The week was going by well. Way too well in some peoples' perspectives. Even the other guards took notice of the new magic being performed. The halls became filled with flowers and vines. The courtyard brimmed with fire all around. The rooms leaked through and became cold. They knew who was behind it, but they could do nothing about it. After all, no one was willing to step up to the child prodigy and her responsibility. That responsibility was making a mess.

" Okay, one more time, but this time, don't aim for my face." Amity said, a shield of magic around her due to some former mishaps.

" I got it this time." Luz responded. She picked up the piece of paper she had, a glyph drawn on it, and after tapping it from behind, she aimed at Amity then

FWOOSH!
A gust of wind and ice flew at her, this time hitting below the face, slamming into the magical shield.

" Haha it worked!" Luz jumped up in glee. Her face was covered in scorch marks, her hair was sopping wet. They'd been busy making messes and it was clear they weren't too stable, but they were successful. " I finally got them all, I'm a freakin' Pokemon trainer!" She ran over to Amity once the shield was down,, hugging her tightly. " Thank you thank you thank you!" Amity was taken aback by this, unsure of what to do. She took a moment, then hugged back slightly.

" Hey, it was more of your idea to use that magic rectangle than mine." Luz pulled away.

" It's called a phone." She giddily ran over to the other papers on the ground, picking them up, careful not to tap them.

" Right, right." Amity reassured. She watched Luz picking up the glyphs, then looked around. Her room was a mess. Lilith was going to kill her for this, but hey at least she won't be killing a human. At least they figured on doing most of the training in a way that didn't result in damage. Of a person or a thing.

The week started slow, but moved along at a steady pace once they had gotten all of the glyphs figured out. As it turns out, the world really was made of magic. Everything was made of 4 different elements; ice, fire, plant, and light. Each glyph could make something interesting, and possibly fit together. This was one of those times where they actually figured out what combination works.

" So ice and fire in this specific pattern," Luz picked up a piece of paper with a different type of glyph drawn on, " creates ice winds. That is so cool." She smiled, in awe of what she was learning and creating. Even Amity was impressed. This sort of magic was new, even to her.

A knock on the door took their attention from their success. When Amity opened it, a guard was standing with a small fire on his shoulder.

" Uh, Lilith said your human can't use magic in the dorms anymore." He said, sort of sheepishly.

" Lilith also said you can't disturb the human's training unless you're cool." She closed the door on him before he could get a response in. He stood at the door, tilting his head down and sighing.

" I should have just stayed in law school."

When he was gone, Amity and Luz broke into laughter.

" Okay, okay, real talk though. You can't do this stuff indoors again until you get that under control." Amity calmed her laughter down a bit, Luz nodding.

Their training was finally done and Luz had more than just 1 spell under her belt. Tomorrow was the day that was to decide both of their fates. In only 24 hours, something was going to happen. Someone was going to die, or something else. They weren't too sure on what was going to happen if Luz was successful, but that didn't really matter. As long as nobody's in the wild fending for themselves, all is good. It's fine.

Luz plopped on the bed.

" Man, this is crazy. I actually learned how to do magic. I'm actually in a world full of magic and monsters. This is everything I ever wanted. Without the death and possibly maiming part of course." She chuckled nervously.
" Yeah, that would be no good." Amity sat on the floor in front of the bed, looking at the books and ice around the floor. " If only it was as good as the books, huh? Even I wouldn't mind that."

Silence took the room once more, but there was no tension. It was quiet and nice. It felt normal and uplifting to have some quiet.

" What do you even do? As a guard I mean." Luz piped up.
Amity thought for a second. " Guard things I guess. I just sort of follow Lilith around and do random tasks assigned to me. Most of the time I'm with Lilith, though. I'm still not a full guard yet, remember?"

" Right, right."

More silence.

" What do you think is gonna happen tomorrow?"

" I dunno. Anything. Maybe they'll let you stay here?"
" Do you think they'll send me home?"
" They can't."
" What?" Luz perked up, " Really?"
" That's why Lilith was so keen on knowing if you knew anything about The Owl Lady. She's the only one with a working portal to the human realm."

Luz thought for a second. " So you're telling me, even the most powerful witches can't send me home without that portal?"

Amity nodded. The tension returned as Luz flopped back on the bed, defeated.

" I guess my life is here now. I mean, that's not so bad is it? At least I have a friend. At least I have magic. It's all I ever wanted…Woo.." She pumped the air a bit, but let her hand fall back down.

" Well, we are still searching for Eda so we can get that portal. That, and because she's a wanted criminal, but the portal matters more right now."

" So if we get Eda, I can go home."

They thought for a second. If Eda was the key to getting home, Luz needed her. She loved being in the Boiling Isles, even if it isn't 100% like her other fantasy worlds, but she knew she had to return home at some point. She couldn't just leave it behind, and if there was a chance to go back, she had to take it, or at least get that portal so she would even have the choice to do so.

This world was insane, but it gave her magic, a new friend, and tons of stories to tell when she got back. If she got back.

The only hope was tomorrow.