The young couple walked from the parking lot together, following the other people and the sounds of music toward the main event. Clawthorne was happy to see Amity's curious and joyful gaze, roaming the woods. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of pine, grilled food, and smoke.
The clearing in the woods had been changed into a great festive field. Many small campfires were started by random groups of people surrounding the main, enormous fireplace, and its shape reminded Luz of the stake that was yet to be ignited. Right behind it, there was a high wooden stage where the Gravesfield Historical Society was getting ready to start the festivities.
"It's not too much?" Luz asked worriedly, guiding Amity forward, closer to the main area to get the good spots before the whole party began, "Not too loud?"
"Not at all," Amity surprised Luz, smiling widely, "It's so much like the parties at St. Epiderm," She explained and embraced her girlfriend, walking side by side.
"Really? Seems like Hexside parties were lame then," She joked.
"Well, with the cold at the Knee and the natural magic it was one hell of a party spot," Amity said when they stopped to wait for the party to begin.
"I thought you didn't like parties?"
"Yeah, and I hate being touched," Amity smirked, "Partying out in the open is totally different than in an enclosed space. Plus," She leaned toward a counter, where the young woman was selling refreshments, with money in her hand, grabbing two red cups, and handing one to Luz, "Everything tastes better when itʼs by the fire," She added and smiled flirtatiously at her girlfriend, taking a sip of her drink.
"Now I donʼt know if youʼre more of a Wild Witch or an arsonist," Luz teased and kissed the crook of Amity's jaw.
"Who said I canʼt be both," The witch giggled with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"I have a feeling Eda rubbed off on you in the weeks you spent together," Clawthorne added in a purring whisper and then took a sip of a bitter drink.
"Even if that were true, would you complain?" Amity pouted innocently, loving their playful banters.
"Mmm, nope!" Luz leaned closer to a concealed pointy ear, "I told you, I love your wild side," She purred huskily, enjoying the shiver that shook the witch's body.
"Amelia!" A sudden greeting dragged them out of their embrace and they both faced the person calling for the witch, "So good to see you here. I wasn't sure you'd come," The young, tall, brunette man said cheerfully.
"He does seem earnestly happy to see us here," Amity thought and returned a smile.
"Oh, hi, Bert," Blight replied and held onto her girlfriend's hand. Luz watched them interact with curiosity, "How did you manage to catch us in this crowd?"
"You're kidding me, right?" He asked with amusement in his voice, "How many other women have purple hair? You guys kinda stand out in the crowd," He explained and that made them look around. They were indeed surrounded by plain-looking people.
"I told you this town doesn't take anything different well," Luz said quietly, making Bert chuckle.
"Truer words have never been spoken," He said, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans, "You know Tommy has been over-fixated on your resemblance to this Noceda girl because she was the last person who dared to speak up, stand up for what's right, you know…" Luz tensed up at this.
"That's why she was a local weird kid?" Amity asked, setting up a trap, curious about this man's opinion.
"I wouldn't say she was weird…" Bert suddenly saddened, looking away shamefully, "She was hurt but her heart was in the right place… I too could have treated her better but I was just a scared kid…"
"Oh, wow," Luz suddenly exclaimed in a pitch higher than usual, "I'm totally out of my drink," She chugged the last bits of her beer, "I'll be right back with some more," She added, moving away from the conversation. She shared a look with Amity and noticed the witch's worried but approving gaze.
"Just come back quickly, okay?" The witch asked, trying to sound as if everything was alright.
"Yeah, everything's about to begin any moment now," Bert added and Luz left, trying to not look as if she was in a hurry.
"Okay, Bert seems like an okay man, but she's totally triggered and trying to hide it… Poorly at that," Amity thought worriedly, watching her girlfriend leave, "I wonder what's their story?"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck… The thing hasn't even started yet and I'm already panicking…" Luz marched quickly toward the beer stand, "So he said he regrets how he took part in bullying me but that doesn't make everything alright… Right?"
"Hoot!"
"Well, I don't want to know what happens if my cover is blown!"
"Two beers, please," She ordered calmly and paid the young woman who poured the drinks.
"Just keep it cool, Clawthorne. You can bridle a Griffin so a stupid Bonfire shouldn't be a problem," She encouraged herself, walking back to where she left Amity, "Right?"
She stopped for a moment to let a group of teens pass her by when she noticed her girlfriend talking not only with Bert but with a short, raven-black-haired girl with diastema too. Luz watched Blight and felt calmer already.
"She seems so natural at this," She noted, smiling at the sight of her wonderful, witch girlfriend, "I wonder how much of those interactions she's faking, though," She worried, knowing all too well that Amity was well trained to behave accordingly to the social requirements.
