Chapter 2! I am sorry that it took so long. More in the notes at the end.
Well… Enjoy!^^
Chapter 2: A snarky Cat and her mother
by
Hatoralo
"Garbage, garbage, a little bit garbage, more garbage, a greater pile of garbage, here we have a certain amount of Garbage…"
This was boring. Going through garbage was sometimes exciting but today it was only boring. Nothing of interest in this garbage bin here and her time to scavenge was almost over.
"Better I return home. I just hope we find a customer for a more "slightly" used pantyhose'."
The scavenger got onto her feet, secured her bounty and started to make her way back home. It was a normal day in Gravesfield, Connecticut, sunny yet not too warm, a very pleasant day. The scavenger liked this place, it had so many interesting things to offer and even tastier things to eat. Not to mention that the fauna of this world was way easier to hunt and kill. Their flesh, fur and bones are a good commodity on the Boiling Isles on top of that.
"I wonder if Owlbert found something of more worth. Wouldn't be the first time he surprised me with a great goodie."
Looking for the little owl companion the scavenger didn't mind her surroundings too much. She had a concealment stone with her after all which made her look like a normal teenage girl on this world. One with cappy, jeans, a blouse and a sneakers.
"I hope he wasn't harassed by some rowdy humans again or some cats who saw easy prey in him. He didn't beat humans and animals up too much but he was almost recorded one time."
Catra eventually found him. He was handling his bag, probably filled to the brim with stuff, dragging it behind him like a heavy piece of meat. But just as the bigger scavenger was to call the little Palisman somebody else ran into the picture. A girl, younger than the Scavenger, smaller as well but fast on her feet. She had brownish-purple pixie cut short hair, curious hazel eyes, dressed in clothes she seems to wear regularly and she looked in surprise at the scavenger.
"What is going on here?" asked the scavenger, sounding surprised. "What is this strange bird doing?! RUN AWAY, IT MIGHT TRY TO EAT YOU!"
The young girl with brown skin looked in confusion at the scavenger. Then she looked over to the bird who still was fleeing from her. "Stop, right now!"
"No, that is a Girl-Eating Owl!" tried the scavenger to deceive the other girl. "It will lead you to its flock where they will rip you apart with their beaks and talons!"
The brown-skinned girl didn't listen to the scavenger and continued to chase the owl. The scavenger hoped that Owlbert would be faster than the girl, fast enough that she wouldn't come near enough the portal to see it.
"Stop adorably hoping away you… Huh?"
The girl was surprised by the very different interior the house suddenly seemed to have. It also looked like she was in a tent now. Walking towards the exit of the tent she beholds something she wouldn't have been able to imagine in her wildest dreams.
There was a world of fantasy, of fantastic beings, a world of magic, a world of adventure, an unknown world, a strange world, a world where you could find the fantastic easily.
One of these things was a lady trying to insert a SNES cartridge into a PlayStation 1.
"This has to work as well somehow. The controller of the PS1 is much more fun to use. I guess I have to use some magic to make this work."
Luz was absolutely confused at this sight. Yet, the SNES cartridge was of the game "Wreck-it-Ralph Country 1" one of her favorite games on the emulator. She was about to ask how much it costs as somebody tackled her from behind.
"You go back to your dimension, right now!"
Her tackler lifted Luz into the air and walked back to the portal with her. "No place for humans in this dimension. Well, except one but you aren't that one."
Luz immediately started to struggle in the hands of the girl who was holding her, somehow wiggled out of her grip and ran into the opposite direction. Past the older lady who was handling video games she raced deeper into this strange world and finally realized that she was really here and this couldn't be a dream like she had feared at first. This was truly another world, a world like in the stories Luz loved to read.
Yet it was also a lot more grimy, appeared used and rougher around the edges. The demons looked demonic in ways Luz didn't expect, strange bows who looked like ribs came out of the ground, the city reminded Luz of skeletons and nobody welcomed her as the chosen one.
"Listen to me, earthling you have to go back NOW!" demanded the other girl while following Luz. Luz only stopped to move after reaching a cliff. There Luz's view of the world was even clearer. Including a fairy that wanted to eat her skin for some reason.
"Nobody her eats the skin of others!" shouted the girl that was following Luz. "She is just messing with you. She does that with everyone she meets for the first time."
"Ergh… She really scared me," admitted Luz nervously. "Seriously, that was not funny!"
"She thinks that is funny," sighed the other. "Now time to get you back."
"Wait, what is this world?" asked Luz immediately. "Is this another world? Are we still on Earth? Is that a hidden world? Another dimension? Do people eat through their eyes and see through their mouths?"
"Yes, I love to stuff my eyes with food," was the deadpan reaction of the girl with cat ears, fur and a cat tail. "Now get over here and-"
Luz ran back to the stand of the lady with the white hair with the video game consoles.
"Would you hold still for one second please?!" shouted the angry Catgirl and followed her.
"Miss, why are you selling garbage?"
"That is no garbage," claimed the lady with the white hair. "These are treasures, human treasures! I mean look at the Catra-Distractor for example." Edalyn showed Luz a laser pointer. "Or the Instant jacket-hanger." The older lady presented a plunger. "Or this mystical object of human worship." The lady with the long hair presented Luz a little statue of Santa Clause. "People leave milk and cookies as sacrifices for him so he wouldn't stuff them into his bag to fly them into the next active volcano and throw them in."
Luz really didn't know where the last part came from but she had to chortle a little bit at the bit with Santa Clause. "No, this is completely wrong. Amusing though. This man doesn't throw people into volcanos if they forget to give him milk and cookies."
"I see," understood the saleswoman, rubbing her chin. "But I keep the story, is more fun and interesting to tell. By the way who are you human?"
"My name is Luz Noceda," introduced Luz herself. "And who are you?"
"She is nobody, I am nobody and you nobody will leave now!" demanded the angry cat and grabbed Luz arm. "You get out of here right- Why do you have my concealment stone?"
"It fell out of your pocket a few minutes… Ago. Cat."
Before Luz stood now a slender, tan-skinned character of feline origins with athletic body physics. This person had angular features, such as a pointed chin, straight nose, and slanted, almond-shaped, and the unusual heterochromatic eyes; pale yellow (left) and turquoise (right). She featured three freckles on her cheeks, and soft curving dark eyebrows as well. Luz spotted the retractable black sharp claws on her hands and toes quickly as well as her, small fangs, the large, black, catlike ears which was slightly buried within the hair, a long prehensile dark brown cat tail and light brown horizontal markings on her arms. She also sported wild, spiked, cedar brown hair with two lighter colored tufts below her ears, held back behind a scarlet headpiece. Additional she wore a red poncho, purple shorts and nothing on her feet.
"Oh, whatever as if anyone on earth would believe this story," argued the cat more to herself than to Luz. "Now come, I get you home."
The older lady with a blanket on her head which concealed most of her hair rubbed her chin. "Wait, Catra. We could need her help with something."
"Well, we could rob her blind," suggested Catra with an evil smile. "Rob her blind if she doesn't leave immediately."
The woman with the white hair who got a TV to work which impressed potential customers who besieged the market stall quickly was not on the cats' side on this. "No robbing the human. But can you maybe tell me what this is?"
