"Ugh. My mom called me while I was walking over." Boscha complained, dropping her overnight bag on the floor of Amity's room. The abomibutler groaned, picking it up and setting it with the other Moonlight Conjuring visitor's. "She's been all clingy since yesterday. It's so annoying." She said, picking a candied eyeball out of a bowl and popping it in her mouth.
Yesterday, having been when she had taken the Hookworm to Latissa and then called Amity to pick her up and bring her back home in the middle of the night. After being interrogated by her mother as to why her clothes were damp, her hair dishevelled, her boots muddy, and she had bits of abomination mud in her hair and ears, she had admitted to taking Braxas for eye scream earlier in the evening and let him play on the estate, with supervision of course. Growing up with an Oracle for a parent usually left little room for lies and tall tales, but fortunately Odalia seemed as tired and impatient as Amity had felt, and she was apparently content with the story. Warden Wrath had come in the morning only a few hours later, happy to see his son and hear all about his 'imaginative' tale of the evening before, allowing Amity a sigh of relief.
School had been a bleary eyed struggle, as most of the day was spent going over in her mind the people she had encountered and the advice they had seen fit to impart on her. From what Rowena had said to Mattholomule, to the Bard that had pushed her to play, Amity was finding it difficult to concentrate. She had hoped that the Moonlight Conjuring at the Manor would help clear her head, but that morning while shopping for party supplies, she had run into Willow and her friend Augustus at the market. Out of so many years of habit, Amity had told Willow to her face that she wouldn't be invited. Maybe if things were different. Maybe if Amity was different, or her parents, or if it was being held somewhere else?
She had tried being nicer, though the more she thought about her comment of "Leave her alone. It's not her fault she was born without talent." Hadn't come out exactly as she had intended. Of course, to take it back would have made Amity look weak instead. Besides that, the Demon Hunters and their crustacean demon prize had just rolled down the road between them, and Amity had to feign interest in a potion booth while they passed in order to avoid being recognized.
And then there was the human. She was hanging out in front of the Mr. Elixir shop where people often went for their medicines and poisons, and was consoling Willow and Augustus. If that incompetent Demon Hunter that had her and Braxas cornered at the Blight Industries tower in Latissa had just taken her advice, Luz the Human wouldn't be such a bother to her any more, the Emperor would have the Owl Lady, and everyone would be better off. Wouldn't they?
"Also there was this big house following me here. Any idea what that's about?" Boscha asked, snapping Amity's attention back to the present.
She hadn't really heard the complaint. Amity was zoning out, looking at her scroll. "Hmm? Uh, no… hey, tell me what you think of this." She said, showing her Penstagram app to Boscha to inspect. She had added a shoutout 'to my fellow witches' with the hashtag #HUMANSCANBITEIT to her earlier post announcing the Moonlight Conjuring.
Boscha took Amity's scroll with a grin, adding a vomit and prohibit symbol. "That weird human sure has you worked up, huh?"
"No!" Amity exclaimed. "I mean, she doesn't belong here. Whoever heard of a human using magic?"
Boscha handed Amity's scroll back to her and shrugged. "Whatever, she'll wind up getting eaten by something sooner or later. You know how humans are."
"Uh, right." Amity replied, banishing her scroll. She followed Boscha over to where Cat, Amelia, and Skara were seated in a circle on her bedroom floor, focused on their own scrolls. Cat was enrolled in the Healing track at Hexside, and was the school Grudgby team's Bracer, using her magic to hold the other team back and to get her fellow team mates back in the game. She had dark skin; a shade lighter than Skara, and trapazoidal glasses that complemented her shoulder length, wavy black hair. She was fairly new to the team, and held no past loyalty to Amity like Skara, Boscha, and Amelia did, but Amity knew how important connections could be in the future.
Amelia was the tallest of the group of girls, and excelled as the Grudgby Team's Catcher. She had fair skin and light green hair with bangs tucked behind her ears. While Amity had been Captain, she had made Amelia the team's strategist as well. She hadn't seemed to enjoy the game quite as much since Boscha had taken over the Captain position and pushed her to the sidelines. She had a knack for being organized and creative, nearly as much of an avid reader as Amity was, and had been trying to get Amity to read the new Jon De Plume book she had gotten.
