Luz Noceda was sitting in her room in the owl house, and thinking. Yesterday a puppeteer demon by the name of Adagast had almost ended her story, and her mentor Eda's as well. Luz sat in her sleeping bag clutching at her brown short curls, and tried to make a plan. King, the adorable skull capped and black furred demon 'dog' was curled up in her lap snoozing peacefully, and as she looked at him Luz got an idea.
A few hours later Luz was in her usual shorts, leggings, and her favorite purple cat hoodie, and making breakfast for the house. Soon the familiar alabaster frame of her mentor Eda, still in her comfy slippers and sleep wear, came sleepily into the room. By this point Luz knew not to even try to bother her until Eda's third cup of apple blood, so she waited. Eda wasn't anybody's fool though, she could feel the kids eyes on her, and with an exasperated groan she asked, "Ok kiddo I can feel you staring… what is it?"
Luz chuckled nervously, "Well I was thinking I would go check out the library today. I saw it while we were doing deliveries yesterday, and… Eda I accept that the Isles are dangerous. If I want to survive I need to take that seriously, and the only way to do that is with knowledge and experience. You can give me a lot of both, but it's not fair to expect you to always be there to hold my hand. If I want to be the best apprentice I can be, I have to be willing to put in the work. I can't just expect things to come to me. I have to make my dreams come true with my own two hands. So what do you say? Can I go?"
Eda snorted, and ruffled Luz's hair, "If you want to spend the morning reading boring books then that's fine kiddo. I didn't need a whole speech, but I'm glad to hear you're taking this seriously now. I know you wanted this to be a 'whimsical' place, but that's just not reality. Go have fun, and later I'll give you a lesson on potions while we work on some of the orders."
"Thanks Eda. I promise, I'll make you proud," chirped Luz, as she grabbed a small satchel of books that needed to be returned, and rushed out of the Owl House. Luz was careful as she made her way to Bonesborough, and after returning Eda's books she started to explore. Luz started with some history, and when she got bored by that she moved on to one of her favorite subjects from back home… beasts, demons, and creatures. Thanks to her obsessive love of all things odd or strange she had a good foundation to start from, but learning about the real creatures still made her feel giddy. Slitherbeasts, Quilboar, Razorbeaks, Kisune, satyrs, and then one of her favorites… Dragons. If anything came close to her love of Witches it was dragons, and other kinds of wyrms. To Luz's delight she found out that Couatl, Wyverns, and Drakes were all very real, but true dragon's had gone extinct a long time ago like Basilisks.
Still Luz loved every moment of her studies. Eventually though, Luz was getting hungry, so she started to make her way toward the entrance when she saw a green haired witch about her age about to be buried under a shifting stack of books. Thinking fast, Luz managed to steady the stack before the majority of it could fall, shielding the witch with her body from the rest, and introducing herself to the admittedly cute girl. "Hi I'm Luz Noceda. Sorry about just appearing out of nowhere, but I saw the stack about to give, and I'd hate to see such a cute girl get hurt," Luz said awkwardly, while blushing.
The girl seemed surprised, but snorted, "Amity Blight. Thanks for the save, but I had it covered. Is there something I can help you with quickly? It's kind of my lunch break, and I'd like to get to it."
Luz smiled, "Maybe. I was just taking a break from doing some research, but I got hungry. If you don't mind… maybe I could join you for lunch. I don't really know what's good around here or really know anyone my own age. It would be nice to… make a friend, maybe…" Luz groaned, "I'm sorry. I'm being weird again… I-I'll just leave you alone." Luz started shuffling away, whispering, "No es como si alguien tan guapo como tú me quisiera de todos modos. (it's not like anyone as cute as you would like me anyway.)"
But before Luz could get too far away she felt someone lightly grab her shoulder, and when she looked around she saw Amity with an odd flush to her cheeks, and making a face Luz hadn't seen before as she stammered, "I guess I do owe you for helping me with that stack. Um, why don't you follow me? There's this nice little cafe about a block away that I usually go to… it might be nice to not eat alone for once… if you want."
