Angel: This is totally unrelated, but I saw Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and BY GOD, it was awesome! The water effects, the creature world, the action scenes, good lord, I was smiling so big. That bus scene, you know the one, killed me and my friends when I saw it. 10 out of 10, I've rewatched it like 6 times already. I'm not usually a big Marvel fan, and I don't write anything from Marvel or DC anymore after my first and only attempt (don't ask), but there was just something about this movie that got me a little more invested in the Marvel Universe. I mean, I do love Deadpool and Spider-verse, so there's that. There were also some good jokes in the movie too.
Just like with Vivo, Shang-Chi is a good-ass movie, you should watch it, the whole deal. And with Encanto coming out next month, I will hopefully say the exact thing.
In the Owl House, Eda held a stack of cards in her hands. The eye symbol came to life from them and she smirked. She stared at Owlbert, who was wearing a green hat. Both sets of cards from them looked like tarot cards.
"Watch closely, girls," Eda spoke up to the two. Luz was sitting next to Eda on the couch while Lucila was sitting on her knees on the floor. "Hexes Hold 'em is the most tricky game on the Boiling Isles. Any proper witch knows how to play."
"Oh, boy. Cards," Luz stated happily. "The paper rectangles that old people think are fun. Like Lucila!"
"Hey, I'm not that old," Lucila smirked at her in amusement. Eda laid down her cards, which flashed yellow. Owlbert flew backwards, watching as the cards came to life, as literal monsters. His set did the same thing, Lucila recoiling back a bit. "Whoa!"
"Now, when it looks like the deck is stated against you, that's when you break out the wild card!" She held it up into the air and then Owlbert's cards burst into flames. The words 'Winner: Eda' formed between the two players. Owlbert landed on the table and bowed to Eda respectfully. She pumped up her fists into the air. "Whoo! I win. In your adorable owl face." She then stood up happily. "I love the feeling of victory. It feels...fluffy?"
Both girls looked nervous while staring at Eda, who had grown feathers on her body.
"Oh no," Lucila stood up in alarm.
"Ah, Eda, it's happening again," Luz pointed at her.
"What's happening again?" She asked cluelessly.
"Your curse is returning!" King answered and Eda shrieked as she looked at herself.
They rushed into Eda's room and she opened up her chest...and they were a bit frightened, all of them. "Oh boy," Eda stated as they looked at the empty bottles of elixir. "This is terrible. I'm out of elixir." She held up a bottle to examine it.
"Uh, last time this happened, you turned into this thing," Luz held up her cracked phone, showing Eda as the Owl Beast.
"And then you attacked Hooty while eating a Snaggleback whole," Lucila added in, shuddering a bit.
"I know I should be repulsed, but that look is fierce," She patted her hair proudly.
"Eda," Luz gave a look of concern.
"Not the time," Lucila deadpanned at the woman, agreeing with her sister.
"You're right. You're right," Eda waved her hands. "We need to head to the market."
"Market!" Luz pumped her fists in excitement.
"I'm gonna steal everything that's not nailed down!" King cheered happily.
"By the way, Lucila, I thought you were looking into this," The girl looked up at her older sister.
"Ugh, don't remind me! I couldn't find anything on Eda's curse, in books or from other sources..." Lucila leaned against the wall, groaning. She felt so useless...
"Ah, don't sweat it, kid," She glanced to Eda. "But before we go, would anyone like to play one more hand of Hexes Hold 'em?" She patted her pocket, but her cards were suddenly gone. "Hey, where are my cards?"
Luz had them hidden behind her back as Owlbert flew up to her. "Take these and fly ahead," She whispered to him. "She'll have to follow us."
"It's for her own good...and well, everyone else's," Lucila winced a bit. She really didn't want another incident like the one from not too long ago.
He flew away and Eda saw him. "Owlbert, you sore loser!" Eda chased after him. "Give me back my cards."
They arrived at the market where Eda knocked at the closed stand of Mr. Elixir, wearing her cloak over her body to hide all her feathers. "Hey, open up, Morton!" She called out.
"Uh, ju-just a minute!" He called out from inside. King walked up to the two sisters, Luz keeping an eye out while Lucila was reading another book. However...this time she wasn't really reading as she was too busy thinking about something else.
"Is there anything better than people-watching in the Demon Realm?" Luz questioned them as she picked up King, setting him between the two.
A giant egg rolled up to a bus stop, and it hatched, revealing a giant bird. It flew away and the people stepped in. One of them closed the egg and it rolled away. Tiny Nose tried to catch up with them, but failed. "Wait, wait! Aw, dang it."
"The curse of tiny legs," Luz shook her head knowingly.
"I know the pain," King agreed with her and Lucila glanced up at the egg.
"Remind me to never take the bus here..."
"Speaking of pain...well, not really, but what did that guy you bumped into at Covention look like, Luci?" She looked up at her sister, who wasn't paying attention as she glanced away, a finger on her temple. A deep and thoughtful look was on her face as she was thinking about him. What he said when they met the second time sounded...really genuine. But she probably wouldn't see him again, she did have to stay away for the sake of not being apprehended. And yet his words were still ringing into her mind for some reason...
