Chapter Text
Morning on the Boiling Isles is something that took Luz a while to get used to. Sure it wasn’t all bad, but it certainly wasn’t all good either. This morning was one of those not-so-good mornings.
“Ugh, what is crushing meeee??” Luz groaned, still half asleep. She flailed about, trying to figure out what could possibly be crushing her at this hour of morning. Her hands met feathers...lots of feathers. Her eyes flashed open as she realized just what was on top of her once-sleeping form.
Hooty
“AAH! HOOTY GET OFF ME!”
“Hoot Hoot! Soooorryy Luz, you just looked soooooOOOoooo comfy!” Hooty said as he retreated back through the window from whence he came.
“Ugh. He gives me the absolute creeps sometimes. I don’t know how Eda has been able to put up with him all these years” Luz said with a shudder before laying back down in an attempt to go back to sleep.
She was just letting go of the last bits of consciousness when a single thought flooded her mind, causing her to shoot out of her bed, get dressed as fast as humanly (or inhumanly) possible, and race downstairs.
This thought drove her every frantic action, filled every nook and cranny of her mind, and almost made her stumble over a very sleepy demon on her rampant run to the kitchen. She was meeting Amity at the library for Azura Book Club later today.
“Weh! Watch out Luz! You should be bowing down and begging for forgiveness for this great offence against me, the absolute ruler!” King wailed as Luz ran past and skidded to a stop in the kitchen.
“Sorry King! I gotta go soon!” Luz called behind her as she began rummaging through the cupboards looking for something even remotely edible.
She found a piece of suspicious bread and a couple other things that smelled ok and went about making a strange cross between a salad and a sandwich. It was piled high with a myriad of multicolored objects that were pretty unidentifiable to Luz, but she knew they were probably ok to eat, being that they were in Eda’s kitchen. She decided not to think about it too long, and brought it to the living room so she could eat it on the couch. King followed on her heels, most likely in hopes to get a bite of the concoction.
“Hey Luz?” King asked with pleading eyes, pulling on the hem of Luz’s hoodie a bit.
“Yes King, you little cutie?” Luz replied, mouth still full of food.
“Where are you going later? Can I come with you? Eda has been a bit distant lately and I need my dose of snuggles today.”
“Awww King I’m sorry, you can’t come with me today. Maybe tomorrow though. I have a feeling you might not want to see the person I’m meeting with today, considering she smashed your cupcake back at the Covention…”
King let out an accusatory gasp “You’re conspiring with the Cupcake Smasher! Luz you traitor! How could you abandon me like this!”
“I’m sorry King, but it’s an important meeting! I promise that you can come with me when I go out tomorrow,, but this one is gonna be suuuper important, so I thought it would be best if it was just me and Amity for today. I hope you can understand that i would never exclude you if it wasn’t really important to me”
“Well.. I guess I can excuse it just this once. But you have to repay me with snacks and snuggle time when you get back, ok?” King said as he took a tentative bite of Luz’s food. It was good, but a bit too sour for him to really enjoy it so he didn’t take another.
“Of course King, anything for my boo-boo buddy.” Luz replied as she finished off the salad-wich and got up from the couch with her plate and fork.
She went back upstairs to get her bag and a couple supplies before heading out the door, grabbing her bag, pencils, paper, some drawings she had done of a few of her favorite scenes from books 3 and 4 (she hadn’t gotten around to drawing about book 5 yet) and put them all safely in her yellow messenger bag with all her favorite pins on it.
Once she had all her precious cargo secured, she made her way downstairs once more, making sure to be more careful this time and watch out for any little demons in the way. When she made it all the way downstairs, she had the thought that it might be a good idea to let Eda know that she was leaving, but ultimately decided against it when she remembered that Eda has been pretty distant lately. She made a mental note to check up on her when she got back.
