Owl House Academia
Chapter 6: Hooty's Moving Hassle
It was strange, and dark within where he woke up. Eli was in a void where there was no one and nothing for what appeared to be miles and miles of pitch blackness.
"Hello?" He called out, his voice echoing in the darkness. "Luz? Eda? King? Ursula? Akko? Anybody?"
As he looked around for something, Eli stopped when he noticed a light off in the distance. He stared at it before walking towards it. Curious as to what it might be. When he reached the light, Eli was met with a rather peculiar sight in front of him with his back turned.
"Okay, if this is one of those self-reflection dreams, I'm not gonna like this," he said, as he cautiously turned himself… only to freak out.
The Eli clone was indeed him, but there were dark veins creeping up to his eyes and cheeks, spreading further down underneath his clothing. His eyes were now a pitch blackness, almost like looking into a bottomless black pit.
"Okay this is seriously freaking me out," Eli stumbled as he fell butt first on the ground.
But just as he was about get back up and run as the clone lumbered to him, he looked at his fingertips and fingers, as they began to become pitch black as well. In a panic, he tried to rub his fingers clean off but to no avail, as from the blackened fingers and thumbs, the dark veins traveled up his arms and on his body.
"No. No no no no no!" Eli yelled, panicking as he tried to push them off. "Somebody please help!"
But it was no use. He was at the mercy of whatever this darkness was that was consuming him.
The reflection of him, albeit not the panicky one, formed two light spells, which had turned black by this, and with a squeeze, he formed two dangerous-looking battle axes, as he spoke, in a low but gruff voice, "This just isn't your day, is it?" And quickly pounced at him with slashing precision, as Eli yelled out.
Only for the clone to disappear, as another voice spoke up. A bit more manly but more of a mentor, "The power of the Superd to wield Anti-Magic itself is a powerful strength, but can prove a greater weakness."
Eli turned to the shadows to see someone else walk in.
They were a tall fellow roughly around Eda or Ursula's age, with a mane of flowing blonde hair, pointy ears, and blackened eyes with turquoise irises shining in them. He was dressed in a red, white, and blue battle mage attire with black pants, a golden utility belt, a red and white cowl and cloak, with blue and red body armor on the chest and forearms, with similar colored boots as well.
"The Dark Aura as we call it is tied to one's emotions," the figure stated. "If you don't control them, they might end up making you a monster… and twisting the Philosopher Arcanum within you, young Eli."
Eli could only look at this guy with a strange sense of familiarity. Though oddly enough, he never saw this man before.
"Time to wake up, Eli."
"Huh?"
"Eli, wake up," he suddenly spoke in Luz's voice.
Eli blinked, "Wha…?"
"ELI!"
"ELI!"
"Gah," Eli bolted awake as he quickly sat up. He looked around and saw that he was back in the Owl House, in his and Luz's bedroom.
"Are you okay? You looked like you were having a really bad dream," Luz said, worried for her best friend as he rubbed his face. Trying to clear it from his grogginess.
"I'm alright," Eli said, yawning and stretching his arms. "It was just a nightmare. A very informative nightmare for some odd reason."
They looked at one another, but blushed when they realized how close their faces were to one another and quickly moved back. Ever since the kiss, Eli and Luz have been awkward around one another. With Luz still embarrassed that she kissed him. Not that she didn't like it. She really liked it, but didn't know what she was feeling for her best friend. Eli on the other hand was nervous because…. Well in truth, he had a crush on Luz for a really long time, and even more so, that was the first kiss he had ever gotten or been given to him by her. In truth, it was all confusing for the poor two kids.
"Kids! Come on down," Eda called up from downstairs, snapping the two out of their blushing states. "I've got an important Witch lesson for you both."
Luz lit up, as she smiled, "Alright!" And then bolted out of there, with Eli following behind her slowly.
"It might not be what she means, Luz," Eli warned her.
Downstairs
Living Room
A moment later, in their normal clothes, Eli and Luz were on the couch with King and Akko. They were watching Eda and Owlbert playing a card game; Eda shuffled her hand, and the eyes on the cards looked up at her. Owlbert, wearing a green visor, narrowed his eyes at her and hooted.
"Watch closely, kids. Hexes Hold'em is the most tricky game on the Boiling Isles. Any proper witch knows how to play," Eda said as she crossed her legs in confidence.
"Really? It doesn't look any different from Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh, or Magic the Gathering" Eli said before turning to Luz. "By the way, do you still have my Rayquaza?"
"Hard to say. Do you still have my Victini," She asked, pulling out his card. Eli pulled out her card and the two traded.
"Those are pretty unusual card games where you're from," Akko honestly replied. But smiled, "But I love the pictures of the creatures on them."
When King spotted the Victini card, he blinked, "Could that be an ancestor of mine? YES! I have achieved greatness within the Human Realm!"
"Oh yeah? Well, can your cards do this," Eda asked, placing a card down on the table. Magical energy sparkled from the cards, sending Owlbert flying for cover behind the side of the table. That's when the cards all grew stick legs and stood up. Opening jaws to roar at their enemies.
"...Only in anime," Eli said, a little frightened by cards. "And quite possibly in my nightmares."
Owlbert's card surged forward and attacked Eda's, making the little owl smirk. As the two armies fought one another like herds of animals, Eda smirked. "Now when it looks like the deck is stacked against you, that's when you break out the wildcard," she said, drawing a card with a tower on it.
It glowed green and Owlbert's animated cards burst in flames. The fire then flew up into the air and formed fiery letters spelling out WINNER: EDA
Owlbert hopped back on and hooted at Eda, his wings extended in acknowledgment of her victory.
"Woo, I win!" Eda gloated, before she bent down and pointed at the owl's face. "In your adorable owl face." She then stood up as she puffed out her chest in victory, taking in that sweet feeling, "Ah, I love the feeling of victory; it feels...fluffy?"
"Eda, your arms!" Eli said, pointing at her arms. Black and grey feathers were growing from her arms. This caused alarm for him, Luz, Akko, and King.
"It's happening again," Luz whimpered
"What's happening again?" Eda asked.
"That," Akko freaked out.
"What's that," Eda asked. "What's happening again that's that?"
"Your curse is returning," King pointed out. Eda finally noticed her arms and screamed when she saw the feathers.
