Hello and welcome! I know, I know; been a minute since an update. To say I have a good excuse would be a lie. I procrastinated mainly, but was also finding it very hard to sit down and write after my trip to the hospital. Another chapter has been completed though, and the next one is actually already written, so you'll get it on time in a week or so. I planned the two chapters being one huge chapter, but it just got too big; over 18k words big. So, I found a place to split them. Plan to speed up my writing for the next "episode," but, well... you know how plans usually go. Anyways, you got a fairly big, somewhat eventful chapter ahead of you, but before I can let you dive into that, I have to explain some things I changed from the show as, without them, this chapter and the next might end up confusing you.
1. All characters under 18 have been aged up to 16. Luz, Amity, Willow, and Gus, for instance, are all 16. This is mainly because I plan on putting these characters through the wringer as the story goes on, and I didn't feel comfortable doing that to 14-year-olds. This rarely plays a role in this fic, but there are a few lines in the next chapter that might be confusing if I didn't mention it, so there's that.
2 (the big one). I've changed Convention quite a bit. You'll see my changes in the chapter itself, but just know it isn't 100% like it is in the show. Basically, I've made it a bigger deal as opposed to the lax job fair in canon.
Alright, I'll knock out reviews, then leave you to it. I do want to quickly thank you all for 100 follows, though. I know it probably doesn't mean much to you all, but if you sort by follows for this fandom, my fic is on the second page. And if you add OCs into that, it's on the first. Simply mind-boggling that so many people enjoy what I'm writing. Anyways...
My response to FullMetalJake: Welcome back! As I expressed last time, I'm really glad you're enjoying my fanfiction as much as you are. Glad you enjoyed the character interactions, and I'm twice as glad that you like the way I write Hooty; to say I feel confident about my interpretation on him would be a lie, which I've noticed a lot of other Owl House writers seem to feel. As for your feeling, though, I do have to say you're spot on. While shit does not hit the fan this chapter, I'll give a brief spoiler and say that it very much does next chapter. Consider this chapter an extension of the calm introduced in the last chapter.
My response to LightDusk16: Glad you noticed Luz and Oliver's bond has grown; I'm trying to portray a strong friendship forming, so at least I'm somewhat close to that. Yeah, I always found it a bit strange just how little Eda cared for her and her student's safety in season one. So, I tried to make her seem more cautious while also keeping the recklessness she naturally has. Hard task to do, believe me. I'm also happy to see you like my darker take on the Owl House. Let's be honest here, the Boiling Illes, if it were real, would be a very messed up place. And to be fair, it's messed up in the show, but that "messed-up-ness" is usually used for gags. I've tried to focus on the very real danger that is the Boiling Illes while trying to also keep the light-hardheartedness. Nothing of what I've written would represent that more than the way I'm interpreting Lilith. No spoilers here, but it's a whole lot different from the show. Anyways, I rambled for a bit; glad you liked the chapter!
My response to LostKagamiWitchInTheIsles: Yeah, I struggled with finding a way to fit in the discovery of glyphs. It has to be a Luz thing since it's central to her character, but no one has used glyphs since Belos came into power, and all of those people are dead. Which is why, just maybe, Luz will get a trail for a plot that is supposed to happen in season 2 that allows her to speak to a specific person from this bygone era. Maybe Oliver's involvement will cause this plot to happen far earlier than it's supposed to. But those are just maybe's, of course. Anyways, yeah, I'm starting to play around with canon more; changing things that need to be changed, and keeping things that don't need to be. And one thing I was very confident needed changing was Eda's entire attitude in season one. So I completely reworked the situation so that Eda was forced to take her job as a mentor a bit more seriously. She's still reckless of course, cause when is Eda not reckless? But unlike the show, she's realized that she has more than herself to worry about, especially when one of her students is slowly dying from a curse. I'm really happy you enjoyed Eda and King's interactions; it wasn't too hard to write them, but I wasn't sure if they were actually amusing. Glad to see they were. As for the spells, seems I did a bad job explaining yet again. The "change emotions" spell that Luz tried so desperately to get? The jacket absorbed that. That's why his jacket was making weird movements during that scene. As for the rest of your review, I'll let you find out in the next chapter who we end up seeing.
Whew, okay, that's over. The amount of people writing reviews grows with every day, and I even if I don't respond, I can guarantee I'm reading every word. But that's besides the point. I hope you all enjoy-
Chapter 12: Unveiling the Convention
Whispers. Oliver was hearing too many whispers. He tried his best to ignore them, but another one would always be clawing for his attention. He didn't bother to understand them, thinking they might go away if he pretended they weren't there. They didn't. He never experienced anything like this, not while having clear consciousness anyways; and clearly, going off of his group's faces, he was the only one to experience it. No one else paid the whispers a second glance, yet: Oliver was noticeably uncomfortable, his eyes darting around every once and a while. Am I going insane? he thought. A few moments later, the whispers answered back, a cacophony of Yes's filling his ears. They didn't stop, either, not until Oliver felt a grip on his shoulder.
For a moment, he thought he might've been transported back into his nightmare, imagining the figure with red eyes gripping onto his shoulder with the strength of an Ox. He turned to face the captured shoulder, his mind easing as he saw Luz staring back at him. Clearly, he wasn't doing a good job at hiding his experience because her eyes were filled with worry. A deep worry, one he had only seen before when he was uncontrollably sobbing into her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, quiet enough that the rest of the group wouldn't hear her; it seems she knew how much Oliver did not want that attention on him. "You're sweating, and..." She looked his body up and down before continuing. "You look like you saw a ghost."
