A/N: Sorry for the delay. It's been a busy time, but I really wanted to get this out last week. But here it is now, four pages worth of fluff before we go back to the creepy stuff. Enjoy.
"And the sky is filled with light/Can you see it?/All the black is really white/If you believe it/As your time is running out/Let me take away your doubt/You can find a better place/In this twilight." — Trent Reznor
Amity rolled around in bed, sweat pouring over her temples as her closed eyes clinched and fist gripped her bed sheet tight. She at length gasped for breath, finally opening her eyes wide, still laying on her side and now seeing the faint morning sun gracing itself and illuminating her bed while giving a dim glow across the other furniture and objects around her room. She breathed heavily, telling herself it was only a dream.
But was that still true? Were all these just dreams?
She heard a tapping at the window and found that it was none other than Luz, who was wearing a dress and hat similar to that of the Good Witch Azura; the main difference was that her face was painted white with various colored dots around her eyes and nose, almost like that of a bejeweled skull. She sprang out of bed and ran to unlatch the window. Luz of course had been hovering on Eda's staff, Owlbert of course at the helm of the staff with his wings spread.
"Hey," Luz chirped, trying to look and sound pleasant when she was genuinely concerned for her...friend, "I wanted to come check and see how you were."
"Ha, Luz," Amity wagged her head and snickered, "You don't need to worry about me. I'm...I'm okay."
"You don't look okay, Blight," Luz turned her mouth to the side, "Which is why I wanted to come see you."
Amity ignored her.
"Why are you dressed like that," she asked, pointing to Luz's outfit.
"Oh this?" Luz answered, tugging at her dress, "It's kind of a mix of different human holidays. Last night was really the main holiday, but today is important, too. We dress up in different costumes and remember the dead and…"
"Hold that thought," Amity held up a finger to interrupt, "Come on in; I'm going to get changed. Just don't look until it's done okay?"
Luz flew into the window, setting the staff to rest and allowing Owlbert to hop off and flutter around before trying to grab something shiny in the room for him to look at and play with. Luz waited while Amity changed behind a floor divider screen. And soon, she emerged from behind it.
"Well," she asked Luz, "What do you think?" Amity was dressed as a spot-on reconstruction of Hecate, donning a blue dress as well as a moon crest atop her head.
"Wow," Luz's eyes widened, "That's perfect."
"Hope you like," Amity muttered nervously, forcing a smile, "I actually made it myself after reading book three. I know she's supposed to be based on the human moon goddess, but I think the author took a few liberties."
"I do like it," Luz smiled, "You look great! But c'mon; Owlbert agreed to fly us somewhere this morning." With that, Owlbert stopped adorably playing around with a nearby jewelry box and flew back to attach himself to the top of the staff. Luz mounted the staff and beckoned Amity to follow of which she did. They took off at high speed, flying through the window and out high above the land and far beyond Amity's mansion.
All Amity could do was tightly wrap her arms around Luz's waist. When she realized what her instincts had forced her to do, her face turned red. She felt even more nervous when Luz let one hand go from the staff and patted the top of her hand to reassure her it was okay.
After a high speed flight above the land, they eventually found themselves high above the Boiling Isles where Eda had once taken Luz on her second day in the realm.
"I wanted to show you this," Luz said, "We've had a rough couple of months, and I felt like we both needed to see something beautiful."
Amity looked out over the land, the sun having still barely risen over the waters and bathing the enormous outline of the massive titan in a warm red-orange glow, the same to which she had awoken. From here, she could see the various environments of land, from he lush foliage of the lower isles to the white, snow-covered slopes of The Knee to the pale, ominous Skull. All she could think was how teeming with life everything was, how within this world were various lifeforms, all unaware of how small and insignificant they were in such a vast world and how trivial all their conflicts were in this gorgeous expanse.
"It's all so beautiful…" Amity breathed out in exultation.
"I know, right?" Luz nudged her with her elbow, "The first time Eda took me up here, I had some doubts about this world and how it wasn't living up to my expectations. Now, I see it the same way I did when I looked at NASA pictures at school of the Earth. We're so small compared to the rest of the universe, and there's so much that could be happening beyond our small bubble of perception."
"That definitely forces us to take a step back," Amity replied, "and see where we are and what we're really worried about. I'm still having nightmares, but really, I'm just one person in a vast sea of life, and life will continue in spite of these problems we're facing."
"I thought you might have had another nightmare," Luz sighed.
"What Gus said yesterday," Amity continued, "after he found that key, it terrified me. And what you and I found in that book in the library…Luz…I'm scared." She felt herself choke up as her heart began to beat faster. "What if whatever is in these stupid supposed 'Dreamlands' is gunning to steal my soul?"
"Hey now!" Luz put her arm around Amity, "Don't let that consume you! We won't let anything bad happen to you, not me or Willow or Gus. We're here for you. I promise."
