was her fault she’d been hurt. She’d been the one to get lost in the woods and lead Eda to the wrong side of the clearing. She’d been the one to burn Luz’s hands with a hasty spell. And, Titan help her, she would be the one to fix this.

Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep, steadying breath and motioned for Luz to hold out her hands. The least she could do was try the damn spell.

“Try to hold still ok? It’s just a basic healing spell, I don’t know how much it’ll help, but hopefully it’ll at least make it hurt less.” 

Luz nodded at her, trying her best to keep her shaking hands still. Amity exhaled slowly and shut her eyes, trying hard to remember what she’d read. The spell matrix formed in her mind and she drew a circle in the air, feeling the pull of her magic as she called it to her fingers. Focusing with all her might, she willed the magic towards Luz.

“ Woah .”

Luz’s breathless exclamation drew her attention and she opened her eyes. To her utter surprise, Luz’s hand was glowing faintly in Amity’s signature pink magic, just as the book had said it should. It was working. 

With wide, wondering eyes, she reached out to hover her hand just above Luz’s, feeling the magic pulse in time with her own beating heart. It was warm and somehow comforting. She let her eyes drift shut again and concentrated on the feeling welling up within her. It felt natural. Easy. It felt right . 

She’d never felt so attuned with a spell or with her own magic before.

The book had said that this would be the end of the spell. A gentle glow that would help speed the healing process and provide some pain relief, but Amity could feel potential here. She could do more . 

She was connected to Luz through the spell, feeding magic into her hands that was intended to heal. Through that connection, she could feel a ghostly echo of Luz’s pain pulsing in her own hand. Almost instinctually, she latched onto it and pulled, drawing the pain out like poison. She barely registered the little gasp that escaped Luz, too intent on the spell to fully comprehend anything else. 

When the last of the echoing twinge in her hands was pulled free, she let the magic fade, scattering it in the cold air. Hesitating for a moment, she opened her eyes and gasped. The burns were gone without a trace. No blisters or raw skin. Not even a scar. Nothing. 

Somehow, by some miracle, Luz’s hand was healed.

“Oh my gosh, Amity!” She looked up to see Luz staring at her with open awe. “You did it!”

“I… I did?” 

She looked back down to where Luz was experimentally curling her thoroughly uninjured fingers and felt a slow smile spread across her cheeks. She had done it! Titan, she’d actually healed her!

“It’s like they were never there!” Luz exclaimed, giddy with excitement. Grinning brightly, she held up her other, still burned hand. “Try again!” 

The second spell came just as easily and this time Amity made sure to keep her eyes open, eager to see what exactly she had done. She watched with fascination as her magic swirled up into a little orb as she pulled at it. She hadn’t even realised she’d made that the first time. The burns receded with the light, vanishing without a trace as it passed over her skin. She could feel that same ghostly echo of Luz’s pain being drawn into the orb and she felt the moment the pain vanished when she let it dissipate. 

A sudden wave of weariness washed over her and Amity had to steady herself for a second. As easy as the spell had been to perform, doing it twice in a row had taken a lot out of her already drained reserves. Happy as she was that she’d healed Luz, this was probably a good lesson in caution when experimenting with spells. Shaking the fogginess from her head, she looked up to see Luz flexing her freshly healed hand and grinning at her broadly.

“Amity, I think we may have just found your speciality.” 

Amity blinked at her slowly.

“My… what?” 

“Y’know, like how Willow is so awesome at plant magic? Or how the twins and Gus are so great with illusions? I think your speciality might be healing!” 

She stared at Luz’s beaming face in shock. Could it be? She’d never thought of herself as having a speciality before. Magic had never come easily to her but this… This had been easy. It had been like breathing. 

“You might be right…” She murmured, eyes widening with the realization. Luz let out a happy laugh.

“Of course I’m right! You said that was a really basic healing spell right? But look!” She happily wiggled her fingers in front of Amity’s face. “I’m totally ok! It didn’t even hurt when you were doing it!”

She had a point. The spell was designed to relieve pain and speed up the body’s own natural healing process. Had she performed it the way it was meant to be done, Luz would still be in a lot of pain and would likely have ended up with a lot of scarring. But she’d managed to manipulate the fairly basic spell into something far more effective simply by following her own gut instincts. She let out a long breath as a sudden clarity awoke within her. 

No wonder she’d always had so much trouble with magic. She’d spent her entire life focused on the flashier, more aggressive magic tracks because it was what her parents had pushed her towards. Blights were known for their power, therefore she had to present herself as being powerful. But Amity was meant for something else. 

She was a healer. 

The thought brought a smile to her face. It felt right. She liked the idea of being able to help people. She’d always been gentle by nature but she’d had to push that aside to meet the harsh expectations of her family name, her only outlet being the brief time she got to spend reading to witchlings at the library for ‘extra credit’.

She realised suddenly that, if it hadn’t been for Luz, she might never have known. Her parents would never have allowed her to join a service track like healing. Blights were leaders. Powerful and bold. Blights did not serve the people, they were served. If Luz hadn’t come barreling into her life, if she hadn’t run away and gotten to try new magic, she might have been stuck in a track she wasn’t meant for her whole life. Just like Willow. 

True, she had made it work for herself. She’d learned to create powerful abominations, but it had been a painful struggle of never ending effort. Hours of practice and study and training to the detriment of all else in her life. Healing, however… healing was effortless. Amity was snapped out of her own thoughts when Luz launched herself at her, drawing her into her chest.

“You’re amazing, Amity! Those burns really sucked but you fixed me right up. Thank you so much!” She grinned, squeezing her close and Amity felt a bright flush spread across her cheeks. She smiled happily, burying her head in Luz’s shoulder as she wrapped her own arms around her tightly.

“I’m just glad you’re ok,” she said and she meant it. The fact that Luz was no longer hurt was far more important to her than any personal discoveries in that moment, especially since she’d been the one to hurt her in the first place. Luz pulled back and planted a deep kiss on her lips that left Amity thoroughly dazed.

“I’m more than ok!” She said when she pulled back, grinning as Amity blinked at her in surprise. “We saved Eda and you just found your magical calling! This is the best night ever!”

Amity laughed happily when Luz threw her arm over her shoulder and leaned in close, content to sit with her by the fire for a while.

“I still can’t believe what that glyph did to your cage. It went up like whoosh!” Luz said after a while, throwing her free arm wildly into the air. “It was just like at Grom. Your spell and my glyph mashed together into one big, super spell.” 

Amity grinned at that. Loveable dork.

“Yeah,” she agreed, the seeds of an idea growing in her mind. “That’s the second time we’ve combined two different spells to make something incredible.” 

Before she could fully formulate the thought though, a smug little grin spread across Luz’s face and she wiggled her eyebrows at Amity.

“I guess you could say that whenever we team up... magic happens!”

The groan that escaped Amity at that was loud and long. She leveled Luz with an unimpressed look. It barely counted as a pun but she looked so proud of herself and Amity had to try very hard not to laugh at the dopey smile on her face.

“Luz… that was so bad.”

Luz scoffed at her and gave her shoulder a playful shove.

“Oh come on, you loved it. Admit it!” 

Giving the haughtiest huff she could manage, Amity turned her chin up and folded her arms.

“I refuse to admit to any such thing.” 

They stared at each other for a few seconds, both refusing to break, before Luz gave a tiny snort and they both dissolved into giggles. It wasn’t even that funny but neither of them cared. It just felt good to act like kids after such a stressful few days and a very eventful night. 

Luz’s laughter broke on a huge yawn that immediately had Amity yawning too. It was late and cold and, despite her good mood, she was utterly exhausted. Luz rubbed at her arms, shivering slightly when a frigid breeze ruffled her hair.

“Maybe we should go inside and get some sleep. I’m kinda beat,” she said and Amity was happy to agree. 

They made quick work of putting out the fire and slipping into the tent after that. With bed rolls placed neatly next to each other, they both settled in for the night. Luz fell asleep almost the moment she shut her eyes but Amity wasn’t quite so lucky. In the dark of the tent, she found her mind wandering back to all the ways the night could have gone horribly wrong. Images of Eda, in her demon form, doing unspeakably horrible things to them flashed in her mind's eye and she shuddered.

Tossing and turning beneath her blanket, she tried desperately to push the thoughts aside. They were fine. Everything had worked out and she knew Eda would never willingly hurt either of them. But it was no use. No matter how much she shifted about or rationalised her fears, she just couldn’t sleep.

Looking over at Luz’s peacefully sleeping face, a longing sigh drifted from her lips. Amity envied her apparent ability to sleep through just about anything. A selfish thought crept into her mind and latched hold. She hated to wake Luz but she also knew she would never get to sleep without some kind of distraction. Just some reassurance that everything was really ok so she could finally relax. So, feeling like a horrible girlfriend, she reached out and took Luz’s hand.

“Luz?” She called quietly, squeezing her hand lightly. Luz shifted with a little moan and cracked open an eye.

“Mm… ‘mity?” She murmured sleepily. Amity bit her lip, feeling even worse for waking her now because Luz was clearly exhausted and who could blame her?

“I’m sorry to wake you, I just…” Just what? Didn’t want to be alone? That was such a stupid reason to bother her. She wasn’t alone. Luz was right there. And yet...

“S’okay. What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?” 

She looked away from Luz’s concerned, tired eyes, not even sure what exactly she wanted her to do about it. She was being selfish. She should have just let Luz sleep and dealt with her own stupid issues.

“C’mere.” 

Startled, she looked back to see Luz reaching for her with both arms, drowsily trying to tug her closer. A deep flush warmed her cheeks. Luz wanted them to sleep together? Not just next to each other but… together ? 

Oh Titan, she’d maybe been hoping for a hand to hold or some comforting words but this? She was not ready for this! Was she? They had cuddled, sure, but this was different! This was in the dark. In a sort-of bed. For the whole night! The whole night… cuddled up close to her girlfriend. Her very recently acquired girlfriend. Her heart fluttered wildly at the thought and she couldn’t deny that she really, really wanted to, but it also absolutely terrified her.

A grunt sounded from somewhere on the other side of the tent and she was reminded that they weren’t exactly alone. She suddenly felt a lot calmer. She was being silly. Eda and King were right there, sleeping a little ways behind Luz. It wasn’t like they were going to do anything. Luz would never do anything that made her uncomfortable and Amity certainly wasn’t going to initiate anything. They were just going to sleep. That was all. This was no different to cuddling on the sofa together. It was fine .

Forcefully shoving past her raging nerves, she shifted closer and allowed Luz to pull her in until she was nestled snugly in her arms. She felt Luz reach over to tug her abandoned blanket over the both of them before settling in again, gathering Amity in close so that she was pressed up against Luz’s chest.

“Better?” She asked, sleepily nuzzling her head into Amity’s hair. It really was. Cocooned safely in the warmth of the extra blanket and Luz’s arms, Amity felt all of the anxiety from the evening leave her and she let out a relieved sigh.

“So much.” 

It was exactly what she’d needed. A very tactile reminder that she was ok. That Luz was ok. 

Nothing bad was going to happen because they were both safe. She smiled and allowed herself to snuggle closer, tucking her head into Luz’s neck and slipping her arms around her waist. Lying with her like this wasn’t so scary. It was actually really nice. Luz apparently agreed because she let out a happy little hum, curling her arms around Amity a little more.

“M’glad. G’night, Amity,” she murmured, already drifting off to sleep again and Amity felt a rush of gratitude for Luz. 

Sweet, selfless, kind-hearted Luz who hadn’t been mad that she’d woken her in the middle of the night because she needed comfort. Luz, who was always happy to do whatever she could to make sure Amity felt safe and cared for. To remind her that it was ok to ask for help sometimes because she would be there for her without complaint, no questions asked. A deep warmth blossomed in Amity’s chest and filled her with affection for the girl in her arms as she followed her into sleep.

She woke hours later to find herself still snuggled into Luz’s arms and Amity was perfectly content to stay right there. Surrounded by the warmth of blankets, lanky arms and Luz’s loud and yet somehow weirdly comforting snores, she’d be hard pressed to find a reason to get up. 

Except maybe the lingering memory that they weren’t alone and the fact that Eda had a tendency toward teasing. With any luck, she’d still be out cold and Amity would have more time to enjoy this. Lifting her head as carefully as she could to look over Luz’s shoulder without waking her, Amity peaked across the tent and her heart slammed into her throat. 

It was empty. 

Eda was gone. 

She sat up sharply to get a clearer look of the space, but there was no sign of either Eda or King. Heart pounding, Amity looked down to where Luz  had merely rolled over, still fast asleep. Grabbing her shoulder, Amity gave her a rough shake.

“Luz… Luz !” 

She woke with a snort, eyes blinking blearily and hair an absolute mess.

“Wh-whassamatter? Wha’s going on?” She murmured, voice thick with sleep, one hand reaching up to rub at her heavy eyes.

“Eda’s gone!” 

That seemed to snap her awake instantly. She turned sharply to look around the tent and yelped at finding it empty.

“Oh, cramity, where did she go?!” 

They scrambled out of their shared bed, hurrying to pull on boots and coats before rushing out of the tent in search of the missing Owl Lady. Only to skid to a grinding halt in the snow when they found her sitting beside the merrily burning fire, roasting what appeared to be whole rats skewered on sticks.

King was plopped on a rock on the other side of the fire, happily chomping on the head of his own roasted rat. Amity grimaced and had to look away as he bit into it with apparent glee, feeling suddenly queasy. Eda glanced over her shoulder at the commotion of them rushing outside and eyed them casually.

“Oh good, you’re awake. Breakfast will be done soon so get over here before King and I eat it all.” 

The girls glanced at each other for a moment before cautiously moving to sit next to the fire. Eda didn’t seem to notice the air of discomfort around them as she plucked one of the sticks from where it was poked into the dirt and offered it to Luz, who visibly flinched when the eye on its back blinked at her.

“Uh… I’ll pass,” she said, not even trying to hide the disgusted look on her face. Eda shrugged and held the rat out to Amity instead. She suppressed a shudder and swallowed down the nausea climbing up her throat.

“Thanks but I’m uh… not that hungry.” 

Eda rolled her eyes and sat back with the skewered rat.

“More for me I guess. Kids these days. Don’t appreciate good old fashioned home cooking.” 

They awkwardly watched her dig into her questionable meal for a moment, looking for all the world as if absolutely nothing unusual was going on, but the drawn out, tense silence was too much for Luz and she groaned loudly.

“ Eda .” 

She glanced over at them and huffed, lowering her ‘breakfast’ with an annoyed sigh.

“I suppose you wanna talk?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at them and Luz gaped at her in shock.

“Well… yeah !” She said, staring at Eda incredulously. Eda leaned forward, resting an elbow on her knee as she took another bite out of her rat.

“Ok, well how about you fill me in on what exactly happened last night? Coz I’m drawing a blank. Last thing I remember is gathering some roots and next thing I know I’m waking up in the tent, with a massive headache and you too canoodling next to me.” 

Amity let out an embarrassingly high pitched “eep”, burying her burning face in her hands while Luz spluttered beside her. This was becoming a very annoying pattern. Curse Eda and her love of teasing them. Titan, she was worse than the twins sometimes!

“We were not canoodling ! We were just sleeping!” Luz yelped, giving Eda a scandalised glare. Eda merely smirked in response.

“Never try to con a con artist, Luz.”

“ Eda !”

She snorted out a laugh and waved her rat at them dismissively.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. I’ll stop. Now spill. What are you two doing here?”

Amity caught Luz’s eye and grimaced. She hadn’t thought about the fact that Eda might not remember any of what had happened while she was trapped in her beast form. Knowing that made it all somehow far more tragic in Amity’s mind. Eda had no idea what she had come so close to doing to them and now they were going to have to explain it to her. All while she gnawed on a very unsettling breakfast rat.

Relaying the story of the last few days to her took two more roasted rats and an entire bottle of apple blood to finish and, when it was over, Eda was worryingly quiet. She stared long and hard into the flickering flames, her eyes hollow and dark.

“I see…” she murmured after a long while. “Thank you for coming to find me. I’m… really sorry you kids had to go through all that.” 

When she looked up at them it was with such profound guilt and sorrow that Amity felt all the air leave her in a rush. No one spoke for a moment until Luz leaned forward to give her a plaintive look.

“Eda, what happened ? Did you forget to take your elixir or something?” 

Eda actually looked a little insulted.

“Kid, I’ve been dealing with this curse for most of my life and I have never missed an elixir. At least not without outside influence.” She gave Luz and King a look that made them both glance away awkwardly before she breathed out a heavy sigh. “I took my elixir like I always do but… well I haven’t exactly been honest with ya. The curse is getting worse. Guess one elixir just isn’t gonna cut it anymore.”

That stunned them into silence once more and Luz reached for Amity’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Eda…” She murmured sadly but Eda gave her a weak smile and waved a casual hand at her.

“Ah, don’t worry about me, kiddo. I’ll be fine. I always am. I’ll just have to be a bit more careful with the elixirs from now on.” She sat up a little and clapped her hands together. “Now, you two go pack up your things. I don’t know about you but I’d like to get off this Titan forsaken mountain before we all freeze to death.”

Luz seemed like she had more she wanted to say, but Amity stood, tugging her to her feet. She could tell Eda needed a minute alone so she pulled a reluctant Luz towards the tent to do as they were told. They paused at the entrance though and looked back at Eda with concern. She was staring sadly into the fire, her shoulders slumped and idly patting King’s head as he leaned against her, patting her knee with one paw. 

Luz caught Amity’s eye and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were thinking the same thing.

They were going to find a way to cure Eda.

Just realized that, in editing the chapters, I accidentally deleted the old end notes for the previous chapters. My bad. Saved this one though! And hopefully I'll remember for the next ones.

***

Ah the sweet anxiety of hitting that post button. We meet again. I've never written action or creepy thriller sequences before so I hope that wasn't absolutely painful to read. You ever write a word so many times it loses meaning? Yeah, I don't think I like the word click anymore. Balancing the pacing and mood was a trip I tell you and I'm not entirely certain I pulled it off, but there ya go. Eda is ok! Mostly. And the girls made it out in one piece... mostly. Ok so Luz got a little hurt but hey! They fixed it! It's fine!

I like the idea of Amity being meant for healing a lot. It just seems to fit with everything we've seen from her in the show. She's gentle and nurturing when she's allowed to express herself. It makes sense to me I guess. I think I also just really wanted her to have a specialty that didn't associate her with her parents in anyway but still gave her something unique from the twins and her friends. So yeah, healer Amity. Am I rambling at this point? I might be. Sue me, I've been working on this for days and my brain is fried. I gotta stop writing 9k word chapters... it's going to kill me.

Chapter Text

After such an exhausting weekend, it was a relief walking into Hexside where things were more predictable. Which, considering the day-to-day chaos of the school, was saying a lot. 

All the potential magical shenanigans they might encounter here aside, Amity had always seen the school as a safe space. In spite of the endless hours of study and toil, the emotional exhaustion of keeping up her old facade, and having to watch her back for the twins’ next prank, Hexside had been her escape from home. From her parents. 

Now, as she and Luz strolled into the courtyard in front of the school to the sight of her friends waving eagerly at them, she realised it was becoming so much more. 

Willow and Gus called loud greetings from their spot beside the stairs with warm, welcoming smiles. It was a far cry from the apathetic ‘hello’s she was used to from Boscha and (to a lesser degree) her posse, who wouldn’t dare be seen as anything less than above it all. Amity much preferred this. 

Coming to school when she had real friends and a day of classes she’d chosen for herself felt more like a treat than an escape. Like she wasn’t just here to seek the approval she never got elsewhere. Now she could look forward to school for more positive reasons.

When they got closer, Luz rushed in to give their friends a big enthusiastic hug. “You guys will not believe what we did this weekend!” She gushed excitedly when she hopped back to Amity’s side, launching into a thorough retelling of their misadventures on the Knee. 

She made sure to leave out details of Eda’s curse, spinning the story as if they’d rescued her from an unrelated owl demon instead. They’d agreed that, for the sake of Eda’s privacy and not unnecessarily worrying their friends, they wouldn’t tell anyone about her curse unless it was absolutely necessary. It may not be entirely secret but the less people who knew about it, the better. Willow, however, was unimpressed with Luz’s grand tale of heroism. She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Luz, why didn’t you call us? We could have helped,” she huffed, giving them both a look that made Amity feel like she was somehow being sent to the principal’s office. Luz gulped audibly next to her and chuckled awkwardly.

“I… didn’t want to put you guys in danger?” She tried, which was mostly the truth anyway, but when Willow’s disappointed look deepened into a frown Luz ducked behind Amity with a squeak. 

“Hey!” Amity yelped, looking nervously between Luz and Willow’s glaring face. “Are you seriously using me as a shield right now?” 

Luz was lucky she was so damn cute all tucked into her back like that or Amity might be inclined to actually be mad at her. Gus sniggered at them from next to Willow.

“Ooooh you’ve done it now,” he smirked at Luz, who peeked up from behind Amity, gripping her shoulders nervously as she looked at her glowering friend.

“I’m sorry, Willow! I just didn’t want to make you guys come when we didn’t know what was happening. We had no idea how dangerous it was gonna be and I didn’t want you guys to get hurt. I tried to make Amity stay behind too but she wouldn’t!” 

Luz said, stepping cautiously out from behind her girlfriend and wringing her hands anxiously. Amity crossed her arms and glared at her in annoyance. Cute or not, they’d already had this argument and she’d be more than happy to give Luz a refresher on who had won.

“Do I have to remind you of why ?” She asked and Luz’s guilty expression softened into a smile as she tugged Amity’s hands free to give them a squeeze.

“No, you were right. We’re a team now. I was being dumb trying to make you stay anyway. Pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it back without you,” she admitted and Amity smiled back at her. Good to know she’d at least learned that lesson. Willow stepped forward and set her hand on Luz’s shoulder, giving them both a very serious look.

“Girls, I know you two are together now, but you aren’t the only ones that are part of this team,” she said, motioning to herself and Gus. “I could have done plenty to slow that demon down with my plant magic and Gus could have done all sorts of helpful stuff with his illusions.” She turned to look at Amity and sighed. “I’m happy for you, Amity, really I am. It’s great you found something you’re so good at, but neither of you needed to get hurt for you to do it. We’re your friends too, remember? We care about you guys and we want to help you.” 

Amity grimaced and looked away, guilt gnawing painfully at her gut. She already felt awful about what she’d accidentally done to Luz and having Willow bring it up certainly wasn’t helping. She also knew Willow was right. They’d been stupid to do it alone, but there wouldn’t have been any way of letting them help without also telling them about Eda’s curse. Gus, who was standing beside Willow with folded arms, nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Besides, we want to go on crazy adventures too. You’re hogging all the good stuff!” He exclaimed and Willow snorted.

“Not exactly where I was going with this, Gus. We don’t need to go looking for trouble, but I think we all know it finds you anyway. So next time you two get into more schemes, plots or ruses… or shenanigans, let us help you, ok? Both of you.”

Luz smiled weakly at her, scuffing the dirt with her shoe.

“You’re right,” she replied. “Next time something comes up, I promise we’ll come to you guys.”

“Me too,” Amity added, a little taken aback at Willow’s plea and genuinely touched by her sincerity. She glanced over at Luz, who shared a look of understanding with her. 

It was easy to forget that Luz, like Amity, wasn’t used to having people she could turn to. She was always so quick to help everyone else that sometimes Amity had to remind herself that Luz had never had any friends at all before coming to the Boiling Isles, let alone ones that would drop everything to go on death defying rescue missions with her. 

Neither of them were used to being able to ask for help, but they were learning.

The warning bell screeched across the courtyard then, forcing them all to part ways again. Willow made sure to give them both a quick hug to let them know she wasn’t mad at them before she trotted off to her Plant Track class. They would see Gus in Illusions later but, for now, she and Luz were headed to Healing.

When they walked in, Luz nudged Amity towards their professor with an encouraging smile. Heart racing a little, she made her way to the front of the class with Luz following excitedly behind her.

“Excuse me, Professor Febris?” Amity straightened her back and clasped her hands nervously behind her back when the gentle old woman smiled down at her from where she’d been making notes on the board for their lesson.

“What is it, dearie?” 

Professor Febris was generally well liked. Sweet and gentle but surprisingly strict when it came to health and safety, an unusual trait for teachers on the Isles, who generally encouraged brawls and mayhem. She had always struck Amity as someone who deserved respect. The few times she’d had to interact with her had always been after Grugby injuries and had involved some rather stern lectures about being more careful, but She liked the matronly old professor. 

Amity’s deeply ingrained need for approval from authority figures, especially ones she looked up to, made having to admit to what she’d done incredibly nerve wracking. Even if the outcome had been good in the end, Febris wasn’t going to like hearing about this.

“I’d like to talk to you about the homework you assigned last week.” Amity glanced awkwardly at Luz before looking back up at her professor. “I used the spell on Luz this weekend and got some… unusual results that I wanted to ask you about.” 

Professor Febris’s brow creased and she folded her arms, her entire demeanor shifting to disapproval in seconds. Amity swallowed nervously, knowing a lecture was coming.

“You performed a Healing spell on your friend, unsupervised, with no prior experience in the field at all? What in Titan’s name would make you do such a foolish thing, Miss Blight? I would think you of all people would have learned the dangers of attempting magics we are not yet ready for.” 

Amity flinched, shoulders hunching a little and lowered her eyes to stare uncomfortably at her boots. The last time she’d tried experimenting with magic, she’d landed an entire Grudgby team in the Healer’s office.

“I… I know and normally I wouldn’t have tried, but Luz was badly hurt and I had to do something!” 

When Febris’s eyes narrowed at Amity, Luz stepped up in her defense.

“She’s right, Professor. We didn’t really have another choice at the time. I’m pretty sure Amity is a natural healer though, because she did something totally awesome with that spell like it was nothing!” 

Febris frowned at them seriously for a moment, as if gauging how much she should believe. After an agonizingly long few seconds, she huffed out a resigned breath and asked Amity to explain, which she did in a nervous rush. 

She was careful to leave out the details of how exactly Luz had gotten hurt in the first place. Febris didn’t need to know that it had been Amity’s fault. She felt guilty enough about it as it was and the Healer probably already thought of her as reckless. She did not need to solidify that opinion or to get another lecture about it today, so she focused instead on what had happened when she’d used the spell. 

Professor Febris’s stern stance hadn’t changed by the end of her story but her eyebrows did raise with curiosity and she motioned for Luz to come closer so she could inspect her hands. She took them into her own and tilted them about, eyeing Luz’s palms and fingers critically.

“Fascinating,” she muttered. “You say her hands were severely burned? To what degree would you estimate the burns to have been?” 

Amity hesitated. She’d only had one healing lesson so far and hadn’t had the time to go too in depth with her reading on it yet. She’d certainly been a lot more eager to look into it once they’d left the Knee but they’d arrived home so late and so tired that she and Luz had gone almost immediately to bed. As such, she wasn’t really sure how to describe Luz’s injuries in medical terms.

“I think they were second degree,” Luz piped up. Febris’s eyes widened at that.

“Deep tissue?” She asked and Luz nodded in response.

“Some of them, yeah.” Amity glanced at her curiously and when Luz met her eyes she smiled, shrugging a shoulder casually as Febris released her hands. “My mom is a nurse on Earth, remember? I’ve picked up some stuff over the years.” 

Professor Febris gave Luz a fond smile and chuckled. 

“I’d like to think my lessons have taught you a few things as well, Miss Noceda. You are one of my most diligent pupils after all, even without the ability to perform spells. You have excellent bedside manner and gentle hands, I’m sure your mother would be proud.” 

Luz grinned at her, beaming with pride at the praise before Febris turned her eyes back on Amity, who shrank back anxiously. 

“While I cannot condone unsupervised experimentation with Healing magic, I must admit I’m intrigued by your results, Miss Blight. In all my years of teaching at Hexide, I’ve never seen such a basic spell used to such apparently effective results. We shan’t jump to any conclusions just yet but, if you can recreate these results, you may well be a natural healer, as Miss Noceda so aptly put it.” 

Amity was positively giddy with joy at the thought. If even Professor Febris, a well respected Healer, thought she had potential, then maybe she really wasn’t as terrible at magic as she’d always thought. As a Healer, she could help so many people. It was an opportunity to show her pare- no, the world that she had worth.

Her future, while still so desperately uncertain compared to the rigid plans she’d been following her whole life, suddenly felt a lot brighter. Luz squealed excitedly beside her, latching onto Amity’s arm to give it a happy shake.

“This is so exciting!” She gushed happily, much to Febris’s apparent amusement. She chuckled at them warmly and fixed Amity with a pleased look.

“It is indeed. I look forward to seeing what you can do, Miss Blight. Now, please take your seats, dearies. Class is about to begin.”

The rest of the students were shuffling into the room so they moved to sit at their shared desk, briefly exchanging friendly waves with Cat from across the class. Amity made sure to pay extra attention throughout the lesson, determined to prove that she was, in fact, meant to do this. 

When it came time to practice the spell, Febris called in a few students with minor injuries for the class to try it on under her very watchful eye. The fact that there were already injuries that needed healing before the first class of the day had ended was one that didn’t really surprise Amity. 

Young teenagers attempting to bend the vast magical forces in the world to their inexperienced wills was a recipe for disaster on a good day and this was Hexside, a school well known for its weekly disasters. What did surprise her though, was that one of the students turned out to be Viney, who grinned brightly at them when she strolled into the room and happily agreed to be Amity’s practice dummy when Febris asked her.

“Puddles got into a little tiff with one of the other griffins and I had to break it up,” she explained as Amity and Luz inspected the rather deep looking claw marks on her forearm. 

The injury was a fair bit more serious than the scrapes and bruises the rest of the class had to deal with which, coupled with the way Febris seemed to be hovering near their table, made Amity wonder if perhaps she was testing her. Viney seemed wholly unconcerned though, chatting amicably as Amity carefully cleaned the cuts the way Professor Febris had shown them, pleased when the sight of the blood didn’t upset her at all. Luz’s injuries had certainly turned her stomach but that probably had more to do with it being Luz that was hurt and the fact it was Amity who had hurt her.

“It got kinda nuts and I took a stray claw to the arm,” Viney said casually. “The griffins are in heat right now and that buck did not wanna go quietly. Lucky for me, Puddles is a tough girl and she doesn’t take crap. She had him pinned long enough for me and the team to get him tied up and out of her pen. Just another day in Beast Keeping, ay?” She added with a wink at Luz, who grinned back at her. 

Amity had only had one Beast Keeping class so far, late in the afternoon when they’d been getting the resident beasts settled for the day. Granted, she and Luz had been a little preoccupied with Eda’s disappearance at the time, but she certainly didn’t recall the class being anywhere near as wild as Viney made them out to be. 

Pushing thoughts of the potentially dangerous lessons she’d be having in the future from her mind, she focused instead on the task in front of her, trying hard to ignore the feeling of Professor Febris’s critical eyes on her back. She could do this. She’d done it twice now. This was easy. 

With a deep, calming breath, she twirled her finger over Viney’s arm and reached for that same connection to the spell she’d felt on the Knee. It fluttered in her chest and the familiar ghostly echo of pain tingled in her own arm. Latching onto it, she carefully pulled at the pain and drew it out like she’d done with Luz’s burns. The wound sealed before her eyes as the magic passed over it, the skin stitching itself back together seamlessly until there was no trace of the cuts left at all.

Delighted, Amity felt a wide grin spread across her cheeks. Some small part of her had been afraid that what had happened on the Knee had been an accident. That her ability to heal Luz had been born of desperation and a deep need to fix what she’d done to her girlfriend. But now she had proof. It hadn’t been a fluke after all. She really could do this! 

Viney was looking at her arm with open awe and she let out a low whistle as she ran her fingers over where the cuts had been. 

“Damn, Mittens. You sure you’ve never done this before?” she asked, clearly impressed and Amity flushed with pride, choosing to file away the fact that Viney had apparently taken to using the twins’s nickname for her. She’d have a conversation with Emira about that later. Febris leaned over to check her work and gave her a warm, approving smile when she stepped back.

“It would seem you weren’t exaggerating after all, Miss Blight. This is truly impressive for one so young and inexperienced.” She eyed Amity’s multicoloured uniform curiously and then leveled her with a contemplative look. “Would you consider switching your focus to Healing? It has been a very long time since I’ve seen a student with such raw potential in my class.”

Amity’s eyes widened. It was an honour to be asked to switch Tracks by a professor. It only happened on rare occasions when a student showed real, genuine potential for greatness in a particular Track. In recent memory, Willow had been the only student recommended by staff for a switch after she had shown her incredible affinity for Plant magic. That Febris wanted Amity to switch her focus purely to Healing was a huge boost to her confidence.

But it would mean giving up on the first important choice she’d ever gotten to make for herself. 

As much as she loved knowing that she, like the twins, had something she was naturally talented at, Amity was hesitant at the offer. She wanted to study Healing more in depth and follow this new path she’d discovered for herself to see where it led. But she also wanted the chance to explore magic in all its forms now that she had the opportunity to. Being All Track meant she got to learn a little of everything and with all she’d seen and experienced recently, doing that felt more important.

She’d barely scratched the surface of the nine Tracks. The possibilities seemed endless. What she and Luz had done during Grom and what they’d done on the Knee were both glowing testaments to the fact that there was more to magic than they realised and she wanted to know more. Needed to. 

Besides, who was to say there wasn’t something else she was good at too? A part of her doubted she’d find another Track she felt as much of an affinity for as Healing, but there was always the possibility.

“I appreciate the offer, Professor, but I’d like to stay where I am for now,” she said, biting her lip hesitantly. “I only just started studying all of the Tracks and I’d like to learn more about them before I choose just one.” 

It was mostly true. She didn’t really think she’d ever be able to choose just one now, but Febris didn’t need to know that. Who knew what she might achieve by mixing Healing magic with the other Tracks. She and Luz might even be able to help Eda after all, with a little experimentation. Supervised by Eda herself of course. Amity had learned her lesson on that front. 

To her relief, Professor Febris simply nodded and smiled at her.

“That’s perfectly understandable, dearie. Perhaps, by the end of the year, you will find a few Tracks you’re willing to leave behind. The offer to switch wholly to Healing is always open to you, but I’ll be happy to have you in as many classes as I can get.” 

She nodded at Amity and walked off to another table to help one of the other students, who seemed to be having trouble maintaining their spell. When she was gone, Amity let out a breath and turned to look at Luz, who was gazing at her proudly.

“You are gonna be the best Healer in the world some day,” she said, with such confidence that it made Amity’s heart flutter. 

She tried to picture it. Amity Blight, the most renowned Healer on the Boiling Isles. She could revolutionise the field. Find new and more effective ways of helping those in need by blending her magic with other Tracks. Maybe she could even talk to Luz’s mom and mix in some human healing. Make everyone see there was more to humans than they thought. Luz would love that.

The future it all painted filled her with a bubbly sort of excitement she’d never experienced before and she realised she wanted it. A lot. It was a dream she’d found for herself and she was more determined to have it than she’d ever been about joining the Emperor’s Coven. Heart soaring and full, she smiled back at her girlfriend, eyes soft and cheeks warm.

“Thanks, Luz. I like the sound of that,” she replied honestly. A quiet snicker made Amity look up to see Viney smirking at them.

“You two are adorable, you know that?” She smirked, before popping out of her seat. “I’ve gotta head back to the paddocks to make sure Puddles is okay, but I’ll see you two saps after class at the Owl House, yeah?” 

She slipped out of the classroom with a wink, tossing a finger gun at them and leaving Luz and Amity staring after her in confusion. 

“What do you think that was about?” Luz asked curiously. Amity shrugged helplessly. She didn’t know Viney nearly well enough to puzzle her out and they had a busy schedule of classes ahead of them, so she put thoughts of the girl out of her mind for the rest of the day. They’d find out soon enough anyway.

True to her word, Viney came knocking when they’d made their way home after classes were over, stopping to exchange pleasantries with a thrilled Hooty before she trotted into the Owl House like she was a regular there. She plopped down on the sofa beside Luz, much to King’s dismay as he scrambled to avoid being squished between them. He glared at her from where he settled in Amity’s lap while Viney fished around in a fuzzy satchel at her side, pulling something out and presenting it to an intrigued Luz with a flourish.

“Special order, directly from the twins,” she said, slapping what turned out to be a brand new scroll into her hands. Amity, who was seated on Luz’s other side, leaned in to look at it and her eyes widened.

“Oh! I almost forgot about this.” So much had happened since she’d asked the twins to get Luz a scroll that it had completely slipped her mind and boy had they delivered. Despite their apparent grounding, they’d somehow gotten Luz what appeared to be the newest model available. 

“Viney! This is awesome, thank you!” Luz said, staring down at the scroll in her hands with fascination while King pawed at her pocket gleefully.

“Now that you have your own scroll, I’ll take your magic box,” he said, trying unsuccessfully to get past Luz’s defensively swatting hands. “You’re the one always saying we should share! So gimme!” 

Amity had to practically drag him away from Luz, ignoring his angry little grunts and whines as he tried to pry himself free from her arms. Luz snatched her phone from her pocket and curled herself away from him with a ridiculous hiss.

“King! You know my phone isn’t the same as a scroll. I need it to talk to my mom!” she said, holding it out of reach. 

While King and Luz exchanged increasingly loud hisses and pulled their faces at one another, Amity looked up at Viney and smiled at her like there wasn’t a very childish fight breaking out on the sofa between them.

“Thank you for bringing that all the way here, but you really didn’t need to go to so much trouble. You could have just given it to us at school,” she said. Viney waved a hand at her dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. Anything to get me in good with your sister,” she said, waggling her eyebrows at Amity who rolled her own eyes. She did not need to picture why Viney might want to ‘get in good’ with Emira.

“Besides, that’s not the only reason I came.” Viney turned to the door and grinned widely. “Hey, Hooty! You’re up, buddy!” 

A loud ruckus outside and Hooty’s grating voice filled the room before the front door swung open, breaking up the little scuffle between King and Luz and making all of them flinch visibly.

“Anything for my new beeeeest friend! Here comes the Hooty Express, hooty hoot, hoot!” he sang in a voice so shrill it sent shivers down Amity’s spine. 

Even worse was when Hooty curled himself into the room, his long, disturbingly soft, serpentine body writhing into the space from somewhere out in the yard. Balanced precariously on the length of his grotesque back were two large beds that he just barely managed to fit through the door before dropping them unceremoniously into the middle of the living room with a resounding crash. Humming happily to himself, he wriggled his way over to Viney, who patted his head affectionately in thanks.

“What in Titan’s name is going on in here?” 

Drawn by the commotion, Eda walked in from the kitchen where she’d been in the middle of making potions, her hair pulled back into a messy tail that was frizzing all over the place from the steam coming off her brew. She looked from the beds sitting smack in the centre of her living room to King and the three girls on the sofa, one of whom was inexplicably petting Hooty like a favourite pet. 

“I don’t know this one,” she said, propping one elbow in the crook of her folded arm to point at Viney curiously. “This another one of your friends, Luz?”

Luz, who had been staring in shock and confusion at the new furniture in the room, looked up at Eda and nodded. 

“Uh, yeah… this is Viney. Viney, this is Eda.” 

Viney grinned and waved at Eda who narrowed her eyes.

“Why is she dumping stuff in my house?” She leaned over towards Amity and Luz cautiously and lifted a hand to her mouth to talk from behind it, weary eyes never leaving Viney. “And why is she touching Hooty?” she asked, as if the very idea disturbed her. 

Amity had to agree with the sentiment. The few times Hooty had come into contact with her in any way had been horrifying. He was entirely too squirmy and weirdly moist , which made no sense because he was meant to be made of wood. Or flesh. Or feathers? She honestly wasn’t sure and that made it so much worse, especially when she remembered him pressing himself up against her face .

“I’m uh… not sure?” Luz said, looking at Viney questioningly and the older girl laughed, leaning an arm against a positively preening Hooty.

“Well, last time I came round, Hooty and I were having ourselves a little chat and it happened to come up that neither of you have beds. That didn’t fly with the twins and they asked me to bring these along with the scroll today,” she said, waving her free arm at the two beds. Luz’s eyes widened excitedly.

“Seriously?” She leapt off the sofa and danced on the spot happily. “No more sleeping on the floor! Yes, yes, yes, yes !” 

While she darted around the coffee table to bounce eagerly beside the beds, eyes shining over her huge grin, Amity stared at Viney in utter shock.

“How did they even get these?” she asked and Viney snorted through a shrug.

“I’ve learned not to question things when it comes to those two,” she said, which Amity could understand fully. 

Sometimes the things the twins could do frightened her a little. They were so naturally talented, creative and downright crafty that it was almost lucky they were usually too lazy to really apply themselves. If they ever thought to try, Amity was fairly certain the two of them could wreak unspeakable havoc upon the Boiling Isles. Or take over it entirely depending on how they were feeling that day. 

Eda’s annoyed growl cut through her, hopefully over exaggerated, musings and Amity looked up to see her pouting, arms folded like a grumpy toddler. 

“I was planning on getting you girls more permanent stuff since you’re apparently gonna be around for a while but now I guess I don’t have to. Those kids are making me look bad,” she added with a huff that made Luz giggle. 

Eda turned annoyed eyes on Hooty who was still happily humming to himself under Viney’s arm. “You and I are gonna have a talk about spilling all the house secrets to strangers, birdbrain! Now get back to guarding the house like you’re supposed to. Who knows how many Coven Guards have been sneaking around while you’re in here making yourself cozy.” 

She swatted at him and he slithered away with an indignant squawk. “Geez, you never let me have any fun! Hoot!” 

The door swung shut behind him and Viney stood to brush a few of Hooty’s feathers from her uniform.

“Well that’s my cue. It’s been fun but it’s time to cash in all the girlfriend points I’ve been racking up playing delivery girl for you two. See ya in class, cuties!” She said before slipping out with a casual wave. 

It took all of her considerable will for Amity to ignore that last comment, for the sake of her own sanity. She turned instead to a still bouncing Luz and grinned at her happy squeal.

“I know they haven’t always been the best but I love your brother and sister,” she gushed. 

Amity laughed and rolled her eyes as she stood, setting King on the ground at her feet so that he could scurry up onto one of the beds and perch himself there to test out the mattress. Apparently finding it to his liking, he promptly curled himself up and went straight to sleep.

“Yeah, they’re definitely making up for a lot with this. No offense to that nest you made me, but I cannot wait to sleep in a real bed again,” Amity said with utter relief. 

As sweet as Luz had been to put it together for her, cushions and blankets on a hardwood floor did not exactly make for an easy night’s sleep. Eda scoffed at them, twirling a finger to lift the beds into the air with a bit of magic, heedless of King who yelped when his napping spot tilted beneath him, claws gripping onto the mattress tightly.

“Beds are fine but a nest? Now that’s the best way to sleep. One day you kids will learn but, in the meantime, I suppose these will do.” She strolled off towards the stairs, the beds bobbing along behind her.

“Unhand me witch! Eda! I demand you let me down! Please, I’m gonna be sick!” King cried. Amity and Luz scrambled to follow them, neither wanting their bed to be the one King defiled. Once the (thankfully vomit-free) beds were settled into their respective rooms, they spent a few moments setting them up with the various cushions and covers they already had. The pink blanket and white pillows on hers added a nice touch of colour to Amity’s otherwise very bland room. Besides a chest of drawers and a tall cabinet that held her rescued clothing, the room was depressingly empty.

The thought made her feel like a selfish child and guilt over it swirled in her stomach. Eda had opened her home to her, without any ulterior motives as she was beginning to believe, and Amity was grateful, but sometimes she still felt a little like she didn’t belong there. Like she was standing in a guest room rather than her own space.

It was easy to push aside the pain of everything that had happened when she was being distracted by school or Luz or terrifying rescue missions. But in the quiet, empty room so different to the one she’d known, Amity longed for her home.

For the quiet days spent reading on her window sill in the warm sun, hidden behind her curtains where no one could find her. Listening to the distinctive sounds of the twins scrambling about beyond her bedroom door while they got into all sorts of trouble. Getting lost amongst the many shelves of their private library and running her fingers along the dusty spines, looking for something new and interesting to study. Evenings spent sipping cool drinks and counting the stars on the balcony with her family around her, no one talking and all quietly going about their own business, but there none the less. 

She missed the familiarity of the home she’d grown up in. She missed the innocent, ignorant bliss of the life she’d had before her world had been shattered by the people meant to protect her and the rug of her childhood had been yanked from beneath her feet.

With a start, she realised that today marked one week of being away from home. Just a week, and yet she felt its loss keenly, knowing she could never go back. Her parents had made sure of that. 

How could the Owl House ever feel like home when everything she’d ever known had been lost? The twins may have saved her clothing and the Grom note and she loved them for that, but their idea of ‘personal items’ had been a few books and the Emperor’s Coven poster she’d had taped to her wall, which she had promptly destroyed when she’d found it tucked into one of the bags they’d sent. They hadn’t saved anything she might actually want to keep, which said a lot about how much mending their relationship still needed. 

Things like the little Otabin plush that she’d kept under her bed from when she was just a child. Or the photo of her and Willow at her birthday party that she’d had tucked away in her bookshelf. Her lockbox. Her Grom crown. Little pieces of herself that she’d collected and saved over the years that were now gone forever. 

No matter how grateful she was that she had somewhere safe to stay where she was safe and free to express herself, the Owl House didn’t feel like home. Especially when she was alone. 

So Amity turned from her empty room and walked over to Luz’s instead, tamping down the guilt of her ungrateful thoughts with a smile when she knocked on the frame of Luz’s open door.

“Hey, can I come in?” she asked tentatively. Luz looked up from where she was arranging an array of cushions and plushies at the head of her bed and smiled at Amity brightly.

“Of course you can. You’re always welcome in here.” 

She flopped onto her new bed and patted the purple bed covers beside her invitingly, which Amity was more than happy to accept. She curled herself up next to Luz, careful to avoid King who was dozing on the end of the bed and tucked her feet in under her so she could lean into her girlfriend. Luz slipped an arm around her and Amity let out a content sigh, already feeling far better as she watched Luz fiddle happily with her new scroll.

“This thing is weirdly similar to my phone,” she said as she poked at the papery screen with her thumb. “It’s always neat seeing something here that’s a magical version of something from Earth.” She tilted the screen so Amity could get a clearer look. “Ed and Em even put their contacts in here. Yours too. We can spend all night texting each other!”

Amity chuckled. Luz’s endless enthusiasm for all things magic never ceased to bring a fond smile to her face.

“Luz, my room is literally next door. You just have to talk loudly enough and I’ll hear you.” 

Luz shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “Yeah, but texting you will be way more fun.” 

As if to prove her point, she typed out a quick message and sent it off with a grin. Amity rolled her eyes in amusement when a little musical chime played from her scroll and sat up to summon it.

Unknown Rune: Hi amity! guess who? ( ﾉ ◕ ヮ ◕ ) ﾉ *: ・ﾟ ✧

She snorted out a laugh, grinning as she stared at the ridiculous little character Luz had somehow drawn into the text with just shapes and symbols. Of course she’d found a way to be an adorable dork even over text. A few taps at the screen later and she had added Luz’s rune sequence to her scroll. If she added a little heart or two next to her name, no one needed to know.

“There’s actually a reason I asked the twins to get you one of these,” she said once she’d sent her scroll away.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I thought that, since your phone seems to work here, then maybe when… when you have to go home, the scroll will work the same way. We can use it to keep in touch,” Amity said quietly.

Luz stilled, looking up from where she’d been messing with her scroll to meet her eyes sadly. Amity’s chest felt tight at the thought of Luz having to leave not too far in the future. They didn’t talk about it much, but her looming deadline was a constant dark cloud that hung over the both of them. 

Even if things went perfectly and, by some miracle, Luz’s mother didn’t have any problems with where Luz had really been all summer, Amity still doubted she would let Luz live permanently in the Owl house. In spite of the problems between them that Luz had told her about, she got the impression that Camila Noceda really loved her daughter and no loving parent would want their child permanently living in someone else’s home. Not that she knew what that was like of course. 

Logically she knew it wasn’t exactly healthy for them to be living in the same space when they were so young and in a romantic relationship but Amity would take that over potentially never getting to see her again. She liked having Luz around all the time and when she eventually had to leave, Amity would miss her desperately.

“Oh…” The arm around Amity’s shoulder tightened slightly. “I guess I forgot about that with everything that's been going on.” Luz frowned at her scroll and then looked back up at Amity hesitantly. “But… there’s no magic on Earth. Don’t scrolls need it to work?” 

That was a fair question. Amity wasn’t exactly sure how scrolls functioned. She knew magic was obviously involved but she’d never bothered looking into how they worked, so long as the one she had did work. Even when it didn’t she’d usually just have it sent in for repairs or get a new one without thinking about it. She supposed she probably took the devices a little for granted.

“Maybe?” she said hesitantly. “I’m not really sure but it’s worth a try. And if it doesn’t work then I’ll find some way of getting a human phone. We’ll figure something out.” 

She leaned against Luz and tucked her head into her neck, her throat tightening as she spoke. She needed Luz to know how much she meant to her, even if talking about it out loud made Amity feel terribly vulnerable and exposed. 