Oliver took his hand up and removed Luz's from his shoulder. For the time being, the whispering had stopped. He knew how much she cared. Sure, it was irrational, especially since they had only met each other a few days prior, but she cared nonetheless. And he felt she didn't deserve to be in the dark any longer. But he couldn't tell her what was going on with him now. Not while everyone was around. "Yeah," he whispered back at her. "I'm fine. Just stuck on my nightmare, I guess."
As he returned to a comfortable distance away from her... Luz's face. He couldn't quite pinpoint the emotion. It was a strong mixture of guilt, worry, and sadness. But, it only lasted for a moment, a tiny smile spreading across her face. "Okay. If you say so."
The rest of the walk wasn't overly eventful. Chatter went between Gus, Willow, and Eda, mostly of them getting acquainted with each other, yet it never drifted back to the humans. Oliver didn't feel like talking, and Luz... judging by her face, she was deep in thought. Yet, as they approached Bonesburough, the boy tried his best to get back into his normal groove. The whispering had stopped, and for the time being, he felt almost normal, so he tried his best to reflect that.
His first instinct was to try and butt into the conversation that had long since ended, but then a thought crossed his mind. As he looked at Luz, of whom was having an intense staring contest with the ground, he thought back to how Gus and Willow knew where they were. Amity. He cringed as he remembered their last encounter with the witch. Ever since Amity berated Luz, she had been a shadow of her former self. Her energy was all but gone, her eyes were distant, and she seemed to constantly doubt herself. Today had been no exception, the girl having been stuck in her head since before Oliver had woken up. While the boy had no definitive proof that she was the cause of her change, he was confident that, if Luz and Amity were to meet again at the Covention, another berating was certain, and... he feared what that might do to her.
He slightly picked up his pace as an idea popped into his head, returning to a normal speed once he found himself next to Willow and Gus. He faced the latter. "So, uh, earlier you said that Amity told you where to find us." Now Oliver was looking at Willow. "Is she... is she going to be at this Covention thing?"
Willow nodded her head as she met the boy's gaze. "Oh yeah, 100%. Even though she helped two humans smuggle a spell, she's the top student at Hexside. Principal Bump will likely have her advertise the school." She scratched her chin, clearly trying to recall something. "And if I remember correctly, she wants to be in the Emperor's Coven too. So she's probably going to compete in the competition to see if she can get in early." She returned to facing straight ahead of her, her eyes locked onto Oliver's. "Why do you ask? I thought you two were on good terms."
He blinked a few times at the last part of her statement. "There's a competition?"
She squinted at him. "Yeah, there is..." Willow gestured at Eda, of whom was completely oblivious to the current conversation, leaning in towards Oliver. "I thought she explained the Covention to you?"
His eyes drifted to the floor, shrugging. "Well, her explanation was very brief-" He stopped himself and shook his head, trying to bring his mind back to the topic at hand. "That doesn't matter right now." He looked from side to side, cringing as his mind drifted back to her question. "Me and Amity are good, I think, but, uh-" He used his thumb to point back at the other human. "Her and Luz... we'll keep it simple and say they don't get along too well. A big fight happened that ended with them on really bad terms." He lowered his hand. "I have a feeling that, if they talk to each other again, it won't go too well." He reached back and scratched his neck, trying to find his way to the point of the conversation. "So, uh, if you could help me keep them away from each other, it'd mean a lot."
As she processed his words, Willow's eyes, just for a moment, became distant, her voice barely audible as she mumbled to herself. "And just when I thought she had changed..." She faced the human as if she hadn't said anything, nodding her head. "I know what it's like to not get along with Amity, so I'll try and help." She grabbed onto an otherwise clueless Gus and pulled him closer to the group, forcing him into the discussion. "I'll get Gus to help too."
He looked at Willow with a raised eyebrow. "What am I helping with?" he asked, clearly having not heard their conversation.
Willow patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about it; I'll fill you in once we're inside the Covention. " She looked forward, stopping in her tracks. "Speaking of."
Oliver was confused at first as to why she had stopped. But as he looked forward, he too halted. Before him stood a building, and like most of the structures in the Boiling Isles, he had to crane his head all the way back to see its full height. Compared to the intricate architecture of the otherwise simple-idea buildings such as Hexside or the library, it was nothing to brag about. Still, with human constructions being what Oliver saw as the norm, it was quite impressive. The main shape of the building was comparable to a cylinder on its side, half of it being in the ground, yellowish white in color. The group currently stood at the tail end of the cylinder, with windows and supports holding up the overhanging red roof staring back at them. A wide canopy with a red fabric as a roof stretched out from the building, acting as shade to the glass doors that led in. People of varying sizes and species poured out in front of the entrance, the majority of them patiently waiting in line.
Eda shook her head as she looked at the sight before her. "Welp, boys and girls-" She reached into her messy mane of hair and pulled out a green and yellow-spotted bandanna, the same one Oliver remembered seeing her wear the first time they met, and wrapped it around so it was covering her ears, tying the ends together under her chin. She then drew a circle in the air with the familiar yellow line following her finger. Once the line touched itself, a blue cloud appeared around Eda and, unexpectedly, the little demon on Luz's shoulders. It didn't take long at all for the cloud to dissipate, revealing quite a change to the both of them.
Eda's entire get-up was different excluding the bandanna; her hair had significantly reduced in length, now being more akin to a jagged ball attached to her scalp, with her outfit following suit. Her maroon dress had transformed into a vest of the same color. A deep red, mid-length-sleeved, buttoned shirt sat underneath it. She gained puffy light purple pants, with boots that stretched up to her knees. Meanwhile, King had become an entirely different creature, transforming from being fox-like... to just straight up being a fox, orange in color and all. His newfound ears were about as tall as his previous horns and his eyes remained the same color, but otherwise, he was barely recognizable.
