Hey! How's it going? Sorry for the long-ish wait; I like to get my chapters out every two or so weeks, but that simply wasn't possible with this one. I'm going to get out everything I wanna say here because this chapter has quite a serious end, and I feel transitioning to me nonchalantly talking to you would kind of ruin the mood and impact I intend on the end having. This is quite a beefy chapter, and lots of shit happens. All the big things I promised are here. Many details will play important roles later on, so try to remember them. I'll talk more about what exactly next chapter, but just know that there is a certain scroll Adegast reads here that plays a huge role on the entire development of Oliver and his character.
Anyways, I'll respond to the reviews we got, then I'll let you at it.
My response to LightDusk16's review: Yep, all of that emotion Oliver has been experiencing is actually released here on Luz. Just, not in the way you were expecting. You'll see what I mean. And, I'm glad you've picked up on how I've purposely made their relationship a bit stiff. Expect that to start to change after this chapter. I'm also glad you enjoy the change of dialog because, like I said, I put a hell of a lot of effort into making it sound like something from the show while not actually being from it. It's difficult, so your appreciation is letting me know it's not for nothing. And finally, I am happy to say that I was able to include your prediction; Oliver does indeed punch the Wizard in the schnoz. It's not used for comedy like I would've preferred, but it's the only place I could find it working. I look forward to hearing your next review (if you write one, of course) because I am more than intrigued by what you think of what goes down here.
My response to Kagaminelover657's review: Yeah, writing him changing clothes the few times he actually does wouldn't have been the biggest hassle for me, but I'm lazy and I thought the shape-shifting jacket was a cool idea, so I included it. Now I have a scapegoat to make him more unique, so I certainly don't regret it. Glad you enjoyed the really uneventful chapter; believe me, this one should more than makeup for the bit of the stalemate that was chapter 3. And for your prediction on how Oliver reacts to Adegast, you were semi-right. You'll find out his stance in the next few paragraphs, so there's no point in me spoiling it for you. Alright, like I've said before, I really appreciate your in-depth reviews. Not only do they give me motivation, but it also let's me know where I succeded. So, yeah, thanks for that.
Okay, enough stalling. I, with great pleasure, present to you...
Chapter 4: A Turn for the Worse
The boy stared at the cloth for a little longer, holding in his breath, then pushed it aside and strolled on through. His eyes took a moment to adjust, but when he did… boy was he blown away. It was quite literally a castle; the library greatly resembled one, but this straight-up was. It had a little bit of a girly color scheme, but excluding that, it matched what Oliver had envisioned in his head to a tee. It was almost too perfect, like it was pulled straight out of his dreams; he swore it even had a slight glow to it…
Putting his suspicions aside for a moment, he approached the front of the castle. The door was a gate almost identical to what he saw in the library. Hard and wooden, it yet again appeared that he wouldn't even dream of being able to push it. So, just like he had last time, he went right up against it and began pushing with his legs, this time making sure to be cautious of if it actually swung open. Unfortunately for him, it was as stiff as a stone, but, it did slightly move from his pushing. So, with every ounce of effort in his body, he continued digging his legs into the ground. It had eventually parted just enough for him to squeeze through. He sucked in what little of a gut he had and shimmied his way through the goliath wooden planks.
It took a little more effort than he thought, but it wasn't long before he had made it in. He was met with a sprawling… well, a sprawling lounge of sorts. Two chairs sat right in the center, a table with food laid out in between the two. A staircase led to an indoor balcony, of which led to bookshelves and a center room, with even more bookshelves being under it stacked to the brim. But finally, the piece of resistance, was none other than the wizard himself, standing right in front of the chairs with his back faced to the boy. He wore the classic wizard attire, with stars on his purple robe and everything. His hat, though, resembled more of something you'd wear when going to sleep. A large painting of him resting his fingers together sat hanging above the lone doorway at the top of the staircase.
He was mumbling something to himself, being far more talented at the skill than Oliver judging by how he couldn't make out a word he was saying. He waited for the wizard to… notice his presence. He was magical after all; if he could detect that Luz was a human off a feeling, then he should be able to notice the boy right behind him. But, that moment never arrived. He just continued to stand there, completely motionless, having an enthralling conversation with himself. Oliver eventually got tired of waiting and crossed his arms, taking a deep breath. "Um, hello?" he said with as much curiosity as he could muster.
The wizard quickly spun towards the boy. His face… something was off… uncanny, even. It was his eyes, bulging out slightly more than they were supposed to. But, when Oliver blinked, everything that once appeared weird about the man vanished. He seemed almost kind now. And, strangely, Oliver couldn't recall what was so weird with him to begin with. Must have not gotten enough sleep last night. He had a long gray beard and a few wrinkles across his face, but otherwise, he didn't stand out.
The Wizard cupped his hands together, gaining a light smile. "Ah, hello young man. I was not expecting any visitors." He brought his hands down to his side. "What can I do for you?"
Oliver glanced around the room for a moment just to make sure that nothing else weird was happening, then he returned to staring at the Wizard. "Well, I…" He just realized; he hadn't come up with any sort of alibi. He paused for a moment before chuckling, trying to hide any suspicion that might have been on his face. "Alright, I'll just get straight to the point with you." He pulled his hood down, revealing his smooth ears to the Wizard. "If you can't tell, I'm not from around here, and I'm kind of in need of some guidance." Hopefully, his lying face had gotten better.
The Wizard reached up and rubbed his beard. "A human I see…" His voice trailed off for a moment before he looked the boy dead in the eyes. "Funnily enough, another human had just wandered into here. Do you perhaps know them?"
For the sake of his plan, Oliver had to lie about that. Otherwise, he obviously wouldn't try and possibly scam him too. He shook his head. "No. I thought I was the only one." He raised an eyebrow. "Why did they come to you?"
The Wizard chuckled, blowing air away from him. "Oh, no reason in particular. They were quite naïve, believing themselves to be a chosen one. But, that simply wasn't the case, so I sent her on her way."
Oliver felt like jumping up from how spot on he was. Bingo! he thought. Now I just gotta figure out why he tricked her. Oliver pretended to be surprised, leaning back a little bit in an attempt at replicating what he'd actually do. "Really? How could you tell?"
He smirked. "I've been trained in these things, you see. Since birth, I've was given sight to sense chosen ones. Once I find them, I help them on their quest." He waved more air away as he walked over to the chair on the right. "The human girl that visited me was far from chosen. She lacked a certain something." He plopped down into the seat. "But ever since you have walked through that door, I've been able to feel something." Then how come I had to make you turn to me? He gestured over to the empty seat next to him. "Care to join me and chat?"'
