A Tough Week
Eda
I can't believe I'm doing this... Am I crazy? I mean, yes, but not this kind of crazy! Eda paced around her room, trampling over all the different clothes she had pulled out for her first day. As usual she was torn between her status quo of being aloof and cool, and making a good first impression, so she didn't make Bump or Luz regret the choices leading up to this. I am way over thinking this... The older witch put a pale hand to her face, still trying to reason with herself when suddenly across the back of her forearm she felt the all too familiar prickle of feathers sprouting. She needed to have better control of her reactions, or she risked feeding all the negative energy to the Owl Beast plaguing her. "Oh for Titan sake" She grumbled, plucking the feathers out with a scowl. As it turned out, the feathers sprouting spurred a quick decision from Eda now, tired of the back and forth with herself; twirling her finger and snapping she was suddenly clad in a red dress, although similar to her typical dress this one had quarter length dark red sleeves that went just passed her elbows. Instead of her red boots she decided to go with a more classic look and wear her black pair, feeling it better suited the atmosphere of a school. Ugh … One day at a time. the white-haired witch shuddered at her consideration to 'professionalism'. Strutting around her room a few more times she checked herself out at all angles, something felt missing, or out of place. Earings check, ring check, bad assery check, gold fang, check, screwed in tight, gem... check – a little dark but we'll take some elixir. Hmm "Oh! Haha, here we go" Suddenly she snapped her fingers in an 'aha!' moment and leaned down to the intact hem of her dress, using both hands she tore the bottom making the red dress tapper into the middle, a small change from the usual torn strip that went from being higher on one side than the other.
As the final tear was made King finally started to stir and come out of his deep slumber, giving a small yawn and rubbing his large eyes as Eda came into focus. Although he was adjusting to the idea of Luz being at school and visiting frequently, King was finding it difficult to come around to the idea of Eda being gone for the majority of the day where he couldn't even follow. Who would wanna follow anyways? Bleh. Not to mention the added stress and issues he knew Eda still had with that place, she might be putting on a brave face for Luz, but the small demon knew the witch extremely well and this was no small action. One day when I return to my former might I will take care of her, just like she's taken care of me. Just as King finished his solemn vow Eda noticed that he was awake and watching her from his position beside her nest bed.
With a small twist and gesture towards herself "What do you think?" She asked and made another gesture that summoned Owlbert from his position on his staff that was leaning up against her closet door. The small brown owl gave a little hoot and trill in response to the question, even if it was pointed at King, she thanked him and nuzzled the side of his face when the palisman came and landed on her shoulder.
It didn't take long for King to snap out of his thoughts and answer, "Fine enough, I guess." The demon took an indifferent tone with Eda, sitting up and crossing his arms as he stared at her. "Nothing was wrong with your dress before." He stated flatly, trying to keep the indifference in his voice. Eda, however, knew him far too well to know that he wasn't actually giving his opinion, had this been another day or activity he would have been far more encouraging and or mocking.
Not wanting to upset King before she had to go, she decided to take the diplomatic approach shocking , scooping him up, the action causing Owlbert to hoot frantically and fly to another perch. She cradled the small demon, holding him despite the small wiggling attempts he was making to escape her grasp. "You guess, huh?" She teased, only receiving a huff and a small 'weh' in reply as he still struggled to escape. "Remember, change brought us Luz, so, it can't all be bad right?" the sudden sincerity and softness of Eda's voice caught King off guard, the witch had somehow seen right into his private thoughts. "And don't pretend like you don't care, you know I know you way too well King." When her small ward stopped wiggling around in her arms, she lifted him up under his armpits and lowered him to the floor.
As soon as his feet touched the floor he let out a small huff and crossed his arms again, Sorcery He mentally complained and glanced back up at the tall witch, "Fine, I guess. I'm still not happy about it! And you have to make it up to me, and to Francois!" Marching back to where he fell asleep, he picked up his rabbit friend and made for the door, his small feet padding lightly against the hardwood floor. "We demand sustenance before you leave!"
The rest of the morning was much less eventful, thankfully, no more complaints or attitude from King, wardrobe issues or bursts of feathers. Leaving King in the capable – metaphorical hands – of Hooty she took off with Owlbert, it was still early and yet she somehow felt late. Deciding to take her time she coasted closer to the ground, watching as children from Bonesborough were ferried by their parents/guardians to the much smaller Hexside Elementary school. From there she watched groups of teenagers meandering toward the high school, just as she was about to lift Owlbert up and angle towards the school. Two teenage girls caught her eye, they were walking tight together, talking and laughing, their hair was matching in an orange fiery mess, one vastly more unkept than the other. What in the? Her golden eyes blinked a few times as if she was just waking up from a dream before trying to focus on the pair again. However, when she had finally been able to focus down again, they were gone. With a shudder and an extended sigh, she had Owlbert angle up and take her towards the college campus, unsure of what to think about what she had seen.
