A/N: Hello, hello. I still haven't found the will to update my other fanfics yet, so I have returned to this one with Episode 6 underway! As mentioned in the last chapter, Lizzie will once again be in 'Plot B' and accompany King and Eda to the night market, allowing Luz and co. to get up to their antics in 'Plot A'. Some of you are probably disappointed by that, but never fear. This was done intentionally. While it is in character for Lizzie to be involved in Eda's mess, she is also going to be involved in other original antics that occur at the night market, orchestrated by yours truly. As a result, I don't know how many chapters the sixth episode is going to take up, but I estimate it'll be around two at least. If I somehow manage to hit three, I'll be surprised. I also tried to provide a 'convenient' explanation for Luz's phone here because... yeah. It never occurred to me how she actually managed to get it fixed after she busted her camera and then used it for recordings. But anyways, I don't know when Chapter 17 will be out. As previously mentioned I will be busy, so there could be quite a delay. Either way, I hope this chapter holds you over for the time being. And, regarding the chapter's title... I made another pun from a popular Shakespeare quote this time from his play 'Macbeth'. I'm sure a lot of you will know the original reference. I had fun with it. XD
Thank you to everyone who has favourited, followed, reviewed, and read this fanfic so far. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. I'll now get onto replies to reviews.
Demon dark mezzo sangue: Wow. This is a lot. But I'll do my best to answer the questions that I can. Thank you for your comments about the plot and characters. It's a relief to know I'm doing okay with their portrayals even when straying away from canon. Regarding 'Lost in Language', I actually do plan on having her involved in Luz's plot with Amity. Even though I've gone about adding original scenes to give Luz and Lizzie some bonding time, I realise the pair haven't really done much together since Chapter 4, so this episode looked like a good opportunity for further bonding. I'm also planning on using this episode to give Luz a bit of a boost in her research towards the glyphs. Because the story is focused on Lizzie and she is a witch using the common method for magic, it's natural she would develop her skills quicker than Luz does. Yet I still plan to have Luz try and explore her uncovered method of magic to avoid it clashing with canon events. So, she won't be getting anything yet, but that doesn't mean she won't be making progress in her own way. Unfortunately, Lizzie's potions won't be involved with Hooty when the house animates. Since she'll be going with Eda, she'll take her potions with her, while keeping any spares and equipment somewhere safe. Plus, there isn't much expansion in the show about what happens with the items when the house stands and moves around, so there isn't much for me to work with there. But I will say that even if they did fall and break, Hooty wouldn't be affected. The potions would just cause a mess and destruction. And regarding King... he and Eda don't necessarily have much of a parent-kid relationship at this stage. She doesn't really coddle King, so it would be strange for her to do what she does for, say, Lizzie or Luz. However, following canon, I'm still going to have Eda express her 'motherly love' for him in other ways. That has happened in a few of the chapters already.
Chapter 16: Double, Double Hexes Trouble
Since she'd moved into the Owl House, Lizzie had slowly adapted to the fact that no day living alongside Eda, King, and Hooty was ever 'normal'. One way or the other, something out of the ordinary or disastrous was bound to happen, whether big or small. That notion was further proven with Luz's arrival into the cottage, where she'd wound up dragging Lizzie into messes the young witch would have never imagined finding herself in. But today, on this fine afternoon on the Boiling Isles, Lizzie felt there was a different air about the Owl House than in previous days, and she blamed what had gone down at Covention for it.
Both Lizzie and Luz had found themselves at the centre of unpleasant situations. For Lizzie, it had been the showdown with Lilith and her stalker. For Luz, it had been her unwanted rivalry with Amity Blight to prove she was worthy of being called a 'witch'. And yet, a new sense of confidence and purpose had risen from their plights. Luz was determined to learn more about the technique of magic she'd uncovered, and Lizzie strived to learn more spells to help defend herself against the dangers posed against herself and the other residents of the Owl House. With these goals in mind, the young witch and human had agreed to help the other out however they could, bringing us to the current scene.
Lizzie stood a small distance away from the front of the Owl House with her arms folded, watching Luz from where she was standing close to the front door with Hooty's neck bent and raised a bit into the air. The young Latina stuck her tongue out to the side and lifted her phone vertically in front of her face, pointing the camera at the older blonde while the video was recording.
"And we're rolling!" Luz announced with a wide grin, releasing her hand from her phone for a few seconds to wave at Lizzie. "Say 'hi', Liz!"
Lizzie rolled her eyes in response, tilting her head as she eyed the phone being pointed her way. "I still don't know how your phone works, but didn't you say it was broken last time?"
"Uh-huh! But that was just the camera flash. I can still record."
Lizzie nodded and unfolded her arms, putting a hand to her hip. "All right. Which spells did you want me to cast again?"
"The fire and water spells. I think it's best I start with locating the symbols of the elements first."
"Smart."
Luz briefly let go of the phone to pat Hooty's side, never once breaking eye contact from her screen. "You ready, Hooty?"
Hooty frowned and straightened his neck out, focusing his gaze on Lizzie. "I was born ready!"
Lizzie's eye twitched at this as she shuffled back a little, feeling her nerves getting to her already. She was already well aware of Hooty's capabilities as a house demon, so when he'd insisted on helping Lizzie improve her tactics and strength by acting as her opponent… well…
"Uh… Are you sure you want to do this, Hooty? I don't need a sparring partner."
Hooty straightened his neck up and nodded stiffly. "Abso-hootly! Eda should be helping you, but since she's too busy, I'm happy to step in and feed you my wisdom!"