Oliver wanted to roll his eyes so badly; this little thing he had going on was so obvious. But, he had to keep his cover until he figured out what his plan was. He shrugged. "Sure, might as well," he said as he walked over and sat in the seat.
The two stared at each other for a moment before the Wizard spoke up. "Yes, I can really feel It now. I've only felt this feeling once in my entire life." His eyes got wide as he leaned a little closer towards me. "The presence of a chosen one is in this room, and I believe it is you."
Oliver pretended to be shocked, completely floored at that, acting as if he had just won a marathon. "W-what?!" He looked around the room before pointing towards his chest. "Me?!" The Wizard slowly nodded. "Wow. I can't believe that! I was curious why I was one of the few humans here, but I guess it makes sense now." He wondered how fake he sounded to any outside observer.
The Wizard reached over and grabbed a cup off the table, taking a sip of whatever was in it. "Yes, most are quite surprised, from what I've seen. But I can assure you that my judgements are never wrong." Most? Didn't he just say there was only one other chosen one? He took another sip, this time making it long and very audible, before putting the cup back where it belonged. "I have a question for you…" His voice trailed off as the boy raised an eyebrow, trying his best to look even remotely engaged in anything he was saying. He held the silence, like Oliver was going to say something to him mid-sentence, before eventually leaning in close to the boy yet again. "Would you like to go on a quest?" he asked with wide, exaggerated eyes.
Oliver was getting tried of the act he was playing. He waved his hand around a bit. "Sure, might as well since I'm chosen and all that."
His voice showed a clear lack of interest, but the Wizard seemed too caught up on his scheme to even notice. "Good. I might have just the thing then." He reached into his… beard(?), pulling out a scroll from its hidden depths. It looked essentially identical to the one Luz gave him. He unrolled it, looking over its contents with great interest. "The prophecy speaks of a young human boy who will claim the Darkest Staff and free this world from an ancient evil."
Darkest staff? That didn't line up with what he saw on Luz's scroll. Unless the wizard was a fan of antonyms, that scroll was bright white. Then he realized. He's probably changing the details so it sounds appealing to a… boy, I guess. He looked down to the floor. So, he's sexist and a scammer. He reached over and grabbed the scroll. "Darkest staff, huh?" It was indeed another map, almost identical to Luz's. The only difference was what waited at the end. Instead of the staff being white and blue, it was black and red.
The Wizard seemed quite eager to continue with his fairy-tale. "Now, should you choose to go along, I must warn you-"
The boy interrupted his drabble long before he would've ever finished. He had everything he needed from him. "Alright, cut the crap old man." He was more than ready to confront the Wizard about their blatant lies.
He raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Oliver rolled up the scroll, holding it in one hand and gesturing it towards the man. "We both know this little quest you want me to go on is bullshit."
The Wizard seemed appalled. "And why is that?" They paused for a moment before gaining overexaggerated sad eyes; they almost reminded the boy of puppy eyes. "Do you not believe me?"
What do you think bullshit means? He nodded his head, trying to resist the urge to smile. "Yes, actually. Because, well, you see, I lied to you about one tiny detail…" He looked to the side. "The other human you asked me about. I know them. In fact, we came here together." His eyes drifted over to the Wizard's, who was gaining an increasing amount of surprise. "And, boy oh boy, would you not believe what they told me when they left your little castle." He leaned in a little bit, making an exploding motion with his hands. "They're a chosen one!" he let out with fake enthusiasm. The Wizard furrowed his eyebrows, causing Oliver to gain a little smirk. "I know, right? Big surprise. She even gave me this map that leads to a magical staff in the middle of the forest..." He waved the scroll around in his hand. "It looked a lot like this, actually." He shoved the thin piece of paper in his jacket pocket before continuing, his voice trailing off for a moment as he reached up and rubbed his chin. "But wait, you said they weren't a chosen one, right? That they were just naive, and that you sent them off. So, that has me wondering-" He leaned in real close to the Wizard with a death stare directed right at his eyes, the anger he had been hiding now on full display all over his face. "Why are you leading Luz into the middle of nowhere?" he finished word-by-word in a cold voice, dropping the innocent, unknowing facade he had put up.
The Wizard stared at him a moment, completely frozen, before eventually looking away. "Well, you see, this is just a big misunderstanding."
The boy leaned back into his chair, resting his head on one of his hands. "Please, do tell. I'm all ears."
"Okay, so, for starters..." His voice trailed off as Oliver's eyes pierced his very soul. It didn't matter what he was about to say, nothing would excuse his lies. The Wizard kept silent for a moment before slumping down a little. "Screw it." He sat up and reached over to the table, pulling out a scroll from it. But, this one was different from what OLiver had in his pocket. The paper was darker and clearly more old, looking like it would crumble from even the slightest touch.
Part of him expected the Wizard to hand it his way, show him his big operation, whatever that might be. But, that moment never came. Instead, he opened it, mumbling the words he saw as his eyes passed over it. He was too quiet for Oliver to make anything out. The boy raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" The Wizard never responded, instead choosing to read more of the scroll. The boy pushed himself out of his seat. "Seriously, what is this?" Yet again, no response. He squinted at the scroll in an attempt at trying to see what was on it, but that didn't work. He did notice something strange, though. The scroll was appearing to almost... glow, but it wasn't some bright color. No, it was glowing black. It grew in strength the further down the scroll the Wizard got. "Okay, I don't know what wacky spell you're trying to cast, but I'm just going to-" He reached over for the paper, but as he did, the Wizard stopped reading, gaining an inhuman smile; it went far past what normal lips could do, his pupils shrinking to the size of a safety pin. The paper was glowing brightly now, which was weird to see considering it was bleeding black.
Oliver tried to stop himself, the smile alone telling him nothing good was going to happen. But, it was already too late. The Wizard let go of it as the boy's hands wrapped around it. As his fingers closed together, he clenched his eyes and waited for something to happen… but that moment didn't come. At least, not at first. Oliver just sat there with the scroll in his hands, the Wizard still holding his demonic smile. But, as the boy was about to speak, the feeling in his hand vanished. All he could make out was slight tingling, like it had fallen asleep. It spread up his arm, through his body, going down to the toes first, and, as it reached his head, everything went black. That was because he was knocked out. The scroll had exploded, sending him flying back into one of the walls right next to the door. Well, explosion is an exaggeration. It was more like a concussive blast; the shockwave of an explosion. The force without the flames. Of course, he lacked consciousness, so he was not aware this ever happened.