Moments Later
Eda's Room
The five of them quickly ran up the stairs to Eda's room, and pulled out the chest she kept her elixirs in. But when she opened the chest and looked inside, Eda was distraught to find that all the elixirs bottles were empty and all that filled the box in its place were cobwebs.
"Oh boy. This is terrible. I'm out of elixir," Eda said, grabbing one and shaking it.
"Uh, last time this happened, you turned into this thing," Luz held up her phone to show her the picture of the Owl Beast on her cracked screen.
"I know I should be repulsed, but that look is fierce," Eda said, puffing up her hair.
"Yeah, well your fierce-you tried to kill us," Eli exclaimed.
"The last thing any of us want is to go up against that ravenous beast again," Akko gulped.
"Nobody wants to go up against that beast," Eli remarked.
"You're right, you're right. We need to head to the market," Eda said, hitting her fist in her palm.
"Market," Luz cheered.
"Market," Akko cheered.
"Market," Eli cheered after the two as they stood up and started to leave.
King followed them and shouted in glee, "I'm stealing everything that's not nailed down!"
"And I'm gonna make sure you don't," Eli shouted in glee. "We're already on enough hit lists from everyone in Bonesborough that want Eda dead."
"Before we go, would anyone like to play one more hand of Hexes Hold'em," Eda asked and reached for the cards in her pocket. But all she pulled out was emptiness, as she blinked, "Hey, where are my cards?"
Unknown to Eda, Eli had thought this ahead and had managed to steal the pack. With his back turned, he carefully passed the cards to Luz, who then then turned and handed the deck to Owlbert.
"Take these and fly ahead. She'll have to follow us," she said to the owl from Eda's staff. Owlbert grabbed the cards from her and flew out of the room.
Eda ran after him, screaming, "Owlbert, you sore loser, gimme back my cards!"
Later On
Bonesborough
Market
It was another lovely day in the town of Bonesborough. As winged demons flew over the witches and demons going about their day on the ground. Including the Owl House group. With her cloak to disguise herself, Eda led the group through the market towards a potion shop named 'Mr. Elixir'. Eda banged on the closed metal grate that covered the window.
"Hey, open up, Morton," she yelled as Luz, Eli, Akko, and King went to sit down on a bench.
"Uh, ju-...just a minute," called Morton's voice from inside the shop.
"Is there anything better than people watching in the Demon Realm," Luz asked as she and everyone sat together.
"It's like watching the inner machinations of a mad man," Eli commented. "Namely H.P. Lovecraft."
To prove his point, the three and King watched three witches standing at a bus stop as a giant egg rolled up to it. The egg cracked and opened, revealing a featherless bird that screeched before flying away. Leaving room for the witches to get inside the egg. One of them closed it, and it rolled off.
"Wait, wait," Tiny Nose shouted as she ran to try and catch the egg, but missed it. "Aw, dang it."
"Heh, that takes me back," Eli said, reminiscing the days when he ran after the bus back home. "Even when they saw me, they still drove off."
"The burden of miniature height," Akko said.
"The curse of tiny legs," Luz said.
"I know the pain of both," said King.
Tiny Nose looked down in defeat, before the sound of loud footsteps made her look up. When she did, she screamed and ran away from a larger witch with a brown cloak. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. Waving his hand, he motioned for other witches dressed like him to follow. They did so while pulling a cart with a large worm-like demon tied to it through the street.
The teens walked up to Eda, "Whoa, that is one ominous parade," said Luz.
"Yeah. Who are those guys, Aunt Eda," Eli asked.
"Those are demon hunters," Eda said, frowning at the hunters. The demon that was tied down growled and started bucking against its bindings. The two demon hunters pushing the cart pulled its ropes to pin it back down. It then tries to bite at the first demon hunter, but he stepped back from its jaws. "Dangerous nomads who capture and sell the most powerful beasts. Usually creatures that most witches and wizards wouldn't have the guts to face off. Either that, or they're suicidal."
The first demon hunter traced a spell green circle and created lightning in his hand. Without mercy, he shocked the demon unconscious. When he stopped, the hunter turned and looked at the three teens with one eye covered with an eyepatch.
While Luz felt uneasy, Eli even more uneasy before the hunters continued on their way.
"...Which I'm about to become IF YOU DON'T OPEN UP, MORTON," Eda yelled as she continued knocking on the gate unit Morton finally opened the gate.
Revealing himself to be a lanky young man with light pale skin, light brown eyes, and short brown hair. Oddly, he was wearing a gray funnel hat. He also wore a mint green long-sleeved top with fingerless gloves, and a long brown overlay dress with a criss-cross sleeve, and a dark brown belt with a frog necklace.
"Sorry, Eda! I was up all night poison tasting and for some reason, I don't feel great," he said.
"You taste test poison and you're wondering why you're sick," Eli asked with an incredulous expression.
"I'm all outta my juice, Morton," Eda said, pulling out one of her bottles and handing it to Morton.
"Oh, gee. Lemme see what I can do," Morton said, before ducking down and digging around. With the sound of rattling bottles being heard by the others.
As he was doing that, Eli looked back and saw the demon hunters continuing on their way. That's when he saw Willow and Gus, looking dejected, behind the demon.
"Willow and Gus!" Luz called out when she saw them too. The two best friends ran up to their witch friends as they walked over. "Heya, friends!"
"What's the matter? Did something happen?" Eli asked when he noticed their frowns.
Even Luz took notice of this and asked, "Who hurt my babies?"
"Them," said Willow, pointing to a food stand a few feet away from where a group of teenage girls talking and laughing together. Among them was Amity, who was staring at a potion.
The other girls were her friends, Boscha, Skara, and Cat. Boscha was a slender witch with pink skin, three gray-blue eyes, and violet hair tied back in a bun. Skara was a young witch with a dark brown skin tone, eyes with gray irises, and hair that came in tones of pinkish-gray and deep mauve held up in a ponytail. Cat had dark skin too, and brown wavy hair with a side bang. She wore squared glasses with black frames over her brown eyes and had a red lower lip.
"Amity's having a moonlight conjuring and invited everyone but me," Willow said as she looked down at the ground, sad.
"And she keeps posting about it on her Penstagram account," Gus said as he summoned his scroll. Opening it up to Amity's Penstagram post of her and her friends posing.