Lizzie squinted a little and gripped at her elbow. "I don't know. You're very unpredictable."
"And I didn't know you had wisdom," Luz muttered while briefly pointing the phone camera at him, but Hooty never heard her.
"Which is why it works! After fighting me, you'll be prepared for anything and everything! Hoot hoot!"
Lizzie huffed and slumped her shoulders in defeat, knowing she couldn't argue with that logic because… Hooty did actually have a point.
'As much as I don't want to admit it, Hooty's right. It was easy for me to predict the kinds of attacks Warden Wrath and Adegast had after quick observation. But my stalker knows how to use a variety of spells due to being under the Emperor's Coven. If I'm going to improve my fighting abilities, I need to be prepared for anything.' Lizzie's jaw twitched as she eyed Hooty, who stared back at her without blinking. 'Even if that means fighting an annoying house demon…'
Lizzie took on a wide stance and breathed deeply through her nostrils, holding out her right index finger in preparation to draw a spell circle. "Fine. Here I go!"
Hooty stretched a small distance away from the door and to the right with narrowed eyes, hunching his neck ready to dodge whatever Lizzie was about to fire at him. "Don't hold back!"
With Luz adjusting her position to get Lizzie's spell circle in the shot from her phone, the blonde witch drew a medium-sized spell circle and sent a ball of flames soaring towards the house demon, quickly following up with another spell circle of a similar size with her left index finger to fire a spurt of water in the same direction. Naturally, Hooty dodged both with ease, zigzagging his neck to the right to avoid the flames and then zigzagging to the left to dodge the water.
Hooty's beak morphed into a semblance of a cocky smirk as he relaxed his neck, tilting his head to the side at the unmoving blonde witch. "Is that all you've got?!"
"Nope," Lizzie answered and pointed both index fingers towards the house demon, alighting the tips with a quick bend. "That was just for Luz's benefit."
Hooty's smirk dropped when Lizzie drew two spell circles at the same time and simultaneously fired streams of water and fire in his direction, only to quickly step to the right and repeat the same action again. Hooty instinctively raised his neck up and moved in the opposite direction to dodge the oncoming streams, only for his eyes to widen at seeing Lizzie twirling the same way and firing another pair of water and fire streams directly at him.
"HOOT!"
Despite his shocked screech, Hooty managed to force himself downwards before the water and flames could hit him, missing them by a couple of inches. Luz gasped and grinned as she kept the filming going, her gaze fixed on Lizzie's movements all the while.
"That's a nice technique!"
Lizzie smiled and held her chin up. "Thank you. I had some inspiration from Eda's and Lilith's duel."
"But it's not enough to use the spells you're already comfortable with," Hooty said, bending his neck back a little in preparation to charge forward. "Ready or not, here comes Hooty!"
Hooty shot forward with his head poised to headbutt Lizzie, prompting the young witch to move her right foot in a wide, circular motion in the dirt with her toe and spin round once. A glowing spell circle formed around Lizzie and caused the ground underneath her feet to tremble, which she took as her cue to crouch and push her right hand up towards the sky. Luz's mouth dropped open when Lizzie was suddenly lifted into the air by an earth pillar emerging from the circle, her phone tilting as she followed the movement. Meanwhile, Hooty was inches away from closing in on the pillar, but at the last second he managed to turn sharply to the left to avoid a collision, causing the house demon to sigh heavily with a bead of sweat rolling down his face.
"Hoot! That was close!" Hooty scowled and twisted his neck upwards, charging headfirst towards Lizzie again. "But that isn't gonna stop me!"
Lizzie took a couple of steps back from the edge of the pillar before holding both hands palm-up, briefly drawing a wide spell circle with her right index finger. The blonde's forcefield flashed into existence in front of her moments before Hooty's face collided with it, but the impact revealed just how flimsy her spell was. All it took was one hit for the forcefield to crack and shatter into pieces that vanished into mid-air, causing Lizzie to stumble backwards because of the force.
"Whoa!"
She tried to regain her balance by rolling her arms out on either side of her, yet it did nothing to stop her from going backwards over the edge of the pillar. Lizzie managed to twist her body round to her front while plummeting towards the ground, but because the drop was short, she was too slow in bringing her finger forward to draw a spell circle as she closed in on the ground. Luckily for the blonde witch, someone else had her back.
A brown blur stretched underneath her and caught the young witch when she was only a little way above the ground, catching her by the middle and leaving her legs and arms to dangle limply in the air. "Hootsy daisy!"
Lizzie groaned and hung her head at realising Hooty had caught her, mumbling her thanks under her breath. "Thanks, Hooty."
Taking that as a sign the fight was over, Luz stopped filming and lowered her phone to run over to the pair, making sure the video she'd recorded was saved as she did so.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Lizzie replied as Hooty lowered himself to the ground and allowed the young witch to climb off him. Lizzie fixed her hat and glanced up at the pillar with drooped eyes. "Looks like my forcefield spell still needs some work. At least I've gotten the earth spell down."
"What you did was pretty impressive, though."
"Thanks." She scratched at her cheek with a finger. "You didn't have to film the whole fight."
Luz shook her head and smiled. "I know. But I thought it would be good for you to look back on too, for improvement."
"That's true." Lizzie stepped to Luz's side and pointed at her phone. "Did the spell circles appear clearly enough?"
"Let's see."
