Amity sat in the council room against the wall, having found a folding chair. She looked at her scroll, staring at the open group chat with the message she just sent to Gus, Hunter, and Willow telling them she found out something important. Nobody gave her so much as an indication that they had seen it yet. With a sigh, she put her scroll away and looked at the clock on the wall.
It had been over 3 hours since Vee was kidnapped. Eda, Lynn, and Raine were going all across the isles to the major areas and doing crowd control. Between the protest, Vee and Darius' argument, the revealing of her being a basilisk, and her kidnapping, there was lots of unrest across the isles thanks to all that happened having been recorded and shown all over the news and Penstagram right away. Meanwhile, Finn, Lexi, and Talia were out searching for Cassandra, Asclepius, and Eberwolf. Since Darius had been dumped in the woods they found it reasonable to start from where he approximated he woke up and work from there.
As Amity waited for the ability to fill in all her friends about what happened at Luz's island, she was just stuck in the room alone with Darius. He had just been sitting at his spot at the table and staring at his hands. He had called Alador a while ago, but since then he did nothing. Said nothing. Didn't even so much as look at her.
"You're acting real shaken for someone who has, for the past week, sworn up and down about how much you hate basilisks." Amity said flatly, breaking the long silence.
"No matter how awful it might sound for me to say this, but it's different when it's someone I actually know instead of some picture of an idea I painted 12 years ago." Darius said flatly, still staring at his hands.
"Yeah, it is awful to only care about something when it affects you. But still, you never really got close to Vee. You had no qualms about publically monologuing at her when she said maybe basilisks should get help last week."
"You're right, I didn't know Vee. And even now there's so much I don't know. But Eda's close to her. You're close to her. Hunter's close to her. And there's the fact that anyone would be shaken by someone being kidnapped right in front of them, especially if they were the cause in some sense of it."
"Yep, you were the reason Vee got kidnapped. Nothing you've said so far has been inaccurate."
"Amity I know you're mad at me but there's really no reason to sass me like this." Darius tiredly groaned, "You were friends with Vee and I'm the reason she's gone. It must hurt especially because of how close the two of us are. I know neither of us really talk about it, but I am your step-father. And I care about you. But it's hard to do that when you won't just talk to me like an adult and instead make snide comments about things that have already happened that I can't change like a teenager."
"Sure, okay, you care about me. I know that. You wouldn't have taught me that abomination teleportation spell you invented if you didn't. But why act like you are about Vee because she's Hunter and I's friend?" Amity turned away and leaned back in her chair, "You don't even care about Luz."
Darius stared for a few moments, thinking, then softly chuckled. Amity looked back at him, confused and slightly frustrated that he was laughing.
"Sorry for laughing. But…that's what this is about? Alright, what gave you the impression that I don't care about Luz?"
"You're always so worried about Hunter's safety so you refuse to take risks!" Amity exclaimed, moving forward in her chair.
"And what does that have to do with Luz?"
"I just bet that you're one of the four people who refused Eda's original plan for outreach."
Darius sighed with a smile, got out of his chair, and rolled it over to where Amity sat, then sat back down in front of her. He took one of her hands and held it in both of his as he looked into her eyes with a serious but caring look.
"Amity, I voted in support of Eda's plan."
"What?" Amity softly gasped, eyes widening.
Darius let go of Amity's hand and leaned back in his chair as she just processed his words. Seeing her confusion, Darius decided to give some more information.
"It's been enough time since the meeting so it should be fine to spill. And honestly I don't even care." Darius began, "Eber and Cass abstained. Eda, Talia, Lynn, and I voted in support. Asclepius, Finn, Lexi, and…and Raine voted against."
"Raine?!" Amity exclaimed, which made Darius chuckle again.
"Oh yeah. Pissed Eda off real good. And I bet when she gets back from making sure there's not an insurrection she's gonna tear me a new one for getting the sister of her ex-kid kidnapped."
"So that's why Eda was so mad after the meeting the other day."
"Yep. Now I don't know much, I'd bet the real big argument happened after the meeting. Well, eventually after that. Raine didn't leave the building for a while after Eda left back to their place."
"And that argument must be why Eda is so anti-Luz now!"
"She's what? Titan, must have been some argument then. But yeah, that's all Raine's doing. Though if it's to the degree you're implying, some of that could be unintentional. That songbird would never tell their precious owlet to not just move on from her human kid, but to become fully against her. Eda is pretty all-or-nothing, so that tracks."
Amity thought about how Eda and Raine were acting with each other throughout her attempt to convince them earlier. Raine using a sharp whistle to make Eda sit back down after she made a remark about Eda having not gone to the island. Eda not answering when she asked what she meant by saying getting Luz help was what she thought was best at the time. Eda glancing at Raine before responding to her begging for support in helping Luz. Eda saying she changed her mind after talking to other councilors about their votes, that she got more information and stopped listening to her gut reaction. The way Raine looked shocked by more than just Eda yelling when she yelled at her.
"Wow. That all makes so much sense now." Amity said softly.
"I'd imagine. And I wasn't even here to see how they were acting with each other after the fight!"
They both laughed at that, but in Amity's mind there was something she was still wondering. Not about Eda and Raine, but about Darius.
"During that fake interview, and a lot of the whole basilisk stuff recently, there's been so much talk about fear. And fear has been used as leverage to gain support on either end, whether it be getting people scared of the basilisks or worried about the competence of the council. So I've been wondering…are you scared?"
"Of the basilisks or something else?"
"Either, or both I guess."
Darius thought for a moment, really thinking through Amity's question before responding.
"I suppose I'm afraid of being unsure. It's why I was so anti-basilisk. Not out of fear of them, though even as prideful as I am I can admit that they're still intimidating to me, but I was just so unsure of them. And what would happen if we did what Vee proposed and went out, brought them here, and tried to help them integrate into society."
Darius paused for a moment, then sighed and looked down at his clasped hands.