"Lucila? Lucila! Lucila Maribella Sofia Noceda!"
"Huh?" She snapped out of it finally, turning to Luz. "What?"
"What's this jerk look like so we can defend your honor?!" King asked her eagerly and she waved it off.
"Oh, uh, my glasses fell, so I didn't see him. You know that I'm blind without them," She stated and then mentally facepalmed herself. She basically just lied to them...while she didn't want to, she had to keep her meeting with the Golden Guard a secret for now. If word got out, the Emperor's Coven would be after all of them and it'd be her fault. Not that she didn't trust her friends or her sister, but for their safety, she wasn't going to say anything. If they weren't going to see each other again in the future, there was no point in mentioning it...
So why did she feel a bit sad about it?
"Okay," Luz shrugged it off.
"And stop staring at people, it's rude," Lucila added in.
"But I wannaaaaa!" The girl whined to her.
Footsteps approached and Tiny Nose screamed as she ran off. A tough-looking guy was standing in the middle of the street. He waved his hand forward and several other people with the same robes as him followed, carrying a tied up creature.
Luz and Lucila went over to Eda, both of them looking on. "Whoa! That is one ominous parade," Luz commented to the both of them.
Eda turned around and saw them, glaring. "That's no parade. Those are demon hunters." They watched as the creature snorted at the one in front. "Dangerous nomads who capture and sell the most powerful beasts." The leader summoned a ball of electricity to shock the creature into unconsciousness. He then turned to the horrified sisters, who both gasped. "Which I'm about to become if you don't open up, Morton," She slammed the window again.
"Sorry, Eda," Morton opened the window. "I was up all night poison tasting, and for some reason I don't feel great," He held his stomach, but then his eyes widened as he saw Lucila. He dropped his hands quickly. "I-I mean, I feel better now! Who...who's your friend? I'm-I'm Morton. I mean, of course you know my name, Eda said it. Names are great, you know, what's yours?"
She smiled awkwardly at him, since she didn't really know how to react.
"Yeah, not a chance," Eda deadpanned, standing in front of the girl. "I'm all out of my juice, pal," She held out an empty elixir bottle.
"Oh, gee. Let me see what I can do. A-And, if you're interested sometime, I can show you my gallery?" He fiddled with his hair nervously as he looked at Lucila.
"Don't mind me, I'm just here to help Eda," She waved a hand.
"I can't mind anything but you..." He said dreamily, eyes widening as he realized what he just said. "I-I mean, not that you're...a bother or anything-"
"Morton!" Eda snapped at him, wanting to get her elixir before the demon hunters saw her.
"Right, right. Sorry." He fumbled around and the girls turned away, Luz elbowing her sister playfully.
"Someone likes you~!" She teased, hearing a shh from the girl.
"Luz! I'm not used to getting attention," Lucila whispered in embarrassment.
"You should! You've got a lot of great qualities. You're pretty, smart, responsible."
"Thanks, but I'm okay with not being romantically inclined to anyone," She shook her head. She was only here to support Luz and find out more about the Boiling Isles, not to find a boyfriend. And while she was sure Morton was nice enough, she also didn't know him that well anyway, she just met him.
"It's been months since...you-know-what happened with him, but I know that he'll be okay with it," The girl placed a hand on her sister's shoulder encouragingly. He was the least of her problems…
"Luz, not everything involving my love life is based on him," Lucila pointed out. She didn't need the constant reminder about him; after all, she still hadn't even talked to him ever since staying with Luz. And even if she did, she wouldn't know where to begin.
"It will be if you don't do something about it!" Luz exclaimed and the older girl sighed wearily. She pulled out her phone again, looking at the boy from the picture. She didn't know if she was ready…Before she could say anything, Luz noticed Gus and Willow approaching from across the street. "Willow and Gus!" She ran up to them, followed by Lucila. "Heya, friends!" She then noticed that they didn't look too happy. "Wait. What's wrong? Who hurt my babies?"
"Them," Willow jerked a thumb and they looked up ahead to see Amity with her friends, two of them laughing.
"Ugh, I should've known," Lucila gave a look of disdain upon seeing Amity. Luz could still learn magic now, but she still didn't like Amity's part of chasing them down at Hexside and then being arrogant about human witches.
"Amity's having a moonlight conjuring and invited everyone but me," Willow lamented, looking at the ground.
"And she keeps posting about it on her Penstagram account," Gus summoned a scroll, showing a selfie of Amity with her friends. Below it was a tweet from WitchChick128.
"It's conjuring night! No dorks allowed!" Luz read out loud, and the message was followed by a pumpkin, heart, and ghost emoji. Unlike the Human Realm, witches didn't have phones, instead using scrolls for social purposes. "What a jerk!" Luz then turned to the two in confusion. "What's a moonlight conjuring?"
"You spend the night at someone's house, telling stories, playing games," Willow explained to them.
"Like a slumber party!" Luz exclaimed in realization. "We have those!"
"Then you bring something to life with moon magic," Willow held up a book, showing a picture.
"Oh, that's kind of cool! I haven't read about them yet," Lucila said with a small smile.