Luz's face lit up, and Amity's eyes softened even more as she saw Luz's bright smile as she took Amity's hand. "It would be my pleasure, hermosa, and since I'm butting in on your lunch I'll take care of the bill. Lead the way." Amity just let out a little squeak as she walked hand in hand with the odd witchling in the purple hood.
Over the next twenty minutes they laughed, and talked while slowly opening up with each other. To both girls' amazement they both loved The Good Witch Azua, and admitted to each other that the series was one of the reasons they wanted to become strong witches just like Azura. Amity noticed that Luz never let down her hood, but decided to ignore it since she was having so much fun, and she didn't want to make her new friend uncomfortable. The cat ears were kind of adorable too if she was being honest. True to her word Luz paid for their meal despite Amity's insistence to let her handle it. Amity didn't need to know that it cost Luz every snail she had. Luz was happy to spend them because Luz thought spending time with Amity was worth every cent.
On their way back to the library, Amity surprised Luz when she grabbed Luz's hand this time with a small blush on her face. Suddenly they saw an angry older witch step out of an alley aggressively, and start yelling, "Kept me waiting little Blight. Your scumbag parents took everything from me… now it's their turn to know how that feels." He spun a spell circle, and fired a black blast of magic at Amity, but without a thought Luz jumped in front of her, and took the blast directly to her chest. Suddenly Luz felt very wet and warm, but soon the world started getting blurry and… cold. The last thing Luz remembered was Amity screaming her name, and the sensation of warm rain on her skin.
Eda was having a boring day, but she kept getting the oddest feeling that something bad was going on. She ignored the feeling for the most part out of habit, but then she got the call. An old 'friend' who worked at the healing center, and when Eda heard the news she dropped everything, and rushed away on Owlbert as fast as she could.
When she walked through the doors to the center everyone froze, or scattered out of her way. Somehow she was managing to remain in control of her curse, but that didn't matter. Nobody could ignore the heaviness of the magic she was giving off, or the beastial rage in her glowing eyes. All Eda could hear were Luz's last words to her from before she left that morning. Thanks Eda. I promise, I'll make you proud. Jackal Stein was not intimidated or bothered though. He had known Edalyn Clawthorne since her early days in Hexside when they were young, and had maintained a 'working' relationship since. After all Eda was the best potioner on the Isles, and she almost never asked questions about why he needed something made.
Eda stomped up to the heavily scared, and pale witch demanding, "Where is she? Where is my kid?"
Stein just sighed, and opened a door, "Follow me. We have some things to discuss." Without another word Eda followed him to just outside a room in the back of the center. When Eda looked through one of the few windows her heart sank. She saw a green haired girl desperately holding on to Luz's hand while crying and mumbling something, but her main focus was Luz. Her kid had been eviscerated. Even from outside, Eda could see the hole in Luz's chest that seemed to go clear through her. Eda didn't know much about healing magic, but even she could tell that Luz was barely holding on. Eda couldn't ask, but Stein knew what she wanted to know.
"Eda… your kid's a hero. A very dumb, suicidal hero. That girl in there, Luz saved her life from an attempted murder, but it cost her. I can salvage most of her, and heal the hole, but… there's nothing I can do for her heart. The magic blast she took didn't just tear it apart, it evaporates it. There's nothing left to heal. For now she's in a coma, and I'm keeping her alive, but I can only keep this up for so long." Eda looked devastated. Stein sighed, "Eda… there might be a way I can save her, but…"
Eda grabbed him by his coat with tears in her eyes, "Then do it Stein! Whatever you need, whatever I have to do… Just save her."