"'It's Conjuring night! No dorks allowed'"? What a jerk," Luz exclaimed, scowling for a second before looking at her friends. "What's a moonlight conjuring?"
"You just suddenly asked," Eli asked sarcastically deadpanned.
"You spend the night at someone's house, telling stories, playing games…" Willow explained.
"Like a slumber party! We have those back in the Human Realm," Luz said with a smile, pointing at herself and Eli.
Willow then pulled out a book, "Then you bring something to life with moon magic!"
There was a small pause of silence as Eli shrugged, "It's a Boiling Isles Slumber Party. Should have known there was a weird angle to this."
"Gus and I have never been to one. You need at least three people and-"
"Well, luckily for you, you've got 5," Luz said, pulling Akko and Eli in. "Right, guys?"
While Akko was beaming like crazy with a smile, Eli however, was hesitant. "I-I don't know," he said, rubbing his arm. "I mean, after what happened at the Covention, I don't want to end up in a situation with no way out."
They were interrupted when Amity's friend group walked by, laughing at them. "Sorry you couldn't get an invite to the conjuring, Willow," she mocked Eli's friend before turning to Amity. "Only real witches allowed."
Amity sighed, trying not to look at Eli and Luz. "Leave her alone. It's not her fault she was born without talent," she said as they walked away.
This made Willow growl with anger, which unknowingly made her magic act up. Several large vines started growing from the ground.
"Whoa! Willow, chill out!" Eli exclaimed in alarm, slapping the vine away. "Don't get angry at those bitches. They're not the ones that'll have a badass moonlight conjuring."
"So, does this mean…" Luz trailed off with a hopeful grin. Willow also looked hopeful too.
"Yeah, I'll join you guys," Eli relented, resulting in Luz nearly tackling him to the ground when she hugged him. The two looked at one another and blushed, before Luz let him go and backed away.
"Eeeee! This is so cool," Akko squealed in delight.
"Are you serious? This was on my bucket list!" Gus said in excitement as he pulled it out and checked off moonlight conjuring. "After owning a real human bucket!"
"That's a really weird thing to want, but I appreciate your enthusiasm," Luz said.
"We should go tell Eda about this first," Eli said as they walked away.
Back at the store, Morton stood back up. "I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is I'm all out 'till next week," he told her with an apologetic look. "Good news is feathers are a good look for you."
A feather grows out of her hair. "Morton!" she yelled, swinging her arms down in anger, causing the feather and several others to flutter to the ground as she stalked forward.
"Well gee, E. Why'd you wait to re-up 'till now," Morton asked his most frequent customer.
"I've been very busy," Eda said, crossing her arms and turning her head away from him.
"Yeah, busy playing Hexes Hold'em. She's obsessed with it," King said from the bench.
"I am not obsessed!"
"You're playing it right now!"
Just as King said, Morton and Eda were playing the card game. With several cards now splayed out on the counter, with Eda holding one in her hand. "...Am I winning," she asked the store owner.
Morton then spoke to her in a dark and serious tone. "You know, I wouldn't suggest this to just anybody, but if you need your elixir you can try your luck later this evening."
"In the night market," Eda asked in a gasp.
"There's a guy with a stand, goes by Grimm Hammer; if anyone has what you need, it's him," Morton told Eda. Understanding the situation Eda told him as he walked back into his shop. At that same time, Akko, Eli, and Luz walked back to her.
"Eda, Gus, Willow, Akko, Eli, and I are gonna do a moonlight conjuring and stick it to Amity. So can we-
"Not tonight, I'm going out," Eda quickly said, grabbing her staff and walking away as Booker looked upset at her. "I need you to watch the house, I have many precious objects in there."
"Like me," King said, pointing to himself when Eda picked him up by his collar. "Whoa!"
"You're coming with me. I need an extra pair of eyes looking out for pickpockets, and an extra pair of hands in case I want to pickpocket," she said with a smirk.
"Pickpocket," They both cheered together.
Eli then spoke up, as he tried to coerce her into the idea, "Well, maybe they can come to the house and-"
"No! Besides, conjurings are dumb; sitting in a circle holding hands. Pft. It's like magic for babies," Eda said as she and King walked away.
As much as he wanted to argue, Eli couldn't, but he did furrow at Eda as she walked away. Upset at how petty she was being over the moonlight conjuring. He sighed in frustration and turned to Luz. "Well, so much for that," he said, wondering what they were going to do.
Willow, Akko, and Gus ran over to them. "So, what did Eda say," asked the former.
"So...guys…" Luz tried to explain to their friends, but was interrupted by Gus.
"Oh, look," He pointed upwards at the moon, as it rose into place. "The moon is rising into place. And the celestial powers only align once a year."
"Oh, I can't believe I finally have enough friends for a moonlight conjuring! Thank you, Luz and Booker! Did Eda say it was okay," Willow asked the two best friends.
Well, that certainly made the two human realm teens cringe. Why did they have to have those big and innocent eyes? Taking a deep breath, Eli decided to be the bearer of bad news. "Yeah...listen, guys...she said-"
"Yes," Luz yelled, slamming her hand over his mouth. "She said yes. We can do it at the Owl House. As long as we don't make a mess or touch anything and never bring up that we did it," she nervously laughed.
"Yes! Oh, you're the best!" Willow cheered before she, Akko, and Gus started singing together. "We're gonna do a conjuring! We're gonna do a conjuring! Conjuring! Conjuring!"
Eli pulled Luz aside and turned her away from their friends, as he asked, "Have you lost your mind, Luz? If Eda finds out about this, she'll kill us. And here, that may be literal."
"It'll be okay. It's just bringing something to life," Luz said. "Look at them. Do you really wanna break their hearts?"
Eli looked at Willow, Akko, and Gus, seeing how happy they were. He then looked up at the moon nervously. One little lie won't hurt, would it? After all, Eda was a criminal herself. So, what was having the conjuring going to do?
Later that Night
Owl House
Hours later, night had come to the Boiling Isles and Eda was about to leave the Owl House. Eli was sitting on the couch with Luz as he looked out the window, listening to the crickets chirping outside. He and his friend were waiting for Eda to leave.
"Alright you two, I'm leaving. Eli, as my official nephew, you're in charge while I'm out," Eda said, putting her cloak on. "Make sure Luz and Hooty don't get into any trouble."
