Again, Amity sat in front of Principal Bump's desk across from the imposing witch, although not knowing exactly why seemed to make it even worse. She was looking down at her hand, tracing the red indentations that the Top Student badge had made while she had been clenching it tightly. It was bent into an unrecognizable shape now, looking more like a TP Prudent brooch, which might as well be pinned to her cowl anyway considering the amount of trouble that she was likely in.
"You've given me a bit of a dilemma, Ms. Blight." Principal Bump said, again leaning into his desk and steepling his fingers. "I had hoped that I wouldn't ever have to have you in my office like your siblings. As I'm sure you know, your parents are the heads of the Parent Creature Association, as well as very powerful members of the Abomination Coven and substantial financial supporters of Hexside, which will make it very difficult for any discipline to come out of my office."
Amity's head shot up at the mention of her older twin siblings, Edric and Emira. Were they in trouble before? It didn't surprise her, other than the fact that she hadn't heard about it. She always wondered how they always managed to get away with their pranks, and a flash of anger passed through her, but she was simply too emotionally exhausted after the events of the day to focus on it. "How— how much trouble am I in?" She asked, her voice catching at first. She swallowed and pushed it down, trying to portray her usual indifferent confidence and failing terribly.
Principal Bump looked tired, clearly not pleased both with her behavior and how tied his hands were with the Blight children. "I'm afraid that will be up to your parents, but I hope I can trust you to promise to improve your behavior after this incident."
Amity nodded slowly and grimaced, standing and putting her hand forward as though offering a hand shake. Bump looked confused. "Uhm, Everlasting Oath?" She asked, expecting the Principal to know the simple contract spell her mother always performed when a promise or deal was expected to be kept.
Principal Bump looked into Amity's eyes for a moment, then at her outstretched hand and frowned. "Your word will be enough, Ms. Blight." He said. He shifted, gathering his black robe around himself and straightened a collection of papers on his desk. "Now, I have some paperwork to go through after today's damages. I suggest you get home quickly as it's supposed to rain tonight."
Amity nodded, awkwardly letting her outstretched arm hang back at her side, clutching her black tunic, feeling an odd sense of relief at not having to be magically beholden to another magical promise. She slunk out of the office and as soon as the door closed, she straightened her posture and raised her head. A Blight did not slouch, after all.
"Amity! Are you okay? What happened?" Skara called, apparently having been waiting with Boscha down the hall from the office. Skara was a witch girl, with white hair pulled back into a ponytail out of her face, and warm russet skin that complimented the red sleeves and leggings that denoted her enrolment in the Bard track. She tended to be friendlier than Boscha, but despite knowing her just as long, Amity remained closed off from them both.
"Of course." Amity replied. "I made it clear to Willow that no one crosses a Blight, is all."
"I saw the atrium." Boscha added, grinning like a mad fool. "I can't believe the damage you did to the school!"
Boscha must think Amity summoned the vines somehow, as they were the only spells that had been causing all the damage. It could take days to cut them all out. "Uh, sure. Of course. Who else would have? The half a witch?" She managed to smile, suddenly feeling a tinge of guilt for the comment on Willow. No one else knew the level of magic she had been using that had been a match for Amity's abominations, other than Principal Bump. It wouldn't be so bad, would it? Amity had ambitions for joining the Emperor's Coven, and being overshadowed by Willow would do nothing but hurt her chances. "Anyway, I need to get home. It's supposed to start raining tonight." Amity was exhausted, and frankly, didn't want to put up with Boscha and Skara at the moment.
"Oh my gosh! I need to bring in Cerberus!" Skara announced in genuine concern for her dog, and she ran off.
Boscha took the announcement with her usual annoyance. "Ugh. Fine." She said, walking away. "See you at the Moonlight Conjuring!"
"Yeah. Sure." Amity replied, looking back and forth between the pair of girls as they moved off in opposite directions and leaving her alone in the hall. She saw no reason to return to the Abomination class after her clay pot had been spilled by Augustus earlier and likely mixed with all the other muck in the atrium battle. She made her way back to her locker, barely conscious of her stature now that her friends had left. The crowds of students moved past her in a blur as she slowly reached her locker.