Eda showed Luz a phonograph with a phonograph record. "I think this is the evolved form of the so called "CD-Players" and "CD's". A superior format. They are larger, that has to mean that they can safe more songs and because of that I can probably sell them for more money than CD's and CD-Players."
Luz raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe you get more money from a collector but people prefer not even CD's these days. The put all their music they like on tiny SD-Cards and those into Smartphones."
Eda shrugged. "Sounds boring to make all the stuff so tiny."
"Wait, think I can show you how this phonograph works," promised Luz and started to work on it. After a few changes it started to play the music on the LP which turned out was "Wellerman" by Nathan Evans. Probably a retro novelty using modern music on an old format for people who liked that.
"Hey, that sounds great!" shouted somebody from the crowd. "How much?"
"I pay more!"
"I pay double that the last guy wanted to pay!"
"I pay triple and you also get my pancreas."
"Not interested in sweets right now," rejected Eda that particular offer before turning to Luz. "Nice work kiddo, didn't thought I would get this thing to work today."
"Thank you Miss… What was your name again, I didn't catch it earlier."
The lady jumped onto the table, continuing to sell her stuff and throwing the blanket on her head away. "I am Eda the Owl Lady. The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles!"
Eda then pointed at Catra. "And this is Catra, the most powerful cat of the Boiling Isles and one of my two adoptive daughters!"
"Hi Luz," said the Cat in a calm yet also very threatening sounding voice. "Welcome to a place where you don't get a harem."
Luz tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You do not read Isekai?"
"What is Isekai?"
Catra smiled in response. "I might like you. Maybe."
"NOBODY DOES A ISEKAI!" a voice suddenly shouted from nearby. "YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"
"Oh, boy the guards," was Eda's annoyed reaction. "Always after people without a stand license."
"Or always hunting wild witches and their kids," Catra added. "As if their aren't worse criminals, cannibals, mass murderers and middle managers around."
The guard in question run up to Eda and pointed at her. "You are under arrest for trading without a permission, having no license for a stand, selling illegal goods, unlicensed child labor and being a wild witch."
"You should be arrested for being a killjoy," argued Catra back. "Now go and tell your superiors you saw nothing or we have to humiliate you."
The guard only angered by this grabbed Eda's hand and announced: "And that new girl is also under arrest for association!"
"Hey, I am just standing here!" protested Luz. "Also the stuff they sell is absolute harmless."
"Except maybe this one," explained Catra as she was holding up a fidget spinner. "I think it is used to mind control people. I just don't know how strong the mind control is."
"Brainwashing people as well?!" shouted the guard outraged. "That's it! You are all under arrest and you will come with us!"
Edalyn struck the guards head with her staff in response. "Nah, I go home."
The Owl Lady draw not only one but several more circles in the air with her fingers and all objects on her stand started to hover. She directs them into her blanket which closed around them and knots itself close into the form of a bag, a surprisingly small bag considering the mass of objects put into it. Luz wondered what magic could do this as the bag became a travel bag and bound itself to the other end of Eda's staff. "Come Catra. You too newbie, the air is getting dangerous here."
Eda grabs Luz's arm and both start to run while Catra covers them. Not what they have much to fear because the guard is still dazed by Eda's attack. As he finally came back onto his feet the people, he wanted to arrest were about to flee much to his dismay.
"You won't get away with this Owl Lady!"
"I will get away and with this useful human to boot!" announced Edalyn with a smile and jumped with the surprised Luz into the air. This was followed with both landing on the now hovering staff. The little Owl who had turned into a statue at the end of it was now getting a bit more lively and spread his wings who helped to keep the staff in the air. "Are you ready to fly into the sky?"
"As an angel?" asked Luz fearful. "I don't want to die!"
"Not an angel, more like an annoying little cherub," snarked Catra who was on the underside of the staff, holding easily to it with her hands and feet. "Just hold on, everything will be fine."
The staff started to boost forward and away from the stand and the guard.
"Well, I guess you did," added the guard. "You got away with it. She got away with it everybody," said the guard to nobody in particular while the fleeing Eda became smaller and smaller. "Typical."
"Oh, no that can't be true!" cried a crying, Luz. "I am too young to fly! And die! And die while flying especially!"
"Calm down little human and just sit tight," ordered Catra while still hanging from upside down. "Mom knows how to fly. During our childhood I and Adora seldom fell from the staff and when it happened mom was able to catch us before we would collide with the ground."
"You can open your eyes now, human," said Eda softly.
"Flying staff, cat people, Crazy monsters, you're a witch!"
"100 points for the candidate," joked Catra. "For the next round you have to answer the following Question: Where we will drop you off?
A) Into the middle of the Boiling Sea?
B) Into the nearest gorge?
or
C) into an active volcano?"
"Don't kill me, please!" begged Luz.
"She is joking," assured Eda Luz. "Now, cut it Catra. These are enough jokes about killing the little human."
"I change to jokes about how we can enslave her then, mom."
"Not those either," demanded Eda, sounding a bit more sterner now. "The girl has no idea that slavery is illegal here. Well, she does now."
"What is this place?!" demanded Luz to know.
The three flew over a landscape with many gigantic columns that looked like ribs, the orange grasslands, the light-brown trees and gigantic orange-white clouds with a blueish sky behind them. A Gryphon flew by and was spewing out spiders.
"A Gryphon!" was the fascinated reaction by the human. "I knew they are real!"
"Of course they are real, what else should they be? Mythical creatures?" Catra laughed. "Oh, please! Gryphons, vampires and giraffes are also real."
"Giraffes?"
"We banished that bunch of freaks," explained Edalyn. Edalyn landed her staff like she did every day on the ground near a cozy looking house. Luz still looked around in amazement which turned into horror as she saw Eda's decapitated hand still clinging to her staff.
"AAAAAH!" Luz jumped off and away from the staff.
"Mom, your hand again."
"Sorry, little human, my hand can't let go sometimes," explained Eda and used her other hand to pull the decapitated hand from her staff and mounted it onto her arm again.
"That was enough adventure for me today," decided Luz and wanted to go home. "Please, just send me home and I am out of your hair."
"Yes, let us send her back, I really don't want to risk it and deal with another annoying creature in my life," complained Catra.
"We just need her help to get something specific back for one of the people you call "annoying", Catra." The Owl lady turned to Luz. "Don't worry about what I have in mind, your part will be the easy and mostly harmless part. Now come along, human."
Luz followed the witch, her still hovering bag and the cat-anthro to their house. An owl with a very human like face that was sitting atop the ruined tower behind the house gave and gave an ominous laugh before flying down and away.
The house itself despite simple in design impressed Luz, mostly because of the beautifully stained glass at the top and front of the house that looked like an ominous eye. For Luz it looked like the cottage of a mysterious and mystical person, one that often helps the hero in their efforts or tries to murder them.
"Don't worry about the guards," Catra said after noticing how worried Luz was. "We have an annoying but pretty effective defense system."
The adornment of an Owl face on the door became more organic and greeted the three ladies. "Hi, Eda, Hi Catra, welcome Stranger." The greeting to Luz had a Hispanic accent to it all of the sudden. "What is the password?"