"So are we going to animate this guy?" Boscha asked, flopping onto Amity's bed to grab her Otabin doll, playing with its dangly arms and legs before tossing it to Skara.
Amity reached out a hand in protest, then stopped herself. She was fourteen, and it was time to put away childish things like sleeping with stuffed childhood heroes. "Sure. What could go wrong with animating a book maker?" She asked, a hint of reservation in her voice.
"Nice!" Skara said, placing the doll in the center of the circle. There were a number of candles that had been lit in various dishes; even a few in some of the Manor casserole dishes that Amity had borrowed from the kitchen just to make the circle large enough.
"So has anyone done this before?" Amelia asked, looking somewhat hesitant. She was looking at a clipboard with a list of party events that she had written down.
Boscha scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah. Of course. Duh…" she said, causing Amelia to frown uncomfortably. "Amity, why don't you lead us?"
Amity's eyes widened. She had heard Edric and Emira tell her stories of the times they had performed Moonlight Conjurings with their friends, and she had done extensive readings and had many lessons on all kinds of conjuring. With the celestial power that emanated from the moon at this time of year, it should be a cinch.
"Okay… well, we'll start by focusing on the object we're going to animate." Amity said, trying to recall the instructions. "Then, while holding hands while the moon is at its zenith, we recite the incantation."
Skara leaned over to Cat and whispered, "What's a zenith?"
Cat replied back by gesturing upward with her chin. "When the moon gets to the top…"
"Quiet!" Amity ordered, then took a breath. She cleared her throat and began to chant. "Moonlight, we call, we sing. Moonlight, take this chance. Moonlight come tie the string. Moonlight start the dance!"
Suddenly, the room began to glow and shake, and wisps of light blue energy began to race around and pierce the tiny doll in the middle of the circle of teens. Amity looked surprised while the other three wore faces full of excitement and wonder. A ghostly visage of Otabin stood up from the doll's place and began to walk toward Amity, climbing up on her crossed legs. "Thank you for animating me! I love you, Mittens!" The little pink ghost of Otabin said, continuing to climb up her arms in an attempt to steal a kiss.
Amity jumped to her feet and stomped toward her door, her face flush with embarrassment and anger. She flung open her door to find both of her older siblings standing there, and they burst out laughing. The little smooching ghost of Otabin the Book Maker faded, though not without making little kissing noises first. She could hear the other teens behind her snickering, and Amity's face flushed even redder before she remembered to take a breath. "Go away!" She shouted at the laughing twins, then slammed her bedroom door before they could even finish their tirade of tear filled chuckles.
"Mom wanted to know if you needed anything else!" Edric shouted through the closed door.
"No! Go away!" She replied, stomping back to her place in the circle. "Now, let's try this again."
The night continued with very little success until the moon's magic faded again for another year, and the sun began to rise. All of the teens were exhausted, having gone back to surveying their Penstagram scrolls, one after the other as they grew tired of trying to animate Amity's doll. Eventually, Amity herself went and sat on the window sill to feel the cool breeze that blew through the forest. This was stupid. She had done everything right, but she couldn't focus. She couldn't connect to the doll, or her friends, or even the moonlight magic for that matter. Everything was changing now, and she was wracking her brain as to why.
"Ugh." Boscha said, as she and the other teens glared at the Otabin doll in frustration. "So what if we couldn't move a doll. Now we have time for what really matters: Penstagram!" She announced, summoning up her scroll as the three others did the same. After a few moments, she gasped.
The sudden expression caught Amity's attention, and she left her window perch to see what had gotten Boscha so excited. Looking over Boscha's shoulder, Amity could see several posts with pictures of a house roaming the countryside on a pair of bird-like legs. Most of the pictures were blurry, or at bad angles that gave little indication as to what or who was behind the mythological appearance. Until Gutz-N-Gorey, the famed Vampire vlogger's post of a close up of the moonlit glow of three familiar looking teens on the door step of the house itself. Luz, Willow, and Augustus stood there, hand in hand, seemingly guiding the structure.
