Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Let’s go over what we know.” Viney looked at Jerbo and Barcus, her mouth pulled into a tight line as they huddled together in their hideaway. 

“First-” Jerbo started, clearing his throat. “The Blight family is one of the most influential families on the Boiling Isles, hailing from a long lineage of incredibly powerful magic wielders. Old blood, older money.” 

“Second-” Viney continued. “All three of the current Blight heirs attend Hexside; Amity Blight, Emira Blight, and Edric Blight, taking the Abomination and the Illusion tracks respectively.” 

“Woof!” Barcus added, garnering a nod from both of his witch companions. 

“Right. So the only mystery that remains is...what do they want from us?” 

The question hung heavy in the silence that followed; for the last week the Blights, specifically the older twins, had been trying to initiate some sort of complex rich witches’ ritual with them, extending social graces that the trio were, honestly, unequipped to reciprocate in any meaningful way. The first time they figured it had just been a coincidence? The second time, however, they'd only managed to escape thanks to Viney’s quick thinking and a nearby piece of chalk. The third time it’d been inescapable; the Blights had cornered the group after school and they didn’t have an easy reason with which to immediately slide out of the conversation. If you could really call it a conversation.

“So.” Edric had taken one side, forcing Jerbo to take a step closer to Viney, who’d been stepping back in an attempt to ease herself away from Emira leering in on the other side. “You guys got any plans after school today?” 

“Because we’re free.” At this point Emira had winked at Viney and that alone had been enough to activate her fight or flight instinct. “And if you’re free you should come hang with us.” 

It didn’t sound as much an invitation as it did a threat. 

“Uh.” Jerbo had broken out into a cold sweat and the only reason Viney knew that was because she could feel his lightly dampened school uniform brush up against her own as they both desperately tried to figure out how to navigate this social grimefield in real time. She probably wasn’t doing much better though. Barcus, bless him, had simply settled for hiding between his friends’ legs and letting out a low whine. “I-I dunno, uh...about that.” 

“Right! Right, because…” Because they had something to get to, right? An appointment? A dinner? A hole to jump into? Viney desperately wracked her brain for anything that might get them out of...whatever this was. Did they have any tests coming up? No- and she wasn’t really a fan of blatant lying, so that was off the table. They didn’t have anyone else to meet up with since...well, they really only had each other as friends. The double-track kids were there for each other- and Luz too, she assumed. The all-track kid. But Luz hadn’t exactly invited them out that day, so they couldn’t use that either. “We...uh.” She petered out lamely, but not before she caught the look the twins shared over her shoulder. 

Barcus let out another little whine, and Jerbo tensed against Viney’s back. 

“Because- we have to take Barcus to the healers!” See? Lying never sounded as good as the truth but it was better than nothing. Besides, Barcus had gotten a small cut helping Jerbo with his carnivorous coniferous earlier, so… 

“Right!” Viney piped up, not taking her eyes off Emira- never take your eyes off the predator. “He got a bit of a scrape helping in the greenhouse earlier, so...we better go help him with that. Sorry, maybe next time.” She snapped her mouth shut just a moment too late, and she could feel the exasperated gazes of Jerbo and Barcus on her, not that she could blame them. She’d just inadvertently offered the Blights an invitation to come around and bother them again, the vague promise of some future endeavor now out in the open. And, of course, the twins snatched it out of the air before she could do anything about it. Like a couple of bloodhawks. 

“We’ll hold you to it!” They said in unison, seemingly appeased for the time being. “Until next time!” 

They had pushed so easily off the wall, Edric flashing them all a smile as he jogged backwards after his sister. When they were well out of earshot Jerbo had leveled Viney with such a look. 

“Great.” He’d said. “Just great. ‘Maybe next time?’ Why don’t you just throw us to the wood growlers now, Viney?” 

“I panicked, okay?” 

“Boof.” 

Viney winced. “Yeah, but...you don’t have to put it like that.” 

So now there they were, huddled in the room of secret passages, discussing what the Blight twins could possibly want to do with a bunch of magical and social outcasts as they desperately attempted to avoid a fourth run in. 

Viney let out a low sigh. “I mean, it’s fully possible they just want to mess with us, right? They take us somewhere with the promise of some classic troublemaker fun and then we get caught with our tights down in front of all their rich important friends.” Because what else do rich people do for fun besides remind everybody else of their place on the social and economic food chain? 

Jerbo nodded with a grim expression weighing on his features. It was as if he could read her mind. “Or worse- they get us to be part of some big prank that lands us in hot water! Remember what Principle Bump said; one more strike and we’re out for good.” If the mood hadn’t been tense before, it was now. Those words certainly put Viney on edge, and she looked over to Barcus, whose ears were back, eyes downcast at the prospect of being kicked out of one of the best magic schools on the Boiling Isles. 

“That seems plausible.” 

“A little more convincing than ‘oh, us Blights just want to be your friends suddenly and without any ulterior motive!’” Jerbo emphasized the line like it owed him something.  

“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about them finding us here.” 

“Who's finding huh here?” A familiar voice came from a newly opened door. The three duel-track kids immediately broke their huddle, all of them offering a smile and a friendly wave to their fellow detentionaire. 

“Hey Luz.” Viney patted the empty space next to her. “We’re just talking about how weirdly friendly the Blight twins have been lately.” That bit of info seemed to perk the little human freshy right up. 

“Ed and Em? Or- wait, maybe it’s Em and Ed. I never did ask if they had a preference for order.” 

Jerbo scoffed. “Wait- hold on, you know them?” 

Luz nodded with that ever-present enthusiasm she always seemed to have on tap. “They’re so cool- well, most of the time. When they’re not annoying Amity, anyways. But yeah, I know them! One time we fought a Slitherbeast together!” Viney could have sworn she’d seen a light blush creep across Luz’s cheeks, but she was quickly distracted by the mention of such rare and elusive fauna. 

“A Slitherbeast?!” She leaned all the way forward, tucking her elbows in close as she stared down her friend in wide eyed wonder. “But they’re so illusive, not to mention powerful and deadly! What were you doing fighting one?” Viney watched as Luz opened her mouth, closed it, looked off to the side, and then shrugged. 

“Well, you know! The pursuit of magical knowledge can be dangerous! Definitely didn’t have anything to do with me chasing an easy shortcut, stealing Amity’s practice wand, and almost getting the twins and Eda killed! Not at all!” The canned laughter told Viney otherwise. “But we knocked it out, made our escape, and I have not seen it since. Although I’m pretty sure it’s still out there somewhere. Looking for me.” There was a haunted look in the young girl's eye before she quickly shook her head, offering her full attention to Viney once more. “So! Blights!” 

“Oh, right.” Viney slumped back into herself as the conversation pivoted away from cool animals and towards a couple of not nearly as cool witches. “Blights.” 

Jerbo just sighed- probably disappointed about not knowing more about the Slitherbeast too. “The Blight twins have taken an interest in us, and we’re trying to figure out why.”

“We’ve been hiding out here so they don’t try to, like, humiliate us in front of their rich friends, or pull us into one of their pranks and get us kicked out of school just because they can.” Viney added, explaining her earlier comment. 

Luz’s smile faltered for a moment. “Aw, they’re not so bad once you hang out with them! They probably just want to get to know you better! That’s all.” 

“Grrr…” Barcus looked at Luz evenly before getting up and padding over to her. “Grroof.” His tone was firm, but not unfair.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Barcus.” Luz rubbed at her arm. “The Blights are…” 

“Rich.” 

“Entitled?”

“Untrustworthy.” 

“Woof!” 

“No!” Luz shook her head furiously, waving her hands as if to disperse the negativity in the room. “Well- okay, they are rich, and they are entitled, and they’re also troublemakers, sure, but they’re not bad people, I promise! They just have a lot of…” She glanced off to the side again, her mouth forming into a small frown. “They have a lot of expectations to live up to.” 

Expectations of what? Being general nuisances? Viney wanted to ask for clarification, but the expression on Luz’s face conveyed very clearly that it wasn’t really her place to explain, which only prompted more questions. Who were they trying to impress besides the Emperor's Coven? And if they had so much to live up to, why did they spend so much time skipping classes and causing mayhem around the school- that they’d never get expelled for, because, you know, wealth, status, etc. What could people like that possibly have in common with her, or Jerbo, or Barcus, who all had to walk on eggshells just to keep attending the classes they loved so much. The answer evaded her, but Luz had gotten that quietly determined shine in her eyes that nobody could ever bring themselves to say no to. 

The three dual-track kids shared a look before Viney finally let out a small huff. 

“Well if you’re willing to vouch for them…”

“Then I guess we can give them a chance.” Jerbo shrugged, picking at one of the loose stones on the floor.

Luz immediately hopped to her feet, her usual smile back and brighter than ever. “Great! Oh, this’ll be just like those stories where the unlikely hero gets two enemy factions together and they all become the bestest friends!” 

For some reason, Viney doubted that. 

Chapter Text

The next couple of days had involved a lot of shortcut usage, mostly in an attempt to avoid the Blights; sure, they’d told Luz that they’d give the twins a chance, but they hadn’t promised to go out of their way to meet up with them. And it had worked! For a whole twenty-four hours it had been smooth sailing for the double-track kids. But all good things must come to an end, and Viney’s last class had finally let out.

“Hey there, cutie.” 

Oh no.

“...just because you don’t move doesn’t mean I can’t see you, y’know.” 

Ah, right. Emira Blight wasn’t a Knife-Jawed Bloat , although she could’ve fooled Viney with her uncanny ability to blend into her surroundings until she wanted to stand out. Maybe it was her illusion magic, or maybe she was just a natural born predator with a penchant for sneaking up on people who really did not want to be around her. Sometimes she’d catch a glimpse of the twins surprising their younger sister who would always flinch when they made their presence known. Was this how she felt? 

“Hello, Emira.” Viney smacked her locker a little harder than she’d meant to so it’d spit out the treats she brought for Puddles. It hissed at her, but that hardly phased the young beastkeeper; she’d spent all of yesterday afternoon hand-making these meat flavored biscuits and she would not let some testy piece of school equipment have them! “I’m busy. Can’t hang out.” 

“Ouch! Not even going to let me give my pitch?” The Blight put a hand to her chest and Viney could hear the mock hurt in her voice, but she refused to give Emira the satisfaction of looking at her stupid pretty rich girl face. “Let me guess, going to meet up with the rest of your two-track friends?” 

And? If she was? Viney bit back a snarl at the perceived slight against Jerbo and Barkus as she finally met Emira’s twinkling gold eyes with a fierce glare. This was why she couldn’t stand the Blights; they were just here to look down on all the other students who didn’t share their family’s status. For a second the younger witch could feel a retort burning on the tip of her tongue, but with the amount of sway the Blights held in school it was impossible for Viney to talk back without opening herself- and her very small group of friends- up to potentially devastating backlash. Titan knew the more popular cliques in the school would eat her alive if she tried anything. Viney had seen what Boscha and her crew had done to Luz, Willow, and Gus not two weeks ago. No way would she let that happen to her boys! They didn’t deserve that- not that the others had, just- well, you know. Viney would swallow all her pride a thousand times over to protect her friends, so she did, physically biting back whatever sharp barb she’d been preparing in favor of something much more... blunt .

“No, I’m not.” Viney couldn’t understand why that wasn’t enough of a signal for the other witch to get the hell out of her hair, but honestly it was like trying to communicate with a Zit Fly . 

