Angel: I'm so incredibly happy because Lucila has been drawn by Yellowdrake26 from Deviantart! If you don't know, she's drawn over a dozen fanarts of some of my other stories, so go check out her art! If you couldn't tell already, I really, really, really, really, really love how people are responding to this story *grins widely*
Luz was reading her Good Witch Azura book out loud one morning in the Owl House. " 'Azura', Hecate began, 'Our paths have crossed only in battle. But today I stand before you seeking an ally'." She was standing on the couch in front of King. She then sighed happily, hugging the book close.
"Luz, you're getting all swoony again," King warned her.
"I can't help it. Azura is able to befriend everyone. Even her biggest rival. I wish I had that kind of power."
"Rivals are meant to be annihilated, not befriended. Now keep reading," King waved his tail happily. "I've been sucked into your awful fandom."
"Huh, how about that? You managed to get King hooked," Lucila smiled from her chair.
"Okay. 'Suddenly the door swung open'." And as soon as she stated that, Hooty swung the door open.
"Ding, dong, ding. Hoot, hoot."
"The book has come to life!" King cried out in fear. "Burn it!"
"We're not burning anything!" Lucila pointed out. Luz went to the door and looked down, seeing a basket covered up. She took it to the kitchen, laying it in front of Eda.
"Eda, you got a package. It looks like a gift basket."
"Probably an offering," Eda smiled down at it. "Ah, being the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles has its perks."
Lucila rolled her eyes at the woman. Given that she was wanted, she doubted it was a gift basket—especially since they were in the Boiling Isles. King pulled down the covering...to reveal a sleeping baby creature. "Umm..." She bit her lip, as she wasn't expecting that. But she did wonder why Eda was given a baby.
"Mm, fresh meat," King rubbed his hands.
"No, not eating that," Luz walked away with her hands up.
"I can't watch this," Lucila murmured, following after her sister in disgust.
"Witches eating babies is so 1693," Eda scoffed at the aspect. "What is this?"
"There's a note," King held the paper attached to the basket. "Take care of my child til morning. Yi Yi?"
"Nope! Babies are awful," She denied, giving two thumbs down and crossing her arms. "Not happening."
"You will be handsomely rewarded," King continued the note. "X-O-X-O-X-O-X, Bat Queen?"
Eda perked up as that got her attention quick. "Bat Queen? Reward?" Her eyes shined at the coins that were in the basket.
"Who's the Bat Queen?" Luz wondered curiously as she and her sister rejoined them.
"She's the wealthiest demon on the Boiling Isles. Get in with her and you're set for life," She happily held up a gold coin. "So, we keep this thing alive for a few hours and we get paid. Pfft, Easy."
"Our greatest adventure yet. Learning about love and life through a child's eyes," Luz looked up in awe.
"I babysat you so many times, now you get to experience what I went through," Lucila gestured to the basket.
"Not you two. You both have to return the books I checked out from the library. Including all those books you made me get about covens, Luci," Eda waved a spell circle and a bunch of books fell into their hands. As they walked away, Eda leaned in towards King. "I don't want them getting a cut of the loot."
"Good thinking."
"I heard that!" Lucila called out and they winced.
"Dang it, now I owe her a cut. Now, let's take a look at this little darling," She moved away the blanket...and once she did, it woke up the baby, who was a bat with a human head. It let out a loud screech, shaking the house.
"Oh, boy."
Eda covered her ears while King fell on the table. "On second thought, maybe we could use your help!"
Lucila shook her head rapidly no; she would've if not for the screeching and for the fact that Eda was gonna stiff them on the money.
"Well, we better get to the library. Gotta bye. Bye!" The two walked out the door and Luz closed it with her foot.
"We got this, right?" Eda shouted, and the baby attacked her, knocking her backwards.
The two sisters were on their way to the library, passing by Tiny Nose. She was carrying a book so big that she had it over her head. Luz almost dropped the books she had getting distracted while looking at Tiny Nose. They came to a stop, looking up ahead at the library.
"Whoa..." Lucila's eyes shined at it. It looked like a giant castle, especially with the stained glass.
"Wow," Luz agreed with her.
They stepped in and the books were taken by them as the librarian was using magic to levitate them. "Late. Late." He took a book and then touched the cover, looking at the grime on his finger. "Coffee, grass, and bloodstains? These are Eda's, aren't they?"
"Heh. That was a crazy night," Luz chuckled nervously, shrugging.
"It's better left unsaid," Lucila looked away, scratching her cheek.
"Ugh. I'll put them on her tab," He pulled out a scroll and it turned out to be very long. "By the way, we're closing early for the Wailing Star meteor shower," He informed them, glancing at a poster nearby that advertised it.
"Ooh, what's that?" Luz asked eagerly.
"You're in a library. Read a book," He gestured to all of the shelves full of books.
"Gee, we didn't notice. Thanks," Lucila replied sarcastically with an annoyed look.
"We are in a library. We will read a book!" The younger Noceda smiled, grabbing her sister's hand and running off.
"Shh!" He called out to them.
The two came across a Demon Decimal System, with the warning to not feed them. The shelves all had one eye, seeming to be alive as they snored. Luz took out a candy ball and fed a shelf one. In turn, it belched out a bunch of papers.
"And that's why you don't feed sentient beings when there's a sign that says not to," Lucila smirked down in amusement.
They were then on the second floor, watching books floating around. "Wow!" Luz grabbed one and before her sister could stop her, she was dangling from the ceiling. She screamed, earning shushes from those down below. "Sorry."
Lucila facepalmed at her.
In the Reference section, people were looking at crystal balls to look up information rather than computers. One person knocked at a crystal ball that was stuck on a loading screen. Lucila and Luz peeked behind the bookcase, watching them.