He did not remain asleep for long, his eyes shooting open a few moments after he had reached the wall. He looked over himself, feeling his body around with his hands. Everything was still numb, but it didn't look like he got any wounds. He let out a sigh of relief, about to stand up when, suddenly, even with his entire body being numb, he felt a great pain in his left shoulder. He looked over to it and was shocked to see a... tentacle of sorts going right through it, making contact with the wall behind; due to the explosion, his jacket had moved ever so slightly so that it didn't cover it.
His eyes grew wide, his neck becoming stuck in place as a high-pitched frequency all but filled his ears. Despite that, he could hear something shuffling from his side. A huge figure passed him, completely covered in shadows as it slithered to the door. It busted through it into the outside world, barely using even an ounce of effort. Following it was the Wizard, being dragged across at great speeds by one of the tentacles. Before it would've gone outside as well, it completely halted right next to Oliver, like all energy had just vanished with the snap of a finger. Their eyes were bulging out of their head, just hanging there, yet the boy could still feel their gaze on him. "Try and stop what happens and that shoulder will be the least of your concerns." Their voice was buried under layers of high-pitched ringing. With that, they were dragged through the door, the tentacle in Oliver's shoulder joining them.
The boy still stared at the wound, barely even processing what happened. T-there's… there's a hole in my sh-shoulder. He could see the wall that would otherwise be completely obscured through it, and that alone nearly made him faint. Then there was the blood pouring out and the fact that he could see some of his muscles… he just couldn't help it. He directed his head away from his body as he began to vomit. He had never thrown up from a wound, but there's a first for everything. He let out the entirety of his mini lunch he had yesterday before finally stopping. "I-I…" He could barely think as he reached up and wiped his mouth with his jacket's sleeve, everything that had happened flowing through his mind. Only one thought he had was crystal clear; if that… thing did this to him just to prevent him from getting the truth out, what did he plan on doing to Luz? "I-I got to get back to The Owl House," he was barely able to get out.
He tried pushing himself up, but his left arm wouldn't listen to his commands. He was in so much shock that he didn't even realize it was because a chunk of his muscle was missing. Using his right arm and all of his leg power, he was able to angle himself off the floor and onto his knees. Eventually, he gained just enough strength to push himself up, but he wasn't there for long as one of his legs quickly collapsed under his weight. He was able to catch his balance just in time, having to put most of his weight on his left leg since his right one was unable to handle it. He slowly limped his way out of the castle, of which appeared to be in ruins. The balcony was in pieces, the bookshelf was empty, there was a hole in the roof, the wood of the door was rotten, and a thick, misty fog sat in the air. He didn't even notice, or care for that fact. He just limped through the massive hole the creature left, retracing his steps in the path he had taken.
The walk back was long and excruciating. He went right past his potions, either too weak to pick them up, or in too much shock to be aware of them. The creatures he passed on the road attempted to help him, but, due to his ringing ears, he never heard their offers. His body was beginning to feel cold, but, despite that fact, sweat poured from his head, the numbness that still hadn't left not helping either. He also stopped mid-walk multiple times in an attempt at vomiting, but when he tried, nothing but dry heaves would come out. As he reached the dirt path and limped his way down it, he could hear things around him. But, the sounds weren't coming from the outside world. No, they were coming from inside his head. The moving of bushes, the crunching of leaves, groans, growls, all of it. Even whispers echoed through his mind. He was in far too much shock to even realize it, though; he just kept walking, not paying mind to anything he heard.
Eventually, after a significant amount of blood loss and having pain course through his veins, he had made it back to the house. Hooty stared at him from his spot in the door, appearing to say something; Oliver couldn't hear a damn word, just continuing to limp forward. Unfortunately, his leg finally decided to give out as he fell onto his knees, the door to the house drifting open. Two figures he recognized came rushing out, but he was so out of it that he couldn't even remember their names. One of them came up right next to him, grabbing onto his shoulder and pulling him up; he didn't notice, just staring at the ground, mumbling something he himself couldn't even make out. He continued to do this before, as he entered the house, his eyes, without him having any choice in the matter, firmly shut.
A full hour had passed before the boy finally awoke. It was slow, his eyes drifting open at the same speed as a garage door. Everything in his body ached and he had a nasty headache. He could barely recall any details of what had happened, just that he got hurt and made his way to The Owl House. He attempted to sit up from wherever he was laying, his vision far too blurry to call out any details of his surroundings. His left arm still refused to cooperate with him, so he used what little strength he had in his right one to push himself up. He couldn't even get halfway before someone gently grabbed onto his non-shoulder, helping him sit up. "Woah, easy kid," they said. He looked over to the voice's direction with his stiff neck only to reveal Eda staring at him with concerned eyes. King and his tiny self stood next to her, about as much worry spread over his face mixed in with a tad bit of guilt. "You really should be resting right now." That's when he realized where he was. The Owl House surrounded him, his body resting on top of the couch in the living room.
Oliver was instantly relieved to see her face. He looked down at his body to see a makeshift cast around his leg, his shirt and jacket off with a bandage wrapped around the wounded side of his chest. His jacket was resting on the opposite end of the couch. "What-" He stopped himself, his headache getting twenty times worse. It was so bad that he couldn't help but grunt from it. He reached up and grabbed his skull, squinting his eyes from the pain as he looked up to Eda. "What happened?"
King let out a little laugh. "That's what we were going to ask you."
Eda shot a stern glare down his way, holding it for a few moments. Her eyes eventually drifted back up to the boy. "Like King said, we don't have a damn clue; you walked in here like this." She looked to the side. "I do know that you got a hole in your shoulder and broken leg, though." She paused for a moment. "Well, more like shattered, actually." She stared him right in the eyes, a frown across her face. "What the hell happened to you, kid?"
He grabbed his head even tighter as he tried to recall the events. It was all a big blur, only a few details he could pick out. "I... I don't know." Silence flooded the room as he stared at his damaged body; he was really messed up. Like, he would never use his left arm again type of messed up "Will I..." His eyes drifted up to Eda, worry all across them. "Will I be okay?"