She had wanted to return to her volunteer position at the library tonight for a chance to actually relax in private, but it would likely be shielded for the night with the rain coming. She placed a hand on her locker and knocked on it with a light tap. The single large eye opened at her touch and reflexively winced, expecting a more hurtful rapping. When it didn't come, the eye looked to the side stubbornly. "Oh, come on. Open up, I've had a rough day."
The locker clamped its toothy mouth shut tighter, and continued to try looking away even more. Amity sighed, and cupped a hand to her mouth, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention before whispering "I'm sorry, okay? I'll… I'll try being nicer in the future. Just help me out here. I need something to read at home tonight."
The locker's eye rotated back to her for a moment and glistened, as though it was about to shed a tear. Slowly, the locker's mouth opened wide and it's dry, sandpaper rough tongue stretched out, wrapped around her books. Abominations: A History, Magic 101, The Book of Eibon, and a third edition of the Necronomicon that would need returned to the library. Amity rolled her eyes and scoffed. She had read most of these several times already, and selected the Abomination text. She gently pat the locker, and the tongue retracted, causing the creature to go dormant again. "Might as well study." She said under her breath.
She hugged the book to her chest, noticing that most of the students had made their way out of the building already, and started the half hour walk back to the manor. The wind was beginning to pick up, and the clouds were growing dark all across the Boiling Isles. She stood on the steps of the grand school building for a moment, looking about for her older twin bother and sister, but they were no where to be seen. She was tired, and simply wanted… someone genuine to share her news of her terrible day with.
The walk home was lonely, quiet, and cold with the growing wind. The odd sound of boiling water striking rocks and trees were intermittent at first, but she had to pull up her cowl hood and run the last few minutes to reach the steps of the manor where both of her parents waited. The moment she was within her home's perimeter, her father Alador placed his perpetually purple stained hands on a sigil that was permanently etched into the stone wall beside the great front door. Purple abomination ooze began to seep from the cracks in the ground and form a massive dome over the manor, keeping out the boiling rain as the storm became more intense. Amity lowered her hood, shaking off what water she could, but the cowl was already ruined with burn holes. She sighed, and looked up at her scolding mother. "I'm sorry I'm late." She said, unable to hold her mother's gaze. She looked down and to the side, grasping at her tunic. "It was a rough day."
Amity wasn't sure if her mother could smile if she wasn't making a deal, and this was no exception. The woman wore a look of annoyance, but at least it wasn't anger. "So I understand. Principal Bump called a few minutes ago, and believe me, I gave him a piece of my mind. Now, let's get inside while your father completes the abomidome. We'll speak later after dinner." Odalia said, placing a hand on Amity's shoulder and giving a tight squeeze.
"Of course." Amity nodded and slumped into the house. At this point, she just wanted to get into clean clothes and curl up on her bed with her Otabin doll. The abomination servant stepped heavily up to her, offering one hand to take her book, and another to take her cowl. It stood taller than anyone else in the family, was completely loyal, and had enough strength to do nearly any task assigned to it that didn't require fine dexterity, as its mitten-like hands were too large to handle anything smaller than tea cups. There were close to a dozen other abominations of various size and design to deal with more specialized tasks, but the abomibutler had been active the longest, and developed the most personality, such as it was.
Odalia stepped in behind her, closing the door and unbuttoning Amity's cowl to hand it to the servant. "You should go clean up, you smell like your father." That was to say, she smelled of abomination goo and having been working hard for the last twenty hours, but compliments without an ulterior motive weren't in Odalia's repertoire. Her mother, to Amity's knowledge, had always been an overbearing woman, even in stories of their school days that she would use as lecture material when trying to instil a lesson of how to plan one's future of wealth from an early age. She kept herself in relatively good physical condition, and her natural green hair was pulled back on top into a bun; a style and color she insisted made Amity look just as beautiful as she was. In fact, other than Amity's gold eyes that she had gotten from her father along with his auburn hair that was beginning to show through in her roots, the elites that often accompanied her parents commented on how much of a spitting image Amity was of Odalia.
"I was hoping to get some studying in tonight during the storm. Maybe dad could show me how to add some extra skills to my abomination?" she asked, starting up the stairs.
