Hope you are all doing well! The first Owl House Season 3 special is just around the corner, so definitely looking forward to that. I will leave my thoughts about the episode as well as some things regarding the future of TOATF on my DA page, so make sure and check that out when you can. That post will also have more info on when I'm coming back too.
Aside from that not much else to say. Though as of the posting of this chapter I have gone back and changed the names for Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy. They are now the cannon names of "Oum" and "Bee" and going forward into the next Arc I will use them too.
I had wanted to do a chapter with Luz interacting with some of the townspeople, but didn't have room for it in the Arc proper so instead decided to put it into this one-shot. Also to clarify it takes place between Chapters 32 and 33, enjoy!
Luz Around Town
"Do I look okay?" asked Luz as she adjusted her cloak nervously.
"You look fine," said Marcy, "don't worry you just saved the town, Mayor Toadstool is going to formally introduce you to the people. I'm sure they'll appreciate you."
"The frogs here really seemed to change how they thought of me after I stood up to the tax collectors," said Anne, "so once they hear how you stopped Bog, they'll love you."
"I hope so," said Luz, "I've seen quite a few of them give me the stink eye ever since I got here."
"Yeah me too," said Marcy, "Anne said they're slow to change so I guess that isn't surprising."
"Are ya'll ready there Luz?" asked Toadstool, peaking behind the stage.
"Yes I think so," answered Luz, giving one more nervous look to both Anne and Marcy. Both of whom gave her a smile and a thumbs up for encouragement.
"Allrighty then, lets get this over with, come on out." called Toadstool.
Luz walked onto the stage and suddenly felt very nervous, the whole town had come out to see her, and were all murmuring amongst themselves. She was still in the back part of the stage as Mayor Toadstool was going to introduce her first. The murmuring stopped and, Toadstool stepped to the front of the stage.
"Now everyone I have a major announcement," he began, "as you all know a few days ago I was kidnapped in the middle of the night."
"It was horrible!" exclaimed Toady upstaging the mayor, "I just don't know what I would have done if we'd lost you Sire. You are the light of my life!"
"Thank you Toady," said the mayor in a somewhat annoyed tone, "but getting back on track, Bog and his gang tried to get me to give up some money they think I embezzled from them."
"You mean like that time you did with the taxes?" called Ms. Croaker angrily.
"Yes exactly," replied Toadstool, realizing only a second too late that he was not helping his case, "but unlike that time there was no embezzled funds this time, right Toady?"
"Oh yes of course Sire," exclaimed Toady addressing the crowd, "while we were initially going to use that money to build a swanky new secret Jacuzzi, Mayor Toadstool decided to use that to fix the potholes on 6th Street."
"Wait what's this about a secret Jacuzzi?" exclaimed Felicity Sundew in annoyance. The crowd again began murmuring. Toadstool gave Toady a harsh look, causing the small frog to offer up a nervous smile.
"Um in any case," said Toadstool, "when I refused to hand over the money, Bog said he was going to take his toads and pillage the town, and he would have succeeded if not for the efforts of Anne's new friend." With that Toadstool motioned for Luz to come forward. Luz gulped and slowly made her way up to the front of the stage nervous as all the townspeople began to look at her.
"So let's all give a big hand to the one who fought off Bog, Luz Noceda!" said the Mayor clapping his hands. The townsfolk gave a mild applause but mostly looked confused or disinterested.
"Oh great another Anne," said Mrs. Croaker in a sullen voice, "how many more of these things are there?" The crowd again began to murmur, though Toadstool quickly interrupted.
"I know we're all still nervous about these new creatures after that whole mess with Sasha, but Luz saved my life and all of yours. Bog was ready to burn this place to ground, so I ask you as mayor please give her a chance." He motioned for Luz to come up the microphone and say something. Luz stepped forward and began to speak.
"Hey everyone," she said in a slightly nervous voice, "I know this is kind of sudden, and I heard from Anne how you all don't like outsiders much, but I want you to know that I promise to do my best to get to know you. When I first appeared in this world I was taken in by Uodeela who-"
"Wait Uodeela the Salamander?" said a frog in the group, "the witch of the wilds? The one who robes from the toads and gives to the frogs."
"Yes that very one," answered Luz.
"She left some money for me on my doorstep once," said the frog, "I used it to help start my stand at the market here in Wartwood."
