Adventures in the Elements
At the Owl House living room, Bijou and Hazel were still reading about glyph symbols in nature while Luz was reading a pamphlet about Hexside.
"Only one day left and Luz and I are finally be official Hexside students," said Bijou.
"Let's just hope another disaster happens there again." Hazel joked.
"King, listen to this," she said, and King rose to his feet.
"Hey, less read-y, more scratch-y!"
"Sorry," Luz sat up, excited. "Now that Bij and I will be students at Hexside, I wanna learn all about it! I've got a new crush and her name is Education! Speaking of education, how's your glyph practice going along?"
This question made Bijou realize that after this spell...she would no longer be doing nightly lessons with the Golden Guard, at least not every night. She shook it off for the time being.
"It's been great, Luz. I'm almost done with homework, actually..." She tried not to sound disappointed, and King nibbled on a piece of the brochure.
Eda then kicked open the door.
"Hey, freeloaders! Guess what today is?"
"Uh, mazel tov?" Hazel asked.
"Is it your birthday?" asked Luz.
"Is it my birthday?" King inquired.
"It's my birthday!" exclaimed Hooty.
"It's no one's birthday, you guys," Bijou pointed out.
"Right you are, Bijou!" Eda exclaimed as she shut the front door, clutching the portal she usually had to steal. "It's Human Treasure Day!"
She threw the portal, and it transformed into the door, which opened. Owlbert arrived carrying a large bag. It ripped open to reveal a heap of garbage. Eda jumped and landed on it, sighing contentedly.
"Fresh garbage."
"Ooh, give me, give me, give me!" King exclaimed, digging through the pile and pulling out a stuffed bear. "Yes! Another worthy addition to my army of terror."
He yanked on the pull string.
"I love cuddles and kisses."
"Truly horrifying," King exclaimed.
Hazel ran over to the pile and took a small ball. It bounced back into his paws after he dropped it on the floor.
"I like this one," he commented. Eda then turned to face the two girls.
"Yo, kids. Your trash pile is getting cold. While mine's getting hot!" She was holding a clothes hangar. "I have never seen such an extravagant earring."
"You can have my trash," Luz said.
"Mine, too," Bijou added in.
"Oh! Did you know that Hexside was built on the bones of its rival school? One it literally conquered?!" Luz held out the brochure to Eda, who had wrapped the hangers around her ears. She was looking in the mirror and admiring herself.
"Yes, I know all of these things. I went there. It was the most harrowing period of my life. Oh, hello," she said, impressed.
"Can you imagine it? Me and Bijou in the halls of Hexside, studying with Willow, Jackie, and Gus, and maybe even Amity. Amity!" she screamed, dropping her brochure.
"Oh, cramity! We're supposed to meet so I can get my Azura book back. C'mon, Bij! We can tell her about Hexside!" Luz exclaimed as the two girls walked out the door. "We love you guys."
"And I love you, Lu-" Hooty began, but Luz slammed the door shut, muffled his words.
"Later, guys," Hazel said.
"Eh, who needs them?" Eda said as she crossed her arms.
"Yeah," King said, emerging from the pile with two bears instead of one. "These bears can be our new Bijou and Luz."
He then pulled the first bear's pull string once more.
"Being without you is just unbearable."
King then threw the bears to the ground. "You're unbearable!"
"Why bring me along to see Amity today?" Bijou inquired as the two girls walked together into the market.
"Well, I'm a little worried about getting the book back. I know Amity said she'd try to be friends, but I just need you around to...you know, keep the peace?" Luz chuckled nervously as Bijou patted her on the back.
"Luz, you don't need me for that. I know that Amity will warm up to you more already just by talking to you more."
The two started searching for her.
"Amity, Amity, Amity, Amity. Gotta find that—oh!" Luz came to a halt as she noticed Amity up ahead. "There she is!"
Instead of her usual uniform, she was dressed in a black dress and boots with purple stockings.
"Hey, Amity! Luz is finally here."
Emira and Edric appeared in front of them. "Hi girls!"
The two screamed and fell to the ground. As the girls collapsed, the two siblings burst out laughing. Bijou stood up slowly, grunting to herself. Amity then approached.
"Edric, Emira, stop bothering them!" she said, holding out her hands to help the two up. "Sorry, guys. They insisted on coming for some reason."
"Because we wuv you, baby sister," Emira said adoringly as Amity pushed her away. She then restyled her hair.
"They've been extra protective and nice towards me to make up for the library incident," she crossed her arms, unsure whether this was a good or bad thing. And Bijou could understand why Amity would be uninterested in it.
"And we still apologize every day," Edric added, clasping his hands. When he saw the girl, he blushed slightly. "Hey Bijou!"
He smiled at her and she frowned at the sight of them.
"Mm...hey, Edric. Hey, Emira," Bijou said, crossing her arms. They had left her, Amity, and Luz with a monster the last time she saw them, and they wanted to humiliate Amity as well. And did she forget to mention that they were unconcerned about the whole thing?
"Be nice," Luz advised her.
"It's okay, Luz," Emira said, having heard her.
"We'll work our way back into Bij's good graces," Edric winked at the girl, who became defensive.
"Don't call me 'Bij' just yet, buster!" she snapped, earning them pouts.
"Can we talk?" Luz asked, taking the girl's hand in hers and leading her away from the two. "Look, I know that you and the twins have problems, but I'm trying to get on Amity's good side, you know? So...can you please do me this favor and get along with them for a day? For me?"
Bijou grumbled; she didn't want to be near them right now because of the negative impression she had of them. But Luz really wanted to be friends with Amity, who was making an effort as well...