Eda stepped out in front of the group, looking out towards what Oliver could only assume was the Covention with her hands on her hips. "-Welcome to Emperor Belos' prime source of propaganda," she finished her statement. She turned around, frowning as she saw the two humans still exposed ears. Her eyes drifted to the only human that was currently aware of his surroundings. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to remind you two to put your hoods on."
"Oh crap!" Oliver frantically reached back as she finished her sentence, pulling his hood over his head. "Sorry, I was just..." He pointed at Eda, looking her body up and down. "Processing that." He stuck his arm out at King. "How come you completely changed King's appearance, but only changed your clothes?"
Since Luz had yet to look from the ground, King gripped onto her hood and tugged it over her ears. "She only does this for heavily guarded places," he said; despite now having skin on the top of his head, his jaw still failed to move when he spoke. "Something about not recognizing the small details."
Eda snapped her fingers, pointing at the tiny demon. "Exactly." She reached back into her ball of hair and pulled out her wanted poster, unraveling it and pointing at the crude pictures. "When you look at these drawings, you don't see my beautiful face. You see my eloquent dress and my luscious locks."
King looked to the side, crossing his arms. "More like raggedy cloth and dirty maine."
Eda slumped down, her eyes furrowing at King. After a few moments of staring, she continued, surprisingly choosing not to retort. "If you change those features, I'm pretty much a different person to anyone who hasn't actually talked to me. Unfortunately, though, King is very... noticeable. So the easiest option is to change what he is entirely..." She rolled her eyes as the demon looked to the floor, his newfound eyebrows furrowed. "... Much to his dismay."
The demon shook his head. "It's unfair!" He gestured at her head. "The world doesn't get to observe my magnificent physique, but they get to observe your triange face?!"
Eda sighed. "Oh, quit your whinnining. Your body barely changes, anyways."
As she finished, Luz finally came back to reality, looking up at the group. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Eda. "What happened to your clothes?" she asked, taking a few steps back. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the tiny orange feet hanging off of her shoulders, her head turning back to look at King. "What happend to King?!"
King stuck his arms out to Luz, his eyes still locked onto Eda. "See? She doesn't even recognize that the King of Demons is on her shoulders!"
Eda smirked as she walked over to her confused student. She picked up King and set him on the ground. "Okay, maybe I change you just a bit."
Since no one had yet to answer Luz's question, Oliver walked back over to her. "Pretty sure it's Illusion Magic," hoping to put her confusion to ease. "It's surprising, but Eda wants to actually try and not be spotted for once."
The Owl Lady shrugged. "Hard to show you two the crooked system while running around, dodging guards."
Before anyone else could get a word out, Gus walked up to the group. "Hey, as much as I like hearing you guys ramble on about being-" He gulped as she thought of his next words, looking to the ground. "-W-wanted criminals..." He brought his head back up, gesturing at the crowd of people behind the group. "The line to get into the Covention is only getting bigger by the minute." Oliver turned back towards the line; Gus was right, a few more dozen people had been added onto the tail-end of the line since he had last looked.
Eda too turned to face the growing line, her shoulders slumping once she saw how many people there were. "Oh yeah, lines." She sighed as she walked up to the assortment of people, claiming the group's spot as the last to enter. "I usually just sneak into places, so I kind of forgot they existed." As her eyes passed a handful of guards standing by the entrance to the Covention, she turned to face the only two other witches in the group, sticking her index and middle finger out and jabbing it at them. "Yo two better not get any ideas about ratting us out."
Willow looked to the side, crossing her arms. "Oh yeah, sure. Me and Gus are just casually going to walk through one of the deadliest forests in the Boiling Iles, get two humans and the two most wanted creatures to have ever existed, and walk all the way back just so we can turn you into the guards. We'd totally never just tell them where you were." She turned her head to the Owl Lady, squinting at her. "As long as you aren't a mass murderer, I don't care about you being as wanted as you are."
Gus nodded his head. "Yeah, same. And besides-" He walked over behind the two humans, gripping onto their shoulders. "I'd never turn in a human. The amount of information I could get from them is countless!" Oliver side-eyed Gus when he realized he was talking about them less like a people and more like ancient artifacts, meanwhile Luz barely seemed aware of where she was. Gus's eyes drifted to Oliver's, causing him to jump as he realized how he was speaking. "Oh, a-and they're pretty cool people too! They don't deserve to be executed just because they're not witches!"
Since the other had gone back to staring off in space, only one of the human's eyes grew wide, Oliver turning to face Gus. "Wait, if we're caught, we're going to be executed?!"
Judging by his face, Gus only then realized how bad his sentence sounded. Thankfully for him though, Eda walked over to Gus, grabbed the young witch and pushed him back over next to Willow. She then rolled her eyes, turning to face the panicking human. "Calm down. That's the most common theory, but no one really knows. A human hasn't been seen on the Boiling Isles since before Emperor Belos came into rule."
That only barely calmed Oliver down. "What does the law state?" he asked.
Eda looked from side to side. "A bunch of vague crap. Guards will bring you to the Emperor, and he will apparently-" She brought her hands up and made air quotes. "-take care of it." As her arms went back to her sides, she saw that her explanation failed to ease the human's newfound worries. A tiny smirk spread across her face "Okay, fine. Let's say, in the one in a hindered chance that it's true, Belos does execute you when you're given to him." She pointed at herself. "I'd never let you two get captured, and if you somehow did, the first thing I'd do is break you out." She gained a smug smile, reaching out and patting Oliver's shoulder. "So just relax, kid. You got the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles on your side." She stared at him for a little longer, watching his worry slowly fade away, before spinning back around and facing the two other witches. "Alright, I haven't been to the Convention in 20 years, so I'm relying on you two to fill me in on anything that's changed."
