Chapter 6 - Fall Wide Awake Now
Bonesborough itself didn't exactly feel welcoming these days. The wanted posters for every witch, beast, and demon who had ever questioned the status quo, the statues of Belos or with faceless hooked masks displaying Emperor's Coven witches in heroic poses. It seemed like every day the Emperor made himself known more and more, and every day the quirky culture of their town slipped away into quiet and boring conformity.
Amity hadn't noticed the changes for so long. Her work; Equal parts trying to contact Luz, find a way to travel between worlds, and perform well enough in school that her mother didn't spare her more than a glance, had taken so much of her attention in the last two years. Not that she hadn't grown to hate Belos. No, that had come with each time she saw Luz try and fail to activate glyphs. Every locker her friend was shoved into, every time she watched the human girl ignore random insults thrown her way.
That was his fault, and she hated him more than she had thought she could hate someone.
But she still hadn't noticed his growing power until everywhere she looked in her hometown she found their statues, their posters, the reminders of the cap on the time she had to fix this and bring Luz back.
In two years she would graduate.
In two years her mother would force her to join his coven. She would be branded with his mark.
It took her a moment to realize she had stopped at a crosswalk and was baring her fangs at the recruitment poster on a nearby wall. Her fangs had just started really growing in, really showing, but witch instinct was strong and distinctly not the behavior of a Blight.
Don't flick your ears, it's unbecoming of a Blight!
Never purr, it's uncouth!
Don't bare your fangs, Amity, it's unladylike!
Oh if mother could see her now, growling like any common witchling at a stylized rendition of their lordly Emperor, Speaker to the Titan himself! Imagine who could see her, a Blight, giving into base instinct and the embarrassment that would rain down on the family!
Deny yourself all emotion, never appear weak, don't ever let other witches think they're not beneath you, that was the Blight way.
Not enough of a Blight, it seems.
The spirit's words echoed in her thoughts as she closed her mouth and finally crossed the street. Maybe it was right about her. Ed and Em had never struggled with basic spells, never were told they needed to study harder. In their mother's eyes, at least the twins had been born with the right hair color. Amity sighed heavily as she neared the walkway that would lead her right to the Park's house. Maybe a party right now wasn't the best idea, with the mood she was in.
Blowing off her friends had become a regular thing for her, whether it was innocently missed messages on her scroll or a scramble to explain that she wasn't feeling well to cover up that she had passed out using Blood Magic to view the Human Realm again. But a birthday party they had all put together for her? That would be low, even on the adjusted Amity Blight scale that Willow had to be using at this point to even want to remain friends with her.
Several of the smaller plants that lined the walkway snapped at her as she neared, but none of them swelled to a much larger size and grew thorns and teeth like the first time she had come over after almost melting Willow's mind. The witch had sworn over and over that she had forgotten she had enchanted the plants to attack Blights after their falling out years ago, but Amity wasn't so sure with that smirk on Willow's face. She smiled at the memory and the playfulness of her old friend as she dodged her hand up and out of the way of a thorned daisy flower that was a bit too close for comfort, reaching the door and rapping her knuckles against the wood.
Laughter greeted her as the door swung open, revealing the wide glasses and even wider smile of her friend. "Amity!" Before she could even say 'hello', she was swept up into a tight hug that left her wondering when Willow had gotten so strong. And when she had gotten muscles. Had she really paid so little attention? "I'm so glad you could make it!"
Being set back down, Amity couldn't help the smile that came over her own lips as she nodded. "Wouldn't miss it. Thank you for doing this." A particularly boisterous laugh that ended in a snort filtered through the hallway behind Willow, causing her to narrow her eyes. "Is that.. Boscha?"
"Don't worry, I still kept it low key like you wanted." Willow looked over her shoulder, donning a more sheepish smile, knowing that was not what Amity was worried about. "She uh, overheard us talking about it at lunch, and Skara asked if she wanted to come? She's been doing better, I promise."
Amity blinked slowly. Doing better? Since when? She'd sat with them at lunch a few times, by Amity's reckoning. "She has?" How much had she missed, focusing on her work? Was this how her father felt every time he had heard about something new happening in his children's life, after week long stretches spent in his laboratory?