“Oh? Heading to a club then? Is that what the cookies are for?” 

Cookies? Viney glanced back at her treats- which were no longer in her hand. Her hand was empty and her treat bag was gone. She could feel time slow to a crawl as she snapped back to look towards Emira, her eyes wide with horror and her pointed ears curved down in the worst kind of anticipation- rightly so, because the green haired witch had her treat bag held in a delicately manicured hand and was already biting into one of them. 

Her biscuits. 

That she made for her Griffin. 

That were definitely not meant for witch consumption. 

“Don’t-!” But it was too late. Emira blanched as the taste hit her and all Viney could do was watch as the other witch’s expression cycled very rapidly through all the stages of grief. 

Time seemed to snap back in on itself. 

The bag of treats hit the tile floor with a muted crunch, a half-chewed chunk of meaty confection flew out into the halls of Hexside, disappearing between the feet of students rushing to get to their after school extracurriculars, and Emira attempted to spit the taste off her tongue, scratching at it with her fingers when that failed. This was it; this is what she’d been trying so desperately hard to avoid and now it was happening not even a foot away from her. Viney knew what came next; Emira would recover from her disgust and immediately swear vengeance on Viney for daring to pull such a mean prank on a Blight. And after that? She could count on her fingers the things to expect after slighting someone with the amount of clout Emira held; first it’d be ostracization- more than she already experienced, of course- and then she’d come to school to find her locker choked and Puddles being carted off to the local circus troupe, and then her parents would start getting letters, and of course it’d force them to move, they’d have to pull her out of Hexside and flee across the Isles and go into hiding and-

Viney scooped the bag of offending biscuits off the floor and bolted down the hallway. She cursed her shorter than average legs as she shoulder checked some unfortunate rando out of her way, racing towards the back exit. 

When she finally managed to get outside she allowed herself a moment to catch her breath. Sure, running had probably made her look extra guilty, but at least she wouldn’t have to deal with the immediate fallout of making a Blight hate her guts...though she knew she was only putting off the inevitable. 

“That...is a problem for tomorrow Viney.” She managed to breathe out and stand upright- which brought her face to face with Edric Blight.

“Why? What’s goin’ on with today Viney?” He asked as he broke into a wide smile.

“AOUGH!” She instinctually swung the bag of treats towards him and it met its mark with a satisfying crunch. She watched- again, silently and, again, in abject horror- as he lurched back and stumbled into the bushes. The nightmare just refused to end. She was so dead! Or expelled, which, frankly, would be worse after all the trouble she’d gone through just to go back to studying as a legitimate student at Hexside! The nerves coiling in Viney’s gut told her to make a run for it. 

So she did. 

Without so much as an apology, she bolted from the scene of her second crime unintentionally committed that day and raced towards her one remaining safe haven. 

The gate to the beast keeping stables slammed open, all the creatures raising their head- or heads- to find the source of the commotion. When they realized it was just Viney the various beasts went back to whatever it was that had their attention previously, all except for one young Griffin, who stamped around excitedly in his stall. Seeing Puddles so happy to see her immediately smoothed the worried crease between Viney’s brow and she quickly made her way over to him. 

“Puddles!” She collapsed onto his feathery side with a groan. “On Titan, you will not believe the day I’ve had…” The Griffin chirped, head tilted in interest as he hungrily eyed the bag of...well, crumbs now. After being dropped on the ground and then used as a flail, the biscuits Viney had worked so hard on were now nothing more than bits of meaty bread. “...nuts.” At least Puddles didn’t seem to mind; he was content to peck at the remains of her hard work after she’d upended the bag into his food bowl. 

“Buddy, what am I going to do?” She buried her face into his soft feathers as he continued to eat. “They’re the Blights- what was I thinking running away like that? They’re going to think I did all that on purpose…” But what could she do now? In the end it would be the Blights’ words against her own, and she knew there’d be no winning that battle. Her heart finally dislodged itself from her throat and sank with a heavy weight into the pit of her stomach as the situation she had gotten herself into fully set in. “What am I going to tell Jerbo and Barcus…? Brace yourselves? Well, it was nice knowing you both? Hope we all manage to get into Burghard’s Institute of Witchcraft together?” All she could do was let out a long suffering groan into Puddles’ side, the soft reverberations of his coos the only thing keeping Viney from sinking to the grass covered floor and curling into a fetal position. “...and then what? We’ll all be forced to study one track of magic again- and this time there won’t be a funny little human girl to come and save us from detention.” 

Emira offered her brother a hand, helping him up out of the bush he’d gotten stuck in. 

“Y’know…” Edric rubbed his jaw lightly, brows furrowed. “I don’t remember friends being this hard to make.” 

“That’s because we’ve never had to make our own friends.” Emira countered, shoving another mothmint in her mouth. “Eugh.” How could meat flavor be so powerful? 

Edric opened his mouth to object, but Emira cut in before he could. 

“And Luz doesn’t count.” 

He closed his mouth, instead opting to pick a single leaf out of his hair. Yeah, that’s what she thought. Sure, Luz was nice, and they did consider her a very good friend- after all, any pal of Mittens was a pal of theirs- but the methods they’d used to get close to her had been a little underhanded. Emira didn’t want this new potential friend group for any ulterior motives! She just needed to prove a point. To her parents! And her younger sister. 

And herself, probably.

For as long as either of the twins could remember their parents had dictated who they get to hang out with both inside and out of Blight manor. For the most part they’d both been content to simply play their roles, never once complaining- not like their sister had when she was little, anyways. Still, everyone in their friend group had been thoroughly vetted by the other socialites that the Blights affiliated with. They had all been found wanting, of course, but just passable enough to allow Emira and Edric to be on speaking terms with them at school. And that was fine! It wasn’t as if this social cycle had forced the twins to form an unhealthy codependency on each other because they literally weren’t allowed to form genuine friendships based on trust and respect instead of necessity! 

...totally fine. 

But Amity hadn’t settled for that- she’d broken the cycle and both of the twins had immediately noticed how much happier she seemed. How much more herself she dared to be, even around the house. She’d stopped hanging out with Boscha and her crew almost altogether, and one time the twins had seen her talking- having a full conversation- with Willow near the greenhouse. They still remembered the last party that the bespectacled witch had attended, how heartbroken Amity had been after the whole ordeal, and how much their parents had forced her to change afterwards; first it was the social group, then it was her mannerisms, and finally it had been her hair. Their parents had carefully chipped away her individualism until all that was left was another perfect little cookie-cutter Blight. The twins had assumed she’d fall in line with them. Imagine their shock then when one night Edric and Emira caught Amity surrounded by pieces of crumpled pink paper, all covered in looping cursive, all inquiring if one human girl would go to Grom with her. 

Of course Emira had teased her about it, but all in good humor! She’d taken an oath with Edric afterwards never to tell their parents about Amity’s little crush- they’d never seen the little witchling so red in the face! (Very funny.) They’d also never seen her so close to tears at the thought of their parents finding out about how she truly felt. (Not nearly as funny.) But she’d pursued those feelings anyways despite the fear they knew she harbored, and something about that had made Emira...jealous. 

Not jealous in a way that would push her to pull some sort of mean prank on her younger sister, no- jealous in the existential sense that Amity seemed to be growing into her own person much quicker than either of the twins were. When Emira had dug a little deeper to answer the ‘how’ and ‘why’ one common thread always seemed to pop up; Amity had made genuine connections that were helping her slowly crack the mold that their parents had imposed upon her, while Emira and Edric were still stuck pulling juvenile pranks in a futile attempt to get noticed. Or be themselves. 

Whatever that meant anymore. 

Emira sighed, popping the last of her breath fresheners into her mouth. “Alright, so cornering Viney by herself-”

“ Really bad way to put it, Em.”

“-is a no go. But what about the tall nervous one?” 

“Jerbo?” Edric kindly prompted. 

“ Sweaty .” Both of them agreed. 

“What are you two plotting?” Amity walked up with her book bag, a couple of textbooks clutched to her chest. She grimaced as she got closer. “And...why do you smell like last week’s beastloaf? ”

Emira opened her mouth to deflect, but Edric beat her to it. 

“Emira ate a Griffin treat on accide- oof! ” He wheezed as Emira elbowed him in the ribs, but the damage had been done. 

Amity raised an amused brow at her elder sister. “Really.” Her expression was level, but Emira could make out the teasing tone in her voice. “Well, I’d love to know more, but we really need to get home soon. We’re supposed to entertain Boscha’s parents today.” 

All three siblings let out a collective sigh. 

At least the twins had something to look forward to tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Willow.” Jerbo raised a hand as he walked into the greenhouse. 

“Good morning, Jerbo!” Willow’s hands were a bit preoccupied with the plant she was trying to prune--a wriggling bud with spiny protrusions--so she could only offer a small smile in return. It was nice, having someone who’d been in both his tracks in one of his classes. Sure, it wasn’t quite double-tracking, but she still knew the growing pains and would occasionally offer advice on his notes when it came to combining the two types of magic. “How was class yesterday?” 

“Oh, more of the same. My soil and mulch abominations come out fine, but as soon as I have to switch back to the original ingredients they sprout way too many arms! They’re more arms than they are body!” He rubbed the back of his neck, mouth pulled into a troubled grimace. “I keep trying to lessen the wart root extract like the professor suggests, but any less and there won’t be any in the mix at all. C'est tellement frustrant! I don’t know what to do and we have to check in next week!” 

Willow quirked a brow at Jerbo as he tossed his rucksack against the table and took his usual seat, the wooden stool gently scraping against the stone flooring as he adjusted his position. 

“You could always ask Amity for help.” 

The young witch could feel his internal temperature drop at the name alone, but he had to make sure... “Blight? Because I’m not, uh… really… on speaking terms with them right now? Not without friendly supervision, anyways.” 

The look on Willow’s face clearly conveyed that she had no idea what he meant by that, and he was content to leave her guessing; Viney had run up to him that morning first thing with wide eyes and frazzled hair, barked out something about meat biscuits and destroying her social life, and warned him to watch out for anything any of the Blights might try to pull on them that day. She hadn’t even given Jerbo a chance to ask any clarifying questions before she’d sprinted off into the building to look for Barcus. That sort of behavior was… unusual, to say the least, especially from the often even-keeled self-proclaimed leader of the double-track kids. “... Is there anyone else you know taking the class I could ask for help?” 

“I mean, Luz?” Willow scratched just under the lens of her glasses, looking a smidge apologetic. “But… she hasn’t learned a glyph for abomination summoning, so I don’t know how helpful she’d be. Your best bet is with Amity--” She pointedly ignored Jerbo’s pitched whine as she continued. “She’s top of the class, after all. I could send you her number, if you’d like. It couldn’t hurt to try.” 

“Why do you have to be so reasonable .” Jerbo pouted, pulling out his scroll so he could take down Amity’s contact info, not that he currently had any intention of following up. “Thanks, though. I’ll, uh. Yeah.” 

After that, Jerbo steered their conversation towards what Willow was working on before he’d walked in. The school had recently come into some extra funds for the plant track, and Bump had been generous enough to buy some rare new seedlings and sprouts for the classes to practice on. Anything left over went to campus repairs.

Needless to say, all the students were very excited to get their hands on the new inventory so Willow had come in extra early to try and acquaint herself with the flora in their natural state before any of the samples inevitably succumbed to rookie magic mishaps. Well, that or the flames of self-defense. Students could never be too careful considering the native plants of the Boiling Isles often came equipped with barbed vines, or poison gas, or teeth. Sometimes all three! Willow hadn’t run into any of those when Jerbo had made his entrance, but she was certain she was making progress with the little prickly plant in front of her, which occasionally tilted its spiny protrusions towards her gloved hands.

