A/N: Okay, so I didn't know that last chapter during the Leal and Camila texts there was missing lines! That happened because I used "j p e g" as the "file" but of course there wasn't really an actual image linked to those texts. But both AO3 and FFN didn't know dat and so they were just blank. Anyways, I just thought I'd let ya know going forward pictures sent in text form will have a name and IMAGE at the end. So like this, "NameHereIMAGE". Just minor housekeeping stuff to get out of the way-last episode's texts has been edited to fit this new thingy. Awkward, lol.
I remember being really excited about this episode solely for the dynamics to introduce and develop! Hope you guys will enjoy!
Chapter Summary: After Eda botches a real teaching moment with Luz, Leal debates between the choices of sticking with her sister's supposed mentor or letting her seek out the thrills of this "magic school" they've heard about.
Word Count: 11,787
My Sister Was a Teenage Abomination
After staying on the Boiling Isles for a couple days—running more errands and deliveries—Lealtad eventually learned to expect the most bizarre, weird things she could ever imagine. And even if she couldn't imagine it? She just accepted the fact that weird shit happened here and it would only get weirder. Luz, for the most part, thrived in the weirdness that was the Boiling Isles. Either seeming to find something creepy but cool, scary but cute, gross but hilarious, and so on and so forth. But now? Now was another example of something Leal considered, "too early to deal with."
"Why the Hell am I staring at a giant carcass?" Lealtad felt the need to ask.
"Come on now," Eda lightly elbowed her apprentice, "Did you ever in your life think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?" Her tone was excitable, but Leal could hardly find the infectious empathy to mirror such joy. They were currently on the beach… standing a few feet away from a giant, slug looking carcass that was easily the size of a Blue Whale or at least near it. It was rotting, surrounded by flies, and putrid.
Nonetheless… she raised her canon camera up from her chest, and with one hand, took a quick picture. She looked down and chuckled. Yup, it looked as bad on camera as it did in real life. Fortunately the smell wasn't captured. "Yeaaah, definitely breathtaking in the sense it's killing the air around us," she mused.
"I… don't… like this," Luz quietly refuted as she slowly shook her head.
Eda placed her hand on Luz's shoulder and squeezed it encouragingly. "Yes, it doesn't get more inspiring than the trash slug," she proclaimed, walking toward the rotting creature with a wide grin. She knelt down and started to rummage through the junk surrounding it. "It makes a home, a life from what others have thrown by the wayside," she said as she pulled out a rubber chicken from the pile and tossed it aside. "Until, blam!" she slammed her fist onto her palm, "it gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt." She pulled a pickaxe from seemingly out of nowhere and added, "And then we get to sell the stuff it ate!" She gestured the tool toward Luz, who pulled her hands back and seethed.
"Please don't make me," she quietly begged.
King walked off and unrolled the small blanket he had tucked under his arm. "Aw, come on Luz, it's not every day you get to go to the dump and pick apart a garbage carcass," he said sarcastically.
"Alas, my life finally has amounted to something," Leal dryly quipped.
Eda frowned as she arched her arms back, prepping a swing. "Eh, nuts to the three of ya." She then swung and pierced the creature's stomach. Lealtad winced at the sight. With their mother being a vet, the idea of defiling a fauna's corpse didn't sit well with her. But things were different on the Boiling Isle. And… well, things were also different with Eda.
"So Eda," Luz began, only to stop after her mentor took another swing, "What if we tried some new lessons for my apprenticeship? Like…" another thud, "read ancient scrolls or mix together potions, or—"
"Ugh," the witch disgustedly groaned. "That sounds like a bunch of magic school stuff," she uninterestedly disregarded.
"Wait," Luz started approaching Eda, "is there a magic school here? Like, winding towers, cute uniforms, dark plots that threaten your life, kind of magic school?"
Leal blinked as she cocked her head. "I mean—" she gestured a palm out to Eda, "she told you witches usually get their staffs from school." Luz sheepishly smiled back at her, silently admitting her forgetfulness, which in turn caused Leal to roll her eyes fondly.
"Yup, we got 'em alright," Eda annoyedly explained as she stood up, "What's worse is that they force you to learn magic the 'proper' way."
Leal scrunched her face. "Eww, if I learned anything from Harry Potter: magic is cooler when you're managing mischief." She shot a wink to Luz, who just shook her head in amusement.
"Exactly! Magic isn't proper! It's wild and unpredictable, and that's what makes it so beautiful!"
Leal smiled, considering the point to be actually profound.
"I didn't finish school and look at me!" She picked up her pickaxe and gestured around her with her free hand. "Who wouldn't envy where I am right now?" As if on cue, flies started to migrate towards and buzz around.
Leal frowned, realizing this was Eda she was talking about. She then looked to her sister, who disappointedly looked away, and sighed at the sight of her.
Eda, at least, seemed to pick up on her mood and walked toward her, setting down her pickaxe. "Here's a lesson!" She grabbed Luz's wrist. "A great witch is resourceful, like this." She pulled her down and plunged Luz's hand into a puddle of green slug bile and honestly made Lealtad gag.
Eda left Luz to rummage around, leaving Leal to exclaim, "Christ, pull your hand out!"
Luz thankfully did, but then revealed a small slime ball in her palm. "Oh, hey. Greasy slime ball," she unenthusiastically announced.
Eda knelt down and placed her hands around Luz's hand. "Use your slime ball wisely, young witch," she sagely said. "Back at it!" She sprung up and motioned Luz to follow her as she picked up her pickaxe. "We'll hit the stink nodes first!"
Leal watched her sister pocket the slime ball and threw her head back in frustration as she moaned through her gritted teeth.
"A-Actually, if it's okay," Luz stood up and started backing away, "I think I'll head home and look at pictures of animals that are still… alive." She started walking toward King, but Leal stuck her bat out and stopped her, causing her to raise a brow.
Leal blankly rummaged through her brown messenger bag as she held her sister there. Producing a pump bottle of hand sanitizer, she held it out expectantly toward her little sister. Luz sighed as she stuck her hands out and waited, letting Leal squirt the sanitizer onto her palms. She proceeded to rub it all over her hands and Leal added, "If you're keeping the slime ball at least clean it so it's not a greasy slime ball."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Luz muttered as she walked over to King, who was now wearing blue shutter glasses. "Love you, King," she said while petting his belly, causing him to giggle and roll about on his blanket, "You little beach peach." She walked off and turned her head back at Lealtad, "Are you coming?"
Leal looked over to Eda, who shrugged and stated how there was more loot for her before diving into the trash slug's stomach. She narrowed eyes then turned back to Luz with a smile. "Uhh, go on ahead Sunshine. I'm gonna take some more photos," she lied, holding up her camera.
Luz shot her a perplexed look, before shrugging and running off.
Leal frowned as Eda started throwing items out from the slug, nearly hitting her but directly hitting King with a tuba. She groaned in irritation as she rushed over to King, pulling the tuba off from his head and throwing it aside. She turned back and shouted, "Hey, ¡Dama Búho!"
Eda stuck her head out and blinked at her owlishly.
"We need to talk."
::TITLE OPENING::
Eda set her pickaxe down as she seated herself on a pile of trash. "Alright Bean Head, what's up."
Lealtad shoved her right hand into her army jacket's pocket and fiddled with her bat's grip with her lext. She took a deep breath and recalled the Adegast Incident, knowing that exploding and cussing out the witch wasn't exactly productive even if she didn't fully respect Eda. Eda was… hard to figure out. Reliable wasn't the go to word of choice but Luz seemed to trust her wholeheartedly. However, Luz had done that many times before when she was younger and it led to a lot of manipulation and bullying.