Stein looked at Eda with a serious glare, "Because you have never tried to cheat me, I only need two things. One, you need to claim her officially. You will be her guardian in the eyes of the Isles both legally, and magically from now on, and be bound by all the requirements that come with that position. This is non-negotiable. Due to my healer's oath, I literally can't perform the surgery otherwise. Second, I will tell you what I decide you need to know if this works, and there is only a fifty/fifty chance it will, but we will make an everlasting oath right now that neither of you will ask any question. What I'm about to try has never been done before, and for the good of all of us… you will never see me again after today. Do you understand?" Stein held out his hand with a black circle around it, and after a moment Eda shook his hand.
While Stein did whatever he was going to do, Eda sat in a side room with the distraught green haired witchling. After a few minutes, Eda moved to sit next to her, and gently rested her hand on the girl's back making her flinch and look up in terror as she nearly begged, "Please don't hurt me Ms. Owl Lady. I promise I didn't mean for any of this to happen. One minute we're laughing, and heading back to the library, and then… she was just laying bloody in my arms. Please, I'm so sorry."
Eda pulled the girl into a hug, as she tried to calm her down, "Minty, I promise I'm not going to hurt you, but I need to know what happened. What's your name, and why did someone attack you two?"
"I'm Amity, Amity Blight, and… this is all my fault. That blast was meant for me. Some angry witch my family wronged trying to get revenge. I never should have let her be near me, but she was so nice." Amity breaks down again as she admits, "Luz saved me from some falling books that would have buried me, and then… she asked to have lunch. Titan damn me for letting myself get taken in by that warm smile. She protected me twice, and what did it get her? Even if she survives she will probably never cast again, and she wanted to be a powerful witch like Azura, just like me. I killed her dream even if I didn't kill her. It would have been better if he had killed me, at least then she could have been the witch she deserves to be. She'll hate me, and I'll deserve it." Amity was shocked when she heard Eda snort, and her head shot up in fury, "It's not funny. What could you possibly be laughing about?"
Eda started laughing even as tears ran down her face like rivers, "I'm laughing because that sounds just like Luz. Rushing forward, and helping people without a single thought for her own safety. I've only known her a week, and I can guarantee you the first thing she'll ask when she wakes up is if you're ok. Minty, she was never going to spin a circle anyway… Luz is human."
Amity just looked at Eda in shock before stuttering, "But she said…"
"That she was going to be a powerful witch. Ya, that was her dream. Despite not having any magic of her own, she was determined to find a way to make it come true, but I've been failing her as a mentor so far. Sure I've been teaching her potions while I work, but no actual spell work because I don't even know where to begin trying." Eda smiled at Amity, "When she gets better… she's going to need both of us. I'll be a better mentor, and I expect you to be the kind of friend she deserves, because…" Eda snorted again, "She just proved she'd die for you. She's a special girl. Do you think you can do that for me, Amity?"
For the first time since they met Eda saw the younger witch straighten her back, and stop crying. With absolute determination Amity nodded to Eda, "I promise. She was prepared to give her life for me, so I'm going to be there for her no matter what happens." Amity thought to herself, "She sacrificed her heart for me, so I guess she'll just have to make due with mine."
Luz felt off when she woke up. Her head was pounding and foggy, and her chest felt hot and tight. When she could finally get her eyes open she felt white hot pain shoot through her eyes. As she shut them to try, and stop the pain Luz saw a weird rune like it was tattooed on the inside of her eyelids. Then she heard a familiar voice, and her memory finally started to clear. Desperately Luz asked, "Amity? Oh Titan please tell me she's ok?" To which she just heard a familiar snort.
"I told ya Minty. The very first thing," Luz heard her mentor laugh.
Luz kept her eyes closed so as not to cause more spikes of pain in her head, but suddenly she felt a small cold hand take hers. With a sniffle Luz heard her new friend say, "I'm here Luz, and I'm fine. You protected me, but please… never scare me like that again. I finally met another Azura fan. Please don't disappear on me." Luz managed to get her eyes open only to see the most beautiful face she had ever seen, if a bit puffy from crying, and on her other side Eda was beaming down on her.