"Hoot hoot," Hooty opened the door to pout at her. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm a big boy house!"
"How old are you, Hooty," Eli asked.
"1,000 years. And still young!" Hooty cried out.
"You can count on me, Aunt Eda. I've actually house-sat before," he said, standing up from the couch. It was true. He had to house-sit the orphanage on some occasions.
"Yeah! We'd never betray your hard-earned trust," Luz said before laughing nervously.
Eli nervously smiled, as he spoke through his teeth, "Yeah, rub it in more, Luz. Nothing weird about that."
Eda narrowed her eyes at them, "You're acting suspicious. You're doing that thing where you hide in your hoodie."
She was referring to right now, as Luz had her hood up and closed over her mouth, "Meow I'm not."
"Uh…" Eli tried to figure out a way to change the subject when he remembered something. "Oh, where's King? He usually scampers around or is miffed about something."
"He's right here," said Eda with a smile as she opened her cloak to reveal King strapped in a pink baby carrier and snoring as he slept. "His little body just conks out when he's weightless. Look at this." She moved side to side and showed the two kids King was still sleeping as he moved like a ragdoll, with his arms and legs dangling in the harness.
"Aww, he's so dangly," Luz said, playing with his feet.
Even Eli was enamored by this, as he gently held his paws, "Awww, I wish I could record this."
Eda chuckled as she pulled away and walked outside. "Anyway, really going now," she said, before stopping and turning back to the kids. "And Eli…"
The hybrid/bearer of the Philosopher Arcanum grew nervous as she scowled at him, "Um, yes, Aunt Eda?"
"...I don't care if you're Tom's kid, if you or Luz mess up the house, I will never trust you again, Elijah Merlin McKnight," she said in a dangerous, menacing tone, before smiling and using a lighter tone. "No pressure! Bye!" Owlbert hooted and opened his wings before Eda hopped on and flew away. Leaving Eli and Luz waving after them for a few seconds.
"Yeah...no pressure at all…" Eli gulped in fear. But that faded as he blinked, "Wait. My middle name is Merlin?"
Luz turned to two bushes near the house and whispered. "Okay, she's gone."
"Release," a voice said as the two bushes glowed and then exploded in a burst of leaves. Revealing Willow, Gus, and surprisingly Sucy in their casual clothes. "I'm a sneaky sneakster!" Willow said, wearing a long-sleeved yellowish-tan dress that had a blue tie with an oval chartreuse gem on it, light gray and dark gray striped leggings, and brown boots.
"I've got leaves in my pants...and I like it," said Gus, whispering that last part. He was wearing a green tunic with white sleeves and a black belt. He also wore black tights and brown boots.
At that moment, Akko rushed in with her casual, as she beamed, "Is it time? Are we ready?"
"I guess. Come in, " Eli said as Luz opened the door for them to enter.
"Company! Hooray," Hooty said as the two friends led their witch friends into the house. "Finally someone to listen to my stories! Okay, one time, a sparrow flew into my mouth, and then I-" He was cut off when the door shut on him. "Hey…"
He coughed out a sparrow, which flew away chirping.
"Welcome once again to…" Luz started, before she, Akko, and Eli gestured towards the main area of the Owl House.
"The living room," all three exclaimed with big smiles.
"We call it that because it's technically living! I'm pretty sure it's Hooty's breathing from the walls." Eli pointed towards a wall as it moved with heavy breaths.
"How is it we didn't see that before," Gus blinked.
"Probably because we were running from our lives by a cursed Owl Beast," Sucy reminded him.
"Ah yes. Those nightmares are coming back," Gus nodded. "Still frightening than the Snaggleback."
Willow looked at it closer with an intrigued smile. "Enchanting," she said.
Gus started rummaging through an open chest and pulled out an 8-Ball. "And look at all these human treasures," he said, before pulling out an actual human skull. "And actual humans!"
"Yeah, I wouldn't touch that," Booker said, creeped out by that.
Luz held up a blow of eyeballs. "We've got snacks, we've got weird music!" She put the needle down on a gramophone, which produced the sounds of an evil witch cackling evilly.
"We've got a goofy house demon that's awkward in parties," Eli commented.
"That's me," Hooty called out.
Gus walked up to her with a bucket on his head, "We've got a bucket!"
"Gus, my man," Luz said with a wink.
"And best of all we have actual friends to do the conjuring with! This is so exciting!" Willow said with excitement as she held her hands together.
"Yeah, so how does this conjuring stuff work," Eli asked as he walked up to his friend.
"Well first, we find something to animate. Since it's our first time we should pick something meaningful," Willow suggested, walking over to some flowers in an owl-shaped pot. "Something beautiful."
Eli could already guess what she wanted to bring to life. Too bad Gus butted in.
Gus then burst through the flowers with a Beef Bob action figure, as he said, "Like this strangely buff little man?!" He held it in front of them and tapped the figure's stomach.
"I'm half beef, half Bob!" It said.
"Yes! He's perfect," Luz exclaimed.
"That's...not exactly what I meant by 'beautiful'," Willow cringed.
"That and I have a thing against bringing dolls to life," Eli gulped. "Anyone ever heard of Child's Play?"
Gus lowered the action figure as he started whimpering and looking hurt with sad eyes. As Eli cursed the universe for creating the puppy dog pout, he turned to Willow, and asked, "Why don't we do the plant after Beef Bob?"
Willow relented. "Okay, buff boy it is," she said with a small smile.
"Yes!" Luz hugged Willow.
"Tonight he shall be risen!" Gus screamed at the ceiling.
"And if he attacks us, we melt him," Eli also screamed.
As the moon rose up into the sky, the group of friends moved to the center of the living room. Gus placed Beefy Bob on the ground between the four of them as they sat in a square formation with several lit candles around them.
"According to the conjuring books I've read, we say the incantation and make a connection with the doll," Willow explained as they all held hands and closed the circle. With each of Willow's hands in Akko and Sucy's, while Sucy took Luz's hand and Akko took Gus's.
"Figurine," Gus said quickly.
"Whatever," Sucy replied.
However, there was one person that wasn't holding hands with them. Luz looked and saw Eli looking hesitantly at Gus and Luz's hand. "Are you sure it'll be okay? What if I lose control and hurt you guys?" He asked.
