The next morning, Luz seemed to have forgotten about her conversation with Kim from the night before, or maybe she was just avoiding it in favor of her concerns about the dark circles under her sister's eyes. Luz was all too familiar with the condition her sister was in. Kim usually got that way toward the end of each school year or when a question got good and buried in the complex workings of the latinas mind. Usually Luz just had to grin and bear it until after the last week of school when Kim would just crash and recuperate all the lost sleep, or Luz would sit her down and by using Luz's chaos with Kim's logic they would beat away at the question till they either found the answer or it was proven not to have one. In this case neither would work, and both girls knew it. There was definitely an answer as to whether or not they were who Raine thought they could be, but getting that answer was nearly impossible at the moment. So the girls just sat and enjoyed their breakfast until there was a knocking at the door, and the sound of Hooty freaking out as they woke him up. Eda went to answer the door. She was doing it to shut Hooty up more then because she cared who was at her door, but in the end the result was the same. As soon as she did, she heard a pair of familiar voices say, "Good morning Ms. Eda."
"We came to pick up Kim so we can all walk to school together," said Gus.
"Ok? But doesn't Luz usually walk all of you to school?" questioned Eda.
Willow gave a soft chuckle, "Yep, but since you guys haven't been able to do any business the last few days. We thought you might have a bunch of orders to work on, and as much as we enjoy spending time with her we thought you might need her more."
Eda looked at the duo surprised and a little touched, "It's not that bad really. We stocked up on most of the usual stuff before the holidays hit, and the rest shouldn't be a problem to knock out before Market day." That's when Eda noticed movement in the treeline, and she instinctively took a step forward to protect the kids, staff in hand. At the same time Kim and Luz had just made their way over to the door to get going, and noticed Eda looking tense.
"Trouble boss?" asked Luz as she cracked her knuckles.
Gus chimed in, "No no. Everything is fine. It's just Skara and Amity. We got to talking yesterday, and I invited them to join us."
"Then why didn't they join you when you knocked then?" asked Eda suspiciously, then sighed. "They still think I'm a monster don't they?"
Willow looked a bit ashamed, "Amity is, but Skara said that all those stories must have been lies, and something like 'if Mx. Whispers trusts her, then I trust her' or something like that. No Hooty still spooks her a bit. They will both come around soon." Then Willow's face got sour. "Amity knows that Odalia's opinions don't hold water, but it's hard to get used to being around one of the only witches her mom was afraid of." Then Willow gave a respectful smile, "I guess that's another mark in your favor for both of us. Anyone that can make that… tyrant take pause is someone I can trust. Heck it wouldn't surprise me if she eventually asked to be your apprentice like Kim and Luz. Wouldn't that be a beautiful sight if for no other reason than to stick it to Ms. Lilith and Odalia." Then Willow looked away a little embarrassed, "Actually I wanted to ask you something?"
Eda gave a mischievous smile, "If you're looking for any secret plant magic tips I may know, I'm going to have to disappoint you. Kim's already cleaned me out of books and it was never really my thing to start with."
Willow gave a nervous laugh, "That's not it. Although I appreciate the offer. I was wondering if we could do a Moonlight Conjuring here tomorrow. Gus and I have never had enough friends to try. I'd do it at my house, but if Odalia finds out Amity is spending time with us… she might do something nasty."
Eda looked at the excited looks on her charge's faces, and thought it over before stating, "Nope I don't think so. Conjurings are kinda dumb, and boring." All the kids looked crushed, but then Eda gave a warm smile, "A Summoning though… that could be fun."
Gus looked at Eda excitedly, "What's a 'Summoning'?"
Eda snorted, "They are the next step up after a Conjuring. Instead of bringing some small object to life, you bring a person or thing to you from anywhere you can think of. There are limits, like most powerful objects are warded against it and a few other limitations, but we can go over those later. For now, get going to school. Unfortunately I might need to take you up on your offer to keep Luz though. If you all are having a party we need supplies and reagents. Also we are going to have to push potion production a bit, but we should be fine. "
With Eda's promise of a fun night fresh in their minds the trio joined up with their new companions and the five of them made their way toward Hexside. Much like before, Skara easily found herself able to get along with and laugh with the trio, but Amity just stayed quiet and awkward for most of the trip until she finally said quietly, "Kim… Gus… I need to say something." The whole group looked at her questioningly, but indicated for Amity to go ahead. "Gus I might not have been involved directly in bullying you, but I still let it happen. Kim I will admit I was kind of jealous of you when you first came to Hexside. You managed to almost beat me in my own specialty without any precious teaching in it, and then managed to spend the rest of the day performing almost as well or better than witches that had studied for years in each track. I still don't know how you did it, but I shouldn't have known that Boscha would take it personal. I should have done more, and been better than the slime that I was. I just wanted to tell you both that I'm sorry, and I'm going to try to be better."
Skara put an arm around Amity, "Ami I already told you. Except for how you treated Willow, which according to her you've already apologized for, you didn't do anything worse than I did. Sure you were cold and bratty while you did it, but I blame your mom for that."
Kim just gave Amity a smile, "Honestly compared to what I had to deal with at my last school what you did was nothing. Heck I would forgive Boscha if she showed even the slightest bit of regret. Amity, I'm not going to lie. Right now I don't trust you, but that's ok. I've seen my share of bullies, and despite the amount of effort you put into trying to be one, it's just not who you are. Heck if you were I might be able to get Luz to stop drooling every time you enter a room. It's actually really annoying." Amity blushed at Kim's words.