"We'll see." Odalia scoffed, shooing the servant off. She never did like how Amity always seemed more eager for Adalor's attention. "Dinner will be at the usual time, and you're already late. I suggest you hurry getting cleaned up; your brother and sister have been waiting since they arrived."
"Easy to be on time when you cut class." Amity said under her breath, but far louder than she had intended.
"Pardon me?" Odalia asked, her voice rising. She had heard just fine.
"Uhm, nothing. Sorry. I'm just tired." She already knew this wasn't going to go well. Edric and Emira were vengeful, and if she got them in trouble with their parents, she could expect some harsh retribution.
Amity climbed the rest of the stairs with a struggle, but she could hear her mother call angrily for her brother and sister. She entered her room and picked up the small, pink felt Otabin plush. She hugged the children's story character to her chest and buried her face in his soft head, sucking in a breath to relax herself. She took a moment with her eyes squeezed shut before finally letting her hair down and forcing herself into the shower.
Dinner was tense that night. Glares were being sent at Amity from both of her siblings, signally that she could expect an embarrassing prank in the next few weeks, and from her mother that had suffered disappointment from all three of her children that day. The only sounds that could be heard over the sound of the boiling rain sizzling on the abomidome were the familiar clinking of utensils on dishware again, the wet foot steps of the servants, and her father, Alador Blight, distractedly leafing through a new text on abomination alchemy that he often let out a deep voiced "Hmm." at various new theories and experiments that he was interested in attempting in his own works.
"May we be excused?" Asked Edric and Emira in unison, playing the perfect children after getting lectured about shirking their studies, as usual.
Odalia nodded, and Amity began to stand as well, the abomibutler moving in to take the dishware. "Not you, Amity. Your father and I have some concerns."
Amity paused for a moment, trying to muster up the courage to argue before sitting back down and slumping. She had put her all into getting that stupid badge back like she was told and was getting lecture after lecture while her brother and sister seemed to be getting away without issue. "Willow…"
"Principal Bump told us everything, Mittens. We know that Park girl cheated on her presentation. The audacity, using a… human to pose as an abomination. It's absurd, and I'll be making strides to make certain the Park girl never interferes with your schooling again…"
"That's not really necessary. Principal Bump banned the human from returning to the school." Amity replied quietly.
"Oh, I know." Odalia smiled, making it clear she was happy to hear of that particular development. "The same will happen to anyone else that interferes with your education again. I will not have my children be bullied out of a secure and prosperous future."
"Mom, don't…"
Odalia cleared her throat, staring Amity down. She then looked over at her husband and cleared her throat again, louder this time. "Hmm?" Adalor grunted, looking up from his tome. "Oh, right. Amity, your mother and I have worked very hard to make certain you have a place in Blight Industries, as well as the Emperor's Coven, but those doors can close without hard work and a solid foundational education."
Alador Blight could be tall and imposing when he stood up straight, but his consistently tired expression, wild auburn hair, and persistent abomination ooze stains over his hands and clothes rarely lent him much respect from his peers in the abomination coven. Amity knew her father was brilliant though, having seen his creations in action in the many Blight Industries private sales she had attended, as well as throughout the Boiling Isles. Her parent's business was known across the isles and even to the Emperor for its abomination based home security devices and 'self defence' weaponry.
"I know, dad."
"There. You see, Odalia? She knows." Alador confirmed, turning his attention back to his tome.
Amity could tell her mother was frustrated, though luckily for her she didn't have Amity or Alador's thin skinned complexion causing them to blush so easily. Unfortunately for Amity, she had inherited that same temper, resulting in her emotions being so easy to read when she lost control. Odalia wouldn't lower herself to not show a united front before her children however, and quietly excused Amity from the table, undoubtedly to scold her husband for being so lenient.
Getting up from the table again, Amity took her textbook from where the abomibutler had placed it and made her way back to her room where she found Edric exiting. "What were you doing in my room?" She accused, her face turning red in frustration and anger. Emira popped her head out of her room down the hall and came to join them.