"It'll be okay, Eli," Willow said with a reassuring smile. "It's just a simple spell. Nothing bad will happen." Eli glanced at her, Luz, Sucy, Akko, and Gus, before letting out a sigh. Taking their hands, he scooted into the circle. They then began the incantation.
"Moonlight, we call, we sing. Moonlight take this chance. Moonlight come tie the string. Moonlight start the dance!" Willow, Sucy, Akko, and Gus said perfectly while Luz tried to keep up, but slipped with each line.
"Moonlight tie... string... and I don't know the words!" Luz said.
Eli said nothing and just let them chant. Even as the group started glowing with a layer of moon magic washing over them, he was still focused on his own powers. When the glowing started, the golden yellow veins began to glow and branch out all over him until they faded. Now all he had to do was keep his power in check.
Outside, the moon continued rising into the sky. Hooty looked up and stared at the Demon Realm's natural satellite. But then the moon stopped moving, before a burst of blue light expanded out of it. A similar burst of blue light bursted out from between Eli, Willow, Sucy, Akko, Luz, and Gus, spreading around the living room and extinguishing the candles.
Eli looked around with a confused look on his face. "What the heck was that?" Did it work?" He asked. The others all opened their eyes and looked at Beefy Bob.
"That's your cue, little man," Gus said to it.
It didn't move.
"I've got a really bad feeling about this," Eli said nervously.
His anxiety would prove to be correct, as the entire house started to rumble like it was an earthquake.
Outside, Hooty blinked his eyes, before opening them. Revealing them to have turned the same blue as the magical energy from the moon. Birds flew away from the house, as the foundation cracked around it. Then the Owl House suddenly started to rise up and stand on two giant owl legs. The three kids screamed as they lost their balance. The shaking stopped when the Owl House stopped rising and just stood there.
When Eli groaned and sat up again, a book fell on his head. "Ow!" He yelled, before opening his eyes. Only to see that the entire living room was in a state of dismay. "Oh, man."
"Did the entire house just hiccup?" Luz asked.
"Is that even possible," Akko asked.
"I don't think so," Eli said, standing up as Gus leaned up from the couch.
"Little buff guy, what did you do?" He asked the toy, pushing it to get it to talk again.
"A real man never takes accountability!"
Eli shot out, "The doll lies! Well, maybe not all the time."
"Hooty? Hooty, what the hell happened?" Luz asked the guardian of the Owl House. However, the owl didn't answer back. So, the Dominican girl walked over to the front door with a frown. "Come on, Hoot! What hap-"
She stopped when she opened the door and looked at Hooty. Startled to see his eyes glowing blue with an also transfixed look. Eli walked up and saw the eyes as well.
"Hooty? Are you okay," Eli asked, worried for his friend.
"Uh, Eli…" Luz nervously said as she walked out onto the front. She turned and gasped when saw how high up they were, "What's going on?"
"I think we might've animated the house by accident," Willow exclaimed as she and everyone else ran out to join them.
"The house?!" Eli and Luz shouted in a panic. Hooty made ghostly noises before the House began to walk away. They all scream in terror as the door slams shut.
Luz ran up to the door. "Hooty? Hooty! Hooty, you have to stop!"
"By the power of moonlight, I have risen. Hoot hoot," Hooty said.
"Hooty," Akko asked, a bit frightened by this change.
"He's in some kind of trance," Gus said to the two humans.
Sucy groaned, "Oh really? Hadn't noticed."
The House stepped through some trees and caused the house to shake again. The jostling made Gus yell as he, Willow, Eli, Akko, Sucy, and Luz lose their balance. He and Willow nearly fell off the edge, when Luz and Eli caught them, while Sucy and Akko held on to them.
"Hang on!" Booker yelled as he held onto the arm of Willow, while Luz got Gus. The two grunted as they tried not to drop their friends. "Why is this happening? I thought it was supposed to animate the doll!"
"Figurine!" Gus corrected.
"Does that really matter," Sucy groaned in annoyance.
"Just drop it, Gus," Eli sighed.
"Our magic must've spread through the house instead of the doll!" Willow shouted up at him.
"Figu…" Gus was about to say, but shrugged in defeat, "Nevermind."
Eli and Luz nearly fell when the house shook again. The two then grabbed the other's hand for balance, causing the glow to return. Book then noticed that Hooty was heading straight for a cliff and was about to walk over it.
"HOOTY, STOP!"
Incredibly, Hooty listened. The House stopped moments before it would have walked off a cliff and stood still. Giving Akko and Sucy to help Luz and Eli to pull Willow and Gus back up to safety. The six friends let go of each other and stared at their hands. But when they broke contact with each other, the glowing stopped.
"How'd we do that?" Gus asked.
"That glowing…" Eli whispered, looking at Hooty's eyes and then gazing at the moon. Getting an idea in his head, he held his hands out again. "Guys, hold hands again."
They did so, and started glowing once again.
"Hooty, back away from the cliff," Eli said to him as he obeyed. The Owl House took several steps away from the cliff before stopping.
"We're controlling it with the power of friendship," Willow said, before Eli and Sucy gave her a 'really' look. "Uh, and the moon. Probably the moon."
"This is amazing! What do we do now?" Gus asked as they let go, making the glow fades.
"On the one hand, we should probably stay put," Luz said, glancing at Eli. She remembered what Eda warned him about and didn't want to get her friend - or herself, in trouble.
"On the other hand, we've got a giant walking house and should totally take it on a joyride!" Gus exclaimed.
Eli and Luz looked at one another and then up at the now-descending moon. Eli thought to himself that if they only go around for a bit and stay away from Bonesborough, they might be alright. He looked down at Gus and said, "Okay, okay, we'll go. But we gotta be back before the moon sets and clean everything inside. If not, then Eda's gonna kill us! Particularly me. Especially Me!"
The four smiled and nodded. The six then cheered and laughed as they directed the house forward. However, little did they know was that they were being watched. The leader of the demon hunters growled out as the house walked away.
After a while of walking through the forest, Eli noticed someone down on the ground. "Hooty! Stop!" He quickly commanded, bringing the house to a halt. He then let go of their hands and turns back to where he saw the person.
It was Boscha walking past the trees with a duffel bag under her arm and a...crow to her ear?