"I mean I wouldn't say I'm in the Boscha fan club or something, but yesterday when I tripped in the halls she just helped me up and asked if I was okay.." Willow sounded as disbelieving as Amity knew she looked at hearing it. "She didn't even tell anyone about it at school, so she's trying to be friendly. Which is enough for me! Also, Skar said she's been really lonely since Amelia transferred to Glandus, she felt bad." It was clear from her tone that Skara hadn't been the only one who felt bad for the captain of Hexside's Grudgby team.
What a weird way it had all ended up, all because a human had tumbled through their lives.
"..Huh, I guess the Titan can perform miracles." Amity's neutral expression broke into a grin as her little joke got a laugh from her friend, and followed Willow inside as the door was shut behind her. She pulled her jacket off slowly, making sure not to disturb the illusioned bandage that was wrapped around her left palm as she handed it to the other witch.
"Oh, I love your dress!"
Willow's words made her blush slightly as she looked down, it was a sleeveless pink and black number that reached just past her mid-thigh, and she had worn black tights to accentuate the look. Just the right amount of color to appease her mother without leaving her feeling like she was drowning in pastel. "Oh, thanks."
"C'mon, the others are in here." Willow motioned for her to follow, leading her through the house. Its walls were lined with pictures of the Park family at various events and times, both of her friend's dads grinning and doting upon their daughter in every single one. It gave their home a much more comfortable atmosphere than Amity was used to seeing, and was part of the reason she remembered coming over here when she was younger so fondly. This is what a home was supposed to feel like, not the cold metal and neutral elegance of Blight Manor. Not empty halls and demands of greatness from parents.
"Where are your dads? I hope we won't be imposing on them."
Willow just laughed off her concerns, looking back for a moment with a fond smile like she had just said something hilarious. "They went out on a date. Honestly, they seemed happy for the excuse, so don't do any of that worrying you do."
Amity folded her arms, frowning a bit. "What worrying?"
Her friend turned around, the upwards turn of her lips slipping somewhat. Willow always had a lot to say about the Blight family and the expectations that she had lived under, always seemed to zero in on why she was uncomfortable. She hadn't even known the damage her parents had inflicted on her until Willow started pointing it out. "Where you worry that you're taking up too much space. You know you're always welcome here, my dads adore you."
"Only cause Gilbert finally had someone to play dragonchess with." Her cheeks flushing, Amity just waved a hand and donned a smile to let her know that she was okay. She had always been an inconvenience for her parents whenever she hung around them, with her mother ushering her out of the room unless they need to have a 'talk', and her father largely getting too absorbed in his work to notice her pulling bits off of his abominations. "Fine, fine. I will stop feeling like I'm taking up too much space. ..For tonight."
Seeming satisfied with her answer, Willow led her into the large gathering room, where the fire was lit and several other witches were already talking. A chorus of her name rose as she entered, causing her to giggle as Gus scrambled up and almost tripped over a chair before giving her a hug. It was her turn to be the stronger one of the pair, and Amity lifted the smaller boy up with a laugh before setting him back down. "Hi everyone!"
The next to jump in for an embrace was Skara, who gave her an enthusiastic hug that almost knocked her over. "Happy birthday, girl!"
Amity endured the birthday wishes with as much grace as she could, always feeling awkward to be the center of attention. Bo and Cat were there as well, with the former giving her a high five and claiming it was the Human way of showing appreciation, a concept that she checked with Gus if it was true by looking over at the boy and receiving a thumbs up in return.
It wasn't long before the conversation had returned to its previous topic, and her eyes fell on the three-eyed witch who was watching her tepidly from a far corner. It only took a second after Amity noticed for Boscha to look away, her third eye glancing back to her for a half second before joining the others.
She caught Willow giving her an encouraging look, and resisted to urge to let out a little whine. They had repaired their old friendship, kind of. Years of being forced to hang out by their parents and trading petty little power plays didn't go away without more effort than either of them had put it.
Which meant it was still so awkward.
"Hey, Boscha."
The pink-haired witch swung her head back to regard Amity so quickly that her ponytail whipped about. "H-hi Amity. Happy birthday?"
"Thanks for coming." It surprised her how naturally that phrase came to her, when spoken to a girl she had spent a childhood despising because of how their parents had forced them together, like friendship was just a matter of proximity. "How've you been?"
The conversations around them meant Amity could ask quietly, and Boscha seemed to engage a bit more when she realized that no one was paying much attention to them. "Good." She seemed to realize that was vague, and let out a chuckle before continuing. "Really, I mean. Your advice helped a ton with my dad, my mom made him back down from being so hard on me with school and Grudgby, so thanks."
