A/N: FRIENDLY REMINDER! All references to pop cultures and such is set in the year 2019, because that was when TOH premiered! So if you're worried about spoilers for current anime and shows of 2022, you're good!
Chapter Summary: The Noceda sisters find themselves enthralled once they learn about witch covens and "covention". Unfortunately they also find themselves entangled with rivalries along the way!
Word Count: 11, 186
Hooty's Moving Hassle
Lealtad thought watching a magical card game would've been cool considering how a couple days ago, a covention turned out to be fun, but she learned that not all witch-like things were fun. She quickly became disinterested in Eda's recent addiction of Hexes Hold'em the second the cards stood up and just slapped each other around. Though the "wild card" play was a bit cool, she didn't feel too compelled to keep watching. She did however, leave the portal door open so she could stream anime on her phone a bit. Leal realized that since she wasn't really going to be at camp, and therefore not busy all the time, that meant she could watch the episodes of Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer that she missed, as well as see what summer anime had been premiering or returned.
Nonetheless, with no plans to learn magic or sell anything, Lealtad figured today's slow day was well earned—especially after the covention fiasco a few days ago.
That afternoon, King had played with his offerings for about five minutes after they returned home from covention before he ended up ripping some or bestowing them upon his stuffed toys as clothing "from a king, bearing gifts to his loyal subjects." Lealtad was just glad her allowance of snails was put to good use. And admittedly, she just liked the idea that King was happy. Which actually surprised her. Convention had her really worked up over Luz and King.
Lealtad wasn't really sure what to make of that.
Heck, she wasn't even sure if that was something she was supposed to make something of! At the end of the day, she merely chalked it up to the case of Amity just grinding her gears. Even if Luz had her own opinion about her, the Nocedas mutually respected each other's opinions on the girl—even if one of them greatly wished the other would be less naive. But then again, that was a fault of Luz that Lealtad found endearing after all. That aside, Leal just left it as a duty to put bullies in their place rather than think hard on it too much.
Besides, she had anime time right now.
"Uh, Eda? It's happening again!" Luz's voice rang out, dragging Lealtad's attention away from her phone.
Her lazy eyes turned over and widened instantly as she realized what Luz meant. Eda's arms were sprouting with bits of feathers all over. "¡Mierda!" she gasped.
"Your curse is returning!" King shouted.
Eda looked at her arms and yelped. "Uhh, not a problem!" she assured them, glancing between everyone's reactions. "I'll just go get my elixir stash in my room," she jerked her thumb over to the doorway leading to the stairs and made a run for it.
Lealtad and Luz exchanged a worried look. With a sigh, she grabbed her bat and shouldered her messenger bag as she ran toward the doorway. "¡Venga!" Leal shouted, waving Luz and King to follow her. "We gotta make sure she's fine." As they rushed up the stairs, she pulled out her notepad from her messenger bag and shook it over her shoulder. "Have a couple light glyphs ready too—just in case."
Luz affirmed a grunt as they rounded another corner and ran toward Eda's room. They caught her just in time as she rummaged around her pile, swiping a stack of junk off of a green treasure chest. "Don't worry," she brushed off, "I have some left!"
Leal and Luz exchanged another look, still figuring that knowing how much Eda had would be useful to know, they walked over. As they hovered around her shoulders, Eda opened the chest… revealing empty bottles of elixir and cobwebs. Lealtad stepped back from the chest as she shivered, cringing at the prospect of spiders crawling around in the chest.
"Oh, boy. This is terrible," Eda picked up an empty glass and shook it dry, "I'm out of elixir."
"No shit, Sherlock," Leal rolled her eyes. She found herself nervously gripping at her bat as she met Eda's eyes.
Eda noticed her gesture and chuckled. "Relax Bean Head, we can get this sorted easily." Though Lealtad herself wasn't sure if it was because Eda could turn or that there might be spiders in the room at that moment.
"You sure?" Luz asked. "How long can you go before needing it? It's one per day, right? Does it always kick in at night?"
"Regardless," Leal pointed out, "you using up a lotta magic is what KO'd you the first time so lay off the 'powerful witch' epithet until you stock up." She threw a pointed finger her way in warning.
Eda snorted. "Geez, you guys are making a big deal outta this." She rolled her eyes. "I'll have you know I was managing this on my own for quite some time!"
Lealtad scoffed as she powered on her camera. "Right. And the one time you slipped this happened," she said as she scrolled through her gallery and showed Eda the Owl Beast photo she took by accident. "And I'd like no repeats please."
"Yup, no repeating would be such a good time!" Luz perkily added.
Eda looked at the photo and smirked. "I know I should be repulsed, but that look is fierce," she said, fluffing up her hair.
"Eda," Luz chided.
"You're right, you kids are right," she agreed placatingly. She slammed her fist onto her palm as she announced, "We need to head to the market."
"Market!" Luz beamed, pumping her fists into the air.
King mimicked Luz as he followed after her. "I'm stealing everything that's not nailed down!"
Lealtad rolled her eyes as she followed after the two. "Don't steal anything that can't fit under your collar," she advised, earning a begrudging sigh from King.
"Before we go," Eda called out, stopping the three at the doorway, "would anyone like to play one more hand of Hexes Hold'em?" Lealtad frowned at her as she patted her pockets. "Hey, where are my cards!" As she began searching around her, Leal felt Luz shift a bit.
She looked and nearly burst into laughter as she watched her little sister hand the deck of cards to Owlbert, instructing him to fly on ahead so Eda would follow. It worked almost immediately as Eda ran straight after him into the halls, though Leal wondered why he hadn't just gone out Eda's window. Nonetheless, she cupped her hand around her mouth as she shouted, "No using magic to catch him!" She turned back to Luz and held out her fist. "Nice work, Sunshine."
Luz bumped her fist as she grinned. "I have my moments."
::TITLE OPENING::
"Is there anything better than people-watching in the Demon Realm?" Luz asked from her seat on the wooden bench. She helped King onto the bench and watched on as the daily commute of Bonesborough commenced before them.
Lealtad herself was leaned up against the wall just behind the bench, looking through her viewfinder as she zoomed over Luz's shoulder. "Uhh yes. Taking photos of the Demon Realm," she said, clicking her camera as that same tiny dude from covention and the Conformatorium (yes, Luz reminded her) missed an egg bus?
"The curse of tiny legs," Luz remarked, shaking her head.
"I know the pain," King sympathized.
Suddenly, a brown robed man stomped in front of the little creature, startling them away. He waved his hand over, motioning his crew to follow and Leal's jaw dropped as she realized what was being lugged behind. A huge maroon caterpillar-like mix with bull horns was strapped down on a cart and being wheeled down the street. The bystanders seemed to be afraid of this group, as they all averted their gazes and stepped to the side. Leal quickly snapped a pic before lowering her camera, decidedly not wanting to draw attention their way.
Luz walked over to Eda and pointed at the group. "Whoa! That is one ominous parade."
She turned around and frowned. "That's no parade. Those are demon hunters," she snidely stated.
Lealtad snorted. "Do they have Nichirin swords?"
Luz shot her a pointed look. "They're called slayers, not hunters, and you know that! It's the name of the show!"
"Ohhh you're just salty because I watched without you," she brushed off, making Luz pout. Leal held her hands up innocently, "Hey, I offered to let you watch Demon Slayer with me, but you insisted on watching cards fight instead." She shook her head, clicking her teeth in feigned disappointment.
Her sister stuck her tongue out at her before turning back to Eda. "So what do they do?"
"They're dangerous nomads who capture and sell the most powerful beasts," she explained. At the same time, the leader conjured up a lighting spell and used it to shock the beast in custody unconscious. He turned over and looked at Luz, fixing her a stare with his one eye. Lealtad in turn, narrowed her eyes back at him as she left her spot at the wall and stood beside her sister. She gripped at her bat and held her stare until the man averted his gaze.