"Hey Eda. Looks like I'm just disappointing you more with every day. I'm sor-" Luz tried to say only to get an angry look from Eda.
"Kid, Titan help me, you have never disappointed me. Scared the feathers out of me, sure, but never disappointed, and I never want to hear you say that again. So, I should probably give you the rundown on what we had to do to keep you breathing. Minty can you go grab a snack and some water for Luz?" Eda asked, clearly just trying to get a moment alone with Luz, and Amity nodded. Before she left though Amity gave Luz a small smile. After she left Eda sighed, "Ok kid, so here's the cliffnotes. You took a magic blast meant to kill Minty straight to the chest. Most of you could be healed, but… kid you have a whole new heart now. I know next to nothing about it, or what consequences it will have, but it's a magic organ, so it could be anything." Eda looked away awkwardly, "There is one other thing though… in order to save you I had to claim you. None of our deals need to change, and you can still go back to the human realm whenever you want, but while you're here… Luz legally I had to adopt you. I know we don't really know each other, but…"
"Does that mean I have to call you Mom?" asked Luz with a far away look.
Eda looked very embarrassed, but answered, "Not if you don't want to. As I said nothing needs to change between us, but we are going to need to discuss a few things later. Like most people are going to insist on calling you Luz Clawthorne now even if that's not the name you want."
Luz snorted in a very Eda way, "It's ok Eda. If people want to do that then that just means I'm going to have to work twice as hard to make sure I don't make you look bad." Luz smiled, and said in a slightly joking tone, "Can't go making the Most Powerful Witch on the Isles look weak now can I? Eda, I get it. I hung around Mami enough to understand you did what you had to do to save me. I just hope I can be good enough to deserve to be your daughter… Titan knows I can't disappoint another Mother."
Eda knocked on Luz's forehead lightly, "Did you not hear me kiddo? I said none of that 'disappointment' stuff. You're a great kid. It's me that needs to be better, ok?"
"Let's just agree to be better together, ok Owl Mom?" Luz beamed, while Eda blushed.
"Sure Luz. I think we can do that," smiled Eda. Soon Amity returned with some water, and Hex-mix with a sheepish look trying to figure out if they were done talking. Seeing this Eda snorted, "You're fine Minty. I think we're done with the heavy stuff, but… spit. Kiddo, we're going to have to get to teaching you some spells soon. I can probably hold off till next semester begins, but I think I legally have to enroll you in Hexside soon." Eda shuddered, "I'll happily go ten rounds with old Belos himself before I have to try to argue with Bumpy."
"Bumpy?" asked Luz.
Amity chuckled, "I think she means Principle Bump, and you know I can always drop off a message for him on my way to class. Principle Bump might be a bit strict sometimes, but he's always fair. I'm sure you can work something out." And then Amity noticed Luz's pale scared expression, and asked, "What's wrong Luz?"
Luz shifted uncomfortably as she looked away, "I-I'm kinda scared to go to school. I didn't have the best experience back home… What if it just happens again here?"
"Well what exactly happened? It couldn't have been that bad," reassured Amity as best she could. For the next couple hours Luz told them all about her time at Gravesfield Middle and High. Luz didn't try to hide anything about how the teachers had treated her, and even showed off a couple small scars from 'accidents' that had happened with a few of her bullies. By the time Luz finished Eda looked positively murderous, and Amity was nearly in tears again while she held Luz's hand. "Luz… I'm so sorry. I promise Hexside is nothing like that, and I'll be there with you every step of the way. Nobody is going to hurt you with me around. I'm not a top student for nothing," Amity declared with fire in her eyes, making Luz blush again, and causing Luz to pull her into a warm hug.
In total Luz spent three days in the healing center. They had intended to spend a week, but by the end of the third day Luz was fully recovered much to Eda's surprise, and Luz was adamant she didn't want to be there any longer than absolutely necessary. Luz didn't say why, but Eda noticed her new daughter was especially on edge ever since she was well enough to start moving on her own again.