Gus looked at Amity with a deadpan look, "I accept your apology, and if Willow can accept you who am I to get in the way, but for now we are neutral. You show me that you mean what you say, and we might be cool, but not before." Amity gave a nod of understanding before going back to being quiet.
When they got to school they had the misfortune of running into Boscha just outside. Boscha gave an exasperated sigh, "Oh great, now you two are hanging out with Noceda's little loser squad. You know It's not too late. I could still take you back. We were friends. You'd just have to apologize for ditching me. I could still help save your reputations."
Before anybody else could respond Amity stomped up to Boscha, and got in her face before saying, "Boscha just go away. I already feel dirty just knowing that I wasted so many years with you in my orbit. You're just a nasty, hateful, reminder of everything I detest about who I was. News flash, I was never your friend, you were just someone I was forced to socialize with because my mom demanded it. I couldn't stand your toxicity, and worst of all I let you infect me with it. From now on MY FRIENDS are not going to be your targets or you deal with me, and we both know you can't take me. Word of advice, grow up. Maybe if you do you won't end up angry and alone. Until then, go away." Amity turned on her heels and with a look of utter contentment she walked away yelling back to the others, "Let's get going. Kim I think I have a book you might like in my locker if you want to understand more complex abomination theory. Maybe together we can figure out how Mr. Deamonne can turn himself into an abomination." Boscha just stood there stunned and maybe a little heartbroken.
After their run in with Boscha they didn't have any more trouble for the rest of the day. They sat together at lunch, and to Kim's surprise Amity wasn't bluffing about the book. Unfortunately it all proved too good to be true. Amity received a crow call just before the end of the day from her mother demanding to know what she was thinking, and telling her to come straight home after class. Amity had expected this would happen eventually, and prepared herself as best she could to take an incredible risk. When Amity got to the manor Odalia was waiting for her having reapplied her business mask of calm as she hissed, "Amity you had better have a good excuse for cutting off your friendship with Boscha for 'trash'."
"Of course I do, mother, but is it not more prudent to talk business in your office? Even between us, a Blight must always strive for proper decorum," Amity said evenly in her best imitation of Odalia's business voice.
Amity's tone did not escape Odalia's notice or her choice of venue. They both knew that her office was Odalia's seat of power, and the place where she performed all of her official business. If Amity was surrendering the advantage of environment to Odalia she had to either have a great plan, or be very stupid, and Odalia knew she was not. Odalia cracked a grin, "If you insist, Mittens, but we both know you best not be wasting my time."
Once they were both sitting in Odalia's office, Amity took the liberty of starting calmly, "From your reaction I'm guessing Boscha came running to you after I ended our business relationship like a coward, and I'm guessing she tried to spin the situation to her advantage. A nice attempt but underly foolhardy." Amity looked at her mother with a calm rational expression, "To my understanding the purpose of me being 'friendly' with her was so that when she became the potions coven head we could exert our control through her. Unfortunately she has no interest in the position, and instead intends to be a Grudgby player forever. Still valuable, but not helpful. As for the 'trash' you referred to, I must ask. How much do you actually know about them, because I think you've overlooked a great opportunity to improve on the original plan."
Odalia looked at Amity skeptical, "Mr. Porter is a runt and son of a two bit hack. Ms. Nocada I will admit remains a mystery to me. I'm sure you're already aware that for whatever reason oracle magic has an odd amount of trouble revealing anything about her, making her a hard one to manipulate. There are less dangerous pawns. As for Ms. Park, I struggle to see any value in her at all."
Amity smiled, "Your information is out of date or has critical oversights. I would be happy to enlighten you."
Odalia gives her daughter a stern gaze, but stated dryly, "Proceed."
"Augustus Porter is a savant in the field of illusions. He skipped two grades and is often competing with Emira and Edric for top student. One of them is bound to unseat Graye in short order, and with his connection to his father, he could prove a valuable source of information and public outreach for our products. Willow is only half-a-witch in terms of abominations. Now that she is in the plant track she has become the undisputed top of that field. Snapdragon is old, her time will come soon and Willow could very well be her replacement. As for Noceda, I have to ask which one. There are two of them, twins. During Kim's zero day she managed to outdo or outperform almost all of her peers without any official record of study in almost every track. She currently sits as the top student in the Healing track, and we both know how lucrative having the ear of that coven can be. As for her sister Luz. I'll admit I don't know where she will land yet, but what's a little cake without some frosting. I admit, I will need to direct and mold them slightly, but that is what we Blights do best. In short I've shed one pawn that was never going to be useful enough to be worth the time to guide, and have picked up three potential coven heads and a potential fourth if rumors that she can match her sister in potions is to be believed. With Skara and I that makes five or six future coven heads each with fringe benefits. Come now mother I thought you would be pleased," stated Amity with an icy grin.
Odalia scrutinized Amity for a moment. She knew Amity was trying to manipulate her, but if she pulled off even half of what Amity was selling it was a good deal, and none of Odalia's anti-truth wards had indicated any outright lies from her report. With a knowing grin Odalia said, "Ok Mittens you have made a good argument, but I'm still undecided. Continue for now, and we will revisit this discussion once I've verified your assertions. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help?"
Amity gave an unsure look before saying, "I have always believed that abomination magic would be enough to assure my entry into the Emperor's oven, but recent events have led me to rethink that position. I thought maybe I should bring the full might of what we Blight's are capable of, and in order to do that I must ask you for a favor. Please mother teach me oracle magic. With the combined might of Bright industries at my fingertips there will not be a witch alive that can challenge us." Amity tried to put on her most fierce look, but Odalia only laughed.