"Let us in or I scratch you," demanded Catra. "No time for games, Hooty."
"Ahot. You are so prickly today Catra," grumbled the Owl-Face in response. "Come in."
The kinda cute visage of the door changed again. Instead of just opening the mouth widened and widened until it was as wide open as the doorframe, in fact the open mouth became the door. The darkness inside quickly changed to the interior of the house which the three ladies quickly entered.
"Welcome to the Owl House!" welcomed Eda Luz and she snapped her fingers. The candles lit, the hearth did as well alongside a now dancing pot, a automatic broom starting to sweep the floor and a beautiful mural over the hearth depicting a large owl flying towards something.
Luz was in awe while Eda was saying: "This is the place where I hide from the pressures of everyday life."
"Also from the cops, ex-boyfriends and our aunt," added Catra and threw herself onto the sofa.
"Beautiful," Luz finally said. "Are you living here with your daughter all alone?"
"I have a second daughter (I already mentioned) and aside from Hooty there is a special roommate."
Heavy steps shook the entire house and in reaction Luz looked around in fearful surprise.
"WHO DARES TO INTRUDE UPON ME, THE king of demons!" shouted a voice first threatening and demonic and then it sounded cute and cuddly. Appearing in the doorway was a canine-like creature that somewhat resembled a wolf, a fox or a certain animal from a videogame. He sported mostly dark gray fur, although his belly and the tip of his tail were covered in a purplish-gray fur color. But of special interest for Luz was his dog-like skull with white horns on his head, one of which was broken. He was also wearing a duck themed towel on his head, around his hips and had a rubber ducky in his hand which he squeaked.
This little being had pink eyes with yellow sclera. His hands showed three fingers and his feet two toes that (excluding his thumbs) looking like white claws. His mouth would one day also present a purple tongue and two small fangs on his lower mandible to Luz.
Of special interest was a red collar with a yellow tag, making him look even more like a dog in a certain sense in Luz's opinion.
Luz immediately gasped in surprise and her countenance became one of blushing surprised merriment. "¡Ay, que lindo!" she shouted as she ran into King, hold him up to her face, embraced him and cuddled the little guy. "Eda, he's so cute! Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?"
Catra laughed at seeing this. "Little? Yes, but he was cuter in the past."
"No, I don't know who this widdle guy is! Catra, get her away from me!"
"I doubt she wants to eat you, so keep cool," advised Catra the little beig.
"Eda who is this?" demanded a strong struggling King to know.
"This is Luz the Human," introduced Eda the young girl, while pulling her carefully away from King. "She will help us with our little situation since Adora is not here to help us."
"I think we can wait a bit longer for her," suggested Catra. "I mean she comes pretty close to a normal human, right?"
"I doubt she is like the humans from Earth, I will not risk it," said Eda. "But this is a real human from real earth. Well, one real earth."
"A human already lives with you?" asked Luz her new acquittances. "How is that possible? Did she come through the same portal I did?"
"More or less, but I carried her, she didn't follow my owl," told the tall woman the smaller one.
"If she can help us, I am okay with her, regardless where she is coming from," said King.
"How serious is said "situation" by the way?" asked Luz, slightly nervous. "I don't like how you talk about it."
"Just! Just let me explain," requested the woman in the red dress, creating with magic of the color yellow a glowing yellow circle in the air which then became for a moment of total darkness which soon changed to an image of King looking way more demonic and threatening with a monstrous looking kingdom in the back.
"King was once a mighty king of demons," started Eda to tell in a serious tone. "Until his crown of power was stolen and he was turned into-"
"Somebody who always steals my favorite chips," chimed Catra in. "Quit that!"
"I am the king and I annexed them legally!" claimed King in return.
"I believe you, little bundle of joy," said Luz happily and cuddled King once again.
Edalyn continued, ignoring all three: "Anyway, the crown is held by the evil Warden Wrath and he locked it behind a magical forcefield only a human can break through – A Human like you!"
Eda pointed at Luz to end the presentation with the round window made of magic vanishing like it appeared. "And after you retrieved that crown we send you back to your realm! What do you say? Plus:" Eda grabbed the little demon at his head, lifted him up and wiggled his little head. "You can't say no to this face, can't you?"
"I can," Catra chimed in once again.
"No, please don't encourage her!" was King's panicked reaction, wiggling out of Eda's hands.
"I mean we are kinda your only way home," added Eda."
"Sounds like blackmail," said Catra casually, reading in a magazine. "Adora wouldn't be happy about that, mom."
"I am kinda at the end of my rope here," argued Eda. "Also: I will do the heavy lifting."
"It seems I have no choice, do I?" sighed Luz.
"You could wait for Adora returning," suggested Catra. "Then she can do your job and we send you home for free!"
"Who is Adora?" asked the Dominican-American finally.
"My goody-two-shoes sister," told Catra their guest. "I bet she would love you. She could need somebody around who also has round ears like she has."
"Round ears?"
"Racism," made Eda clear. "Be prepared for that, they don't like "Earthlings" here, even though Adora is a Etherian, and nobody else from earth is here. Oh, well we have no time to lose."
Edalyn grabbed Luz and the girl threw onto her shoulder and walked away.
The Rubber Ducky who King hold in his hands followed the two. "Soon Mister Ducky; We will drink the fear of the ones who mocked us!"
"My fear tastes like blackberry," joked Catra.
"Where are we going?" asked Luz, looking back to Catra who was continuing to read her magazine.
"Somewhere super fun!"
Luz was worried at hearing these words, looking over to Catra who didn't look worried at all. King followed the two.
"Will Catra not come with us?"
"Nah, she did enough for today and it can't hurt to have somebody in reserve at the base," explained Eda jovial. "In case we need somebody to… Help us carry something home."
Luz nervously hoped this thing they needed to carry wouldn't be a corpse. Her corpse.
The Conformatorium was one of the scariest place Luz had ever seen. An imposing building, no a fortress. Surrounded by large rib-lie stone formations, a large wall, the main building being flanked by two towers on each side behind the large wall and the main gate was a blue colored dome with a round yellow window with several round yellow circles inside around a larger yellow circle and the entrances itself were closed by grids of steel.
The tower in the middle, inside the walls was an imposing and scary sight, looking over everything inside the walls. Few windows on the lower levels, many at the higher levels, a dome with a cylindrical construction at the top going with a golden crown-like highest level, down into a dome-like structure with many arch-entries which then went into a more traditional broad tower, at the upper end in the middle was another window with 8 yellow circles which formed another larger circle and curved thorns at the sides of the tower.
Thunderous lighting accompanied by black clouds over and behind the Conformatorium let the building look even scarier and more threatening than before.
"The Conformatorium," introduced Eda the building to Luz. "A place considering for people "unsuited" for society."
"Mostly "Anarcho-Capitalists"," added Catra, still reading her magazine. "Even Belos can't stand them."
Luz then noticed a wanted poster of Eda and took it from a wall. "ONE TRILLION DOLLAR?!"
"Snails, " corrected the cat the human. "But enough to enjoy the rest of your live. Several times over."
"What did you do?" asked Luz, sounding slightly fearful after seeing such a gigantic bounty on Eda's head.