"This place is amazing."
"How have I never been here before?" Lucila smiled at the place.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Ah! I've been caught!" Luz stood still. "Pretend to be a book!"
"Um, Luz, no one was talking to us. It came from over there," Lucila stated, pointing up ahead, and they heard children giggling.
"Wait..."
They stepped further and peeked into the children's section. "We're your friends and we wanna help, said the Tin Boy with a yelp," Amity was reading a book to children, believe it or not, and she seemed...different from the other times that they had seen her. "Otabin smiled and paced the floor. 'I've never had real friends before'."
"Amity reading to kids?" Luz raised a brow.
"Then we'll be your first, the chicken witch clucked," The two got closer inside. "Otabin couldn't believe his luck. So, Bookmaker Otabin, surrounded by friends, bound a book of friendship, and that's the end," She then closed the book, the kids cheering. Neither of them had never thought that there was this side to Amity.
"Amity seems so...nice and smiley," Luz beamed and gasped. "Maybe I can befriend her like Azura befriended her rival."
"After what happened at her school and Covention? She doesn't seem like the type to let that go," Lucila raised a brow, Luz grabbing her arm and pulling her down to hide behind the bookcase. Amity and the kids came their way.
"Thank you so much."
"Goodbye."
A kid then hugged her legs. "Goodbye, Miss Amity," He said in a deep voice. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Braxas," She patted the top of his head. "See you next time."
"Yaaaay!" He then ran off and she glanced to the left, flinching as she saw the two sitting there. Luz was trying to make herself discreet by hiding her head with a book, but clearly it didn't work.
"Ugh, you two," She groaned upon seeing them, frowning.
"Amity," Luz stood up nervously, Lucila getting onto her feet and dusting herself off. Luz then dropped a book onto the floor. "Whoop. Reading to kids. Wow. Looks like this sour lemon drop has a hidden sweet center."
"It's for extra credit," She dismissed, picking up the fallen book. "Don't get your leggings in a bunch."
"Mm," Lucila gave her an annoyed look as they watched her walk off.
"Hey, I could help with the kids," Luz offered her. "We could take turns reading. And do voices! I do the best monster voice."
"Human," Amity slammed down the books on the table, whipping around to her. "Do you see me going to the Owl Shack and bugging you while you...fry up owls? Ugh. Okay, I don't really know what you do there, but every time you come near me, I get in trouble. Just leave me alone!"
"I'm sorry," Luz stepped back a little. "I'm sorry..." With that, she left, and Lucila glanced briefly at Amity, seeing her...almost regret being a little rude to Luz back there. She followed after her sister, who was frustrated. "Ugh, so much for befriending rivals."
"Luz, not that I doubt your ability to win over people, but Amity's gonna be a hard sell," Lucila stated gently.
"I know, but—"
"You gonna let her get to you like that?"
They looked up to see two kids, a boy and a girl, both with green hair and with Illusion uniforms from Hexside. "Hmm?" Lucila blinked, as they looked very similar to someone they knew.
"Who are you?" Luz asked as they approached.
"Well-wishers on a mission," The boy stated to them.
"A noble quest," The girl added in.
"Watch this," The boy winked at Lucila, then looking over to Amity. "Hey, Mittens!" Her face turned red in embarrassment. "Mom says stop forgetting your lunch," He held up a pink lunch bag in the likeness of a rabbit. She stormed over to them. "And stop being a jerk to your friends."
Amity snatched the bag from him. "They are not my friends," Amity emphasized strongly, Luz looking hurt. Lucila glared at her.
"Amity, you-!"
"Yeah, makes sense," The girl interrupted her, stepping between the sisters. "They seem too cool for you."
"We are?" The two asked in unison.
"You can leave now. All of you!" Amity pointed in the opposite direction and stormed off, the girl giggling. She smiled towards the two, the boy winking at them. Luz blushed, chuckling, and when the boy smiled at Lucila, she looked away with a blush.
"So you're the humans we've heard so much about," The boy started off as they walked past shelves.
"I'm Emira," The girl introduced herself. "And this is Edric. We're Amity's older siblings. We heard how you two embarrassed her at the school and at the witch covention last week. No wonder she hates you."
"I know. B-But I didn't mean any of it!" Luz stated to them. "I thought we were as cool as cucumbers, but we're as sour as pickles."
"What?" Lucila turned to her in confusion.
"Don't waste your time with Mittens. Me and Ed, we're way more fun. Follow us!"
Edric took Lucila's hand, gently dragging her away. She cleared her throat in embarrassment, her face heating up.
They looked up to a sign, Edric wiping away the non from nonfiction. "And here we go towards our non-fiction section," A librarian was giving a tour when he looked up at the sign and gasped sharply. "Fiction? Fiction? Is our world but fiction?" He then kneeled down dramatically. "Then what in my life is real anymore?" He started to literally sob.
The librarian from the front desk was putting books back on the shelf, but the book was moved back onto his cart. He put away another book, and the same thing happened. The twins, Lucila, and Luz snickered as Emira was controlling the books. Edric then made the two librarians switch places. The same librarian who was giving a tour literally started to break down mentally.
"Huh? No. Not again!"
The other librarian fell onto the ground.
Edric held up a book and blew the dust from it onto the shelves from earlier. All of them sneezed, releasing the paper all over. The four laughed as Luz spun around.
"HEY!" Amity's voice interrupted everything as the desk clerk was standing next to her, unamused.
"Wait. Where's Gary?"
"Coming!" Gary slid to a stop and saw the chaos. "No!" He sobbed again upon seeing the mess. The desk clerk pushed all of them out.