Luz replayed the video from the beginning with a simple tap against the screen, allowing her and Lizzie to silently watch until it reached the part they wanted. Lizzie's spell circles for the fire and water spells appeared clearly enough in the recording that the pair should have been able to see the symbols when they popped up, even with the cracked screen. But nothing happened. Luz and Lizzie were left raising their brows as the video played normally, showing Lizzie firing her attacks without stopping or showing anything in the middle of the circles prior to the attacks firing from them.
"What?" Luz questioned, her brow furrowing as she tapped the screen to pause the video. "Where are the symbols? Last time, the video glitched out and the light symbol appeared in the spell circle. Why isn't it doing that now?"
Lizzie squinted at the screen and scratched at her head. "Well, it only happened after you busted your phone, right? Maybe it was a special circumstance?"
Luz pouted and slumped her shoulders. "This sucks." She slipped her phone back into her pockets and kicked at the ground. "How come you get a cool new spell while I'm still stuck with one?"
Lizzie frowned and wrapped an arm around Luz's shoulders, attempting to be comforting. "Hey, c'mon. We're not in competition, Luz."
"I know, but…" Luz briefly trailed off and looked up at Lizzie, rubbing a hand against her other arm. "I can't do much with the light spell. You saw me against Amity the other day. I was no match for her."
"But that doesn't mean the progress you've already made isn't something to be proud of." Lizzie lightly poked the tip of Luz's nose, causing the young Latina to flinch and shut her eyes for a few seconds. "The fact you've uncovered a method of magic that's been long forgotten is huge. That gives you a big advantage over a lot of other creatures in the isles."
Luz said nothing to that and lowered her head again with drooped eyes, prompting the older blonde to huff.
'Geez. It's like déjà vu with King and his book on demons.'
Lizzie leaned down closer to the teen's face. "Luz, I think you're approaching this whole issue from the wrong angle."
Luz focused on Lizzie with a raised brow. "Huh?"
"Magic isn't just about how many spells you can cast. It's also about how you use them. Taking the time to build up their effects and power is important, even if it's the same spell. I mean, look at me." Lizzie gestured a hand towards her earth pillar nearby. "I recently learnt the forcefield spell. But because it's currently weak, I couldn't stop Hooty from defeating me as quickly as he did. So, I need to practice holding the forcefield for longer for it to become more effective in fights."
"But how can I do that with my light symbol?" Luz held a palm up to stare at. "The spell doesn't work unless I touch the symbol, and all that does is bring forth an orb of light."
Lizzie pulled away and held her arms out with a shrug. "Well, that's typically all the light spell does. But you've seen how useful they are at blinding foes. And since it's an orb,"—She moved her right hand like she was imitating throwing something at the ground—"you can hold it and throw it. That's the best way to make a big flash."
Luz gaped and clenched her hand into a fist. "Like your light potions?"
"Exactly! And it's not just your light spell you can improve too." Lizzie traced her finger around her palm. "Because you have to draw the symbols before you can activate the spell, that'll slow you down. Maybe you could prep some drawings in advance."
Luz's brows furrowed as she placed a hand to her chin, taking a moment to process the idea. "Oh, yeah. That would save a lot of time." She smiled and held up a finger on her other hand. "And since the spell doesn't activate unless I touch it, that opens up so many possibilities for sneak attacks!" She swiped her hand through the air and smacked it against her other palm. "Like slapping the paper onto my opponent, or on the ground!"
Lizzie grinned and placed a hand to her hip. "See? Doesn't sound so bad now, does it?"
Luz shook her head, her smile widening a little. "Thanks, Liz. You really know your stuff for someone who wasn't interested in magic training."
Lizzie's grin dimmed down to a small smile. "Trust me, I have to experiment with my potions all the time. The same logic can apply to magic. Plus, Eda is a big fan of this kind of method." She placed her hands behind her back and puffed out her chest a bit. "She believes experimenting can yield results that can't be achieved by sticking to the rules."
Luz chuckled at that. "And that's why everyone on the Boiling Isles is out to get her."
Lizzie winked. "Precisely."
"Although, speaking of Eda," Luz glanced back towards the cottage with the tilt of her head. "she's been really quiet in there. Didn't she say she was gonna help us with our training?"
"Pha!" Hooty scoffed as he curled his way back towards the front door. "Eda's probably still playing cards. She's obsessed!"
"Cards?" Luz repeated, turning to Lizzie with a raised brow. "You mean the paper rectangles that old people think are fun?"
Lizzie snorted and started to walk towards the cottage, prompting Luz to quickly jog after her. "I don't know what card games you have in the Human Realm, but Hexes Hold'em is not just for the elderly. It's one of the trickiest card games to exist in the Boiling Isles."
"So, they're like… magical trading cards?"
"Uh…" Lizzie frowned at Luz's words for a few seconds, obviously not understanding what she was talking about. But eventually she gave a verbal answer with a shrug to match. "Yeah, sure."
"Oooh," Luz commented, muttering something else in Spanish that Lizzie didn't quite catch.
Hooty swung the front door open when Lizzie and Luz were close enough to the doorway, allowing the pair to stand over the threshold and peek into the living room. Eda was sat on the red sofa in front of the coffee table with one leg crossed over the other, holding five cards between her hands. She was staring at the front of the cards with a wide smirk on her face, while the backs (which were coloured black on the top half and purple on the bottom half) faced away from her. A lone eye with a green pupil and white top eyelashes and black bottom eyelashes was placed in between the coloured halves, animated to the point that they blinked and moved to look up at Eda in sync. Luz shuddered at that and recoiled, whereas Lizzie remained indifferent.
