Looking for a Home

by MrSova

The sequel of: "The Entanglement" Luz and Amity take their well-deserved vacation in the Human Realm. They were supposed to rest and find closure but the long-forgotten past caught up with them.

3. Chapter 3 - Slice of Life

Since they started their day very early, the town has been almost empty. They walked in silence, hand in hand. Amity's eyes were shining with marvel and curiosity. While Luz could not stop looking at the witch's expression, Blight took everything in.

The green trees, the emerald grass, the dogs keeping guard of the several properties, the 'transport worm' she just learned was called a bus. Luz could have sworn, she had seen her pointy ears react to the marvels of the strange world underneath the illusion. Her wide smile brought happiness to the human.

They were maybe a few blocks away from the town center when Amity stopped in her tracks, taking a strong hold of Luz's arm. Clawthorne worried something scared the witch until she felt a familiar tugging that was always associated with something exciting.

"What… Is… THAT?!" The lavender-haired, human-looking witch demanded to know, pointing at a small creature, covered in grayish fur a few steps away from them.

Luz followed the finger and smiled widely. She took her girlfriend's hand and guided her toward the creature who shared the same interest in meeting.

"This, my Love…" Luz said quietly, squatting a few feet away from the furry creature who looked at them with curiosity, vertical pupils shrinking, "This is a cat," She explained and stretched her arm toward the animal.

The cat approached Luz and accepted the gesture. It moved gracefully underneath the tan hand and loud purrs erupted when Luz's long fingers scratched behind its ear.

"Oh, they're friendly…" The human chuckled, looked back at her girlfriend, and smiled even wider, "Come here, don't be scared," She encouraged Amity, guiding her hand toward the animal, "I totally forgot there aren't any cats in the Demon Realm," She said with a giggle, watching sparkles in her girlfriend's golden eyes and could not control her smile when she heard Amity's squeal of joy when the delicate fur touched her pale hand.

"Titan…" The witch squeaked, trying to stay still to not spook the creature, "So soft, so graceful…" The animal hopped onto Amity's tights and rubbed its head on her chin, marking her, and sitting down, looking up at the golden eyes with its green ones, "L-Luz? What do I do?" She looked at the human and noticed her amused, lovestruck expression.

"When I thought you couldn't be any more adorable…" Luz cooed, taking in the image.

"I'm not adorable, Clawthorne…" Amity almost growled but the moment a creature in her lap meowed and started purring she lost her facade, "Ohhh, you are the cutest thing ever…"

She petted the animal's head with both palms and accepted the next markings, starting purring along with the feline without even realizing it. Luz sat down on the pavement, cross-legged, and just watched, resting her head in her palm.

"Just this was worth the whole trip back… Whatever happens," She thought and as if she jinxed their walk a bicycle rushed past them spooking the cat from Amity's lap and making it run away.

"Hey! Watch it!" Luz was up in no time, taking the defensive pose, clenching her fists.

The bike tires squeaked when it came to a stop, hurting Amity's ears while she got to her feet as well. They both were ready to jump at a person who spooked the innocent animal, interrupting their wholesome moment.

"Oh, no way…" The blonde man with bright, blue eyes looked at Luz and a smile appeared on his face. He chuckled and pedaled away, leaving the women frozen in the moment.

"What an ass…" Amity said, slowly looking to where the cat ran off to. It took her a moment to realize that her girlfriend was still stuck in the same pose, absolutely frozen, "Um… Luz?" She approached the brunette and realized her breathing was rapid and shallow, "Luz?" She put her hand on the human's shoulder startling her in the process.

"A-Amity…" She seemed surprised.

"Talk to me, please," The witch asked and her girlfriend looked away sheepishly, "I can see you know him and it seems he recognized you," She placed another hand on the cheek, caressing it in support, feeling the concealed scars.

"I do…" Luz replied dryly, her right hand touching a space between her left collarbone and her breast. Amity did not know what else to do so she guided the human into a hug which Clawthorne accepted gratefully, placing her head on the shorter woman's shoulder, "I'm sorry… I don't want to ruin our day…" She mumbled into the lavender hair and was surprised by the long caresses on her back, helping her relax.

"Shh… Luz, you're not ruining anything," Amity cooed, pulling the human closer in, "He was the one who bullied you and apparently he's still an ass, almost running us down…" She added and started purring, knowing how it always helped Luz calm down, "It's all right, we're here together now and I'd rather burn everything to the ground than let anyone hurt you ever again," She vowed and that made Luz chuckle.

"Sometimes I really am glad to have you on my side," The human smiled and returned the hug eagerly, enjoying their closeness.

"And here I thought you were always glad to have me on your side," The witch teased, lighting the brunette's mood up. A sudden sound of the bell in the distance made them part, "What is that?" Amity wondered, searching for the source of the sound and Luz smiled, wiping a sole tear away from her eye.

"Yeah, our bells don't scream," She pointed at the Town Hall, "It's eight o'clock. The Library is just about to open, come on!" Luz added with a smile, trying to forget about her distress, and focusing on making her girlfriend happy.

"We're so talking it out later!" The witch opposed but could not hide her joy in finally making it to their destination.

"We're so not!" Luz retorted and pulled her girlfriend toward the town center.

The Gravesfield Library was nothing like Amity imagined. In comparison to the Bonesborough Library, it was a small, gray, and sad building. No towers, no hidden rooms, no Demon Decimal System, and most importantly…

"Finally… No Gary…" Amity thought with a smile when she entered the building and smiled widely, showing off her dull human fangs. Luz could not believe the witch was actually satisfied with this.

"It's even worse than I remember…" She thought with disgust but realized Amity was already pulling her in, passing the reception desk, searching for the technical books she came here for.

They searched the same shelf, each one on the other side of it. They stole silent glances, smiling at each other, searching for the proper books. Luz had no idea one could have such a great time at a quiet Library.

Once they chose five books each, they made it toward the research area where they sat quietly together. Suddenly, Amity smiled and pushed Luz by leaning on the taller body a little bit, making her blush.

"Hey…" Amity whispered, smiling mischievously at her girlfriend.

"Hmm? Something on your mind?" Luz asked, opening the first book and taking a look at the contents.

"I just thought about our first kiss…" The witch replied and enjoyed how the human's expression got all flustered, "You were so considerate to avoid my ears," She teased some more.

"Well, if I didn't, the story of our first time would be totally different, Blight," Luz retorted, enjoying Amity's blush, seeing with her imagination how her pointy ears slanted while the Illusion of the round ears remained static.

"Shut up…" The witch replied sheepishly, thoroughly embarrassed, making Luz chuckle.

They remained quiet for some time after that, fetching different books, and not disturbing other users of the Library. Luz was shocked to realize that for the first time in her life, she had no problem focusing on something, that was not 'Azura', drawing, or Glyph Magic, for an extended time. She also realized that she had a better understanding of the content of the engineering books she was reading.

"Could it be another thing I got from Amity?" She thought while her look traveled back to the witch slouching at the desk.

Luz watched Amity from a distance of the bookshelf and noticed how the witch fidgeted. Her leg bounced in irritation, her upper body was rocking, and her thin, pale fingers spun the pencil in her hand.

"Oh? That looks too familiar…" She thought with amusement and returned to her girlfriend.

"Hey, Amity. Is everything okay?" She asked with honest worry in her voice. The witch looked up with an irritated glare.

"I can't focus!" She exclaimed in a whisper, "I try to read a paragraph but my sight jumps to the next one, hoping to find more information. Then I realize I don't know what I'm reading because I skipped the previous part!" The witch's expression was filled with panic and confusion, "It never happened to me before. I have this feeling to just get those books back to the garage and start taking those vehicles apart," Amity looked frantically at her girlfriend and thought she would explode when she realized the human just smiled.

"I'm sorry, Amity," She caressed the pale cheek, "You got that from me," Amity was not expecting that.

"How do you live like that?!" She shouted in a whisper that sounded more like a hiss of irritation, making Luz chuckle quietly.

"Barely…" She replied with a smile, "Come on then, let's borrow those books and get back to the garage," The human offered and loved Amity's expression of adoration that made her dread disappear.

"Really?"

"Of course," Luz smiled even wider, "Let's get you a Library Card so you can come back any time you want," She added and they walked toward the main reception desk where an angry-looking, borderline sad woman was sitting, sorting returned books, "Excuse me?" Luz interrupted her work and the woman groaned irritably until she eyed her.

"Do I know you, sweetheart?" She asked with a voice that suggested too many drinks in the evening.

The woman had pale, gray eyes underlined with dark shadows. Her beige uniform seemed old just like her golden name tag saying 'Isabelle'. Amity watched Luz gulp nervously, her expression faded, and her face paled. It was clear that Luz did not expect her cover to be blown so quickly.

"Um, I don't think so…" Clawthorne quickly recovered, her expression hardened, "I'm Lucia Clawthorne and my girlfriend would like to borrow some books," She said, pointing at the vehicle maintenance textbooks they were interested in.

"ID, please," The woman turned her attention to the books and Amity fetched the rectangle with her photo on it and passed it to the strange lady, "Alright, Amelia…" It was so strange to hear that for both of them, "You have to return these books in fourteen days. Please fill out this form and you're good to go," She added and passed Amity the sheet of paper that demanded information the witch had no idea where to get from.

"It's alright," Luz calmed her girlfriend down, "I've got your phone number in my phone and I still remember the address by heart," She replied and helped Amity with the form. Once they were done the lady looked up at both of them, her sight jumped from one young woman to another, "Something's wrong?" Luz asked, noticing she was not the only one feeling uncomfortable with the interaction.

"Are you sure that's the right address?" The lady finally asked and Luz just raised her brow in questioning, irritated gaze, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just…" She lowered her voice, "People say it's haunted. The older Noceda killed herself after her husband's death, leaving the only daughter behind…" She said in a spooky voice, making Luz's body stiffen and Amity could have sworn she felt her girlfriend's panic, "They say she comes back from time to time, haunts the house, searching for her little girl who disappeared a few years ago, after coming back home," The lady ignored Luz's expression and continued, "Some say she killed herself where her mother did…" A memory of the young human girl being tempted by a rusty razor flashed before Luz's eyes, unaware the same vision was shown to Amity, "Some say, she was whisked away into a different world…" A memory of Luz following Eda flashed, blinding both of them, "Some say she turned into a monster that lives in that house now…" Luz hid her hands in the pockets of her jeans to hide how they began to shake, "Either way…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you…" Luz finally spoke up, her voice smooth, and with no hint of distress, "But I don't know any older Noceda…" She paused, and Amity noticed her discomfort when those words left her lips, "But this is now my home. The Clawthorne home. Whatever happened there in the past made it one hell of a real estate opportunity," She concluded and smiled a smile that never reached her eyes.

