Eda had just finished wishing her kids good night, and was spending a few minutes to herself on her couch in the Owl House letting everything she had seen during their first training day sink in. Every mother believes her children are special, and Eda is no different, but today had shown her that she was right. King, her adorable chaotic little king, could do magic, but it was of a type she had never seen before. Maybe it was unique to his species of demon, a species she still couldn't identify, but it was still magic, and that gave her a sense of pride.

Then there was Victoria. Oh Titan, was Vee unique. She wasn't just a potentially dangerous, and lethal predator that was supposed to have gone extinct a long time ago. She is so much more. Vee is incredibly smart, and observant while having the third most caring heart Eda had ever seen. Vee reminded Eda so much of her Camila that it was easy to forget that Vee had never even met her much less be of her, but if anyone deserved the title of 'Camila's Daughter' it was this little basilisk girl. She has this resolve inside her to survive that filled the older witch with both pride in her strength, but also a near soul crushing sadness because of what she has had to go through. She is a young girl who was abused, and mistreated everyday since the day she was created, until by some miracle she had been saved by her Luz and King.

Speaking of Luz, Luz was unlike anyone Eda had ever met before. She may not know it, but ever since Eda had found out she might have a daughter she had tried to keep an eye out for her. It might not have been as often or as direct as she would have liked, and clearly after the incidents Luz had mentioned she hadn't done nearly as good of a job at it as she had thought, but Titan dammit she tried, or that's what she told herself. Maybe she could have done better. Maybe, if she had been more insistent with Camila, Luz could have grown up like any other little witchling. Maybe she could have avoided all the pain and scorn she had received from a world that rejected her. Eda knew how that felt all too well, but she knew that was a fantasy.

It never would have worked. Eda was a criminal, and that is not the environment to raise a child like Luz in. Sure Lilith would insist that all she ever had to do was turn herself in, and let herself be branded, she had considered it multiple times over the years, but Eda knew it wouldn't have worked. Belos would have petrified her as soon as she did, or worse if he had found out about Luz before she was old enough to try to protect herself. He would have destroyed or weaponized her, and that was never going to happen even if she had to die to prove it. No, Camila had been right to keep their daughter with her. While Eda had never liked the idea of using magic to hide and stifle Luz, at the time it hadn't been her call. Heck, despite knowing that Luz was her daughter now Eda still wasn't sure she had the right to make those kinds of decisions, but she would be damned if anyone was going to hurt HER daughter again.

It was these thoughts that were going through her head when she heard a familiar voice interrupt her musings. "Edalyn, we need to talk." The voice sounded like Hooty, but at the same time Eda knew this voice didn't belong to her Hooty. It was too serious, too calm, and too old, but as she turned her head to look at the speaker she could see that it was in fact coming from Hooty. He was still hooked to the front door for one thing, but the look on his face was every bit as foreign as the voice was.

Feeling uncharacteristically nervous, Eda asked, "Ok Hooty, what's on your mind?"

In that same familiar yet unfamiliar voice Hooty said, "In light of the many years we have spent looking out for each other, I have to warn you. Send that girl back to wherever you found her. I felt her magic earlier, and even now I still can. Her kind are dangerous, and she will bring you great pain. I know sending her away will hurt as well, but if she stays I can not guarantee the safety of your other charges."

Eda just looked at him bewildered, and confused. Why would Hooty be so adamant that Vee would only bring disaster, and what had brought on such a radical change in the house demon? "Hooty, I appreciate the warning, but I'm not going to abandon her just because you think she's dangerous. We have always lived dangerously. This doesn't change anything, and by the way. What in Tartarus is this? Since when can you have a full thought out conversation without getting distracted?"

Hooty just let out a disappointed sigh, "Edalyn Clawthorne, the warning has been given. I knew you wouldn't listen, but I had to try. As for my current disposition, I have lived a great many lifetimes, and seen a great many things. The 'Hooty' you know is but one of the many that is me, and a young one at that. I am the oldest. I am the first, and unfortunately my time is limited so I will be as clear as I can. For the good of everyone, Luz… must… go." Hooty delivered his final warning as he slowly slinked back into his place on the door leaving Eda shocked and even more confused until her rising anger burned away every other thought, and she stomped over to her door, and threw it open, apparently waking Hooty up, oddly.

"Hooty, what in Tartarus was that! And what the hell do you mean by 'Luz must go'. That girl is my daughter, and I'd sooner ripe out my bile sack with my bare hands then abandon that girl again," Eda roared with feathers starting to appear all over her.

Hooty just tilted his head, and chirped in his usual way, "Hoot-Hoot. Don't know what you're talking about Eda. I was having such a nice nap… Wait, I feel… new friends. I can't wait to meet them. Oh I hope they're nice. I'll wait till morning though. They seem tired."

Eda wanted to strangle answers out of the demon, but clearly whatever had happened was over now so as frustrated as she was there was nothing she could do so she just groaned, slammed the door, and headed to her nest. Today needed to end before anything else could happen.

Luz woke up in the early hours of the morning with a smile as she thought to herself, "Ya, day two of 'Project: New Me' and that starts with some early morning exercise. Time to take the next step in becoming who I want to be." Being extra careful not to wake up King or Vee, Luz quietly put on a pair of orange gym shorts and a black tank top, and dove out of her private exit (the window/hole in her wall) while extending her wings and letting them carry her over the tops of the trees. Luz still marveled at how quietly she could fly when she wanted to, but it shouldn't have been a surprise to her since she was part Owl demon, and nothing flies quieter than an owl. At that thought Luz giggled to herself, "I guess I never did have a problem with accepting myself so why should that change now. I might be a new kind of weird, but I'm still me."

For the next hour Luz stretched her wings, and then when she thought she had moved far enough from her home she landed and started jogging back through the woods toward home while intentionally avoiding the road or any paths. At one point Luz thought she saw a pair of people, a guy and another shorter girl, but when she checked no one was there. Deciding it was nothing, Luz got back to her run until she made it back to the Owl House where a new face was awaiting her.

"Hoot-Hoot, Stranger danger! Who are you, and what do you want?" shouted the owl tube that Luz had been warned was named Hooty.

While jumping and dodging the house demon's attacks, Luz said calmly, "Hi there Hooty. My name is Lu…" Luz did a back handspring, and all of a sudden felt very thankful for the couple months she had wanted to join the cheer squad regardless of how big of a disaster that ended up being. "Luz Noceda. I'm Eda's daughter. Can we please just…" Hooty began to circle Luz preparing to wrap her up so she couldn't run anymore, but Luz called on her wings and began to fly. "Will you just stop already so we can talk? I was hoping we could be friends, but you're not being very friendly right now."

This seemed to finally make Hooty pause, and consider Luz with his head tilted to the side. "Wait. You want to be friends, and I don't even have to capture you first? You actually want to talk to me?"

Hooty retracted back into the door, ready to strike, and Luz landed in front of him panting slightly until she sat down. "That was the plan, but firstly, no wonder Mom calls you the ultimate security system. While I'll admit I wasn't fighting back at all, that was still the roughest game of tag I've ever played. You know as long as we both agree not to hurt each other, I might want to play again later. It was kinda fun."

Hooty cocked his head again, and said, "You're weird, but I like you. Hoot hoot." Hooty seemed to think about something for a minute before asking, "Do you want to hang out for a while? Maybe we can talk." Hooty sighed, "Most people don't want to talk to me, and if they do it's not for very long."