"What?!" They shouted in unison. The other girls crowded around as pictures of the trio were posted using vines to fight off some very familiar looking Demon Hunters, as well as some uncomfortably close images of them rampaging the house through the Night Market.
"No… nononono!" Amity said, backing away. "That's not possible, is it?"
Boscha looked at her with a moment's concern. "Pfft! No. They probably got a hold of a construction glyph or something. You know, like you did at the Covention?"
Amity's blood suddenly felt cold, and she stood again. She frowned at the memory, scratching the back of her neck where Lillith had placed the small sticker without her knowledge. "I, uh… I think we're done. Your rooms are made. I'm going to go to bed. You're welcome to stay until breakfast and your parents pick you up."
"Amity, come on. It's no big deal." Boscha said, standing up and banishing her scroll.
"Yeah. I… I know. I'm just tired. Y'know, from the other night too."
Boscha crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine." She said, facing Amity for a moment before grabbing her overnight bag and storming off, mumbling "waste of a night, anyway…"
The other three girls looked visibly uncomfortable before one by one they quietly grabbed their bags as well and went to their respective guest rooms. Amity stood there in the center of her room for a few minutes, her body tense and her mind whirling. What was she doing? Boscha and the rest of the Grudgeby team were the only students she associated with. Her only friends. Without them…
Amity shook her head and rubbed her eyes, feeling hints of wetness escape onto the heel of her hand. No. She was a Blight. She was tough. She would endure. She bent down to pick up the Otabin doll and hugged it to her chest, still standing motionless for a few minutes more as she heard voices coming from down the hall from the guest rooms. She couldn't quite make out what was being said, but she could guess.
Exhaustion began to sweep over her suddenly, her body feeling drained, and she gave a sniff to steel herself, tucking the Otabin doll under one arm. She changed into her sleepwear, brushed her fangs and took the tie out of her hair to let it part down the middle. By this time, she could see the dark rings under her eyes and she practically had to force herself under her blankets, curling into a fetal position with Otabin held close.
When Amity finally snapped awake and pulled herself reluctantly out of bed at mid day; Boscha, Cat, Amelia, and Skara had already been picked up by their parents. Getting dressed and presentable, she made her way down to the dining area where lunch was being served, letting out a stifled yawn as she took a seat. Edric and Emira were already halfway through their meal, and Odalia sat at one end of the table as usual while Amity assumed Alador was in the work shop again.
"You look tired, dear." Odalia announced to Amity, plucking a small Titan Clot from her plate and into her mouth with a fork. The small fruit was bright red in color, and grew on vines that spread along the ground. Amity had never developed a preferred taste for them, but there were always an abundance in the house for her mother. "Don't you have somewhere to be tonight? Really, if that library 'volunteer' work you do interrupts your schooling, I'm am more than prepared to make certain it no longer gets in the way." She said. The woman was very hard to read at times. Her face showed true concern, despite her message feeling very self serving.
"No!" Amity blurted out. "I mean, I can handle it." She said, cynically pumping an arm. This afternoon was her volunteer duties at the Bonesborough Library where she would assist Gary; an assistant Librarian, sort books, read to the Witchlings, and help various patrons find their way through the maze of books. She also hoped to have the opportunity to talk to Malphas; the Head Librarian, about a paid position before the Library closed for the night.
Odalia scrutinized Amity with a stern look before continuing. "I understand you also volunteered to spend the night there during this mourning star business? I honestly don't understand why you give your time away for free like that."
"Wailing Star. It has magical effects on the Library." Amity corrected. "It's more of a favor for Malphas. I'm hoping that if I do well, he'll let me on as staff."
Odalia looked impressed for once, though it only lasted a moment. "Well done, Mittens! Malphas is a powerful entity, if not wealthy. An excellent acquaintance to have. Very well, then. I'll have the kitchen make you something for your stay tonight." Amity nodded a quiet thank you, digging into the lunch that was put before her. "Remember to eat your Titan Clots. They're good for you."
Amity grimaced, but choked the juicy bulbs down anyway. She really didn't need any extra ire from her mother.