"Yes, yes, sorry…" The lady was honestly apologetic, "You seem to be new around here, I shouldn't gossip about the departed," She agreed and tried to smile as well. The tension was unbearable.

"Well, thank you for your help," Amity interjected and took hold of Luz's forearm, "We'll take our leave now, have a great day," She added, hid the books in her backpack, and quickly guided Luz outside.

"W-where…" Luz tried to ask but followed her girlfriend obediently.

"Hush, I saw your flashbacks, I can feel your emotions…" Amity tried to explain but her voice was unsure, "I think I saw a secluded area right outside… Come on!" She ordered and Luz tailed her, unable to think straight.

They exited the Library, took a turn right, and then found stairs to the delivery area. They took another turn to where there were no security cameras and Amity helped Luz to the ground, seeing how weak she was in her knees.

The human slid down the wall. She felt the tears gather in her eyes and her breathing started increasing. Luz let down her elbows in between her long, lean legs, her hands took hold of her shirt, and she looked up into the blue sky, fighting the tears away. A sad smile crept onto her face.

"It's alright, Luz…" Amity rubbed her girlfriend's arms, helping her ground herself, "You're safe…"

"Thank you, Amity…" Luz whispered, letting out a deep, shaky breath, slowly calming down, "I'm so sorry. I keep ruining this vacation and it has been just two days…"

"Luz!" Amity interrupted the human sternly, shutting her up with no room to argue, "You're not ruining anything…" Her voice softened and the witch caressed the tan cheek, "You were anxious about coming back and I knew that. I was and still am fully aware of the emotional toll this vacation has on you. I want to help you find the closure you never got," Luz's eyes roamed the witch's face, listening carefully, "I can only imagine how difficult it is for you to come back after so many years, and open the wounds that never healed properly but I am happy I can be here with you, for you, and support you," She added and pecked the tear-stained cheek, "Just please, don't shut me out, Luz," Amity smiled softly, wiping her girlfriend's tears away with her thumb, "What was it you were always telling me?" She asked, smirking a little bit at the human's confusion, "We'll get through it together," Blight said, recalling how Luz supported her and she was determined to do the same for the woman crying in front of her, "Come on… You can say it…" She mocked a little bit, making the human chuckle through the tears.

"We'll get through it together…" Luz said quietly, wiping her face with her shirt, smiling at Amity's cockiness, "Thank you… For understanding. I really want this trip to be fun for you…" She cleared her throat and exhaled heavily, composing herself.

"Luz… It's already fun for me because it's with you," The witch beamed happily.

"Oh?" Luz smirked, "So you say you don't want to get your hands dirty in the garage?" She teased and chuckled when she noticed how Amity's expression dropped, "Just kidding, my Love. Let's go," Clawthorne offered, slowly standing up, using the wall to support herself.

"Are you sure you're okay to walk home? Wouldn't you prefer to take the transport… The bus?" Amity suggested with worry, watching Luz holding the wall for dear life.

"Yes, my leg is just acting up," The human replied, shaking her right leg, and trying to hide her worry, "The walk should make it better," She added, hiding the discomfort behind the smile, and Amity rolled her eyes at that.

"Fine, let's go then…" The witch extended her hand and they walked back, hand in hand, "Would you like to share what that bully did to you? I mean, it's not every day that a child suddenly stabs another," Amity pushed a little bit, hoping to understand the human a little bit better.

"Um… Okay… I'll talk…" Luz agreed, "You deserve to know…" She looked away ashamed, her childhood memories flashing in front of her eyes, "My parents and I moved here to be closer to this fancy hospital. My mother worked there when she was not working in her Vet Clinic," Clawthorne started sharing and Amity did not dare to interrupt her, knowing how difficult it must have been. After another sigh, the brunette continued, "But it did not work out. Dad died anyway and kids in my school noticed I lost my will to fight. They called me names, made fun of my heritage…" She paused and smirked a bit, "That's probably why it never bothered me when Boscha bullied me for being human. Here they bullied me for being Dominicanos…" Amity raised her brow in confusion, "Like, from a different Titan, an outsider. Eda was not exaggerating when she said that people fear and hate anything different. I was mocked for my skin tone, my curly hair, my… Well, everything!" The human continued and watched the growing confusion on her girlfriend's face, "Yeah, I know it's messed up. But some humans think they are superior to others just because of the way they look," Amity squeezed her girlfriend's hand in support and let her know she was safe, making Luz smile, "Anyway… It started with the way I'm an outsider. Then it progressed into my way of coping after losing my Dad… I lost myself in arts and crafts which caused me a lot of trouble. But then my Mom left me…" She paused here, recalling the words of the lady from the library, "I was thrown into the foster home and it left me… Defenseless. As long as I had my parents, I was running back home as soon as I finished school for the day. But since I was scared of the foster home I had nowhere to run…" She paused and did not even realize she was crying heavily, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Luz…" Amity tried to support her girlfriend in any way but she was interrupted.

"It's okay, Amity," Despite silent sobs, the human smiled through the tears, "It's just a lot of emotions. I have never talked about it with anyone. I was hinting at things, giving a summary but you're the first person I actually told the whole story to."

"Thank you for trusting me…" Amity whispered, not knowing what else to say. Luz kissed the hand she held and cleared her throat before continuing.

"So anyway… Being bullied for something I had no say in, like being born in another country or with a different skin tone or losing a family was just stupid," Luz felt frustration creeping into her heart, "So I left… I thought about leaving for a long time…"

"You mean…" Amity thought about Luz's memories where she had seen the human wanting to end her own life.

"Yeah… I meant ending myself. I was too tired to fight the fight I did not choose for myself," She confirmed and could have sworn she felt her girlfriend's piercing sadness at the thought of a life without her, "But then I met Eda. And she gave me a choice. She wanted to let me choose whether I stay in the Demon Realm. That was something I was robbed of from a very young age," They stopped in front of the house and Luz fetched the keys from her trousers pocket, "So you see… Even though I still had to keep fighting, it was my choice," She added, opening the door, and letting them in, "So you must understand too…" She got Amity's attention after closing the door, "You should stop blaming yourself for my condition," She approached the witch and reached toward her choker's clasp, "I chose to help you…" The Illusion of the Concealment Stone disappeared, making Luz smile, "Here's the witch I love and adore," She said and kissed the pale forehead, smiling when she noticed how the pointy ears fluttered at the compliment, "So you know… I would gladly go all over everything I've been through again and again. As long as it means you're free and happy," She kissed the pale hands, "I love seeing you happy, Amity," She added and finally noticed the tears of joy in the golden eyes, pointy ears slanted in appreciation.

"I love you too, Luz," Amity threw herself at the taller woman, crushing her in a desperate hug, "Thank you for letting me in," She added, mumbling into a tan neck, reveling in the embrace Luz returned. But it did not last, "Are you okay?" The witch asked, realizing the human's hold weakened significantly, "Luz?" She pulled away and noticed the hazel-brown eyes roaming the hall, not able to focus on anything.

"Okay…" Luz mumbled but it did not convince her girlfriend, "Suddenly tired…" She stumbled back, wincing in pain, making Amity realize that despite their walk her girlfriend's right leg did not stop hurting.

"Okay, Luz. Let's take you up to bed. You're probably still weak from Bond," Amity offered support and guided the human up the stairs.

"S-sorry…" Luz mumbled but accepted the help gratefully, "I didn't want to cause you trouble…" Amity rolled her eyes and took off her backpack to get a better hold of her girlfriend.

"Stop that, Luz. You're not causing trouble. I unintentionally hurt you and you're paying the price…" The witch whispered in a sad, heavy voice, "Let's take you to bed. I'll wake you up for lunch," She added and helped Luz up the stairs and toward their bedroom at the end of the corridor.

"You're the best…" The human whispered with a blissful smile, closing her eyes when Amity tucked her in, kissing the tan forehead.

"I just hope you'll be better soon…" The witch thought and was surprised when her girlfriend spoke up again.

"Don't worry, I'll be better soon…" Luz added and fell asleep. Blight cracked a smile and decided to lie next to the human.

"Just for a moment…" She thought and without even realizing she fell asleep as well, engulfed in the scent of the woman she loved, her warmth gave her a sense of safety she had never felt before.

When Amity opened her eyes she was shocked to realize that she was back at the Owl House. Yet, things were different. She looked around Luz's room and noticed her girlfriend's bed was missing, her wall was not decorated with as many of her sketches as she recalled. Especially the ones of her and Luz she was so very fond of.

It did take just a few seconds, a few glances across the room to realize something else was wrong. Her heart raced, her stomach squirmed, and she was sure she would be sick. The witch ran to the bathroom and fell to the ground as soon as she closed the door behind her.

The agonizing pain erupted from her chest and Amity could have sworn she felt her ribs crack and move in her chest. It took her a moment before she made it up to her feet, using the sink as leverage. Her focus was diverted when she heard an urgent knocking at a door and was startled to hear an all too familiar voice.

"Hey, Kid! You okay?" Eda asked in a care-filled voice.

"I'm fine…" Amity was surprised, her voice did not sound like hers at all.

She turned her head and looked up into the mirror hanging above the sink and was shocked to look directly into Luz's black eyes. Her face was scared, trying to hide her fear and pain.

"It's okay, it was your choice, Luz. At least Eda will live. You can take it!" The witch heard the human's voice in her head and was paralyzed with yet another jolt of pain when her collarbones started breaking.

"MOM!" Erupted from her throat in a distorted voice and she fell back to the floor.

Her whole body and all her senses were overwhelmed with the pain of breaking bones, stretching skin, and moving insides, adjusting to another physiology. She was gasping hard, lying on her back, watching Eda run into the bathroom with a worried, fearful expression.

Amity did not understand whatever the older witch was saying. She was deafened with loud screeching in her head that she did not understand. Before she could have thought any other thought everything went black.

Luz opened her eyes and was shocked to realize that she was sitting in a fancy restaurant, staring at a short menu. The prices made the human open her lips in shock.