"...Okay," Bijou sighed defeatively.
"Yes!" Luz exclaimed triumphantly.
"In any case, here's your book," Amity said as she approached them, holding it out to Luz.
"So...what'd you think?" Luz inquired, taking it in both hands.
"It was...fine," Amity said dismissively.
"I wouldn't say 'fine' if you drew yourself with Malingale the Mysterious Soothsayer." Bijou held up the drawing. Amity blushed in embarrassment, waving a spell circle to immediately burn the paper.
"This is great! Maybe we can even start an Azura Club at school and Bijou can be the president when we're classmates!"
"When we're what?" Amity wondered, as she had no idea the two had been accepted into Hexside.
"Surprise! I'm enrolling at Hexside," Luz announced as she held up the brochure.
"I just hope you've been studying," Bijou said to Luz, crossing her arms. "And she's not the only one who's enrolling. I'm gonna be a student in Hexside, too."
"Really? Since when did that happen?" Amity inquired, surprised.
"Principal Bump happened to pass by when he saw me practice with my magic a few weeks ago. He was so impressed by my performance that he invited me to attend Hexside. By tomorrow, I'll officially be a student," Bijou went on to say.
"That's cool" Amity said as she looked at Luz. "And I'm sorry, Luz. But to be in my class, you need to take a placement exam and prove that you've mastered two spells," she said, holding up the booklet, revealing on the page that advanced people needed two spells and runes...exactly what Bijou had been studying and Luz hadn't. "I know you have your light thing, and I'm not even...sure what else Bijou's got. Do you guys know anything else?"
"Placement exam? Spells?" Luz asked, panicked.
"Quit giving her a hard time, Mittens," Emira said as the twins joined her side.
Edric nodded in agreement and smiled at the two, "Yeah, of course they know two spells. Right, guys?"
Luz scoffed nervously and waved it away. Bijou cast a downward glance at her.
"Of course, we know two spells," she chuckled anxiously; this was why she needed to pay more attention to her friend...
"Because if you don't, they'll put you in the baby class," Amity explained, pointing to another page about the baby class.
"Oh, snap," Bijou said, clicking her tongue.
"Ooh, brain idea!" Edric exclaimed as he kneeled between Amity and Luz.
"What if we all train together?" Emira suggested, leaning on Amity's shoulder. "We could show off what we know."
"What do you say, guys?" Edric asked.
"Uh..."
"Training...with you guys. That sounds, uh..." Bijou couldn't even respond because she wasn't sure what to make of their...new outlook. She still didn't trust them completely, and she wanted to do it for Luz, but the library was making it difficult.
"Actually, we have other training plans in a very faraway place that we have to go to right now...Bye!" Luz grabbed Bijou's arm and the two of them bolted, with Bijou sighing in relief.
Meanwhile, in the Owl House, Eda's hand had become detached from her body, and she was holding a book titled 'Bending Ingredients to Your Will' in the kitchen. Hazel is busy playing with the ball he found.
"Wow, a surprisingly peaceful domestic moment. When will it be ruined?" she wondered, and she got her answer a few seconds later.
"EDA!"
"There it is..." she said as Luz entered the room.
"Back already?" Hazel turned to the girls.
"Eda, Eda, Eda!" Luz exclaimed as she collapsed to the ground, Bijou following her with Hazel on her shoulder. "You have to teach me a new spell, right now."
"Sorry, Luz. These vegetables won't cook themselves...yet," she said as she poured a potion over them. They came to life and stood in front of her. "All right. Everybody in the pot."
Instead, they fled in terror of being cooked.
"Why do I always think that's gonna work?"
"Maybe if you try sugarcoating the instructions, they'll listen," Hazel pointed out.
Luz approached the table. "But I need two spells to get into decent classes at Hexside; I can make light glyphs, and so can Bij," she said, holding up a large piece of paper with the glyph written on it. She tapped it, and Eda and Bijou were nearly blinded by the bright flash.
"But at the end of the day, that's the only spell I know..." Luz slid onto the floor, Eda and Bijou staring down.
"And who's to blame for that?"
"Yours!" Luz pointed up at her, her face buried in the dirt.
"Yeah, you haven't even taught her on a new spell for some time now," Hazel said.
"Ha! Yep. You got me there. But don't forget Bijou's learning some new spells that she didn't help you learn."
Luz looked up at Bijou, who was wide-eyed.
"Hold on, I'm still learning how to do them. Even then, I'm not sure she's ready for those just yet."
"Just either of you teach me a spell now, any spell," Luz begged, her eyes narrowing. "It can be the darkest evil."
Bijou shook her head at Eda, indicating that she was not intending to teach Luz with such taboo spells.
"Well, I've been researching my texts on wild magic, the few books that I have, but I'm much too busy right now," Eda said as she threw the book into the pot. Bijou raised an eyebrow, wondering what Eda was up to that kept her so occupied.
"Come on, Eda!" Luz retorted. "You're the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. How would it look if one of your apprentices got thrown into the baby class?"
"Hmm," Eda said as she rubbed her chin after blinking. "Weaponizing my pride. Well played. Well," she said as she turned to face them. "In that case, this looks like a job for magic boot camp," she said as she reattached her hand.
The door opened, and King entered. "Did someone say boot camp? I agree to run it. We'll rise at dawn! You'll carry me on your back as I yell hateful things about your performance."
"Nope. You'll have no part in this," Eda said. "The girls need to focus, and I can't have them go all weird when you do something adorable. Plus, Hazel will be there, mostly for moral support"
"No fair! And I am not adorable!" stomped King.