"And I suppose that's also why I was supportive of Eda with her proposal. I was sure about her and was so sure that getting Luz help was all she needed. Or, needs, I should say since Luz is still somewhere out there as mentally unhealthy as ever." Darius chuckled slightly, "I mean, after a shit ton of trauma, a few friends were able to help Hunter become the incredible young person he is today. Who am I to assume that those same friends wouldn't be able to help Luz? But I failed to recognize that the basilisks, that Vee, also needed help. Because I wasn't sure what they were, I was scared. And the fear that Belos instilled in everyone about them didn't help. I feared for the safety of so many people. Hunter, Alador, you, the twins, Eber, Eda, Raine, and everyone else I'm close to. And I feared the unknown. And those combined to be a massive irrational hatred based on propaganda and what I saw when they were in cages over a decade ago. And that led to Vee being a victim of someone like me who was scared of them."
"Well we don't know that the person who kidnapped Vee was anti-basilisk." Amity tried to reason, "Maybe they were someone who supported Vee and was taking them away to keep them safe from the chaos her being revealed made. I mean, imagine what would happen if she had been there? Harassment, interviews, maybe even attacks. We both know that the Isles haven't exactly been all peachy ever since the protest. For all we know, she could be safer with whoever took her."
"We sure can hope." Darius sighed.
Just then, Finn, Lexi, and Talia came in, Cassandra, Asclepius, and Eberwolf in tow looking a lot better for wear than Darius did when he showed up, all of them having clearly been healed and cleaned up after being found. It was clear that Darius noticed that and was mentally comparing his still dirty and disheveled state to theirs, as he didn't go home to change, just staying at the council building. Sure it was because multiple people told him that if he went out, who knows what would happen as he was the center of the controversy and even his home could be being scouted out by invasive reporters, but it still was just a cherry on top of the sundae of awfulness that was his day.
The second Eberwolf saw Darius, he ran over on all fours and climbed into his lap, snuggling in and making a strange but happy purring noise. Darius was momentarily surprised but just smiled and pet their small, cat-like friend. Asclepius only spared him a glance to see if he was hurt before going to his seat at the table, but Cassandra actually walked over and leaned on the back of his chair.
"Dari! Nice to see you looking like shit for once. Trying out looking like us plebeians for once? I think you went a bit too far."
"I can see being kidnapped didn't affect your judginess."
"Well you know me, as long as I have details, I don't fret. And after looking at all the videos, reports, Penstagram posts, official statements, et cetera, et cetera…I think I have all the info I need on the basilisks. Therefore, I needn't be worried about a little kidnapping. Plus, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. When I was elected I did a bit of scrying to see what all would happen to me in my time as councilor, and so I know what to expect. I don't know when that stuff will happen or the context, but I know that they'll happen."
"So you just…know all the bad things that will happen to you? And you don't care?" Amity asked.
"Ms. Blight! Didn't even notice you. To answer your question, yes. I do. Sometimes I check for good things, but mostly bad things. Injuries, losses, cause of death, stuff like that. Odalia's an oracle, did she ever talk about what she looked at?"
At the mere mention of Odalia's name, both Darius and Amity tensed up. They were thankful Cass didn't have the gall to call Odalia Amity's mom, but clearly she didn't realize that even mentioning the woman just out of nowhere was not a good idea. To Amity, she was the source of manipulation, emotional neglect, trauma, and so many bad memories of the childhood she could never get back. To Darius, she was someone who started as a friend but was ultimately the reason he and Darius spent so long at odds with each other and ended their friendship in the first place as well as a symbol of hurt towards his husband and step-daughter. Even after Odalia tried to make an effort after losing an arm and being comatose after the day of unity, her tearful conversation and promise to Amity to try at the hideout, even saying that she approved of Luz and them dating and saying they were good for each other…it didn't take long for her to slip back into her ways.
"She did." Amity said quietly, a neutral expression on her face, "With how self-obsessed she was, of course she would tell me, Ed, and Em about what she did. She used her magic to telepathically communicate with us, track us, and control us. She looked at the future of the company, never herself or the family. She used it to make empty threats about using spirits to torment us, or to use them against dad whenever they fought, but she never actually did anything. But that didn't mean we didn't fear that one day she would make good on the threats. So yeah, she did talk about it. But I try not to think of her when I think of the ways oracles can use their magic."
"Right. I'm…I'm just gonna go back to my seat. Uh, good to see you alive, Darius. You did well at that protest."
"No I didn't." Darius said firmly.
"Okay then."
Cassandra awkwardly slinked off to her seat. Darius didn't really fault her for being bad with people, she always used her magic for finding gossip on things that didn't happen and making sure she was always prepared for anything bad that could affect her and as such wasn't exactly the most empathetic person and struggled with seeing the effect some of her questions had on people. Amity knew her decently enough thanks to training with Darius, but she didn't have the same opinion of her that he had. She was a lot more critical. She wasn't a fan of most oracles thanks to the damaged perception of how they were thanks to Odalia and her friends, the only oracles she was actually friendly with were from Hexside, that girl with the moon shaped head and Barcus.
After Darius pet Eber a few more times, they got up from his lap and went over to their seat at the table. Seeing how everyone else was going there, Darius stood up, rolled his chair back to his spot, then got settled in again. He looked around the room, nodded, then turned to Amity.
"We only have Eda, Raine, and Lynn out right now and they already know everything, so how about you fill everyone in on the situation with the Basilisks and Luz, Amity."
Amity nodded and stood up. Now that she had gone through the whole Luz thing once she was much more confident and prepared, and as far as the basilisk stuff went, she figured she didn't need to go too in depth besides some context with how much of what happened was up on Penstagram and the news.
"Alright," Amity began, standing up from her chair and walking towards the council table, "So let's start with the basilisk stuff because that's a lot more simple. If you don't know, the interview with Darius on TV was not Darius. We don't know who it was, it could have been an illusionist or a basilisk, but it was not Darius. And while she is a basilisk, it was not Vee either. It was probably a supporter of Vee and was definitely an attempt to ruin Darius' reputation. When the other council members get back they can give specifics of what all is going down because of the basilisk integration pitch and the protest. Now, while we can't be sure who knocked out the four councilors who were kidnapped, there is reason to believe that it was either a sympathetic witch or a basilisk like with the interview."
"Do we not have any leads?" Asclepius asked.
"Well it's not like we have any security cameras or anything. Gus Porter has been working on it, or at least it's been on his list. I think portal technology has been his priority so human technology adaption has been…slowed to say the least."