Owlbert stood on the other side of the table wearing a little green visor on his head, clutching his own set of cards between his feathery wings. Two books were piled behind him on the floor and a stack of cards was placed to his right, while nine cards were laid face-up on the table between the Owl Lady and her owl palisman, with four on Eda's side with a gap in the middle and five on Owlbert's. They each depicted images of strange looking creatures or symbols with a variety of colours, lacking any writing on them to explain what they were or to give specific information. The pair were too far away to properly see the images, but they were close enough for Luz to get the gist of how the cards typically appeared. King was sat on the right arm of the sofa, observing Eda and Owlbert as the former raised a brow and narrowed her eyes at the little owl, with the latter narrowing his in return.
Lizzie sighed quietly at this and folded her arms, commenting in a low voice to avoid drawing attention towards her and Luz in the doorway. "Looks like she's still in the middle of a game. I can't remember the last time I saw her without cards in her hands."
Luz shuffled closer to Lizzie and placed the back of her hand to the side of her mouth, responding in a whisper. "I don't understand what's happening."
"The rules of Hexes Hold'em are simple." Lizzie crouched a little beside the shorter human and placed a hand to her shoulder as Eda focused on her held cards. "Each player selects five cards from their deck to battle against their opponent's." Lizzie pointed at Eda when the Owl Lady drew the card on the far right of her deck, prompting Luz to follow her gaze as the card was placed down in the gap. "And when all ten cards are placed face down…"
A static golden streak suddenly ignited above all ten cards, making Owlbert drop his held cards and flap his wings to hover off the table. As he landed on the book pile out of the way, the cards sprouted four thin black legs (two on either side) and slowly pushed themselves to stand, causing Luz's eyes to widen and Lizzie to smirk out of amusement. The cards on Eda's side split open at the top to reveal a thin mouth and jagged teeth, which they used to let out a loud roar. Owlbert's cards did the same thing in response before they immediately advance forward, with Eda's cards backing up before being assaulted. Both sets of cards stood on their back legs and swatted at each other with their front legs, causing Luz's brows to raise.
"Whoa. They literally battle each other."
"Of course they do." Lizzie gave Luz a rough pat on the back, causing the younger girl to stumble forward a bit. "You're in the Demon Realm, Luz. A lot of things are possible here."
"Yeah. I should know that by now." Luz scratched at her chin and turned back to the cards still swatting each other on the table. "But wait. How do you win at Hexes Hold'em?"
"Good question." Lizzie tilted her head towards Owlbert, who was staring at Eda with a squint and his beak twisted in a smug-like manner. "There are two ways a player can win. Either they use a deck that overpowers the opponent's, or…" Lizzie trailed off at seeing Eda grin and take another card from the ones in her hands, flipping it around to reveal a tall black tower with a spiked roof surrounded by black triangles depicted on a red background. "…they bring out a special card, like the wild card that Eda's holding."
Eda's card took on a green glow around the edges and on the image, causing Owlbert's cards to briefly burst into flames. Those flames then clashed together to spell out 'WINNER: EDA' in the air before disappearing into nothing. Luz's hazel eyes sparkled as she clenched her hands into fists close to her chest, with Lizzie using this opportunity to stand upright again and pull away from the young human.
"That was awesome! I wish the cards back in the Human Realm could do that!"
Owlbert flew back onto the table and bowed low with his wings stretched out, as if to gracefully admit defeat. Meanwhile, Eda stood up with her fists in the air and cheered loudly.
"Whoo! I win again!" Eda briefly bent forward and pointed a finger close to Owlbert's face, grinning from ear-to-ear. "In your adorable owl face!"
Owlbert only blinked and leaned his head back a bit in response, appearing unfazed by Eda's gloating.
"Ahem," Lizzie loudly cleared her throat to get Eda's attention, prompting the older witch to glance her way with a wide blink.
"Oh, hey, Lizzie, Luz. How's the spell practice going?"
The blonde witch smirked in response. "Perfectly fine, thanks for asking." She raised a brow and jabbed a thumb in Hooty's direction, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Hooty here gave us some useful pointers for improvement. He's been a great substitute in your absence."
Hooty blushed and gave a bashful smile, failing to recognise the sarcasm. "Aw, shucks! I was doing what any good house demon would!"
Eda straightened out and put a hand to her hip with another blink. "Why didn't you come and get me? I was supposed to help you out, wasn't I?"
Lizzie's smirk widened as she continued with her sarcastic responses. "Yes. But we didn't want to disturb you. After all…" Lizzie gestured to the cards on the table. "you have been occupied with… other important things."
Lizzie knew Eda had finally caught on when the Owl Lady's eyes narrowed. "Hey. I do not have a problem."
"Says the witch who has a problem," King retorted, prompting Lizzie to snort and turn away with a hand to her mouth. "You've been playing Hexes Hold'em a lot lately. I can't remember the last time I saw you leave the Owl House."
Eda rolled her eyes. "That is not true!"
Lizzie and King exchanged brief glances before the former took over, her smirk dimming down to a sly smile. "Oh, really? Have you eaten yet?"
"No."
"Did you go to bed last night?" King asked.
"No."
He pointed a claw at her dress. "So, those are the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?"
"Yes."
"And why's that?" Lizzie questioned.
"Because I was playing—" Eda cut herself off and blinked widely when the realisation hit her, causing Lizzie's smile to widen and King to laugh a little while holding his tummy.
"Face it, Eda."—King leaned forward on the chair arm with a squint—"You're obsessed."
