What if #3
The Bonesborough library was an amazing place, even in the Demon Realm. Shelves of books filled two stories, each going almost up to the ceiling. There were countless titles from various authors in every direction, all organized according to the Demon Decimal System. Names such as Roald Thrall, Jules Nocturne, R.L. Spine, and many others were on the bindings of the books in the fiction section. It was a little overwhelming for Luz Noceda, who was exploring the shelves with no idea where to begin.
She slowly started to make her way down the wall of literature, checking each shelf as she went. While most of the books were intriguing to her, she only stopped to take a closer look at a few of them. They all ended up right back in their places on the shelves though. Without a library card it was a bit pointless to bother with picking out anything to read just yet. Maybe if she had more time to sit down and enjoy one of the books somewhere, but that would need to wait until another day.
After having gone down one set of shelves and come back the opposite side, Luz rounded the end of one bookshelf to start looking over the next one over. She found an unexpected obstruction in a tall stack of books, one which was in the hands of a girl around her age. They collided and the other girl let out a cry as she fell back onto her bottom, her many books all toppling onto her in the process. Luz let out a gasp and went to kneel by her side, clearing the books off her.
"I am so, so sorry!" She said, slight panic in her voice. "I didn't see you there. Here, let me help you up."
Luz extended her hand for the other girl to take. Her offer however was met with a nasty scowl from the girl, who swatted Luz's hand away. Then she got up and ran her hands down her clothes to straighten them out. She was wearing a dark grey tunic with pink sleeves and leggings. Her golden eyes locked onto Luz with a piercing gaze that made Luz freeze in place. A moment later she averted her gaze and focused on neatening her light green hair which was styled into a ponytail, but hung down on the sides. There was a little patch of auburn poking out above her forehead that Luz couldn't help but notice, concluding that the girl must dye her hair.
"Do you need something?" The girl asked curtly.
"Oh, um… I…" Luz stuttered, mildly embarrassed to realize she had been staring. "H-Hi, I'm Luz. Luz Noceda."
"I wasn't asking for your name."
She knelt and began gathering her dropped books. Luz tried to help, grabbing a thick, hard-cover text off to the side. Next, she went for what seemed to be a romance novel from the looks of the cover. There was an image of two young women dancing under the stars on a night with a blood red moon. Her curiosity got the better of her and she flipped the book over to read the back cover. Before she could even finish the first sentence, she found the book being grabbed from her by a hand with well-manicured nails painted black.
"Excuse you." The girl said irately. "But I'm planning to check this one out today."
"Sorry, again." Luz replied. "I just hadn't seen that one before. Um, anyway… I uh, didn't get your name."
"That would be because I didn't give it to you."
The girl then took her restacked books and abruptly walked away. Luz almost said something before she left, but held back. She could tell that trying to continue talking to the girl wouldn't get her anywhere. It was almost like she was back at Gravesfield High, only now she didn't have a reputation that kept her peers away. Not that it seemed to matter. She had only been in the Demon Realm for a couple of days so far and it didn't look like she would have much better luck making friends if that little encounter were any indication.
Letting out a sigh, Luz started to look around for her mentor, Edalyn Clawthorne, aka the Owl Lady. The whole reason she was even at the library was because Eda had wanted to get some books. Luz had wandered away from her not even a minute after they had arrived, the idea of seeing countless books written by people who lived in a world of magic proving to be too alluring for her to resist.
Luz made her way back towards the front desk. As she passed by the shelves, she peeked to see if maybe Eda was looking through them for the books she wanted. It was a bit surprising to see just how many other people were around, a stark contrast from back in the Human Realm, where the local library rarely had more than a few adults browsing about on any given day. She also couldn't help but be in awe of the vast diversity of the Demon Realm. People came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some had extra eyes or limbs while others had less. And even though things were vastly different from the fantasy world she had always dreamed of, it was still all so captivating to her.
The large, double doors that served as the entrance to the library came into view. After a little more walking and stepping around a few other library visitors on a tour, Luz arrived back at the front desk. She spotted Eda right away, unable to miss the witch's grey mane of hair. There were two others with her, one being the same girl that Luz had just run into, and the other was another adult. From what Luz could see, Eda wasn't particularly happy to see this other witch, a tall and slender woman with pale skin, long, dark hair and wearing a gothic looking dress.