"She helped me too," said another frog, "I gave my son and his wife that money as a wedding gift."
"She really is the best!" said another, "I hear she can change herself into a fearsome beast."
The mention of that made Luz wince a little, though she was glad to see that the crowd seemed to be on her side. Maddie came up to the stage and spoke out to the crowd.
"If she was a student of Uodeela's then we can trust her," said Maddie, "I studied with Uodeela not to long ago and I can tell you that she's the real deal, she cares about us frogs, and so does Luz." Maddie turned to Luz flashing her a smile, which Luz returned.
The crowd murmured amongst themselves again, seeming to not agree on whether or not to trust Luz, so Luz spoke again.
"Listen everyone," she began, "I know you don't trust outsiders and I know you're all still hurting from what Sasha tried to do to you, but I hope that in time I can eventually earn your trust. Uodeela and I fought together to try and protect Tadpole Pond from the Toads, and I promise you that if Bog or the Toads ever come back I'll defend your town too."
For the first time the frogs seemed to relax at hearing Luz say that. Mrs. Croaker stepped forward, "well I've heard plenty of stories myself about Uodeela, and from what I hear she always looked out for frogs in small towns like this one, so I guess we can give you a chance."
Luz was delighted to hear this, she glanced over to the rear of the stage to see Marcy and Anne encouraging her. "And one more thing, I'm not the only new human here while I have this opportunity let me also introduce someone else, someone who's been a friend to both Anne and is just all around an amazing person, come on over Marcy!" Luz held out her hand and beckoned Marcy to join her.
Marcy was shocked at the offer but did step forward.
"This is Marcy," said Luz introducing her, "she's new here too but I promise you that's she's nice and she's one of my best friends. I know I'm asking a lot, but I'm hoping that if you can give me a chance you can give her one too!" Marcy waved nervously at the crowd.
Again the crowd murmured, and again Mrs. Croaker stepped forward, "fine I suppose we can give your friend a chance too. Now if that's it then it's time for us to go. We have other things to do!" The crowd quickly dispersed going their separate ways, leaving the girls and the mayor alone on the stage.
"Well I think that went well," said Toady in his usual chipper voice, "now with that business taken care of the Mayor and I have much more work to do. You two can find your way home on your own right?"
"Now wait a minute Toady no reason we have to leave so abruptly, I still haven't formally thanked Luz for saving my life," said Toadstool, he fished into his pocket and pulled out a small bronze key handing it to Luz.
"As a token of appreciation for saving this town I would like to present you with this! Our key to the city award!" exclaimed Toadstool. Toady threw up some confetti in celebration.
Luz starred at the small key underwhelmed, "uh thanks, aren't these usually bigger?"
"Oh well we used to have a larger key made out of gold," said Toady, "But uh, we had to melt it down when we realized just how large and impractical it was to have."
"Yeah it was almost a ton of gold and well we could much better use that money for embezel- I mean to help the town with," said Toadstool quickly correcting himself and flashing Luz a smile.
Luz glared back at him, "I'm starting to wonder if I made the right call in saving your life."
"You did, please believe me when I say I'm trying to be a better Mayor," said Toadstool, "Anne you remember how I saved everyone at Toad Tower right?"
Anne sighed before replying, "yeah I remember, you did save them all that night, and well it seems like you've been doing better since then."
"Oh as another token of appreciation I'll even wave those tickets that were issued to Hopidiah," said Toadstool, "I'm sure that will help him out right?"
"Thanks Toadstool," said Anne.
"You're welcome Boonchuy, now it really is time to get going, Toady and I are going to look into getting me a balloon with my face on it."
"It will look so majestic sire!" said Toady excitedly "you're face on a hot air balloon will be a sight of wonder to behold! And when you're riding around in it the people will look up at you and be in awe!"
"Well I certainly hope so," said Toadstool. With that he and Toady walked away leaving the girls alone.
"Well any ideas for what to do now?" asked Luz.
"Actually I'm gonna head back to the farm and tinker with Frobo a bit," said Marcy.
"Speaking of which I need to head back too," said Anne, "promised HP I'd help him with the harvest."
"Oh well I can come with you," said Luz.