"...Like a weird slumber party!"
The girl then gave another disappointed look. "Gus and I have never been to one. You need at least three people, and-"
"I'm three people. I mean, we're three people. Actually, four!" Luz held Lucila's hand with a smile. "And we're way better than them," She gestured to Amity's group approaching. The three-eyed girl laughed at them.
"Sorry you couldn't get an invite to the conjuring, Willow. Only real witches allowed."
Amity scoffed a bit. "Leave her alone. It's not her fault she was born without talent," She remarked as they left. Willow's fists clenched as she looked furious, grumbling. The ground shook underneath her and vines started to grow.
"Whoa!"
"Eep!" Luz and Lucila both smacked some vines away.
"Don't waste your time getting thorny over them," Luz told Willow, wrapping an arm around her and her sister. Gus placed a hand on her back. "Cause we are gonna have our own moonlight conjuring."
"Are you serious?" Gus asked happily. "This is on my bucket list," He pulled out a piece of paper. "After owning a real human bucket." Also on that list was 'Grow Haunted Beard, Lose my Baby Fangs, finish digging tunnel under Hexside, get my own squamping permit, and be the surprise in a giant hollow cake.'
"That's a really weird thing to want, but I appreciate your enthusiasm," Luz pointed at him.
"I'll teach you about the bucket list later," Lucila chuckled at Gus, who gasped.
"My first human lesson from a master!"
"I wouldn't call myself a master, but okay. And Luz-"
"Please, please, please let me have a moonlight conjuring!" Luz kneeled on the ground in front of her, interrupting her sister. "I'll literally do anything. I'll...I'll clean your glasses for a month! I'll do your chores around the Owl House-"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Her sister waved a hand. "I was just gonna say hope you guys have fun, you can do it tonight. I don't wanna get in your way of showing up Amity, though, so you can do it without me."
"But it'll be fun! And you can make one of your awesome blanket forts!" Luz held her hands.
"Blanket forts?" Willow questioned in confusion, the girl turning to them.
"Lucila used to make these really attentive blanket forts when we were little because we'd have sleepovers together. Please join us, hermana!" She looked up pleadingly at the girl.
"Wouldn't it be weird, though? I'm older," Lucila raised a brow.
"It's not weird to us!" Gus waved it off.
"Yeah, and it won't be as much fun without you," Willow added in, making the girl smile. She was a bit worried that they'd be embarrassed to hang out with her since she normally was around them and no one else her own age. But hearing their words made her feel like she was part of their group all along.
"Okay. I'll make the best blanket fort you guys have ever seen," She smirked a bit, hands on her hips.
"We'll go tell Eda!" Luz stated and they left, the two smiling at each other.
Morton peeked up from his stand. "I've got bad news and good news. Bad news is I'm all out till next week. Good news is feathers are a good look for you." A feather popped out of Eda's hair and she gritted her teeth.
"Morton!" She glared down at him angrily.
"Well, gee, E. Why did you wait to re-up till now?"
"I've been very busy," Eda looked away with a pout.
"Yeah, busy playing Hexes Hold 'Em," King pointed out from not too far away. "She's obsessed with it."
"I am not obsessed!" She argued back.
"You're playing it right now!"
She was holding up a card, her deck on the counter. "Am I winning?"
Morton then gave her a kind of foreboding look. "You know, I wouldn't suggest this to just anybody, but if you need your elixir, you could try your luck later this evening."
"In the Night Market?" She whispered quietly.
"There's a guy with a stand. Goes by Grimm Hammer. If anyone has what you need, it's him."
Lucila and Luz approached the two. "Eda, Gus and Willow and Lucila and I are gonna do a moonlight conjuring and stick it to Amity, so can we-"
"Not tonight," Eda held up a hand. "I'm going out. I need you to watch the house," Eda grabbed her staff and walked off. "I have many precious objects in there."
"Like me," King jerked a thumb to himself. Eda suddenly lifted him up by the collar.
"You're coming with me. I need an extra pair of eyes looking out for pickpockets. And an extra pair of hands in case I wanna pickpocket."
"Pickpocket!" The two exclaimed in unison.
"Then maybe they can come to the house and-"
"No," Eda interrupted her. "Besides, conjurings are dumb. Sitting in a circle holding hands," She scoffed and left the two. "It's like magic for babies."
"Eda, come on. I don't think having one night with friends is gonna hurt...hopefully," Lucila gave her sister a look, earning a sheepish smile. "After all, didn't she save you from your curse with her light spell?"
"Yes! Yes, exactly!" Luz pointed up at her sister.
"We won't touch your stuff; remember that I'm technically Luz's acting guardian when you're not around," Lucila pointed at her.
"And I'm looking after the both of you while I am around, and that's my final say," Eda emphasized to them, looking over her shoulder. The older girl sighed as she stared at her.
"But..."
"Well, I tried. Sorry, Luz. Guess you'll just have to wait another night," The girl placed a hand on her younger sister's shoulder.
"Luz, Lucila," Willow and Gus ran up to him. "What did Eda say?"
"So, guys..." Luz started off nervously.
"Oh, look," Gus pointed up to the sky. "The moon is rising into place. And the celestial powers only align once a year."