“Whatever it takes, I promise. I’m not ready to give you up, Noceda. Not when I just got you.” She felt Luz take in a shaky breath before she set her scroll aside so she could slip that arm around Amity and draw her in close.

“Whatever it takes,” she agreed and that tiny admission was enough to flood Amity with warmth because she knew Luz didn’t want to lose her either. Soft lips pressed gently to the top of Amity’s head in a featherlight kiss and she sank into Luz with a hum. She let her eyes drift shut and wrapped her own arms around Luz’s waist, surrounding herself with that familiar, lemony scent that was so uniquely her. They may not have a lot of time left together but Amity would savour every second she had with this girl who had made her life so much brighter.

“Why don’t you just visit each other through the door?” A voice snapped at them and they both looked up sharply to where King was still curled up at the end of Luz’s bed, apparently not quite as asleep as he’d been pretending to be. 

He hadn’t opened his eyes and wasn’t looking at them but the slight tilt of his head in their direction showed he had been listening. 

“It’s not like the door is going anywhere and Eda’s such a softy these days that you know she’ll let you use it. Stop acting like you’re never gonna see each other again. Your sweet, dramatic teenage yearning is sickening!” 

He glared at them for a moment before curling in on himself again and shutting his eyes to sleep. Or at least keep pretending to. A relieved laugh bubbled its way out of Luz and she gave Amity a little squeeze.

“The demon on my bed makes a good point. Not about us being sickening coz, rude,” she said, glowering at King’s back. “But we could still visit each other. The shack where the portal opens on Earth is really close to my house. I could come over after school or you could come visit me.”

Amity’s jaw fell open and she stared at Luz, utterly flummoxed. A moment ago it had felt like she might be on the cusp of losing her forever to another world. Like her own world might end with Luz’s departure. Then King had dumped ice cold logic all over her spiralling thoughts and she suddenly felt like a complete fool. A deep flush spread across her cheeks. Titan, was this a part of puberty? If it was she wanted a refund because she did not like how quickly her emotions had swallowed her common sense just then.

“I… How did we not think of that?” she asked and Luz laughed again.

“I guess all the ‘teenage yearning’ was making our brains a little foggy,” she said, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Amity’s lips, mindful of the fact that King clearly wasn’t as asleep as he was making himself out to be. “I’m just glad we have a plan now. Even if mami doesn’t want me coming back here after we tell her everything, I’ll find a way to sneak over if I have to. She’s not home enough to stop me anyway.” 

Her slightly bitter tone at the end twinged Amity’s heart. She knew that, while she was certainly a large part of the reason she was so determined to come back to the Boiling Isles, Luz really didn’t want to lose the one place she felt like she could be herself. A place she’d found all her own dreams coming true. 

Dreams of friendship and adventure and magic that she had never imagined she’d have in her lifetime on Earth. Amity wanted all those things for her too. Luz was the kindest person Amity had ever met and she deserved to have everything she wanted and more.

Maybe her reasons weren’t all entirely selfless. Maybe Amity wanted Luz to stay on the Isles for herself as well. But she also knew she would do whatever it took to make sure Luz got to come home so she could be happy too. Whether that meant persuading Camila or just sneaking Luz back through the door whenever she could, Amity would do it. 

Because this was Luz’s home now. She belonged on the Boiling Isles and no one would ever convince Amity otherwise.

Chapter Text

Amity was very quickly discovering why there weren’t more students studying multiple tracks now that the option was available to them. 

Being All-Track was an exhausting nightmare.

With nine Tracks and three classes a week for each, Amity was very quickly becoming overwhelmed. Each Track required that she understand their basic casting methods, which all had different fundamental spells attached to them. That meant eight new spells. Eight new sets of homework and nine Tracks to stay current with. It was enough to make her head spin.

And they were all so different from what she’d imagined!

Construction magic, for instance, wasn’t just about building homes as she’d previously thought. It was a lot more nuanced and artistic than that. She’d learned that the fundamentals of Construction magic were based in stone and wood weaving spells, which witches used to create furniture, sculptures and all manner of other things that she’d been using her whole life and never bothered to think about. 

Her first Construction lesson had required her to bend a solid block of wood into a basic little lockbox that she’d been allowed to keep at the end of the class. Happy as she was with it though, the spell had been very draining. Granted, it probably hadn’t helped that it was the last class of the day and she had already performed a lot of magic in her other lessons, but still, the strain had been intense. Maybe it was time to pick up some of her old grudgby exercise routines again... She could use the stamina boost.

Then she’d learned that what she’d done was only the start of the wood weaving she’d have to learn. Stone weaving was apparently a lot harder and after that came metal, which Amity couldn’t even fathom trying to manipulate. It was no wonder that power glyphs were so commonly used in the Construction Coven.

And that was just one class of many. It was all very fascinating and she was learning so much but, to put it bluntly, Amity was drowning.

She was pretty sure the only reason Luz hadn’t gone completely mad with the stress by now was that she couldn’t actually perform the spells themselves. Instead, she focused on the theory behind each so she could better understand how the magic worked and then spent the practical portions of their lessons trying to decipher glyphs from her classmates’ castings. 

In spite of her lack of magic, Luz never failed to be enthusiastic in everything she did in school. She listened intently, took excellent notes and made very insightful observations during class discussions. She had floored Amity with how well she understood the underlying mechanics of magic when Luz had only been studying it for about two months.

It only took one weirdly coincidental Tuesday to start to understand how though. 

They walked into the greenhouse with Willow for their morning Plant Track lesson to the sight of a long row of potted plants lined up on the workbench. Their professor introduced them as a demonic aloe that was used in several different potions to help soothe pain and then promptly had them begin harvesting the leaves for the school’s stock of ingredients. 

Willow was happily talking their ears off about the aloe and all the best ways to handle and care for it as they worked. How to prune it so that it grew back healthier and stronger. How it could be cut open and the sap inside it applied directly to wounds in a pinch. She even told them about various other plants that could be used for similar purposes. Amity found herself smiling as Willow went on and on with all the confidence of an expert. She was in her element here and it showed.

Then later, in Potions, they brewed a balm that was used by the Healing coven to ease burns. The same one that she and Luz had ultimately tossed aside on the Knee because her injuries had been too severe for the simple cream. The school’s Healing students had run out of their stock after several classes had been set ablaze in a freak accident (somehow involving the Bard Track) and it was their job to replace the supply. 

To Amity’s surprise, one of the ingredients was the very aloe they’d harvested that morning and many of the others were ones Willow had mentioned during her mini lecture. Knowing the properties of the ingredients and how to properly handle them had helped Amity immensely during the brewing process and led to her creating a very passable balm by the end of class. It hadn’t been quite the right consistency but her professor claimed it would serve just fine. Luz’s balm had been near perfect but that was hardly surprising considering who she lived with and how much more practice she had with potion brewing.

They met up with Gus and Willow at lunch and the conversation drifted to what they’d all done that day so far. Amity brought up the way two of their morning classes had been so weirdly connected to one another and was in the middle of explaining to a beaming Willow how helpful her tips had been in Potions when she caught Luz giving her a curious look. She hid it behind her sandwich when she caught Amity looking though, which confused her until their next lesson, which was Healing.

Professor Febris tasked them with using the exact balm they’d just finished brewing on the injured students and walked them through the various ways it could be combined with a healing spell to increase the effects where necessary.

As Amity carefully applied the balm to a burn that wasn’t quite bad enough to bother using magic on, she frowned to herself, mind racing. Each class they’d had so far had led into the next and had helped her do better. She’d gotten a deeper understanding of what she was doing and she hadn’t struggled once all day. She’d never experienced a day like it before. It had been a lot to learn, sure, but it was somehow easier than studying Abominations alone had ever been.

Glancing up when something shifted beside her, Amity caught Luz giving her that same curious look as she finished applying the balm to her patient and sent them off. Luz didn’t turn away this time, watching her openly with a not-at-all-subtle questioning look in her eyes and Amity felt a light grin tug at her lips. Something was clearly on the girl’s mind and she wasn’t hiding it very well at all.

Luz was insatiably curious, almost to a fault. It was one of the many things Amity loved about her. Coupled with her tendency to be impatient, it had gotten Luz in trouble more than once since coming to the Boiling Isles but she was slowly learning to temper it with experience. Amity admired that.

Before, Luz might have (and had) let her curiosity overwhelm her into invading Amity’s privacy but she’d apparently learned her lesson because it was clear she wanted to know something and was trying very hard not to be nosy. She was also still staring at Amity. Titan, she was not subtle but it was so cute. Amity’s grin tugged into a smirk as she turned to face Luz more fully, raising a brow at her.

“Okay, you’ve been staring all day, so spill. What’s going on in that head of yours, Noceda?” she asked and was startled by the way Luz seemed to tense up, her cheeks darkening noticeably.

Was Luz... blushing? What had she said that could possibly elicit a reaction like that? Luz laughed almost nervously, her eyes shifting about to look anywhere but at Amity for a moment and the sight gave Amity a strangely smug sense of accomplishment. For once, she wasn’t the one being a blushy, stuttering mess. Oh, she was going to find out whatever had triggered this because somehow, she had flustered Luz and she was going to do it again.

“I uh…” Luz cleared her throat and chuckled awkwardly. “I was just wondering what you were thinking so hard about. You’ve had this intense ‘concentration face’ going on all day and when you get like that it's usually coz your big brain is working overtime. So what gives?” She propped her chin on her hand and grinned, reaching up to playfully tap at Amity’s forehead with her free hand. “What’s my girl got cookin’ up there?”

Oh… My girl . Amity liked that a lot . It made her feel all fluttery and giddy inside. A deep warmth built up in her chest, climbing her throat to flush her cheeks and the smug tilt to Luz’s grin was more than enough to let Amity know she had gone very red. Titan be damned!

It was unfair how quickly Luz could turn the tables on her and she’d done it so casually! She was positively preening about it too. Amity had to figure out what she’d done to fluster the girl because there was no way she was losing to Luz at this. Doing her best to school her features, she decided to focus on what Luz had asked so she had time to cool off her burning cheeks.

“I was thinking about how everything we’ve done today was so weirdly connected. Each class helped with the next one. Is it always like this for you?” she asked and Luz shrugged.

“It’s not always as conveniently co-ordinated as it was today but, yeah, sort of,” she said. “Have you… never noticed the connections before?”

“No. I didn’t even know you could mix magic until what we did at Grom and on the Knee. Before now, all I ever learned outside of the basic spells was Abomination magic and a few small Illusions from the twins. I never thought to try combining them in any way. It’s not something you’d normally do. I never realised how much all the Tracks are linked.” She folded her arms and leaned back in her seat, frowning down at their shared desk in thought. “It’s like each one makes the next stronger or easier. Or both!”

“Well… yeah ,” Luz said incredulously and Amity snapped her head up to find the girl staring at her like she’d just said something as obvious as ‘the sky is violet’. “I figured that out in like, my first week here. Magic is all about connections. It’s everywhere! I had to learn that to get my second spell and it helped me learn the others too. I thought everyone knew this stuff.”

“What?” she asked, shock lacing her tone. “Luz, how in Titan’s name would anyone know this? It’s not exactly something they teach here. Until you came along, everyone only learned one Track, remember?” 

Luz blinked at her and tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Huh, I guess,” she said. “It just seems kinda weird that they wouldn’t at least teach you a little about how all this stuff fits together. I mean, why wouldn’t they want you to understand how magic works? It makes so much more sense when you see the whole picture.” She hesitated for a second before she looked over to where Febris was helping a student with their patient. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this here?” 

Amity could practically see the gears turning in Luz’s head and whatever it was that she was thinking seemed to concern her. Maybe this conversation really was best left for the Owl House. Eda probably had plenty to say on the matter anyway, given her status as a wild witch.

“Well,” she said, with a teasing grin that she hoped might help ease whatever tension Luz was feeling. “I guess since you’re such an expert, you’ll just have to teach me what you know when we get home, Professor Noceda .” 

Just like that, the frown melted from Luz’s face and her cheeks lit up again in a bright flush.

“A... Amity !” she yelped and Amity’s eyes widened. Luz was flustered! But what had… oh. Oh ! There was only one common thread there. A slow smirk spread across her cheeks and she leaned in a little closer to Luz, feeling emboldened.

“What’s wrong, Noceda ?” she purred, delighting in how Luz gulped nervously and her blush darkened. “Was it something I said?” 

Luz blinked once. Twice. Then she seemed to come back to herself and that accursed lopsided grin of hers was there, making Amity’s heart flutter. She leaned in as well, closing the distance until they were almost nose to nose and it was Amity’s turn to flush.

“Yeah, actually. I think you might wanna rethink your phrasing there, Blight ,” Luz said and her grin turned so smug that it sent Amity’s brain stuttering. Oh this was a dangerous little game to be playing in the middle of their Healing lesson. They’d been affectionate in public before sure, but there was something distinctly different about this. This felt more… thrilling somehow. 

But wait, what had Luz meant about phrasing? She thought back to what she’d said and Luz’s reaction to it. How could it be taken any way other than… oh. Oh Titan’s foot! Her entire face blazed red and she let out a very undignified yelp that made Luz burst out laughing. Loudly .

“Luz! For the love of… you know I didn’t mean… Titan give me strength, you’re worse than Eda!” She covered her burning face and Luz only laughed harder, drawing the attention of several of their classmates. She’d done it again! Luz had flipped the script on her!

“Sorry! I’m sorry, you just made that too easy!” she gasped out between laughs and Amity was fairly certain she was anything but sorry. 

She glared at her half-heartedly through her fingers, torn between mortified amusement and affectionate annoyance. It wasn’t fair. The girl recovered from being flustered way too fast and she was too damn good at turning it back around on Amity. How was she supposed to beat that? Luz had too much power!

“Miss Noceda, would you like to share the joke with the rest of the class?” Professor Febris’s voice cut sharply over Luz’s laughter and she stopped in an instant. Wincing, she rubbed at the back of her neck, chuckling nervously when Febris glared at her from the front of the class.

“Sorry, Professor F! Won’t happen again,” she said and Febris huffed.

“I should hope not. Our patients deserve a calm space to be healed in, as I’m sure you are aware by now. I would hate to think that you and Miss Blight can’t be trusted to share a desk in my classroom.” 

The class snickered around them and Amity sank into her seat, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. They both mumbled apologies that Febris seemed to accept, though not without another sharp warning look. When she went back to helping the student she’d been busy with, Amity caught Luz’s eye and they giggled quietly together.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be flirting in class,” Amity chuckled and Luz scoffed in feigned indignation.

“You started it!” she laughed. Amity’s jaw fell.

“What? I did not!” she yelped and Luz’s grin widened, nudging Amity’s side with her elbow.

“Yeah you did! Calling me Noceda with that face ? You knew exactly what you were doing!” 

Amity blushed and whipped her head away to hide her flaming cheeks. Luz was right of course. Technically she had started it, but there was no way she was letting Luz win here. She already got to win at flirting and Amity was going to keep her dignity if it killed her.

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She pouted and Luz giggled.

“ Sure you don’t,” she said and Amity could practically hear Luz’s smug expression. Ok, it was so on now. She was going to figure out a way to control her stupid cheeks and she was going to win at this. Someday, somehow, she was going to beat Luz Noceda at flirting!

They stuck to working in silence after that. Purely to avoid further scoldings of course and not at all because Amity was silently grumbling about her defeat at the hands of an adorably evil human. When classes ended they met with their friends outside and, to make up for leaving them out of the ‘adventure’ over the weekend, Luz invited them to hang out at the Owl House. 

Luz was trotting up ahead with Gus, chattering excitedly to him as they walked. From what Amity could hear, it sounded like they were talking about his recent readmittance into the Human Appreciation Society. She watched them from where she was walking beside Willow and marvelled at how fascinated Gus was with everything Luz said. 

She’d never had the chance to really talk to the boy. If she were being honest she’d never had the interest either. He was just a kid after all and she’d never even met him before befriending Luz. She felt sort of bad about it now since they were meant to be friends, but really, Amity knew almost nothing about him. 

That would have to change. Gus was a good friend to not only Luz, but Willow as well and, if Amity wanted to be a part of this group, she couldn’t ignore him. She just had no idea how to go about talking to him.

Edric was the only boy she ever spent any large amounts of time with and that was only because they were related, no matter how hard she found that to believe sometimes. Gus, on the other hand, was two years younger than her and she’d had very little cause to spend time around him before now. How in Titan’s name was she supposed to work with that? She knew someone who did know him pretty well though and that someone was walking right next to her.

“Willow?” She started and the shorter girl glanced over at her curiously. Amity hesitated for a second, not quite sure how to ask, but she decided to just be upfront about it. Willow appreciated honesty after all. “What can you tell me about Gus?”

“Well, we’ve been friends for ages, so quite a lot. Why do you ask?” She asked and Amity was glad not to hear any suspicion or mistrust in her tone. Just open curiosity.

“It’s just… he’s your friend and Luz’s too. I want to get to know him better but I don’t know how.” This was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous. It wasn’t like she’d never met new people before. But she didn’t exactly have a great track record with making friends on her own. Not since she’d been a kid anyway. 

Every one of the friendships she’d had since Willow had been carefully orchestrated through chaperoned playdates and practiced interactions that had felt more like putting on a performance than actual friend-making. In fact, Amity could distinctly remember more than one occasion where her mother had forced her to memorise lines to say to Boscha and Skara when they’d first met.

Luz was the first real friend she’d made on her own after losing Willow and Amity really didn’t want to have to go through several near-death experiences just to befriend Gus. There had to be an easier way.

“Have you tried, I dunno, talking to him?” Willow giggled and Amity huffed at her in annoyance. As if it were that simple!

“Willow, I don’t have anything in common with him! What could we possibly talk about?” she asked and Willow snorted at her in amusement.

“Gee, maybe your mutual love of humans? Or one human in particular anyway. I’m sure Gus would have plenty to say about that if you asked,” Willow grinned at her and Amity levelled her with a withering look. 

“Ok, so if you don’t want to talk to him about humans , then why not talk about school?” Willow said. “He’s a smart kid and you’re in the same Track now. Maybe he can help you and you guys can bond over how big your brains are.”

Amity frowned and looked up to where Gus was eagerly scribbling down notes about whatever human thing Luz was talking about. They were a little too far ahead now to hear but, by the way Luz was leaning back and gesturing with one arm stretched out and the other resting on an imaginary surface, it seemed like she might be explaining those ‘car’ things to him.

“I guess school could be a good place to start,” she said hesitantly. Gus seemed like a pretty driven kid so they had that in common and Willow was right about him being smart. She might not know much about the boy but she did know he’d skipped a few grades. They shared a class after all.

“It’s really sweet that you want to get to know Gus, but you’re overthinking it,” Willow said, placing a comforting hand on Amity’s shoulder. “Just relax and talk to him, you’ll see. Gus is really easy to get along with.”

When they arrived at the Owl House the group hurried inside, wanting to avoid Hooty’s rambling story about his very exciting day that somehow involved a tea party and another bug he’d apparently befriended and then eaten. Luz darted onto the sofa and, much to Amity’s annoyance, Willow plopped down beside Luz in the corner so that Amity would be forced to sit on her other side. Next to Gus. How very subtle.

She scowled at her briefly but Willow just grinned and waved her towards where Gus had kindly sat on the opposite edge of the sofa, giving Amity plenty of room to sit beside Luz. At least he was considerate, she supposed.

When Luz had suggested they all ‘hang out’, apparently she had meant doing their homework together, which Amity was more than happy for. Gus and Willow were both excellent in their Tracks and eager to provide the help she so desperately needed.

“While you can make plants from nothing, it helps if you have something to start with. Like a seed or a sapling,” Willow explained, holding out a small green seed to Amity, who took it gingerly. 

She’d performed very little Plant magic in her life and the one real attempt she’d made with it had gone wildly out of her control. Not exactly a glowing endorsement of her skill in the Track.

Amity held the tiny seed in her hand and frowned down at it. She knew the steps and basic structure of the spell. Willow had explained them quite thoroughly and all that was left was to try it.

Raising a finger, she hovered it over the seed and drew a small spell circle over it that was meant to force the seed to grow. Holding onto that thought, Amity pushed her magic into it until it began wobbling in her hand. A tiny split formed along its edge and, for a moment, it seemed like the spell might work. But then the seed fell still and nothing else happened.

“That was… uh… a good first attempt?” Willow said hesitantly. Amity growled in frustration and she pinched the seed between two fingers to glare at it irritably for its betrayal.

“What were you focusing on when you did the spell?” Willow asked and Amity turned to stare at her in confusion.

“Forcing it to grow?” She asked, a frown creasing her brow when Willow grimaced. “What? Isn’t that what the spell is supposed to do?” 

“Well…” Willow started, rolling a hand in the air as she thought. “It’s not about forcing the plant to grow. It’s more like you’re… encouraging it? Plants are living things after all. You can’t force them to do what you want. All you can do is guide them and help them along.”

Forcing things to do what you wanted was exactly how she’d been raised to do things. Which was something that, now that she was thinking about it, Amity should really let go of.

“Whenever I do plant magic, I think of what I want it to look like and let the glyph do the rest,” Luz piped up. To demonstrate, she whipped out a plant glyph and screwed up her face in thought for a second before tapping it with a finger. 

A delicate purple and white flower with a bright yellow spot in its center bloomed to life on the paper. It was small and gorgeous and reminded her of Luz somehow. Luz plucked it from the paper and leaned in to tuck it carefully behind Amity’s ear. She let her fingers trail gently through Amity’s hair with a smile so soft it sent her heart fluttering. They were so close. If she just leaned in a little...

“Right, exactly like that!” Willow agreed, breaking their gaze with a knowing smirk. 

Oh, right. They had company. 

Amity flushed bright red and cleared her throat as Luz leaned away to pat her hands rhythmically against her legs like nothing had happened. Willow’s smirk only grew.

“Visualizing what you’d like to grow is important, but you can’t force it. You have to feel it! There’s life in there. Find it and use it!” she added and Amity looked back down at the seed in her hand curiously.

“So… you want me to tell it what to do… without telling it what to do ?” She asked and Willow nodded.

“Yes! Now you’re getting it!” 

She most definitely was not. That made no sense at all! She reached up a hand to touch the flower in her hair and bit her lip in thought. Luz had said to visualise so, maybe she’d just try that? Whatever flower Luz had made for her wasn’t one she’d ever seen on the Boiling Isles but it was easy enough to picture the pretty thing her even prettier girlfriend had held out to her, so she brought the image of it to mind and tried the spell again.

This time she eased her magic into the seed more carefully, instead of trying to force it like she had before. Willow was right. It was faint, but she could definitely feel something alive in there. The seed shook again, glowing under her magic and then cracked open, growing slowly into a duplicate of the little purple and white flower Luz had made. It was smaller and not quite as vibrant, but it was otherwise the same and she grinned triumphantly.

“See? I knew you could do it!” Willow gushed. 

Amity grinned at her briefly, before leaning over to slip the flower into Luz’s hair like she had done for her. A bright smile spread across Luz’s suddenly pink face and she darted in to press a quick kiss to Amity’s cheek, much to Willow’s amusement and Gus’s apparent dismay.

“Titan, you two are so sappy ,” he moaned and Willow groaned at him from across the sofa while Amity huffed indignantly. Luz, however, was positively beaming. 

“Gus… did you just make a plant pun?” she asked and Gus grinned at Luz slowly.

“I learned frond the best,” he said and Luz reached up to clutch at her chest.

“The student has grown into a master. Thyme so proud…” She whimpered. Willow groaned even louder and rolled her eyes at them, shooting a long suffering look at Amity, who was trying her best not to laugh. She would never, in a million years, admit to enjoying Luz’s stupid puns. Willow would never let her hear the end of it.

“Can we get back to work before the two of you get completely distracted?” Willow begged, making Luz and Gus simultaneously stick their tongues out at her. She breathed in deeply through her nose before turning to give Amity a very forced smile. “ So , that was much better! You visualised what you wanted and let the plant do its thing, right?”

“I guess? I just did what Luz said and thought about what I wanted to make,” Amity said with a shrug.

“But could you feel the energy in the seed? The potential for growth and life?” Willow asked, leaning in around Luz eagerly and Amity smiled at her enthusiasm.

“Sort of, yeah. It was like a little spark,” she admitted and Willow’s eyes brightened.

“Exactly! Once you learn how to nurture that spark, you can do amazing things with Plant Magic!”

“ Or , you can get really fancy and conjure flowers that can do this!” Gus cut in, smirking at Willow as he drew a spell circle that burst into a troupe of brightly coloured singing flowers, complete with top hats and twirling canes, that did a little jig in the air. They tap-danced around Willow’s head and she huffed, poking at one of them to make the entire illusion collapse in a puff of smoke.

“ Real plants are a little more durable,” she quipped. Gus grinned and shrugged lightly.

“Maybe, but they’re not as cool,” he fired back and Willow seemed ready with a response when Amity cut her off. This was clearly an argument they’d had before and between this and Luz’s puns, they were well and truly on their way to getting completely distracted from homework.

“That was a really impressive illusion. How did you make something so complex so easily?” She asked Gus and he turned from his bickering with Willow to look up at her.

“It’s kind of like how Luz and Willow said. It’s all about visualisation,” he said, tapping at the side of his head. “You know some illusion magic already, right?”

“The twins taught me a few spells, yeah,” she agreed. Gus waved his hand at her in a ‘go on’ sort of way so she summoned a small light cage around her books on the table for a moment before letting it fall away again.

“You also showed me an animated history of Grom!” Luz supplied and Amity nodded at that.

“Other than that, I only know the basic light spell,” she said before turning toward Gus, who was staring at her, slack jawed.

“You… you can make a light barrier and an animated projection but you don’t know basic conjuring?” He yelped and Amity jerked back into Luz when Gus leaned in dramatically. “ How ?”

“I… I don’t know? The twins said they were useful spells and taught them to me. They took forever to learn though so I never tried any others,” she muttered, glancing away uncomfortably. The twins had teased her endlessly for not getting the spells right away, but Gus didn’t need to know that. He flopped back against the sofa and frowned, folding his arms across his chest.

“The twins, huh? No offence to your brother and sister but they’re terrible teachers,” he said, wincing when Amity turned sharply back to him. “Don’t hurt me!” He cried and Amity rolled her eyes.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve just never heard anyone claim the twins to be bad at anything. Ever. I’m not that scary, am I?” she asked indignantly and Luz giggled beside her, tossing an arm around her shoulder.

“No, you’re adorable,” she said at the same time that Gus yelped, “yes!” Luz and Willow glared at the boy and he chuckled sheepishly. 

“What? She used to play grudgby and she took on Boscha and Grom to defend Luz. Who knows what she’d do to defend the twins!”

“She’d fight a slitherbeast, but that doesn’t mean Amity is scary!” Luz said and Gus gaped at her.

“Yes, it does !”

“Okay, we’re getting off track again!” Willow yelled over them. “Gus, Amity is our friend now so if she’s going to be scary, it’ll be for you, not to you and Luz, stop flirting with your girlfriend for two seconds so we can focus, please!” They both ducked their heads immediately, Luz snatching her arm away from Amity to fold her hands demurely in her lap.

“Yes, ma’am!” They said in unison and Willow hummed in satisfaction.

“Much better. Now, Gus, you were explaining Illusions?” Willow said and Amity grinned, thoroughly impressed. Willow’s confidence was really starting to show now and Amity couldn’t be happier for her. Titan help anyone that tried to bully her now.

Gus dusted himself of imaginary lint before he hopped off the sofa to pace in front of them like a lecturing professor.

“Right you are, Willow! Conjuring illusions takes intense focus and concentration,” he said seriously. “In order to bring an image to life, you need to know everything about it. You need to visualise the colour, the shape, the texture. Every tiny detail from every visible angle. Keep it all in your head and…” he twirled his finger in the air and, with a big puff of smoke, a second Gus appeared beside him. The illusion Gus gave a smarmy grin and shot a set of finger guns at Luz that she returned with a click of her teeth before it popped away again.

“Illusion clones are a little advanced, but you get the picture,” Gus continued. “You have to be able to see the illusion perfectly in your mind before you can conjure it up. Any flaws in the design will show up in your conjuring if you’re not careful. Normally, you start with manipulating a light spell and work your way up to more complex illusions from there.” 

Amity frowned, tapping her chin in thought. So the twins had basically been teaching her some of the most advanced spells they knew and she had brute forced them until she got them right. No wonder she’d had so much trouble!

“I guess… the twins never thought about needing to know the basics first. Illusions always came so easily to them,” she said quietly and Gus shrugged.

“Yeah, they’re prodigies alright. If they didn’t skip so many classes they’d probably have graduated by now,” he said and Amity snorted out a laugh. If their parents ever learned that, the twins would be in so much trouble. Edric and Emira did the bare minimum work required to simply not get kicked out of school but somehow still got top marks in their exams without even trying. 

It had always been infuriating to Amity, who worked long, hard hours to maintain her high grades. She supposed it made sense then that they had so much trouble teaching her new magic. It came naturally to them. How were they supposed to explain that to Amity, who achieved things through effort?

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold up ,” Luz interrupted, leaning forward to look at Gus seriously. “Are you saying I can do more stuff with my light spell?” Gus nodded and she gasped dramatically. “Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that?! It’s like, my signature spell!”

She snatched a light glyph out of her pouch and slammed it onto the table excitedly. Luz leaned in close with an expression of deep concentration etched onto her face and tapped the glyph almost reverently. The paper curled in on itself and, to her absolute delight, a little golden glowing animal with a long body and tail hovered into being over her cupped hands.

“Oh my gosh!” she squealed, eyes practically glowing with joy. Amity’s own eyes widened and she bit back a laugh. She knew exactly what that creature was. Luz had shown her countless videos of them by now after all.

“Luz… don’t you dare,” she snickered.

“But, Amity , do you know what this means ?” she drawled, wiggling her eyebrows at Amity playfully.

“Luz, I swear to Titan…”

“I made an otter… with a light side .”

Luz dropped her voice into the husky tone she liked to think made her sound so mysterious and dangerous and Amity couldn’t help the loud laugh that burst out of her. Luz leaned in close, grinning at her with that same silly face she’d made way back on Grom night and Amity shoved her away playfully. Titan, she was such an adorable dork!

“Uh, I’m really happy for you, Luz, but... what’s an otter?” Gus asked incredulously and Luz giggled.

“I’ll show you later, buddy,” she said before smirking at a still chuckling Amity. “Ok, your turn then, Blight. Let’s see what you got!”

There was no mistaking Luz’s competitive tone and Amity returned the smirk with one of her own. It may be Luz’s signature spell, but Amity had been conjuring light spells her whole life. It was one of the first spells children learned on the Boiling Isles after all and if she could manipulate a light cage she could do this. Challenge accepted, Noceda!

Concentrating hard on the form she wanted it to take, Amity made sure to hold onto every detail she could as she drew the spell circle. It popped and a tiny abomination appeared next to Luz’s otter, casting Amity’s signature bright pink light against Luz’s golden magic.

“You did it!” Gus cried happily, leaning in to inspect Amity’s illusion more closely. “Nice touch on the details! It even looks kind of gooey,” he added with an impressed nod. 

Grinning to herself, Amity focused on her abomination and managed to make it stumble over to give Luz’s otter a jerky pat on its glowing head. As soon as they touched though, both illusions burst out of existence in a shower of pink and gold sparkles that scattered across the table before fading away.

“Awe, that was so cute!” Luz said. “It’s too bad they break so easily.”

“Yeah, giving illusions structure is a lot harder than it looks. You have to keep a lot more details in mind, like how they would feel and sound. It also takes a lot more magic to maintain them,” Gus explained as he sat back down. Amity hummed to herself thoughtfully while Luz started working on creating more illusion animals with her light spells, gleefully making them float around her head.

Conjuring illusions shared some elements with Abomination summoning, now that she thought about it. There was a lot more prep work involved with Abominations and they were a lot more tactile and difficult to control since they were technically sentient beings, but there was an element of visualisation involved too. You just focused more on commands than appearance.

Abominations, Plants, Healing, Illusions. How many links between the tracks would she see in one day?

She kept seeing them for the rest of the week too. From Oracle to Bard and even Beast Keeping, small connections kept popping up that she’d never expected to see and she found herself suddenly excelling at magic in a way she never had before. She wasn’t learning anything terribly advanced, but she was learning so much .

With a little help from her friends and a lot of help from Luz, Amity was making good work of her mountain of homework too. But even so, she knew something would have to give. As much as she loved getting to learn a little of everything, it was too much and she would never be able to keep up with it all and learn more advanced Healing at the same time.

By Thursday she had come to the difficult decision to drop Construction and Bard entirely. They were both fascinating but didn’t connect to Healing in any significant way, so she felt less attached to them than the other Tracks. Even if the artistic side to them appealed to her.

Professor Febris had been thrilled at the news and had gently nudged Principal Bump (via a very loud conversation that Amity had definitely not been listening to through his closed office door) into letting her drop two Tracks in favour of more Healing classes. With a warm pat on the shoulder, she guaranteed Amity that she would make sure Bump agreed to any further changes before she handed her a new schedule to work with.

A part of Amity was sad to say goodbye to the Tracks so soon after joining them, but it would be a welcome reprieve from all the new work and she had at least gotten a handle on the basics for each. There was nothing stopping her from doing a little independent study in her downtime if she felt like it.

Dropping the classes also meant less time with Luz but Amity took that as a good thing. Maybe. As much as she adored her girlfriend, they spent literally every waking moment together and a break from each other every now and then was probably healthy, right?

They could get some space later though. For now they were happily curled up on Luz’s bed together (with the door open of course), taking a well deserved break from homework to research curses. They’d gone hunting through the Bonesborough library earlier in the week for every book they could find on the subject and had amassed a fairly large collection to comb through whenever they had the time.

It was slow going. Most of the texts were too advanced for them to follow without looking up more reference material, but what they had managed to glean so far was that curses were… tricky.

There were all sorts of them, ranging from simple pranks to the more long-lasting and nefarious kind, like Eda’s. Each was uniquely awful and they all seemed to have their own rules for removal, none of which were easy.

Transformative curses, in particular, were difficult to find information on at all because they were considered too dark and cruel a thing to do to a witch. That, of course, meant it was going to be even harder to cure Eda than they’d expected. It was disheartening to say the least.

Luz, who had been leaning comfortably against Amity’s side, tossed the heavy old tome she’d been reading to the end of the bed and fell back against her pillows with a frustrated sigh.

“I think we need to take a break,” she groaned, tossing an arm over her eyes. “We’ve been at this all week and all we’ve come up with so far is that it’s going to be hard. We knew that already!”

Amity lowered her own book to give her a sympathetic pat on the leg. Luz may love learning about magic but this was a lot of sitting around and reading for her energetic girlfriend.
Titan, even Amity was starting to get tired and this was what she did! They really did need a break. Or a break through at the very least.

Luz sprang suddenly upright as if tugged by an invisible cord and speared Amity with a breathtaking grin, her eyes bright and sparkling with renewed energy. 

“We should go on a date!” she declared and Amity blinked blearily at her.

“Right now? Luz, it’s the middle of the night,” she said and Luz laughed.

“No, I mean this weekend! Maybe Saturday?”

“Oh…” That made more sense. Wow, she really needed a break. That should have been a lot more obvious. Rubbing sleepily at her eyes, Amity set her book aside and stretched her arms high above her head, enjoying the satisfying crack in her back before turning to look at Luz, who was grinning at her expectantly.

“ Soooo , what do you say?” she asked eagerly.

“I’d really like that,” Amity agreed, smiling at her fondly. She froze then and her eyes widened with sudden realisation. “We’ve been so busy that I hadn’t really thought about it but… I guess this will be our first real date, huh?” 

And not just with Luz. This would be her first date… ever. Oh wow .

“What? Romantic, death defying adventures to the Knee don’t count?” Luz asked, her lips quirking upwards and Amity gave her a flat look.

“No.”

“Okay, that’s fair,” Luz snorted before glancing around at the array of books spread out on her bed. “All this work is driving me sort of nuts though. We need to have a real break. So, no matter what, there will be no talking or even thinking about school or homework or curses for the whole weekend. Just cute date stuff with my even cuter girlfriend. Deal?” She stuck her hand out with a very serious expression and Amity rolled her eyes.

“Deal,” she chuckled but, when she took Luz’s hand to shake it, Amity squeaked in surprise as she was yanked in for a kiss instead. Despite the initial shock, she sank into it and found herself smiling giddily against Luz’s lips. Maybe the prospect of going on her first date with Luz (her first date ever … wow) was sort of extremely terrifying, but it was also so, so exciting. She had no idea what to expect, having never done anything like this before but, as Luz’s hands slipped around her neck to tug her in closer, there was one thing of which she was certain. 

Amity could not wait for Saturday.

The edits are more minor after chapter 5 so it's going a lot faster than I thought. Hopefully soon I'll be adding new content.

For those that are interested, here is the flower the two saps made for each other. Purple and white violet. Is this thing not just TOO PERFECTLY LUMITY?! I mean come on! Luz's hoody and Amity's eyes. It's just... YES. Even better is the symbolism! A white violet represents innocence and a purple violet symbolizes that your “thoughts were occupied with love” for the person you are giving it to. My heart...

Chapter Text

Though Luz had been the one to ask and should therefore technically be the one that decided what they did, Amity wanted to be involved in the planning of their first date too. It was the perfect opportunity to do something meaningful for the girl that had done so much for her. A way to thank her and show her how much she meant to Amity. A way to show that Amity was an awesome girlfriend deserving of Luz.

So they agreed to split the day. Amity would handle the morning and Luz would take over in the afternoon. It was a fair deal that left plenty of time for them both to fill with, as Luz had put it, cute date stuff with her even cuter girlfriend.

Except... Amity was drawing a blank. 

She had never gone on a date before. How did one go about planning these things? Everything she knew of dating came from books and those always depicted it as an evening affair. Usually involving flirtatious conversations over dinner and perhaps dancing afterwards. What did one do on a breakfast date? With another girl… who was also human and could possibly have entirely different ideas about dating than a witch might.

The other girls at school liked to giggle and gossip together about these sorts of things but it had never interested Amity until she had met Luz. Dating had always seemed like far more trouble than it was worth, so she had never felt the need to talk about it with her old friends or her sister… or her mother for that matter.

What a conversation that would have been! It was the sort of thing girls usually went to their mothers about, wasn’t it? But the very thought of sharing the terrified exhilaration of her and Luz’s first date with Odalia Blight was painfully laughable.

No, she couldn’t turn to her mother, but when she and Luz went to bed for the night, Amity briefly contemplated calling Emira for advice. Her finger hovered over her sister’s name on her scroll for a long moment but she found herself unable to press it. She was still a little sore at Emira after learning that she, like Amity, liked girls and had never thought to tell her younger sister about it. 

Maybe it was a tiny bit petty to be angry at her... Emira had had valid reasons to keep her secret after all and Amity knew that, but the betrayal of it still stung. It was hard not to be just a little resentful after everything that she had gone through that Emira had managed to avoid. 

Emira hadn’t lost everything. 

Emira got to live at home and be a Blight. 

It just wasn’t fair!

Amity would never wish any of it on her older sister of course, but that didn’t stop her from having the feelings. Or the guilt that came with them.

It would take time to move past it all, regardless of what she’d said to Viney the day she and Luz had become a couple. Time and… Amity wasn’t even sure what else. A conversation maybe? Something at least, to smooth over the jagged edges of their relationship. So Amity set her scroll aside and went to sleep with a head full of messy, tangled emotions, a belly full of nervous, excited fluttering... and no ideas for her first date.

The morning dawned as bright and sunny as the smile on Luz’s face when they met in the hallway outside their bedroom doors. It was a routine they’d slipped into over the past few days that Amity was sure she would never tire of. Seeing Luz first thing in the morning and preparing for their day together was just so delightfully domestic. It never failed to put Amity in a good mood for the start of her day.

Sharing space with Luz was surprisingly easy.

Amity had never been a morning person, only ever waking early out of necessity. If she’d had the option, Amity would have gladly spent those extra hours in a warm, cozy haze instead of dragging her sleepy, grumpy self out of bed to get the day started before the sun even rose. Luz’s seemingly boundless enthusiasm for life was energising though and, standing side by side in front of the sink to brush their teeth in comfortable silence, with Luz giving Amity a frothy, minty grin in the mirror, Amity felt content.

Their mornings together had become a sort of game. Luz would playfully poke fun at Amity for the apparently very serious expression she wore while applying eyeliner and Amity would roll her eyes and bump their hips together. Amity would snag the brush from her to help Luz tame her unruly bedhead with a little magic and Luz’s eyes would just light up with joy. Hooty would poke his head in to say good morning and Luz would slam the window in his face so Amity wouldn’t have to deal with him that early. It was simple. Natural. Easy .

On the other hand, meals in the Owl House (like most things there) were always a gamble. The food’s edibility varied depending on who cooked that day and the atmosphere could be anything from relaxingly quiet to chaotically violent. That Friday morning, Amity found herself in front of the counter frying up griffin eggs on toast for everyone while Eda worked on a potion beside her. It might have been one of their calmer breakfasts, were it not for Luz and King attempting to out-pun one another.

They had the condiments, cutlery and crockery spread out across the table like a war map, moving pieces around as if they were Generals plotting an assault on an enemy force. King was standing on the table using a ladle (almost as long as he was tall) as a sword, with an old colander propped on his head for a helmet. He paced back and forth in front of their salt and pepper army while Luz contemplated their troops with a grave expression. 

“If we’re gonna go into batter, then we need to hatch a plan first,” she said, rubbing her hands together as she looked up at King. He scoffed at her and waved his ladle through the air dismissively.

“I say loaf is too short,” he declared, thumping his tiny fist into his chest. “We don’t need a plan. We should rise up and bake a stand! Down with the pastry-archy!” King stomped his foot on the table and Luz sucked in a breath through her teeth. Frowning to herself, she tapped her chin in thought as she stared down at their ranks.

“I dunno, King. That seems awfully whisky,” she replied. Amity pressed her lips together, hiding her amused snort by cracking an egg as loudly as she could against her sizzling pan while Eda groaned next to her.

“They’ve turned the comedy hour into an entire production…” Eda muttered, slapping a hand to her face in despair. “It’s too early for this!”

Amity snickered at her as she moved around the table to set plates in front of Luz and King, carefully pushing aside their gathered army to make room. King gasped in horror and turned betrayed eyes on Amity, pointing his ladle at her accusingly.

“The witch is attempting a coup! Luz, it’s time for egg-streme measures! Bready the canons!” he cried and Amity folded her arms, giving Luz an amused look. She raised an eyebrow at her challengingly and Luz grinned back at her. 

“King, you ask too much! How could I betray Amity? She’s my butter half!” she gasped dramatically, shooting Amity a smarmy wink. Amity bit back another snort, her cheeks flaming and turned away under the pretext of fixing her own plate of breakfast. She wasn’t quite quick enough though and Luz saw the corners of her mouth ticking upwards before she could hide it. Standing from her chair and moving around the table, Luz slipped behind Amity and leaned over her shoulder to wiggle her eyebrows at her.

“What’s the matter, Amity?” she drawled and Amity turned away further, biting her lip to hold back her smile. “Awe, are you egg-noring me? I’m hurt! Don’t you like my yolks?”

It was too much. Laughter bubbled up her throat and Amity couldn’t hold it in to save her life. She burst into a fit of giggles, clutching at the kitchen counter to hold herself upright while Luz beamed at her. Eda was staring at them slack-jawed, her arm frozen mid-stir over her brewing pot.

“By the Titan… you’ve found one that likes your stupid puns. Luz, marry that girl,” she said in shock. 

“Geez, Eda, let me take her on a date first, would ya? Besides, I’d probably have to ask Edric and Emira for permission, right?” Luz replied casually. Amity snapped upright, gaping at the two of them wide-eyed and face positively burning. Oh Titan, it was far too early in the morning for her to handle jokes like this.

Luz shot Eda a grin, her cheeks glowing too as she tugged a limp Amity towards the table. She sat her down before retrieving Amity’s plate and settling in beside her to eat while Amity stared at her breakfast in a catatonic stupor. Narrowing his eyes curiously, King leaned over to poke at her with his fork and, when she didn’t respond, he let out a little grunt.

“I think you broke her, Luz,” he said, plopping back to shovel an entire egg into his mouth. Luz glanced over and giggled, nudging Amity’s ribs with her elbow.

“C’mon, Ams, eat up. We’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry,” she said and Amity blinked up at her.

“I… uh, r-right,” she muttered, shaking off the haze with a colossal effort. She had to get a hold of herself! It had only been a joke after all. Her cheeks blazed red anew and Amity practically attacked her food to cover her flushed face. They made quick work of their breakfast after that, Amity pointedly ignoring Eda’s smug smirk from across the kitchen, before they hurried out of the house to meet their friends at Hexside.

Willow and Gus were waiting for them in front of the steps leading up to the main doors like always, smiling and waving from where they were huddled together just off the main path. The moment they came into view, Luz darted towards them to scoop them into her usual morning hug before she hooked her arm through Willow’s and started tugging her towards the school.

“Willow, you don’t mind if I steal you away for a bit right? I need some help with… uh… Plant Track homework! That’s it! That really important assignment that I totally forgot about until right this second!” She glanced over her shoulder at Amity, grinning at her nervously and Amity rolled her eyes. Well, that wasn’t suspicious in the least.

“Luz,” she said with a knowing smirk. “We finished all of our Plant Track homework last night.”

Luz blanched and almost stumbled, Willow’s strong arms the only thing keeping her from tripping over her own feet onto the path.

“Oh… uh. Right you are!” she chuckled manically, eyes darting to Willow for help. To her credit, Willow took it in stride and simply gave Amity a placid smile. Apparently she was a better actress than Luz.

“Luz asked me to help her with an extra credit assignment. It’s no big deal really but we should probably get it done soon. It’s due today if I recall,” she said and then waved at them, pulling Luz along with her. “I’ll see you both later!” she added before she and Luz hurried up the steps.

“Bye, Amity! Bye Gus!” Luz called over her shoulder. “I’ll see you both in Magic History!” 

Oh… that was right. Today would be the first time they had a separate class since she’d been kicked out. They would have had a morning Bard lesson together but she’d switched it out for Healing instead. She swallowed the grimace forming on her face and forced herself to smile, waving at Luz as she vanished into the school with Willow.

It had crossed her mind that dropping some Tracks would mean time away from Luz, but Amity hadn’t really thought about what that would mean until just then. She took a deep breath to steady her suddenly frayinging nerves. It was silly to feel so unsettled. She would see Luz in an hour. She could handle an hour without her girlfriend. Her girlfriend who had barely left her side since that awful night... Who had been there to support her and make sure Amity was distracted or comforted or…

“So... should we go in?”

Her heart slammed into her throat and Amity yelped, whipping around to see Gus looking up at her expectantly. How had she forgotten he was there?! There was an unmistakably mischievous glint in his eye when he grinned and gestured to the school doors with a flourish. Amity couldn’t help but find the gesture just a little bit endearing... in an annoying sort of way that reminded her of Edric. 

Honestly, Illusionists were all the same, so maybe it made sense. Overly showy with a flair for the dramatic and an inexplicable tendency to climb on top of things. Come to think of it, Luz would have probably made an excellent Illusionist if she’d been born a witch…

Shoving aside the disturbing thought of what sort of chaos Luz might have been capable of in another life (she created plenty of chaos with the magic she had now , thank you very much), Amity followed Gus up the stairs and into the school. She knew exactly why Luz had slipped away with Willow, of course. She was not subtle, after all and Amity was all but certain that Luz was asking their mutual friend for help with her half of their date. 

Willow had never dated anyone, as far as Amity knew, but the girl was very thoughtful and insightful. She just knew that, between Willow and Luz, they would plan something incredibly sweet and personal that Amity would have no hopes of topping (or even matching) without some help. The worst part was that Willow had been Amity’s last hope. She’d wanted to ask her for help too, but now Luz had stolen her away and Amity was left with nothing.

“Oh! Did Luz tell you I got back into the H.A.S?” Gus cut into her thoughts and she started, having forgotten him again. Constantly overlooking the boy wasn’t a great start to their friendship but, in her defense, Amity was rather distracted and he was very small… She grimaced guiltily and looked down to see him punching a fist into his palm in what she assumed was meant to be a menacing gesture. Now he sort of reminded her of King. “I’m gonna show them all who the real human expert is in this school and dethrone Mattholomule once and for all!”

She’d almost forgotten about that. Amity didn’t know the first thing about dating and she knew even less about human dating (if it were possible to know less than nothing about something), but here was an invaluable source of information strolling beside her, ripe for interrogation.

Gus Porter, foremost expert on humans at Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. According to him anyway. Amity wasn’t entirely convinced of the accuracy of his self-appointed title but Willow had recommended that she talk to him about humans. She clearly thought he was well versed on the subject and that would have to be good enough for Amity. She was desperate.

They stopped in front of Gus’s locker and Amity shifted nervously from foot to foot while he dug around for his books. How did one go about asking their sort of friend for help with dating advice when that friend wasn’t even old enough to care about dating? What were the chances that Gus even had information on human dating rituals to begin with? 

Huffing at herself in annoyance, Amity clamped down her growing anxiety and pushed past it with all her might. She could do this. She could ask a friend for help... even if she’d barely ever had any sort of interaction with him until recently... and never when it was just the two of them.