The twins were near identical outside of their gender. Green hair, pale skin, a lithe build, and a small mole on their opposing cheek that seemed like a reflection of each other. Edric wore his hair short in the back and was styled by illusion magic, whereas Emira wore her hair in a long braid that reached to her waist. Both had a slightly darker shade of gold eyes from Amity and their father. "Calm down, Mittens." Emira insisted. "He was just getting some skin cream from your bathroom for me. Mine ran out." she smiled. While both of them were insatiable pranksters, Emira was definitely the brains of the pair, and after tonight, Amity couldn't trust a word out of either of them.
"Please, just… stay out, okay? I need some space." Amity asked, and while Edric frowned for a moment before looking to his older twin sister, Emira simply rolled her eyes, believing her to be overdramatic.
"Fine!" Emira said, drawing out the word. "We'll stay out of your hair, so long as you stay out of our business. Mom doesn't need to know what we're up to after school."
"Whatever. Just don't go poking around in my room again." Amity said, stepping in and closing the door hard. The lamps were already lit, and her Azura figurine she kept mostly obscured on her book shelf had been moved. "So they're after my diary." Amity thought aloud, smirking to herself. She had moved it since the last time it had been discovered, but she still worried what they would do with it if they found it. She could hear the pair giggling outside before going to their own rooms, and Amity inspected the figurine. A black, curvaceous mustache had been drawn on the character, and Amity felt her face flush in angry frustration again, nearly causing her to pass out as she pressed the emotion down as hard as she could. She hoped that it was just an illusion that would wear off by morning, otherwise she would have to repaint the figure from her favorite book series.
Letting it go for now, she dropped the text beside her pillow and collapsed on her bed. The patter-sizzle of the rain on the abomidome outside could still be heard, and it seemed like it was going to last through the night. She breathed a tired sigh as she opened the text, wishing she hadn't left her series of The Good Witch Azura books with her diary in her secret study room at the library.
The next day began with the abomination text book wide open over Amity's face, her bottom lip stuck to the pages. She opened her eyes to see only words, and she could vaguely remember what was written. Abominations: A History, was typical light reading for Amity, and something she had read several times before since her first class at Hexside. Abominations were composed of the primordial sludge still prevalent around the corpse of the Titan that all magical life on the Boiling Isles descended from, and magic could be used to give it life temporarily. Skilled witches and demons could manipulate that sludge to animate and shape it in various ways, but the longer such a creature was infused with magic, the more concentration it took to hold control over it. Eventually over decades or possibly centuries, as the text stated, such abominations could develop personalities, and even independence, essentially giving them the same rights and privileges as other demons.
Some exceptionally powerful abomination experts were rumored to even be able to speed up, slow down, or even reverse this process; essentially granting abominations great intelligence temporarily or reducing witches and demons back into their primordial roots. Her hope was to become such a skilled witch in the future, but first the events of the day before showed she needed to learn some combat skills in controlling her own abominations, and there would be no one better than her own father.
Amity brushed her fangs and got changed, skipping breakfast for the morning in an attempt to beat Alador to his workshop in the basement. She knew that trying to get his attention after he began a project for the day would be nigh impossible, and she wanted to learn as much as should could before the upcoming Covention, in case she was given the opportunity to demonstrate her skills to the Emperor's Coven. She pulled her green bangs out of her face and tied them back as she raced down the stairs to the main floor, dodging the abomibutler as it shambled along in an attempt to serve breakfast, and practically kicked in the door to the basement. Her socked feet hit the stairs in rapid succession, and then slid into her work boots that her father insisted on while she was in the area. Abominations could become exceptionally heavy and could easily crush a full grown adult if one wasn't careful, as they typically weren't overly graceful.
She slid her arms into the sleeves of her own smock that was hanging up and placed goggles on her brow just as Alador reached the door of the workshop, taking a sip of his morning tea and nodding at it with a faint smile of contentment. He reached over, pushing each power switch into its on position before finally noticing Amity fully geared and waiting. Bulbs of electricity lit up, sending bolts of lightning along heavy cables that led to various pieces of equipment and illuminating chalkboards covered in formula and diagrams of various abomination designs. Caldrons were strewn about the room on a multitude of burners that fired up with the switches, bubbling various colored oozes being prepared for experiments, and a tilted rack was in the center of the room that could be stood up or laid flat at waist level with an abomination that sported a shiny exoskeleton and a combination of gearwork and power conduit in its abdomen. "Hmm." Alador grunted, meeting Amity's eyes, straightening his posture. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
The Blight parents had always been distant to their children unless it suited the business, but Amity had always felt at least some kind of closeness with her father. Perhaps it was because he typically kept his nose out of his children's activities, or maybe because they shared an affinity for abomination magic and curiosity for the unfamiliar and desire to learn anything new. "After what happened yesterday, I was hoping you could teach me how to better control my abominations in a fight. In case I get the chance to show off at the Covention."