"There you go, my Love," Luz said with a warm expression once she approached the small group, handing the witch her beer from behind.
"Ah! Thank you, Lucia!" Amity said with the widest smile and pecked the tan cheek, "Meet Masha, she works at the Gravesfield Historical Society," She introduced Luz and then snuggled under her girlfriend's arm, drinking the drink, feeling much safer with the closeness of another body.
"Oh? So you helped organize this?" Luz asked, circling her finger in the air indicating the Bonfire.
"Unfortunately, yes," Masha replied with regret, "Jake is super obsessed with him being related to Matthew Hopkins, the great Witchfinder General," Amity stiffened and shared a look with Luz before turning back, facing Masha. The witch did not know what that meant but it did not sound like anything too good from the way the woman spoke, "So every year, on the 12th of August he celebrates his death and his 'legacy'..." She airquoted mockingly.
"You don't seem entirely on board with this," Amity pointed out and Luz noticed she had trouble keeping her voice under control.
"Well, yeah!" Masha exclaimed, "Just another white dude who was having fun murdering women! Somehow he never tried or accused another man of witchcraft!" She shut her lips and took in a deep breath, "Sorry, that was unprofessional of me but, by Goddess, it just pisses me off," She added and let her shoulders relax a bit.
Luz felt Amity's tension disappear in her hold as well. Taking an actual witch to a Bonfire, and celebrating the witch hunter may have not been the brightest idea but on the other hand, it was supposed to be a party like any other.
"Anyway," Bert butted in, "After the opening ceremony is over, everybody forgets about witch hunters and we just party till the break of dawn," He explained and chugged down his drink, "Oh, wait! I gotta talk to someone, I'll be right back," He promised and left the three women alone, catching up with a younger, dark-skinned man they had met the other day.
"So what brings you to Gravesfield, anyway?" Masha asked, breaking a longer pause, trying to make small talk. Luz kept watching how Bert and the Nerd, as she knew him, kept sending glances at them while they talked. She did not like it but could not act on her gut feeling.
"Actually, we're visiting Lucia's aunt," Clawthorne blinked when she heard the smooth and believable lie her girlfriend just came up with, "Danielle López, you probably know her…"
"Ah! The best Vet we could have hoped for!" Masha's expression lightened up, "Sorry for interrupting but she's, like, the best! She helped me save so many animals, cats, dogs, possums, snakes, you name it!"
"Yeah, she does like to help," Luz agreed and looked down at her girlfriend, recalling the night Danielle saved her girlfriend's life.
"It was last week, Luz…" She thought and smiled, thinking how one food poisoning brought the old family friend back into her life.
"WELCOME!" A sudden, loud voice came from the stage and a squeal of microphone echoed through the woods, making Amity drop her cup and cover her ears. Without thinking, Luz caught the cup midair and looked at the witch with worry.
"Wow, sick reflex!" Masha commented on the quick reaction.
"Are you okay?" Clawthorne worried about her girlfriend.
"Sorry about that folks," The voice continued on a more manageable scale and Luz noticed Danielle's housemate on the stage.
"Yes… Sorry… It caught me by surprise," Amity explained and retrieved her cup from her girlfriend's hand, pretending that nothing happened.
"Every single year we celebrate the great Witchfinder General with the annual Bonfire!" The man continued from the stage and now everyone was quiet, listening to the opening speech. Amity did not even notice Bert had rejoined them and they all listened carefully, "However, let us never forget about the origins of our humble town!"
A pyres of fire erupted and eerie, mandoline music began to play. The portraits of two men were brought to the stage. The older one, a blonde one was smiling warmly at the crowd while the younger one seemed cold and distant. His piercing, cold, blue eyes seemed awfully familiar to both Luz and Amity and the latter one felt an anxious chill going down her spine.
"The year is 1613. Two orphaned brothers arrive in Gravesfield. Their names? Philip…" He points to the younger brother's portrait and Amity's hand balled Luz's shirt, a jolt of panic rushed through her body.
"Are you okay?" Luz said with worry, feeling the witch's discomfort who nodded slightly.
"And Caleb," Jake pointed to the other portrait and they refocused on his speech, "Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother. They tried to fit in with this town, and its practices. They became witch hunters! Local lore suggests that the Brothers Wittebane met a real witch from another world! Her name was… Evelyn," A puppet of a red-headed witch, sitting on a broom, flew above the stage, disappearing above the portrait of Caleb, "And the older brother was spirited away. She dazzled him with magic and visions of a strange, yet beautiful place. They used a secret code to travel between worlds. Philip set off to save his brother and bring the witch to justice," The crowd cheered at that, making Amity's breath quicken, "But neither was ever seen again! Maybe Philip saved Caleb, and they went on to lead peaceful lives. Or maybe he's still chasing his brother, caught in a cycle of horror and strife!" Jake ended his speech and threw the torch into the stake, lighting it up.