Luz slowly got up and carefully petted the top of Hooty's head making him coo slightly before saying, "Hows about this. I was going to take a shower, and make everyone breakfast. Why don't you meet me in the kitchen in say twenty minutes. We can talk while I cook, and then we can hang out while I experiment with my magic out back. Does that sound fun?"

Hooty energetically nodded before swinging the door open, "I can't wait, new friend. Yay, I've never been happier that I ignored the voices in my head that tell me to eat someone."

Luz chose to ignore that last comment. She had been warned that Hooty was a bit odd, but so far he seemed like a good guy, if a bit excitable. After a quick shower, and getting dressed in some clean clothes, her favorite cat hoodie and a pair of jean shorts.

Sadly Luz noticed she would either have to find a way to resize her hoodie or get a new one soon because her current one wasn't really long enough anymore since her growth spurt, but then she had a thought. Maybe having a bit of belly showing wouldn't be so bad if she could build up some abs. Maybe she could catch the eye of a cute witch girl or demon boy… "No. Bad Luz. No horny thoughts," Luz admonished, but couldn't help blushing before she pushed those thoughts away. True to her word, Hooty and Luz chatted and laughed as she made breakfast for her family, and once she was done and finished eating her own food, occasionally tossing Hooty a strip of quilboar bacon or a spare eyeball, they moved their conversation to her training area. Eventually Vee and King woke up, and proceeded to exit 'Tower Noceda', setting Hooty on edge as soon as he saw the new person in his territory.

But Luz had the situation handled. As Vee froze in fear, and Hooty prepared to attack, Luz just reached out and petted Hooty's head again. With a calming tone Luz said, "It's ok buddy. That's just my little sister Vee. I told you about her earlier, remember, I told you she can be a little skittish if she feels intimidated. I warned you that you might need to try to bring your energy down a bit until she gets used to you, but she's family. Everyone is safe."

Hooty hooted in pleasure at the pets as he said, "Ok Luz. If you say she's good then I'll be good, but are you sure she will want to be friends too?"

"Oh Hooty, you're just a big old sweetheart. I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to be your friend," cooed Luz as she waved Vee to come over. When Vee got close enough Luz said, "Vee, this is Hooty, the Owl House's house demon, and he can be a bit excitable, but I promise he won't hurt you. Why don't you give him a few head pats like I am, and then you can take King inside for some breakfast, ok?" Vee seemed hesitant, but did as she was told, and to her surprise Hooty let out more cooing hoots as she did, making her smile. After that Vee and King went inside to enjoy their food.

With them gone Hooty excitedly looked at Luz as he said, "She seems nice. You were right. Maybe I shouldn't just assume people want to hurt us, and give them a chance to speak before I attack."

Luz gave her friend a small scratch on the part of his body where his tube and face meet, "It might not be a terrible Idea, but remember if they are in a scout uniform and it's not a disguise then 'attack first' is still the rule. I might not know much about this world yet, but I trust Mom's judgment on that.

To say that Eda was shocked when she eventually went out to check on her oldest only to find her laughing as she seemed to almost dance around the attempts of her house demon to 'tag' her would be an understatement.

As they wrapped up their current round, ending with Hooty finally boxing the girl in, Eda heard Luz say, "Ok buddy. Deal is a deal. I'll keep my eye out for any tasty bugs for you when I go out later, and I'll make sure to bring them back for you." Hooty hooted in excitement as he rubbed their faces together resulting in more laughs from both of them before he let her go.

Eda just looked on utterly befuddled by this turn of events as she asked, "Since when is this a thing?"

The two just looked at her while grinning, "We had a nice chat this morning Mom, and we're cool. Honestly, I think you two were a bit too harsh on my new buddy. He's a great guy, and just needs someone to take the time to listen and play with him." Luz looked at Hooty smiling sweetly as she said, "I think that's enough for now though. Can't have our best line of defense exhausted can we?"

Hooty gave her a determined look before saying, "Anything for my best friend. See ya later junior boss." With that he slinked back to his position at the front door.

Eda smirked, "Junior boss? What's that about, and how did you manage to tame him so quick? I'd expect something like that from Vee since she has a knack for beastkeeping, but even I have a hard time handling him sometimes."

Luz smirked back, "Might not have such a hard time if you treated him like a person, Mom. Anyway ya, he decided that since you're his 'Boss', and I'm your number two that makes me 'Junior Boss', but as I said if you and King don't start treating him better I might take your place as 'New Boss'." Luz said it with an air of teasing, but Eda didn't miss the subtle warning Luz was giving her, and after seeing them for only a few minutes Eda had to admit there was some truth in it. After dusting herself off Luz asked, "So what's the plan for today?"

"Well a trash slug washed up this morning, and I was going to invite you to come help us look for any treasures it might have brought with it, but you look kinda tired Kiddo," stated Eda.

Luz gave Eda a look that screamed, "Seriously", but sighed, "Give me a couple minutes to grab some back-up clothes for me and Vee, and then we can head out." As Luz walked away though she said over her shoulder, "On second thought, this might be cool. I got to thinking about some 'projects' I wanted to work on, and maybe I'll find some of the stuff I'll need while we're at it."

Luz had expected the process of carefully chopping away at a putrid stinking slug corpse to be stomach turning, but it proved to be a lot less problematic than she thought. While she had to admit the corpse stank beyond words, and having any bit of the various fluids that leaked from it touch her made her want to not only wash, but possible burn off the affected skin, Eda's experience and Vee's ingenuity made the process bearable.

Luz's ability to search a wide stretch of beach from the air proved invaluable, and allowed them to find their target before anyone else. Taking advantage of Vee's acidic touch for juicier or fragrant sections helped to cut down on how much goar was splattered, and as a bonus its acrid scent helped to burn away some of the lingering funk. Coupled with Eda's knowledge of how to approach their task, and preventing unnecessary wastes of time proved vital. Between the three women they managed to find their target faster, pick it over more thoroughly, and finish faster than Eda had ever been able to do before.

With their 'treasure' collected, it was decided that Luz should go explore more of the isles since it was all so new to her, and while Vee was in a similar position she wasn't ready to start exploring yet. When Luz tried to convince her sister to change her mind Vee just sighed at her, "Luz, I'm not ready. I know that you wouldn't let anything happen to me, but I'm just not there yet. When I am though I expect you to be there to guide me to all the best spots." Vee finished with a grin.

Luz accepted defeat, this time, "Ok, but when you're ready I promise I will take you on the best trip of your life, and I'll show you just how beautiful the Isles can be."

Eda walked up and tasseled both of their hair, "I don't doubt it, but in the meantime I need help giving this stuff a deep clean, and Luz, I expect you to help me refurbish what ya can when you get back. If I'm going to keep giving up prime pieces for the 'clubhouse' you mentioned, then you better make the remaining stuff go far enough to keep us all fed. If not we might have to start selling some of that stuff too."

"Mom, we agreed the bunker was a good idea so don't start acting like it's not, and really I'm hurt that you doubt me. You'll see. When I'm done you'll see your gains from the stall double, or I'll eat my beanie," proudly declared Luz. Eda just gave her a dismissive hand gesture, but her proud smirk never wavered.

Unlike during Luz's run that morning, she took her time slowly weaving through the trees as she walked along this time, and marveled at how wild and new everything around her was until she heard a voice in the distance.