"Wait...so without celestial powers..."
"No conjuring. Witches don't have enough power to be able to do it themselves," Gus finished for Lucila and she sweated nervously. Well, that certainly changed things for her.
"Oh, I can't believe I finally have enough friends for a moonlight conjuring," Willow stated happily. "Thank you, guys! Did Eda say it was okay?"
"Uh...yes!" Luz smiled at them, Lucila's eyes widening down at her. "She said yes. We can do it at the Owl House. As long as we don't make a mess or touch anything and never bring up that we did it." She smiled widely at her sister, who caught on.
"Um, yeah, that! Gotta keep an eye on easily breakable stuff, you know? Heh..."
The two sisters laughed nervously in unison.
"Yes!" Gus pumped his fists.
"Oh, you guys are the best!" Willow cheered as well.
"We're gonna do a conjuring~, we're gonna do a conjuring~" The two sang together, and the two sisters looked up at the moon. "Conjuring, conjuring!"
Both of them had very worried looks on their faces, hoping that Eda would take a LONG time with whatever she was doing.
"Penstagram me!" Morton called out to Lucila and she laughed nervously, whipping around to Luz.
"Let's get out of here and fast..." She guided her sister away quickly.
"Lucila, you're in charge while I'm out," Eda put on her cloak. "Make sure both Hooty and your sister don't get into any trouble."
"Hoot, hoot," Hooty opened the door to face her. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm a big boy house!" He pouted at her.
"You can count on me not to do that," Luz jerked a thumb to herself. "I'd never betray your hard-earned trust!" She gave another nervous laugh, Eda glancing at Lucila. She just looked away immediately, whistling as she was carrying a bunch of blankets in her hands.
"You're acting suspicious. You're doing that thing where you hide in your hoodie and where Lucila hides behind something."
Indeed, Luz's face was covered by her hood, and Lucila was hiding her face behind the pile of blankets. "Meow I'm not. Er..." She then dropped her hoodie. "Oh, where's King?"
"Um, yeah, don't you have to get going?" Lucila cleared her throat.
"He's right here," Eda removed her cloak, revealing King asleep in a baby carrier. "His little body just conks out when he's weightless. Look at this," She swung around, and King didn't have any reaction. Lucila gasped while her eyes shined, snapping a photo from her phone.
"Aww! He's so dangly," Luz played with his feet.
"Anyway, really going now," Eda walked out the door, the two following her out. "And girls...if you mess up the house, I will never trust you both again," Eda declared to them, earning a gulp from Lucila. "No pressure! Bye!" She then flew off on her staff, the girls waving to her with big smiles. Luz let out a nervous sigh once they were sure that she was gone.
"Ay! Should we really be doing this?" Luz asked her sister.
"I'm only doing it because this is the only chance this year Willow gets to have a conjuring. Remember, we can't tell Eda anything about tonight, and we can't disappoint her again for the second time. I'll go start on the blanket fort."
"You're right, you're right. Willow is counting on us," She agreed with Lucila as the older girl went back inside, turning to a few bushes. "Okay, she's gone."
"Release!" Willow exclaimed, and the bushes exploded into leaves, revealing the two. "I'm a sneaky sneakster!"
"I've got leaves in my pants. And I like it," Gus replied with a smile.
"Company! Hooray!" Hooty cheered as Luz opened the door to let them in. "Finally, someone to listen to my stories! Okay, one time a sparrow flew into my mouth and then-" Luz then closed the door and he pouted. "Hey..." He then coughed up a sparrow and it left his mouth.
"Welcome to the living room," Luz gestured as Lucila was about halfway done with the blanket fort, making it look like a castle. "We call that because it's technically living! The walls are breathing. Look," She pointed to the pulse from the wall.
"Enchanting," Willow said in awe.
"And look at all these human treasures," Gus held up an 8-ball from Eda's chest. He then pulled out a human skull. "And actual humans!"
"Yeah, I'm not even gonna comment on that one," Lucila muttered while finishing up the fort.
"We've got snacks," Luz held a bowl of candied eyeballs. "We've got weird music," She smiled as she played a gramophone nearby, and it wasn't really music, but a scary laugh instead.
"We've got a bucket!" Gus exclaimed, a bucket over his head.
"Yes, my man," Luz winked at him. "And to top it all off, we've got the best blanket fort by my awesome big sister!" Lucila stepped away as she placed her hands on her hips, looking at a small castle made out of blankets, with a drape for the entrance.
"Wow! That looks so cool! And best of all, we have actual friends to do the conjuring with," Willow smiled happily. "This is so exciting!"
Lucila smiled too, glad that Willow was happy. She must've been longing to do this for a while.
"So how does this conjuring stuff work?" Luz wondered curiously.
"Well, first, we find an object to animate. Since it's our first time, we should pick something meaningful," Willow smiled towards a flower vase nearby. "Something beautiful." Gus moved away the flowers, holding a figurine in his hand that was way too tacky in Lucila's eyes: a Beefy Bob action figure.
"Like this strangely buff little man?" He pressed on the body to squeeze it.