"Well done Mittens. An admirable attempt at subterfuge. You even tried to use my own pride against me. As a reward for the attempt, I will give you your lessons, but you will find me a rough taskmaster. As you know I expect nothing less than perfection," said Odalia with a laugh that told Amity that her mother thought she was winning their game.
"Oh course mother. I am a Blight, and a Blight is never less than perfect," bowed Amity as she got up to leave. Behind her Amity could still hear her mother's laugh of assumed victory, and it took all of her self control not to smile.
(WITCHCHICK128) My plan seems to have worked.
(FLATSHARP) For real! Ami that's great.
(WITCHCHICK128) Maybe
(Hello_Willow) I understand your nervous but there was no other way. The twins are scry proof, and we came up with this together. This is our best chance.
(FLATSHARP) Listen to Will, and give us time. Although I still think we should include the other twins.
(WITCHCHICK128) No. They are too chaotic, and I can't trust them.
(Hello_Willow) Ok Ami. It's your game, but for the record I agree with Sharp.
The next morning,Gus, Willow, Skara, and Amity came to the Owl House again to walk with Kim to school like the day before, but found a surprise when they saw Luz in a white Hexside uniform as well. After getting over their shock, Gus and Willow started beaming. "Are you finally going to be joining us at Hexside Luz?" asked Willow.
Luz sighed in foe annoyance, "Kim is always going on about how great it is, and yesterday while Eda and I were making potions Eda started in on me too. I still hate that she had some good points. Long story short, I agreed to a zero day. I'm still not convinced that this isn't a waste of my time, but it will make them happy so I'll put up with it for today." With that the foursome started walking for the treeline where Amity and Skara were waiting. Upon seeing Luz in the undecided uniform Amity started to blush. Luz cracked a smile and lightly cupped Amity's cheek, "What's wrong mi lindo tomate. See something you like?" Amity just stammered and blushed harder.
"Knock it off Lu before you give her a heart attack," scolded Kim as she pulled Luz away from Amity. "Now apologize. Amity isn't used to your games the way the people back home where."
Luz let out a hurt noise, but maintained her teasing tone, "Oh special K. You know I'm only playing around. No one will ever replace you in my heart mi dulce hermanita (my sweet little sister)." Luz looked around at the others before continuing, "Can you really blame me though? You surround yourself with cuties." Luz and Willow shared a look of mischief before she walked over to her, and said, "And look at these strong arms. I heard about how she handles the fertilizer in the greenhouse. What girl doesn't want to be swept off her feet from time to time." Luz gave Willow a flirty wink before she started to laugh.
From out of nowhere an abomination appeared, and swept Luz up before starting to walk toward the school. Everyone looked at Amity who looked annoyed, as she declared, "If we don't hurry up we are going to be late." Then Amity started strutting away to follow her abomination. Kim, Skara, and Willow just shared a conspiratorial smile before heading after Amity. Gus just watched the whole thing in confusion, but shrugged and followed along. No one saw the very real blush Luz had gotten at being carried bridal style by the abomination.
When they got to Hexside the abomination let Luz down gently, and returned to the flask on Amity's hip. It seemed that Boscha had been waiting for them near the entrance of the school with a superior expression. "Well Blight got anything to say?" she asked with a condescending smirk.
Amity laughed in Boscha's face, "Nice try going to my mom like a coward, but my decision stands. You still aren't worth my time." Boscha's face got positively murderous as she started to stomp over toward the group, but she was stopped about half way when a beam of light struck the ground in front of her leaving it slightly scorched.
"Listen here little bruja. I thought we went over this last time I had to show you who's boss, but maybe you're a little slow. You will not touch them. You try anything, and you better hope I leave enough of you behind for anyone to find you. Although given what I've heard I don't think anyone would look very hard," said Luz with a smiling face, eyes that promised pain, and while blowing out her still smoking finger after the blast. With Boscha sufficiently reminded of her new reality, at least as far as Luz was concerned, Luz put an arm around Kim and Amity's shoulders and started leading everyone away.
Boscha seethed. It was one thing to be talked down to by Amity, but to get treated like less by some nobody. It was a bridge too far for the young triclops. She would show this upstart who was boss. Silently she made a fireball in her hand, and then chucked it at the back of Luz's head. "Heads up Luzer."
To Boscha's amazement, Luz fluidly spun on her heel and slapped the fireball out of the air with the back of her hand, leaving it smoking. In the same motion Luz had fired a light bolt at Boscha that streaked past her head leaving the hair slightly singed above her left ear. Luz shook her smoking hand only to find a new glyph burned into it. Luz began to laugh before turning her attention back to Boscha, "I'm going to let that go because you managed to give me such a nice gift, but next time I won't miss." Luz turned and started walking away again while showing Kim the new glyph as they chattered to each other about what they might be able to do with it.
They all made their way to Principal Bump's office, with Kim making sure to heal Luz's hand after they made copies of their new fire glyph. To the surprise of everyone but Kim, Luz knocked on Bump's door politely and waited for his permission to enter. When Bump saw who had entered his office he was slightly surprised as well, but he recovered quickly, "Ms. Noceda I had heard you would be visiting us for your zero day today."
"Yes Principle Bump. Despite how badly Kim's zero day ended, my sister has had nothing but great things to say about you and your school. I will admit I'm still not sold on this whole thing, but if I want to make a living here I have to pick a school. Glandis seems no better than the schools back home, and St. Epiderm seems like a hassle. I'm going to be frank with you sir, I still have a hard time trusting you, but I blame that more on my past experiences with formal educators, so I'm willing to give this a try. I know we probably didn't get to see each other at our best last time, so I would like to start fresh. If that's alright with you sir, and please just Luz," stated Luz as politely as she could.