Talking with Principal Bump and getting the rundown of the situation was just as boring as she was dreading it would be, but she stayed and listened, pretending to take mental notes of the conversation. She had gotten the important parts, don't hurt the students, don't practice any ancient or forbidden magic, don't preach about anything anti-coven. Her responsibilities were more or less to be on call, sweep the school for foul magic and dispel it – regardless of if it was accidental or intentional – and make a report on it. Finally, she would be notified of all coven visits ahead of time and all teachers had sworn to have heard no mention of 'The Owl Lady' inside the school grounds if they were asked by coven members, parents or anyone outside of the school. It was all practical. "Gotcha bumpy-poo, no fun, no riots and don't be here unless you need me. Sounds like a great gig." Taking her feet off his desk, Eda finally made eye contact with the older man and was surprised by the intensity of his gaze.
"I just want you to know Edalyn, that you are protected here, as is your ward." Breaking eye contact with his former student, Principal Bump glanced at the time on his crystal ball and gestured for Eda to exit. "Here is your schedule, magical sweep for today and tomorrow you will teach Wild artifacts and human artifacts in History." Clearing his throat, he continued, "You will also need to steer clear of the school on Wednesday as we are expecting an envoy from the Emperors coven to come and do an inspection for funding. We need it to go smoothly, now, I have... Much paperwork to get through before then." His sigh was one of defeat and exhaustion, the pile of parchment to the man's left and the scrolls already piled to his right were a testament to his plight. He was so defeated and exhausted, the nick-name Eda had given him completely bounced off and went ignored.
Eda stood and snatched the parchment with her schedule from the edge of her former teacher's desk before turning around to exit, "Thanks Princy-B." The words were clear and sincere, holding much more thanks than just for the meeting, she wanted to thank him for the care he took when it came to Luz and allowing her to pursue her dream. For the rest of her first day, she swept through the halls of the college, inspecting oddities in magical energies and throughout the day she could feel sudden and unexpected spikes. Yet, no matter how hard she searched for those disruptions she didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Losing my touch. She snorted a laugh to herself, if there was one thing she was, it was confident, and she knew the years of hardship were perfect for detecting these sorts of abnormalities, it's part of why she's so difficult to capture. Yet, despite her confidence, there was a lot of powerful magic surging through the school that seemed to be more unruly than anything she'd conjured up within these walls. Just as the powerful witch was about to start back into her search, the bell rang – screamed – and regardless of all her years away, the bone shaking sound of the bells flicked a switch in her and before she knew it, she was making her way out one of the side doors. A habit she probably needed to get rid of, now that she worked here...
On her ride back to King she couldn't help but wonder how it was possible that there was so much unruly magic and yet every time she came close to it, it was like it vanished, a phantom in the school that didn't so much as leave a trace for her to follow. It was incredible enough to her that it was powerful, far more powerful than any student alone and yet what nagged at the witches mind was the randomness of it all. "Or a pattern I can't see..." She muttered out loud, rubbing her chin with her free hand as she considered the types of magic that had the ability to do anything even remotely close to what she was feeling. One thing she knew for sure, is that whatever it was, it wasn't common practice and certainly didn't mean to do any good.
Luz
It was sufficient to say that Luz's next day at Hexside wasn't going to be much better than her first, it started out much better, having no nightmares and waking with plenty of time to connect with both Willow and Gus before the first bell screamed. However, as soon as she entered her first period, the day was on a steady decline. For whatever reason, she had truly become the target of the resident 'mean girl', Boscha. Which both Gus and Willow said was strange, as she had really calmed down in her last few years, was she really against humans so much or was it just the way Luz acted. All things considered the actions of the pink haired witch were minor, she had a far worse experience in the human realm, not that she ever wanted to relive any of that. The mean witch never used her name, always calling her 'the human' or 'round ears' to her friends and peers, and no one, not even the teacher was bothering to correct her. From there, it was snide remarks about her clothes, but what was wrong with her clothes, she wore something very similar to Boscha. Black tights, thick soled black leather boots, a donated t-shirt from Eda's sister that read 'Demon-Hawks' with splatters of colour amid the black shirt and tied around her waist was her green jacket. Nothing strange, and yet, she got ridiculed. It was all very easy to brush off but finally, when it came time to present their potions to the teacher, things clearly elevated. Luz's reactions or rather, lack thereof must have set something off in the pink-haired witch. The assignment was to brew a potion she knew well, and be prepared to show the effects, explain the ingredients and how it worked. As the teacher, Miss Rammstain came to inspect Luz's work a student suddenly shouted, pointing in the opposite direction, this tore not only Luz's attention away but the teachers as well.