As Luz got closer she saw a shorter girl about her age with dark green almost black hair. Some would have mistaken her for puggy, but Luz had seen girls like her before, and knew that assuming it was all fat could lead to a painful correction later. "Come on, you can do this. Dad and Papa are right. I just have to try harder. I have to get stronger. I have to prove that I can stand by him," said the girl. As Luz watched the girl pace in front of her cart and large pot, she saw the girl accidentally step on a small flower making the new girl let out a little gasp and immediately draw a green spell circle to try to heal it.

Seeing her freak out over the little plant made Luz smile and let out a small snort. The girl didn't miss it though as she all of a sudden shot her hand toward where Luz was hiding, and made a couple vines grab Luz by the ankles and hold her aloft upside down. Luz just hung there for a moment before holding out her hand and saying, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Luz Noceda, but ya know if ya wanted to hang out you could have just asked."

The girl looked at the odd witch girl she had caught in confusion before she finally smiled, "I'm Willow Park. Couple questions though. First, why were you hiding, and second I don't recognize you? Did you just move to Bonesbourgh?"

Luz gave Willow a flirty wink, "Yep, just arrived about a week ago, and as to why I was hiding… I was on a little walk in the woods when I heard a cute voice. I didn't think I'd find the prettiest flower around though."

Willow blushed, causing her to hide her face, and cover her eyes in panic, "S-s-stop that. I'm not pretty, so please don't tease me."

To Willow's surprise she felt a gust of wind, and when she uncovered her eyes Luz was kneeling in front of her looking slightly peeved. "No. None of that. I don't know you, but I don't care. You are a cute girl, and I won't be hearing any arguments. If hearing me say it makes you uncomfortable I'll stop, but everytime I hear you put yourself down I'm going to say it again no matter what. You got that Willow?" Willow looked into the golden eyes of this odd girl and just nodded. "Good, now what were you doing out here alone? And what's with the cart?" Luz asked as she moved over to sit on the wheel of Willow's cart like it was a waiting throne.

Willow took a closer look at Luz's clothes and noticed she wasn't in a uniform and sighed, "I'm guessing you don't go to Hexside then. I'm in the abomination track so the pot has my assignment in it." Willow looked dejected as she remembered her project, "At least it's supposed to. Sadly it looks like another failing grade for me, but…" Willow was cut off as another cart approached with a thin green haired pale witchling sitting on her own pot.

"Well look at this. Morning Willow. I'm surprised to see you out here. I would have thought you would have gotten to school early to try and fix your failure… I mean project," the newest girl said condescendingly. Then she saw Luz and a small blush bloomed on her cheeks before she asked, "And who is your friend? You're not trying to get outside help are you?"

Luz just gave her an unimpressed look and prepared to give a witty remark, but Willow spoke up first, "Morning Amity. No, Luz just moved here and we were just having a conversation about Hexside so if you don't need anything. Can you please just move on?"

Amity gave Willow a smirk, "Well if she wants to learn about Hexside, I can help." Amity looked at Luz with an obviously faux sweet smile, "It's nice to meet you Luz. I'm Amity Blight, heir to Blight Industries, and top student of the Abominations track at Hexside. If there is anyone who can tell you all the ins and outs of Hexside it would be me." With a little leap Amity moved from her cart to Willow's and uncovered her pot making her give a disappointed little sigh. "I wouldn't trust the word of little half-a-witch Willow here. She can't even seem to make a passable abomination, much less be a good guide."

Amity's attitude was really getting on Luz's nerves at this point, but then she got a devious idea. Putting on her best disarming smile Luz said, "I'd like to believe you, but I have to question just how talented and capable you are since…"

Luz let her comment hang in the air for a moment until Amity angrily asked, "Since what?"

Luz put up a calming hand as she said, "Well if you were so great wouldn't you be able to fix Willow's goo. I mean, I get it if it's too big of a challenge for the supposed 'top student', but…"

Amity's face went positively scarlet, and Luz thought she saw a little steam escape her ears as Amity pulled out a small pouch at her side, and poured in a bit of crushed powder in Willow's pot. With a flick of her wrist Amity stirred the goo making it thicken in seconds. With a condescending smirk Amity said, "Satisfied. Nothing is impossible for a Blight."

Luz gave an innocent nod before starting to laugh in Amity's face leaving the girl baffled until she saw Willow's wide eyed stare. "Amity, you realize you just tampered with my project right? That's cheating."

Amity's face dropped, and she started to fall backward as the gravity of her new situation dawned on her, "What did you make me do? Oh my Titan, ooooh my Titan. Do you have any idea of what you've done? When my mom hears about this she'll…" Amity was cut off by her own panic attack as she started to shake and her eyes started getting damp.

Seeing this Luz stopped laughing immediately, and as Willow watched she could have sworn she saw wings sprout from Luz's back for a moment, but when Willow looked again Luz had seemingly teleported to Amity. Much to Willow's confusion she saw Luz gently holding Amity, and heard her make small reassuring sounds as she tried to calm the smaller girl, occasionally whispering small reassurances in Amity's ear while rocking.

After a few minutes Luz asked, "Better now?" Making the fully blushing girl in her arms nod, having apparently lost the ability to speak in that moment. "Good. So here is what we are going to do. You're going to tell Willow what that powder was, and she will add it to her ingredient list. We never saw each other. None of this ever happened. Are we all clear?" The other two girls nodded. "Amity, why don't you get going first. Once you are out of sight, I'll walk Willow to school. Is that ok with everyone?"

Both girls nodded again, but then Amity let out a little squeak as she said, "You're going to have to let me go first though." Luz did so with an awkward laugh, and a small blush. Within seconds Amity had retaken her place on her cart, and headed away as fast as she could.

Luz watched Amity go with mixed emotions, but before she could start to untangle them she heard Willow say, "Well that was different." Luz looked back and noticed Willow was smiling, "I should probably get going, but maybe we can hang out again soon." With a small giggle she added, "And this time I won't have to use my vines… unless you're into that kind of thing."

Luz let out another laugh, "Ya I guess we should go. Do you think they would allow me to take a tour?" When Willow just looked at her confused Luz clarified, "My Mami said something about me possibly getting enrolled there in the future, but I'd like to tour Hexside first to make sure I like it. Meeting you might just be the excuse I was waiting for." Luz looked away awkwardly as she whispered, "It would be nice to have a friend if I go too."

Willow's expression dropped slightly as she said, "I know you said that you would walk me to school, but it's not necessary. It's a big school, and from what I've seen you shouldn't have any problems making friends there that are a lot cooler than me."

Luz looked peeved again as she said, "Cooler than you? Not only is that dumb, but I'm not that vain." Luz's expression shifted as something occurred to her, and her face dropped. "I understand if you don't want to be friends with a weirdo like me though." Willow barely heard Luz whisper, "You wouldn't be the first. I guess once a Luzer, always a Luzer. Why should coming to the Demon Realm change that?" With a dejected sigh Luz started to slowly walk away.

After a minute Luz heard the sound of a cart getting closer, and then she felt a strong hand grab on to her and fling her backwards onto the cart as she heard Willow say, "Well if we are going the same way you might as well travel in style. What kind of friend would I be if I made you walk."

A single tear escaped Luz's eye as she looked at Willow's smiling face, "Thanks Willow."