"We'll have to talk with Eda about this. She's supposed to be supervising his department. Perhaps someone less lax should take over."
"Yeah because you guys know everything there is to know about the human realm. I mean, out of the whole council, only Eda, Raine, and Darius have gone. I don't think you guys are exactly qualified. Hey, maybe sometime Gus could take you all on a tour of a human town sometimes! He's gotten great at programming concealment stones so he could make those of you who don't exactly have the ability to pass as human could!"
"Hey, I bet we'd fit right in just fine." Lexi said defensively.
"Talia is a cyclops, Asclepius is a centaur, Darius has to remove his abomination hair whenever he goes, Eber is…I'm not sure actually, and you literally have cat ears, eyes, and fangs. Not to mention the ears and tail are pink and purple striped. That doesn't exactly scream normal human person. Well, someone might just think you're doing cosplay, but everyone else is still a no-go."
"Amity, please can we stay on topic?" Darius sighed, "It's been a long day. Is there anything else we need to know about the basilisks or can we move on to Luz?"
"Yeah, we can. In regards to Luz I actually found something that-"
When Amity reached for her back pocket to pull out the map of the underground tunnels she stole from Luz's island, she realized it was gone. Hiding her panic, she thought back to try and think of when she lost it. The time that would make the most sense was during the protest, since there were so many people she could have easily been pickpocketed. After thinking if there was a point when it probably happened, she realized not just when it happened, but who it was.
That person in the yellow hoodie and jeans shoulder checked her when she was shoving through the crowd. The same person who kidnapped Vee.
Vee's kidnapper was in possession of not only one of the most valuable resources to have if someone wanted to sneak onto Luz's island, but also an item that could reveal to everyone on the isles that Luz was still alive.
"-that could be handy if we managed to get onto Luz's island." Amity continued, moving her hand away from her pocket, trying to not look suspicious, "When it was revealed on the island that I was an outsider, I was thrown into what I think was Luz's office. I got a look at a bunch of maps, her various outfits, and even saw two diaries on her desk. If we managed to get one of those, we could get a ton of insight into Luz's thought process these past ten years."
Thankfully nobody seemed to notice her nerves. A few of them nodded, though most of them seemed to just be waiting to continue. She was supposed to catch them up on everything she saw, after all, and was just talking about some things that would be useful in the event that they went to her island again, which was frankly unlikely given…everything.
Amity spent the next few minutes summarizing everything that happened on Luz's island, covering the basics, telling them what the ones who hadn't already heard the whole spiel what they needed to know, and answering questions. It was a lot easier than it was the first time, which Amity expected, and it also went a lot faster. Just as Amity wrapped up on catching everyone up, the door to the room swung open.
"Guess who isn't going to deal with an insurrection? This witch! That's who." Eda cheered as she entered the room, Raine and Lynn trailing behind her, "We got everything handled before any riots broke out. And since Raine and I never said anything bad about basilisks publicly and nobody would dare punch Lynn because of how innocent her face is, we weren't attacked either!"
"Congrats?" Darius said, confused.
"Well someone did actually try to throw a griffon egg at me but I mostly dodged it." Lynn corrected.
After a quick glance at her, it was clear that there was egg yolk residue on one of her legs.
"And that doesn't mean we didn't get yelled at and verbally harassed for supposedly not doing anything." Raine added.
"Look, we weren't hurt, so that's a win in my book." Eda said, "Also, quick disclaimer, I have had a bottle of apple blood. But it wasn't alcoholic!"
"It was caffeinated though. And wait, you drank that whole bottle? You told me you just had a glass!"
"Yeah, the bottle was glass and I drank straight from it. Ergo, one glass." Eda said smugly.
Raine and Lynn went to their seats, Darius was rubbing his temple and was internally wishing that he did have something alcoholic before having to deal with Eda. Amity walked over to Eda who was still standing a few steps from the doorway. Eda simply smiled at her. Looking at how happy Eda was and having seen how tired Raine looked, all that Amity could think about was her talk with Darius, the knowledge that the two of them likely had a big fight.
"So, you got all the minor kidnapping victims all caught up?" Eda asked.
"Yes, I did. Look, can I talk to you? In private maybe?"
"Is it about what the session will be about? Okay, I'm gonna be honest, it's not going to be about Luz. We're going to focus on further damage control. This situation is bad enough but with the magic exhibition in just two weeks…we need to keep everything under control."
"So what are you going to do about Luz?"
"With the potential aggression that could result from doing anything about or with Luz, we can't risk anything now. So we're going to table that whole deal and just focus on the more pressing situation that is the basilisks. We won't do any attacks, but we also aren't going to try any outreach. And when I say "we", that includes you and your friends too."
"Can I at least fill them in?" Amity asked, disappointed, but understanding.
"By all means, go on ahead. You went through a lot, and no offense to Boscha and her comforting abilities, but I think that maybe that whole ordeal is a whole friend group talk. But hey, after that, you need rest. Okay kiddo? I'm being really irresponsible right now by chugging caffeinated apple blood, even if it's unfermented. So as always, do as I say, not as I do."
"You keep talking about the basilisk situation in general terms. What about Vee specifically? Are you going to have anyone go out and look for her? She was kidnapped super publically."
"Unfortunately, with things being like they are right now, it'd be hard to find an officer willing to go out and look for a basilisk, the council is going to be a bit busy with managing the Isles, and sending anyone else would be irresponsible since it takes a real dangerous, or crazy, kind of person to kidnap a basilisk."
"So you're just going to do nothing?"
"For once, I think I can trust you and your friends. As long as you work together and don't try anything stupid and alone, you can look for her."
Amity was surprised at that, and smiled at her. However, the curiosity and worry about Eda and Raine's argument still gnawed at the back of her mind.
"Eda, really though, I do need to talk to you. Not about Luz or the basilisk thing. About something else."
Eda smiled at her and gave her shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze.
"I need to do some work right now, but I promise that after this we'll talk. Okay? Now go on outside and wait for your friends to show up so you can fill them in."
Amity gave her a small nod and Eda walked over to her seat. Amity left the room and headed outside to the front stairs where Boscha was sitting. No one had shown up yet, so Amity just sat down next to Boscha and waited.
"So, what's the plan with the council?" Boscha asked.