"I'm half beef, half Bob."
"Yes!" Luz pointed at it eagerly. "He's perfect."
"Ahh, I think my best friend's brother had one of those...and it should stay in the 90s..." Lucila pinched her nose.
"That's not exactly what I meant by beautiful," Willow stated, earning whimpering and puppy dog eyes from Gus. "Okay, buff boy it is."
"Yes!" Luz hugged her.
"Okay..." Lucila sighed in defeat.
"Tonight he shall be risen!" Gus declared dramatically.
They sat together in a square shape formation in the blanket fort, sitting on soft pillows that Lucila got from Eda's couch (she'd put them back before Eda noticed). Gus placed down the Beefy Bob figure on the floor, the four surrounded by candles.
"According to the conjuring books I've read, we say the incantation and make a connection with the doll," Willow explained to them, holding out her hand to Lucila, who flinched.
"Oh...this is a magic thing? I..." She looked away hesitantly; she still didn't want to pursue magic, and now she was involved in something magical.
"It's just for tonight," Luz whispered to her, giving the girl a pleading look. "I know it's not your thing, but please?"
The girl sighed slowly, Willow and Gus staring at her. "You don't have to if you don't want to," Willow spoke up gently. "I get it."
"No...I'll do it. I mean, you did ask me to join you, and this is a way of doing that," She took a deep breath, deciding to trust Luz on this. She slowly joined hands with Luz and Willow.
"And it's a figurine," Gus pointed out and they closed their eyes.
"Moonlight, we call, we sing," As they chanted, a blue aura engulfed them. "Moonlight, take this chance. Moonlight, tie the string."
Luz and Lucila were just babbling, however, since they didn't know the actual spell. "And we don't know the words."
The moon stopped moving and Hooty flinched. Moonlight washed over the house, blowing out all the candles in turn. They opened their eyes and saw that the figurine wasn't moving. "That's your cue, little man," Gus whispered, but instead, the whole house started to shake. They stepped out of the blanket fort in confusion and Hooty's eyes flashed blue. Birds flew away and the house started to break away from the ground. They yelped in alarm as the Owl House actually stood on its own two feet.
"Guys," A book fell on Luz's head and she winced. "Did the entire house just hiccup?"
Gus eyed the figure. "Little buff guy, what did you do?"
He pressed on the figure. "A real man never takes accountability."
"No. I think...I think we might've animated the house by accident," Willow rubbed the back of her head.
"The house?!" The two Nocedas exclaimed in disbelief.
"Wait, but that means..." Lucila didn't finish her sentence as the duo ran outside, almost falling off because they were away from solid ground. She gasped and the house started moving, catching all of them by surprise. Hooty closed the door, the two running over.
"Hooty. Hooty! Hooty, you have to stop!"
"By the power of moonlight, I have risen. Hoot, hoot," He stated in a monotone voice.
"Oh wait, I know!" Lucila poked at his eyes, but that actually didn't work.
"He's in some kind of trance," Gus told the two. The house moved past some trees, almost causing Gus to fall off.
"Gus!" Willow and Luz grabbed him, Luz grabbing onto her sister's hand for assistance. She almost tripped, but she ran over and grabbed the door handle to grab her balance.
"Our magic must've spread through the house instead of the doll!" Willow called out.
"Figurine," Gus corrected her again.
"Hold on, guys!" Lucila called out, slowly letting go of the door handle. She then grabbed Willow's free hand and once she did, a blue aura appeared around all four of them.
"Hooty, stop!" Luz shouted before he could walk off a cliff, and this time, he actually listened. They pulled Gus back up onto the ground, looking at their hands in confusion.
"How'd we do that?" Gus wondered and Luz thought about something.
"Willow, Gus, Lucila, hold hands again." They did so and the aura reappeared, the house stepping backwards and away from the cliff.
"We're controlling it with the power of friendship," Willow smiled in realization. "And the moon. Probably the moon."
"It must be because we said the spell!" Lucila added in.
"This is amazing!" What do we do now?" Gus asked them.
"On the one hand, we should probably stay put," Luz glanced away, Gus leaning over to her excitedly.
"On the other hand, we've got a giant walking house and should totally take it on a joyride!"
"I'm not sure if that's a justification for anything," Lucila murmured as they both glanced up at the moon, seeing it falling. If they didn't keep track of it, they didn't want to imagine what would happen once the moonlight magic wore off. Luz looked up at her sister pleadingly, earning a nod in response.
"Okay, okay. But we've gotta be back before the moon sets or Eda will kill the both of us," Luz gestured to her and Lucila.
Together, they controlled the house throughout Bonesborough, cheering. "Yeah! Joyride!"
None of them noticed one of the demon hunters watching them...
The Night Market was a darker, more on edge version of the daily market, and Eda could see why Morton wouldn't recommend just anyone. Down from the customers to the merchandise to the sellers, everything felt shady. She glanced around and groaned, more feathers growing onto her arm. She then covered it up quickly.
"The curse. I need that elixir quick."
She looked up ahead and saw a person sitting alone near a stand, going over to him. "Hey, you. You know where I can find a Grimm Hammer?"