Oliver was tempted to listen in on their conversation, but his mind couldn't help but be elsewhere, focused on a certain individual; Luz. Today was by far the most egregious example of her not being herself. He expected her to jump back with surprise over what Gus said. Or at least gain wide eyes at his statement. But she didn't even do that; he would be surprised if she actually heard anything of what he said. Something was very wrong with her, and while Oliver wasn't the type to pry, he was tired of speculating the cause of her behavior.
As Willow and Gus explained the Convention's changes to Eda, Oliver made his way over to the girl, of whom was back to staring at the floor, deep in thought. He stopped in front of her, determined to find out what was on her mind. "Luz?" he said, attempting to get her attention. She likely didn't hear him considering she had yet to look from the floor. He sighed before reaching down and grabbing onto her shoulder, lightly shaking it. "Luz," he repeated himself.
That seemed to snap Luz out of her trance. She looked up at the boy before a jolt of surprise washed through her, causing Oliver to naturally let go of her. "Oh, Oliver!" She looked around before realizing that it was just her and Oliver in the nearby vicinity. She turned back at him. "What's up?" she asked, almost as if she was acting normal.
Oliver smiled, looking to the side. "Well, you're always asking me if I'm okay, so it's about time I asked you." Luz squinted at him, causing Oliver to gain tired eyes. "What's going on Luz? You aren't acting right."
Luz held her squinting, using her hands to gesture at herself. "Me? I'm fine. Never better." She brought her hand up and began to yawn, covering her mouth as she did. "Just tired from staying up all night," she said, tears loosely in her eyes after the action. Something about her tone gave clear indication that she was lying. It sounded fake, hollow; like there was no passion behind the words she was letting out.
Oliver looked at her for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "Luz, you're about as bad as lying as I am." His sentence caused the girl's shoulders to slump down. He lightly shook his head, staring Luz in the eyes. "I know we haven't known each other for the longest time, but in the week or so we've been together, I think I was really starting to understand who you are." He looked to the floor and made his eyes distant, mimicking Luz's prior demeanor and pointing at himself. "And this slumped down, depressed look you've had these past few days?" He fixed his posture, his eyes gaining a hint of sympathy as he returned his gaze to her eyes. "It's not you, Luz. And it doesn't take a genius to figure that out." He balled up his fist and brought it to his chest. "So please, throw a guy a a bone and tell me what's up. I know how scary it can feel to share things that mess you up like this, but I'm only here to help."
Just for a moment, Oliver could see a thought flash through Luz's eyes. For a brief, minuscule second, he could tell she actually considered sharing what was on her mind. But just as fast as it arrived, it vanished. She brought her hand up and gripped onto her other arm, her eyes looking at everything but Oliver. "I'd love to tell you, but there isn't anything to tell." Her gaze finally returned to staring at Oliver's, the emotion behind them in complete contrast with the smile on her face. "I'm okay, Oliver. You don't need to worry about me."
Her blatant lie caused a frown to spread across Oliver's face. Is this… is this what she feels like when I lie to her? His eyes drifted slowly: first to her nose, then to her cheek, then to her shoulder, and finally ending on the ground. He knew why she wouldn't share, especially if he was right about what was causing her behavior. It was the same reason he didn't tell her about the whispers; in fact, she said it herself. You don't need to worry about me. That was exactly what Oliver thought every time he lied to the girl, and seeing his own ideology be played against him made him realize just how flawed it truly was. His eyes quickly darted back to Luz's, his mind not sure what to say. "It's Amity, right? What she said to you?" he eventually said, his final attempt to get through to Luz.
Luz's eyes grew wide at the mention of her name. She clearly wasn't expecting her to be brought. Judging by the expression sprawled across her face, Oliver could tell that Amity, at the very least, had a big role to play in Luz's current display. "I…" was all she was able to get out.
Oliver took this as his cue. He closed his eyes. "I know what she said was terrible, and I know she might've looked like she completely meant it, but I can guarantee you she didn't. She didn't understand the situation, and her emotions got the better of her." He chuckled as he thought back to his first encounter with Amity, or how she acted around Willow. "Seems to happen a lot for her." He took a long breath, opening his eyes and giving Luz a determined stare. "I can promise you that the second I talk to her, she'll apologize for what she said. I know that-"
"Oliver!" Luz said, cutting his ramble short. He was so focused on his words that he failed to see Luz had returned to staring at the ground, gripping onto her arm. "Please, just… drop it." A shiver went up his spine as he heard the words he said days prior. Luz's tone was far different from what his was when he said it, though. Oliver was almost aggressive, most certainly cold and uncaring. Luz, though, sounded timid and empty, her words barely a mumble. It was like she was using every fiber of her being to keep herself from telling him what was wrong.
Still, Oliver realized he had pried too far. His gaze drifted to the side. "Okay," he said plainly. He was trying so hard to be a good friend that, when he realized he only made Luz's mood worse by trying to help, it filled him with a stinging sadness. He shook his head, feeling like punching himself. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Luz directed her gaze back up at him, a tiny smile spread across her face. "Don't be," she said. She walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, gripping it a little. "You didn't do anything wrong." And with that, she walked past the boy, joining the group of witches (and King), of whom had failed to notice even a little of their conversation. Oliver let out a sigh of relief at her reassurance, then turned to join her.
Not much happened while the group waited in line. Ignoring King's constant complaints about how long it was taking and the occasional small talk, it was very uneventful. Oliver did note, though, that Luz appeared to be more herself when compared to just a few moments ago; she was rambling on to Willow and Gus about a pointless topic, a smile across her face while she tried to get to know them better.