"I can fill you in when everyone gets here. I don't want to have to repeat myself."
"Alright. I suppose that makes sense." Boscha paused for a moment before taking Amity's hand in her own, "Look, I need to tell you something. I didn't want to tell you before because I didn't want to freak you out or anything but-"
"Hey! Who's got three thumbs and just slept for 16 hours? This guy!" Gus said as he landed his staff halfway up the stairs.
"Wait, three?" Amity said, confused.
"Have you not seen Gus' severed thumb? He found it on his little human realm vacation to…what was it again?" Boscha asked.
"Florida. Fun trip, saw lots of sights, even went to Universal World! Thought about going to Disney Studios but apparently the company did something controversial so I didn't want to go there. But yeah, I found a somewhat fresh severed human thumb behind a mini-golf course on the sixth day of my trip. Sanitized it, cast a preserving spell over it, covered it in resin just to be safe, and now I have it on a little chain on my bag! I'd show you, but I left it back at my apartment."
"I knew you got that during your trip, but I thought it was something fake you got at Cold Conversation or something. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel now that I know this." Boscha said, mild disgust and concern in her voice.
"Look, if humans have severed rabbit feet on their bag chains, I don't see why I can't have a severed human thumb on mine!"
"I don't know what the context is, and I don't think I want to." Hunter said, landing a few steps behind Gus, "Oh, wait, is this about the thumb? I thought Boscha and Amity knew about it!"
"I'm sorry, you knew about this and were okay with it?" Amity asked.
"Yeah, of course. I know about all the human parts Gus has."
"What else does he have?!" Boscha and Amity exclaimed at the same time.
"Relax, he only has one full skeleton." Willow said with a teasing chuckle, landing next to Hunter.
"And everything else is just miscellaneous bones. The thumb is the only thing I have with flesh." Gus assured.
"You know, I'm no longer disgusted. I'm just impressed. You got them all legally, right? Most people don't just stumble upon whole skeletons" Boscha said.
"I didn't dig up any graves if that's what you're asking. And I didn't rob any museums either. Tried that once after they told me I couldn't take pictures in the torture museum I went to, but that was just the one time. I just stumbled upon them, mostly in old trash bags in dumps. There are a surprising amount of bones in dumps now that I think about it…"
"Okay before Gus goes on any more tangents about his human bone collection," Willow began, "Why did you call us here?"
"Yeah, do you have any updates on Vee?" Gus asked.
"No, but uh…we do have some on Luz." Amity said awkwardly.
Hunter and Gus didn't seem to get it right away, but as soon as she said that Willow's face lit up in realization before dropping into a mixture of contempt and concern.
"Well, good to know she didn't kill you like she tried to do to King." Willow sighed.
With that statement, Hunter and Gus realized what had happened.
"After Eda said that the council decided to do nothing, I found out that the cult was having an induction after calling King, then Boscha joined me saying she got the coordinates from Gus." Amity began explaining.
"I honestly was so tired I forgot you even asked that until now." Gus admitted, looking at Boscha.
"We snuck in, me acting like I was a cult member who had been gone retrieving someone and Boscha being the person I found. We planned on sneaking into the temple to find Luz while everyone was going to the ceremony, but we had to go because it would look suspicious if we didn't and one of the members came to the room we were staying in to bring us. The security people there were using Gus' magic detector to look for the handprint burn scars all members have because the burns are infused with magic."
"I'm learning so many reasons why I should never get sleep deprived." Gus said, nodding slightly, "Maybe someone dangerous will use that fact to get information out of me, and maybe someone will actually steal a more valuable prototype like one of my portal products. And if I don't have enough information about the device written down, I might have to pay a visit to Jacob again. Hopefully he doesn't think I'm there to kill him after the minor threatening I did to him last time."
Not wanting to ask about whatever Gus was referring to, Amity just continued.
"Boscha nearly got branded, I exposed myself as an outsider and was captured while Boscha got dragged away, I was thrown in Luz's office, stole a map of the underground tunnels, but the council doesn't know that because I didn't tell them after it got stolen by Vee's kidnapper, then had a lengthy conversation with Luz where I found out a bunch."
"Did she hurt you? How did you escape?" Willow asked.
"She didn't hurt me, but she did kiss me. Before you freak out, she did apologize profusely for doing that without asking me. She really is that same old dorky, awkward Luz we knew. She just has nonexistent social skills and anger issues now. And she actually unlocked the door for me to try and gain my trust early in the conversation and didn't even try to stop me when I left. We did argue, but she never tried to hurt me. Her followers didn't either. They all just left me alone."
"But not me though." Boscha added.
Everyone, including Amity, looked at Boscha confused and concerned. Amity knew what Boscha was implying and she shouldn't have really been surprised. When Boscha was taken away, Luz did tell the guards that captured her to do whatever they wanted. She even told them they could take care of her themself if they wanted. But she didn't think anything actually happened. Boscha never mentioned anything. Was that what Boscha was going to tell her before Gus showed up?
And even if something had happened to Boscha, how hadn't Amity noticed? She looked fine…right?
Amity thought back to when she and Boscha met back up again at the temple. She had been so emotional about what happened she didn't take the time to check on Boscha, which was justifiable after what she had gone through, but even after getting out of the town, going back to the ship, and getting back to the Isles, she still never asked her what happened when she got taken away.
But there were no signs of anything bad happening right? She looked fine. Sure her bun was slightly undone, but they were working on barely any sleep. And yes, her clothes did look roughed up, but she had gotten literally dragged away. And yeah, the knees of her pants were ripped, but those could have just been a pair of jeans that were already ripped. And maybe there was some slight bruising around her neck and arms, but that probably had a reasonable explanation. Just like the thin scab on her cheek. The cut on her lip.
The way that she had been walking slower than usual.
The look of pain whenever she took a step with her right foot.
How she had her arms positioned in a way that was like she was protecting or covering the right side of her body.
"Look, I was going to tell you Amity. I was just about to before Gus showed up." Boscha continued, placing a hand on Amity's knee, "But you were doing a lot worse emotionally than I was physically. And, while I don't hold it against you in any way, you never asked. And I'm fine, don't worry."
"What…happened?" Amity asked slowly and firmly.