She didn't think Eda was the sort to do anything like that—even with the fact that she lied when they first met—but she also knew Eda was an influencer in Luz's life now. Literally as a mentor she had to be. And that was the issue. Chores and errands aside, the first lesson they actually had was just a few minutes ago when she said "a great witch is resourceful" which was more advice than a lesson. She was dropping the ball. Hard.
But that didn't mean Lealtad needed to be a total bitch about it.
"Okay." She sighed as she closed her eyes, calming herself down a tad. "I think you might need to rework your teaching methods."
Eda's eyes widened.
"Hah! Hah! You're a bad teacher!" King childishly teased. Leal turned and narrowed her eyes. King just quietly laughed to himself.
"Alright, so you're here to critique, eh?" Eda remarked, crossing her arms as she cocked a brow.
Leal rolled her eyes. "If you want to label it, then yes. I am." She brought her hand up and massaged the bridge of her nose. "My sister isn't a… conventional learner, yes. So, I do sorta agree with you when it comes to traditional learning with schools and I guess I'll take your word for it with how magic schools work." Eda brightened at that, smiling proudly. Leal continued, "But," Eda frowned, "that also calls for showing her what you have to offer."
Eda raised her arms and gestured around them.
"Not trash!" Lealtad barked. She took a breath and gestured at her. "I mean you. And your like, abilities. Show her something! Because comparing this world's magic, all she knows is that there's a schooling system—which while, in the human world, isn't entirely educational and is downright broken—but a system nonetheless. And they still accomplish what's advertised: teaching. Albeit, in the most bare minimum way possible but still.
"We—she, came here to learn magic. And… I want her to learn it. Luz is so energetic and easily distracted sometimes so the slightest chance she gets at something entertaining her or quickly meeting her expectations, she'll jump on it." Lealtad sighed again, licking her lips as she shook her head. "I just ask, would you try and teach her something?"
Eda sighed. "Okay, okay, I hear ya Bean Head," she nodded, raising her hands placatingly. "But, I have my methods and I have my own way of doing things. For starters, providing for my house and all the residents who are currently staying in it," she shot a pointed look at Lealtad, "Which has also doubled in recent events. So I gotta compensate in advance for the sudden company."
Leal nodded as she felt her ears redden a bit, causing her to pull her red-orange beanie over them. That was a fair point actually. She was essentially giving herself more mouths to feed for a haphazard reason.
"Which basically means doubling down on chores and work." She picked her pickaxe back up and pointed at the trash slug. "And this is work. A lot of learning magic is hard work, bitter work."
Leal raised a brow. "Are you saying learning how to shoot a fireball involves learning how to scavenge and defile a trash slug's corpse?"
Eda glowered. "I'm saying learning how to do one thing, translates as experience."
"And school doesn't offer that hard work experience?" Lealtad could not believe she was advocating for school right now. But playing devil's advocate was the only way she could grasp at Eda's mentality a bit more.
"I don't tell you how to take photos," Eda simply said, shrugging as she returned to her work.
Leal just scowled at her. "Whelp, thanks for the shelter I guess." She turned around and threw up a peace sign. "I'm gonna go catch up with mi hermana." King stared up at her worriedly, causing her to chuckle. He was such a toddler. "I'll see ya back at the Owl House," she added.
King brightened at that—for some reason—and Lealtad decided that was it. Eda had already hit the stink nodes and she wasn't keen on sticking around for that. She walked through the forest and powered on her camera, looking at the screen where her photo of the trash slug displayed. It was… in all honestly, quite an unsightly photo but she liked to commemorate her memories. This was certainly a memory alright.
She frowned as she clicked through her gallery and looked at the sunset photo of them together above the Boiling Isles. They looked happy. And that was because they were happy. Her included. That day was all around chaotic, but that moment was sweet. It was a good example for both her and Luz that there was a beauty to this place. But… now? The question of just grabbing her sister and hopping through the portal was only held back by the issue that Luz still enjoyed this place and forcibly removing her would have a long lasting strain on their relationship.
Leal clicked her teeth as she turned off her camera and dropped it to her chest. She started tapping her bat against her shoulder as she looked upward. The wind, the trees, the branches, the sounds of everything around them—it all flew in through her ears. This place was interesting. Scary, but interesting. It wasn't all bad. Then her thoughts flew to Eda. For now, she was the issue. Her methods and how she "taught" was what she was concerned with. Because at the end of the day, it all depended on…
"Luz?" Lealtad wondered aloud, surprised to see her sister crouched down in a bush. She called out, "Sunshine why are you—"
Luz's spine straightened as she turned and held a finger up to her lips, wordlessly shushing Lealtad. She then turned back to whatever she was staring at.
Leal quietly stepped up behind her, peaking over her shoulder and nearly gasping once she noticed what Luz was looking at. Witches. Like, actual teen witches who (if age worked similarly here) looked around Luz's age. They both were pale skinned girls wearing gray tunics with slightly darker gray cowels, but accented their looks with orchid coloured sleeves and tights. If she had to wager upon first glance, Leal would assume they were students. And judging by their conversation:
"—top student, it's my duty to tell you to keep at it!" a girl with two toned green hair exclaimed in what sounded like mock encouragement. "Even you could get a passing grade someday." Okay so she was definitely mocking. "Abomination, cower," she pointed at the sentient purple gloop sticking out of the pot, and in response, it melted in on itself as the green haired girl placed the lid back on. "See you in class, superstar," the twitch teased as she wheeled her pot off.
Luz stuck her tongue out at the girl causing Leal to raise a brow. So she clearly missed something, and her sister clearly just eavesdropped on a conversation. The navy blue haired girl with round glasses stomped around in frustration, mocking the other girl's words. At that, Leal gently shook her sister's shoulder, sensing the anger emanating all the way over from where they were hiding. "Hermana, let's go, we shouldn't—"
Then the ground started shaking. Leal's eyes widened in fear. Did this place have earthquakes? When she looked up, her eyes flew toward the enormous vines sprouting out from the witch's feet. And that were—her eyes widened—heading towards them! Of course, because if it's not tentacles it's vines. Lealtad grabbed Luz's arm but it was too late, a vine wrapped around Luz's ankle and yanked her away.
"Luz!" she shouted. However, her voice managed to startle the witch, causing her to drop Luz not-so-gracefully on the ground as the vines went flaccid. She bottled out of the bushes with her bat ready. "Are you okay?"
Luz winced as she pushed herself up. "Uhh, yup. I think so."
The witch stepped forward. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" she stammered out.
Lealtad stuck her bat out at the witch as she approached her sister, holding her back as she sat up. "Stay back!" she shouted at her.
"Leal," Luz hissed.
"What! She—"
"I'm so sorry!" the girl shouted. She held her hands out and waved them to her sides, somehow controlling the vines and causing them to unwrap around Luz's ankle and retreat back into the ground. Lealtad softened at the girl's visible regret and dropped her bat, immediately digging through her messenger bag.
"I-It's okay," Luz nervously smiled up at the witch as she touched her ankle. "The thorns only went through a few layers of skin."
Leal's heart stopped. "What."
She groaned. "Leal—ahh!" she yelped as Lealtad crouched down and grabbed her knee, bringing her leg toward her. "I was kidding! It just pricks a little—youch!" Leal already had an alcohol wipe out and on her ankle, rubbing around the noticeable tiny cuts scattered around.
She shook her head as she dug through the rest of her mini compact first aid kit in her bag and pulled out a couple plasters. "I-I don't if I should bandage this or-or if these are okay to use but—"
"Th-They weren't poisonous!" the witch girl chirped. Leal's gaze flew to her. "I-I mean, and it was just a vine, I-I tried not to tighten it too much so it shouldn't've gone deep or—"
"See? I'm fine," Luz drawled out.
Leal ignored her as she began placing the plasters over the cuts. "I'm still doing this," she grumbled. "We don't know how non-poisonous things for witches react with humans anyways." Luz frowned at that, clearly about to point out the illogical nature of that phrase until their present company spoke again.