Amity could feel the heat on her face, her golden eyes watched the flames in a hypnotic gaze. She loved fire. Maybe a little too much. But the man's speech made her think about the countless women whose life was ended by being burned alive. It made her wonder if the humans would do the same to her if she would be discovered.
"Pah-lease," Masha scoffed, dragging Amity and Luz out of their stupor, "Sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset. But that's just me," She explained her reaction and Luz blushed realizing she was the human with the hot witch girlfriend in the current scenario.
They shared a look and Amity realized her girlfriend was actually blushing at the comment. They looked away from each other, suddenly feeling a tad embarrassed which had not happened to them in months.
"That's refreshing…"
"Finally!" Bert exclaimed with excitement, "It's time to get this party going!"
Luz was surprised to see Amity so confident and comfortable with everything that was happening. They moved from campfire to campfire, meeting people, and letting Bert be their guide, introducing them to everyone while Masha had to frequently disappear to coordinate the party.
They had their fair share of challenges like jumping across the fire, arm wrestling, and eye matches just to later eat some more grilled food with people they just met who welcomed them warmly. It was so silly and innocent they actually had the time of their lives.
Another fireplace they approached was surrounded by people accompanied by Masha. They had an instrument Amity did not recognize, they sang and laughed. Luz could not tear her sight away from the witch's enchanted look when she studied the human's behavior.
"Do you want to stay here a bit longer?" Luz asked with a small, supportive smile and did not mind when the witch did not reply.
They sat on the fallen branch and listened closely to a young girl with short, brown hair, and strong makeup who played the guitar while her friends sang along with her. The witch recognized some of the songs from Luz's fatherʼs tapes.
Clawthorne was surprised to see her girlfriend mouth the lyrics while she rocked to the rhythm. She only managed to grin at the lavender-haired woman and place her hand on her shoulder in a supportive embrace.
"So how do you like our Bonfire?" Masha asked when the next song was over. Luz and Amity realized she was addressing both of them, "Is it very different from what you have back home?" The witch looked at Luz hesitantly, her lips parted as if she did not know what to answer, "You know… England…"
"Well…" Amity regained her voice and faced the raven-haired girl, "I donʼt know about the whole of England but where Iʼm from, this seems very similar," She paused and sent Luz a look, encouraging her to continue.
"But where we met and where we're studying together itʼs just so different," Luz said and all eyes landed on her.
"So weird…" Clawthorne never liked the attention but now, she realized, it was different. She had her girlfriend's support and she was someone exciting, foreign, and desirable. They all were curious about her no matter how strange she was.
"Oh? You study together? What major did you choose?" The guitarist asked, watching Luz curiously, lowering her instrument, interested in the story.
"Iʼm studying…" Luz paused to think of the human equivalent of her studies, not prepared for those questions beforehand, "Pharmaceutics and Veterinary Medicine," She said quickly and busied her lips with a drink to mark that she was done.
"Good vets run in your family," Masha smiled warmly, making Luz blush at the comment.
"How about you, Amelia? Are you in the same year?" They turned their attention to the witch who was a tad shocked with the attention she was getting.
Amity was taught that dragging attention to herself was bad. She should always be composed, quiet, and representable. Seen but not heard. But Blight was a talkative person. Unfortunately, mostly when she was nervous. When she allowed herself to show her nerves.
"Me? Oh…" Amity smirked at the humans watching her, "I think you can guess my major after the race that Iʼm sure you all heard about…" She teased and Luz snorted at that.
"Very clever…" Clawthorne thought with a smile, knowing her girlfriend did not know the human equivalent of the Abomination Engineering.
"So an engineer and a doctor…" Masha said out loud, "You guys have a bright future ahead…" A sudden yell and a burst of mean laughter made it to their ears, interrupting their moment, "Oh Goddess, not him…" She cursed and everyone turned in their seats to face the source of the commotion.
Amity felt Luz stiffen next to her when she noticed Tommy Bergstein walking through the field, his posse in tow, pushing people away until he stopped and towered over the younger man. Luz's hands crushed the half-full cup in anger, spilling the beer on her trousers while Amity's eyes squinted as if she were following her prey.
"He always does that, fucking, sad pathetic man…" Masha said, getting up, and returning to her duties.