"You've made reading far too fun. Now stay out!" He slammed the door and the group erupted into laughter. Lucila herself had never had that much fun before; she was always worrying about her sister and taking care of her whenever their mom was at work. And clearly, she never let Luz stay home alone for her to hang out with her friends on her own.
"Amity's even madder at me now," Luz commented, a hand on her cheek. "I didn't think that was possible."
"No. When Mittens gets mad, she looks like this," Ed took a deep breath and clenched his face until it turned red. "Whoa, I almost passed out."
"What?" Lucila stepped up to him in concern. She placed her hands on his cheeks, inspecting his face. "Well, you seem okay..."
She blinked as she realized what she was doing, Edric blushing at her. She quickly let go of him, waving a hand. "Um, but maybe don't do that anymore." Why did she have to have such a caring nature to do that?! What was she thinking?
"You're pretty fun, humans," Emira looked to her brother and they both nodded. "So, hey, we're coming back tonight. There's a certain book we forgot to...check out."
She smiled as she put a hand underneath her chin, Edric getting into the same position as her. "And bonus, rumor has it the Wailing Star is supposed to unlock some rare magical event. You in, friends?"
"Sure," Luz shrugged a little.
"Great. Meet back here at midnight. See you, Luz. Oh, and can't wait to see you again, Luci," He glanced over his shoulder, looking away with a blush.
"Oh. Um, okay, bye," She waved bashfully as the two left.
"Bye!" Luz waved to them. "This is great. First I befriend the siblings, then I befriend the Amity!" She cheered as she bounced up and down. "But it seems like you and Edric are getting a little cozy already, huh?" She elbowed Lucila playfully.
"What? Luz, it's not like that," She brushed away a bang. She honestly didn't know what came over her, checking over him...
"Suuuure~!" Luz smiled playfully, running down the steps.
"Don't insinuate anything, we're just friends!" Lucila called out quickly, running after her. What they didn't know was that Amity was watching them from not too far. Her face clenched as her face turned red, just like Edric did.
"Whoo! Almost passed out."
Back at the Owl House, the bat baby was still crying, Eda's hands dismembered to cover her ears. King had two pillows taped to his ears, but neither of these methods were helping much. "It's been hours!" King called out over the screaming. "How can it keep screaming?"
"Ugh, I hate it too, pip-squeak, but think about the money," Eda then reattached her hands, and the baby bat started breaking the potions and a glass poster with the loud screaming.
"No amount of snails is worth this torture!" King fell onto the floor in agony. "Make it stop!"
"Ugh, I can't believe I'm about to do this," Eda picked up the baby and it immediately stopped screaming, to their surprise. She glanced at King and then rocked it. "Rock, rock. Maternal gesture."
Lucila and Luz entered the house. "I just had the best day. Cool teens like us! Call me a library book, cause they were checking me out. But one of them definitely checked out my big sis more," She elbowed Lucila playfully, who groaned.
"I told you, no he didn't. And I just met the guy."
"It's called true love!" Luz placed her hands on her cheeks and Lucila threw up her hands in exasperation.
"I give up."
Luz then turned to Eda. "Aw, Eda, you look so motherly."
"Wow, I didn't know you had it in you," Lucila smiled at her. "That's exactly what I looked like when I held Luz for the first time."
"And it was magical!"
"Pfft. You threw up on my favorite shirt from my favorite band. Not exactly the definition of magical," Lucila scoffed at her.
"Say those things about motherly stuff again and I steal your tongues," Eda warned them.
"Aw, how can you say that around this cute little baby?" Luz poked it and then it puked up two more of them, the next two a bit smaller than the last. The two sisters gasped at this and they started flying...and then spitting out fireballs. The four screamed as they ducked for cover. The two girls ran for the door, grabbing their bags.
"Parenting sure looks rewarding. E-Enjoy your life lessons. Bye!" Luz slammed the door shut as the babies started making a mess.
"Uh...uh, for the money."
"For the money," Eda reluctantly agreed with King, ducking as green slime hit the wall behind her.
"Oh!" Lucila blinked, coming to a stop. Luz looked over her shoulder. "I actually forgot my pen..."
"Didn't Eda steal your pen because it's shiny?" Luz smirked in amusement.
"Yes, but she went back and got herself a new one, therefore she won't steal it again...t-this time."
"You sure you wanna go back in there right now?" The girl looked past her and she glanced back as they heard several crashes and some screams. Lucila winced and looked back to her sister.
"No, but...I just need it on me, you know? It's important to me. I'll just...wait it out or...find a way to get up there somehow," Lucila glanced up at the windows.
Luz smiled at her. "Okay! Meet you at the library," She waved and walked off.
Lucila used the forest pathway to enjoy the scenery on her way to the library, and she was about halfway there. She looked down at the pen in her hand. She actually used this pen to write songs in, so it was kind of like Luz's Good Witch Azura book, and that she couldn't part without it. It felt a little dumb maybe, but she didn't care, because she had written a lot of good songs with it, and she had mainly good memories that she wanted to keep by holding onto it. And because inspiration was everywhere to her, she always kept the pen on her in case she wanted to write something down for a song.
As she was walking, she didn't notice someone watching her from the trees. She hummed to herself, failing to notice him until he actually said something.
"Human!"
Her eyes widened as she whipped around to see the Golden Guard himself flying over her head. Talk about a distraction. "What are you doing out this late?"
While he was out on patrol, he didn't expect to see her here, alone.
"We're the same age, and me being out doesn't warrant a visit, so you can't parade me to your coven," She turned around and kept walking. After meeting him at Covention, she didn't think she'd see him again, but no, he just happened to come across her. And his demanding voice almost made her rethink her thoughts about him after he talked to her the second time.
"Are you meeting someone, human?"
