In the Human World:
Gamble
The Knee was cold and covered in snow, and the hour of night really didn't help that. Emira adjusted her fur hat and Edric tugged his gloves as if to make sure they would not slip off. They set their bags down on a flat rock nearby, and Edric leaned against that rock as they waited. Emira crossed her arms and watched the trees. The Knee was not unfamiliar territory, however they normally had more of an idea what they were planning to do here. Also, their last trip here had been more eventful than intended.
"I see something." Edric said, and Emira turned her head to find he was pointing behind them. Just above the trees two figures on staves were flying their way. Emira wasted no time once the elder witches landed, skipping pleasantries, and getting to the point.
"What do we need to do?" Emira asked, causing Eda to smirk.
"Someone's in a hurry." She remarked, elbowing Lilith who rolled her eyes at her sister.
"You made her miss a date." Edric chimed in and Eda laughed as Emira lightly shoved her brother. He grinned, clearly not bothered. "Why are we here though?"
"Well, I'm sure you remember when we faced the Slither Beast together?" Eda supplied, ignoring how Lilith looked at her curiously.
"How could we forget?" Emira answered.
"Yeah, that was terrible." Edric finished as he threw in an exaggerated shudder.
"We're facing it again." Eda told them happily and the twins exchanged a look that spoke volumes. "What? You don't think we can?"
"Why" Emira started as both twins locked eyes on Eda in particular.
"would we" Edric's expression was filled with disbelief.
"ever intentionally" Emira's tone held contempt.
"do that again?" Edric finished their statement with a note of curiosity.
"Please cut back on the creepy twin routine." Eda said wryly, but the twins just continued to stare.
"We have located another portal, however in order to attain it we must trade something rare and valuable." Lilith began to explain, and the twins' gold eyes shifted silently to the former coven leader. She was more experienced with the twins' behavior, having been around the Blight family more often than Eda. "The Wizard who has the portal will give it to us, in exchange for a young Slither Beast."
"How young?" Emira asked, looking at Lilith with clear suspicion.
"We have to kill a Slither Beast?" Edric chirped, clearly looking doubtful of this venture.
"We need the thing alive." Eda said, stressing the last word.
"And as young as we can find, a baby if possible." Lilith elaborated.
"Oh, well that sounds easy." Emira mocked. "We just need to subdue a large, protective, adult Slither Beast without letting it's baby escape and while capturing it alive."
"Say Em, I think we should call in an expert." Edric said this quietly, but all three heard him clearly.
"Even if we do call her, I don't think she's going to jump at the chance to hunt a baby Slither Beast." Emira and Edric eyed each other. The male twin swiftly dissolved into giving his sister a look like a wounded puppy. Eda and Lilith silently observed the stare off, until Emira's shoulders sagged and she sighed heavily. "I'll call her, but I can't promise anything."
"You can charm her; I believe in you!" Edric cheered and Emira huffed before stalking away. She only summoned her scroll once she was out of earshot of the other three.
"Who is she calling, kid?" Eda asked.
"Her girlfriend is in the beast keeping track." Edric said and Eda gave a short laugh.
"Well, that's convenient."
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It felt like the last two days of shifts had been abnormally long. Camila Noceda was very tired, but her head was simply too filled with thoughts to really find rest. She parked her car and simply watched the world around it for a few moments. She still was not sure what to do with the information she had recently learned but she knew that she had to decide on some course of action. She had just climbed out of the car when Luz came practically barreling down the street on her bicycle skidding to a stop near her mother's car. The teen smiled happily even with the early hour at her mother and Camila could not resist returning that smile.
"Mommy Señora Cortez paid me today!" Luz smiled proudly and started fishing in her pocket with the intent of offering the money to her mother. Camila reached out to still her daughter's hand and then ruffled her hair.
"Keep it Cariño, we're doing fine."
"But you said . . ."
"It's fine Cariño, I took a few extra shifts and there's nothing to worry about." She gave her daughter a playful, if tired, smile and nodded toward the house. "Maybe you should take Amity to go do something after school."
"Really? You're sure?"
"You two should go have some fun cariño."