Together they headed back to the Owl House. King refused to leave Luz's side after that, and insisted that nobody would harm his favorite human by order of him. Hooty just seemed perplexed as he sniffed the air, but nobody paid him much mind. Hooty being weird was normal. It wasn't until the fourth, fifth, and sixth days after her surgery that anyone noticed any substantial changes. Somehow over the week Luz's hair had started growing at an accelerated rate, and now had a distinct purple sheen to it while it flowed to about her mid-back. She tried cutting it twice, but when she woke up the third time with it back to its full fluffy length Luz gave up, and just embraced her new 'Clawthorne style' hair or at least that's what Eda had called it. Upside at least her hair hid her ears.
The next day it rained, and Luz got to experience Boiling Rain for the first time, but oddly while it was slightly uncomfortable the rain didn't seem to actually burn Luz. Luz watched Eda slowly layer magic on top of itself before releasing it, and creating a complex barrier to protect the house. Nobody noticed Luz's eyes change into slit pupils, and only she saw the various glyphs that appeared within the numerous circles. Luz's eyes returned to normal as Eda completed her spell.
Eda felt exhausted, but when Luz begged her for a spell lesson she was reminded of her promise that she made with Amity, and tried to push her own tiredness aside. First they reviewed magic in general. Something that seemed oddly ironic now since magic came from the heart, and now Luz's was magical just like everyone else on the Isles. Eda still doubted Luz would be able to perform spells normally since she still didn't have a bile sack to go with it, but there was no reason not to try. Deciding to take inspiration from her own teachers, Eda showed Luz a light spell.
Luz tried a few times to form a circle, but nothing appeared making Luz and King look disappointed, but Eda looked perplexed. She didn't see any sign of a normal circle either, but unlike her kids Eda had sharper eyes and more experience. Eda saw something like a faint heat shimmer, or distortion in the air as Luz tried again. "It's almost like the magic is there, and wants to take shape, but something is missing, or preventing it from taking form," thought Eda. Putting on a tired smile Eda reassured Luz, "Keep trying, kiddo. I think you're closer than you think to getting it. Just keep trying." With that Eda dragged herself up to her nest, and out of sight.
With Eda napping, Luz and King got into position for another of her 'little brothers' lessons. Luz had been nervous to accept King's offer to teach her about demons, but King had proven himself a great instructor. He explained things in a simple if colorful way, and when Luz brought up a question he was thrilled to work it out with her until they reached a good, if not always correct, answer, and slowly they had gotten closer until Luz finally got the little demon to admit he 'never wanted anything to happen to his big sister again' and 'he had never been that scared before'. Luz of course rewarded his openness with cuddles and belly rubs, and afterwards it was common to find King napping in the teens lap more than anywhere else, or at the end of her sleeping bag.
After one particularly loud thunderclap the lights suddenly went out causing King to jump into Luz's arms in fear. Luz cooed to King reassuringly, "It's ok little bro. It's just a light blackout. Why don't you crawl up, and sit in my hood while I go investigate. That way you can watch my back ok?" King nodded, and moved into his favorite perch. Luz was sure that nothing would attack her in the dark, but giving King a 'job' seemed to help distract him from his fear so that was what she gave him.
After a minute to let her eyes adjust to the dark, and unknowingly allowing them to retake their slit form, Luz started walking through the shadowy halls. A part of Luz acknowledged that she could see clearer than she should be able to, but all other thoughts were banished when she noticed Hooty unconscious, and his door mangled. Luz caught an odd scent like dusty downy pillows, wet fur, and… liquor. After helping her Mami with injured birds, King's bath time shenanigans, and being around Eda's apple blood habit none of the smells were unfamiliar, but smelling them all at once was still odd. Since Owlbert was made of magic wood, and Hooty didn't actually have feathers (that she was aware of) the downy smell was the most unusual one of the bunch. After all it was raining so whatever attacked Hooty leaving a wet fur smell was normal, and frankly the whole house had a slight booze smell that she just got used to after a while.