She couldn't help but chuckle. "If you were in the human realm, no way. They would have amputated your arm, actually." That didn't give him high hopes, and Eda seemed to realize what she said. She looked to the floor. "Thankfully, you fell into a world where we can grow back limbs after drinking potions." She patted his non-injured shoulder, which even then made the boy squint from the pain. Well, actually, there was no pain; in fact, there was no feeling at all. His body just reacted like there was nonetheless. "Gave you the best healing exlir I had. Three days tops before you're back to your normal self, a day at most for the leg." She stared at him with concerned eyes as she noticed how she reacted to her patting. "I'm guessing you're in pain." She began to turn around. "I can give you a potion that dies it down a bit."
Oliver quickly shook his head before her back would've faced him. Under any other circumstances, he would've accepted, but this one... "I'm not in pain," he was able to get out, causing the Owl lady to turn to him with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled a little, scratching the back of his head. "I don't feel anything, actually. I just... think I do."
Eda held her raised eyebrow while King looked more than curious. "So you're saying you're numb?" he asked from her side.
The boy nodded, causing Eda to sit down on the free cushion in front of him; King struggled to get up and sit next to her, taking up what little room was left. "That's pretty weird. Did you hit your head at all?" Eda asked with a more than puzzled expression. Even though he could barely recall much of anything, he knew that wasn't the case. He shook his head, making Eda bring her hand up and scratch her chin. "Huh." She paused for a moment before resting her arms at her sides. "What other things are you experiencing?"
The boy used his head to gesture over to his left arm. "Well, I obviously can't move my left arm. I have a really bad headache." He gripped his chest, feeling his heavy heartbeat even from the lightest touch. "My heart feels like it's going to explode. I feel... really cold." He paused for a moment, listening to a high-pitched frequency slowly fill up the silence. "My ears are ringing. And I-" His words refused to come out as everything that had happened hit him like a semi-truck. The Wizard, what it actually was... what it did to him; all of it entering his mind all at once. His head shot up to Eda. "Where's Luz?" He nearly shouted
Eda pushed air towards Oliver, quite clearly noticing his sudden panic. "Woah, calm down." She pointed at the entrance of the hallway with her thumb. "She's upstairs. Her and King got back about ten minutes before you did." She looked over to King with stern eyes. "Nice job, by the way. You did a hell of a job keeping them safe." The sarcasm bleeding off her was strong.
King shook his head as he pointed to the boy. "Hey, he's the one who wanted to stay behind! This is not my fault!"
She rolled her eyes. "Well, as the adult in this situation, you were meant to do the logical thing and say-"
Oliver didn't have time to listen to their arguing. Or, more specifically, Luz didn't have the time. He cut through Eda's words long before she would have ever finished. "So, Luz didn't leave this house saying she's going on a magic quest or anything like that?"
Eda turned back to him. "Well, she wanted to. Some-" She made air quotes. "-'Wizard' said she was a chosen one or whatever. I made her stay, though."
From what little he had gathered about that girl, she wasn't the type to obediently listen. "Go check."
Eda stared at him for a moment before turning to King. "Well?" King looked dumbfounded, Eda crossing her arms in response. "The least you can do after all this is check on the girl. You're lucky I don't make you do more." King rolled his eyes before getting on his feet and heading to the hallway. The Owl Lady stared until she was sure he wouldn't be coming back, facing the boy yet again. "I'm surprised you're more concerned about her than yourself."
Oliver stared down at his body, his hand slowly forming into a fist. If he ever saw that thing again... "Well, that's because the-" He made air quotes with his only functional arm. " 'Wizard' she met? Yeah, they did this to me."
Eda nearly jumped out of her seat as he finished. "Wait, what?" The boy nodded, not putting her surprise to rest. "I've seen some powerful spells in my day, but nothing a low-beat old man wearing sleepwear would know."
He shook his head. "That's because he isn't actually a wizard." He looked to the side as he struggled to recall his encounter. "The wizard was just some sort of... I dunno? Puppet, maybe? The actual creature was a squid-like thing; one of its tentacles is why my shoulder has a hole in it."
Eda clearly had some confusion left over. Her head gestured down towards his leg. "What about your shattered bone down here?"
The boy was about to say some random crap, but he began to realize that he wasn't quite sure. Then he remembered how get got thrown into a wall in the first place. "It was some sort of scroll. I grabbed it and it sent me flying back into a wall, probably shattering my bone when I reached it."
Despite the fact that he had answered any questions he would have in her place, The Owl Lady's curiosity wasn't letting up. "A scroll? Anything unique about it?"
He was getting a tad tired of the questions. "I don't know! It looked like just a normal piece of paper to me." He paused for a moment as images of it flashed through his head. Especially the Wizard's smile as he reached for it... "Well, it did glow actually. A really dark black. But only after the Wizard read it."
It looked like a few lightbulbs went off in Eda's head, like what he told her matched something she knew. But, despite that, she didn't get a chance to say any of it. Both of their attentions had been brought to the hallway. Rushed, tiny footsteps echoed from it. "She's gone!" King's panicked voice shouted as he rounded the corner.
Eda stood off the couch with wide eyes. "What?"
King took deep breaths as he leaned against the wall. "I opened the door, but she's not in there!"
The Owl Lady looked to the floor, scratching her chin. "Shit," she mumbled just loud enough for only Oliver to hear. She eventually looked to the boy, walking up to his side. "Did the Wizard give you any idea where he sent her?" she blurted out like it was one word.
Oliver nodded his head, pointing over to his jacket. "Yeah, he gave me a map that looked identical to the one Luz showed me. It's in my jacket pocket."
She rushed over and dug through his jacket, eventually pulling out the familiar scroll. She unraveled it, looking over it briefly before nodding her head. "Right, okay." She stuck her left hand out, almost like she was trying to grab the air next to her. Nothing happened for a few moments before her staff came zooming by the couch, stopping right in her grasp. She walked over to the front door, pushing it open as she looked back at the boy. "Me and King are going to solve this mess. You'll be staying here; I don't think you could walk even if you had to." For once, there was no complaining on Oliver's part. She faced the tiny creature, gesturing to the outside world. "Come on! We don't got all day."
King rushed over to her, still clearly out of breath. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"
As he vanished into the outside world, the boy gave Eda a little wave. "Good luck." She replicated the action before shutting the door. Oliver sighed as he leaned into the couch's hard armrest. He chuckled as he thought back to this morning. "Guess you got what you wanted, Eda. I'm missing out on another adventure." He looked down to his body, his working hand running across his bandaged chest. "At least there's a good reason this time."