"Hey, is that the same girl that made fun of you two?" Eli asked, as they spoke into the bird. "And why is she talking to a bird?"
"Willow gasped when she saw her. "It's Boscha."
"Ugh! Yes, Mom. I'm going to a moonlight conjuring," Boscha said into the crow. So birds were the equivalent to phones in this world? "No, Mom. You can't come. And yes, Mom, it's sad that you're asking." She let go of the crow, which cawed as it flew away. However, she then turned around and noticed the Owl House behind a hill.
"She noticed us. What do we do?" Willow whispered to her friends.
As he stared at Boscha, an idea came to him. "I've got an idea," he said, turning to Gus. "Can you make me a megaphone?"
Gus nodded and conjured a megaphone with his magic. Bring it in front of his face. Eli took a deep breath before clearing his throat and started speaking in a menacing tone that sounded like a Russian lady.
"Get out of here, you little nudnic," he said in a ghostly Russian voice. "Your negative spirit, plus that snobby popular girl attitude has soured my Borsch! That's Russian soup if you're ignorant of such dings," Everyone around him held in their laughs at the trick they were pulling.
"Ew. A talking house is threatening me? Whatever," scoffed Boscha as she rolled her eyes at it, unimpressed. "I'll just TP you like I did with the rest of the neighborhood."
"You dare to threaten Babbayaga's House?!" Eli roared through the megaphone and the Owl House stood up, "THEN I MAKE YOU INTO BOSCH AS WELL! LIKE THE LAST KIDS WHO TP'ED MY HOME!"
Boscha screamed as she turned and ran away. At that moment, the six friends started laughing hysterically before calming down.
"I've never pranked anyone before. And now I have a taste for it," Gus said.
"Yeah, Eli, that was brilliant!" Luz said.
"Who's Babba Yaga again," Sucy asked.
"BAbba Yaga's a witch in the Human Realm's lore," Eli explained. "She basically has a house with bird legs like Hooty. And thank you, I felt I did a pretty good job of her," he boasted.
"We should follow her to Amity's house to show off our conjuring. That will show her who's got no talent," Willow said, getting excited.
Eli and Luz looked at the moon. It was now nearly at the treetops and still going down. Meaning their time was running out. "Yeah, no. While I'd love nothing more than to prank little miss perfect, we need to start heading back," Eli said, to his friends.
"Amity's updating her Penstagram," Gus said, showing them the post.
"'Shout out to my fellow witches. #HumansandHybridscansuckit?!'" Luz read before growling at the post.
"Easy, Luz. Don't let her get you all riled up," Eli said, trying to remain calm. He was upset and a little hurt that Amity would say that about him and her, but didn't let it get to him. That last thing he wanted was to risk losing all they've accomplished on the Isles.
But then scroll's notification bell went off and Eli saw Amity made another post.
'Especially a certain redheaded #Hybrid!'
"We take her down," Eli calmly but furiously responded with fire in his eyes.
Reconnecting the conjuring, the group made the House walk towards Bonesborough as they all cheered. Not noticing that several shadowed figures were following after them through the trees.
When they reached Bonesborough, they commanded the Owl House to walk the streets. Down below, the citizens that were out screamed and ran for cover as the Owl House stomp through the town.
"Look, Amity's house," Willow said, bringing the house to a halt.
In front of them was a huge manor covered in red moss on a hill, made from purple and gray stone, with a brown shingle roof, complete with stone chimneys and a large spire. Round, stained-glass windows are found at the highest level of the manor, with diamond shapes painted on them.
"That's her house," Eli asked, surprised. The manor resembled more like an English castle than someone's house. "This place seems more like a castle."
"Well, the Blights are one of the more prestigious families of witchdom," Sucy explained.
"Time to show Amity what a real conjuring looks like," Willow said with a determined look in her eyes.
However, just as the House started forward, it was stopped by a giant rope over the roof and tied down to the ground. The group's connection broke when the house suddenly stopped.
"What happened," Willow asked as she and Gus looked up. Noticing the large rope holding them down.
"Is that a... giant crossbow," Luz asked nervously, pointing at a giant crossbow that was aimed right at them.
Demon Hunter leader gave his followers the signal and the crossbow fired another rope anchor. That bolt flew over the house and stabbed into the ground. The rope secured the house further. The kids were then startled by the Demon Hunter jumping up and landing in front of them.
"Knock, knock." He growled before he created electricity in his hands. Before Eli could do anything to stop him, the Demon Hunter electrocuted the kids. All six kids screamed in pain, before falling to the ground.
When Eli regained consciousness, he groaned in pain, and his vision was still buried. Looking around he saw that he, Luz, Willow, Sucy, Akko, and Gus were tied together. Though he was tied up separately from the others for some odd reason. The Demon Hunters were busy tying down the Owl House to their cart.
"Guys! Guys! Wake up!" Booker yelled, shaking around to get his friends to wake up.
Luz groaned as she and the two witches woke up. "Booker? What's…" she gasped when she saw the hunters tying down the house. Once they were done, the Demon Hunter leader jumped down from the porch.
"Hey! What's your problem?!" Booker yelled at the hunters. "You can't just take our house!"
"We're Demon Hunters, kid. As long as there's a demon in your house, I can do whatever I want to it," the leader said with a smirk. "Which is why we're taking the house and ripping out the house demon. We can sell it to restaurants as exotic meat."
"No! Hooty would taste terrible," Luz exclaimed.
"Seriously, you have no idea where he's been," Eli also added.
"Hey, I'm a refined taste. Hoot! Hoot!" Hooty said. "And I seem to recall that you guys cleaned me up last time."
"It was not pleasant, both Luz and li paled and grimaced at the memory of cleaning him."
Akko also grimaced, "Yeah, that was not pleasant."
"What do we do with the worms?" another Demon Hunter asked. The two looked at the kids before the leader smirked.
"We'll stop by the cliffs and throw them over into the ocean," he said. But then pointed at Eli, "Him though… no way we're passing up the chance. Kid's a Hybrid, so we might get extra cash from the Emperor's Coven."
The six kids gasped in fear. The hunters laughed evilly as one of them picked up the kids while another one opened the front door. The six screamed when they were thrown through the air before landing hard in the living room. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
After the hunters closed the door, the leader signaled for his band to get moving. Together, they started pushing the large cart through the woods. One stood atop a cliff and blew into a horn. As for the kids inside, Hooty made more strange noises as Luz kicked at the door.