"Wait," the navy blue haired girl blinked, "those circly ears." Luz yelped as she covered hers, much to Lealtad's confusion. "You're human!" she exclaimed.
Leal looked up and nodded. "Yup, human." She turned back to Luz's ankle. "Now—"
"Oh this is astounding!" She stepped forward and circled the two, observing them intently as she rapidly fired questions about their reasons for being here, how they got here, etcetera. But all the while, the Nocedas were having their own conversation.
"Leal, ¿por qué le dijiste?" Luz whispered.
She blinked. "¿Se suponía que era secreta?" she shot back. "I wasn't under the impression we were supposed to be hiding our ears?" she amusedly argued.
Then, out of nowhere, an echoing toll of bells sounded off in the distance, causing the witch's rambling to halt. "O-Oh, right. S-Sorry. I can't stay. I have to go disappoint my teacher—"
Lealtad's brows raised. "Well shit, if that ain't a mood—"
"—It was nice meeting you humans."
"Wait! I-I'm Luz! And y-you're Willow right?" her sister spoke up, now standing. Leal sighed in frustration as she just finished placing the last band-aid but because of the sudden motion, it was now a tad wrinkled where it was placed. She quickly sanitized her hands and put everything back in her bag as her sister rushed over to "Willow", who was in the middle of gathering her stuff. Luz added, "What you did with that flower and those plants, it was… wow."
Leal chuckled, slinging her brown messenger bag back on her right shoulder, along with her bat on her left. "I'll say," she remarked, "That was some real Poison Ivy shit."
"I-It wasn't poison…"
Luz's head perked as she glanced at Leal and pointed at her. "O-Oh and that's my sister, Lealtad." She threw up a peace sign as her greeting. Luz explained, "She's basically saying she also thinks your plant magic was cool."
Willow blushed a bit before she looked down dejectedly. "Thanks, but… I'm not even supposed to be doing plant magic. My parents put me in the abomination track at school."
Luz rushed forward as she whooped, grabbing Willow's arms. "Like, magic school?" she asked as she leaned her head forward, causing the witch to reactively lean hers back as she nodded her answer.
"Luz," Leal fake coughed, "boundaries."
Her sister winced as she released the poor girl. "Sorry," she sheepishly said. "But that's so cool!" she exclaimed. "I-I'm so jealous. I have a teacher, but her lessons are a bit… untraditional." Lealtad snorted at that. That was putting it mildly. "I bet she wouldn't even let me enroll," Luz said, slumping her shoulders. "But I wish I could spend one day there." Her eyes looked off into the distance, no doubt where the source of the bell was.
Which also begged the question of: wasn't Willow going to be late?
"I wish I could get a passing grade for once," the witch muttered. "Then people would stop calling me 'Half‐a‐Witch Willow,'" she grumbled as she kicked at the purple goop near her feet. Which Lealtad just now noticed existed and just now noticed had an eyeball in it and also started groaning.
She added it to the tab of things she decided to ignore.
Instead, Leal cringed as she pointed over Willow's shoulder. "Well, uh, you might wanna hurry to class so you at least don't get marked late or absent," she mused, causing the girl's eyes to widen in worry.
But as Willow turned to gather her things, Luz stopped her, "Hey, wait." Her eyes were glued toward the goop at their feet. "I know how we can both get what we want," she said as she crouched down with her hands out.
Lealtad's eyes widened. "Luz, what're you—" Her sister scooped up handfuls of the gloopy puddle and plastered them on her hoodie, creating a very audible splat. Leal just groaned, throwing her head back as she exasperatedly muttered, "Dios mío."
"Make me your abomination." She grinned. "I'll get you a good grade, and you can get me into magic school. It's fiendishly clever!" She crossed her arms and waggled her brow.
Lealtad face palmed.
"What?" Willow exclaimed.
Thankfully the girl seemed reasonable.
"I saw that girl's thing," Luz argued, "It's just chunks of stuff that talks weird. I'm chunks of stuff, and I talk weird!" she punctuated her point by slapping her cheeks, spreading the "abomination" sludge to her face as her grin grew.
"That's… true," Willow agreed, cheeks red. She giggled as she stuck out her hand. "Okay! It's a deal."
"Ahh Hell," Leal whined. So much for reasonable. How bad was she failing in class that this sounded like a good plan?
As they shook hands, Luz remarked, "This is a great plan."
When they pulled apart, their hands were still semi attached, despite their effortless tugs. "Oops. Abomination goo," Willow supplied.
Before Leal could get between them to help, Luz already pried herself off using her foot as leverage off of Willow's hand, and sent herself straight into the abomination goo puddle. "Great plan!" she immediately assured.
Willow simply smiled before turning back to her bag and sorting everything back in its place. Leal walked over to her sister, who started rolling around like a cat on grass. She was now nearly covered head-to-toe in the goo. "Luz, what are you doing?" As she opened her mouth Leal quickly added, "And don't say, 'covering myself in goo' because we both know what it is I'm asking."
Luz giggled. "Then can I abstain?"
She glared.
"Alright alright!" she sat up and held her hands up. "I'll answer." She stood up and placed her fists on her hips, heroically puffing her chest out as she declared, "I'm getting an education!" Leal worriedly bit her lip, unsure how to respond but Luz went on. "This is the best way for me to see what magic school's all about!"
And magic was what she was here to learn.
And right now, Lealtad had no other avenues to suggest to her sister that would intrigue her. Now when she was in hyper active, enthused mode. The Luz Noceda that had unrelenting determination could rarely ever be stopped, only guided or advised. So if anything else…
"Please be smart about this?" Leal softly begged. Luz's smile brightened at her lack of naysaying. "I doubt that pot has room for two and while I would give you my bat for protection I also don't feel comfortable getting it gooped on." She smiled as she spun said bat for emphasis.
Luz snorted. "I can take your camera? Take pics of the inside of the school?" she offered, miming the act of photography.
Leal laughed. "If I'm not giving you my bat, why would I give you my camera?"
Her sister laughed back, shaking her head. "Okay, okay, fair enough." She held out her arms. "I promise to be safe, okay?"
She stepped forward for her hug until Lealtad backed up and held out her bat, distancing the two of them. "I love ya, hermana, but… I'm not touching you right now." Luz adorably pouted, blinking at her. "Nope, not even with your cute face." Her sister chuckled as she concedingly shrugged. She then walked over to the pot and hopped right in.
Willow gave her a thumbs up before handing the pot lid over to her for Luz to situate over her head. Right as she grabbed the handles of her cart, ready to wheel off, Leal waved at the girl to gain her attention.
"I, um, do you mind if I tag along?" She quickly added, "J-Just until you get to your school! I'll hide off to the side before that." For good measure Leal also grabbed her beanie and pulled it over a bit more, covering her ears halfway. It felt even more tight on her head but she couldn't care less right now.
Willow nodded with a kind smile. "I don't mind." She nodded her head, motioning Lealtad to join her. "But we better hurry, the next bell will ring soon."
Luz was still fiddling around with the pot lid, but Leal considered her distracted enough that she could talk to Willow. She dropped her voice as she said, "Um… walking her to school is sorta our… thing? An-And I know she's not really attending but this is—"
"Peace of mind?" the witch guessed.
Leal fondly chuckled. "Yeah. Sorta." She looked up at her sister and smiled at her struggle to adjust the lid correctly.
"I'll make sure nothing happens to her," Willow assured.
Maybe it was because this girl had such an adorably kind voice, but she actually felt relieved at her words. "Please do," she whispered back, her voice cracking ever so slightly. She immediately cleared her throat, thankful for her half covered ears as they were no doubt red. Her expression's concern must've been so easy to read. She decided to at least branch off the topic a bit. "Umm, but also like, try not to get yourself in trouble too? I mean, I know you're technically cheating but still. I don't think I'd sleep well knowing I got someone else trouble for getting wrapped up in our shenanigans." She laughed, shooting the girl a teasing smile. In all honesty, there was no "technically" about it, Willow was cheating. But, Willow was also throwing her sister a bone in exchange for a tit-for-tat so she couldn't entirely complain.