Alador took another sip of his tea, looking at the project on the slab in the center as though weighing his options. Finally, after another sip, he put his mug down on the workbench nearby and switched his morning slippers for his work boots and threw on his own smock and goggles. "Very well, but pay attention. Learn well and you won't have to worry about anyone else in your grade level getting away from your abominations again."
Amity allowed a crack of a smile show through, pulling on some thick, elbow length gloves and sliding up to the workbench beside Alador. "Thanks, dad."
But Alador already had his mind on his work, kneeling down to draw a large spell circle on the floor, the magic that followed his finger glowing with a dark purple light that flickered the powered lights nearby. "As you know, the larger the spell circle, the more powerful the magic it draws out of a witch, and in turn, the larger the abomination that can be formed. However, we can manipulate an abomination by limiting the amount of power we feed to it to produce certain effects. In this case…" he added as the purple ooze seeped out of the floor to create an average sized abomination that wouldn't have impressed anyone in a magical fight, especially someone of Alador's skill. "For example, by sacrificing its physical size, I am able to shape the internal structure of this abomination to essentially duplicate its mind. Abomination, attack the target."
Alador gestured to a trio of hardened targets that had been set up and were covered in the goop of older projects. The abomination let out a groan and turned, reaching up and twisting its own eye filled head off of its shoulders and tossing it at one target with a heavy thud. The impact rattled the target, and the creature's head slid down to the floor and began crawling its way back to its body. The abomination was already on to the next target however, throwing a fist at the second target as it charged at the third, using its remaining fist to smash at it.
"Abomination, halt." Alador commanded and the abomination instantly froze. "Abominations are notoriously slow moving due to the lack of skeletal structure and muscle tissue, instead relying solely on mass to subdue opponents. Using that mass to add momentum, and thus pinning a target at range, can give you a substantial advantage. Now you try."
Amity kneeled and drew a spell circle as Alador had shown her, then stood and raised her hands. "Abomination, rise!" The resulting abomination looked pathetic compared to what she usually summoned, barely reaching her knee and letting out a child-like squeak. She frowned.
"That's fine, Amity. Proceed."
"Abomination, attack the target!" She commanded, gesturing toward the center target. The small creature began to charge, shouting amusingly at the plate. "Abomination, halt!" And it stopped, turning back with an odd look of confusion. Amity growled, and tried again. "Abomination, attack!" She ordered, planting her own feet on the floor and willing the small creature to remain stationary. The toddler sized abomination looked at her and frowned as though it had somehow disappointed her. She could feel sweat beading all over her body under the smock, and she pressed her will into her command. "Attack!" She repeated. The little creature turned back toward its target and seemed to steel itself. Grabbing one of its wrists in the hand of the other, it tore off the arm and flung it like a broken stick, flailing far off course. "It worked! I did it!" She exclaimed.
Alador placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "With practice, your abomination's aim will improve, as well as your control. Just remember, the more you modify an abomination from its raw components, the more concentration it will require, so a prolonged battle is not in your best interests if you intend on performing this magic. Now, go practice, and you'll be ready to show Lillith when you attend the Covention."
Amity was beaming with pride for a moment before his wording hit her. "Lillith is coming? But… you and mom aren't?"
"Your mother and I have business to attend to in Latissa and will not be able to join you. Edric and Emira will be able to take you."
"Oh. Alright." Amity said, mildly disappointed. It was bitter sweet news, really. Being able to show Lillith her new skills would be nice, but having to be chaperoned by her brother and sister right now wouldn't be highlights, and not having her mother in her ear while she's performing like at her last dance recital would be a blessing as well. She had hoped her father would have been able to be there though. "I'll do my best."
"I know you will, Amity. A Blight never goes back on a deal, after all."