Before she could overthink it more than she already had and back out entirely, Amity straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat. Gus glanced at her from where he was half climbing inside his locker’s mouth, trying to reach something in the back.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Willow mentioned you know a lot about humans and I was wondering if you could maybe… help me with something. For Luz,” she added quickly. Maybe knowing it was for their mutual friend would make him more open to the idea of wasting his time on her. To her utter surprise, his eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across his cheeks.

“ You want my help? With human stuff ? Seriously?” He pried himself free of the slowly closing jaws of his locker to look up at her, practically vibrating with excitement. “I’d be happy to!”

Wow. Now he reminded her a whole lot of Luz. Amity watched as he just about dove back into his locker and started frantically digging about inside of it. She hadn’t expected him to be that eager to help and something about his genuine enthusiasm was infectious. She found herself grinning.

“I have so much source material on humans!” he called from the depths of his locker. “Anything In particular I should be looking for?”

Well, no turning back now.

“I uh… I was hoping you’d have some information on human dating rituals…” she said, trying hard to sound less embarrassed by the whole affair than she was.

“Oh sure!” he called back. “I have just the thing!” 

Gus had crawled so deep into his locker that all she could see of him was the lower half of his legs, which was rather disconcerting. Were they that deep or was Gus just that small? Should she be worried about the way it was starting to close its teeth around him again? It looked almost hungry…

“Gus, maybe you should get out now,” she said, reaching a hand out towards one of his feet.

“Just a second! Almost… ah ha! Found it!” he cried triumphantly before he started trying to shimmy his way back out. He struggled for a moment, managing to get his knees free and Amity’s hand drifted a little closer to his flailing foot.

“Are you okay?” she asked slowly and he paused. His locker was starting to growl, low and deep and Amity was almost certain it would be licking its lips if Gus wasn’t kneeling on its tongue.

“Um… do you think you could help me out here, Amity ol’ buddy? I’m sorta stuck,” he said with a nervous chuckle. Oh, that wasn’t good. Amity blanched and wrapped both hands around his ankles, tugging hard. The locker snarled. “Maybe hurry? It’s really starting to drool in here!”

Amity heaved on Gus’s ankle, valiantly ignoring the fact that he was becoming increasingly slimy the longer he stayed submerged in his apparently ravenous locker. Gus yelped when he felt the teeth starting to graze his thighs and squirmed in her grip, his slick ankle slipping about in her fingers. Planting one foot against the side of the locker for leverage, Amity leaned back and pulled as hard as she could.

There was a mighty ripping sound as Gus finally popped free, his cowl catching on the locker’s teeth when it tore from his shoulders. They tumbled to the ground in a heap, both breathing hard and covered in more drool than Amity wanted to think about. Growling irritably, she shot a glare at the locker that had very nearly swallowed her friend and watched as it slurped up the cowl like a string of hairghetti. The black fabric vanished with a loud belch that made Amity’s nose curl in disgust.

“Gus, when was the last time you fed your locker?” she asked as she pushed the boy off of her legs where he’d been lying since they fell. He groaned and sat up, cradling something to his chest with one arm while he wiped a horrifying amount of goop off his face with the other.

“I’m not exactly sure,” he admitted, giving her a sheepish grin and Amity slapped a hand to her forehead with a sigh. She was going to have to bring this up with Willow later because there was no way Amity had the patience to explain proper locker maintenance to Gus right then.

He was a sweet kid and she was very grateful he was willing to help her, but she really would have preferred to start her day off with less saliva involved. Something like that might have been cute if Luz had done it but Gus should know better and… Oh. Wow , okay. She was so whipped for Luz. The thought put a smile on her face and she rolled her eyes at herself, turning to give Gus a grin.

“I hope whatever you were digging around in there for was worth almost getting eaten,” she chuckled as she stood to dust herself off. She reached out a hand to help him up, suddenly not really all that bothered by the slimy gunk that covered her hand when he grabbed onto her to pull himself back onto his feet.

“Oh, I think you’ll find it very worth it,” he said, returning her smile with a self satisfied one of his own. He held out what appeared to be a thin, glossy book inside of a clear, protective bag of some kind. The cover was filled with extravagant looking text and an almost unnaturally gorgeous girl posing in the middle of it all. The title hovered behind her in large, bright pink, flowing text: Teen Queen.

“What in Titan’s name is that?” she asked, staring at the overwhelmingly colourful and busy cover of the strange book with very open trepidation. “And where did you get it?”

She had never seen anything like it on the Boiling Isles before. It was so… flashy . Even the Azura books weren’t that ostentatious and they were absolutely filled with artwork. Granted, the Azura books were individual masterpieces with peerless writing and fantastically detailed art, so she supposed it was an unfair comparison. Gus’s ‘book’, however, was sort of hurting her eyes. Even the very pretty girl on the cover made her feel a bit uncomfortable. There was something just a little too... flawless about her. Like she wasn’t real or something.

“This, my friend, is a magi-zeen. Don’t let the name fool you though! It has nothing to do with mages. It’s a popular piece of human printed media,” Gus said, patting the book with obvious pride. “I have several in my possession. Humans fill them with studies and articles about all sorts of things. This one happens to be a detailed guide on how to navigate being a teenage girl in the human world.” He shuddered and grimaced sympathetically at the book. “From what I’ve read, it’s one of the most terrifying things to be on Earth.”

“Okay… but that doesn’t explain how you got it. Or why you have it if it’s meant for girls,” Amity said and Gus gave a casual shrug.

“I’m not biased about my source material,” he said with a sage nod. “If I have any hope of understanding humans and their rich culture, then I have to study all of it. As for where I got it; I buy all of them from Eda’s stall whenever she gets them in. She cuts me a pretty good deal!”

Amity highly doubted that. She would admit that Eda was proving to be a generous and good witch at heart so far, but she was also a con artist by trade and Amity made a mental note to have a talk with her about not scamming poor Gus out of his allowance. He wasn’t stupid by any means, but he was young and gullible and that was Eda’s key demographic.

“So, you wanna go through this right now? There’s a section on dating that I think will have exactly what you’re looking for!” he said, looking up at her eagerly. She grinned but shook her head.

“I have Healing now and I can’t miss that.”

“Ok, well how about next lesson? We have Magic History together, right? We can skip it and use the time to come up with a plan!” He carefully tucked the magi-zeen into his backpack with all the reverence of a historian handling a priceless artifact.

Amity balked at that. Magic History wasn’t exactly a difficult class to skip since she had read ahead ages ago, but she’d already been worrying about being away from Luz for a whole hour. Now Gus was suggesting she add on another to that? Could she handle that? 

The idea made her stomach squirm and she hugged her arms tightly around her middle. There was no way. She would have to decline. They could find time at lunch or maybe after school where they could talk in private but she could still keep Luz within sight and… By the Titan, what was wrong with her?

When had she become so dependent on her girlfriend? So clingy ! 

This couldn’t be healthy. Surely she had spent some time alone recently? But thinking back on the past two weeks, there were very few occasions Amity could remember spending away from Luz. It was usually only at night, when they’d gone to bed and it was dark and quiet in her empty room and she would always end up… She shuddered and frowned to herself.

No. She was stronger than this. She was Amity Blight. She was smart, creative, athletic and, as she’d recently come to appreciate, powerful in her own right. She was top of her class in Abominations, she was a natural Healer and, on top of all of that, she was learning just about every other Track Hexside had to offer. She could do this. 

She would do this. 

Luz deserved better from her than this. She deserved to have a life outside of keeping Amity glued together all of the time. She deserved time to do the things she wanted and to hang around other people and to not constantly be worrying about her sad girlfriend from a broken home. Luz meant the world to Amity. She deserved the world, because Luz was infinitely kind and sweet and good and, even at the tender age of almost fifteen, Amity knew that people like Luz were a rare breed. 

But more than that, Amity deserved better from herself. She was tired of feeling so fragile. They’d put her through a lot but if there was one thing her parents had taught her, in their own twisted way, it was how to be strong. It had just been a little harder to remember how recently. But it was time she stopped relying on her girlfriend to stitch her back together. She’d take this as an opportunity to show everyone that Amity Blight was not weak. 

After all, what was she planning on doing when Luz inevitably went home and she couldn’t see her every minute of every day? Amity needed to learn to stand on her own two feet again at some point. To be strong like she had before. To be independent like she had before. Okay… maybe not quite as independent because she liked having people who cared that she could turn to for help, but still . She couldn’t rely on Luz to hold her up forever and this would be a good, relatively easy way to start.

It was just two hours. She could handle two hours.

So, one fascinating (and thankfully distracting) Healing lesson later, Amity met Gus back at his locker and the two of them made their way to an empty classroom where they could plan the best human-style date the Boiling Isles had to offer. 

“We should probably come up with some sort of alibi for why we weren’t in class,” Amity said as they sat together at a desk in the quiet room.

“Already took care of it,” Gus replied with a smirk. “I sent ahead illusion clones of us to take notes. No one will know the difference!” 

“You mean other than your oldest friend and my girlfriend?” she asked skeptically and Gus laughed. 

“Yeah ok, they’ll probably know. But hey, I do this all the time to get out of class. The professor won’t notice a thing and that’s what counts!” 

Amity had to admit that the clone he’d conjured during the study session earlier in the week had been very impressive and she resolved to learn that spell from him at some point if this worked as well as he claimed. She could get so much more done with two of her around. The possibilities were endless! Think of the research potential! 

A brief, tantalizing thought of having multiple Luz’s running around flitted across her mind but she stamped it out with an embarrassed flush. She could barely handle one Luz. More might actually kill her.

Planning out a date with Gus turned out to be surprisingly productive. His magi-zeen provided a literal list of ideas and, while most of them seemed ridiculous or sketchy at best (there was no way she was taking Luz to the Knee to go skating on a frost kelpie infested lake because Amity just knew Luz would try to tame one), there was a handful of good options. Like the thing Amity planned to do for their breakfast and...

“... Bowling ?” she asked when Gus eagerly pointed it out. He couldn’t be serious.

“Yeah! Why not? It says right here that it’s one of the top ten human date activities. I’m sure Luz will love it!” he declared, but Amity had her doubts. It just seemed so… mundane. Hardly something Luz would be interested in at any rate.

“Isn’t there something else we could do?”

“You could go to a zoo… but I have no idea what that is,” Gus admitted with a sheepish shrug before he rubbed at his chin in thought, eyeing the list critically. “How about escaping from a room?”

“I’m sorry?” Amity blinked and Gus grinned, his eyes sparkling as he read.

“Apparently humans like to lock themselves in trap-filled rooms and solve puzzles to escape them. It could be like an adventure date!” He looked up at her with entirely too much excitement for such a dangerous idea and Amity snorted.

“That definitely sounds like something Luz would love, but I’d really prefer not to spend my first date with her fighting for our lives.”

“Yeah, good call,” he agreed before shrugging a shoulder. “Well, I don’t know what to tell ya. I’m pretty sure the rest of this is all stuff humans like to do at night, so Bowling might be your best option.” 

He had a point. Dinner and a movie was definitely an evening sort of thing and, as much as she loved dancing with Luz, there weren’t any musical events happening that they could go to for that.

“I guess I’m taking Luz bowling then,” she said. A wry smile tugged at her lips and she had to roll her eyes at the absurdity of it all. “Humans are so weird .”

“Yeah, but that’s what makes them so interesting!” Gus beamed at her and she laughed.

“You know what? You’re right.” 

They shared a grin before Amity looked down at the magi-zeen thoughtfully. Talking about humans with Gus had been sort of fun and she did want to learn more about them. There was an entire world of knowledge to be explored that her own world had dismissed purely because it lacked magic. If Luz had proved anything, it was that her parents were so very wrong. 

Inherent magical ability held no bearing over something’s (or some one’s ) worth. 

Earth was fascinating and Amity wanted to know more. Of course, she’d ask Luz too but she still wanted to get to know Gus better and this seemed like a good way to do that.

“You said you have more of these right? Would you mind showing me some time?” she asked and Gus’s entire face lit up.

“Sure! They’re really informative and I have them for all sorts of things! I even have some about human style gardening and wood-working that Willow has borrowed. She really liked those,” Gus said happily as he carefully slipped the magi-zeen back into its protective casing. “I’ll bring over the rest next time we’re all hanging out at the Owl House! Once I get them from my locker…”

After thoroughly thanking Gus for his help, she made her way to the greenhouses for her Plant Track class where she met a concerned Luz and Willow at the doors. They accosted her the moment she walked through the glass doors and grilled her on where she’d been, but she just smirked at them.

“I was with Gus, doing an extra credit Illusions assignment,” she said, raising a single, challenging brow at Luz who flushed and looked away, whistling innocently.

“Well that explains the clones then,” Willow chuckled. Amity gave a noncommittal hum but her smug smile never left and she thoroughly enjoyed the curious looks Luz kept shooting her all throughout their lesson.

When they walked to their usual table in the cafeteria for lunch, Amity spotted the twins sitting across the room, for once not flanked by their father’s hired goons, and a sudden idea sprang to mind. One she’d need their help with. 

She set her lunch tray down beside Luz’s and rushed off to speak to them, leaving her confused friends to stare after her. The twins were more than happy to help when she explained her idea and she strolled back to her table with a satisfied grin as they immediately hurried out of the cafeteria. They sent Luz matching winks as they slipped out the door, which only seemed to make her even more curious. Perfect .

The rest of the day was blissfully normal. She spent her last three classes with Luz before they met their friends at the front steps of the school. It was there that Luz edged towards Willow again and awkwardly scuffed the dirt with her foot, seemingly unable to meet Amity’s eye.

“I uh, sorta need to go deal with something. Is it alright if I meet you back at home?” she asked hesitantly. Apparently Amity wasn’t the only one that had noticed her clinginess but that ended here. She’d spent two hours without Luz and she had been just fine, she would be fine with a few more. Besides, she had her own errands to run and Luz couldn’t be there for them or it would ruin the surprise.

“Of course it’s okay. I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine. I have some things I need to do in the market anyway,” she said with as much casual confidence as she could before darting in to press a quick kiss to her cheek. Luz smiled back at her with an odd mix of relief and pride that warmed Amity’s cheeks before she shooed her off with Willow. “Go, I’ll see you later.”

They rushed off together and Gus headed home with a wave, leaving Amity to make her way to the market alone. The walk was a short one but she was proud when she managed to meet the twins without any rising anxiety or spiralling negative thoughts. It was a small victory but a victory nonetheless and she’d take it.

The twins were positively ecstatic to see her again after so long and scooped her up into their arms in a crushing hug the moment she was within reach, literally lifting her off the ground. Before she might have been rather annoyed with their blatant encroachment of her personal space, but after nearly two weeks apart with only glimpses of each other in school, Amity practically melted into the embrace.

“I missed you two idiots,” she admitted, graciously deciding not to kick them both in the shins with her currently dangling feet and they both laughed.

“Of course you did, we’re your favourite people in the whole world!” Edric said, squeezing her almost painfully tight before they both stepped back to deposit her back on the ground.

“Pretty sure that title belongs to Luz now,” Emira snarked with a smirk that turned strained when Amity couldn’t quite meet her eye. She hated the anger that simmered in her gut when she looked at Emira and did her best to swallow it back, covering it with a smile.

“Yeah, it does,” she said and Edric gasped dramatically before he leaned in to inspect her with narrowed eyes.

“No blushing or stammering. No panicking... She’s not even trying to deny it! Who are you and what have you done with our gay disaster of a little sister?” he cried, latching onto her arms and glaring at her suspiciously. She snorted and shoved him away with a laugh.

“How much of a disaster can I be? I got a girlfriend before you ,” she snipped at him playfully and Emira burst out laughing as their brother clutched at his heart.

“Ouch… that was cold , Mittens. I guess it really is you,” he cried and Amity grinned at his theatrics. She had really, really missed them.

“Thanks for doing this, you two. I know this is the first day of freedom you’ve had since...” she trailed off with a grimace and the twins both sobered at her sudden change in tone. “It just… it means a lot that you’d help me with this when I’m sure there’s a million other things you could be doing right now.”

The twins glanced at each other before they both stepped closer to set a hand on each of her shoulders.

“There is literally nowhere else we’d rather be,” Edric said seriously. Amity looked up at them both with suddenly swimming eyes, her throat tightening uncomfortably at the unfamiliar sincerity on their faces.

“We said we’d do anything for you, and we meant it,” Emira agreed and Amity had to take a deep, shuddering breath to will away the tears pooling in her eyes. The twins weren’t like this. They were meant to be teasing her and giving her a hard time, not getting all emotional and mushy and being so nice. It was weird. But a good weird.

“Okay,” she said, taking a step back and turning away a little so she could blink back the tears before she looked back at her siblings who were smiling at her warmly. “We’ve got quite a few things we need to get done. Did you manage to get what I asked?”

“Right here,” Emira nodded, patting the satchel hanging at her side and Amity grinned.

“Great! Then let’s get going. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Running around the market with the twins was a lot more exhilarating than she ever remembered it being. It was a whole lot easier to let go and enjoy the twins’ unique brand of chaos when she wasn’t so bent out of shape about following their parents’ rules and standards. What would be the point, after all?

Living with Eda, Luz and even King had opened her up to letting go a little. She was new at it and it wasn’t always easy to forget the stiff decorum her parents had instilled in her, but being with the twins made it just that much easier. They’d been ignoring the Blight upbringing for years and now she finally got to learn how to do the same. And wow , did it feel good .

They were headed towards one of the stands Amity had on her list when Edric practically dragged the two girls to a stop at a stall full of shiny trinkets and accessories that had caught his eye. She and Emira stood back as their brother browsed with a very wary looking shopkeep demon hovering nearby, all ten of its eyes trained on Edric.

The air between her and her older sister still felt strained so Amity chose to watch her brother try and haggle down the price of something that she couldn’t see. It was easier than thinking about Em. A hand settled on her arm and she jumped, turning to see Emira giving her a plaintive look.

“Amity…” she started hesitantly and Amity grit her teeth as the anger buried within her flashed briefly to the surface.

“ No ,” she hissed, wrenching her arm away from Emira and turning away. She knew what Emira wanted but Amity couldn’t deal with having that conversation. Not here. Not yet. 

She wanted to have fun and painful conversations about the past wouldn’t help with that. The look of hurt that flashed across Emira’s face made her gut twist with guilt though and she let out a deep, calming breath before looking up at her sister again. 

“Sorry, I… I do want to talk about it, I just... Not right now, Em, okay? Please?”

“Yeah, okay... Sorry,” Emira muttered, rubbing at her arm anxiously. “We’ll drop by later in the week and we can talk then, okay?”

It wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward to but Amity knew they needed to do it. Soon. Things were improving between her and the twins and she wanted to keep it that way. She didn’t like this tension between them, especially now when she’d already lost most of her family. So she smiled weakly at Emira and nodded. The relief in her sister’s eyes put Amity at ease as well and she felt at least a little better already.

“How do I look?”

They both turned to see Edric wearing a smarmy grin and posing with his hand under his chin. A pair of the most gaudy glasses Amity had ever seen sat perched upon his nose and she bit back a laugh. They were bright gold, absolutely covered in jewels and hideous .

“You look ridiculous,” Emira said flatly and Amity’s grin widened.

“You look like Great Aunt Ophelia,” she added to Emira’s apparent delight. Edric scowled at them both.

“Well I like them and I’m keeping them!” he said, crossing his arms with a huff.

“You never even wear your glasses!” Emira said in exasperation. “And I refuse to be seen with you while you’re wearing those monstrosities.”

Edric pouted but clearly wasn’t about to try and call Emira’s bluff. He quietly slipped the awful frames off of his face to give them a longing look, before he turned to the shopkeep with a heavy, over dramatic sigh. He held them out and the demon glowered at him, pointing one of its purple tentacled appendages at a sign on the table. The words ‘NO REFUNDS’ glared back at them in bright red ink.

“Get lost, kid. You touch it, you buy it,” it growled gruffly. Edric shrugged and turned back to his sister’s with a triumphant grin.

“Well, looks like I get to keep them after all!” He popped the glasses back onto his face and traipsed off with a happy little hum. Emira slapped a hand to her forehead with an irritated sigh.

“I guess that’s one way to get him to actually wear his dumb glasses but, Titan, they’re ugly !” she grumbled and Amity giggled as they made to follow their brother.

She spent the rest of the afternoon laughing with them and, while she still felt a little awkward around Emira, Amity was glad to spend some time with them at last. She’d forgotten how fun they could be when they weren’t mercilessly teasing her. Or maybe she just enjoyed their ribbing more when they were being less malicious about it.

When they were done setting everything up for her plan and, at the twins’ insistence, buying her a new outfit for the date, they insisted on walking her home. Amity was more than happy for the company. She had missed the twins keenly and she would take every extra second with them that she could get. 

The walk back to the Owl House was filled with their good-natured teasing and, at least for a little while, she could almost pretend that things were back to normal. That she hadn’t been thrown out of her home and had her entire life irrevocably changed. That she was just on her way to visit her adorable girlfriend like normal couples their age and not headed to the house they shared.

They split from her the moment the house came into view, claiming they needed to get back to Blight Manor. Amity wished they could stay a little longer but she knew they were right. They couldn’t risk upsetting their parents and losing their newly regained freedom, so she pulled them both into a quick, tight hug before waving them off. She would see them soon enough.

She hurried into the house, slipping past a dozing Hooty to find Luz waiting for her in the living room. She rose from her spot on the sofa and darted across the room to pull Amity into her arms.

“Where were you?” she asked tremulously. “I thought you’d be back ages ago. Why didn’t you answer my texts? I was worried…”

Amity smiled and slipped her own arms around Luz, squeezing her tightly as she pressed her face into Luz’s shoulder. Despite her need to find her own feet again, it felt good to be back where she felt safe and wanted. To be with Luz.

“Sorry,” she murmured, enjoying the way Luz’s arms tightened around her. “I didn’t think to check my scroll. I was with the twins all afternoon. They say hi, by the way.” She leaned back to look into Luz’s warm brown eyes and found Luz gazing at her softly. “I’ll make sure to check next time, I promise.”

Luz eyed her for a moment before she gave a satisfied nod, the tension easing out of her.

“It kinda sucks we didn’t get to spend a lot of time together today,” she said and Amity smiled at her warmly. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one being a little clingy, if the way Luz was literally clinging to her was any indication.

“It’s okay. We’re gonna have all day together tomorrow,” she said, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to Luz’s lips. “Did you and Willow have fun with that extra credit assignment?” she asked, grinning when Luz flushed.

“We did! And we got it done just in time too,” she replied with a wink before she stepped back to tug Amity towards the sofa. “Speaking of which, we should get our homework done before dinner because, like I said, there will be no homework or research talk allowed for the whole weekend. We’re taking a break!”

After their homework was all done and they’d finished Eda’s very questionable dinner, the girls headed upstairs to get ready for bed. Amity’s plans included breakfast, which meant they needed to be up early. On any other day, she would be less than enthusiastic about that idea, but tomorrow was special. 

When they eventually parted at their doors for the night with a gentle goodnight kiss, Amity slipped into her bed with excited thoughts of the next day and her first ever date. 

With Luz.

Uuuuh... yeeeeah... I had to split it. Again. Hahaha, oops. It just kept getting longer and the kids wouldn't stop bonding and then it made more sense to give the date it's own chapter so it wasn't lost in everything else. So no date this time. SORRY! But next time for sure. It's literally the next thing to happen. No more plans to plan or sibling time to spend together. Just cute girlfriends doing cute date things! I promise! For real this time!

Chapter Text

For the first time in her life, Amity willingly woke before the sun. Opening her eyes to a dark room was a familiar start to her day but, for once, she didn’t need Luz’s boundless enthusiasm or the threat of her parents’ anger to force her out of bed. She sat up unprompted and her eyes fell almost instantly to the flowing maroon skirt and pale pink blouse hanging neatly beside her door. The special outfit that Ed and Em had insisted on for the day. 

For her first date ever. With Luz.

The thought sent a rush of energy surging through her and Amity hopped up to go trail her fingers over the soft fabric of her off-shoulder blouse, cheeks warming with fluttery anticipation for her first date ever . 

With Luz . 

A giddy squeal made its way up her throat and she did nothing to hold it back. Her entire body felt tight with excitement and she couldn’t help but prance on the spot. She couldn’t wait!

Quiet shuffling in the room next to hers let her know that Luz was awake too and probably already getting ready to meet her in the hall like they always did. But Amity had other plans. She wanted her outfit for the day to be a surprise. It felt important somehow. 

So she gathered her clothing and dashed out of her room, catching a brief glimpse of her pajama-clad girlfriend’s startled face peeking out of her door as she rushed past and slipped into the bathroom. Luz yelped and made to run after her but Amity shot her a playful wink before slamming the door and locking it with a click.

“No fair!” Luz called from the hall. “You can’t use your speedy jock powers for evil like that!”

“Better luck next time, Noceda. Guess you’ll just have to go downstairs!” Amity giggled through the door when she heard Luz give a playful huff. The sound of her grumbling about liking it when Amity did her hair faded down the hall as she made her way to the stairs and Amity grinned to herself.

After rushing through her morning routine, she stood before the bathroom mirror, dressed in her new clothes and ready to style her hair before going to meet Luz. Only she was suddenly rooted to the spot. The excited fluttering that she’d woken with had given way to nervous anticipation and she stared at her reflection critically.

This was a date. You were meant to look extra nice on dates, she knew that much, but she’d never really done anything all that fancy with her hair and makeup before. Not even for Grom. 

It wasn’t like she didn’t know how. Her mother had ensured that she knew how to look like a ‘proper young lady’ after all. But the only thing she’d really taken from those hours in front of the mirror with Odalia had been how to apply her eyeliner. She had liked the way it highlighted her eyes and that had always been enough for her. But was it enough for a date ?

Huffing out an annoyed sigh, Amity glared at herself in the mirror. This was stupid. Luz saw her without her makeup and carefully styled hair every morning and she still liked her. There was no need for Amity to fret this much. She was wearing something nice and she had put plenty of thought into what they would be doing. Stop overthinking!

She did her hair and eyes like she would on any other day, added a touch of light pink lip gloss and then, just for good measure, slipped on the gold bracelet and matching round earrings Emira had gotten for her because she insisted they would make her eyes pop. Giving herself one last once over in the mirror, Amity declared herself ready and left the bathroom before she could change her mind. 

When she stepped into the living room she was immediately glad that she’d put in a little extra effort because apparently she hadn’t been the only one. Luz was hovering near the sofa, nervously playing with her fingers while she waited and muttering what sounded like pep-talk to herself.

The sight of her took Amity’s breath away.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the high-waisted, mustard yellow pants that she was sure shouldn’t look as good as they somehow did on Luz. The bright, pin-striped fabric complemented her skin tone perfectly and the loudness of her pants was tempered by a simple black shirt that showed off her arms really well. She’d also slicked her hair back like she had for Grom, her bangs tucked neatly under a headband that matched her pants.

Put simply, Luz looked good and Amity was having a hard time looking away.

She cleared her suddenly very dry throat and Luz whipped around at the sound. Then she froze, cheeks darkening and bright chocolatey eyes widening when they fell on Amity.

“H-hi,” she stammered, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Amity! You look… I-I mean… You...” Luz let out a shuddery breath. “ Wow .”

Wow indeed. Flushed with delight, Amity hurried across the room towards the gorgeous girl she somehow got to call her girlfriend. The way Luz was looking at her made the warmth in Amity’s cheeks flare hotter. Apparently she wasn’t the only one enjoying the view.

When she reached her at last, Amity slipped her hand into Luz’s and gave it a gentle squeeze, smothering a happy squeal when Luz swallowed visibly.

“Thanks. So do you,” she replied. They shared a small, shy smile before Amity cleared her throat again and tilted her head towards the door. “Are you ready to get going?”

“Absolutely,” Luz said, tugging Amity out of the house, past a snoring Hooty and onto the path that led into Bonesborough.

The early morning sunshine cast a lovely dappled light over the path as they strolled together in unusually tense silence that didn’t fit the calm atmosphere of the forest at all. Their fingers were still curled together but they seemed unable to meet each other’s eyes. Titan, she hoped Luz couldn’t feel how sweaty her hands were becoming. As the silence dragged on, Amity wondered if Luz felt half as nervous as she did. If her gut was also rolling with anxiety or her heart was pounding against her ribs.

It seemed so silly. They’d been dating for a week (and two days, three if you counted today). They shared sweet domestic mornings together and tender goodnight kisses outside their bedroom doors. They spent practically all of their time together. They cuddled and talked all the time and beyond that, they’d been friends for what felt like ages. They knew each other. Understood each other. 

And yet she couldn’t deny the fluttery, buzzing nerves that made her feel all jittery and weird inside. Or the desperate desire for their first official date to go well. Because beneath all the joy and excitement that this was finally happening (Titan, they were actually dating ), was the lingering fear that it could still end before it had really had a chance to begin.

No matter how close she and Luz were becoming, this thing between them was still new and fragile. 

She and Luz worked, Amity was certain of it. Mostly. Like 95% sure. Years of built up self doubt made it hard not to worry that it was all one wrong move away from crumbling apart. Which was also stupid because Luz was entirely too forgiving for that. But still… She just really wanted this date to go well. To reaffirm what she definitely already knew: that they were good together .

“S-So… where to first?” Luz asked haltingly and the way her voice broke a little eased Amity’s nerves a touch. Okay, so she wasn’t the only nervous one here, good to know. She gave Luz’s hand another squeeze.

“It’s a surprise,” she said and Luz beamed, the anxious tightness in her shoulders softening as she all but hopped through her next few steps.

“Awesome! I love surprises!”

“Of course you do,” Amity chuckled in reply. 

With the silence between them broken, Luz relaxed into talking like she usually did, leaping from one topic to the next with seemingly no rhyme or reason and yet somehow she still managed to make sense. At least until she moved onto stories from Earth, which were harder for Amity to follow. She tried her best though. 

Luz spoke with such enthusiasm and passion, regardless of the topic and it was enthralling to watch. From a Beast Keeping lesson they’d shared recently, to the time she’d once rescued something called a squirrel from an angry dog, to the day she’d auditioned for a school play using a string of sausages. Amity stayed mostly quiet, only piping up to ask the occasional question (which often led to a tangential rant before Luz would jump straight back to the previous topic) or comment on a particularly interesting anecdote. For the most part she was content to simply listen and enjoy Luz’s zest for seemingly everything that life had to offer.

When they finally made it to the outskirts of Bonesborough, Luz seemed to realise how comparatively quiet Amity had been and turned to give her a sheepish grin.

“Sorry. I’ve kinda been talking a lot, haven’t I?” 

The self conscious lilt to her voice startled Amity. It reminded her of the conversation they’d had all the way back on Amity’s first official day in the Owl House. What was it she had said? No one wants to hang around with the weird kid that can’t stop talking.

Now that she thought about it, she realised Luz would always light up with joy whenever Amity contributed to these mostly one-sided conversations, as if people didn’t normally pay attention to her rambling enough to respond. As if she was used to only being humored and having someone engage with her was a welcome surprise. The thought made Amity’s heart ache.

She gave Luz what she hoped was a comforting smile and tugged at her hand to pull them both to a stop just shy of the main market street.

“Don’t apologise for being you,” she said with as much sincerity as she could muster, leaning in to press a quick, reassuring kiss to her cheek. “I like you and I like listening to you talk,” she added and a deep blush bloomed across Luz’s face. Her expression softened and Luz glanced away, her free hand coming up to ruffle the hair on the back of her head.

“Wow, um… thanks, Amity,” she murmured. Amity squeezed her fingers in a gentle response and when Luz looked back, her lips tilted into a playful grin. “Still, I shouldn’t be talking your ear off when we’re on a date. So lead the way, Lady Blight!”

“Is that a thing humans can do?” Amity asked wearily as they made their way into the market proper. “Talk so much that someone’s ear actually falls off ?” Maybe she needed to rethink listening to Luz so much, no matter how much she enjoyed it. She rather liked her ears, thank you very much!

Luz snorted out a laugh so hard she nearly tripped over her own feet and Amity had to latch onto her arm to save her. Despite coming so close to eating dirt, Luz couldn’t stop giggling at Amity who, having caught on, glared at her playfully.

“ Luz !” she groaned but Luz only laughed harder. A few of the early morning market goers glowered at them irritably, undoubtedly annoyed by the two teens making so much noise this early, but Amity glared right back at them until they looked away. Luz was still laughing though so she huffed and folded her arms, turning her nose up in mock indignation. “If you’re just going to laugh at me all morning, then maybe I won’t take you to the special place I had in mind for breakfast.”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry,” Luz giggled, straightening up to wipe at a stray mirthful tear. “It’s just really cute when you do that.” 

Amity grumbled and rolled her eyes but there was no hiding the silly smile on her own face. She really should have learned by now not to take every thing Luz said so literally.

“Come on, you doofus,” she said, grabbing Luz’s hand again so that she could guide her chuckling girlfriend down the street and away from the few townsfolk still giving them weird looks. Luz happily followed along beside her, eyes darting from stall to stall while they strolled together in the warm morning sun. She eagerly pointed out every little thing that caught her eye, tugging at Amity’s hand to try and drag her over for a closer look. As adorable as it was, Amity’s stomach was starting to growl, so she didn’t let them linger for long. Breakfast first. Browse with cute girl later.

They passed through the bustling market, with its ramshackle stalls and dusty path, into the fancier part of town. Streets became cobbled and clean. Larger, more permanent stores took the place of the temporary (and often shifting) market stands with quaint homes of all different shapes and sizes dotted between them. Parks and gardens filled the area with life and the atmosphere became more relaxed the deeper they went. It was a familiar area for Amity. One she frequented with her siblings and old friend group before things had… changed. It was a little more refined here. More expensive . 

Having grown up in a family where snails weren’t an issue, she’d never really been concerned with the cost of things. Now, walking in this area, she was keenly aware of how light her coin pouch was. The twins had slipped her some snails the day before and, while it wasn’t exactly a small sum, she needed to make it last well beyond just this one date. Who knew when they’d be able to swipe more from their parents.

A portion of it was earmarked for today though, so she put it from her mind as Luz suddenly perked up beside her, sniffing at the air with interest.

“What’s that smell?” she asked, looking about curiously. “It’s sorta familiar but… Amity, is that what I think it is?” 

She turned hopeful eyes to Amity, who only grinned, tugging Luz further down the street past a few small boutiques and semi-permanent food stalls for the nearby bakery. It was fairly quiet at the moment but Amity knew from experience that would change soon. The street was just off the main road that cut through most of Bonesborough and it was very popular as a quick detour for hungry witches. They would be drawn here in droves as the smell of fresh bread and other delights filled the air.

But that wasn’t what had caught Luz’s attention. Somewhere within the cacophony of delicious scents wafting down the street was another smell. Deep and earthy in a way that warmed you from the inside. It was soothing. It was invigorating . It was…

“Amity, is that coffee ?”

Tucked at the end of the street was a small stone and plaster building with a sloping, black-tiled roof and large welcoming windows set on either side of the deep red door. It sat atop a raised patio of dark wood with a few tables and chairs scattered about so that customers could enjoy their drinks out in the sun. A sign dangled from a metal arm just above the door with the words ‘The Bonesborough Black Bean’ scrawled across it.

Amity glanced over at Luz to see her practically vibrating beside her. She bounced on the balls of her feet, fist clenched near her chest with a huge grin spreading her cheeks. Before she could answer, or perhaps second guess giving Luz caffeine, the girl was practically dragging Amity down the street towards the café in a full sprint.

“Oh my gosh, I haven’t had coffee in so long!” Luz gushed as she tugged Amity up the few steps onto the patio and bolted straight for the door. Amity laughed and pulled her back before Luz could do something ridiculous like kick it in, which seemed like a very distinct possibility right then.

“Easy there,” she chuckled. “I’m happy you’re excited but let’s not get carried away and get kicked out before we even reach the counter.”

Luz nodded gravely and reached up to give her a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am. Serious face on, starting now,” she said, schooling her features into what was meant to be a very serious frown. It lasted all of a second before her facade cracked and she was beaming again, giving Amity’s hand an impatient shake. “Now let’s go!”

As the door swung closed behind them, a tiny demon perched above it gave a loud shriek when its tail got caught in the door. The sound alerted the witch standing behind the counter, who glanced up and smiled at them in greeting.

“Welcome to The Bonesborough Black Bean,” she said cheerily as Amity and Luz stepped further into the room. It was a testament to how well Luz had adjusted to life on the Boiling Isles that she didn’t even glance at the demon on the wall before she was rushing ahead to place her order. That or she just really wanted that coffee. Amity wasn’t entirely sure which.

“I don’t really recognize any of the stuff they have here,” she said when Amity joined her at the counter. Looking curiously at the menu hanging on the wall, Luz gave her a helpless shrug. “How about you just order me your favourite?”

“It has demonic essence in it,” Amity said warily. “Can you drink that?”

“Oh, sure! Eda cooks with it sometimes and it’s usually okay as long as it’s not too concentrated. She says I’m just a little demonic-sensitive. It’s kinda funny actually since King says demons are just a little sensitive.”

It seemed odd that a human could handle demonic essence at all but that was a puzzle for another day. Luz seemed sure, so it should be fine.

“In that case, two nightmareccinos please,” she said. The barista nodded, ringing up the order and taking the snails from Amity when she passed them over. “Oh and could you make one of those soy please?” 

With their drinks being prepared, Amity turned back to Luz and found her watching her, eyes wide and all but glowing.

“What?”

“You remembered,” Luz said, a warm smile growing on her face that made Amity flush hotly.

“Of course I did,” she replied, glancing away with an awkward little shrug of her shoulder. “It’s sort of important information.”

After all, she could hardly say the date had gone well if Luz spent the rest of it writhing in pain. Luz smirked and leaned in to raise her eyebrows at Amity smugly.

“I told you that ages ago and you remembered. You like me,” she drawled in a singsong voice that had Amity giggling in exasperated amusement.

“Luz, that’s not exactly news .”

Luz’s grin grew and she rested her head on Amity’s shoulder, fluttering her eyes up at her coyly.

“Tengo la mejor novia del mundo!” she said and Amity’s eyes widened. She’d learned just barely enough Spanish to get the gist of that and it made the warmth in her cheeks spread across her face to the tips of her ears. She was saved from having to form a response by the barista-witch setting their coffees down on the counter.

“Has anyone ever told you two that you’re adorable together?” she asked, propping her head onto her hands to grin at them. Luz popped upright to eagerly snatch up the nightmareccinos, handing the one not labeled ‘soy’ to Amity.

“All the time,” she replied happily, sending the barista a friendly finger gun as they made their way out of the cafe, the sound of the demon’s shriek muffled by the door shutting behind them. 

With nightmareccinos in hand, they made a quick stop to grab food from the bakery stalls before settling in at a table under a dark red fangbrella on the Black Bean’s patio. Luz took an experimental sip of her drink and her eyes shot wide open in surprise.

“Oh my gosh, this is so good !” she gasped in delight, taking another eager sip before leaning back in her chair with a satisfied hum. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed coffee.” 

Amity smiled behind her own sip of the creamy drink, happy things were already off to a good start. Score one for Gus’s magi-zeens.

“Eda has coffee at home,” she said, setting her cup down so she could take a bite of her pastry. “Why don’t you just make yourself some?” 

Luz glowered down at her own cup with a very exaggerated pout.

“She won’t let me touch her stash. I always figured it was because it’s hard to get here since coffee is an Earth thing. Now I just think she doesn’t wanna share,” she grumbled.

“Coffee is native to the Boiling Isles, though. It grows near the Skull.” 

Luz’s head whipped up at that.

“Wait, seriously?” she asked and Amity nodded, tapping her chin in thought. 

“If I’m remembering my Magic History correctly, it made its way over to the Human Realm around the same time the giraffes were banished. I think they smuggled it over?” 

The thought of those freakishly gangly monstrosities sent a shiver running down Amity’s spine. They were just so… unnatural . Luz blinked at her in surprise and looked down at her coffee with new appreciation. 

“Huh, you know that makes a lot of sense. I always thought coffee was way too magical to be from Earth.”

They laughed together at that and Amity found herself relaxing more and more, her earlier anxiety easing alongside her hunger. 

It was nice, sitting there in the morning sunshine with Luz, enjoying something so mundane as breakfast together out in public. Not on opposite sides of the table like friends would either. No, Luz had made sure to scoot her chair right up against Amity’s so there was no mistaking what they were to each other. She was also nudging her foot lightly against Amity’s under the table and that sent its own delightfully fluttery sensations through her. Especially when she started to nudge back and Luz gave her a secret little grin. It made Amity feel like she was floating while they chatted and sipped their drinks. 

She’d never dared to hope that she might get to do this one day. It had seemed so far out of the realm of possibility. But now, with the way they were leaning into each other, Luz’s hand trailing subconsciously over her arm, it felt like they were making a statement. Telling the world outside that they were together and anyone who didn’t like it could go hex themselves.

When they’d finished their breakfast (and Amity had successfully convinced Luz not to go back for a second coffee), they stepped off the cozy patio to walk down the street and back towards the market.

“So, what’s next?” Luz asked, looping her arm with Amity’s so she could tug her closer while they strolled, making that floaty feeling soar and her stomach swoop pleasantly. Until Luz’s question registered and she hesitated for a brief moment. 

Amity had reservations about this one but Gus’s magi-zeen had been right once already. Surely it would be right about this too. She glanced over at Luz to find her looking at her with an expectant smile. Well, here goes nothing.

“I have something planned but it’s not for a little while, so I thought maybe, in the meantime, we could uh… go bowling?” To her surprise, Luz squealed with excitement.

“Oh my gosh, I love bowling!” she gasped, giving Amity’s arm a gleeful squeeze. “I didn’t know you guys even had it here! What are we waiting for? Let’s do it!”

Amity breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, so Gus’s magi-zeen was two for two then. She’d have to do something really nice to say thank you later because she really hadn’t expected this idea to go over so well.

Luz skipped along beside her as they walked, eagerly looking at every building they passed until Amity stopped in front of a particular stall she’d spotted the day before. Luz hesitated when she felt her arm snag and turned on her heel to settle beside Amity with a confused look.

“Uh, what’s up?” she asked. “See something you like?”

Amity looked between Luz and the stall, frowning curiously as her eyes trailed over the colourful display.

“I guess? I mean, they’re… pretty? To be honest, I’m not really sure what I’m meant to be looking for here. Is… is this not the right kind?” she asked, glancing back to Luz for help, but she was still looking back at Amity with that confused expression.

“The right kind? What do you mean?” She tilted her head and Amity grimaced.

“Well, you know. The… the right kind of bowls?” 

She looked back at the display of decorative bowls and her frown deepened. The stall had a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colours. Everything you might need from serving salads to soup. Surely this had to be right? ...Right?

Luz stared at her for a long, quiet moment, her own confused frown creasing her brow before her eyes slowly widened with realization. She scoffed. Snorted. And then she was biting her lip and clearly fighting not to laugh, eyes watering with almost painful restraint.

“A-Amity… Amity no ,” she snickered, practically shaking with suppressed laughter and Amity huffed indignantly at her.

“Well, help me out here. I’ve never done this before. Are we meant to be looking for a specific kind of bowl or… stop laughing , I’m serious!”

It was apparently all Luz could take because she burst into peals of raucous laughter, clinging to Amity to keep from toppling over. The glare on her face only seemed to amuse Luz more and Amity sighed in frustration.

“Okay, I need you to use your words now, Luz, because I’m lost,” she grumped, pulling away so she could begin pacing in front of the stall, arms gesticulating wildly while her skirt billowed around her feet. This was not going how she’d planned at all!

“Gus was convinced this would be a good idea but now you’re laughing at me and… I...” she trailed off when she noticed Luz had gone quiet and was watching her with a wide grin.

“Amity, did you ask Gus for help planning our date?” she asked and Amity’s entire face flushed deep red from her nose to the tips of her pointed ears.

“ No ! I mean, well, yes but…” Luz was smirking at her now and it was so deeply smug that Amity groaned in defeat. “Ok, so maybe I sort of asked Gus for help. But you stole Willow! And it’s just… he has all those human artifacts and I know most of the stuff he says about humans isn’t accurate but I thought he could help anyway and that teen magi-zeen was right about the coffee, so I figured it had to be right about the bowling too, but it didn’t explain what it is so I just assumed it was like a weird human thing and I don’t understand what-”

She let out a squeak when Luz darted in to cut her off with a quick kiss. Luz’s lips tasted like the nightmareccino she’d just had and that was new and distracting enough to completely derail Amity’s spiralling thoughts.

“You are seriously the most adorable girl ever,” Luz said with so much affection that it made Amity’s heart swell like an overfilled balloon. “I can’t believe you read a teen magazine with Gus !” The balloon popped. Amity groaned again, burying her burning face in her hands.

“ Luz !” 

She wasn’t whining. Blights did not whine. No she was… she was exclaiming . Her definitely not a whine seemed to catch Luz’s attention though and she hesitantly reached out to pull Amity’s hands away from her eyes, threading their fingers together.

“I’m sorry,” she said earnestly and when Amity looked away in annoyance (she was not pouting, that would be undignified. She was brooding) Luz gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, tugging her closer. “Hey, really. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh at you, I swear.”

Amity glanced back to give her a skeptical huff and Luz’s smile softened, pulling her in further until she was wrapped tightly in her arms. She whispered more apologies into Amity’s ear but the amusement in her tone was still clear and when Amity didn’t immediately accept, Luz switched tactics and started peppering her whole face with kisses instead. 

There was no stopping the giggly squeal that escaped Amity’s throat as Luz scattered little pecks across her cheeks, forehead and nose, slipping even more apologies between them. She laughed and fought back, trying to turn away, but Luz only grabbed her flailing hands, trapping them so she could chase after her with more kisses. 

“Alright! Alright, you win!” Amity gasped with a desperate laugh and Luz finally stopped bombarding her with affection, a triumphant grin on her face that had Amity rolling her eyes. 

“You’re lucky you’re so cute,” she grumped playfully. “I suppose I can forgive you but you owe me, Noceda. That’s twice you’ve laughed at me today.” She tilted a challenging brow at Luz who flushed.

“I’ll make it up to you, on my honour as a witch! Oh! How about I take you bowling for real when we visit my mom on Earth? I promise it’s really fun,” she said with an enticing wiggle of her eyebrows. Amity was sort of soured on the whole idea of bowling at this point but Luz had seemed so happy when she thought they were going to do… whatever it actually was, so she supposed it couldn’t be all bad.

“Fine, you can take me bowling,” she conceded and Luz pumped her fist in victory before slinging her arm comfortably across Amity’s shoulders. Ignoring the impatient and confused merchant, they hurried away from the bowl stand that Amity never wanted to see again.

“ So , what else did you learn from Gus’s magazine?” Luz asked in a very unconvincingly casual tone.

Amity scoffed but didn’t pull away, choosing instead to slide her own arm around Luz’s waist and lean into her as they walked.

“Not a whole lot. Most of the stuff in there was kind of ridiculous,” she said and Luz nodded.

“Yeah, they’re not the most reliable source for dating advice. Or any advice really. Most of them perpetuate a lot of unhealthy and unrealistic beauty standards so people will be more open to spending money on expensive things. I should probably have a talk with Gus about the things he’s buying from Eda…” She glanced over at Amity again and smiled. “Still, I got coffee out of it, so it wasn’t a total loss.”

With some time to kill, they spent a while simply strolling through the market after that, enjoying each other’s company while they browsed and did a little people-watching. It seemed strange at first to Amity, like they were being intrusive somehow. But Luz explained that she liked to imagine what other people’s lives were like compared to her own.

Where they were going. What they were doing. The things that a grouchy demon who stomped past them might be troubled with so early in the day. The nature of the relationship between two witches that sneakily hovered just a little too close to each other to be platonic. Why the coven guard who was dozing against their staff nearby would be so tired that they were literally sleeping on the job.

Listening to Luz make up lives for each new witch or demon they saw was a stark reminder that the world around them was filled with people who all had their own stories. Their own problems. Not just faceless background characters in her life but real people with real lives she wasn’t privy to. It was a strange feeling and yet it was somehow comforting, knowing she probably wasn’t the only one out there with a lot to deal with.

They stopped suddenly when Luz looked up to realize that they were standing outside the Bonesborough Library, which Amity had subtly been leading them to. She glanced at her curiously and Amity swallowed thickly. Her last suggestion hadn’t exactly gone as planned so she was perhaps just a little nervous about this one. She’d made arrangements though and she didn’t want to back out now.

“Ok, so I know extra credit assignments aren’t the most conventional date activity and I’m clearly not great at this, but... I remember you mentioned wanting to before so I thought... maybe... you’d like to read to the witchlings with me?” 

She wanted to swallow the words back down the moment they left her lips. But the feeling only lasted a mere moment because Luz’s entire face absolutely lit up.

“Are you kidding? That sounds like so much fun!” She was already tugging Amity towards the stairs leading up to the library doors. “Are we gonna do voices? Please tell me we’re doing voices coz, I dunno if you remember but, I do the best monster voice!”

“I’m sure you do,” Amity laughed, feeling immensely relieved. “Let’s get in there then, so we can pick a book.”