She gasped as he sounded closer and she turned around to see him right behind her. "You know, I have a name. It's Lucila Maribella Sofia Noceda."
"Human is more easier to remember. You can't be out here, you're trespassing," He pointed at her.
The girl huffed at his answer and then smirked to herself. "Okay then, Golden Guard," She crossed her arms and he gripped his staff a little.
"Ah. So you learned who I am! Yup, I'm Belos' enforcer, if you will. His go-to kind of guy."
"Oh, I learned a lot. I also learned this: Article 16, section 4, paragraph 2 from your little rulebook states that unless I step on someone's property, then that would be breaking the law." He flinched at her as she didn't bother to let him answer. "And since we're in the forest near where I live and not on private property, why don't you tell me what rule I actually broke? Is taking this path suddenly against the law now?"
"I...I..." He stammered, he didn't think she had read up on the law for the Boiling Isles.
"Didn't expect that, did you?" She raised a sly brow.
"W..." He faltered before snapping out of it. "Whatever. It doesn't matter."
"Okay...I'm gonna go before things get even more weird," She murmured and walked down the path. He stared at her, clenching the staff. He just didn't want to admit that deep down...he was actually kind of concerned for her since she was a human.
Luz was pacing in front of the library when her sister finally arrived, walking up the steps. "Hey, Luz," She greeted, slightly annoyed by the talk she just had with the Golden Guard. Why he felt the need to act like that was beyond her, and it was more or less confusing. Luz noticed her expression.
"Everything okay, sis?"
"Yeah, I just...ran into someone on my way here. It's not important," She waved it off. She still didn't talk to anyone about the Golden Guard, nor did she want to. He just happened to come across her, and that was it. She didn't feel the need to complicate things more, especially since she felt like that was the last time she'd see him...
Right?
"Gotta be cool," Luz posed on the platform, shaking her head. "Cool? No. Cool," She then leaned against it.
"Aren't you trying too hard?" Lucila raised an amused brow.
"Well, it's not like you have to! You're already cool, and we're sisters, can't you rub that off on me?"
"I don't think it works like that," The older girl shook her head. "And Luz, I'm not that cool."
"What? You're the coolest girl I know."
Lucila smiled a bit, flattered. Luz attempted another pose and groaned.
"She's right, you know," Another voice interrupted, startling them both. They looked up to see the twins up ahead. "This is fun to watch."
"You ready to bring this whole whatever you're doing inside?" Edric pointed to the entrance and Luz nodded her head with an eager smile. "It says no trespassing but I'm allergic to the rules," He stated as they walked up to the door. He rolled out a scroll with drawings and writing on it.
"And dairy," Emira added in as he handed her the scroll.
"Wow, okay. Just expose me," He frowned at her.
"It's okay. I'm actually severely lactose intolerant," Lucila told him gently, a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her hand and then she followed his direction, quickly moving it away. "Ah, um, I was just trying to make you feel better," She quickly turned around, embarrassed.
"It's okay, vision. You know, because of the cute Versage glasses."
She gasped a little at the nickname, blushing. "Luz, don't even," She whispered to her sister, who clamped her mouth shut. And then it just hit her that they were breaking into a library. She whipped around to the three. "Hey, wait-"
The scroll glowed and Emira placed it against the lock. It then disintegrated before their very eyes. "Whoa," Luz murmured and the keyhole grew large enough for them to fit.
"Come on," Edric waved them forward and they glanced at each other before running after them, though Lucila was a bit hesitant. The keyhole shrunk down to its original size. The library was a little creepy, especially with the lack of lighting, but none of them seemed to mind.
"Standing in a dimly lit lobby. You guys know how to party."
"Are you sure we should be in here?" Lucila asked them.
"There!" Edric pointed up to the stained glass window. "The Wailing Star."
A green shooting star passed by, with the sound of a woman crying being heard, and when it passed, it reflected the stain glass window onto the floor.
"Whoa..." The two sisters murmured in awe. Lucila would admit, that was pretty cool.
The twins glanced around in confusion, turning to each other. "Hmm, nothing happened."
"Wait," Luz turned around and noticed that all the books were glowing a light green. She picked out a bird book and showed it to them. "The books are all glowy." She opened one up and the illustrations suddenly flew out of them. "Wow..."
"Wow! The Wailing Star magicked the books to life," Edric chuckled in awe. Lucila slowly beamed; this was something she thought she'd never experienced ever. Luz closed it and then the birds disappeared. She then looked towards the others, all of them getting mischievous looks.
The twins approached a rack of magazines, and when Edric opened a Regal Couture Magazine, the magic from the books gave them the clothes from the magazine. A bird flew out of it.
Lucila opened a magazine and her hair was scrunched up in a bun once the magic changed her clothes. She had teardrop earrings dangling from her ears, and a light grey A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline. The dress was decorated with black four-petal flower designs, the skirt poofy, and her shoes were white kitten heels with straps on her ankles. And finally, her glasses were actually off.
"Wow," She murmured at herself, slightly picking up the skirt. Emira saw her and nudged her brother, who looked up and saw her, and he froze.
"Ah..." He couldn't even express how pretty she looked in that dress.
Luz opened up a Witch Wares Weekly magazine, and when her clothes changed, the weapon was so big she fell over. Lucila heard her scream and closed the book immediately, her regular outfit and glasses appearing. Edric blinked as he felt like he saw her dress in an unfair amount of time, but she did look beautiful...
Lucila ran over to help her sister.
Luz opened a book, but nothing occurred. She glanced back at them. "Nothing happened," As soon as she spoke, a speech bubble appeared, surprising all of them.
"Wow!" Another speech bubble occurred, and Luz shut the book, even the sound affect appearing in a small bubble.