In that fraction of a moment, there was a blur to Luzs right and her blue beaker that had her freezing potion in it suddenly started to morph and change colour. In an instant the potion that would have simply frozen something for a few minutes, turned into a sputtering, unstable, fire and ice mix. When drops hit the table instead of a glossy ice forming, the drops turned into spikey frozen pieces that were far too red to be ice. Thankfully, she hadn't been close enough to get any on her, the teacher however, yelped in pain as the potion shot a few inches out of the beaker and cracked, the liquid landed on Miss Rammstains exposed arm and in just a few split seconds the white glossy fur that coated her arm disappeared. In its wake were steaming ice chucks, spikey in all directions, and yet hot to the touch. The teacher writhed in pain, shouting obscenities that fell on Luz's deaf ears, It all happened so fast she could barely comprehend. As if on cue, amid the panicked students and teacher, Boscha came to the teachers side and poured what looked like a black liquid over the spot. Just like that, the pain on the teachers face was muted and the panic in the room seemed to stop. The teacher didn't hesitate to praise Boscha, her quick thinking, her calm demeanor and her potions effectiveness, the same lack of hesitation was provided to Luz, however, in a much less appealing way. The teacher bellowed about her incompetence, her idiocy and yet, she forgave Luz. Deciding to give her a warning, there was no major harm done and she was still learning, Luz could see the small flash of anger across Boscha's face before it became neural again.
Luz was still processing her first period when she entered her History class, Everything was right... I've done that potion a hundred times... and no one is THAT FAST... her head spun as she tried to think of what could have went wrong, was it her, was it the ingredients or did Boshca really dislike her so much she would hurt her and risk hurting a teacher. All without ever really having met Luz. Theres no way... This doesn't fit with what Willow and Gus have told me... I... But I know I did it right. Ugh. She stamped the heel of her hand into her eye as she thought about it, and tried to replay it in her head, ¿Por qué la escuela es tan difícil? - Why is school so difficult before she could get too into her head about the whole thing, Gus came to sit beside her, pulling her from her darkening thoughts. "Hola Gus." She said in an even tone, avoiding eye contact with the illusions witch.
"Hola!" Gus said with far too much enthusiasm, he took a moment to sit himself and get situated before he turned to ask Luz about her morning. He wasn't the best judge of someones mood, but he could at least tell there was something wrong, his friend was far less expressive than she had been that morning. "How was first period?" He asked cautiously, pulling his history textbook out and trying to feel out the situation. The silence that fell between them caused a small panic in his chest, it had only been a day, and he had only seen her just over an hour ago. How bad could it have been? It was fair to say that he wasn't expecting the torrent of answers that came pouring from Luz's lips, she seemed to babble on about her first period as if taking a breath would mean she could never speak about the subject again. He was about to interject when she got to what he imagined was the worst part of her morning, his mind reeled, the Boscha he knew of at the beginning of high school might have done something so dramatic but not now. "Luz..." He mumbled once there was space to speak, but before either one could speak again, most of the students began to pour in, including Boscha. "We'll talk at lunch" He said quickly, only sparing a glance at the pink haired witch, as if she would look any different than she had the last dozen times hes seen her.
"Thanks." Luz said quietly, averting her eyes from the door and starting to unpack her supplies. She knew she had gone on her rant a little too long, it was just what she did, and yet Gus seemed unphased and patient as ever. Trying to look on the brighter side of the day, she took her notebook out and began making small doodles and before she knew it the bell was screaming, signaling that class should begin. Thinking she had just drifted into her own world, she glanced around for the teacher, the bored multi-eyed teacher, but he was nowhere to be found and it was clear that every other student in the room shared her evident confusion. Then, in a burst of sound and light the door blew open, filling the front of the classroom with heavy smoke. At first there were murmurs of concerns and confusion, but as the teacher emerged the murmurs all fell silent, the teacher was no one the students would recognize, besides Gus and Luz of course. At the front of the classroom was Eda, her long magic infused white hair tucked into a large steel pot, her hands covered in oven mitts, her torso was layered in far too many jackets. She seemed bulbus and rotund with so many layers, but didn't seem to move any differently for it. Covering her bright and knowing golden eyes were a pair of large sunglasses, black with a slight reflection to them, showing the students in the front row their own awed faces. On her shoulder she carried a tote bag that looked to be filled with 'human treasures', as well as a smaller sealed sack that looked old and beaten. Why didn't see tell me she would be teaching this class? The bad morning seemed to disintegrate in her mentors presents, the woman always had such an uplifting effect on her. I'm going to miss her the thought was sudden, random and filled with enough emotion that she was startled by it. In the best interest of having a better day she beat the thought down and redoubled her efforts to pay attention to her mentor, slash teacher.
The students were all in awe, Gus especially so, he had never seen this many human artifacts in one place before, let alone in a place where he could interact with them and ask questions. His eyes sparkled and he quickly wrote 'Best Class Ever – Human Artifacts' at the top of his empty notebook page.