"My.. Advice?" Amity stared at the other witch, wondering what exactly Boscha was talking about when a white hair filled her vision and someone slung an arm around her neck and pulled her into a tight side hug.
"Look at you two, I always knew it." Skara's singsong voice was about as subtle as the rest of the Bard track witches, as she smiled happily at them and generated a couple of awkward laughs from both of them. "I always knew that once all our parents stopped being so micromanage-y we'd end up being great friends!"
Amity forced a smile for the excited girl as she slowly extracted herself from the arm. "Right.."
Skara was still smiling excitedly, but Boscha seemed to catch her tone, narrowing all three eyes in her direction. "Skara."
"What?"
Another pointed glance in her direction had her frowning as both expressions facing her turned sympathetic. It wasn't like the twins had been quiet about all the drama that had gone on, it wasn't like it was a secret that the Blights had done a number on their remaining daughter. Her carefully constructed facade crumbled as she looked away with a sigh, shrugging. No point in lying to two people who would probably understand the situation better than most. "My mom thinks I'm at Skara's house for the party."
"Well this is better than any party my parents ever threw, so boo on her. Your mom has the brain of a trash slug!" Skara's statement caused Amity's eyes to widen as she and Boscha both looked over to their friend. Of all things the witch had been, willing to insult Odalia Blight was not one of them. At least, it hadn't been when they were younger. "No matter what she would think about it, this night is about having fun, Ami. And we have tons of games, so c'mon!"
With that said and a glance towards Boscha, who was busy chuckling at the fact Skara seemed ready to throw Odalia Blight to the wayside of the conversation like she was nothing, Amity felt her hand being taken by the Bard track witch as she was led to the wide carpeted area in the center of the room.
It was hours later when Amity stepped outside into the Park garden to 'take a breather' from the myriad of party games that Skara had cooked up in anticipation for tonight. They were fun, overly complicated and with rules bordering on bizarre and unknowable even to Skara herself, leading to a slow escalation into chaos no matter which of the games they played. She was laughing when she walked through the door, but the second it closed behind her, Amity felt her mask slip away.
She was having fun, she really was. It just was also taking a lot out of her, she wasn't used to being around so many people.
She definitely wasn't used to feeling so warm, or hearing nothing but compliments and fun little jabs back and forth. It had been too long since she had really conversed with anyone outside of her parents at dinner. She sighed and drew a spell circle, letting a heavy tome drop into her other hand.
This was what she was supposed to be working on right now.
Crowley's Treatise on Portals & the Realms: Tales of Other Realms and the Creatures To Be Found Within
It had been left on the desk in her own secret hideaway of the library, somewhere she was sure no one else but the twins and Luz knew how to get to. It wasn't on the index system of the library, either, so it had come from outside. It could have been Ed or Em, but how would they have known what she was looking for, and where to find something like it?
They hadn't ever really been master researchers, either. And she had almost tossed the book aside, as another failed attempt to track down anything concrete about portals after skimming through it the first time and finding it was a collection of notes and journals of the named witch. That was, until she had found the sketching of the portal door the Owl Lady had described to her on a page near the back. The one Luz had incinerated.
Whoever this Crowley had been, he knew about the portal door, which meant his claims of going to other realms was likely.
He also had been a wild witch, before the Savage Ages if she dated his references correctly. Meaning whoever had the book before her must have found it somewhere hidden, somewhere where the Emperor's Coven couldn't find and destroy it.
A pointed ear twitched at the sound of the door opening behind her, causing her to look over her shoulder as Skara's scarily loud laugh was met with a frustrated squeal of Boscha's as she was pretty sure the very competitive Grudgby captain just lost another round of whatever new game they were embroiled in. Willow was smiling back into the room as she stepped out, a small blush on her cheeks as Amity caught a sliver of Skara waving excitedly at the witch. That smile slipped some when her gaze found Amity. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Just.. Needed some air."
Amity drew the spell circle to return the book to the dimensional pocket she had drawn it from, but not fast enough for her friend to catch part of the title. "That's.. Interesting air you've found."
When she neglected to explain further, Willow stepped closer. Amity knew where this was going the moment she had seen that expression cross her friend's face. It wasn't the first time she had seen it, and she wasn't the first witch to try to talk Amity out of what she was doing. Lilith had worn the same expression, just a few months ago. Telling her to slow down, telling her to be patient.