He nodded, a rat from his eye socket pointing to the right. Eda followed the direction to see an ominous stand with skulls and dark curtains. She walked off, the rat being eaten by the man.
The house marched around until it stopped, seeing a familiar person walk past. It was one of the girls from Amity's group of friends. "Hey, is that-"
"It's Boscha," Gus finished for Luz. "That girl who made fun of us."
"Ugh!" Boscha groaned into her phone. "Yes, Mom. I'm going to a moonlight conjuring." Her phone was more or less shaped like a crow, but it definitely had buttons like a cellphone. "No, Mom. You can't come. And yes, Mom, it's sad that you're asking." She then let the crow go and it flew away. She glanced behind her and saw the house, which wasn't moving.
"She noticed us. What do we do?" Willow turned to Luz, who smirked.
"Hmm."
"Oh, I know that face," Lucila grinned knowingly.
"Hey! H-Hey you. You should, uh, stop being so mean to people!" Gus had cast a spell that turned into a megaphone for Luz. "You're kind of a jerk!"
The four laughed in unison.
"Ew! A talking house is giving me a lecture?" Boscha gave a look of disdain. "Whatever. I'll just TP you like I did with the rest of the neighborhood."
"But don't you see? I am no mere house!" The house then stood up as Luz let out a roar, scaring Boscha as she ran off with a scream, the four laughing at her reaction.
"I've never pranked anyone before!" Gus stated to them. "And now I have a taste for it."
"See? You're learning more about humans already," Lucila patted his back.
"We should follow her to Amity's house to show off our conjuring!" Willow suggested happily. "That'll show her who's got no talent."
The two sisters glanced up to the moon again. They've gone from a joyride to pranking, and the moon was almost set...
"Actually, I'm starting to think we should head back," Luz stated to them.
"Yeah, who knows when Eda's coming back?" Lucila agreed with her.
"Amity's updating her Penstagram," Gus showed her his scroll, where there was a new post.
"Shout out to my fellow witches! Hashtag humans can bite it!" Luz gasped after reading it while her sister's cheeks turned red in anger and she balled up her fists. "Let's do it!"
They all hollered as they headed for Amity's house, still not knowing that they were being followed.
Eda went over to the stand, a bit wary as she peeked in. "Hello? Uh, I seek the one they call Grimm Hammer."
"I'm the one they call Grimm Hammer," Ominous big white eyes popped out from behind the counter. Suddenly the drapes lifted up and then a tiny pig demon a few inches taller than King jumped onto the table. "Welcome, welcome, welcome," He greeted jovially. "I've got weaponry from the Hinterlands, curses from the Winterlands, and jelly beans!" He threw them up into the air.
"Jelly beans!" King caught some, Eda a little baffled. This wasn't what she was expecting...
"They're lethally delicious."
King was about to eat it when Eda smacked his hand away. He gave a disappointed look. "You are Grimm Hammer?"
"Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer the Third," The little pig introduced himself. "Please, call me Tibbles."
King let out a laugh. "He wants to be called that."
"Okay, Tibbles, I need some of this elixir," Eda held out her empty bottle. He took it and rubbed his chin.
"Oh, this is one wicked brew. Lucky for you, I just stocked up," He presented an elixir for her.
"Hozam!" She pumped her fists. "I'll give you 10 snails," She held out her little purse.
"Add two more zeros and it's a deal," He smiled at Eda.
"A thousand snails?!" She exclaimed in disbelief. "What kind of game are you playing?!" Morton never even charged her 100 snails, let alone a thousand. Even if she had that much, she wouldn't cough it up.
"Capitalism. Where everyone wins, except you," He jumped back into his stand.
"Hey!" She called out in irritation, noticing a deck of Hexes Hold 'Em cards, and getting an idea. "Say, you play Hexes Hold 'Em?"
"Really? Now?" King asked in exasperation.
Tibbles froze, his eyes widening. "Oh! Is that what that game is called? I was just using these as coasters," He sat in front of Eda innocently.
"How about we make it interesting? I win, you give me the elixir," Eda pointed down at him. "You win, you can take something of mine."
"Oh, what fun! You're on."
She smirked, thinking that she had this.
The Owl House marched down Bonesborough, frightening several people as they ran away. They finally noticed a mansion on a hill. "Look, Amity's house. Time to show Amity what a real conjuring looks like," Willow smiled and they stepped forward...only for the house to get caught with rope. They stumbled, letting go of their hands.
"What happened?" Willow looked up in concern.
"Is that a...giant crossbow?" Luz pointed up at the object in front of them. A second arrow was fired, ordered by the demon hunter leader, and landed on the other side once getting hold of the house. The demon hunter jumped and landed in front of the four.
"Knock, knock."
They all gasped in fear.
The house was then carried away by the demon hunters, a horn blasted by one of them. Hooty was hooting in a spooky way.
"Hooty!" Luz kicked at the door as they were tied up inside the house. "Hooty, you have to wake up!" Gus was pulling at the restraints with his teeth, but it was doing nothing.
"If you want this to end as you say, four must hold hands. It's the only way," He recited to them.
"Oye, no me hable asi!" Luz shouted in frustration, hitting the door again.