She let Luz pull her into the Bonesborough Library, waving briefly to the witch behind the counter as they passed to let them know they would be ready soon. Before long, they were walking into the kid’s corner where she always did her readings. Luz immediately started perusing the books on the shelves but it was clear she wasn’t familiar with any of them beyond Otabin and Amity had already read that to the witchlings.

“I don’t want to do a reading with something I’ve never read myself before,” she said, giving the various illustrated children’s books a contemplative look. “I won’t be able to give as convincing a performance if it’s a cold read.”

“Luz, they’re six years old. I don’t think they’re going to care how good your performance is,” she chuckled but Luz stepped back dramatically and patted her hands to her chest.

“ I care! We need to do this right or we could put those witchlings off books forever!” She reached out and latched onto Amity’s upper arms to give her a slight shake. “They might never learn to appreciate the wonders of fantasy and adventure and mag- oh, well I suppose they’ll appreciate magic, but still! They might never learn the joys of reading , Amity! Is that what you want?” 

She stared hard into Amity’s eyes with such a serious expression that Amity couldn’t help but laugh.

“No, we wouldn’t want that,” she agreed, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Luz’s nose that made her giggle happily. “So what does the mighty Luzura, Champion of Literature, suggest then?”

Luz frowned in thought for a moment, folding her arms over her chest before she gasped and looked up at Amity with a bright smile.

“I know exactly what we have to do!”

That was how Amity found herself reading the first Good Witch Azura book to a crowd of excited little witchlings. The children sat in a semicircle around herself and Luz, listening with rapt attention as they read together and switched between characters in a natural rhythm. 

She let Luz play the role of Azura of course, which naturally meant Amity would read for Hecate. She also covered the narration, leaving the rest of the characters to Luz. And she was right, her monster voices were fantastic . Luz did such a convincing Gildersnake that it gave Amity goosebumps and sent the witchlings squealing and giggling in mock fear.

They both knew the story well enough that they barely needed to consult the actual book and Amity only held onto it so that she could show the children the gorgeous artwork within. At some point, their reading had simply turned into an impromptu play. The witchlings oohed and aahed in all the right spots as she and Luz got more into their performances. Amity had never been shy about doing voices for the kids but Luz’s enthusiasm was contagious. She performed with her whole body, without a scrap of shame and Amity couldn’t help but try to rival Luz’s energetic acting. She even threw in a few small illusions she had picked up from Gus for added effect. 

By the time they reached the first big climactic scene in the novel, they had gathered a few curious spectators who drifted in from elsewhere in the library to watch them perform. When Luz finally reached Azura’s pivotal moment with Hecate in the Bog of Immediate Regret, Amity snapped the book shut and, picking up her cue, Luz turned stoically towards the crowd.

“How will the great battle between these two rivals end?” Luz said in a dramatic hush, switching from Azura’s voice to her narration one. She swept her arm over the captivated witchlings, who all leaned in eagerly as she spoke. “Will Hecate defeat the Good Witch Azura and end her journey? Or will Azura be victorious? Proving once and for all that good always triumphs over evil!”

“You’ll have to wait for next time to find out,” Amity cut in, tucking the book snugly under her arm. The witchlings all groaned in protest but it wasn’t long before they were on their feet, excitedly chattering to one another about the story while the older crowd dispersed. Luz stood beside Amity, watching them with a warm, satisfied look on her face when Braxus ran up and threw his little arms around her legs.

“Thank you, Miss Luz!” he growled in his deep, gravelly voice. “That was the best story ever! I can’t wait for next time!”

Luz patted his head and smiled at him tremulously.

“You’re welcome, little guy. I’ll see you then!” she replied and watched as he darted in to give Amity a hug as well before rushing over to his friends. The kids all ran out of the library in high spirits, still rambling to one other about their favourite characters and plot points. 

Amity was fairly certain that had been her most successful reading to date. When she turned to tell Luz as much, she found her sniffling. Her eyes were suspiciously damp and she was still smiling that trembling little smile at the retreating witchlings.

“Luz,” Amity laughed, eyeing her girlfriend in bemusement. “Are you about to cry ?”

Luz took another dramatic sniff and reached up to wipe at the corner of her eyes. It only made Amity grin wider.

“I think we just turned those little witchlings into Azura fans and I’m so proud !”

Amity scoffed and rolled her eyes, giving Luz a playful shove.

“You are such a dork!” she laughed and Luz’s face twisted into a smirk as she stepped in to tap Amity’s nose with her finger.

“Yeah, but I’m your dork and you like it,” she replied. Still riding high on the thrill of their performances and the warm affection within her, Amity reached for Luz to tug her in close. 

“Yeah, I do,” she agreed and then pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. When she finally pulled away, Luz was smiling back at her fondly.

“So,” she drawled, tightening her arms where they’d come to rest around Amity’s waist. “There’s still a couple hours before we need to go do my thing. Anything you wanna do till then?”

“Actually...”

Between King, Eda and Hooty, the Owl House was always a loud, busy catastrophe waiting to happen and Luz added plenty of her own chaos to the mix when she was with them. It was sort of exciting in a way, but it meant that, even when they were just studying together, they almost always had an audience. Usually in the form of King who was there to (Amity assumed) chaperone them on Eda’s orders. She missed the quiet sometimes and she wanted to share a little of it with Luz.

So she pulled Luz through the shelves towards the romance section and, after making sure no one was around to see, tugged on ‘The Lone Witch and the Secret Room’ to open the door to her secret hideout.

“You know,” Luz said as she slipped inside, just behind Amity. “I still can’t get over how perfect this room is. It’s like my ideal clubhouse.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I thought maybe instead of this being my secret room it… could be ours .” Amity stepped aside, revealing what she and the twins had spent the previous afternoon doing. 

A small mountain of plush, mismatched, colourful cushions lay haphazardly in the corner closest to the door, perfect for curling up in together. The old desk had been magically widened just enough for a second chair to sit neatly next to Amity’s and she had cleared one shelf of books to fill it instead with snacks and a tea set with two mugs. The changes were minor (she was on sort of a tight budget after all), just a few little touches really, but they shifted the atmosphere of the room. It no longer felt like a private space for one. Now it was somewhere meant to be shared.

Amity glanced over at Luz, biting her lip anxiously as she looked around the room. The longer she remained silent the more Amity feared this might have been a stupid idea. But then Luz was kissing her so fiercely that she’d unintentionally pinned her to the door and Amity’s knees went weak. Before she could even properly reciprocate, Luz was pulling back to beam at her, eyes practically glowing.

“This is so awesome! I’ve always wanted to share something like this with friends. Thank you , Ams. You have no idea how much this means to me.” 

Amity opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out and Luz was already busy with the tea set on the other side of the room anyway. She leaned there against the door, breathing heavily while her heart thudded its way up her throat. When Luz turned back with two steaming mugs in her hands, Amity was still trying to regain her bearings.

“Are you gonna stand there all day?” Luz said with the smarmiest grin Amity had ever seen. “Or are we gonna drink tea and cuddle in our awesome secret clubhouse?”

Cute girl. Girlfriend . Secret room. Kissing . Tea. She blinked. 

With her brain slowly catching back up, Amity managed to peel herself off the door and shakily trail after her as Luz trotted over to the cushions. She set their mugs aside and flopped into the pile with arms and legs all akimbo, sinking back into the plush depths with a relaxed sigh. In an effort to regain some of the dignity she’d left at the door, Amity moved to sit a little more demurely, but Luz had other plans. She shot up and latched her arms around Amity’s waist to yank her back hard, causing Amity to crash into her with a startled cry.

“ Luz !” she yelped, struggling to extricate herself from the mess of pillows, gangly teenage limbs and her long skirt. When they managed to untangle themselves, Amity found herself slotted to Luz’s side, with her head resting somewhere near her chest. One of Luz’s arms was wrapped snugly about her shoulders while the other reached for their tea.

Despite the rather abrupt landing, it was pure bliss to just lay there together after their busy morning. Propped up in a sea of cushions, sipping tea and trading the occasional gentle kiss in the calm quiet of their hideout. Between the soothing glow of the stars hanging from the ceiling and the way Luz was trailing sleepy fingers through her hair, it would be easy to simply lay there for a few hours and drift off. But there was one more thing she needed to do first.

Handing her empty mug to Luz, who set it down with her own, Amity carefully eased herself up just enough so she could see the desk across the room. With a quick twirl of her finger, a thick leather bound book she’d stashed there the day before floated towards them until it fell into her hands with a soft thud.

“What’s that?” Luz asked, eyeing the rich purple leather curiously. Amity swallowed hard past the nervous lump forming in her throat, her fingers tightening on the smooth cover.

“It’s for you,” she said, carefully holding the book out towards Luz, who took it with a curious hum. An elegant, twisting pattern had been embossed on the cover with the light glyph set right in its centre. Luz reached out to tap it and gasped in delight when the entire design lit up. Flipping the simple golden clasp that held the book closed, she carefully peeled it open to find Amity’s looping calligraphy spread across the first page in gold ink.

For Luz

So you’ll always remember

She looked up at Amity reverently before focusing on the book again and carefully turned the page with shaking fingers. Set in the centre was a single photo of the two of them on a very familiar cliff, all dressed up for Grom. They were smiling at each other fondly, their tiara’s sparkling in the moonlight and their tree standing tall and proud behind them.

Luz stared at the photo in shock for a long moment, tracing it with her fingers before she found the will to tear her eyes from it and turn the page again. Each new page revealed yet more photos, all showcasing her time on the Boiling Isles. Photos of their friends. Eda and King. The Owl House. Hexside. Even the market and the Knee. Pictures that shouldn’t exist but there they were, in perfect clarity.

Her breath caught audibly in her throat when she came across a picture of herself dressed haphazardly for battle, fists thrust in the air with King hanging from one arm while a single light orb hovered beside them. A photo of her first spell. She turned shimmering eyes up at Amity who was watching her nervously.

“How did you get these?” she whispered.

“Do you remember photo class?” When Luz nodded, she took a steadying breath and continued. “Yesterday at lunch, I asked Ed and Em if they could help me make this for you. They used the memory tweezers to get pictures from everyone at school. I guess they must have gotten a few from King and Eda too.” She smiled down at the photo, fingers tracing over the edges of it, but Luz suddenly snatched her hand up and held it tightly to her chest. 

Startled, Amity looked up to find Luz staring at her with wide, glistening eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but, for once, seemed at a loss for words so Amity gave her hand a gentle, understanding squeeze.

“I just thought, since you might have to go home soon, that you’d want something to take with you.” She leaned in to touch her forehead to Luz’s, sliding her free hand up to trail her fingers over her cheek. “So, no matter what happens, you don’t forget everything that happened here.”

“I could never forget you,” Luz murmured thickly and Amity chuckled. She tilted her head back to look at Luz seriously.

“Of course you won’t. I’m not going to let you,” she said before surging forward to press a kiss to her lips. Luz giggled against her and pulled back so that she could gather Amity into her arms.

“Right,” she agreed, hugging her close. She turned her eyes back down to the album resting on her knees and reached for it with careful fingers. “You know, considering what happened last time you worked with memory photos, I’m surprised you were willing to make this.”

The sly grin on Luz’s face made Amity snort and she swatted playfully at Luz’s arm.

“Hey, that was an accident! And it worked out in the end,” she said but when Luz’s grin widened Amity rolled her eyes. “I also made sure to put several very strong fire-proofing spells on the entire book. On every page in fact. Happy?”

Luz gave her a tender smile, clutching the album tightly to her chest.

“ Very .”

They lay together in their cozy nest of cushions and paged through the photos, Luz providing stories about the ones Amity hadn’t been around for until a faint buzzing filled the room. Luz reached into her pocket to pull out her wildly vibrating phone and tapped the screen to turn off what Amity realised was an alarm.

“Looks like it’s my turn,” Luz sang, happily wriggling her way out from under Amity despite her grumbled protests and calls for her to come back. Popping to her feet, Luz spun around to offer Amity a hand up.

“C’mon, grumpy,” she laughed when Amity only pouted up at her more. She’d been so comfortable! “I dunno about you but I’m getting sort of hungry and we need to eat now if we’re gonna make it on time for my thing.”

Amity let out an exaggerated huff that didn’t quite hide the smile on her lips before she accepted Luz’s hand and let her pull her to her feet.

“I suppose I am getting a little hungry,” she admitted, smoothing her skirt imperiously and Luz nudged her playfully with her hip as she carefully slipped the album into her bag.

“Great, coz Willow told me about this place that makes awesome hairsghetti and I’m dying to try it. Sound good?”

It really did. They hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was already late afternoon so Amity was admittedly sort of starving. If the very loud rumbling coming from Luz’s stomach was any indication, she was just as ravenous as Amity felt.

They were back out on the streets in minutes and Luz took the lead this time, directing Amity deeper into town towards a less busy area. One Amity hadn’t visited in a long, long time. She’d actually maybe, sort of been avoiding this area for the last few years. Willow’s house was nearby, after all and the thought of seeing the place she’d spent so many wonderful hours playing as a child had been too painful to bear. 

Now that they’d reconciled though, she was sort of curious if it still looked the same. Did they still have that park nearby where Willow’s dads would push them on the swings? 

A pang of regret tugged at her chest at the thought of the two men who had treated her more like a daughter than her own parents ever had. She hadn’t seen them since the day of that infamous birthday party, when she’d been forced to burn the best part of her life to the ground. What they must have thought of her after what she had done to Willow... 

Had Willow told them that things were better between them now? Would they even care? Willow may have forgiven her but she couldn’t imagine that they ever would, given how badly she’d hurt their little Sprout. She could hardly blame them if they didn’t.

She was pulled from her thoughts when they came to a simple building tucked between two houses that looked nothing at all like any restaurant Amity could ever remember visiting. In fact it looked just like the other houses around it save for the fanged, forest-green awning hanging over the door. It didn’t even appear to have a name. The only indication that one might be served food here was the simple chalk menu board standing just to the side of the door that listed a few daily specials.

Amity eyed the place warily, suddenly not feeling quite as hungry. She was less than enthused with the idea of eating in what appeared to be someone’s home that they were (probably illegally) selling food from. Luz seemed totally at ease though and trotted up to the door without a moment’s hesitation, Amity following reluctantly behind her.

The moment they stepped through the door, Amity regretted her snap judgement. It did feel homey, she’d been right about that, but it was in the best sort of way. It was surprisingly busy for such a small and out of the way spot, in a way that suggested it was a local favourite. Families and friends alike were sitting at the various tables, calling to each other from across the room like they all knew one another which, Amity realised, they probably did. The buzz of chattering patrons and the laughter coming from the bar at the back of the room gave the place a warm, welcoming atmosphere while the delightful smells wafting about the room made Amity’s belly growl hungrily.

The waitress standing just off to the side of the door greeted them with a bright smile and cheery wave before she led them over to a corner booth beside a window that had apparently been reserved just for them. 

It didn’t take them very long to order their meals thanks to Willow’s recommendation and when the waitress set down their plates of hairsghetti a short while later, Luz practically dove into hers. Amity took a much more polite bite from her own plate and immediately let out a loud, satisfied groan to rival Luz’s that came at almost the same time. They looked up at each other briefly before grinning and digging back in.

“Titan, Willow was right. This is incredible,” Amity sighed after another deeply satisfying bite. Luz slurped up a particularly long noodle and beamed at her from across the table.

“Right? Apparently she and her dads come here every Friday for dinner,” she replied, eagerly taking another bite and humming happily as she chewed.

“I can see why,” Amity said, looking around the cheery room again. “This place has a really nice atmosphere and the food is great .”

Luz gave a happy nod as she plucked up the menu again with her free hand.

“And just look at these adorable mascots! Do you think they belong to that demon behind the bar? He’s the owner right?” She turned the menu so Amity could see the photos of two very well bred and healthy Bull Hairers. Looking from the menu to Luz, Amity tilted her head with a curious frown.

“Mascots?” she asked and Luz hummed in response as she finished off her bite.

“Yeah! We don’t have any dogs with horns back on earth but they’re really cute and it’s sweet that they’d put them on the menu like this,” she said, twirling her fork to scoop up more hairsghetti from her plate.

“Luz, those aren’t mascots. They’re livestock . Most good restaurants have their own Bull Hairers on hand so they can shave fresh hairsghetti to order,” Amity explained. Luz’s fork froze on its way to her open mouth and she stared down at it in horror.

“We’re… we’re eating hair ?” she yelped and Amity snorted.

“Well, yeah. Why did you think it was called hair sghetti?” she asked, chuckling when Luz gaped at her in shock.

“I dunno!” she cried, motioning wildly towards her still raised fork with her free hand. “I figured coz it kinda looks like hair or something? I never thought that hard about it. There are a lot of weird witchy versions of human things here, like… like eye-scream!”

“Luz…” Amity deadpanned, trying very hard not to laugh at her horrified girlfriend. “Eye-scream has eyes in it.”

“I…” Luz took a deep breath as if to argue and then paused, her jaw clicking shut and eyes narrowing. “Okay, you got me there. But still! Why didn’t anyone say anything? I’ve been eating this for months and I had no idea what it was!” 

Amity chuckled at Luz’s scandalized look.

“Why would we? It’s normal here. Besides, does it really matter? It’s delicious,” she said, taking a pointed bite of her own hairsghetti. Luz gulped and stared hard at her fork in apparent betrayal, contemplating it for a long moment before she slowly eased it into her mouth again. After a few tentative chews she groaned and deflated visibly.

“Ok, you’re right. It’s still really good... even if I am eating poodle noodles,” she mumbled around her full mouth.

“Bull Hairier,” Amity corrected with a grin, giggling when Luz stuck her tongue out at her from across the table. She returned the gesture and Luz’s answering snort had them both beaming as they tucked back into their meals. While they ate, Luz explained to Amity that humans made their noodles from a plant of all things (which was just bizarre) and then promised to take her somewhere they could try it after they went bowling.

“There’s this awesome Italian place near the bowling alley called ‘Olive Garden’. They have lots of different kinds of spaghetti, maybe we can go there! You even get to have all the breadsticks you want!” she said as she settled their bill and they weaved between the various tables towards the door.

“That sounds nice. Maybe we can bring some back for everyone.” 

Their hands tangled together almost naturally, which was more than enough to distract Amity from asking what breadsticks actually were. She had a feeling Edric and Emira would love them though. Luz cast a friendly wave back at their waitress and Amity smiled when she caught the witch’s encouraging wink just as they slipped out of the door.

It was a pleasant surprise that everyone they’d encountered so far had been so openly accepting of her and Luz being together. Or just openly disinterested but that was good too. She’d spent so many years hiding this part of herself that she’d never imagined being able to do things like this with a girl but, since coming out, she’d experienced almost no backlash. 

Well… there had been some backlash. Some rather explosive backlash really. But she was very much choosing not to think about that right now. 

Other than the initial curiosity from their schoolmates (which had died down suspiciously fast), no one seemed all that bothered or even interested in them, which was sort of nice. A relief. Anticlimactic even. It didn’t really track with the way her life usually went actually. Amity Blight didn’t get this lucky. 

She glanced over at Luz, admiring the way the late afternoon sun caught in her hair to make the dark locks shine and decided it was better not to worry about it. She’d had a whole mess of bad luck throughout her life and this was clearly the universe’s way of making it up to her. Luz caught her looking then and shot her that special lopsided little grin that sent Amity’s heart fluttering. The universe was doing a pretty damn good job.

“I kinda want an eye-scream now…” Luz said, swinging their joined hands back and forth between them. “We have a little time. Wanna grab one on the way to our last stop?”

Eye-screams on a warm summer stroll with Luz? How in Titan’s name was she meant to say no to that? For that matter, why would she ever want to? 

“Sure.”

The sun was slowly starting to slip towards the horizon when Luz handed Amity her eye-scream cone from a cart they’d found back in the market. As she took a lick of the sweet, cool treat Amity realised that all the anxiety she’d felt in the morning had long since been forgotten. She’d been worrying for nothing really. Luz had loved her gifts and, while not everything had gone to plan, three out of four was still a pretty good success ratio. She was right after all. 

They were good together.

She watched as Luz dipped her fingers into her eye-scream and pulled out an eye so she could toss it up into the air and catch it in her mouth. It fell easily past her lips and she chomped down on it with relish, shooting Amity a proud grin and a wink.

“So you’re totally okay with eating eyes, but hair is where you draw the line?” she asked, chuckling as Luz shrugged and licked her lips.

“Hey, I knew what this was before I started eating it!” she said, chomping down on her cone right over another eye. “Besides, they’re sweet and gooey and I like the way they pop in my mouth!”

"Exactly! That’s the best part!" Amity agreed, noticing with some disappointment her own cone’s distinct lack of eyes. Apparently she’d already eaten them all. She glanced at Luz’s cone surreptitiously and smirked.

“Except when they’re still blinking at you from the back of a roasted ra- hey !” Luz yanked her eye-scream cone away just as Amity reached out to snag one of her last eyes, laughing when Amity huffed at her.

“I’m pretty sure it’s your duty, as my girlfriend, to share all eye-screams with me,” Amity said, making another grab for Luz’s cone which she held just out of reach of her grasping fingers.

“I don’t remember reading that in the handbook,” Luz laughed. “Besides, you have your own right there! It’s not my fault you ate your eyes so fast!”

“Yours had more than mine!” she insisted, scoffing in amused indignation when Luz suddenly dodged away from her and shoved the entire cone into her mouth.

“Ah ha! Uh huff beffded you!” She planted her fists on her hips and grinned triumphantly. For about two seconds. Then her eyes widened and she let out a high pitched squeal from somewhere in the back of her throat, hands flapping wildly beside her cheeks. “Mmmmm! Brain freevf!”

Amity bit back a snicker and took a casual lick of her own cone while Luz clutched dramatically at her head.

“That’s what you get for not sharing,” she said haughtily. Luz, who had finally managed to swallow the huge lump of frozen treat, narrowed her eyes at her dangerously.

“Oh yeah? You really wanna share?” she asked, slowly coiling her arm around Amity’s waist. Amity frowned as Luz gave her a very messy grin, the entire lower half of her face smeared with the eye-scream she’d just devoured.

“Luz… don’t you dare!”

“But, Ams, I thought you wanted to share.”

“Luz, I swear to Titan!” 

Amity gave a horrified shriek, her own cone falling to the ground as Luz pressed a big, sloppy, freezing cold kiss to her cheek. She shuddered but found herself laughing as another equally sticky kiss was quickly pressed to her lips and, despite Amity’s struggling, Luz was already preparing for a third attack. 

Desperate to get away from the eye-scream abomination that was her girlfriend, Amity wriggled out of Luz’s grip and all but growled at her. Luz let out an “eep” and fled down the path that led towards the woods surrounding Bonesborough with Amity hot on her heels. Their laughter rang through the trees over the pounding of their feet and, for the first time in years, Amity didn’t care who saw them or that she was acting like a child. She felt free .

They’d made it halfway to Hexside by the time Luz slowed down enough for Amity to catch up in her cumbersome skirt. Panting and out of breath, but grinning like fools, Amity cleaned them both up with a quick spell before happily threading her fingers through Luz’s again. 

Luz led her past the school and into the deeper parts of the woods along a very familiar path, until pink petals started to peek through the trees ahead. They stepped out into the clearing to the gorgeous sight of the sun dipping ever closer to the horizon, painting the entire ocean in soft shades of pink and orange. With barely a wisp of clouds hanging in the air, there was nothing to obstruct their view of the first few stars peeking out for the night. The fading sunlight glinted off the little cresting waves in the ocean in a sparkly array that made Amity gasp aloud.

“Made it just in time,” Luz said, slipping from Amity’s side to walk towards their tree.

“In time for what?” she asked. She dragged her eyes away from the incredible sunset to see Luz pulling Owlbert out from where he had been tucked within the roots of the Witchwood.

“Our ride. Owlbert is a total sweetheart and agreed to give us a lift home, so I thought maybe we could watch the sunset from the sky on the way. Waddya think?” She held the staff sheepishly behind her back, scuffing the ground with the toe of her shoes. Cute .

Amity’s heart thudded in her chest. A moonlit palisman ride under the stars with a beautiful girl was the sort of thing she’d read (and secretly dreamed) about her whole life and suddenly it was being brought into glorious reality. A literal love story moment with the sweetest, most amazing girl she’d ever met. That happened to be her girlfriend. Oh Titan.

She nodded weakly, throat suddenly dry and Luz beamed at her, flipping Owlbert onto his side with a surprisingly dexterous twirl so she could hop up onto him. After a quick, dramatic clearing of her throat, she held her hand out to Amity with a roguish grin that sent warmth to her cheeks.

“Do you trust me?”

Frowning at her in confusion, Amity pushed past her sudden bout of nerves and smiled, slipping her hand into Luz’s without hesitation. “Of course I trust you,” she said. 

Luz pulled her up to sit side-saddle behind her, her smile radiant as Amity curled her arms around her waist.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” she squealed before kicking off the ground and launching them up into the air. The ground rushed away as they climbed higher, settling near the top of their tree where they hovered together, surrounded by the glow of pink petals and the setting sun. 

Amity had thought the day was great before, but she was wrong. This was so much better. 

She tightened her arms around Luz and leaned into her, laying her cheek on her shoulder and sinking into her soothing warmth. To her delight, Luz leaned back into her as well, her hands covering Amity’s to give them a light squeeze.

With nothing to interrupt them but the breeze and the distant sounds of waves lapping against the cliff far below, it felt like they were the only two people left in the world. They hung quietly in the air and watched the sun sink below the ocean until the sky darkened into purples and blues, lit only by the twinkling sea of stars and the rising moon shining high above them. Luz let out a content sigh and rested her head against Amity’s, trusting Owlbert to keep them steady as she let her eyes drift shut.

“This is nice,” she murmured. Amity smiled, feeling soft and safe with her, despite how high off the ground they were.

“Yeah,” she agreed, tilting her head up just enough to press a lingering kiss to Luz’s cheek and feeling giddy at the way it made her flush. “This is perfect.”

They stayed there for a long while, Luz quietly pointing out the light glyph in the stars and Amity following with the few constellations she knew, chin resting lightly on her shoulder. After a while the wind turned cold and when they could no longer hide their shivering, they reluctantly agreed it was time to head home. It wasn’t a particularly long flight but Owlbert took his time, letting them enjoy the moment until they finally touched gently down outside the Owl House.

“Eda! We’re back!” Luz called as they stepped into the living room. Eda poked her head out of the kitchen and grinned at them, her hair once again pulled back into a frizzy tail. She looked tired and sunken, but she was grinning at them with that same mischievous, teasing glint in her eyes she always had.

“Oh, hey girls. I’m a little busy with a potion order in here, so you two head on up,” she said, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the stairs. “Your nerd friends just left.”

“What?” Amity turned to Luz in confusion but she just grinned and waved at Eda, tugging Amity towards the door.

“Great! Thanks, Eda!” Luz hurriedly pulled Amity past Eda, who winked at them before slipping back into the kitchen. Amity frowned curiously at Luz as they made their way up to their rooms.

“Luz, what’s going on? What did she mean?”

They stopped outside of Amity’s room and Luz turned to grin at her sheepishly, reaching for the door with her free hand.

“Well… there’s sorta one more thing left for tonight.” She gave the door a light shove and it swung open. Amity gasped. “You’re not the only one that did a little redecorating.”

Somehow, her entire room had been transformed while they had been out. The first thing she saw was a wealth of colour in the form of plants dotted all across the walls and hanging from the ceiling in between strings of softly glowing lights, much like the ones hanging in Luz’s room. They made the room smell fresh and alive and the occasional flower added even more colour to the array of green and orange leaves. 

A tall, well-stocked bookshelf had been slotted into the room beside a matching desk and chair, both of which were decorated with photos and more plants. Moving into the space, she stepped onto the plush magenta rug that had been set beside her bed and ran her fingers over an impossibly soft, woven comforter that was laid across her pink bedding. Her eyes raked over the pattern, two lines of orange, one white, and two more in pink, before they fell on a painfully familiar plushie sitting against her pillows.

She turned to see Luz watching her anxiously from the door and Amity swallowed hard, eyes suddenly swimming.

“Y-you did all this… for me?” she murmured in awe.

“Well, it wasn’t just me. I had some help,” she replied, motioning towards the room.” The plants are from Willow, obviously, oh and the rug too. Also turns out one of her dads is really good at crochet so he made you the comforter.” 

That made Amity’s heart clench. Willow’s dads had been in on it? That had to mean they knew things were better between them, right? Hope swelled within her, mixing with the tightness in her chest until it was almost too much to bear. But Luz wasn’t done.

“Mr. Porter has a friend in the Construction Coven, so Gus asked him to help us make the bookshelf and desk,” she said. “And I think the twins filled it with some books from the manor.”

Amity reached for the plushie and plucked it into her hands to distract herself from the very real burning in her eyes. She sniffed shakily and held out the soft little Otabin for Luz to see, hands trembling slightly.

“What about this? I thought it got destroyed with the rest of my things,” she asked thickly.

“Oh, that’s from King,” Luz said with a grin. Amity’s brows raised at that and Luz chuckled. “I saw it in his pile and mentioned how much you loved the book growing up. He just handed it over and said you should use it to start your own army. Between you and me, I think he has a soft spot for you. But don’t tell him I said that. He’d never forgive me.”

That was a shock. King coveted his army of plush toys and she found it hard to believe he’d willingly give up a single soldier in his fluffy platoon. Especially for her. She held Otabin close to her chest and squeezed him tight. It may not be the exact one she’d had growing up, but this one felt just as special, in its own way.

“That’s really sweet of him,” she said and had to swallow again as raw emotion tightened her throat. Luz smiled at her, reaching for her hesitantly and Amity pressed into her arms immediately, face buried in her neck with Otabin clutched tightly to her chest. It was a lot. She needed a minute to breathe. Leaning heavily against Luz, Amity willed the tears from her eyes and took another steadying breath.

“How did you do all this in just one day?” she asked when she finally felt a little less like she might come undone.

“Well… I’ve sorta been working on it all week,” she admitted. Amity reeled back to look at her in shock, so Luz grinned and pulled her scroll from her pocket for her to see. “I used this to organise with everyone.”

“But… I… you’re the least subtle person I’ve ever met! When did you learn to be so sneaky?” Amity stared back at her, utterly flabbergasted and Luz scoffed.

“Hey, I’ve lived with Eda for a while now. Trust me, you pick stuff up. Besides, I really wanted it to be a surprise. We all did. So... what do you think? Do you like it?” she asked with an eager grin. 

She really, really did. That uncomfortable tightness in Amity’s throat spread down her chest and up to build behind her eyes. She took a slow, shaky breath, the gentle pressure of Otabin between them and Luz’s arms at her back helping to ground her somewhat.

“Luz, this is… it’s incredible but it’s too much !” she choked out. “I… I haven’t done anything to deserve all this.”

“Don’t be silly, you don’t have to do anything to deserve it. You do plenty just by being you.” Luz pulled back from her and gave her a smile so warm it made Amity ache. “I mean, geez you’ve been through so much but you’re still going strong and you’re trying to help Eda on top of it all. You’re amazing.” She hesitated then and bit her lip anxiously, giving Amity a small squeeze. “I… I know you’re not really being honest about how hard it’s been for you. I hear you crying at night sometimes.”

Amity froze, her shoulders hunching almost to her ears. “You… heard me?” 

She'd been so careful. Tried so hard to muffle it, or wait for the sound of Luz’s snoring to filter through the wall before she let herself feel anything. Apparently she hadn’t done a very good job.

“The walls are kinda thin,” Luz said. “I didn’t wanna intrude and I figured you’d talk to me when you were ready, but you never did and I know you didn’t ask but… I wanted to do something . I thought maybe if we made this place feel more like home, it would help. It’s no big deal.”

It was though. It was a huge deal! But Amity was entirely too overwhelmed to speak. 

Everything she’d ever gotten in life had to be earned through hard work and toil. From toys to books to love. She’d had to fight to show she deserved it. Show she was worthy. Affection and praise were earned by being the best. This was a fact she’d known since she was very young and yet, here was Luz, tearing that fact to shreds. 

“Luz, you…” she paused, mind whirling with far too much to handle. She sniffed and took a moment to look around the room again. For the first time it felt like more than a room. It felt like hers . 

Her new home. 

Somewhere she was wanted and where people just… did nice things for her. Because they cared . No questions asked or ulterior motives involved. Turning back to the girl who had made it all happen, she found herself suddenly unable to fight back her tears or the words suddenly spilling from her lips. 

“No one has ever done something like this for me. I… I’m so grateful I met you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had and I love you so much, Luz.”

The moment the words slipped out, her eyes widened and she leapt back with a gasp, Otabin flopping to the ground at her feet as her hands flew to her mouth. Her awful traitorous mouth. Luz was staring at her, wide eyed and mouth agape and Amity felt all those sweet, tender emotions she’d just been overwhelmed by turn to sour anxiety.

“I-I… I didn’t mean it like that!” she yelped. Titan it was hard to breathe all of a sudden. Oh no, Luz looked sad now. Or confused? She had to fix this! “Not that I don’t have feelings for you! I do! Strong ones! But not that strong, obviously. It’s only been a week! I just meant that… I mean it sort of just came out, I didn’t… I wasn’t thinking, but I meant it! Just not how you think! Except, I do feel that way I just...” 

Luz’s face screwed up in confusion as Amity dug herself deeper and she let out a quiet moan, folding her arms around her suddenly churning stomach. 

“Can we just pretend I never said anything? Please ?”

She turned away to hide what had to be the darkest blush she’d ever had, nails digging into her arms as she hugged herself tighter, utterly mortified. When Luz’s hand grazed her shoulder, Amity flinched at first. But then that hand was gently turning her back and Luz cleared her throat.

“I know we haven’t had time for a lot of Spanish lessons yet, so how about a quick one right now?”

The switch in topic was so jarring that Amity forgot how embarrassed she was for a moment and looked up to see Luz smiling at her.

“Luz, I… is now really the time?” she asked, faced twisted with confusion and Luz’s smile spread into a grin.

“Just shush and listen,” she replied. “What’s my name mean?”

Okay, so they were doing this. At least it was better than having to try and explain herself again because Amity honestly wasn’t sure she’d survive the attempt. She took a breath and exhaled slowly before answering. 

“Light.” A fitting name for her if ever there was one. Luz beamed at her.

“Right! What about ‘magic’?”

“Uh… magia.”

“Yup! Witch?

“Bruja.” Oh, she’d managed to roll the r that time!

The familiar comfort of focusing on a task helped ease her racing heart and Amity found herself calming down. Luz carefully slid her hands over Amity’s and pried them gently away from her sides.

“You’ve been practicing,” she said playfully. “Ok, how do you say ‘good morning’?”

She held Amity’s hands gently between them and smiled up at her. Amity flushed at how close they suddenly were.

“Buenos dias. Luz what are we…” she murmured but Luz shushed her.

“Last one,” she said, gazing right into Amity’s eyes. “How do you say ‘I love you’?”

“Oh…” Amity’s eyes widened and her cheeks bloomed red all over again. She swallowed thickly. “I um, I don’t know that one.”

Luz’s eyes lowered to their joined hands and her smile turned almost wistful as she played with Amity’s fingers.

“Well, there’s ‘te amo’, which is that big romantic sorta love.” She briefly met Amity’s eyes, her cheeks turning a lovely dark rosy colour before she dropped her eyes back to their hands. “Te amo is… it’s not something you say to just anyone. You only say that when you know you’re with someone really special. Someone you wanna be with forever.” 

Amity’s breath caught in her throat. “Luz…”

“But!” Luz rushed on. “There’s also ‘te quiero’. That’s a little different. It’s still love but it’s a different kind of love. It’s not… it’s not the big Love with a capital L. It’s…” 

She paused and frowned in thought for a second, focusing hard on where her fingers ran lightly over Amity’s, before a small smile spread her lips again. 

“It’s like how I love my mami or Eda and King. Like I love Willow and Gus.” She looked up then and met Amity’s eyes again. “And even though things are different with you, it’s how I love you too, Amity. And I know that’s what you meant when you said you love me.”

Oh… oh Titan there was that fluttering again.

Amity’s throat closed and she was sure Luz could feel how much her hands were trembling. Luz drew their clasped hands in close and held them to her chest.

“We’re not ready to say te amo, right?” she asked and Amity nodded weakly. She didn’t quite trust herself to speak just then. “Ok, so we’re not ready for te amo. Yet . But right now I can definitely say te quiero, Amity. Te quiero mucho.” She paused and her gentle smile turned anxious. “I… I mean there’s more nuance to it than that, but you get the idea.”

She reached up to scratch nervously at her hair and Amity couldn’t help but smile. Raising her freed hand, she slid it across Luz’s cheek, grinning when she sucked in a small breath and leaned into it slightly.

“I do. Te quiero, Luz,” she murmured, pressing her lips lightly to Luz’s. When she pulled back, Luz was grinning at her lazily and she flushed.

“What?” she asked and Luz’s grin widened.

“Did you know your ears get all twitchy when we kiss?” She reached up to give Amity’s ear a flick and Amity scoffed indignantly as she swatted at Luz’s arm.

“What? They do not!” she cried, but Luz just laughed.

“Yeah, they totally do. It’s adorable.”

“Sh-shut up!”

This chapter went through so many edits haha. So, so many... If there are mistakes in there, I think I'm physically unable to see them anymore lol. I've read this so many times my eyes were glazing over and I could still picture every word clearly.

I hope I infuriated you all with my really stupid bowling pun as much as I infuriated my discord peeps. My crowning achievement to date is annoying Rohad so much that she said "this is the worst thing you've ever done" followed by "I hate you" and "your sense of humor is an affront to humanity." Julip also threatened to fight me over it. Aaaaah yes, that sweet sense of victory. Lots of silly references in here too (one of which is a Disney one and the other an inside server joke about breadsticks. Read Rohad's fic "Unlimited Breadsticks" for context haha) and some fun, random world building because I can (thank you Fletcher for brainstorming horrifying names for Boiling Isles spaghetti with me and birthing the godawful idea of poodle noodles). I hope you all enjoyed these last few chapters of fun and romance coz plot is coming up next. We're getting to the fun stuff again, WOO!

Chapter Text

History of Magic was easily one of Luz’s favourite classes. True, there was no opportunity for new glyphs here and the professor’s voice could sometimes grate at her ears in a way that made her brain itch, but this was the one class she shared with all of her friends. 

She got to sit huddled together with Amity, Gus and Willow, all at once, for a whole hour and do witchy things with them. These witchy things mostly involved listening to long lectures about the history of the Titan and the coven system, but the stories were all so fascinating! Their history books read like the sort of high fantasy novels she loved so much on Earth and Luz had already blasted through most of the recommended reading for the year. 

There was even romance in them sometimes! 

The sordid tale of an epic love triangle between three coven leaders early in the reign of Belos had been particularly juicy. People had died for that love! It had culminated in a huge fight that had leveled a large portion of the city, resulting in the outlawing of large scale battles between covens and the institution of witch’s duels as a means to settle disputes. How cool was that? 

So, while most students zoned out or caught up on sleep in this class, Luz listened with rapt attention, eager for backstories and world building the likes of which she’d never been able to enjoy at school back on Earth.

She was in a particularly good mood today too. She and Amity were openly holding hands on their table, fresh from a weekend of fanfiction-worthy romance, while they quietly chatted to their friends before class began. Best way to start the day! 

Better yet, the professor had said they would be learning about the age of wild witches today and Luz could not wait to dig into that. There was bound to be plenty of tips on how to find glyphs in there. After all, the first wild witches had tapped into the natural magic around them and used glyphs long before they’d developed bile sacs. Just like her! 

If ever there was a lesson tailor-made to help her find glyphs, it had to be this one. If it weren’t for Amity’s grounding presence at her side, Luz might have vibrated right through the floor with excitement by now.

Except when Professor Hissterian, the serpent demon that taught history class, shuffled over to the blackboard and started his lecture, Luz was sorely disappointed. All her excited energy deflated into gloom as he went on and on about how unorganized and savage the wild witches had been. How their early methods of tapping into the magic of the Isles had been “boorish” and “primitive” or “a poor imitation of the far more impressive feats we, as witches, can achieve now”. 

Some less than subtle giggling caught her attention and Luz looked up to see a few of the other students smirking at her and her stomach sank somewhere below her knees. She felt their snickering and furtive glances like a knife to her heart. Painful memories and old, familiar feelings flooded her mind and she grimaced as the knife gave a sharp twist. 

Harsh whispers. Disdainful looks and cruel pranks. Rough hands ‘accidentally’ shoving her into lockers. Her jaw clenched and she stared determinately down at her notes, shoulders hunched and refusing to meet their eyes. It had been a while since she’d felt so singled out.

The kids here had never openly mocked her for not being like them. Not really. They’d mostly treated her like a curiosity at first and then sort of just got used to her being around. Sure, Boscha was still a jerk, but she was that way to everyone and writing ‘Round Ears’ on her face or calling her ‘human’ had been as close as she’d come to mocking Luz for being different. Besides, she’d been weirdly absent recently anyway and was currently keeping her head very purposefully ducked down in her seat at the back of the class, wearing a rather harried look on her face. 

No, no one really seemed all that bothered by the fact Luz was a human. Until this stupid class. 

Being singled out and laughed at for something she couldn’t control? For simply doing things her own way because she couldn’t do them like everyone else? That was Earth levels of mean that she had very much hoped she’d gotten away from here.

Everyone in the Boiling Isles was weird. She was supposed to fit in here because she was weird. But apparently she was still the freak in class, even in a world full of witches and demons. 

The pen in her hand shook over her notes as her fingers tightened around it. An old, horribly familiar sense of isolation crept in around her to claw at her throat and hitch in her chest. Choking her. Darkening her vision and tensing her shoulders. 

Until a warm, gentle pressure laid over her curled fist. 

Startled, the pen she’d be crushing clattered to the desk as she whipped her head up to see Amity watching her with clear concern in her golden eyes. Luz could also see Willow and Gus over Amity’s shoulder, glaring at anyone who looked their way. Gus even made a show of punching his fist into his hand and baring his small fangs at another student, who rolled their eyes but still turned back to look ahead again.

“Hey… You okay?” Amity asked gently. She gave Luz’s hand a light squeeze and Luz glanced up at her briefly, letting out a quiet breath.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she said, turning her hand over to lace her fingers with Amity’s. “Just… reminded me of my old school for a minute there.” 

Amity frowned, her hand squeezing Luz’s comfortingly before she shot a glare across the classroom, ears lowered and all but hissing when one student’s eyes lingered just a little too long. Luz had to fight a grin at that. Sometimes she wondered if Amity even knew her ears did that. She didn’t seem to and that somehow made it so much cuter.

“Ignore them,” Willow said from beside Amity. “They’re just being jerks. We all know how good your magic is.”

“Yeah!” Gus agreed earnestly. “I’d like to see any of them do half the things you can do!”

Luz really did grin then. How could she have forgotten? Things weren’t the same here. She had suffered through the awful bullying and shunning by her peers all on her own back on Earth. But here she had friends. Here she had people who understood and even liked her for who she was. People who cared whether she was happy and who she loved so dearly it sometimes felt a little surreal.

Hissterian was wrong. 

Her classmates were wrong. 

Her magic wasn’t weak or simple at all and neither was she. 

Luz had taken on monsters and bullies and ancient eldritch nightmare demons and came out on top each time. She’d saved the lives of her friends and the entire school on more than one occasion. She’d done all that. Sure, thanks in part to her friends, but also because she was smart. She was creative. She was a weirdo and proud! 

And one day she, Luz Noceda, was going to show them all what glyph magic could really do.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, hitting them all with her best ‘I’m totally okay and I love you all’ smile. “You’re the best friends a girl could ask for.” 

If it weren’t for the fact they were spread a little too far, Luz would have gathered them all up for a big hug, to show them exactly how much she appreciated them. Just as she tried to attempt it anyway (her fingers could barely graze Gus’s shoulder. If she just pushed a tiny bit closer to Amity…), Professor Hissterian cleared his throat and they all leapt to attention in their seats. Luz snatched her arms back to hide them under the desk. Totally cool and casual. Nothing to see here.

“If we’re all quite done interrupting my lecture, I’d like to continue,” he said, glaring at their group from the front of the class. Willow rolled her eyes but made a show of lifting her pen while Gus and Amity snapped upright and immediately started scribbling notes again. Seemingly satisfied, the professor continued. 

“Now, where was I? Ah yes, the fall of the Savage Ages and the rise of the glorious reign of our benevolent leader, the great and powerful Emperor Belos.”

Luz cringed. She was all for a little dramatic flair, but he was laying it on kinda thick, if you asked her. Still, this was more cool witch history so she kept silent, scribbling down her own notes as he spoke.

“Emperor Belos was not born to the crown. He was chosen by the witches of the isles after a long, arduous crusade for unity. Before the covens existed, the Boiling Isles were being torn apart by the savages experimenting with dangerous magic they could not begin to fathom. They spread devastation across the Titan. Wars and constant fighting for power killed witches and demons alike in droves and our home was on the brink of destruction! Until one day when the Emperor decided to take a stand against the chaos.” 

The class was utterly silent, every student listening breathlessly, eyes wide and mouths agape.

“The Emperor knew that wild magic was the source of that chaos and that the only way to end the fighting was to unite the people of the Isles. Thus, in all his infinite wisdom, and under the guidance of the Titan, he created the coven system we use to this day. A system in which we are allowed to reach heights in our chosen fields the likes of which the savage wild witches could never dream. 

“Through focused study, we are allowed the opportunity to learn the deepest secrets of our Tracks and by sealing off access to all other forms of magic, we are able to empower ourselves further and focus all our strength in one direction. Belos took the broken remnants of our shattered home and united us all under his name and we shall all be eternally grateful to him for it.”

A loud scoff cut Hissterian off and it wasn’t until every eye in the class had turned on her that Luz realised it had come from her. Oh cramity, she hadn’t meant to do that… A nervous chuckle slipped out of her mouth and she tried to duck down in her seat as the professor glared at her.

“Do you have something to say, Miss Noceda?” he grit out and she swallowed thickly.

“Uh, no, sir. Sorry,” she muttered and he huffed in return.

“Are you quite sure about that? The very disrespectful noise you just made would suggest otherwise,” he said, eyes narrowing at her. She grimaced and fought desperately to keep her leg from jiggling beneath the table. That usually annoyed teachers more when they were already upset with her.

“Well… it’s just, how exactly did Belos know that sealing everyone’s magic was the right thing to do?” she asked, sitting back up in her seat so she looked less like the delinquent he seemed to think she was. “It kinda seems unfair, forcing everyone to give up so much of their magic like that.”

“The covens allow witches to focus their skills and they ended years of conflict. Of course it was the right thing to do,” he snapped. Luz frowned at that.

“But doesn’t that seem kind of harsh? There had to be some other way to fix things. Forcing witches to give up their natural connection to magic isn’t right!” Her voice rose as she gained steam and the professor’s glare deepened. “And if it was such a good thing, why didn’t Belos do it too? Why is he the only one that gets to keep all of his magic?”

“Emperor Belos is the only one who can be trusted with access to all of the magic in this world. Besides, you are forgetting that members of the Emperor’s Coven are allowed this same privilege. A coven made entirely of witches he knows can be trusted not to wreak havoc on the world with that power.” 

He made to turn back to the board and ignore her with a dismissive wave of his hand, but Luz wasn’t done. This wasn’t right! The more she thought about it, the more it infuriated her.

“What gives Belos the right to decide who gets to keep their magic?” she snapped and suddenly she was out of her seat and half way to standing on it. A loud, collective gasp echoed from the other students but Luz ignored them all. “Why does he get to choose?”

Hissterian swelled with rage as Luz glared right back at him in defiance.

“Emperor Belos communes with the Titan! The Titan itself told the Emperor how to cure us of the sickness that is wild magic. Magic that was slowly destroying us and the land we live on,” he sneered, pointing his clawed finger at her, but Luz scoffed again.

“How do you know he ‘communes with the Titan’? Has anyone seen him do it?”

“We don’t need to see him do anything!” Hissterian stormed across the room to lean imperiously over her. “The Emperor is the most powerful witch alive. One who does the bidding of the Titan on which we all live. He does not need to prove himself to the likes of you!”

“Well that’s just dumb. If anyone on Earth tried to pull something like that without proof they’d be publicly humiliated... and probably gain some sort of cult following. But rational people would be laughing at them!” Luz said flippantly. “I’m the most powerful human witch alive. Does that mean I can talk to the Titan too?”

Hissterian spluttered indignantly, reeling back to stare at her in utter shock.

“D-don’t be preposterous! You are a human ! What makes you think anyone would believe that you could commune with the Titan? The very idea is ludicrous… blasphemous! One could even say treasonous!”

Luz inhaled, fully ready to argue her point when a sudden, sharp kick to her shin made all the air rush out of her. She turned to see Amity giving her a hard look before her eyes darted significantly to the rest of the class. When Luz looked too, she found every eye in the class staring at her in slack-jawed horror. Even Gus and Willow looked shocked by her outburst. Her eyes met Amity's again and her girlfriend subtly shook her head. Luz swallowed thickly around the lump that had lodged itself quite suddenly in her throat. Oh boy.