Bump couldn't hide his surprise this time at her words, but said, "I would actually like that very much Ms. Luz, but I have to ask first. How bad was your last school to fill you with such a disdain for us?"
Luz laughed, but it sounded hollow, "I'm not going to go into the details because they are private, but I will tell you that I have a zero bullying policy these days. I don't want to make your job harder, but I will defend myself and others regardless of the consequences. After being pushed down multiple flights of stairs, having my property destroyed, and nearly having my sister beaten to death by people like them, I hope you can understand my position."
Bump looked aghast, "What did your previous Principal do about these incidents?"
Luz looked at Bump curiously, "Nothing. Why would he? We were weirdos, degenerates. He made it no secret that he supported the bully's actions, because 'We brought it on ourselves'." Luz gave a sad sigh, "Look boss. Kim has tried to convince me that you're different on multiple occasions, but I've never met a teacher, much less a principal, that wasn't a tyrant or a sadist, and as much as I would like to think otherwise…" Luz stopped as she saw Bump start to vibrate in his seat. Luz felt the air thicken and get heavy with magic as she saw the barely contained rage on his face, and for the first time Luz felt actually intimidated by the older witch.
After a few moments Bump managed to bring himself back under control, and said, "I am very sorry you had to go through that. It is completely irredeemable behavior from an educator. You have every right to distrust me if that has really been your only experience with educators." Bump sighed, "I want to promise you that your experiences here will be nothing like your past ones, but it would be meaningless since you rightfully can't trust my words. So instead I just ask that you give your teachers the same opportunity to prove to you that we aren't all so bad, and regardless of whether you can trust me or not I will still promise you that I will do everything I can to protect and guide both of you. I told your sister that I saw a lot of potential in her, and I would be damned if I would allow anyone to get in her way of seizing it, and I sense that you have a strength in you that is just as large. I am ashamed by the actions of those disgraced. I can't allow you to go around starting fights, but I promise if there is a problem I will do everything in my power to see it corrected. Please Luz, give us a chance."
Luz looked at Bump in the eye, and she felt an honest conviction from his words. With a single traitor tear Luz said, "I think Kim was right. You might be different after all."
Bump ignored the tear for Luz's sake before he got back into his professional position. "Ok Ms. Luz I understand that you know two of those glyphs that your sister has shown me which qualifies you for track placement. Is there a track that interests you in particular or do you want a taste of each before you make a discussion. Obviously I can't allow you near potions or oracles after the events of Ms. Kim's first day, no matter how much Professor Flaskly wants you to visit his track."
That comment seemed to bring a smile to Luz's face, "Ya after Flasky learned that we sell in Bonesbough. He made it a point to stop by a few times. He seems like a good guy, but I think Kim or I might end up teaching him more than he would teach us. I'll have to apologize to him next time I see him. So can I just do an extra trip to construction and maybe healing to end the day so Kim and I can get home quickly after. I still have a couple things to finish after classes. I do still have a job after all."
"Works for me, but why construction?" asked Bump lightly.
"I heard they have 'power glyphs', and I want to check for myself if there is a connection with our glyphs. Also…" Luz pulled out a copy of her new glyph and showed it to Bump. "I just found this new glyph this morning and I'm itching to see what it can do. I figure that there must be a bit of destruction as part of construction so it would be the safest place to try it out without causing any actual damage, " said Luz with a smile that gave Bump flashbacks to Eda when she was a student.
After giving Luz her lanyard and schedule, Bump sent her off to her first class. Luz flashed him another 'Eda smile' as she left. Bump took a breath to go over their conversation again, and some things managed to fall into place about both Noceda's behaviors since he had met them. He hated that it did. Bump had seen a lot of students over his tenure, but a few always stuck out, and after meeting the twins properly he knew he had probably been right during his first evaluation. The girls definitely reminded him of their parents and aunts, and then he let out another sigh as he realized what this could mean for his school and students. "I've unleashed another generation of Clawthorne's on my school. Please let them at least try to keep the destruction to a minimum," Bump begged to the open air.
When Luz left Bump's office, only Gus was waiting for her. At her disappointed scowl Gus let out a laugh, "Sorry Luz everyone else had responsibility to take care of. Being top in their tracks does that. So where are you heading first?"
"Abominations," Luz said flatly. "It's not you Gustaban. I was just really hoping I'd get the chance to say goodbye."
"It's ok, I get it, but at least you will get to hang out with one of us for most of the day. Let's get you to abominations. I'm sure Amity will be thrilled to see you," Gus reassured before noticing that Luz was blushing, but Gus decided not to comment on it as they made their way to her first class.
Gus managed to lead Luz to her classroom, but had to get going right after. When Luz entered the room she saw a fairly normal classroom with longer tables instead of individual desks. Along the side walls and back of the room were four large pots each, and one pot sitting alone at the front by the chalkboard. The next thing Luz noticed was Amity sitting alone and taking down notes from off of the board, and then Luz heard whispering as she noticed that a number of students were staring at her. Luz was used to it though. It wasn't the first time she received such a reception. With her head held high Luz walked forward until she was standing next to Amity. "Good morning Ms. Blight. May I have the honor of your company," Luz asked in a foe sophisticated tone.
Amity let out a grone, but before she could snap at whoever had the gall to bother her she saw Luz and blushed. "Ya, sure Luz. I usually sit alone, but feel free," Amity squeaked. Luz gave her a thankful smile, and sat down next to her before pulling out a notebook and copying down the notes on the board as well.