"Your action proves otherwise, King," Hazel smirked and raised and eyebrow.
"Aw," Luz said, her eyes twinkling as Bijou snickered. "He stamped his widdle foot."
He slammed the door in frustration. But it reopened, and when he tried to re-slam it, the same thing happened. He finally got it on the third try, but Luz thought it was adorable.
"If it's okay with you, Eda," Bijou said as she polished her bangle, "I'd like to join this magic boot camp because it could give me the opportunity to learn new magic."
"And if she's going, then I'm going, too," Hazel added.
"Very well" Eda replied. "Now, no time to waste. You'll have to follow my teachings exactly. We gotta go somewhere special."
"Yes!" Luz exclaimed excitedly. "A place where magical energy just flows." "Yes!" She kneeled on the table, Bijou amusedly shaking her head.
"A place like...the Knee!"
They were all dressed in winter clothes because the Knee was a snowy part of Bonesborough. Bijou had on a cream-colored coat with accents of red, beige, and gray, earmuffs, a knitted sweater in sea foam green with black sleeves, a yellow maxi skirt, black stockings, and yellow snowshoes. She also had a coral beanie with a white pompom on top.
"YES!" Luz exclaimed, fists pumping, her scream echoing.
"The earliest witches came to the Knee to develop their magic," Eda explained as they strolled. "Drawn to its natural power."
Luz gasped as she saw a whole ruin covered in snow in front of her. It also appeared to be abandoned. "It's beautiful!"
"This area looks great for practice," Bijou said with a small smile.
"Though it's not without its dangers," Eda said, motioning to something on the left, and they turned to see a large giant white eyeless beast. They screamed when they saw it gnawing on wood.
"What in the world is that?" inquired Bijou.
"That's a Slitherbeast," Hazel said. "As long as we don't provoke him, he won't attack any of us."
"Got that noted," Bijou said as they and Eda walked along. Luz blew a raspberry and used his teeth to snap the wood in half. Luz screamed and bolted.
"Here's where we'll set up shop," Eda declared as they approached the ruins.
"I'll definitely learn my second spell here," Luz said, spinning around as Bijou took out her plant homework.
"So, who is this mysterious teacher you're hiding?" the woman inquired, causing Bijou to flinch in fear.
"Yeah, Eda and I are eager to know who your instructor is," Hazel chimed in, equally curious.
"No one important," she chuckled nervously before dismissing it. Eda looked at her as she sweated.
"Okay, but as long as you're learning, Hazel and I don't care enough to ask further."
The girl sighed in relief as Luz gazed around her.
"Gorgeous views, magic in the air. And best of all, we're completely alone!"
A purple light appeared over her.
"Watch out!" Eda and Bijou yelled, pushing Luz out of the way.
Bijou and Hazel dashed over to them, peering over the edge to see what was behind it...or rather, who was behind it, as they were all surprised to see Amity and her siblings, all dressed for the cold.
"I guess we're not entirely alone," Hazel said.
"Sorry, whoever's over there!" Amity exclaimed.
"Oh, snap. It's them," Bijou exclaimed, Luz hiding behind a boulder.
"Forget teaching me a spell; just make me disappear," she said, pulling her hat flaps over her eyes.
"I second that," Bijou sunk as she didn't want to talk to the twins so soon...she promised Luz she'd be nice to them, but it was difficult after the way they acted! Especially because she had hoped Edric would be a fun guy to hang out with. And, at first, he was...
"Well, okay, but I've got a 60/40 record of making you reappear," Eda said, rubbing her chin. "Oh!" she exclaimed as she realized what they were saying. "You two meant...ah, never mind."
The three had already recognized them, with the twins attempting to catch their attention.
"Hey, girls!"
"Hello!"
"Hey, it's us."
"Of all the places they could train... Why here?" Bijou rubbed her temples.
"Okay, let's do this," Luz said to her sister as she emerged from hiding with a nervous wave. "Hey, guys!"
"Who are they?" Eda asked.
"Be cool."
"That's Amity with her older siblings. Otherwise known as the ones who left us to possibly get eaten," Bijou said with a scowl.
"Yeah, and if they know we haven't mastered two spells, they'll think we belong in the baby class," Luz murmured.
"Man, I don't care what Edric and Emira think about me being in the baby class, I'd rather be over there than with-"
"What's that about the baby class?" Amity inquired as she approached Bijou.
"Only that it's for babies, and these girls here clearly aren't babies," Eda spoke up for them, and neither of them looked pleased. As she walked away from them, she whistled, "Nailed it."
"Gee, thanks; you're a big help, Eda," Bijou sighed contemptuously.
"Amity!" Luz yelled as she slid off the boulder she was leaning against. "W-What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to train, and I'm hoping to beat Ed and Em's highest exam score," she held her arm anxiously.
"Oh, Mittens," Emira appeared behind her, and she flinched, her eyes wide. "That's impossible."
"She still needs to use a training wand to learn new spells," Edric said, joining Amity on her right side, a frown on her face. "So what are you working on? Something powerful?"
Amity turned away, arms crossed, irritably.
"Hey Bij, why don't you show them what you were capable of?" Luz nudged Bijou, who looked down at her. "You know, since you guys are such good friends and all."
With a thoughtful smirk, she rubbed her chin. She did want to use that spell again, and she was confident that the Golden Guard would appreciate hearing about it.
"Well, sure, Luz! I'd be honored to."
The fire rune symbol reappeared on her bangle as she created tongues of fire and performed a small but fiery show before firing them into the distance to dissipate them.