"I-I swear I don't usually do this," Willow sheepishly defended. "But… the Abomination Track has been weighing down on me and it's… hard."
Leal frowned. "I get it. School's always been hard." She leaned over and nudged the girl's arm. "Just getting by, day by day, is testament of your strength in my opinion at least. So kudos for you sticking it out this long."
The witch girl brightened at that. "Well, here's hoping my strength is enough to carry us through the day," she mused. "Because we're coming up on Hexside right now!"
At that, Luz slightly emerged from her pot and gasped with Leal, glancing up in awe of the structure they were witnessing as she came out of the clearing. They were still just a ways away from the path leading into the school, but it was noticeably large. Lealtad couldn't help but compare the structure to Luna Nova from Little Witch Academia, both the palette of the fictional school and this real live magic one before her had similar designs and colour schemes. The main highlights that jumped at Leal were the aegean blue banners and gold trims surrounding the ivory coloured walls. It looked like a cathedral.
Set aside the school itself, Lealtad also noticed the abundance of different species all approaching the structure, wearing—from the looks of it—a variation of nine colours on their sleeves and pants, but overall sharing the same uniform cowl and tunic. She immediately looked to her sister for her reaction and of course found her wide eyed and bursting with joy.
"Welcome to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics," Willow announced.
More squealing from Luz erupted and Leal laughed. "Sunshine, mind if I catch a pic?" Though her ideal angle would've been from the front, she settled with being off to the side as it still had a nice look. She quickly took one of the school itself, capturing a low angle that encapsulated Hexside's towering presence and awe. Then, she smiled at Willow. "Lean up against the pot, Poison Ivy," she nodded over before taking a few steps back from the cart, "I'll get the both of ya."
Willow reddened at that while Luz asked, "Wait, can you get the whole school from there?"
"Ehh," Leal brushed off, "the main focus is you two anyways."
"I-I don't know if I should be in this," Willow objected.
"Stay," the Nocedas said at the same time.
She giggled and obeyed. Heeding Leal's quick tips, she leaned up against the pot and beamed a smile whilst Luz held out a pair of peace signs as she shot a wide toothy grin. Lealtad chuckled at the image before giving the two her thumbs up.
With that wordless exchange, the two set off for the school, Willow now immersed in the crowd of students.
Even in spite of the emanating excitement from her sister, Lealtad still felt as though she just sent her sister off into mortal peril.
"I probably just did the dumbest thing… ever," she muttered to herself as she turned back into the forest. Looking at the photo she just took of the two, she laughed, shaking her head. "Alright, maybe second dumbest thing…"
::::
The trek back to the Owl House was quite possibly the worst isolation anxiety Leal had ever experienced. Within every minute or so she started to panic and scold herself for letting her sister even go into a school with "Demonics" as its slogan, let alone leave her all by herself with a stranger they just met. But then every thirty seconds or so rationality would kick in and she considered things like: Willow already seemed like a trustworthy person from their small interaction, Luz really needed an experience like this, and that there was no way she could sneak into a witch school by herself.
It was agonizing.
How desperate were they for Luz to get an education that they had to resort to sneaking her inside of a school? It was absurd on paper. The very thought of how they detoured from original summer plans to chase this… pipe dream was something that most people would consider flat out crazy but Lealtad knew what a place like this meant to her sister. And for that reason alone, it meant a lot to her by proxy.
Her phone chimed and Leal jumped at that. She shouldn't have had a connection unless—she looked up and saw the Owl House out of the clearing. Right. She was nearby and the connection through the portal must've been enough for her phone. Taking a deep breath, Leal fished for her phone and frowned at the messages. Plural. Leal blinked at them. It wasn't just her mother? But as she thumbed through her notifications, she sighed once the realization set in. This was usually a common occurrence a week into summer.
Her classmates like Annie Duquette and Nico Bronx, the energetic sort who constantly asked if she wanted to hang out after school or something along those lines, were messaging her. With summer fresh out and kids wanting to start off with a bang, her phone was almost always spammed with students from her school asking if she wanted to hang out. Some mostly on the premise of actually wanting to date.
Her face scrunched up at the thought. Leal wasn't exactly aromantic, but she knew most teens—boys especially—saw dating as a means of getting to third or second base. While she enjoyed softball, she wasn't up for that kind of batting. That also wasn't to say she hadn't met girls her age who were also sexually active as well and impure with their intentions. She shuddered as she shook off the thoughts of hormonally intentioned teens.
All in all, Lealtad wasn't exactly thrilled with most of her messages.
Annie Duquette [11:11 AM]: Hey Leal! Sorry this is last min but our squad is going out for movies/pizza 2nite. Wanna come?
She kept scrolling.
Nico Bronx [11:21 AM]: Ann said she'd texted u but i dont beleve her.
Nico Bronx [11:21 AM]: we hannging out 2 nite. Movies, pizza, all the stuffs. Hit us up!
Nico Bronx [11:22 AM]: ( ﾟヮﾟ)
And scrolling.
Adarsh Perera [9:00 AM]: Hey!
Adarsh Perera [9:00 AM]: Do you wanna go out today?
Adarsh Perera [9:02 AM]: Hang out at Gravesfield Townsquare?
Adarsh Perera [9:05 AM]: Walk around?
Adarsh Perera [9:10 AM]: Or whatever you're into is fine too… i don't mind. :)
More scrolling.
Chelsea Garcia [10:37 AM]: HEEEEY LEAL!
Chelsea Garcia [10:37 AM]: caps oops
Chelsea Garcia [10:38 AM]: wanna go hit the mall? Catch a movie? I buy? ( •‿-)
She sighed. Then came a message that actually stumped her.
Mami [11:00 AM]: How's Luz?
Lealtad bit her lip. Two words. Well, technically three—a contraction and one word—but still: that's all it took to freeze Leal all over. How was luz? Did she even know? Nearly thirty minutes ago she was down in the dumps, and thirty minutes before that she was excited for what Eda had in store for them today. And now? She was either living out her dream or getting mauled by witch students who could sniff her out as a human.
"Christ," Leal muttered, "her imagination's rubbing off on me."
"You wanna keep standing there?" Eda's voice rang out. She looked up and blinked. Right, she was walking toward the Owl House. King currently was feeding a baby trash slug while Eda was lounging on a chair with her #1 Bad Girl mug. At least nothing crazy was going on. "Because we do have chairs in this house y'know?" the witch egged on.
Lealtad just ignored the witch as she walked over to King, pointing at the trash slug. "Where'd you get the slug?"
King beamed up at her. "Eda gave him to me! Prince Jr. and I have a bet to prove Eda wrong!"
The teen raised an intrigued brow. "Oh?"
"You're still not gonna teach it anything like that," Eda teased, smirking at the demon.
He pointed the treat in his hand at her. "It's called positive reinforcement, Eda. And it works wonders!" Prince Jr. jumped and swallowed the treat whole, then instantly grew in size.
"Whoa!" Leal yelped. "Uhh, is that normal?"
"How do ya think they store all that trash inside them?" the witch mused from her chair.
She shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess. But uh, should you keep feeding it if it grows like that?"
King huffed. "Trust me. Watch this: Prince Jr., attack Eda! Knock over her drink! Mess up her hair!" he commanded, waving another treat over at Eda. Unfortunately, Prince Jr. was more interested in following the treat in King's hand.
Eda sarcastically replied, "Oh, no. Please stop."
"Well, I haven't seen your student in forever." King placed his hand on his hip. "For all we know, she's not even loyal to you anymore." Leal snorted at that. If only she knew.