"Selling merchandise without a license, smuggling, resisting arrest, injuring guards, injuring witches of the different covens, stealing property of the empire, destroying property of the empire, illegally selling property of the empire, making fun of the empire, several incidents involving public nudity, breaking into a guard station, robbing a guard station, burning down a guard station, beating up Potion Coven witches, attacking and defeating Head Witch of the Potion Coven Vitimir, tricking Oracle Coven Head Osran in public, stealing medical supplies from Healing Coven Head Hettie Cutburn, destroying buildings made by Mason, Head of the Construction Coven, tricking Illusion Coven head Adrian Graye Vernworth into running into the painting of a tunnel, putting weedkiller into the shampoo of Terra Snapdragon, leader of the Plant Coven, hunting Eberwolf, the Head Witch of the Beast Keeper Coven with a vacuum cleaner, letting Darius Deamonne, Head of the Abomination Coven go down the drain, misadjusted the instruments of Scooter Crane, Head of the Bard Coven, making a fool of the Head of the Emperors Coven again and again, stealing the Mask of the Golden Guard, stealing the good wine reserved for the Emperor-"
"Mom, we don't have the entire day," reminded Catra her mother and interrupting her crime-counting. "You can read this human the entire list another time. Now it is time for the break-in."
"Yes, kitty-kiddo, I got lost in my accomplishments," admitted Eda, slightly embarrassed. "But that is me. Wanted by the entire Coven-System."
"These guys have the hots for you and I understand why," the human said, calmed because not a single murder was mentioned by Edalyn.
"Yep, and they were never able to catch me or my daughters. We are too slippery."
"Especially me, just try to catch me when I am covered in grease!" claimed Catra deadpan in a playful prideful way. "I'm a squirmy little fellow!"
Jumping down from Luz head, King pointed at the top of the central tower.
"You and I will sneak up to the top to the tower where they store my crown."
"I make sure the warden is distracted," promised Eda.
"And I look around for a souvenir," claimed Catra. "The torture chamber should have some interesting teeth to collect."
"Catra no."
"I mean the teeth of the torturer," made Catra clear. "I punch them out of the mouth of whoever that is."
"I need a disguise," decided Luz all of the sudden and put on her hoodie which had two cat ears. The human then put the ears upright. "Mew Mew."
Eda looked unsure and over to Catra. "Ehh…"
Catra shook her head. "Luckily I understand that cats are native on your world and only animals there as well or you would get an earful from me."
"It is hideous," said King about Luz's disguise.
"She will fit right in," argued Eda and raised her staff into the air and then rammed the lower end it into the ground. Sparks came from it, followed by a circle on the ground large enough for Luz and King to stand on it, which they did. The circle then started to hover into the air. Luz and King made surprised noises and were flown up to a window in the tower where the platform vanished but Luz was able to jump into the window at the last second.
Catra tried to sound as if she didn't care but was unable to really manage that. "Mom, be careful with your magical hover platforms. I don't want to take care of King and the Human when they lie in your bed for several months with broken bones."
Eda didn't answer, instead letting Owlbert spreading his wings at the top of the staff, throwing the staff in the air, getting on said staff and letting herself be carried away by it. "See you at the top of the tower!"
Catra looked after her mother. "I guess I climb. No challenge for me to climb this prison. Still fun, a lot of fun."
Catra easily climbed over the wall and ran towards the tower. Looking around she easily dodged any guards without being spotted and found a good spot to get up. Jumping and climbing, she quickly reached another window and got into the fortress where the deviants were locked up for a variety of crimes.
"Hi, there. Do you know where the torture chamber is?"
The prisoner Catra spoke to looked up. It was a tree person, with a sad expression. "In the cellar, just go down, the entry is the fourth door on the right of the staircase."
"Thank you Treebeard."
"My name is Csayinsaw."
"Yeah, yeah, sorry, whatever."
Catra went down the stairs. She couldn't help but look into the cells. Not too many prisoners right now in this place but they were still a depressing sight. This were hardly the most inhuman conditions down there Catra could imagine yet not a place you want to stay for a longer time either.
Only the brand can free them…
Catra made a grimace of disgust. She hated this system. She hated the idea of being under the thumb of somebody else, hated that so many morons fell for it, hated the Emperor especially, that masked devil. Devil, a word from the humans, a fitting description for the man.
I free them after we are finished here.
Catra knew that many might be recaptured but it was worth a try. On the other hand, without the head of the Emperor's coven leading them these guards were useless most of the time.
Catra raced down the stairs now. She wanted to get the souvenir and then fight the bourgeoise for a bit. That sounded like a good idea in her mind while the little human would get the stupid crown of King. Just get some macabre souvenirs.
As she was close enough to the first floor she wanted to make her way to the torture chamber but was stop as she suddenly heard somebody call her name.
"Catra!"
Catra, turning around to look after the voice that called after her, a voice she knew well. "No, way…"
She walked to the source of the voice and could barely keep her laughter in check after she spotted a certain someone in one of the cell.s "Adora, you can't be serious?"
"I am not Adora," tried the girl to claim that looked like Adora. "I am…. Badora, yes."
"First you call after me and then you try to claim to be somebody else?"
"Badora" shook her head. "No, I thought you were…. My… Brother…. Batra."
Catra burst out in loud laughter in response. "Are you serious? That sounds like the name an evil butterfly would have!"
The face of "Badora" became crimson because of the awkwardness. "Okay, okay you got me."
"What happened, Badora?" asked Catra with a sly smile. "Were you caught lecturing an Emperors Coven Witch?"
Adora looked to the side. "I tried to free the prisoners. I snuck into the Conformatorium to rescue innocent people. But I got into some trouble."
"Did they got the drop on you?"
Adora started to blush even harder. "I hit my head as I tried to sneak up on a guard. I slipped, hit my head and after I woke up I was behind bars."
Catra burst out in laughter once again. "You knocked yourself out?! Oh, by the Titan!"
Adora blushed even harder. "Please, don't tell mom about this. She will give me a long lecture and also laugh about my mistake."
"But you like lecturing so much," teased Catra. "You do it all the time."
"I do not lecture, I give advice," defended Adora herself. "Anyway, can you free me please?"
"A prison break? Okay, I didn't plan to do one today anyway but if one has to happen to free you I do it. I blow up the Confirmatorium and then you are free to go after climbing out of the rubble."
"Have you enough explosives potions for that with you?" asked Adora. "I doubt it."
"Only enough for breaking your cell but that alone would be boring."
"A key to open the door would be better, more silent."
Catra let a claw come out of her forefinger. "I have my own built-in lockpick."
As this was happening with Catra and Adora Luz was working on her own prison break operation. One where she tried to avoid being detected by the Warden. Hiding in one of the cells, hiding from Warden Wrath who was feared by the incarcerated people here. A tall large and imposing figure with the mask of a bird, arms like logs, legs like logs, dressed like a doctor but lacking the calming professionalism physicians had. This person was intimidating, knew that he was in charge, was self-confident, he was powerful and he was Eda's former boyfriend.
But Luz didn't know about any of that as she witnessed how he grabbed Tiny Nose for causing unrest. He talked about how these three are only causing chaos and confusion before taking Tiny Nose away for torture.