As they made their way to Hexside the two girls got to know each other a bit. While Luz kept most of her identity and more specific details hidden, like Eda told her to, Luz did let slip that she lived in the Human Realm until she came to the Isles, and that until her witch puberty started she had thought she was human. Willow said she would have to introduce Luz to her friend later. He was supposedly an expert on all things human, or so he claimed, and he would never forgive her if she didn't let him talk to someone actually from that realm.

After a small bout of laughter Willow took her turn telling Luz about her dads, and admitting that Abomination magic just wasn't her thing, but it was the track that they thought would give her the best opportunities so she intended to make it work. Luz only scoffed as she pointed out that it didn't make sense to be a below average abomination witch when she could be a plant master, but said she wouldn't push her since it was Willow's life, and only she could live it.

As the two broke the treeline and made their final approach to the front doors of Hexside Luz looked at it in awe. Hexside was pewter and gray-blue with splashes of gold, and if not for the great red eye that looked down on everyone from a window in its central tower it would look like any other old college one might find in the human realm.

It wasn't until they made it half way down the path that led up to the school's double doors that Luz noticed just how many students milled around them, and took in just how varied they were. While yes everyone was wearing the same black and gray uniform with sleeves and leggings in one of nine colors, it didn't change the fact that no two students could be described as the same. Some looked almost human like Willow, but there were just as many 'momsterous' students, and all of the beautiful rainbow between. Claws, horns, fur, varying numbers of eyes, and even nonsensical shaped limbs. All were present, and nobody seemed to think it weird in any way. Looking around Luz felt her heart fill with hope as she told herself, "Finally a place that will accept me. Finally a place where I won't be an outcast."

As Willow led Luz through the hallways leading to Principle Bump's Office, Luz couldn't help a small chuckle. Much like the exterior or the school, the interior could pass for a normal university if one didn't look too closely at it. Classrooms, lockers, students, and high ceilings just like one would expect, but on a closer look everything was magical and strange. Smoke or explosions could occasionally be heard from the classrooms, the lockers were alive and had a personality unique to them, and the ceilings were no doubt so high to accommodate some of the larger students or those with wings. Much like everywhere else on the Isles, Hexside was simply magical to behold. After dropping off Luz, Willow apologized that she couldn't stick around, but before she left she gave her new friend a small hug, and wished her luck. Luz decided that no matter what happened with Bump, today was one of the best days of her life because she finally had a friend. After a tentative knock Luz heard an older male voice tell her to come in.

When Luz entered Principle Bump's office she was stuck by how 'normal' it was. A normal brown desk, normal bookcases, and the same feeling she normally felt when entering a principal's office were all present, and sitting at his desk sat Principal Bump. He was an older witch judging from the wrinkles surrounding his upper lip, and had light-beige skin. The upper part of his face was obscured by his palisman, an imp named Frewin, or so Willow had told her. Bump was wearing a traditional academic dress consisting of a long black gown with a gold yoke, a black cape, gold trim at the sleeves and cape hem, plus a blue stole draped over his shoulders. When he saw Luz enter he looked momentarily confused. When Luz tried to give him a warm smile as she sat before him Bump seemed to shudder, but he quickly tried to hide it by saying, "I'm sorry, but I don't recognize you, and you're not in uniform so I'm guessing you're not one of my students. I have to ask, who are you, and why are you here?"

Luz looked at him, and said sheepishly, "Well I was hoping I could tour Hexside today. I want to get a feel for the school before I make a decision about which school I should go to. Since everyone I spoke to told me Hexside was the best, I thought I should start here. If I like it enough I might even scrap visiting the other two, and try to start the enrollment process today."

Bump looked over Luz intensely for a moment before his face cracked a grin, "You were told correctly. Hexside holds the distinction of being the foremost center for education on the Isles, and as its principle I am overjoyed to hear that you are interested in joining us next semester, but I have to ask. What makes you special?" When Luz looked at him confused, Bump continued, "While it is my personal belief that every student deserves the opportunity to shine, and become all they can be, I unfortunately only have so much space and funds to go around. Excellence requires a great deal to reach, and sadly not everyone has what it takes to reach it. There are many paths one can take to reach it though." Bump looked over Luz again before stating, "Given your dress, manners, and 'air' I assume you are not among the upper crust like the Deamonne, Blights, Whispers, or Sibles so 'charitable donation' is out, and yes I realize such things are sometimes frowned upon, but without them a number of our less monetarily stable students wouldn't get the help they need. Without seeing any transcripts from previous teachers I can't say whether you have the drive necessary to compete your way in through academic or sports achievement. I don't recognize your demon species, so perhaps you have unique magic that could be your ticket in. In short I'm asking, why should we teach you over someone else? What do you offer to better this school and the Isles at large?"

Luz pondered what Bump said for a moment before asking, "Can you promise me that whatever I tell you will stay between us sir?"

Bump looked at Luz quizzically before he made a blue spell circle causing the room to shimmer momentarily before he sat forward slightly with an air of slight concern as he said, "I have warded the room. I can assure you that even the Emperor could not hear our conversation without me knowing about it now. I trust you have a reason for this secrecy?"

Luz decided to trust Bump, "My name is Luz Noceda. You're right, I'm not rich, and you will find no record of me anywhere on the Isles until about a week ago… when I arrived from the Human realm. I am part human. I don't know how big that part is, but my Mami is completely human so I'm guessing it's fairly dominant. That's not to say I'm not also a witch and demon, and can do magic, but at the end of the day it's a part of who I am. My Mom brewed a potion to help my Mami have me after my dad passed, but it got corrupted. I don't really understand it beyond that point since advanced potions are still a mystery to me, but my magic is unique. I'll give you an example." Luz used her right hand to draw a white spell circle, and created a white light orb. Bump looked unimpressed, but Luz smiled. Next she used her left hand and used a black spell circle to create a black light orb looking like a moving void in the air. Bump sat forward a bit to get a better look, but Luz stopped him. Using both of her pointer fingers she drew a third gray circle producing a gray light orb that seemed to gravitate between the other two. Finally Luz's right hand seemed to flicker slightly as a golden spell circle appeared creating a golden light orb. While Luz enjoyed the look of awe in Bump's face, she also kept the orbs out of his reach while they danced around each other until Luz finally snapped, making them all disappear.

Bump continued to smile as he said, "Truly unique."

Luz let out a chuckle, "I can call on larger spells, but I didn't want to take the chance of damaging your office, and I figured a basic light spell would suffice for a demonstration. Although I think the black one might have been a darkness spell." Luz sighed, "Black always seems to do that for some reason. Speaking of which I'm sorry I couldn't let you get a closer look. Each of them has a unique 'quark' except gold, and I didn't want you to think I was trying to attack you."

"Do you know why each is different though? Or maybe why you have four distinct colored circles? Is it dependent on which hand you use?" Bump looked positively giddy. "You certainly proved yourself worth an opportunity to enroll. I think I would very much like to speak with your witch parent as soon as possible to begin the paperwork."

Luz sighed, but continued to grin slightly, "From the top, no, not really, and nope." Luz used her right hand to draw a white circle and then a black one in quick succession. "It just feels more natural to do so with a specific hand. I do have to use both for gray though, and my hand always flickers for gold. I don't know why. Best guess, it feels like each circle pulls magic from a different part of me, as odd as that sounds. Only gold feels like pure witch magic, but I can't be sure since I've only been using magic consciously for about three days. As for meeting my Mom…" Luz looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry sir, but I can't even tell you who she is until I know I can trust you. Please don't take it the wrong way, but I've never met an authority figure who didn't try to do something for their own gain other than my moms, and that includes a couple dozen teachers and at least three principles growing up. Everything I've seen and heard about you tells me you're different, but I won't endanger my family on a hunch."