"Okay so maybe those three guards that dragged me away took me into an alley at the edge of town, tossed me to the ground, and kicked the shit out of me while calling me an outsider and stuff like that. There might have also been some light choking, but I play Grudgeby against really violent and petty people, so I'm used to that. And, once they finished and their guards were down, I was able to get the jump on them and knocked them out. Then I went to the temple and found you! It's how I knew the back way out of town, it's where they took me. But regardless, I am fine now. Maybe a quick stop at your sister's place wouldn't hurt though. Emira or Viney could easily fix me up, and maybe even Skara knows a healing bard spell or something. Man, that house is just chock-full of helpful people, right? Really taking a healthy relationship to the most literal level."
Everyone just stared at Boscha silently. Hunter was reminded of himself hearing how Boscha was just brushing off what happened to her, Gus was wondering how she was managing to have a normal conversation after having all of that happen to her, Willow added the entirety of Luz's cult to her mental "hate list", and Amity felt so much more guilty about having not noticed that Boscha was in pain now that she knew what happened.
"Look, what happened to me isn't important right now." Boscha said, noticing how everyone was looking at her, "What is important is that we know so much more about Luz and her cult. The layout of the island, town, and temple, how the cult operates, what they know and have, how the Collector plays into all of this, and a lot more information on Luz than we had before."
"Right, so now we can think of what to do." Amity said, getting back on track so she would think about anything but her guilt, "Eda says the council is going to focus on the basilisk stuff for now, and I should add she did give us permission to look for Vee as long as we don't go alone, and even though Eda said we shouldn't do anything Luz related, that doesn't mean we can't plan anything."
"Well, while I am pleased to know what happened to the magic detector…I honestly don't think we should or even need to do anything about Luz." Gus said, "Every time someone visits we just learn more bad things and make her madder. So isn't the best option to just stop? If she decides to come back now that we've shown we still care, great! But if not, what do we lose? And besides, I'm kinda with Eda on thinking that we should be focusing on getting Vee back. She's in my top 5 best friends with how much nerding out about humans we do."
"I don't know what we should do, but we should do something." Hunter countered, "She's just been getting worse, so we should help her get better. It's awful what she did to the two of you during your visit, so we need to make sure that that never happens again. And you said that the cult members go out and recruit people? Well if we can get through to Luz, we can stop the cult and get her back. Two birds with one stone. I will agree with Gus though, until we get something figured out with what to do for Luz, we should try to find Vee. She and I were really close. I wouldn't call us best friends or anything, but we were still close and bonded over us both being creations of Belos. Regardless, we need to take our time with our plan and not just rush into things like you did, Amity."
Everyone looked over at Willow to see what she thought. It wasn't exactly surprising when they saw she was absolutely fuming.
"I don't know why any of you think she deserves another chance. She's had so many opportunities to prove that she's better! After she captured the Collector, before she faked her death, any time during the past ten years, when King visited her, or when you two visited her. But nothing! I don't know why we keep saying she deserves another chance. She's already had so many chances and she's only getting worse. She killed Salty, she tormented me and Amity with illusions this past week, she nearly killed King before she realized who she was, she kissed Amity without asking, her goons beat up Boscha…what are we thinking? Giving her another chance is like giving someone who tried to blast you with a fireball a chance to re-aim because they missed the first time."
"And just leaving her alone would be not giving her another shot at us." Gus said, "Isn't that enough?"
"No, we need to go on the offensive. Or at least the defensive."
"I'd say we're doing enough offense by visiting her repeatedly."
"No matter what we do, we need to plan. And we're not planning an attack." Hunter sighed.
"Hun, I love you, but on my mental list of people most likely to go to Luz's island, you're up next. And that's not happening."
"I know you hate her for what she did to me, Amity, and everyone else, but please, you can't just hold this grudge against her."
"She's a murderer!"
"I'm aware. And I am too. I still did kill Luz, even if she got revived. Not to mention she is also in possession of the curse that made Belos so dangerous. She's clearly been infected with his instability and mental problems. Some of that curse goo was literally in her brain if I recall correctly."
"You can't just use that curse as an excuse every time."
"And also, I don't think connecting her to Belos gives her any points in the sympathetic department." Gus added.
Hunter, Gus, and Willow continued with their arguing. Amity was just exhausted with hearing so much arguing in the past week, past 24 hours for that matter, and having the newest batch of people bickering be her friends just made it stressful rather than annoying. It felt like every time she wanted to talk to someone or told anyone anything it led to arguing.
Boscha noticed how uncomfortable Amity looked and held her hand.
"Do you think we could talk alone for a second?" Boscha whispered.
"Yeah, I'm good with that."
Boscha led Amity away from the others and a little down the street. The others noticed, but it didn't really affect the argument as they just assumed they were going off to do couple stuff or something.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Amity asked, somewhat nervous.
After everything the two of them had gone through the past few days, Boscha could be about to do anything from asking her if she's okay to proposing to breaking up.
"We need to talk about Luz." Boscha began, "And how close you are to her. I know you don't like talking about your past relationship with her but considering the fact that just a few hours ago I saw her kiss you, I think it's a relevant topic."
"What, do you think I'm going to run off to be in her cult with her or something?"
"No, of course not. I admit, I did get jealous when I saw her kiss you, even knowing that it wasn't reciprocal. I will never have with you two years what you had with her after two years. Even with more time than that, I'll never be to you what she was. And I'd be lying if I said that didn't hurt."
"So is this talk just going to be you talking about how jealous you are?"
"You're using sarcasm as a defense mechanism but you should know I can see right through that. I've known you your whole life after all. But no, that's not what this is about. This is about how obvious it is that you haven't moved on. And, after a lot of thinking, I've realized something."
Amity tensed up, waiting for the oncoming breakup she knew was inevitable. She thought that maybe, just maybe, if she got ready for it it wouldn't hurt so much.
"I shouldn't expect you to."
"W-what?" Amity stammered, caught off guard.
"It's unfair for me to think that you can just move on so easily. This past week has taught me that literally nobody has moved on. So I shouldn't expect you to."
Amity was completely shocked. Boscha had gotten a lot more mature over the years, but even this was a surprise. She began to blink repeatedly as tears began to form up. She didn't know why she was crying.