"Ha ha ha, you wish." She then frowned a bit. "But yeah. Where is she?" she curiously looked over at Leal. "She not with you?"
Was… she for real right now?
Lealtad guffawed. This was hilarious. How absent minded could she be? "Ar-Are…" she wheezed, "are you serious?" She wiped a tear from her eye as she shook her head. "You just now realized your student who said she'd return to your house, wasn't at your house?" She released a sigh. "Man, mentor of the year over here."
King giggled at that while Prince Jr. helped himself to another treat.
Eda just frowned. "Alright, alright, I get it Bean Head—where is she?"
Leal blanked at that, sobering up from her laughter almost instantly. Should she tell Eda? If she was so adamant about how bad school was, maybe telling her would make her upset. But she and her sister didn't exactly discuss disclosing today's scheme with the witch. But she and her sister didn't exactly discuss disclosing today's scheme with the witch. Conclusively, Lealtad decided confirming with Luz first would be wise, so she opted for a half truth. "Oh, she was off in the forest," she pointed with her bat over in the distance, "playing around. Getting sucked into the nearest thing that catches her eye, y'know, Sunshine being Sunshine." She shrugged uninterestedly as she pulled her phone out.
But maybe she was a bad liar because Eda was already narrowing her eyes at her. "Hmmm, not really much for her to do in those parts of the woods though." Eda took a sip. "All that's over there is…" her eyes widened as she set her drink down. She stared at Lealtad as if she had just been shot. "No."
The look she gave her was the sort of look Leal had to face whenever their mom looked at her asking if another Luz-cident had happened. In short: Leal did not have a poker face at least when it came to her mom. And now, apparently, Eda as well. She just awkwardly smiled and nodded. "Yeah…"
Eda gasped as she practically launched herself out from her chair and darted straight toward Hexside. Leal was blown away at her speed and how desperate she was, not even thinking to bring her staff. Unsure of what to do, she brought her attention backbrought her attention back toto her phone and moved toward the Owl House.. ButBut as she turned around, she she gasped at the sight of Prince Jr. as he was now slightly larger than the size of King. But judging by the excitement on the demon's face, Leal was a tad confident in that he knew what he was doing.
She simply retreated back inside the house, not bothering with bidding Hooty a greeting of any sort and resigned herself to her phone. After setting her bag, bat, and camera on the table, she ungracefully plopped herself on the couch. She quickly swiped over to her DMs from all her classmates, deciding to grace them all with the decency of having read their messages. Though out of everyone she chose to message, Annie was the most sensible in terms of being straight to the point.
Lealtad Noceda [11:31 AM]: Mornin Duquette. Appreciate the invite but fraid I can't make it tonight.
Lealtad Noceda [11:31 AM]: Or any night I suppose—I'm volunteering at the summer camp my sister's attending.
Lealtad Noceda [11:31 AM]: Sorry :(
Fortunately, a response came immediately.
Annie Duquette [11:32 AM]: thought ya already finished ur community hours?
Lealtad Noceda [11:32 AM]: Always good to pad up a resumé.
Annie Duquette [11:32 AM]: lol, fair enough!
Annie Duquette [11:33 AM]: but dw Leal! Not a big deal. Hope u and ur sister have a nice summer!
Annie Duquette [11:33 AM]: tell her i said hi! :)
Lealtad Noceda [11:33 AM]: Will do. Thanks.
Lealtad hesitated for a moment. There were still dozens of messages she had to sort through. Call her lazy or just plain rude, but she didn't want to bother responding to everysingle classmate right now. Especially not when she knew most of them weren't really vying for companionship or anything of the sort. So instead, she messaged Annie again.
Lealtad Noceda [11:35 AM]: Hey sorry if this is a lot to ask but I just wondered if you could spread the word around that I'm unavailable this summer?
Lealtad Noceda [11:35 AM]: I've been getting a lot of messages from classmates and I can't really respond right now.
She hoped to God that Annie would throw her a bone and spare her from the horrors of socialization over text. And thankfully enough…
Annie Duquette [11:36 AM]: oh sure thing! I gotcha girl. Nico adn I can spread it around.
Annie Duquette [11:36 AM]: and*
Annie Duquette [11:36 AM]: but lowkey flex eh? Little Miss Popular. ;P
Leal rolled her eyes.
Lealtad Noceda [11:36 AM]: Thanks, Duquette. Appreciate it.
Annie Duquette [11:36 AM]: no prob!
With that relief surging through her, Leal thumbed over to her mother's messages, finally permitting the illusion of it having been read. She hovered her thumbs over her digital keyboard, racking her brain over what to say. Could she really say she was fine if in the next few hours she found out Luz was dead? Could she make up a half-truth about how Luz wasn't enjoying this place because it wasn't living up to her expectations? Lealtad bit her lip as she dropped her phone to her chest.
What could she say?
It was like each day that passed, Leal was starting to grasp at new things here on the Boiling Isles, and methods on how to message their mom like nothing literally out of this world was going on. Dwelling on it at each time made her regret promising to Luz that she had it handled, but in no way did she ever consider the option of asking for her aid. Set aside the fact that Leal wasn't even sure if she would be able to help, she just didn't want to burden her sister with anything else. Most especially the issue of burdening her with their mother. And that wasn't to say Luz didn't like their mom, it was more so that she wasn't… the best at explaining things to her sometimes.
Lealtad decided to distract herself momentarily. She grabbed her camera and powered it on then switched back to her phone, readying the Bluetooth download from her app. Once the photos loaded in, she quickly ignored the one with the trash slug in favour of the two of Hexside. The school itself was beautiful, and while Leal wanted to play around with the lighting of her shot she instead found herself drawn to the one of Willow and Luz. As if by reflex, she smiled at the picture of the two of them smiling. Her gaze affixed on her sister's wide toothy grin.
Luz's smile.
Maybe she wasn't okay with everything.
Maybe she was facing mortal peril within the school right now.
Maybe she was getting caught up in a dark plot against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
In all honesty, Lealtad didn't know. So that was what she said.
A half truth.
Fave Bebé [11:45 AM]: Not sure, haven't seen her much today.
Fave Bebé [11:46 AM]: Last I saw she looked pretty happy.
She hoped it stayed that way…
::::
Exploring the Owl House was equally sensible and frightening in Lealtad's opinion.
With Eda out, King playing with his "student", and , King playing with his "student", and Hooty napping, she was free to inspect their humble residence without getting hounded. Sure, it was typical horror movie fashion to investigate the naturally creepy house of the witch-like lady who's letting you stay there all by yourself, but Leal found being prepared was safer than paying for it later. Not surprisingly, the Owl House fell under the usual fictional trope of looking vastly larger in the inside despite its outward appearance. But because of its expansive roominess, the question of locating certain rooms was an important note to keep.
So far, nearly every door she had happened across was accommodated for storage. Or rather, Leal assumed they were. As she opened each door, there would be a mountainous pile on the other end threatening to topple, leaving her to shut them closed immediately. Some even moved by themselves. Not like, physics making it fall—no, it was like something was in them. Or it was animated. Needless to say, the regret in pursuing for the sake of curiosity was welling up enough at this point.
Now all that was left so far was the shed outside. She had seen it in passing, thinking it only to be storage, but with the considerably laughable amounts of rooms being used for said storage, she was left to wonder what was within it at all. Earlier she had found a basement, and much to her surprise it was more spacious than most "storage" rooms—heck, it was roomier than the room they were sleeping in (but still eerier)! All in all, with Eda's non-traditional methods, Leal could only assume the shed was anything but storage.
As she slipped out of the front door, careful not to disturb the creepy door creature that was Hooty, she gasped at the enormous trash slug following King around. Leal gripped her bat nervously as she sidestepped over to the shed. Thankfully, it was unlocked, allowing the young girl to slip right on in without attracting the slug's attention. She might not know a lot about demons, or fantastical creatures, but she thought it looked hungry.