"You can if you want to," said Anne, "but let me tell you, harvesting vegetables is hard work. I already told Hop-pop I would so that's why I'm going but don't feel you have to Luz, especially since you just saved the town. Why don't you stay here and look around a bit?"
Luz looked around at the different buildings in Wartwood, realizing she hadn't seen much of the town yet, "yeah okay, that sounds like a good idea!"
"We'll see you back at home," called Anne and Marcy as they made their way back to the Plantars.
Luz's first stop was to the local restaurant, Anne told her about how she had helped to upgrade this place using her experience working for her parents. As Luz got closer she could see some signs of it. She noticed at fountain near the front that was full of lotus flowers as she walked in she was greeted by the cook.
"Good day!" he said raising his spatula hand in a greeting, "ah you must be one of Anne's friends, you're the one who saved the town aren't ya?"
"Oh uh, yes that's me," said Luz, "I'm Luz Noceda, pleased to meet you."
"The name's Stumpy," said the cook.
Stumpy offered out his spatula hand and after a second of hesitation Luz gave it a shake, the cook lead her to a table and sat her down.
"I tell ya I missed Anne when she went off to Newtopia, but I'm glad she's made her way back here," said Stumpy, "she really helped turn this place around."
"I can see that," said Luz looking around the restaurant, noticing some of the touch ups that reminded her of the restaurant back home. Luz looked down at the menu and noticed even more similarities as she recognized some dished from Thai Go. She soon ordered her food and Stumpy brought it out to her.
"Huh she even put the laap on the menu that's nice," said Luz, "oh she made it with maggots I see."
"Yeah Anne did a good job here," said Stumpy, "I'd all but lost my passion for cooking and was really just hanging onto this place, but she helped breathe new life into it, now I've got a lot more customers and I honestly enjoy coming to work again."
"Anne can certainly have that affect on people," agreed Luz.
"So tell me about yourself then," asked Stumpy, "is it true you fought Bog?"
"Oh yeah I did," said Luz, "he and the remnants of the toad army wanted to invade Wartwood and take all their money."
"But how did a wee lass such as yourself manage to stop him?" asked Stumpy.
"Oh I've learned a few things since coming to Amphibia," said Luz, "Uodeela taught me a lot while I stayed with her in Tadpole Pond."
"Pardon, did you say Tadpole Pond?" asked Stumpy.
"Yes that's where I landed when I got sent here," answered Luz.
"Really, wow I grew up in Tadpole Pond," said Stumpy.
"Oh wow, that's neat!" said Luz.
"Yeah grew up there, nice place, I decided to leave when I came of age, wanted to go to other towns in the southern area and learn different recopies," said Stumpy, "wanted to get a taste for other cuisines and such. I even found work in the southern tower cooking meals for the toads."
"Oh were you scared at all?" asked Luz.
"Nah, one taste of my food and the toads welcomed me with open arms, and let me tell ya feeding an army is one of the toughest jobs you'll ever have," said Stumpy, "but hey I made good money doing it, and eventually I had enough to start my own restaurant here in Wartwood."
"Wow that sounds amazing," said Luz intrigued at this story.
"For awhile it was," said Stumpy, "my new restaurant was the talk of the town. I had frogs coming from all over just to try my food. Things were looking up! But unfortunately it all came crashing down."
"What happened?" asked Luz concerned.
"I was being careless one day trying to cut up a giant worm," began Stumpy, "it was going to be the new dish that everyone would rave about. I was still trying to cut it up while it was still alive, and it started fighting back. Well after a struggle I got sloppy and while using my knife to try and cut it…." Stumpy didn't finish that statement but he looked down at his hand which was enough for Luz to understand.
"I see…" said Luz, "um what about your other hand?"
"Ah that, well I was trying to build a new countertop and I missed with the hammer and ended up smashing my hand," said Stumpy.
"Ouch!" said Luz.
"Yeah, after those two setbacks I stated losing the passion," said Stumpy, "ever since then I've been on a downward spiral, until Anne helped me care again."
"That's good to hear," said Luz as she finished eating her lunch, "thank you for the food it was incredible."
"Your welcome," said Stumpy, "thank you for saving the town!"
As Luz left Stumpy's she thought she heard some accordion music. She perked up her ears and followed it to the statue at the center of town. As Luz got closer to the statue she could see the frog who was making it. It was a green frog wearing a strange assortment of clothing. He had on a wide brimmed hat, a red scarf and a brown vest. One of his shoes looked like it had been badly torn. He was playing a song on his accordion and singing along to it.