"Hooty! Hooty! You have to wake up!" Luz yelled, trying to snap Hooty out of conjuring.
"If you want this to end as you say, six of us hold hands. It's the only way," chanted the house demon.
"¡Oye, no me hable así!" Luz snapped in Spanish. "If these guys don't kill us, Eda will when she finds out about the house."
"Yeah, and honestly, that's not something I'm looking forward to since you guys said she's going to get elixirs," Gus gulped. "I don't wanna be anywhere near her when she goes Owlbeast."
"Wait, I've got an idea," Eli exclaimed. Struggling against the ropes around his body, the redheaded boy managed to pull his hands behind him as he did his best to put his hands together, and clear his mind as best as he could. He then tapped his fingers together to complete the circle, as a ball of light appeared in his hand, as he gently squeezed, making a dagger, as he scooted over to Willow.
"Willow, I can't use a sword like this. I need you to use your magic to…" Eli paused when he noticed that Willow was looking down at the ground with a look of shame. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I'm so sorry, you guys. You and Luz wanted to turn back, but I just had to show off to Amity," Willow said.
"Willow, why would you want to show up to Amity," Eli asked. "You've got nothing to prove to her."
Willow looked at him a bit, and looked away, saying, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"We could try," Luz said, trying to be supportive.
With a sigh, Willow finally admitted, "She and I used to be friends."
"...You're right. I don't believe you," Eli said, only for Luz to nudge him in the arm with a disapproving frown.
"Honestly, I agree with him, I don't believe it either," Sucy replied.
"You and Amity were really friends?" Luz asked her friend.
"Yes. We played together as kids, but when she got her magical powers and I didn't, she stopped hanging out with me. I just wanted to prove to her that I was a powerful witch too," Willow said as she sniffled a bit, almost crying. "Guess she was right all along. I am just a loser."
Eli and Luz stared at her in silence, understanding why their friend's feeling. "That's ridiculous," said the young girl. "You helped bring a house to life. You covered an entire school's insides with flora. Amity doesn't know what she's talking about."
"She's right, Willow," Eli said, joining in on cheering Willow. "You've got crazy powerful plant magic that I can't even believe. Next to Eda, you're the most powerful witch we know. No offense, you guys."
"No, not at all. I know what I'm about," Gus said.
Sucy shrugged, "I know my limits."
"I'm still learning like you guys, so I don't know if I'm that strong," Akko nodded.
Willow looked at Luz and Eli in surprise, before smiling at them. She then wiggled her arms around before finally getting her arm free. Grabbing the Light Dagger, she then said, "Quick. Extend it into a Sword."
Eli managed to extend the energy and make it a blade, and Willow was able to cut them loose. She handed the weapon back to Eli who handed it to Akko, "Here, this might be better for you."
She nodded at that, as they all stood back up, and smirked, "Alright, let's get out there and kick some butt!"
"Yeah," they all cheered.
But then, all of a sudden, the cart that was carrying the house stopped abruptly. Thinking that they were at the cliffs the hunters were going to throw them off of, they opened the door and ran outside to fight. Only to find out that wasn't the case. The group of Demon Hunters stopped because of something, or rather someone standing in their way.
Standing a few feet away was Shining Chariot, her had hiding her eyes, and her cape bellowing in the wind. Even though the hat hid her eyes, she stared at the hunters and children.
One of the hunters, Tom, leaned to the leader and asked, "Should we go all out and take her down?"
"It's just one witch, Tom. Barely a threat," the Leader said, looking rather unintimidated by her dress. Not moving at all or saying anything at all until the leader of the Demon Hunters stepped towards her. "Move aside, stranger!" He demanded. "If you're looking for the circus, then get out of here. Because we're not looking for fancy weirdos to join us."
"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen." Shining Chariot said, who then pointed at the kids. "But I will be taking the children and their home off your hands. It's almost dawn and they need to get back before the moon magic dies down."
This made the other hunters laugh at the witch. "I don't think so," the leader said, pulling out his sword. "Now move, or we'll…"
POW!
Shining Chariot suddenly swung her staff into the face of the Demon Hunter. He fell flat on his face while Chariot clapped her hands together and thrusted her staff through the ring and smashed right at the Leader. Using lightning magic to send the hunter flying back and landing on the ground. Now unconscious as the others stared with shocked expressions.
Shining Chariot then drew a large magic circle on the ground, before slamming her staff into the ground. Activating an earth spell and making multiple pillars rise up rapidly from under the feet of the other hunters. Launching them into the air, where they were hit with bolts of lightning from the sky that were summoned by the redhead witch.
With all of the hunters taken out in such a quick and semi-brutal fashion, the kids were stunned for a moment until she turned to look at them. In a flash, she was gone and appeared in front of Booker and his friends.
Gus screamed as he jumped into Sucy's arm, "Don't eat us!"
Sucy rolled her eyes, as she dropped him like a sack of potatoes.
Shining Chariot then clapped her hands again, as she shot her hands forward, with the fingertips catching flame. She then summoned a fireball on each tip, and fired them at the ropes down on the owl house. Cutting it free from the cart, as it was ready to run.
"You kids should go. The moon will be setting soon," she said, but then winked, "Though on the plus side, pretty awesome making a house come to life like that. You must have some powerful witches in your group." And then she disappeared as her body turned into white feathers that spiraled into the air and off into the sky, turning into stars.
Leaving the six kids standing there in a state of confusion and wonder. They all blinked, while Eli smiled, "Now that's an exit."
Luz snapped out of it when she looked out at the horizon and saw the moon setting in the distance. "Oh, no. I don't mean to step on this victory but we gotta get home before Eda does."
"Then let's get Hooty home," Eli said as he held hands, making the connection through the moon's magic. The Owl House walked away, leaving the ruins of the battle behind
The Demon Hunter, Tom, weakly looked to the leader, as he sarcastically mimicked, "It's just one witch, eh?"
The Leader groaned, "Shut up."
After walking through Bonesborough once more, the Owl House came back to its original spot. Sitting down in the crater it left when the kids animated it. A moment later, and the moon magic faded away, the six kids were in the living room and when the house was back in its original place, Luz opened her eyes and glanced at Eli.