By the time their other classmates had filed in, Jerbo and Willow were carefully plucking bright green quills from their arms. The price of intellectual curiosity. 

Luckily for the both of them the rest of the day contained much less dangerous plantwork. When class let out everyone had soil stains up to their elbows, and Jerbo had all but forgotten about the daunting task of calling upon a Blight for advice. That is, until he spotted a familiar face peering curiously into the greenhouse as the other students began to pack up and leave. 

“Oh no.” Jerbo squeaked out, sinking into his shoulders as he began to shuffle behind the table, pulling on a nearby leaf in an attempt to camouflage himself with their latest assignment. 

“What?” Willow tossed him a curious glance before following his gaze, brows rising in recognition when her eyes landed on the source of her classmate's sudden cowering. “Oh. Edric? I wonder what’s he doing here?” 

As soon as the green-haired witch spotted Willow looking in his direction, he waved and stepped into the greenhouse as the other plant track students tossed him looks on their way out. 

“Willow, long time no see!”

“Hi, Edric.” Willow smiled pleasantly, but there was a tenseness to her posture that did not go unnoticed. 

“Promise I’ll get out of your hair in a sec. You haven’t happened to see--” Gold eyes flashed towards Jerbo’s from between the dense foliage. The double track witch let out a small yeep of mortification and ducked under the table in the hopes of simply hiding from this social interaction. 

“Oh! Found him.” No such luck. Edric set his hands on his knees and bent down to get a better view of his target. 

Viney had been right when she’d compared the twins to hunting hounds--could they smell fear? Because if that was the case then no wonder they were always able to find the group. Jerbo probably reeked of it constantly and he wouldn’t be surprised if they could see it as a trail wafting off of him as he stressed about school, friends, and life in general! Jerbo couldn’t help it, he was a naturally cautious person--though he preferred to think of it as being gifted with a heightened sense of self-preservation. At the moment, however, it was definitely more of a curse with the way it had him perspiring at the prospect of having to speak to a Blight without Viney or Barcus to bail him out. He’d start tripping over his words and that’d be it! Maybe it hadn’t been a bad thing to write his obituary and last will and testament so early in his life. 

“I can see you, y’know.” 

Jerbo twirled his finger lamely to get some of the plants near him to create a small leafy barrier between them. 

Willow cleared her throat. “He says he’s not supposed to talk to you without friendly supervision.” Thank Titan for Willow, a savior. 

“Aren’t you friendly supervision?” Edric asked, brows raised and lips curved into a playful smile. 

“Well… I am Jerbo’s friend…” No… the betrayal. “So… I guess?” 

“Great!” A pale, soil-free hand reached through the thin veil of leaves and Jerbo was once again face to face with one of the witches he’d been trying so hard to avoid. “And, hey, don’t worry, I don’t bite.” A pause. “Unless you ask nicely.” 

“HRK--” The whole table shook as Jerbo shot up and slammed his head into the wooden underside. Edric jerked his hand back and Willow let out a concerned gasp as the dual-tracker rolled out from under the table, eyes squeezed shut as he clutched the back of his head with his hands, spouting off curses in a language unknown to most Boiling Isles residents. 

“Whoof, sorry, too much?” There was a light--nervous?--laugh and the sound of footsteps against stone. When Jerbo managed to crack a bleary eye open he was met with the outstretched hand of Edric Blight. There was an apologetic tilt to his features. “Didn’t mean to scare ya."

“It’s… fine.” Jerbo winced, ignoring the offered assistance in favor of the table ledge. His palms were so sweaty. “L-look, is there something you… want? Or need? We don’t have any classes together, so...?” 

“Well, kinda, but… ” It might have been the headache or the ringing in his ears, but Jerbo could have sworn he saw Edric flinch at the line of questioning. “Erm.” 

At this point most of the other students had left the greenhouse, leaving this unlikely trio blanketed in an uneasy quiet as the tallest and clearly most rattled of them tried to settle his nerves. Willow’s eyes darted between her two upper-classmen with idle curiosity, a single brow arched as Edric seemed to search for an answer. His eyes darted towards the entryway, as if he expected his sister to pop in and sort this all out herself. To Jerbo’s surprise--and immense relief--no one else entered the building. Weirdly enough, the thought of only having to deal with one of the twins did actually help calm him down a bit. 

“...There is something I want . I was hoping you could convince your friend to help my sis and I get into the beast-keeping stables this weekend?” 

And just like that, the tension was back! “What?” Jerbo’s brows furrowed. “Don’t–I mean, you have to know someone in the beast-keeping track who could help you get in. You don’t need Viney’s help for that.” Maybe she’d been right! Maybe the Blights were out to set them up for- well, something! Knowing them, probably a prank of some sort. 

“Actually, most of my friends are in the illusion, abomination, and oracle tracks, so…” 

“ So then they know someone who’ll help you.”

“I wish! But all my friends’ friends are pretty much in the same boat?” 

“Then ask Bump to give you a tour– you’re a Blight! He’d be thrilled!” 

“I– guess? But where’s the fun in that--” 

“ Tu ne m'écoutes pas! ” Jerbo interjected, frustration seeping into his tone. “ I don’t know what you and your sister are planning, but count us out, o-okay? We’re already on thin ice as it is.”

Jerbo was honestly surprised to see Edric shrink back under his withering glare; sure, he may have had a few inches on the Blight, but his disposition rarely ever allowed him the upper hand in these sorts of interactions. It was a little disconcerting how much of an affect his words were having on his peer, honestly. Willow also seemed surprised at his ability to hold his own with the other witch. 

“Why are you hoping to get into the stables?” Surprised enough to speak up, apparently. 

The question alone seemed to help Edric center himself, his shoulders leveling out, his usual easygoing grin making a reappearance. 

“Great question, Willow. See, as much as I’d love to ask a teacher to get me in, I’m not actually on speaking terms with any of the ones who could help me right now? Long story. Anyways, I didn’t ask the principle, but only because I know he’d talk my ear off about my… unorthodox extracurricular activities.” 

Willow and Jerbo shared a look. He meant pranks .

“And I promise it isn’t for any funny business! Emira and I really need to get into the stables to study up on how to make better beast illusions, but between homework, private tutoring, music lessons, and the dinners we’re forced at staffpoint to attend we don’t have any time during the school week to do it!” And then he had to put on the hell-puppy eyes, hands clasped innocently in front of his chest. If there had been another hard surface above Jerbo, he probably would have smacked right into it again. “You guys are our last hope, so… please?” 

“I–” Jerbo’s throat felt dry. Was it warm in the greenhouse or– no, wait, it was, because that’s how it had always been. Maybe that’s why he was so sweaty? Right, yeah, it had to have just been the classroom and not the coil of nerves slithering around in his stomach. He let out a sort of choked gurgle before glancing down at Willow for help. 

She only shrugged in return, seemingly also uncertain of Edric’s true intentions. 

Which meant the double track witch would have to make the call himself. Luckily the choice was obvious; either he listened to his long time friend and fellow detentionaire to avoid all dealings with any of the green-haired siblings, or he actually went along with this serial liar and habit prankster, allowing him easy access to the aforementioned long time friend and–

“Sure?” Merde! Curse his nerves! “I mean– I can ask, but don’t, uh, don’t get your hopes up.” 

“Great!” Edric did a strange little gesture where he raised and lowered a fist in quick succession. Jerbo had seen Luz do something similar before- it was supposedly some sort of celebratory gesture. “Send me a note when you’ve got an answer for me.” 

“Buh– huh? Wait, I don’t have your contact-” 

Edric just winked at him. “Sure you do!” 

Huh? What did that mean? Jerbo’s poor nerves couldn’t take much more of this. Unfortunately, Edric had already turned on his heel and dashed out of the greenhouse before he could ask for clarification. At least he didn’t have to wait long for an answer. 

“Well! That was odd.” Willow had taken something off the table and held it out towards her classmate. 

“No kidding… Oh, my scroll. Th-thanks.” Sure enough, when he rolled it open the first page that greeted him was a new contact listing. ‘ Edric Blaaaugh ’ shone in a sharp, glittering font above a profile picture of the terror himself. “... How did he do that– literally how did he– he was only in here for like, two minutes!” 

Willow could only shake her head and shrug, but she did glance towards the door with an uncertain expression. 

“Amity I can read, but those two…” She sighed, looking back towards Jerbo. “Just… don’t let them pull you into anything you’re uncomfortable with, okay?” 

“Right… Thanks, Willow.” Jerbo gulped. Why did he suddenly feel so cold? 

Chapter Text

There were many things that Barcus enjoyed about being, well, himself; his short and slim stature allowed him to slip through busy school hallways without much trouble, he would never have to go through the ordeal of tying his own shoes, and all his teachers let him sit on the desks to take notes. Yes, he’d just pointed out the boons of being so small, but there were times where the thrill of being almost at eye level with everyone else was just too good to pass up. The only thing that ever occasionally bugged him was the fact that there was just no comfortable way for him to stir his cauldron without developing a crick in his neck by lunch. Well, that and also the way that he had to stick his whole snout into whatever potion he was making in order to bottle samples- after he’d sneezed fog brew across the entire classroom, he’d been assigned a partner. 

“And they all ditched me afterwards! For the losers! ” It was always impressive to watch all three eyes roll at the exact same time. “Anyways, I blocked them all on penstagram. They can have their moot rights back whenever they decide to grovel at my feet for forgiveness.” 

To say that Boscha had been upset to be paired with Barcus would perhaps be the understatement of the century. No, she had been furious , absolutely livid at the idea of having to bottle her quadruped classmate’s potions for him- until she realized that he didn’t talk back or ignore her like her usual group of lackeys did. Well, actually, he did both of those things, but not in a way that was obvious enough to stop her from venting to him during the lab section of their shared potions classes. 

“As long as it’s grudgby season, I rule the school.” She absently tossed a handful of dried ghastweed clippings into their shared pot. 

“Wrrgh. (Your breath smells of a thousand rancid wart roots.) ” Barcus managed to growl around the spoon held tightly in his maw. The young witch seated across from them let out a light chortle, quickly passing it off as a cough when Boscha shot them a look. 

“Aw, thanks- my nails are cute, aren’t they? I just got them done yesterday actually.” She casually glanced at her fingers, all adorned with shimmering midnight blue polish. To her credit, they did look nice. 

“Rrf. (Pay attention.) ” Barcus pawed at the next ingredient, and Boscha sighed, picking up a halved lizard’s tail to toss into the cauldron. The canine witch stirred lightly, only enough to agitate the mixture, and then pulled back to observe the color of the brew. A light purple...which meant they were right on track. For all of Boscha’s shortcomings, the three eyed girl certainly knew how to make a mean potion. There was a reason she was at the top of their class, after all. “Wff! (Only ten more minutes and then I will be free of your insufferable prattling!) ” 

“Honestly, what do they have that I don’t! I’m the one with the status, the skills, the connections, and then Amity decides to throw that all away- and for what?! That stupid human girl and half-a-witch?” A pause. “And also that little pipsqueak from the illusion track, I guess.” 