Once they entered the house, they each split into their morning routines. Luz and Amity got ready for school; Camila fed King then began to wind down from her workday over breakfast with the girls. Later Camila watched until the girls turned the corner on their walk to school, before going back inside the house. She knew she should get to bed; she had worked a twelve hour shift last night, but her mind was still full of questions and unexpected information. With a tired expression she noticed King on the couch with one of his plush squeaky toys and smiled slightly.
"Ven aquí, bebé. (Come here, baby.)" Camila scooped the little creature up, cradling him on his back in one arm and scratching his belly with her free hand. King made a weird squeak before relaxing into her arm. "At least I understand you." She commented, moving her hand to scratch his chin.
"I know you can't tell me the things I need to know, bebé, but I just need someone to listen." King wiggled, until he could climb from Camila's arms to settle in her lap and curl up. She smiled a little more fully, petting him as she began to speak out her thoughts. "I know they lied to me, and I now know they were not at camp this summer." She could have sworn King twitched, but she just patted him in a soothing manner. "As a concerned mother I'm worried, and angry that they lied to me. . ." She shook her head and sighed. "They looked so happy in those images though, Luz looked so happy in those images. Wherever she was, she clearly made real connections which has never come easily to her."
"Some of those pictures though, there were several things I can't explain. ¿En qué se ha metido mi chica? (What has my girl gotten herself into?)"
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Emira woke up to Edric poking her shoulder just after sunrise. She slapped at his hand and tried to roll away from him, but that was when the cold air leaking into the tent sunk into her. Emira groaned and did her best to burrow into her sleeping bag, and Edric again poked at the lump where his twins' shoulder was.
"What?" Emira murmured and heard a chuckle.
"Breakfast." Edric said and she felt him stand and move away. "Oh, and Viney is outside."
Edric did not wait for an answer after that, he slipped out and made sure the flap of the tent was closed. Emira seriously debated staying in the tent to spite her brother, she was not as cheerful as he was this morning. Honestly, it was mostly the smell of food cooking on a campfire that urged Emira to crawl out of the sleeping bag and get ready. It was the fact that Viney was present that made it impossible for her to consider leaving the tent without looking properly put together. Not that she thought Viney would think less of her, she just had no intent of facing a potential girlfriend looking like death warmed over.
"Hurry up, girl twin!" Eda yelled and Emira rolled her eyes. "Your girlfriend brought food!"
"We're not. . . I mean. . ." Viney's voice sounded extremely embarrassed.
"Yeah, yeah kid, not girlfriends. Whatever you say." Eda dismissed whatever Viney had tried to say and Emira distinctly heard Edric laughing.
"Really Edalyn? Must you tease them so crassly?" That sounded like Lilith.
"Must you be such a stick in the mud, Lilly?" Eda replied in what seemed to be an attempt at copying Lilith's voice.
"There she is!" Edric cried happily as Emira emerged from the tent and gave a practiced smile.
"Uh, hi." Viney gave a shy wave from where she sat leaning into Puddle's side. Edric walked over, handed Emira a plate of food and a fork, and sneakily nudged her toward the green-eyed witch. Emira walked over and settled down next to Viney, leaning against Puddle's warm side as well.
"Hi." Emira whispered and they smiled at each other. "Thank you for coming to help."
"Oh, I still think this whole idea is crazy, but I wouldn't let you face a Slither Beast without help." Viney grinned at her.
"What are we, chopped liver?" Eda asked.
"Currently?" Edric shot back and the teens shared a laugh that seemed to bleed away any remaining tension.
"So, you know what we are here to accomplish?" Lilith asked Viney.
"You want to find and nab a baby Slither Beast to trade to someone for a favor." Viney responded, leaning to the side so that she could rest her head on Emira's shoulder. "And, you realize, you're going to need help transporting it, don't you?"
"Are they that large?" Lilith asked and Viney smiled.
"It's not about size. Have you ever dealt with an angry Slither Beast?" When Viney asked that Edric paled, Emira stiffened, and Eda grinned.
"Some of us have?" Eda replied, slapping Lilith's shoulder. "Lilly, not so much."