"Thanks," Amity clinched her teeth and then tried to change the subject, "So this human holiday, what does it entail?"
"Oh, well," Luz rolled her eyes, "There's a long extensive history and lore behind all of them, so I'll just go over the basics of how I understand it. Halloween is a time where all the spirits come out, so we dress as different things and ask for treats so these supposed spirits don't bother us. And then the next day, my family celebrates Dia De Los Muertos. We're meant to honor those of us who have died, be they centuries old or recently departed. And that's why I'm wearing both the costume of one of my favorite characters and the face paint of a calavera, which is, the way I see it, a reflection of our mortality and identification of where they are now."
Amity breathed heavily.
"I guess we all have our own way of understanding death," she closed her eyes, sighed again, and laid her head on Luz's shoulder, this time without any reservation or embarrassment (she obviously had no problem doing this in the library weeks prior), "I do often think about the Blights who came before me. What were they like; how did my family get to where they are now? But I really don't feel like thinking about it too hard. All I know right now is that I'm alive and enjoying a good morning with you."
"And that's also supposed to be the upside to this way of thinking as well," Luz smiled and put her arm around her beautiful friend, "Life is something sacred, and we should enjoy and celebrate being alive each day. We don't know the future, and we're not promised tomorrow. Life itself is too precious a gift to waste. And I use mine every day for my passions, be it reading, drawing, or most of all, learning this strange way of performing magic."
"And you're passion is one of the things I admire in you," Amity heard herself say involuntarily, and her face turned red. Luz looked over at her to see that Amity was clearly getting nervous. There was a pause before Amity finally spoke again. "Luz, there's something I want to say, and I want to say it before we face another bad dream or monster-of-the-week again. I…" She hesitated. What if she was making a fool of herself, confessing her feelings to someone who didn't see her the same way.
"It's okay," she heard Luz say with a wide, playful smirk, "I know you've been wanting to say it for awhile. And if it's what I think it is…I'll let you make the first move. Come oooooon!"
"Ireally,reallylikeyou," Amity blurted out, "I think you're amazing, studious, funny, and very pretty. You've had to work twice as hard as me to discover all these spells as well as dealing with the insane adventures each day, but you still manage to do it all with a wink, a smile, and some goofy quip. I really admire that. I wasn't sure about you when I first met you, but I thank Titan every day that you came here and that I've gotten to know you and the experiences of another world you offered us. And I'm sorry for dumping this on you and for all the mean things I said and did to you. And I understand if you don't feel…" At this point, she was biting her lip nervously and gripping her dress tight. Her heart was pattering against her ribs, and her gut turned in knots. She thought she would die of a heart attack or lose her lunch (she would apologize to people on the ground later if that happened) until finally Luz said something Amity didn't expect.
"Amity, it's okay," Luz's voice as calm and understanding, "I was waiting for you to say this for awhile, and I…I feel the same. Like I've said before, I've had crushes on guys and girls, but I've never been as close to any of them as I've been with you." They looked close into each others eyes, and for a moment, there was a feeling of warmth within their chests, as though they were warming each other's souls. They then leaned towards each other, eyes closed, and their lips met softly. That warmth spread across them as their kiss continued. At length, they released and reopened their eyes.
"Wow," Amity muttered, "I never imagined how sweet that would feel."
"Me neither," Luz muttered. The two girls then held hands, Amity going back to leaning her head on Luz's shoulder and Luz leaning hers on Amity's head. "Soooo, are we girlfriends now?"
"I think we can officially say so," Amity giggled.
The two girls looked out over the island, how the sun was still illuminating the island, how each curved, cyclopean mountain glistened with new fallen snow, how the browning leaves of the forests far below them swayed in the Autumn breeze, how the people of the towns looked like ants that were opening tiny shops. And then Luz looked out across the rippling sea, how the sunlight danced across each wave. She wondered how far this water extended and if there were other islands, other continents waiting to be explored on this plane.
But her mind turned back to her own realm. She still worried about her mom, despite the continual text messages they sent. Was she still okay, still lonely? Would that business camp be sending her some letter or phone call saying that she had never arrived? And more importantly, she had to find a way home…and leave all this behind.
But no, she wouldn't allow herself to think about that. Right now, she was with a gorgeous gothy witch girl who thought the world of her. And she would live for this moment right now and be glad in it.
Amity had her own worries as well. She thought of her parents and how they still expected her to bring honor to the family name by joining a coven she no longer admired, of her now strained relationship with her mentor, Lilith, and about the fact that Luz would need to return to her own world eventually. Even more prevalent was the fear that something was truly stalking her in her dreams and that it might eventually catch and take her.
But she had no desire to dwell on these. She would focus on how wonderful it was to be next to Luz and how the weight of holding in her feelings had now been lifted, with satisfying results no less. She was still alive and she was happy, at least for this hallowed moment in time.