"Are you pretending to read the menu and will pick the usual as always?" Luz heard a familiar voice.

She could not fight the way her body moved on its own accord, letting the menu down, and making her notice, she was sitting in front of Odalia. The older witch was dressed in a white smart suit, her fingers were holding an elegant, cristal glass of Apple Blood, and she was smirking with superiority.

"At least have the decency to make it half a portion. You're getting fatter every time I see you," She added and Luz could feel the weirdest feeling in her chest, as if her heart was pounding powerfully against a giant mass in her chest, pushing hard against her lungs.

"Just calm down… She'll be gone by tomorrow… You can handle one dinner…" The human heard Amity's voice in her head and noticed how she picked up her glass of Apple Blood to take a sip.

When Luz noticed her pale hands with black nail polish she started to slowly comprehend what was happening. A burning sensation of alcohol entering her system helped calm the heart beating hard against the bile sac, helping control her magic.

"I'll have you know, Mother, I lost weight since your last visit…" The human said through Amity's lips and placed the glass back on the table covered in an elegant, white tablecloth.

"You certainly don't look like it…" Odalia said teasingly and called in the waiter to place an order.

Luz looked away, her eyes roamed the fancy place. It was most certainly reserved for the richest witches on the Isles. Suddenly, her eyes were stuck on a young witchling. Her green eyes made contact with Luz's and the human felt a powerful surge of heat in her loins, her face grew hot, and to Clawthorne's surprise, she felt pointy ears slanting in embarrassment.

"Mittens?" Made it to her twitching ears and she took another sip of her Apple Blood.

"Um, sorry, Mother. I got distracted," Luz apologized and tried to steal another glance from the mysterious witchlet.

"'Distracted' you say?" Odalia questioned, following her daughter's gaze, "Oh, we won't be having any of this…" She muttered and took hold of the Oracle orb she had on her necklace.

Without any warning, Luz felt a burning, lava-hot sensation around her neck, expanding to her chest, gripping her in a death grip. It felt as if someone poured molten metal into her heart before reaping it out.

"You're not an animal to behave like that, Mittens…" Odalia's voice echoed in her head and she could have sworn it would make it explode. The pain was gone without a trace as soon as it appeared, leaving Luz panting.

"Dinner is served," The waiter approached but the older witch stopped him, raising her hand.

"You will be excused, Amity. One must deserve to be fed," She said and Luz watched her meal being taken away.

"You will learn your place…" Was the last thing Luz heard before everything went dark.

Thump, thump…

A powerful, deafening heartbeat was all the human could hear when she opened her eyes.

Thump, thump…

Her vision was blurry and she was relieved to realize she was back in her body, back in her bedroom, awake.

"What the hell was that?!" She wondered, slowly regaining control over her limbs, clenching her fists.

"PLEASE!" A yell from the left side made it to her ears, startling the human.

Luz quickly turned to face the scream and was shocked to find Amity thrashing in bed, sweating, scratching off her tee, tugging her hair, breathing heavily, clearly in an enormous amount of pain.

"Amity…" Luz whispered, trying to wake the witch up as gently as possible.

The said woman only growled and mewled painfully, more tears pricked out of her squeezed-shut eyes. When her nails lengthened a little bit the human realized the sleeping woman could hurt herself with the way she was behaving.

"AMITY!" Luz yelled, taking hold of the pale, scarred forearms and she pushed them down against the mattress.

"H-hurts…" The witch whimpered, making the human lessen the hold, afraid she was hurting her girlfriend, "Make it stop…" She mumbled with a weak, trembling voice, while tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"Please, Amity. Wake up!" Luz did not know what to do or what was happening, "Please, my Love, wake up," She cried and put her hand on a wet, tear-stained, pale cheek, hoping a delicate caress would help calm the witch down. It indeed did, "Shh… You're safe, Amity…" Luz continued to soothe her girlfriend, not controlling her tears, worried for Amity's current predicament as well as everything she had seen in the dream.

"L-Luz?" The human was relieved to see the golden eyes open, looking back at her.

"Yeah, I'm here," Luz confirmed, smiling through tears, letting out a sob of relief, putting a second hand on the pale face, cupping it, caressing both cheeks, noticing with relief how the witch's breathing calmed down, her nails retracted but her lips quivered.

"Luz!" Amity exclaimed, sitting up, throwing herself at the human, crushing her in a powerful hug, "Titan, Luz!" She started crying again. When Luz felt her small hands clench and ball up the human's shirt, she began to rock them in the hope of helping to calm the witch down.

"I'm here, Amity. I'm here, shhh… It's alright," Luz cooed, caressing her girlfriend's back in strong, slow strokes. The witch wailed louder, distressed from the nightmares that haunted her.

"I… I…" She tried to speak but the human kept soothingly shushing her.

"It's okay… You'll tell me when you're ready. We're not in a hurry," Luz whispered, never wavering in her calming behavior even though she was panicking internally.

"Keep it cool, Clawthorne. If I have dreamt about her past then she probably had too. Just what was it? I hope it wasn't… No, don't even go there… You need to remain calm for Amity's sake," She blinked rapidly, chasing the memories of the catacombs away. Distracted by her own thoughts she did not notice that Amity's cries died down and the witch finally let go of her tee.

"I'm sorry…" She wiped her face but refused to let go of the comfort of the human's hug.

"Don't be…" Luz pecked the crown of the lavender head and kept applying pressure to the witch's tense back, "I understand you dreamed of the past too?" She asked and Amity pulled away, frightened of what may have the human dreamt about. The witch only nodded slowly in confirmation.

"I had no idea you went through so much pain…" Blight said and returned to the previous position.

"Okay… That's, like, super imprecise…" Luz thought but did not know how to ask about the details. She was not even sure she wanted to know more.

"I've seen…" Amity stopped to gasp for air, tears reappearing in her eyes, "I've seen your first transformation…" She finally blurted out and did not add anything else when she realized Luz stopped the rocking and soothing caresses the instant she heard what the witch said.

"I'm sorry…" Luz took a deep breath and resumed calming Amity, "I'm sorry you had to go through it…"

"Don't be sorry," Amity pulled away, looked into the brown, sad eyes, and smiled delicately, "I appreciate you better. The way you tried to stop yourself from changing at the Academy. It would have been so easy to just let go. I appreciate Eda even more. The way she supported you…" The witch cupped the tan cheek when she noticed Luz's expression - a mixture of shock, appreciation, disbelief, and love. Mostly the shock, though, "I'm glad I could have experienced it. Despite the pain," Amity explained and left a chaste kiss on the human's cheek. It was sweet and innocent, but it made Luz lose her cool the moment pink lips left her face.

"I'm just sorry you had to go through it…" The brunette sobbed quietly, "It's not like you had it easy yourself…" She hesitantly looked into Amity's eyes.

"Oh?" Blight pulled away, understanding the human had a glimpse into her past as well, "Do you want to share?" Amity asked and watched Luz sit back, pull her knees to her chest, and look away as if she was ashamed.

"It's not what I have seen but more of what I know from my own experience," The human had begun and Amity took a pillow to hug it and listened carefully, "I've seen Odalia's visit. You were in some fancy-schmancy restaurant and she shamed you… I could feel everything so clearly. I never even considered how it feels to have a bile sac!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, "With the way it's squeezed between heart and lung it's no surprise you can't contain magic when the ticker beats like crazy. So much different…"

"Luz…" Amity interrupted and touched the tan arm, "You're losing focus," She smiled warmly.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. So anyway, you checked out a girl there… And dang, you were horny," Luz scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, "I had no idea you feel it that intensely. Oof…" That made the witch smile a little bit. Her girlfriend's expressive description made her forget about the embarrassment she would usually experience.

"Sometimes it takes another person in our shoes to make us realize how beautifully different we are," Amity thought and kept listening to her girlfriend's story.

"But that was still no reason to punish you, starve you…" Luz shook her head in disbelief and her eyes roamed the space as if she were recalling something else, "But it all makes sense now," She looked up at Amity, "She told me she made sure no one would love you, she told me she controlled your urges and desires, she told me she made sure you wouldn't want to be close to anyone, she told me…" Luz paused and decided to keep the rest to herself, "Nothing else…"

"Luz… You can say it. Don't hide anything from me, please…" Amity made a convincing argument in the human's opinion.

"She…" Luz took a breath of encouragement, "She said, she shaped you into a perfect weapon or something like that… I mean, maybe I was hallucinating… It was right before she burned the original mark… I don't know, I'm sorry…" The human rumbled when she noticed the witch's frozen expression.

"W-weapon?" Amity echoed, her expression dropping, freezing her body.

"Weapon for what? Was that why she praised me for violence? Allowed anger but not love? Why she trained me… Was it some twisted plan?" Her mind was racing, childhood memories flashing before her eyes which roamed the room, glistening with tears. Luz noticed her expression and opened her closed-off position, scooting closer to her girlfriend.

"Amity…" She tried to get the witch's attention, "I may have mixed up something, I was in a really bad shape," The human said softly, touching the pale cheek in a soothing caress, "You're safe now. She's banished to the other side of the world while we're literally in another Realm," Luz offered and Amity touched the tan hand on her face as if she wanted to make sure it was not an Illusion.

"You're right… Sorry…" The witch whispered and looked away sheepishly, "It's just…" Amity sighed and looked at Luz's worried gaze, "Even if you heard her right that doesn't change the fact that we're here now," She smiled, trying to lighten up the tense atmosphere, and hide her worry, "Aaaand…" She looked up at the clock on the wall, "Wow, look at that! It's time to eat something!" She exclaimed and jumped out of bed.

"You're gonna keep avoiding it, right?" Luz asked, chuckling at her girlfriend's behavior.

"For as long as possible," Amity replied with a smile.

"Until I will just dream about it, huh?" The human teased, crossing her arms, looking up at the witch whose expression dropped.

"Yeah… The books didn't say anything about it," The pale woman said, putting on some clothes, and getting ready to continue the day.

"Any theories?" The brunette asked, following her girlfriend's example.

"Just that we overdid it… Well… I overdid it," Amity's voice was quiet and full of shame.

She did not notice when her girlfriend approached her and pulled her into a delicate hug, lifting her chin to look into her golden eyes, and brushing some lavender hair away.