As Luz got closer, she could start to hear the conversation the two adults were having. The other woman seemed to be speaking to Eda in a condescending manner, to which Eda was responding with a snarky attitude. Their talk seemed to be unsettling the witch currently working the front desk, a quivering man with three eyes.
"… and what's more, Lily, my student isn't going to be held back by that stupid coven system. Eda said smugly. "She's going to learn every kind of magic and become a powerful witch, just like me."
"Well, I hope you also told that poor child that by associating with you, they'll be considered a criminal too."
"Like that will be a problem." Eda replied. "I'll have you know she's the one who helped me sneak into the emperor's castle the other day. And that little prison break? That was her idea."
"She sounds like she has a promising future."
"Excuse me, Miss Lilith." The girl politely interjected. "I'm sorry to interrupt your chat, but we're starting to fall behind schedule."
"It would seem we are." Lilith noted, glancing at a clock mounted on the wall behind the front desk. "Then we should be going. A pity that we didn't have more time to talk, Edalyn. I would have loved to ask you more about this student you'll be allegedly teaching."
"Ask her yourself. She's right over there." Eda told her, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder to point at Luz. "She's probably waiting for you to leave before coming over to join me. Can't say I blame her. Most kids wouldn't want to be seen with an adult who is still going through her goth phase."
Lilith's face flushed red with anger at Eda's comment, clenching her fists. Her piercing gaze shifted swiftly over to Luz, who flinched a little in response. The angry look on Lilith's face faded, replaced briefly by a confused look, which then turned to one of surprise. Luz started to feel uncomfortable under the witch's staring eyes, like she was some sort of spectacle in a zoo or something, instead of a person.
"Your student is a human?" Lilith asked, a trace of disbelief in her voice. "Where did you manage to find one of those?"
"First of all, she found me." Eda answered, crossing her arms. "She just stumbled into me the other day and one thing led to another. And second, don't talk about her like she's something I got at the market. Before you know it, she'll be a powerful witch. The kind who can run circles around your prissy little protégé over there."
"I sincerely doubt that will happen." Lilith scoffed. "All you'll end up doing is leave that poor child with shattered dreams. Do a big favor for the both of you and just quit while you're ahead."
"Aw, what's the matter, Lily?" Eda asked jeeringly. "Afraid that I'm right?"
"This is serious, Edalyn. If you make a mistake, you could get that girl killed." Lilith countered. "Is that what you want? Does she even know about your… condition?"
Eda's eyes widened momentarily, and then she cast a glare at Lilith. She turned away and took a slow, deep breath. After taking another, Eda turned around again to face Lilith, who seemed a bit smug for some reason. For a few seconds Eda remained silent, her fists clenching unconsciously and her upper lip lifting a bit, better exposing her fang, as if she were about to start snarling.
"My condition is under control." She finally said, a bitter tone to her voice. "And I'll thank you to mind your own dang business!"
"There is no need to be so touchy about it, Edalyn." Lilith cooly replied. "I'm just showing concern for that child who you took under your wing. It would be such a shame if you let anything happen to her, after all."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. As if it really matters to you." Eda countered. "We both know the things you've done since you got your job. So don't act as if I'm the only one here who is a threat to people."
"That is a matter of perspective. Many see my efforts as a good thing. Now, as much as I have enjoyed talking with you, Edalyn, I really must be going. I have a student to teach, one with a very bright future. She may very well take my place one day."
"Wow, I'm soooo impressed." Eda said sarcastically.
"As you should be." Lilith told her with a stern look. "But just remember that the next time we meet, I won't be so lenient with you. And I'll be sure to have back up as well. Come along, Amity, we need to start your lesson."
Eda snorted. "What, can't take me on all by yourself, Lily? Big shocker."
Lilith paid no mind to Eda's last remark. She and Amity turned to head for the doors. Amity summoned a large monster made from purple mud out of nowhere with a twirl of her finger, handing it her recently checked out books, which it accepted with a soft groan. Luz let out a gasp at the display of magic, catching Amity's attention. She stared at Luz briefly, but then went to follow her instructor out of the building.
"Good riddance." Eda grumbled, turning to face the witch at the desk. "Hey, Larry! Did you get that list of books for me yet?"
"I-It's Gary, miss Owl Lady." The witch stammered.
"Not what I asked you, Barry."