"How was that?"
"Wow!" Edric exclaimed, sat up and clapped his hands. "You learned that on your own?"
"Actually, she's got this mysterious teacher that's been teaching her," she replied. "That was pretty powerful! How'd you pull that off?"
"Oh, you know, beginner's luck," Bijou remarked as she dusted her hands clean of lingering cinders.
"Yep. Powerful spells," Luz stated happily. "I'm working on one that's so crazy. Eda's a pretty incredible teacher."
"Ooh. Nice," Edric commented before noticing Hazel. "Say, what's with this almiraj on your shoulder? Is he your pet?"
"I'm not nobody's pet!" exclaimed Hazel.
The Blight twins were taken aback.
Emira inquired, "Did he just talk?"
"He sure did," she replied. "His name is Hazel. He's my friend. Hazel, this is Edric and Emira Blight."
"Hello," Hazel said, waving at them.
"Luz," Eda said as she approached with a snow basket. "I shall now teach you how to identify different types of snow. By taste!"
Bijou and Hazel were perplexed as she held out a snowball to Luz.
"Well, go on," Eda said as she pushed the snowball against Luz's cheek. "Eat the snow."
The twins stood there, as perplexed as Bijou was.
"Is this some kind of special magic?" wondered Emira.
"Probably," Hazel said, shrugging.
"Who knows?" Bijou shook her head. "She's gonna hold out on the girl again."
"Ahem," Amity said, clearing her throat. "I don't think the Owl Lady wants to show us any of her powerful spells."
They returned their attention to Eda, who had shoved a slew of snowballs into her mouth. She swallowed them whole, holding her head as Luz rubbed her forehead with her fingers.
"Ooh! Brain freeze! Brain freeze!"
"See you around, human, Bij. Good luck with your, uh, training," Edric said, raising a snowball.
He attempted to lick it, but Emira slapped it to the ground.
"Aw... Bij, can we take a break later and talk?" he pleaded as she dragged him away.
"Sorry, I'm busy!" she exclaimed as she crossed her arms.
"Eda! Can you please take this seriously?" Luz asked her teacher.
"Yeah. What do even we gain from just eating snow?" asked Bijou. "What's the point?"
"You need to take me seriously," Eda countered. "Go taste snow without my guidance. See where it gets you."
Luz then sighed and Bijou and Hazel just stared at each other. Eda then turned to face Luz and patted her on the back.
"Oh, don't worry, kid. If you listen to me, soon you'll be doing stuff like that."
Eda then indicates the Blight siblings. They watched Amity use her training wand to create a fireball and hurl it at a tree.
"And it won't be with some whack training wand, it'll be the real deal. But you have to trust me, okay?" asked Eda.
"Okay, I trust you," Luz said.
"So do I," Bijou added.
"Me, too," Hazel said.
"We've covered snow. So now it's onto smelling moss," Eda said, holding some up to her nose. "Now the trick is, you really gotta get it up in there."
She wiggled it slightly, Luz frowning slightly as she was disappointed.
"If this keeps up, this is gonna be a long day of training," Hazel said with a sigh.
"I'll just go somewhere I can do my own training," Bijou said as she walked away.
King was sitting on the front porch, lamenting the fact that he had been left behind.
"This is ludicrous! I once led armies. I can lead a dang boot camp! But I have no recruits..." He then looked down at the stuffed animals in his hands, having an epiphany. "Or do I?"
"Yep!"
He looked up at Hooty, irritated.
"It's your faithful pal Hooty, reporting for duty. Up at dawn, taking orders all day long."
"Ugh, no! You're too desperate," he exclaimed as he dashed over to the door, leaping up and opening it.
He then dashed inside, emerging with more stuffed animals.
"Roll call! New guy, Aloysius Turtle, Chip, Beefy Bob, Francois...oh, you're perfect already!" he exclaimed as he hugged the stuffed bunny. "As for the rest of you, I'm only saying this once, so listen up!"
When the bear landed on the turtle, he realized they weren't alive. "Huh, it's no fun if they don't tremble."
He turned around when he heard chuckling and saw the vegetables Eda had brought to life earlier running around. Some kitchen supplies were thrown off the cliff.
"Yay!" they exclaimed, relieved not to be cooked.
"Oh, okay. All right. Yep, an idea is happening."
Eda observed Bijou as she did her breathing exercises, touching the snow beneath her while Hazel set up some decoys and targets for Luz to practice her spells on with. Luz returned to the campsite, exhausted.
"Okay, I've identified the smells of three different rocks, sorted all the twigs from big to small, and found your glove. And your hand," she removed the glove to reveal Eda's detached hand.
"Ah, I was wondering where that thing went," The Owl Lady said, taking it back and placing it on her arm.
"So, what now?" she asked, looking up to see the Blights training.
Edric ducked out of the way as Amity fired from her wand. Amity blocked Emira's summoning of snow with her hand. She then turned to face Luz and waved. Edric magically sunk her in snow while she was distracted. Luz burst out laughing at them.
"Hey," Eda said as she stood up. "I know my lessons seem weird, but this is what wild magic is all about: making a connection with nature. The earliest witches understood that. Human witches need to understand it too. Look at Bij, it's working for her."
She jerked a thumb to Bijou, who was holding up her body with her arms, her legs crossed in front of her. As she concentrated, leaves flew past her hair and around her.
"Whoa," Luz said, blinking at her.
"You wanna learn a second spell?"
"With all my heart," Luz responded firmly.