Barcus set his spoon down on the little drip dish next to their work space. “Roowf rof, rgh, woowuff. (All your friends have abandoned you because you lack a moral backbone of any sort, cling desperately- no, tragically to your social status that you’ve mistaken as a viable substitute for having an actual personality, and come to school every day looking like the raggedy backside of a Slitherbeast after it comes out of hibernation.) ” 

The same witch that had chuckled earlier nearly choked now.

“Wow...you’re right. I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong and the problem lies with everyone else!” 

“Groof. (If I had the ability, I would silence you for the rest of your days.) ” He looked back down at their potion, ears pressed firmly against the top of his head in a clear display of frustration and displeasure. At least it was bubbling properly...though Barcus had half a mind to sabotage the project to bring Boscha’s grade down.

“Five more minutes until we turn the heat off!” Their beaked teacher called out from the front of the room, eliciting a mix of sighs and groans from those who were clearly having some trouble with their brews. 

Boscha took the announcement as a sign to take out her scroll and check penstagram, something she did rather often in this class. Her thumb pushed images up the magically charged piece of equipment, all three eyes darting from photo to photo until something caught her eye. Her brows creased as she clicked on a particular post- not that Barcus had any investment in whatever new drama the popular witch had dug up.

“I guess the disease has spread; now even the twins are hanging out with half-a-witch Willow…and in the greenhouse? Ugh . Not in those shoes.” 

Twins in the greenhouse? Now that did pique Barcus’ curiosity. He turned towards Boscha, his ears perked upwards, brows raised in an expression he hoped came across as interested. After a couple of tail thumps, Boscha finally looked his way, and her third brow raised as he simply looked at her expectantly. 

“Oh. You wanna see?” She flashed Barcus an absolutely bloodcurdling smirk before she turned her scroll to face him. Sure enough there was a picture of one of the Blight twins in the greenhouse speaking to Willow, but there was another figure hidden partially by the plants on the table next to the two...a figure that Barcus immediately recognized. His lip curled, revealing a fang at the thought of Edric trying to corner Jerbo alone. Certainly Willow would have stayed to help him out, but it was the principle of the matter that really got under Barcus’ pelt. 

“Same.” Boscha scoffed at seeing her potion partner’s expression of displeasure, pulling her scroll back. “I can’t believe what the Blights are pulling- it’s total social suicide! ” She smacked her scroll, causing it to snap closed and fall to the table. With an irritable huff and something that sounded suspiciously like a barely muffled sniffle, Boscha shoved the rolled parchment back into her pocket and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“...Wuff. ( You reek of self-inflicted anguish. )” Barcus turned his attention back to the potion. It was still bubbling slightly, but the color had gone from near lavender to a deeply vibrant cobalt blue. The double-track student let out a satisfied huff through his nose at the sight just as their teacher came over to check their progress. 

“Boscha, Barcus... very well done!” She clapped her hands together enthusiastically at the sight of their work. “Now this is what a correctly brewed vanishing potion should look like! If it works as good as it looks you two are sure to pass this in-class assignment with flying colors!” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” Boscha for her part had very quickly plastered on her best top student smile, sitting up straight with her hands clasped in front of her on the table as she basked in the teacher’s praise. 

“Woof! (Thank you!) ” Barcus couldn’t help the way his tail wagged this time. How good it felt to be back in a real classroom with everyone.

The professor then quickly turned to address the rest of the students. “Alright, heat off everyone! Please be careful ladling samples, we don’t need a repeat of last week.” 

Barcus turned off the heat under the cauldron and pushed the small bottles they’d been supplied with towards Boscha, who quickly snatched them up and twirled her finger to levitate the ladle into the still piping hot potion. He couldn’t help the way he shifted weight from one front paw to the other as he watched the bright blue liquid land in the clear glass containers. When the liquid finally settled, the blue began to fade, until it was almost as if there was no potion in the bottle at all! The mixture had become perfectly see-through, the only indicator of liquid a light visual distortion when Boscha swirled the bottle around. 

“Easy.” She scoffed, carefully corking both bottles before handing one off to Barkus who carefully took it in his mouth and transferred it to his bag. “Now all we have to do is a taste test.” She took the ladle in hand this time, lifting a small portion of the leftover potion to her mouth, before thinking better of it and giving the liquid a little time to cool. After blowing on it for a bit, she took a tentative sip. 

“Hm...a little sweeter than usual, but it’s not bad.” 

“Rrff. (Everyone acts a critic.) ”

The effect was almost immediate; Boscha began to disappear. First her fingertips, then her arms and legs, and finally her insufferable grin all vanished, leaving the seat next to Barcus seemingly empty. Their classmates all stopped taking samples to ooh and aah at the display. 

The teacher awarded them a perfect score for a job well done. 

Because of the dosage, Boscha reappeared just before the bell screamed to let class out. Some of the potions students exited the classroom with translucent limbs, or half vanished torsos, but it wasn’t an unusual sight at Hexside, school of witchcraft and demonics. What was unusual was someone waiting for Barcus outside of the potions room; Viney could never make it considering her classes were all the way on the other side of the building, and Jerbo was scheduled in the greenhouse all day today. 

“Hey there, buddy.” 

“How’s the paw? Not still bothering you, is it?” 

The Blight twins both shot him dazzling grins. It was enough to make his fur stand on end. 

“So-” Emira started, not waiting for an answer to her previous question before pushing off a nearby set of lockers to loom over Barcus.

“-brew up anything good today?” Edric finished, taking the opportunity to also close in. 

“Grr… (I know not your intentions, but stay back, snakes…) ” Barcus was alone in the hallway now. Nowhere to run. He despised the feeling of his tail between his legs.

“Snakes?” Emira put a hand to her chest as if taken aback. 

“Oh, I’m wounded!” Her brother followed suit. 

“Bleeding out even...Edric, call Viney, I need a healer…” She swooned, allowing herself to be caught by the other, an obviously well practiced move. 

“But Emira, I don’t have her number!” 

“You have Jerbo’s number though, don’t you?” She immediately dropped the act, lifting her head to shoot an accusatory look at her brother. 

“Mmm, not yet. He hasn’t texted me about the favor yet.” 

“Ugh!” She went slack again, not bothering to keep up with her distressed charade. “You had one job.” 

“You can’t rush friendship, Em.” Edric chided playfully, booping his sister on her nose before pulling her back up into a standing position. 

Barcus could only tilt his head curiously at the exchange. His hackles were still raised, but the tension eased from between his shoulders a bit. “Rwor? Wuff. (You gave Jerbo your number? So that was your purpose for being in the greenhouse.) ”

“Whoops! Caught red handed. Or, I guess in this case, green-thumbed- ow!” 

“Not what we came here for. Look...” Emira interrupted her brother, straightening her posture and dusting off the front of her uniform. If Barcus had known her better, he might have attributed the sudden change in demeanor to nerves, but instead he simply leveled her with an even gaze and waited for her to continue. “I think Viney and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot.” 

“Woof. (Hard to get the taste of beast biscuits out of your mouth, isn’t it.) ” Emira stiffened at his comment, going a surprising shade of pink as her sibling tried to stifle a laugh next to her. 

“I’m not in the beast-keeping track! How was I supposed to know they weren’t-!” She threw her hands up briefly, before clenching them into fists and forcing them back down to her sides. “Not the point. I’m pretty certain she thinks I’m out to get her now. My brother here thought it’d be a good idea to ask her for help to get into the beast-keeping stables to help with one of our illusion assignments, but...well, I don’t want our chances dashed by something as silly as a little misunderstanding.” 

“Think you could just tell her that we, y’know, don’t hate her guts?” Edric helpfully added, leaning in with his best innocent smile. “Please? We could really use the help.” 

Barcus sniffed, glancing between the two twins with furrowed brows. The request seemed sincere enough, and he couldn’t detect any outright lie with anything the twins had said so far- he had always been good at sniffing out liars- but there was still the issue of their pranks; could they be attempting to set them up to take a fall down the line? Not to mention the fact that their auras were stained with something that he just couldn’t quite put his paw on...whatever it was, it rubbed Barcus the wrong way. 

It was a shame he didn’t have his oracle class equipment on him. 

“Rghff. (Very well.) ” The dual-track witch finally gave a small nod to the twins, who both immediately perked up, their faces brightening with perfectly mirrored grins. 

“Yes! Looks like we’re doing something right!” Edric shared a high-five with his sister, who nodded eagerly in turn. 

“You won’t regret this.” Emira flashed a smile at Barcus before both of the twins made a hasty exit down the hall, leaving the canine all alone. 

“...Grrr… (...I’d best not, snake…) ” Without the audience, he allowed his lips to curl back, baring his fangs in the direction the Blights had just run off in. 

Chapter Text

Viney sat facing her two best- and only- friends in the large circular bottom floor of the shortcut room. 

“So.” She began, her voice even. Jerbo gulped. Barcus’ ears lay flat against his head. “Let me get this straight; the Blights both claim they don’t hate me or want me dead, but then they ask me to take them to the beast-keeping stables this weekend while you both just happen to be busy? And you gave one of them your number? ” Her gaze landed on Jerbo, who shrunk further into his shoulders. 

“I mean technically he put his number into my scroll and I thought it’d be rude to… like, not? Text him?” His eyes darted along the floor as he crossed his arms and tugged on the fabric of his school uniform. “Besides, I-I told him I’d at least ask… So…” 

“ SO… I don’t really have much of a choice here, do I?” Viney slapped both her hands to her face, dragging them down as she let out a long-suffering groan. “I have to make up for the biscuit thing, but going alone? This feels like a setup.” 

“But you are… going then?” Jerbo asked. 

“They know that you’d be able to pass the message along to me, so I have to give them an answer. Besides, who knows what they’ll do if I turn them down. I can’t risk it; I’ll just have to get through an hour or two alone with them.” 

“Wroof.” Barcus added, his tone matching his thoughtful expression. 

“I know I’ll have Puddles, but I’d rather not get him involved if I can help it.” Puddles was a small Gryphon for his age and, as much as Viney believed in his physical prowess, she didn’t know how well he’d fair in a fight against two young powerful illusion track witches. “Worse comes to worst, I’ll use a subjugation spell on them.” 

“Grff?” Barcus tilted his head at her, one brow raised curiously. 

“I know it’s only meant for large beasts, but, hey, if I happen to misfire… ” She shrugged, not bothering to finish the thought. “No skin off my teeth.” 

“I thought it was ‘No hair off my back’?” Jerbo had pulled his scroll out in the meantime. “A-anyways… I’ll let him know you agreed and, uh. Give you his number.” 

Viney let out a heavy sigh, pulling out her own scroll as she resigned herself to this fate. She opened to a fresh contact page and scrawled ‘ Terrible Twosome pt 1 ’ at the top. Had they known she’d accept on principle? Surely this was part of their elaborate plan to get all three of them booted out of Hexside, right? And what would they actually do in the stables? They couldn’t just want the access in order to study like they’d claimed; the Blight twins were troublemakers through and through, after all– second only, perhaps, to Lord Calamity herself. In fact, they’d probably get a real kick out of the secret room of shortcuts… If they ever managed to figure out a way inside… 

Wait. 

That could be what they’re after; cozying up to the double-track kids just to gain access to this room only to ditch them at the wayside when they’d outlived their usefulness was not outside the realm of possibility. 

“Heh.” A soft laugh from Jerbo paused Viney’s conspiratorial line of thought. “O-okay... well, I think getting your number first won him some sort of bet… But, a-anyways, here. Just put his number in and, uh, let him know what time works best for you.” Jerbo floated his scroll over to Viney so she could add his number. 