With her no longer arguing back, Hissterian straightened and glared down at her.

“Miss Noceda, this sort of behaviour is entirely unacceptable and I demand an apology for your disrespectful outburst,” he hissed, arms folded and foot tapping impatiently at the ground. 

Luz lowered her foot from where it was perched on her chair and dropped her eyes to her desk  as she took a deep steadying breath through her nose. The idea of apologizing rankled her. Sure, she felt bad for lashing out, but she’d already been upset and she had made some good points. Nothing about the coven system made sense to her. 

She had seen how much better magic could be when it was combined and forcing witches to give up so much of themselves, just because one man said they should, felt fundamentally wrong to her. Amity nudged her with an elbow and Luz sighed.

“I’m sorry, professor,” she mumbled. “It won’t happen again.”

He huffed at her and turned to move back to the front of the class.

“I should hope not. I expect two thousand words on all the ways Emperor Belos and the coven system have improved our lives on my desk by tomorrow morning or I will be forced to speak to Principal Bump about your behaviour.”

Luz fell into her seat in shock. Two thousand ? Well that was just unfair! 

When Hissterian turned his back, Luz let the last of her rebellious irritation seep through her by very maturely sticking her tongue out at him. She made sure to stare demurely down at her desk again when he turned to face the class once more though. No need to bump that essay up to three thousand words. Or into a trip to Bump himself. 

She spent the rest of the lesson drowning out the lecture through the magic of doodles and daydreams, focusing instead on the soothing feeling of Amity’s thumb running comfortingly over her knuckles. It helped, even if Amity still looked tense.

They didn’t get a chance to discuss her outburst until lunch. Willow and Gus were already at their usual table, fussing over a new plant Willow was cultivating. She was happily watering it with a little spray bottle when Luz and Amity joined them. Three sets of eyes fell on her the moment she sat down and Luz couldn’t help the long suffering groan that escaped her.

“Go ahead,” she muttered, glancing briefly over at Amity who looked about ready to burst.

“Luz! What were you thinking ? You argued with our teacher !” she gasped out in an exasperated rush. It was clear she’d been holding that in all throughout their History and then Illusion classes and Luz might have smiled at how relieved she looked to finally let it out if she weren’t still sort of seething.

“I’m sorry! I know it was dumb and reckless, I just…” She groaned in frustration, dragging her hands over her eyes until they stretched downwards. “I got so mad .”

“But why?” Willow asked from her spot across the lunch table, a curious tilt to her head. “Was it because they were laughing? I’ve never seen you get so angry about that sort of thing before.”

“Except for that day in the cafeteria. She really gave Boscha a verbal hit down!” Gus piped up eagerly.

“It’s ‘smackdown’, Gus. But good try,” she said, her lips twitching into a small smile when he whipped out his notebook and scratched something out, only to replace it with this new information. When Willow caught her eye and gestured for her to go on, Luz huffed and stared hard at the sandwich that Amity had made her for lunch. 

“I dunno, I guess the laughing was part of it but mostly it was what Hissterian was saying about wild magic and Belos. Belos sucks and he wouldn’t stop going on about him!”

Her friends all gasped and Gus half threw himself across the table, his arm outstretched as if he wanted to slap a hand over Luz’s mouth.

“Luz, you shouldn’t say stuff like that. He’s the emperor ! Someone could hear you!” Willow hissed, eyes darting around to make sure no one was looking their way. 

No one was of course. The loud, busy cafeteria was a far safer place to talk about this than their quiet Healing classroom. The students were all too focused on their own lives and lunches to pay any attention to them. Besides, the school’s interest in her relationship with Amity had died out pretty quickly and, with it, their interest in her group of friends. They were all nobodies again.

“I don’t care,” Luz grumbled, folding her arms across her chest and hunching her shoulders. “The Emperor and his stupid coven have been hunting Eda for years just because she won’t do what he says and on my first day here I learned that they lock up anyone they think is weird or different. They even threw a girl into the Conformatorium just because she writes fanfiction. Fanfiction , Willow!” 

She turned desperately to Amity for support but she grimaced, her eyes drifting uncomfortably to the table. Shoot. She probably shouldn’t have mentioned the Conformatorium after what had almost happened to Amity. It was obvious she didn’t want to talk or even think about that right now, but it was too late to take it back so Luz plunged ahead. She’d make it up to her later.

“And on top of all that, he’s forcing witches to give up a big chunk of their magic for no real reason. It’s not right! ”

“But the covens make things better,” Gus said. “I mean, just look at Amity’s dad. The guy’s a jerk but you gotta hand it to him, he’s an expert in abominations. Blight Industries is famous for his work with them.”

Well that was interesting. She’d never really known what the Blights did to make so much money, only that they seemed to have a lot of ties to the Emperor’s Coven and other high class families. Luz turned curious eyes on Amity, who looked even more uncomfortable at the mention of her dad. Luz’s belly twisted with guilt. She was really messing this up. Time to redirect.

“So he’s good at abominations, fine. But so is Amity and she’s even better at other stuff,” Luz declared. “Like healing! She tried other magic for less than a week and found something she’s amazing at. Plus, we’ve all seen how much stronger magic is when you mix the tracks together.”

Amity sat up straight at this, her cheeks flushed from Luz’s praise. Heck yeah, point Noceda.

“Luz is right. I told you guys about how much easier it was to learn new spells when I combined practices from the different tracks. It grants you a much deeper understanding of how magic works and I’m sure I’ve barely scratched the surface.” She folded her arms and frowned down at the table again, this time wearing the expression Luz had come to know as Amity’s ‘big brain face’. “Even if we can’t do away with the coven system, the school should really be teaching everyone at least the basic principles from each track before we pick one to stick with.”

“She makes an excellent point,” Gus agreed, looking over at Willow who frowned thoughtfully.

“I suppose if we’d been allowed to at least try the other tracks, I could have gone for the Plant track a lot sooner and saved myself a heap of trouble…” she conceded, looking down at her brightly coloured plant with a fond smile. Luz flung her arms wildly at her in a ‘thank you’ sort of way.

“This is what I’m saying! I’m all for companionship and teamwork and all that other good stuff you get from the covens, but witches shouldn’t have to give up parts of themselves for no reason. It’s not fair and everyone just seems to go with it. I don’t get it!”

“You know, I wouldn’t mind trying some new things,” Gus said. “It could be fun to multitrack and learn other magic that might be more useful than Illusions. What d’you think, Willow?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” she said slowly. “Plant magic is all I’ve ever really wanted to do but it might be nice to branch out and at least try something else.”

If she had witchy ears, Luz was sure they’d be twitching with excitement right now. They wanted to multirack and Willow had made a pun! Probably an unintentional one, but still! Luz beamed at her friends and gestured at them proudly.

“That’s the spirit!” She turned her grin on Amity. “Call me Luz Noceda, Champion of Literature, Spreader of Pun Culture and Academic Trendsetter.”

Willow’s eyes widened in apparent horror at realising what she’d said and Amity chuckled.

“I think ‘Luz Noceda, Magical Revolutionary’ sounds better,” she said, smirking at Luz’s triumphant grin. “Eda would be so proud.” 

Luz flinched at that and scratched guiltily at the back of her neck.

“Actually Eda sorta made me promise not to start any major rebellions or uprisings until I’m at least 18, so maybe we should just stick with academic trendsetting for now. But I like the way you think, Blight,” she said with a wink. 

Her mami would probably kill both her and Eda if Luz got herself mixed up in something like that. Granted her mami was going to kill her when she found out about the Boiling Isles in general, but it was probably better not to add the flames of magical civil war to that particular fire. For now.

“What if we started an uprising and you just happened to be nearby?” Gus asked, rubbing his chin in thought. Before Luz could latch onto that idea, Willow whipped up her little spray bottle and spritzed Gus in the face with it. He yelped and flailed away from her.

“No, Gus. Bad,” she said, spritzing him again. “No rebellions or uprising for you either.” 

When he nodded meekly, his damp head bowed over his lunch tray, Willow turned the spray bottle on Luz and held it out menacingly. Luz gasped and snatched her Amity-made sandwich out of the way of a soggy death.

“No rebellions or uprisings! I get it!” 

Willow lowered her weapon of moist destruction with a satisfied nod, leaving Luz to take a relieved bite of her, mercifully dry, sandwich. But, despite her promise, thoughts of the covens and the unjust nature of Belos’s regime swirled in Luz’s mind for the rest of the day. 

There might not be much should could do about it right now, but the idea of Amity having to give up on all she’d learned and been opened to, of Willow and Gus never getting to try new things, of Eda being hunted for the rest of her life and being forced to take a seal… it was too much for her to bear ignoring forever. 

By the time she got to her construction class at the end of the day, Luz was so distracted that she missed the moment the girl next to her cast a stone-trap spell and wasn’t quite fast enough to dodge the resulting spikes, one of which scraped across her arm. Thankfully, Amity was fresh off a Healing class and ready to help when they met at her locker after the final scream of the bell.

“I knew Healing would come in handy with you around,” Amity said, a light smirk tugging at her lips as she carefully pulled at the shallow cut along Luz’s forearm with her adapted Healing spell.

“You know me,” Luz chuckled as Amity gently tugged her arm closer to inspect her work. “Always getting into trouble.”

Amity snorted and rolled her eyes. “You’ve certainly gotten into enough of it today,” she teased. 

“Yeah… I just hope Eda knows a spell to fix my sleeve coz I won’t have time to sew it back up thanks to Hissterian,” Luz grumped and Amity’s playful smirk softened into a sympathetic smile.

“Don’t worry about that essay, I’ll help you with it when we get home,” she said. 

Then she leaned over to press her lips lightly to Luz’s freshly healed arm and Luz let out a quiet squeal from somewhere in the back of her throat. Her cheeks flushed hotly and she swallowed hard as Amity straightened and slid her hand down Luz’s arm to intertwine their fingers. Oh, wow… Amity had never done anything quite so bold before. 

“Now let’s get going. We have a lot of work to do tonight because a certain human couldn’t resist being a revolutionary in History class.”

Luz allowed herself to be pulled along through the front doors of the school by the pretty witch holding her hand, her belly fluttering wildly like it was filled with a million buzzy butterflies all flapping about at once. Was that even physically possible? Maybe if they were really small butterflies… But regardless, it’s how it felt whenever Amity was around. 

Beautiful, brave, talented, sweet and sassy Amity who somehow liked her just the way she was. Luz wasn’t sure how exactly she’d pulled that off but boy was she grateful. She still had a hard time believing Amity Blight liked her back sometimes. It was mind blowing. Or boggling? Yeah, mind boggling sounded better. Of all the people in the Boiling Isles, Amity liked her. Her! Luz Noceda!

She watched Amity dreamily as they made their way back home, grinning along while she excitedly described the more complex Healing classes that Luz didn’t share with her. Apparently they’d just learned a spell that allowed for an in depth look into the internal anatomy of living beings in order to more effectively heal injuries and other ailments that went deeper than surface level. That sounded really useful for their curse research and, just as the thought popped into her head, Amity piped up.

“I’m sure that being able to study the internal effects of Eda’s curse will make it easier to figure out what exactly it did to her and how it’s causing the transformations,” she said, glancing over at Luz who was grinning broadly at her. 

“What?” she asked, a smile tugging at her own lips.

“Nothing, just seems like we share a brain cell sometimes,” Luz replied. When Amity tilted her head in clear confusion, Luz darted in to press a quick kiss to her cheek. “It’s a human thing; I’ll explain it later. So, what else did you learn in Advanced Healing?”

Amity’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink and she stepped just a little closer so their shoulders were brushing as they walked.

“We looked at some internal anatomy that witches and demons share. It actually got me curious about how much we share with humans,” she said, reaching over to pull a hefty book out of her satchel. “I met up with Gus just before you found me earlier and borrowed this from him to do a little extra research.”

She handed the book over to Luz, who took it and flipped it over to reveal what seemed to be an advanced medical textbook.

“Atlas of Human Anatomy? Huh, you’d think Gus would have a better understanding of how humans work if he’d read this. He once asked me where my gills were,” she laughed, handing the book back to Amity, who flipped it open to curiously thumb through the pages.

“He said this one was a little hard to follow so I offered to look through it tonight so we can talk about it when he and Willow come over tomorrow. He’s also going to bring his other human texts with him,” she said as she snapped the book shut and carefully stowed it away again. 

When she looked back up, she found Luz clutching at her heart with a big, trembling smile spread across her face, eyes all but glowing. Amity cocked an eyebrow at her and Luz flapped her hands excitedly at her.

“You two are bonding over human stuff,” she gushed. “That’s so cute!”

Amity huffed and gave Luz a playful shove. “We have a mutual interest. Besides, knowing how you work will make it easier for me to fix you up the next time you do something reckless.”

Luz giggled and shrugged at that. Given her track record with injuries and adventures, she could hardly argue the point. 

They walked in comfortable silence for a while until the forest path opened up to the cliffside clearing that the Owl House stood on. Hooty called out a cheerful greeting as they approached but, before Luz could even so much as wave at him, the door flew open, slamming poor Hooty’s face into the wall with a muffled squawk. A tiny dark figure launched itself through the open door, moving so fast that it wasn’t until she was already holding him that Luz realised it was King.

“Luz!” he yelped in obvious desperation, little claws digging frantically into her arms. “Thank Titan you’re back. You gotta come quick, it’s Eda!”

Cold dread swelled within her and Luz’s gut clenched painfully. She and Amity shared a brief look of fear before they burst into motion at once. Luz let King hop out of her arms and they rushed to follow him into the house. Her heart hammered in her throat, terrified at what they might find as King led them into the kitchen. 

It was an absolute mess of half-finished potions, still bubbling and spitting inside their cauldrons, some of which were coming dangerously close to frothing over onto the counter. Steam and smoke clogged the air, filling the room with a foul smell that Luz knew meant a fair few of these potions were ruined. The kitchen counter was completely overrun with ingredients, vials and disturbing splatters of unknown liquids, some of which seemed to quiver and shift all on their own.

King darted behind the counter and Luz followed, skidding to a halt with a gasp. There, sprawled out across the hard tiles, was Eda. Out cold and part way through transforming. She looked even paler than usual, her haggard face pulled into a twitching frown and dripping with sweat that matted her hair to her forehead. Dark grey feathers had sprouted around her neck, in her hair and all along her arms, growing slowly larger as Luz stared at her in horror.

For a moment she simply stood there, watching helplessly as King tried to shake Eda awake. It was The Knee all over again. The night she’d first learned about the curse. Eda was in trouble and Luz had no idea how to help. 

She felt frozen. Useless. Lost without her beloved mentor there to bail her out when she was in over her head. 

But she only let herself feel like that for a moment. She wasn’t alone and, even if they hadn’t made a lot of progress in their research yet, she and Amity knew how to deal with the symptoms of the curse. They’d done it before after all and they still had time. Eda hadn’t fully transformed yet. Determination replaced the fear roiling in her belly and she used that to propel herself into action.

First things first: they needed to clear out this smoke and stop the cauldrons from bubbling over into what could become another potential problem. She may have gotten pretty good at Potions but she didn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of the ingredients and what they did together. Who knew what concoctions Eda had been cooking up and how they might interact if they mixed. Probably best not to find out.

Rushing around Eda, Luz flung the kitchen windows open as wide as they would go, trying hard not to choke on the smoke and steam rushing out around her as it flooded out of the room. She turned and darted past Amity, who was kneeling beside Eda and carefully doused the fires beneath each cauldron. They’d likely congeal and become unusable, if they hadn’t already burned, but that was hardly a concern at the moment. 

***

With potential alchemical explosions no longer an issue, Luz joined Amity on the floor where she was checking Eda’s vitals the way they’d learned in Healing class.

“King, what happened? Why did she pass out like this?” Luz asked and King twisted his paws together nervously. His eyes flicked between Luz’s serious expression and Eda’s unconscious form before his entire body seemed to deflate.

“Eda’s been working herself to the bone trying to make enough money to buy the extra elixirs she needs for the curse and still have enough for everything else since…” he paused, eyes darting briefly to Amity, who flinched visibly. He snapped his mouth shut. There was an awkward pause before Amity sighed and went back to checking over Eda. King scuffed the ground with his foot and glanced away, one claw rubbing at his furry arm. 

“Sorry…” he mumbled and Amity shook her head, fighting off the bitter taste rising in the back of her throat.

“Don’t be. I know I’ve made things harder on her…” She murmured and Luz gasped. 

“Amity, that’s not-!” 

Amity cut her off with a wave of her free hand, motioning towards Eda.

“She seems ok,” she said as she gently set Eda’s arm down. “It looks like she collapsed from exhaustion and I guess that must be accelerating the curse’s effects. We should give her an elixir before it gets worse.”

“Right,” Luz said, her lips set in a grim line that Amity knew meant they weren’t done talking just yet. Luz looked down at King, who nodded and scampered off to retrieve one of Eda’s many hidden elixirs, leaving the girls to watch as Eda’s fingers elongated grotesquely.

They were quiet for a long while, both nervously watching the curse slowly take over more of Eda’s body while they waited for King to return. Amity grimaced and bit her lip. He was taking too long to find that elixir and there was no telling if one alone would be enough. It certainly hadn’t been last time.

“Hey, um...” Luz started but Amity cut her off again.

“I want to check something,” she said, raising her hand to draw a new circle in the air. As it closed, the center of the spell glowed briefly to life before forming a small disc that Amity could pluck out of the air. She held it out over Eda and bent to look into it.

“ Woah !” Luz leaned in beside her, looking down at the disc with open awe. Organs shifted and squirmed before their eyes, projected perfectly onto the pulsing, prismatic platform in Amity’s hands. “Is this the spell you mentioned earlier? That’s so awesome and so gross.”

Amity grinned at her, in spite of the rather dire situation. “Yeah, it kinda is,” she agreed.

“Is… is it meant to look like that?” Luz asked hesitantly and Amity grimaced. Eda’s bile sac was covered in an inky black ooze that seemed to leak out around it. With each beat of her heart and subsequent pulse of her bile sac, the vile ichor spread along her veins and further into her body, more feathers growing in its wake. 

“Definitely not.”

She shook the disc out of existence and sat back on her heels to think. They needed to do something about that black substance. It had to be the curse. There was no other explanation. If they could only remove it somehow...

Amity inhaled sharply, eyes widening as an idea formed in her mind. 

“Maybe I could just…” She reached out a hesitant hand, fingers already curling to draw another spell.

“Amity,” Luz said, tugging nervously on Amity’s sleeve. “What are you doing?”

“I have an idea,” she muttered, biting her lip in concentration as the circle closed to form the now familiar spell. Her own personal Healing spell. 

It had worked for plenty of injuries in class by drawing them out, surely it could draw out whatever poison the curse had infected Eda with. She paused for a moment, not quite sure where to direct it without any visible injury, but then settled for aiming it at Eda’s bile sac. That seemed to be where the ooze was coming from so it was as good a place as any to start.

The moment her magic connected with Eda, Amity was overcome with a barrage of horrifying sensations. Like every other time she’d tried this, a low hum of the patient’s pain echoed within her, but this… this was different.

The first thing she noticed was the pressure . It burned like a constant itch under her skin, pressing from the inside out. Almost like having something too large forced into too small a space that was slowly trying to scratch its way out of her. Her own bile sac pulsed uncomfortably in her chest and she shuddered. 

Pushing past the discomfort, Amity latched onto that sense of wrongness and pulled, drawing it out and away like all the times she’d done this spell before. 

But unlike all of those times, there was a lot more to heal here than she’d anticipated. As she drew the ooze back, the feathers retreated into Eda’s flesh and vanished, leaving it bare and normal once more. Her fingers shrank and reformed, her body relaxed and Amity strained with the effort of keeping her spell going. 

There was still so much to draw out. It just kept coming and coming . Sweat ran down the back of her neck as that awful pressure built within her and she shut her eyes, gritting her teeth.

“Uh, Amity…”

She ignored Luz’s worried voice. There was still more in there. So much more . Her arms shook and burned. The pressure built and it became harder to breathe and, Titan, the itching ! But it was working! Just a little more… If she could get it all then Eda would be ok. Her curse would be gone and then maybe Amity would have earned…

“ Amity , stop! Your arms!”

Luz latched onto her shoulder and shook it hard, shattering Amity’s concentration. It was all she could do to not let the spell collapse entirely. Her eyes whipped open, ready to snap at Luz for almost ruining the spell but she paused. Luz was looking at her arms in abject horror and when Amity followed her gaze she froze, cold dread crawling up her spine.

White and auburn feathers had sprouted all along her arms, from her wrists up to her elbows and her fingers had begun to elongate into hideous black tipped claws. The orb her spell manifested hovered just above her feathery arms but, instead of her lovely signature pink glow, it was pitch black and dripping with ooze. A drop of it splattered to the floor where it landed with a hiss and a wisp of black smoke. The spell looked sick. Infected . 

The spell that was connecting her to Eda. 

Connecting her to the curse…

“That doesn’t look right!”

Amity shrieked and flailed away from Hooty’s face as it suddenly popped up beside her. Her spell burst and the inky black ichor that she’d gathered in the orb fell to the ground with a sickeningly wet shlop . It writhed and wriggled on the tiles before fizzling out of existence, leaving behind only a large, dark stain on the ground and the smell of burnt ozone and feathers.

“Are you sure you did it right? Maybe I can help, hoot!” Hooty curled himself over Eda’s body from the open window he’d slipped through, hovering over Amity to tilt his head at her. For once, she was actually glad to see the nightmarish tube demon. As she lay there, breathing hard, she lifted her shaking arms to watch the feathers retract and vanish, leaving no trace they’d ever been there. If she’d kept pulling… or kept hold of that spell for much longer...

Titan, she’d almost cursed herself!

Bile rose in her throat and Amity swallowed it down hard as Luz’s worried face appeared above her, shoving Hooty’s aside. 

“Amity! Are you okay?”

Was she okay? She knew what the curse felt like now and she searched for that feeling within herself. The itching pressure had vanished the moment she’d released the spell but she could still remember it vividly. 

She couldn't even imagine having to live with that every day. It was a wonder Eda hadn’t been driven mad after all these years. But while she could recall the feeling with crystal clarity, she couldn’t feel it anymore. 

All she felt was relief… and the urge to throw up.

“Y-yeah… I think I’m okay.” 

She allowed Luz to help her back up and shuddered as another wave of nausea washed over her. That had been entirely too close. She’d very nearly done something colosally foolish and potentially life-altering because she’d overestimated her own abilities again. Professor Febris would flay her alive if she ever found out about this!

Luz let out a relieved breath before she latched onto Amity’s shoulders to shake them, eyes wild and wet.

“What were you thinking ?” she snapped, her breath coming out in ragged spurts as more tears gathered in her eyes. Amity opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. What could she possibly say to defend such an incredibly stupid mistake? At her silence, Luz’s face crumpled and she yanked Amity into her arms, burying her face in her shoulder. “Don’t do that again, okay? You could have been cursed !”

Guilt swirled in Amity’s gut as Luz sobbed into her shoulder. She wrapped her still shaking arms around her trembling girlfriend and pulled her in close, pressing her face into Luz’s hair as tears stung her own eyes. Tears of guilt, fear and overwhelming shame.

“I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I just wanted to help Eda. I thought I could be useful for once. I-”

“Being useful is overrated, kid.”

The girls yelped and whirled around to see Eda unsteadily push herself up to lean against the table, pressing a hand to her head with a pained hiss. A curious frown pulled at her brow and she pulled the hand back to look at it. She wiggled the feathery digits in front of her face and grimaced at the sight of them.

“Well, that’s not good. How long was I out?” She turned her eyes back onto the girls and Luz let out a relieved laugh, launching herself out of Amity’s arms and into Eda’s.

“Eda, you’re awake!” She burrowed herself as close to Eda as she could get, heedless of the claws and feathers that had sprung back into place once Amity’s spell had ended. Eda awkwardly patted the top of her head, glancing wearily between Luz and Amity. “We were so worried!”

“I’m alright, Luz. No need to make a fuss.” She carefully pried the human girl off of her and set her down beside Amity again so she could crack her back with a groan. “Just needed a nap, I guess. Next time I’ll remember to do it on the sofa. The kitchen floor is murder on the spine.”

King came scampering into the kitchen at that moment with an armful of elixirs.

“Luz! I found these stashed in Eda’s room! Do you think they’ll be enou-” He paused at the sight of Eda sitting up and sagged with visible relief. “Oh, you’re awake! N-not that I care or anything. But you did promise to make fairy pot pie for dinner so someone had to make sure you woke up.”

Ignoring his clear deflection, Eda grinned at King and held a hand out towards him. “Ah, just what the Healer ordered. Toss me one of those, King.”

The little demon tottered over to her, balancing his precarious pile of potions in his paws so that Eda could snatch one up. She popped the cork and tossed the elixir back with a loud smack of her lips. To Amity’s relief, Eda’s feathers receded and, within moments, she was patting her ruffled hair back into place with her regular, unclawed hands.

She hoisted herself back onto her feet with another groan, waving off the girls when they rushed to help her up.

“Relax, this isn’t the first time I’ve woken up on the kitchen floor and it won’t be the last,” she said, glaring at King when he snickered at her.

“Yeah, but it usually involves a whole lot of apple blood,” he giggled and she rolled her eyes.

“Can it, you.” Her eyes roamed around the wrecked kitchen and she flinched. “Well, guess that’s today’s batch of potions ruined. Teach me not to take a nap when I need it.” She grimaced briefly and then gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. “Ah well, I’ll just start them again in the morning. The client can wait a day. Luz, stop fussing, I’m fine!”

Amity trailed behind them as Luz hovered beside Eda all the way to the sofa. She held her arms around her middle, squeezing them as tight as she could to try and hide the way they were still shivering.

“Eda, what happened?” Luz asked as Eda leaned back into the plush armrest with a deep groan. “I get you’ve been working hard, but you’ve never passed out like that before.”

Luz sat beside her mentor, wringing her hands as she watched her with an attentive sort of anxiety. Amity hovered nearby, feeling out of place. Her new room had helped make the Owl House feel a little more like home, but King’s admission had been a stark reminder of the fact that she was an intruder here.

“I'm fine, Luz. I already said I just skipped a nap. Stop fretting, would ya? You sound like my mother,” Eda groaned but Luz was clearly not to be deterred.

“You’re not fine! We know the elixirs aren’t working so well anymore, so why are you overworking yourself so much? Why didn’t you tell us?” She looked so desperately upset and Amity felt hot shame wash over her again.

“Because it’s not your job to worry about it,” Eda snapped back.

“It should be.”

They both turned to look at Amity and her shoulders hiked up at their sudden full attention. Her eyes fell to her feet and she dug her nails into her arms, the sensation distracting her from the mess of anxiety crawling under her skin. The feeling was hauntingly similar to having Eda’s curse writhing within her and she shuddered at the reminder, digging her nails in even deeper.

“I mean, you shouldn’t be working this hard when you’re clearly not well,” she continued, squaring her shoulders in an effort to look more confident. Blights were assertive. They didn’t cower in rooms, they commanded them. “I understand you need to keep your potions business going, but that’s no excuse for overworking yourself when you have a curse that affects your health the way yours does. If you insist on working this hard, then you should at least let us help with things around the house. It’s the sensible thing to do. Besides, Luz and I have been looking into curses and I’m confident we can do something to help with yours, but not if you make it worse by exhausting yourself so much.”

Dread crawled up Amity’s throat as Eda stared her down for a long, tense moment. Titan, she’d gone too far. She was practically making demands of her. Who did she think she was? Eda was running herself ragged trying to accommodate her and Amity was being so impertinent! Eventually, Eda scoffed and flopped back against the couch, her arm hanging casually over the side of it.

“Geez, now you really sound like my mom. Take it down a notch, Bossy Boots,” she said, shooting Amity a look that made her stomach squirm. “Look. I appreciate you kids want to help, but this really isn’t something you need to spend time thinking about. If my overbearing mother and I couldn’t find a way to fix this stupid curse in the last couple decades, you two certainly aren’t going to. So focus on doing things kids do and stop worrying so much. The two of you are gonna make me grayer than I already am.”

“But, Eda!” Luz piped up. “You guys never tried mixing magic like us. The stupid emperor made sure of that. So maybe we could find something you missed. There’s gotta be a way to cure you. We just need to keep trying!”

Eda narrowed her eyes at the two of them and then sighed in clear frustration.

“Ok, fine. I’m obviously not going to be able to convince you here, so can you at least promise not to do anything dangerous without involving me? I don’t wanna come home to find you two have blown up the house or gotten yourselves hurt while you mess around with this stuff.” She glowered at them, but Luz was beaming and she threw her arms around Eda eagerly. Amity felt shame crawl up her throat again. She’d very nearly hurt herself trying to cure Eda already.

“We will, promise. No weird experiments or dangerous potion mixing without your supervision.”

That seemed to satisfy Eda. She pried Luz off of her and smirked at her. “Now, what was that I heard you say about the emperor? I thought you liked the idea of covens.”

Luz flushed and rubbed awkwardly at her arm. “I did. I just think it's unfair how he made everyone give up their magic. And I… may have yelled that at my history teacher.” She grimaced, but Eda let out a loud snort. She gave Luz a hearty slap on her back and cackled at her.

“I’m sure he loved that,” she said. “Ah, baby’s first major class disruption. I’m so proud.”

Amity found herself smiling weakly. She’d been totally right about Eda’s reaction. Watching Eda playfully ruffle Luz’s hair made something in her chest ache and she bit her lip as she watched them, that old, deep longing flaring up within her. She stamped it down hard.

“Keep it up, kid. Stick it to the man and don’t let them suck you into their weird cults.” Eda paused then and leveled a finger at Luz. “Just remember our deal.”

“I know, I know,” Luz said. “No rebellions or uprising.”

“Not until you’re 18,” Eda confirmed. King, who had been hovering near Eda’s knee, reached up to tug insistently at the skirt of her dress.

“Can you guys stop messing around now and make my fairy  pot pie? I’m hungry!”

“Yeah, yeah. In a minute. We’ve gotta clean up that mess in the kitchen first,” Eda said and then hauled herself up off the sofa with a groan. Or tried to. Her legs gave out and she fell back into the cushions with an “ oof ”. Amity stepped forward eagerly as Eda gathered herself. This was her chance to make herself useful!

“You should rest. I’ll take care of dinner and the kitchen.” She was halfway there when Eda’s voice made her freeze.

“I don’t think so, Boots. Luz can handle it. I think you and I need to have a little chat.”

Amity’s heart sank somewhere below her feet and she flinched when Eda motioned for her to follow her once she’d managed to peel herself off the sofa. She avoided Luz’s encouraging smile and kept her eyes trained on her feet as they dragged behind Eda, who was leading her into the next room. Every step felt like it took her closer to inevitable danger, which was ridiculous, but her chest grew tighter and tighter anyway as they moved further from Luz.

When the door closed behind her, sealing her fate, Amity had to fight hard not to let the tears stinging her eyes loose. She would endure this the right way, with her head held high. 

“So, you wanna tell me what that was about?”

Eda turned to face her and Amity felt her entire body shrink in on itself against her will. This was it. She had overstepped and messed everything up and now it was over.

“I’m sorry,” she rushed to say. The words tumbled out of her faster than she could ever hope to stop them. “I’ve been trying to show I can be useful, but I realise now that it wasn’t enough. My being here is only making things worse for you. I could probably ask Willow to stay with her family, if her dads are okay with it. Or maybe Gus. We’re not exactly close but his dad might be willing to let me stay for a little until I can make other arrangements.”

Her chest ached at the thought of being away from Luz, but it was clear this wasn’t working out and she wasn’t going to keep making things difficult for Eda. That was the opposite of what she and Luz were trying to do! The ache in her chest flared sharply and she grimaced. As much as she had started growing used to the idea of this maybe being her new home, she had to be realistic. 

She would likely never have a home again. After all, if her own parents didn’t want her, why would anyone else?

“Relax, kid! You look like you’re facing the petrification squad. I never said anything abo-”

Eda reached out a hand to give her shoulder a reassuring pat, but suddenly her vision swam and that hand belonged to her father. Amity flinched back hard. He towered over her, his hand ready to snatch her up and take her away once and for all. Something clamped around her lungs and panic started to edge up her spine when they refused to draw in any more air. She couldn’t breathe! 

Amity clutched desperately at her chest and squeezed her eyes shut against the image of her father looming over her. It wasn’t real. He wasn’t here! But she was going to have to leave so that Eda didn’t have to work so hard and then he would find her and she really would be facing petrification. Or worse!

Shallow breaths stuck in her throat, her lungs burning as she fought for air that refused to come. She just needed to breathe. Why couldn’t she breathe? Her ears buzzed painfully as her heart attempted to beat its way out of her chest. The last time this had happened, Luz had made it better. She needed Luz!

Arms wrapped suddenly around her and Amity’s entire body seized with fear. But then those arms were rubbing gently at her back and she felt as the person holding her began to rock them both to and fro. The movement was soothing. Memories of Luz rocking her like this swam in her mind and she felt herself slowly unclenching. A distant voice was telling her to breathe and, when she tried, she was relieved to find she could. At least a little.

The arms held her for what felt like a long time as she slowly unwound and her heart slowed enough that she could no longer hear it pounding in her ears. The fear and panic bled out of her, leaving behind a grey numbness that made it feel strangely like she was detached from herself. Like she was in her body but not quite connected to it.

“Just try to breathe, kiddo.”

Oh right. Luz was still in the kitchen. It was Eda holding her. She all but shoved herself away from her, clutching her arms tightly around herself again, but Eda didn’t seem offended.

“Sorry about holding you like that without asking,” she said, raising her arms as if to show Amity they weren’t on her anymore. “Lily used to have panic attacks too and that was the only thing that seemed to help. I figured it’d work on you too.”

Hot, thick tears slipped over her cheeks and Amity let them, too raw and empty to care if Eda saw them. She wasn’t being a very good Blight, but what did that matter now? She wasn’t one anymore anyway. She had to remember that.

“I’m sorry,” Amity said quietly. Her voice felt distant, like someone else was using her mouth for her while she watched impassively from afar. “I’ll go pack my things. Please… don’t tell Luz until I’m gone. I don’t think she’ll understand.”

“Woah, woah! Who said anything about you leaving?” Eda stepped forward again, her hands twitching like she wanted to reach out towards her but thought better of it. “Hey, look at me. It’s okay.”

Lifting her eyes felt like an impossible task. They didn’t feel like hers. She blinked slowly, but that strange numbness was all that she could focus on. Everything around her felt muted. Like a blanket had been draped over her. It was sort of comforting in a weird way. A break from that awful twinge in her chest she could never quite get rid of since that awful night. She lifted her arms away from her sides and stared at her hands without really seeing them. Wherever she was right now, she didn’t have to think about how awful her life was or how much her heart ached for her old home. She didn’t have to think about anything.

Amity barely registered the brief flash of light coming from somewhere in front of her before something cold was pressed into her hand. She blinked again, this time managing to look up just enough to see a small block of ice resting on her palm.

Cold seeped into her skin, the ice sliding against her it as it began to melt, piercing through the grey blanketing her. Amity lifted her hand and watched as water slowly pooled around the little frozen square. Her skin burned and tingled from the cold and the sensation felt strangely grounding. Like it was pulling her back into her own body. A frigid bead of water ran down her arm and into her sleeve. She shuddered and took a deep, haggard breath as the fog wrapped around her mind slowly lifted. 

Finally, after what felt like ages, Amity managed to look up at Eda, who was watching her with a worried sort of frown.

“You with me?”

“Sorry,” she mumbled again, when her mind caught up. What had just happened? She’d totally zoned out in the middle of talking to Eda and now she must think Amity was crazy. Hot embarrassment flooded her cheeks and she looked away again. What was wrong with her? She was such a broken mess. She was ruining everything.

“Stop apologizing. You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Eda said gently, but Amity knew better.

“I’ve done nothing but cause you trouble since I got here,” Amity whispered. A part of her that still felt a bit foggy was oddly fascinated by the way Eda’s boots unfocused and went all wavy as she looked at them through tears she hadn’t realised until now were still falling down her cheeks. “You have enough to deal with, without me adding more to it and nothing I do will ever be enough to pay you for it. It’d be better if I just got out of your hair and…”

“Amity.”

She looked up, startled by the rare use of her name. Eda looked truly worried now and it only made Amity’s gut twist with even more guilt.

“Whoever said anything about you having to repay me?” Eda asked and Amity shrugged helplessly.

“Well… no one, but that’s how this works, isn’t it? Besides, you’ve had to work so much more and with your curse I…”

Eda held up her hand to cut her off and Amity felt the words die on her lips. 

“Hold up there. You’re just a kid. Don’t give me that look, you are,” she said when Amity grimaced at her. “It’s not your job to worry about money or whether you get to keep a roof over your head or food on the table. You don’t have to earn the right to a place to stay. The only thing a kid your age is supposed to be worrying about is surviving puberty and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, doing your best at school. And if you decided to skip out on the school stuff and learn the old fashioned way, like yours truly, I wouldn’t stop ya.”

Amity hesitated, a frown drawing across her brows. It didn’t make sense. Luz may believe you didn’t have to earn nice things, but that was how it had always worked. The room was a fluke. Something Luz had organised because she was her girlfriend and everyone probably just felt sorry for her. Right? 

Her mind rebelled against the idea because Luz had said she hadn’t needed to do anything for it. She wanted to believe them, she really did but… Her parents had always said nothing in life was free. None of this made sense to her.

When she didn’t respond, Eda sighed. “Look, I know this has been hard for you. You’ve been through a lot. But you’ve gotta stop putting so much pressure on yourself.” Eda knelt slightly so she could meet Amity’s eyes and smiled at her gently. “I promise I won’t work myself half to death again. I got a little carried away and forgot to take a nap. It was stupid, but it won’t happen again as long as you promise to stop worrying about earning your keep. Deal? You’re stressing me out just lookin at you.”

“I… I’ll try,” she said and Eda seemed satisfied. Amity, on the other hand, felt weak and pathetic, despite the wave of relief that came with knowing she didn’t actually have to leave. She’d thought she was making progress. Luz’s sweet gesture had made her feel wanted in the moment but it had only taken one tiny threat of losing it all and she’d fallen apart. She bit her lip and swallowed past the thick lump lodged in her throat.

“That’s all I want,” Eda said gently. “I know it might not feel like it yet, but this could be your home as much as it’s Luz’s or mine or King’s. If you want it to be. But we don’t overwork ourselves in this house. Got it?” 

Amity snorted and managed a weak smile at the irony of Eda saying that. Eda grinned too, then she hesitated before slowly opening her arms, an uncertain look on her face. 

“You wanna do the arm thing Luz likes so much? It’s weird, but it does help. Just don’t tell her I said that.”

A small laugh managed to bubble its way out of her and Amity wiped wearily at her eyes. What she really wanted right now was Luz. She wanted to curl up in her arms and cry until she ran out of tears. But she’d promised herself she wouldn’t rely on Luz so much, so she nodded and let Eda awkwardly wrap her arms around her. She’d never been held by an adult before. It was stiff and weird, but… kinda nice. Was this what it felt like when moms held you?

“Thank you,” she said eventually, trying hard not to start crying all over again. “And I’m sorry for making you have to work so much more.”

“Stop apologizing. My stupidity isn’t your responsibility. You’re way too high strung.” She gave Amity a gentle squeeze and then stepped back to let her compose herself a little. Then she grinned and gave Amity a little wink. “If you really wanna make yourself useful then go check on Luz and King before they destroy my kitchen.”

Amity left the room feeling mentally exhausted and emotionally tender. She slipped into the downstairs bathroom before heading to the kitchen and spent a long time trying to scrub the tears and messy, confused feelings off her face so Luz wouldn't see them. She desperately wanted to trust Eda. She was trying to. Eda didn’t seem at all like her parents and she’d never made Luz feel like she had to pay her way. At least not as far as Amity knew. So why was she still convinced that the same didn’t apply to her?

Maybe she could try a little harder to trust Eda. But she would also keep working to help her with her curse. Just in case. Surely if she fixed it, there would be no denying that she’d earned her place there.

She lives! The fic I mean. Debatable on my end.

I dunno how many people even still wanna read A Luminous Bond at this point, but that's ok. At least a few of you asked whether this fic was still being worked on so... yeah, it is. This chapter was largely finished YEARS ago. I'd written up to where Eda wakes up and had notes for the rest. Just couldn't touch it for a while coz life and AuDHD (been a fun little mental health journey). Suffice to say, I never planned to abandon Luminous and I still won't. Hopefully now that I'm back in it, I'll be able to post more often.

I also have a gay lil Stardew Valley fic I'm working on and a lumity betas AU I have planned. So maybe switching it up a bit will help me keep writing too, coz I think I got super burnt out on this fic, which was really sad.

So hey, here's to more writing and stuff. With any luck and my brain behaving, I'll see you all soon for chapter 14 coz the rest of the fic has been plotted out.

Just gotta, ya know, write it.

Chapter Text

Amity woke up feeling like she’d been trampled by a stampede of ratworms. A pounding pressure throbbed behind her eyes and she sighed as she stared up at the ceiling above her. Between having an emotional breakdown in front of Eda of all witches and then having to act like everything was ok in front of Luz, Amity was utterly exhausted. 

Maybe she could just lay in bed today. After all, what was the point of doing her homework or going to school? Who even cared if she got good grades anymore? Eda sure didn’t and her parents didn’t care about her at all. So why bother?

The pressure built with the tears pricking at her eyes and the now all too familiar ache in her chest. The prospect of going into Hexside and putting a smile on her face felt overwhelming already and she hadn’t even gotten out of bed. Maybe she could feign being ill so she could stay here where it was quiet and comfortable and she didn’t have to pretend she was okay. It was so hard to keep pretending.

But no, she couldn’t do that because then Luz would worry and fuss and, worst of all, she’d be left alone with Eda who probably thought she’d lost her mind after last night. Sighing again, Amity forced herself upright even as her body screamed at her for more sleep.

Why did Luz have to go and provoke their professor like that? The 2000 word essay had taken ages to write and Amity was already swamped with work as it was. Having to do it all while emotionally strung out and putting on a brave face had left her feeling drained and resentful towards Hissterian. And Luz a little. But only a little .

She groaned and massaged weakly at her temples before giving it up and simply using a little Healing magic to ease the tension building into what she knew would have become a migraine otherwise. Titan, there was still an entire week of school to get through.

Plastering a smile on her face felt a little like trying to mold abomination goo into shape, but she managed, just barely. Maintaining it throughout breakfast was an unending task that left her feeling even more exhausted, but Amity was determined not to worry Luz. 

Avoiding Eda’s worried gaze was another draining task and Amity all but ran through the front door the moment they were done eating. The hot wash of embarrassment she’d felt on seeing the older woman that morning had made her feel small and fragile and she hated it. She hated how it felt like she was somehow sliding backwards instead of moving forward. She hated how she was lying to Luz about how she felt when she’d specifically told Amity she didn’t need to do that.

She hated herself .

That thought made fresh shame curl in her gut and she had to fight to keep it off her face as she and Luz made their way to school. What would Luz think if she knew what Amity was thinking? She’d be so disappointed in how little progress Amity was really making. How weak she was. Amity was certainly disappointed in herself.

Luz was a bright, bubbling source of energy as they made their way to school. Normally Amity found her endless positivity energizing and inspiring. Today it just made her feel like a dark cloud hovering over Luz, dragging her down. 

As they walked into Hexside’s courtyard and Luz darted ahead to greet their friends with a happy cry, Amity grit her teeth and straightened her hunched shoulders. She was going to be positive today. It didn’t matter how tired and empty she felt. She had years of experience ignoring her darker thoughts and putting on a mask. She could do it today too.

Maybe if she kept telling herself it was how she really felt, it would eventually be true.

“So, Willow,” Luz drawled once they’d settled into their morning Plant class. The three of them had been tasked with pruning a cluster of thick vines covered in snapping, toothy fruit that had somehow taken over half the greenhouse overnight. What a way to start the day. “Do you have any plans later? Amity and I have something extremely important we wanna discuss with you and Gus.”

“When’s the wedding?” Willow quipped, smirking at Luz’s sputtering as she coaxed her segment of the vines to recede with a little magic.

“Willow! That’s not… I didn’t mean… I wasn’t talking abou-ouch!” She yelped and bapped the plant that had just clamped down over her fingers with the side of her flattened hand and a cry of, “Luz-Chop!”

Amity sighed and pulled Luz’s hand close to heal her without missing a beat. This was, after all, the fourth time it had happened since the class had started.

“Willow, don’t distract her while she’s working with flesh-eating vines,” she said. “She gets bitten enough as it is.”

Willow snickered and waved her off. “A little venomous vinegara bite won’t kill her. Probably…” she said. “Besides, she could stand to build up a tolerance to it. It goes great on salads.”

“She won’t be able to enjoy those salads if her intestines have been turned to mush!” Amity retorted.

“Does vinegara venom do that?” Luz asked and Amity wasn’t sure whether or not to worry about the fact that she sounded more fascinated than disturbed.

“Only in large doses. You’ll be fine ,” Willow said with a good-natured roll of her eyes, as if Amity was just being dramatic. Except Luz was getting dangerously close to being bitten enough to count as having gotten a large dose.

“Just try to keep your fingers out of the fruits, please,” she said as she released Luz’s hand. Luz beamed at her and darted in to press her lips to Amity’s cheek.

“You are the sweetest,” she said and Amity definitely did not feel like she was the one whose insides were being turned to mush now. That would be entirely too sappy.

“So what do you say, Willow? Are you free after school?” Luz asked when she was done making Amity blush brighter red than the venomous plant she was handling. A plant that Amity had to knock aside to save Luz from a fifth bite because she was too focused on giving Willow a pleading look.

“Sure, I don’t have any plans. We’ll need to check in with Gus, but I’m pretty sure he’s free too.”

“Awesome!” Luz said with a happy grin, before she went back to pruning with gusto.

Once they had finished culling the overgrown plant and milking the harvested fruit for its admittedly tasty venom, Luz and Amity split from Willow and made their way to Abominations. The pungent, oily smell filling the classrooms was delightfully familiar and Amity was surprised to find her smile wasn’t quite so forced as they walked to their seats.

The squelching sound of Professor Hermonculus stepping up to the blackboard filled her with a sort of nostalgic ease and, as the lecture began and she sank into the familiarity of it, Amity found herself wishing she had more lessons with him again. Aside from Professor Febris, Hermonculus was the only one of her teachers that ever actively acknowledged her performance in class. She sort of missed getting to show what her hours of effort had accomplished and receiving glowing praise from the diminutive teacher as a result.

Ever since she’d switched to All-Track Amity only got to have Abominations three times a week, which was woefully too few. When the chance had arisen, she’d jumped at the chance to take more Healing lessons without really thinking about it, because she was good at Healing, she enjoyed it, and it was useful for Eda’s curse. But, as she manipulated the purple goop in the air, watching as it arced gracefully over her head, Amity wished she’d taken the opportunity to add a few more Abominations classes back into her schedule too.

Especially after Luz had shown her that human cartoon that had given her some really interesting ideas on how to work with Abomination goo. Luz had also insisted the water wielder who had inspired her reminded her of Amity, but Amity couldn’t see it.

Shaping Abominations into weapons and other objects was a core part of the field once a witch mastered the basics of summoning them. If you were really good at it, you could even merge with the goop and create a massive construct for yourself that made for a formidable fighting form. Amity had looked up to Darius Deamonne for his mastery of that particular skill for years, which had frustrated her father to no end. It was something she’d aspired to at one point and a part of her still did.

Given her struggles with magic, it had always felt out of reach. But knowing what she did now, about the other tracks and how that had helped her improve her magic, Amity was a lot more confident in her chances. She realised with sudden clarity how much she had come to love Abominations over the years and she desperately wanted to dedicate more time to it again so she could try some of the ideas she’d come up with. 

Not for her parents or the Emperor’s Coven this time. Just for her. She just didn’t know how, between all her other classes and Eda’s curse research.

She was almost reluctant to leave the class when it was time to head to Potions, but the brewing techniques were close enough to mixing up a fresh batch of Abomination goo that she could almost pretend she’d never left.

At lunch they confirmed with Gus that he would, in fact, be able to hang out after school. So when the final bell screamed, they all met out in the courtyard again and walked to the Owl House together. When they arrived, they all but ran for Amity’s room in order to avoid Hooty, who was chattering away at them before they had even made it to the front door. She’d warmed to him a little but, while he may have saved Amity from cursing herself, his squirmy body and grating voice still freaked her out.

“Ok, so if you’re not going to announce your engagement, what’s this important thing you wanted to talk to us about,” Willow asked as she made her way around the room to inspect the various plants she’d given Amity. Seemingly satisfied that Amity hadn’t yet killed them all yet, she turned to grin at her and Luz, who were both blushing furiously on Amity’s bed.

They glanced at each other briefly, coming to a quiet agreement before Luz stood, letting Willow take her place next to Amity on the plush bed. She paced around the small space for a moment to, Amity presumed, mentally prepare before stopping to look around at them all. Gus leaned in eagerly from where he’d commandeered Amity’s desk chair and Amity was sure he’d explode if Luz didn’t get to it soon.