And then, he sat there and waited. He sure as hell wouldn't be moving, not even to the bathroom, so he tried his best to get comfortable. He thought about how unreal his situation was, that there was a literal hole in his shoulder. That he was friends with a witch. That he had stared down whatever creature had caused this. Even though he had more than enough proof that he wasn't dreaming, he still wouldn't be surprised if he woke up and found himself on the side of the road again, sleeping away in the bushes. Everything that he had experienced… he could make a book out of it. He could write an entire series of books, actually, and he still wouldn't have been able to get every detail on paper. And he had another three months of living here to look forward to, if not more. Who knew what he'd end up getting up to-
His uplifting inner-monolog was interrupted by… a noise. Quiet and hard to pinpoint at first, Oliver couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he realized what he had heard. It was a brief rustling of fabric, like something had zoomed past him. He glanced around the room with a raised eyebrow, trying to pick anything out. "Hello?" He said to the empty room, hoping whatever he heard wouldn't respond back. He waited for a moment, clenching his hand as he did, before eventually letting out a sigh of relief. It was just my imagination-
He couldn't finish his thought before he heard something that shook his very soul. It was a whisper, long and far more raspy than needed, coming from his right ear. "Oliver..." was all they said, but the fact that they knew his name was enough to know he was dealing with something dangerous.
The boy faced the direction he had heard the whisper, nothing but a wall greeting him. He held his neck in place, worried that, if he moved, whatever might've been there would run away. "Anyone there?" he asked yet again to the empty room A few moments passed before he heard yet another fabric rustle, this time from the front door. It was shortly followed by another whisper. "Come... Oliver..." What were they talking about? How did they know his name? What were they trying to do? All of these questions flowed through his mind. His eyes slowly drifted over to the door, nothing but dust being in sight.
When another fabric rustle had echoed through his ears, he had officially decided that he was done with the cat and mouse game. "Hooty!" he shouted out to the door.
The front door slowly drifted open before Hooty's tube body came slithering through, holding the same facial expression he always had. He came right up to Oliver, stopping only a few feet from him. "Yesssss?" he said, drawing out the ending of the word like he normal.
The boy pointed out to a random direction in the building, biting his lips. "I'm hearing someone whisper my name. Could you go check around to make sure I'm not being stalked?"
Hooty didn't say anything for a moment, simply closing his eyes. He held them shut before eventually opening them, moving himself from side to side. "Nope! You're the only one writhing around in my insides!"
Oliver couldn't help but gain a tinge of disgust in his eyes. "Did you really have to word it like that?" He didn't give the creature a chance to answer, putting his hand up before he would've gotten his first words out. "Just, please. Go look around." He looked to the side. "I'm kinda creeped out."
Hooty stared at him for a few seconds before doing the tube equivalent of shrugging. "Okay, but I'm telling you. I would know." With that, he brought himself over to the hall's entrance, slithering down it.
The boy let out a sigh of relief. He was more than thankful he found himself in a "state of the art security system," because, otherwise, he would've been more than freaked out. Still, like he said, he couldn't help but feel slightly scared. This was the second time he had heard whispering all around him, but this one felt far different. Whatever said it yesterday, he could tell it was just a warning. Like a wolf howling at night, telling others to stay away from its territory. But this one… he wasn't sure if it was because of their raspy voice, or the fact that they had snuck their way into the only place he considered safe, but either way, he knew they didn't mean well.
Oliver leaned back into the couch's armrest, taking a few deep breaths. He knew he was safe with Hooty in the room. But, as it turns out, he found himself being incredibly tired. It took every being of his soul to keep his eyes open, and even then, he struggled a great deal. It made sense; he did have a hole in his shoulder, after all. So, knowing whatever he was hearing wouldn't dare make a move with Hooty by his side, he began to let his eyes close. They drifted apart, then drifted together, just generally doing their own thing, before eventually making contact, firmly shutting.
The boy's eyes shot open despite nothing triggering the response; he didn't have even the slightest clue how long he had slept. Hooty was nowhere in sight, more than likely finishing his search hours ago. He looked around at his surroundings with panicked eyes, like anything would be different. His worries were misled; he still sat in the living room, nothing about anything having changed whatsoever. Yet, somewhere deep in his soul, buried under all the layers of his mind, he knew something was different. The color maybe? No… no, that still looked as lively as ever. Nothing had been moved either. For all intents and purposes, it was identical to what he had fallen asleep to, minus the lack of the tube creature, of course. But he knew something was different. And it wasn't anything physical, either. No, it was emotional. The feeling the room gave off… he was no longer comforted by it. The warm hug that once covered him from the dangers of the outside world now felt more like a weak strangle around his neck. In fact, he felt like imminent danger sat around the corner.
He was so focused on the room that he hadn't even realized something about himself had changed, and it was quite a noticeable one at that. His wounds had vanished, not even a slight remanent left, and all of his clothes were back on him. Instead of his jacket, though, he found his dirty, disgusting hoodie resting around his shoulders. He rubbed his hand across his chest to no avail as his entire body was still completely numb. He shivered a little from how cold he was, crossing his arms in an attempt at preserving what little heat was left in his body.
He was still trying to warm up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over and saw... an absolutely gorgeous woman. There was no denying that; he wouldn't bat an eye if he saw her in a magazine. She was about in her late twenties, having long, blonde hair that looked about as soft as a blanket and wearing a knee-high white dress. Her eyes were quite possibly one of, if not the bluest pair he had ever seen, being able to stick out of the darkness like a light. Despite having never even seen her before, Oliver felt instantly comforted by her presence. The two stared at each other for a moment before the boy eventually spoke up. "Who are you?" he asked, satisfying the paranoid part of his brain.
The woman didn't answer, instead just staring at the boy with a light smile. She reached over and rested her hand on his left shoulder, the one that used to be injured, bringing her hand down and rubbing where the hole was. She held it there for a few seconds before bringing it back, gaining sad eyes while still holding the same smile. She bent down slightly, bringing her mouth right next to his ear. She seemed to ponder her words for a moment before ever saying anything. "Come with me," she said in a hushed whisper before standing straight once again. Her voice... it was the one that was whispering to him not too long ago.
The boy stared at her with squinted eyes, trying to understand what was happening. The woman simply chuckled at his confusion, turning towards the front door and walking out of it. One of her hands drifted behind her, as if trying to pull the boy along by a string. Oliver stared at her as she vanished behind the walls. He had no idea who they were, but, for some reason, he felt the strong push to follow her, which was even stranger for him considering he very rarely trusted strangers. Slowly, he began to push himself off the couch, his eyes locked on his once broken leg. As feet reached the floor, he swore he could feel the tiniest twinge of pain buried underneath all of his numbness, as if it was still broken. But, it quickly vanished as he stood on his two feet. He took a deep breath, then followed in the woman's footsteps, the front door still being drifted open.