A few minutes later Professor Hermonculus entered just after the bell, still being carried by his personal abomination. Upon seeing Luz he let out a sigh, "Ms. Noceda, shouldn't you be in your healing class by now?"
Luz let out a small laugh as she figured out why people were looking at her weird this time, "I'm sorry for the confusion, but you're thinking of my twin sister Kim. I'm Luz Noceda. I'm looking forward to seeing what the abomination track has to offer." Luz couldn't help but notice the half dozen sighs from students who finally figured out what was going on.
The professor looked less than convinced, but after checking her lanyard he let it go. "Well either way you've come on an interesting day. I made up some Commander goo for the class today. I hope everyone has taken the time to write down the recipe from the board," he said shortly. "For those unfamiliar with it I will explain. Unlike normal abomination goo, Commander goo creates a more specific result. With normal goo one is free to craft just about anything including the standard golem, but Commander goo can only create golems. While this may seem a detriment, it most certainly isn't. A Commander abomination can function as a leader for lesser ones, and even provide a certain level of autonomy on the battlefield allowing its master to focus on different matters in case the need arises. As an advanced construct they require a lot more focus and will to command, but they make great aids once mastered," the professor stated before ending by giving his abomination a loving pat. "For class today each of you will get the opportunity to try, and summon a Commander abomination from the front of the class. Honestly I doubt many of you will be able to do so, but if you succeed pay special attention to it's attitude. A unique trait of these types of abominations is their force of will. The stronger the master, the more capable the Commander. With that out of the way let's begin." For the next half hour Luz watched students either fair outright to call up an abomination from the pot, or only summon a tiny barely formed golem. That showing, despite what the professor said he expected, still seemed to frustrate him, until he finally cried, "Ms. Blight, please show these failures how it's done. I don't think I can handle another poor showing." With practiced ease Amity walked up to the pot, and exerted her will causing a fully formed if a bit standard looking abomination to appear. As the class watched it looked at itself, before seeming to sigh of its own volition, and wait for orders. After a few simple commands that seemed to only bore it further, the abomination returned itself to the pot and dissolved. Amity gave a slight bow before she tiredly returned to her seat. The professor then gave a small laugh, "Well done as always Ms. Blight. Keep at it." Then he looked at Luz with a cocksure grin, "I guess it's only fair that we give you a shot at it Ms. Noceda, but don't get too discouraged if you can't do it."
Luz stood up with fire in her eyes. If this little troll doll wanted a show she'd give him one. Luz reached out with her magic, and tried to repeat what she had just seen Amity do, and to everyone's surprise a form did start to rise. Unlike any of the other abominations Luz had seen, this one looked much more detailed. In fact it almost looked like a woman in her mid-twenties with an athletic build and what looked like shoulder length hair if it were human. It only formed up to about half its full height before seeming to almost sit back down inside the pot and rest its arms on the pot's sides as if it were relaxing in a bath. After looking around for a moment it settled its amethyst eyes on Luz, and laughed, "So you're the one who summoned me? That's adorable kid, but it looks like you ran out of juice before you could call out the rest of me. Don't worry about it. I'm more than comfortable like this. So what do…"
The professor interrupted her, "Ms. Noceda that is quite enough. Order it away, or make it shut up. We still have things to go over before the end of class."
The abominations eyes flared and she yelled, "Listen here you rude little cabrón. Ain't nobody ordering me to do nothing. Matter of fact, I don't like your attitude so…" she snapped her gooey fingers and all around the room the lids shot off of the other pots, and a small army of standard abominations took form and incapacitated the rest of the students.
Seeing this the professor drew a spell circle that fizzled as soon as he tried to use it. Then he shouted, "It's impossible. There is no way either of you are that strong…"
The lady abomination just let out a sigh before looking at the professor's abomination and saying, "A little help here brother." To his horror the professor found himself incapacitated in his own abomination. "Much better," she declared contently, before turning her attention back to Luz. "Ok Luz. What do you want?"
Luz looked at her and then the whole situation and decided to start diplomatically, "Well clearly you are more sentient then the rest of these abominations, so do you have a name you prefer?"
The question seemed to surprise her, but she answered with a grin, "Goocia. Call me Goocia."
"Ok Goocia, I'm sorry if you felt offended by what the professor said, but I would really appreciate it if you could call off the others and release my classmates. They haven't done anything wrong, am I right?" asked Luz calmly.
Goocia thought about it for a moment then did as she was bid, but left Hermonculus as he was. "Ok I've freed the niñas, but Mr. Rude over there stays as he is until I decide he's learned some manners. Anything else you need, boss?"
"No, I think that will be fine. I'd like to let you go back to what you were doing before, but only if that's cool with you. Also, sorry I wasn't strong enough to fully form your body," said Luz as she scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
"Don't apologize for not being ready yet, boss. You have jet fuels running through your veins. When you get a bit stronger, and your tank a bit deeper, we'll talk again. Honestly it's probably best that you didn't fully form me. I might have gutted the loud one if I could have. Regardless till next time, ponte fuerte y pelea princesa (get strong and fight on princess)," cooed Goocia before she sunk back into the pot like she was never there.
After a few more minutes of struggling, the professor finally freed himself and shouted, "Ms. Noceda I don't know what you're playing at, but get back to your seat before I have you ejected from my class." Luz just did as she was told with a slight spring in her step, and ignored the shocked faces on her classmates' faces. The rest of that class was actually kind of boring for Luz, but she didn't mind Goocia had seemed fun, and she was sitting next to Amity so she didn't have any complaints.