"We can't just try to sneak past it while it sleeps?" Edric asked and Viney sat up straight again and fixed her eyes on Edric.
"Actually, Slither Beasts hardly sleep for the first year of their offspring's life. According to the textbooks they hold up in a den, leaving very rarely to get food or deal with threats. I'm not sure how we're going to find it's den."
"Oh, we probably have that covered, right twins?" Eda asked and both Blight twins shivered slightly. "So, Beast Keeper, could a sleep spell still work on the Slither Beast?"
"It should, but probably not for as long. How are you thinking of doing this?"
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The plan was stupidly simple. Basically, Eda wanted to do almost the same thing Amity and Luz had done to save herself and the twins before. They located the cave to which the slither beast had taken them and found that it was indeed where the beast was laired with its offspring. It was agreed that Eda would lead the slither beast away with Edric and Lilith following. They would attempt to use a sleep spell cast by Edric to subdue the adult slither beast and allow them to escape. As soon as the adult slither beast began to chase those three, Viney and Emira would sneak into the den and capture the baby slither beast. They decided to keep the plan simple so that they could adapt quickly if needed. The girls watched the large beast plow through the snow-covered landscape after the other three and exchanged a nervous look.
"Well let's get this done." Viney said, and they began to creep into the beast's den. They were careful because though the textbooks said the slither beasts raise their young alone, they were still worried another could be nearby. "How did they even know there was a baby?"
"They didn't tell us, and Ed and I were more focused on getting Amity back." Emira whispered in reply as they looked around. They heard movement and when they looked toward it, they found a slither beast the size of a large cat. "It's so tiny!" Emira gushed, smiling at the adorable little beast.
"Don't forget that even tiny ones are pretty strong." Viney reminded Emira.
"Right, need to focus." Emira agreed. She watched the other teen pull some of what appeared to be treats from a pouch and offer them to the tiny slither beast. The little creature looked nervous until it caught the scent of the offered treat. Soon the little creature was cradled in Viney's arms enjoying another treat. "Wow, you really have a way with beasts, don't you?"
"I like to think so." Viney agreed with a proud smile.
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Edric hated everything about this quest, why couldn't they need a bat? Eda had slipped earlier and instead of letting her get grabbed he had jumped out to attract the beast's attention. The problem: Neither Eda nor Lilith could currently cast a sleep spell, so he was now running from the giant, angry beast himself. He could not cast the sleep spell while it chased him, he needed long enough to draw the circle, and right now he was barely keeping out of arms reach. The snow crunched under his boots, and he vaulted over a fallen log, as he ran toward a nearby set of ruins. He hoped Eda and Lilith were following, but after Eda's "eat the twins" comment last time he was not sure.
Edric saw a snowy hill and made for it. Instead of running down the hill he threw himself to the snow and rolled down the steep decline, not caring that snow was sticking to everything or that he lost his earmuffs. The world, from his view, became a blur of spinning scenery as he rolled. When he stopped, though he was very dizzy, he lurched to his feet and started stumbling away as fast as he could. He basically ended up on all fours but kept moving. He could not miss the sound of something large behind him.
"Never again." He muttered to himself as he moved. "Never, never, never again."
"There he is, Puddles!" Edric suddenly heard Viney's voice, but he really was not sure from where. He was jerked to a stop soon after though, well sort of. He was grabbed and jerked up into the sky and out of the reach of the angry beast below. Edric felt his stomach lurch and groaned, the world was still spinning and the sudden change in altitude did not help.
"Ed, you okay?" That was definitely Emira's voice, and Edric realized he was being carried by Puddles. The griffin's claws were surprisingly gentle as they cradled him and slowly the spinning was starting to calm down. "Ed?"
"Good!" He yelled back, his voice cracking slightly. "All good!"
"Hang on down there! Going to head back to Eda and Lilith!" Viney called out to warn him, before Puddles began to make a wide turn to the left. Edric shut his eyes and held his stomach through the rest of the short ride. They swooped down, and Puddles dropped Edric over a deep snowbank, before landing near the older witches. Emira slipped down from the griffin's back and jogged over to help her brother out of the snow.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Emira started dusting snow off her brother's shoulders and out of his hair as he brushed more from the front and sleeves of his jacket.