"I'm such an awful person." She said weakly, "I should be over her! I should be able to move on. Especially after all we've seen and learned. She's so different, so awful, compared to who she used to be, changed in so many key ways. Even if she's still that adorable, awkward, dork deep down. Aren't I horrible for that? For not moving on? Aren't you mad at me?"
"I told you before that I'm okay with her holding a special place in your heart and your head. And no, you're not horrible. But even so, you definitely are not okay. You need a break from everything. You need a break…from this."
"What?" Amity gasped, still choked up.
Even anticipating it, she still wasn't ready.
"Ams, I love you. And I have for the longest time. And because I do, I know that it's for the best that we take a break. That way all the Luz stuff, and frankly the Vee stuff too, can be handled without either of us getting distracted or worried or anything like that. I can crash at my mom's place for a while so you can have the apartment to yourself. And, while you finish up any conversations you need to here, I can head back to the apartment and gather my things to make it easier for you so you won't have to watch as I pack up. Also it'd frankly be easier for me that way."
"What happened to staying by my side while we let karma take its course?"
"I can do that without being in a relationship with you. And I did also say that I'd do whatever I needed to help get you what you need. And giving you space without me constantly being on your mind will help. As I said, it's not like we'll never see each other again. I'll still watch your showcase at the exhibition to support you if you want that. Plus, I'm the only one who's been able to snap Luz out of kill-mode so I wouldn't be surprised if Eda had me tag along on any possible mission once she gets her shit together and her priorities straight. Or maybe when Hunter realizes it's his turn to go to the island he'll have me come with to help him out with navigation and snap her out if need be."
Amity didn't know what to say. She wanted to say so many things, but couldn't manage to say anything. She didn't fall down sobbing, she didn't beg her to stay, she didn't yell at her. She just stood there, silent and shocked as a single tear rolled down her face.
"You understand why I think this is for the best, right?"
"Yeah, I do." Amity said weakly, "And I agree with that. But that doesn't make it easy for me."
"Well it's hard for me too."
Boscha leaned over and gave Amity a kiss on the cheek. As she pulled back, Amity felt her slip something into her hand. When she looked, she saw Boscha's glass promise ring.
"When all of this is over, I'll let you decide what to do with those."
Boscha gave Amity a soft smile and began to back away as she summoned her staff.
"Goodbye Amity."
Boscha got on her staff and flew away, leaving Amity just standing there, holding the glass ring in her hand. After a few moments of still silence, she slipped the ring, along with her own, carefully into her pocket and went back to the group, hoping she looked normal.
It was a pleasant sight to see that they all appeared to have calmed down while she was off. They were still talking and there was a palpable sense of tenseness in the air, but at least they weren't yelling at each other, so that was still a win. They all noticed as Amity began walking up the steps.
And they also noticed immediately that something was clearly wrong.
"Amity, are you okay? Where's Boscha?" Willow asked, standing up.
Immediately, the tears started to come back.
"Boscha told me that she thinks we should take a break." Amity explained, voice shaking, "Until all the Luz stuff is over."
Without hesitation, Willow walked over to Amity and pulled her into a hug, which Amity reciprocated, tucking her head in the crook of her neck as she cried. Gus joined the hug, and then Hunter. And for a while, the four of them just stood in the group hug letting Amity cry it out. Nobody said anything, because nobody had to. The gesture spoke for so much more than any encouraging or sympathetic words could.
After a bit, Amity did start to feel better and was able to start to pull herself together. Though, just because she was starting to do better didn't mean that they let her out of the group hug. They were determined to keep showing her just how much they cared about her as long as possible.
"You know," Gus said softly, breaking the silence, "11 or 12 years ago…this wouldn't have been possible. All of us hugging like this."
"Well I didn't know you that well and just blindly hated you for being friends with Willow, so I wouldn't even think of hugging you, least of all hugging both of you." Amity chuckled.
"And I felt so betrayed by you that I wouldn't hug you either." Willow agreed.
"And I was too busy being the Golden Guard to even think about hugging anyone, let alone a bunch of coven non-believers." Hunter nodded.
"I mean, we weren't always anti-coven. Gus and I loved and admired the emperor's coven for the longest time."
"I still remember at one covention we got a coven scout to sign my forehead." Gus added.
"Meanwhile my family, mostly Odalia, made me think that's what I wanted. It's why they had Lilith be my mentor for a few years."
"Still, hugging anyone was out of the question." Hunter said, "I didn't even know what a hug was for the longest time. That's why I got so confused when the two of you hugged me after we beat Adrien Graye when I was hiding out at Hexside. I think Belos hugged me like, two times and one of those was a side hug so it hardly counts. And the other one was either after he gave me the scar on my cheek or after my first successful mission. Could have been both, if I'm being honest."
The four of them laughed, which was a bit awkward with how they were all positioned, but if anything that just made it more funny. The laughter died down and, slowly, while the tension of the argument had faded away, there was a realization that set in for all of them one by one. And Gus decided he'd be the one to point it out.
"You know, it's kinda crazy why we're able to have this group hug now."
"Why?" Amity asked, the realization not having set in yet.
"Because the only reason the four of us got close…was because of Luz."
Amity's grip on Willow slowly loosened, and the rest of the followed suit and the hug dropped. The four of them stepped back and all just stood in a circle on the stairs, awkward tension now palpable in the air. Not wanting to think about what Gus pointed out any longer than necessary, Amity decided to be the one to break the silence.
"Did you guys agree on what to do while I was talking with Boscha?"
"Yes, actually." Hunter said, "We all agreed that right now we should be taking time for ourselves. This past week has been a lot, and none of us have really given ourselves a chance to actually work through everything. All the Luz stuff shouldn't be our priority for now."
"It feels like we just find something out, then someone runs off and does something without thinking or planning, then they find out something new, then they get hurt physically and/or emotionally, then they tell the rest of us what happened, then rinse and repeat." Gus shrugged.
"We can't just abandon Luz again!" Amity protested, "Not now that we know so much more about how bad she's doing."
"We're not abandoning anyone." Hunter said gently, not wanting Amity to get upset again or start another argument, "But if we do, hypothetically, want to get anything done, being physically and emotionally exhausted won't do anyone any good."