"Did we do it," She asked.
Hooty opened the door. "Is the room spinning or is it just me?" He joked with a chuckle. "Ah. Just a little house humor. Ooh."
"Sorry about all that, Hooty," Eli said as he rubbed the back of his head. "None of that was supposed to happen."
"It's okay. I'm just glad I was included," Hooty said with a smile. But then the moment was ruined when the door slammed shut, revealing a very angry Eda on the other side, with King by her feet, and a silent but disappointed Ursula showing up too.
"Oh, crap," Eli and Luz gulped, with Luz clinging to Eli for dear life.
"Elijah McKnight! You are so busted," Eda glared at the redhead boy as she and Ursula marched to him.
"Hey, Auntie. Miss Castillis…" Eli tried to speak when Eda cut him off.
"I trusted you with looking after my house," she said.
"You did," Eli admitted.
"And you went behind my back and held a moonlight conjuring. And you animated my house. My house," she shouted at him.
"We did…"
"And on top of that, you put your friends in danger," Ursula replied. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if Demon Hunters saw Hooty? They'd try and either sell him to some nutjob collector or carve him up as exotic meat."
"I know, and I know he wouldn't taste good either…"
"Hey, I'm a refined taste," Hooty shouted.
"No one wants to know that," King shot. He then pointed out, "While Eda and I were trying to get potions, this guy named Grimhammer scammed Eda, was threatening to sell her to the Emperor's Coven, and use me as a model for baby clothing! And I'm all naturale!"
"Wait! Eda! Miss Castillis," Luz exclaimed, coming to his defense. She stepped in front of him with her arms out. "It wasn't Eli's fault. It was my fault. I just wanted to have a sleepover with more than just Eli. Like it's always been."
"And ours!" Willow said, stepping alongside Luz with Gus. "Don't punish Luz or Eli. We're the ones who pushed them to do the conjuring."
"If anything, Eli was trying to talk us out of taking Hooty for a Joyride," Akko defended.
"But if it's any consolation, bringing a whole house to life wasn't what we were trying to do," Sucy replied as she pointed at the Beefy Bob, "We were actually trying to bring that thing to life."
"If you're gonna eat me just do it now. DO IT!" Gus yelled in Eda's face, shutting his eyes and awaiting his fate. However, Eda looked disgusted at the idea. That was an old witch thing. How old do they think she was?
"Willow, Gus, what are you doing?" Booker whispered to Willow as she looked at him.
"Helping out a friend," Willow said to him with a smile.
"Well, you're all guilty, so you'll all be punished by cleaning Hooty top to bottom," Eda said, summoning various cleaning supplies that land in the kids' arms.
Eli, Luz, and even Akko grimaced at this, as the tanuki girl looked to the three, "I'll show you all the parts that have mucus." Which caused Gus to look disgusted.
She walked past them before stopping and looking back at the kids. "And another thing…"
The six of them gulped in fear when Eda's glare turned into a smile. "That was totally amazing. And I'm so joining you for next year's conjuring."
"As am I," Ursula smiled, "For supervision in case Eda goes too far."
Eda blew a playful raspberry, and then turned to the kids, "Now get to work."
The six of them ran off and Eda flopped onto the couch with King, who had an adorable sailor suit on. After the night that she had, with Tibbles cheating at Hexus Hold Em, the Owl Lady could use more than a little time to rest. It was actually lucky that her home stomped on Tibbles' stand before the little demon could do anything to her.
"I can't believe they animated a whole house," King said, looking at Eli and Luz as they cleaned together.
"Yeah. You're right. That takes some powerful magic," Eda said as she looked at the kids.
"You think it might have been the Arcanum," King asked, looking at Ursula who sat on the couch.
Ursula looked to Eli, as she said, "Well, Eli does have the Philosopher Arcanum, but he can't control it. Not without getting hurt, and I don't see any bruising on him." But then she smirked looking at Willow, "There are two students that I know who have a lot of magic but are still learning to control it all. Turns out… they're in the same friend group here."
"You know, I still kinda wish we got to show up Amity," Luz said.
"Yeah. Too bad no one will know of our daring adventures," Willow said.
"And even if they did, who'd believe them," Eli smirked.
Meanwhile
Blight Manor
Amity's Room
Amity was in her room with her friends. To say that their conjuring night was a disappointment would be putting it lightly. Boscha the pink-skinned and three-eyed girl of the Potions Track, Cat who was a dark-skinned brown haired and eyed glasses girl of the Healing Track, Skara who was a caramel-skinned silver hair but black side haired girl of the Bard Track, and Amelia who was a Caucasian skinned girl with green eyes and green pixie cut hair of the Plant Track, were glaring at a stuffed rabbit that was sitting on the floor. They did everything that the book said to do, but they couldn't bring it to life.
"Ugh. So what if we couldn't move a doll. Now we have time for what really matters," Boscha said, summoning her scroll. "Penstagram." The other three summoned theirs a few seconds after her.
Meanwhile, Amity was brooding while looking out of her window. Last night was a complete failure, but she wasn't too bothered by it. Normally she'd be angrier about failing at something as simple as a moonlight conjuring, but Amity wasn't. She was thinking about yesterday, when she saw Eli and Luz with Willow and Gus and how she somewhat denied them coming to her conjuring.
She sighed as she looked rather disheartened, as she thought, 'What's this feeling? Is it… regret?'
Boscha gasped, getting Amity's attention. She walked over and looked at Boscha's scroll. Her Penstagram feed had several people's posts showing off Luz, Eli, Willow, Gus, Sucy, Akko, and the animated Owl House.
Amity and Boscha share a look of total shock.
"WHAT?!"
Next Chapter: Lost in Languages and Memories
Author's Note: I thought that considering that Amity is intended to be a lesbian in the show, it would have made more sense if she was paired up with a girl. However, I believe the Eli x Luz x Amity pairing is kind of a necessary plot device in the story. So, we're sticking with ElLuMity! This is a fanfiction story after all. Not canon. This is an AU from the canon universe. Multiverse theory, just check out Marvel's Loki. In this story and possibility, Amity's bisexual.
If everyone's okay with that, then let us continue.
Now we're introduced to an odd dream that Eli has. What does it mean? What is the dark-eyed version of him mean in the future? Read on and find out.