Setting the bag of goodies down and removing the dark reflective sunglasses, Eda gave the class an appraising look, taking in the different students that were in the class. It was easy for her to see the good students from the bad, the interested from the disinterested and most improtant of all, to see potential threats, not to herself of course, but to Luz. "Alright Kiddos, welcome to History 101, Human artifacts, a collective of human treasures. I'm E- A Th-… Professor Clawethorne." She finally settled on a title for herself after an awkward stutter. "All human treasures today will be available after class for a reduced student discount" the older witches words came out fast and practiced, Principal Bump never said anything about selling her wares if it was relevant. "Alright, who here knows why its relevant to learn about human, well, anything?" In an instant a hand shot up from beside Luz, rolling her eyes she waved Gus off. "Besides you Goops" her tone was polite but dismissive, and she got a small satisfaction from hearing the kid groan. Scanning the room she looked for lost expressions, not seeing any particular victim she changed tactics and met the eyes of a particularly angry looking witch. "How about you Pinkie?" she asked pointing her mitt covered hand at Boscha, who scoffed at the use of an unwelcome nickname.
"It's not 'Pinkie', My name is Boscha -" Before the pink haired witch could finish, Eda groaned and waved her hand, "Not an answer and I don't care." Her tone was playful but stern, the room was split between quiet gasps and chuckles at the way Boscha was being treated. In an instant, Eda knew she had selected the right 'victim', her face went red with frustration, but she wasn't in a position to outright disobey a teacher. "Sounds like no one knows." The white-haired witch shrugged and pulled off the oven mitts, again waiving off Luz's friend as he waved his hand enthusiastically. "We need to learn about these things for a few different reasons, the human realm and ours are linked, not in the traditional sense of just doors between but leaks, it helps us understand their culture and develops our own. Much of our past could be traced back to links between our realms. Plus, they don't have magic there, meaning whatever they do in their day to day is done by other means. We use magic to protect ourselves from the boiling rain and acid, they use a contraption called... the 'Umbrella', it doesn't hold up to our weather but, isn't the shape familiar?" To Eda's surprise, the students seemed interested in what she had to say. The rest of the lesson went on with her explaining the different uses of the treasures she brought with her, some were a bit more farfetched than others and Luz tried to stay as far away from the limelight as possible, leaving Eda to explore all kinds of extravagant tales.
To Luz's inner delight Eda had kept picking on Boscha, using her as an example to sport bad clothing, weird 'hats' and 'weapons'. She knew there would be a limit to the pink-haired girls patience, but so far, she was holding her temper in check and seemed far more like the individual Gus and Willow described.
It was at the end of the lesson that Eda seemed to push one too many buttons, having asked Boscha to sport an ugly jacket and pot hat, the pink haired witch seemed to have a switch flicked. All her good humor and patience were gone in a flash, Is this... Before Eda could get a read on the sudden spike of magical energies, Boscha snapped at her, throwing the pot across the room into the far wall. The students all seemed to freeze at the same time, even Skara, one of Boscha's best friends seemed truly taken aback by the action. "Listen up you old hag, no one in their right mind would believe this, the only reason you have a position here is pity and-" Although Boscha continued on a fierce and agitated rant, the sound of her voice seemed to disappear. With a twirl of Eda's finger, she had placed a translucent bubble around her agitated student. "Oh well, I guess she just didn't like my style" Her words and sigh were dramatic and fake, and the only thing that seemed to get Boscha to stop and realize what had happened. Before any further action could take place, the bell rang – screamed – loud and the pink haired witch stomped from the classroom without even a glance back at her belongings, although Skara was already gathering them up. There was certainly something... Like the magic I felt yesterday... Strange. Even though Eda's mind was occupied, she had no trouble selling her random treasures to students as they approached her.
Luz wanted to say something to her mentor, but the thought of her next class spurred on with a mix of anxiety and excitement. "You'll be back to do ancient artifacts soon?" was the only question she asked before leaving, to which she got a wink and a nod in response. The whole time the two walked together Gus was on a long and excited tangent about the class, about his theories, he didn't even seem upset that she didn't let him buy anything. Although, she did promise to find better things for free. The human witch did her best to listen to her friend, but her mind was torn, between her morning, Boscha and her next class, Amity. "Err... Sorry, Gus, I missed that?" She suddenly sputtered when Gus asked her a question.
"Alll good!" He said excitedly and waved a hand, "I asked if you knew why she called me … Goop? Goops?" He didn't mind the interaction, afterall he was learning from one of the most infamous witches ever and she had intimate knowledge of the human realm and how it interacted with the Boiling Isles. Despite wanting an answer, the two came to where they part ways much faster than he had hoped, he must have talked for far longer than he thought.