Besides that, though, nothing really happened. That was until the group found themselves first in line. Before them stood two tall and unnaturally buff guards blocking off the entrance; Oliver could just barely make out what the glass door behind them blocked. In front of the guards was a strange device, surprisingly modern compared to the otherwise medieval setting of the Boiling Isles. Oliver best equated it to a metal detector you'd find in airports, that was if you ignored its wooden material and the pink, diamond-shaped crystal hanging off of the roof of the device. One of the guards made a gesture to come forward, their bird-like mask locked onto Oliver's face. "Please step forward," the guard's deep, gruff voice said when the boy failed to move. Oliver felt a jolt of surprise, not expecting to be chosen first; especially considering Eda was the one leading the group. But he did eventually comply, stepping up until he was inches away from the machine. "Step through the device," the guard said.
He looked at the machine, nodding his head. Without much thought, he raised his foot in preparation to begin walking. But before he could make a step, Eda rushed up next to him, gripping his shoulder and yanking him away from the machine. "Woah, hold on kid." She let go of him, looking to the guards while using her hand to point at the machine. "I've been on this boiling rock for 47 years and I've never seen a device like this. What are we about to walk through?"
The guard let out a sigh. "It is a device that scans for Illusionary spells, concealed magical devices, curses, or otherwise harmful, deceitful and malevolent forms of magic."
Oliver looked to the floor. Okay, so it's like a metal detector but for bad magic. He cringed when he realized the guard also included illusionary magic in the things it scans for, his head turning and locking onto Eda. "Uh... Eda?" was all he was able to get out, not wanting to reveal that she currently had an illusion spell cast onto her.
Eda furrowed her eyebrows, "Curses? What do you guys have against curses?"
You could feel the guard's annoyance pouring out of his voice with every word. "Some are contagious, some lead to the host transforming into a beast of horror. And even without that, they are simply outlawed from the convention, and I don't make the rules." The guard leaned a little forward when they finished their sentence, making another gesture this time for Eda to step forward. "Now please, either one of you step through the device. You and your group are holding up the line."
As Oliver turned to Eda, for just a fraction of a second, he could see Eda staring at him with a cringe. But the moment he processed it was the moment it was gone, the Owl Lady now sighing as she made her way next to the boy. She leaned down and into his ear. "Follow my lead," she whispered before moving her gaze toward the guards. "Alright, look. Here's the deal. Three people in my group have illusion spells cast onto them, including myself. Then there's-" She pointed at King, of whom stood next to Luz. "The fox-" She then, much to the boy's surprise, pointed at Oliver. "And the boy." Oliver was almost tempted to say something, but decided to keep his mouth shut, not wanting to ruin whatever scheme the elder witch was conducting. She looked to the ground, her mind likely searching for a reasonable excuse, before staring back at the guards. "You see, we were in a really bad house fire, and we all got some pretty bad burn wounds. If we didn't have the illusion spells on, you'd likely puke right now." It was likely unnoticeable to the guards, but Eda's words sounded hollow and empty compared to how she normally spoke. It seemed Oliver gained the ability to pick up on her lies.
Despite his face being completely obscured, Oliver could tell by his body language that the guard was squinting at her. "Mhm, likely story." He raised his hand up and gestured out to the city. "Either cast the illusion spell off and step through the device, or leave the line."
Oliver looked over to Eda, expecting to see some form of panic across her face. But, instead, he was met with a barely noticeable smirk. "You sure? I promise you you're not going to like it." When the guard continued to eye her down, she rolled her eyes, bringing one of her hands behind her back. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." She brought her unconcealed hand up and began to draw a spell circle, yet strangely, the hand she was covering also began to start a spell. The one the guards could see was tiny, thin, and blue, while the one she had hidden was thick and orange. Both of the hands completed their circles at the same time, a blue cloud suddenly appearing around Oliver's face, obscuring his vision. It had the same color as the one that covered Eda and King's bodies not too long ago. He quickly brought his hand up and blew away the smoke, his eyes quickly focusing back on Eda. Her newfound experience made his stomach churn. Her face... it wasn't a pleasant sight. Most of it was blood red, parts of her skin on the verge of peeling off. Half of her hair was gone, replaced with a burnt scalp. A section around her eyes looked like the skin was in the process of liquefying, some of it still in a drop-like pattern. To say the burn wounds were "pretty bad," as Eda put it, would not do the horror in front of him justice.
Oliver visibly saw the guard jump back at Eda's newfound appearance. They turned to face the boy, and even though he couldn't see himself, based on their reaction he could tell he was equally as disfigured. But the real icing on the cake was when an impatient King marched up to the group. He stopped next to Eda, looking up at her. "What's the holdup? I have looked in every corner, and, I can tell you, there is not a single goodie out-" He stopped himself, likely squinting at Eda's deformities. "What happened to your face?"
Oliver cringed, expecting that comment to be the end of their undercover operation. But instead, the guard had the most visceral reaction upon seeing whatever deformity Eda had put onto King, quickly bringing their hand up and covering their eyes. "Dear Titan! The Fox's Face!" they shouted, reaching over and covering their fellow guard's eyes. Going off of their reaction, Oliver expected to see the most hideous thing imaginable as he looked down at the tiny demon. But, much to his surprise, he was met with King's normal face; the top of his head was bone like always, the only thing missing being his horns. The rest of his body, though, still had the orange coat of a fox. The guard quickly shook his head, refusing to bring his hand down. "Please, recast the illusion spell! You can enter the Convention with it on!"
Eda's smirk grew tenfold, her deformed face turning to Oliver before giving him a wink. She raised her hand up and began drawing another spell circle, eyeing the horrified guards as she did. "Like I said, I warned you." When the circle was complete, another blue cloud appeared over Oliver's vision. It quickly dissipated though, revealing an average Eda and a fox King. Eda brought her hand down to her hip, staring at the guard as he slowly lowered his hand from his eyes. "I'm assuming I can enter now?" The guard quickly nodded. "Good," Eda said as she stepped through the device. The pink crystal hanging from the machine's roof began flashing rapidly as she passed through it, only stopping once she was no longer inside of it; it likely detected not only the illusion spell, but also her curse. She then turned around, gesturing for King to follow in her footsteps. He quickly did, the machine having the same response.