She raised a brow at what she saw on the contact page. “Nicknames already?” 

“He– that was, er, that was all him.” The tall witch fidgeted with his sleeves again, sinking into himself once more.

“And you didn’t change it.” It wasn’t a question. 

“It’s kinda funny?”

“Rroo?” Barcus tilted his head, sharing a quick glance with Viney at the decidedly lax response. 

“I guess.” Viney only shrugged, turning her gaze away from her friends to add Edric’s info into her scroll. She opened up a new message once she finished. 

‘it’s viney.’ 

Short, sweet, and to the point. She only had to wait a few short seconds before she got a reply. 

‘oh heeeey! so ur in for this weekend right?’ 

Insufferable. 

‘ yes. the earlier the better.’

‘uuuuh’
‘uuuum’
‘how early exactly’ 

‘7 am’

Viney was going to see just how badly they wanted this.

‘ok considering we’re making u come to campus on a weekend...fair’
‘but also can we do like noon instead???’

‘no.’

‘11??????????’

‘no.’

‘10???????????????????????’

‘no.’ 

‘please? for my beauty sleep???’  

‘you do need a lot of that, don’t you. 9 am.’ 

‘how else am i supposed to wake up like this!’  

Viney cracked a grin and failed to notice the glance the other dual-track witches shared with each other at the expression. 

‘fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine cool 9 works’
‘but my sis is gonna want to grab cuffee first’
‘want to meet up at the den before we head over?’ 

Viney couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Of course the Blights drank cuffee; that disgusting, bitter concoction was brewed for kids with too much money and not enough sleep– but if the twins really slept in until noon on the weekends, maybe it was just the money burning a hole through their pockets. 

‘the den?’

‘a cool place near the south entrance of the market’
‘they serve tea too if you’re not into bitter dirt water’ 

‘not a cuffee fan?’

‘it’s complicated...a love hate relationship u could say’

Viney raised a brow in idle curiosity at that, her expression settling into neutral. She was drawn away from her screen when Jerbo cleared his throat. 

“So, uh, I have to head out…” He’d already packed up his scroll and hoisted his backpack over one shoulder. “Monday, usual time?” Referring to their ritual of starting the school week off with an early morning meeting to finish up last minute assignments and peer review projects. 

“Woof!” Barcus got up onto all fours as well, stretching out his front legs before picking up his own knapsack. Apparently the busy boy had some work of his own to attend to.

“As always. Text me if anything weird happens.” Viney decided to relax in their hideout for a little while longer, not at all eager to face the reality she’d created for herself outside this safe haven. “Well, y’know, weirder than usual.” 

“Funny.” Jerbo let out a light chuckle. “We were going to say the same to you… Uh– seriously though, if anything happens give us a call, okay?” 

Barcus let out a small sneeze of agreement. Always so dependable, those two. 

“I will.” She offered her boys the usual two-finger salute as they headed out for the day, looking back down at her scroll when the door closed behind them. The screen was already alight with new messages. 

‘lol my sister is soooo jealous i got ur number first’
‘but i did promise her id give you her contact’ 

‘jerbo told me u had a bet going? how many snails did u win?’ ’

‘haha yeah’
‘and we don’t play for snails! way too boring.’  

‘well whatever the prize is, make sure it doesn’t wreck the stables tomorrow.’ 

‘no trouble from us. promise!’
‘btw do you keep bats there?’ 

Bats? That was… oddly specific. Why would Edric be curious about bats? They weren’t planning a prank that would need lightweight, flying mammals, were they? This conversation honestly brought up more questions than answers, and Viney let out another long sigh as she imagined having to keep them in line during her precious free time. In truth, the stables did have bats– in fact the Hexside’s private menagerie was stocked with a variety of creatures ranging from mundane to mythical, consisting of all shapes and sizes. So, yes, they had bats; they had bloodsuckers, tiny little fuzz balls with cute noses, and even an adult Midnight Yowler , but what did that have to do with their tour? 

She looked back down at the message and finally settled on an appropriately vague answer. 

‘you’ll see.’ 

Viney closed her scroll and lifted herself up off the floor to head back home. 

Later in the evening, after studying, dinner, and an hour of staring into the mirror demanding her reflection to cancel on the Blights at the last minute, Viney received a couple of messages on her scroll. They were all from a new, unknown contact. 

‘heey cutie! ;^) it’s emira’
‘got ur number from ed’
‘see u tomorrow!’  

Instead of immediately texting back to cancel their plans– all that time hyping herself up to it, wasted– Viney opened up a new contact page on her scroll and began to write out ‘ Terrible Twosome pt 2 ’. Before she finished, however, another message popped up. 

‘be sure to put a cute emoji next to my name so we can match <3’  

This text was quickly followed by an image Emira must have taken of her own scroll; Viney’s name was clearly written in ornate looping letters, punctuated by a gryphon head and a heart eyes emoji. For a moment the picture didn’t register– matching? Heart eyes? Huh? That wasn’t really something acquaintances did, right? That sort of cutesy garbage was usually reserved for, like, what? Freshman couples? It wasn’t until she felt warmth prickle at the nape of her neck that the young witch realized she’d been staring holes into her scroll and hadn’t replied to any of Emira’s texts yet. 

‘see you tomorrow.’ 

Viney sent over a capture of her own screen. ‘ Terrible Twosome pt 2’ was still written at the top, but this time it was accompanied by a little crown emoji. 

She didn’t get any more texts from either of the twins that night. 

It had been innocuous enough– it was just a picture of Emira’s number in Viney’s contacts, after all– but something about being the second half of an implied whole…

Emira let out a soft sigh, rolling up her scroll and poofing it away so she could focus on getting ready for bed, or, at the very least, distract herself from the implications of that image. She pushed herself up out of her desk chair and made for the bathroom, walking out of her room and down the quiet halls of Blight manor. As she passed her younger sister’s room, she could have sworn she’d heard the light trill of a giggle– laughter! In this household? Unheard of. If she had been in brighter spirits, Emira might have peeked in to see if it was Luz she was talking to on the globe, but she wasn’t, so she let Amity be for the time being. There’d be plenty more opportunities to poke fun at Mitten’s crush down the line, after all. 

Instead she finished the short walk down the long hall, opening the last door available and let herself into the spacious bathroom that her and her siblings shared. She stepped up to look right into the mirror. Makeup still in place, hair braided, earrings twinkling against her pale skin. 

Emira Blight looked back at her. 

The small, toothy container on the counter let out a yelp as Emira yanked a wet-wipe from its gaping maw. First it was the eyeliner, then the lipstick, and then everything else. She spent an extra moment scrubbing the beauty mark under her left eye. Her mother had started to draw them on when she and Edric had been very young so that their parents could tell them apart. After that it was simply another step in their shared morning routine. They’d never stopped to think too hard about the implications– well, no, that wasn’t quite right either. In all honesty the twins had just never allowed themselves to think too hard about the implications, because what highschooler had time to unpack all that? Certainly not the Blights; they had to work tooth and nail to stay at the top of their grades while also handling their extracurriculars, taking advantage of every sliver of free time they could wrangle out of their schedule to have even a modicum of fun. 

She gave her face one last wipe before tossing the used cleaning rag into the bin, which chomped down on its latest snack with great enthusiasm, and then went to pick up her hairbrush. One hand undid her thick braid, the other beginning to work at the ends at the knots that had accumulated during the day’s activities. It was easy enough to focus on the sound of her breathing and the stiff claws running through her hair. Anything to keep her mind from wandering to that picture she’d been sent. 

But why was she so upset about it? Viney was right; she was just one half of a pair, especially at Hexside. 

Another sigh escaped into the otherwise silent bathroom.

No, it wasn’t just at school; it was at family functions, social gatherings, holidays, anywhere and everywhere Emira and Edric were known as a package deal. Just one part of the terrible twosome. The brush stopped halfway through Emira’s dark green locks, her gaze settling once again on her reflection. 

The makeup-less, beauty mark free, messy haired stranger looked back at her.

A frown tugged at her lips. She finished brushing her hair and set the brush back on the counter before reaching for the toothpaste, gripping it with more force than necessary while she squeezed the mothmint flavored paste onto her fangbrush. As the foam collected at the corners of her mouth, she made a silent promise to the girl in the mirror; Whoever she was would not be just half of a pair forever. 

Chapter Text

Viney had headed out early, if only to make sure the Blights wouldn’t have time to pull a fast one on her. Eight thirty and she was already weaving her way through the morning crowds of Bonesborough market, the calls of vendors trying to hawk their wares and the chatter of buyers trying to haggle for better prices coming from all directions. 

Reaching into the pocket of her vest, Viney pulled out a single snail, flipping it easily off her thumb and into her palm. The small coin caught the light of the morning sun as she repeated the trick with practiced precision. As she passed by a stall selling pastries, she edited the trajectory of the coin and flipped it into the palm of her favored vendor, who nodded back at her in silent greeting. With a two-finger salute and a wave, Viney picked up a fresh looking sweet bun and continued on her way. 

Someone nearby grunted, and Viney snapped to attention just in time to see someone coming right at her with a stack of chests so high they likely couldn’t see where they were going. 

“Whoa!” Without missing a beat she twisted on her heel and spun out of the way to avoid what would have likely resulted in a lot of bruises. Probably a concussion too, knowing her luck. 

“It’s okay to make two trips, you know!” She called out after the demon, who didn’t even acknowledge that the tidbit of advice had been for them. With a roll of her eyes and a frustrated huff, Viney returned to her morning stroll, though a little more aware of her surroundings this time around. Hopefully that close shave wasn’t a precursor to the rest of her day– maybe if she got into enough trouble at the start, everything would go smoothly at the stables! And maybe if she kept dreaming, she’d find enough money to finally afford that practice wand she’d been wanting to buy for the last year. 

Yeah. Fat chance. 

She walked a little further, summoning her scroll to double check the meeting place. She looked at the picture, brows furrowed, and then glanced back up. This… Well, this was the place, but there was no way they were going to wait in a line like that, right? They’d be waiting all morning, and for what? Cuffee? Viney let out an annoyed huff at the sight. Was this some sort of revenge plan for having them wake up so early on the weekend? Should have figured they’d be the petty type. Whatever the case, she dutifully took a spot at the end of the line and pulled up penstagram to help pass the time. 

Eight forty-five and still no sight of either of the twins, which was fine...she was still early, after all. What bothered her more was the fact that the line hadn’t budged at all from when she’d first arrived. No cup of cuffee could take fifteen minutes to make.

Eight fifty-five. No twins. No progress. Viney scowled, crossing her arms and sinking into her shoulders. This had to be one of their pranks, it had to be.

Nine o’clock. 

“Is this line ever going to move?” The dual-track witch let out a frustrated sigh. 

“Aw, she was saving a spot for us!” A familiar sing-song voice chimed from behind Viney.

“Guess we should have told her the line was an illusion.” Another, deeper voice added.

“So is the entrance.” 

“And the patio seating.” 

“So what part of this shop is real?” Viney let out a long sigh, turning to face Emira and Edric, who wore matching expressions of amusement. The twins shared a look, grinning at each other knowingly. Her jaw tensed. 

“Why don’t we show you?” 

Emira took her left arm, Edric took her right, and, before she could question whether or not she was getting kidnapped, they guided her out of the line. Her eyes widened as Emira’s shoulder clipped through the demon she’d been stuck behind for the last twenty minutes or so. They took her past what she’d thought was the entryway, off to the side, only stopping when they reached a… Well, it looked like a normal enough wall from where the three of them stood.