"I…I guess you're right," Amity sighed, thinking of how completely exhausted she was, "It would be easier to help her if we ourselves don't need help or rest. Thank you, all of you, for coming out so suddenly."
"Hey, thank you for keeping us posted." Gus said with a smile.
"Yeah, it's good to have the most up to date information." Willow agreed.
Gus summoned his staff, waved goodbye, and flew off. Willow went next, giving Amity one last quick hug before summoning her staff and flying off. Hunter was last, but after he summoned his staff and took a few steps away, he turned back to Amity and gave her a hug. While he was hugging her, he leaned into her ear.
"Trust me, I do want to help her. And I will." He whispered, "But getting so much information so fast isn't the only thing in my way. I can't just go behind her back."
Before Amity had any time to ask who exactly he meant by her as even what he said only narrowed it down slightly as to who he could be talking about, Hunter got on his staff and flew off after Willow. Amity tried to think through who exactly he meant as she turned around and started to walk the rest of the way up the steps to the council building.
It could technically have been referring to anyone, but Eda, Luz, and Willow were the most likely candidates. He could have meant going against what Eda, and by proxy the council, said about not going to Luz, or maybe he meant Luz and not wanting to just show up out of nowhere like King and Amity had done which didn't turn out well, or he could have meant Willow and how he didn't want to try to save Luz when Willow was so opposed to it.
When Amity got to the top of the steps and reached towards the handle of the large door to the council building, it suddenly swung open and Amity saw Eda standing there.
"Hey! Just the witch I was looking for." Eda said, lighting up, "Okay, so, the council all talked with minimal arguing. We still have some details to hammer out, but that's for another time. Anyways, I'm off the hook for now and I intend to keep the promise I made to talk to you."
Eda stepped outside and the two stood by the doors, Eda very energized and Amity just pleased that she would finally figure out what happened between Raine and Eda.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Eda asked.
"I know about the argument between you and Raine."
Eda's face flashed through several emotions before eventually landing on awkwardness and wondering how much she knew.
"I don't know the details, just that it happened. Darius told me what all the votes were for the meeting the other day, how Raine voted against going out for Luz, and how you two probably fought and that's why you haven't exactly been all in on saving Luz anymore."
Eda just sighed, chuckled slightly, then leaned back against the door, staring at the stone canopy that covered the entrance. Amity took a step forward, curious at what Eda was going to say about what happened.
"You're right. We did have a fight, and that's why I flipped like a dime. I think it's the biggest fight we've had since we got married." Eda sighed, face softening, "We went back and forth for so long when we went back to the house after the meeting. Yeah, suffice it to say, I slept on the couch that night. In the morning, I wanted to talk even if Raine didn't because they didn't want to fight to start back up again. But, after enough admitting that it was wrong of me to blow up at them in the way I did, they apologized too and we talked. But not enough and not about what we should have talked about and apologized for. They were obviously still mad at me, and they probably still are, but they also don't want me to start yelling again which is why they forced me to sit back down when you called out the fact that I was making a proposal about something I didn't even witness firsthand."
Amity was somewhat surprised with how open Eda was being. She was the queen of repression and brushing things off, and yet there she was, airing out all the dirty laundry Amity could possibly ask about.
"However," Eda continued, "I overcorrected. I was so worried about Raine and I's relationship that I thought if I didn't want to fight with them, the best bet was to just flip to their side of the argument, then go even further than they did. I just…didn't want to screw up. I hate screwing up, or worse, being viewed as a screw up. Especially when it's in the eyes of the people I hold so closely. So I went from being on one side of the fence to backflipping over the fence but accidentally snagged my foot on it so I was just left dangling as I hung over the other side. If that makes sense."
"It mostly does." Amity said with a slight chuckle, "But you of all people should know that being on the fence, or I guess dangling over one side of it, never gets anything done. I mean, you are the one who spent so much time being mad about people's complacency and indecision when Belos was in control."
Eda burst out laughing at that.
"Okay, who gave you the right to just call me out like that? Darius, probably." Eda laughed, "But yeah, you're right. Now, is there anything else you want to know?"
"I think I'm good. But can you please just talk to Raine? I know the couch is comfy but I don't think it has the back support someone your age needs."
"I'm not even 60 yet, so back off on the age jokes kid." Eda scoffed with a smirk, "You know, if I didn't know the unfortunate circumstances of your birth, i.e. Odalia being there, I'd have thought you were somehow related to Darius instead of just his step-kid. But yes, I will talk to Raine. Just as long as you go back to your apartment and get some rest."
"Okay, fine. I will. I think it's been enough time that Boscha will have gotten all her stuff. See ya Eda!"
Amity turned and began to walk down the stairs as she summoned her staff and Eda began waving, until she realized what Amity had just said, implying that they were no longer living together. Not wanting to get into someone else's relationship drama after spilling her guts about her down, she just brushed that little fact off and went back inside.
For a few moments, she just stood in the atrium. She took a few deep breaths, then turned down one of the many hallways. Every step felt so heavy as she went down the hallway. One by one she passed the rooms and offices. With every door she passed, her heartbeat felt louder and louder in her ears. And when she reached the room she was looking for, everything went silent as if her heart stopped. She just stood there for a few moments, staring at the plaque on the door.
Mx. Raine Clawthorne ~ Head of Bard Magic
After one last deep breath, Eda reached for the handle. But, just as her fingers grazed it, she stopped and pulled her hand back. Instead, she knocked on the door a few times.
"Yes?" Raine's muffled voice asked from inside the office.
"Can we talk?"
There were a few moments of silence, then the sound of a chair moving back and footsteps going towards the door. Raine opened up the door and looked up at Eda, examining her face which was full of thoughts and nerves and longing.
"I really think we need to talk."
"Yeah, we do." Raine sighed.
They gestured for Eda to come in, and she did, sitting in the chair in front of Raine's desk.