“There’s something we haven’t been totally honest about with you guys,” she said at last. Willow and Gus share a confused look before Willow motioned for Luz to go on. “There’s a reason Eda is called the Owl Lady.”

Luz launched into an explanation of Eda’s curse and everything she knew about it, including the fact that her elixirs weren’t working so well anymore. It was kind of amusing, in a dark, messed up sort of way, to watch her friends go through all the same emotions about it that Amity had. She could practically read their thoughts as they played out on their faces. 

Shock. Realization that they’d heard the rumors before. Concern for Luz and how dangerous it was for her. Sympathy for Eda. Then Willow frowned and Amity wasn’t quite so sure what she was thinking anymore.

“Hang on. Why do I get the feeling that this means you weren’t telling the truth about that trip to The Knee?” She folded her arms and speared Luz with a look that had her squirming uncomfortably.

“Well…” She hedged, rolling her hand like she thought it might stop her from having to fully explain, but Willow’s frown deepened.

“ Luz …”

“Okay, okay!” 

Revealing the truth behind that trip took Amity and Luz trading off turns to explain, but describing her terrifying flight to lure Eda into their trap brought up some memories that Amity had been trying very hard to repress. Reliving the story made the number of times she’d nearly died that night suddenly feel entirely too real and the spike of anxiety it raised in her was only made worse when Luz went on to explain how the plan had failed. How she’d gotten hurt. Then, finally, what they’d done to eventually capture and revive Eda.

Amity made a concerted effort to avoid Willow’s gaze as Luz explained how badly she’d been hurt, going into painstaking detail in, Amity assumed, an effort to show how amazing it was when Amity had healed her. In reality it only made the guilt and self-loathing she felt surrounding that night churn in her stomach until she was sure she might be sick.

“Geez, sounds like it was a good thing Amity insisted you go with her,” Gus piped up and Amity’s head whipped around to look at him in shock.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed. She was almost certain she heard something in her neck crack from the speed at which she snapped around to stare at Willow beside her. “Next time don’t fight her so hard when she wants to help you.”

Luz chuckled and nodded. “I learned my lesson for sure. No dangerous missions without my awesome girlfriend there to back me up .”

“Or your awesome friends ,” Willow said pointedly, which made Luz ruffle the back of her hair awkwardly. 

Their playful ribbing faded and the world around Amity went quiet. Like she was watching her friends give Luz a hard time about not inviting them along on their trip to the Knee from behind an invisible wall. It didn’t make sense. Why on earth would they think it was a good thing Amity had been there? Sure she’d helped lure Eda through the woods, but Luz could have done that herself. Luz was smart and resourceful. She would have figured it out. All Amity was good for was making things worse. 

She had wanted to help, but she’d ruined their plan by getting lost. She had wanted to protect Luz and be there for her…

“But I hurt her,” she murmured. Every eye in the room turned to her and Amity shrank in on herself as that invisible wall shattered, leaving her feeling vulnerable and exposed.

“Well, yeah but not on purpose,” Luz said, moving over to sit carefully next to Amity. “It wasn’t your fault and besides, you fixed me right up!”

“Luz is right,” Willow said as Luz slipped a gentle arm around Amity and pulled her in close. 

“Ams, have you… been feeling bad about it this whole time?” Luz asked and Amity bit her lip. “You know I don’t blame you, right?”

“I do,” she murmured, her eyes falling to her fists where they were clenched around the hem of her uniform. Luz had made that abundantly clear but… “I just don’t understand why.”

Luz seemed at a loss for words. She stared blankly at Amity, her mouth opening and closing as she searched for a way to make Amity understand how she had so easily forgiven her for doing something that Titan-damned awful. But what could she possibly say that wasn’t just a meaningless platitude you were meant to say when you were trying to be nice? Amity knew what she had done was wrong. There was no excuse for hurting the people you loved and nothing Luz said could convince her otherwise.

Then Gus cleared his throat.

“From the way Luz described it, it kinda sounds like you saved both of your lives. And King’s too,” he said. Amity looked back up just as he drew a circle in the air. A miniature version of what had happened that night, or at least what Gus seemed to think it had looked like, appeared in the middle of the room. “It was dark and Eda was about to pounce. There was nothing else you could have done.”

The tiny cursed Eda leapt at the tiny her, but this time, mini-Amity didn’t raise the cage. Mini-Luz’s hands were left unscathed, but mini-Amity vanished in a poof when the tiny Owl Beast leapt right through her. Right before mini-King was swiped out of existence too, leaving a very distraught looking mini-Luz to face the Owl Beast alone.

“See? If you hadn’t raised the cage, you’d probably have gotten taken out and then King and Luz would defini-”

“We get it ,” Willow snapped and Gus grinned sheepishly, the illusion vanishing with an audible poof. Willow rolled her eyes and then reached over to give Amity’s knee a comforting pat. “Despite his serious lack of tact, Gus is right. You saved all of your lives that night. So stop convincing yourself that you just made everything worse by being there.”

Amity’s eyes widened and, when she looked up at Willow, she found her staring back at Amity with a challenging brow cocked at her. “How did you…”

“We may not have been close for a while, but I’ve known you for years and I know what your mom’s like. I can tell when you’re letting that old hag get into your head,” Willow said with an easy smile. “You can’t hide anything from me, Blight.”

A laugh bubbled out of Amity and she was surprised to feel the tension in her chest easing. All three of her friends were smiling at her encouragingly and she found that, for the first time since that night on the Knee, she no longer felt quite so guilty about it. Maybe she would never fully stop feeling bad about hurting Luz. But that aching, twisting, gut wrenching guilt that had plagued her all week was easing and she decided to let it.

Because they were right, really. She had saved them all.

A long, freeing breath escaped her as the tension bled out of her shoulders and Amity managed to smile back at her friends.

“Thanks, guys,” she said. 

Willow gave her knee another pat before shifting over to give her and Luz, who had apparently decided Amity still needed to be cuddled, some room. Amity leaned into her gratefully.

“So, what’s the plan for dealing with the curse?” Gus asked. “You said you guys have been researching it, right?” 

Grateful for the change in topic, Amity cleared her throat and meticulously went over what they had learned so far, including what had happened when she’d tried to cure Eda the day before. It seemed less scary to reveal that particular moment of stupidity on her part when they already knew about what had happened on the Knee and hadn’t judged her for it. Having Luz pressed right up to her side helped too. In for a snail, in for a shell after all.

“Well, let’s not do anything that could potentially get us cursed too,” Willow said, grimacing at Luz’s rather graphic description of what Amity had looked like partially transformed.

“I dunno,” Gus said, tilting his head in thought. “I think I could pull off the feathered look.”

With a quick twirl of her finger, Willow summoned her spray bottle from her subspace and spritzed Gus in the face with it. He flailed away, sending himself sprawling to the ground with a thud.

“ No .”

Amity chuckled at the damp look Gus shot Willow as he hauled himself back up into her desk chair.

“One day, I’ll get my revenge, Park. One day ,” he hissed. Willow ignored him.

“So back on topic, what is the plan?” she asked.

“Well… to be honest, we don’t exactly have a plan,” Luz said. She gave a nervous chuckle and Amity could feel her anxiety in the way her fingers tightened at her waist. It still surprised her how afraid Luz got when she had to ask for help. Even now, she didn’t want to be a burden, which was silly because Luz was many things, but never that. If anything, she was due a little help considering how much time and effort she put into being there for everyone around her. Especially from Amity, who Luz had done so much for.

“What she means is, we don’t have anything concrete yet,” she said, glancing at Luz who smiled at her gratefully. “But we have some theories we could test that involve mixing magic from the different Tracks to make something powerful enough to counter the curse.”

“Oh!” Luz said, perking up beside her. “That’s right! We sorta talked about it yesterday at school but the idea has been brewing in my brain for a while now.”

“Right,” Amity said with a nod. “I think it first occurred to me on the Knee how powerful magic becomes when you combine it. I didn’t fully connect the concept to a possible cure for Eda’s curse at the time, but there could be some real merit to the idea.”

“Exactly!” Luz agreed eagerly. “If what we did to Grom and the Owl Beast aren’t a perfect example of how strong mixing magic can be, I don’t know what is. And since we’re clearly gonna need some powerful magic to cure her, this seems like our best bet.”

Willow folded her arms and her brows furrowed in thought. “That does make sense. But you’d probably need to be able to mix a whole bunch of things to cure something as powerful as that curse and you’d need to know a fair bit about all the things you’re mixing. Gus and I are more than happy to help out-”

“Yup!” Gus cut in with a nod.

“But,” Willow continued, “we’re pretty much only good with Plants and Illusions. I’m not sure how much help we’d be…”

Amity felt Luz deflate beside her and, honestly, she couldn’t blame her. Willow was right, after all. Even if this was a solid idea, they really would need to study all kinds of magic and, while she and Luz were learning everything between them, they were both still new to all the kinds of magic that would actually be useful. There was so much they didn’t know yet. But that was why they’d agreed to ask their friends for help in the first place.

“I think you’re both a lot more capable than you make yourselves out to be,” Amity said, shooting Willow a smile in particular. “I mean, you’re easily the most powerful Plant witch in generations. Maybe Abominations wasn’t your thing, but there’s probably plenty of things you’d be just as good at as you are with Plant magic.”

Willow scoffed, despite the light flush creeping across her cheeks.

“Yeah, like what? My magic might be useful for growing ingredients, but I’m no good at learning things that are too technical or need a lot of memorization. I can guarantee I’m not going to be brewing amazing curse-curing potions any time soon or anything like that.”

“You don’t need to. We have Eda for that,” Luz said and Amity nodded.

“I thought you’d be pretty well suited to Construction magic, actually,” she said. Willow’s eyes widened and then she furrowed her brows in a mix of confusion and frustration.

“What made you think that? And how would that even be helpful?” she asked.

“Gus gave me the idea originally,” Amity said, grinning briefly at the younger boy who looked suddenly confused.

“I did?”

“Yup. When you helped me last week, you mentioned how much Willow enjoyed those human carpentry books.”

“Huh, yeah I can see it,” he agreed. “I’ve seen what Mattholomule does in his classes. He’s not the best at it, but it’s totally similar to that stuff you said you wanted to try, Willow,” Gus said, looking over at her with an eager grin. “You wouldn’t get to use any of those awesome human tools we saw with the big spinning blades, but it could still be kinda fun.”

Amity chose to ignore how upset Gus was at missing the chance to work with extremely dangerous sounding human tools (ones that he and Luz definitely should not be allowed anywhere near) and reluctantly slipped out from under Luz’s arm to move over to her desk. She plucked up the little lockbox she’d made during her brief stint in the Construction track and held it out for Willow to examine.

“A lot of Construction magic is based on understanding the material you’re working with and being able to visualize what you want to create with it. You’re already good at both of those things when it comes to wood,” she said as Willow flipped the box over in her hands and studied it with a curious eye. “The rest is about having the raw magical power to bend the material and I think we can all agree you have more of that than anyone.”

“Now you’re just being silly,” Willow huffed, but Luz leaned forward so fast she almost fell off the bed.

“Not at all! You’re a total powerhouse, Willow! Don’t tell me you forgot what got you into the Plant track in the first place,” she said and Willow’s flushed cheeks darkened. “You filled the entire school with vines using just one seed ! I’d bet even the head of the Plant Coven couldn’t do that.”

“Terra Snapdragon could probably crush the entire school with a single vine and she wouldn’t need a seed to do it,” Willow said, which seemed like an exaggeration to Amity, but it was hard to tell when it came to the coven heads. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try. How is Construction magic going to be useful in curing Eda, though?”

“If we learned anything at the Knee, it’s that we need a safe way to contain her in case things go wrong,” Amity said as she rejoined Luz and Willow on the bed. “The light cage took way too much energy to maintain and she broke out of it too fast. Something more solid would be safer.”

“Oh… yeah that does make sense,” she said slowly. “I guess I could give it a shot. But what about the actual curing part? Have you thought about what you’d need for that?”

“Well Amity has the Healing stuff covered. Then there’s you with Plants for ingredients and maybe Construction for containing her,” Luz said, counting off the Tracks on her fingers as she listed them. “Gus would be a huge help with his Illusions since we know they’re good for distracting her cursed form and, between Eda and I, we have Potions covered.”

“Not to mention you have a good base understanding of all of the other Tracks. And let’s not forget you’re a genius when it comes to glyphs and you’re incredibly resourceful and creative in general. Pretty sure we’re gonna need that ingenuity of yours more than anything, Noceda,” Amity added with a smirk that sent an adorable flush across Luz’s face.

“Th-that’s sweet, Amity, but you don’t have to pretend just to make me feel better. You guys are all total magical prodigies. I’m not nearly as smart as all of you and I’m okay with that. I’m just proud to call you my friends,” she said, shooting them all a smile that Amity knew was forced. Titan, how she hated it when Luz downplayed how brilliant she was. Or when anyone did, really.

“Yes, you are,” she said firmly and, to her delight, Willow and Gus immediately agreed.

“We may be good at our specific specialities, but it’s like you constantly forget that you rediscovered an entire ancient magic artform most witches didn’t even know existed anymore. On your own. In just a few weeks ,” Gus said emphatically. “You’re totally a magical prodigy!”

“They’re right, Luz,” Willow said. “We love you, but you’re being an idiot right now. You’re easily one of the smartest, most ingenious people I’ve ever met.” 

When Luz looked over at her with clearly misty eyes, Amity reached for her hand and gave it a small squeeze, along with the warmest smile she could manage.

“I told you,” she said gently. “You’re really inspiring, Luz.”

Luz gaped at her for a long moment, but once again she seemed totally at a loss for words.

“Now that we’ve got that sorted,” Gus said, “we should figure out what other Tracks we need to focus on. Luz’s genius aside, she’s only been learning this stuff for a little while. We’ll need to focus on the more in depth parts of the specifically useful Tracks if we’re gonna figure out how to cure Eda. So what other Tracks would help?”

“Beast Keeping seems like a good call,” Willow said. “There are probably some good spells for soothing magical creatures and Eda’s owl beast form counts as one of those, right?”

“Good point,” Amity agreed. She’d kept Beast Keeping on her schedule for that exact reason. She glanced over at Luz, who was still quietly mulling over what her friends had said, and gave her hand another little squeeze. “Luz also pointed out that Oracle magic could be really useful, but I haven’t gotten a chance to study it much yet.”

That wasn’t entirely true, but Amity didn’t feel like going into why she’d been avoiding the Track so far. Luz blinked and seemed to come back into herself from wherever her thoughts had spirited her off to.

“Oh, yeah. You said you wanted to work on that today, right?” she asked and Amity nodded reluctantly.

“I was hoping Gus might be able to help me with it since it seems to have some links to Illusions, if that’s okay with you,” she said, turning her eyes to Gus who shrugged.

“Sure, sounds like fun.”

“Great! So how about I take Willow outside to try out some Construction magic where we won’t break anything and you guys can work on the Oracle stuff up here?”

Amity was delighted to realise that the prospect of spending time alone with Gus no longer made her feel weird or anxious like it had just a few days ago. So she happily sent Luz off with a kiss on her cheek before settling back on her bed to finally give the Track a try with Gus’s help. 

Except Gus was clearly distracted, switching back and forth between the Oracle book he had pulled off her bookshelf and the human anatomy book he’d let Amity borrow the day before. She could hardly blame him. It really was a fascinating read and infinitely more interesting than Oracle magic. In fact, she had stuck several notes into the pages that Gus was currently using to try and make sense of the more complex aspects of human biology.

That book had been part of the reason it’d taken her so long to finish all of her homework the night before, which she supposed meant it really had been unfair of her to hold it against Luz this morning. Even if it had only been a little and only in her own head.

“Huh,” he said as he checked one of her notes. “Does this mean that humans have a weird version of a demonic filtering organ too?” 

Amity glanced up from where she was halfheartedly paging through a section on the different types of Oracle magic to see Gus holding up the anatomy book. He held it out so she could get a better view of a page that she had found particularly interesting as well.

“It seems like it,” she said. “They call it the appendix. It seems like it’s become a vestigial organ in humans, but it still looks similar to ours.” She happily swapped out her Oracle book for an Advanced Healing one and flipped to the page on witch anatomy that she had referenced while trying to figure out this exact question herself. Moving over to where Gus was still sitting at her desk, Amity pointed out a detailed diagram of the organs commonly found in most witches. “See here? They look almost identical, except ours is far bigger and not so… shrivelled.”

“Weird. Why do you think humans mostly lost their vermiform?” Gus asked as his eyes darted between the two diagrams.

“I can only make guesses, but I think it might be because they don’t need to filter out demonic essence like we do. Luz said they don’t have anything even close to it in the human realm, so it’s likely the organ basically became mostly obsolete and eventually turned into that,” she said, gesturing to the wrinkled little version of her own, much more robust, vermiform.

“Do you think this means humans and witches might be more related than we thought?” Gus asked. Amity frowned curiously and shrugged.

“I’m not sure. I had that thought too, but it seems so far-fetched. I mean, how would that even work?”

“Oh! What if the wild witches actually were humans that found their way onto the isles just like Luz, only it was really, really long ago, so no one even remembers that they were originally humans. And they had to learn to use glyphs just like Luz, coz they hadn’t grown bile sacs yet! We could actually be the descendents of humans! How cool would that be!” Gus grinned up at her eagerly and Amity couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“I think you need to stop talking to Tinella Nosa,” she said, before plucking the human anatomy book out of Gus’s hands to toss it and the Healing book onto her bed.

“Hey, you never know,” he insisted. “Some of her ideas are pretty compelling.”

“You mean like how the world is a triangle? Or that there are higher beings using us as playthings?” she asked with a grin and Gus shrugged.

“I’m just saying. You never know.”

Amity chuckled and shook her head. “Well let’s put the conspiracy theories aside for now and focus on something that has actual grounding in reality. Like Oracle magic,” she said, gesturing to the book he’d abandoned on her desk.

They both went back to pouring over their texts after that, Gus to get a basic understanding of the Track and Amity to try and catch up with the work she’d maybe been putting off for a while. 

“Oh man, Oracle magic is kind of cool but also really creepy,” Gus said after a few quiet moments filled with nothing more than the gentle whisper of pages being turned. Amity looked up from where she was reclining against the many decorative pillows Luz kept sneaking into her room and lowered the book she had rested on her raised knees. 

“Creepy? How so?” She assumed he was talking about the fact it dealt largely in things like predictions of the future and spirit guides, but there was more to Oracle magic than just that.

“Well, it has this whole branch of spells based on mind-magic, right?”

“Right. Eda actually used one of those spells to send Luz and I into Willow’s mind, remember?” Made necessary by the fact that Amity had accidentally set said mind on fire.

“Kinda hard to forget the day I got myself stuck in an interview with Hooty,” he replied, shuddering in horror at the memory. “But have you seen some of the stuff they say about mind magic? There’s all kinds of warnings in here. Apparently you could literally alter a person’s entire… everything if you misuse some of these spells.”

That made sense. The memory tweezers that plucked photos from your thoughts were a form of mind magic and, in burning the photos, Amity had very nearly destroyed Willow’s entire mindscape. That certainly would have changed her entire everything, as Gus had put it. 

Gus looked up at her suddenly. “Wait, isn’t your mom in the Oracle coven?”

Amity nodded reluctantly. She had never been particularly fond of Oracle magic largely because it was what her mother specialised in.

“Geez, that must have been rough. I know Willow said your mom gets in your head, but it must have been extra hard growing up with her when she could literally get inside your head and mess with it if she wanted.”

Something in Amity went cold.

“What… do you mean?”

“Well, I’m no expert on it or anything, but according to this,” he said, gesturing to the book, “Oracle witches usually use the mind delving spell to help with things like trauma and stuff. But the spell can also potentially cause a lot of damage if you mess around in a person’s head too much. It makes sense when you think about it. Like how when you set Willow’s mind on fire and she got all weird and loopy.”

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, tapping his chin in thought.

“I’m guessing anyone who is powerful or crafty enough could probably change a person’s whole personality if they really tried. Or clean it out entirely. That’d probably be easier.” A slow grin spread across his face and he chuckled almost darkly. “I bet I could do all sorts of stuff to get back at Mattholomule with this kind of magic.”

Amity barely registered what he was saying. The world around her had tilted and she suddenly felt very ill. A cold sweat ran down the back of her neck and she swallowed hard. Memories of that awful night two weeks ago flooded her mind and lungs, so no matter how hard she tried, it felt like she couldn’t breathe. She knew this feeling far too well now and knowing what was coming somehow only made it happen faster. She squeezed her eyes shut, breaths quickening desperately as her father’s voice filled her ears.

There are ways of correcting your little affliction. This is nothing that a quick trip to the Conformatorium can’t cure, my dear.

He had seemed so sure. So certain that there was a way to fix her. Amity knew the rumours, but she’d always sort of doubted them, because how could something that terrible ever be true? She had tried so hard not to think about it too much. The memory was so painfully raw and terrifying and going anywhere near it terrified her. But a small part of her had still wondered why her father had seemed so sure . Why he had spoken like he was certain it was real.

Now she knew.

Her mother had had ties to the Emperor’s Coven for as long as Amity could remember. Not as a permanent member since she primarily worked for Blight Industries and bore the Oracle coven sigil, but she still did things for them. Often. Amity could clearly recall times when her mother would be gone for days and then come home from “working with the Emperor’s Coven” looking exhausted but satisfied. Like she had done difficult, noteworthy work that only she could accomplish. Like she’d done some great deed that had pleased the Emperor.

Her stomach clenched, rolled, and then Amity was bolting from the room. She ignored Gus’s alarmed yelp and just managed to lock herself in the bathroom before she was bent over the toilet, heaving.

It all came pouring out of her. All the anxiety. All the pain and fear. The horror of what might have been. It swelled up and burned out of her throat like her body was physically rejecting the idea that her mother could have done something so monstrous to witches like her. That she might have allowed it to be done to Amity.

When there was nothing left in her, Amity collapsed against the wall and drew her knees into her chest, holding them tight as she shivered on the cold bathroom floor. 

How was she supposed to live with this? How many witches had her mother done this to? A pained sob worked its way up her raw throat and she buried her face into her arms as more followed unbidden. Then a shuddering gasp escaped her as a new thought rose in her mind.

Would her mother have been the one to do it? Would Odalia Blight have stripped her own daughter’s mind clean just because she didn’t approve of who she loved?

She didn’t want to believe it. A part of her had always suspected that her mother’s ties to the Emperor’s Coven were less than savoury and she knew the woman was capable of some truly heinous things. But this? This felt too far even for her.

Her stomach clenched painfully, but she was empty. The only thing left was a deep, profound hurt, and the sour taste of the very real possibility that her parents were actual monsters. Amity curled in on herself and clutched her knees tightly to her aching chest, wishing suddenly that time magic was real so she could go back and unlearn what she now knew. But that thought just made her realise that she didn’t need time magic for that when Oracle magic existed and a fresh wave of nausea pulled at her throat.

A quiet, almost hesitant knock on the door made her flinch. Gus’s voice called out to her, but she didn’t have the will to answer him. She vaguely recalled that he’d been doing so for a while now, but he sounded muffled, like her ears were full of abomination goo. All she could hear was her own pounding heart. So she ignored him and privately wished he would go away so she didn’t have to think about the fact he’d heard her being sick.

Mercifully, he did exactly that, his voice vanishing down the hall to leave her tucked into the corner furthest from the door where it was safe. Alone. A few quiet moments later there was more frantic banging on the door and more voices, but she ignored that until it faded too. 

If she was quiet enough… if she just stayed here forever, maybe the world would forget she existed and she could fade away and never have to deal with any of this again.

“Amity?”

That voice was much closer. Her shoulders hitched and Amity peeked up at the door, but it was still locked. Confused, she turned at a sudden sound to her left and there, half hanging through the bathroom window, was a very concerned looking Luz. She grunted as she hauled herself the rest of the way into the room, before falling unceremoniously to the ground with a painful thud.

“Ugh… ouch,” she groaned, before she shook herself off and hurried over to kneel beside Amity, her hands hovering over her like she wasn’t quite sure how to help. “Are you okay? Gus said you guys were talking about Oracle magic and then you suddenly ran in here and…” 

She glanced towards the toilet briefly and grimaced. Amity sniffled and buried her face in her arms again, ashamed and embarrassed and aching all at once. Why did Luz have to be so sweet and caring? Why couldn’t she just leave Amity alone to be miserable. Why did she have to come in here and see that ?

“Amity,” Luz said, her voice oh so gentle. “What happened?”

Amity sniffed again, managing to peek up into Luz’s big, brown eyes that held so much care and empathy in them, and something in her shifted. Maybe she had finally bottled too much up and overfilled herself. Maybe she really was getting better and was finally letting herself accept help when it was offered. Or maybe she just didn’t want to have to bear this knowledge alone. 

She just wanted Luz to hold her and, thank Titan, she did.

The words tumbled out of her in a broken, rushed mess as Luz gently pulled Amity into her arms and held her there, carding careful, soothing fingers through her hair. She was quiet while Amity revealed what she’d discovered, but Amity could feel her trembling. Or maybe it was both of them. It was hard to tell. When she was finished they sat there, curled tightly together with Luz’s arms wrapped around her while Amity clutched tightly to the front of Luz’s cowl.

“Are… are you sure?” Luz asked after a long silence. Amity sighed and nodded.

“I don't think there's any way to deny it at this point. How could they do something like that?” A sob forced its way out of her and she squeezed her eyes shut against Luz's neck, desperate to hold it together. But how could she? “How could they be willing to do that to me ?”

“I… don't think they were.”

She froze, a tiny spark of something like hope sputtering to life within her. “Wh-What do you mean?”

“I think,” Luz said hesitantly, “that maybe they didn't actually want to do that to you. I mean, they let you go right?”

Amity frowned, pulling back to look up at Luz, who hardly seemed to believe it herself. But there was something to that thought.

“I… guess?” 

This, too, had plagued Amity since that night. Why, when they had insisted they could ‘fix’ her, had her parents let her run away and then made it impossible for her to come back? Why not chase her down and force her to… She shuddered and stamped the thought down. It was too much to even consider. But still. 

Why had they let her go?

A part of her hoped that Luz was right. That maybe, in their own twisted, messed up way, her parents really did love her. That they wanted to protect her, even if it was from them. A more cynical part whispered that it was far more likely that letting her run had been strategic.

If the rumours were true, everyone that ran in their circle would know what they had done to Amity, their own daughter, and it would be a black mark on their family’s standing. By letting her run, the only one that looked bad was her, because now she was the one that chose ‘degeneracy’ over her family. She was the one that had abandoned them.

There was no way to truly know for sure without somehow confronting her parents though, so she let out another sigh and leaned back into Luz. Amity let her eyes drift shut and focused on the warmth of Luz’s hand running gently up and down her back. Titan, she was so tired.

“Amity? I’m really sorry!” Gus’s voice called through the door and she jumped a little in Luz’s arms. She’d forgotten he and Willow were still here. “I was just messing around. I wouldn’t actually do anything like that to Matt.” There was a brief pause before he quietly added, “even if he deserves it.”

Amity chuckled wetly against Luz and managed to sit up. She rubbed weakly at her burning eyes and took a long, slow breath, trying very hard to stamp down the rush of embarrassment at having broken down in front of her friends. Again.

She reminded herself that they wouldn’t mind because they cared about her. Luz’s gentle fussing over her helped drive that home too.

“Do you want me to ask them to go home? You’ve had a rough day, I think they’d understand,” she said quietly, but Amity shook her head. She tried to smile at Luz reassuringly, though it felt weird and trembly on her lips, and reached up to press a kiss to her cheek, only to pause halfway there. A grimace pulled at her mouth and she reached up to cover it, suddenly hyper aware of what she had been doing before Luz found her.

“It’s okay,” she said from behind her hand, turning her head away for good measure. “They can stay. Just, um, give me a minute to clean myself up?”

Luz let her slip away to do just that at the sink, where she hurriedly brushed her teeth and pretended not to hear Luz flushing away the evidence of her meltdown. With her face scrubbed clean of the tears and… everything else, Luz slipped her arm around Amity and guided her to the bathroom door.

“How did you even get in here,” Amity asked as Luz unlocked it and the vibrations of Luz chuckling against her made her smile a little too. It truly was amazing how much better Luz made her feel.

“To be honest, I was so worried about you, I was about to knock the door down with my shoulder like I saw in this movie one time. But then Hooty came out of nowhere and dragged me through the house and up to the window instead. I guess he wanted to save his door.”

Amity snorted at the image that created in her mind and stifled a small chuckle of her own. “Sounds like Hooty saved you from the door. I’ll have to thank him later.”

“I dunno, I kind of wanted to see her try it,” Willow said as Luz opened the door to reveal her and Gus waiting for them. “It would have been funny.”

“Hey! I could have done it! I’ve been working out!”

Despite their joking around, it was clear to Amity that her friends were all worried about her by the way they all awkwardly hung around the door, shooting her nervous glances. Like they were waiting for her to make the first move. Guilt crawled over her skin and she rubbed anxiously at her arm to banish the feeling. She opened her mouth to say something to break the mounting tension, but Willow cut her off.

“If you’re about to apologise, save it. We’re just happy you’re okay.” Her smile was gentle and reassuring and Amity felt her shoulders relax at the sight of it.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, her cheeks flushing when Luz tightened her arm around her shoulders.

“You are okay, right?” Gus asked and Amity managed a weak nod.

“Yeah, sorry if I freaked you out. I just…” 

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” he said, scratching awkwardly at his neck. “I’m sorry that I upset you. I didn’t realise how strongly you felt about the mind magic stuff.” 

While Amity appreciated his apology, it was clear from his expression that he was also desperately curious why she had reacted so strongly. So she sighed and let Luz guide her back to her room, where she told them everything. Or rather, she let Luz do it while Amity curled up against her and tried not to think about it.

By the end, Willow and Gus both looked just as haunted and horrified as Amity felt.

“People are… actually doing that to witches?” Gus whispered in shock. “How is anyone letting something like that happen?”

“I’ve heard the rumours before,” Willow said from her spot at Amity’s desk. She had a hand resting protectively on Gus’s shoulder as he sat on the floor near her feet. “You kind of can’t avoid them when you have two dads. But I thought they were just that. Rumours. I never thought…”

A deep frown drew across her brows and Willow all but growled. “I don’t get it. It’s so stupid. No one cares who you love!”

“Apparently the fancy, high society witches do,” Luz grumbled and Amity nodded quietly beside her.

“Growing up, my family never really talked about that stuff, but I always sort of knew that it wasn’t accepted in their circles. I guess I hoped that they’d make an exception for me but, well…” She didn’t need to elaborate. They all knew how things had turned out for her.

“Well, they’re wrong,” Willow snapped. “No one decent cares about that stuff. Loving someone isn’t wrong, no matter who they are. My dads love each other and they love me. What else matters?”

Pain swelled within Amity again and she leaned more heavily into Luz as a weight settled somewhere in her belly. She was jealous. Amity was so desperately jealous of Willow and how strongly she was defending her dads. Dads who she knew would do anything to keep her safe and happy, no questions asked. What must it be like, having parents that loved you like that?

“Can we… talk about something else, please?” she asked quietly, unable to look at Willow as guilt joined the pain throbbing in her gut. Willow opened her mouth angrily, but seemed to think better of it and let out a long, frustrated breath instead.

“Sorry, I know this must be hard for you,” she said eventually, once she’d calmed down and Amity shrugged.

“I just don’t want to think about it anymore.” A grimace pulled at her mouth and she glared at the Oracle book she’d dropped earlier. “I know it’ll probably be useful in helping Eda but I don’t ever want to look at Oracle magic again,” she admitted. 

Luz glared down at the book too and then kicked it aside for good measure, which, silly as it was, made Amity feel better. The book slid across the room and bumped into Gus’s crossed legs. He lifted the book and flipped through it, his eyes flitting over the words curiously.

“What if I studied it instead?” he said, glancing up at her cautiously, as if he was worried he might upset her again. “It’s the least I could do to make up for… well, you know. Besides, it seems kind of interesting.”

He grinned up at Amity then and she felt a swell of affection for the boy. He really didn’t owe Amity anything. She would have figured out the truth eventually, even without him triggering the idea. But if Gus wanted to take up Oracle magic in her stead, then she wasn’t about to argue.

“If you really want to, then go ahead and take all of the Oracle books I have. I’d rather not have them in here,” she said, gesturing to the shelf. Gus lit up and scrambled over to start pulling down anything marked with the Oracle eye, eagerly stacking them next to his backpack. When he was done ransacking her bookshelf, he’d accumulated a healthy pile, leaving Amity to wonder why the twins had slipped her so many when they’d filled it in the first place.

Had they suspected what Odalia had been doing all this time and tried to indirectly hint at it? Or worse, did they know ? Did Emira? The anger towards her sister that had been simmering within her flared briefly to life again and she had to work hard to push it down. There was no point in working herself up over that right now. She’d get to ask Emira eventually.

“I still feel kinda bad that I upset you and now I’m taking all your books,” Gus said from where he was carefully arranging his pile. Amity waved him off.

“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault and I don’t want them anyway. If anything, you’re doing me a favour by taking them.”

“But still…” He tapped his chin in thought for a second, before his eyes lit up and Gus practically dove for his bag. “I know! How about a trade then!”

After a moment of digging, he pulled out a teal book with a dramatic flourish and held it out to Amity. She took it curiously, running her fingers over the hard cover featuring what appeared to be a human mother and daughter standing in front of a red and blue checkerboard. Luz leaned in over her shoulder to look too and her gasp tickled right across Amity’s cheek.

“Is that Mama Pura?” She laughed and looked over at a very smug looking Gus. “My mom uses this all the time back on Earth. Where the heck did you get a copy?”

“I have my sources,” he said. “And since I know Amity’s trying to learn more about human culture, I figured a human language book would come in handy.”

“Uh… Gus,” Luz started, but Amity was already flipping through the pages, eagerly taking in everything she could.

“This is amazing! Thank you,” she gushed. Gus shot her a grin and a thumbs up that made Luz laugh beside her.

“Well, I suppose it can’t hurt. And hey, maybe we can try making some of the stuff in there. It’d be fun to see if we could make some Boiling Isles versions of my favourites.”

Amity wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that. Why change the language to suit the isles when she was learning it specifically to connect to Luz through her human culture? But if it made Luz happy, she’d do anything she asked.

“We can make whatever you want…” she squinted at the page in front of her and grinned. “Batata.”

A deep flush spread across Luz’s cheeks and her eyes widened. “Did you just call me a sweet potato?”

“Yes?” Amity said hesitantly, glancing down at the book again. “Is that not a term of endearment? Did I say it wrong?”

“Awe, Amity! You’re the sweet potato.” Luz wrapped her up in her arms and pulled Amity in close to press a kiss to her cheek. Amity giggled and playfully shoved her away even as Luz tried to lean in for another.

“Oh Titan, you’ve made them even sappier. Gus, what have you done?” Willow cried. Amity scoffed indignantly and tossed a pillow at her, which Willow caught easily and tossed right back, only for it to smack into Luz’s face with a soft thoomf .

She fell across Amity's lap and held an arm dramatically to her forehead. “I see a light! This is it for me… Remember me, Sweet Potato!” She gave an over exaggerated, shuddering gasp and then went limp, her tongue hanging from her open mouth.

“I’m starting to regret my decisions,” Gus said flatly and Luz peeked an eye open just long enough to stick her tongue out at him before she ‘died’ once again.

“Oh no,” she said in a small, muffled voice through pursed lips. “If only there was a cute girl nearby that could revive me with a magical kiss of life.”

Amity snorted and glanced over to Willow with a grin. “Well, you heard her, Park. You killed her, so I guess it’s your responsibility.”

Luz squeaked and stiffened, but Amity’s grin just widened when Willow pretended to contemplate it for a moment.

“Hmmm, nah. I think if anyone has the power to revive her, it’d be Hooty. He’s the strongest magical force around.” She leaned forward as if to stand. “Let me go get him, I’m sure he’d be happy to help.”

Luz shot up so fast Amity actually had to lean back to avoid being smacked in the face. “Wow, look at that, I’m alive! It’s a miracle! Don’t get Hooty, please.” The look of pure horror on her face made Amity laugh again and she leaned in to give Luz the requested ‘kiss of life’ anyway.

As they all laughed and joked around, Amity couldn’t help but sit back and marvel at how nice it was to be surrounded by her friends. Despite the fact that she’d had another panic attack of sorts, she actually felt almost good. Energised even. At the very least it was a far cry from how drained and empty she had been the night before. 

Maybe it was because she’d unburdened herself of a lot of the things that had been bothering her. She watched Gus tell a very excited Luz his theories on the possible connections between witches and humans while Willow rolled her eyes at him and something warm bloomed within her. Maybe it was thanks to them.

Amity smiled wistfully as she leaned into her girlfriend and found herself wishing that Hexside hadn’t had to stop teaching the magic of friendship due to budget constraints. Because, if this was any indication, it was some powerful stuff.

Man, this chapter kicked my ass. There are parts I'm really happy with and others that I just can't look at anymore coz I don't wanna get burned out again. I wanted this chapter to draw some direct connections to the previous one because Amity is dealing with a lot but she's got to learn healthier coping mechanisms than bottling things up and isolating herself. Silly girl, don't you know that only makes things worse?

This chapter was planned all the way back when I first wrote chapter 1, so good job me from 2020 for accidentally predicting (lol) that Odalia was in the Oracle coven? There were hints in chapter 1 that the Blight parents were involved in this particular fuckery but I was trying to keep them extremely vague. Anyway yeah, have fun with these new reason to hate Odalia everyone. Like we needed another :D

Also, how could I not sneak in Batata/Sweet Potato? It's a Lumity staple.

Chapter Text

They barely saw Gus the next day, unless it was in the form of one of his illusion clones. He skipped their first class together, leaving a clone to not take notes despite his stern warnings, and the few times they did spot him (or at least they assumed it was the real him) he had his nose buried in a book. But his absence from classes wasn’t really new and Amity was too distracted with her own mission to focus on what he was up to.

Her first stop that morning had been to beg Hermonculus to let her trade the Oracle classes on her schedule for more Abominations and, to her relief, he had been delighted that she wanted to come back to his advanced classes. Bump, however, had been less enthused with her constant schedule adjustments when she and Hermonculus went to request the switch.

“I do hope this new indecisiveness is not going to become a permanent thing with you, Miss Blight. Or your new use of my own staff as your personal muscle,” he grumbled as he handed her a new schedule while the diminutive Abominations professor stood threateningly nearby.

Once he’d altered her uniform to reflect her stronger focus on Healing and Abominations, he sent Amity off with a promise from her that she was happy with the classes she had now and that he wouldn’t be receiving any more threatening ‘requests’ from her professors. She met up with Luz outside Bump’s office, where she’d been dutifully waiting for her, and happily showed off her new deep-blue and bright pink sleeves.

It was a little sad their uniforms no longer matched, but Amity was proud of her new look. Because she had chosen to keep these tracks. Not her parents. Not Eda or Luz. Just Amity.

Between her solid sleeves and dual-toned legs, her uniform now perfectly represented her six chosen Tracks: Advanced Healing and Abominations with minors in Plants, Potions, Beast Keeping, and Illusions. For the first time ever, Amity had visible proof that she was taking control of her own life.

And thanks to those choices, she got to have double Abominations today instead of Intro to Oracle! She wondered idly if Gus was currently sitting in the class she no longer had to go to as she happily trotted into her first Advanced Abominations class before lunch. If he was, she hoped he’d enjoy it more than she had because she was more than happy to have that particular Track off her schedule.

The rest of the day was a delightfully peaceful one full of more Abominations after lunch and then Advanced Healing, and finally a lesson in the greenhouses with Luz and Willow. They didn’t see fang nor fur of Gus until lunch the next day when they happened to catch him on the way to the cafeteria, his nose still buried in an Oracle book.

Luz and Willow had made plans to go talk to Jerbo, a mutual friend of theirs in the Plant track who multi-tracked Abominations. Amity was familiar with the boy herself, but only distantly. In that way you knew people who frequented the same hallways with you and had distant connections to through friends. Luz had had the bright idea for Willow to get advice from him as a fellow Plant multi-tracker, though how much use he’d be for her new interest in Construction magic was questionable.

Regardless, this left Amity to spend lunch with Gus, which she was more than happy to do, the two of them choosing to hang out in the empty HAS clubroom rather than the noisy, busy cafeteria. Amity decided to take the opportunity to repaint her long-neglected nails with some polish one of the twins had slipped into her locker earlier in the week. To her surprise, the moment she pulled the little bottle out of her bag, Gus lit up and offered to paint them for her.

As it turned out, he was excellent at it. He and Willow had apparently been doing each other’s nails at sleepovers for years and Amity tried not to be too jealous of that as Gus pulled her hands closer to get started. She didn’t begrudge them their friendship in the slightest, but it was hard not to be envious of the years she had lost with her closest childhood friend. Even so, Amity was glad Willow had had Gus and she was even gladder that she now had him in her life too.

“So you accidentally told her you love her? That’s rough, buddy,” Gus quipped as he carefully started applying a second coat of the glossy black polish to her nails. Once they’d settled in he had immediately asked her about how her date with Luz had gone and Amity had been happy for the chance to talk about it. Especially since he’d helped her plan it.

“It’s ok, she knew I didn’t mean it that way,” Amity said, carefully holding her freshly painted nail away from where Gus was meticulously working on the next one. “She was very sweet about it. She actually used her own language to explain it and help calm me down.”

“Yeah, Luz is pretty great like that.”

“Yeah, she is.” Amity grinned and arched an eyebrow at him. “I thought you didn’t want to hear about all this mushy dating stuff,” she teased, her grin growing wider when Gus flushed.

“It’s not like it’s my favourite topic or anything, but… I liked helping you plan it and it’s nice hearing how happy you guys are.” He glanced up at her briefly before motioning for her to give him her other hand. “Besides, one day when you guys get married I can say I helped get you there.”

“Sorry, but Willow gets the most credit there,” Amity said with a chuckle at Gus’s huff. The warmth in her cheeks was, for once, entirely welcome. It matched the warmth she felt inside whenever she thought of her awesome girlfriend.

“No fair. She had a head start. I didn’t even know you guys were crushing on each other!”

“Well, if Luz and I ever do get married, I promise I’ll let you help me plan it since our date went so well.”

Gus looked up at her sharply, his eyes practically sparkling. “I call dibs on carrying the sash for the handfastening.”

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Amity said, the heat in her cheeks spreading all the way to the tips of her ears. “Besides, I’m pretty sure you’d have to fight Ed for that role.”

“He wouldn’t wanna be your sword bearer?”

Amity scoffed. “You think I’d let Edric anywhere near a sword?”

“Yeah… good point. Then I’ll be your sword bearer and Willow can be Luz’s.” Having finished his final coat of polish, Gus lifted her hands to inspect his work and gave a satisfied nod. “I think this is some of my finest work.”

The heat in her cheeks spread outwards and filled Amity entirely, but this was a softer sort of warmth. Like an ember of affection that made that ever-present icey ache in her chest thaw just a little. As heart-poundingly terrifying and thrilling as it was to picture her and Luz getting married some day in the distant future, the image was also one that filled her with hope. Hope for a future where she was happy and whole and surrounded by people who loved her unreservedly. Where she wasn’t so broken as she was now.

And here was someone who was actively claiming his part in that future as her friend. One who was currently contemplating the little bottle of black nail polish in his hands.

“You think I could pull this off? I don’t usually wear such dark colours.” He looked up at her curiously and she grinned.

“Only one way to find out.” It was surprisingly difficult, given how small his hands were, but Amity persevered. Especially because it was immediately apparent that Gus liked his new look.

“Do you think you could teach me a little of that human language?” he asked after a moment of comfortable silence, but Amity shook her head.

“It’s probably better to ask Luz to help you,” she admitted as she fanned the first coat on his nails dry. “I only know a few words and simple phrases really. Ugh and the verb conjugation is so difficult!”

“That sounds about right. I couldn’t make sense of that book at all. It didn’t seem like a very well structured language coursebook. So much of it was about meals!” He frowned in thought and Amity had to snatch his hand back before he could ruin his nails by drumming them on the desk. “Do you think humans are just really bad at teaching languages because they’re so focused on food?”

“I don’t think so? Luz is pretty good at it at least. She’s taught me a lot.”

“You might be a bit biased there,” Gus said with a smirk that made Amity laugh.

“Probably. But still, she’s an excellent tutor in general. She helped me a lot when I changed Tracks too.”

“Speaking of changing Tracks,” he said as she started his second coat. “I’ve been reading up on the Oracle books you gave me. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on the basics of crystal balls and summoning now. You wanna see?”

She very much did not want to see. Amity wanted as little to do with that Track as possible. She grimaced and shot him an apologetic glance. “Uh… that’s okay. I’ll take your word for it.”

“Fair enough,” he said with an easy shrug that had Amity’s suddenly tense shoulders relaxing again. “Anyway, the problem is the mind magic stuff. It seems like it’ll be the most useful branch for curing Eda, but it’s pretty advanced and it’ll take me a while to learn.”

Guilt squirmed in her gut and Amity bit her lip. Gus was already under so much pressure, having skipped several grades. He’d confessed to her earlier that it sometimes felt like he had to work extra hard to prove he deserved his spot in their class. A sentiment Amity could very much relate to. The fact that her selfishness was adding onto that pressure made her feel like a great big trash slug.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean for you to have to worry about this. I could… study it myself if you’d rather not,” she said quietly, hating how obvious the reluctance in her voice was.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m actually really enjoying it,” he rushed to say and the earnest look he gave her made Amity feel slightly better. “And besides just think of the amazing grade I could get on my next assignment for journalism class. I’ll get all the juicy details with this stuff…”

That made her laugh and she rolled her eyes at him, the guilt washing away at his sincere and rather disturbing eagerness.

“I just meant that I think we’re probably gonna need some more help if we wanna really learn about this stuff,” Gus said. 

That made sense. A brief thought of asking Eda for help crossed her mind, but she dismissed it immediately. Eda had enough on her plate as it was and she couldn’t exactly perform the spell on herself. The only other witch Amity knew in the Track was Celine, though they were hardly close and she was loath to add more unfamiliar people into this than necessary.

“I’m not really sure who we could ask,” she confessed as she drew a spell into the air to instantly dry and seal the final coat on his nails, leaving them glossy and pristine. Gus watched the spell eagerly and, to Amity’s surprise, copied it perfectly on her own nails before she could do it herself. He really was an impressive kid.

“I think I might have some ideas,” he said with a grin.

***

There wasn’t much left of their break by the time she and Gus found their friends in one of the greenhouses, where Willow had created a truly beautiful living shelf. Thick branches covered in rich, red leaves twisted together to form the sides and perfectly flat wooden planks grew between them to make the different levels. 

She and Gus walked in just as Willow set another potted plant on the lower shelves. She stepped back to admire her work as Jerbo and Luz were fluffing up some of the plants they’d already placed on the higher levels. The moment the door shut behind Amity, Luz whipped around and her eyes lit up with joy.

“Sweet Potato!” Luz leapt at her with a happy cry and a kiss to her cheek that had Amity flushing as red as the leaves on the shelf. “Look what Willow made! Isn’t it the prettiest shelf you’ve ever seen?”

It really was and Willow beamed with pride when Amity said as much. Gus’s low, appreciative whistle made Willow smile too. At first.

“That is one fine looking shelf. You grow girl!” he said and Luz gasped beside Amity.

“I beg your garden! Was that a pun, my good fir?” she said with a grin that had Willow groaning.

“Oh no…”

“Why yes, it was in-weed,” Gus said pompously. “I’m becoming rather frond of them. In fact, you might say they’re… growing on me.” 

He and Luz dissolved into giggles and Amity rolled her eyes at them both affectionately. “Don’t mind them,” she said to a clearly confused Jerbo. “You’ll get used to it.”

“No… no you won’t,” Willow moaned.

“Don’t worry,” Jerbo said with a casual wave of his hand. “Viney has gotten into pun fights with Luz before. I just didn’t realise it was spreading.”

“It won’t be long before my master plan is complete and we’ve spread pun culture all across the Boiling Isles!” Luz said with a sinister cackle that would almost be believable, were it not for her very over the top evil grin, complete with villainous hand rubbing.

Jerbo took it in stride. “I’m sure you’ll have the isles punning up a storm in no time,” he said with an agreeable nod that, to Amity’s endless amusement, made poor Willow whimper in fear.

“Please, no . It’s bad enough I have to deal with this at home. I have two dads, Jerbo! Two ! Do you have any idea how many puns that is? A lot !”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” he said with a smile that screamed mischief. “You’ll be vine .”

Amity hid her snort behind a fist, trying hard to disguise it as a cough, but it was very obvious that Luz had heard, given the huge smile that spread across her face. Amity cleared her throat and pretended not to see as she gave Willow a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“Let’s stop torturing poor Willow,” she said and smiled when Willow shot her a grateful look. “We actually dropped by because Gus had an idea for our extra credit project.”

She glanced meaningfully at Luz, whose eyes widened with understanding.