"That was crazy." Edric told her, giving her one of his wide eyed, surprised looks. Emira smiled, it was clear he wasn't hurt if he was already starting to play the joker again. "Did you get it?"
"Yeah, the little one was literally eating out of Viney's hands." Emira hugged her brother with a laugh. "You did not stick to the plan."
"Had to save the old lady." Edric told her as they started walking closer to the others.
"I heard that kid." Eda glared at him but there was no real malice in the expression. "That was brave but stupid. I see why Luz likes all of you."
"So, how are we doing this?" Viney asked, and everyone turned to look at her. She had the small Slither Beast in a baby carrier strapped to her chest, as it munched on something she had given it. Edric blinked in surprise.
"Wow, it really likes you." He commented, awe filling his voice.
"We really can do the rest on our own." Eda moved to approach Viney and the baby Slither Beast made a weird hissing sound. Viney quickly soothed the little creature and the adult witches shared a defeated look. "Alright, group trip it is then. Glad you won so many snails Lilly, we're gonna need more than one room this time."
"We have our staves but the trip there will take at least a day by air." Lilith informed them.
"Emira and Edric can ride with me and Puddles." Viney said cheerfully.
"And the griffin will be able to carry all of you?" Lilith eyed the young griffin, who was pouncing on what appeared to be a dead leaf nearby.
"Oh yeah, no sweat. Puddles is a champ!"
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If you were a Plant Track student the green houses of Hexside were like a second home, a place one could relax and work away their stress. Work away their worries. Willow Park may have been fairly new to the track, but she showed so much talent with plants that she had nearly half a greenhouse dedicated to her personal projects. Willow hummed happily to herself as she carefully pruned the fire lilacs in the back corner of the green house. This was very much Willow's home away from home, where she could feel safe, in control, secure.
"Willow! There you are!" She jumped slightly, turning to see two familiar upper classmen approaching. Two of the Duel Track students in fact. Jerbo, who'd spoken, was the first to reach Willow followed by Barcus a minute or two later. Jerbo offered her a shy smile. "Hey Willow. Glad we caught you before you left." Barcus made a few bark and growl sounds. "Right Barcus. We're hoping we can go with you today."
"Go with me where?" Willow's voice was a bit higher pitched than normal and she nearly winced as she heard it.
"To see Luz." Jerbo's reply was accompanied by Barcus barking his agreement. "We thought we'd take her make up assignments to her, but the teacher said you've been picking it up every day. So, do you want any help with these plants before we go?"
"Oh, no, no it's fine. I'm almost done, why don't you two wait outside. I just need to call my parents and clean up, then we can go." She gave them both a smile and Jerbo was quick to agree. As soon as he and Barcus were out, with the door shut behind them, she summoned her scroll. Since they could still see her Willow forced herself to keep smiling as she brought up a video call. The person she called did not get a chance to greet her when their image appeared on the screen. "Jerbo and Barcus are coming with me to the house today, I'll stall as long as I can, but they are convinced they'll see Luz."
"Stall!" The call ended quickly, and Willow glanced about for as many small things to do as possible before they left.
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Willow distracted Jerbo with conversation about as many of the plants along the path as she could. Because Jerbo was both Plant and Abomination track, Willow had a unique understanding of him out of all the Duel Track students. Barcus patiently followed them, waiting for them each time Willow pulled Jerbo aside to discuss another tree, bush, or flower. Willow could not be certain, but the walk to the Owl House seemed to take twice as long as it normally would. Eventually though, they entered the clearing in which the house rested, and Hooty immediately elongated toward them. Willow did not miss that Jerbo and Barcus both shuddered slightly watching the house demon curl out in a seemingly endless, brown, tube of whatever made up his form.
"Oh, we have guuesssttttsss." Hooty said as he brought his face close to Jerbo and eyed him closely. "You've only been here once, are you sure you're allowed? Eda doesn't like trespassers, you know."
"Hooty, they're fine, I promise." Willow assured him, and the house demon moved to sort of nuzzle Willow's hair. She bit her lip and patted the demon's head when he backed off, she was mostly used to his antics. "So, can we see Luz?"