"Then you have to learn from the island," she said as she guided the girl to a rock.
"Now, look," she said, pointing to the Boiling Isles. Snowflakes flew past Luz, much like Bijou. "And think about what the island is trying to tell you."
"It may take a while but you will find the answer yourself," Hazel reassured her. "Once you're done, you can join us for magical practice."
They then returned to their post to give Luz time to think. She inhaled deeply.
"All right, Luz. Look. Look with everything you've got." She concentrated on what her sister was doing. "Focus..."
She then pretended her hands were speaking to her.
"Focus? On what? On how you'll be stuck in the baby class? No, don't think like that! Face it. You'll never get a second spell following Eda's lessons. Silence hands!"
She returned to her campsite after hearing Amity destroy another tree.
"Amity! Dinner's ready!" Emira called out.
"I caught a bat!" Edric exclaimed.
"Edric, don't eat that," Amity warned as she walked to the tent and set her belongings down. Luz rubbed her chin as she looked at the wand that had been left behind.
"If I wanna be in the same class as Amity, I'm gonna need to learn magic like Amity...Great work, Luz. Shh! I don't need your validation."
In the kitchen, King was reading Eda's cookbook.
"Military discipline, cooking... I truly am a demon for all seasons!"
He then poured Eda's potion over the toys.
"Just a dash of Eda's secret sauce and I'm the creator of life!" He exclaimed proudly as they came to life and stood on their own two feet. "Yes, yes, yes! My loyal recruits!"
He positioned his hands behind his back like a commander.
"Welcome to boot camp. You sure need it. Look at you," he said as he paced in front of them. "Look at you. Raggedy, pathetic, chewed on. You got a button hanging off of your eye. Pathetic! But I will mold you worms into slightly...better kinds of worms. Your first mission, give me snacks!"
He stood there watching them walk away. "Your commander is hungry, so pick it up!"
When King stopped it, the teddy bear was about to go in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Private Dingdong. Snacks are that way." He pointed right, and the teddy bear teetered away.
"You better shape up, recruit," he said, crossing his arms. "You're in my boot camp now."
The bear's eyes glowed red...
"Ed, give me the bat," Emira demanded, and he resisted, keeping it away from his sisters.
"No! If we're not gonna eat it, I want to keep it as a pet and show it to Bijou!" He then bolted.
"Get back here before that thing bites you or her!" his twin exclaimed as she and Amity pursued him.
Luz slipped away while they were distracted and made her way to the tent. She removed the cover to reveal Amity's wand and a 'Magic 101' book, but there was a battery symbol on it that had now faded. She took the wand and the book and walked off towards the cliff's edge...right past Bijou.
"Hm?" Bijou opened one of her eyes, finally breaking out of her trance, and looked over to where Luz went.
Luz noticed her sit down and open the book. She came across an anime-style image of Amity.
"Huh. Her cross-hatching has improved."
"And what are you doing exactly?"
She flinched, then chuckled nervously as she looked up at her glaring friend.
"Bij...hey..."
"What are you doing with Amity's training wand?" the girl asked, pointing down.
"Look, I wanna learn that spell, and I can't do it with Eda's...weird lessons! I need to learn magic the right way."
"If glyphs are an indication, there is no right or wrong way to learn magic. I understand that you don't want to be in the baby class upon enrolling, but you need to be patient. It is not your duty to steal a wand that doesn't belong to you.
Luz shifted her gaze away from the drawing to a page about a fireball.
"Oh, man." She stood up and pointed the wand.
"Luz, if you use that wand, Amity-"
Luz threw the fireball, gasping as it landed.
"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed as she fired it into the sky, causing a firework to appear. Bijou was taken aback by what she had just done. "I did magic! I did magic! Without drawing anything. This thing is the coolest."
"That thing is still Amity's."
Luz averted her gaze as Bijou spoke up. "Remember that you wanted to be friends with her? Friends don't steal from each other."
"But I'm learning real magic," she said as Bijou snatched the wand from her grasp. "I'm returning this Amity, and you're gonna come and apologize before things get worse."
"Hold it right there," Eda said, and the two froze. When they turned around to see her, she was enraged. Hazel was standing right beside her. "What are you doing with that?"
"I'm doing magic," Luz argued, snatching Bijou's wand back. "What would you have me do? Eat more snow? Lick a rock?"
"...Okay, so maybe my methods are unique, but so is your magic," Eda pointed out. "Connecting to the island can help you. That wand can't."
"Eda's right, Luz," Hazel stepped in, "Every magic user has their own of learning spells. Look at Bijou. She's learning her own magic through her bangle and the books she had read. Why don't you show her, Bij."
Bijou took a step back and summoned a trio of ice shards, which she threw like shurikens at a nearby rock after an ice glyph appeared on her wrist. That only made Luz even more envious.
"Well, the wand's already helped me. Just watch what I can do without connecting to anything!"
She spun the spell circle, but it was distorted because the batteries were running low. As a result, the spell became uncontrollable. When Luz turned around, it fired. As it flew and then landed in an explosion, the two looked back in shock. Then there was a roar, and Eda gasped. The Slitherbeast jumped out and landed in front of the others. There was a roaring mark on the side of the head where the fireball landed.
"You've angered the Slitherbeast," Eda murmured, fearful for the first time. The beast charged at them, roaring. "You've angered the Slitherbeast!"
"And this is why you need to listen to what Eda says!" Bijou yelled angrily at Luz.
"Will it accept a heartfelt apology?" she wondered nervously as it grunted at them.
"I don't think he's gonna forgive us right away," Hazel said.