After Eda began pounding on the grate, it came up along with a slim man. He had medium length brown hair and a weird funnel hat? "Sorry Eda! I was up all night poison tasting," he held his stomach, "and for some reason, I don't feel great."
Lealtad elbowed her sister. As Luz looked over, Leal tilted her head and hung her tongue out, releasing a gurgling noise.
Luz giggled but quickly covered her mouth to muffle her reaction.
Eda, oblivious to the teens' antics, leaned over and handed Morton her empty bottle. "I'm all out of my juice, pal," she muttered.
"Oh, gee. Lemme see what I can do!" he said before turning back to his stock.
Luz's attention flew back toward the demon hunters, who had begun lugging the creature away. "Willow and Gus!" she said before rushing off.
Leal turned around and raised a brow. Sure enough, the two were crossing the street but had such dejected looks looming about them. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed after her sister.
"Heya, friends!" Luz greeted with a wave. She schooled her excitement, noticing their faces as she shifted hers into concern. "Wait, what's wrong? Who hurt my babies?"
Willow jerked her thumb over down the sidewalk. "Them," she bitterly stated.
Lealtad looked over and frowned as she recognized a familiar two toned green haired witch, surrounded by a squad of other witches. She groaned. "That's her pep squad?" she inquired flatly. "Which one's that Boscha brat you were talking 'bout?"
Gus sighed. "The girl with the pinkish hair and three eyes," he muttered.
Lealtad looked over and assessed said girl—third eyed freak was her go to insult, but she figured: A, that would probably not be a big thing here, and B, Luz wouldn't appreciate her also name calling. So she just sighed.
"Amity's having a moonlight conjuring and invited everyone but me," Willow explained.
Gus drew up a spell circle, summoning a small scroll(?) as he said, "And she keeps posting about it on her Penstagram account!" He hovered it over to Luz and Leal.
The picture was a cringey selfie with Amity and Boscha making kissy faces at the camera, with a caption of: IT'S CONJURING NIGHT! NO DORKS ALLOWED!
Luz read the offending caption aloud with anger. "What a jerk!"
"Again, also why I hate social media," Lealtad remarked. She had told Luz time and time again back home how she didn't like using social media that much. But her generation was way too engrossed in it that she would've fallen out of the loop of current—well, everything. So Leal begrudgingly had her own Twitter account but never used it to post. Though, she was honestly surprised they had their own form of Instagram on the Boiling Isles.
"Wait, what's a conjuring?" Luz asked.
Willow's face lit up as she explained, "You spend the night at someone's house, telling stories, playing games…"
"Like a slumber party!" her sister exclaimed, as she held out her hands. "We have those!"
"Then you bring something to life with moon magic!" her friend added, producing a book from seemingly out of nowhere as she flipped to a page with a straight up Satanic ritual style hand holding circle. Instant red flag in Leal's book, but Luz seemed determinedly excited.
"Like a weird slumber party!" Luz amended as she clenched her hands.
"Gus and I have never been to one. You need at least three people and—"
"I'm three people! I mean, we're three—actually, we're better! With Leal we're four!" Luz excitedly pointed out as she gestured between herself and her older sister.
Lealtad snorted. "Noooope." She shook her head. "Count me out of this demon summoning biz. We already have two back home," she said as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, pointing toward King on the bench. Her hand faltered as she felt a wave of something overcome her stomach.
For some reason, she felt a gnawing feeling out of nowhere.
"A-Actually, it's a conjuring," Willow raised her finger timidly, "And we're not summoning demons—"
"Don't care, not interested." Lealtad shrugged—both for Willow's case, and for whatever suddenly made her feel weird. "'Sides, this just sounds like some FOMO. Who cares about those brats holding a party?"
"That's the point Leal! We can show 'em up!" Luz tacked on, "We're way better than them!"
A round of bratty laughter approached them and Leal looked in annoyance, only to find Amity's group passing by. "Sorry you couldn't get an invite to the conjuring, Willow!" Boscha snidely teased. "Only real witches allowed!" she said to her friends.
Amity scoffed. "Leave her alone," Leal's brows raised, was she actually— "It's not her fault she was born without talent." And of course she wouldn't say something nice. The bratty group laughed together as they walked away.
Willow growled and she clenched her fists, sprouting a few vines at her feet.
Lealtad stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Park, just say the word and that twerp will be pale and green dyed paste against the pavement." She twirled her bat and winked at the short navy blue haired girl.
Her cheeks flushed a bit, but her temper began calming down. "W-Wait, r-really?"
"Nope!" Luz interjected, batting Willow's vine down. "Don't waste your time getting thorny over them. It's not worth it! And Leal, stop threatening them!"
"Fine," Lealtad groaned, rolling her eyes. "But if you need to bash heads in you know where to find me," she joked before departing.
As she walked back to Eda, who was suddenly playing Hexes Hold'em, she looked over at King. Then back at Eda. Why did it feel like something was bothering her all of sudden? It was like a thought just occurred to Lealtad and it shook her for a moment. What did she say that—wait. She… She just called the Owl House "home." Since when did that become a thing? Why did she even say that? They haven't even been staying here a month yet and suddenly it was home? No. It wasn't. Lealtad had a home back in Gravesfield. They had a home back in Gravesfield. This was just summer.
She sighed as she shook her head.
Maybe this place was just getting to her.
"—the night market?" Eda whispered.
"There's a guy with a stand, goes by Grimm Hammer; if anyone has what you need, it's him," Morton darkly stated.
Lealtad felt like she just caught the tail end of a drug deal and decidedly stayed quiet, letting the two sort themselves out.
But then Luz came darting in. "Eda, Gus and Willow and I are gonna do a moonlight conjuring and stick it to Amity. So can we—"
"Not tonight, I'm going out," Eda declared as she raised her hand. She grabbed her staff and walked away from Morton's window as she dutifully explained, "I need you two to watch the house, I have many precious objects in there."
"Like me!" King cooed before getting hoisted up by Eda.
"You're coming with me. I need an extra pair of eyes looking out for pickpockets," she informed him. She then turned to Luz, "and an extra pair of hands in case I wanna pickpocket."
She turned back to King as the two excitedly cheered, "Pickpocket!"
Lealtad just chuckled. "Fine by me. I wouldn't wanna go to some sketchy black market anyways…"
Luz's face lit up as she gestured over to Willow and Gus who were still a few feet behind. "Then, maybe they can come to the house and—"
"No!" Eda denied. "Besides, Conjurings are dumb," she said as she shook King in Luz's face. "Sitting around in a circle, holding hands? Pfft, it's like magic for babies," she complained before walking off.
Lealtad turned around and threw up a peace sign toward the two witches before following Eda. "Why do they even call it a conjuring anyway?" she asked her as she tapped her bat's grip with her knuckles. "Doesn't that usually imply creating something? Animating an object isn't exactly creating something when it's already been created."
"You are a well of technicality aren't ya, Bean Head?" Eda sardonically commented.
"It's called charm," she quipped back.
Eda laughed. "You would see it that way," she muttered as she threw a leg over Owlbert, readying her staff to fly.
Leatlad sat behind her and waited as Luz rushed toward them and sat behind Leal. She turned and smiled at Luz as they took to the sky. "You say bye to your friends?"
Luz awkwardly nodded as she offered a thin lipped smile. "Uhhh-huh! Did the goodbye!"
Lealtad cocked a suspicious brow before turning her head back.
Something was up…
::::
Luz made a point of avoiding Lealtad as soon as they got back.