"You'll have to ask Eda, come in." Hooty retracted, and when he was back in his resting spot in the door it swung backward to admit them. They passed him as they entered the living room, Jerbo and Barcus only for the second time, and Willow with the familiarity of a regular visitor.
"Eda?" Willow called as Hooty shut the door behind the three again. The young witch did not know what she was expecting, but it certainly was not to have Eda herself walk into the living room with a measuring look.
"Hey kid, brought Luz her class work again?" The gray-haired witch crossed her arms and eyed them. "I don't think she's up to visitors, been asleep or vomiting all day. Ghastly sight, really gross."
"Are, uh, you okay?" Jerbo asked, sounding concerned. "You sound a little different."
"I feel like . . . Ya know what kid, never mind." Eda waved off the question. "If you want go up and say hello but don't wake her if she's asleep. Oh, and don't get too close." Her last remark caused Barcus to make a few enquiring sounds.
"Uh, Barcus asked what is too close and why?" Jerbo translated.
"Well earlier she projectile vomited on me, and now my voice sounds like this." She quirked a weird grin at the three. "As for how far, well I haven't figured out yet just how far the vomit can fly."
"Uh, maybe we'll just say hello from the door?" Jerbo looked at Barcus who made an affirmative sound. Willow laughed uneasily and led the way up the stairs to the storage room Luz used as a bedroom. It was somehow simultaneously a shorter, and longer walk than it normally would be.
"Okay, here we are, uh just wait for me to see if Luz is awake and, uh, presentable." Willow said and the boys nodded, looking genuinely scared after the conversation with Eda. She knocked lightly on the door, hearing a groan in response. Willow closed her green eyes, sent a silent prayer to the Titan, and then cracked the door enough to look around the doorway. Inside the room was what appeared to be a sick Luz, eyes half open and her skin almost grayer than brown. She was laying on her sleeping bag in the clothes she wore when she helped Eda at the stand, and there seemed to be a couple weird stains on the shirt. Willow grimaced, honestly to her Luz looked as if she were half dead. "He. . . Hey Luz. Uh, Jerbo and Barcus are here?" Another groan was the only answer.
"Is she okay?" Jerbo asked as Willow turned back to the boys with a shaky smile.
"Oh, she's been this way. It's a human, uh, illness. Just has to run its course." Willow pushed the door fully so the two boys could come stand at the door to say hello. Jerbo visibly paled, and Barcus shuddered at the sight.
"Hey Luz." Jerbo said, and Barcus woofed softly. Luz groaned, head lulling to look roughly in their direction. "Uh, we just wanted to uh, see you and. . . And uh, wish you well?"
"Luz, are you. . ?" She wasn't able to finish, Luz groaned loudly and mumbled something that sounded like 'gonna'. The boys bolted for the stairs, and Willow yanked the door shut swiftly. The sounds of retching were loud, and sickeningly wet. Willow grimaced again as she followed the boys at a slower pace. When she made it to the bottom of the stairs Eda was silently watching Jerbo stutter out some kind of apology, crossed with a farewell. Barcus and Jerbo shifted attention to Willow for a few moments, ensuring she didn't wish to leave with them, before they hurriedly departed the Owl House.
"That was fun." Eda said, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
"I'm the greatest, I'm the best." Gus sang as he came down the stairs. Willow turned to watch her friend, smiling indulgently as he did a victory dance at the bottom. "Uh huh, oh yeah!" She giggled as he basically moonwalked.
"Luz looked like she was about to die." She told him and he laughed.
"Well I mean, I wanted them to get scared off quickly." Gus shrugged. "Can you think of a better way?"
"I think Eda's fang was on the wrong side." Willow said this and sighed.
"Well, always room to improve. You know that voice could have been so much better if I knew how the twins made Mittens 2.0." He saw Willow roll her eyes and crossed his arms. "Admit it, having a Luz 2.0 would make this all a lot easier."
"Gus. . ."
"How much magical energy do you think they use to maintain her?" Gus was clearly back to fanboying over the advanced illusion clone.