"These knots are almost impossible!" Lucila grunted while trying to slip out.
"Willow, will you help me out with Hooty?"
"I'm sorry, Luz," Willow spoke up sadly, closing her eyes. The three turned to her. "You shouldn't ask me to help with anything."
"Willow," She started off, but they suddenly came to a stop, landing roughly on the ground. "Did the house stop moving?"
Gus groaned out loud. "My insides didn't."
The door opened and they whimpered a bit as light was let in. The demon hunter laughed down at them. He stepped forward, looming over them. He then tossed them out the house and onto the ground.
"Take the house and rip out the house demon," The leader demanded, closing the door as he jumped down from the platform. "We can sell it to restaurants as exotic meat."
"No!" Luz called out in protest. "Hooty would taste terrible!"
"Yeah, you don't want him," Lucila smiled nervously.
"Hey, I'm a refined taste! Hoot, hoot," Hooty argued back, the girl shushing him.
"What do we do with the worms?" Another demon hunter asked.
"Throw them over the cliff."
"What?!" Lucila shouted in disbelief.
The other one laughed and they dragged them over to the cliff. "Alrighty, kids. Here's the end of your short, little lives," He dangled them over the edge.
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait," Gus turned to face him. "Is this really what you wanna be doing with your life? Tossing kids from cliffs?"
"Actually, yes," He smiled happily. "It's been my dream since I was a boy." They stared at him. "...I was a strange child," And with that, he pushed them off. "Whee!"
They all screamed and he walked off, with a branch thankfully saving the four as they dangled over the water. "If we're not killed now, we will be when Eda finds out about the house," Luz commented and Lucila looked up at the rope.
"That's not gonna hold..."
"Luz, Lucila, I'm so sorry," Willow spoke up sadly. "You wanted to turn back, but I just had to off to Amity. The truth is...she and I used to be friends."
"Whaaaat?" Luz asked in surprise. Considering Amity now, it was hard to imagine. The branch started to break.
"Wait, I don't understand. What changed?" Lucila looked over her shoulder.
"We played together as kids, but when she got her magical powers and I didn't, she stopped hanging out with me."
"Guys, is now the best time?" Gus questioned, not wanting to die.
"I just wanted to prove to her that I was a powerful witch too," Willow confessed to them.
"That's ridiculous! You helped bring a house to life," Luz argued back. "Amity doesn't know what she's talking about." Willow smiled at her.
"Yeah, it's her loss," Lucila winked at the girl.
"Next to Eda, you're the most powerful witch I know. No offense, Gus."
"No, not at all," He grinned up at Luz. "I know what I'm about." The rope snapped again and they all screamed, all of them looking up. "This tree can't hold us much longer."
"What do we do?" Lucila looked around, Willow managing to get her hand free.
"There," She reached out to a smaller branch right next to the bigger one. "Now if I can just reach that root...Gotcha!" She grabbed it and activated her powers.
King looked down at all of the burned cards on the table. "Oof! That was painful to watch."
Eda gritted her teeth angrily at Tibbles. "You card shark! You hustled me."
"Looks like you forgot about my...wild card!" Tibbles flipped it onto the ground and it came to life with a roar. It turned around and then ripped off the shirt from the person on it, showing off buff muscles. "In any case, I'd like my prize now," He stood up with a smug look. "And I choose...the little bone boy." He then took King from Eda, to her shock. "I've always wanted a tiny servant to model my line of baby clothes."
"No! I don't look good in clothes," King protested to him. "I'm all-natural. Eda, do something!"
She attempted to wave a spell circle, only for her arm to gain tons of feathers. "Ah! I can't perform magic." Tibbles snapped his fingers, chains appearing from the ground. They went around Eda's waist and she fell onto the dirt on her side. "You think this can stop me? I can still bite your ankles!" She threatened him.
"You don't think I know who you are?" He asked smugly. "Eda the Owl Lady." She gasped sharply, knowing that she was screwed now. "That's right. I've seen your wanted posters around here," He held up one of her posters. "I wonder how much the Emperor's Coven would pay me to hand you over."
She gritted her teeth at him.
"Yeah, they tried to fight back, and they nearly got me," The demon hunter member stated to his leader. "But, you know, I handled it."
"They were children, Tom," The leader deadpanned at him.
A large shadow loomed over them and they looked up to see the four standing on a leaf from the vines Willow created. She waved a hand to cut them free with thorns. "We may be children, but we're also witches," Willow spoke up bravely. "Powerful ones," She waved her hands again, knocking a member away. The leader sliced one while a vine grabbed one by the legs, throwing him deep into the ground. The leaf lowered them onto the ground and they ran for the house while the demon hunters were distracted. They climbed up the platform, Luz letting them in first before she followed them in, closing the door.
"Everyone, quick!" She held out her hand and they joined hands to re-control the house. The demon hunter leader waved a spell circle and sliced off the vine.
He heard a noise behind him, looking up to see the house standing on two feet again. "Uh..." He lifted up his eye patch awkwardly, and the foot stepped on him.
"Oh, no," Luz looked out the window to see the moon was setting. "I don't mean to step on this victory, but we gotta get home before Eda does!"