"Don't blame yourself," Luz smiled warmly, "Eda always taught me that magic is wild and unpredictable. And that's why it's so beautiful," She imitated her mother's intonation, making the witch smile, "Just like love and we just went with the flow," She added, placing a delicate peck on the pale cheek, rewarded with Amity's brightening expression, ears perking up, "I mean, I'm not entirely sure what happened, I remember bits and pieces, overwhelmed with everything, so awesome…" She squealed, recalling the pleasure she experienced, "But I do remember one thing though," The human continued and smiled cockily, "I love you…" Luz was interrupted with a strong pull into a searing kiss.

She needed a second to process the feeling of Amity's lips on her own and melted into the touch when her brain caught up with the affection. The witch's hands sneaked into the brunette's curly locks, and her fingers dug into her scalp, making the taller woman moan, pulling the other woman closer by her waist.

"I love you too, Luz…" Amity gasped when they parted, faces flushed, hands still holding each other close, "I feel guilty because I never wanted to cause you any harm," Luz tried to interrupt her with words of comfort but Amity quickly put a finger on her full lips, "But…" She said sternly, letting the human know she should not interrupt, "I am more than happy to go through it all as long as it's with you," She added, letting her hand down, smiling at the human's lovestruck expression.

"We'll get through it…" Luz whispered, connecting her forehead with Amity's, enjoying the embrace.

"Together," The witch confirmed, returning the affection.

The next couple of days sped by in some weird stasis. They have not felt like leaving home. Between their nightmare-filled nights, followed by conversations about their past experiences, and Luz's anxiety after their first outing, they decided that staying in would be the best way to help them adjust.

Amity was so focused on fixing the motorcycle left by Clawthorne's father that she did not notice the passage of time. Luz made sure that her girlfriend was eating and drinking properly but apparently, the skill to focus on the task at hand so hard the world lost its meaning, was new to the witch and she had yet to learn to work with it.

The human on the other hand spent the time in her old room, going through stuff from her past. She was surprised that Eda managed to box everything so neatly. Of course, many things were missing but that was understandable considering how many people raided the house before Eda bought it. It has been over ten years since Camila's death so it was already a miracle that so many of the belongings were left untouched.

Yet, Luz could not muster the courage to enter one room in the house. Amity has caught her girlfriend staring at the closed door on more than one occasion, trying to open it but in the end, Luz just kept staring blankly until she left. The witch wanted to help, it was unknown territory for both of them but she still recalled Gwen Clawthorne's words - she needed space.

That was exactly what Amity did, learning more about the Human Realm in the meantime. Luz found her girlfriend often jumping from one article or MewTube video to another. She wanted to know everything: the history, the culture, the cuisine. When the witch discovered audiobooks she was immediately hooked, learning about the humans while working on her vehicle.

"Hey, Amity…" Luz whispered when she woke up one morning, feeling the witch still snuggling to her.

"Mmm?" The twitching ears let the human know that the witch was slowly waking up, making Luz smile at the movement.

"So cute…"

"I was thinking…" Luz started hesitantly, "Today's the week since we came here and I did a really bad job showing you around…"

"Don't feel bad…" Amity mumbled incoherently, pulling the tan body closer into a sleepy hug.

"But I still would like to take you on some cool date. Show you around a bit…" Luz offered, caressing the pale hand, resting on her ribcage. It took less than a second for her to realize golden eyes were drilling into her face, watching carefully.

"You're not anxious about those bullies anymore or are you just forcing yourself?" Amity asked, raising her eyebrow in question, the worry for her girlfriend chasing the remainder of her sleep away.

"You know…" Luz turned a bit to face the witch, "I am anxious, I'm actually paralyzed with fear but I am so fucking tired of it I don't give a damn anymore," She said in a serious tone, studying the smaller woman's expression, "I can't even force myself to enter my mother's bedroom…" The pale hand caressed her face, and the scarred brow began to twitch in anxiety.

"Luz…" Amity smiled warmly, "It's okay. I honestly understand that," The human arched her eyebrow in question, "I still haven't fetched my belongings from the Manor so I really, really, understand where you're coming from."

"Oh…"

"Yeah… So a date sounds like a fine idea," Amity confirmed, "Also, whatever happens, we'll get through it together. You've got my back, I've got yours," A fanged smile warmed the human's heart, "But I need to go to the Library for a moment today. I'm done with most of the books and I'd rather just return them…"

"Already?!" Luz squeaked in shock, making Amity chuckle.

"What can I say?" The witch feigned innocence, "It's easy to read when it's fun," The human laughed warmly, hugging the witch, planting a delicate peck on the crown of lavender hair. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just happy to see you so… Happy, I guess. I mean, back home, I have never really seen you work but it's just amazing to see you so passionate," Luz exclaimed happily, throwing her hands in the air, and letting the witch go from the embrace.

"Once I'm done with the bike, you'll see why I'm so passionate about it," Amity said teasingly and they shared a giggle, "So, would you pick me up at ten?" She asked, sitting up in bed, feeling more than anxious to return to her project.

"Sounds perfect," Luz confirmed and yelped suddenly tackled by the witch.

"You're perfect!" Amity exclaimed, leaving a kiss on the full lips, and disappearing in the bathroom as quickly as she knocked down her girlfriend.

"I'm the luckiest human alive… And dead… Yeap… Just… The luckiest…" Luz thought with a goofy smile, touching her lips where the taste of her girlfriend still lingered, "Right, no time to waste…" She thought and started getting ready for their day as well.

Luz may have been a little bit too excited to pick Amity up from the Library so she ended up arriving at her destination around fifteen minutes too early. She decided to go into the building and see if Amity was doing fine by herself.

Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the lavender-haired, human-looking witch, dressed in a pink dress with short sleeves, and long, black leggings that hid inside her heavy boots. The black choker obscuring her Demonic origins fit the style perfectly.

"Just like the Inner Amity…" Luz thought back to the visions from the night they bonded, "She must really like that dress…" She thought, just realizing that she too was dressed exactly as Amity described her Inner Self in the visions the witch experienced.

"There's no way I'm staying here with those brats!" A feminine voice echoed through the Library in a very not-library-friendly tone.

"Please, the children are already here…" The Librarian tried to convince the young, blond woman.

"Shhhh!" Someone reacted.

"Oh, shush yourself! I'm out!" The woman darted past Luz, leaving everyone in shock.

"Seemed awfully familiar," Luz thought but her focus diverted toward the main reception desk.

"What should we do?" The Librarian asked the woman who lent Amity her books, Isabelle.

"Miss Amelia? Would you, perchance, find time to fill in for the volunteer who just bailed on us?" Amity stiffened at the question, making Luz approach the witch, "She was supposed to read to the kids as a part of our program and if we can't find anyone in the next ten minutes we could lose the funding," Isabelle exclaimed as loud as the Library policy allowed her to.

"I mean… I used to…" Amity stumbled, not knowing what she should do.

It was always so difficult for her to say 'no' but she knew she was supposed to spend some quality time with Luz who surely would not want to wait for her any longer than necessary.

"Go for it…" Luz whispered in her ear, "As long as it is what you want…" She added and felt the witch relax.

"Well…" Amity looked at Luz and smiled warmly, "The Demon on my shoulder says I can spare some time…" She jested, knowing that only her girlfriend would find the joke amusing.

"Always trust a shoulder Demon!" Luz exclaimed in a whisper, smiling warmly.

"Please, show me the way," The witch asked the panicked librarian who seemed so relieved he was about to cry.

"Every Realm has its own Gary…" Amity thought with a smile and found herself in the kids' corner, surrounded by so many round-eared children.

"Who are you?" A red-headed girl asked, dressed in a stained yellow dress.

"Cool hair!" A blue-eyed boy exclaimed.

"Children, now come along," The Librarian tried to get their attention to no avail.

"Did you fight your predecessor to the death?!" Another child asked, making Luz snort.

The boy resembled King when she came to know him. With all the chaos in the room, no one noticed how Amity took her place in the comfortable armchair and looked at the gathered people as if she were the queen of this realm.

"That would be all, thank you," Amity spoke up, looking coldly at the Librarian, "My name is Amelia Blight and I will be substituting today," The tone of her voice made everyone stop talking.

"She truly is a Queen of this Realm…" Luz thought, recalling what the witch told her about her time at the Bonesborough Library when she worked there before Odalia sent her away.

"Now, what would you like for me to read today?" She asked, her expression warming up in an instant, making the children scoot closer, melting Luz's heart as she too sat on the floor, basking in the warmth of Amity's voice and bright presence.

"The Red Riding Hood!" One child exclaimed.

"No, it's sad! They kill the wolf!" Another one opposed.

Luz and Amity's eyes met and they smiled, watching each other from the different sides of this situation while the children kept bickering. Finally, Amity cleared her throat and looked back at the next generation of humans at her feet.

"Maybe I should teach them something from our world?" She thought, feeling rebellious.

"Would you like to hear a story I adored as a child?" The room suddenly went quiet, "Actually, it was a book I kept reading over and over again whenever I felt down or alone," She added and hoped Luz did not see her glance at her human girlfriend.

"Yaaaaaaaay!" The children cheered and Amity smiled fondly at them.

The witch felt so warm, appreciated, wanted, and just in the right place with Luz by her side. Little did she know that her girlfriend felt exactly the same, watching the lavender-haired woman with awe.

"Otabin spent his days alone, amongst the many books heʼd sewn. With needle and thread the pages heʼd mend. But all the while, he longed for a friend," Amity started reciting from memory, speaking slowly, her golden eyes diverting from one enamored child to the next one, then to Luz who fetched her sketchbook and began drawing.

It had been over thirty minutes and Amity was still reciting. The Librarian stopped his rounds when he heard the lavender-haired woman's voice, shocked by how calm the children were. Luz was just finishing off the details of her quick sketch when she heard the familiar ending line, thinking of Eda who read Otabin to her whenever she was sick.

"'Then we'll be your first,' the Chicken Witch clucked. Otabin couldn't believe his luck. So, Bookmaker Otabin, surrounded by friends, bound a book of friendship and that's… The end," Amity made a dramatic pause at the end and when she was done, she was happy to see not only children but also Isabelle and the Librarian cried a little. Then the chaos began.

"A witch?!" A child asked.

"To burn at stake?" A blue-eyed boy queried, making Amity's expression fall, and Luz immediately hid her sketchbook.

