Chapter Text
A cool breeze wafted through the open window, it was a quiet morning at the Owl House.
You were blinking sleep out of your eyes as you let your leg dangle loosely underneath you, head propped on your palm as you looked out the window.
Last night was a rough night. You had a run in with the Emperor’s Coven that had left you burned and bruised. It was for a worthy cause. You stopped a member of the Emperor’s Coven from capturing a Wild Witch much like yourself..or so you thought. It should have been an easy takedown, but it was an ambush. The “Wild Witch” was nothing but bait for you.
Dammit.
You should have known better, but you couldn’t just not help the struggling boy, he was supposedly just like you. Someone who didn’t want to be bound to a coven. Someone who wanted to be free. What was so wrong with that? Flashes of last night ran through your head.
Singe
CRACK!
Gritting your teeth as you held off your attackers. You should have saw the betrayal coming.
You were an exceptionally talented witch. It wasn’t a gift just given to you, you trained your ass off, you worked extremely hard to get where you were. Having Eda as your teacher since you were little helped a great deal, but still. You earned this.
You had managed to hold off your attackers with a mixture of some abomination spells you’d been experimenting with, and a slew of blue energy that crackled from your staff.
You’d made your healing glyphs when you got home that night, but they weren’t the best as you made them in an exhaustion filled stupor. You’d won, but it took everything out of you. You’re palisman had to carry you home while you laid on the staff as it flew.
Healing glyphs..the healing coven. It was the track you’d been in at Hexide. You decided to give school a go, just to have the experience under your belt. However, when you donned the rebel-vigilante work, you dropped out after a couple years. Still, you were glad you learned what you did. Eda wasn’t especially great at healing magic, so what you learned aided you in your own battles.
About Eda, she approved of what you did. She even joined you sometimes, but she didn’t necessarily like it. Eda cares for you very dearly, as you’d joined her party shortly after King did. Eda was practically your mother at this point.
After your parents disappeared..well, let’s say for now that you loved Eda very much. You shook your head, not thinking about it.
Eda only knew about half the work you did, as you didn’t want her to worry, and in turn, Eda got used to you disappearing often at night, but would question you every morning. Eda couldn’t necessarily complain, as what you did sometimes brought money to the table, stealing from the Emperor’s coven, getting tips from the people you saved..
Look, you weren’t in it for the money, but you had to eat somehow. Especially with a new mouth to feed-
“Y/N!” A familiar voice cried.
You flinched hard, kicking your (whatever secret identity outfit you wear) under you, pulling your sleeves up to hide the injuries as the Spanish girl burst through the door.
You gave her a tired smile, “Good morning Luz.”
“Hey!! Where were you last night? King was getting worried about you.”
You frowned, King knew better than to worry. Plus, you didn’t want Luz knowing about your moonlighting adventures, at least..not yet. It’s not that you didn’t like Luz, but you can like someone and not trust them.
“Just bouncin’ around town, doll, not to worry.” You said, giving her a pat on the head.
Even though Luz had only been here for about a week, you already felt a sisterly bond with her, you couldn’t help it. You always developed bonds with people despite not wanting to, and those bonds were always protective. You always felt like the big sister, the mother, the protector, it was just who you were. You felt like Luz was your little sister. It’s hard not to with her large, shining brown eyes looking at you with that innocence and wonder you almost envied.
“Can I go with you??” Luz said with a small gasp in her voice.
You chuckled, “I don’t think Eda would appreciate that. You’re a little young and inexperienced to be going around at night, even with me.”
“Y/N, you’re only two years older than me!!!” Luz accused, crossing her arms.
Only two years?
Man, it feels like longer.
You sighed, “Two years makes all the difference babe.”
Luz pouted with those large, innocent puppy dog eyes.
“Okay, okay, maybe once you’ve been here for a little longer, okay? You’re the one who got tricked by a puppeteer not just four days ago.”
“Promise?”
“Sure. I’m actually running into town today, if you’d like to come with me. It’s safer during the day, I can actually protect you.”
“HEY!” You heard a disgruntled voice exclaim from the hall.
“Kinnnggg, quit eavesdropping!” You hollered into the hall.
“He’s not the only one!” Hooty said, bursting from the floor.
Sighhhhh
“Good morning Hooty.” You said politely, giving Hooty a light pat on the head. You were the only one around here that treated Hooty with respect.
It did wonders. He did chores for you when you were too exhausted to do so, and he generally didn’t try to harass the shit out of you like he did to King, Eda and Luz.
“Hoot Hoot! Good morning! Hooty reporting for duty!” The owl worm exclaimed.
“I don’t need anythin’ from ya today Hootster, Luz and I are just going to head into town for a bit.”
“Okay!” Hooty said, and shrunk back into the floor.