Eda had to prepare for her night market stroll while King wanted to get a nap in—Hooty said he saw a vole and gave chase. Amidst all the proclamations of to-do lists, Luz slipped away. She either must've felt really upset about not being able to have a moonlight conjuring with her friends or something else happened. Of course at this point, Lealtad figured if Luz wanted space then she'd happily grant it to her. Besides, they had the whole night to themselves so it wasn't like they couldn't talk about it in private whenever. So for the most part, Lealtad laid back down on the couch and continued watching her shows.
Anything to get her mind off of well… yeah.
Then late evening struck, Eda called all the residents of the Owl House—residents, not members, because that implied Lealtad was a part of something—to the living room. Eda came in, still donning her cloak, while Luz trailed in not long after, sitting herself beside Lealtad.
"Lealtad," Eda declared, "you're in charge while I'm out. Make sure your sister and Hooty don't get into any trouble." She looked to Luz. "No offense to you Luz, but I trust Bean Head to look after this place more."
"Sure, no problem." Leal shrugged. "I've babysat mi hermanita plenty of times, Dama Búho. Plus a talking, giant house? No sweat!"
"Hoot, hoot!" Hooty said as he opened himself and flung inside the room. "I don't need a babysitter! I'm a big boy house!"
"Don't worry Eda, as your apprentice I would never betray your hard earned trust! I'll be well behaved! Hehe… heh…" Luz awkwardly assured her.
"You're acting suspicious," her mentor observed, "You're doing that thing where you hide in your hoodie."
"Meow I'm not!" she said as she suddenly had her hood pulled over and tightened.
Lealtad blinked at that. Why was Luz acting even more strange now?
"Err, oh, where's King!" her sister obviously derailed.
"He's right here," Eda answered as she drew back her cloak a bit, revealing the demon dug resting in a pink baby harness around her chest.
Lealtad snorted at the sight. "Oh please wait and lemme capture this," she begged, pulling up her camera.
"No problem!" Eda grinned. "His little body just conks out when he's weightless. Look at this." She swayed her body back and forth, demonstrating his dangling legs which were honestly adorable.
"Aww, he's so dangly!" Luz cooed as she played with his feet.
Leal looked down at her photo and laughed. She was totally gonna tease the little furball with these when they got back.
"Anyway! Really going now," Eda announced as she turned around.
"O-Oh! I'll, uh, see you out!" Luz said as she followed Eda out the door.
Lealtad stared up in confusion. That wasn't exactly an out-of-Luz thing to do, but the way she said it had Leal's big sister senses tingling. Secretive Luz, awkward evasive conversations, and suspicious cat hoodie. Something was obviously amiss and her little sister was determined to avoid her about it. She turned around and began heading toward their room. Maybe there were clues in…
There was a smell.
A snack smell.
Lealtad turned into the kitchen and noticed a bowl of eyeball snacks on a nearby counter close to the doorway. Since when did—
"Welcome to the living room!" Luz's voice rang out. Leal turned back into said room and gasped as she saw who Luz was talking to: Gus and Willow. "We call it that because it's technically living! The walls are breathing, look." The two guests began to explore the place, leaving Luz alone in the centre.
"Luz," she hissed, startling the girl. Her face winced no doubtedly from Lealtad's anger. She quietly walked over and joined her in the hallway.
"Yeeesss, Leal?"
"¿Qué estás haciendo?" she shouted at her.
"Th-They really wanted a slumber party, Leal!" Luz defended with her apologetic eyes. "I-I couldn't let them down!" she gestured over to said duo as they continued to look around.
Leal sighed. "Yes. You can." She massaged her temple and shook her head. "Luz, I get that you have friends and I get that you want to make 'em feel better but you can't do it like this," she gestured all around them. "Dama Búho didn't give us permission to do this. It's her house. Her home. So her rules," she spat out. "¡Échalos!" she pointed at the door.
"Leal, hermana, you know I've never had a slumber party before an-and this isn't anything dangerous! Willow already explained it!" She clasped her hands together pleadingly. "You know they're not bad people. Nothing's gonna get misplaced, or destroyed—and we'll put everything back when we're done! You won't have to lift a finger!"
Her pleading eyes made Lealtad sigh once more.
They shouldn't be doing this. This wasn't their house—their home. It was also unhealthy of Luz to make promises or meet expectations of her friends when they couldn't be met. They were her friends, sure, but she couldn't be responsible for guaranteeing something like this. She had to understand that. But… Lealtad also knew Luz was right. She's never had a slumber party before, let alone friends. This was an entirely new territory for Luz and she was willing to dive feet first to plant herself against the tide for these friends.
So Leal was done with it.
For whatever reason, the bumbling anger inside her didn't settle like normal at Luz's puppy dog eyes. She just scoffed and shook her head. "Fine. Do whatever," she relented, turning away. "Just don't make a huge mess, alright?" she added as she turned her head back a bit.
"O-Oh. Um, of course!" Luz eagerly nodded.
Lealtad turned her head back and began ascending the steps.
"Oh," she heard Willow, "L-Lealtad's not joining us?"
She stopped and sighed, turning her head back. "Nah. Not really my thing," she forced a smile. "You guys have the bare minimum membership requirement anyways—wouldn't want to cramp your style. Have at it!" she encouraged them.
Luz nodded as she turned around and began telling the two what they had available in terms of food and entertainment.
As soon as the smiles reached their faces Leal took that as her cue to leave. But she did catch Luz's guilt-ridden look before she ascended. Of course her sister would feel bad. Lealtad knew that well. Luz didn't like lying nor did she like lying to her. And yes, Leal was upset that she lied but also knew Luz was upset at herself for lying too. It was a whole circle of feelings and emotions and it honestly ticked Lealtad off a bit more.
She grumpily made her way back to their room and sat herself down on the chest near where Luz laid out her sleeping bag. She rested her bat up against her seat as she threw her head back, looking up at the ceiling exhaustively. If Luz knew it would upset Lealtad, why do it? Was that a sign that this place was bad news? That it was corrupting her much like it was corrupting Leal?
She scoffed at herself.
"Corrupting" implied that there was foul play involved. She didn't think Luz's friends had ill intentions here. No, Lealtad was worried about what this meant in Luz falling into a rebellious phase. If Eda didn't find out about this then what did that mean for the excitement of doing it again? Next thing Luz would know, she's sneaking out more, doing more things behind Eda's back, all the way until she would get caught and ground—
Lealtad slammed her fist against the chest.
This was not their home.
Eda wouldn't do that. She would probably just make Luz clean Hooty or do some drab task that benefits her business somehow. Yes. Because that was who Eda was. Leal clicked her teeth in annoyance as she pulled off her red-orange beanie and dropped it on her lap, letting her hands run through her hair in a frenzy. This was annoying. Confusing. Exhausting. Stupid.
Luz was being stupid.
Eda was stupid.
Lealtad was the most stupid.
She released a long sigh as she looked up toward the ceiling again.
Her phone chirped, and Lealtad froze. Hesitantly, she dug into her pocket and looked at her screen.
Please don't be—
Mami [6:56 PM]: Everything okay, mija?
Mami [6:56 PM]: You haven't sent anything in awhile.
A droplet fell onto the screen before Lealtad even realized she had tears in her eyes. She blinked them away, roughly rubbing the streams with her army jacket sleeve, before taking a deep breath. Why the Hell was she even crying? What was wrong with her? She slipped her beanie back on and wiped her screen off her jeans before tapping on her mother's message.
Guilt.
It was the easiest emotion to latch onto.
She was lying to her mom.
She was letting Luz stay here.
She was letting Luz get mixed up in this world's people.
She was getting mixed up in this realm.
So… she was honest for once.
Fave Bebé [6:58 PM]: No Mamá. I'm not okay.
She released a shaky breath as she added on,
Fave Bebé [6:58 PM]: I think I miss home.