She couldn't afford patience.
The window that she could use to bring Luz back, the time she had, was running out. Every day brought her close to graduation.
Her heartrate spiked, and a single fight-or-flight thought screamed at her to clench her left fist. It would be so easy.
It would feel so much better, instantly after she reopened the wound on her palm.
But Amity didn't, and Willow pushed forward.
"I saw it said portals, and-"
"Don't."
"I just want to-"
"I don't need you to-"
"Amity!" That brought her to a standstill as she stared at her friend with wide eyes, the sudden flash of anger from Willow enough that some of the nearby flowers and weeds writhed in response. It took a few seconds, but slowly the plant life stopped its sudden movement around her and Willow took a deep breath before continuing. "I just want to know if you're doing this for the right reason."
Scoffing, she curled her right hand into a fist and looked away. "And what is the 'right reason'?"
"If its the right thing for Luz. If you're doing this for her."
"You don't see her." Amity tried not let anger get the best of her, something that had always been hard for her to do. "You don't see what she goes through every day in the Human Realm. She belongs here, with us."
"Do you scry on her, every day?" Her noncommittal shrug brought a more distressed expression to Willow's face. "Amity, that's not good! She doesn't know what you're doing, she might not want to you see everything you are!"
"What do you even know about it?!" Her teeth grit as she turned and glared at her friend, and Amity spit out her next words with venom. "The people who love you are here. The girl you like.." Her voice broke as she lost the anger she had been holding to, pointing weakly back at the house. "..Is here."
Willow looked like she didn't know what to say, eyes wide and leaning back some from her outburst, so Amity continued. "Luz was the first person who saw me, through everything my mother has done to me. Really saw me. She gave me everything just by being my friend." She sighed, letting her shoulders slump as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't just give up."
"I'm not saying give up." A hand came to rest on her shoulder, bringing her back to face the other witch. "But she wouldn't want you to be like this, obsessing over it. You're barely around anymore, and sometimes it's like you're not even you. I tried to talk to you yesterday and you just blew me off."
Amity strained her thoughts to remember what Willow was talking about, but nothing came to mind, and her frustration just grew as her memory failed her again. "I didn't even see you yesterday!" She swatted the other girl's hand from her shoulder, her ears laying flat against her hair now.
There was shock on Willow's face, but.. Disbelief, too. She didn't believe her. "You can't even see it, can you? You have no idea how obsessed you've gotten."
"Stop calling me that!"
"I'm trying to help!" She didn't know when they had started yelling at each other, when both of them had gotten so angry that they were now inches from each other. "You act like you're alone, but you aren't! I'm here, everyone in there is having a party for you because they care about you! You don't have to do everything on your own!"
"Yes I do!" The anger bled from Willow's face as Amity realized what she had just admitted, leaning back away from her friend as she felt her quickened pulse.
Don't cry Amity, it's not like a Blight to show weakness. Oh, and there she goes again. Emira, please get your sister out of here. She's embarrassing us.
She fought the tears hard, baring her fangs before she let all the pressure out and looked down at the ground, unable to look at the pity in Willow's eyes. "I wake up alone in that house, I haven't seen or talked to Ed or Em in over a year, I work on magic our teachers couldn't understand. The person I talk to the most? I have to lie to her about where my birthday party is because she wouldn't let me come if she knew it was here, that you were here. I am on my own.."
Her eyes burned.
Tears.
But Willow didn't snidely comment on how weak she looked, didn't reprimand her for embarrassing the Blight name. No, she just gently took Amity's hands in her own, and Amity couldn't find the will to resist the support. She did pull her left hand back half an inch to make sure Willow didn't notice what was there, though. "I.. I noticed your hair was all back to green. Did she force you?"
Her hair, dyed again in accordance to her mother's wishes. Matching her mother's color. "I did it."
"But you didn't want to." Amity finally met Willow's eyes again, the tears there matching her own. With a grunt, she was pulled into a tight hug that she had not been expecting. It filled her with warmth she hadn't realized she had been desperately needing. "No matter what, you're not alone. Luz made sure to set us both on the path to making things better with each other, and even if she was a bit annoying about it, I'm not letting you go that easily this time."
Laughing softly, Amity nodded against her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I.. Haven't been the best of friends, have I?"