"Ohhh I lost me true love by the old willow tree
She said that it was over between her and me
I tried to protest, but she was deaf to my plea
Well at least once again, I am glad that I'm free!"
Ohhh I lost me true love by the old apple tree
She was dancing around it, then scrapped her knee
And I laughed as she fell, hoping she wouldn't see
Guess that serves me right now I'm in misery!
Ohhh I lost me true love by the old maple tree
She asked how did I feel, about her and me?
So I told her the truth, and she didn't agree
Now I'm on my own, least I am now carefree!"
As he finished the song Luz began clapping, the frog turned towards he unaware that he had attracted an audience.
"Bravo!" said Luz as she continued to clap, "that was a nice song."
"Ah thanks love, ya mean it?" asked the frog looking at Luz, "oh you're that new human what that the mayor was going on about aren't you?"
"Yes that's right," answered Luz, "I'm Luz Noceda, pleased to meet you!"
The frog gazed at her as she said her name before finally speaking, "Luz Noceda…that sounds familiar….oh wait a tick! You Anne's friend?"
"Yes I am," replied Luz.
"Oh it's coming back to me now, yes….I remember, Anne told me about you," said the frog, "but she made me promise to not tell anyone else what she said so I'm afraid I can't tell you."
Luz gave the frog a puzzled look before replying, "That's okay, could you at least tell me your name though?"
"I'm Wally," said the frog coming up to Luz and shaking her hand, "though the locals tend to call me One Eye'd Wally, on account of only having one-eye." He pointed to his closed eye.
"Oh uh did you actually lose your eye?" asked Luz, "cause it's looks like you're just keeping it closed."
"I honestly don't remember," answered Wally, "but I've grown so close to the nickname I think even if I was just keeping me eye closed I'll just keep it that way."
"Whatever floats your boat," said Luz.
"Oh so if you're here does that mean you and Anne made up?" asked Wally.
Luz was a little caught off guard from that question, but she did answer, "yeah we made up, we're good now. Although not many people outside the Plantars even knew there was anything wrong between Anne and I, how did you know?"
Now Wally was caught off guard as he thought about what to say, "Oh whoopsie, I think that was one of those things I wasn't supposed to say. Sorry love I can't break Anne's trust can't tell you anymore. What Anne told me out on the Misty Moors is strictly confidential."
"Wait did you say the Misty Moors?" asked Luz, "the home of the Moss Man?"
Wally's eyes lit up, "yes the very one! Anne and I went out to the Moors to look for him, did you know the Mist of those Moors is enchanted? If you get lost in it you may see things that aren't there."
"Yeah I know," said Luz as she recalled what she had seen on the Moors, "not something I'd want to go through again."
"Oh you've been to the Misty Moors yourself?" asked Wally, "what did you see?"
"I saw Anne, or rather an illusion of Anne who chewed me out for what I did to her," answered Luz.
"Huh that's quite a coincidence when Anne and I went to the Moors she told she saw an illusion of you chewing her out for how she acted towards you," said Wally.
"Wait really?" asked Luz, "Anne had a similar experience to mine."
"Yeah it's coming back to me now," said Wally, "though again I can't tell you much more you see Anne told me some things about that in confidence that I'm not allowed to repeat," he paused for a second before adding, "although she did show me dad that video even though I asked her not to…."
"What video?" asked Luz intrigued.
"Ah! Nothing, forget I said anything," said Wally quickly, "best we forget about it love. Long story but the point is I was having a hard time fittin' in with me family. My dad expects me to act a certain way, and Anne thought she could fix things by showing him what I was really like, cept it didn't go well. Me dad didn't like how I act when I'm on my own."
"I get it," said Luz, "I've caused trouble for my mom in the past because of how I acted, but I never got the sense that she wanted me to change who I was."
"Well your mum sounds like a right nice lady then," said Wally, "I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh on Anne since it all worked out in the end."
"So then you're on good terms with your father?" asked Luz.
"Yeah, I am," answered Wally, "had to challenge him for the right to be free, but now I can be who I want to be."
"That's good to hear," said Luz.