All the same Luz focused her attention on looking for tracks, or somethings she could follow when there was a loud crash from Eda's room. With a feeling of terror Luz rushed to check on Eda. Luz knew her Owl Mom could handle herself normally, but given how exhausted she was earlier… Luz couldn't lose another parent. When Luz rushed into Eda's room she was at first caught by surprise. Luz had heard Eda refer to her bed as a nest before, but didn't expect that to be literal. Scanning the room, Luz couldn't find any sign of her momtor (mom mentor), so after King jumped out of his hiding spot in Luz's hood/hair they started to search. All they found was a messy empty room, a broken potion laying in an amber puddle, and a freshly broken window, but Luz couldn't help feeling on edge… like something else was in the room with them.
Screeeeech. Luz saw a huge shadow swooping down toward King, and, just as she did with Amity the week before, Luz used her body to cover King. Luz felt talons against her right arm, the one she used to cover her face and neck, but oddly it didn't hurt as much as it should. The large beast continued its fly-by assault, and landed a few feet away from the duo. With the beast now staring her down Luz could make out its face, and it only took a moment for Luz to recognize it. She shuddered as the beast rushed them again. Luckily, Luz was able to pull King into a roll that saved them, and caused the beast to stumble face first into the wall stunning it. Taking the window before it closed, Luz rushed out of Eda's room, and hid in her own. After taking a breath she heard her little brother gasp, and looked down at him to find out what was scaring him how, but then she got a look at her arm.
Luz wasn't bleeding, but her arm looked weird. Using her phone Luz got a better look at it, and couldn't understand what she was seeing. Luz had studied, and played with snakes enough to identify what was going on, but it still didn't make sense to her. With a slight tremble, Luz used her left hand to slowly pull away the loose top layer of skin, and it fell away just as easily as she expected, like pulling off a slightly damp rubber glove. Luz marveled at the luminous violet scales underneath, that now covered her entire forearm and down to the back of her hand/finger tips. Gingerly Luz poked them, and was rewarded with a slightly tenderness in her arm. The junior vet part of her brain was running a mile a minute as it remembered instances of snakes molting early due to injury, and how soft and moist said scales had been, just like hers.
King looked both awed, and terrified by Luz's 'situation', and it wasn't helped when he looked into his sisters eyes, and saw them with slit pupils. This proved too much as King recoiled in fear, forcing Luz out of her own head. Tenderly Luz tried to reassure King without getting any closer, "King, I don't know what's going on, but we have more important things to deal with. We have to find a way to catch that beast without hurting it. My arm can wait."
King stammered, "But what about your eyes Luz? Are… are you turning into some kind of serpent demon?"
Luz started shaking slightly as she used her phone to look at her face, and got a good look at her own eyes. With a small squeak, Luz accidentally flashed herself with her camera, and once more saw the rune from the hospital. Remembering one of their earlier lessons, Luz spoke calmly, "Professor King, I need you to focus for a second. That beast is too strong and fast to fight directly, but it has to have a weakness we can use against it… black eyes!"
King cocked his head, and said, "What about them? Sure black eyed demons are usually sensitive to light, but Hooty's out, and I doubt your phone is powerful enough to make a difference.
Luz pondered, but felt compelled to try her magic again. With the rune still fresh in her mind, Luz gingerly used her scaled right hand to try to make a circle, and something started to form. It was only a slight reaction, but it was enough to make Luz try again with all of the focus she could. King sat in awe as a purple circle took shape before collapsing into a warm golden mote of light. Luz couldn't help a giddy smile coming to her face as she held the small light, her first spell. After a minute, Luz tried to experiment, and to her surprise as long as she focused on the light rune when she spun her circle she could make her light motes, a small light shield, or light blast by thinking about one of the glyphs she saw when watching Eda cast. It felt like the rune supplied the type of magic, and the glyph told it what shape to take. Saving the rest of her energy, because Luz was starting to get slightly winded, Luz and King started forming a plan.
