AU
Thanks to the artist Moringmarkugh, whose AU "Witches among Humans" led to the creation of this story.
The Mall. The meeting point for the city's teenagers. A space where, on Friday afternoons, everyone is governed by the same principle: survival of the fittest. Eat or be eaten. Look around. Near the main fountain, at the epicenter of this dynamic, are the school's Rugby team who, led by Boscha, enjoy being at the top of the food chain.
From there, moving towards the periphery, we can appreciate the different species of teenagers interacting in their habitats. The Chemistry club at the soda fountain making strange combinations of drinks. The Robotics club at the Best-Seller shelves, looking for a book in the Science Fiction section. The Symphonic at the music store listening to some singles and talking about artists. The Veterinary Club and the Nursing Club in the arcade, competing fiercely to see who will stay in the east wing of the place (where the best video games are). Far away from the center, at the soda fountain (a neutral zone where teenagers, regardless of species, coexist in order to get food and rest), you can find those from the Film, Herbalism, Carpentry and Magic clubs, drinking milkshakes and eating hamburgers. Thus, every Friday afternoon, this vast ecosystem develops.
If you pay attention, you can see how the girls of the Rugby team, while drinking some cold drinks, watch cautiously around them looking for the right prey to be the object of their mockery and thus reaffirm their position in the hierarchy. But now the question is, which poor creature will fall under their sharp claws?
To their misfortune, a small band of nomads passes close to the athletes' range of vision. This odd group of four teenagers is made up of a quirky combination of clubs. A small, effusive young man from the Magic club, wearing a dark T-shirt and light blue shorts. To his right, a member of the Herbalism club, a giggling girl with short hair and a long wheat-colored trench coat chats with him. Slightly behind them, a white girl in a pink dress and sea-foam green hair, belonging to the Robotics club, laughs elegantly at what the young man is saying. Holding hands with the pale girl, wearing a grayish, thin cloth jacket over a striped T-shirt and a baggy brown beanie that covers part of her ears, is the girl who has been chosen as Boscha's prey. The poor creature's name?
―Luz! ―shouted Amity with her face painted red―. Is she really going to be the one holding my hand? It's not that I dislike the idea of us holding hands, in fact I like it, I mean, I hate it! After all, who would like a sweet girl like her holding her hand and intertwining their fingers, walking tenderly in the moonlight and heading to the top of a hill where...?
The little witch, aware of what she had just said, kept an awkward silence and remained that way completely blushing. The confused girl with blue hair and a purple dress looked at her strangely for a few seconds.
―Amity... do you want me to continue reading you my fanfiction and act as if you never said the above? ―she asked her.
―Please ―replied the reddened and embarrassed witch quickly.
The girl then proceeded to search through the sheets in her hands. "Very well, here we had stayed," she remarked and then continued reading:
―Come on, Luz, tell me you're not like Willow. I know you loved my trick with the bucket ―says the short young man.
But before she can answer, the Rugby team is already in action. The group's path is interrupted by the bullying team and, with a vain walk, Boscha approaches her prey while calmly drinking from her soda.
―Well, Luz ―says the pink-haired girl indifferently―. I didn't see you at school today, did you were cutting class?
―No, Boscha ―she replies―. I had an... emergency to attend to.
―And what could that urgency have been about, Luz? It's not that I don't believe you, in fact, I'm interested in you ―she mentions with a fake smile.
―Let's go, Luz, don't play her game ―says the girl with the wild greenish hair.
But Luz, instead of listening to her, looks at Boscha straight in the eyes with a firm gaze and answers:
―Sorry Boscha, I know how much you like to meddle in everyone's lives, but this is none of your business.
As soon as she finishes speaking, she tells her friends:
―Let's get out of here, Amity ―She takes the girl's hand again―. Willow, Gus, let's go to the arcade.
The group, with their heads held high, surrounds the Rugby team that is blocking their way and continues on. But Boscha decides not to leave it like that. She is offended by how Luz embarrassed her by putting a stop to her trickery with those last words and, worst of all, in front of the school students who had been watching them attentively. So, once she has Luz in front of her, she uncaps her beverage and throws it behind her back.
―Oops, sorry ―she says grinning mischievously.
At that moment Luz could have responded in any way; she could have easily taken revenge. But she knows it is not the right thing to do. She must not abuse her magic against weak humans. And, to tell the truth, even if it is Boscha, she feels pity for them.
Before she can react to this, Luz notices a tiny, sparkling bundle of magic in the distance, near the soda fountain. She quickly deduces what it means. «Time to act» she thinks. The girl, then, runs off, heading for the Mall's restrooms. She leaves everything behind. Her friends. The teenagers who stare in shock at the scene. Amity angrily complaining to Boscha: "I hope you'll be happy now". She even leaves behind Boscha, who mocks incessantly. That's right, go cry, you freak! She leaves everything behind because none of that is a priority at the moment. Now the only thing that matters to her is one thing: finding a place to hide to transform into the Witch.