Luz figured this was all pretty unfair, being persecuted for eating your own eyes, having conspiracy theories, writing fanfics about shipping vegetables and probably more strange behavior that is hardly criminalistic and just eccentric. But Luz had not the courage to attack the guy, he didn't look like somebody who was easily taken out from behind either.
After the Warden was gone Luz tried to free the other prisoners but the lever was too heavy for her. No way for Luz to free these harmless people for now. The Fanfic-Author wasn't keen on escaping anyhow, thinking she would be recaptured again quickly anyway.
Disheartened Luz wandered towards her original goal, the retrieval of Kings crown. Eda would meet her halfway there, happily informing her that the Warden was distracted with torturing a tiny prisoner. Luz was unsure if she should insist on rescuing them or not but before she could say anything Eda leads her directly to the door she was supposed to open. A door that had burned in large letters the word "Contraband" on it.
"My crown! It is close! I can sense its power!"
King run towards the large door, scratched and jumped at it as if he could quickly force himself through it. He really wanted his crown and didn't look like he would give up now.
"Awww….. He is so cute, when thirsting for power," said Eda in a warm tone.
"It is not fair that they all are in here," said Luz all of the sudden, needed to air her complains. "They just want to be themselves."
The older witch in turn didn't look like what she should say while King managed to broke the look of the door open. He immediately got into the room, with only one goal in mind.
"Come on, before he hurts himself," ordered Eda and Luz followed her into the room. They quickly encountered a otherwise empty room except for a white pillar of light in the middle of the room. A gigantic white pillar made of energy, an fantastic sight for young Luz, making her really believe that this crown had incredible power bestowed upon it.
King jumped against the pillar but was easily repelled by it. King looked angry and annoyed until Eda reminded the small demon that they had a human with them.
"Oh, right."
Luz took a deep breath to prepare herself for this important step. Stepping forward she touched the pillar and her hand went right through it. With no fear Luz stepped through the white light and entered a realm filled to the brim with contraband. One the highest hill was placed the crown, a crown unlike any other in this realm.
"Wait, is this…?"
Luz presented a Burger King Crown to King and Eda. The expression of the young human was unreadable. King of course was excited.
"My crown!"
Luz gave King the crown and he quickly put the thing on his head. "Yes, yes! I can feel my powers returning!" King pointed at a rabbit plushie. "You there, nightmare critter: I shall call you Francois, and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness. Ha-ha!"
"That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?" asked Luz the tall witch
Eda answered truthfully with "Uh, no."
Luz glared at Eda in anger and annoyance.
"Oh, look at us, Luz. King, my daughters and I don't have much in this world. We only have each other. So, if that dumb crown is important to him, it's important to me. And besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?"
Luz understood well. She actually liked the idea of sticking together with other weirdos. She smiled and even blushed a bit as Eda winked to her and she didn't knew why but it may have been a feeling of kinship.
Eda happily announced: "Well, we owe you one. Now, let's get out of here before the warden finds us and loses his head."
"To l-"
The Warden was hit by a kernel in the side of the face which promptly exploded. Before he could react to that he was hit next by a purple ghost which went directly through him and kicked him in the butt from the inside while doing so.
"Nicely done girls," said Eda, turning to Catra and Adora who stood in two different corners of the room, both presenting a smile. "But what are you doing here, Adora?"
Adora tried to make a poker face. "I was… Doing a job here."
Eda asked deadpan: "You got captured while trying to rescue prisoners again, right?"
Adora blushed slightly. "Yes."
"Then we turn this into a mass-breakout now," decided Eda on a whim.
"YOU WILL NOT BREAK ANYONE OUT!" shouted the enraged Warden. "HOW DARE YOU TO ATTACK A MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL COVEN! I WILL CR-"
Another Kernel (which like the last came from a little flower that had be summoned on Catra's head) hit the Warden in the face and exploded as well. That didn't help to raise his mood.
Luz was very first surprised but then happy about the sudden support. "OH, thank you! He almost decapitated Eda!"
"Wouldn't have been that bad," explained Eda casually while creating glowing circles in the air that created streams of fire, like from a flamethrower that kept the Guards the Warden had brought with him away. "It would have only meant that I would have lost my head. Comes with getting older."
Luz looked in disbelief at Eda over this. "Eda, you could have died."
"I should explain this," said Eda while giving the Guards a hard time. "My body can be hacked apart without losing my live or getting injured and it can be easily enough reassembled."
"You would have been really scared if we hadn't stopped Warden Wrath here," explained Catra who had a easy time dodging all of his attacks and countered with scratching from time and time. "A missed opportunity for a good scare."
"I am against scarring children from another world unnecessarily," commented Adora as she was drawing a glowing circle in the air as well, this one being of the color of purple. A few seconds later a small ghost escaped the ring, flew towards one of the guards and grabbed them at their beaked masks, dragging them along.
"Let me go you stupid ghost, let me go!" demanded the guard with a female voice to the ghost with spindly yet long arms. "Let me go or you are under arrest!"
"The death of this ghost was caused by Coven Guards, she will not listen to you."
"You will listen to me you little-" RUMMS!
The Ghost had rammed the Guard into a wall with a lot of speed while herself passed through no Problem. "Youuuuuu…. Will…. Paaaaaaaayyyyyyy….. All of you!"
"Well, we should finish this fast," ordered Eda. "Before somebody actually dangerous appears here."
"The Warden of the prison is not dangerous?" asked Luz who tried to stay away from the carnage. "But he almost decapitated you!"
"I confess that would have been embarrassing for me," admitted Eda while casually throwing a fireball after another Guard, knocking them out. "Because I am a lot more powerful than him."
"You are not as powerful as you think Owl La- URGH!" The Warden was hit by a lightning bolt to the face, courtesy of Catra.
"You talk too much," was Catra's opinion. "Also, I still don't understand what mom ever saw in you."
"She loved me and I will get her to love me again!" shouted the Warden, turning both his hands into threatening hammers. "And if I have to kill everybody on the Boiling Isles for that I will do! Not even the Emperor will be safe from my wrath born of love!"
"Sir, you are talking high treason right now," commented one of the guards. "I also don't think that this heathen is worth that."
The Warden shouts in return: "Be quiet Morgusius or you are fired!"
"You should quit on principle Morgusius," suggested Catra while clawing at him. "I mean this job is very horrible, isn't it?"
"I think most of the prisoners here should have just gotten a warning or a ticket," admitted Morgusius. "And it would be nice to deal less with their attorneys every day."
"Morgusius, this is not the time to talk about this!" argued Warden Wrath angrily while trying to hammer the Owl Witch. "Now apprehend these wild witches and put them into cells! Except the Owl Lady, bring her to my chambers."
"This sounds so creepy boss, better you overthink that last order," recommended Morgusius before he was hit by one of Catras claws. "ARGH! Stupid claws!"
Luz felt a bit lost in all the chaos. She wanted to do something but was not sure what she should do or even could do.
"Kiddo, you better leave and wait outside until we managed the situation," suggested Eda while throwing fireballs at more incoming Guards. "Shouldn't take too long."
"But-"
"Just go earthling!" shouted Catra. "This is not the first time we tangle with the Guards and Warden Wrath."