"And it's good for me to hear that you and Anne made up, hope the two of you will be the best of friends," said Wally.
As Wally wandered away Luz looked around to see where else she could explore and her eyes fell onto a quaint red roofed building that was shaped like a tea kettle. Luz entered the building and was greeted by the sound of soft music, as she looked around she spotted a lot of small cute tables decorated with fancy napkins and tea cups.
"Ah you're the one the Mayor was talking about right," said a yellow frog with red hair coming up to Luz. Luz recognized her from the town meeting.
"Oh hello," said Luz, "yes I am, I'm Luz Noceda."
"Felicity Sundew," replied the yellow frog, "owner of Felicity's Tea Shoppe, this wonderful establishment that you happen to be finding yourself in right now."
"Oh it's very nice," said Luz looking around, "I don't think I've ever been to a real Tea Shoppe like this before."
"Ah well in that case let's get you a table so you can partake of the fine experience that only Felicity's can offer you," said Felicity, as she said this she clapped her hands, "Ivy will you seat our guest please."
Another yellow frog came forward she was much shorter than Felicity and was wearing casual clothes and a green beanie. As she came up to Luz her eyes widened.
"Right this way milady," said Ivy with a small bow, she lead Luz over to a table and once they were alone she whispered to her.
"You're the one who fought off the toads aren't you," said Ivy.
"Yes I am, I take it you heard the mayor's speech then," asked Luz.
"No actually I uh, saw you fighting them with your powers," replied Ivy, Luz let out a gasp in shock. Ivy continued to explain, "I was out by the edge of town exploring when I heard a commotion, I went towards the sounds and that's when I saw you fighting the toads. Your hair was a different color, and you were able to use magic. You were pretty cool!"
"Huh wow, thanks for saying that!" said Luz, "but uh here's the thing….I'm actually trying to keep the whole "powers" thing on the down low right now. I still don't really understand it much myself."
"Ah I see, you're trying to be like Uodeela," said Ivy, "a secret super-hero!"
"Never thought about it like that before but, yeah I guess something like that," said Luz.
"Okay, then don't worry your secret it safe with me," said Ivy, "though personally I'd love to be able to do even half the things you could. I love adventuring! Someday Sprig and I are going to go on our own adventure all over Amphibia!"
"You know Sprig," said Luz.
"Yeah I mean he's sorta…my boyfriend," answered Ivy.
"Oh wait a minute," said Luz, remembering something, "that sounds familiar, Sprig told me about how Anne helped get you two together."
"Yeah and the thing is we'd been friends for a long time! We both loved the same things and we both really liked spending time with each other. I guess us dating sorta just felt like a natural next step to take," said Ivy.
Luz looked off wistfully in the distance, "That's awesome! I really love the friends to lover trope, it just feels so natural. If you already have a close bond with someone how great it would be to take that further." Luz got lost in her thoughts as she imagined that scenario.
"Oh did that happen to you too?" asked Ivy, causing Luz to snap back to reality.
"Oh….uh, no, well not yet….maybe? I don't know, it's kind of complicated," answered Luz nervously.
"Ah I get it, say no more," said Ivy, "So Luz what sort of things do you like?"
"Well I like watching anime, making music videos, drawing, and writing fanfiction," answered Luz. Ivy starred at her puzzled.
"Uh I think the only thing I know from that is drawing," said Ivy, "not sure what the rest of those things are."
"You know I've gotten so used to being here that sometimes I forget I'm in an entirely different world, from my own," said Luz flatly.
"Yeah Anne gets that way sometimes too," said Ivy, "anyway do you have any drawings you can show me?"
"Sure," said Luz, she reached into her bag and pulled out her sketch book, she handed it to Ivy who leafed through it.
"Oh wow these are pretty nice," said Ivy, "I've seen a lot of these plants when I'm out hiking in the woods. Oh and is that a glitter bug? Wow you really captured the details with that one."
"Yeah I saw that one climbing up a tree the other night, they're so pretty," said Luz.
"They are, A lot of frogs keep them as pets, they're too pretty to eat," said Ivy, "Sprig and I went looking for some the other day. That was the day I had a rough fight with my mother."
"Yes I remember," said Felicity Sundew coming up to Luz and Ivy, "but it all worked out in the end, so no harm done."
"What did you two fight about?" asked Luz.