After class Amity looked at Luz and asked, "Did you understand what Goocia was saying? I caught most of it, but she seemed to occasionally slip in words I didn't understand."
"Ya, I understood her. The other words were Spanish. Our mom and dad taught us the language growing up. Why?" asked Luz.
"I guess that explains it. She must have picked it up from you. Good job by the way. Even half formed she was still leagues ahead of my abomination," Amity said looking a bit disheartened.
Luz noticed and put her arm around Amity's shoulder, "To tell you the truth, I got lucky. I've tried calling up an abomination before and I never could, and neither can Kim. Amity, you are still the best at what you do, and you get stronger everyday. Don't let this distract you from how awesome you are." Amity blushed, but thanked Luz for her kind words.
When Luz entered the Bard classroom she found herself being waved over by Skara. "So I saw Amity. I'm guessing you had abominations first… how was it? Do anything fun with Amity?" asked Skara suggestively.
Luz blushed, "Calm down Skara. We just had class." Luz looked away from her, "And nothing else is going to happen on that front. Amity is cool, powerful, and pretty. Sure I flirt, but that's all it will ever be. I might act tough, but that's all it is. Flirting is as close as a screw-up like me will ever get to her, and I'm ok with that. I'm already pushing my luck by having such cool friends. Let's not push it more, because that's when people get hurt." Luz looked back with a smile that Skara finally realized had always been fake, "So Skarsbar, got any guitars? They're kind of the only thing I know how to play, and unlike Kim, my singing is more like a weapon than an instrument."
Skara just looked at Luz concerned before putting her worries aside for now, and saying actually Raine heard that your birthday was not to long ago, which we are going to have to revisit latter because oh my Titan we need to give you two an actual party, but they gave me this to give to you." Skara made a spell circle and a beautiful guitar with an elemental theme appeared in her hands. The neck was an icy blue with lightning bolts running its length. While the body looked to be covered in a vine motif with the edges covered in purple flames. Just looking at it Luz knew it was ridiculously expensive to make, and Luz just looked at it stunned before letting out a tear. Skara watched Luz's reaction with a feeling of pride.
"I… I can't accept this. I could never play using something as beautiful as this. It's a piece of art… I don't deserve anything this nice. I'll just ruin it," stuttered Luz.
Skara gave Luz a hug, "I'll pass on your compliments to my parents."
Luz looked at Skara confused, "Your parents made this?"
Skara laughed, "Yep, and it's for that reason I can assure you. If you break it. I can always get you another one, but have a little faith we build these things to last, and I will not hear you say you don't deserve it again. You are going to be a fierce, powerful witch, and it is an honor to know that anything you create with this will only prove Raine's and my faith in you."
Luz took the guitar with shaky hands before looking at Skara with a genuine smile and asking, "Have any requests?"
Skara gave Luz a hopeful look, "Play something from the human realm. I've always wondered what kinds of music they have."
Luz just continued to smile as she played a few of her favorites from a couple of different genres, and it seemed the guitar was truly magic because Luz discovered that with only a thought she was able to shift between bass and acoustic without any difficulty, and when she tried to play a little rock it managed to replicate electric guitar with only slight difficulty. Skara's eyes widened at all the musical possibilities that were washing over her. It wasn't until Luz stopped to take a short break that she noticed Skara wasn't the only one listening. The whole class was listening in anticipation of what Luz would show them next, especially the teacher. "So while I work out this cramp, does anyone have any questions?" That proved to be a bad decision because Luz spent the rest of that class either answering questions or giving examples of different genres from the human realm. The teacher seemed too invested in the opportunity to learn to actually teach much more than pointing out potential problems in Luz's form, and help Luz avoid getting tired as quickly. Normally Luz would have written the whole experience off as a waste given that she hadn't learned much, but Luz found herself really enjoying how kind and invested the teacher was so maybe not a total waste.
After Skara dropped off Luz at her next class, Luz got taken in by an older student named Viney. Apparently she liked talking with Kim about Healing magic so she decided it was her responsibility to look out for her friend's sister. Luz found Viney cool in an older sister type of way, and together beast-keeping proved another fantastic class. Luz even wowed her classmates with stories of her moms clinic back home while she fearlessly handled some of the most temperamental beasts in the room like they were no more vicious than baby bunnies, and in her hands they might as well have been.
Luz's first take on constructions class was that it was rough, dirty, and relaxing. Luz got put onto a small team with the task of tearing down an older building and then finding a way to incorporate the remains into a new one. Under Luz's creative eye they managed to break up the old foundation and with only a minor color shift spell courtesy of one of her teammates they managed to give their new building a unique exterior design to help catch the eye and discourage wild beasts, and a very nice pebbled walkway. At one point one of Luz's team, a smaller witch named Mat Tholomule, was almost crushed when a wall shifted, but Luz saved him just in time. After that Mat stuck to her for the rest of the class, and told her he would take notes on anything they did between then and when she came back later. Luz found Mat a bit arrogant, but deep down he was a good dude. He just needed someone to be there for him without any expectations, and Luz would be happy to be that someone.
After that was healing class with Kim, and after working up such a sweat in constructions having a subdued class like that was a nice break even if Kim managed to turn her into an example of how to heal a number of small injuries. As an extra bonus Luz got to see Kim in her element. Back home she had been timid and shy, but in the healing class she was respected, and open. Luz hadn't seen her sister so comfortable in a long time.