"Oh no, children. No one is to be burned at the stake or hurt in any way as long as they are good people," Amity regained her composure and spoke softly, surprising not only Luz but also the Library employees, "It doesn't matter if a person is a witch, a demon, or an outsider. As long as they are good people, you should give them a chance, don't you think?" She continued and watched the confusion on the young faces. Unfortunately, before anyone could answer, the parents came to pick up the children one by one.

"Titan, Amity…" Luz squeaked, "You did so good! I love your reading voice so much!" She could not contain her emotions and lifted the witch to swirl her around the room.

"Your standards are getting lower and lower, Chris," Both young women heard someone speak to the Librarian while they collected their children, "Not only you got a punk degenerate but also a dyke?!" The woman's voice cracked at the last word. Amity understood it was nothing good when she noticed her girlfriend's expression fade.

"Titan, I forgot about it… How could I've forgotten about this?!" Luz questioned herself.

"Is everything okay?" Amity finally asked, feeling anger rising in her girlfriend's body.

"Miss Amelia…" The Librarian walked over, noticing the tension, "I am truly sorry for some of the parents. We try to encourage the next generation to be more open-minded but this is a small town famous for Witchcraft Trials. It's the Salem of Connecticut. The definitions of witchcraft may have changed but people are still the same," He said sadly, now both Luz and Amity looked at him with a questioning gaze, "You know… Firstly they hunted witches, then people of color…" He looked at Luz for a reason Amity did not understand, "And now us… Gays…" He added, making women understand why he did not let anyone say anything bad about either of them, "So I'd understand if you wouldn't want to come back to read…" He addressed Amity, "But Miss Amelia, your voice is so beautiful. Please, come back at least once more," He pleaded and Luz smirked knowingly, glancing at the witch.

"Alright, alright. But only because you asked so nicely, Mister Chris," She replied, addressing him in the same manner, thinking it was the Human Realm appropriate, "But I'm here only for the vacation so don't think it's something regular," She added in a bit of a mock.

"That's a deal, Miss Amelia!" He exclaimed happily, extending his right hand.

"Then I guess I'll see you next week," She replied and extended her left hand, correcting herself at the last moment, offering him her right hand, and shaking in agreement.

"So that was… Interesting…" Amity said sheepishly when they exited the Library, walking down the stairs hand in hand.

"To say the least," Luz agreed, "How could anyone learn 'Otabin' by heart, I will never understand. It's so… Long…" She added and reveled in Amity's blush.

"I mean… It's not like I read it and reread it over and over again because I had nothing else to read and nothing else to relate to," The witch said, embarrassed with herself, "But I do have a good memory of anything that rhymes," She added, trying to distract her girlfriend, feeling a tad uncomfortable under her gaze.

"I fall for you more and more every day…" Luz whispered, kissing the witch delicately under the Illusion of the round ear, earning a silent moan from the smaller woman.

"You tease…" Amity quipped, punching the human's arm in an affectionate gesture, "So where are you taking me?" She asked with honest curiosity, making Luz grin in answer.

It was not a long walk from the Library until they made it to their destination. Along the way, Luz explained what the parent of the child had in mind and why Chris reacted the way he did, making the witch shocked that anyone would even think to discriminate against a person based on their choice of the person they love. She thought back to Willow, or even Boscha who had two dads and two moms.

"So, I wanted to take you out to lunch but since it's on the way, I thought I'd show you the school I ran away from," Luz said with a smile.

"Are you sure you want to?" The witch asked, worried about her girlfriend's well-being.

"Yeah, it's been years since then. I just want you to get to know me better. You can take me to St. Epiderm once we're back," Luz offered, making the witch chuckle at that.

"Fine. Consider it a deal," Blight said in a semi-serious voice, pulling the human by a collar in a fervent kiss, before allowing her to be dragged into the building, making Clawthorne giggle the way she used to giggle all those months ago before anything bad happened.

"So much has changed. It's good to see those moments when she clearly forgets anything bad happened…" The witch thought and followed the human.

They used the fact that during the summer vacation, the building was mostly empty. They ran from one corridor to the next one, avoiding the janitors, and sneaking around. Amity was reluctant to admit she loved the thrill.

It reminded her of the way she sneaked out of the Manor or the St. Epiderm. Now, however, she had an accomplice whom she loved, and their mission was completely different.

Luz guided Amity through the art classroom where she may have gone a bit overboard with Griffin's taxidermy project. She then showed the witch the auditorium where she made the front row throw up thanks to her homemade bowels imitation. Amity did not say a word. Looking at Luz so bright, passionate, and cheerful, to finally have someone to share those parts of her past left her speechless.

"Screw whatever people think. She's my forever!" The witch thought when they finally made it outside and the human was going on about the way she tried out to become a cheerleader, trying to find a place to belong.

"So you see, I tried to join literally every extracurricular activity just to learn that I didn't need to change myself," She paused dramatically, "I needed to change the Realm," She added, making Amity laugh warmly at that.

"And I'm glad you did, Luz," She replied, pecking her girlfriend's cheek while they walked past the school in a tight embrace.

Amity was still in shock at how small the town was. It did not take them more than ten minutes to make it to the center where stores and restaurants were surrounding the main square that was also a town park.

"It's so beautiful," The witch whispered, folding her palms together, enamored with the way the green plants beautifully decorated the square in the middle where the statue of the town founders could be found.

"Not as much as you are," Luz offered with a smile, watching her girlfriend's bright expression.

"Hush, you," Amity blushed at the compliment and punched the human's arm playfully, making Luz chuckle.

"You know Iʼm right," She added, guiding Blight to the restaurant right next to the Robinʼs Café.

It was nothing special in Clawthorneʼs opinion but her girlfriend's expression made her rethink. The tables on the outside were surrounded by a semi-fence, and potted roses were growing up, creating a shadow, and spreading its wonderful flowery scent, separating the guests from the street, and giving them a sense of privacy.

"Okay, so maybe it is quite pretty," Luz thought when she started looking at the Gravesfield with the witch's eyes.

"I take it you'd like to sit outside?" The human asked with a small smile and an eager nod gave her an answer.

"Good afternoon," A waiter approached them the moment they walked toward the entrance, "My name is Josh and I'll be waiting on your table today," He added and gestured to follow him.

They sat at the corner table with the perfect view of the town square in a more secluded area of the garden. Luz could not look away from Amity. The way she took in the surroundings as if it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. The way the witch's expression brightened whenever she noticed something new, the way she smiled, her eyes shining with glee and delight was addictive.

"You're staring again, Luz," She dragged the human from her thoughts.

"Sorry, sorry…" Luz replied sheepishly with a small smile, "I just can't get over how beautiful you are," She added, enjoying the blush that crept onto the pale face.

"Look, who's talking," Amity paused for a car with an extremely loud engine to pass, ignoring the way it slowed down while passing them by.

"It's not too loud for you?" Luz worried a little bit, noticing Amity's frown. She forgot the Human Realm was so much louder than the Demon Realm.

"It's okay… The worst are unpredictable sounds. This…" The witch suddenly lost focus and smiled widely, confusing her girlfriend, "Did you know that the sound of the engine is nothing else but the sound of the explosions in the cylinders, pushing the pistons in a specific order, depending on the number of cylinders?" She asked out of the blue, smiling widely, not noticing the waiter brought water and menus for them.

"Um… No, I didn't know that…" Luz admitted, dumbfounded but delighted with the way Amity's whole expression lightened when she kept going.

"Also, there are different shapes of engines, like inline engine, V engine, K engine…" She kept going, and the human rested her head in her hand, watching the witch gesture energetically while she described the types of lubrication used in the motorcycle.

"This is the Amity I fell for…" Luz thought, looking back at the days when they were sneaking around, talking about Azura at the beginning of their friendship.

This raw passion was something the human missed greatly in the past stress-filled months and she was glad to see her girlfriend like this again. Even if Luz was robbed of the cuteness of her twitching ears while she kept going about the suspension. Clawthorne basked in the positive energy emanating from the human-looking witch.

They shared a steak and a salad. The meal was so simple yet it sparked another discussion on human eating habits. Amity wanted to know and understand everything about this strange world.

Right as they were about to pay, their lunch was interrupted by the appearance of the blonde man whom they met a couple of days ago. He was surrounded by a couple of other people. The witch made a mental note of how her girlfriend's expression faded.

"Oh? She knows them…" She thought and fell silent as well, waiting for them to pass them by.

"Oh, look!" A blonde woman exclaimed, rudely pointing a finger at Amity, "Thatʼs the dyke I told you about, the one from the Library," She said and they all laughed, walking in their direction.

"Great, now I'm a Library Dyke…" The witch thought but she did not let her sight off her girlfriend.

Amity noticed how Luz's knee began to bounce in frustration, knowing she should not react. Clawthorne paid for their meal, left a generous tip, and offered the witch her hand to leave the restaurant. Blight gladly did so and tried her best to ignore the snide remarks regarding their relationship.

"Are you okay?" Amity whispered a question, anxious about Luz confronting her past bullies.

"Peachy…" She growled through clenched teeth in response, making the witch understand that the Concealment Stone was now obscuring not only the brunette's scars but also her pitch-black eyes.

"She looks like a Noceda," A blonde man said, making everyone laugh viciously. Luz stopped in an instant, freezing at the sound of the long-forgotten surname.

"Oh, no…" Amity began to worry about her girlfriend's self-control.

"What did you just say?" She growled, turning around slowly, and faced the group of young people.

"I said, you look like a Noceda," He repeated, happy to finally get a reaction, "We used to have a Mexican weirdo here," He walked over to Luz, "And you look painfully alike," He added in a whisper, smiling at the woman's offensive pose with clenched fists, "What are you gonna do? Noceda…" The venom dripped from his lips, increasing Clawthorne's heart rate.

"Okay, that's enough!" Amity interfered. She pushed the man away from her girlfriend and put a hand on Luz's arm to soothe her, "Come on, Lucia. He's just some local idiot, not worth our time," She tried to sound as casual as possible, not showing her fear of Luz Beasting out in the middle of the day in the town center.

"That's right," They heard him talk when they started walking away, "You better control the help properly," He tried to provoke them but the witch took hold of the tan hand and dragged her away.

"Okay, Tommy, that's enough," Another local, brunette man said pulling his friend away.

"I'm telling you, that's her!" Tommy argued but everyone dismissed him, walking in the opposite direction.