Gary let out a sight and held out a piece of paper. Eda snatched it from him and walked off without another word. Luz hurried to catch up, rejoining her mentor just as the witch took one of the return carts, scattering the books from it onto the floor. She made her way to one set of shelves and started searching for the titles on her list. With little twirls of her finger, the books began lifting themselves off their shelves, each enveloped in a golden glow.
Over the next several minutes, Eda went up and down the rows of shelves, taking books from them to pile onto her appropriated cart. Luz saw the pile grow to well over a couple dozen titles until Eda seemed to finally finish going through her list. She began heading back to the front desk, surprising Gary, whose three eyes widened when Eda started placing all the books in front of him.
"You're going to check these all out today?" He asked, seemingly puzzled.
"What did you think I was going to do, Harry? Sit down and read them all here?" Eda snipped. "I'll be needing these for a little while, so of course I'm checking them all out!"
"But… your library card…" Gary replied. "It was revoked."
"So what?" Eda asked bluntly, arching an eyebrow.
"Well… I-I, uh…" Gary began, then just letting out a sigh in defeat. "I'll allow you to use my card today."
"Thanks, Terry. You're not half bad." Eda told him, throwing a smug smirk his way. "So you'll be able to cover the late fees for me too, right?"
Gary only sighed again in response, looking dispirited. He finished scanning the books be means of levitating them through a floating magic circle and passing them over to Eda. Each book was, to Luz's astonishment, tucked away into Eda's grey mane of hair. Once she had all her books, Eda went to leave, Luz tailing along and still gaping in awe.
They stepped out of the front doors of the library and began descending the steps. Eda brought out her staff and sat on it, reaching out to help Luz on as well. After letting Luz have a moment to get situated, Eda took off. It was a short flight back to the Owl House, Eda's residence, which sat near a cliffside overlooking the Boiling Sea. The moment they landed out front, Hooty, Eda's house demon, extended his tube-like body from the front door to greet them.
"Hi Eda! Hi, new friend Luz!" Hooty cheerily greeted. "How was the library?"
"Infested with nerds, as usual." Eda replied. "Now I've got a lot of work ahead of me, so I need you to be extra on-guard today. The last thing I want is to be bothered. You got that?"
"Yuppers! You can count on me!" Hooty squawked in response, retracting back to the door. "Ain't no one gonna get anywhere near dis house!"
"They'd better not." Eda told him. "And stop talking like those losers on reality crystal ball shows. You know how much I hate that."
"Sorry."
Hooty opened the door, letting Eda and Luz inside before shutting again and beginning his watch. Inside, Eda led Luz over to the couch and had her sit down. She then began extracting all the library books and stacking them on the coffee table. Luz started to look over them, having not gotten the chance to do so earlier.
"That's a lot of recommended reading." She noted. "Where am I supposed to start?"
"You read this." Eda replied, handing Luz a book with the words 'Magic 101' on the front cover. "You need to get the basics down before you can move onto anything else."
"Am I going to be quizzed on anything?" Luz asked, flipping open the book.
"What? No!" Eda answered, almost sounding insulted. "I may be teaching you magic, but I am not going to put you through a 'public schools' methods. You're going to learn the real way. That's the only book you'll be reading."
"Then why did you get all of those other ones?"
Eda looked at the stacks of books covering her coffee table. "Those are for me. If I'm going to show you how to do magic, then I gotta separate the useful stuff from all the crap. It's going to be a lot of work for me, so you had better be ready. Because first thing tomorrow morning, you'll be learning how to become a wild witch, Luz Noceda."
What if Eda had committed to teaching Luz magic right at the start?
A/N: So, I felt it necessary to go into more detail about this story as it may seem like it isn't very far off from the canon. While Eda did teach some things to Luz, it was pretty much Luz figuring out everything herself in the series. My goal with this story is to try and explore the different ways Eda could cover the nine different types of magic as she teaches it all to Luz. I consider this to be a more ambitious story as it will require quite a bit of thought, so there is a chance it won't be included in the first poll when the time comes.
Title: Untamed Potential
Outline: Not yet started
Synopsis: Edalyn Clawthorne is the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. Her student however, is not capable of learning magic the traditional way. With the threat of her older sister Lilith and several bounty hunters after her head, Eda attempts the impossible with her unconventional teaching methods.
Ships: Luz Noceda and Amity Blight (slow burn)
The above notes will remain in place until the next 'What if?' chapter is posted. After which they will be transferred to the author's profile page. The synopsis and ships are subject to change prior to the polls in which the story may be voted on in the future.