Because the wand was scorching, it saw the source of the fireball and roared as it ran up to Luz.
"Watch out!" Eda pushed her out of the way, and the Slitherbeast grabbed her. She winced as it roared in her ears.
"Eda!" exclaimed the two.
"Luz! Bijou!" Amity exclaimed as the Blight trio ran over.
"What did we miss?"
"And what are you doing with my wand?" Amity indicated it in Luz's hand.
"Um..."
"Long story, Amity, and we'll explain later, but that's not the issue here," Bijou said, taking back her belongings.
"She's right," Emira said as she took a step forward. "Mittens, we've got bigger problems."
The Slitherbeast took a step forward, bending down and growling at them.
"Aw, he's so cute," she and Edric exclaimed as they ran forward. "Can we keep him?"
"It's no bat. But we could try."
"Hey, throw rug! Drop Eda right now!" Bijou yelled, hurling snowballs at it. The Slitherbeast roared and raised the other arm at her. It slashed at her leg, causing her to grunt in pain and fall to the snow.
"Bijou!" Luz and Hazel exclaimed as Bijou sat up slowly.
"Hey!" exclaimed Emira angrily.
"No one does that to Bij!" Edric exclaimed as the twins conjured a spell.
They grabbed the creature's arms and dragged it to the ground. They both struggled to keep it there because the thing was quite powerful. Hazel, meanwhile, hopped over to Bijou
"You got it! Now finish it!" Eda exclaimed, eager to be free.
"I'm on it!" Amity yelled, pointing her wand...only for the fireball spell to fail.
"What?" she asked, noticing the low battery and glaring at Luz. "Did you use this all up?"
"I...I didn't know!" Luz sobbed as she knelt beside her sister. She removed her hand, revealing small scratch marks on her coat. She felt awful; if she hadn't done all of this, this wouldn't be happening right now.
"Come on, Luz!" Emira grunted as she yanked. "Do those powerful spells you were talking about," Edric exclaimed.
Bijou looked at her friend and said, "Tell them the truth."
"But I don't...actually...know any." The Slitherbeast yanked the ropes away from the two, knocking them onto Bijou and Hazel.
"Edric, Emira!" cried Amity as they were all scooped up and carried away by the Slitherbeast. "No!"
"Bij! Eda! Hazel!" Luz yelled as the Slitherbeast held the twins in one hand and Eda and Bijou in the other. It then took off with the four, who screamed as it carried them into the forest. The two girls and the almiraj stared in horror, both panting.
"Yep, keep 'em coming," King said as he surrounded himself with snacks.
"And don't forget the pretzels this time!" he said, grabbing a chip bag and opening it.
"Running a boot camp is hard work, but as my second-in-command, you deserve this," he said as he dumped Francois in chips with the bear watching. He tried to reach for some, but King stopped him.
"Hey, hey! Private new guy. You are not privy to snacking privileges! Back away!" The bear's eyes glowed red as the body turned around and creepily jumped off the couch.
Leaning against the couch, King let out a yawn.
"Leading this boot camp has worn the little guy out, so Sergeant King singing off," he said, putting hats on himself and the bunny doll, a shadow looming over him.
"Excuse me!" He looked up to see the glowing red eyes of the teddy bear.
"Could you maybe turn down those eyeballs?" King didn't see the impending doom. "I'm trying to sleep."
More shadows loomed over him, and he looked up to see the toys' glowing red eyes. Beefy Bob yanked the teddy bear's string.
"Don't you want a hug?"
He shrieked in terror.
Back at the Knee, the trees ahead shifted as the Slitherbeast approached.
"What do we do?" Luz inquired, concerned.
"I'm going after them. You stay here," Amity told the girl.
"But the beast has Eda, Hazel, and Bijou!" Luz objected.
"And, because of you, it also has my brother and sister," she countered.
"Now stay put! You'll only get hurt."
Amity cast a spell circle around Luz to form a cage. She then turned around and ran the other way.
"Amity!" Luz exclaimed, unable to do anything but stare. "Wait!"
She attempted to touch the cage, but it shocked her. She then charged forward, kicking a large rock.
"Stupid island!" she exclaimed, hopping up and down in pain. "Ow..."
She then sat down, disappointed. "You were supposed to teach me magic," she muttered to herself, frustrated. As the snow began to fall, she began to lose faith.
"I'll never learn more than this," she said, tapping the light glyph. She watched as the light orb rose into the sky and vanished. But there was something in the sky that drew her attention.
"Wait...is that..." she squinted, noticing a light glyph in the sky. She made it up in the air. "A light glyph? But what does that mean?"
She examined her hand and noticed a snowflake with a different glyph on it. It vanished in her grasp.
"Whoa..." she exclaimed as she reached for a large stick. She then cut a smaller piece off.
"It means...magic is a gift from the island," she explained as she grabbed another snowflake and quickly drew the glyph.
"It means..." she said as she tapped the glyph, causing a small column of ice to appear. "Magic is everywhere!"
She dashed towards the cage, drawing a larger glyph as she went.
"Magic is everywhere!" she exclaimed as she jumped and landed on the glyph, which launched her out of the cage.
"Whoo!" she exclaimed as she landed in the snow, but she appeared to be fine. That's better than okay. "My second spell! Thank you, snow. Thank you, island. Thank you, Eda, Bijou, and Hazel...Bijou, Hazel, and Eda! I have to save them!"
She then bolted to catch up with Amity and Hazel.
Outside, Hooty was wearing headphones and listening to music.
"Hey! How dare you mutiny!" exclaimed King from inside the house. "Unhand your commander right now!"
