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Storms on the Boiling Isles picked up quite fast, as startling as everything else on the island. One moment warm rays of fading sun would be dancing through your window, the very next a violent barrage of acid rain would slam onto your floor without warning. In this particular case, the sudden sizzling of wood was obscured by a massive crash of thunder far too close for Luz’ liking. The human scrambled to her feet, shutting the window with a grunt, holding her back against it as if it’d fight to open again.
Concerned, the witch sitting, back against the wall, across from her looked up, shocked to see Luz so flustered. “Are you alright?” Amity asked hesitantly, not wanting to appear judgmental.
“What? Oh yea, pfft!— Just didn’t want to face Eda’s wrath for ruining her floors!” the human chuckled, moving away from the window yet pausing, sparing a glance outside “It’s getting late, isn’t it?”
The scroll resting in Amity’s lap read half past nine, and she was simultaneously abashed at her loss of time and frightened of her parent’s repercussions for not being home earlier. Another sudden clap of thunder, prompting a particularly large flinch from Luz, brought Amity back to reality. She hadn’t thought to take an umbrella with her (not that plastic refrained acid very well anyways) and the mansion wasn’t close enough to risk running. The thought of staying the night at Luz’ left the witch weighing her options of severe embarrassment versus severe acid burns. But, before she could decide, Luz spoke up.
“It’d probably be best for you to stay the night. Even if this clears up, it’ll be too dark out to walk home alone,” Luz mumbled, sounding quite out of character. The other girl was warmed by Luz’ concern for her safety, but the reluctance in her voice was confusing. Did she not want her here?
“Luz, is something the ma-” As Amity rose from the floor to approach the human, a crackle sounded from the various fairy lights strung around the room before they went out with a strong snap.
Almost instantly, Luz let out a whimper-like scream, and Amity felt arms pull on her waist hurriedly. The human grasped the other girl, face buried in her shoulder, all attempts to remain cool from before forgotten. Any previous illumination in the bedroom was gone, even the screen of Amity’s scroll. The sensation of closing her eyes being no different than opening them scared Luz, so she squeezed them shut defensively, hands gripping the hem of Amity’s shirt tightly.
Physical contact like this would normally send the witch into hysterics, but the fear radiating from Luz made her heart ache for completely different reasons and she felt her focus shift to one thing only. Protecting her Luz. Instinctively, Amity wrapped her arms around the human in return, one hand holding the back of her head as she turned her cheek against Luz’ hair.
The action surprised Luz as Amity was usually rather jumpy when she got close, but waves of comfort rushed over her immediately. She found herself leaning further into the embrace instead of pushing away as she’d been about to. The cotton of the witch’s uniform was soft, and the faint pressure of Amity’s chin above her head made Luz feel safe. They stayed there for a moment, a comfortable silence between them before Amity shifted herself to look Luz in the eye.
“Hey there,” the witch started softly, moving her hand to Luz’ cheek, startled to feel a tear roll over her finger, “Oh Luz… come here.”
Leading the human to a spot on the floor beneath her Azura poster, close enough to her bed but far enough from the window, they sat. Luz rested her head on Amity’s shoulder, wiping her eyes quickly and muttering a small “sorry”, refusing to look at Amity even in the dark.
“No, no, no,” Amity shook her head, resting on top of Luz’ again, “Why didn’t you just tell me you were scared?”
“C-cause only babies are scared of thunder and the dark…” Luz muttered, moving away from the witch’s warmth only for the taller to grab her hands, pulling her back.
“And who exactly told you that?” Amity challenged, keeping her voice stern but gentle.
“I-I…” the human stammered, “I guess I told myself that.”
“Well, let’s change that thought, okay? Repeat after me… It’s okay to be scared,” Amity hummed.
“... It’s okay to be scared,” Luz sniffled, a small smile reaching her lips at Amity’s reference.
Not releasing her hand, Amity lifted them both up, staying close to Luz as they walked to the living room of the house to investigate the power outage situation. Looking around, with Luz close behind, Amity became more aware of the absent energy she normally felt when in the Owl House.
“The especially strong storm must’ve messed with one of Eda’s enchantments,” the witch explained, “How ‘bout we find some candles, hmm?”
With candles in hand, the two returned to Luz’ room. The makeshift mattress set up for Amity made Luz squeamish and before she could think more of it, she found herself fiddling with the corner of her blanket as she almost whispered, “You don’t have to sleep in that one…”.
Smiling (and internally losing it), Amity shuffled onto Luz’ sheets, pulling the covers over the both of them. Luz was still fidgeting and the witch couldn’t help but notice her constant glances at the trunk beside them. Reaching over her, Amity pushed the lid open, revealing a round cat plush surrounded by a variety of odd trinkets and mementos from several adventures. Luz was trying to avoid eye contact, but couldn’t hide her joy when Amity plopped the comfort item into her arms.
“You’re okay now,” Amity reassured her, holding Luz to her chest.
“Thank you, Amity.”