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Since it was a Friday evening today was the start of the weekend for all the students at Luz's school. After getting home Luz and Amity quietly deposited their schoolbags in the living room and located King. The three of them departed again with Luz excitedly leading the way. She had decided to introduce her two friends to one of her favorite human world treats, ice-cream. The walk to the nearest ice-cream shop was not far and other than a few strange looks and questions about King's appearance nothing of note happened on the way to the shop. They ordered some ice-cream; a cup of chocolate for Amity, a scoop of vanilla for King, and a cup of mint chip for Luz, and found a table with their treats. King for his part did not seem to care that he had to sit on the floor by the outdoor table with his little cup of ice-cream, instead he just happily licked at his treat.
"This is really good." Amity praised the treat with a smile.
"Want to try some of mine?" Luz offered, scooping a spoonful, and offering her spoon to the other teen. Amity paused, eyed the spoon, then eyed Luz, before taking the spoon and trying the mint chip ice-cream. She mumbled happily about the flavor as she passed Luz's plastic spoon back to her. Both girls were blushing slightly, though neither noticed the other was also blushing.
"Yup, really good." Amity mumbled again, a shy smile on her face.
"I still can't believe they don't have ice-cream on the Isles."
"You said it was made from cow's milk?" Amity smirked. "I don't believe we have cows."
"Oh, I guess that would make it hard. They make special ice-cream for those who are lactose intolerant out of something else but I'm not sure what they use." Luz informed her before they were interrupted by a tall blonde jock.
"Oh, it's Amity and . . ." He squinted his blue eyes at Luz. "Nosensa?"
"Noceda, Luz Noceda." Amity corrected before Luz had even considered it. The green-haired teen gave the boy a cold look.
"Did you need something?" Luz asked, giving the boy a friendly smile even though she did not welcome his presence.
"From you?" He gave her a very dismissive look. "Naw." Someone nearby chuckled and Luz's brown eyes caught Amity's hand twitching before the teen witch fisted it. The boy's eyes caught on King and took a small step back before looking at Luz again. "Where the heck did you find that thing? That is the ugliest dog I have ever seen!"
"King is not ugly." Luz said. Though she was generally a happy person, her voice shook a bit with her attempt not to sound angry. She could not exactly blurt out he's the King of Demons at some random human teen.
"Here's an idea, why don't you leave us alone?" Amity said, and somehow her tone reminded Luz of back when they first met. She looked over, and Amity's eyes were half lidded, her face expressionless but somehow calculating, as it used to be when she walked the Hexside halls with Boscha and her gang. She had not seen this side of Amity since they ended up in the Human World, but it looked like the jock had rubbed Amity the wrong way.
"Hey, sweet thing, I just want to be friends." He said and his full attention was now on Amity. "I mean, I don't know if you realize, but your girlfriend is kind of a social outcast." He jerked a thumb to indicate Luz who silently ground her teeth. "Even if you bat for the same team as me, I could introduce you to some much hotter girls."
"If I what?" Amity's tone was ice cold now and Luz felt like laughing and cringing at the same time. There was no way Amity understood what that saying meant, and yet she still clearly was rejecting the idea. "Listen, Tad."
"Todd." He said in a voice that sounded slightly insulted. Amity did not soften in the slightest, she looked at him in a dismissive manner and shrugged.
"I thought I had made this clear before, I have no interest in talking to or befriending you." Her gold eyes shifted briefly to Luz, seeming to check on her reaction to this conversation, before looking at the boy again. "The only thing I want from you is for you to leave my girlfriend and I alone."
"Hey I'm. . ." Whatever he was going to say cut off with a yelp as he stumbled backward from their table shaking one leg. Luz's eyes widened in surprise as she processed what just happened, and watched Todd walk away cursing with one pant leg wet. Amity and Luz both looked under the table to find a very self-satisfied King and a small puddle of urine that had not ended up on Todd's shoe and pant leg.
"That was so wrong, King." Luz whispered but she was fighting a smile. Amity on the other hand was coughing to try to hide her laugh. Amity's cough was not convincing, and it was causing Luz to have a really hard time not smiling. "We should probably go. Like, now."
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