He was then thrown out the window by his 'soldiers.'
"I gave you life, I can take it away!" he raged.
Various weapons were used, which knocked the headphones out of Hooty's ears...or his head. He rolled onto his back and stood up, facing Hooty.
"Hooty, Hooty! Great news, buddy. You can be in the boot camp. First task, destroy the boot camp."
"Hmm," Hooty expressed his skepticism. "No thanks."
He turned away.
"What?! But you begged to join!" King objected.
"I'm sorry, you said I was desperate, so now I'm playing hard to get," he said as he turned around.
"Grr! What do you want?"
"I don't know. What are you offering?"
King pondered, then held up a chalk. He drew a human boy body for Hooty.
"Wow, this is incredible; it's so real! You got yourself a deal," he said as he slid inside the door. "Hoot!" He began destroying the toys, ripping them apart.
"This day shall live in infamy..." King said, turning away slightly when the teddy bear's head landed nearby.
Luz ran until she came across a cave surrounded by smoke, with low growling coming from within. The four were carried in by the Slitherbeast, who slobbered on the wall. It then slapped Bijou, Eda, Edric, and Emira on it.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Emira tried to reassure them...but then skeletons appeared in front of them...from people who had been eaten by the Slitherbeast.
"No, we're gonna die," Edric stated flatly.
"That's right," a nearby skeleton head said. "Death has arrived," but it was later revealed to be Luz. "Just kidding. Luz is here."
"Kid, get outta here. Bij, Hazel, and I are just gonna sneak away when the thing starts eating the twins."
"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Emira, while Edric gasped sharply.
"Come on, Eda, as much as I despise them, they shouldn't be left to die," Bijou immediately objected.
"Besides, I know Bijou is going to forgive you guys," Hazel said to the twins.
"You'll forgive us, Bij?" Edric asked, and Bijou glared at Hazel for revealing her plans. Luz grinned broadly at her as she averted her gaze.
"Well, you did save me back there...so I guess that makes us sort of even."
"Don't worry, Eda," Luz said. "I get it now. I was so obsessed with learning my second spell, I didn't listen to you or Bijou. But now I'm gonna save you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."
She took off dancing.
"Well, at least I got to see her misplaced confidence one last time," Eda said to Bijou.
Edric looked at the girl. "Anyway, remember when I said I wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, what were you going to say anyway?" she inquired.
"Well, if we are gonna be eaten...I just wanted to say that while I know it won't make up for what happened...I'm sorry for the whole library thing."
As he turned to face her, her eyes softened.
"And...actually, what you said about your brother... well, that's one of the reasons Em and I are trying to be a better siblings for Mittens; you kinda inspired me—us!" He blushed deeply as he averted his gaze, and she smiled softly.
"Alright, I forgive you—just don't let me to deal with an eyeless demon for a first impression of you. Besides, getting to know me more is gonna take time, and that is all I will say on the matter."
"You know, BiBi, my brother here really wanted to get your attention to show you how much of a man he's becoming," Emira teased, looking up at her.
"Emira!" he hissed a little as Bijou raised an eyebrow.
"Ugh. Perfect. I'm watching a live action rom-com scene now," Eda grumbled to herself.
"Just ignore them, Eda," Hazel suggested. "We have a far bigger problem."
Luz joined Amity as she peered around the corner.
"Luz!"
"Hello," she said, smiling, and they both went into hiding.
"How did you get past the barrier?" Amity inquired, surprised.
"Magic! Literally! Now forget that, because you and I have to work together if we wanna save everyone. Okay. Here's what we're gonna do," she then whispered in Amity's ear.
The Slitherbeast crawled back to his lunch, sprinkling spices on them. Eda sneezed slightly.
"Bless you," Hazel said.
"Thanks. I hate garlic."
"Hey, you big idiot!" Luz exclaimed as she waved her hands. "Over here!"
It growled and charged at her, chasing after the girl. Amity crept up to the four.
"Amity!" Edric exclaimed, relieved, as they smiled.
"Use that fire spell we taught you," Emira said.
"But I can't do it without the wand," she said as she stood up.
"Yes, you can. Just focus," the older Blight sister encouraged, a small smile on his face.
"Okay," Amity said, spinning a spell circle with her hands together. She smiled as she created a fireball.
"Cool. I didn't actually think you could do it." Amity drew the fireball closer, melting their restraints. They landed on the ground with a thud and heard screaming from outside. They all gasped in surprise.
"Luz!"
As she ran out into the open, Luz was still being pursued by the Slitherbeast. She gave a terrified expression as she was cornered by a tree. The Slitherbeast roared loudly.
"Gotcha!" she exclaimed, stepping on a large ice glyph she had created after speaking with Amity.
She braced herself as the beast was lifted into the air. The beast took flight and landed on its back. The others ran out to see what had happened. The beast rose to its feet and roared at the group. Then it pounced on them.
"Would you like me to teach you kids something cool?" she asked, smirking at the Blight trio.
"Yes!"
"Yes, please."
She dashed forward, casting a large spell circle. "The sleep spell!"
It washed over the Slitherbeast, knocking him unconscious.
"Now that's my mentor!" Luz exclaimed as Bijou approached her.
"Luz!"
"Bij!" Luz exclaimed and shared a high-five with her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but your ice glyph was amazing," she said.
Luz smiled at Bijou, Hazel, and Eda. "Did you guys see? I learned my second spell. I made the connection!"
"I saw," Eda said, resting her hand on her shoulder.
"Nice work, kiddo," she said, patting Luz on the back.