Luz looked at 'Snowballs: A History', hiding behind a bookshelf. She smirked as Edric tried to sneak past her and failed. "Ha!" He flinched at her voice, whipping around to see her. She opened up the book to fling snowballs at him. He opened the same book and fired back, causing her to duck for cover.
Then she came across Emira, who opened up a book of her own. She was poked from behind and Lucila smirked as she fired her own snowballs. She giggled at Emira being knocked backwards and then she ducked for cover. She sat down on the floor and took out her phone, looking at the lock screen again. Her expression changed as she sighed slowly at the boy from the photo...
"Who's that?"
Lucila screamed and then had her mouth covered by Edric so that they wouldn't be heard. She sighed as he let go of her, sitting next to the girl. His eyes saddened at the picture from the phone.
"Boyfriend?"
"Boywhat?!" She whispered in disbelief, looking at her phone. "Oh...no, no, he's not my boyfriend. But...he wanted to be. I said no, though."
He sighed in relief to himself. "So you don't have anyone special right now?" He hid his hands behind his back innocently.
"I'm not really thinking about that given...this whole situation," She gestured to the library, meaning being stuck in the Boiling Isles.
"So who is he, then?"
Lucila flinched at the new voice, glancing at Emira from the other side. "He's...one of my best friends, Will. I've known him since third grade, from the day that he called me a snot-nosed geek," The twins glanced at each other in confusion. "And then I called him a no-good loser, and we've been friends ever then."
"Sounds...riveting," Edric glanced away awkwardly as he assumed that was a good thing with the insults being thrown at each other. "Why'd you break his heart?"
"Edric!" Emira hissed at him and Lucila waved a hand.
"No, no, it's okay. It happened two months ago. I...I just didn't feel like I felt anything romantic for him," She rubbed her neck sheepishly. "If anything, he's like a brother to me. I don't notice anything from him that would have me...feel that way towards him, if that makes sense. So I asked him if we could still be friends, and he said yes. But now, with me being here, and without talking to him...I hope he doesn't think that I abandoned him because he asked me out," She pinched her nose. "But I'm not ready to tell him the truth either, like with my mom..."
The twins looked at each other, feeling a bit bad. They didn't really like her being so upset or stressed.
"So then don't," Edric placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just tell him that you need time."
"Yeah. Who wouldn't wait for you?" Emira smiled and Lucila smiled at their reassurance.
"Thanks, you guys."
She texted him I'm okay, first off. And second...I'm sorry. I just need time to figure things out for myself. So I'm going to camp with my sister.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Lucila gasped as she looked up to see Luz smirking down at them from around the corner. "D-Don't you guys come with bells?!" She stammered as she stood up, flustered.
"No, but I do come bearing with...these!" She opened up her book, restarting the snowball fight. They all laughed and ran off, Edric chasing after his sister. Luz came out of hiding from a shelf in the kid's section, noticing the Otabin book glowing. She picked it up and opened it with a smile. Otabin appeared on the pages, slightly smiling.
The baby bats had destroyed mostly everything, Eda and King hiding underneath a table. This was honestly worse than the screeching...
"What silences children?" King looked up at her. "What if we invent a TV network for ages six to 11?"
"That's insane. Uh, there's only one way out of this," Eda pulled out a switchblade and King gasped...but then she cut an apple in half with it. "Apple slices and story time," She held up the Otabin book. "Alright, brats. Let's do this," She sat down on the couch. "Ugh, being parental is making me sick." The bats flew down and King joined them with attentive eyes. "Otabin spent his days alone amongst the many books he'd sewn. With needle and thread..."
"The pages he'd mend," Luz continued reading with a smile, Lucila peeking over her shoulder. "But all the while he longed for a friend."
"Friend?" He smiled up at the two.
"Guys, check this out," Edric spoke up as the twins had found them.
"Look what we discovered," Emira opened up a Quacks Eats Snacks book, and a baby duckling popped out, quacking along the way.
"Aww, cute little quackster," Luz cooed at it, Edric taking out a pencil.
"Cuuute," Lucila squealed a bit.
Human legs were drawn on the duck, making it less cute. The duck quaked in alarm. "Now he's extra cute," Emira stated, both of them laughing as she closed the book, and the two sisters didn't find it funny.
"Your turn, guys."
"I don't know," Luz stepped back, skeptical.
"Come on. Don't stop the fun," Edric held out the pencil and Lucila gripped his arm, a determined look.
"I'm not gonna draw on childhood books just for the fun of it," She warned him and he blinked in surprise at her action. Then he shrugged, letting go of his arm. He held out the pencil to Luz, who took it and opened up the book.
"...Ah, I can't do it either," Luz admitted and Edric took it from her.
"Let me help." He drew angry eyebrows, fangs, and claws on Otabin. It started to crawl out and she snapped the book shut.
"I don't wanna see it."
"Agreed," Lucila closed her eyes, not sure if she should be here anymore.
"Whatever. We didn't come here just to doodle. Come on," The twins dragged them away, the book falling open and landing. The new Otabin started to rise out of the book...
They stopped at the romance section, Lucila looking away in disbelief. "Oh, wow. Boiling Isles romance. That's totally lame. I mean, unless you guys are into it?"
"Mm," Lucila grunted, still bothered by the whole book thing. Not only because she loved books, but their ideas of fun were starting to rub her off the wrong way. Sure, it was nice having their own fun in the library, and she would've been fine with breaking and entering if they didn't insist on the doodling to make kid books look ugly.
"I think I'm into this one," Edric took The Lone Witch And Secret Room book, taking it out and then putting it back in. Once he did that, the shelf opened up, moving away, to reveal a secret room.
"Wow. That's a good book," Luz murmured in awe. Lucila glanced around the room. "Your clubhouse is like my ultimate secret hideaway."