Fave Bebé [6:58 PM]: I could use your help.
Fave Bebé [6:58 PM]: Luz is getting wrapped up with her friends and I can't tell if I should let her get away with so much just because of my position here.
She swallowed back a sob. She couldn't even be completely honest in asking for help!
Fave Bebé [6:58 PM]: But I'm worried about her.
Fave Bebé [6:59 PM]: I don't know what to do.
Fave Bebé [6:59 PM]: I think she's getting carried away.
Lealtad shook her head as rubbed her sleeve against her eyes, irritably grazing her face. Why was she saying this? Why would she make her mother worry like that? Why would she throw Luz under the bus like that?
Mami [7:01 PM]: Respirar, mija.
Reflexively, Lealtad took a deep breath, hearing her mother's words in her head.
"Count to five, mi pequeña niña, and just breathe," she would always say.
Lealtad opened her eyes and looked at her next message.
Mami [7:01 PM]: Leal, you're always watching over Luz but eventually you'll have to trust that she knows how to trust others.
Mami [7:01 PM]: Don't fret over it so much. Let her live a little. Relax.
Mami [7:02 PM]: Have faith and trust in Luz, isn't that what you say to me?
She mirthfully scoffed.
Fave Bebé [7:02 PM]: yeah. Reusing your daughter's advice is kinda 2/10 parenting, Mamá.
Mami [7:02 PM]: ha ha, very funny.
She grinned, letting herself giggle a bit. She sniffled and dug into her bag, quickly getting a small wet wipe to dab her tears away.
Mami [7:02 PM]: Seriously Lealtad, don't overthink everything right now. Everything that happens, will happen at its own pace.
Mami [7:03 PM]: You'll see me again at the end of summer. :)
A relieved sigh escaped the Noceda as she gripped at her shirt. "She's right," she whispered aloud, "We're coming home. Everything's fine." She texted back,
Fave Bebé [7:03 PM]: Gracias, Mamá. I needed to hear that.
Fave Bebé [7:03 PM]: Te quiero mucho.
Mami [7:03 PM]: Yo también te quiero mucho.
Mami [7:04 PM]: You know I miss you too.
Mami [7:04 PM]: But I think that's okay! You're allowed to miss things.
Lealtad nodded. That was right. At the end of the day, missing things—chances, places, opportunities—it just happened. She just needed to remind herself everything will be fine.
And then she felt an eruption that shook her off the chest and onto the floor.
Her eyes widened as she felt the floorboards for anymore vibrations. Was… Was this an earthquake? Of course they'd have those here on the freaking Boiling Isles. Worry then struck Lealtad as she remembered Eda's glowing description of the Boiling Isles' "weather." What if earthquakes were like globally devastating events? Before Lealtad could even rush to the door, the house began shaking even more, sending her all over the place.
She grabbed her bat and held onto her camera as she tried to balance her footing, carefully making sure none of her possessions ended up getting flung into her face. Surprisingly, she found a rhythm of the vibrations and managed to lean herself against the walls at each thud, eventually slipping out the door and into the hall.
"Luz!" she shouted before sliding right into the wall. She held on for support and took a breath. She needed to time this right if she was gonna go running down the halls of the house—especially down the stairs. As soon as Leal got a feel for the rhythm, she decided on the count of three to make another stride down the hall. "Okay… three, two, one!" she launched herself off the wall and… kept going? "Wait a minute." She waved her arms about, stabilizing her stance still.
The house wasn't shaking anymore.
Lealtad schooled her shock as she reminded herself of Luz and her friends, immediately sprinting down the halls. She narrowly avoided fallen paintings and picture frames as she skipped a couple steps down the stairs and sprung into the living room. "Luz, everyone, are you okay?" she shouted. There was no one inside. Instead, the door was open and Luz and Willow were outside holding hands?
Her eyes squinted as she noticed they looked like they were pulling someone up. It was Gus. They were all glowing a weird cyan hue and looking up at the sky. Then she realized that the "outside" that was outside the door, wasn't the usual "outside" that was supposed to be there. She ran over as she shouted, "Guys! What the Hell is going on!"
The three of them yelped as they timidly looked her way.
Luz released her hands from Gus and Willow and sheepishly smiled at her. "We, uhhh, kinda animated the house?"
Sure… because why not. Lealtad stepped toward the ledge and gasped as she noticed they were hanging right near the cliff where the Owl House used to be near. There were a set of massively weird bird feet, which caused Leal to look back at the door and notice Hooty's bright blue demonic eyes and she just sighed. "First, away from the ledge," she ordered. The three wordlessly obeyed as they stood near the doorway. "Second, how the Hell do you animate a house! Isn't Hooty already alive?"
"I don't know!" Luz shouted.
"I-I've never heard of anything like this!" Willow admitted.
"Me neither!" Gus chimed in.
"B-But we can control it!" Luz quickly added. "Look," the three of them held hands once again, creating the same blue hue like earlier. The house began shaking a bit, and Leal's immediate instinct was to push the three inside, but she realized that they were moving back toward the clearing. "See?" Luz grinned.
Of course they'd manage to pull something weird even by Boiling Isles standards.
Lealtad blew out a breath. "Dios mío, this place will never stop being insane," she muttered under her breath. "Good. Put it back then, we gotta clean up the mess you all—" she stopped herself as she noticed Gus and Willow's looks of disappointment, all while Luz frowned with a guilty look. Lealtad took a deep breath. "Guys, if you didn't know how you did this, then this isn't something you should play with."
That sounded reasonable, right?
She honestly had no idea with witches and magic.
"But we've got a giant walking house and should totally take it on a joyride!" Gus cheerfully pointed out, pumping his fists to the sky.
"An-And it's not like we don't totally know how it happened," Luz grabbed Willow's shoulders and urged her on.
"O-Oh, y-yeah!" she stammered. "Our, uh, magic must've spread toward the house instead of the doll—"
"Figurine," Gus coughed.
"—awakened Hooty. I'm not really knowledgeable about house demons but I guess we bonded to him?" the Plant witch hesitantly explained.
Lealtad looked between the three. "Okay, sure. Not like I know anymore than you guys when it comes to magic anyways but besides that—"
"We'll be back before the moon sets!" Luz quickly said, pointing up at the sky.
Leal trailed her finger and looked toward the moon, raising her brows as the sight of the moon's outline. It had the same hue as Luz and her friends did when they held hands. "Ahhhh, 'moonlight conjuring'," she uttered in realization. "I see…"
"You can take cool pics!" Gus gestured at her camera. "I mean, crazy view am I right?" he pointed behind her.
Leal glanced back and sighed. "Porter, stop trying to win me over and let me think for a minute." He shut his mouth and stepped back. Leal looked up at the moon, watching it slowly move about the night sky. "Have faith and trust, huh?" she whispered to herself.
"Huh?" Luz asked.
She turned around and shook her head, "Nothing." She then held up her hand. "If we're gonna do this," their faces already began lighting up, which actually made Leal smile a little, "we're gonna need to lay down some ground rules."
"Of course!" Luz nodded.
"Fair enough," Willow agreed.
"Lay them down!" Gus encouraged.
She rolled her eyes at their excitement. "We gotta be back at least in an hour and a half," the joyful surprise on their faces was obvious that they didn't expect that much time, "so we have time to put everything back and fix up the place. Hopefully." Leal shrugged. "Second," she held up two fingers, "no going anywhere Luz and I haven't been, okay? If I'm unfamiliar with the place it's a no go." They all nodded. "Good. Third, if the only sensible way to navigate this thing is out here? You have to wait until I get some harnesses from Eda's human stash and set 'em up so y'all don't fall."
Luz cocked her head. "You really think Eda has some?"