"Uh... Not sure, well, I gotta go, thanks for the support and I uh, will answer, question later?" Luz was eager to go and eager to get out of a situation where she knew she had thoroughly missed any of what Gus had been saying to her. The question about his name certainly hadn't been the only question she happened to miss. Giving her shorter enthusiastic friend a fist bump she nearly jogged her way to the Abomination's wing of the college; it wasn't far from where they parted but it was one of the spots that got packed with students and abominations, making it difficult to maneuver, if not for her friends giving her a heads up the traffic would have been a shock. Breaking her brisk step, she slowed and casually strolled into the classroom, her heart lifting, thankful that her lab partner wasn't there yet. Just be calm, you've talked before... There is no real reason for us not to talk and everyone knows she wouldn't associate with me unless she had to... So really, this should be the best place. Yesterday had been discouraging, to talk to her and receive not so much as a nod in reply and yet she was excited to see the abomination witch again. Thinking about her caused small floods and flashes of memories to run through her head, the library, training in the knee, the hot springs... A sudden heat rose to her face as her thoughts lingered, causing her to miss Amity's entrance to the classroom.
At the front of the class, Amity stood trying to reason with Professor Hermonculus to change her lab partner. Had it not been for a passing comment she heard in the hallway; she would have been oblivious to the pairing until their first assignment together. "My family won't be aligned with this decision; I shouldn't have to … to carry this humans ineptitudes all semester long. I implore you to reconsider." Although every person seemed to be a moveable pawn for the Blight family, Professor Hermonculus was an oddity, he respected the titles and yet always seemed to have good reason for actions that may seem to undermine Blight authority. To the green-haired witches dismay, he seemed to be set on the fact this is a 'perfect opportunity' to set herself apart from her classmates, showing she can exceed expectations despite any setbacks, human related or not. Gritting her teeth, she finally conceded, "I will do my best keep up with expectations" Signaling the end of the conversation, the large abomination holding the abominations professor turned to allow the professor to complete that day's lesson plan on the board. Amity was already done with her day, it felt like there was an invisible force working against her and no matter what she did or how she maneuvered, it kept pushing her. It's just a class... Just a single class, I don't need help to do well... I... An echo of the intense pain she felt the last time the two really connected coursed through her, causing her to flinch and attempt to refocus herself. Just a human, a simple human, with paper magic... I am a Blight. Her words of affirmation seemed thin and useless to her now. Her morning had been rough, despite her effort to be normal and exceed as her mother expected, she kept getting sharp thrums of pain, echos of reinforcements in her head she couldn't shake and Boscha seemed to be distant. Trying to have a bland day Amity had gone with a simple look, of dark jeans with faded knees, ankle high black army style boots and comfy black oversized sweater that hung off her right shoulder, showing a red bra strap.
Once she had collected herself, she turned and made her way over to her lab partner, unsure of how she is going to manage the burning ache inside of her all semester long. The human was sitting in the seat by the window, staring forward at nothing and yet, there was a small red glow to her face, as if embarrassed. Happy to not have to interact with her right away, she seated herself as far away as possible and began to pull her notes out, cringing internally as she saw a sudden realization from L- The human, from the corner of her eye. I can't do this... It feels like my bilesac is going to burn out of my chest. as swiftly as the pain came on, that same dull, watchful prescene passed over her, causing her to freeze as it took hold. "We'll get this fixed... For now, I expect only the best from a Blight, Mommys distracted but I. Will. See. Everything." A shudder ran down her spine, her mother's voice was like a poison tipped knife cutting into her thoughts and feelings, burning. As the prescene slipped away, not fully gone, but not all there, the pain that had been so unbearable a moment ago seemed to calm. She could breathe. Get... this fixed... I hope. After a moment the bell screamed and her lab partner seemed to debate talking to her or not, glancing between Amity and the front of the classroom before finally turning her attention forward.
When did she sit down? Was she here a while? Did my face look okay? Ugh, stupid, drifting off. Luz groaned inward, scolding herself for allowing herself to drift off into her thoughts to such a degree that she missed Amity arriving, now it was awkward to say hello, right? Frantically glancing between her and the professor, she ultimately turned her attention forward, hoping they would have some kind of assignment to complete like potions. By that point she was hopeful any additional colour that had bloomed to her face would be gone. After the professor had set up his expectations for the class and explained what they would be doing, he started into what the next several classes would be. Everyone will be assigned an element that they will meld with an abomination solution, not only meaning fire, water, earth, etc, they would go by the witch's periodic tablet. Which, much like the human equivalent the periodic table except included 136 elements and not 118. More... Okay, no problem... Luz had hard enough time in her own science classes, she hadn't thought much of that would have transferred over to the Boiling Isles. After a few minutes elements/compounds were randomly provided to each group, before she could reach for the small square paper, Amity had snatched it up and let out a very small, but audible groan. Not a good sign. The professor's abomination finished handing the notes out and he commented that they could have the remainder of the class to discuss.