~~~~
Luz bounded through Bonesborough, taking in all the sights and sounds that had become familiar to her in her time on the Boiling Isles. The market, full of hustling and bustling merchants and customers, the living area packed full of houses with features and additions that she could never hope to come up with, the playground in the city square where she and King spent quite a bit of time.
And finally she was there. The Library.
She skids to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and leaps up them two at a time, almost tripping in the process. As she enters the extravagant building, her breath escapes her as it did the first time. ‘This place never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I come here’ Luz thought in wonder as she took in all the sights in the foyer. Once she regains her bearings and has the thought again, she takes off looking for a particular green-haired witchling, not quite remembering where the romance section is located in the library.
It doesn’t take her very long to find her though, as while the library is big, it is very organised and methodic, making it very easy to find the exact section you are looking for.
Luz rounds a corner and spots a familiar ponytail just a few yards away, pacing back and forth in front of what Luz could now see was the Romance Section.
“Amity!” Luz called, forgetting the absolute silence that reigned supreme in the library.
“Luz!” Amity called back, though much quieter, for she hadn’t forgotten the unspoken rule of all libraries.
Luz stopped just in front of Amity, already practically vibrating with excitement.
“Are you ready for the first ever meeting of Azura Book Club? Gosh I can’t wait!”
Amity shushes her and takes Luz’s hand, looking both was and behind her
“Remember? This is supposed to be a secret!” she says to Luz in a whisper-yell. “I don’t want a repeat of the Library Incident, so it’s best to not let Ed and Em know about this. Got it?”
Luz gulps then nods, shrinking a little bit under Amity’s soft yet steady gaze
“Now come in before somebody sees you” Amity leads Luz into the secret hideout, the bookcase quietly thudding back into place behind them as they walk in.
Amity notices that their hands are still intertwined and flushes a bit before letting go. Luz doesn’t seem to mind much though.
“You’re still technically banned. I had to pull a couple strings for them to even let you through the door” Amity says as the bookcase closes completely, shutting them off from the rest of the library.
“Ha! You really have gone soft! Breaking the rules for little ol’ me? Doesn’t sound like something Miss Amity “Top Student” Blight would do, now does it?” Luz snickers.
The witch goes silent for a moment, then stutters out a barely audible “maybe” before making her way over to the desk and setting her copy of the Good Witch Azura, Volume 4 down.
Luz takes this time to really admire all the small differences in the room from the last time she was in here. There’s a few folded blankets sitting near the bookcase labelled “My Favorite Books” in pretty handwriting, 2 cups of tea sitting on the desk, still giving off steam, a stack of paper with a few colored pencils, and a new addition to the wall: a chalkboard.
Amity turns around with a flourish, pulling Luz’s attention away from what looked to be Azura fanart…
“Ok! So since this is the first ever meeting of the Azura Book Club, I thought it would be a good idea to set up some rules together.” Amity said as she gestured to the chalkboard. Then with a swift flick of her wrist, she draws a spell circle, summoning a piece of colored chalk.
“We’ll do a tradeoff. I’ll write one rule that we both agree on, then you’ll write on. Sound fair?”
“Of course fair maiden” Luz says grandly, dipping into a bow. She goes down a bit further than she expected, beginning to lose her balance. Quickly shutting her eyes, she waits for the impact of her face on the floor.
That moment never comes.
Luz cracks her eyes open hesitantly, wondering why she isn't a human-shaped pancake that needs to be scraped off the wooden floor. Her eyes first land on the slender arms wrapped protectively around her waist, keeping her from falling to the ground. Then she catches the gaze of the witch.
A soft yet electrifying stare commands Luz’s attention, those deep golden eyes a sight to get lost in.
Luz’s breath catches in the back of her throat, and she whispers out before she can think “W..wow. Your eyes are really pretty Amity.”
In response to this, Amity gasps, then proceeds to practically fling herself across the room, hitting her back against the chair.
Once she had finally settled her breathing Amity spoke.