"Not since we were witchlings, but thanks for noticing."
"Hey!" There was no bite behind her pretend offense, or Willow's very accurate jab, and both witches devolved into giggles as they pulled away from one another. She rubbed the back of her left hand over her eyes, letting the hidden bandage absorb what it could.
It took a long moment for Amity to realize she did feel better, just knowing that Willow was here. She had been a terrible friend, had neglected her relationships because there was always schoolwork or the next great lead to chase after. "Now, it's your birthday for.. Like another hour, and I'm gonna make sure you enjoy it! You're going to come inside, play some more games, and enjoy the cake Gus made."
Pulling away and raising an eyebrow, Amity paled a little bit. There was just something in the tone her friend had used, teasing and uncertain. "..Are we going to enjoy it?"
Willow made a face, but nonetheless took her hand and led her towards the door. "I really give it low odds, his cooking is hit or miss to begin with, and he told me he was trying something.. Exciting."
The cake, it turned out, wasn't half bad. Two layers of chocolate with apple blood filling between them, Gus had assured them he had followed the recipe this time, even if it had turned out a bit undercooked. No offense to him, but Amity's favorite part had been the show Skara had set up, a bardic display with instruments conjured from nothing and small fireworks, the young witch putting her skills to the test as she commanded what seemed to Amity to almost be her own orchestra.
The night had turned back into a fun affair, and left her mentally chastising herself for even thinking of skipping it by the time she hugged Willow goodbye and headed back down the street into the main Bonesborough markets. She had only gotten a few steps when a voice called out behind her. "Hey, Blight, wait up!"
Boscha padded up next to her, shrugging sheepishly and falling in step. It made sense, Amity guessed. They didn't exactly live close to each other, but it was in the same area of town. "Skara coming too?"
"Oh she's uh, she's spending the night."
They shared a look and then a soft laugh, with Amity shaking her head. "Do you think she's gonna finally ask Willow out?"
"At this point, if she doesn't, I think we have to tell Willow she's interested. After last years Grom disaster.. I don't think I can take another Skara singing her heart out and then bailing at the last second." Boscha's eyes rolled as one, but they did immediately flit over to regard Amity when she giggled.
Disaster was right. Skara had finished a rock ballad performed in front of the entire school by dedicating it to 'a very special girl' gesturing directly at Willow for a good ten seconds before panicking and waving her arms around like she'd accidentally enraged a few fire bees and loudly correcting herself to 'all her friends'. Everyone else had lost it laughing, but Willow seemed to have just been confused. Since then, the two had danced around each other, both interested but neither willing to take that first step.
At least, that was what it looked like from Amity's viewpoint. She figured Willow just wanted to make sure Skara was serious about it. Years of them all teasing and bullying her.. It felt fair. "I think Willow is very aware, but she wants to be sure, is all."
"Oh?"
"Well, Skara was with us all those years, and we were.. Awful to Willow. If she wants Skara to be a good friend first?" Amity grew quiet as Boscha looked away, nodding slowly. They both carried a whole lot of the blame for that, even if Willow was good enough to let it be water under the bridge for their friendship. "I can't blame her for being careful with her heart."
She winced inwardly, certain if she had been a bit more careful with her own she wouldn't quite be where she was today.
She didn't know if that would be a good or a bad thing.
Luckily, Boscha saved her from any deeper introspection by speaking up. "It kinda makes you think, huh?"
Turning to regard the other witch, each of the third eyes were staring off into the quiet night life of the markets, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I just.. Its, uh.." This was strange. Boscha sputtering over words. "Willow being careful, even if she likes Skara."
They stopped in the middle of a road as Amity's confusion only grew, shrugging as she stared at the other girl before gently coaxing her to continue. "..Yeah?"
Boscha's eyes narrowed at her for a moment before the witch looked away and growled under her breath. "What I mean is.. It makes you think if being careful is worth it. If you don't ask, you'll never know if the other person thinks the same about you, right? So isn't it worth just asking?"
Amity stared at the other witch, tilting her head to the side as she tried to think where Boscha was going with this. It was an interesting thing to consider, if nothing else.
Confessing her own feelings would've been a disaster, given that by the time she realized what she was feeling, it would've been just days before Luz disappeared. It would've been a disaster. She didn't even know if Luz was interested, which means she likely would have been rejected. That would have hurt her, and knowing that she had hurt Amity would hurt Luz.