Leal snorted. She amusedly pointed out, "She was selling golden chalices when we met her, Sunshine. She'll have some." Lealtad also didn't miss how Luz brightened at hearing her nickname. So good, she was feeling a bit better now. "And fourth, which is kinda obvious, no wrecking shit, okay? No houses and not even trees—animals and demons and all that live out here so let's not ruin their homes?" They all rigorously nodded once more. "Plus, if we wreck a tree, Dama Búho will probably notice something's up," she lamely added afterward, earning some laughs.
"So we can start?" Gus eagerly asked.
She threw her head up. "Patience, Porter. I just said I gotta set up a harness!" she reminded him as she went back into the house. "If you guys wanna get going sooner you could help me set it up!"
The speed at which the three kids dashed by her and dove into Eda's human pile was astounding.
::::
Okay, so maybe this was kinda cool.
Lealtad did manage to capture some awesome shots. A good few of them were selfies or group photos of Luz, Willow, and Gus. She was also in a couple of them, but for the most part she let it centre on Luz's friends. The rest were some awesome landscapes of treelines, the moon, Bonesborough from a distance, the mountains—it was amazing. She had always wanted to get some cooler angles of this place but flying on Eda's staff and trying to take a photo wasn't exactly easy. Plus Eda never really bothered slowing down for her anyways.
Speaking of safety, the harness Lealtad set up was attached to one of the open windows inside the living room. It was simultaneously nailed and tied tightly to a fence post (why Eda had one they'll never know) and had four bungee cords attached. Though the three complained at first at how uncomfortable they were due to the mismatched sizes, they sucked it up and allowed themselves to get lost in the fun of their joyride as time went on.
Leal did indeed set up a timer for them. And as of now, it was approaching a dangerous twenty minute mark. "Yo, party people," she announced as she stepped back outside, "joyride comes to an end in twenty minutes. Probably time to start heading ho—back. Heading back."
The three's faces of joy faltered a moment, and Lealtad really felt like a jerk.
But, she had to be responsible—
"Hey," Willow said, looking over in the distance, "is that…"
"It's Boscha!" Gus pointed out with his chin, "That girl who made fun of us!"
Leal immediately rushed toward the edge and followed their gaze over to a small path in the forest. Sure enough, that pink headed, three eyed brat was walking down the forest. She lifted her camera and zoomed in on her, finding her with a crow in her hand? She looked like she was talking to it before letting it go. She then turned around and looked toward their direction.
"Did she notice us?" Willow asked.
Lealtad shrugged. "I think so? But… I don't think she noticed us specifically," she explained. She expected the giant house would be the first thing someone would notice…
"What should we do?" Willow asked.
Leal looked away from her camera and over at Luz, mirroring her smirk. "Sunshine, may I be indulged for once?"
She released her friends' hands, taking a bow as she gestured toward her. "Please, be my guest."
Leal giggled as she looked at Gus. "Porter, mind giving me something to amp my voice up a bit?"
He nodded as he drew up a spell circle, conjuring a megaphone right in front of her face.
With a manic grin, she stepped toward and eerily said, "Boscha… ohh Boscha… I am the Townhouse of Torment, here to judge you for your horrendous personality and awful hairstyle!" The three giggled around Lealtad as she went on, "You have five seconds to apologize for your misdeeds before I stomp you into the ground! And bury you for eternity!"
"Excuse you!" the girl shouted back. "What makes you think a house knows more about looks, than I do? You're just asking for a TP!"
Lealtad looked at the rest of them and smirked. "So be it, feeble witch." She nodded at the three, and they quickly joined hands, causing the house to rise as Leal shouted into the mic, "Now die!" They took one large step forward before stopping, as Boscha had long run already, screaming into the depths of the forest like the Reaper was on her tail.
The immediate euphoria Lealtad exploded with as she laughed was honestly the best reward she could've asked for. "Okay," she giggled, holding her stomach, "that was fucking hilarious. Soooo totally worth this joyride." She blew out a sigh as she wiped a tear. Luz was smiling. Sunshine was beaming again and so were her friends.
"I've never pranked anyone before!" Gus' face dropped into a darker grin. "And now I have a taste for it."
Lealtad snorted at his excitement as Willow suggested, "We should follow her to Amity's house to show off our conjuring. That will show her who's got no talent."
Her brows raised at that. "Okay, now that sounds like a damn good plan." She applauded Willow, "Flex on those little mocosas." Willow seemed happy with Leal's encouragement, but when she looked at Luz, she noticed her apprehensive smile and furrowed a brow at it.
"But uh," Luz spoke up, pointing a hesitant finger toward the moon. "it's getting kinda late right?"
Her eyes widened at that, Luz was right. "Ah yeah, in all seriousness," Leal cleared her throat, sobering herself up, "We should probably—"
"Head back?" Luz guessed. "Agreed!"
"Amity's updating her Penstagram," Gus announced as he held out his scroll to the rest of them.
Luz read aloud, "'Shout out to my fellow witches. #Humans can bite it'?" Luz gasped. She turned around to Lealtad. "Leal, can we?"
She grinned back, holding up her camera as she chuckled. "Ohhh, we're sitting on that brat's house."
::::
Maybe them stomping through Bonesborough in the middle of evening was a sign of the fact that they had gone a bit too far, but Lealtad was getting excited at each step as the Blight Manor came into the distance. Heck, the people walking in the streets were screaming but she was too busy zooming in on the manor on the hill. She decided taking a before and after shot of the place would be a good memento to stand by, though Luz kept insisting they'd only just dance in front of it instead of any squashing that would commence. But Leal wagered the odds were against Luz on what the outcome should be.
"Look, Amity's house!" Willow announced as they neared.
"Correction Park, it's where Amity's house used to be," Leal mused, earning a giggle from Gus.
Luz shot her an admonishing look but she impishly shrugged in return.
"Time to show Amity what a real conjuring looks like," Willow smugly declared.
With that, the three moved the house forward. But within a couple of steps, the house abruptly stopped still, disrupting the three from their circle.
"What happened?" Willow asked.
"You mean that wasn't you guys?" Lealted asked her.
Luz raised her hand and pointed into the distance. "Is that a... giant crossbow?"
Once Lealtad saw it she yelped. "¡Mierda! Where'd that come from!"
The crossbow gave them no time to react as a massive bolt launched from the device with a huge rope attached to its end. The bolt flew right over the house and the rope tightened, no doubt securing their place still. And to make matters worse, the demon hunter leader from earlier that morning hopped up in front of them, giving them a mean glare.
"Knock, knock," he greeted in his burly voice.
Lealtad held up her hands as she stood in front of Luz and her friends. "Whoa, whoa! Uh, Mister, Demon Hunter, sir," she cleared her throat. "There's a big misunderstanding here—"
"This is a house demon, isn't it?" he simply asked.
Her eyes nervously darted around as she answered, "Uhhhh no?"
He uninterestedly blinked at her.
"Any chance you believe that?" she tried again. He responded by drawing up a spell circle with his hand. Sensing the obvious hostility, Lealtad quickly drew her bat and went for a swing to his head but he caught it with his hand, which was now electrified. It sent a jolt through Leal's metal bat and caused her to shake with an uncomfortable sensation as she fell to her knees. "Hermana… corre," she strained out as she fell to the ground.
All Lealtad could hear was the scrambling of more feet hopping aboard while Luz and her friends shouted.
::::
"—ooty! Hooty! You have to wake up!"
Lealtad blinked her eyes open as she looked around. She felt a tug around her chest and she looked down. Her eyes widened as she realized there was a rope tied around her. She looked around and noticed she was tied to Willow and Gus—the tugging seemed to be a result of Gus' efforts while Willow looked dejectedly unmoved, leaving Leal to assume Luz was the one preoccupied with kicking the door.