Kim walked with Luz to lunch while asking about how the first half of her day had gone, and when they arrived they found their friends waiting for them. At Skara's request Luz showed off her new guitar to everyone, and Luz made sure to tell Kim how nice Viney had been to her while she was in her beast-keeping class. Once everyone was settled Amity told everyone about the weird things that had happened during their abominations class, and how Goocia had called Luz princesa. When Kim heard this she gave Luz a thousand yard stare, but Luz just laughed, "Kim it doesn't prove anything. It's just a coincidence."
Gus cocked his head, "What's a coincidence? What's the big deal with the fact she called you that?"
Kim jumped in first to answer, "Princesa means princess in spanish, and ya on it's own it doesn't mean anything Lu, but the coincidences are starting to pile up. Maybe we should consider that Raine might have a point."
Luz looked at her sister a bit hurt, and angry, "KIMBERLY NOCEDA! I can't believe that you are buying into this. Have you even thought about what that would mean? Dad only died four years ago. Are you really so ready to entertain the fact that he wasn't really our father? Did he mean nothing to you?" Luz pulled up her hood to hide her tears until Willow pulled her in to cry on her.
Kim just sat there for a moment. That thought hadn't occurred to her, and she didn't know which fact made her feel dirtier. The fact that she hadn't thought about that before, or that she was still thinking about it. Manny had been her dad, and an immovable pillar of strength in their lives. The thought that he might not have been their father just felt wrong, but her logical brain just couldn't explain away all the little things that kept happening to them.
Skara looked between them and asked the question, "What is Raine's theory? If the six of us put our heads together I know we can put this whole thing to bed right now. Let us in. We are your friends. We want to help."
Kim looked around and said, "Not here. We will talk about it later at the Owl House. If they are right, we can't let anyone find out." At the distressed faces Kim and Luz were giving them, they all wordlessly agreed, but the Noceda twins had to promise to tell them everything later.
After lunch Gus guided Luz to the illusions classroom, and Kim sent Eda a message. It didn't prove very difficult to lead Luz, and by the time they arrived Luz had managed to stuff down all of her emotions, and put on her cheerful mask again. As soon as Luz entered the illusions room she was grabbed by a pair of unfamiliar hands. "Aw Gus, you brought us a snack," said Emira with glee.
"Hey Kim, it's been a while. Have you been working out," whispered Edric in Luz's ear.
Before Gus could step in to correct them, Luz pulled them closer and whispered back, "Wow there must be something in the water over at the Blight Manor because every Blight I meet just keeps getting cuter. At this rate I might become Blight-sexual." The older twins started to blush, and take a step back as they looked at Luz in bewilderment. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not Kim. I'm her sister Luz, but don't let that stop you. Come on back I promise I don't bite. Unless you ask really nicely."
Ed and Em shared a look before saying, "Definitely not Kim, but this one might be a bit too wild even for us."
Luz just laughed, "You haven't seen me get wild yet." Afterwards Luz stuck out her hand and said, "Ok I could keep this game going all day, but seriously. I'm Luz it's actually really nice to meet you two, and it's also nice to have another set of twins around. It's great to know that there are people around who understand how rough it can be being an older sibling as well."
Luz then found herself being wrapped in a hug as she heard, "Well it's official if Mittens won't take her I call dibs." Luz couldn't tell which one said it, but it felt good either way.
Luz found illusions interesting, but like Kim she didn't have the knack for them. Luz could create amazing illusions. They were so good that even the teacher had a hard time seeing through them, but Luz couldn't maintain them long enough for them to be useful. Luz considered it a cool type of magic, but she would never be good at it.
After illusions came Luz's second round of constructions, and Luz finally got the chance to ask about the power glyphs. Unfortunately any similarities were purely name deep, but all the same Luz still made it a point to learn how to make them in the future if she needed them. Beyond that the rest of class was primarily spent getting to know Mat, and to Luz's surprise she found out that Mat's brother was Steve, Lilith's right hand. According to Steve, Lilith was actually a really nice person under her icy exterior, and that she was still recovering from some kind of accident that had happened during the Covention. Lilith wouldn't give any details, but whatever had happened had shook her.
When Luz got to her plant class she noticed Willow wasn't paying attention so she snuck up on her and covered her eyes before whispering, "I appear to have caught the prettiest flower in the greenhouse, what do I win."
"Oh Ms. Noceda, you'd better stop that, or I'm going to have to tell Amity I'm taking you all for myself," replied Willow with barely contained laughter.
Luz jumped back, "Quiet Will. We don't want her to hear you or she might never talk to me again."
"I still don't understand why you refuse to ask her out. You flirt with her, and just about everyone else, but actually being honest with her is too much," huffed Willow.
Luz sighed, "I've told you before Will. Flirting is just a game, and since it's one I play with everyone nobody gets hurt. If I actually asked her out she would see how much of a freak I am, and leave. That's the best outcome. In all reality if I actually tried she would just reject me like… last time." Luz looked away before she could see Willow's face contort in pity, but instead all she heard was rage.
"Who rejected you? Tell me who it was? I'll turn them into fertilizer," roared Willow.
Luz just let out a sad laugh, "Willow you're too good to me, tu reina verda (you green queen). I'm so happy I have a friend like you." Then she gave Willow a hug.
"See you can be honest with your feelings. Now go ask out Amity," stated Willow firmly, but with a touch of warm reassurance.
"Sure Will. Maybe later," stated Luz, but they both knew she was lying.
The rest of the class was fairly tame in Luz's opinion. Sure some of the plants had 'personality', but none of them were as wild as some of the things she had run into during her trips exploring the forests near the Owl House. Willow did get the chance to prove that she was the undisputed top of the plant track when one of the other students managed to accidentally cause one of the Crimson Acidspitters to attack at random until she managed to take command, and bring it back under control. Luz found it fun, but the thought of having to compete with Willow did not fill her with confidence.