Emira sighed slightly. "You showed some real bravery in there, sis."
"Yeah. Nice work, kiddo," Edric said as he messed up Amity's hair.
"Ugh, stop!" she groaned as she approached the three, adjusting her hair. "So, it looks like we'll be in the same class."
"Azura Book Club? Azura Book Club?!" Luz exclaimed.
"As long as it's a secret club, okay?" Amity said quietly, blushing.
"It's not a secret," Edric said, drawing a wide look from his younger sister.
"We're gonna tell everyone."
Bijou waved her hand as she sighed.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't. I have my ways." She then smirked at the twins as she created smaller ice shards. And that expression said, 'If you tell anyone, you'll be sorry.'
Edric chuckled nervously, before he realized another thing.
"And we'll be looking forward to seeing Bij in our class."
As she dropped the ice shards, he winked at her.
"We're going to have a great time together, BiBi," Emira added.
"That's right...I'll be in your class tomorrow," Bijou said, rubbing her arm. "Can't wait."
"We know Ed can't," Emira teased, elbowing him.
"Cut it out, she's right there!" Edric replied while blushing.
Eda sneezed and hugged herself.
"OK, the cute banter and teasing is literally making me sick.
"Or is it due to the garlic?" Hazel inquired.
"Let's go home already."
"On it, teach!" Luz drew a glyph with her finger around the four.
"See you tomorrow, Bij," Edric said, waving.
"You like him!" Luz sang to Bijou, knowingly.
"No, I don't," Bijou awkwardly denied while crossing her arms and Hazel hopped on Bijou's shoulder, and they flew into the sky towards home after Luz tapped the glyph to summon another ice pillar.
Here we go!" Hazel exclaimed as they sailed into the horizon.
"I think we can go the normal way," Emira told her siblings.
Hooty panted as King stood in the midst of the chaos in the living room. Stuffing and limbs were all over the place, and the stuffing was flying around.
"Private Hooty, today when the felt flew, you showed grit and determination that were instrumental in securing our victory. May I just say it has been an honor to be your commander."
"Sir, the honor is all mine," Hooty said with a smile.
"Private, our hearts have been touched by fire," he said as he wrapped his arms around the house demon. "And..."
Eda cleared her throat as the others arrived, and they did not appear pleased with the mess. "What the heck did you two get into?"
"Um, excuse me, we're having a moment here," King objected.
"You'll never understand what we've been through together. Never, never!"
"Ugh, moment ruined," King said as he walked away.
"I will be haunted by my actions forever. Hoot, hoot!"
"You know what? Whatever you guys did while we were gone, I don't even wanna know," Bijou said.
"Yeah. Come on, Bij. I'm gonna need a warm shower after this." Hazel added as they headed back to their rooms.
Bijou then smiled, excited to tell the Golden Guard about her day. And then she realized...she'd met the requirements for Hexside now, so she didn't technically need his lessons... So why did it make her sad that she would no longer be his student?
They sat across from each other because she needed to tell him the news right away. But for some reason, she felt a pit in her stomach. And just by looking at her, he could tell she was thinking about something.
"You've got something to tell me, don't you?"
She gave him a weak smile as he read her so well.
"...I understand what you meant about glyph symbols being found in nature," she said as she rubbed her arm, and he froze.
"And thanks to all your lessons, my spells felt natural when I performed them. So that means I don't need any further lessons now. But thank you for all your help, even if I wasn't the best student. See you around."
She then stood up, and he snapped out of it just as she was about to leave. He...didn't really want to stop it for some reason. Perhaps because it was wild magic. He wanted to continue teaching her, his student and secret companion, perhaps because he wanted to teach her more and have someone to talk to about wild magic and magical items.
"W-Wait!"
She turned to face him, perplexed.
"I, um, think you still need your lessons, you know? In case you get stuck on your homework. Who else are you gonna turn to for help? And...you weren't actually that bad for a first-timer."
Bijou gave him a gentle smile. "Really?"
"Well, yeah. After all, you did manage to get accepted into Hexside. You did great," he told her as she sat down in front of him.
"So, what can we learn next?" she inquired.
"I was thinking about dealing with the electricity spell next. And there's an interesting backstory to this one..."
He pointed to the page, and she smiled as she listened to him from the other side of the book. He then stopped talking when he noticed her clutching her leg.
"What happened?" he asked, puzzled.
"Ah, nothing. It's just...well, I went to the Knee with my sister and Eda to help me learn the spell, and...Luz got the Slitherbeast angry. That thing packs some serious firepower, it knocked me into the snow..."
He breathed a sigh of relief. "I should've known you wouldn't stay out of trouble..."
"As if I had no choice," she retorted, while the Golden Guard spun his staff. He took out a medical kit and opened it. He then pulled out a roll of gauze and some disinfectant.
Hunter looked at her songbook in her bag as he treated Bijou's leg wound, slowly reaching out. He then retracted his hand, returning his gaze to her.
"Can I?"
"Sure," Bijou said after a few seconds of thought. Except for her housemates, she had never shown her fashion designs to anyone.
After she handed him the pad, he opened it to the most recent page. It displayed a few rough sketches, one of which featured a dress.
"Hm," he said, rubbing his chin.
"Actually not that bad. You're still not done with this?"
"Yeah, it's a work in progress; I haven't gotten much further than that," she explained as he handed back her sketchpad.
"Now let's get started on getting you mastered with that electricity glyph."
A/N: To answer the guest reviewer asking where they should vote on Bijou's love interest, it's on the top part of my profile.