"¡Oye, no me hable así!" Luz shouted at Hooty. She turned around and shouted, "Willow, will you help me out with Hooty?"
"I'm sorry, Luz," she sadly replied, "You shouldn't ask me to help with anything."
"The Hell is going on?" Lealtad shouted, squirming a bit. She winced as she felt her body vibrate with numbness.
"Ah, Leal you're okay!" Luz uttered in relief. "Help me out, we gotta—"
The house shook again, causing the four to tumble to the centre of the living room with Willow and Leal on the floor, and Gus and Luz on top of them.
"Did the house stop moving?" Luz asked.
"My insides didn't," Gus groaned.
Lealtad hissed. "Least yours wasn't jolted like a damn Pikachu," she muttered. The door swung open and in came the leader, laughing like a typical cartoon villain. She fixed him a glare from her position on the floor, though it probably didn't look as imposing as it felt, as her cheek was smushed up against the floorboards but she gave him her best glare. "The Hell is so funny?"
He just grinned at them as he and one of his men—a dude with a major butt chin—hoisted them up and pushed them out the door. Unfortunately, with the four of them together, resisting wasn't as easy as they wanted and they were evidently pushed out onto the ground outside. Leal was facing toward the cliffside, so all she could hear was some rustling behind her. "Take the house and rip out the house demon," the leader announced. His voice grew closer as he added, "We can sell it to restaurants as exotic meat."
"No!" Luz argued, "Hooty would taste terrible."
"Hey, I'm a refined taste," Hooty objected, "Hoot! Hoot!"
Lealtad shushed him. "C'mon, bird brain, we're trying to save you here!" she shouted at him.
Another person stepped forward and asked, "What do we do with the worms?"
"Throw them over the cliff," the leader replied.
The guy began laughing as they all started getting pushed toward the cliff. Lealtad struggled, trying to plant her feet firmly but failed as her co-hostages weren't really cooperating with her movements. "Guys! We gotta," she strained, "work together if we're gonna moooove, whoa!" She nearly slumped over as they suddenly started turning around. When Lealtad came around she noticed two things: the butt chin dude was the one pushing them and he was carrying Lealtad's messenger bag—her bat was noticeably stuffed inside it and she hoped her camera was too. Her eyes went wide as she shouted, "You better not break anything in that bag, ¡pendejo!"
He just laughed. "Sure, I'll be real careful," he sarcastically replied. He stopped pushing and it was then Leal realized it was because they were near the edge. "All righty, kids. Here's the end of your short little lives."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Gus begged as he turned them around to face the demon hunter. "Is this really what you wanna be doing with your life? Tossing kids from cliffs?"
"Actually, yes! It's been my dream since I was a boy!" he happily replied, touching his cheeks joyfully.
He was met with a resounding silence that Lealtad filled with, "What the fu—"
"I was a strange child," he blankly supplied. With a cheerful whoop, he pushed them off.
"Ah shiiiiit!" Leal screamed along with Luz and her friends. They were spinning through the air, leaving Leal to wonder heads or tails of how close they were to the water. Until they stopped. A somewhat hard, wooden-like surface collided with Leal's back and they were stopped still. She blew out a painful groan, "Whelp… gonna feel that in the morning," she turned her head and through her peripheral vision, realized they were a ways away from landing in the water. "If we live through this," she cynically added.
"If we're not dead now," Luz panickedly said, "we will be when Eda finds out about the house!"
Leal scoffed. "That's seriously your concern right now?"
"You were just complaining about a sore back!"
"I also just got zapped by a freaking demon hunter, I'm still a bit out of it!" she shouted back.
"Guys, I'm so sorry," Willow sadly spoke up. "You guys wanted to turn back but I just had to show off to Amity." She sighed. "Truth is, she and I used to be friends."
"Whaaaat?" Luz gasped.
The branch—Lealtad assumed—they were on snapped, and their peril began to dangle even more above the fate of their impact.
"We played together as kids," Willow went on, "but when she got her magical powers and I didn't, she stopped hanging out with me."
"Guys, is now the best time?" Gus pointed out.
"Yeah!" Leal agreed. "Not to provoke a literal cliffhanger but can this wait?"
"I just wanted to prove to her that I was a powerful witch too," Willow went on to admit.
"That's ridiculous!" Luz replied. "You helped bring a house to life!" She chuckled. "Amity doesn't know what she's talking about. Next to Eda, you're the most powerful witch I know. No offense, Gus."
"No, not at all," Leal felt Gus casually shrug, "I know what I'm all about."
And as if Fate wanted to pull them out of this sweet moment and remind them of their peril, the branch snapped. Lealtad's heart jolted as she felt them fall a foot or two, but the branch still held.
"Dios mío if I'm falling I'd rather fall seeing the impact!"
"Not helpful!" Luz shouted.
"Well do y'all got solutions? 'Cause I'm fresh out!" she shouted back.
She felt Willow shifting beside her. "Hang… on," she strained as her arm came out.
Lealtad's eyes widened. "You can get your arm loose?"
"Wait…" Willow muttered as she reached for the branch they were dangling off of, "if I can just reach that root!" Lealtad gasped. That was right! Willow was in the Plant Coven! "Gotcha!" she exclaimed as her hand gripped around the branch. Her hand illuminated with Willow's classic green colours as the branch began to grow and grow, repairing the crack and severing their rope instantly. They fell right onto a newly grown pink petal, and slowly began to rise.
"Get the guy who has my shit first," Leal shouted. "I'll take care of the leader and try to get their attention—the rest of you stick together and run toward the house."
Willow nodded as she ascended them up the cliff.
"—but, you know, I handled it," came the familiar voice of the guy who shoved them off.
"They were children, Tom," the leader replied.
Lealtad smirked at their looks of shock and fear as Willow raised them several feet higher than them. "We may be children, but we're also witches—powerful ones!" Willow declared as she sent her vines after the hunters, though a good portion went after "Tom" and stripped him of Leal's belongings.
She hopped down and held her hands out, catching the thrown bat and bag. Quickly slinging her bag over her shoulder, she rushed toward the scattering group of demon hunters. Willow's plant seemed to autopilot itself into strangling and restraining the hunters, but Lealtad noticed the leader was faring quite well as he used his sword to slice through the vines. She darted toward him, arching her arm back. "Hey Eye-patch!" she yelled, causing him to turn away from the vine he had held down. His eye widened as he caught her at the last second, right before her softball bat collided with his head. A resounding crack of aluminum hitting skin echoed as the witch fell to the ground face first.
Turning around, she sighed in relief as the three managed to get onto Hooty. She hurriedly ran after them, barreling through a couple more hunters along the way—also making sure to give them a swing across the face whenever she could. The sounds of clanging metal and grown witches groaning in pain were music to her ears (so she was a bit pissed and petty, sue her). Leal hopped onto the house and slipped through the door right as Luz closed it behind them.
"Everyone," she urged as she held out her hands, "quick!"
Gus and Willow responded instantly, grabbing on and causing the house to ride immediately. Lealtad cursed as she felt the gravity give out from under her at the sudden speed, sending her to the floor. "Warning next time?" she winced as she propped herself up onto her knees.
"Sorry," Willow sheepishly said.
"Oh no," Luz said, eyes toward the window, "I don't mean to step on this victory, but we gotta get home before Eda does!"
Leal frantically gestured at Luz, "Then stop staring and start stepping!" She shot up to her feet and went out the door. "No time for the harness—I'll just shout directions, you guys keep doing what you do!" As soon as she stepped outside, she realized navigating with her camera would be helpful for the oncoming distance which spurred her to check her messenger bag. Relief struck Lealtad as she found her Canon SX530 HS Powershot tucked right between her compact first aid kid and soft cover of The Outsiders.