He shut the door behind him, not wanting to give the house a draft. It was pitch black everywhere he looked, not even appearing to be night due to the lack of moon, or stars, for that matter. He could only make out the slightest outlines of his surroundings, unsure of what was illuminating them. A strong breeze sat in the air, blowing about what little he could see of the leaves. The coast of which normally had a vast bubbling ocean was completely shrouded in darkness, not even being able to see past the cliff side, making it look like he was standing on an island in a black void. He turned around to face Hooty only to see a gray, stone-like statue of him in his place. He reached up and tapped on it, the inside being completely hallowed. His brain was in a trance-like state, not even beginning to realize that his friend was a statue or that outside looked nothing like it did the night prior.
Eventually, he spun back around. The woman was just before the trees, her head still looking back at Oliver, gesturing for him to follow; her dress almost glowed compared to the darkness around them, and her eyes stuck out like headlights. As the boy began to walk towards her, she drifted into the trees, barely even being visible. The crunching of leaves was more than enough of a guide, though, so he wouldn't get lost. She didn't follow the already established path, though, instead going through into unmarked territory. He entered the trees, all of his attention being directed towards the lady. For some reason, he just had to follow her.
She kept on walking, just fast enough so that she was slightly ahead of him, and Oliver kept on following. He swore he could see less and less the closer he got to her, even occasionally bumping into trees. Yet, he still stepped in her footsteps, being pushed to walk after her. After a solid thirty minutes of walking, his surroundings were completely black; he couldn't even tell the difference between when he closed his eyes. But, he still had audio to rely on, although that was strangely diminishing as well. It only took a few more steps before all of his senses disappeared, leaving him with nothing but black. He simply stood there for a few moments, trying to comprehend why he couldn't see or hear anything, before he heard a whisper cut through the dead silence. It was the woman, and it sounded like she was behind him. All she said was his name, but that alone made him jump
He recomposed himself before turning to face her. She stuck out of the darkness as if there wasn't any at all, like a spotlight was shinned down directly on her. Next to her stood... a crib? It was pure black in color, what you see in empty outer space, yet it had enough defining features for it to stick out amongst the rest of the equally black void. He couldn't make out what was in it, though. The woman simply gestured her head down towards it, holding a gentle smile as she did. Taking that as a sign, Oliver hesitantly approached, his body becoming more illuminated with each step. Eventually, he stood next to the lady, his body completely visible. He looked to the woman, confused on what exactly she wanted him to do. She simply shook her head, gesturing down to the crib once again. "Look at it. It is your's, after all."
While Oliver wasn't sure what she was talking about, he still decided it was best to follow her instructions. His eyes drifted towards the crib, what appeared to be a baby greeting him. A newborn one at that, fresh out of the womb, huddled up into a ball with a thumb in its mouth. They had a onesie on, nothing much sticking out about it. But, much like its crib, the baby was pure black. Its clothes, its skin, its everything looked just like empty space, only its barely visible outline giving it shape. They appeared to be fast asleep, dreaming who knows what.
The woman still had her smile as Oliver looked back at her. She reached over and rested her hand on the crib, her pale skin making a great contrast to the black crib. "It will wake up eventually, as all things eventually do. But, I recommend you let it sleep for as long as possible," she said in that hushed voice of hers.
Oliver's eyes glanced at it before quickly returning to the lady. "What... what is it, exactly?"
The woman simply chuckled. "Something alive, much like you. It just... it just doesn't know it's true purpose yet."
The Friend Maker had made Oliver despise cryptic messages. "The hell does that mean?" he plainly asked to no avail. The woman only responded with another chuckle before turning to a random direction in the void. She looked at the boy for a few more moments, her smile finally drifting, before stepping off into the distance. Eventually, she disappeared from eyesight, leaving Oliver alone with the strange baby.
The boy's eyes finally opened from his self-induced slumber. It took him a few moments to realize that everything he had just experienced was in his head, looking around at his surroundings with dazed eyes. He was still numb and cold, his left arm still refusing to listen to him, and his shattered leg still being very much there. But, one thing had truly happened. Oliver was no longer in the Owl House. No, he now laid on a seemingly random pile of leaves, a maze of trees surrounding him. He pushed himself up with his only working arm, only then realizing that his shirt and jacket had been put on at some point in time.
He had no idea how he got where he was, and he had even less of an idea who had put his clothes back on. He grabbed his head, his veins pulsating every few seconds; his headache had gotten so much worse. Certain moments in his dream passed through him; the pitch-black outside, the statue of Hooty, the woman guiding him through the forest, the black baby... all of it coursed through his head as his headache marched on. He remembered it so vividly and, at the same time, couldn't recall a damn thing about it. He had plenty of strange dreams in the past, but that one stood above all of them.
Maybe it was because he was still partly in the disbelief state that comes with a dream, but he had yet to freak out over him being in the middle of the forest. Yet, that panic was slowly washing over him. He looked in a random direction of the seemingly endless trees. "Hello?" He shouted out; he wasn't sure if he wanted someone to respond. "Anyone there?"
At first, it seemed no one but himself was present. He was close to giving up hope, just crawling up in a ball and hoping someone would eventually find him, but then he heard quite the familiar voice come from behind him. "Oliver?" Luz let out in response to his desperate cries. She sounded quite close. In fact, she was right behind him. He turned his head to face her; she stood on a poorly carved out dirt path. A cape rested around her shoulders with an assortment of quite expensive jewelry hanging around her hand, a toy sword hanging off her back. She already seemed happy, but her joy grew tenfold when their eyes met. "Wha-" She interrupted herself, getting by his side even though she was already quite close. "How did you get here?"
The boy was still dazed to hell and back. "I..." His voice trailed off as he looked around at his surroundings, almost half expecting for the Owl House to suddenly fly in. He looked back up to her, smiling a little; after the dream he just went through, it was nice to see a friendly face. "Hell if I know."
Luz pushed aside his obvious confusion, crouching down to his level and resting her hand on his left shoulder. Pain came rushing out from under the numbness, more than likely some blood as well, as he quickly brought his shoulder away from her, grabbing it with an audible "ow." She seemed confused at first, but as she looked over his body, realization began to wash over her. "You look... terrible," she said with a tad bit of shock in her voice.
Oliver chuckled at her blunt comment. "Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it."
Luz, though, seemed as serious as a car salesman who just lost a good deal. She rested her arms on her knee as she gained concerned eyes. "What happened?"