"Eda, can you throw these two out when we come back together?" asked Warden Wrath while trying to hack apart Adora with his arms he turned into swords. "They never liked me."
"You are way to possessive!" shouted Adora while punching another guard repeatedly in the kidneys while avoiding Wrath. "I mean you attacked a woman because she asked mom for directions."
"She clearly wanted to woe her!"
"She was an 500 year old asexual woman!" shouted Adora, anger in her voice
"She was faking being asexual! She was gay or bisexual, I am sure of that!"
Adora rolled with her eyes. "Just stop fighting and let us leave. You can't defeat the three of us." Eda threw her staff along with Owlbert towards Luz who captured it. "Just let Owlbert steer you home to the Owl House, do you understand?"
"Y-Yes."
Nervously Luz placed herself onto the staff and sitting there, unsure of what she should do. Owlbert took over, just flying through the open door with Luz after Eda shouted an order. The two quickly went through the floors and in an attempt to cause chaos and to distract the guards Luz planned to open the cells but to her surprise the cells were already all open and the prisoners were either gone or slowly about to escape. Several unconscious bodies of guards lay around everywhere.
"Who did this?" Luz wondered. "Well, this makes things easier in any case."
Luz continued to escape, even though she didn't feel like she was doing the right thing with leaving the three behind. She wanted to help but it looked like the three could deal with the situation themselves.
"Maybe I could fly around the tower and try to see everything went well in there?"
Owlbert hooted a little bit, sounding like he was protesting the idea. He probably had no reason to listen to Luz, they barely knew each other. He would bring her back to the Owl House and stay with her there until Eda, Adora and Catra would return home.
He flew down into the prison yard to confuse any people who might try to target them with a spell and then he would fly over the wall as near as possible.
But that plan was interrupted as he was hit by a flask in the face. The flask broke and a lot of yellow liquid was poured all over Owlbert which made him stiff, so stiff he was unable to move. This conjunction led to Owlbert crashing with Luz into the ground.
Luz, flung from the staff, crashed into the ground and rolled a few times before coming to a halt. "Ouch… Owlbert, what was that? Are you alright?"
Owlbert was unable to say anything. He was barely able to move his eyes, yet with a little luck he spotted quickly somebody he wished wasn't here. Somebody who most likely wasn't supposed to be here but was.
Luz spotted the person who wasn't supposed to be here as well. It was a lean humanoid with sickly greenish-grayish skin, rather long, wavy white hair, a surprisingly long, pointy nose, and large red eyes were pink horizontal diamond-shaped pupils with yellow sclera. His feet were like a bird's, in color maroon with gray talons. His fingernails were black. The man was wearing a tall, black pilgrim hat and a black sinister robe with yellow bands. His arms were bandaged with white tape (if from an injury or just as clothing was unclear to Luz), and he carried a brown backpack-like box with many drawers on his back. Finally this man was also donning a yellow mask over his mouth, making it a lot harder for Luz to read him.
"This area is closed to the public," said the tall figure. "What are you doing here? On the staff of an infamous wild witch as well."
"I was just borrowing this staff!" blurted Luz out in surprise, not knowing what else she should say. "Seriously, I didn't steal anything!"
"I don't think so either," agreed the man, his voice muffled by his mask. "I bring this staff to his owner, alongside you."
"Wait, I can do this on my ow-"
The tall man poured the contents of another flask onto Luz and she started to hover up in the air all of the sudden, just stopped by a piece of string that was wrapped around her right foot, courtesy of the stranger.
"Wh- What is going on?!"
"A Helium-Potion. Useful to escort prisoners that are known to be rowdy and this one doesn't ruin the seriousness of the situation because I know how to brew a Helium-Potion that doesn't make your voice sound squeaky and funny."
Luz was not impressed. "That string is easily cut or removed but thanks for not giving me a ridiculous voice."
"You want to asphyxiate in the stratosphere or fall to your death when the potion loses its effect?"
Luz went silent in response.
"Come now, time to talk to Clawthorne."
"And I remember now that you forgot one of your sons' toys at my house. I will bring it over to you."
"Tha… Uhhhh…. Thank you Eda…" Warden Wrath lay on the ground, he looked pretty ruffed up. "Just…. Ring… Put it into my… Mail slot."
"I will, Wrath. But stop trying to romance me. It is over."
"Greet your little boy from us," requested Adora friendly. "I actually miss him."
"He is allowed to touch my tail," added Catra. "You are not."
"We have the crown,beaten up some prison guards and rescued several prisoners" confirmed Eda. "Let us go home."
They turned around to go and behold Vitimir and his Luz-Balloon.
"Another face I didn't want to see today," said Eda with a sigh. "Vitimir, give me the balloon and go home. The human has nothing to do with this."
"She has a lot to do with this, at least I suspect so," said Vitimir and came closer. "Surrender to the Boiling Empire."
"Only over our dead bodies!" Catra shouted, showing her claws. "Come and get some, Vitamin."
"That is Vitimir, for you, heathen."
"Okay, Vitali."
Vitimir had enough and he said as seriously as possible: "You either come with me or kill your human friend."
"He is bluffing," claimed Catra quickly. "He is too much into law & order to do something that radical.
"Catra, don't provoke him," warned Adora her sister.
"I don't provoke, I distract," made Catra clear as Eda slugged Vitimir with her fist from the side. The Eda which has been standing with Catra and Adora vanished into thin air.
Vitimir was hit hard enough to let Luz go and the string was easily taken by Eda. "I always wanted a human balloon."
"Mom, we have many at home," reminded Adora her mother.
Eda sighed. "This was a cool line, not meant to be taken seriously."
"Oh, sorry mom."
I response to the attack Vitimir immediately drank from a potion and then spit a mist of acid at Eda. Eda used in turn a simple spell of elemental wind to blow the acid away from her. Vitimir then tried to get closer to Eda to directly hit her with some of the acid poison. Eda countered this with a blue-ring spell that put a magical construct in the form of a gas mask onto her face.
"Your wild magic and unsanctioned use of Healing-Coven Magic will not rescue you, wild witch."
"It just did but you are right it will not protect me from all your potions," admitted Ede "Let's try another one, okay?"
Edalyn produced a potion of her own from her hair and removed the cork with her teeth. She then drank the potion swiftly and turned into a ball of iron.
"What is this now?" wanted Vitimir to know. "Do you want me to have a ball?"
"Yes!"
The ball of suddenly rolled a few feet forward and then jumped towards Vitimir. It hit him in the face before he was able to realize what was going on, not expecting that an iron ball could jump like that. Despite the pain he threw a bottle with another alchemic mixture at the ball after backing off a few feet. The bottle broke, the mixture went all over the iron ball and it turned Eda back into her normal form, one Vitimir immediately attacked with the contents of one of his other bottles.
"I hope this doesn't turn me into-" Eda turned into a frog. "You are that cliché?"
"Yes, because you are easier to handle in that fo-"
Eda interrupted Vitimir as she created a purple colored spell-circle with her tongue which summoned spectral hand of slime which jumped Vitimir in the face and was clinging to it. While he tried to get rid of the hand, Adora gave her mother a potion which should be able to turn her back hopefully. It luckily did, quickly turning her back into her usual form after taking a chug.