Amity allowed herself a glance over at Luz, when the pain in her chest and mind were only that of a dull guiding ache, she signed. The relief was immense and yet, she felt like this allowance wasn't a good thing, it felt foreboding, a calm before the storm. Trying to shake herself from her own inner demons she grabbed the paper as soon as it touched the desk and let out a small groan of annoyance. They had been given Mercury, or as it was known here, Murkury as it was found only in bogs and swamps, not the earth's crust or coal. I don't think this was just a coincidence either … That short, snarky, sna- A bolt through her mind cut her off and she was 'adjusted', nearly gasping from the pain she turned her attention over to her lab partner, trying to keep herself in line despite the small reprieve. "We got murkury, I doubt the school has any on offer, so we might need to go looking for it. I'm sure Professor Hermonculus has time set aside for that." Her words were measured and even, handing over the paper, she was careful to avoid contact with the human. "What do you know about the periodic tablet?" An inner agonizing groan sounded when she got a blank stare and a sheepish smile in return, instead of an answer. "Look, just don't worry about it, I'll -" To her surprise and shock, Luz had reached a hand out to touch her arm and cut her off. She flinched, waiting for the wave of pain and the roaring in her ears to tell the girl off, but, it never came, at least not yet.
"Listen, I don't expect you to do all the work, I'll take my textbook back to the dorm and get to work on it... I'm here to learn, I swear I won't coast on your smarts." Luz's tone was genuine and kind, she wanted to be friends, she wanted to break down the barrier that kept forming between them. Something about her, something drew her in constantly and despite the cold shoulder, the incidents and nightmares, she wanted to keep coming back. Not to mention there was something very wrong with her family, something she was determined to help with, she just needed Amity to let her in, like she was about to in the Hot Springs. Ayudaré y nuestras enemigas pagarán. I will help and our enemies will pay! I … err just need to know more... She pulled her hand back once Amity locked eyes with her, the contact was a surprise to them both apparently. "Not saying I won't need your help bu-"
Amity cut Luz off with a wave of her hand, and a certain look in her eyes, "That's all I can ask for." The reply was much less than the plethora of thoughts bouncing around in the green-haired witches head, but it was all that was coherently and available. There was a slightly awkward pause in the conversation and neither of them looked away, someone on the outside would probably be conflicted if it was a look of unspoken words and understanding. Or a look between predator and prey. "Tonight when you leave, it would be best for you to focus on reviewing the Murkury, its difficult to work with, hard to find and expensive to purchase. I... Don't believe I have ever seen you work abomination magic, so it would benefit us both if you had the theory understood, at the minimum." Once again Amity couldn't help but be formal with the human girl, as if this was the first time they had ever spoken to each other. Its easier this way... She tried to convince herself that distancing her where possible would simply be for the best, just because she wasn't in agony didn't mean her mother was watching any less or expected anything less of her. Yet, deep down, there was a pang of guilt when she spoke to her this way, in truth they had been through quite a lot in the small time they've known one another.
Before Amity could continue, the professor cleared his throat and adjusted his – far too small – glasses, "Next class you will formulate your plans, which should include how you will find such items, we wont be providing ANY. Yes, groan, groan, such hardships. You will all either extract your material, conjure it, or go digging for it. Next, the plan must have the basics of your idea, how will you assimilate this element or compound and what are the effects? Advantages, disadvantages, yes, its all speculation for now, but I want to have a comparison. Perfect, now that we are all on the same page, get out of my classroom." The small man's timing was impeccable, once he finished speaking the delay was only that of a second before the bells screamed, signaling the end of class and the start of lunch.
Everything in this class had felt like a blur, how had the whole class already gone by and it felt like only a few moments were exchanged between the pair. "I'll do exactly what you suggested" Luz jumped from the screaming of the bell but wanted to reassure Amity she had heard her loud and clear. Seeing how quickly Amity was packing her things, the human started to scramble herself, just shoving things into her bag. "Wait, wait." her voice was rushed and hasty but she knew how fast the green-haired witch could take off. Despite her pleas, Amity only turned to her for a moment before pushing a piece of paper into her hand and taking off, simply saying 'She had to go.'. "For... Titans sake" her internal rage was far stronger and volatile, not for the ears of her professors. Before she let her feelings get the best of her, she uncrumpled the paper in her hand, to her shock, it looked to be Amity's scroll digits. Esto es una sorpresa. This is a surprise... Or a joke? Such a small gesture and yet she didn't know how to react, not wanting to be the last one in class she picked her bag up and made a b-line for the cafeteria, her eyes scanning the crowd for Willow and Gus. As she was passing numerous witches and pushing through crowds, she could feel eyes from somewhere burning into her, the sensation of it was off putting, there was a big difference between feeling like someone was looking at you and feeling like someone was throwing daggers from their eyes.