That left only Oliver. He didn't hesitate to step through the machine, not even entirely sure why Eda put the illusion spell on him to begin with. Yet, much to his surprise, as he took his first step in, the pink crystal began to flash. The boy stared at the crystal with wide eyes as he exited the machine, his mind beyond confused. Why did it...?
Almost like she was reading his thoughts, Eda bent down and leaned close to Oliver's ear, patting his shoulder. "I was pretty confident it would go off." She flicked his jacket. "It's cause of your coat. Belos considers sentient fabric a form of 'malevolent' magic," she whispered to him. Yet, even though he had no reason not to believe her, something threw him off. Her tone... it was the same Luz had a few moments ago, and it was identical to the one she just put on for the guards. It was hollow, fake; far less obvious than what Luz had demonstrated, but it was still there nonetheless, buried deep under her sentence. Eda was lying to him, that much he was certain. But he had no idea what she could've been hiding from him. Clearly, going off of the detector, Oliver had some form of malevolent magic on him, but his mind couldn't come up with any ideas on what exactly it could be. And besides, it wasn't like he could confront her then and there. In fact, he was sure he'd never be able to confront her. But his mind couldn't help but ponder.
Luz, Willow, and Gus came through the machine without issue, although Luz did eye the thing suspiciously as she walked through. The crystal didn't go off for any of them, making Eda let out a sigh of relief as they stopped in front of her. "Alright, now that we're done with that-" She walked up to the glass doors, the final thing stopping them from entering the Covention. With one quick motion, she pushed them open, a blast of cold air coming back to hit the group as she rested her hands on her hips; much to Oliver's surprise, the building had AC, or at the very least some form of magic was keeping it cool. She moved her head back to look at her group of children. "Let's go get indoctrinated into a crooked system!" she said, full excitement, before strolling on inside.
The group was quick to follow, Oliver's eyes finally getting a chance to observe the inside. As expected, it was huge. Stands stretched out all the way to the back of the building in columns of ten, taking up almost all the space; they tended to be a table propped up on a wooden platform, with a temporary wall behind them that showed off what coven they were advertising. Each stand appeared to get bigger the further down the column you went, with the number of people on each one growing with them. People were crowded everywhere, but it looked like you could barely walk because of how many were at the end of the column of stands. 10 Banners with symbols Oliver didn't recognize hung from the ceiling at the very end, separated by the columns of stands and all different in color. One of the banners was plastered onto the wall at the very end; a golden triangle with wings stretched out from the center, a sword coming down to pierce the orb directly in the middle. Below the banner stood a tall doorway leading to a room filled with darkness.
Oliver heard a loud gasp come from next to him, Luz being awestruck by the large building. "Wow," she said as she craned her head back and forth to scan the surroundings. She looked over to Willow, raising an eyebrow. "Are all you're buildings huge? I thought Hexside would be the exception!" The boy couldn't help but smile at seeing her old self return; he only hoped she wasn't faking it to make him not worry.
Willow darted her eyes from left to right, rolling her shoulders. "Eh, kind of. Any building that the Emperor commissioned is usually really big." Her eyes briefly looked to the floor. "Houses… well, it depends on who owns it."
Oliver stared at the countless stands, a tad confused. "Isn't this building really large for what's basically a job fair?" He turned his focus to the ocean of people, gesturing out at them. "And what's up with all the people?"
Willow gained a cringe. "Yeeaah, I meant to correct you guys on that." She turned to Oliver. "This is nothing like a job fair. The Covention is THE thing witches use to find their covens. If you're over 18, you're likely here to join a coven. If you're 16 or 17, though, you're either just browsing, or…" She brought her hand up and pointed at the doorway all the way at the end of the building. "In there is a huge stadium where chosen candidates, usually top students for schools, battle each other. Whoever wins gets to be in their chosen coven."
Luz seemed a bit too interested in what Willow was saying, leaning in towards her after every word she spoke. "And what if you lose?"
Willow moved her head to look back at her. "You're banned from joining whatever coven you competed under."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Like they'll remember that you lost. Everyone would be focused on the winner."
Willow just shook her head in response. "It doesn't matter if they remember you. You take a magical oath that will prohibit you from joining if you lose." She reached up and rubbed her shoulder. "It's, uh, pretty depressing for them."
Oliver felt his posture loosen just a little. "Oh," he let out. If he wasn't aware that Covens were borderline cults, he would likely have had a depressing reaction. Instead though, a thought appeared in his head that he chose not to say.
Unfortunately for him, Eda seemed to be in sync with his thoughts, thinking exactly what he thought. She, though, lacked the filter he had. She blew air towards Willow, looking to the side. "That's a good thing if you ask me. One less Coven to be trapped in."
Willow simply stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "I know you guys are all anti-coven, which is very strange to me, but it's a big deal to be locked out of your favorite form of magic because of something stupid." She looked to the side. "Believe me, I would know."
Eda began to slowly nod her head, although her eyes were elsewhere. "Yeah, yeah. Being a slave to the system is very depressing and all-" She stopped herself, her eyes growing wide as they passed something. She quickly ran up to one of the stands, jumped onto the wooden platform, and took a hat off the table; the temporary wall behind it read "Hat Coven" in a twirly font. She shoved the hat down past her thick hair, turning to face the group while completely ignoring all of the coven members eyeing her down. "Check it out!" she shouted, pointing at her hat. It was a plain, black hat with a white front. On top of the white were red letters spelling "BADDEST GIRL IN THE ILES." "Pretty cool, right?" she said.
Before anyone could react, the up-until-then-silent King ran up to the Owl Lady, quickly stretching his arms out at Eda almost as if he was trying to grab her hat. "Gimme one!" he shouted up at her. "The King of Demons requires goodies!"