Lealted shuddered off the thoughts of being that thing's lunch and resigned herself to looking around the shed. Much like the Owl House, the shed was a lot larger on the inside, more so in length at least. It was like a walk-in closet, with high shelves on the sides filled with chests and tarped over objects. Underneath the shelves were tucked away cedar barrel-like containers. Leal spun around as she scanned her surroundings.
"Definitely screams scary-cabin-in-the-woods kinda vibes," she muttered. With how much of the household was filled with sentient objects and nesting owl critters, she practically held onto her bat like a lifeline. Though, in spite of all the terrifying elements the Owl House possessed, Lealtad did acknowledge the homeliness of everything.
It felt lived in.
To that extent, she supposed she could commend Eda for making a home out of something.
And as if she summoned her by mental prayer, the door swung open and in came the Owl Lady herself. Lealtad tilted her head at the sight of the downtrodden witch, who now bore a dunce cap atop her head. She must've just noticed Lealtad's presence as once they locked eyes she froze, but then covered up her expression with annoyance.
"What're you doing here? Came to say 'I told you so'?" Eda grumbled as she dragged her staff behind her, walking past Leal and over at the other end of the shed.
"Excuse me?" Leal asked, taken aback by her sudden aggression.
Eda rolled her eyes. "King's dumb bet. Is that why you're waiting in here?"
That barely answered her question, but Lealtad decided to just explain herself. "I was just exploring the Owl House." She shrugged. "Figured I'd check out the shed too." She pointed at Eda. "What about you? What was this was this 'bet' you made with King?"
She sighed. "Oh nothing… except I now live in this shed forever and can't remove this shame cap."
Leal blinked, clearly baffled by that response. "I'm sorry—what?" She chuckled.
Eda just frowned. "So your sister got herself into Hexside. You were right about me!" She sat herself down, leaning against the other door as she bonked her head against it. "This is my punishment for it I guess."
"You're still not making any sense," Leal remarked as she walked over near Eda. Just a few feet away, she leaned up against the ladder and set her bat up beside her. "But if this is 'bout my sister sneaking into Hexside—I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She looked at her sneakers as she kicked the ground. "She really wanted to learn and I really didn't want to see that smile go away."
Eda chuckled. "You're a good sister." She raised her head at that, furrowing a confused brow as she ignored how hot her ears went at the random compliment. Eda then elaborated, "I mean, you pulled me aside to chew me out for not mentoring her properly and encouraged her little adventures because it makes her happy."
She snorted at that. "Dios mío, I do not encourage 'em. But… I know how much stuff like this means to her," she relented.
"Even still," Eda continued, "You were right about her. Now she's off getting an education because I suck at teaching." The witch pouted as she crossed her arms.
Leal rolled her eyes. With a smirk, she commented, "Figures a dropout can't exactly practice what they preach." Eda scowled at her. "I'm kidding," she quickly added. But that didn't diminish the annoyance on Eda's face, leaving Leal to frown. "Listen… Sunshine has always been… an eccentric learner. And I told you before that traditional learning doesn't exactly mesh well with her sometimes." She shrugged as she brought her left hand to her bat, awkwardly thumbing over its grip as she thought on her next choice of words. "I just, I'm trying to get at the fact that being there might not be the be-all-end-all. You know?"
"How do you figure?" the Owl Lady asked.
She just shrugged again. "I dunno. Maybe it'll tire out on her. It might just be a stopgap for now. It might be what she needs right now. Just to compare and contrast." Lealtad looked back at Eda and sighed. "Meshing your style and a traditional style, it might work. So… don't give up yet?" She bit her lip and locked her eyes with Eda's. "Please?"
Eda smiled. "Alright Bean Head, I'll be sure to reach out to her when I can."
"Thanks…" Lealtad smirked. "And I wasn't just saying all that because you're letting us stay with you."
"Oh of course not." She laughed. "You're just appealing to my charming nature."
"Don't make me regret cheering you—"
"Help me, help me, help me!" King's voice suddenly appeared. The two looked toward the other door and watched as the little demon dog slipped right in and hastily shut the door behind him. He continued to whimper as he dashed toward Eda and landed in her arms.
Before Leal could even ask what his deal was, a loud series of banging proceeded to thud against the door.
And it started to fall into place.
Leal frowned as Eda teasingly inquired, "Trouble with your student?"
"Yes, yes!" King admitted.
"Are you sure you need my help? Maybe he only wants more of your brilliant lessons," she teased, smirking down at the cowering demon.
Leal rolled her eyes. Just as she was about to scold Eda, the door busted open. With a splintering hailstorm of wood flying all over the shed, she barely had time to process the giant trash slug slithering toward them. But once Leal gathered her senses, she could only watch as only watch as Prince Jr. dragged dragged King by his tail almost out the door.
The poor guy began begging as he helplessly dug his little claw fingers into the ground, "Please help me! You can call me Mr. Wiggles!"
That seemed to satisfy Eda's pettiness as she stood up and marched over to the creature. She casually stomped its head with her staff, causing it to wail in pain and release King, all the while retreating outside. With King hiding behind her leg for safety, Eda grinned. "Okay, Mr. Wiggles. Here's what we're gonna do: you and Bean Head are gonna go raid one of my pantries for my salt bin." She gripped at her staff excitedly as she walked forward. "Bring it to the second floor just outside the window, and when I get Prince Jr. in range—pour it on him!"
Lealtad stared in shock. That was a well devised plan for something on the fly. But… "All that effort to go get salt?" She gestured at Eda. "You're the self-proclaimed most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles—can't you just magick it away or something?"
She smirked and threw a glance back at Leal. "Well I would just roast the thing, but you and your sister might not appreciate the squealing pains of a creature being burned alive." Lealtad froze at that. "Also, charred trash slug carcasses does not smell good. So yeah, this is the least painful way to calm the beast down." She winked and waved. "Now I'll hold it off, so hurry!" she shouted as she dashed out the door.
King urged Lealtad along, ordering her to hurry as the two slipped out the back shed door and in through the kitchen door of the Owl House from the back. Leal was genuinely taken aback by Eda's considerate planning. Set aside the fact that she was really calm and collected under pressure—a pattern she's just now realizing from their fight with both the Warden and Adegast—the fact that she probably possessed a multitude of methods to kill the poor overfed thing but chose not to for Leal's sake?
That was honestly heartwarming.
"Leal!" King shouted, attempting to pry open one of the hallway doors near the kitchen. "The salt barrel's in here, but it won't open!" he complained, pushing the door with all his might.
She blankly stared as she walked over and gently pulled the door open, staring at King throughout the entire action. He sheepishly laughed before diving into the closet and pushing the barrel out into the hall. "I'll take the back, you take the front," she suggested as she rounded over King's end. She gave it one good heft and seethed through her teeth. This had some weight to it. "Alright, go," she gritted out as she started pushing the barrel. They were almost near the stairs, but Leal couldn't help but feel obligated to check, "You're pulling on your end, right?"
"Of course I am!" he strained through his breaths, right as they came to the first step.
A distant, bellowing roar and the sounds of flames echoing out startled Leal from her exhaustion. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!" She hoisted the barrel up, lifting with her legs as King no doubt did his best to aid her in getting it up the steps. After a couple minutes of tirelessly pushing and pulling, they managed to get it out through a second floor room and out onto the roof of the front door. King carefully pushed the barrel toward Leal as she gripped onto it tightly, making sure it didn't fall off. "Why the Hell isn't Hooty helping!" she annoyedly shouted.
King groaned as he gave one more shove, "I honestly have no idea! I think he's still napping!"