“Here we are!” Edric waved a hand at the solid surface, as if to show off the spackling. 

“I don’t… I don’t see anything.” Viney narrowed her eyes at it. 

“Are you sure? Maybe…” She looked up towards Emira, who was looking right back at her with those piercing golden eyes, the ever-present twinkle sending a shiver of– well, dread, obviously– down her spine. The Blight twirled a finger and created a small luminescent pale blue circle inches from Viney’s face, gently booping her nose when the spell had been completed. 

“...You just need a change of perspective.” Edric finished. When Viney next opened her eyes she noticed that the empty expanse of wall they’d been standing in front of wasn’t a wall at all, but a hidden entryway that led into a very homey looking cafe; butterfly lights, handmade art along the walls, small booths where students studied and professionals came to work. A true den, hidden away amongst the hustle and bustle of early morning Bonesborough. 

The twins finally released their grip. 

“Welcome to the Den!” Emira tossed her braided hair over one shoulder as she strutted right into the cuffee shop with all the confidence in the world. And then some. How did she manage that? 

“Want anything? Our treat.” Edric offered with a wink, walking backwards to address their plus one.

“…Huh? Oh.” Viney blinked again before moving to follow them inside. Well, if they were buying… The Blights could spare a couple snails for her sort-of second breakfast. “Sure. What’s good?” 

“The question is ‘what isn’t good?’” Edric fell in step with her as they made their way towards the front counter. “Personally I’m a fan of their ghoulberry tart. It’s actually not as sweet as it sounds.” 

“Last week it was the apple and cherry curdled pie– don’t listen to him, he’s got a huge sweet tooth.” Emira didn’t even bother to turn away from the small pastry display as she discredited her brother’s claim. 

“Dang. Okay! Is exposing me in front of everyone we make friends with just part of the routine now, or…?” Edric put a hand to his chest, clearly taken aback by this breach of privacy. 

“Guess we’ll have to make more and find out.”

Viney raised a brow as the twins continued their back and forth. Friends? Well, wasn’t that presumptuous. Trying to get her to lower her guard, no doubt. Unfortunately for them it would take more than just lighthearted sibling ribbing to get past the dual-track witch’s defenses. 

“If the tart’s so sweet, what do you suggest?” She joined Emira by the display case, looking over the other options available. 

“Their belfry bat breakfast bagel is always the way to go.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger towards a dense looking sandwich. “Don’t worry, it’s imitation meat.” 

“Not everyone in the beast keeping track is a vegetarian.” The corners of Viney’s mouth tugged into an exasperated grin. “But it looks good. I’ll take one.” 

“Told you she wasn’t a sweets witch!” Emira shot a smile over her shoulder at Edric, looking for all the world like she’d just won some sort of… Wait. 

“Don’t tell me you made a bet out of this too.” Viney closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“A month’s worth of laundry.” Emira smirked, getting out her wallet to pay for their order. “But we’re not heartless; the winner has to treat the loser today.” 

‘Losers’, Viney wanted to correct, feeling very much like a small token in a game she didn’t know the rules to. 

“Man, I was really banking on getting out of those stuffy family dinners this week…” The other Blight let out a sigh and stuffed his hands into his pocket, accepting his loss with as much grace as he could bother to muster. 

“If you really need to study for the test coming up we could always push it back a week.” His sister’s expression shifted from one of triumph to something openly sympathetic. It seemed as if their coursework took priority, which was a shocking concept to grasp considering all the rumors about how the eldest Blights were always cutting classes and spent all their free time pulling pranks on the faculty and students of Hexside… She wouldn’t have pinned them for witches who took their academic responsibilities seriously. 

“Knew you’d understand, sis.” 

The walk back to campus was surprisingly uneventful. Viney had expected pranks, or invasive questions with embarrassing answers that they’d be able to hold against her at a later date, but neither fear manifested. Instead the twins settled for asking what it was like to study more than one track of magic– they had assumed that Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus would all have their sights set on the Emporer’s Coven. 

“It’s the only one that would allow you to keep using both types of magic.” 

The comment had been offhand– a fair point, too– but it had caused an uncomfortable weight to settle onto Viney’s shoulders. Between extra classes, experimenting with mixing and layering spells from different tracks, and trying to fly under the radar, she hadn’t really had time to think about the long-term problems that studying two different types of magic would bring down the line. Or, she had, but it was something she tried to avoid during her day to day. In all honesty, Viney had no interest in working for the Emperor or enforcing his law, considering she’d been fighting so hard against it for the last couple years of her educational career. After a moment of consideration she simply shrugged. 

“I don’t know, but I do want to open a beast clinic someday.” 

The twins had joked afterwards about how they couldn’t relate to having long-term goals or aspirations. Viney let out a light laugh before steering the subject away from an uncertain future. 

When the trio finally got to the beast-keeping stables, Viney came to a halt in front of the twins, turning to face them with the most authority she could muster. 

“Alright, before we go in, there are a few things to keep in mind. Rule number one; never bring food into the stables with you unless you really want to get eaten.” That was probably the most important; she’d seen it happen before to one of the clueless underclassmen and that had not been a pretty sight. Still, at least the rest of the surviving class had learned something. “Two, if you’re unsure about approaching a beast– don’t. It’s always better to be safe than sorry if you can’t read temperaments well.” 

Edric opened his mouth as if to ask a question. 

“I’ll tell you which ones you can and cannot hold.” 

He promptly lifted what little of his tart remained and took a casual bite from it, his curiosity satiated.  

“The more, uh, dangerous ones are locked up, right?” Emira asked, an unusual waver to her voice.

“No.” Viney chuckled as the twins shared an uncertain look. “But they don’t bother you if you don’t bother them.” 

“I feel like I’ve heard that one before…” Edric said thoughtfully around a mouthful of pastry. 

“Rule number three.” Viney continued. “None of the beasts leave the Hexside campus.” 

Edric raised a finger. 

“ Especially not the ones you can fit in your pockets.” 

He lowered his hand and shoved it into his pocket, deciding it might be best to simply finish his treat in silence. 

With all that settled, Viney fished out a small key from her pants pocket. “They only give this to trusted members of the beast-keeping track, so… No funny business. Seriously.” She leveled the twins with one final look and only hoped that her expression came off as intimidating– or, at the very least sincere. 

“We’d never dream of it.” Emira raised a hand in mock oath. 

“Blight’s honor.” Edric finished, lifting his hand in solidarity. 

“In that case...welcome to the stables.” The dual-track witch turned the key into the padlock, and it opened with a spark of light and a weighty click. The chains rattled as Viney pushed the heavy doors open, mid morning light streaming into the large building and rousing a couple of creatures from their mid-morning nap. A Kelpie breached the surface of its small pool, slitted eyes blinking slowly at the newcomers. A hatchling Wyrm lounged in the rafters, its head tucked against a cool wooden beam as it allowed its tail to swing lazily beneath it, a playful phoenix nipping at it occasionally from its raised perch. A familiar chirping drew Viney’s attention. 

“Hey, Puddles.” She wasted no time walking up to the Griffin’s stable, and he bowed his head so she could pat his beak. Puddles closed his eyes and let out a low coo. “Sorry for not bringing any snacks this time around.” 

A soft gasp from behind prompted Viney to turn back towards the twins– they were both still standing near to the open door, but each looked in wide-eyed wonder at Puddles. Edric seemed to be having a hard time standing still, hands held up to his face as he bit back a giddy smile. Emira on the other hand had her brows knitted in uncertainty and had taken to hiding behind her brother. 

“You can pet him. Puddles, be nice, I’m showing these two around today.” 

Edric let out an excited squeal and immediately joined Viney. Everything about him– from the pose to the smile to the bouncing on the balls of his feet– was reminiscent of a child in a candy shop, and Viney couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle at the sight. 

“Alright, palm out and put your fingers together, like this.” Viney took one of Edric’s hands and guided it into position. Puddles, recognizing the familiar gesture, eagerly leaned into his palm and let out another gentle coo. 

“Eee!” And just when she thought Edric’s smile couldn’t get any wider. “Oh my Titan! You are just the sweetest, aren’t you? Aren’t you? And you’re so soft too– Em, get over here and pet this Griffin! You’ve never felt anything like this!” 

“Are… Are you sure? Because the throw in the study is a pretty high bar.” Emira began to slowly move towards the other two witchlings, shoulders tensed, head down, and her eyes darted towards every stall and cage she passed. It was as if she expected something to break loose and go for her jugular– which, to be fair, wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. 

Viney just smiled, walking back to Emira and taking her hand in an attempt to calm her nerves. Soft hands. Kinda cold. Not that anybody was taking notes. 

“You need to relax; you’re going to put all the beasts on edge if you keep acting like a prey animal.”

“Wow, you use that on all the girls you bring here?” Emira joked, though her shoulders were still squared, her expression tight. 

“Puddles isn’t going to bite.” Viney decided to ignore that last comment. 

“I’m more worried about the spiders.” 

“That’s a defense mechanism. As long as you don’t blast him with spells we’ll all stay spider-free.” Viney gave Emira’s hand another squeeze as they stopped next to Edric, who was still running his fingers along the Griffin’s cheek. It took some coaxing, but Viney finally managed to convince Emira that she wouldn’t lose any of her own digits, and the Blight tentatively held out a single shaky hand.

Puddles blinked at the new palm, a little confused by all the attention– though clearly not displeased as he quickly nuzzled his beak into it. Emira flinched, closing her eyes at the contact, and Viney was pretty sure she was holding in a breath. A far cry from her brother’s enthusiasm. 

It was funny, seeing them so out of sync. Whenever Viney had seen them briefly in the halls or sitting hip to hip in the cafeteria they’d always worn the same expressions, been talking about similar topics with their friends, and once she’d heard that they could even complete each other’s spells. Yet here they were, Emira finally peeking out to see if she’d lost her appendage while Edric buried his face into the side of Puddle’s neck. 

“Wow. He… He is soft.” The more nervous of the two finally allowed her shoulders to relax a little as Puddles nudged further into her palm, pushing her hand up into his crest feathers. 

A muffled ‘Told you so’ came from Edric. 

“Alright, did you guys come here to study beasts or did you come here to fawn over my Griffin?” Viney raised a brow at them both as they spoiled Puddles. 

Edric was immediately at attention. “Bats?” 

Oh, right. 

Viney had forgotten about that.

Chapter Text

The walk back to Blight Manor was quiet– they usually were when the twins didn’t have company. Edric ran his thumb along his scroll, sliding through the dozens of new pictures he’d taken that morning at the stables; at least twelve of them were dedicated solely to different species of bats, all cuddled into the palm of his hand or against his chest, while the others were an assortment of Puddles making funny faces, Viney hand feeding a Hellhound, and Emira standing stock still as a Phoenix made a nest out of the top of her head. She had been picking feathers out of her hair right up until they’d said their goodbyes to Viney. 

All in all it had been really fun. And of course he’d wanted to share the morning’s activities with his contacts list, but… what if it got back to their parents? He already knew what they thought of the Beast-Keeping Coven, which meant he already knew how they would react if they got wind of him showing anything other than a passing interest in the class. Sure, it had been for an assignment and he could pass it off as no big deal, but he really didn’t want to have to sit through another ‘Blights are above all that!’ spiel. 