"Yeah. With victory." Eda closed her eyes and turned her nose up to the ceiling. "It's not my fault victory feels…" She trailed off and opened her eyes around the time dark grey feathers suddenly sprouted up across her arms and shoulders, causing Lizzie's, Luz's and King's eyes to widen in sync while she raised her brows. "…fluffy?"
King climbed over the side of the arm and dangled towards the floor, with Luz backing up behind Lizzie and addressing the Owl Lady with a shaky voice when the blonde witch took on a wide stance. "E-Eda…"
"What?" Eda reached a hand up to her mouth, remaining oblivious to the feathers on her body. "Have I got something on my face?"
"It's happening again!" King cried and dropped onto the ground, dashing over to cling to Lizzie's closest ankle.
"What is?"
"Your curse, Eda!" Lizzie answered, finally forcing Eda to get a better look at her arm. The Owl Lady yelped at the sight of the feathers.
"Ah! Where'd those come from?!"
Lizzie turned to Luz with a frown, which the young Latina was quick to return. The pair knew there was no need to panic, as they'd planned for such an occasion after the last incident. "Luz?"
"On it!"
Luz gave a quick salute and sped out of the living room to head in the direction of the stairs. Eda furrowed her brows as she watched the young human go. "Where's Luz off to?"
"Your room," Lizzie replied, taking on a wide stance while King proceeded to shuffle his way behind her with his paws still on her ankle. "She's going to retrieve your elixir. In the meantime,"—she raised her index finger in case she needed to cast a spell, scowling—"you're not going anywhere."
Eda held up her hands and attempted to step forward, only for Lizzie and King to take a step back in sync. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, kid."
"Sorry, Eda, but we can't take any chances after last time."
Eda's brow creased as she placed her hands to her hips. "Oh, come on! Was I really that bad?"
There was a brief pause as the witch and little demon waited for any indication that was joking. But when she didn't budge, Lizzie's eyes drooped at this, her hands gesturing towards her back. "You scratched me and sent me and King falling from the second floor."
King scowled and pointed accusingly at Eda. "You also tried to eat me and Luz!"
"And you knocked out Hooty!"
Hooty nodded stiffly. "Yeah! You traumatised me for life! Hoot hoot!"
Eda groaned and rubbed a hand against her forehead. "Okay, okay. I get it. But you both need to calm down. I'm not going to transform that quick."
King squinted at this. "I'm not buying it."
Eda huffed loudly and smacked a palm to her forehead. Luckily for the trio in the living room, Luz's footsteps were soon heard hurrying down the stairs and straight towards them. But instead of looking relieved when she skidded to a halt in the doorway, she looked the opposite, her face having paled to the point where she was as white as a sheet.
"Guys…" She began with a quiet squeak, her hands trembling as she brought them to her front. "… Eda's elixir chest is empty."
"What?!" Lizzie and King screeched and whipped their heads to Eda, who was rubbing her temples with her fingers.
"Dang! I didn't realise I was out." Lizzie opened her mouth to yell again, but she quickly closed it when Eda held up a hand. "But don't panic. We can get some more from the market."
That seemed to change the tune of Luz and King, prompting the former to give a wide smile and hold her fists above her head.
"Market!"
King copied Luz and closed his eyes, immediately releasing Lizzie. "I'm stealing anything that isn't nailed down!"
Lizzie huffed and let her shoulders slump at the reactions. "Fine. But I'm coming with you." Eda raised a brow at that, making Lizzie frown. "What?" Lizzie held out a hand towards the Owl Lady. "I'm not leaving Luz and King with you while you're covered in feathers. Someone has to be there in case of the worst outcome and they shouldn't have to be that someone."
Eda relaxed at this, quickly catching on to what Lizzie was getting at. "Good point."
The blonde witch nodded and started walking out of the room. "Glad you agree. Just let me get my stuff and we'll go."
"But before we go…" Lizzie stopped and turned around to see Eda forcing a smile and gesturing to the table. "…does anyone wanna play one more round of Hexes Hold'em?"
Lizzie scrunched her face up, keeping her focus on Eda even though she saw Luz slip past her and tip toe towards the table outside of the Owl Lady's sight. "Really? We don't have time for this, Eda!"
"Sure we do!" Eda stepped round the table and approached Lizzie, with the latter briefly watching as Luz took the chance to collect the cards into a stack and then crouch beside Owlbert to whisper something to him. "How about you and I play a hand? I can teach you some of my tips and tricks."
Lizzie pinched the bridge of her nose and frowned sternly, watching Owlbert from the corner of her eyes as he took the cards from Luz into his claws. "No. You can play another round after we get your elixir."
The blonde witch flinched when Eda roughly knocked her closest shoulder with her knuckles. "C'mon! Stop being a—"
"Hoo!"
Owlbert's hooting drew the two witches' attention to him hovering by the door, with Eda gaping at sighting her cards between the owl's talons. "My cards!" The little owl swirled round and flew straight out the door, prompting Eda to scowl and run after him with clenched fists. "Owlbert, you sore feathery loser! Give me back my cards!"
Lizzie watched Eda go with a wide blink, only to then turn to a smiling Luz standing by the table with her hands behind her back. "… What did you do?"
Luz shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head to the side a bit. "I told Owlbert to fly ahead with Eda's cards to get her out of the house."
King burst into loud laughter and fell back onto his bottom, while Lizzie chuckled a bit and smirked. "Well, I don't know if I should be concerned or impressed by your cunning."
Luz laughed and jabbed a thumb towards the hallway. "I suggest you get your stuff before Eda catches Owlbert."