With barrel on the lip of the roof, the two watched down at Eda as she dodged a fire blast from the slug and countered with a swing to its face once again, following up with a prod to its face. Agitated, the trash slug trailed after her, allowing her to lead it near the front and just under the two's dropzone.
"Pour the salt, now!" Eda shouted as she backed out of the way.
Leal began to pour but was met with small resistance. When she looked over at King's end she found him sorrowfully staring down at Prince Jr. as he called out, "Baby boy!"
"Seriously?" she exasperatedly hissed.
The creature whimpered in response as its eyes suddenly became glossy.
And then it roared, exposing its sarlacc pit of a mouth, causing King to glare down at it. "I have no son," he declared. Together, the two pushed the barrel off the roof as he shouted, "Eat salt!"
The barrel miraculously managed to land perfectly in the slug's mouth, bouncing right out and pouring all the salt within. The poor creature began to spasm as it whined, and then, shrunk back to its original size within the blink of an eye. After it fell to the ground, the little trash slug scampered off toward the forest, whimpering in fear.
With the victory still fresh, King proceeded to ride the high as he began doing a little dance whilst cheering, "Yes, I did it! I'm amazing!" Lealtad rolled her eyes at the demon's lack of acknowledgement of teamwork, and so she gently gave the little demon a nudge, causing him to fall right off the edge. She assumed the worst a fall from their height could do was bruise him, but fortunately any outcome she would've expected hadn't happened as he landed right into Eda's arms.
Eda gave him a knowing look, causing him to sheepishly rub his head as he amended, "Heh, you guys helped too."
"I carried the damn thing!" Leal chided.
King ignored her as he smiled up at Eda. "You are a good teacher."
Leal honestly had no idea how that related to what just happened but Eda seemed touched by the sentiment so she didn't have it in her to comment about it.
"Oh I wish Luz thought that too," Eda sadly remarked.
Before she could even argue otherwise, Leal froze as she heard her sister shouting in the distance, "Eda!"
Lealtad immediately hopped down from the roof, curling into a tuck and roll as she landed. She quickly glanced down at her bag and camera—assuring nothing was damaged—and rushed to meet her sister halfway. "Sunshine, are you—"
Luz cut her off as she tackled Leal into an embrace, still barreling forward. She managed to bring Eda and King into their group hug as well and squeezed them all with a loving strength Lealtad forgot her sister possessed.
" Ugh! I never understand when you do this," Eda complained.
"It's called affection, Dama Búho," Leal teased.
"Your lesson worked!" Luz exclaimed as she pulled away from the two. "Keeping junk in my pocket saved my life!"
Leal's eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait. Saved your life? What happened!" she grabbed her sister's shoulders, ignoring the slop of goop as she looked her over. "Are you okay?"
"Forget me," she dismissed. "My new friends—they're in danger!"
She cocked her head at her sister. "Hermana, cálmate. Respirar. Tell us what happened."
And as if the running theme was interrupting people today, another voice echoed in the distance calling out for Luz. The four turned to the source and Leal was surprised to see Willow and a short black witch with a sweet fade following up behind her. She noted that he had a similar uniform with the exception of his pants and sleeves being sky blue. The two witches rushed toward Luz, embracing her with a hug of relief that sort of touched Lealtad's heart.
Her sister actually made some friends it seemed.
"Seriously, what-what is that?" Eda grumpily inquired.
Leal just shot Eda a raised brow. "Live with her long enough and you'll grasp the concept of affection, Miss Owl Lady," she teased.
As the three pulled away from their hug, Willow held Luz's shoulders as she said, "You won't believe it, Luz. Everything is perfect now!"
Her sister returned the gesture as she held her smile. "It's true. I don't believe it!"
Leal snorted at her sister's honesty.
"Principal Bump was so impressed by my plant work he's switching me to the plant magic track! Look!" The young witch pulled away and snapped her fingers before doing a little twirl. Like a sailor moon transformation, Willow's orchid sleeves and pants were now of a fern green palette.
As Luz cheered and hugged Willow once more, Lealtad chimed in, "Green is definitely a good look on you."
Willow flushed at the praise.
"Wait," Luz's face scrunched up. "What about Amity?"
The witch boy beside them answered, "Last we saw, she was asking Bump if today could count as extra credit."
Her sister clasped her hands together as she excitedly stated, "Well, I can't wait to see you in action next time I sneak in."
Willow winced behind Luz as the boy held up a finger. "Uh.. about that," he dug into his pocket and pulled out a rolled up paper, "you're kinda… sorta… banned."
Leal's jaw dropped whilst Eda triumphantly appeared behind the boy. "That's my girl!" she cheered as she pumped her fists.
She frowned at the older witch's enthusiasm and looked to her sister, who seemed shocked to her very core.
"But we could come here and teach you what we learned," Willow offered.
Luz softened at that. "Aw. That would be nice. But…" she turned to Eda. "I have a pretty great teacher already."
Eda's face contorted into surprise, and was quickly masked with pride as she remarked, "Yeah, that's right! Luz is my student." She swiped the poster out from the boy's hand. "Back off, academy twerps." The three began laughing at her as she pointed at them, shooing them away from Luz. She gave the poster another once over, fondly smiling at it. "Ahh, baby's first wanted poster." She walked over to Luz and patted her head. "Good job kid. Looks like I taught you something after all." Lealtad rolled her eyes while her sister soaked in Eda's praise.
"Uhh," the boy chirped up, "you high five with your hands? Not your head."
Lealtad confusedly stared at the boy before grabbing her sister and pulling her aside. "Now, I have a feeling you just had a field trip of a day, but you know I gotta ask—"
"No Lealtad," Luz affectionately smiled up at her, "No bruises, no bites, no cuts, no scratches."
She furrowed her brow. "Promise?"
"Promise."
"Good." She then embraced her sister with an even tighter hug than the one Luz had given her, breathing in the goopy sludge was something she could bear for now as she had her sister with her once again.
Luz returned the hug instantly, clenching on the girl's army jacket as she whispered, "Thanks for letting me go."
"I was so worried about you," she softly whispered. Her sister either didn't hear her or had no comment on that, merely just standing there in their embrace. Leal glanced over to Willow and mouthed, "Thank you."
She blushed again and nodded.
"Alright," Leal sniffed as she pulled away. "Now I understand you made some more friends?" She teased as she turned to the witch boy. "Sorry 'bout that. Just had to make sure my sister was alright."
The boy's eyes widened as he gasped. "Wait… does that mean—you're human too?"
Leal chuckled. "Uhh, yeah?" She reached for her beanie and tugged it back a bit, exposing her ears.
"This. Is. The. Best. Day. Ever." It was as if his eyes widened at each word.
Unsure of what to make of his excitement, she just simply stuck her hand out and smiled, "Lealtad Noceda. I'm Luz's older sister."
He accepted the handshake and shook it with vigor. "Augustus Porter. B-But, you can call me Gus! Because that's the nickname your sister gave me! A human nickname! From y'know, the other human with us!"
She laughed. "Um, read ya loud and clear, Porter," she teased, gently retracting her hand from his rapid shaking.
His mouth dropped again. "Another human nickname!"
Luz cringed. "A-Ah, n-not really, Leal just likes to call people by—"
Willow grabbed Luz's shoulder and shushed her. "Just let him have this."
Gus proceeded to whoop and cheer as he ran around the group, chanting, "Human nicknames!"
Lealtad smirked down at Willow. "So, safe to say today was good academically?" At the witch's nod, she winked at her. "Glad to hear it. Happy for you, Poison Ivy."
Gus gasped as he returned to Willow's side, shaking her arm. "You have a human nickname too? Why am I just now learning this!"
Leal proceeded to tune the two out as she pointed at the wanted poster in Eda's hands and quipped, "Mamá would kill me if she learned about that."
Luz snorted. "Oh she'd kill us if she learned that I almost got dissected!"