Bump gave Luz a serious look before he sighed, "If you're telling the truth, I can understand your hesitance. In fact it might make me respect you even more, but in order to actually enroll you I will have to meet her. For now though.." Bump summons a lanyard with Luz's name on it and a schedule. "We can at least allow your tour to commence, but understand I'm trusting you not to cause any trouble while you're here." Luz gave him a serious look and a nod as she put on the lanyard and took the paper.

With their business over for the moment Bump directed Luz to get to class, but on her way out Luz flashed Bump a familiar smirk, and said, "Thanks Bumpy. I promise not to let you down," as she left. Bump shuddered again as he thought of the last person who addressed him like that and with that same smirk.

Luz rushed to her first class only to find Willow already sitting down in the Abominations classroom. Noticing an empty seat next to her Luz did her best to sneak up on her friend and whisper sweetly, "You look lonely. Mind if I sit down?"

Willow nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise before she realized it was Luz speaking, but when she did she laughed, "Go ahead, but it might not be your best decision if you want to try to be popular."

Luz sat down without another thought as she continued to smirk, "Screw popularity. I'll be proud to sit next to my friend everyday until they realize just how awesome you are, and you find someone better." Willow looked at Luz concerned, but said nothing.

When the tiny teacher walked in being carried by his personal abomination Luz could already tell they weren't going to get along. Maybe it was another unique talent or maybe it was just due to being bullied as long as she had, but Luz almost always got a decent read on someone when she met them. For Luz it was almost like a smell some people gave off. The more detestable someone was the worse they smelled, and Professor Hermonculus smelled of ripe garbage. That first class gave Luz all she needed to know. If she attended Hexside, it would not be in the Abominations track. He was rude, overly judgemental, and spiteful just like her teachers in her old school. At one point Luz even debated walking out, and forgetting about potentially joining Hexside, but then she had remembered how genuine and kind Bump had seemed so she stayed put.

The students didn't seem awful, but the groans Luz heard when Willow was called to show her project had certainly annoyed her a fair bit. Much to everyone's surprise Willow's abomination was competently made, but the Professor managed to get his digs in regardless, something both Luz and Amity noticed, making them both irritable. When it was Amity's turn to display her project she was met with nothing but praise, but unlike usual Amity just ignored him and his tainted praise. Amity got another perfect score, and Willow managed to pass, but he was quick to point out 'only barely'. Willow seemed fine with it though saying that not being teased on her way out was enough of a reward for her.

After being shown where her bard class would be, Luz gave Willow a smile, and proceeded to find a place to relax as she waited for it to begin. As she waited she decided to rest her eyes for a few moments, and soon she was humming and whistling to herself a song she remembered from the human realm. (Namely 'Don't Worry Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin.) Once Luz had reclaimed her usual upbeat and content smile she opened her eyes only to find a darker skinned bard student with mauve hair inches from her face and smiling excitedly making her fall out of her chair.

"Oh sorry about that. My name is Skara Whispers," said the girl as she extended a hand to help Luz up. "Is that one of yours? I've never heard it before."

Luz accepted the hand as she said, "I wish it was, but no. It's just an old song I heard while living in the Human realm. I'm Luz Noceda by the way. Nice to meet cha."

"You know songs from the Human realm?" Skara practically squeeed.

But before Luz could answer they were joined by the bard teacher, a kind looking older witch with streaks of gray in her blond hair. "I for one would love to hear any other songs you might know from there Ms. Noceda."

Luz blushed slightly, "I guess I know one other one fairly well, but I don't think anyone from the Oracle track would appreciate me sharing it, and I'm not really the best singer so it will be kinda rough."

The teacher let out a warm little laugh, "It's a good thing you're here then. No oracles to hear, and this is a bard class so maybe we can help you improve. Won't know until you try."

Luz let out an awkward sigh, but agreed to try. With the stipulation that as soon as she could Luz would find a way to let them hear it the way it was meant to be sung. Finding a comfortable spot, and closinging her eyes to center herself Luz said, "This was a song my Mami used to listen to alot when she started worrying about something or felt overwhelmed, and I always enjoyed its message. Without opening her eyes Luz began to sing 'Que Sera, Sera', and for a moment Luz thought she felt her Mami with her making a single tear escape her eye as she smiled.

When she eventually wiped her eyes and looked around she saw the whole class looking at her. Some seemed to understand. While others seemed confused by it, not one of them seemed to look at her with scorn or judgment so Luz explained, "I understand that with Oracle magic you actually can see the future, I think, but that's not really the point of the song. For me it's more about accepting that no matter who you are or how powerful you might be there are simply some things that can't be changed or controlled. I'm not saying that anyone should ever give up fighting when they can, but at the same time it's a waste of effort to try to fight a battle no one can win." With a sad sigh Luz said, "Time can't be stopped forever, loved ones leave us, and at the end of the day we just have to accept it, and move on. It doesn't have to be negative all the time. No matter how dark the night, eventually the sun will always rise, and things return to the middle. All things fade, so why worry about tomorrow when you have today."

When Luz was done she received a thankful applause from the teacher and class, and to her surprise the teacher said that her voice was beautiful if untrained, but she would be happy to help her fix that if Luz decided to join them next semester, and unlike in her previous school Luz felt like she meant it.

Luz's new friend Skara was kind enough to show her where the Beastkeeping homeroom was, and as soon as Luz entered she was overcome with how cute all of the various beasts were to her.

When the teacher came in to teach their next class they found the whole class standing in awe and/or terror of Luz as she napped between two Triangle Head Gorgons, one of the most venomous breeds of snake demons on the Isles and known to be particularly territorial. The only reason they were even kept by the coven was because of how useful their venom was in fighting off certain rotting diseases, and only the most senior students were allowed to go near them. Even then it was only when under the supervision of the Head Beastkeeper Eberwolf.

As the whole class watched the Gorgons stirred and adjusted, but despite Luz's proximity and the fact that she was cuddling their midsections neither snake seemed bothered by her presence or made any threatening movements toward her. In fact the snakes seemed utterly relaxed until the instructor tried to approach. At which point they both reared back and seemed to protect her the same way they would usually protect their clutch of eggs.

Luckily for everyone involved the aggravated hissing of the Gorgons managed to wake up Luz who, without opening her eyes reached out a hand to calmly sooth them like they were no more dangerous than a newborn kitten, and to everyone's confusion the snakes obeyed. When Luz finally noticed the crowd around her she simply smiled like she had everything under control, and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to nod off, but I was just getting to know these cuties, and I must have been more tired than I thought." Luz then got up carefully so as not to accidentally injure or disturb the snakes, and booped them on the nose before giving them a hug and promising to find them a large treat as soon as she could.

The snakes seemed to reciprocate her tenderness by tickling her face a bit with their tongues making her laugh. Suffice it to say, the crowd parted as she walked toward the opposite wall where they kept the various treats they gave the beasts.

After surveying the possible options Luz looked back at the professor, and asked, "So I'm guessing that a couple chunks of quilboar would be the best option, but I'm still new, and I'm not entirely sure what their usual diet consists of. I'd really hate to cause harm to my new friends after they were so sweet."