Worse still, now they’d be referring to one of his new friends as below them. It wasn't even that they'd mention Viney by name, but... it was the way they turned their noses up at any coven seen as less powerful or influential than whatever they thought was worthy of their time. And, by extension, their children's' time. 

Something cold and uncomfortable settled in his gut as he recalled a distant memory of his younger sister’s birthday, the slamming of a door, and a small girl with glasses running past him through the foyer, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

He sighed, sending one of the really cute bat pics to Jerbo before tucking his scroll away. 

“What’s with the long face? You had way more fun in there than I did.” Emira asked as she picked yet another feather out of her hair and tossed it off to the side. 

If he were in a better mood he might have pointed out the fact that Emira had spent the whole morning practically attached to Viney’s arm, but instead he settled on a small shrug, kicking a loose pebble along the side of the road. 

“Just bummed I can’t show off how good you look in red to any of our friends.” Edric settled on a half truth. 

“I’m sure our parents would be thrilled if they saw me playing the part of a bird’s nest.” 

“Hey, at least Amity’ll get a kick out of it.” He tried to put a positive twist on the situation, as usual. 

“You’re not seriously thinking of sending those pictures to her, are you?” Emira’s tone took a serious edge which caught Edric a little off-guard; granted, their sister had snitched on them once or twice about skipping classes before, but she’d been loosening up lately! No thanks to their meddling, of course, but ever since Luz had entered the picture Amity hadn’t exactly been keeping on top of her rule enforcing duties– just last week she’d seen the twins sneaking back into Hexside grounds and hadn’t brought it up during that night’s obligatory family dinner.

“Why not?” He shot back, sounding more defensive than he wanted to let on. 

“I don’t want her– I don’t know. Lording it over us.” 

“Wait.” Edric stopped in his tracks, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief; he could not believe what he was hearing. “You think she’d use this as leverage– us, spending a couple hours in the beast-keeping stables, studying– when she knows full well we can pull the crush card on her at any time?” 

The math didn’t add up, and Emira's brow twitched in that way it did whenever she’d been backed into a corner. He’d hit something, even if it had been a shot in the dark.

“It’s not– I mean, sure, we can, but that wouldn’t stop her from–” And now she wouldn’t even make eye contact with him. Hm! Fascinating, truly, this day was just chock full of surprises. “What if she tells?” 

“Ooh, scary!” Edric quickly caught up to his sister, putting on his best Amity impression. “‘Mother, Father, look, the twins have been associating with the dual-track delinquents!’ to which we would simply say– Mother, Father, look, the youngest has been seen in public with a wanted criminal and her fully human understudy! Oh, also she’s been hanging out with Willow again, and we can’t forget about the fact that she still reads that childish Azura series in secret at the library–!” 

“Okay, okay!” She’d finally had enough of the hypothetical. “Look, just– don’t tell her. Yet.” 

“Okay, fine! I don’t know what you’re worried about though.” He shrugged, raising his hands defensively. The answer had been… Unsatisfying, to say the least, but Edric decided it’d be best to drop it for now; Emira would tell him when she was ready. She always did. 

A tense silence settled between the pair as they continued their walk. 

“ …We wouldn’t do that, would we?” The question was so quiet Edric nearly missed it. 

“Do what?” He shot back, not bothering to look in her direction. 

“We wouldn’t actually tell Mother and Father about what Mittens has been up to. They’d… ” 

Edric finally looked up and the twins locked eyes. Something in Emira’s expression made his chest tighten uncomfortably. His sister was right; their parents would truly flip if they ever found out what sort of trouble their younger sister had been getting into recently. It’d be total Blight Lockdown as their parents ran damage control and cut all three of them off from the rest of the world; the eldest siblings would likely be put under constant surveillance, have their schedules tightened until there’d barely be any room to breathe, and Amity...well. They’d force her to cut off everyone she’d started to hang out with and open up to- including the twins. 

Would he really be willing to risk the hints of rebellion, the fleeting smiles as his younger sister discreetly checked her scroll under the table at dinner, the late night laughter barely muffled from her room right before bed? 

“… No, no way. I was kidding. We both took an oath- neither of us are going to mention the human in front of our parents.” Their pace had slowed considerably and at this point Edric came to a stop in the middle of the road. Em seemed to notice as she also came to a halt a couple paces ahead of him. “That’d just be cruel.” 

There were jokes and there were pranks… and then there was just being an asshole. Granted, sometimes they liked to tread the line, but after the library they’d promised they’d be a little more careful about Amity’s boundaries. 

Emira finally let out a small sigh. It might have been relieved? Or tired. Exasperated?

“Right. And we’re done being cruel.” 

“To Amity, anyways. Sister privileges. ” His tone was soft, but there was that telltale playful lilt to his voice.

That caught Em’s attention, and she turned to regard him with a wry grin. Seemed this joke had landed a little better than the last. 

“We’re going to have to extend our good graces to more than siblings if we’re going to keep Viney and Jerbo around; those two are flightier than that Phoenix we met today.” 

“I dunno- I think a prank war with Viney would be fun! Imagine; you’ll never trust another biscuit in your life!” 

“Oh, shut up !” Emira reached out and slapped his arm. 

The silence that settled between them after that was much more agreeable. 

It wasn’t long afterwards that they reached the gates leading to Blight Manor, and to the twins' shared surprise they noticed that Amity had perched upon the rarely used porch furniture and seemed to be enjoying the amicable Boiling Isles weather with nothing but a glass of iced mulledberry juice. There wasn’t a textbook or academic paper in sight! She wasn’t even reading for fun! 

“Em… did she… do you think she finally broke?” Edric raised a hand to stage whisper conspiratorially with Emira, who leaned with a matching expression of mock concern as they approached. 

“I don’t know, Ed… maybe she’s been replaced?” 

“Faeries, you think?”

Amity only lowered her cup and glowered at them, sharp amber eyes snapping to something just past Emira’s shoulder. 

“I really hope you left the birds with that double-track girl.” 

That shut the both of them up. The eldest sister quickly ran her fingers through her still slightly mussed hair, coming away with a single red feather that Edric had somehow missed. Whoops.

“Oh don’t look so shocked- Luz told me about your extra credit this morning. Mother and Father were very pleased to hear that you two were taking time out of your weekends to further your academic career within the Illusion Track. They’re certain you’ll make Emperor's Coven material in no time.” 

The twins were once again left speechless as Amity made to take another sip of her drink. Up until this point she’d just stopped trying to actively get them in trouble, but this… no, this was different; Amity had- well, not lied, technically, but she’d bent the truth to their parents about where the twins had been to cover for them. 

And then their faces both split into mischievous grins, their youngest sister’s expression of cool confidence quickly wilting under their gazes. 

“...what.” Amity finally dared to speak. "Why are you looking at me like that? Stop it." 

“Aw, Mittens,” Ed quickly stepped forward, leaning down as he put an innocent hand against his cheek. He wasn’t about to let this teasing opportunity slip by- sure, Sister Privileges , but he’d still allow himself a little fun. “You do care!” 

“Look who's gone soft on us!” Emira matched him motion for motion. “But how will we ever hone our troublemaking skills if you aren’t trying to snitch on us for every little rule we break?” 

The youngest witchling set down her drink so she could cross her arms, huffing indignantly. 

“I’m never doing you any favors ever again...” She grumbled, cheeks red, and Edric had to wave his hands, breaking his teasing facade with laughter. 

“No, no! We really are grateful, Mittens!” He said, his smile all teeth. “It’s just so-” 

“It’s just so new!” Emira interjected, leaning on her twin. 

“Unexpected!” Ed agreed. 

“Rebellion is a good look on you though- and we’ve probably got Luz to thank for that, right?”

All the answer either of them needed was the new shade of red Amity’s cheeks turned at the mention of her favorite human. Edric barely managed to hold back another bout of laughter as she continued to sink into her shoulders. Still, he was genuinely happy that she’d finally made a friend who managed to draw any sort of emotion other than ‘mildly annoyed’ out of her. 

“Whatever!” She suddenly stood up, stomping past them and towards the front door. “Next time I'll tell them you’re both eating dirt in the Plant Track greenhouse!” She entered the manor and slammed the door in her siblings' faces.   

“Mittens, wait!”

“Mittens, no!” 

The twins gave chase, trying- and failing- not to laugh.

Chapter Text

“Let’s go over what we know.” Viney looked at Jerbo and Barcus, her jaw set as they huddled together in their troublemakers’ hideaway. 

“ First -” Jerbo started, taking his scroll out of his bag. “The two eldest Blight children now have our contact information and have taken to bombarding us with criminally cute demon pics and flirtatious one-liners.” 

“ Second -” Viney continued. “I’ve spent a cumulative four hours with both of them in the beast-keeping stables and did not have to resort to any physical or magical violence to keep them in line.”

“ Woof! ” Barcus added, causing Viney to sharply inhale between her teeth. 

“Right, and without feeding them any more of Puddle’s treats.” 

“And they didn’t attempt to get back at you for, uh. That .” Jerbo tapped his fingers nervously to the surface of his scroll, doing his best to ignore the one unread message from the aforementioned twins. Probably Edric. “Right? No set up in the- they didn’t do anything, like, weird in the stables?” 

“Edric definitely tried to sneak one of our white-nosed puffbats out in his pocket, but other than that? Nothing.” Viney confirmed. To anyone else it might have sounded like she was annoyed at the prospect of the Blights not causing her any problems; and, honestly? Maybe she was. Maybe it was hard wrestling with the fact that every rumor they’d heard about the Blights might be wrong. Maybe she was frustrated that every preconception they’d had about their characters needed to be replaced by a big blank question mark. “And I would know- I triple checked every cage and every corner before I left. There wasn’t a single latch out of place.” 

“But what does that mean?!” Jerbo threw his arms in the air, his scroll flying out of his hand and onto the top of Luz’s head with a light bonk .

“Oop!” The human reached up to pluck the scroll out of her hair. “It probably means the two enemy factions are realizing their misconceptions about the other parties and are growing closer as friends?” Her statement ended in an unmistakably hopeful lilt, big brown eyes ping-ponging between the three dual-track students. Her gaze was met with varying degrees of agreement or resignation.

Viney was still hesitant, however. Did she have a fun day showing the Blights all the different creatures that were able to live in the stables? Yes. Did the Blights also pay attention to her lengthy explanation about Griffin self-defense mechanisms when they’d asked for clarification about the spiders that Puddles would occasionally spit up? Also yes. Had they kept their promise about not jeopardizing Viney’s position at school by avoiding unnecessary magic usage while in the stables? For a third time, yes. 

Now, did she trust Emira and Edric Blight? 

“...I don’t know, Luz. Helping them with their homework assignment and keeping them at the top of the academic pecking order is one thing, becoming their friend… that’s a completely different beast.” 

Jerbo’s scroll pinged again, unfurling in Luz’s hand to draw attention to the unread notifications. 

“Oh! Jerbo, Amity’s texting you!” 

“What?” Jerbo immediately reached out to grab his scroll back, fumbling it and dropping it onto the stone floor in his haste to read his notes. “Wh-why?” 

“Something about a check-in?” Luz answered with a shrug, wrapping her hands around her knees as she curled back in on herself. “In any case, thanks for giving them a chance. Amity says you’re all the twins have been talking about lately. They seem really excited to be making new friends!” 

“...ruff.” Barcus raised a brow at Luz. 