And that would mean that Luz would have been banished back to the Human Realm thinking she had left behind a heartbroken Amity and what would that have-
She sighed, forcing her brain to please stop.
Yeah, it would have been a disaster.
No, better that Luz thought of her as just another friend she had left behind, that their last words shared with one another were happy. At least then the girl could move on without Amity. Not.. That Amity was watching for if Luz had found a partner in the Human Realm. That would be creepy, and she definitely avoided doing that.
She definitely hadn't caved to burning curiosity once. Or twice.
Her eyes focused again on Boscha as her thoughts returned to the conversation at hand. "I guess I don't really agree. Sometimes it better to not get hurt."
She rubbed a hand awkwardly against her arm, looking away just in time to not notice the way Boscha's third eye flicked between her and anything else it could find several times. The witch's reply was quiet, sounding like she felt instantly deflated by that. "Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right."
When Amity finally did look back at the other witch, there was a dejectedness to her posture that she did notice, only confusing her more. Boscha said everything bluntly, up front and honest. All the time. It's not like she would ever need help confessing how she felt to someone.
Oh.
Whoever Boscha wanted to confess to must be intimidating for her, and she had never known the girl to be intimidated by anyone. Still, she was here asking for help and Amity had totally blown her off. And wow, she really was terrible at this friend thing.
"Wait, no." All three of Boscha's eyes snapped back to her as she spoke, realizing her mistake in assuming that the other girl didn't need any help confessing her feelings to whatever witch she was crushing on. "That's just in my experience, which you, uh.. Don't know. Only Willow really knows. But I, what I mean is.."
What did she mean?
She balked and stumbled over a few faltering words before she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Willow was the one who did good heart to hearts. She was Amity Blight, queen of being terrible with feelings and other people, her father's daughter, really. "What I mean is, don't be afraid to confess to someone. Because your situation isn't anything like mine was. I mean, unless you've met a human who is obviously going to leave one day and fell head over heels for her like an idiot, right?" She laughed at her own stupid feelings, shaking her head.
But Boscha gasped as she said it, and Amity felt her eye twitch as she looked away and fought the urge to slap her palm right into her forehead. This is what lack of sleep and a night of distractions got her, rambling her heart out right in front of a.. Friend? What even was Boscha now?
"You.. Liked the human?" The three-eyed witch had a stony expression on her face, but her tone was one of uncertainty. She even sounded a little hurt by the revelation, which would of course be ridiculous! She was probably angry, and Amity knew this was going to go poorly.
No sense to deny it, might as well rip the bandage off and let the other girl call her whatever clever insults she had cooked up. "Yes, I did. And her name is Luz." She could take anything Boscha could come up with, but she hated how Luz was simply 'the human' to so many witches. It made sense, it just felt hollow.
And hollow wasn't something anyone could ever call Luz Noceda.
"Oh. Oh." Boscha's eyes widened as she seemed to exaggerate a realization after burying her first reaction, which gave Amity the hope that Willow had been right, her former friend was trying to be better. "I.. Didn't realize. And you still.. Oh."
She almost looked disappointed.
Amity shrugged and said. "Pathetic, right? So.. Don't listen to me. I'm stuck on a girl who isn't even here, and you should tell whoever it is how you feel."
"Y-Yeah, maybe. I'll work up to it." Non-committal. Not that she could blame Boscha, this was an awkward conversation to be having, especially after a couple of years that they hadn't really had regular conversations. Though she had texted a lot, lately. And sat with them at lunch.
She'd even asked if she wanted to be on the Banshees again, to replace 'that traitor' Amelia.
Willow's words from earlier echoed in her thoughts, that she had friends here. That Skara had said Boscha was lonely. "Hey." The girl's attention returned to her, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Whoever it is, they'd be lucky to have this new you. You've even apparently won over Willow ever since you stopped being such an ass."
That made the other witch let out a surprised laugh, the color on Boscha's cheeks matching her hair as she looked away. "Thanks, Amity." She only smiled in response, but that third eye fixed itself on her once more. "You know, the hu-Uh, Luz. Luz would've been lucky to have you."
Amity looked away, frowning now.
Boscha wasn't lying, probably.
But she wasn't right either.
Donning a fake enough smile, she glanced back at her friend. "Uh, thanks."
What a weird night.