The group now found themselves walking down one of the columns; a red banner with a depiction of a harp plastered over it hung from the ceiling, found at the very end of the column. Eda still had her hat on, a smirk across her face. Somehow, King had managed to also wrangle himself one, practically begging the Hat Coven to make him one; it was orange in color, with black letters at the front reading "HAZERDOUS PERSON." Judging by how fast his tail was wagging, he was happy with his new piece of apparel.
"Man, I barely recognize this place," Eda said as she looked around the Covention. "There's so much more covens-" Her eyes drifted to a guard leaning against one of the many coven stands, their arms crossed while they stared out at the passing people. "-And guards…" Due to her looking elsewhere, she failed to see a person right in front of her. She thankfully only brushed against their shoulder, the stranger giving Eda a vicious stare as she and her group passed them. "… and people, apparently."
Willow and Gus nodded their heads at her statement, the latter getting his words out first. "Yeah, Emperor Belos really upped the budget and advertising for it these past few years. It's only recently gotten this… massive."
Luz, with Oliver by her side, turned her head back to look at the witches, her eyes drifting around at the seemingly endless labyrinth of stands. "How do you even find your way around this place? I feel like I could walk in any direction and get lost."
Oliver faced her, a smirk spreading across his face as he realized their current situation. "Well, I mean-" He gestured around at their surroundings. "Isn't that basically what we're doing right now?"
Willow looked from side to side, likely thinking of a response to Luz's question. "It's actually pretty easy once you know." She raised her hand and pointed at the red banner off in the far distance. "See that banner? That's for the Bard's Coven. There are eight other banners hanging up, each of them depicting one of the main ten covens. If we follow a column of stands down to its very end, we'll find the coven stations under their respective banners. Otherwise, you kind of just wander around until you find a coven you like."
Luz raised a brow at her. "What do you mean by station? Is it not like all the other Coven stands?"
She shook her head. "No. Since they're the main ten covens, they get a lot more money than the stands." She looked down at one of her hands and began sticking her fingers out as she listed off things. "They have things like a lot more guards, volunteers showing what the coven's all about, demonstrations from the coven's top members, and even have the coven leaders there to advertise." She shrugged as she finished. "It's a little unfair, I'll admit. But it makes sense."
Eda started off in the distance for a moment, eventually spinning to face Willow. "Wait, did you say the coven leaders are here?" she blurted out, her eyes full of a mixture of emotions Oliver couldn't pinpoint; for the second time that day, she seemed genuinely interested in something related to covens.
Willow nodded. "Yeah. They used to be reserved to just special guests the Covention had every year, but the Emperor figured more people would join the covens if they were always guaranteed to be here." She began squinting at the elder witch, likely picking up on the obvious emotions flowing through her. "Why do you ask? Do you, like, have some beef with one of them?"
The Owl Lady quickly shook her head. "No, no. I just…" She turned her head away from the group, her eyes lingering on the red banner off in the distance. "I wasn't expecting it, is all."
The way Eda was acting… it was far from normal for her. Before today, Oliver could confidently say he never saw her act timid. The boy turned to Luz, leaning into her ear. "Is it just me, or is Eda acting… strange?" he whispered, his eyes staring at the Owl lady. When he realized who he was talking about, he shook his head. "I mean, stranger than she normally acts."
"Yeah," Luz whispered back while nodding her head. "It's kind of weird to see her be this unsure of herself."
"I may be crazy…" The boy's voice trailed off as he began to squint at Eda, suspicion arising in him as he thought back to her obvious lie earlier that day. "…but I think she's hiding something from us."
Luz gained a little smirk. "Let's be honest here, when is she not hiding something from us?"
"Fair point," he said, giving his head a nod. "I just hope it's nothing life threatening this time."
A cringe spread across the girl's face, her eyes drifting back to the floor. Her demeanor from earlier in the day reappeared like a truck smashing into her. Her reaction not only made Oliver's worry return, but caused him to gain suspicion as well; does she know what Eda is hiding? Her mouth drifted open, as if she was about to say something, but she couldn't get a word out before Eda had gripped onto both of their shoulders; somehow, without either of them noticing, she had made her way behind them. "What are you two whispering about?" She asked while eyeing down her apprentices.
Now Oliver was also cringing, his mind scrambling for an excuse. "Oh, uh…" His eyes quickly darted around, landing on the coven stand next to them. The temporary wall read "Bakery Coven" with a tiny, painted cupcake acting as a period. He quickly gestured out to the stand. "We were just talking about how cool the bakery coven is!" he said with fake enthusiasm.
Eda only gained more suspicion. "Uh-huh, sure." She released her grip, resting her hands on her hips as she continued to eye them down. "Two reckless teenagers were totally whispering about the bakery coven, the most interesting thing in-"
Moments before she would finish her sentence, King came rushing up to the three of them, a strong sense of desire deep in his eyes. "Did Someone Say Bakery Coven?" he blurted out, almost shouting each word. Luz simply gave him a small nod in response, pointing over to the stand next to the halted group. King's eagerness grew tenfold, his tail wagging faster than a dog's when their owner returned. He turned to the stand and full-on sprinted to it, coming to a screeching halt right in front of the table, while his head craned up to look at the person running the stand. "Do you have scones?" he asked as calmly as he could, acting as if the entire display of his excitement never happened
Oliver simply pointed at the eager demon, looking back and giving Eda a sly smirk. "That would be why we were whispering."
Despite all the evidence he had to back up his point, he could tell by her eyes that Eda still didn't believe a word he was saying. She stared him down, as if her eyes would pry the truth out of his mouth, before eventually turning away when he didn't budge. "Whatever," she said with a shrug. "Doesn't really matter if you're lying." She walked away from the two humans, continuing to walk past Willow and Gus before stopping, turning to face her posse (with the exception of King, who was still asking the baking coven for crones). "Anyway, we're splitting up."