"Reminds me of my treehouse back home full of books," Lucila smiled a bit.
"We don't hang out in the library," Edric scoffed, confusing her. " 'Uh, teacher, I'm in love with a dictionary'."
" 'I'm studying the dork arts'. This is Amity's secret hideaway."
The two stared at them in shock. "Um, okay, so why are we here?" Lucila asked the both of them.
"Mittens has gotten too...full of herself. She keeps tattling on us when we cut class," Edric explained to them, and the twins surrounded the Nocedas.
"She needs to learn not to mess with people like that," Emira gestured to herself. "So we're going to find her diary."
"And then post the pages all around school for everyone to see," Edric finished, the two cheering.
"Excuse me?" Lucila asked furiously, slightly pushing Edric away from her.
"What? Isn't that taking it a bit too far?"
"No. See, we're her family," Emira explained to them. "It's tough love. She needs to learn to lighten up."
"Look, even when Luz and I sometimes get on each other's nerves, we never stoop that low. Amity might not be the best person, but there are definitely lines that you don't cross, and posting her diary everywhere is definitely one of them," Lucila defended Amity.
"It's not crossing a line, it's just...helping her learn more about herself, and what to do about it," Edric shrugged at her and she frowned towards Luz. She didn't like Amity, but posting pages of her diary wasn't the right way to get through to her—even if it was impossible right now in her opinion. And they seemed like they wanted to just stop getting into trouble from her, and she felt like this was just so gross. She had no clue what their relationship with Amity was really like, but whenever she and Luz fought, they wouldn't do anything like this to each other.
"Hm, well, I don't see any diaries in here," Luz laughed nervously. "Nope, nothing. Let's just leave." She then froze as she saw something. "Wait, are those...?" She squealed happily as she saw a favorite book section, and one of them was the Good Witch Azura.
"Oh no," Lucila facepalmed as she already knew she lost Luz on this.
"Good Witch Azura books one through four?! You get these on the Boiling Isles? So majestic." She then took a book sandwiched between 2 and 4. "Is this cover hand-drawn?" Her sister peeked over her shoulder as the book came to life...showing Amity.
"I saw those...human girls again."
"The diary," Luz murmured and Lucila waved her hand rapidly.
"Put that away!"
"I may have overreacted. I don't wanna come off as cruel. I just can't show weakness." Lucila blinked at Amity's explanation; that might actually explain why she was like this.
"No," Luz slammed the book shut, but it was already too late.
"What have you got there, Luz?" Edric asked from behind.
"Oh, n-nothing. Just Good Witch Azura 5, where she goes through her Goth phase." The book was lifted out of her hands and brought over to them. "No, wait."
Emira gave it to Edric and they opened it up to see Amity. "It's not fair. I'm the only one who knows Ed and Em aren't perfect. Why do they keep getting away with things?"
"This is it!" They stated in unison, and Emira looked up, a bit hurt.
"Luz, Lucila, were you hiding this from us?"
"You see how she treats people," Edric stepped up to Lucila. "And how she treats you."
"That's no excuse!" She snapped back and he recoiled back with wide eyes. "You don't need to do this to her."
"I know Amity can be kind of cold, but no one deserves this," Luz agreed with her sister. "These are private thoughts. Let's put it back."
The two grabbed the book, but the twins tugged it back. "She needs this!"
"It's for her own good!" Emira added in, and the pages started to fall out. Several images of Amity appeared.
"I wish I had somewhere to go."
"Why won't the humans leave me alone?"
"Called my teacher Mom again."
"Sorry I haven't written for a while. Wait. Why am I apologizing?"
"Oh no," Lucila murmured and Luz scrambled to pick them up. Lucila picked up a page.
"Really?!"
She looked up to see a red-faced Amity standing in the doorway, the real one. "Uhh...it's not what it looks like," Luz insisted, reaching out for a page.
"We didn't mean to intrude, we didn't know-"
The twins snickered at her, getting her attention. "You two are the worst." Amity turned to Luz, gripping her diary. "But you..." She looked away, hugging the pages and book close to her chest. "I've been trying to figure out what your deal is. A-Are you a poser? A nerd? I know...You're a bully, Luz. I wouldn't be surprised if you got it from your sister." She then left the room, Lucila closing her eyes guiltily. She didn't think she'd feel this way until now, but she felt bad for Amity...
"Amity," Luz held out a hand, the twins laughing as they rushed to follow her, but she was gone. They then emerged into the hallway.
"Mittens killed the fun," Emira sighed with her arms crossed.
"Again. Oh, well. We're headed out to go goblin tipping. Wanna come?"
"You're just gonna leave?" Luz asked in disbelief, Lucila clenching a fist. She wanted to believe so bad that Edric might've been...whatever it was, but now, she didn't know him.
"Yeah, with you," Emira grabbed her hand and Edric grabbed Lucila's, both of them snatching them back. However, Lucila's was more forceful, confusing him.
"Look, you guys are cool."
"Mm-hmm," They nodded in unison.
"But I need to go talk to Mittens. I mean, Amity."
The two just shrugged. "All right. See you around, cutie." Luz blushed and ran after Amity. The two were about to leave when Edric noticed that Lucila hadn't said much.
"Luci?" He asked as her back was turned to him.
"You know what? I can't believe you!" She whipped around to them. "I thought you were fun, but honestly, you're both so unsympathetic and you don't even seem to care about what you did to your own sister. Have fun with yourselves," Lucila then stormed off to follow the two, Edric flinching as he looked towards the ground. He felt that a part of his life was ripped away from him...
"She'll come around, Ed. Come on," Emira waved him forward and he slowly went after her, glancing back sadly to where Lucila went. He couldn't get her words out of his head for some reason...