The entrance to the cafeteria was held open for easier access, as Luz pushed into the clumps of teenagers filing in, her eyes finally caught those of a very angry looking pink-haired witch. A chill instantly ran down her spine, the look felt foreign and made her blood run cold. Despite Luz's previous experience with fights and close encounters in the human realm, no one looked at her like Boscha was in this moment. As the crowd brought them closer, essentially serving Luz up to the angered witch, a hand caught her wrist and pulled her away. Much closer and she would have certainly been in trouble, following the hand that grabbed her she was relieved to see the back of Willows dark hair pulling her along, muscling their way through to their table from yesterday. "Ah thank the Titan Wills" The human girl seemed to melt into the seat, relieved to have made it and have her morning be done with.
"What did you do?" Willows tone was hushed but thick with concern, she had been waiting for Luz near the doors to the cafeteria to make sure she made it to the table since she was obviously going to be caught in the rush hour of the lunch period. If you were fast or slow, it was no problem, but most walked at a leisured pace and got crushed together. Boscha zoned in on her immediately... I, I never thought I would see that again. The sight made her uneasy, the memory of all her efforts to avoid Boscha in the past getting pulled to the surface, the hateful look she had, all because she was 'Half-a-witch' Willow and 'A walking destitute', even if her family wasn't poor, they weren't Blight rich either. Once she received a look of confusion, she sighed and sat down across from Luz, talking even lower, as if Boscha could somehow hear her. "Boscha, the Grudgby captain, looked at you like you killed her were-pig. I don't even know if she has really looked at me like that and she loathed my existence."
Luz risked a glance back over her shoulder to where Boscha's table was, there was a moment of relief when the piercing eyes of the triclops weren't on her. "I didn't do anything" She hastily hissed in reply to Willows concern, "I don't even think we've ever spoken to each other, did humans hunt her ancestors or something?" the thought never necessarily occurred to her before but if there was a link to the human realm and there were 'leaks' as Eda said, then it was certainly possible. I thought I escaped all this nonsense... letting her head slap against the table she let out a defeated groan, causing both Gus and Willow to once again wince in sympathy.
Willow rubbed her arm and lowered herself to the table again, still concerned they would somehow be overheard. "I don't know about that, but what I do know is that she's never exactly been nice to 'different' people... Just avoid her, okay? I don't want to see you experience anything close to what Gus and I had." Gus was visibly in a day dream of some kind, lost in his own world contemplating the issue from all angles.
"She has been acting different this year , the grudgby match she seemed more aggressive than previous matches, I know I didn't have the best seat and all only seeing from your scroll but... that aggressive behaviour seems to be leaking into everything else now. Maybe it's a power trip from getting captain from Amity?" Gus was absentmindedly twisting a few strands of his dark curly hair as he stared into the distance, he had noticed a few instances of bullying again in the hallway but out of reflex he avoided it, didn't even think twice about it, just a natural reaction but when he gave it some thought he hadn't had that pattern for a while. Years.
Both Willow and Luz were surprised by his calm recollection of the last few days events, glancing up from her spot on the table Luz tilted her head and laid it side ways, lazily looking at her friend. "Alright boy genius, you think shes on a power trip? How long do you think it will last?" She hadn't meant for her tone to be so bland, the joking title now almost seemed like a jab rather than a true compliment to his intellect. She would have apologized under normal circumstances, but he didn't seem even mildly phased. Before the dark-skinned witch could reply there was a loud 'whoop' sound from Boscha's table and in what felt like a fraction of a second goo exploded in the center of their table. A rouge grudgby ball covered in, something, had slammed right in the center of the table tossing their lunches aside and bathing them in the strange substance. Luz's mind felt like it was running on low battery, it was sluggish and the situation seemed hard to process, nothing was happening in real time for her. Before her mind could even comprehend, Willow had slammed her hands down on the table, her eyes a glowing angry green. Obviously not concerned with Willows outburst Boscha strolled over and the two were eye to eye – to eye? - in a matter of seconds.
Do it, you made that potion specifically for this... Whos going to punish you? You are impervious, perfect, a role model and a leader. Underlings like them, they don't deserve your kindness, and certainly don't deserve the same level of respect you command. Whispers wound around in Boscha's mind, clouding her own thoughts and guiding them down a path she hadn't been pulled towards in a long time. She knew she was superior, she worked hard, she had family status and the voice was right. It had to be, it was so sweet, a tone not even her mothers used to reassure her. Her mouth seemed to move of its own accord, she was holding a conversation with her friends at their lunch table and yet her mind was miles away, thinking on exactly how she was going to get the respect she deserved how she was going to show those underlings she was in fact, far superior, who were they but stepping stones to her success.