The only two humans were hit in the gut with shock, Luz's jaw becoming agape while Oliver found himself leaning forward towards the Owl Lady. "What?!" they said in unison.
Eda rolled her eyes, bringing her hand up and slapping air their way. "Oh, quit with your exaggerations. There's no way it's that shocking."
Oliver took a few steps forward, one of his eyebrows raised. "I mean, it kind of is." He brought his hand up and gestured between himself and Luz. "The only reason you let us come here is because you wanted to show us the-" He made air quotes. "crooked system, and now you're just going to abandon us?!"
Eda opened her mouth slightly before quickly closing it again, her eyes drifting up to the ceiling while one of her hands began scratching her chin. She only did this for a brief moment, quickly refocusing her eyes back on Oliver while sticking her hand out and snapping her thumb and index finger together, shoving her index finger out once she was done. "Spot on." She walked up to the two young witches in the group, of whom had their backs faced to Eda, and used her head to gesture at them . "Besides, you aren't exactly alone. You have your two lovely friends here to guide you." She snorted, looking to the side. "I'm pretty sure they know more about this place than I ever did."
Luz's jaw had since closed, now squinting at Eda instead. "But why exactly are you leaving us?"
Eda shrugged, trying her best to act like her normal nonchalant self despite the fact that Oliver could see how stiff her shoulders were. "Just got some business to attend to. Some..." She quickly found herself looking at the floor, her mind clearly elsewhere. "... long needed business." Her eyes stayed locked onto the floor for a few more moments before quickly making their way back up to the humans. "And with that-" She spun around on her heel and began walking deeper into the column of stands, the red banner off in the distance seeming to blend in with her ragged dress. She looked back at her posse, raising her left hand and giving a tiny wave. "-I'm off."
No one tried to stop her. The humans had learned by now that there was no stopping Eda when her mind was set on something, while Willow and Gus seemed to be stuck on her words. It took a few minutes for them to process what she had said, Gus eventually turning to face Luz and Oliver. "Well... guess we're on our own now..." He smirked a little, his eyes reflecting an emotion similar to hesitation. "You guys want to split up further? We could see more of the convention that way."
Oliver sighed, his mind tired from the shock he had just gone through. "You know what? Why the hell not? Eda will probably just break us out of prison if our cover is broken." He looked over to his human companion. "Wanna do it?"
Luz just shrugged. "I guess. What's the worst that could happen?"
Oliver's shoulders slumped. "You definitely just jinxed us." He turned back to the witches, his mind trying to overlook what just happened. "Alright, so how's this split up thing going to work? Who's going with who?"
Willow turned to join in on the conversation, her expression showing she had agreed to the plan. "I mean, it doesn't really matter. There's got to be one of you with one of us, though."
Oliver struggled to come up with a choice between the two witches, his eyes drifting between them. Thankfully for him, though, he didn't have to choose, Luz walking up to Gus. "I haven't got to talk to you a lot, Gus," she said. She wrapped her arm around his neck, giving a smile. "This'll be a good chance to get to know you."
Gus turned his head to the human, returning her smile. "Good choice. We're going to all the covens with the goodies!"
Out of nowhere, King came rushing down from the baking coven stand, his arms holding mountains of crones, with his mouth also holding one. "I'm going with Gus too!" he said, stopping next to the witch. "I always need more goodies!"
Oliver couldn't help but smirk at King's antics, part of him surprised he was able to hear Eda's departure while he was being loaded up with crones. He rolled his shoulders, turning to face the lone witch. "Well, I guess that choice is settled."
Willow nodded a few times as Oliver joined his side. "Alright then." She turned to face her fellow witch, one of her arms coming up to point at the huge, golden banner at the very end of the Covention. "Let's meet back up at the arena," she said. She looked to the floor for a moment, her eyes eventually coming back up to stare at Gus. "I'd give a time, but I didn't bring a watch."
Oliver felt a bit proud as he remembered the shattered timekeeper on his wrist. He brought it up, presenting it to the entire group. "But I did!" He looked at the watch, watching as the minute hand just hit 6; his mind naturally ignored the broken hour hand. "Let's say… we'll meet in an hour."
Gus's group nodded, the human of the group digging into her pockets and bringing out her phone Oliver had seen her use a few times. She held it up with the screen facing Oliver, pressing the power button. While the glass of the screen was completely shattered, the digital clock read the exact time. "10:30." Luz glanced at the screen, then looked back at Oliver. "So we're meeting up at 11:30." She shoved the phone back in her pocket. "Got it."
King let out a long sigh before anyone could say more. "Ugh, enough with the planning." He spun around and began walking in a random direction, his stride only growing more confident with each step. "It's time for us to get goodies!"
A cringe spread across Gus's face as he watched the demon continue his stroll. "Uh, King?" He began chasing after him, quickly at that. "That's not the right way!"
A wide smirk spread across Luz's face as she watched the chase scene. She turned to Oliver one last time, giving him a quick wave before running after her quickly leaving group. Oliver returned the gesture even though she couldn't see it, his lips spread out into a smile. Glad she's back to normal. He stared out at the departing group for a little longer before turning to Willow, ready to listen to her directions. "Alright, where to first?"
A/N:
And we're done. This time I did leave you on a cliffhanger. Sorry, there was just no better place to split the mega chapter in half. What is Eda hiding, I wonder? Totally not obvious to someone who's watched the show. Next chapter expect to see a certain girl we've already met come back, along with the appearance of a "mysterious" rival. And a fight scene, don't forget about the fight scene. It's gonna be action-packed as the storm finally arrives.
That's all I got to say, so see you next time.