The professor couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the current situation, but answered, "They usually prefer the giant pheasant meat that's below the quilboar bin."

With a smile and a small thank you for the info, Luz opened the specified bin, and got to work taking two of the large birds back into the Gorgons coral where she gently gave one to each snake, and gave each a small kiss on their scally heads before walking out once more. Once the coral was latched again Luz found herself inundated with questions and comments along the lines of "Thank Titan you weren't bitten"and "How did you do that". Luz just looked at them all confused as she admitted that she had no idea what they were talking about or how stupid dangerous what she had just been doing was. Luz seemed genuinely surprised when the professor confirmed just how dangerous these beasts had been, but only responded with a "Huh, that's interesting. They seemed fairly tame to me. I didn't even have to use any magic." That comment seemed to make the whole room explode in gasps of wonder and enough questions that they took up the rest of class.

In Luz's next class Luz found herself just hanging out with Professor Ibexcov, a ram-headed biped demon with what appeared to be powerful bear arms. Since everyone else was completing their own week-long construction projects from the week before, Ibexcov was happy to just discuss the history of Hexside with her.

Luz found out that he was not only the head Constructions teacher, but also handled a number of history classes that came up each semester. Ibexcov told Luz about how Hexside was founded when it defeated the previous school that stood where they were now, Tibia Academy, and Principle Bump had actually been among the students who conquered Tibia to create Hexside.

When Luz asked if there was any chance that a smaller school could try to attack to take over again, Ibexcov just laughed. "Ms. Noceda, I can assure you there is no chance of that, and even if one did try, it would be a simple matter to turn them away. Nowadays the only real threats to Hexside are budget cuts, or an attack by Glandus or St. Epiderm since they are the only other schools even arguably in their weight class. With Luz's concerns put to rest they mostly just chatted about what kinds of structures Luz was aware of from the Human realm. Ibexcov seemed to really enjoy learning about the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Empire State building, and by the end of class Luz thought that Constructions might not be such a bad choice for when she enrolled. She really liked Professor Ibbexcov.

When Luz got to her final class before lunch she found a slightly annoyed Professor Hypox already present, and in an attempt to help Luz asked, "I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you Professor, but what seems to be wrong?"

At the sound of Luz's voice Hypox's head snapped in her direction ready to take out her frustrations, but when she saw Luz's lanyard she seemed confused until she remembered that Bump had told her that Luz would be touring her class. With a frustrated sigh she said, "Unfortunately there won't be much to see today. The gentleman I hired to be our model for how to identify old crush injuries had to cancel, ironically due to an accident at one of the construction sites in Latissa. So unless you know someone who could fill in, I'm afraid that you will find today's class quite boring."

Luz perked up as she told Hypox that she could fill in. When the professor heard her offer a small appreciative smile crossed her face before she pointed out that Luz would need to have some fairly severe breaks in order to be a good model. Which only made Luz t-pose, and tell her to check for herself. Hypox decided to humor the girl as she laughingly prepared an x-ray spell. The laughter died on her lips as she saw the level of damage the young girl had endured, and she slowly grew increasingly concerned and alarmed as she continued the examination. By the time she was done, Hypox looked about to pass out from just seeing Luz's state. With a trembling voice Hypox admitted that Luz was more than qualified, but had to ask if she was sure she wanted people to see… that.

Luz just laughed like it was no big deal, "Of course I'm fine with it. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't, and if seeing me can help save lives in the future then I insist you allow me to do this for you. After all, if I can save even one life then it would have been worth going through all the pain."

Hypox could sense her sincerity, and it terrified her. "What kind of strength must this girl possess to be able to go through all that without losing her kind heart?" In the end Hypox agreed, and the dementration proved too much for a few of the students who understood the level of injuries those breaks implied.

Afterwards Hypox directed the class to break up into small teams, and work on repairing breaks in the dummies she provided. When Luz's turn came up she proved far beyond the average student in terms of both identification of each injury, and seemed to heal her 'patient' with a thoroughness that only proved to exacerbate the professor's worries. After all, if Luz could heal breaks to the point of leaving them unnoticeable, then how bad must her own have been in order to still be visible? Hypox decided to warn Bump during lunch, and then she was going to look for a sub to take over the rest of her classes that day. She needed a stiff drink, and time to think.

As Luz entered the large cafeteria she felt fear crawl up her back. What if everything up until now had just been a prank? Surrounded by this many people… Luz knew if the rug was going to get pulled, it would be here, and in front of the whole school. Luz began to feel herself tremble, but then she felt a strong arm grab her and lead her to grab something to eat. When Luz looked at who had grabbed her she felt herself stop shaking as the fear receded. "Willow has me. Willow wouldn't let anything happen. Willow is my friend," thought Luz. Once they had their lunches Willow led Luz to a table where she met a younger dark skinned male witch named Augustus Porter. Gus, as Luz was quick to christen him, immediately started asking question after question once he found out Luz had been raised human. It was a bit overwhelming for her, but Gus was just so excited and he seemed to honestly want to hear what Luz had to say. Luz liked Gus, and just like that Luz had another friend to protect.

Across the room the 'popular' table was in disarray. Skara was in her own giddy little world as she absent-mindedly hummed one of the songs Luz had shared with her. Next to her Bo and Cat were traumatized after seeing how wrecked Luz's body had been, and were just sitting in silence. Amity was staring at Luz from across the room as she waffled between her contempt she felt towards Luz for being tricked, and the memory of how warm and safe she had felt while being held by the adorable girl. Amity was at war with herself, and couldn't decide if she wanted to kill Luz… or kiss her. The only girls unaffected were Amilia and Boscha who simply looked over their friends with confusion and concern until Boscha seethed, "What in Tartarus is wrong with them? Skara's head is even further in the clouds than normal, Bo and Cat look like they just saw someone eviscerated in front of them… again, and Amity keeps staring at that new girl like she wants to kill her."

Amilia looked at Boscha in surprise, "You haven't heard? That girl, Liz I think, has been making waves all morning. First she shows up all buddy-buddy with Willow, and suddenly she can make a passable Abomination. In beastkeeping she effortlessly tamed some Triangle Head Gorgons, and in bard she took over the class to share some human songs. She somehow managed to get on good terms with 'Iron-Head' Ibexcov in constructions despite the fact that he doesn't like anyone. As for healing… nobody's talking, but something happened, and even Hypox looked pale. That girl is pure chaos. I'm not gonna lie Bosh. I'm terrified. It's only a few more hours until she shows up in plant class, and Titan only knows what will happen when she does."

Boscha scoffed at her friend, "Ya, I think not. There is no way for some of those stories to be true. It's probably just rumors she started in order to make herself sound cool so that when she does go here she can try to buy herself a seat at our table." Boscha let out a small laugh, "It won't work, but it's a nice attempt."

Amilia looked around at her other friends, not entirely sure Boscha was right, but before she could say anything else the back wall of the cafeteria suddenly exploded sending students, tables, and chunks of wall flying.