"Young Ivy here is so eager to go off and see the world," said Felicity
"Yeah we got into a fight about that, but it turns out my mom isn't as unreasonable as I thought," said Ivy hugging her mom, "she just wants me to be ready and be able to stand on my own."
Seeing Ivy and her mother hugging made Luz feel a rush of emotions, it reminded her of her own mother. Luz remembered how even after she'd been expelled her mother had still been patient with her and tried to help her recover. Despite having different interests than her mother and despite the trouble she caused at school Camilla had still done her best to raise and care for Luz. Before she knew it she can begun to cry.
"Oh sweetie are you okay?" asked Felicity concerned.
"Yeah…I'm fine," said Luz wiping away her tears, "I was just thinking of my own mother. Ever since coming to this world I've thought about her a lot, how much I miss her. Seeing you two I guess reminded me of that. My mom and I have had our differences in the past, but we always came to an understanding. And the thing is, when we were transported to Amphibia our parents didn't know, back in our world they're probably worried wondering what happened to us."
Luz began to cry again as she spoke and both Ivy and Felicity came and hugged her.
"There, there now child," said Felicity in a soothing voice, stroking Luz's hair, "As a mother myself I understand your pain. Your mother must be worried about you, but from what I heard from Ivy the three of you now have a real shot at getting home. Hold onto hope child, and do whatever you have to in order to make it back home."
"Hey you've got Sprig helping you out," added Ivy, "with his help I know the three of you will succeed!"
Luz looked into the faces of both Felicity and Ivy and smiled.
"Thank you, both of you," said Luz.
Luz waved goodbye to the Sundews as she left the tea shop, she made her way towards another building in town, already knowing what this one was. As she opened the door she was greeted by a familiar face.
"Oh hey Luz," said Maddie, "how are you?"
"I'm fine, I just stopped in to say hi and make sure we were still on for Saturday," answered Luz.
"Yes of course, I look forward to meeting you and seeing what we can collaborate on," answered Maddie.
"Great to hear!" said Luz, "so hey is it okay if I bring Marcy along too, she's asked me a lot of questions about magic and I figure that both of us could help teach her."
"Yeah sure if she wants to, it's so surprising to find someone who actually wants to learn magic. Plus three of us can probably work better than two," answered Maddie.
"Great I'll see if I can teach her a potion or two before then, maybe a basic healing one," said Luz.
At that point the door to the bakery opened and Mrs. Croaker entered.
"Ah Mrs. Croaker I have your bread order right here," said Maddie, bringing out her order in a small bag.
"Good I'm just about done with all my other errands around town," answered Mrs. Croaker, she glanced over at Luz, and said in a disdain full voice, "oh you're here too."
"Hi!" said Luz in a cheery voice, "good to see you again."
"Look Luz, I know I said I'd give you a chance at the gathering earlier today, but don't push your luck," said Mrs. Croaker.
"But I've been getting to know everyone else in town today," said Luz, "and hey now that you're here this must mean it's your turn!"
"So what, did you think we'd talk for a bit, share some sort of personal story with each other and then suddenly be friends?" asked Mrs. Croaker.
Luz paused before responding, "well yeah kinda. It always works on those kids shows that I watch."
"Well this isn't a kids show," replied Mrs. Croaker, "this is real life!"
As she said that she and Luz looked at each other before turning and looking straight forward….
"My point being," continued Mrs. Croaker, "give it time, none of us liked Anne when she first came here, but we warmed up to her eventually. Don't try and force it."
Luz looked as though she wanted to protest, but Mrs. Croaker gave her a stern look, causing Luz to back down. After that Mrs. Croaker collected her bread and left out the door.
"Huh that didn't go at all how I thought it would," said Luz.
"Well you can't win them all," said Maddie, "hey at the very least I like you, and I can't wait for us to work together on something."
Luz smiled at Maddie, "yeah I guess you're right, okay I'll see you on Saturday then."
"See ya Luz," said Maddie as Luz exited the shop.
Luz looked one more time around the town as she thought of all the places she'd been and all the people she'd met. It reminded her of Tadpole Pond, before it had been invaded. As she thought about that she began to regret not getting to know the people of that town that well. She spared a brief thought for her old town, and hoped they were doing better. With that she made her way back to the Plantars.