Carefully the duo crept closer to Eda's room to put their plan into action. As they entered, the two separated, seeing the beast asleep in Eda's nest. King, trying to be as quiet as possible, started looking for more of the potion they had found broken on the floor earlier since they figured it must have been important, and they both remembered seeing Eda drinking something similar from time to time. While he looked, Luz did her best to stay visible, and ready to distract the beast if it woke up. After a few agonizing minutes, King found where Eda stored her potions, and started to look for one that still looked full, but the clanking of empty glassware finally caused the beast to stir.
With a loud roaring screech, the beast lunged at Luz, but she managed to block most of the assault by using her right hand to create a small shield. She only suffered another nonpainful gash to her arm, but this time to her left as the beast thrashed at her from around the side of her shield. Knowing she needs to start focusing on creating a large light flash, and that they will only get one chance to use it at its full effect as repeated flashes would have deteriorating results. Luz made a new shield with her left hand, and started carefully layering light spells on top of each other like Luz had seen her Mom do earlier when she made the dome shield with her right. With a slightly nervous tone, Luz yelled, "I don't mean to rush you, but…" The beast screechs again, and tries to pin Luz under her shield. "Can you hurry up!?"
Finally King let out a happy shout as he pulled out two potions, and seeing that, Luz released her flash spell. It didn't go off like one huge flash like she had planned, but two dozen rapid flashes in quick succession, and directly in the beast face was just as effective. When the duo could see again they saw the beast knocked out, and gently Luz started feeding it the potions until it shrank, and Eda was back to normal.
Two hours later, Eda woke up with a throbbing migraine, and found King cuddling her under a warm blanket. As Eda's head slowly started to clear, she felt her heart rate increase. She had changed… but beyond a destroyed room King looked unharmed, and… Oh Titan… where's Luz? Did she hurt her new Owlet? Eda found herself begging the Titan, "Please, not again. This couldn't be happening again." But then Eda saw a mote of light drift by, and she followed its path back to the relaxing form of Luz as she slowly created small orbs of light in varying colors and giggled to herself. Eda felt herself start to calm down until Luz heard movement from the nest, and created a slightly larger orb. Eda gasped as she saw the bandages covering Luz's forearms all the way to her fingertips, and Luz's intense serpent gaze.
Luz apparently heard her Owl Mom's gasp as she tried to smile, and say, "Morning Mom… I think we might need to talk."
Author Notes- Firstly let me say, thank you WildImaginator21. This might not match up perfectly with your initial idea, but your idea definitely seeded this amazing Idea. This is wholly my own spin, but without you I might never have started thinking about this concept. Thanks again bud, and I hope you enjoy. Don't worry everyone, I have every intention to finish every story I start, but I get burnt out or blocked up after a while when a new idea takes root, and instead of trying to fight through I'm giving in. I'm not going to post anything I don't think I'll be able to see through, but if I get a wild idea, and it looks promising… my list is about to explode. I have ADD squirrel brain, and for that I'm sorry.
So on to my thoughts. This Luz had a unique reaction to being made an easy mark by Adagast, and I hope I made that clear. She's still just as kind, but she sacrificed a bit of her naive wonder for an unstoppable drive to be the best she can be. She isn't changing her dream. She's just no longer blinded by 'destiny', and instead is going to write her own story. No more waiting for things to happen, she's going to make them happen. This Luz is also more forward so that's going to cause its own ripples. Don't worry any future Lumity dates will be much more in depth. This one was just kinda typical so there wasn't much to work with, and neither expected it to be a date so they weren't prepared. Also Amity getting 'attached' to Luz this quickly is very common after what Luz did, and honestly Luz is the first person to ever care about Amity that honestly and openly. Relationship jet fuel at its best. If anyone has any comments I'd love to hear them. In the meantime Shine on beautiful readers. Shine on.