"Teaching you two Potion Brewing pays off all the time," commented Eda with a proud smile. "Now, let me finish this."
"No, I will finish you!" threatened Vitimir.
Luz on the other hand had enough of being just a useless balloon. "I will help you!" The others ignored her, to invested in their battle. "And I know what to do!"
Luz had managed to "climb" towards Vitimir, clinging to the floor tiles. The human had a plan but she wasn't sure if it was a good one. But she had to try it, proof her worth. She reached Vitimir and grabbed one of the potions which hang from his belt and opened the cord while slinging her legs around his waist. "Take your own stuff!"
"What?" said Vitimir as he finally noticed Luz but it was to late. His own potion was splashed all over him. "Oh, no you- Wait… NOT THAT POTION!"
Vitimir started to transform, his arms became longer but also more fluid, so did his nose, his legs, his chest, his feet, his hands, his fingers and the rest of his body. He looked like melted wax.
"Youuuuuu….. Wiiiiiiiiiil…. Dieeeeeeeeeee….. Fooooooooor…. Thiiiiiiiiiis…..", Vitimir threatened, sounding like a damaged boombox.
"Wax on, wax off," joked Eda in turn.
"You know the Karate Kid?" asked Luz in surprise.
"Yes, was able to get a DVD of it during one of my earth visits."
"Youuuuu….. Haaaaateeeee… Youuuuuuuuu…."
"Does he mean me or you?" wondered Luz while asking Eda at the same time.
"You did it to him, so he means you most likely."
"Don't worry he isn't that dangerous," claimed Catra casually. "Nice work by the way."
"You took out the enemy very effectively," agreed Adora. "But it was a big risk. He could have hurt or outright killed you."
Luz said in response: "I can't just sit by the sidelines. I wanted to help. Also I need help now from you before I fly away, HELP!"
Adora grabbed the string Luz was tied to before it was out of reach. "Got you!"
"Thanks Adora. How long until the effect of this potion wears off?"
"22 Years. 23 if it the potion was brewed correctly," explained Catra seriously.
"WHAT?!"
"Don't scare her, Catra," scolded Adora her sister. "The effect of the potion is over in an hour."
"I can make it everlasting," joked Catra in turn. "For only 9.99."
"Who wants to be a balloon forever?" asked an incredulous Luz.
"There are people with some strange fetishes," told Eda Luz. "Well, let us go home."
"Youuuuuu….Wiiiiiiiil… Nooooooooot…. Eeeeeeeescapeeeeeee…."
Luz looked around and spotted the three prisoners she meet earlier. The tiny white creature with orange hair, the Fruit-Shipping Author and the guy who likes to eat his own eyes (which then rolled immediately back into the eye sockets) were attacking the Warden right now.
"I think we will. But don't they have the addresses of their homes?"
"I doubt their sentences were that long," assumed Eda. "Fanfics? Hey, you over where what type of Fanfics were you imprisoned for?"
"Food, vegetables and fruits mostly," shouted the female prisoner back. "My name is Katya by the way."
"That is just silly," commented Catra. "What about the Wild Magic? Did you practice that?"
"No."
"Why the heck were you imprisoned then?!" wanted Catra to know.
"They said my last work was "too offensive" and it wasn't even about fruit. It was an experiment where I wrote a Shounen Ai fanfiction about two historical humans on the Boiling Isles. After I posted my fanfic I was thrown into prison shortly thereafter."
"Odd," commented Adora. "Let us go home, we think another time about that."
"Good idea," agreed Eda. "Are all enemies defeated? We want to go home."
Catra looked around the battlefield, where many inmates were about to win against the guards. "I guess the situation here is resolved. Except if we want to blow up this place."
"I don't have explosives with me," said Eda. "And the last ones I had we used to blow up the summerhouse of Verneworth."
"Yes, that was fun," remembered Catra with a happy expression. "Well, another time."
Before they went away, they ensured the prisoners would be able to get away as well. Adora insisted on that while Catra said she doesn't care. Eda helped without another word and Luz too, wondering what would happen after they went back to the Owl House.
The team of six returned triumphantly to the House of Owls, the crown recovered and all prisoners freed. The guards and the one that was called a "Coven Head" were unable to follow them, to injured or turned into something that couldn't follow them properly and fast enough, like a large snail or a small elephant.
"That was something," Luz said in exhaustion and exhilaration as they reached the owl home. "I mean I never thought to see such events happen before my eyes. Or at all. Magic is real… Magic is real!"
"Why shouldn't it be?" asked Catra. "Oh, right. Nobody in your world can use magic and they don' know about our world, except you. Maybe some crazy conspiracy theorists on earth will believe in the reality of magic as well but their ideas often get ridiculous and over the top. Also racist, very racist more often than not."
Luz understood with a gloom expression on her face. "I understand. I know of such people…"
Adora, wanting to direct the discussion into a happier direction said: "Well, you can…. By the way what is your full name Miss Luz? Where do you come from."
"My full name is Luz Noceda, from Gravesfield, Connecticut, USA, planet Earth. Or are we still on Earth? Is this hollow earth?"
"No, we are not inside your planet," clarified Eda. "Also, you will not be able to find any aliens here either. We have a few mole people among the witches but they are not very good at digging, evolution changed their hands to hold tools for digging instead of doing it with their bare hands."
"Really?" asked a surprise Luz. "And Lizard Men?"
"Many of them are very paranoid. They believe that they are infiltrated by humans from earth who disguise themselves as them," explained Adora. "Of course, that is impossible, humans don't have the means to reach this place."
"You guys seem to know a lot about humanity," Luz noted. "Can all witches travel between dimensions?"
"Only mom can," informed Catra the human child. "The portal she has is a unicum, there seems to be not a second one anywhere around."
"A portal I will use to send you now home kiddo, as promised," said Eda. "Are you ready for your return to familiar grounds?"
Luz looked around and thought about her current situation. "This is a one in a million opportunity."
"What do you- Oh, right, exploring such a realm," reasoned Adora. "You want to explore a place you would not be able to ever reach otherwise. Such an opportunity doesn't presents itself every day."
"It is not that," clarified Luz quickly. "I want to learn magic! I want to be a witch!"
The three Clawthornes looked at Luz, Catra in sly interest, Adora in with worry and Eda with a friendly smile.
"Kiddo, you saw the Boiling Isles, you experienced them and know this is a dangerous place. We have many wild animals here, some are not afraid to attack people without provocation, Witches can be dangerous as well and they all have access to dangerous spells those use they can learn from any textbook, there are plants that can swallow you without even chewing, undead who haunt certain areas of the Boiling Isles and way to many people who like to watch reality CB."
"CB?"
"Crystal Balls, we use them like humans use television," explained Adora.
"Oh, I understand," said Luz. "But even with reality TV existing here, I want to become a magician. I want to learn how to manipulate the mystical energies of the world, want to know the secrets behind the veil, I want to learn the art of alchemy, I want to learn the technique of transmutation, I want to channel conjurations, dominate destruction, master mysticism, Illuminate myself in Illusions, ready myself for restoration, want to be able to use alteration, tame thaumaturgy, and enrich myself through enchanting."
The family of Clawthorne saw and felt the willpower, the fire and the determination in that young Dominican-U.S. American before them. That and giant eyes that were begging them to teach her magic.