Lucila looked at the time on her phone, wondering where Eda was exactly since it was pretty late.
They house headed back for the forest, leaving behind the defeated demon hunters. The leader groaned as he sat up, rubbing the side of his head.
"They're just children, Tom," Tom mocked him.
"King," Eda called out as King was in a little sailor uniform, and he did not look happy about it. Especially since he was secured by a ball and chain. "I'm sorry."
"King? Who's King?" He looked away while crossing his arms. "I go by little bone boy now."
"I know I have a problem. I get obsessed with Hexes Hold 'Em," She looked away guiltily. "But I'm done with that stupid game. Look," She took a card in her mouth and actually ate it.
"You promise?" King glanced down at her.
"I promise," She muffled out, earning a laugh.
"Okay, okay," He slipped free from the chain, standing up. "I'll grab you the elixir and then we can bust out of here," He turned around to go get it.
"Bone boy!" Tibbles called out and he stopped short to see the pig demon blocking his path. "You will do no such thing. The Emperor's Coven is already on its way to send this witch here to the Conformatorium. And I just rustled up some more clothes for you to try on," He held up a little knight outfit for King, chuckling evilly.
"Just because I have a model's body doesn't mean you can use me like this," King threw down his hat. Heavy footsteps approached them.
"I can and I am, Bone Boy," Tibbles crawled onto the table, feeling smug. "I've got the cards stacked against you." Eda's eyes widened as she felt the shaking. "And nothing can stop me. Nothing!"
Just then, the house stepped onto his hand, dropping the elixir safely. Luz looked out the window, waving. "Sorry, mister!"
Eda stood up with a laugh and King slipped away while Tibbles was horrified. Then she realized something. "Wait, w-was that my house?"
"Eda, quick!" King tossed the elixir to her and it landed in her mouth so she could drink it, Tibbles shocked. She spit out the bottle and freed herself, looking at her arm as her feathers molted right off her.
"Ha!"
"No, no, no! My scam stand!" Tibbles cried out.
"Sorry, Tibbles, old boy. Looks like you forgot about the wild card," She tossed some cards onto him.
"Curse you, witch!" He shook an angry fist. "Curse you, Bone Boy. I'll have my revenge! Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer the Third will have his revenge!" Then his stand fell apart completely.
The house arrived back to where it was and went back to normal. "Did we do it?" Luz opened an eye. The door opened to reveal Hooty, who was also back to normal, though a bit woozy from the moonlight magic.
"Is the room spinning or is it just me?" He laughed weakly. "Ah, just a little house humor. Whew!"
"Sorry about all that, Hooty," Luz rubbed the back of her neck.
"It's okay. I'm just glad I was included." Just then the door slammed to reveal King and Eda.
"Oh, boy," Luz murmured in fear.
"You are so busted!" Eda stormed up to them.
"Oh, man."
"This is it," Lucila covered her eyes in terror.
"You held a moonlight conjuring."
"We did," Luz winced a bit.
"And you animated my house. My house!"
"Yes!"
"To be fair, we didn't mean to bring the house to life!" Lucila protested to her.
"No," Willow stood in front of the two. "Don't punish them. We're the ones who pushed them to do the conjuring."
Gus joined their sides. "If you're gonna eat me, just do it now. Do it now!"
"She won't eat you...I don't think," Lucila whispered to him.
"Hey, you didn't have to do that," Luz whispered towards Willow.
"Yes, Luz. I did," Willow stated, earning a smile.
"Well, you're all guilty, so you'll all be punished by cleaning my house top to bottom," She waved a finger and cleaning stuff appeared over their heads. Once they fell, the four caught them and then she looked back. "And another thing..." The four gulped, expecting another punishment, but instead she smiled. "That was totally amazing! And I'm so joining you for next year's conjuring." They all smiled up at her. "Now get to work."
They ran off in a single line to go clean. "I can't believe they animated a whole house," King stated in shock.
"Yeah. You're right," Eda stared at the two humans. "That takes some powerful magic."
"You know, I still kinda wish we got to show up Amity," Luz stated while holding a mop.
"Yeah," Willow used a spray on the cabinet. "Too bad no one will know of our daring adventures."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Lucila smirked, confusing them.
A doll was in the middle of the group, all girls looking disappointed. They hadn't managed to animate it. Boscha scoffed at the bunny doll. "So what if we couldn't move a doll? Now we have time for what really matters...Penstagram!" They pulled out their scrolls, going through their social media.
Amity was looking out the window when Boscha gasped. The green-haired girl went over and looked over her shoulder...to see the Owl House alive, with the four controlling it. And people online were actually liking it.
"What?!" Amity and Boscha said in unison.
The Golden Guard sat on his bed, looking at a scroll. He saw the same exact pictures, chuckling a bit. "Animating a house, huh? You're strangely intriguing, human..." He snapped out of it. What was he saying? She was reckless, outside of the system still. And yet he couldn't stop thinking about her recently. She didn't know what was facing her by being in the Boiling Isles.
He closed his scroll, looking out the window. Despite that...
He was looking forward to seeing her again.