When Kim saw the numerous small bites, and acid burns Luz had acquired she was displeased to put it lightly. Luz couldn't lie, a part of her really enjoyed seeing Kim worry about her, and patch her up. It reminded Luz of all the times her sister had done it during these times growing up. After being used as a teaching aid for the second time that day by her sister, Luz did manage to get Kim alone long enough to apologize for how she had acted at lunch. The duo just hugged it out as they always did eventually, and Luz found herself enjoying the looks of awe and concern she got when someone tried to do a diagnostic spell on her only to see first hand the number of old fractures, breaks, and tramas that riddled Luz's body. The number and variety made even the teacher blanch, but that only made Luz get out a belly laugh of pride.
Luz got a pass to visit Bump a bit before class would end. Apparently he had taken Luz's comment about not wanting to be held up too much to heart. Much like that morning, Luz repeated the respectful knock and wait she had done, and Bump gave her a genuine smile when Luz came in and took a seat. "So, how did you find your experience? I hope no one gave you any trouble?" stated Bump.
"I'm sure you heard about the incident in abominations, but I have to admit. I had a lot of fun today," smiled Luz.
"Yes I did hear about that," stated Bump, before he sat back with a knowing grin. "Ms. Luz do you know why I implement the top student title, or what its responsibilities are?"
Luz laughed, "Not really, but I can make a guess. They seem to act as student mentors, or standards for the other students for what to aim for. Being one seems like kind of a pain, but also rewarding when done right."
Bump gave a content nod, "That is part of it, but they also act as a bridge between the staff and students. On days like today when we have a zero day student, naturally I get a report from each teacher, but I also get one from each top student. By getting both I get a much less biased opinion of new students, and I do much the same in case of incidents like this morning. In exchange for those responsibilities they receive a bit more leeway in the situations when they get involved in said incidents, and other benefits like having the right to suggest 'reeducation' for problematic teachers. I found out a long time ago that a checked system runs smoother. Normally I wouldn't share these reports with a student, but I think in this case we can make an exception." Luz pondered Bumps words before settling in, and giving him the go ahead. "So it shouldn't be any surprise Hermonculus doesn't like you, but that's not surprising. He has always been difficult to please, but he is the best we can get at the moment. Ms. Blight on the other hand says that you handled yourself well in a volatile situation, and honestly I find her a more reliable source. Well done. In terms of Bardic, Beast, and Plant both agree that you have a lot of talent, and both would be happy to see you back. Illusions seem to be a bad fit for you, but there are no complaints from either of them if you decide to go with them. Healing proved a bit rough to get a good report on, Helena seemed far more worried about your physical condition then how you were as a student, and while I appreciate young Kim's attempt at being unbiased, she's your sister so it's implied. Constitutions actually surprised me. Stone is another hard teacher to impress, but they seem to like you, and his current foreman thinks you could take their spot within a short time." Bump gave Luz an impressed look, "Suffice it to say, you have a lot of options, and everyone seems to really enjoy your presence. So I have to ask, what do you want? Where do you want to be?"
Luz pondered that question, but knew there was once one answered she could give at that moment, "I don't know, boss. For the first time I'm actually enjoying school, and I think it's going to take me a while to give you a definitive answer, but I can tell you this much for sure. I want to be here. This place feels like what everyone always told me school was supposed to feel like. If it's ok with you, I think I'll just think about it for now, and I'll let you know by the end of the week so I can start fresh on monday."
Bump sat back in his chair with a content smile, "I'm happy to hear that you had fun, and if that's what you need then it will have to be good enough. Unless there is something else. You may go and get started on whatever you need to do, and welcome to Hexside."
Luz got up and gave Principle Bump a little bow before she turned and left his office. Outside Luz found her sister and friends waiting for her, and as a group they started heading to their destinations until Kim said, "Luz I'll meet up with you by the fountain in Bonesbough. I forgot something at the house."
Willow and Gus volunteered to go with Kim since they had to head that way anyway to get home to get their stuff for later, and Amity said dejectedly, "I have to head home as well. Mother has a task for me, but as soon as I'm done I'll be on my way. I promise."
After everyone else left, Skara and Luz just walked in silence for a while before Skara said, "I need your help."
Luz let out a snort, "Sure Skarsguard. What can I do for you?"
Skara blushed and looked away for a second before steeling her nerves and saying, "I want to date your sister, and I need your help asking her out."
Author Notes: This story is giving no end of issues. I think I've written and rewritten sections at least four times. I think I'm just having issues working within the time scale I gave myself. To rectify this I'm just going to throw up my hands and say "thing will happen as they need to and at their own pace" and just do my best. I know some people probably won't have any clue what I'm saying, but I'm saying it anyway. Sigh.
So it occurred to me that some people might not understand why Luz is so flirty or where the concept of it as a game comes from, and like alot of things it's a personal deepcut. It's a real thing that people desperate for love and companionship sometimes do, me included. The amount of flirting that I and my also very straight best friend have done with each other is embarrassingly lengthy. So no, Willuz is not a thing here. My Willow is just her best friend, that isn't Kim.
The original plan was to include the Moonlight Summoning in this chapter as well, but I eventually decided to move it to the next chapter. This one was just starting to feel a bit over long, sorry to disappoint. I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention something, but 'I can't remember what I've forgotten' so for now. Have a great day, and I hope to have the next part soon.