"I am not a good teacher," announced Catra quickly. "I also can't good with teachers. I like to argue with them and some can't take any form of confrontation."
"You set the Potions teacher on fire, once," reminded Adora her sister.
"On accident during an argument," clarified Catra quickly.
"I can take an argument, criticism and backtalk," Adora ensured quickly. "But I don't feel like I am ready to teach others in the usage of magic. I lack experience."
"I have the experience, I taught my daughters how to use magic," told Edalyn Luz. "The two have become fantastic witches, I couldn't be prouder of them."
Adora blushed and Catra blushed too, looking a bit miffed about being lauded in front of a unknown person but liking the kind words coming from her mother.
"But don't you want to go home?"
Luz played with her fingers and nervously looked from one Clawthorne to the next. "Home… I was told at home that I had to face reality that I have to give up on creativity, fantasy and magic because nothing of it was real, and the first of the three ones was a distraction. But now I know that the arcane is real. That my interests have more worth than I would have ever imagined. I always hoped thatmagic would be real and now it turns out that it really exists."
"It is real but not real like in most of human fiction," explained Adora. "For example, you can't point at something with a magic staff, say the magic words and let just anything happen, like there is no spell to multiply things endlessly for example."
"Otherwise the money market would have broken down a long time ago," pointed Eda out if people could produce perfectly counterfeited money endlessly. "But what about your parents? They will miss you."
"Not really, I am supposed to go to a so called "Reality-Check-Camp" a place that is there to help kids to get into reality, because my mother and school principal say I overdid it with my antics."
"Did you turn your physics teacher into a pumpernickel that then was almost eaten by another teacher?"
"No," answered Luz a bit nervously. "But I used fake guts during a try-out for Romeo and Juliet and made a "baby griffin" in art class with real spiders."
"Sounds cool!" was Catras enthusiastic response to that. "Do you have a video of these events?"
"No, sorry. But because of that I was supposed to get a reality check. Now I want to follow the similarly realistic dream of becoming a sorceress!" announced Luz with great fervor. "Please, teach me!"
Eda scratched her chin, smiling. "I can do that but if you train here your parents will miss you. You would just vanish and your parents will be very worried about you."
"My mother thinks that I am on my way to "Reality-Check Camp" already, so me vanishing wouldn't be a problem for a few months. I can stay with you, I just need to write messages regularly to my mother on my smartphone, so she wouldn't get suspicious."
"It is still a big risk," argued Adora with a gesture. "What if somebody from the camp calls your mother at your home?"
Luz sighed in frustration. "I HAVE to take that risk! I just have too, at least until I am a wizard, a sorceress, a warlock, a witch… Just, somebody who can use magic."
"We all need to take risks to fulfill our dreams," agreed Edalyn. "Very well; I will keep watch on you and teach you but you have to follow the rules of this house, the rules of the Owl House."
"Five mice per day," said Hooty who had placed himself above the four females. "And a daily belly rub as well."
Eda carefully pushed Hooty into the background. "If it comes to feeding him, he is usually able to get his meals on his own but he likes belly rubs, that is true. Also, he likes to drink root beer since Catra brought over a few bottles from the human realm some time agao."
"I prefer Pepsi," claimed Catra, neutrally.
"What are the rules of the Owl House?" asked Luz inquisitively, looking over to the homely looking house.
Eda started to count: "Curfew is Eleven O'Clock, you have to be here for breakfast, lunch and dinner (if you can't be there call home), never go on a romantic date without preservatives, avoid the Imperial Coven Guards, don't talk to strangers until you are ready to blast them away if they want to try something, always have your scroll with you, not stealing without permission and if somebody tries to kill and harm you tell mama, she will take care of that, meaning I send the offending party to their graves."
Luz realized that Eda was a mom through and through that Moment, one who gives many freedoms and was a fierce protector. "You are a cool mom!"
"Not cool enough to allow me toilet papering the Imperial Palace Fortress."
"You do that with me and when I am sure the plan is good, will work and the exit strategy is worthwile", made Edalyn clear, not for the first time from the tone in her voice Luz thought. "Come in, I have a free room for you. Do you have any special needs, allergies or phobias?"
"No," said Luz truthfully. "No special issues aside from a wish for board and lodge aside from my wish to become a witch. If that is not too much to ask for," added Luz carefully.
"Do not worry, hospitality is sacred," assured Adora Luz with a smile. "We will take good care of you, Luz Noceda."
"You failed pretty badly Vitimir. Again."
Vitimir looked frustrated.
"And you have failed as well, Wrath."
Wrath looked a lot more intimidated than Vitimir.
"You had the chance of capturing the Owl Lady and you let her slip through your fingers. How did that happen? Both of you were prepared for battle."
"Her cat daughter got in the way," said Wrath truthfully. "I was about to decapitate the Owl Witch and her accursed daughter interrupted me! The other daughter was also there."
"Why didn't you plan for the presence of the Owls daughters? They are often with their mother!"
"They weren't with her in the contraband room, one of them was even imprisoned at that time."
"You had one of the Owl daughters imprisoned but they were able to escape?!"
Wrath sighed. "Yes, Milady. I think the Cat Owl helped the Adorable Owl to escape."
"You really thought they wouldn't try to rescue the Adorable Owl?"
"I had no idea that the Adorable Owl was in my prison, my men said she was just somebody who tried to break out prisoners," explained Warden Wrath. "I didn't look further into that at the time."
"I see. As for you Vitimir: You were so lucky to be at the right place at the right time?"
"Yes, Milady I was near the Confirmatorium too search for ingredients for my potions and I noticed the noise and action coming from that place. I went over to check on the situation and I intervened after I realized the gravity of the situation."
"Not a successful intervention, Potions Coven Head Vitimir."
"The human surprised me, I underestimated her. She used one of my own Potions against me," admitted Vitimir. "I can't defend that mistake."
"You can't but that is not enough reason to replace you as Potions Coven Head. I just hope you will learn from your mistake."
"I will, Milady."
"As for you Wrath, I want you to improve the security of the Confirmatorium promptly. This mass escape gave us a lot of negative publicity and I want these prisoners re-captured yesterday."
"Yes, Milady, of course, milady!"
"As for you Vitimir; You will help Warden Wrath. I think he and his guards could need some potions to increase their abilities and effectivity. Potions that helps them to track and locate escaped prisoners."
"Yes, Milady. I will follow your order Lady Lilith Clawthorne."
The Leader of the Emperor's Coven, turned her head to the window which gave way to a beautiful view of the Boiling Isles. The sun has risen from the horizon, the city of Bonesborough was easy to spot and recognize in the light of a new day and looked as scary and beautiful as always. Lilith was sure that news of the events which occurred at the Confirmatorium reached not just Bonesborough but also other towns by now. A pretty big blow to the reputation of the Boiling Empire.
"My sister and my nieces are at it again. Time to visit the family."
I got a very good response to the prologue and I am thankful for that.
I want to apologize that this next chapter took so long to upload. WAY to long…^^" I just have issues with the flow these days. I hope you can forgive me.
Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, I want to hear your criticism.
In any case I hope you enjoyed chapter 2.
Until next time!