Leal's smile dropped. "What."
Her sister began sweating as she nervously smiled. "Uhhhh, n-nothing? I-uh," her eyes widened. She pointed at Leal's chest. "P-Picture! How 'bout a photo? Before Gus and Willow leave!"
Lealtad's bubbling anger and concern quelled at Luz's suggestion, though she still held her glare. "Fine. But you are going to tell me about today." She powered on her camera. "And I mean every detail." Her sister obediently nodded. Satisfied, Leal turned and shouted, "Hey, Poison Ivy, Porter, wanna do a quick photo op?"
Gus lit up and immediately dragged Willow over, much to her embarrassment. Luz wrapped her arms around the two and pushed them together, cheek to cheek as she grinned. The moment was captured, but Lealtad shrugged and figured, why not? "Eda, hand her the poster."
The witch smirked as she handed said poster over to Luz, who held it up like it was a graduation certificate. Willow and Gus playfully gestured at the paper as Leal snapped more photos, noting that Gus was really into the poses. He photographed really well. Though Willow was more shy, Leal could tell she shined more with Luz and Gus' presence.
After a series of pictures, Lealtad stepped aside and allowed her sister to bid the two farewell, along with any more parting words. In the meantime, she looked down at the photos as they uploaded to her phone. She smiled at them as they loaded one by one. Her sister's smile, no longer alone, but surrounded with others.
She liked that.
::::
With Luz currently showering off the Abomination goop, and Eda prepping dinner, Leal was left by her lonesome in their room, looking back on the gallery of photos she had taken so far. Luz had filled her in a bit about Gus and Willow and Hexside life before Lealtad all but threw the girl in the bathroom. She told her that she could regale them with her tale during dinner after she finally showered. But she was happy her sister was happy. And she knew for certain that—excluding all the witchiness of things—their mother would be too.
At that, a thought occurred. The merit of it had Leal excited, causing her to edit the first photo of the three bunched together. A small crop was needed, just to focus on the three's upper faces. With Luz blocking one side of the two's ears, all Leal had to do was crop the borders smaller to hide their pointy ears.
And just like that, she had her story.
Fave Bebé [5:14 PM]: LuzsFriendsIMAGE.
Fave Bebé [5:15 PM]: After a hectic day with some arts-and-crafts, Luz made some friends!
Fave Bebé [5:15 PM]: Meet Gus and Willow!
Fave Bebé [5:15 PM]: Gus is a total nerd 'bout fun facts.
Fave Bebé [5:16 PM]: Willow is a plant lover.
Fave Bebé [5:16 PM]: and these two were TOTALLY accomplices in the event that got our Sunshine covered in purple paint today.
She chuckled at her own text. From this photo, it genuinely did look like some paint got on Luz's face. Lealtad was quite proud of herself for covering that.
Mami [5:17 PM]: Wow! I'm so proud of her!
Mami [5:17 PM]: Do I even wanna know what happened?
Fave Bebé [5:17 PM]: Nothing too bad. Just a paint war mishap is all.
Leal paused as she thought about her next choice of words. Her honesty from before worked wonders then, it might do so again.
Fave Bebé [5:17 PM]: Could've probably stopped them before it got so bad but I had to see how it played out.
Fave Bebé [5:18 PM]: Guess I got caught up in watching Luz have fun.
Even though, it was under a guise, admitting that surged a great deal of relief through Lealtad.
Mami [5:18 PM]: Make sure to make some friends of your own too!
"Hey Bean Head?" She looked up at Eda, who was poking her head through the door.
"Ah, dinner's ready?" At Eda's nod, Leal quickly sent her mother a text.
Fave Bebé [5:18 PM]: Ah, gotta go Mamá! Time to work up some grub.
Fave Bebé [5:19 PM]: I'll send Sunshine your love.
Mami [5:19]: Please do. :)
As Leal hopped off the chest she was sitting on, Eda cleared her throat, surprising her that she was still at the door. "Uhh, can I help you?"
She smiled. "Thanks, for, uh, trying to cheer me up."
Lealtad smiled back. "Thanks…" she walked by the witch and patted her shoulder, "for making us dinner."
As Eda laughed behind her, Leal hurriedly rushed over to the bathroom to let her sister know about dinner. Once she arrived, the door swung open and out came Luz. Now wearing her sleepwear, hair damp, but of course the one that hadn't changed about her was that smile and eyes of wonder. Lealtad smiled at her sister as she stepped out of the bathroom and blinked at her. "What's up? Oh! Is it dinner?"
"Sure is kiddo!" Eda answered from behind. "Now c'mon! Before King eats it all! Or before Hooty decides to join us!" The three raced down the stairs and hurried over to the kitchen.
The menu called for griffin eggs that looked like regular eggs, which excited the two Nocedas as they began their meal. With constant chatter, lively laughter, and joyful eating, soaking in the atmosphere was almost instinctual at this point. Luz excitedly filled in the details of her entire day, even the near death part, but not even that upset Leal this time around. Her sister was happy, who cared?
Lealtad took a mental picture of the moment before her.
It was a nice meal, sure.
But it was also a nice smile.
A/N: A bit shorter than the last two episodes, I know! But not all episodes will be as lengthy because, again to reiterate, Luz is STILL the main character of TOH, just not this FIC. So the hi-jinx of what happens in Hexside still essentially plays out the same as canon. No real changes that warrant a major shift in the story. I guess housekeeping wise, the line where Gus asks if "humans eat PB&J" Luz says it's been awhile since she's had NORMAL food instead of "real food".(^‿^)
But MASSIVE progression character wise. I'd say a couple days have passed since the second episode and Lealtad is starting to put things into perspective. I figure a fair amount will be shocked that she actually let Luz go alone but even though Leal is Luz's older sister she's not controlling of her. Whenever Luz gets excited or vastly motivated, Leal understands the most she can do is advise her sister to be cautious and safe. At the same time, there wasn't much time nor way for Lealtad to sneak herself along with Luz.
I liked not bringing her along because it left a bigger avenue to mesh Leal with the Owl House residents once again and do her own thing. Her responding to her classmates was another showing that she still has a life outside of Luz (even if Leal doesn't see it) but also gives incite to how much she just doesn't care about things that aren't related to her sister. The conversation between Eda and Leal was something I was especially proud of because I think the entirety of this episode shows a good amount of maturity between the two even if there is a minor amount of animosity between them.
Like Leal points out, Eda DID just begin sheltering two teens on a whim and so I thought giving some reasonable explanation to Eda's incessant chore work spree for the first two episodes was a clever thing to do. And if there's one thing Lealtad respects, it's responsibility-therein she commends Eda for that. The ONE thing I cannot explain away is why Hooty just didn't help with the trash slug, lol. He was just straight up chilling while Eda fought it in canon and I was like, "Ehh, guess he couldn't be bothered. Fair enough?"
That's all for A/N ramblings I guess. Been really appreciating the discussions and love so far, happy to have everyone along for this fun ride! Thanks a ton!
Review Responses:
starrat: Thanks, glad you enjoyed! ( ^‿^)
Demon dark mezzo sangue: I'm happy someone else appreciates the Isekai jokes! I feel like Lealtad, as an avid anime lover, would make a ton of references/comparisons! I also didn't want Leal to stop Luz but she likes encouraging Luz's spontaneity and also understands it's easier to let her do what she does but hitch along for the ride to make sure she doesn't get wrapped into trouble. And yup, definitely themes of overprotectiveness in terms of flaws for Lealtad. Good observations my friend! Gut gesagt!
MarauderPrime12: Happy to learn you think so! ( •‿-)
As always, feel free to hit me up on tumblr if ya got asks! And leave a comment if you liked this chapter!
Next chapter update: March 16th, 2022
Stay safe, and stay lovely y'all.
Until next time,
- Bleh