You saw Luz subtly shiver from the corner of your eye. You couldn’t help but smile, “Don’t worry, you get used to him. He’s not so bad.”
Luz laughed sheepishly, “Yeah, I guess.”
After shooing Luz out so you could get ready, you wore clothes that covered your skin for the most part while you healed.
The two of you made your way down the stairs, where Eda was piddling around the kitchen, mumbling something about apple blood.
“Hey Eda, I’m heading into town and I’m taking Luz with me. I’m getting potions, do you need any of your juice?” You asked subtly.
Eda nodded, “Actually yeah I do kiddo,I better get some before my supplies runs short. Need any snails?”
You shook your head, “I got it Eda, just take it easy. Think of a lesson plan for Luz or somethin’ til I get back.”
Eda let out a quiet groan.
You narrowed your eyes at her, “C’mon Eda, you taught me, you can teach her.”
Eda let out an exasperated sigh, “Fine.”
“Wait! Wait! Take me! Me, me, me!” King exclaimed, jumping onto Luz’s back. Luz shifted him into her arms.
“Remember when I was your favorite?” You mumbled to King quietly. You weren’t..jealous. But maybe a little.
Just a smidge.
“Well, Luz isn’t gone all the time.”
You felt a spur of anger rise into your chest.
It’s not my fault I’m gone all the time! Who else is keeping the Emperor at bay. It takes the heat off of Eda to give them a more active target!!! I’m keeping you safe!! Ugh FUCK-
You gripped your fists, let out a deep breath, “Let’s go.”
The two of you strolled into town, Luz hummed and was asking you a slew of questions while your palisman perched itself on your shoulder, you gave it a loving scratch.
You answered her questions, a little uplifted by her enthusiasm for the world.
It’d been a long time since you really..appreciated..the world around you. You’d just been finding ways to utilize it. Every item was either money, a weapon, or some kind of tool to use in combat. It had been awhile since you just appreciated things for being..how they are.
Whatever enthusiasm you did have, however, slammed to a halt when you walked into town. You saw a group of the Emperor’s Covens guards moving through town as if they were searching for something.
“Luz, keep your head down. I don’t feel like getting into a scuffle right now.” Not that you weren’t always totally down to fight, you had years of pent up rage to take out on SOMEBODY, but you weren’t fully healed.
Luz stared at the group as you practically dragged her towards the Mr. Elixir’s shop.
So much for keeping her head down You thought glumly.
Whatever.
You walked up to the counter and knocked on the it, “Aye Morton, you in there? I need some of Eda’s Elixir, and I need some stuff too.”
Morton popped up from the side of the window. “A-Ah, Y/N! I got just what you need, give me just a second.”
While Morton was digging for your usual order, Luz suddenly wrapped an arm around your shoulder and excitedly squished her face against yours, pointing at something, “Who’s that?!” She gasped.
You flinched, but did your best to hide that it was due to pain, gritting your teeth, “Do what now?”
She pointed at a new wanted poster next to Eda’s.
It was a drawing of you, or what was you in your vigilante outfit, with your Code Name in big bold letters underneath it. There was a fat reward underneath it too.
“That is (C/N). A complete thorn in the Emperor’s side.” Said a new male voice to your left.
“Pardon?-” You started before you looked over to see the guy who said it.
It was none other than the mother fucking Golden Guard. Probably the third in command, just under The Emperor and the leader of the Emperor’s Coven, Lilith.
He leaned on the wall with one arm, propped his fist against his face, his staff in the other hand. You pushed Luz behind you so you were standing protectively in front of her, your Palisman turning into a staff that you gripped tightly in your hands.
“Yep yep yep, apparently she has been sabotaging the Emperor’s coven for a long time now, but she’s been getting progressively stronger so now the Emperor wants her brought to her knees before him, before she becomes any more of an..issue.” The Golden Guard said, finishing that last word with an acid tone to it, looking directly at you.
You, being yourself, felt the need to defend the honor of Wild Witches like you, it didn’t matter that he was literally talking about you.
“Why is she an issue?” You dared, your eyes saying the rest. Your gaze was more of a threat than any words you could ever speak.
The Golden Guard chuckled, “Dangerous words witchling. I shouldn’t have to explain that, now should I? Wild magic is forbidden for a reason.”
You smirked. Bring it.
“Hm, ever considered the fact it’s not a good reason? Ever thought that, oh I dunno, witches should be free to do the magic they were born with? Not bound to one thing just because ONE person said so?”
Luz grabbed your shoulder, “Y/N are you sure we can take him-” She whispered into your ear quickly. You grit your teeth again, she grabbed RIGHT where you had a broken bone the night before.
“The Emperor is enforcing the Titan’s will-” He cut himself off when he saw you grit your teeth in pain. A new idea came to his mind.