After a quick inspection, deeming no cracks or damages, Leal powered it on and looked on ahead of their oncoming path. A loud crunch beneath their feet startled her and caused her to look back, only to wince upon the sight of a completely toppled booth. "Ah shit," she muttered. "Um, sorry about that!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"What?" Luz shouted from inside.
Lealtad quickly resumed her post. "Nothing! Nothing," she dismissed.
Hopefully the rest of the ride would be smooth sailing from here on out.
::::
With an echoing thud, the house was stopped still and Lealtad held onto the windowsill for dear life—praying there was no more movement.
"Did we do it?" Luz hesitantly asked.
The front door swung inside Hooty was tiredly looking at them. "Is the room spinning or is it just me?" He weakly laughed. "Ahh. Just a little house humour. Whew!"
Luz sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as she said, "Sorry about all that, Hooty."
"It's okay! I'm just glad I was included!" Hooty cheerily remarked. And then he shut the door.
And Eda and King were suddenly in his place.
Eda had a hand on her hip and one against the door, as her face was riddled with disappointment (and King was also dressed like sailor boy?).
"Oh boy," Luz muttered.
"You are so busted," Eda angrily stated.
"Oh man."
"You held a moonlight conjuring," her mentor went on as she stalked forward.
"I did," she admitted.
"And you animated my house—my house!" she shouted.
"Yes—"
"Wait, Miss Owl Lady," Lealtad interjected, stepping between Luz and Eda with her hands clasped together pleadingly. "It's mainly my fault. I… I could've stopped Luz and her friends but I didn't," she admitted, lowering her head in shame, "You put me in a position of responsibility I accepted and normally would have respected but I abused your trust and didn't shut it down immediately." She shook her head before lifting it to face Eda's angry face. "I'm sorry. I know they loosed the arrow, but I could've stopped them from shooting it entirely—punish me instead."
"Lealtad, no…" she heard Luz's heart wrenching plea.
But she stayed firm and met Eda's eyes with sincerity. She couldn't let her sister puppy dog eye her way into backing out. She needed to own up to her mistakes and do what she promised to do when they got here—protect Luz. At the end of the day, she had a responsibility as a babysitter and she completely flopped on her end. It was her fault.
"No!" Willow shouted, placing herself in front of Leal, with her arms defensively spread wide. "Don't punish Luz or Lealtad! We're the ones who pushed her to do the conjuring."
"If you're gonna eat me, just do it now," Gus declared, stepping in and siding beside Willow, "Do it now!"
Eda's face seemed to shift into mild discomfort as Luz's friends held their ground. Lealtad on the other hand, felt her heart quicken at the bravery of these two witches. They… They really just stood in front of the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles and accepted the blame wholeheartedly.
"Hey," Luz quietly said to Willow, "you didn't have to do that."
She smiled back. "Yes, Luz," Willow's eyes shifted to Leal's, "I did."
And they meant it.
Lealtad smiled back. She whispered to the two witches, "Thanks, you guys."
But any response she would have had was cut off as Eda held her hand up. "Well, you're all guilty, so you'll all be punished," she drew a spell circle with her hand as she walked past them, summoning a variety of cleaning equipment in the air, "by cleaning my house top to bottom."
Willow caught a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle, Gus a broom, and Luz a mop with a bucket, while Lealtad received a dustpan and trash bag.
"And another thing…" the four of them simultaneously gulped in fear as Eda turned around and narrowed her eyes. "That was totally amazing!" she cheerily said as she stepped forward, "And I'm so joining you for next year's conjuring." Leal noticed the three's faces light up at that. "Now get to work."
The four immediately darted off toward the fireplace. Luz began soaking her mop as Gus darted around and started sweeping dirt, scattered bits of ceiling, and decorative pieces into a pile. Lealtad crouched near his pile and scooped up as much as she could with her dustpan before stuffing it into her trash bag. Willow was off near the shelving, spraying and wiping down the furniture with a careful pace. This was definitely a bittersweet moment, but Leal was in awe of these two kids.
They were good kids.
Because this realm had good people sometimes too.
"You know," Luz spoke up, looking at Willow, "I still kinda wish we got to show up Amity."
"Yeah," Willow agreed, looking toward Luz, "Too bad no one will know of our daring adventures." She shrugged before turning back to her work.
Lealtad smiled fondly at that. She put down her dustpan and trash bag, walking over to Willow. As she placed a hand on her shoulder, startling the girl for a second, she whispered, "The ones who matter do." Willow's face slightly reddened as she smiled back at her. She then looked at Gus. "Seriously though, I appreciate you two sticking up for me like that," she looked to Luz, "you too, Sunshine. You didn't need to do that."
"Of course I had to," Luz smiled. "It was my fault at the end of the day. I lied to you. I should've at least told you. Lo siento, hermana."
She chuckled, winking at her. "Todo está perdonado, hermana."
As Luz's smile brightened more, Gus stepped beside her. "It's only fair we did do something."
"Yeah," Willow agreed, "You did kinda get roped into looking after us all night."
"And helped saved our butts from demon hunters!
Lealtad snorted, jerking her thumb toward Willow. "Hardly! That was all Poison Ivy over here." The Plant witch blushed at the praise, making Leal laugh a bit. She really needed a self-esteem boost, didn't she? The thoughts of her confession about her and Amity's relationship earlier rang through her mind and made Lealtad frown a bit. Growing up like that… she could get why she was so timid about her confidence. With that in mind, she smirked as she said, "Hey, Park." The girl whipped her head back at her attentively. Leal nodded toward the stairway as she asked, "You mind helping me with some stuff that fell upstairs?"
Willow eagerly nodded, following the girl toward the base of the steps. Once they were alone, Lealtad stopped in her tracks.
"Hey," Leal softly said, turning back to Willow, "I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate what you did back there—both in front of Dama Búho and at the cliff." She could sense the witch about to begin a profuse amount of modest reassurances so she cut her off before she could. "Sunshine doesn't have a lot of… experience with people looking out for her like that. Well, neither do I, I guess. It's usually just me." She chuckled. "So I appreciate that… but I'm also thankful that you seriously saved our asses with your awesome powers—and don't you dare say it wasn't much!" she hastily added, silencing the red faced witch once more.
"You… are a powerful witch. You said it yourself back there before you kicked ass!" Willow giggled bashfully, averting her eyes. Lealtad placed her hand on her shoulder once more and smiled at the witch. "You don't have to prove anything to Amity," she softly said. "Lettuce head couldn't recognize the value of a good friend even if it slapped her in the face with a light spell that said, 'Hey, this cool witch is a good friend!'" Willow laughed, this time more openly. "I mean it though. You don't got to prove anything because at the end of the day Gus, Luz, and even I know that you're a powerful witch already."
"And…" Willow smiled at her, "that's all who matters?"
Leal nodded. "Because real friends recognize value in their friends and appreciate them for what they can do, not for what they don't have. And Park?" the girl nodded attentively, making her chuckle a bit. "You can do a lot."
"Thanks, Lealtad," she quietly said back. "Means a lot coming from you." Internally, Leal was confused as to why. Out of everyone here she had the least amount of knowledge toward this sorta stuff and was kind of just giving advice for the sake of reminding Willow. But the girl's earnest face made her ponder a moment. "I-I promise I won't be too much trouble from here on! I-I swear!" she added. "I know your first impression of me, and this whole situation kinda paints me in a bad light but I swear I won't get Luz into a lot of trouble!"
She snorted. "Relax, Park." She waved her hand dismissively. "Sunshine getting into trouble is nothing new, and trouble is all part of being a teenager so you're fine in that regard too. You're Luz's age right?" She recalled her sister talking about it once. At Willow's nod she went on, "Feel free to live a little! Animate a house and all that," she joked, playfully nudging her.