He blew away some air, resting back into the ground with his only working arm. "Oh, you know. The same old. Good old hole in the shoulder and a shattered leg," he said in a bit of a laid-back voice, not taking the situation seriously in the slightest. Luz still held her stern eyes, though, so the boy let out a little sigh. "I'm fine, really. Eda patched me up and gave me an elixir that'll heal me in a few days." That seemed to make her feel a little better as he turned to the side. "Just wish I really didn't go see that 'wizard' friend of yours."
The last comment made the girl raise an eyebrow. "Wait, the wizard did this to you?"
Oliver slowly turned to her with wide eyes. "Eda hasn't told you yet?" She nodded, causing the boy's panic to rise up. "Then that means..." He quickly glanced around at the surroundings, what little of what he could recall of the map flashing through his head. The trees that sat around him looked identical to the poor drawings, the path seeming familiar as well. He spun back towards Luz, mostly fear being all over his eyes. "We have to get out of here!" he shouted like it was one word.
Luz's confusion didn't go away, instead getting even stronger. She just stared at the boy as he struggled to push himself up. "What? Why?"
He grabbed onto a tree for balance as he slowly began to stand on one leg. "Like I said, the 'wizard' did this to me. And they're the one that sent you here." He paused for a moment, leaning against the tree as he tried to compose himself. "He isn't even a wizard, anyways!"
Luz got on her two feet, still just staring at the boy as her mind tried to piece everything together. "But... the map he gave me." She pulled it out from her pocket, looking it over. "All the places were real. And, people were calling me the chosen one..."
Oliver was not about to have another hole in his shoulder. He reached over and grabbed the map from her, tearing it in half. He let the pieces fall to the floor as he looked back at the now in dismay girl. "Whatever you've been through, all I know is that it's fake. It wants you to try and go get that staff. I don't know why, but it does." Luz seemed less than happy, so the boy attempted to reason with her. He gestured to his chest. "It tried to pull the same bullshit on me! Called me chosen and everything. But when I said I knew you, it threw me against the wall and stabbed me in the shoulder with one of its tentacles!" Luz still didn't seem convinced, causing the boy to look down to the ground with a sigh. "I just... I don't want that happening to you too," he let out in a last-ditch attempt at persuading her. It was the truth, though. If she ended up being betrayed like that... it would destroy her, was all he was certain of. And that's if she even got out alive.
Luz stared at him for a few moments, seeming to really ponder what he said. Eventually, she let out a sigh of her own. "Alright, yeah. I guess you're right; we should probably turn back." The boy looked up at her, a little shocked she actually listened. She grabbed her shoulder and looked to the side, her eyes seeming a little less happy than normal. "It was pretty dumb of me to think I was a chosen one just because I'm one of the only humans here." She gestured over to the boy, only her eyes meeting him. "I mean, what would that make you?"
Oliver was more than relieved to see he had actually convinced her. But, it costed her happiness, and that much was obvious to him. Her entire demeanor changed with his little speech, going from overjoyed and ecstatic to... well, depressed. The boy thought of a way to bring it back before his mind seemed to hit gold. He searched for all the fantasy tropes he knew, eventually smiling as he faced Luz. "Who knows. Maybe I would've been heir to some thrown, destined to help you defeat an evil overlord." He looked to the floor, scratching his chin as he did in an attempt at him seeming stumped. "I wonder what King would be, though. Eda's obviously the mentor, but I can't see any role for that little guy."
He waited for a little bit, hoping his setup would eventually be answered. Luckily for him, he seemed to successfully pull Luz out of her sadness judging by the small smile on her face. "Well, every team does need a cute animal sidekick, and I'd say he fits that role pretty well," Luz answered his question, walking over to his side. Oliver looked over to her, seeing that her happiness, while not as strong as before, had clearly come back. "Now come on," she said as she wrapped her arm around his back, acting as support so that he wouldn't have to hobble on one leg. "Let's get back before that wizard notices we know his trick."
Oliver was so relieved that he could almost scream. All of this could be put behind them and he'd finally be able to just rest. Well, that's what he thought, at least. Unfortunately, things could never be so easy for him. Just before they would've started to walk away, the boy felt something drop onto his damaged shoulder, and it was a hard drop too. A little grunt of pain came out of him as a voice that sent chills up his spine whispered from behind him. "Too late," the Wizard hushed in a long, drawn-out whisper.
The boy's instincts took over as he spun around on his heel, his fist coming over and landing right in the Wizard's nose. It felt so… fleshy, like there was no bone holding its shape. A normal person would've cried out in pain or, at the very least, shown even the slightest bit of a reaction. But, Oliver already knew this wizard was far from normal. Its eyes still bulged out from their last encounter, their smile somehow being even wider, the punch doing essentially nothing but bending their nose ever so slightly.
Luz seemed to be the first to react after Oliver's useless punch, pulling herself and Oliver back away from the creature pretending to be a Wizard. Due to his broken leg, though, the boy went tumbling down to the ground. He became frozen again as he stared at the bulging eyes; nothing in his nightmares even came close to what was in front of him. The outline of whatever creature the thing truly was sat just behind the tree, covered in shadows, the Wizard being hung into the air by a tentacle coming out of it. Another tentacle curved around the tree the boy was leaning on like a snake, the slimy appendage now resting in front of his feet. His eyes locked onto it, worried it would try and do something. As it turns out, his worries were well placed considering the tentacle was now rising in the air, quickly approaching his leg.
Just before it would've made contact, Luz's toy sword came charging down and buried into it, cutting a good chunk of it clean off. What was left of it came slithering back towards the creature as it cried out in pain. "Huh," Luz said as she brought her sword back up, her eyes focused on the remanent. "Wasn't expecting that to actually work." She jumped in front of Oliver, now standing in the way of him and the false wizard. She brought her sword up and pointed it the creature's way. "Alright, you... creepy old man! I don't know what you want with us, but it's not going to happen!"
The wizard, or more appropriately, the voice of the wizard chuckled; the actual wizard didn't move an inch, and, besides, its voice was coming from the creature covered in shadows anyways. "Oh, poor Witch apprentice," it said. The creature moved a tad closer, still somehow not being entirely visible. "Even when your friend attempted to bring you back from the depths, your hubris still found a way to dig you deeper." Luz squinted at it while Oliver tried to pull himself up. He only got about halfway before he noticed something that made him jolt onto both his legs. A strangely shaped tentacle sat right next to her, having a bulbous end. He was about to shout out, warn her of the thing next to her, but it was already too late long before he noticed. Strange green-ish fumes came flowing out of it. When she breathed in, she didn't get half a gasp of air in before she started to burst out into coughing. Hard coughing at that, like she was trying to get out her very lungs. She walked a few feet away from the boy, her sword falling to her feet before she herself went to her knees, grasping her mouth as if it would make the coughing stop. More of the green gas began to surround her before, eventually, she had completely vanished from eyesight. "Instead of running like any sane person would," the creature continued with their previous statement, their body facing where Luz once was. "You chose to gloat about how my plan had failed."