"I'm really sorry, Amity," Luz finally spoke up when they were far enough from the town square, "I shouldn't have let the emotions get the better of me."

"Luz!" Amity exclaimed, pulling the human into a hug, making them both stop their walk, "It's okay. He has some strange need to bully you, not understood even by his peers," She spoke softly once she pulled away from the embrace, "He discriminated against you, beat you, stabbed you, chased you away… He deserves to be put in his place," The pale hand caressed Luz's cheek, providing comfort, "I know I want to," She added with a small smile.

"I just don't want to ruin our date day…" Luz sighed heavily, looking away, overwhelmed with anxiety and guilt, "It's enough we were stuck at home because of my issues," A small peck on the cheek surprised her, making her look back into the golden eyes of the shorter woman.

"You're not ruining anything. Stop saying that," Amity said with a smile, "Any way we spend time together is not ruined. Whether it's at home or not. Do you know why?"

"Because we're together?"

"Exactly!" Blight said brightly, making Luz lighten up as well.

"Oh, how much I love you…" The human thought, adoring the woman in front of her.

"If that's how you look at it, why don't we continue with our date? What do you say, Blight?" The brunette asked with a small smirk.

"Happily, Luz," Amity kissed the human's knuckles and then intertwined their fingers, "So, where are you taking me next?"

"What is this place?" The witch asked, looking at the large metal gate with 'Zoo' written above it. She had never seen a building of this kind. It was more like an enormous space, surrounded by a tall wall.

"This is a place where humans keep wild animals for educational purposes," Luz explained, guiding her girlfriend toward the ticket machine by the entrance, "Some of those animals were found hurt in the wild, some are kept here because they are endangered," The human felt the witch's piercing gaze, amazed by the new information about the strange Realm, "There's a Zoo in every bigger town to teach people about the importance of caring about our natural habitat," She added and Amity noticed a fading expression.

"I understand there's a reason behind that…"

"Yeah…" Luz confirmed, "Humans aren't really good. They hunt for sport, they kill for pleasure. The more endangered the species the better…" She explained and sighed heavily, "Come on, let's learn more about that," She then offered and they began their tour.

They took their time visiting one section after another. Luz observed Amity's reactions to different kinds of animals. The witch was soaking up the knowledge with passion Clawthorne had never seen before.

While the reptiles interested Blight, and she steered away from the giraffes, she just could not get enough of the wild cats - lions, tigers, cheetahs, pumas, and even Pallas cats. It was enchanting to watch Amity's reactions around those feline creatures while Luz began to notice similarities between them.

"Took me long enough," She thought with embarrassment, watching how Amity's eyes pierced the animals' features.

They were getting ready to go back home. Their moods were up and they had already forgotten about all the stress they experienced after lunch. One could say, it was the time of their lives considering that the past few months were the time they fought for their lives.

While Luz wanted to treat Amity to a nice dessert, letting her enjoy even more of the Human Realm's refined tastes, they had to take it to go since the day left them exhausted even though it was not really that late. They were just passing by the school on their way back when an awfully familiar voice made it to their ears from the school's sports field.

"Heads up, Noceda!" Luz would never react in time, with the dessert in hand, but Amity's instincts kicked in and the witch noticed an orange ball flying directly at Clawthorne's face, catching it swiftly, "Come on, cutie, throw it back! Just don't break a nail," Tommy mocked the lavender-haired woman, who growled silently, holding onto the ball, feeling its uneven texture, smelling rubber, and the heat of the pavement.

The blonde's posse chuckled at the remark. Even if not everyone did so with honest amusement. Luz noticed a dark-skinned man, clearly younger than everyone else, sitting on one of the wooden benches surrounding the concrete field, underneath a large oak tree. He was the only one who did not laugh with the group.

"Amity, don't…" Luz whispered, seeing her girlfriend was about to confront the bullies.

"I don't know why but I need to prove him wrong, Luz…" Amity replied, considering her options.

"Great…" The human sighed, "Like you couldn't get any better of my qualities from the Bond," She quipped.

"Oh… That would explain why this feeling is so new to me," The witch thought.

"Let me be your Fearless Champion," Amity replied with a smirk, not wanting to do anything without her girlfriend's approval and support.

"Don't kill him and don't expose us, okay?" Luz gave her conditions, "And thank you for standing up for me," She added and smiled softly.

"Hello!? We don't have the whole day. Give me my ball back!" Tommy demanded and was surprised to see the two women approach him.

"Here," Amity tossed the ball with great strength, making the blonde's face drop in shock, "What would it take for you to quit bugging us? We just want to have a nice, peaceful vacation, and your delusions are not helping," She told him, crossing her arms while Luz stood behind her, keeping her hand on the witch's waist.

"You could stop being dykes," He spat, wincing at their show of affection.

"Where I'm from this is normal. Go see the world, pull your head out of your ass," Amity retorted with a cold and well-calculated tone.

"Okaaaay… Just calm down, Luz. It's not like she's hotter than usual. This is, like, the normal amount of hot," The human could not stop staring, impressed with the witch's calm voice in the power pose she held. Despite being shorter than the buff man, she was not intimidated.

"Where you're from?" Tommy laughed, "That would explain the accent! What are you 'Bri-ish'?" He mocked the pale woman whose glare never faltered.

"Accent?" They both thought in surprise.

"Hey, Nerd! She's 'Bri-ish' like you!" Tommy exclaimed, happy he found something to exploit. When no one laughed and the dark-skinned man ignored him the blonde stopped in his tracks and smiled wickedly, "I tell you what, cutie," He said in a lower voice, "You win a game against me and I'll never bother you, ever again," The man proposed and Amity considered the deal. She was certain she could take him in a fistfight but she did not know the game.

"Huh…" Suddenly she smirked.

"Odalia broke me but she did teach me how to make a deal…" The witch thought and Luz noticed a wicked spark in her golden eyes.

"I don't know that game…" Amity said nonchalantly, "I do however know Gr-"

"Rugby! She knows rugby!" Luz interrupted when she noticed the witch's slip of a tongue. Surprisingly that got the young, dark-skinned man's attention. He looked at them from above the red frames of his glasses.

"Maybe he hasn't seen anyone play rugby since he left England?" Luz thought when she noticed the spark in his dark eyes.

"That!" Amity accepted help, angry she did not think that through.

"Fine!" Tommy said, "Let's mix the sports and make it simple. You just have to slam the ball in those metal hoops. No holds barred. I'll even be generous and let you play two against one. Just one condition…" He paused, eyeing the woman in the pink dress, "Take off your boots."

"Oh? No holds barred but scared of my boots?" Amity's voice brought chills to Luz's back.

"That… Sounded too familiar…" Clawthorne realized, gulping loudly, and began to worry about her girlfriend.

"Fine. We all play bare feet," She agreed and the man nodded, "Now let's talk terms of this match. When I win, you'll leave us alone and stop bullying. Everyone. Maybe having your ass handed to you will teach you how to be a decent person," The witch proposed and the gathered people snickered at her comment, angering the bully.

"Fine! But WHEN I win, you'll go on a date with me," He retorted and after a moment of silence, both Luz and Amity burst out with laughter.

"You do realize, my girlfriend is literally right here?!" Amity wiped a tear from her eye, still chuckling.

"Oh, Tommy-boy… She'll wipe the floor with you," Luz added with a burst of laughter.

Once they realized the man had nothing to add, they approached the benches in the shadow of the oak tree, not too far from the Nerd, and discarded their shoes. Luz could not stop herself, realizing that Amity looked amazing with her pale feet with black nail polish standing in the soft, green grass, letting her tiny toes experience the new texture.

"Remember, if you feel like it's too much of a strain on your leg just take a break, okay?" Amity wanted to make sure Luz would take it easy, "We walked quite a bit today and I can see you're already hiding your limp from me…" She added when she noticed hazel-brown eyes filled with confusion.

"Promise… Just please be careful," Luz asked in return and Amity flashed her with overly-confident cocky smile.

"Don't worry. Let me show you why I was the Grudby Team Captain." She replied with a small purr and kissed the full lips of her girlfriend.

"Come on, dykes! Let's do this!" Tommy hollered, disgusted with their kiss. His posse cleared the field and sat on the ground to watch the game, "We're playing on the small field. After every hoop, we start from the center. The first one to get five hoops wins," He explained and gave the ball to his brunette friend.

The young man was tall and lean. His green eyes shone from underneath wide eyebrows, complimenting his well-defined cheekbones. He was neatly shaved and dressed in casual jeans and a black tee with the logo of a band neither Luz nor Amity knew.

"Alright, I want this to be a clean game. No biting, no tugging clothes, no groping, and no weapons. Tom, please, try not to kill her. She's tiny…" Amity sent him a glare and huffed at his comment.

"You shouldn't have said that," Luz chuckled, shaking her head.

"And game!" He added and threw a ball in the air.

The time sped up and at the same time, it slowed down. Luz quickly jumped to catch the ball, passing it to Amity who was prepared for it, standing right behind her. Tommy's fingers barely scratched the surface of the rubber but it was not his plan.

While Amity darted with the ball toward the hoop, Luz landed on her left leg to let her right one rest. She smirked, noticing her 'tiny' girlfriend already passed the blonde by, and with a swift move, she used the man's hip as leverage to jump up and skillfully dunk the ball.

"Teamwork, Baby!" Clawthorne exclaimed, fist-pumping joyfully, smiling widely at the way Blight landed gracefully and swayed her hips with taunt, enjoying Tommy's anger.

"Starting from the center!" The same brunette man reminded them and they all have returned to the center of the field.

Luz was ready to follow up with the same strategy but when she jumped up to snatch the ball, she was surprised that her old bully did not aim to get the ball. He jumped up with a clenched fist and punched the tan face instead. Clawthorne would have fallen to her back, too focused on holding her face, if not for Amity who assisted her landing on the left foot.

"Oops," The blonde said innocently when he landed back on his feet, looking down at the woman in front of him.

"Fuck!" Luz exclaimed with a shaking voice, angry she did not see that coming.

"It's okay, move your hand," Amity offered, feeling her girlfriend's anger boiling in her system as well, "Let me see how bad it is," The witch pulled the tan hand delicately and noticed a heavily bleeding lip. Yet, the cut was obscured by the Concealment Stone.