“Right! That project. One sec, Jerbo, we’ll be right back,” she said as she tugged Gus, Willow, and Amity aside. He shrugged and went back to pruning and fussing over the plants on Willow’s shelf, leaving them to huddle conspiratorially in the corner. Amity appreciated how unassuming he was being about the whole thing and she wondered idly if that willingness to look the other way came from hanging around the twins. One tended to need to let things slide with them.

Luz pulled them all into a huddle that reminded Amity of her time on the grudgy team and that, in turn, reminded her of playing the game with Luz and Willow. She forced down the memory of Luz in that cute uniform and focused on the girl pressed up to her side. Who she now got to call her girlfriend. Maybe they should all play grudgby again some time and then she could get Luz to wear her jacket…

“So!” Luz said, snapping Amity out of the thoughts she was supposed to be forcing down. “What’s this idea of yours, Gus?”

“Well, it sort of depended on how useful Jerbo’s advice was.” He glanced back over at the shelf Willow had made and grinned. “And it looks like it was pretty darn useful. I mean, look at that thing!”

“It’s nothing, really,” Willow said, her cheeks darkening. “I was having trouble making something that wouldn’t warp as it grew but was still alive because I didn’t want to hurt the plants I used to make it. It was Jerbo’s idea to mix the living and treated wood. That way the vines can grow without the shelves being too weak. He did all the hard work figuring it out. I just performed the spell.”

“Stop selling yourself short,” Amity insisted. “You were the one that built the spell matrix for something completely new. That’s really impressive! Especially since you only started learning it yesterday.”

Willow hesitated before she allowed herself a small smile. “Thanks. Jerbo really was helpful though. His experience with mixing Plant magic with other Tracks helped me figure out what parts of the spells I could blend without disrupting the circle. All my previous attempts were… not so successful.”

“So many thorns…” Luz whispered with a horrified shiver.

“In that case, Luz, how would you feel about asking your multitrack friends to help us with the curse?” Gus asked. “Jerbo’s friend studies Potions and Oracle magic right? I think I’ll need that if we’re gonna use mind magic to help cure Eda.”

“Oh, I hadn’t considered that. I guess they do have more experience mixing magic than most witches. But I dunno…” She bit her lip anxiously and glanced over at Jerbo, who was happily going about his own business and pretending like there wasn’t a not-so-secret meeting happening nearby. “I don’t really want to involve more people in Eda’s business. That’s the whole reason I didn’t tell you guys at first either. It’s not like I don’t trust them, they’re my friends. But the more people that know…”

It was a valid concern. Eda’s curse wasn’t entirely unknown but it wasn’t common knowledge either. But Amity knew Luz wasn’t only concerned about Eda’s privacy. The bigger issue was letting it slip that Eda’s curse was worsening. If that got out, the Emperor’s Coven and, more worryingly, Lilith would be after her in seconds.

After the incident at the covention, Lilith had often spent their training sessions ranting about how difficult Eda was to capture and how much that frustrated her. At the time Amity had simply let her waste their time together because she’d still been rather bitter about Lilith making her cheat in her duel with Luz. Now, knowing what she did about Eda, she took some measure of petty enjoyment from Lilith’s frustration on Eda’s behalf.

The memory of her duel with Luz clicked something into place in her mind and Amity’s eyes widened as an idea came to her.

“What if we get them to make an everlasting oath stating they won’t talk about it to anyone that isn’t already involved?” she asked. “That way they can help and we don’t have to worry about more people finding out.” 

Everlasting oaths weren’t exactly uncommon, though they could be quite dangerous if not worded correctly. The one she’d made with Luz had been intended to be fairly benign but, in her frustration with the girl at the time, she’d failed to set consequences, which could have made it potentially very harmful. She grimaced at that memory, wondering what might have happened to Luz if she’d broken such an ambiguous oath. They’d need to be more careful about the phrasing this time but, if the multitrackers were trustworthy and kept their word, there really shouldn’t be any issues with making one and she said as much to her friends.

Apparently Luz agreed.

“That’s brilliant, Sweet Potato!” she gushed and Amity wasn’t sure if the hot flush spreading across her cheeks was due to the nickname that was apparently here to stay or from the praise. “An idea that good deserves a reward. Let me plant one on ya!” 

Luz leaned in to kiss her and Amity laughed, holding her back with an arm that Luz fought against with reaching hands. Well, now it was pretty clear why she was blushing.

“Luz! We’re in the middle of the greenhouse.” A wicked thought popped into her head and she grinned. “You’re unbe- leaf -able.”

Luz’s delighted gasp and even more eager attempts to kiss her were thoroughly drowned out by Willow’s almost pained groan.

“Not you too!” she all but wailed at Amity, who just shrugged as she finally let Luz get her way. They were interrupted by Jerbo clearing his throat from his spot near the living shelf.

“Uh, I hate to break up your huddle, but lunch is about to end.” He gestured to the clock that blinked at them from its spot on the brick wall attaching the greenhouse to the school.

“He’s right,” it grumbled. “You kids better wrap this up or you’ll be late for class.”

“Those things can talk?” Luz yelped but Amity nudged her towards Jerbo before she could get hung up on that. “Oh, right. Hey, Jerbo! Think you and the other Troublemakers could meet us in the Room of Shortcuts later? We’ve got a proposition for you.”

Jerbo narrowed his eyes and leaned around Luz to stare down the group suspiciously. “How do I know they’re cool, man?”

Amity scoffed and folded her arms. Cool indeed. What did that even mean?

“Come on, Jerbo. You know Willow. And Gus is a good boy! Plus, Amity is super cool and my girlfriend and Viney’s girlfriend’s sister. They won’t tell anyone.”

“Hmmm, I dunno,” he said, eyes narrowing a touch further. “Meet me in the Detention Track after school and we’ll see if they’re worthy.”

Luz opened her mouth to protest but the screeching of the bell cut her off and she sighed.

“Okay fine, we’ll see you then,” she conceded and Jerbo gave a satisfied nod before he darted off to get to his class. Luz scratched at her hair and huffed as she watched him go. “Well, I guess it wasn’t a no .”

She turned back to the group and gave them an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, guys. Jerbo’s pretty protective of the room of shortcuts. It’s special to them.”

“It’s cool,” Gus said with a casual wave. “The man’s got his priorities straight. I get it. I wouldn’t want just anyone roaming around in my tunnels under the school.” His eyes widened suddenly and he glanced around at them nervously. “I mean uh…”

“Relax, Gus. We won’t tell anyone about the tunnels,” Willow said and Amity distinctly heard her mutter, “not that they’re really a secret,” under her breath.

“Great!” Luz piped up before rushing behind Amity and Gus to herd them towards the greenhouse doors, leaving an amused Willow to wave at them as they left. “Now let’s hurry before we’re late for Illusions. We love you, Willow! Seeyoulaterbye!”

***

Amity had never once stepped foot in the Detention Track classroom nor even so much as glimpsed the inside of the Detention Pit, which was still currently under reconstruction after Luz and Gus had somehow destroyed it. Walking to either willingly wasn’t something she would ever have imagined herself doing. Yet there she was, stepping into the classroom turned disciplinarium at the end of the day as Luz darted forward to… knock on the blackboard of all things?

The silence that followed was decidedly awkward as she, Willow and Gus lingered near the teacher’s desk, waiting for something to happen. Gus seemed oddly forlorn as he stared wistfully at the empty seat beside the desk. When Amity cocked a questioning brow at Willow, she sighed and shook her head. Somehow, Amity knew she probably didn’t want to know what that was about.

Instead, she glanced back to where Luz was pacing in front of the blackboard. She stopped suddenly in her tracks and stared hard at the clean surface, before reaching for the chalk to, she assumed, doodle out of sheer boredom. Amity smiled at her fondly. Luz never had been great at waiting.

But just as Luz lifted the chalk towards the board, a glowing white square drew itself onto the dark green surface and a keyhole formed in the centre. There was a quiet click and then the square sprang open with a creaking whine, revealing some sort of tunnel hidden behind the wall. Amity’s eyes widened and she stepped up beside Luz to get a look inside, but her view was blocked by a furry face popping through the hole.

The face could only belong to Barcus, a singularly unique demon within the school, given how rare true Canid demons were. He huffed and sneezed at them in Canis, but Amity wasn’t fluent enough to understand him. Thankfully, Jerbo appeared behind him to interpret for them.

“Barcus says that you must all be tested before you are allowed entry into the Secret Society of Troublemakers,” he said in a voice far too serious for such a ridiculous message. Barcus barked once and Jerbo nodded gravely. “Very true, Barcus. He says that your auras will be read and, if you are found wanting, you will be cast out and banned for all eternity.”

Amity shared a look with Willow and Gus, glad that the two of them seemed as lost as she felt. None of them had really gotten to know the Troublemakers like Luz had, but Amity could definitely see why the twins would like them. They apparently shared a love for dramatics.

Another bark drew her attention and she watched as Barcus gestured for Gus to come closer. “First, the smallest among you,” Jerbo translated.

“Okay, I’m down for whatever weirdness you guys have cooking,” he said, stepping forward with a confident grin. Barcus stared him down for a moment before he gave a whining huff of a sneeze.

“Barcus says your aura is confident and chaotic, with a flair for presentation. Lord Calamity would welcome you, so we do too.”

Gus pumped his arm with an excited “yes” and then hopped aside for Willow to approach. She shuffled nervously towards Barcus and flinched when he sniffed at her curiously. His next bark sounded curious and comforting all at once.

“You have an aura of gentle strength, like a sturdy tree with deep roots that shelters those around you. You’re welcome too!”

The pleased grin that spread across Willow’s cheeks made Amity smile. She’d never seen anyone read auras before and, truth be told, hadn’t even known it was possible, but Barcus’s assessment of Willow was spot on as far as she was concerned.

“You’re up, Batata,” Luz said, reaching out a hand to draw Amity closer. Oh right, she was going to have to do this too. A spike of fear crawled over Amity’s skin and she fought down the sudden desire to flee. Gus and Willow were great friends and even better people. She was a broken mess. There was no way Barcus would judge her worthy.

But Luz was tugging her gently in front of him and, before she could protest, Amity found herself staring down his short muzzle into his scrutinizing gaze. He stared at her for what felt like a long time. Certainly longer than it had taken for either of her friends. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked away when he narrowed his eyes slightly at her. Something about having an Oracle staring her down like this made her skin crawl and she bit her lip, squeezing her own eyes shut as cold blue ones filled her vision.

Barcus whined quietly and, to her surprise, reached through the portal to set his paw on her shoulder. She jumped a little, startled, and looked up to see him giving her a sad smile. Like he’d somehow looked at her and read everything she’d ever experienced. Like he understood.

He patted Amity’s shoulder and gave a murmuring growl that settled something in her. Barcus wasn’t her mother. She wasn’t in danger. She just needed to remind her suddenly pounding heart and frazzled nerves of that.

“Barcus says your aura is hard to read because it’s black.” 

Before Amity could even begin to process that, a sharp bark cut Jerbo off and he turned to look at a clearly irritated Barcus. “What? Oh! My bad. Cut me some slack man, that word’s hard.” Barcus growled at him and Jerbo raised his hand defensively. “Okay, okay! I’ll fix it. He says it’s hard to read because it’s shrouded in black.”

Barcus huffed before turning to talk directly to Amity, Jerbo translating as he went. “He says your aura has been damaged by someone who hurt you a lot for a long time. But now the darkness is clearing and he can see the… really, man?” Barcus bared his teeth and Jerbo sighed. “He can see the bright colours shining through. Your aura is bold and kind, it just needs some time to heal.”

Despite his apparent annoyance with his friend, Barcus sent Amity a warm smile. She tried to return it, but a swell of emotion pulled at her throat and she had to turn away to wipe at her suddenly damp eyes. Luz was on her in seconds, wrapping a tender arm around her shoulder to pull her in close. With a settling breath, Amity looked back at Barcus and managed a small, tremulous smile.

“Thank you,” she said in a voice far too small for the size of the emotions she was feeling. Maybe Oracle magic wasn’t all bad.

“Are you two done hazing them now?” a voice called from deeper in the tunnel.

“Hey, rules are rules, man!” Jerbo yelled back. “Everyone has to face the gauntlet before they get to become a Troublemaker.”

Viney appeared behind them and glared at Jerbo. “I told you they’re cool. So let them in already. Or do you want me to tell my girlfriend you were messing with her little sister and her friends?”

Jerbo paled and he immediately grabbed Barcus to pull him out of the way. He waved them towards the door almost frantically, a wide, unnatural smile on his face. “Please, come in! You’re all welcome.”

Viney rolled her eyes and motioned for them to follow her once they’d all scrambled through the entrance. They filed into the room behind her and Amity’s breath caught as they stepped into the most incredibly magical room she’d ever seen. 

Doors and windows hung all across the walls in a chaotic array that made her head spin. The spiral stairway leading high into the towering room only made it spin worse, but more impressive was the almost tangible magic flowing throughout it all. Spells layered overtop one another covered every inch of the space, pulsing together in a way that made everything around her feel almost like it was buzzing with power.

She stared in slack-jawed awe, unable to quite comprehend how this place was possible. She’d known about it of course, but knowing about it in theory had not at all prepared her. It went beyond anything she could have imagined. When Luz had told her about it, Amity had pictured the Secret Room of Shortcuts as something more like Gus’s tunnels. Simple hallways slapped together by hand and digging spells, maybe under the school or through holes in the walls. But this? This was…

“Incredible!” Gus exclaimed and Amity fully agreed.

She wandered over to the nearest door and cracked it open to find herself looking into a classroom, through a hole high up on the wall that should definitely not be there. Easing it closed, she turned to find Willow and Gus each trying other doors, all of which lead to places Amity knew they shouldn’t be able to. This wasn’t just any ordinary secret room or an expanded zone added to the school using construction magic. Whoever had made this had created a subspace you could step through. An actual, tangible pocket dimension that warped reality! Just to make shortcuts in a school!

“It’s cool, right?” Luz said with an eager grin.

“It’s impossible!” Amity replied, still not quite able to believe her own eyes. “The spell work alone is so detailed I can’t even imagine how someone could put it all together without the place collapsing in on itself. Something this complex would take an insane amount of magical power to create!”

Viney stepped behind her and looked up at the spiralling room with an appreciative grin. “Yup, Lord Calamity is a legend for sure,” she said, then she turned her eyes back down to Luz and the others. “So, what’s this all about? Jerbo said you had some sort of deal for us, Luz?”

Amity wanted to protest. How could they just move on? This room needed to be studied! There were so many practical uses for magic like this. But as desperate as she was to pour over every spell she could reach and try to figure out how they weren’t all causing each other to fail… or explode, Luz was already barreling ahead.

“We have this project we’re working on and it’s sorta… complicated. We’re not exactly sure how to do what we need to yet, but what we do know is it’s gonna take a lot of different kinds of magic all mixed together. That’s where you guys come in,” Luz said.

“You want us to help you work on this mystery project?” Viney asked and Luz nodded vigorously. Viney grinned and slugged an arm around Luz’s shoulder to playfully dig her knuckles into the top of her head. “Okay, we’re game. Anything to help a fellow Troublemaker. Especially you, Luz. We wouldn’t have had the chance to learn so much about mixing magic if you hadn’t come along.”

“Not as easily anyway,” Jerbo added and Barcus huffed in agreement.

“Thanks, guys!” Luz said with a laugh as she wrestled her way out of Viney’s grip. “That means a lot.”

“But before we tell you the details,” Amity added, “we need something from you guys first.”

Viney narrowed her eyes at that. “Like what?”

“An everlasting oath not to tell anyone that isn’t involved what we’re up to.”

There was a beat of silence where they all stared at her in shock, before Jerbo scoffed and Viney all but snorted. “That seems kind of extreme, doesn’t it? It sounds almost like you guys don’t trust us or something,” she said, her defensive tone making the smile on her face look tight and forced.

“That’s not it at all!” Luz rushed to say. “It’s just that it’s really… sensitive information that we can’t risk getting out. If the Emperor’s Coven knew that she…” She trailed off and bit her lip anxiously. “I do trust you guys, you’re my friends, but this is really important. Please, we really need your help.”

The Troublemakers stared at her long and hard. No one spoke for at first until, after what felt like an eternity, Barcus piped up with a quiet yip. Jerbo looked at him sharply, but when Barcus gave a nod, he relaxed visibly.

“Barcus says he senses no lies in your words. Only compassion and urgency.”

Luz smiled at him. “Thanks, Barcus.”

“That’s nice and all,” Viney said. “But an everlasting oath is serious business and could be kind of dangerous if we don’t do it right. This isn’t something you do just on a whim, Luz.”

Luz shot an awkward grin at Amity and she flushed, unable to quite meet her eyes. It wasn’t that big a deal. And besides, she’d nullified the oath she had made with Luz. No harm done.

“I guess that’s true,” Luz said when she turned back to Viney. “What if I offered you a little incentive? Something I think you’d definitely want.”

“I’m listening,” Viney said slowly and Luz’s eyes lit up.

“What if I said you’d get to meet Lord Calamity. In the flesh.”

The room fell utterly silent.

***

“You think they’ll show up?”

Amity glanced up from where she had neatly arranged her homework across the coffee table. She was halfway through an essay on the effects of certain healing salves when they were combined together and having access to both Plant and Potion track texts was making it exceptionally easy. Even if it was taking up all the available space. Willow, who had asked the question, was looking over from her spot beside Amity at Luz on the sofa.

They’d all made the trip to the Owl House together after leaving the Troublemakers to confer. They’d asked for some time to talk it over alone, which seemed fair given what they were asking of them.

“I’m sure of it,” she said, the confidence in her voice almost enough to hide the insecure tilt of her brow. “They’re my friends. They wouldn’t leave me hanging. And besides, there’s no way they’d give up on the chance to meet Eda. They practically worship her.”

“I totally get it,” Gus said, nodding beside Luz. “I was certainly eager to do anything to meet my idol.”

“And who exactly is your idol? I’ve known you for years and you’ve never mentioned anything about this,” Willow said, raising an amused eyebrow at Gus.

“Me, of course. You know how long it took to learn proper cloning spells? But it was worth it to get to shake my own hand,” he said, his head lowered and hand resting over his heart as if in reverence.

Amity and Willow shared a look and, when Willow mouthed “ wow ” at her, they both broke into a fit of giggles.

“Don’t listen to them, Gus,” Luz said, giving him a placating pat on his shoulder. “I’d happily shake your hand any day.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Anyway,” Willow cut in, still trying to stifle her laughter. “I hope you’re right, Luz. The more help we have for this, the better. I don’t know about the rest of you, but this curse stuff is going over my head.” She squinted at the curse almanac she’d borrowed from Amity and frowned at the pages as if they had personally offended her. “Who decided they needed to be so thorns-darned complicated?”

Luz gasped in horror. “Willow! Language!”

“Oh please,” Willow replied with a snort. “Do I need to remind you what you called Boscha?”

“Th-that’s different!” Luz yelped. “She was going to out Amity! I had to do some thing!”

“I thought it was hot.” 

Every eye in the room turned towards her and Amity’s own widened in shock, her face turning crimson. She hadn’t meant for that to slip out. Luz flushed so bright Amity could practically feel the heat radiating off of her and she turned hurriedly away, burying her face in her Healing textbook. She could just see Willow out of the corner of her eye and the girl had a terrifyingly sinister smirk on her face. A smirk that told Amity she was in for a world of teasing unlike anything she’d ever experienced from the twins. Just as she opened her mouth to do exactly that, a loud chime cut her off, saving Amity from an untimely death at the hands of one of her best friends.

“Oh,” Luz said, eagerly snatching up her scroll. “Viney just texted me. They’ll be here any minute!”

“Does Eda know they’re coming?” Amity asked quickly, desperate to keep on this particular topic before Willow remembered she was meant to be giving Amity hex. “Shouldn’t we warn her?”

“Nah, Eda’s cool. She won’t mind and I think once she knows what they’re here for, she’ll be happy to have the help. Besides, she’ll probably be excited to find out that there are students following in her footsteps.”

Amity somehow doubted Eda would be happy about any of this, but she also knew they needed the help and Eda was notoriously stubborn about accepting it. So maybe springing it on her was the best way to go about it. What was it her brother and sister always said? Better to ask for forgiveness than permission? And better yet not to get caught.

She grinned at that and was just about to get back to working on her essay when a knock at the door interrupted her.

“Hello, best friend!” Hooty yelled happily. “It’s been soooo long since I saw you!”

“Sorry, Hooty. I’m actually here to see Luz. But I’ll stop on the way out for a chat. Promise,” came Viney’s voice.

“Fiiiiine,” Hooty whined as he opened the door, unprompted. “ Luu uuz, you have visitors.”

Jerbo and Barcus hustled into the room, glancing uncomfortably over their shoulders to where Viney was scratching under Hooty’s chin.

“How do you live with that thing? He’s horrifying,” Jerbo muttered and Barcus whined in apparent agreement.

“Barcus says he holds unspeakable power,” Jerbo translated and shuddered. “I wish he was unspeakable. His voice is worse than fairy teeth on a chalkboard.”

“That’s not what that word means,” Amity huffed. “And don’t be rude to him. Hooty protects the house.”

She blinked, her own words startling her. Since when did she defend Hooty? The birdtube still made her deeply uncomfortable after all. She immediately regretted opening her mouth when he wound himself into the room and twisted around her in some sort of horrific perversion of a hug.

“I knew you loved me,” he practically sobbed, rubbing his tearful and horrendously snotty face up against her cheek in a way that made every nerve in Amity’s body freeze up in disgust. A wave of deep, cold emptiness washed over her and Amity embraced it, letting it fill her to her very core.

“You have two seconds to get off me before I set you and everything in this room on fire,” she whispered darkly. Hooty froze for half a heartbeat, the two of them staring each other down in utter silence. Then he unravelled himself from around her and retreated back into the door so fast the breeze rustled everyone’s hair. He slammed it shut behind him and Amity was sure she could see it shivering on its hinges. Good .

“Dang,” Gus said in quiet awe as Amity shuddered and wiped at her soiled face. “I knew you were scary but I didn’t think even Hooty was scared of you.”

“I am not scary!” Amity snapped at the exact same moment Luz piped up with, “she’s not scary!”

They grinned at each other and Luz leaned down to press a kiss to Amity’s cheek, filling her back up with warmth again. But Luz shuddered in disgust when she pulled away and a viscous string of Hooty’s snot and tears followed her, hanging between her lips and Amity’s cheek in a shiny arch.

“Ugh, gross!” Luz scrubbed frantically at her mouth and Amity winced in sympathy. “No offense, Batata, but I think I’m gonna need a break from kisses until you wash your face at least a million times.”

“Likewise.” Amity shivered at the thought of getting that stuff on her own mouth. It was bad enough having it on her face at all! Maybe they both needed to take a dip in the boiling sea. That might get them halfway to being clean…

“Oh for Titan’s sake,” Willow laughed and spun a quick spell to clean them both up. But Amity didn’t feel clean. She might never feel clean again… “Would the two of you stop being so dramatic so we can get down to business?”

“Sorry, Willow,” they said in sheepish unison. Jerbo, Viney and Barcus stood awkwardly near the door and watched them all with wide eyes.

“Should we be worried about the fact that the ‘unspeakably powerful’ house demon is afraid of her?” Jerbo asked in a poorly hidden stage whisper behind his hand and Viney snorted.

“I’m more worried that she’s apparently afraid of Willow,” she said with a grin.

“You get used to it,” Gus said, scooting over to make room for Viney and Jerbo on the sofa once Luz slid down to sit beside Amity on the floor. When Barcus settled on the other side of the coffee table, his paws propped up on the dark wood, Luz looked around at them all.

“So does this mean you guys are okay with making the oath?” she asked.

“We talked it out,” Viney said. “And we all agreed that we trust you. If you say it’s important and you really need our help, then we believe you.”

“Plus, you did say we’d get to meet the Lord Calamity and who in their right minds would say no to that!”

“Jerbo!” Viney snapped, elbowing him hard in his side. Luz just laughed.

“That’s okay, I get it.”

The oath itself was fairly simple, even though Amity had spent the entire walk home thinking of the perfect way to word it and carefully picking apart said wording to make sure she wasn’t accidentally putting anyone in danger. 

The Troublemakers would have to swear not to purposefully reveal anything they learned about the subject of their ‘project’, the reason they were doing it or anything that might put the subject in danger to anyone who wasn’t already in the know. They would be automatically released from the vow the moment they accomplished their goal or, if they were unsuccessful, it would be left up to Luz whether or not they could be released. In exchange for their help, Luz would introduce them to Lord Calamity. 

The consequences of breaking the vow were trickier and, in the end, it had been Luz who had come up with something that Amity considered both incredibly genius and terribly cruel.

Anyone who broke the vow would be forced to sit and listen to Hooty talk for two full days. They would be allowed to eat, drink, sleep, and go to the bathroom of course, but Hooty would be there for all of it, talking the entire time. Even Viney, who liked Hooty for some reason, thought that sounded like a nightmare.

As a gesture of good faith, Willow and Gus agreed to take the oath too, leaving Amity and Luz as the arbiters of who could be brought into the loop from here on out.

“Right,” Viney said as she pulled her hand free of Amity’s oath circle. “When do we get to meet Lord Calamity?”

The eager grin on her face was reflected on both Barcus and Jerbo, and Luz rubbed her hands together gleefully. She leaned around Amity, half draping herself across her in a way that made heat flood Amity’s cheeks, and yelled in the general direction of the kitchen.

“Hey, Eda! Could you come in here for a sec?”

A groan echoed from within the kitchen, followed by the slow scrape of a chair across the hardwood floors. Shuffling feet and grumbling complaints heralded the coming of the Owl Lady, in all her glory. 

Eda slumped into the living room wearing possibly the rattiest set of pyjamas to ever have existed, complete with old, stained bunny slippers, and a bedhead fresh from one of the afternoon naps she'd started taking. She yawned and lifted a mug of coffee to her lips, scratching at her backside as she glared at the group of teenagers that had taken over her home.

“It's way too early for whatever this is,” she grumbled and Luz snorted.

“Eda. It's the afternoon.”

“I just woke up. That makes it early,” she retorted as she took another loud slurp from her mug and pressed her hand into her back to stretch it with a painfully loud crack. Instead of taking the bait, Luz turned to her friends and gestured towards Eda with a dramatic sweep of her arm.

“Guys, may I introduce the great Lord Calamity!”

Without missing a beat, Gus twirled his finger and bardic horns blaring a triumphant fanfare poofed into existence on either side of Eda. She narrowed her eyes at him before swatting her hand through the streamers and confetti floating around her head, sending the illusion shattering in a shower of blue sparkles.

“I like your style, Goops, but you’re on thin ice.” Gus grinned at her sheepishly and shrugged, but Eda ignored him in favour of turning to Luz. “Who in Titan’s name is Lord Calamity?”

When Luz explained the history of the name, how the Troublemakers had come about and why, and what they were using as their hideout, Eda seemed to relax.

“So this is the new generation of misfits in Hexside?” She gave them all a once over and grinned, her gold fang glinting in the light. “Glad someone found that old place. Kinda surprised it hasn’t collapsed in on itself and taken Hexside with it,” she laughed with a snort. 

Amity gaped at her, utterly shocked at how casual she was about potentially sentencing Hexside and everyone in it to a sudden and violent end. Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus, meanwhile, were all staring at Eda, slack-jawed and wide-eyed for a very different reason.

“Wait, hang on a second. This is Lord Calamity? Are you serious?” Jerbo spluttered, gesturing wildly at Eda’s rumpled clothing and grey mane of hair. “She’s… she’s just an old lady!” 

Eda let out a bark of a laugh with a clear edge to it that made Amity cringe. Oh, he’d done it now.

“Kid, you are looking at Eda the Owl Lady . The most powerful witch on the boiling isles! I may be old but I could end you with a snap of my fingers.” She raised a menacing hand as if to do exactly that and glared at Jerbo, who let out a terrified squeak.

“Woah, take it down a notch, Eda,” Luz said with a nervous laugh. “No need to scare him to death. He was just kidding! Right , Jerbo?” 

When Jerbo didn’t immediately respond, too scared to so much as twitch wrong in Eda’s direction, Viney elbowed him hard in his ribs. He yelped and flinched away from her, before his brain apparently restarted and he swallowed hard.

“Right, right. A joke. Of course.”

The silence that followed was thick with tension that reminded Amity just a little too much of Blight Manor. She needed to put an end to this now or the gnawing pressure she could feel growing in the back of her head would only get worse. A coil of anxiety curled its way into her chest but she shoved it down, forcing herself to open her mouth.

“You know, Eda, they only know of the ‘Great Lord Calamity’ from a portrait of you in your Hexside days. You’ve um… changed since then,” she said, grimacing at the way Eda cocked an eyebrow at her. “Maybe if you uh, showed them what you looked like back then…?”

Eda glanced down at what she was wearing, then up at her bedhead and let out a loud cackle that made Amity jump. “You have a point there, boots. Not exactly dressed to impress, am I?” She grinned and shot a wink at Amity that eased the tension building in her shoulders. “But I make this look work .”

Luz giggled beside her and Amity managed a grin as well. With Eda’s mood improved, she shot the Troublemakers a look, before reaching up to plunge her hand into her hair. Amity watched in fascination as she rooted around in it for a second until, with a triumphant grin, Eda pulled out what appeared to be an old lunch box covered in faded stickers.

“Some day, I want my hair to do that,” Luz whispered in awe and Amity giggled at the thought. She shot her a grin that Luz returned sheepishly.

“You want proof?” Eda said, popping open the lunch box to pull out an old photo. “Here you go.”

She held it out to the troublemakers, who all crowded in close so they could look at it together. The photo showed a young Eda proudly holding up a grudgby trophy, absolutely beaming with pride. Amity knew it well. Eda had gone on a long tangent one morning about her glory days on the grudgby team when Luz had let it slip that Amity used to be captain of the Banshees. Of course, she also knew what was on the half of the photo Eda was keeping carefully folded out of sight. Luz had not-so-secretly shown her that part, much to Eda’s chagrin.

“That sure looks like Lord Calamity to me,” Viney said, but Jerbo still seemed unconvinced.

“I dunno, man. How do we know that’s really you?” He turned to Barcus, who let out an irritable snort and grumbled at him. Jerbo’s face fell. “Awe, come on! I know you’ve had to do it a ton today, but you promised you’d help when I wasn’t sure,” he whined.

Barcus glared at his friend for a moment, before he sighed and turned to stare hard at Eda. Nothing happened at first, Barcus tilting his head curiously this way and that as he looked Eda over.

“Uh… what’s he doing?” she asked as Barcus got up and circled her.

“Barcus reads auras,” Luz explained, frowning curiously as she watched him move around to look at Eda from different angles. “But it doesn’t usually take this much effort.”

When he’d paced around her a few times, Barcus sat down directly in front of Eda with a huff and closed his eyes. He bowed his head, as if readying himself, before his head shot up and his eyes snapped open, wreathed in glowing purple flames. He barked and yipped in a strange, otherworldly echo that sent shivers running up Amity’s spine. Oracle magic was still so unsettling, no matter how nice he’d been earlier.

When he fell silent, Barcus turned to Jerbo who was frowning in clear confusion. “What do you mean?” he asked, his frown only deepening when Barcus gruffed out a response.

“What did he say?” Luz asked, leaning forward in a way Amity knew meant she was desperately curious.

“He said Eda’s aura is strange and hard to read.”

“Oh! You mean like Amity’s?” Luz asked and Barcus shook his head.

“No, he says it’s more like she has more than one, which isn’t possible.” Barcus let out a series of barks at that. “He says… slow down, dude! Um, he says that what he can see seems like a mix of chaotic power and a nurturing spirit that’s… fighting? Yeah, fighting with something more wild and angry and… caged? You sure?”

Barcus nodded gravely and then let out a low, awed grumble.

“He said he doesn’t know why you have more than one aura, but you’re clearly powerful and… woah, for real?” Barcus nodded and a huge, almost unnerving smile spread across Jerbo’s face. “Part of the auras in you matches the magic in the Room of Shortcuts! You’re definitely the real Lord Calamity!”

The look he was giving Eda was almost reverent and Eda leaned away from him awkwardly.

“That’s nice and all,” she said, carefully stepping away from the boy who had apparently given up his skepticism in favour of a haze of hero worship. “But why are we making a big deal out of some title you kids gave me? Even if it is pretty fitting.”

“Because they promised to help us out with our ‘project’ if we introduced you to them,” Luz said.

“What pro-” she froze mid sentence and then groaned, reaching up to pinch her nose in frustration. “ Luz , didn’t I tell you not to do anything without involving me first?”

“Technically you only said we couldn’t do anything dangerous without you.”

Eda glared at her but Luz seemed entirely unfazed.

“We needed help with the magic mixing stuff and who better to ask than the witches who fought to study it? Plus, they won’t betray you or anything. We made sure!” Luz stared down Eda’s frustrated glare with a determined one of her own and, after a long, tense moment, Eda threw her head back with a frustrated sigh.

“Why is it so hard to say no to this kid,” she said into the ceiling and Amity grinned, knowing full well how impossible it was to deny Luz anything. “Fine, fine. Just, no more decisions on this whole thing without me from now on. Don’t tear my house down doing whatever it is you’re gonna do and clean up after yourselves or you’ll be on Hooty washing duty until you graduate!” She made to leave, but paused and spun back to point a menacing finger at Luz and Amity. “And no trying to find loopholes in my rules! Titan, it’s like living in a house with two of me ! Is this what it was like for my parents?”

That final thought actually made her grin at them with a final cackling chuckle, her snort carrying through the doorway as she disappeared into the kitchen.

“Well,” Luz said into the silence that followed. “That sounded like permission to me! Everyone ready to get started?”

“I can’t believe I already met Lord Calamity…” Viney muttered in shock before she smirked and folded her arms. “Actually, I’m kinda impressed how well you played us, Luz.” Then her face dropped threateningly and she dragged her thumb across her throat. “But do it again and it’ll be the last thing you ever do alive.”

Amity was on her feet in seconds, blind rage making her limbs turn to static and her eyes fill with red.

“You wanna say that again?” she snarled, power already pooling at her fingertips, itching to form into a spell. She didn’t care that this was her sister’s girlfriend. No one threatened her Luz!

“Woah, woah!” Viney yelped, throwing her arms up in surrender. “It was just an inside joke! I would never actually hurt Luz.”

“I wouldn’t joke about that sorta thing in this house,” Eda said as she came back into the living room, a chair floating beside her that she dumped with an unceremonious thud. She flopped into it and leaned back to shoot Amity a smirk. “Boots is pretty protective.”

“I can see that,” Viney chuckled.

Heat flooded her cheeks again and Amity sat back down next to an equally red Luz, who was smiling at her like she’d hung the stars in the sky. She wasn’t sure whether to feel proud of standing up for her girlfriend or embarrassed for overreacting. Eventually, she settled on mortified and tucked her head down to stare at the floor as Luz cleared her throat.

“Okay, so I have some plans I drew up last night in my room,” she said, reaching over to give Amity’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll go grab 'em and, in the meantime, Amity can fill you all in on the details.”

While she darted up the stairs, Amity did her best to run through everything as quickly as possible, thankful when it seemed that everyone had decided to focus on the task at hand rather than her embarrassing outburst. She pointedly ignored the air of amusement rippling through the room and kept her voice steady as she explained the details of what they needed to do and why. Eda was surprisingly calm about having her secret divulged like this but then, Amity supposed it shouldn’t have shocked her given that it was barely a secret to begin with. For the most part, people knew. Maybe not the finer details, but the fact she was cursed for sure.

Viney and the boys listened with rapt attention, Eda’s curse seemingly only making her cooler in their eyes, if the looks of adoration on their faces was anything to go by. She was glad when Luz came thundering down the stairs, arms full of large, rolled up papers that she dumped beside the coffee table. With a huge grin spread across her face, Luz reached out and swept everything off the table with her arms so she could slap down one of the rolls and unfurl it with glee, revealing what appeared to be detailed diagrams, plans and notes on Eda’s cursed form.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” she said with utter delight. “It’s time to start planning!” 

Amity, on the other hand, looked at the papers and books that Luz had just scattered across the living room in horror. Papers and books Amity had meticulously arranged for maximum efficiency just a few hours earlier.

“Luz…” she all but whined, watching the papers flutter around the room in a chaotic mess. “That was my homework.”

***

Amity walked into Hexside the next day with a renewed sense of hope and purpose.

Their planning session with the Troublemakers had gone surprisingly well, once Luz had apologised and gathered up all of Amity’s poor homework. They hadn’t actually made any progress yet per say, but Barcus and Gus had come up with some great ideas that they would be working on together and Viney had agreed to work with her, Willow and Eda on the elixir. They were all planning on meeting back at the Owl House after school to start working on things together.

They were taking steps in the right direction. They had help now. More eyes on the problem, even if it meant Eda did a lot of grumbling about the amount of teenagers suddenly hanging out in her house. And the best part was she hadn’t even come close to a panic attack recently! Things were really looking up. Not even having to say goodbye to Luz as she headed into her morning Bard lesson could dampen Amity’s spirits. 

Being called into Principal Bump’s office right after her Healing class, however, definitely could.

She’d been told to go straight there and not to worry about missing her Magic History lesson, which was easier said than done. How could she not worry given how the last one had gone? Hopefully Willow and Gus would reign Luz in and not let her start any insurrections in the middle of class. Then again, knowing them, they’d be right there next to her, egging her on.

Amity didn’t know if she should laugh at her own silly idea or worry about it coming true. What she did know was that she really did not want to step into the office door she had just stepped up to. What in the name of Titan could Principal Bump possibly want with her? It couldn’t be about her class schedule. He’d seemed pretty keen on not changing it anymore and she was happy with the way it was now. But the only other thing she could think of made her skin crawl with anxiety.

Surely her parents weren’t involved… right?

She bit her lip and stared nervously at the door. There was no way. They weren’t in control of her place at the school and, thanks to the ritual they’d performed, didn’t hold any authority over her anymore. That thought twisted the knife of that loss painfully in her chest, but she forced the feeling away. Why should she be upset? They were monsters, as she’d so recently learned. There was no reason to feel sad about them abandoning her. She was better off.

A sigh slipped past her lips and Amity frowned, irritated at herself. She was wasting time. There was no reason to stand here and hesitate like a coward. She just needed to go in there and face whatever was waiting for her. Surely, after everything she’d gone through recently, a surprise meeting with Bump was nothing to be scared of.

Except, when she finally stepped into the room, it wasn’t just Principal Bump waiting for her.

Lilith Clawthorne sat primly on one of the chairs beside Bump’s desk, her hands folded neatly in her lap with all the grace of a predator in wait. She had that same air of cool, calculated control about her that Amity had come to know quite well during their training sessions. Sessions she hadn’t been to in weeks, she suddenly realised.

“Ah, Miss Blight. Thank you for joining us,” Bump said as she hovered near the door, his voice all pleasantries and warmth. Like there wasn’t an incredibly dangerous witch sitting opposite him right now. He gave Lilith a respectful nod and then stood, making his way around his desk. “Miss Clawthorne requested to see you privately, so I’ll leave you two to it. Do let me know when you’re done.”

Amity watched him go, wishing she could call out for him to stay, but cold fear had clamped itself around her throat. Lilith was a direct link to not only her parents, but the Emperor’s Coven and thus, the Conformatorium. Her legs shook dangerously as she watched Bump close the door behind him, leaving her alone with one of the most dangerous people on the isles to her specifically: the Head Witch of the Emperor’s Coven.

They stared at one another for a long, tense moment, Amity trying desperately to hide the fear threatening to overwhelm her. Lilith was so difficult to read and there was no telling what she might want from Amity. Did she know Amity was living with Eda? Was she here for information? Or maybe her parents had asked her to bring her in. Snatch her up and whisk her off to the conformatorium for ‘fixing’.

She swallowed thickly and the movement seemed to jumpstart something in Lilith. She rose to her feet in one, graceful motion, stepping forward to tower over Amity. Her cold, blue eyes scrutinized her carefully, which didn’t help the nervous tension building within Amity in the slightest and she had to force herself not to shrink back.

“You seem well,” she said suddenly and Amity blinked, confused at the strange start.

“I… yes? I’m fine, Miss Clawthorne.” Amity bit her lip when Lilith’s eyes narrowed a touch.

“I was going over my schedule and noticed that we have a training session today, but it occurred to me that you missed the last few. That’s very unlike you.”

It wasn’t a question, but Amity knew Lilith expected an answer anyway. She allowed just a bit of the tension in her to ease up. If Lilith was just here because she’d missed some training sessions, then surely she wasn’t in any immediate danger. It was weird Lilith still expected her to show up for those sessions in the first place, but she was notoriously busy and tended to ignore messages unless they were of the utmost urgency. It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility that Lilith had missed any messages her parents had sent about ending Amity’s mentorship with her. 

But something in the way she’d phrased her not-a-question irked Amity. It had only just occurred to her? She knew she wasn’t the only pupil that Lilith had, but it had been weeks now. She’d missed more than just a ‘few’ training sessions with her and she’d only just noticed? Amity bit back her irritation, knowing full well that Lilith had a short temper and forced herself to remain composed.

“I assumed they were canceled,” she said carefully. “Did my parent’s not contact you?”

That seemed to catch Lilith off guard and if Amity didn’t know better she’d swear she saw Lilith blush. Her mentor cleared her throat and the embarrassment on her face was gone before Amity could confirm she’d even seen it in the first place.

“Well, I’m extremely busy. It’s likely they tried and I simply missed their call. Regardless, I’ve taken notice now and I’d like to know why you’ve missed your last couple of lessons with me.”

“Five.”

Lilith tensed and she frowned down at Amity. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve missed five lessons,” Amity bit out, belatedly remembering to add, “Miss Clawthorne.”

They stared at each other again, Lilith’s mouth opening and closing awkwardly and Amity took some small petty delight in seeing her flounder. Served her right for apparently forgetting Amity existed. She watched as Lilith almost visibly counted back the number of lessons they’d missed, her eyes widening slowly as she realised Amity was right.

“Ah, I… see,” she said slowly. Lilith’s brows furrowed in what Amity might almost call concern, if she hadn’t just shown that she clearly did not think of her pupil very often. “Would you mind telling me why?”

Yes, actually. She did mind. She wasn’t really all that inclined to go into the whole sordid affair. Not with someone who had such close ties to her parents and should have known already. Amity was getting rather tired of the adults in her life tossing her aside whenever it was convenient for them.

And she was certainly not interested in sharing with someone that may well have done unspeakable things to witches like her. Or at the very least been involved, even if through inaction. But Lilith wouldn’t leave without some form of explanation, so she’d get the bare basics.

“For reasons that are none of your business, I no longer live with my parents. They’ve given up any and all connections to me, including financial ones. So it was my assumption that the lessons were no longer being paid for,” she grit out, just barely holding in her frustration. Lilith’s shocked look was just a little too much to bear, so she turned away. “They were certainly happy to try and kick me out of Hexside, so why would this be any different,” she added under her breath.

But apparently Lilith had heard and she let out a quiet gasp. “You are an excellent student, why would they do that?”

Amity pressed her lips into a thin line and glared up at her mentor, or ex-mentor now she supposed. When it was clear she wasn’t going to willingly offer more information, Lilith sagged and her expression fell into something that looked like real worry. It was almost enough to make Amity feel bad for being so stubborn with her.

“So… you no longer live at home?”

There was no stopping the grimace that twisted across her face and Amity dropped her gaze to her own shoes, arms involuntarily wrapping around herself. Why did it still hurt so much each time she was reminded of that? Why did she still miss it? It didn’t make any sense. The Owl House was her home now, she’d accepted that and had even started to think of it that way unconsciously. 

But a part of her still yearned for home and she hated it.

“I don’t live at Blight Manor anymore, no.” The silence that followed was almost painfully tense and awkward and Amity wished she could turn and bolt out of the room to escape it.

“If… if you need a place to stay…” A few weeks ago, Amity might have jumped at that offer. Lilith had been her idol for years. But now? She’d sooner sleep in her private study room at the library. Besides, the reluctance in Lilith’s voice was so comically obvious that Amity might have laughed if she didn’t feel a hair’s breadth from crying. She’d been having such a good day and now her emotions felt all twisted up and confusing again.

“No, I don’t. I’m staying with a friend.” That seemed to put Lilith at ease and she smiled at Amity in poorly disguised relief.

“Ah, good. Boscha, I assume? The two of you always seemed close. I’m glad she was there to help you. She’s a good friend.”

The laugh that burst out of Amity was loud, sharp and deeply incredulous. Boscha? What an absolutely ridiculous thought. 

“Boscha is not my friend. She wouldn’t so much as lift a finger to help anyone if it didn’t benefit her in some way.” The very thought was not only stupid but insulting to her real friends. Especially Luz, who wouldn’t hesitate to help a person in need, even if that person was Boscha. “Boscha is the worst kind of ‘friend’ a person could have. She’s selfish and cruel and manipulative and the fact you’d give her credit for what Luz did for me is absolu-” she froze, the words dying on her lips at the way Lilith’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Luz? You mean Eda’s human pet?”

“DON’T CALL HER THAT!” Amity bellowed, the fury in her own voice so visceral and raw that it startled even herself. She lifted a shaking hand to her mouth in shock. It was hard to tell if she was shaking out of fear for how Lilith would react or because of the very potent rage still coursing through her veins, sending her heart thudding against her ribs.

The last time she’d yelled at an adult in defense of Luz had been… she shoved that thought violently to the back of her mind. She could not allow herself to slip into a panic attack right now. With shoulders set and jaw clenched, Amity made herself glare directly into Lilith’s shocked eyes.

“I won’t apologize for my outburst,” she said stiffly. “Don’t you ever say that about her again. Luz deserves better than for bigoted witches like you to treat her like an animal. She’s a brilliant witch and an amazing person and she’s proven time and again that she’s just as good as any witch on the isles. Better even!”

“B-but… but she’s a criminal!” Lilith stammered. “She associates with my conniving sister and if you’re living with her that means… Amity, please tell me you’re not living with Edalyn!”

“So what if I am? Eda has been nothing but kind and welcoming to me, no matter how much trouble I cause her. And who cares if your stupid coven thinks she’s a criminal? Technically so am I!” She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate, her eyes beginning to burn, but Amity wasn’t sure how to stop it. Words were rushing out of her now, wildly out of her control. “I’m a runaway! My parents threatened to take me to the conformatorium, and I attacked my own father. So maybe I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be!”

“The conformatorium?” Lilith whispered, eyes widening even more. “Why would they-”

“That’s none of your business!” Stupid! Amity needed to stop talking. She was letting her emotions get the better of her and revealing too much.

“Amity, if you’re in trouble, there are ways I could help you.” Lilith’s hands were raised placatingly. Her tone gentle. Like she was trying to calm a cornered animal, which is exactly what Amity felt like right now. “You don’t know what you’re choosing by staying with Edalyn. There are things about her you don’t know. Things that make her dangerous. But I can help you, if you let me.”

She realised with sudden clarity that Lilith must be talking about the curse. She thought Amity didn’t know. Maybe she really was worried for Amity then, but that didn’t matter. The Owl House was home now and, if everything worked out how she hoped it would, Eda’s curse wouldn’t be an issue for long anyway. Lilith didn’t need to know what they were doing though, so it was time to end this before she accidentally let anything else slip.

“Eda took me in without a second thought. She accepted me for who I am, and actually notices when something’s wrong. Unlike you, who didn’t even realise when I wasn’t at scheduled lessons for weeks!” It was hard to describe exactly how much that hurt. To know that, despite the years they’d spent training together, the mentor she had believed cared about her barely thought of her. She glared at Lilith through watery eyes, but the older witch apparently had nothing to say in her own defense. So be it then. Amity turned away from her and made for the door.

“I’ve made my choice, whether you like it or not.” She kept her voice as steady as she could, turning just enough to look at Lilith over her shoulder. “I appreciate everything you’ve taught me about magic, but I won’t be coming to any more lessons with you. Consider my mentorship cancelled.”

The sound of Lilith’s voice calling out to her was cut off by the slam of the door. Amity let out a shuddering breath and then she was running, darting past a startled Principal Bump to get away as fast as she could. The empty hallways echoed with the pounding of her feet as she ran, fighting the frustration stinging at her eyes and a fresh sense of loss that made her heart ache. 

She’d trusted Lilith. Looked up to her and yearned for her approval for years. And now she was gone too, just like her parents.

Scrubbing her arm angrily over her streaming eyes, Amity hurried to the greenhouses for her next class, relieved at the knowledge that Luz would be there. Sure, she wanted to stand on her own two feet more, but if there was ever a time Amity needed her girlfriend’s soothing presence, it was now. 

The moment Luz saw her, she gathered her into her arms and held her, letting Amity cry into her shoulder in a quiet corner in the back of the greenhouse. When at last her tears had slowed down, Amity looked up to see Luz and Willow both watching her with obvious concern and the ache in her chest eased a little. 

She’d lost so much. Her parents. Her home. The future she’d worked so hard for. And now the person she’d idolised above all others. Most days she felt lost and broken and it was hard to believe she might ever be whole again.

But as she told her friends what had happened and they held her between them until her tears had finally stopped, Amity decided things would be okay. Because no matter how much losing all of that still hurt right now, she was getting better. And, she decided, she was going to build herself something new. 