“I’m just glad you didn’t hurt yourself. A-anyway here.” She lightly tosses Luz the chalk piece. “You can write the first one.”
Luz fumbles to catch the chalk, then turns to face the blank chalkboard with her finger lightly tapping her chin in thought.
“Well since this is a SECRET club, how about…” she trails off as she begins to write on the board. Amity walks over to get a better look at what it reads after Luz finishes.
The chalkboard reads: “1st Rule of Azura Book Club: Don’t Talk About Azura Book Club”
Amity laughs a bit as she reads it. A small chuckle more than laugh, but still a win in Luz’s book.
“Luz, doesn’t this seem a little redundant to you? The sentiment is still there though. I approve of this rule.”
“Alright! Rule number one! This is gonna be done in no time at this rate!” Luz cheers with a pump of her fist.
~~~~
They continue going back and forth until they have a total of 7 rules.
Rule 1) Don’t talk about Azura Book Club
Rule 2) There will be no mocking of artistic ability
Rule 3) NO SHIP WARS
Rule 4) Theories are encouraged
Rule 5) Be quiet while the other member is reading, writing, or drawing
Rule 6) Meetings will be as often as possible, but mainly every other day
Rule 7) Most of all, Ed and Em CANNOT know about this
Once they’re done, Luz and Amity take a step back from the chalkboard to admire their handiwork.
“Whew, all that rule-writing made me thirsty!” Luz says with a huff as she flops onto one of the beanbag chairs.
“Good thing I prepared some tea just for the occasion.” Amity states proudly. She hands Luz the still-warm cup of tea, then pulls out the chair from her desk to sit next to her.
They sit there for a while, just taking in each other's company and presence.
Luz is the first to break the gentle silence of the room.
“Y’know, I’ve never had something like this before.”
“What do you mean?” Amity replied quickly, worry seeping into her tone.
“This.” Luz said, gesturing to the witch in front of her. “I’ve never had anyone to talk about Azura or… really anything with before. Everybody back at home thought I was just some weirdo that should be ignored. I didn’t have any friends at all. Except well, Azura of course, I had thought that that would always be enough for me. Until I came here and met you guys. Willow and Gus and Eda and King… and you Amity. I couldn’t ask for better people to have in my life..” in those last few words, tears trail their way down Luz’s sorrow expression.
“Hey hey it’s ok. You can cry, don’t worry. I’m here…”
Amity rushes over and takes the cup from Luz, setting it on the desk. Then in one swift motion, she has Luz covered in a blanket and pulls a beanbag chair over so she can sit and face Luz.
“Would you like to talk about it or do you want to be distracted?”
“Distraction p-please..” Luz says between sniffles.
“Hmm…” Amity thinks for a moment. “Tell me about one of your favorite scenes in the Good Witch Azura.”
Luz takes a few rattly inhales, trying to steady her breathing before she speaks.
“W-well, one part I always liked thinking about was that one time in the Bog of Immediate Regret, when Azura had challenged Hecate to a Witch's Duel. It was so like her to go headfirst into a battle like that, and it was also just like Hecate to go along with it without hesitation. The part about that whole chapter that I think about the most though would have to be what happened near the end.”
Luz pauses for a moment, like she’s seeing the scene in her head all over again. Amity definitely is, for that scene is one of her favorites as well.
“You mean the part where after Azura runs after Hecate and finds her trying to hide, then asks her to join her on her quest for peace?”
“Yeah that part!” Luz says beaming.
“That’s my favorite part of book 3!” Amity practically shouts with excitement.
“Mine too! I especially like how Hecate gets all tsundere about it, saying she’s ‘still gonna be Azura’s bitter rival’ and that she ‘Shouldn’t get any ideas about being all buddy-buddy’” Luz says, making air quotations with her fingers when she gets to Hecate’s dialogue.
“Wait wait hold on.” Amity interrupts suddenly, holding her hands up in front of her.
“Hmm?” Luz responds.
“What’s a tsundere?”