"Good call." Lizzie jogged out of the room, calling back to the young Latina as she did so. "I'll grab Eda's cloak too! Can't have people recognising her!"
Despite Eda's obsession with Hexes Hold'em getting in the way, Owlbert's intervention had done well to keep the Owl Lady distracted until Lizzie could grab her satchel and her cloak, along with Eda's dark red cloak as well. With Lizzie's promise that Eda could have her cards back once they'd gotten her elixir after the younger witch put them in her satchel, the older witch begrudgingly put her cloak on and flew herself and her three charges to Bonesborough's marketplace, specifically the shop 'Mr. Elixir', which Lizzie originally recognised the elixir's label to have come from. Unlike most of the other stalls and shops around it, 'Mr. Elixir' was nothing more than a rectangle window in a faded wall along the market's street, having only a light green sign with a dark green outline and the shop's name in fancy-looking white writing to indicate where it was, plus the dark blue sign underneath it that gave the list of pricings for specific products.
Lizzie had frequented this place a few times in the past when Eda had sent her on small errands for healing elixirs (not the curse-countering elixir, but elixirs that Eda kept in the Owl House in case of injuries and such), so it was easy for regulars like her and Eda to remember where the shop was despite its obscure placement and thus making themselves familiar to the shop's proprietor. Even now, Lizzie still wondered why the shop owner had never bothered to turn her or Eda in to the guards each time they came around, especially with the pair being on a name-to-name basis with him. But then again, she suspected it was because Eda actually paid for the elixirs and never stole them. And given how small the shop was despite the products being sold, Lizzie also suspected Eda was one of few customers keeping the place up and running…
Lizzie and Eda had expected the shop to be open; however, much to their surprise, the two cloak-hooded witches discovered upon arrival that while the wooden shutters were open, the metal grate was still across the window, with no sign of the shop's owner anywhere. Or so they thought… until Eda decided to bang a fist against the metal grate and shout at the other side, clutching her staff in her other hand for support.
"Morton! It's me! Open up!"
A timid and weak sounding male voice responded from somewhere within the darkness, causing Lizzie to raise a brow. "J-Just a second! I'll be right there!"
As Luz and King decided to walk over to a nearby wooden bench while waiting for Eda, Lizzie turned to the Owl Lady with a furrowed brow. "Does Morton sound a little off today or is it just me?"
"What do you mean?"
"How do I put this…?" Lizzie scratched at her cheek and briefly looked at her feet before returning her gaze to Eda's. "He sounds… sick."
Eda stared at her charge for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. In the time that I've known him, he doesn't sound much different."
Lizzie was prepared to say something else to the older witch, yet she was immediately stopped by the sounds of heavy footsteps and cartwheels rolling against the road behind them. The two witches glanced over their shoulders to see three individuals dressed in matching brown robes and dark brown cowls, pulling a rope bound, giant, purple, fluffy caterpillar like creature with horns on either side of its head and fanged jaw and wide purple eyes with yellow sclera on top of a flat wooden cart. A hooded creature with pale green skin, a jaw with a mix of round and fang-like teeth, and a single red eye with yellow sclera with their right eye covered by a black eye patch walked at the head, carrying a large and wide blade strapped to their back and an armour plate on their left shoulder. A witch with short purple hair and another hooded creature with dark green skin and a grumpy-looking face walked alongside the cart, pulling at the rope keeping the creature bound.
The two witches scowled at this sight, immediately recognising who they were and what they were up to. The same couldn't be said for Luz, though, who eventually stood up and approached Lizzie and Eda with her head tilted while watching the trio in the street pass through.
"Whoa. Didn't know the Boiling Isles had ominous parades."
"Those are demon hunters, Luz," Eda explained, keeping her eyes on the cart as the trio of hunters stopped still in the street. "You'd do best to keep your distance from them."
"Demon hunters?" Luz repeated, prompting Lizzie to continue while the captured creature yanked against its binds and forced the two hunters by the cart to yank back the ropes.
"They wander across the isles and capture beasts to sell for a quick profit." When the creature lurched forward and snapped its jaws at the leader, they took a couple of steps back before drawing a small green spell circle with their finger, bringing forth green crackling energy to their palm. Lizzie clenched her jaw as the leader thrust their palm forward and electrocuted the poor creature with green static, making it fall limp against the cart and close its eyes. "It's disgusting."
"So, they're like… magical poachers?"
Lizzie glanced at Luz with a slight frown. "… What?"
"Illegal hunters."
"Oh…" The blonde witch slowly nodded. "Yeah, something like that."
The leader eventually looked away and happened to lock eyes with Luz, only to frown and narrow their lone eye towards the young human. Luz thickly gulped and shuffled closer to Lizzie, while the latter narrowed her eyes in return until the leader decided to focus elsewhere.
"Yikes. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."
"And that right there is why I know I made the right decision being here." Lizzie looked to Eda and focused on the feathers sticking up on her arms. "We don't need Eda transforming and being captured by them."
Eda turned back to the shop window with a loud huff. "Which is going to happen soon"—She raised her fist and shouted as she banged on the metal grate—"if you don't open up, Morton!"
Lizzie and Luz faced the grate when they finally heard it being lifted, finding themselves greeted with the sight of a light skinned, lanky, adult witch (probably around a little older than Lizzie) with short brown hair and light brown eyes. He wore a long-sleeved, mint-green shirt (with matching fingerless gloves) underneath brown robes with a frog necklace around his neck and a grey funnel on top of his head. Lizzie immediately recognised this to be Morton, whom she squinted at.