"Amity," Luz quickly found her. "Wait."
"First you embarrass me. Then you wanna be my friend? I-I don't get you. Pick a side!" Amity stated in frustration.
"Luz never meant to embarrass you, or to hurt you," Lucila came up behind them. "She'd never do something like this on purpose."
"Please, just listen to me," Luz grasped Amity's arm.
"Just go away before things somehow get worse."
Booming footsteps approached, confusing all of them and around the corner arrived a large pink goblin...and attached to the chest was the book, stuck on the page where Edric drew on Otabin. "Otabin...?" Amity murmured in confusion.
"With claws and fangs and breaking bones, I found a friend to make my own," He reached forward and grabbed Amity, dragging her away from Luz.
"Luz! Lucila!" Amity screamed and they looked up in horror.
"Amity!"
"Luz!"
"Amity," Luz murmured and she was about to run after her when Lucila put an arm in front of her, her eyes towards the ground.
"Luz, look."
"Huh?" She looked down to see Amity's diary in front of her, and that it was still glowing.
"The drawings come to life from the books, right?" Lucila suggested, Luz smiling as she got an idea.
Otabin took Amity back to the kids section of the library where he planted her against a large empty book page. He then held up a needle, inching it towards her. She yelped and ducked her head, and he sewed around her arm.
"Huh?" She looked up in confusion and then he pulled the strings, tightening them to make her arm flat. She gave a look of horror, gasping at him. "Why are you doing this? I've been reading you since I was a kid! I know you're not like this. Someone changed you."
"But friends are what I've always sought. And now a friend my claws have caught."
A whoosh was heard, and they turned their attention to the entrance. Purple smoke appeared and then figures emerged from it. Otabin looked away and a white hat with a crown on top was seen from one figure, the one wearing a red cloak.
"Azura?" Amity asked in shock.
"Close," Luz spoke up, essentially wearing the iconic outfit from the character, and Lucila was the Elderly Witch. "Is it drawn okay? I kind of interpreted the descriptions."
"And why am I the Elderly Witch? Isn't that kind of Eda?" Lucila looked at her red cloak and black dress.
"Guys!" Amity called out.
"Ah, right." Luz took out a pencil and started writing. "The good witch Luzura grabs her trusty staff while her friend the Ruby Witch grabs her sword."
"Ruby Witch?" Lucila raised a brow while the staff and sword came to life from the pages. They both grabbed their weapons, pointing it at Otabin. "I don't really have to use it, right?" She whispered at Luz.
"No, but don't let him know that," Luz whispered back before turning back to the goblin. "Alright, beloved work of children's fiction. Let go of her!" They charged and were about to attack when he grabbed their weapons out of their hands, tossing them behind him. He then grabbed the diary and closed it, turning their clothes back to normal. Luz chuckled nervously at him. "Not an Azura fan, are you?"
"Wasn't expecting that development," Lucila murmured before Otabin grabbed Luz and placed her on the other page. "Luz!" She ran over to help, but Otabin threw some thread at her, knocking her onto the ground tied up. "Hey!"
"Making friends, taking friends, never be without my friends," He sewed in Luz's arm, turning her arm flat as well. He then pulled on Lucila's thread to turn her left arm flat against her body, horrifying her.
"You fiend!" Luz glared at him. "You can't rhyme friends with friends!"
"Great work, Luzura," Amity spoke up sarcastically.
"Hey," Luz turned to her accusingly. "We were trying to save you."
"Well, it doesn't matter. We're gonna be stuck together forever."
Luz tugged at her right arm, her eyes widening as she realized she could move the page. Lucila saw a lone string near her and inched her hand towards it. She pulled it and her legs turned flat, giving her an idea. "No, we aren't. Follow my lead. Lucila, you too." She started kicking at the book with her legs. "One..."
"What are you doing?" Amity asked, getting no answer.
"Two...three!" Luz rocked the book over at the same time that Lucila pulled the string tighter, making her whole body flat. She flew up like paper. They all screamed, the book knocking into Otabin's head. He looked up and saw that they were gone, chasing after them.
"Come back!" He could see Lucila flying like a paper airplane over their heads as they held up the book. Lucila then loosened the string, gaining her limbs back and once she did, she broke through the thread, landing safely next to the girls.
"Now what?" Amity asked them.
"I don't know. I didn't even think that would work," Luz confessed to her. "I was all like roaaar!"
Amity let out a giggle and Luz smiled at her. Lucila gave Luz a proud smile before realizing that they were still stuck.
"Hold on, let me see if I can get the thread loose," She stepped up to Luz, only to recoil back with a scream as the needle pierced between the two girls, so close to Lucila's face. If she was one second off, that would be a very gruesome sight very quickly.
"Friends..." Otabin pulled the book, and it got caught in a cart before he pulled tighter, knocking the book onto the floor.
"Luz! Amity!" Lucila rushed after them, Otabin capturing her arm with a thread and needle. He pulled her onto the book between Amity and Luz, making her arm flat so that she couldn't move. He pulled the book towards him and Luz tried to get her arm free, to no avail. Amity looked up and saw the ladder, grabbing it tightly. She hooked her legs around it, loosening up her arm and setting herself free. She crashed into the cart.
"Luz! Lucila!"
"Us!" Luz called out nervously, and Otabin grabbed the book, turning the two to face them. Luz kicked at him, but he grabbed the needle and started sewing.
"You squirm and fight, yet scream and shout. But friendship always will win out," He sewed around Luz's legs, making them flat. She gasped and Lucila paled a bit as Otabin started sewing her limbs.
"Oh no."
He got another thread, sewing around Luz's head and they braced themselves.