Amity learned that her talk with Willow had some lasting effects. She stopped working so hard on her scrying spell, and spent more time talking with and helping out her friends with their schoolwork. She stopped using Blood Magic, and the cut on her palm was allowed to scab over and slowly heal, becoming a raw, jagged scar of a hundred separate cuts that she continued to hide with a simple Illusion spell. She even started sleeping much better!
At least, for a few weeks.
It itched at her palm, in her thoughts, festering there half-forgotten. Luz, the spell, the research on portals. Her attempt to put them all aside and focus on herself for a while grew harder and harder with each passing day.
Something in the back of her mind told her it shouldn't be like this, it should've been easier to not obsess.
But her veins itched day after day a week or two into trying to follow what Willow was saying.
And she needed to see her.
Amity hadn't realized she was skipping the last class of the day until she was in her bedroom, knife in hand and staring at the pink scar on her left palm. Some quiet part of her should have noticed that this was worrisome, the compulsion to use it, but everything else screamed at her for relief. With a growing smile, she placed the blade to her skin and cut into it. Power flooded through every inch of her as she watched red drip onto the wooden floor below, and she drew her other hand up, a dark violet circle appearing between her outstretched fingers and throwing off a blood-red echo of itself as it hummed with singing power.
The world shifted and swam before materializing her within another realm, this time in a school hallway. At least, that was what it seemed like. Humans milled back and forth along the passageway, and the lockers that lined each wall were as weird as the other times she glimpsed them. They just opened. Without mouths. Familiar in the most unfamiliar ways.
But the one in front of her drew her attention the most, because unlike the other uniformly dull grey-blue lockers, this one had writing on it.
Written in a bold red across the face of it in still-wet paint, large enough it spilled over onto the neighboring surfaces, was a single word.
'Luzer'
And the blurry outline of a girl in front of her, slightly taller than her now, staring right at the same thing.
Amity became very aware of the way the other humans, who she could frustratingly see as clearly as if she had really been there, were glancing over in the direction of the graffitied locker. Some just stared, others snickered and pointed it out to their friends. A group of students who were approaching caught her eye when she saw them whispering excitedly and point towards the girl she was scrying on. A quiet, cold rage settled deep inside her, and she quietly bemoaned the fact that there was nothing she could do in this state.
This wouldn't be the first time she had watched Luz be bullied, and each time had left her screaming at the bonds of her magic preventing her from doing anything.
Part of her wanted to just release the spell, to not witness this again. But as she looked back, Luz had recovered from reading the tagged word and was opening the locker. From the angle Amity stood at, she could see that her friend was hiding behind the door from the approaching girl.
She hoped it would work, even though she had already seen that it wouldn't. They had noticed Luz far earlier than she had noticed them.
"Hey, Noceda!"
Amity cringed, but Luz didn't even move an inch, freezing in place at the voice. The girl who had spoke marched right up and pulled open the locker door before leaning against it, the metal groaning as it was opened further than it was meant to. "What's the matter, don't feel like talking now? But you've been so open and vulnerable during our tutoring sessions! Don't you wanna tell Vicky how you really feel about her, I thought she was 'super cute' and 'seemed fun'?"
The girl tossed a laughing glance over her shoulder back at the group, where several giggles waited for her. Amity let out a low warning growl as she glared at the bully, her frustration at being unable to do anything growing by the second. "Helloooo, earth to weirdo?" The girl snapped her fingers in front of Luz's face, who had been slowly and methodically pulling books from her locker and placing them into her backpack as if no one was talking to her. "Ugh, whatever, you somehow even make this boring."
The girl stomped off to a new chorus of laughter, rolling her eyes as she passed Amity.
Cold anger became a flash of burning rage within her, and the power of the magic that had brought her here surged as her eyes darted to the human girl and she bared her fangs. It shouldn't have been possible, but her fingers closed around the strap of the girl's backpack slung over one shoulder, and the ripping motion she made through the air pulled the human off her feet.
The smack of the impact was loud enough to echo down the hallway as the various chatter of the other students and the laughter of the girl's friends fell to instant silence as the bully was laid out on the ground several feet from where Amity stood, her angry draining in shock as she stepped back. In an instant, the quiet broke into a few scattered giggles and the group of students the girl had arrived with rushed to her aid.
Vaguely, Amity heard the girl excuse the incident as a tripping over her own shoes, but she looked down at her hands in wonder. That wasn't something she had tooled the spell to do.