"Calm down…" Luz whispered, realizing the pale hand, holding hers, began to shake. They shared a look and in an unspoken agreement then stood back up to continue the game.

"Oh? And here I thought you're gonna give up," Their opponent taunted with a smirk which Amity vowed to wipe off his face, "Get the ball, Bert."

"Again," The same brunette man, called Bert, said, preparing to toss the ball in the air once again, glaring at his friend. It seemed as if he was not on board with this kind of aggressive behavior.

Amity, angry with herself for not realizing earlier that the blonde man just wanted to use this game to bully Luz, swiftly sneaked forward. When both Clawthorne and Tom fought for the ball in a high jump she was already positioned behind the man. His victory in apprehending the ball was short-lived.

The witch squatted and with a swift, low round kick she made him trip and fall on his back, releasing the rubber object. Luz apprehended it swiftly and it was her moment to score another hoop.

"Dang, the small one is scary…" Someone whispered on the other side of the field and Clawthorne chuckled at that.

"I just hope she won't push herself too far…" She thought, recalling what the witch told her about her past, "It's so easy to slip…"

"So what is it? Two to null?" It was Blight's moment to taunt the fallen man, making him grunt in anger.

Without any quip or comment, he got up and readied for another game. Bert threw the ball in the air once again and powered by adrenaline, Tommy jumped up and snatched the ball but he did not grab it to run toward the hoop.

When he noticed his upper hand he let go of the ball which Amity fetched, seeing her opportunity. The bait worked perfectly and Tommy bent his elbow to hit Luz's collarbone, making her yell out in pain, falling to the ground. Amity just scored another hoop when her girlfriend's scream made it to her ears.

"Fuuuuuck!" Clawthorne yelled, holding her shoulder.

She noticed Tommy approaching her and in an instant the memory of him, stabbing her all those years ago, flashed before her eyes.

"You may have changed your name, pretend that you are not Noceda but I know the truth…" He hissed while hovering above her, "You should have never come back, Luzer!" He added and with all of his might, he stomped on her right femur.

"AAAAAA!" Luz roared in pain, tears gathering in her eyes when she saw stars.

"No, no, no, no, no! Move!" Amity rushed herself while she ran as quickly as possible.

She was not quick enough. The man managed to stomp on her girlfriend's leg once again before the witch pushed him off with all her strength, making him fall face forward almost ten yards away, shocking his peers with her might.

"Mmmmgghhh…" Luz tried to contain her exclaims, control her anger, and Owl Demon while she writhed on the ground, not knowing which part of her body should she hold to soothe the pain.

"Luz? Come on, Luz, look at me," Amity whispered, cradling her face.

The witch eyed her girlfriend's body, her broken, bleeding lip, hit collarbone, and stomped leg. Suddenly, when Amity blinked, she had a flash of strange memory of her mother slamming the leg with a long rod.

"Oh, no… The pain triggered her," Blight thought.

"It's alright, you're safe…" The lavender-haired woman cooed, trying to calm Clawthorne down. It was giving the desired effect but it took time, "You're safe, you're not there, Luz. Breathe," Everyone watched the two women interact with shock and awe while Tommy had disgust written all over his face.

"Ready to give up?" He taunted, getting up, and looking at them with superiority.

"Are you, Bergstein?!" All of a sudden, Bert exclaimed, shocking everyone, "You've seen she was limping. Instead of having a friendly match you had to punch and beat up an already hurt woman!" His voice was getting louder, "For all we know she might have been recovering from some accident or maybe she's crippled for life…"

"Oh, shut up, Bert!" Tommy interrupted, disappointed with his friend's outburst, "She's no one…"

"She's someone to her!" He pointed at Amity who was still calming Luz down, ignoring their surroundings. The witch was surprised to see Bert walk over and kneel by her girlfriend's side, "How can I help?" He asked with now calm and supportive voice, shocking Blight who looked back at her girlfriend. Luz was still in pain but her mind was calmer.

"Make a lying space under the tree," She ordered and without a second of hesitation, in one swift move, she brought Luz up in a bride-like embrace.

"Did she just…" One person asked in shock.

"Like she was nothing…" Another added.

"Just how strong is she?" A blonde girl wondered.

Amity looked down at Luz with care and love while her hold tightened. The human woman held the pale neck for her dear life while she was grateful to be taken away from the field. She hid her face in the crook of the witch's collarbone and with a blurry sight she noticed the younger, dark-skinned man watch them with awe and fear. When they came closer, he packed his bag and approached them in a hurry.

"I have a blanket," He said in a soft, friendly voice, and spread the blanked underneath the oak. Bert helped him with no hesitation and a few seconds later Amity helped Luz find a comfortable position. She could still feel people's looks on her back, still shocked by how smoothly she moved the taller body around.

"Thank you," Amity looked at the Nerd, and the man just smiled, "Both of you," She looked at Bert as well and the man nodded while his face held a blank, yet fearful expression.

"Am-Amelia…" Luz hesitated when she realized they were not alone.

"Shh, I'm here, Lucia, you're safe," She smiled and caressed the tan cheek in support, "What can I do for you, my Love?" She asked, worried about her girlfriend. The witch was shocked when she noticed bloodied lips curl up in a malicious smile.

"Kick his ass," Luz replied in a voice so low that men accompanying them could have sworn she was the devil's spawn. Amity knew it was a plea coming from both Luz and the Demon residing in her soul. The witch replied in the only way acceptable.

"Gladly," She smiled so viciously that both Bert and the Nerd shared a frightened look but decided to keep 'Lucia' company and watch the remainder of the match from the blanket.

Amity placed a chaste kiss on the broken lip, tasting the blood, and got up. She cracked her neck, popped her shoulder, and turned to face the field. Her face was just as cold and just as blank as the day she returned to Hexside. Even a jock like Tommy started feeling uneasy with the cold stare she fixed on him while approaching him.

"Hoot!" Luz heard in her head and even though she could not understand what the Demon had in mind she did feel uneasy, watching the witch regress in her behavior.

"Just like Odalia taught her to…" Luz thought when she looked at the lavender-haired woman's pose, expression, and gestures.

"I still hear her voice in my head every day, despite everything, I feel the urge to behave the way she conditioned me to, to cope with anger and stimulants, I always try to be better, to not become her," Amity's voice echoed in Luz's head, "And I often fail…"

"Let's hope she won't fail…" Clawthorne thought when she watched her girlfriend carefully.

"You think you can win with me without the help?" Tommy taunted again but this time all of his peers were clearly fed up with his behavior. He was the only one to not notice that he took it too far, "Come on, Tara. Get the ball," He barked an order when Amity did not indulge him in senseless banter.

"Ready?" The tall, blonde woman with green eyes approached the center of the field, holding a ball.

"If eyes could kill that idiot would already be dead…" Tara thought, looking down at the lavender-haired outsider.

"Game!" She yelled and threw the ball in the air.

"He hurt MY Luz!" The witch felt a burning anger.

When Tom jumped up she did not. Amity stopped holding back. The witch grabbed his sheens and pulled him down, slamming his body onto the concrete field. Gasps and groans of shock escaped everyone's lips.

"Fuck," Bergstein groaned, lying on his back, hurt from the impact.

He looked up and noticed the ball was caught by his opponent in a swift and graceful move. The witch walked over him and placed her bare foot on his chest, pushing him back to the ground.

"Do yourself a favor and stay down like a good bitch you are," She growled and took a step forward, squashing him, and walked over to the basket, and with an effort close to none, she scored a fourth hoop.

"You conniving…" He growled, getting up but was cut off with Amity's sudden appearance inches away from his face.

Her cold, golden eyes drilled through him, desire for vengeance clear as day. It was too much for him. Without thinking, he took a swing and tried to punch the woman in front of him just to be surprised by her swift dodge.

"You have to do better than that," She taunted him.

Amity reveled in the way her opponent ridiculed himself in front of his friends. He threw another punch and the witch, once again, dodged it with the gracefulness of a ballerina, her dress flapped in the wind as she pirouetted away from harm's way.

"Oh, what a clever witch," Luz thought with a smile when she realized what her girlfriend was doing.

She was drawing small spell circles with her big toes on the ground to summon the thinnest layer of abomination slime to help her move. To a person unaware of magic's existence it seemed like Amity was almost dancing around her opponent, dodging punch after punch with the swiftness of the wind.

"You can just give up already. It's four to null and you stand no chance against me," The witch said with a voice of superiority that Luz knew all too well.

"I'll give up only when and IF I won't be able to play," He replied and threw another set of punches.

"Oh, well…" Amity said coldly and shrugged, "If that's what you choose then so be it," She added and suddenly stopped dodging the attacks. She caught another punch in her much smaller hand and squeezed it forcefully.

"What the…" The blonde man was shocked and scared.

"I told you to give up," Amity whispered coldly and pushed his fist to the ground. A loud crack echoed through the field, "You think you can hurt my girlfriend and get away with it?" She asked in a stone-cold voice and punched him hard with her left hand, sending him to the ground.

"What…" He tried to mumble but Amity squatted in front of him, took a strong hold of his face, squeezing in between her thumb and index finger, and pulled him forward.

"Oh no…" Luz thought when she noticed how the witch was behaving. A flash of Odalia, holding her in the exact same way, flashed before her eyes, making her breathing increase.

"Listen to me very carefully, Tommy," Amity's voice was void of any emotions, "You stay away from us or the next time I won't be so forgiving," She added and threw him back to the ground and, as if nothing happened, she turned around to face Luz, leaving the defeated man behind.

"Come on, let's go…" Someone said and the blonde's friends left him in the field while he had to accept his fate.

"Wow… That literally never happened before…" Bert whispered, watching the pale woman approach them, her cold expression long forgotten, her eyes full of worry for the hurt woman. He quickly moved away to provide more space for Amity to kneel next to her girlfriend.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" The witch asked, lifting her hand to caress the tan cheek. She was surprised by how Luz instinctively pulled away with a wince on her face and increased breathing while her eyes roamed frantically.

"Is she scared of me?" Amity worried and looked at the hurt face in search of answers. When their eyes met, she finally understood.

"Well, what would I want with a lowly human like you?" Odalia's voice echoed in both women's heads with a flash of memory, helping the lavender-haired one understand that the way she held Tommy made the brunette relive her own fear.

"No, no, no, no…" She whispered, trying to comfort the panicked woman, "You're safe, you're not there anymore, Lu-... Lucia," Amity paused at the last possible moment, trying her best to keep the act while all she wanted to do was to comfort her girlfriend. Luckily, those men were not so oblivious.