As the girl giggled with an airy pitch and a faint blush, Lealtad stepped back in realization.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh no.
"U-Uh, anyway," she coughed, "we should get back to work."
Willow rapidly nodded. "Where do you want me?" she asked as she began taking a step.
"A-Actually!" Lealtad desperately said as she ran up a few steps ahead. She looked down at Willow and held her hands out, "You go back and help Luz and Gus. It was only a few things that fell and I can handle it."
Disappointment struck the girl's face as she clarified, "You sure?"
"Yup," Lealtad affirmed, nodding. "'Sides, the sooner you're done the sooner you're out—you and Gus are outta here! Right?"
Willow sheepishly shrugged. "I-I was kinda hoping we could ask Eda if we could stay the night. N-Now that she knows and we could do an actual sleepover—"
"Ah, well, then, you better go on and ask her! An-And call your parents! To let 'em know!" Lealtad quickly pointed out.
Willow nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks!" She turned and waved, "Good luck upstairs, Lealtad!"
She awkwardly smiled back as the witch ran back into the living room. "Yup… lucky me." She took one step up before looking back at the three.
Sunshine was smiling again.
And her friends looked happy.
Lealtad released a big sigh as she shook her head, ascending the steps. Willow was a sweet kid. Before, she never really contextualized all the blushing, giggles, and bashfulness until her flirty giggle back there. All too often had Leal heard that type of forcible laughter with boys, girls, and noncoforming genders of any sort who happened to take interest in her. Her asexuality wasn't exactly something keeping her from pursuing romantic relationships, but she just wasn't interested in the physical intimacy of it all. She wasn't a fan of the ideal romance teenagers her age craved or fantasized about. She just never cared about that sort of thing.
She wasn't one to actively seek out romance nor was she one to belittle it like it was a vice. Leal just didn't... expect anything like that for herself. Even if many of her classmates were angling to date her or ask her out, she just couldn't care about it. Luz was the only priority she cared for and having relationships wasn't ever a concept that lined up to be useful at all. She knew Luz cared about all those romances, and idealized having her own relationships of varying fictitious circumstances, and Lealtad would support those interests. But for herself?
That was never a card she'd ever thought she'd have to deal with.
Setting aside her own sexuality, she was just not right for Willow. Lealtad wasn't someone who meshed well with others. And Willow was a nice girl, who had some confidence issues and all she needed was someone to cheer her on. Luz did that plenty, and Gus was practically a cheerleader from the start from the way he amped things up. Leal wasn't any of those things—she just liked keeping to herself for the most part. She wasn't fit for that sort of role.
She really hoped that this would just be a phase, or a passing thing, before she had to step in and let Willow down. Leal laughed to herself as she reached the top of the stairs. Of all the crazy things she signed on for when she stayed in this realm, somehow, dealing with man-eating demons and a moving house was entirely within the vein of what she was expecting. But getting crushed on by a fourteen year old witch?
That was far from her expectations.
Only on the Boiling Isles, she supposed.
A/N: Willow x Lealtad? Leallow? Wiltad? NOPE! Not happening. No seriously, it's not. Lealtad to Willow, is essentially what Wendy was to Dipper (from Gravity Falls). She's too old for Willow and she just doesn't think of her like that. I figured Willow developing a crush on Leal was a very realistic and teenager thing to do—she's not used to positive reinforcement and compliments: Lealtad managed to hit all the markers for her there. Also, there's a serious difference between a 26 year old and 23 year old dating, than between a 17 year old and a 14 year old. Am I ruining this plot point by stating this outright? Absolutely. Do I want to do this to shut off the expectations of Leallow shippers? Yup. Sorry y'all, it just won't happen.
But does this have significance? Yeah. Both to Lealtad and to Willow's characters. Willow's character deserves a bit more than what she already got in season 1 and in L&L canon, I aim to make it more signifcant, if only slightly. Simply for all the reasons Lealtad appreciates her: she's Luz's first friend. There's value in loyalty (hence her name) and she admires Willow's character because she can see a bit of Luz in her insecurities.
I sincerely doubt anyone here will get on my case 'bout changing up the theme song placement, but I merely did because the scene would be way too short to start off the chapter. And in all honesty, it's kinda weird they didn't cut to the opening after Eda ran after Owlbert. Again, just another instance of how funny it is rewriting and working things into a written format.
Lealtad's little spat with Luz, that was a thing, eh? There will be more of these little fights or instances of disagreements because they're sisters! It happens! It's obvious she's starting to fall in love with this place and she doesn't like that, so contrasting to Luz who has been openly expressing her love for this realm, she's upset. It's a complicated string of emotions but at the end of the day, she's only 17 and she's placed a lot of the burden on herself. Lealtad's all about routine, and she's kinda missing her old one at home.
I think I really hit my stride when I decided this was the best moment to showcase Leal having a bit of a breakdown/vulnerability. She really tries to put on the best face for Luz but when you look at what she assigned herself to do for her the second they arrived in this world, it can be really draining.
In regards to the moonlight conjuring, it was important to me to leave Lealtad out of the actual conjuring because Eda and King's comment hinting at Luz being powerful still needed to remain important to her, not Lealtad. Of course with both Willow and Gus also being included in that shot as well, the distinction of those three having great potential is something I don't want to take away from them. Whatever setup the show has in store for Luz, I still hoped to emulate. Leal is her big sister yes, but as I've stated before: she isn't the main character of the show, just this fic.
Review Responses:
Demon dark mezzo sangue:I too leave big, in depth reviews on some of my favourite fics (though more on Ao3 than here) but I'm honoured to be one of those lucky ones to have yours! ( ^‿^) Leal using the glyphs for lighting was a very subtle inclusion I liked, so I'm glad you liked it too. Oh Eda and Lealtad bickering is my FAVOURITE THING EVER. I love writing those two together. Elswhere and Elsewhen solidifed Lilith as a top five fave, especially because Cissy Jones does a fantastic job VAing for her. And as for the Blight situations, in two weeks, you'll find out! yaay! That's really cool you gave Luz a disk like that! I used to watch that show as a kicked, thought it was kinda cool. Leal overreacting about personal relationships is kinda a given, at least when Luz (and now King) is brought into the mix. And yeah, Willow crush is now on target.
MarauderPrime12: No. YOU are excellent. ( ^‿^)
OMAC001: Pffffffft. You think this poor ace gal can keep up with cues like those? Well, maybe sometimes, but yeah, like Luz, just not for herself. heehee.
Kagaminelover657: (For reference, this is me replying to your Chapters 1-3 reviews) WOW! I LOVE receiving big reviews/comments and I especially love it when they're so in depth about my stories. I am incredibly honoured and proud of your praise for making Lealtad an actual original character. It's part of why when I advertise or promote this fic, I don't really say "beta sister au" because it doesn't feel that way to me. Beta Luz or "Lucia" was something the fans made up but I only took the concept and wanted to ACTUALLY invest something into it. The fact is, this fic is actually over a year in the making! I talk about it all the time on Tumblr, but I invested so much time into writing and prepping this series. So it means a lot to see you appreciate or recognize the effort I went through to make Leal but also make her interesting. And yes, a good portion of L&L is devoted to making sure Lealtad doesn't outshine or take over Luz's canon moments. From her defeating Adegast, to her discovering majority of plot points and threads: I state this a lot, but Lealtad is the main character of this fic, but not the main character of the show. So we're following a side character follow the main character, essentially. That usually means a lot of what we see is going to be missed, or is going to be underwhelming when compared to Luz's POV—something we unfortunately don't see. Really appreciate all the reviews by the way!
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: April 27th, 2022
Stay safe, and stay lovely y'all.
Until next time,
- Bleh