Suddenly, Amity came running in with the cart and crashed into Otabin, making him crash into the bookshelves. One of them fell on him, and he got stuck. Amity pulled on the strings to see the two sisters free, and Luz watched her arm go back to normal.
"Oh! Third dimension, how I've missed you."
Otabin threw the bookshelf off him. "We must stay friends until the end. There is no tear I cannot mend." He loomed over the girls as Amity helped them up. Luz gulped and then Otabin grabbed her.
"No!" Lucila cried out as he started sewing her around his chest. Amity looked down at the giant book, writing in it.
"Luz has to right a wrong." A giant eraser emerged from it and she caught it in her hands. "Luz, quick!" She tossed it to Luz, who erased the drawings Edric put on Otabin. The goblin went back to normal and Luz fell onto the ground, catching the small goblin.
"Luz!" Lucila ran up to her in relief, hugging the girl. Luz hugged her back with a smile and Otabin looked away. Amity approached him and picked him up.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me," He stated softly.
"Hey, it's okay. We're still friends," Amity smiled softly at him. She turned to the two sisters, nodding at them. Luz closed the book and Otabin disappeared. They walked up to Amity, staring at each other and processing what just happened.
Morning came and once it did, the Wailing Star's effects wore off. The two stepped down the staircase with Amity.
"What an adventure. Thanks for helping clean up."
"Better than to be in trouble," Lucila muttered, still feeling bitter towards the twins.
"This never happened," Amity stated, walking right past them.
"Wait!" Luz called out, digging into her bag. "It doesn't make up for reading your diary, but...would you wanna borrow this?" She held out the fifth book from the Azura series. "I noticed you only had up to four."
Amity took it into her hands and glanced up at Luz. "Thank you..." She started to leave and then stopped. "Maybe you guys aren't bullies. I haven't exactly been the friendliest witch either. I'll think on that." She then left, the two staring after her.
"Well...at least you managed to help her see that you had good intentions, Luz," Lucila sighed a bit, walking down the steps.
"Luci? You okay?"
She froze and paused, as she not only felt bitter, but disheartened by Edric's actions. To her, it spoke volumes as to just how little he cared about anything else other than pranks and having fun. Whereas on the other hand, she definitely had her limits between having fun and being responsible for Luz's sake.
"Yeah, just...tired. I definitely need some rest after all this."
"Hey, um...I know that he left, but I'm sure that somewhere deep down, he cares about other things too," Luz offered, earning a weak smile.
"Thanks, sis."
"...Buuut, I will be keeping my own diary under lock and key," Luz smirked at her playfully, earning a shocked look. "Who knows what you'd do with it?"
"You know dang well I wouldn't post it online!" Lucila called out as the girl ran past her with a laugh. "Luz Noceda, you get back here!" She chased after her sister with a playful smile.
"Hey, guys," Luz opened the door. "I'm...home," She stopped short and Lucila was about to sneak attack her when she stopped, noticing the couch. Eda was hugging the babies close while King was on her lap, all of them asleep with snores.
Lucila smiled as she wrapped an arm around Luz. It reminded her of the time that they fell asleep watching movies together.
"Hoot, hoot!" Hooty slammed the door open.
"Hooty," Luz hissed a little before a giant bat with long black hair crawled through the door. They slowly stepped back as she smiled at them. "Whoa. You must be Mama."
"Yi yi. Mama is I. And I is the Bat Queen," She introduced herself before whistling. The bat babies flew over to her and landed in her hair. "Ah, snuggle dumplings." She then barfed out a treasure chest, revealing gold coins and also a skull whistle. Lucila gagged at the spit, but tried not to let it show to the Bat Queen. "For troubles. Eda is owed one."
"Well, goodbye. I'm sure Eda will appreciate it," Lucila waved and the Bat Queen turned around, squeezing through the door. They watched her fly away and Luz closed the door.
"Aww, sweet babies..." Eda opened her eyes and realized they were gone. "Babies?! Where are the babies?"
Luz made her hands signifying flying. "Their mom came, she just left with them," Lucila jerked a thumb to the door.
"Aww," She looked away in disappointment. "And I just taught Junior how to pick locks too."
"Your night looks very successful. Look at all that money you made," Luz gestured to the chest. "And look at this cool whistle that scary woman gave you. I'd wash it before you use it," She was only saying this because it was covered in drool.
The two walked up to Eda and King, who both looked sad. "Yeah. We did it all for the money," She remembered why she even did it, but she didn't even care about that anymore.
"I miss my babies!" King started sobbing and Lucila smiled warmly.
"We actually got you something from the library," Luz pulled out a book for empty nest syndrome. "It was Lucila's idea."
"I read this book when I would drop Luz off at daycare before school, and I figured that they'd warm up to you eventually," Lucila explained to them.
"Heh," Eda smiled at the book. "Thanks, kids. So how was your night?"
"Good. Then bad. Then maybe good."
"Maybe good, maybe bad. Who knows?" Lucila shrugged a bit, Hooty opening the door.
"Hey, you wanna hear about my night?" Hooty asked them.
"Ugh, no!"
"That's not a thing anyone ever wants."
Lucila's phone beeped and she saw a message, seeing that it was from Will. He gave her a thumbs up, as well as Just remember to send me a text, dumb dumb!
She smiled down at it, relieved.
The Golden Guard laid down on his bed after finishing everything he needed to do today. He thought about the human, Lucila, and hoped that she wasn't in danger...anything could've happened to her out there. And she wasn't a witch, either.
Here he was, thinking about a human...
No! I'm not worried about her. I'm just...curious about her, that's all.
He slapped his hands over his mask, hoping to get her out of his head, but thoughts of her still persisted anyway.
Hopefully he'd see her again soon.