A small laugh to the side brought her gaze to the blurry outline of Luz, the sound echoing and becoming distorted like it was caught in a strong wind. Amity raised her hand towards her friend's shoulder, a pondering thought reaching her mind.
Maybe?
Settling her palm down on Luz's shoulder, the blurred outline began to solidify. Amity's eyes widened as she watched, and saw clearly the look of enjoyment at her bully's misfortune on the girl's features for a half second before pain spiked from her hand and through her entire arm.
Like a rush of energy, scorching fire traveled up from her palm and into her shoulder, causing her to wrench back as she screamed, the sound carrying that ethereal echo as it seemed to reverberate all around her. Amity caught her right hand in her left, holding it to her chest as she saw Luz's outline, blurry once more, looking about in alarm.
As if she had somehow heard the scream.
Amity had only a moment to consider it before the world turned to a whirling mess of color and sound and she was slammed back into her own body. Crying out as she became aware of her own surroundings back in Blight Manor, she clutched at her right hand. The skin was burnt an angry red color, and wisps of smoke rose from the flesh as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.
That had to be the resistance the spirit had told her about.
Her thoughts swam, and her vision blurred. For a moment she thought she was being pulled along a scry spell again, but this time darkness slipped into the edges of her sight.
"N-no!"
Rising to her feet, Amity took a single step before she blacked out completely.
When her eyes opened again, Amity was sprawled halfway onto her desk. The afternoon had become a late evening, the light through her window dimmed considerably from when she had blacked out. Her body was sore too, in a way that was distinctly familiar; The dull ache of an empty bile sack in her chest, like a bruise beneath her heart.
Raising her hand to rub at her sternum to find some relief from that ache, she stopped as she saw the cut she had made earlier was freshly bandaged. Amity stared at the white cloth, blinking slowly as she turned her chair around to regard the floor where she had cast the spell. There was no sign of the droplets that had fallen to the wood when she had cut herself, all of it having been cleaned away.
Not to mention she had been in the center of the room when she had blacked out.
Her confusion grew as she turned back to where she had just been laying, finding several books open and sprawled across the surface. The last thing she remembered, she had passed out after returning from scrying on the Human Realm, and these books had all been closed and neatly stacked beside the desk where she had left them.
Her handwriting adorned the margins of a couple of the books as she stared at them with a puzzled expression, various formulas written over and over. Some crossed out, other variations circled or underlined. Sloppy work, really.
It wasn't Oracle magic, she could tell that from a glance at the runic equations. She couldn't really tell what kind of magic it was trying to be. It was scattered across pages and books, like a mess of random bits of a spell.
And she was so tired.
Amity reasoned that was why she couldn't quite recall what she had been working on. The scrying earlier had taken a lot out of her, and this wasn't the first time she had woken up in strange circumstances after blacking out. Blood Magic especially, if overdone, seemed to wear her out more than regular magic ever could.
Closing the books on the gibberish formulas, Amity leaned back in the chair and stretched her arms above her head as she let out a yawn and looked back at the window. This late, she would have already missed dinner. Which meant that her mother hadn't been home yet, otherwise she would have been woken up.
It also meant that her father was likely still in his laboratory in the basement, too absorbed in his work to realize that dinner time had come and passed. Not that she could really pass judgement, she supposed.
Amity reached up and rubbed at her eyes, that dull ache in her chest growing as she glanced at her bed.
Sleeping did seem like the thing to do now, if she had exhausted her magic.
She'd worry about what she had seen, what she had done, later.
Author's Note: And here we are, a very long second half of what was chapter 5! Thank you all for your support with these newer chapter, and I hope you've been enjoying the new season! It may be a week or so before I get the next chapter out, got some D&D things I need to get written up before I can focus on this fic again, so just a fair warning for that. Thank you again for all your support, it means a ton and inspires me to keep writing! 'Til next time! -Fox
Oh! A few things just to answer some reviews; Since I came up with this fic before the launch of season 2 I likely won't incorporate much of what develops there, and as far as Belos I got the impression from Season 1 he was very aware of what happened in his castle, but not the entire island. So that's how I've been operating so far. And I hope this chapter had a bit more happy in it than angst, though it definitely has a heaping of angst.. It's what I know haha, but I hope it works for anyone whose been wanting a change from purely doom and gloom!