Before anyone could react they found themselves bound to the floor with vines, abomination goo, or spectral chains. Walking through the new hole in the wall came a short female witch with pale skin, dark blue hair, amber-orange eyes, and a brown Glandus uniform. She was flanked by a dozen other Glandus students in various track colors, mainly plant, oracle, abomination, and construction like her. Taking charge the blue haired witch yelled, "Good afternoon Hexside. My name is Bria Quarry, niece of Head Witch Mason Quarry, and it is my privilege to help right a grave misunderstanding. You all have been parading around spouting nonsense about how 'Hexside is the greatest school on the Isles', but it's time you all got a taste of what the actual top school can do. Now I just need all of you to stay right here while my team and I tear this third rate hovel to the bedrock. If you play along I promise that we will only rough you up a little bit, but if you don't…" Bria got a sadistic grin. "Accidents happen."

Seeing the seemingly impotent rage on the faces of Hexside's students, Bria and her gang began to laugh as they started to get ready to disperse until there was a blinding flash, the snapping of vines, and suddenly the whole gang was thrown backwards out of the hole. When they could see again they saw a single figure standing between them and their captives with rage in her eyes and her wings extended to shield those inside. To their surprise she wasn't wearing a Hexside uniform though, only a lanyard. As they looked on in confusion they heard her roar out. "Since you were so kind as to introduce yourself I will do the same. My name is Lucia Isadora Noceda, and while I might not be a Hexside student yet. I will still defend this place, and my friends from anyone who means them harm. This place is under my protection. Begone Glandus fools, this is your one chance to leave on your own. You are not welcome here. Leave or I will make you."

Bria laughed, "Crush this little bird so we can get back to business." As soon as the order was made two dozen small oracle spirits charged toward Luz, but she did not retreat. Instead both of Luz's hands flickered in front of her as dozens of tiny golden spell circles appeared before her, firing just as many small light beams out toward the spirits and intruders. They were wild unaimed shots, but they did what Luz wanted them to do. The spirits that got hit dissipated back from whence they came, and any other beams that found their target left small stinging burns wherever they struck. More importantly it forced the intruders to dodge the random shots, and caused them to become distracted, weakening their concentration on maintaining their other spells.

Taking advantage of her window Luz aimed some light rays at the bindings holding Willow, Gus, Amity, and Skara. With a commanding voice Luz told them, "Amity, Willow I need you to put up a couple walls to protect everyone, strongest you can please. Once that is done I need all of you to work on freeing everyone else, and getting to safety… I'm going to hit them with everything I've got to hold them off. Now get to work. I need to focus."

As soon as she finished, they saw her fly toward the regrouping invaders while firing black, white, and gold beams to continue to keep them off balance. With Glandus distracted, it didn't take long for the cafeteria to be cleared, but instead of running away with the rest of the students Willow, Gus, Amity, and Skara chose to go aid Luz in the defense of the school.

When they emerged out of the hole it was onto a battlefield. The lawn was covered in bits of goo, shredded plants, and stones. It appeared that while Luz was holding her own, and even managing to slowly knockout her opponents, she was getting exhausted. The foursome tried to help, but it didn't take long for their presence to be noticed by Bria. With another sadistic laugh she launched spears of rocks at Luz's friends, and on instinct Luz did the only thing she could to save them. Her friends were forced to watch as rock spears drove themselves through Luz's gut, left shoulder, right leg, and painted the ground around her in ashy gray blood. With a horrifying screaming screech that seemed to carry a painful pressure into everyone's heads everyone saw Luz's eyes change to black pools.

At the Owl House Luz's family all heard the screech as they sat taking a break in the living room. While Vee and King just looked confused, Eda was instantly on the move. It took her four steps to get from her couch to outside the door, and in those four steps Eda fully transformed into the Owl Beast. Seeing this Vee pulled King onto her back as she changed to a new faster shape to keep up. All they knew was there was something wrong, and Eda knew it. She would need help.

Back at the fight Luz's perforated form began to rise into the air. With her functioning right arm Luz sent forth waves of black fire that didn't seem to scorch the grass, but made anyone it touched begin to scream like their entire beings were being set on fire. Flickering her hand once more she created fist size bolts of golden lightning that she fired into any remaining Abominations and plant minions causing them to disappear with only craters left to show where they had been. Seeming to finally get the hint that they couldn't win this battle, the remaining Glandus students scattered into the forest.

For the next minute the foursome just stood there taking in what they had just seen, and waiting to see if the intruders would come back. They were snapped out of their ready states as Luz's body landed in the middle of the battlefield with a wet clatter. As they rushed forward to check on Luz they suddenly saw a long serpentine form nearly fly from out of the woods and coil itself protectively around Luz's form, and let out hissing sounds at them. As they recoiled in fear a small black demon with a skull mask jumped from behind the serpent, and yelled, "Stay away from our sister."

Suddenly a huge beast with a chalky white witches face, and covered in brown and gray feathers landed to the children's side, and began to release a rage filled screech towards them. As it reared back to pounce and undoubtedly ripe them all limb from limb, Bump appeared between them, and with a stern voice he said, "Edalyne control yourself or we can't help young Luz. Back off, NOW." The beast seemed conflicted, but after glancing at Luz's prone form it strutted over to stand protectively over her, making Bump groan, "And now I have this mess to deal with."

A half hour later Luz began to stir. She hurt all over, but she quickly put it out of her mind. It wasn't important right now. She felt her hands being held, and as she opened her eyes she saw a pair of very worried faces looking back. Luz just smiled at them, "Hey Mom. Sup sis. Sorry to bother you, but I need to know. Did I protect my friends? Did I do good? Was..was I… useful?" Before either of them could answer Luz drifted back into unconsciousness. The next time she awoke she was sitting up a bit more with King sleeping in her lap. Luz thought to herself, "He must have fallen asleep guarding me." Luz laughed, "Titan, I wish I was worth this."

Hearing her laughing was apparently enough to wake up her little guardian because after he blinked awake, and noticed she was awake. He threw himself into her arms, and began to hug her while crying. "Luz, you can't keep scaring me like this. Please, I don't want to lose my big sister."

Luz hugged him back, but said nothing. After a couple minutes Gus's head peeked into the room followed by a shout of, "She's awake," and the sound of a half dozen people rushing toward her room could be heard. Soon Eda and Vee were on each side of Luz again with King sitting in her lap. While Willow, Gus, Skara, and Amity were sitting across from her in a set of chairs, and Bump stayed respectfully by the door.

Once Luz finished giving each of them a once over for any sign of injury Luz relaxed. With her fears of them being hurt put to rest Luz let out a groan, "I'm sorry about earlier. You shouldn't have had to be in danger like that. I'll understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore. I shouldn't have tried to make friends… you'll only end up getting hurt if you stick with a burden like me."

Her friends just looked at each other in confusion before Gus asked, "Why would we abandon you? You couldn't have known Glandus would attack, and when they did you risked your life to protect us. What's more, you're not a burden. You're our friend."

Willow spoke up next, "If anyone should be apologizing it should be us. We're sorry we couldn't help you more. We should have been there beside you, but… I was too weak to help." Willow started to tear up, but to everyone's surprise Amity took her hand.

"Willow. None of us were strong enough today, but next time we will be. That's a promise," Amity told Willow with a genuine smile. After a moment though the smile dropped, "There's something I need to tell you later. It probably won't change anything between us, but you have a right to know."

Willow looked unsure, but Luz gave her a smile and a nod to tell her that she would be there if she needed her, and then Luz clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "So introductions are in order. Family, I'd like you to meet my new friends, this is Willow Park, Gus Porter, Skara Whispers, and Amity Blight…" Luz paused for a moment in consideration before she asked, "We're friends, right Amity?"