Amity tries to follow Luz, but when she enters the bathrooms, there is no one there. Where did she go? the teenager wonders worried. But a few moments later, a huge roar calls her attention. Meanwhile, in the soda fountain, the small spark of magic grows in size, until it forms an enormous magical portal from which a big and threatening creature comes out. Willow and Gus, watching it, understand why Luz ran away. They know that soon the Witch will appear. And, indeed, that happens.
The teenagers in the mall run and scream in fear everywhere. Some others, however, point to the town's heroine, the mysterious, pointy-eared woman wearing a costume with a navy-blue cape covering the lower half of her face. With her wooden staff in hand, the Witch appears on the scene.
«The Slitherbeast!» Luz says to herself with surprise. She remembers at that moment that the creature can easily be controlled by putting it to sleep. There is only one problem. «I have never been able to cast a sleep spell of such magnitude, the one I cast will not be enough to stop it. There must be another way».
The Slitherbeast, with a hoarse roar, raises one of its limbs to launch a ferocious blow at the teenagers who were roaming the dining room tables. But the Witch nimbly conjures a spell that causes three large sheaths to appear, which wrap around the Slitherbeast's leg, stopping the attack. Unfortunately, that doesn't last for long. The creature breaks the plants. Luz now forms a large wall of thick ice around the animal, giving people enough time to escape. It is not long after the area has been cleared when the wall finally yields.
The animal tries to reach a person, but the Witch casts an illusion spell that creates several copies of her, which helps her to keep the creature busy. Once the Slitherbeast is distracted, Luz flies her staff straight at it and, prostrating herself on its head, tries to test an idea. «Perhaps it is not necessary to conjure such a large sleep spell. Perhaps only one that embraces what I'm interested in sleeping is necessary."
So, already on top of the creature, the young woman painstakingly creates a spell that encircles the animal's head. However, this not only doesn't work, but also disturbs it even more. The Slitherbeast then delivers a huge blow to the Witch, who is thrown into the wall.
Confused, the animal starts running in random directions and hits whatever is in front of it. Several things are destroyed. But when one of the blows collapses a pillar supporting part of the second floor of the mall, everything gets worse. The floor of that level crumbles, threatening to fall on a group of teenagers. Luz, who is just waking up from the blow she received, manages to perceive this and, invoking an abomination, stops all the debris. While she struggles to get the abomination to keep everyone safe, Willow and Gus assist her by evacuating people from the site.
Once the work of her friends is finished, the young witch is relieved, but soon realizes that she doesn't have to be. Amity, who, worried about not knowing where Luz was, had been looking for her, is spotted by the Slitherbeast. The animal, then, quickly rams towards her.
«Amity!»
―Gun it, magic stick!
Amity, petrified by the image of the fierce beast moving against her, closes her eyes. But a few meters before the creature impacts with her, our heroine appears, interposing herself between them and conjuring, with all her effort, a formidable halo of light that completely wraps the Slitherbeast. In a matter of seconds, it falls asleep.
Finally, with the creature under control, Luz calmly approaches it and, with a slow reduction spell, dwarfs the animal.
―That's right. Easy, my friend ―she says while placing the tiny, docile beast in a glass jar that pops up in her hands―. You'll stay with me until I find a way for us to return to the Boiling Isles.
The people applaud with joy. The Witch has done it again. She has saved everyone! And, as usual now, just as suddenly as she appeared, flies away.
A few minutes later, Luz returns to the mall again in her human costume. As soon as Amity sees her, she runs towards her. The witch doesn't manage to say a single word when the girl rushes at her, squeezing her tightly in a long hug.
―I was very worried about you, Luz ―says Amity in an anguished voice.
The young witch smiles. She hugs her back.
That demonstration of sincere affection ends, finally, with a tender kiss between the two girls. Fortunately, everything went well once again. Willow and Gus arrive with the couple, jovial, talking about how intense the experience was. The girls listen to them happily, hugging each other.
Luz, the Witch, wants to keep that memory forever. She is not at home. She is not even in her world. But being there, with her friends, with Amity, she realizes that maybe it wasn't so bad to end on Earth in the first place.
―Well? ―asked the young writer to the astonished witch―. I am not very sure about the writing. I'm also not sure how accurate it is to reality. I had to spend several days asking Luz hundreds of questions about the human world before I started writing it. But now that I've finished it, I don't know if I like the outcome. I mean, an alternate universe where you're all humans except for Luz, who is an experienced witch who protects your world from threats? I don't know, what do you think, Amity? I wanted to know your opinion because you're the person I know who reads the most.
The witch, still with a naive smile and an intense blush on her face, replied in a flimsy voice:
―For how many snails would you sell me your story?