"You can return the blanket some other day," The Nerd said with a soft voice, clearly worried about the two.

"Yeah, I heard you'll be in the Library next week," Bert added, taking a hint, "If you need anything, we'll be there," He added and they both left in a hurry, looking back at the women once or twice.

"S-s-s-sorry…" Luz finally managed to choke out, focusing her gaze on her girlfriend's golden, worried stare while the tears finally rolled down her cheeks, "Titan, sorry…"

"Don't be sorry, Luz," Amity said sadly, "I know I slipped. I triggered you. I…"

"Stop…" Clawthorne interrupted with a broken sob, "Just stop. You did everything well. If I hadn't experienced what I did, we wouldn't be even having this conversation," She explained, wiping her face, and chuckled through another sob, "I gotta say, I was really impressed with the way you sneakily cast spells," She added and noticed a blush creeping on Amity's face.

"Oh…" She replied, blush deepening, "I hoped no one would notice," Luz chuckled a bit and took hold of the pale hand in support.

"Just because I noticed doesn't mean anyone else did," The brunette explained and their eyes met, "What do you say we get out of here?" She proposed with a smile, "Ouch!" She exclaimed feeling the cut on her lips cracking again.

"Let me…"

"Not here," Luz opposed the idea despite still being in pain, "I don't want to risk exposure. You've seen how we got treated just because we were taken for strange humans," She explained and Amity nodded in understanding.

"Alright, then let me help you up," The witch proposed and put on her shoes to later help Luz with hers. When it was out of the way, Amity pulled her girlfriend up. Standing on her left leg, Clawthorne watched the lavender-head woman collect their belongings, "Here, hold this," She said shoving the dessert and the blanked into tan hands, "Aaaaand scoop!"

"Wha-, AMITY!" Luz exclaimed in surprise when the witch lifted the brunette in a bride-like style and turned toward their road home, "You can't possibly carry me all the way home!" Clawthorne opposed, flustered at the vulnerable position. Amity snickered at that and sent her girlfriend a flirtatious smile.

"This is not even a quarter of the distance between the Owl House and Hexside," She said teasingly and Luz burned with the deepest blush the witch had ever witnessed on her face, "What? No clever comeback?"

"Shut up…" Luz murmured and hid her nose in the crook of Amity's neck, holding the dessert tightly.

The walk home was indeed not as long as the human feared. Amity was enjoying the closeness of her girlfriend while Luz felt safe, warm, and finally calm. They ignored the looks that any of the pedestrians that passed them by sent them, realizing quickly that none of the looks were hostile. They were just curious or maybe worried.

"There you go," Amity said softly, helping Luz down on the couch when they finally made it home. The human winced a bit at the change of comfort, worrying the witch, "Here, let me help," Blight added, placing her small hand on the other woman's torso, and pushing her into the pillows.

Clawthorne grunted in discomfort but she was not about to argue. She let herself relax a bit. She took off her beanie, let her head rest back, closed her eyes, and sighed in contentment. Luz did not even realize Amity had taken the dessert box from her grasp and hid it in the fridge.

The witch then proceeded to close the blinds in the kitchen and the living room. She made sure the doors were closed too and then returned to her girlfriend. Luz opened her eyes and smiled, noticing pointy ears slanted in concentration.

"May I?" Amity asked, taking hold of the human's Concealment Stone.

"Mmm…" Clawthorne hummed in consent, lifting her head to let the necklace off. With a delicate poof, the Illusion quickly faded, and the witch frowned, "Everything okay?"

"It will be once I'm done. The Stone concealed your injuries," She explained, moving the flannel shirt a little bit to the side, "I need to undress you a bit," She added and Luz helped discard her shirt.

"Why does she always have to get hurt because of my decisions?" Amity was frustrated with herself, "Stupid! I should've seen that coming…"

"Stop that!" Clawthorne exclaimed, surprising her girlfriend, "I can feel your guilt. And it's written all over your face. It wasn't your fault, Amity," She explained and the witch looked away sheepishly, "Believe me, please," She added and Blight sighed heavily in defeat.

"Fine," Amity finally said after a moment of silence, "I know I'd say the same thing if the roles were reversed."

"Good," Luz thought with a small smile.

"Just let me heal you, please," The witch added, looking back at her girlfriend.

"Don't waste your magic on me. You're not back to your full strength," The brunette opposed the idea.

"Titan," Amity whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Luz," She said, looking up into the hazel-brown eyes, "I can see you're hurting and I will not allow it if I can do anything to help," The witch explained in a stern voice, "Also, I may not be in my full strength but that still means I have more power than most of the witches you know… Well, maybe except for Eda. She's got an insane amount of power…" Amity added, recalling how the older Clawthorne managed to heal her and then Luz.

"Yeah… She does…" The human agreed with wide eyes as if she recalled seeing her mother lose control of her power. Indeed, that was exactly what was happening, "Okay, fine. Let me get those off of me then…" Luz agreed, struggling a little bit with her trousers.

With Amity's help, the human was soon lying comfortably on the couch, uninjured body parts covered with a spare blanket while Amity knelt on the floor next to her. She looked at the collarbone and the thigh. The bruise already formed under the tan skin. Without any further delay, the witch drew the blue spell circle.

"I'll start with your lip," She said, cupping the brunette's face with one hand. When Luz nodded in agreement, she applied the spell. With a few seconds of pinching sensation, the face was all healed, "See, all better," Amity smiled and left a chaste kiss on the full lips, making the human smile at the sweet affection, "Now don't move, please," She added and moved toward the tan shoulder. The bruise quickly faded, bringing relief to Luz when she felt her mobility returning.

"So much better, thank you," The brunette said softly, watching the witch work.

Luz could not get enough of the way Amity tied her brows in concentration, her ears twitching delicately when she focused on adjusting the spell, and her pale face was eerily enlightened with the blue glow.

"Pretty…" She whispered unknowingly, making Amity's lips curl in a sheepish smile while her cheeks tinted with pink dust of a delicate blush.

"Dork," The witch retorted and moved further from the human's face to care for the leg.

"Please don't be broken, please don't be broken," Amity pleaded internally, afraid she would not be able to fix a broken femur without Viney's assistance. She created a bigger spell circle and with the use of both hands, she applied the healing energy to the human's thigh.

"Oh, thank Titan…" The witch whispered under her breath, "It's not broken," She explained, answering her girlfriend's questioning gaze, "The healing still might hurt, so get ready," Amity added. Once Luz nodded in consent, she began healing the bruised muscle and bone mass.

The witch was careful around the fusion of bone fragments, mended together all those weeks ago. Luz felt the pain going through her leg like a sharp needle. She wanted to move away but she could not, stuck in the position. Her breathing increased and got shallow. The Healing Spell did indeed hurt.

"Hoot!" The human heard in her head and was surprised that for the first time in months, she did not understand what the Demon was trying to say.

"All done," Just like that the pain was gone, "Are you okay?" The witch asked, worried about her girlfriend, her golden eyes roaming her face.

"Y-yeah…" The human confirmed hesitantly. To her surprise, Amity suddenly smiled widely showing off her fangs.

"You know…" She started teasingly, "You were such a brave patient, I think you deserve a reward," The witch said, standing up.

"A reward?" Luz asked in surprise with a melodic trill.

"Oh, yes. A reward," Amity confirmed and retrieved the dessert from the kitchen.

She had yet to learn what her girlfriend picked up at the bakery. She opened the box and looked with interest at the round, pie-like food. It was a dark brown color and smelled strange to the witch. It was about to be another, new experience for the lavender-haired woman.

"So what is it?" She asked when she brought a piece of the dessert to both Luz and herself on small plates.

"I hope you'll like it," The human said with a smile and straightened up, making some space for her girlfriend to sit with her, "It's a chocolate truffle tart," She said and smiled warmly at the confusion, "It's a perfect mixture of chocolate crust, chocolate ganache filling, and soft chocolate glaze topping," Luz explained and cut a piece with her dessert fork to prepare a small bite for the witch, "Chocolate is the best gift of Latin America to the world. It's made from the roasted cocoa seeds kernels," She explained, watching her girlfriend hesitate, "Just try," She encouraged, offering the piece in her fork.

So Amity did. She felt the smooth, velvet texture melt on her taste-sensitive tongue, spreading to all of her taste buds. Luz noticed pupils widen in the golden eyes that shone with excitement, running from the dessert back to Luz's soft, loving expression. The pointy ears twitched in confusion between the sweet and bitter taste that complemented each other in perfect equilibrium.

"Fuck…" Amity whispered under her breath and began eating her piece of cake. Bite after another as if she just tasted the ambrosia, making the brunette chuckle at her adorableness, "How is this so good?!" The witch exclaimed when she was done, "How did people figure out it was this good?!" The follow-up question followed.

"It's ancient really," Luz said while she slowly finished her piece, "But making a really good chocolate is an art in the Human Realm. People train all their lives to become the best chocolatiers or make amazing chocolate sculptures," She explained.

"Wow… This is really fascinating," Amity said and brought another piece of cake for Luz and herself.

It was not long before the brunette was full and the witch ended up finishing the tart, constantly analyzing the texture, the taste, and the smell. Her gaze of awe and curiosity was enticing.

The afternoon lazily turned into the evening which they spent watching movies and then the production documentaries, satisfying Amity's curiosity about the human illusion called 'CGI'. Tired of their adventures in the Human Realm and the stress of the match, they both were happy to get the early night.

They took a quick bath and were happy to finally find themselves in the safety of their bed. Clawthorne scooted in closer and left a chaste kiss on the pale cheek. Then another one on the jaw, slowly moving toward the witch's ear while her hand traveled down to the other woman's waist.

"Mmm… Iʼd love to, Luz, but Iʼm not feeling so well," Amity whispered, making the human pull away.

The brunette looked at her girlfriend's face and noticed the witch seemed indeed tired and paler than usual. She hoped that all that barefoot basketball would not end with some cold for the witch.

"Of course, Amity," Luz said with a small smile and left a delicate peck on the lavender head, "Sleep well, my Love, feel better," She added, hiding her worry when she noticed the pale face contorted in a discomfort.

"Love you too…" Amity whispered and let herself drown in the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion while a cold shiver ran down her spine.