“You know,” He started, “The rumor goes that C/N’s Palisman is a (whatever creature your Palisman is) like creature. Very similar to yours.”
“She must have good taste.” You said, flashing a grin. You felt yourself getting excited. Excited to fight.
No Y/N, Luz is here. She can’t find out who you are. Neither can the Golden Guard. Protecting Luz and King comes first. Get it together.
“I doubt that.” The Golden Guard said.
Morton popped back up with your order, to see the Golden Guard at his window. He noticeably jumped and almost dropped half the bottles he was holding. Your cursed reaction time was too good, you reached out and used a levitation spell to catch the bottles mid-fall. It was a simple spell, really, but catching multiple objects at once was something young witches tended to struggle with.
The Golden Guard rubbed his mask where his chin would be thoughtfully.
“Look, Goldie, can you give me a sec so I can make my purchase? I’m not even sure why you’re talking to us anyways.”
“Oh sure, I’ll wait.” He said, but instead of waiting at a polite distance, he hovered right over your shoulder, just to be annoying.
You took out your wallet and handed the payment to Morton, and sliding him a little extra for the trouble.
“Get out of here for now” You said lowly to Morton. He nodded and disappeared into the back of the shop.
“What’s the Elixir for? Are you cursed or something? Or is it just for your cursed looks?” The Golden Guard harassed.
“Hey! Y/N is very pretty, thank you a-very-much.” Luz spat.
“Yeah! Leave Y/N alone, she’s only a goblin, like, thirty percent of the time!” King exclaimed.
It took everything you had not to face palm.
“It’s none of your concern, Goldie.”
“You knowwww, The Owl Lady is cursed. And it’s said that C/N and The Owl Lady work together from time to time. Just, you know, speculating.” He mused.
He’s figuring this out much faster than I’d like.
“The Owl Lady isn’t the only cursed witch. Relax.” You said coldly.
He shrugged. You couldn’t see the look on his face but you could tell he was smiling.
You shoved past him, your bag of potions slung over your back, “C’mon guys, let’s dip.”
“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around. Byeeeeeee!!!” He said, his voice cocky.
You shoved his shoulder hard as you walked by, your gaze icy as you took your other hand and pushed Luz and King in front of you so there was a wall between him and them, the wall being you.
I’m sure I will see more of you, Goldie. You thought sourly.
But was it so sour?
Sometimes.. A rival can be kind of fun.
“What do you think they were looking for?” Luz asked.
King shrugged, “I dunno.”
“They’re looking for leads on C/N.” You said flatly.
“Did that guy say Eda works with her sometimes?” Luz asked.
You nodded.
“We should ask Eda!” Luz exclaimed.
“Yeah! Wait-” King started, realizing his mistake. Asking Eda would mean probably revealing your identity, which King knew you didn’t want.
You sighed.
I’ll have to tell her. There’s no avoiding it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, you sat down with the human and explained to her why you disappeared so often. You also threatened her..extensively..that if she told ANYONE, you’d zap her sorry ass.
She agreed, but now she viewed you in a whole new light. You went from being cool to being MEGA COOL.
“I mean- I mean- You’re literally the underdog! You’re out here, fighting bad guys, kicking butt, I mean you’re like a superhero!” Luz exclaimed, pacing around the room excitedly.
You shook your head. “Not exactly honey, but I appreciate your enthusiasm.”
“I mean, I live with you, C/N, and Eda, The Owl Lady, the two most powerful witches on the isles, I mean just! How! Cool! Is! That!” Luz sunk into the couch, her voice muffling into the cushions, “Man I wanna be like you guys.”
“Don’t forget about me!” King whined. “I’m the King of Demons!”
Luz reached her head up and smiled, patting King’s head, “Yes yes, you too King.”
Eda laughed, “Kid, you can be like us if you want. Just keep in mind..it’s a rocky road. You’ll never stop running.”
“Unnnlessss,” You interjected, “You fight to change things.”
Eda grimaced. Eda evaded capture, but she seldom went out of her way to straight up fight the Emperor’s coven, unless it was Lilith coming to look for her. She tried to avoid the trouble where she could, as she had two kids who depended on her.
“But,” You continued, “Don’t get thoughts of rebellion into your head yet kid. Just take it one day at a time, learn, grow and experience things before you put the nail in your coffin.”
Luz nodded, but you could tell she was still bouncing with excitement.
Hoah boy.
You showed Luz all of your potions you kept on stock so you didn’t have to burn all of your energy just in case. Fire potions, ice, sleeping, poison, smoke. These were the things you kept on you for pinches.
Luz was fascinated by each of them.
Eda just smiled, a warm, maternal smile. Her little rascals.