A new life filled with people who really cared about her. People she’d chosen. Who had chosen her . A new life with a new dream and a new home.

 And by Titan, did it feel good.

Chapter Text

“Ok, so the list says we still need selkidomus bile, mirrorwart, and… three-tongued frog’s knees? Am I reading this right? Eda’s handwriting is terrible!” Luz tilted the list they’d gotten from Eda and squinted at it like that might change the words somehow.

“I’m no Potions expert yet, but I’m pretty sure the frog’s knees are to give the potion some extra kick.” 

Amity watched Luz’s face scrunch up in confusion, for all of ten seconds, before her eyes narrowed and she turned to give her a dramatically suspicious look.

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

She tried to keep her face straight, she really did, but it was a lost cause and the moment Amity cracked, Luz did too. They broke into a fit of giggles as Luz gave her a playful shove.

“It’s no fair for you to be this pretty and smart and cool and still be funny on top of it all!” The way Luz was looking at her sent warmth blooming across Amity’s cheeks, filling her up like the sun itself was smiling at her. It sort of was.

“I could say the same thing about you, Batata,” she replied and Amity was rather proud of how smoothly she’d managed to say it. Especially when Luz flushed so prettily and tucked her face back into the list to hide her red cheeks. Speaking of which. “The real question is does Eda want three tongue-frog’s knees or three-tongued frog’s knees. Because those are two very different things.”

Luz blinked at her, then down at the list and opened her mouth for a second before she grimaced. “Let’s just get both to be safe.”

“Good call.”

The crowded market streets bustled around them as Amity and Luz weaved between the tight press of bodies all clamouring for attention from the harried salesdemons. They’d been sent on a supply run to gather ingredients that Eda and Barcus had thought might be included in Eda’s curse elixir. The plan was to reverse engineer it and then, using Eda’s knowledge of Potions and Barcus’s ability to mix it with other Tracks, try to improve it so Eda wouldn’t need to take so many. Being able to make her own would also save Eda a ton of snails, which was a major bonus as far as Amity was concerned.

With most of their list already checked off, their last stop would be the Simmering Salt Apothecary, a store that specialised in ingredients that came from the boiling sea and its surrounding beaches. Amity knew it well. 

She’d made many trips to this exact store over the years. It was the best place to get the specific kind of sulphur-infused muck required for certain kinds of Abomination prep. They harvested it daily from steaming tide pools, so it was always fresh. These days she’d likely have to harvest her own muck if she needed to make specialty Abomination goo, but that was a problem for another day. Right now they had a list to complete and Amity Blight had never come across a list she couldn’t handle.

But as she made her way inside, instead of being surrounded by the familiar smell of brine and kelp, Amity walked face first into a barrier just inside the door. She yelped as she bounced off it, rubbing at her stinging nose while Luz rushed in front of her to anxiously look her over.

“Oh my gosh, Amity! Are you okay? That looked like it really hurt.” Her hands were warm against Amity’s cheeks as she cupped them to tilt her face left and right, checking her for any obvious injuries.

“I’m okay,” she said, gently pulling Luz’s hands away so she could look past her. “But how did you get past the barrier? And why is there a barrier there in the first place?”

“Huh.” Luz’s eyes darted around their feet as if she might be able to see the line she had somehow slipped past. “I dunno. Maybe whatever it is doesn’t affect humans?”

Amity frowned and reached a tentative hand out until it pressed flat into an invisible wall between her and Luz. It was solid, almost like glass, and when she squinted her eyes to try and find the spell matrix, she found nothing.

“This is so strange,” Amity murmured. She ran her hands over the wall curiously, ignoring the way Luz was waving her arms around to try and find the barrier as well. It seemed to curve inwards like a dome, so Amity squeezed past the gap near the door and walked along it into the store, using her hand to guide her around the edges of it. The store clerk was nowhere to be seen and, from what she could tell, the barrier appeared to be centered on a door leading into what must have been an office of some kind.

Luz followed her from within the barrier, still studying the air in an attempt to see whatever it was that was blocking Amity. “Do you think the owner was trying to stop people from stealing stuff while they’re out?”

“Maybe? If they are, they’re not doing a very good jo-” She was cut off by the office door opening to reveal two people Amity never thought she’d ever see again. Her blood ran cold.

“M-mom? Dad?”

Luz whirled around with a gasp, her eyes wide with horror, before she stepped protectively in front of Amity. But it wasn’t enough to shield her from the cold disinterest written all over her parents’ faces. Or from the memories.

She blinked and Amity was in the manor again. She could smell the ash and heat of the crackling fire that had consumed her diary. Feel the icy touch of her mother’s tight grip on her wrist and the cold dread of knowing she’d been found out. The sharp pain of her father’s hand on her face. Of their rejection.

Except this time, when she came back to herself, the nightmare wasn’t over. Because they were still here. The monsters that showed up in her dreams to drag her away to the horrifying fate she couldn’t even begin to comprehend but knew they had done to countless other witches. The parents she wished would come for her and tell her it had all been a mistake and that they still loved her. That they always had.

As they stepped into the main room of the store, the clerk scurrying after them, the barrier pushed forward and Amity was forced back until she was all but cornered near the shelves along the wall. Those few stumbling steps were enough to snap her back to reality and, as it pressed into her with their movement, she realised that this was no simple barrier against thieves. It was the Severance ritual they’d used to cast her out.

“Ah, I see the spell is doing its job,” Alador said. He barely glanced her way, the callous dismissal on his face clear as day. It hurt more than she thought anything could. She hated him. Hated them both. But still Amity wanted them to want her, even knowing what she did and she hated herself for that.

When neither she nor Luz moved in his direction, Alador turned to the store clerk who was watching them all from behind the counter. 

“You really should be more selective of whose business you take. I would prefer not to be subjected to unstable criminals and…” his eyes flicked briefly to Luz and he gave a disgusted sniff, “filthy animals.”

Luz’s entire body stiffened in front of Amity, her trembling fists clenched as they hovered near her pockets. Where Amity knew she kept her glyphs.

“Is that all you have to say after everything you’ve done to her?” Luz yelled, her voice pitched low with a fury she rarely showed.

Amity needed to distract her. Calm her down. But the shock, fear, and her own rage at hearing him talk about Luz like she was less than the dirt under his shoes were all threatening to overwhelm her. Amity felt her chest tightening and she clenched her hands into fists, nails digging into her skin so hard she was sure she’d break the skin. But the pain was grounding and she managed to reach out to pull Luz’s hand into her own, holding it carefully away from her pocket.

It was enough to get her to step closer to Amity and give her hand a reassuring squeeze. A silent reminder that she didn’t have to face this alone.

“All are welcome in the Simmering Salt Apothecary,” the felis demon hissed, his long tail flicking anxiously behind him. “Khajo has the wares, if they have the coin.”

Odalia scoffed at that. “If that’s the case, then perhaps we should take our business elsewhere. Blights deal only with the highest class establishments and anyone who deals with their sort clearly doesn’t qualify.”

Just like that, they were leaving, walking calmly to the door like they simply couldn’t be bothered to be here anymore. Like the daughter they had thrown aside wasn’t standing in the same room as them for the first time in weeks. Like she didn’t even exist.

Something in Amity went cold as she watched her parents head towards the door. Her fear and anxiety fell away until all that was left was grey numbness. And a single question.

“Were you going to be the one to do it?”

Her quiet question cut across the room like a blade and Odalia froze, her hand stopping just shy of the door handle. She turned slowly, carefully, to stare down at Amity, lip curled with suspicion. “What are you talking about?”

“Odalia,” Alador hissed but she ignored him. She and Amity watched each other and Amity could see the hesitation in her eyes.

“I know why you were going to take me to the Conformatorium. And what you’ve been doing there.” Luz’s hand tightened around her own, but Amity hardly noticed. “So, I want to know if you were the one who was going to do it to me.”

For the first time in Amity’s life, Odalia actually looked surprised. As if she’d been caught. It was almost sort of satisfying, to know she had gotten one over on her manipulative mother, but then a cold mask of indifference fell across her face and she sniffed derisively.

“Always with the melodrama. Why must you insist on making such a scene?” she said to no one in particular. Amity had always hated when she did that; speaking as if some unseen audience would agree with her that Amity was simply being difficult and poor Odalia had to suffer through it. “Whatever it is you think you know is of no concern to me. You and your dramatics are no longer my problem.”

“Yes,” Amity said, her heart twisting painfully in her chest. “You made sure of that, didn’t you?”

“You gave us very little choice. You were the one who decided to abandon the family for that… human.” She gestured at Luz like she was afraid she might bite her, face twisted up in disgust. “And anyone who willingly associates with creatures like that filthy thing can not be allowed to damage our reputation with their depravity.”

The grey calm vanished in a hot flash of rage and her vision went red. “Don’t you talk about my girlfriend like that!”

Her parents both inhaled sharply, her mother even going so far as to clutch at the gem hanging around her neck in apparent horror. Alador stepped around her to stare down his nose at Amity, eyes narrowed. Amity was forced back another step, the shelf behind her digging uncomfortably into her hip.

“You mean to tell me you are actually courting it?” he asked in hushed disbelief. “You know, there have been times I wondered if we went too far when we cast you out. If perhaps we overreacted. I even looked into ways to undo the ritual in case you ever decided you wanted to admit your faults and allow us to help you. But it would seem we made the right choice after all.” 

Her father’s tone was dangerously low and a little tendril of fear at the dark look in his eyes wormed its way up Amity’s spine amidst all the hurt and anger. Even now, with a literal magical wall between them, she was afraid of him. A distant part of herself wondered why she had never questioned that. Why had she never considered how wrong it was that she feared her own parents?

“We had such high hopes for you but you’ve failed us at every turn,” Odalia added. “You really are such a disappointment, Amity.”

Every word was another cut sliced into the open wound in her heart that had barely had time to begin healing. For her whole life, Amity had assumed her parents thought of her as a failure. Why else would they push her so hard otherwise? But hearing them actually say it out loud was devastating. She’d felt small in front of their towering expectations for as long as she could remember and now, even more so in the face of their disdain.

“What the heck is wrong with you? What kind of parents treat their daughter this way?” Luz snapped. She was practically vibrating with rage and Amity was pretty sure the only thing stopping Luz from slinging spells at them was the death grip she had on her hand. “Amity is the most amazing person I’ve ever met! She’s strong and brave and kind and clearly she deserves so much better than you! But I guess you’ve both got your heads too far up your own butts to see that. And who the heck even says things like ‘courting’ anyway? What is this? The Deadwardian era?”

Amity was half touched by how highly Luz thought of her (and a little impressed by her casually accurate use of Boiling Isles history) and half terrified of the way her parents were looking at Luz in the wake of her rant.

“So it knows how to speak? It’s more intelligent than we thought,” Odalia said with another condescending sniff, this time directed at Luz. “Do not presume to lecture us, little human. Lesser beings should know their place.”

“At least this ‘lesser being’ never abused her own kid! Or completely erased anyone’s mind just because she didn’t approve of who they love!”

“That is enough,” Alador snarled. “I will not stand here and have the Blight name sullied with false accusations by the likes of you. Thank you, Amity,” he added, turning his cold eyes on her. “This little display of defiance has been more than enough to show we were right to remove you from the family.”

“You were never my family.” 

Amity blinked into the silence that followed, surprised to hear her own voice. She hadn’t planned on saying it, but the longer she let the words hang in the air between them, the more she realised they were true. “For my whole life, I’ve done everything I could to be exactly what you wanted me to be. But… it was never going to be enough for you, was it?”

“Ugh, again with the melodrama,” Odalia said with a long-suffering sigh. “We gave you everything you could have ever wished for. You were spoiled and privileged and you had every opportunity to prove yourself worthy of the luxuries the Blight family name brings. Don’t blame us because you failed.”

“Yes, you gave me everything I could ask for,” Amity replied quietly. “But nothing I needed. I’ve seen what real families look like. Luz and Eda and King? They’re a real family. They love each other. They respect and support each other. They care about each other and they never have to earn any of it. That’s all I ever really wanted from you. I just wanted you to love me for me.”

Her throat tightened painfully, forcing her to stop talking. If she didn’t, she was sure the tears burning behind her eyes would never stop falling and she wasn’t going to give her parents the satisfaction of crying in front of them. Never again.

“There is no point in continuing this conversation,” Alador said. He grabbed Odalia by the elbow and turned her bodily towards the door. “If you are so convinced that a wild witch and her pets are a better fit for you then, by all means, return to them. You are no longer our concern.”

“Hey, you can’t just walk away! You owe her answers!” Luz yelled, but they were already stepping outside and, just like that, they were gone. The silence that followed the slamming of the door was deafening and it took everything in Amity not to break down right there and then.

They’d just left her.

Like she was nothing.

Again.

Her eyes burned and her throat tightened, but she wouldn’t break. Not here. So she took a slow, steadying breath and then turned to the wide-eyed demon behind the counter. “I’m sorry about all this. I didn’t mean to make a scene in your store.”

“Little one must not trouble herself,” he said gently. His large feline ears flicked irritably as he glared at the door her parents had stepped through. “Khajo can see who is wrong here. Khajo does not welcome the Blight elders back in the future.”

“But Blight Industries has been doing business here for years. You’ll lose a really big client if you do that!” Amity protested. She couldn’t let someone else’s livelihood be damaged because of her actions.

“This does not trouble Khajo,” he said with a dismissive wave of his claws. “Business from creatures who discriminate will harm Khajo’s reputation more than it will fill his pockets. This behaviour is not acceptable to Khajo.” He gave a toothy grin and shot them a wink. “Besides, Khajo does not think the Blight elders would appreciate the business of someone who they think so lowly of.”

Oh. She returned his smile with a weak one of her own. It was nice to be reminded that there were others like her out in the world. And others still who simply didn’t agree with her parents. Like Willow had said, no decent people thought that way.

“Now, what can Khajo do for the young witches?” He eyed the list in Luz’s hand curiously and gestured for her to hand it over. “Hmm, Khajo is not sure if you are needing three-tongued frog’s knees or three knees from the tongue frog. These are very different.”

Amity let Luz handle getting their supplies while she stood to the side, lost in thought. It wasn’t long before Luz was gently guiding her outside, her hand wrapped securely around Amity’s. They walked in silence for a while, until Luz apparently couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m sorry for yelling like that,” she murmured. “I made them mad and they left before we could find out the truth.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“But… now we’ll never know if she was going to do it.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Amity said with a sigh. “They were still planning to let it happen to me, so I don’t really care either way. And besides, my mother would never have told us anything. That would mean admitting to what she’s done to other witches and she’s not stupid enough to do that. Especially not with witnesses around.”

“I guess.”

She could feel Luz watching her, like she was worried she would shatter at any moment, and Amity wished she would stop because she just might.

“Are you… okay?”

“Yeah. Just tired.” 

It was a lie. An obvious one even. But Luz seemed to understand that Amity didn’t want to talk about it anymore so she pressed a soft kiss to her cheek and tugged her along into the bustling street headed towards home. When Amity leaned into her a little, Luz slipped her arm around her to pull her in close and said nothing, simply running her thumb soothingly over Amity’s shoulder. And that was enough.

“Hey, do you mind if we make a quick stop before we go back?” Luz asked after a few moments of blessed silence and Amity had to resist the urge to groan. Titan, she was so tired. All she wanted was to go home before the swelling tide of emotions trying to make their way up her throat managed to break free. But one glance up at Luz’s earnest expression was enough to make her cave, so she let Luz guide her down the main market road.

It wasn’t long before they had stopped in front of a stall Amity would have rather avoided for the rest of her life. But her withering glare only made Luz giggle.

“I thought, since we were in the area, maybe we could go bowling together. It’s been a while.”

“It’s been a week.”

“That’s forever in girlfriend time!”

As Luz poured over the colourful display, eagerly showing her every design that caught her eye, Amity allowed herself a small sad smile. Even though she knew Amity didn’t want to talk, she was still trying her best to cheer her up in her own way. To distract her from everything that had just happened. She cared so much and Amity would never stop being grateful for that.

***

When they finally made it back home, Amity slipped away with the excuse that she was feeling a little tired and wanted to take a nap. Luz hadn’t been fooled of course, it was clear in the worried look she was trying to hide behind an agreeable smile. She even offered to lie down with her, but Amity couldn’t handle her girlfriend’s endless patience and support. Not right now. 

She needed to be alone. 

And Luz, wonderful, kind, understanding Luz, promised Amity she would make sure no one bothered her for a while. So far, she’d kept that promise.

It wasn’t clear how long she’d been lying here, stewing in the silence of her room with her knees tucked up under her little Otabin plush and her face buried in his fuzzy head. She might have fallen asleep at one point. It was hard to tell. The soft, warm glow of the sun slanting through her window indicated it was probably mid afternoon, which meant it had to have been at least a few hours. But she didn’t care.

Amity had never been a wallower. It was kind of hard to wallow when you had so much to do every day and the constant threat of your parents’ wrath hanging over your head if you didn’t deliver. But right now? With her wounds freshly torn open and bleeding? It was all she wanted. To just lie here, tucked safely under her blanket and let the pain wash over her. To soak in it and just exist in this black hole she’d made for herself.

Maybe if she laid here long enough, her chest would stop aching and she’d feel less tender. Less empty.

It was sort of strange that she hadn’t cried yet. She’d certainly done plenty of that in the privacy of her room over the last few weeks. But something about these emotions just felt too big for tears. Like there was too much pain to fully process. It filled her so much that it felt like she was feeling everything and nothing all at once. 

Almost like the feelings didn’t really belong to her and she was just trying to pick her way through the messy, confusing maze they were making in her head.

Her eyes roamed numbly around the room, vision half-filled by Otabin’s pink head, not really focusing on anything in particular. It had all become so familiar. The plants she was somehow managing to keep alive. The cozy desk near the window, covered in her homework and a  myriad of drawings and stickers courtesy of her girlfriend. The little trinkets and pretty rocks Luz sometimes collected that were now sitting in the decorative bowl she’d bought for her at the market earlier. 

At some point all the gifted furniture, the stolen books and the colourful light scattering through the stained glass window had become hers and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that either. The Owl House had become her home and a small part of her felt guilty for every moment she was happy here. Like it was a betrayal of her old home. Of the family she’d left behind.

No, not left. Forced out of.

She needed to remember that.

She wished her stupid head would stop trying to tell her that the manor was still home. That she wanted to go back there. She didn’t. That place had made her miserable and she wasn’t wanted there anyway. She knew that. But knowing didn’t make it hurt less. 

And having a new home didn’t make it hurt less either.

Amity let out a slow, quiet breath through her nose and let her eyes drift shut, curling tighter around Otabin. It felt safer, to make herself small. To hide under the covers like a child and pretend the world didn’t exist. That the pain didn’t exist. Maybe eventually it would be true.

Unfortunately, the silence was shattered by a quiet knock at the door and she couldn’t help the small frustrated sigh that escaped her. She wasn’t ready. But whoever it was didn’t seem to care about that, because she heard the door creak open anyway. Then a soft, hesitant voice trailed across the room.

“Amity? You awake?”

Her eyes shot open. That wasn’t Luz. Or Eda or King for that matter.

She sat slowly, the blanket pooling in her lap with Otabin still clutched in her arms, as the twins stepped into the room and closed the door behind them.

“Ed? Em? What are you guys doing here?”

“Luz let us in,” Ed said as they moved to sit on the bed with her. “She said you might need some company.”

Okay, so apparently Luz’s patience did have its limits. She supposed she couldn’t blame her, even if having her solitude intruded upon like this was a little annoying. Luz had been worried about Amity, for good reason, and she wasn’t exactly giving her any reason not to.

“No,” she huffed, trying her best not to sound too irritated. “I mean what are you doing here? How did you get away?”

“Oh. Well…” Edric bit his lip and the twins glanced at each other awkwardly. “We overheard mom and dad talking about seeing you in the market. We figured there was no way that went well and uh…”

“We decided it was worth the risk of sneaking out,” Emira finished for him. “Besides, they’ve been less uptight about it since we’ve been on our best behaviour. They even got rid of the guards that were following us around, so it wasn’t all that hard. We should be able to come over more now.”

Of course it was because of their parents. Amity sighed and flopped back onto her pillow, tugging the blanket back over herself until she was fully hidden beneath it. She’d missed her siblings. She really had. But with how strung out she felt, she wasn’t entirely sure she could handle the twins right now.

“I’m fine,” she muttered from under her blanket. “You didn’t need to risk getting caught over this.”

“Mittens, you’re literally hiding under the covers right now,” Edric said and then he let out a pained hiss, presumably because Emira had hit him.

“What he means is, it’s obvious you’re not fine, Amity. Will you come out so we can talk?”

Her eyes were burning again but Amity fought it off. She really did not want to start crying in front of them.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said bitterly. “They made it clear they made the right decision. Talking isn’t going to change that.”

“Well… no, it won’t,” Emira replied. “But it might make you feel a little better.” 

Amity felt the gentle pressure of a hand resting on her shoulder over the blanket and threw it off with a sharp shake of her arm. She curled further into herself, tugging Otabin closer to her chest so she could bury her face in him again.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

There was a pause. She imagined they were looking at each other, doing that annoying thing where they communicated without saying anything. They’d used that against her for years and she hated it.

“Ok, then we won’t talk,” Edric said. “We’ll just sit here with you for a bit, okay?”

The hand came back. Hesitant. Slow. This time Amity didn’t toss it off.

It was all she could do to keep her breathing steady and the tears at bay.

The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity, with Amity tucked away in her safe, warm blanket cocoon while the twins simply sat nearby and waited. No one moved or spoke and it made every sound in the room somehow louder. She listened to their quiet breathing. The occasional shuffle as Edric shifted very slightly, unable to sit fully still for so long. The two of them just existing with her so she wouldn’t be alone. 

It was nice. Almost… soothing.

Eventually the lump in her throat loosened and her eyes stopped stinging just enough for her to lift her face away from Otabin and take a small, shaking breath.

“Mom called me a disappointment.”

No one said anything, but the tension rolling off the twins was palpable, even if she couldn’t see them. The admission brought the lump right back up her throat, tightening it painfully, but with it came a rush of words that would not be held back. So Amity set them free.

“My whole life, I’ve done everything they ever asked.” It started small. Like admitting all of this would somehow get her in trouble. But as she spoke her voice rose along with her bitter anger. 

“I worked and trained and studied for hours every day. I aced every test. I’m the top student in my year for Titan’s sake! I did every showcase for dad’s designs and let them parade me around on that stupid stage like a puppet for years. I gave up my friends and my freedom and I tried so hard to be what they wanted me to be. I tried so hard to be perfect for them!” 

Her eyes were swimming when she shot upright to glare at the twins, tossing her blanket and Otabin aside. “And for what? Even after all that, it was never enough! I did everything. Everything she ever asked! But she was still never proud of me!”

All the air rushed out of her lungs as everything came crashing down on her. All the years of pain and misery. The years of expectations and dismissals of her achievements. A lifetime of being told she wasn’t good enough. Of abuse. She knew that now. And then even after all that. After all her efforts to be the perfect Blight that they wanted her to be, she’d been tossed aside anyway. Twice.

“I-I just… I just w-wanted them…” She swallowed hard, her voice broken and shaking as the tears finally slipped down her cheeks. “I just wanted them to love me.” 

She looked up at the twins desperately, her eyes streaming.

“Why don’t they love me?”

Emira was on her in seconds, pulling her tightly into her chest as the first sob bubbled out of Amity. She buried her face in Emira’s shoulder and wept, clinging to her back so hard her fingers hurt. Then Edric was holding her too, the three of them curled up together as the tidal wave of emotions she’d been holding back crashed over Amity, threatening to sweep her away. 

Loud, violent sobs shook through her whole body, tearing at her like a gorenado ripping through the walls she’d built up around herself, only to unleash everything she’d ever pushed down in a torrent she couldn’t control. Every harsh word or cold stare flowed out of her and soaked into Emira’s shoulder until Amity’s eyes were raw. Until her voice cracked and the cries became wails and broken gasps for air. Through it all, the twins held her. They held her until her sobs turned to whimpers, then sniffles, then finally shuddering breaths and the occasional hiccup. 

And still they didn’t let go.

When it was finally over, Amity simply sat and breathed, her head throbbing and eyes aching. Her throat felt like it was made of sand. She was still so tired. 

She’d never felt so vulnerable.

But something in her felt just a little bit lighter.

They sat there, huddled together for a long time. Surrounded by the warmth of her siblings, Amity let her body unclench and her breathing even out, leaning heavily into Emira as she gently rocked them. But eventually Edric couldn’t take it anymore. He shuffled uncomfortably behind her and the peaceful moment was broken.

Amity’s attention was drawn to the way his knee was sort of digging into her back. To how Emira’s head was heavy on her own, her chin hard and too pointy against her scalp. Her legs were falling asleep. Edric shifted again and drew in a breath like he was getting ready to speak. He really never had been very good at being still.

“I think…” Edric paused, thinking. Choosing his words carefully. “I don’t think mom and dad really know what love is.”

He pulled away, giving Amity room to sit up and rub at her wet eyes, though Emira didn’t seem ready to let her go just yet.

“What do you mean?” Emira asked.

“I mean, have they ever cared about anything other than money or their reputations? I don’t remember ever seeing them hug or kiss or even just say something nice to each other.”

“That’s…” Emira sighed and ran her hand down her face. She looked about as tired as Amity felt. “That’s kind of messed up.”

“It’s the truth though.”

It was. Their parents showed each other about as much affection as they’d ever shown Amity, which was none at all. But she’d known that already. Just like she’d known that, had she not been kicked out, they would have eventually forced her into the same sort of marriage they had.

“Yeah, I guess.” Emira smiled at them sadly. “Let’s just forget about them. It doesn’t matter what they think anyway.”

Anger flared hot and bright inside her and Amity shoved her way out of Emira’s arms.

“That’s easy for you to say!” she snapped. “They didn’t kick you out. You still get to go on like nothing’s really changed. You still get to live at home!”

Emira stared at her in shock, as if her outburst wasn’t entirely warranted, and Amity seethed.

“Ed…” Emira said, slow and careful. Like it might set Amity off again. “Could you give us some privacy? I think Amity and I need to talk.”

He looked between the two of them nervously, but a quick glare from Emira was all it took for him to nod and slip out of the room, leaving Amity alone with her sister.

“What if I don’t want to talk about it,” she grumbled. Hadn’t she dealt with enough today? She didn’t want to have to think about Emira and the messy feelings she had wrapped up around her.

“Amity, we’ve put this off for too long. Please,” Emira said and the pain in her voice only made Amity angrier. As if she was the one that was being hurt here!

“Fine!” she snapped. “Let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about how you and Ed got away with everything growing up, while I had to deal with mom always breathing down my neck every second of every day. You guys mess around and play pranks on everyone, including me, and you never, ever study but somehow I’m always the one that gets into trouble if I do just the tiniest thing wrong. It’s not fair!”

Fresh tears sprang to her eyes but she swiped them angrily away. 

“I always get yelled at. I always get told to work harder and be better and I was the one they got rid of just for being me! Even though you’re just like me! It’s not…” her voice broke and she hugged her arms tightly around herself as all the anger faded into something cold and bitter. “It’s not fair.”

The air stretched between them like an open wound. Heavy. Thick with tension. Amity wished Emira would say something. Yell at her. Tell her she was wrong. That she was being dramatic. That things weren’t as bad as they’d always seemed and maybe there was some reason for it all. Maybe Amity deserved it. At least then it would make some sick sort of sense. 

She just wanted to know why.

“You’re right. It’s not fair. It never was,” Emira murmured at last and Amity blinked in surprise. There was genuine guilt written all over her face and Amity hated it. It made her insides twist with shame. “I… never really knew you were dealing with all of that.”

Amity huffed bitterly. “That’s because you guys never bothered to ask.” She scrubbed at her eyes again, hating how much she’d already cried. Hating that she knew it wasn’t over. “You treated me like an outsider. We all had to deal with them, but you had Ed. You guys were a team. When things got bad you helped each other but… I didn’t have anyone.”

“We both wish we could take that back.” Emira scooted a little closer, but stopped when Amity drew away. She sighed, slow and sad. “We’ve talked about it a lot ever since that whole thing at the library with Luz. Ed and I… we know we were the ones who started everything. Mom and dad drove us crazy and you were… small. You didn’t fight back. Not really. It made it easy to take our frustration out on you. And the angrier we made you, the better we’d feel.”

She let out a shaky breath, fingers curling tightly around her long, green braid in an anxious tick Amity rarely saw her do.

“Then mom stopped paying attention to us at all and we got jealous that she was focusing on you. So when you started trying to get us in trouble, it was like we had an excuse to keep going,” she added quietly.

“I didn’t want that kind of attention from her. It was awful. And I only started trying to get you in trouble because you wouldn’t leave me alone,” Amity muttered. She couldn’t look at Emira. It hurt too much. “I already had to deal with mom and dad comparing me to you guys all the time. They were always reminding me how much better you were at everything and it drove me nuts! I wanted them to see that I wasn’t the only one that wasn’t perfect. You all made sure I never forgot I was the weakest Blight and I wanted to prove you wrong. But in the end, it didn’t matter. I still got kicked out and you got away with it. Like always.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Emira wailed, her voice cracking painfully as tears streamed down her face. “I wish I could take it back. I wish I could fix it. But I don’t know how!” She sprang to her feet, pacing restlessly across the room, arms gesturing wildly. “What do you want me to do, huh? March up to them and confess? Should I tell them Ed and I skip more classes than we go to? Or do you want me to tell them I’ve had a girlfriend for over a year so I can get kicked out too? What good would that do!”

“You could have at least told me so I didn’t feel so scared and alone!” Amity yelled back and that stopped Emira in her tracks. She turned to look at Amity, the sorrow in her eyes almost too hard to bear. It made Amity feel guilty for being mad and she hated that too, because she shouldn’t have to. Not after everything they’d all done to her.

“I never would have felt safe doing that,” Emira sighed. “I considered it once, when I realised you were like me. You didn’t exactly hide it well, especially after Luz came here, and I thought, maybe it was something we could bond over. Then maybe we could fix everything that was so broken between us. But I was terrified you’d use it against me the first chance you got.”

“I know I tried to get you guys in trouble a lot, but I would never have done that.”

“I know that now,” Emira admitted as she moved to sit beside Amity again, burying her face in her hands. “I should have known it all along. Maybe everything would have been different if I’d just talked to you. I was just… scared. I’m sorry.”

Sitting there, hunched over and trembling, hiding not unlike Amity had been, Emira looked somehow smaller. She had always been the strongest of them. Looking after Edric when he got himself hurt messing with explosives. The first to step up when their parents rarely confronted the twins. The oldest. The most mature.

Emira had seemed like this out of reach goal for the kind of strength and grace Amity secretly wished she could emulate. When she wasn’t furious with her. But now she just looked… small. Like a kid. A strange sort of dissonance settled over Amity as she was suddenly reminded that Emira was only two years older than her and she had to look away, staring instead at where her hands were curled into fists on her knees.

Maybe she’d been a little harsh. The twins had been jerks, sure, and she was still so angry that Emira had left her to struggle on her own. But she didn’t hate her. Or Edric for that matter. She never had and, if she were being honest with herself, she had sort of done the same thing to Willow. 

Not right away. At first Amity had simply stood by while Boscha and her friends had their fun, hoping it would push Willow away enough for her to avoid them all. But eventually, when the pressure and the anger and the frustration had become too much for her, Amity had joined in. Because Willow didn’t fight back. Because she felt better in the moment, even if later she’d hate herself for it. In the end, she wasn’t all that different from her siblings.

With a long, slow sigh, Amity let herself fall against Emira and rested her head on her sister’s still shivering shoulder.

“I’m sorry too,” she said. When Emira lifted her head to look at her, Amity had to look away again, unable to handle the tears in Emira’s eyes. “I don’t actually want them to kick you out.”

Emira let out a wet chuckle and wiped weakly at her eyes. 

“Gee, thanks.” When Amity glared at her, Emira’s smile widened a little into something less hurt. Softer. Understanding. “I know.”

They sat quietly for a while, neither quite okay just yet, but better. There was a sense of something having shifted between them. Something significant that had drawn them closer, and Amity felt like she could breathe a little easier. Not just around her sister, but in general. Like the wound in her chest wasn’t quite so raw and weeping anymore.

“Guys? Can I come back in? Hooty has been staring at me through a window for the last five minutes and I’m sort of freaking out,” Edric called through the door and Emira rolled her eyes. Amity was pleasantly surprised when she looked to her for permission and only called him in when she nodded. They’d never cared about her boundaries like that before. It was nice.

Edric scrambled into the room, breathing hard and pressing his back into the shut door like he was hiding from an Emperor’s Coven scout after a particularly explosive prank.

“Thanks,” he said when his breathing had slowed. “That thing is creepy.”

“Hooty’s alright,” Amity said with a small smile as Edric came over to flop down beside her. “In small doses.”

“Sure he is,” Edric replied doubtfully. Then he looked between them and frowned. “You guys all good now? I heard a lot of shouting.”

“You were listening?” Emira gasped. “You were supposed to give us privacy, Ed!”

“We’re okay,” Amity cut in. She didn’t want things to devolve into an argument right now. Not when they finally felt a little settled.

“Oh, that’s good.” Edric grinned at them and then fell over to lie back on the bad, arms sprawled out to the sides. “Glad you guys made up. I was getting really tired of Emira feeling sorry for herself.”

“Oh, shut up,” Emira grumbled.

Amity smiled then as they fell into a comfortable silence. But, as loath as she was to break the peace in the room, there was one more thing she desperately wanted to know.

“Hey, Em?” she asked into the still air. “Did you guys… know what mom was doing? To witches like us?”

Emira let out a long breath and slipped her arm around Amity to pull her in close. Ever the protective older sister.

“Yeah, we did. It was actually Ed that figured it out.”

“I was hanging out with Jerbo and Barcus a couple years back,” Edric added. “They were talking about the other Tracks they wanted to learn and Barcus was going on about all the stuff you can do with Oracle magic. That’s when it clicked.” 

Emira took another steadying breath as she rested her head against Amity’s. “That was part of the reason I was so scared.”

“And why you got so mad that day at school?”

She let out a small huff of a laugh through her nose. “Yeah, exactly.”

Amity sat with that for a moment. Let the thought linger before she let it go with a sigh.

“Our parents are monsters.”

The twins both hummed in agreement and that was it. What more needed to be said, really?

“You know, since we’re all sharing,” Edric said from where he was still lying on his back, squinting at the ceiling. “I’m gay too.”

Amity froze, turning to see him shoot her a grin that she barely registered. She was too busy trying to decide if she was angry at him or not. But then a small smile spread across her face and she let out a snort.

“Mom and Dad are gonna be so mad when they find out Ed’s the only one who likes boys.”

Then they were all laughing and, for once, the only tears were ones of joy. Maybe it was a little twisted that they were laughing so hard about this. About how messed up their parents were and all the terrible things they’d done. 

But here, sharing this dark humour over their shared trauma with her siblings, Amity felt free.

***

The twins hadn’t been able to stay for much longer after that. It was too risky given this was their first time sneaking out since their lock down and neither wanted to take the chance of getting caught. But before Amity let them go, she got them to agree to help with the curse research, with Eda’s permission of course. After all, Blight manor had an extensive library and there was bound to be something useful in there. Maybe.

Maybe she just wanted an excuse for them to come over more.

Once they left, Luz had been all apologies about letting them in after she'd promised no one would bother her, but Amity cut her off with a kiss and thanked her. She'd needed that time with the twins and she was desperately grateful that Luz had broken her promise. But Luz insisted on making it up to her anyway, which apparently meant an evening of cuddling and watching old Azura movies together, surrounded by plushies and snacks. That night, wrapped up in her snoring girlfriend’s arms, Amity slept better than she had in years.

Today, however, Amity found herself lying on her bed alone, staring up at the ceiling much like Edric had the day before. Luz had been sent off on a “potions delivery quest” as she put it, and Amity had begged off, not quite ready to step foot in the market after her last visit.

But now she felt restless.

With no Luz to distract her, Amity couldn’t stop thinking about her parents. For once, she didn’t miss them. The little kid in her still ached for them a little, but that was getting easier to ignore with time. Right now, with everything she’d learned and experienced recently, Amity was starting to realise that maybe what she really wanted was more distance from them.

As she rolled over to get comfortable, a lock of hair fell in her face and she frowned as her vision filled with green. The same green she’d worn for years now. Just as her mother liked it. 

Green was a Blight colour. The twins had been blessed with it, as Odalia had once said. According to her they were “a nice little matching set”. But Amity? She stood out with the auburn hair she’d inherited from her father and that just wouldn’t do, now would it? Odalia couldn’t have that. So she’d begun dyeing it to make them all match. To hide Amity’s flaws.

She hadn’t exactly been thrilled at the time, but Amity had convinced herself it was okay. Green wasn’t so bad and now she matched Azura. That was pretty cool, right?

But as she stared at the green strands, all Amity saw was her mother and she felt her stomach twist with revulsion. She sat up sharply. She may not be able to change what had happened, but this, at least, was something she could control. She just needed to figure out how.

The soft patter of feet on the hardwood floors drew her attention to where King was strolling past her door, probably headed to Luz’s room to nap on her bed, and an idea sparked to life within her.

“Hey, King?” He paused mid-step with a startled “weh” and turned to look at Amity curiously. “Do you know where Eda is right now?”

“Eda? She’s on the sofa watching trashy reruns and taking up all the good napping room,” he grumbled. Then he tilted his head at her curiously. “Why?”

“I need her help with something,” Amity replied, already hopping to her feet to head downstairs.

“Wait… if she’s gonna help you, that means I can steal my napping spot back!” With an adorably evil little cackle, he ran at Amity and leapt up onto her shoulder, pointing aggressively towards the stairs. “Take me to the living room so I can conquer the foul witch who dethroned me!”

Amity snorted and rolled her eyes, even as she tucked him more securely into place. “Is it really conquering if you’re sneaking in while she’s distracted?”

“Silence!”

She stifled a giggle and made her way downstairs, where Eda was slumped so low onto the couch it was a wonder she hadn’t slid off it already. The crystal ball cast flickering light over her slack face as she flipped through the channels with a lazy flick of her finger, her other arm cradling a ludicrously large bowl of popgore. Amity watched as she stuffed a handful into her mouth, the savoury bones crunching between her teeth in a way that made Amity’s stomach rumble hungrily. Oh right, she hadn’t eaten yet today. But that could wait.

“Um, Eda?”

Eda’s head lolled to the side like it took all the effort in the world to look at her. 

“What is it, Boots? If you’re looking for Luz, she’s still out delivering potions.” Her back arched in a deep stretch before she sank back into the cushions with a relaxed sigh. “I finally caught up on all those extra orders so today is all about putting a permanent impression of my butt on these cushions.”

“Oh.” Amity’s shoulders fell but she tried to keep the disappointment off her face as she made to leave. “Sorry, I’ll let you relax. Titan knows you’ve earned it.”

“Hold it!”

She froze and turned to see Eda hauling herself upright with a groan. The look on her face was somehow stern and gentle all at once and something about it made Amity’s gut twist uncomfortably. It was almost… maternal and she still wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of things like that. Especially not after getting pretty much the opposite from her actual mother just the day before.

“You look like you either want something or something in my house has been destroyed.” Her eyes narrowed almost suspiciously for a second before her lips curved into a cheeky grin. “Since Luz and King are usually the ones breaking stuff, what do you need?”

“Hey!” King protested, but no one paid him any mind.

“I wanted to ask if maybe you could… help me dye my hair? But, you don’t have to! It can wait. Or I can figure it out on my own. It’s not a big deal. I don’t want to interrupt your plans.” The words rushed out of her against her will and Amity grit her teeth to hold in any more that tried to worm their way out. Why did she always ramble like that? She really needed to get that under control…

But Eda’s smile softened anyway and she pressed her hands into her knees to push herself up off the sofa.

“Geez, kid, you make it seem like you’re asking me for my bile sac.” She strolled over, casually tossing her arm around Amity’s shoulder to guide her towards the kitchen. “I can whip up a batch of colour draught in minutes. It’s okay to ask for things sometimes, okay? Especially when it’s something that’ll help you.”

“I… I know. I’m trying,” Amity said quietly, dropping her eyes to her feet. It was hard to look at Eda when she was looking back with so much genuine care and understanding.

“That’s all anyone can ask of you.”

Amity was saved from replying by her stomach rumbling loud enough to make them both jump and she let out an involuntary squeak as heat flooded her cheeks. Eda stopped midstride to look down at her in shock before she snorted and turned to point at King, who had snuck his way onto Eda’s vacated spot on the couch.

“King! Grab the popgore and get your fuzzy butt to the kitchen. You’re helping!”

That was how Amity found herself planted at the large kitchen table, King ‘helping’ her finish off the popgore while Eda worked a foamy white solution into her hair.

“Luckily for you I had the colour stripper ready to go.” She let out a cackle and Amity could only imagine the sly look on her face as she added, “I was planning on pranking Lily with it, but I think this is a much better use for it.”

Amity’s throat tightened a little at the mention of her old mentor, but she ignored it. “I was kind of surprised to learn Lilith dyes her hair,” she said. 

The day Luz had sneakily shown her the old grudgby photo of Eda and Lilith had been eye opening for Amity. Seeing Lilith with her bushy mane of red curls had been like looking at a completely different person and she’d had trouble reconciling the two versions of Lilith in her head.

“What, did you think the goth look was natural?” Eda chuckled and with a quick spin of her finger, the now familiar grudgby photo floated out of her hair. It hovered in front of Amity before flipping itself open to reveal Lilith in all her bushy haired glory and Eda let out a snort. “Lily’s hair was bigger and redder than mine! She only started dyeing it after she joined the Emperor’s Coven. Thought it made her look all dark and mysterious. If you ask me, she just looks depressed.”

Amity grinned at that. Lilith did always have a sort of dour expression on her face. She’d seen this picture of her, of course, but kept that to herself. No sense in getting Luz in trouble.

“You know,” she said with a small smile. “Somehow it doesn’t surprise me that your hair used to be flaming red.” Eda was wild, fiery, and powerful. It was very fitting. 

“Yeah, I’ve always been hot.” The smugness rolling off her made Amity roll her eyes fondly. Then Eda’s hands stilled in her hair and she leaned around to give Amity a dangerous look. “If you ever tell Luz I made a pun, I’ll hex your hair so bad it falls out and never grows back.”

“Not a word, I promise,” Amity said with a laugh. She would love to see Luz’s reaction but it definitely wasn’t worth going bald at fourteen. Eda gave a satisfied nod and then moved to rinse her hands while the potion did its work. Amity watched her go about setting up a small cauldron to make the colour draught before she pulled her thick, grey hair up into a ponytail. It really did look good on her and Amity found herself adding, “I prefer your hair this way. It suits you.”

Eda gave a bark of laughter and turned to wink at her. “I could pull off any colour. I make this look good.”

Amity and King shared a look and she giggled when he rolled his eyes so hard he almost fell off the table with a startled “weh!” It was quiet for a while after that, the only sounds in the kitchen coming from Eda mixing up ingredients while King and Amity munched on the popgore together.

“Okay, the base is done,” Eda said, slowly stirring the clear simmering liquid. “Now, what colour did you wanna do? I could probably make a pretty good match to your roots.”

“I dunno…” Amity said hesitantly. “My natural colour matches my father’s.”

“How about something new then?”

Amity frowned thoughtfully. It was getting easier with time to make these sorts of decisions for herself, but she was still new to it. How did one choose something so important? Did it need to represent her somehow? Or was she supposed to try and project who she wanted to be, like Lilith had? Who even was she, really? Everything lately had left her feeling mostly lost and confused, but it was time for that to change. 

She thought hard about all the things she liked. All the things that she felt connected to. Who she wanted to be. Then she smiled.

“I think I might have an idea.”

When she told Eda her choice, the Owl Lady grinned at her and nodded approvingly. It wasn’t long before she was back behind Amity, carefully working the newly completed potion into her hair.

“I gotta say, Boots” Eda said, her tone light and playful. “You’re going about this whole healing business in a very stereotypically gay way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dyeing your hair after a rough patch is practically gay culture,” Eda laughed. “Next thing I know you’re gonna come home with a couple new piercings and a tattoo.” 

Amity scoffed at that. “I’m not ready for a tattoo.” She hesitated and then grinned. “Some piercings could be cool though.”

“Look at you! There’s a bad girl in there after all.”

A soft smile lifted the corner of her lips as a comforting sort of warmth washed over her and Amity found herself relaxing as Eda worked her fingers through her hair. This was nice. It felt almost… like she belonged.

“You’ve been through a lot in the last couple weeks. How are you holding up?” Eda asked. The concern in her voice made Amity’s chest ache with something like longing, though for what she wasn’t quite sure.

“It’s been… hard,” she admitted. “Every time I think I’m getting better, something else happens and then I feel awful again.”

“Yeah, it’s like that sometimes. What happened to you was… well, no kid should ever have to go through that sort of thing,” Eda said, quiet and full of understanding. “But don’t put too much pressure on yourself, okay? Healing isn’t linear. You’re gonna have good days and bad days and that’s okay. It’s okay not to be okay sometimes. You just gotta give yourself time.”

“Have you… healed?”

The question slipped out before she could stop it and Amity’s breath caught in her throat when she felt Eda’s hands go still. She turned slowly to peek at her over her shoulder and caught Eda’s eyes flicking briefly to the gem set at her chest, her expression distant and pained. Then she blinked, slipped on a smile and gave a nonchalant shrug.

“You know me. Nothing gets me down.”

They lapsed into silence again. Eda carefully combing the potion through her roots, King munching away at the leftover popgore, and all the while Amity’s mind was stuck on that faraway look she’d seen in Eda’s eyes.

Maybe healing wasn’t linear after all. It was scary to think that this could still be affecting her for years to come. That the hurt and the fears this had caused might never fully go away. But, as she thought back on everything she’d seen since coming here, Amity felt hopeful.

Because yes, Eda was still obviously haunted by her curse, but she was also happy. Strong. Kind. She hadn’t let it completely destroy her and Amity didn’t have to either.

It felt like she understood Eda better now. And maybe Eda understood her too. So, for the first time, Amity allowed herself to fully relax around her. To let down her guard. To do something she’d never been able to do around her actual parents.

To trust her.

For the first time, Amity felt like she truly belonged here and that was what opened her eyes to what she’d been feeling all day. The nagging restlessness. The way her thoughts kept jumping back to her parents and all the awful things they’d done. It wasn’t just that she wanted distance. It was more than that.

“I don't think I want to be a Blight anymore.”

There was a quiet beat where the words just hung in the air. The confession made Amity’s stomach twist with anxiety and a familiar old fear that she would get into trouble. But then Eda chuckled, small and soft, and the tension eased.

“That's ok. You can be a Clawthorne if you like.” She said it like it was no big deal. Like it was a given. Amity’s chest filled with the warmth of it, her eyes prickling so she had to blink to keep them clear. “At least until you become a Noceda.”

The shock of that forced a laugh out of her and she turned her misty eyes up at Eda with a grin.

“Eda!”

When Eda was done cackling at her and things went quiet again, Amity dropped her gaze to the table, her cheeks warm and her heart filled by a rush of gratitude.

“Thank you…” she said, her voice thick with raw emotion. Eda’s hands stilled again, just for a moment. Just long enough for it to be clear she knew that Amity wasn’t just thanking her for dyeing her hair. 

When she started moving again, she cleared her throat, but it wasn’t quite enough to hide the slight tremor in her voice.

“Don't mention it.”

When they were finally done with the colour draught, Amity was even brave enough to ask Eda to give her a trim, something she was apparently pretty good at after years of cutting her own hair. And if she cried a little when Eda said she was proud of her for asking, no one said anything about it.

As Amity stared at herself in the mirror King was holding up for her, a strange mix of fear and excitement worked its way up her spine. The soft lavender in her hair was pretty and she liked the way her new bangs fell in her face. Eda had even managed to fix her undercut, which had been in desperate need of some upkeep and she found she didn’t mind the bits of her natural colour peeking through. It was a small reminder of who she’d been.

But as much as she liked it, she looked so… different. Like a totally new person and that was a little scary. Was this the real her? It felt like it, but how was she even supposed to tell? And worse! What if Luz hated it?

“What do you think?” she asked, trying not to show how anxious she was suddenly feeling.

“Girl, you look incredible!” King said with a sassy little wave of his claws that made Amity smile. “Once again we have proven that we are style geniuses!”

“We? I’m the one that did all the work. All you did was sit there and eat all the popgore,” Eda said with a snort.

“I was here for moral support!”

“Yeah, right.” Eda rolled her eyes fondly before she looked down at Amity and gave her a warm smile. “I think the kid's gonna lose her mind.”

“Really?” Amity asked and Eda shot her a wink.

“Trust me.”

When Luz finally came home, inexplicably covered in trash slug slime and utterly exhausted, she did in fact lose her mind. And between all the gushing compliments, awed looks, and overwhelming kisses peppered across her face, Amity decided this was exactly who she was. 

A witch who, despite everything she’d gone through, was surrounded by people who loved her. Who gave her the time and space to be who she wanted to be. A witch who would choose her own path but still ask for help when she needed it, because that was okay.

A witch who was going to be okay.