Raine's office was exactly what anyone would assume it was if they'd had any interactions with them, no surprises anywhere in sight. They had their degree on the wall right above a glass case that had the shards of their old viola that was smashed after the Collector's defeat to let their palisman they had basically fused to the instrument to keep them safe from Belos out. The bow for it hung underneath, and under that was another glass case that held Eda's old bell cittern. On their desk was a stack of files and paperwork, a glass cup engraved with their and Eda's wedding anniversary date filled with fun clicky pens, and a family photo of Raine, Eda, and King in front of the owl house taken on King's 18th birthday just a few days before he left on his trip around the world to find Luz. There were several bookshelves filled with scrolls, old tomes, miscellaneous books, and more piles of sheet music than you could shake a stick at. Everything was a brownish-red wood, with red, yellow, and orange accents like the cushions on the chairs or the sheet music rug on the floor, which if played was the very song Eda wrote for Raine so many years ago. The walls were a mural Raine commissioned, made to recreate a 360 view of the isles from the perspective of the highest peak of the Knee, and even the ceiling was painted to look like the dusk sky. The room had a relaxed and calming feeling, always smelling faintly of cinnamon and other pleasant spices.
From the very beginning, Raine had wanted their office to feel comfortable for anyone to be in, be it themselves, another council member, or anyone from the public who got a private meeting with them. And most of the time, it worked. However, in that moment, Eda was feeling anything but relaxed as she nervously tapped her foot as Raine closed the door then pulled out a cup of tea they were brewing in the kettle hidden in one of their large desk cabinets and got settled in their chair. Eda began to chew her lip anxiously as Raine took a long sip from their mug before setting it down and looking Eda straight in the eyes.
"What did you want to discuss?" They asked, a mostly flat tone tainted with concern.
"Don't play coy with me, for both of our sakes. Drop the work voice." Eda scoffed, "Look, you and I had a big fight. This is me being a mature adult and wanting to talk about it. For real this time, not like this morning."
"I gave you plenty of chances during it, but you were so busy calling me…what was it again? A spineless coward with less forward thinking skills than a half-dead trash slug?"
"Okay, yes, I was very immature last night. But you were the one who said I was an overdramatic reactionary who wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a metaphorical piece of garbage and a literal one even if they had signs next to them. And honestly, great job with that one. Seriously, you have gotten a lot better at insulting people since you got out of that coma."
"Well you have a very colorful vocabulary and I heard you call Belos a myriad of things while I was out."
"Still, you never took the low road with insults. You didn't take a single piece of low hanging fruit was picked during that entire argument. And that's how I know you were mad at the situation and my reaction, but not me personally. If you were mad at me personally, you probably would have just said I was being a whiny, sentimental bitch and called it a night."
"Well I would have had to call it a night because you would have knocked me out right then and there and tossed my unconscious body into the boiling sea if I called you that."
"Eh, I wouldn't have gone that far." Eda shrugged, "Now, tossing your stuff into the boiling sea while I forced you to watch? That's what I'd have done."
"But I never said that, so you didn't."
"Well you did also call me a submissive snorse without a brave cell in its body."
"Only after you said I was a demented succubus with an apple blood obsession. But not gonna lie, you weren't actually far off with that one. Thinking back on it, it sounds like something you'd call me in a flirty way instead of a fighting way."
"Why is it that any time we fight it just ends up being flirting but louder?"
"And less sexy." Eda added, "Our arguments are flirting but louder and less sexy."
That last comment finally got them both to start laughing. The mood relaxed significantly and Eda was able to finally unwind. It was nice to just cut all the tension and talk like mature, or as mature as anyone could expect Eda to be, adults instead of avoiding each other or dancing around the issue. As their laughter wound down, Eda got up, moved to the other side of Raine's desk, and sat on the desk, looking down at Raine.
"In all seriousness, we were both wrong and should have handled that better." Raine said with a lopsided smile, awkwardly rubbing their neck.
"Yeah, maybe we should have just hate cuddled until we felt better instead of me sleeping on the couch." Eda said, nodding.
"Eda, be serious."
"I never said once in my vows that I'd hold myself to that standard. You signed up for dealing with this lack of seriousness." Eda chuckled before changing to a more sincere expression, "But you're right. So, what do you think we should do? I mean, just slapping a little 'agree to disagree' on it sounds a bit cheap."
"I…don't know, actually." Raine admitted, "I mean, this whole situation is something neither of us ever thought we'd have to deal with. But, so long as we can admit we were both in the wrong, I think we can just work from there as we go instead of just sticking a bow on it after one conversation acting like that's good enough conflict resolution. This is a tough topic, and it needs more time and care than that. I shouldn't have been so pushy."
"And I shouldn't have been so stubborn. But you're right. We just need to work through it bit by bit together. I won't overcorrect just so you won't be mad at me."
"And I won't make you feel like you have to agree with me on everything."
Eda smiled and leaned forward as Raine moved their chair closer, their faces both getting closer together.
"I'm glad we could come to this agreement, Rainestorm."
"I am too, my Owlet. Now, since we're together, maybe we can work on a plan to find Vee? I know you told Amity that her and her friends could handle it, but we could still help."
"Eh, Darius is all over that whole situation already. Feels really guilty and wants to do whatever possible to find her. Besides, Vee is a literal basilisk. Even if she swore off draining magic, she can still hold her own in a fight with her use of glyphs and shapeshifting which, now that she revealed herself, she shouldn't have a problem with using in front of people."
"Okay, then maybe…" Raine began as one of their hands slowly went up Eda's arm, their face flushing as they were completely out of their depth with what they were trying, "We could, I don't know, go home early and do something besides paperwork. Something…less boring."
Eda softly laughed, held Raine's chin with their other arm, and pulled them into a kiss, which Raine happily reciprocated. When Eda pulled away, she got off the desk, grabbed the chair that was on the other side, and moved it next to Raine's and sat back down.
"Or, even better, we could get some work done by starting to cement some more details for the magic exhibition. It's only in two weeks, after all, and I know Lynn would gladly lighten her load and let us help out for once instead of helping out with the last minute details she wasn't able to complete because nobody volunteered to help her earlier."
"You want to do work? And so early?" Raine gasped, feigning shock and acting overdramatic, "It's like I don't even know you. Though, if my memory serves correct, I do actually help Lynn every year and you're the only one who does all the last minute stuff. Could be wrong though, if I remember correctly you did say I was as out of my depth as a snadger in a swimming pool."
Eda playfully scoffed and lightly punched Raine's shoulder.
"I'm being serious." Eda said, rolling her eyes, "We could always help out. There's a lot of work to do."
"There sure is."