Amity blushed before looking away sad, "I-I-I want to be your friend, but I don't know if I can. I'm afraid my mom might…" Amity couldn't finish so Skara took over while hugging her.

"Mrs. Blight is a 'unique' woman with very high standards. I… can't get into details about what I know, but she has never been afraid of using force to get her way," Skara stated sadly.

Everyone heard a low growl from across the room as they saw a few feathers begin to sprout from Eda's body only for Vee to reach into a bag and hand a gold elixir to her to drink. After she did, the feathers receded, and she calmed back down.

Luz let out a nervous chuckle as she said, "Ok guys…Um… This is my little brother King, my little sister Victoria or Vee, and my Mom Eda. Before anyone asks I don't care if only my Mom and I share blood. I love Vee and King as if we did. They are my family, and I'd happily die to protect them."

Vee let out an annoyed groan, "Please don't. I like you whole and alive, thanks, so stop being reckless or I swear King and I will put a leash on you so you can't leave our sight." Vee gave her sister another hug. "Don't tempt us, you are too important, but we love you too."

"I see now why you were so hesitant to tell me who your mom was, Luz, and I'll admit I kind of hoped I was wrong, but… I'll make it work," said Bump from the door.

"What cha talking about Bumpy? Make what work?" asked Eda.

Bump grinned, "It shouldn't surprise me that it was your partner that spoke highly of us to Luz, but it still stings. You might not believe it, but Lilith wasn't the only Clawthorn I took pride in teaching, Eda. You became a master potion maker despite only spending a few years in these halls. Regardless of everything else, I'm still proud of you, Eda the Owl Lady." Eda looked away slightly embarrassed by how much his words meant to her. "Anyway, back to young Luz. She came to me this morning interested in possibly enrolling next semester, and after today it would be my honor to have her attend. Can't have 'The Hero of Hexside' getting poached by one of our lesser rivals." This time it was Luz's turn to look away in embarrassment. "I would like to meet her other mother though."

Luz chuckled and Eda got paler. "I don't think meeting Camila would be a great idea right now. If she finds out Luz got hurt she might finish what Glandus started," said Eda nervously.

Luz half-whispered, "Mami might be the only person in existence that Mom is afraid of."

"Shut it, Kid. You're killing my image," groaned Eda.

Luz squoze her Moms hand, and smiled, "Mom, you're The Most Powerful Witch on the Isles. You have a security system that's never been beaten. Your kids are The King of Demons, the World's Most Adorable Basilisk, and the Future Most Powerful Witch. If someone wants to step up to that challenge, I kinda want to meet them, because that's an impressive death wish." Eda ruffled her hair in appreciation. "Why should it matter if you're only the second most intimidating person in the house," Luz said with a smirk.

"Keep it up kiddo. I could choose to not teach you any more spells for the next week," Eda quipped.

Luz looked positively terrified as she said, "I'm sorry Mom. No more jokes. I promise."

From back across the room Willow stammered, "Speaking of spells… Principle Bump, I'd like to transfer to the plant track."

"That shouldn't be a problem Ms. Park, but why?" asked Bump.

"I've never been good at Abominations, and if I had switched sooner I might have been strong enough to help Luz," stated Willow with increasing strength. "If Luz can be courageous enough to stand up for us, then I can be courageous enough to be me, and if I'm going to do that I need to 'stop trying to be a below average Abomination witch, and start being the plant master I was born to be'. A friend told me that, and it's time I took their advice."

Luz smiled, "Sounds like good advice. Must have been a good friend."

"The best. Um, I'm sorry, but OH MY TITIAN I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS. Your Mom's the infamous Owl Lady, what's that like? Also you have wings? You said Vee is a Basilisk, but that doesn't make any sense. She's so cute and sweet. Everything I've heard said they were terrifying, viscous, and… extinct…" Willow notices Vee looking uncomfortable. "I'm so sorry. That was horribly insensitive of me. Usually I'm better at controlling myself. It's just… if we are going to be friends I want to get to know you, Vee."

Vee looked at Willow surprised, "You're willing to be friends with a Basilisk?"

Willow and Gus look at each other for a moment before coming to a decision, "We would love to be your friend. Luz is one of us now so you can be too. If you want," said Gus grinning.

Vee sniffed back some tears, "That would be great."

Luz looked around and smiled before saying, "As much as I've enjoyed this I'm going to have to ask everyone who isn't interested in seeing me shirtless to leave. These beds aren't exactly designed for comfort, and I'd like to get home to sleep off the rest of today. It would be cool if you all wanted to visit though. I live in the tower behind the Owl House. Just warn me before you do. I'll need to warn Hooty so nobody gets eaten."

Skara, Willow, and Vee noticed how red Luz's comment made Amity turn, but then they heard Bump laugh, "I know it's not the most comfortable position to be in, but you're not going anywhere until you're healed enough to be able to walk on your own. It's only been two hours since we removed those stone spears. Professor Hypox might believe you're some kind of miracle, but as long as you still have a hole in your gut. You're not going anywhere."

Luz smirked, and showed off her perfectly unblemished stomach, making Amity overheat. "What hole Mr. Bumpapotamus. I can guarantee you I don't have any more holes than normal."

Bump looked both impressed and horrified. After having the school nurse perform a thorough check-up that once more horrified everyone who hadn't seen it before, and made those that had cringe slightly, except Luz, Bump admitted defeat, and corralled everyone except Vee out of the room. Vee only stayed because Luz asked her too since her shoulder was still a little stiff. Once she was dressed again Luz proceeded to walk out on her own with only the slightest support from her sister, and once everyone was outside everyone got a better look at Luz's wings before everyone had to head towards their homes. Luz thought to herself that all things considered, it had been a pretty good day, until she heard Eda say, "Since you're feeling better, I guess that means you're up for working on refurbishing some of our stuff for this weekend then. Right, Kiddo?" with a smirk.

"Ah, farts," was the only response Eda received, making her start to cackle as they flew home.

Author Notes: Lots of things going on in this chapter. Multiple games are being played with interlocking layers, and no player can see all of them. I hope everyone is enjoying this version of Luz. I try to keep her fairly balanced by looking at every interaction she goes through and occasionally tweaking them by adding a bit of 'Eda energy', while never letting her inner-camila get overshadowed. This Luz is just as caring, and loving, but she also has in instinctual chaos and quick wit much like we see canon Luz develop after spending time with Eda.

Honestly, I'm really happy with the way this chapter shook out, especially the first meeting between the three future strongest witches on the Isles. It leads to beautiful interactions between them where all of them end up being vulnerable at some point, and super supportive at another. Also I tried something new with how I handled Bard class. I hope naming specific songs wasn't too much, but I figured that I'd try it. Also they are great songs imo.

Btw it probably won't come up so small fun fact it isn't uncommon for large groups of snakes to pile together for warmth, and Luz happens to spend a lot of time around Vee, a type of snake demon. Could be a factor for why the Gorgon's didn't seem threatened. It's not the only reason, but it's the only one that might not get addressed. Also there is a distinct difference between subconscious magic and active casting in terms of after effects. If Luz had been able to actively use her magic she probably wouldn't have half the visible damage.

Welp better get started on the next chapter. Probably deal with the Covention, but with me you never know. Until then, shine on beautiful readers. Shine on.