'Gosh. He's looking a little paler than usual…'
"Sorry, Eda," Morton apologised, wrapping his arms around his middle and rubbing at it. "I was up poison tasting the whole night and for some reason I don't feel well today…"
"Wait…" Lizzie said, leaning forward slightly with her hands under her chin while looking Morton in the eyes. "You were poison tasting… and suddenly feel unwell. And you don't know why."
Morton stared at Lizzie with a couple of blinks before nodding twice to what she'd said. "Yes."
"…" Lizzie took a few seconds to wonder if Morton was genuinely naïve or he was attempting some sort of joke, yet Eda quickly ruined the moment with her intervention while waving an empty elixir vial around which she'd apparently pulled from her cloak. "Uh—"
"He's irony impaired, Lizzie. Forget it." The Owl Lady stepped closer and leaned an arm against the shop's counter, holding out the empty vial for Morton to take. "It's an emergency. I'm out of my juice."
Morton placed a hand under his chin and gripped the empty vial in his palm, his brow furrowing. "Oh, gee." He looked again to glance between Eda and Lizzie. "That explains why you're here together. I don't think I've ever seen you two in front of my shop at the same time."
"Can you do anything about this?" Lizzie asked, prompting Morton to raise his other hand.
"Let me see what I have."
As Morton crouched behind the counter and began rummaging through his collections of vials and elixirs, Lizzie peeked over her shoulder at hearing the cart belonging to the demon hunters move forward. In doing so, she spied Willow and Gus crossing the street in their Hexside uniforms, walking together with slouched shoulders and lowered heads.
"Willow and Gus!" Luz said upon noticing them, immediately running over with a wide smile on her face.
Lizzie didn't follow, instead choosing to observe Luz's approach and initial greeting. Gus and Willow were Luz's friends, after all. She didn't want to intrude on their conversation (which is why she was glad she was too far away to hear anything). However, despite how cheery and animated Luz appeared, the blonde witch could see from their body language and the fact their reactions didn't change that the pair of young witches were down-in-the-dumps. Eda had noticed as well, joining in Lizzie's observation as Luz squinted at them with a hand to her chin, looking to be suspicious of them herself.
"Oof. What do you think's wrong with Dweebus and Glasses over there?"
Lizzie's eyes followed the direction of Willow's thumb when she jabbed it at four female teenage witches a little further down the street, standing in front of a food stall. There was one witch with pink skin, three grey-blue coloured eyes and violet hair tied into a bun, dressed in the Potions Magic Track Hexside uniform. She was holding a bottled drink and smiling towards two dark-skinned witches laughing together (one of whom had pinkish-grey hair tied into a ponytail, grey eyes and was wearing the Bard Magic Track uniform, while the other had brown wavy hair, brown eyes hidden behind square glasses and was wearing the Healing Magic Track uniform) and tossing food into each other's mouths from a packet. The fourth witch Lizzie recognised as Amity, who was currently wearing the Abominations Magic Track uniform and seemed preoccupied staring at a circular object in her right hand.
Seeing Amity amongst the group helped Lizzie to put two-and-two together. "Well, if I was to guess… I'd say it has something to do with bullying."
The latter word was spoken with a hint of venom, causing Eda to raise a brow at her charge. However, the two witches were soon distracted by Morton poking his head over the counter, prompting the pair to face him.
"So… I've got good news and bad news." He frowned and glanced at the floor. "The bad news is that I'm all out and won't be getting a new shipment until next week." He forced a smile. "But the good news is that feathers are a good look for you. Ha ha…"
Eda rested her staff against the wall with a scowl, balling her hands into fists and stomping closer to the window. "Morton!"
Morton leapt to his feet when Eda gnashed her teeth together, but he was saved by Lizzie's interference when she got between the window and the Owl Lady, lowering her eyebrows and prompting the older witch to halt her in her tracks. "Hey. Don't you go getting mad at him. This is your fault."
Eda stared at Lizzie with raised brows, her scowl deepening. "My fault?"
Lizzie jabbed a finger into the older witch's chest, making Eda step back. "You've had plenty of time to restock your elixir. And you could have asked me to get it for you, if you weren't feeling up to it. This is on you."
Morton peeked slightly from behind Lizzie. "She's right, you know. Why did you wait until now?"
Eda folded her arms and looked off elsewhere, avoiding eye contact. "I've been… busy."
"Yeah, busy playing Hexes Hold'em!" King shouted from the bench. "She's been obsessed with it!"
"I have not!"
Lizzie crossed her arms and looked down at her satchel. "Then why's your hand reaching for my satchel?"
Eda froze with her right hand hovering close to Lizzie's satchel, which Lizzie proceeded to lightly slap away. As the Owl Lady grumbled under her breath and rubbed at the back of her hand held to her chest, Lizzie faced Morton with both hands on the counter, her brow creasing.
"Normally I wouldn't beg, Morton, but Eda really needs that elixir. Do you know of anywhere she can get some to tide her over until next week?"
Morton briefly looked up at the ceiling and pressed his lips together, stroking at his chin. "Well, I don't usually suggest this to just anybody," He lowered his head with a slight squint as he focused back on the two witches, causing a shadow to be cast over his eyes from his funnel hat. "but if you're desperate for that elixir, you can try your luck later this evening..."
Eda's and Lizzie's eyes widened simultaneously, prompting the former to move to the latter's side and lower her voice to a whisper. They both knew what Morton was referring to. "Do you mean… the night market?"