And that Human... How dare they sully the name of this school with their presence. Tarnishing magic and violating the order of things, humans and witches were segregated for a reason... She deserves nothing. The honey-sweet voice spoke the truth, a hard, painful truth, but it was exactly the last push Boscha's mind and conscience needed to move to action. With a malicious smile Boscha pulled back from the conversation and grabbed her ball from under the table where it was eating scraps and snapping at the tables ankles when they got too close. Without blinking she grabbed the vile from her bag with a potion made to inhibit deep thought and cause confusion, it would only last an hour or so but it was enough to open some doors and show how weak the human was. Catching the attention of her peers, Boscha bounced the ball once off the table and then poured the liquid over the ball before giving it a hard spike into the air. The table gave a loud whoop as it flew, only silencing when it hit the targeted table, she could see from the corner of her eyes some of her peers were giving looks of concern, but as soon as Boscha showed no remorse they quickly steeled themselves and stayed with the pack while Boscha lead Cat and Amelia to retrieve the ball.
It was a surprise that Willow had the constitution to act so quickly, let alone get in her face, "Oops, looks like the nerd table got hit with a splash. RIP your lunch." Boscha saw the angry green glow in Willows eyes and raised her eyebrows, she couldn't recall the last time Willow had been this upset about something, but this would just prove her point that these students were nothing more than low class wanna be witches. The dark haired witch went to speak against Boscha but her mouth just seemed to open and close like a fish, obviously unable to formulate words in her current state. Putting a hand to the side, Boscha allowed her ball to jump into her arms and sit comfortably under her one arm. "Bat got your tongue?" Puffing out her chest she bumped the smaller witch out of her way, the green angry glow flickered and faded. "I'll be going now. Bye-bye... Half-a-witch" With a sarcastic wave of her hand she left through the doors of the cafeteria, Amelia and Cat still in tow, their silence was deafening. "Remember, they're beneath us, our families need us to be strong and that means putting people in their place. Got it?" When the final words left her lips she turned to them, and let her eyes bore into their eyes, she didn't intend to intimidate them, but she couldn't take it back now. They nodded in unison, clearing their throats and beginning their usual chatter to compliment her actions and support her choices, it was hollow validation but validation, nonetheless.
In the cafeteria Luz was struggling hard against the substance that seemed to have seeped its way into her skin, clouding her mind and making any movement of her body feel like her limbs were made of lead. "Come... Back... Here... You" The words were dragged out and sounded thick, like her tongue was swollen in her mouth. Ugh, Willow! Gus, what is this stuff, I feel like my head is all cotton balls. Luz's deep brown eyes held a newfound fury against the pink-haired witch, she had taken it too far and included her friends, it was fine to pick on her, she could take it but they had enough already. Thankfully it only took a few moments for a few nervous students from the healing coven track to come to their table, she couldn't make out anyone face but the witch who treated her was kneeling in front of her and speaking surprisingly soft considering she had a strong barring about her. She could feel their magic working as their hand hovered over her exposed arms where most of the liquid had seeped in. Trying to make out distinguishing features was difficult in her current state, but she could make out brown hair, swept bangs that were almost long enough to cover the girls' eyebrows and deep green eyes, the only other distinguishing feature she could pick up on was the long earring dangling from her right ear. The words that came from the girls lips were incredibly muffed like Luz was being held under water, Should last only … a bit longer. Maybe just passed lunch. she was sure that she got the gist of what was said, however, without being able to reply to the girls eyes narrowed slightly, as if trying to get a read on any kind of acknowledgement, a moment later she got up and pat Luz on the shoulder, leaving her struggling to remember the girl so she could thank her later. A few moments later Willow was at her side, the substance clearly affected humans more seriously than witches.
Whether from the effects of the liquid or just her state of mind, the rest of Luz's day seemed to simply melt away, she couldn't concentrate, and she even missed Anatomy/Beast keeping class. She only really started to feel herself when Willow dropped her off at her dorm room, the walk was silent, they both had a lot to process from their day, their second day There was no chance to even mention what had happened that morning, that would need to come another time. Considering her first period and lunch, Luz knew she had to come up with something to get back at Boscha. Willow kept insisting to just leave it alone, it was better to ignore the situation than to make something of it, constantly reminding Luz that Boscha was 'perfect in the eyes of the faculty'. The human dismissed it without a second thought, the teachers would have to see reason, if something happened and it was irrefutable then she would get in trouble. Just relax... She could hear her mother's words echoing in her mind as she de-escalated herself, "Solo respira mi hermosa mija, just breathe my beautiful daughter" "Later problem... I need to study abominations or I'm going to just keep failing..." There was a small well of fear in her gut at the thought of letting her abominations partner down, but she was going to do whatever she could to improve, even if she didn't know the magic necessary yet to make abominations. That would just be a matter of time and effort.