Jerbo and Viney both looked towards Luz as well. They were curious to hear her answer. 

“Oh, well…” Again, her gaze drifted from the group, her smile tempering at the edges as she carefully considered how to phrase what she wanted to say. “I… I just think your friendship is something, uh, special to them! I dunno. I guess it’s just a feeling I get!” She couldn’t look at them- a clear sign she was hiding something. Maybe she knew more and couldn’t let on? Or maybe she’d finally learned an oracle glyph and saw something that the double-track students had to figure out on their own. Either way, it was very deja-vu; the last time they’d gathered like this, Luz had given a similarly vague answer to a related line of questioning. 

Jerbo cleared his throat, his next question spoken with a soft curiosity. “Luz, um… you know more about the Blights than any of us, so... do you really think it’s safe for us to get involved with them? I mean we’re studying more than one track of magic- we’re breaking societal rules every time we wake up in the morning and get dressed for school, je sais, regarde-nous! Are you sure they won’t get us in trouble?” 

The human furrowed her brows, releasing her knees to sit up properly. She actually managed to make eye contact with them when she answered this time. 

“I can’t promise that they won’t get you into trouble, but I can tell you that they’ll stick up for the people they care about and that they’re willing to learn and grow from the mistakes they make. I mean, I'm friends with Amity and all the trouble I've been in here at Hexside I got into on my own terms!” Gus lying about her eligibility for campus touring notwithstanding. 

“Alright, well,” Was all Jerbo managed to get out before his scroll pinged him again. 

‘Hello, is this Jerbo?’ 
‘This is Amity. Willow mentioned you needed help with your abominations check-in work.’ 
‘Let me know if you’d like to meet up after school. I tutor Luz during the week as well if you’d prefer working with a friend.’

He looked at the opened conversation with trepidation. 

‘Hi amity, this is jerbo.’
'Sorry i didn’t message you sooner, check ins are pretty soon.’ 
‘When are you meeting with luz this week?’ 

‘Oh, yeah those are right around the corner. I tutor Luz tomorrow, actually.'
‘I’m sure she’d be happy to have you join.’ 

‘She’s here right now actually, let me ask.’ 

“Uh, hey.” Jerbo spoke up again, not daring to look away from his scroll’s glowing surface. “Luz, would it be okay if I studied with you and Amity tomorrow? For my, uh, more traditional abominations homework?” 

“Of course!” He couldn’t see it, but the human perked up at the prospect of spending more time with more of her friends, practically bouncing where she sat. “Study buddies!” 

‘She said yes.’ 

‘Great. See you tomorrow, Jerbo.’ 
‘Also, I hope my brother hasn’t been bothering you too much. Let me know if he messages you during class and I’ll make sure he stops.’ 

How considerate. 

“Oh man, speaking of studies and buddies, I gotta get back to the Owl House! Gus promised to show me a presentation on illusion basics!” Luz jumped to her feet, snatching her bag up off the floor before spinning a full 180 degrees to make sure nothing had fallen out of her pockets that she’d miss. “Okay, okay, I gotta run guys! See you tomorrow?” The human did her strange thumb and pointer finger gesture at the group, which Viney reciprocated. 

“Definitely! We’ll get you to tell us what happened on your field trip to the Emperor’s palace later.” 

Luz’s entire posture tensed up at that, but she continued to force a smile as she hurried out one of the many exits. “Yeeeeeup! Definitely! Absolutely will tell you about thatsometimebutnotnowbyeeee!” And then she was gone. 

It wasn’t long after she left that Barcus let out an unmistakably concerned huff. 

“Yeah, I’m curious too, but what can ya do?” Viney shrugged as she leaned back onto her hands. “She’ll tell us eventually.” 

“I wonder if either of the twins know anything.” Jerbo mumbled mostly to himself as he closed his chat with Amity and opened the one he had going with Edric. He narrowed his eyes at the single unread message on his screen. 

‘heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!’

“Even if they don’t, Amity might since she hangs out with Luz pretty much all the time now.” Viney offered. Ever since that night Luz had appeared on the news at Eda the Owl Lady’s would-be petrification, they’d been practically attached at the hip at school. Willow and Gus were never too far either. It seemed that whatever had happened had the friends group on something of a high alert- not that anybody could blame them. Being fugitives of the empire probably wasn’t the most lax position to hold on the Isles. 

“Roof.” Barcus nodded in agreement. 

“Either way, it’s worth asking.” 

Jerbo only offered an absent nod in response as he began typing on his scroll. 

‘Hi edric.’ 
‘Do u need something?’ 

‘c’mon can’t a guy want to chat without having ulterior motives?’ 

‘Depends on the guy, i guess.’ 

‘then i’ll try to keep u guessing. u up to anything tomorrow after school?’ 

That...couldn’t have been a coincidence. A nervous hand ran through tousled brown hair. 

‘I’m studying with Luz and Amity tomorrow, actually.’ 
'Why?’ 

‘oh! dang i was gonna ask u to show me the greenhouse or hangout at the market or smth but if ur busy ur busy’ 
‘if u are studying w those two tho would u keep an eye on amity?’  
‘1) cuz it's hilarious’
‘2) she’s rly worried abt Luz, she's stressin' 

Jerbo jerked upright at that. Oh. Wait, no! He couldn’t worry about his friend’s personal life right now, he was being suspicious.

‘Uh yeah. I’ll make sure they’re ok.’ 

‘thnx! let me know where ur studying and i’ll bring smth for you when i pick up amity’ 
‘are u a sweet guy or a savory guy?’ 
'i mean obvs ur a sweet guy but i figure i better ask just to make double sure ;^)’ 

“Jerbo, you’re having a face journey.” Viney chuckled at her classmate’s expression, and he jerked towards them with his eyebrows still stuck at his hairline. 

“Huh?”

“Wuff!” Barcus’ tail thumped against the stone floor in amusement. 

“Am not!” Jerbo covered his face with a hand, attempting to feel if his cheeks were any warmer than usual. 

“Who’re you texting?” Can’t blame a girl for being curious. 

“It’s just...Edric. He’s, uh.” Jerbo half-answered, not removing his hand as he continued to try and hide the faint trail of heat across the bridge of his nose. Barcus was right; he was definitely blushing. 

‘Sweets are fine.’ 

‘haha called it em totally owes me’ 

“He’s what?” Viney leaned forward. Barcus quickly backed her up, standing from his spot as he barked out a threat to come over and read the conversation out loud. 

“He’s asking if I’m a sweet guy.” 

The words were already out before he could catch them and all three dual-track students stared at each other. Jerbo’s hand was no longer enough to hide the blush creeping up into the tips of his ears. 

“A- A sweets guy!” He corrected desperately.

But it was too late, the damage was done. Barcus and Viney were wheezing with laughter at his expense. 

Luz pushed one of the many hidden entryways open, popping out of a couple lockers in order to more quickly get to her own; couldn’t show up to Gus’s instructional seminar without her illusory theory textbook after all! As she slid the door shut the seams disappeared and the locker that had just been separated neatly down the middle just moments ago now blinked slowly down at the human, unfazed. 

“Huh. They really don’t feel that, do they.” She said quietly. 

“Yeah, you think they’d be a little more uncomfortable being split open like that.” A familiar, playfully boyish voice chimed from behind her. Luz leapt into the air with a surprised yelp, stumbling back as she landed before gracefully falling on her rear right in front of a set of very familiar twins. 

“Oh! Ha- hey, Em, Ed, what are...what are you doing here?” She crossed her legs and leaned back onto one hand as she turned towards the two, posing on the tiled hallway in an attempt to pass off her blunder. “Pretty sure I didn’t see you when I walked out just, y’know, two seconds ago!” 

In fact she was positive they hadn’t been there when she’d walked out- she’d made double sure to check the coast was clear this time! 

“Yeah, whoever was in charge of making that…” Emira gestured vaguely to the wall Luz had just popped out of. 

“Shortcut.” Edric’s eyes shone with mischievous wonderment. 

“Really should have considered making the doors swing inwards. Must be pretty inconvenient only being able to check one side of the hallway.” She offered a hand to a Luz, her smile as self-assured as ever. 

The human’s expression buckled, a cold sweat already percolating on her brow as she realized the shortcomings of Eda’s design. The twins had found her out, and- well, if she were being honest, they were kinda, sorta, the very super last people she would have wanted knowing about the secret room of shortcuts especially with how suspicious her other multi-track classmates were in general, but specifically with how suspicious they were towards these Blights. Letting them into the room now would be like lighting a powder keg already laden high with misunderstandings and distrust. 

“She looks like we caught her with her hand in the cookie jar.” Edric waved a hand in front of her face, which made her jerk upright as she realized she had yet to actually get up off the floor. 

“Don't be mean, she's working hard to keep a secret.” Emira’s grip was firm as she lifted Luz back to her feet with ease. Boiling Isles witches and their weirdly superhuman strength… 

“It’s sweet, but don’t worry; Amity already threatened us with physical violence if we tried to bug you about that. It’s what you multi-track guys use to get to all your classes, right?” 

“She did? Oh- hah, great!” Luz let out a relieved sputter. “I mean, not great that she threatened you, but, y’know! Great that I don’t have to try and come up with some excuse not to talk to you about it!” As much as she would do anything to keep herself in Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus’s good graces, she also knew that she was extremely susceptible to peer pressure and probably would have cracked with enough prodding from two very cool upperclassmen. “And you’re right! It’s the key to my near perfect attendance record!” 

The Blight siblings wordlessly shared a look.

“See, this is why Amity likes her.” Emira grinned at her brother, and it was at this point that the human registered that the witch’s delicately manicured hand was still wrapped loosely around her wrist. “Bragging about getting to class on time- it's so cute.” 

Edric matched her expression, placing a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Definitely the kind of positive influence Amity needs in her life.” And a wink, just for good measure. 

Luz could only manage a small giggle as she felt heat rise into her cheeks. Yup. Absolutely without question would have cracked. 

“And just to make double-sure,”

“We’re not allowed to use it, right?” 

Ah, and the cold sweat was back. Luz hated the thought of saying no to two of her friends, but…

Emira sighed, releasing Luz. “If it isn’t an immediate ‘yes’…” 

“Then it’s definitely a ‘no’.” Edric finished, also retracting his hand. “Too bad; just think of all the fun we coulda had with it.”

“Relabeling all the potions ingredients in Professor Beakly’s office at the end of third period…” 

“... and then across campus before lunch starts!” 

Luz could only grimace quietly- probably not a good time to bring up the fact that that was the exact reason the other troublemakers didn’t want the Blight twins to have access to to the secret room of shortcuts. They were already on such thin ice. 

“Sorry... but, hey, I’m sure Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus will show you how to get in once you level up your friendship!” And with the way things were going it would only be a matter of time before the twins were handed a chalky key! After all, if Willow and Gus- wait. Oh no. “GUS!” 

“Hm?”

“What about him?”

“I’m late!” Luz blanched as she recalled her prior appointment, rushing over to her locker and quickly retrieving her textbooks. “I’d, uh, love to hang out but I gotta run? Afterschool learning, woo! Seeya!” 

“Later, Luz!” Edric waved to the human as she bolted down the hall, nearly tripping over herself as she rounded a corner and disappeared. "Never seen someone so excited to be a nerd." 

“Speaking of nerds, what do you think it’ll take to get Amity to give us a full report of her study group tomorrow?” Emira clasped her hands behind her back as she spun on her heel and headed down the empty corridor, her brother following close behind.