Oliver simply stared out at it with wide eyes, attempting to push himself away from it; he was blocked by a tree, unfortunately, so he didn't get far. "W-what-" He could barely speak, their last encounter flowing through his mind. "What d-did you do to her?"
The lifeless body of the wizard looked from side to side. "Call it a distraction." The body leaned in closer to the boy. "We don't want her interrupting us now, do we?"
He was able to grab onto a tree branch, using it to push himself back on his feet. He held onto the tree for dear life, almost as if it would protect him from the imminent danger before him. "Wh-what do you mean?"
The wizard was now only a few feet away from him. "I told you exactly what would happen if you tried to stop me. I was generous enough to give you a warning. And yet, here you are." The bulbous tentacle slithered its way over, raising to be right next to the wizard's head; its end was pointed right at Oliver. "For that, I will make your last moments a living hell." The Wizard brought their face right in front of his eyes, their jaw now moving like it should. "Tell me, Oliver. What is your worst memory?" The boy couldn't even react before the green gas came flowing out of the tentacle, completely covering his field of view. Tears flowed out of his eyes from how much it burned, causing them to instinctively shut. He tried to hold his breath for as long as he could, but all he did was make the eventual moment he breathed in all the more difficult. It wasn't long before his lungs failed him. It was only a small, tiny breath, but that was all he needed to enter a coughing fit. He fell onto his knees as he grabbed his throat; it felt like it was on fire. He looked down to the floor as he coughed even harder, trying his best to stay conscious.
It took a lot of long, hard coughs, but, eventually, he began to feel a semblance of normalcy. When he could breathe in with only his throat slightly burning, he decided it was best he opened his eyes. When he did, though, he was met with a completely different setting. He currently stared down a shiny, wooden floor, the glimmer of his blue eyes staring back at him. He quickly pushed himself up, his eyes growing wide as he saw the rest of the room. He knew where he was... he knew the room all too well. The dining room... that long, wooden table, the chairs with backs as tall as grown adults, the old wallpaper. His neck moved back and forth, forcing him to take in the full room. "N-No," he could barely get out. He knew nothing he was seeing was real. He knew it without a shadow of a doubt. Yet, he had felt more terrified. He looked at a random direction, praying that the creature was still there. "Pl-please! Not here!" he shouted at it, almost begging. But, his pleas were met with no response. Just the ever-increasing feeling of dread in his gut.
He was close to tears as he forced himself up. He could not be here, not then and not ever. He looked to the door leading to the rest of the house, rushing over to it as quickly as you could with only one leg. His hand latched around the door handle, almost trying to rip it off. It didn't even budge, only making a slight jingle. He tried again but got nowhere, tears forming in his eyes. He banged on the door. "Let Me Out Of Here!" he shouted to the wood panels, hoping that they'd listen to him in the dream-like state he was in. "Please!" Of course, that wasn't how it worked. He tried the door handle again before eventually slamming his body against it, something shattering behind him. "Please..." his voice trailed off as he rested against the door, a strong feeling of heat behind him. He knew what was behind him, but he refused to look it. In fact, he couldn't look at it; his neck physically wouldn't let him. The heat got closer to him as that all too familiar sound entered his ears. It was almost like waves, but with the crumbling of wood slowly turning to ash added in. The smell entered his nose, his surroundings being entirely orange, and yet, he still just stared at the door, tears now streaming out of his eyes.
Only a small snippet of the orange figure entered his peripheral, but that alone was enough to make his very soul quake. He clenched his eyes shut, all the tears that had collected in them coming out in one big drop. The heat was so strong now it was burning him, but he still refused to move. The sounds echoed through his ears. The crackling, the crumbling, the burning, the... screaming? That one was new. It was more of a groan, actually, and from a voice quite familiar to the boy. Oliver failed to even notice it. He still just sat there, shaking while leaning against the door. Just as the ever-approaching orange figure would've consumed him, all of his surroundings changed with the snap of a finger.
His eyes were still clenched shut, tears streaming out of them, but now he was on his knees. The heat was gone, only one sound being audible to him. "Oliver!" Luz shouted, his entire body shaking as her hands gripped onto his shoulders. His eyes slowly drifted open as he processed her voice, still not being entirely sure he was safe. Luz sat a few feet away from him, on her knees as well. She looked more than concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked as she stared him in the eyes. Her jewlerly and cape had vanished, wearing her normal attire yet again.
His eyes glanced around at his surroundings. He was back in the forest, only, there was two other additions. Eda and King stood in the not so far off distance, the tiny creature walking around, playing with Luz's sword while the Owl Lady looked at the two humans with a slight frown. There was no wizard in sight, no creature, either. "Wh-where's..." That's all he was able to get out. He couldn't speak. Not after what he went through.
Luz thankfully seemed to know what he was about to ask. "He's gone. We defeated him." She let go of his shoulders, bringing her hand down and digging into her pocket. She eventually brought it back up, a bottle now in her hand. This tiny squid-like creature sat inside it, shaking slightly as it looked at all the larger creatures around it. She flicked a the glass a few times before putting it away yet again. "He's not going to hurt anyone for quite a while," she let out with a little smirk. Oliver stopped listening after her first sentence. All he did was look down to his hands, his ears now ringing. He just stared at them, tears beginning to come out of his eyes yet again and spilling out into them. "Oliver?" Luz said yet again, her voice buried under layers of the high-pitched frequency. He slowly looked up at her, her concerned eyes meeting his. They held a staring contest for a moment before, without giving her a chance to react, Oliver rested his head on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her as he completely broke down. He held onto her for dear life; not because of any special relationship. It was just because she was the closest person.
His sobs echoed into her ears as she sat there, trying to process what was happening. "I..." She eventually brought her arms up around him, returning the desperate gesture for some form of comfort. "It's... it's alright, Oliver." Truth be told, she had no idea what to say. It didn't matter even if she did, though; he wasn't listening either way. And they just sat there, Oliver quietly sobbing.