Morton nodded slightly, quickly giving the street a sideways glance before continuing in a quiet voice. "There's a guy who's known to sell potions and elixirs under the name of 'Grimm Hammer'. If anyone has what you're looking for, it's going to be him."
Lizzie let out an exasperated sigh and placed a hand to her forehead, already not liking where this was going. However, she responded to Morton calmly after a moment or two. "Thank you, Morton. We appreciate the help."
Morton straightened out and relaxed his expression, acknowledging Lizzie's words with a nod. "My pleasure. Good luck."
Morton took this opportunity to step back into his shop and return to sorting out his inventory, allowing Eda and Lizzie to talk amongst themselves. Eda rested her chin on her hand, while Lizzie leaned her side against the counter with her palm holding up her cheek.
"So, Eda, what are you thinking? I'd try to talk you out of it, due to the night market's shady reputation. But if you really need that elixir, I don't think you've got much choice, do you?"
Eda shook her head to that and closed her eyes. "I know that place is going to cheat me out of snails, but…" She opened an eye and glanced towards the feathers on her arm, her gaze briefly flitting to Lizzie's side before quickly looking away. "…I can't risk another incident happening."
"Fair enough. In that case," Lizzie stood up straight and adjusted her cloak hood with a slight smile. "I'll come with you."
Eda's brows raised with a wide blink. "You will? What's brought this on?"
"Nothing. It's just a precaution." Lizzie gestured to Eda's arms. "Can't have you transforming in the middle of the market, can we? Plus…" The blonde witch wiggled her eyebrows and smirked, patting a hand against her satchel. "…my potions can help you make a quick getaway if Grimm Hammer tries to cheat you. After all, you're only stealing from an illegal vendor."
Eda mirrored Lizzie's smirk and reached a hand up to roughly pat her closest shoulder, only to then grab her staff and use it to hoist herself up. "I've taught you well."
Lizzie chuckled as Eda pulled away, with the moment soon interrupted by the cheery voice of Luz jogging back over to them.
"Eda!" Lizzie and Eda faced a grinning Luz with her fists at her front, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Gus, Willow and I want to have a moonlight conjuring. Can we—"
"No," Eda interrupted sternly, while Lizzie blinked out of surprise at what Luz had just said and glanced at the sky.
'A moonlight conjuring? It's that time of the year already?'
"I'm going out tonight to get my elixir," Eda continued, bringing Lizzie back to reality and forcing Luz to fall still. The Owl Lady started walking away from Mr. Elixir's window, prompting Lizzie and Luz to follow her. "I need you to watch the house until I return."
Luz frowned and pointed at Lizzie walking beside her. "Isn't that usually Lizzie's job?"
"Lizzie and King are coming with me." Eda stopped beside the bench and picked King up by the scruff of his neck, causing him to cry out. "I need one on standby in case the curse gets worse and another to keep an eye out for pickpockets." The Owl Lady smiled slyly and nudged Lizzie the ribs with her elbow. "And an eye for pickpocketing if I'm in the mood…"
Lizzie's eyes drooped, with King holding his arms above his head and loudly cheering.
"Yeah, pickpocket!"
Luz forced a smile and gestured towards Willow and Gus standing nearby. "Well, maybe if they came to the house, then—"
Eda shook her head and cut Luz off by shoving King close to her face. "No. I'm not leaving three unsupervised teenagers alone with the precious objects in my home. Besides, conjurings are dumb." The Owl Lady held up her hands and waved her staff and King about a bit with the roll of her eyes. "Sitting in a circle and holding hands? Psh. That's baby magic."
"Hey," Lizzie replied with a scowl, walking alongside Eda and pointing a finger into her own chest as the older witch started heading off again. "I used to do moonlight conjurings with my parents all the time. It was actually fun animating objects."
"Ha!" King laughed and pointed at Lizzie with an amused grin. "You had no friends!"
Lizzie responded by flicking King in the forehead, causing the little demon to flinch and clutch his skull. "It's not my fault nobody appreciated my uniqueness."
When King didn't respond, Lizzie noticed Luz wasn't around, causing her to stop and glance behind her, leaving Eda and King to go on ahead of her. She eventually saw Luz standing with Willow and Gus again, who were… waving their hands about and grinning?
'Huh. Their mood suddenly picked up…'
"Luz!" Lizzie called to the young Latina to get her attention, beckoning her over with a hand when she looked her way with a wide blink. "We've gotta go!"
"Coming!" Luz shouted back before facing Willow and Gus to bid them goodbye, quickly turning on her heels and pulling her hood over her head.
Lizzie watched Luz with a squint as she approached the older blonde and yanked on her hoodie strings to tighten her hood, hiding her mouth. The witch immediately recognised this to be something Luz did whenever she was acting odd, prompting her to speak up when the younger human reached her side.
"Are you hiding inside your hoodie again, Luz?"
Luz's voice was muffled, but Lizzie could still hear her clearly enough. "… Meow I'm not. I-I'm just… cold." When Lizzie narrowed her eyes further, Luz forced out a laugh and began to back away, twiddling with the strings of her hoodie as she did so. "We should really catch up to Eda. Get it? Catch?"
Luz laughed again before swirling around and speed-walking ahead of Lizzie, which the older blonde took as her cue to follow. However, the whole walk to catch up with Eda, Lizzie didn't stop staring at Luz's back, her mind refusing to let the human's odd behaviour go that easily. She should have been thinking about her preparations to go with Eda to the night market, but even she couldn't shake the feeling that something was… off.
'She's up to something, isn't she?'