"Don't worry, Masha," Amity said sternly, stopping the woman in her actions, "I'll handle him," She added and got up, angry, feeling naive that she thought the blond bully would leave people alone after their race.
"Stop that!" A young man yelled at the blonde one. Just then they recognized a dark-skinned, young adult they knew as the Nerd.
"Hey!" Amity raised her voice in an angry roar and before Luz could react she was up and in front of the young man, shielding him from the bully, "Leave him alone!" She barked an order angrily in a low, dark voice and met her opponentʼs gaze.
The witch pierced the blue eyes with her golden ones, not moving the muscle. Luz, Masha, and Bert were by her side in no time. While everyone could not wait for the showdown, Clawthorne was shocked that her girlfriend could look the man in the eye for so long without a flinch. Her protective pose was truly impressive.
"Hey, man, you okay?" Bert helped the young man up. He did not reply, keeping his eyes on the lavender-haired woman, still in shock to be protected as Luz presumed.
"Oh, that bitch again…" Tommy huffed in defeat, looking down at the woman in front of him, making his posse chuckle grimly.
"Yeah, me again…" Amity suddenly changed her pose from an offensive one to the one proving her superiority, tying her arms on her chest, and, despite her being shorter, looking down on Bergstein, "What are you going to do about it? Bully some more people to boost your ego?" Luz watched her girlfriend and felt a sudden change in her character, "Youʼre pathetic, Thomas Bergstein," She added with a sweet smile that sent chills of fear down everyoneʼs spines.
"Oh, Odalia would be proud…" Luz thought in shock, watching her girlfriend with fear and worry.
"You…" Tommy lowered his face down to Amity's level, boiling with fury, "And me… Let's finish this once and for all," He said and Amity smirked at him. She knew he was desperate to prove himself.
"I thought you were done after the race YOU lost," The witch taunted, enjoying the man's fury.
"Not even close…"
"Very well then. What do you propose?"
"Amelia, donʼt," Bert pleaded along with Luz by his side.
"Baby, please… You donʼt have to prove him wrong…" Luz added.
"Oh, I know, I donʼt have to," Amity said with an overconfident smirk, "I want to. No one should ever be bullied for being themselves," She added, looking at the young man she saved, before facing her opponent again.
"Well thatʼs cute," Tommy interrupted, "Weʼre gonna have drinks. The first one to pass out loses!"
Amity looked at him and an uncontrollable smirk appeared on her face. She did not know Luz felt the jolt of her confidence coursing through her chest as well. Thank Titan for the Concealment Stones because the glare the witch sent him would scare everyone away.
Blight sent him a concealed, fanged smile while her concealed ears slanted down in acceptance of the challenge, reveling in the opportunity to let the man humiliate himself further.
"I accept," Amity growled with a low voice, closing the distance between them, her hands still crossed, to highlight her will to prove him wrong.
"Alright, everyone! It is on!" Someone from the crowd yelled and suddenly more and more people came over to watch the showdown.
"This is even weirder than babysitting the Bat Queenʼs babies," Luz thought, pulling her bangs anxiously when she watched her girlfriend being dragged to a drinking contest.
Tommy and Amity were sitting opposite each other on the different sides of the large wooden table, hate-filled glares never wavered, and their eyes never dared to look away. They were poured twenty shots of what they were told was a Tequila. While Tommy seemed a little bit nervous, Amity's smirk lever left her lips.
"Baby, you donʼt have to do that…" Luz tried to reason with her girlfriend, "I mean really, Tequila is like…"
"Lucia…" Amity purred loudly, the name slowly and sensually rolling off her tongue, and finally looked away from her opponent to connect her eyes with the hazel-brown ones of her girlfriend's while her pale hand caressed the tan cheek, "You have to have faith in me," She added and planted a passionate kiss on the full lips, closing her eyes. Luz instantly reciprocated though she was truly confused.
"Oh, come on!" Tommy said with disgust and Clawthorne was not confused anymore.
"Wicked witch," She thought with a smirk when they pulled away.
"You want me to throw up before we start drinking?" Bergstein's question was ignored and Amity leaned closer to her girlfriend's ear.
"I did my research, my Love," The witch whispered confidently, "This is no hard Apple Blood, heʼll be done momentarily," She explained and Luzʼs eyes went wide in shock when she realized what Amity had in mind.
She recalled what the witch told her about Odalia letting her drink since she was a very young teenager. The human had to trust that her girlfriend knew what she was doing. They pulled back and locked eyes together while their vengeful smiles matched.
"If youʼre up for it then I believe in you," Luz said with a smile, "And I'll take care of you if it hits you too hard," She added, planting a kiss at the top of the lavender head.
"Please…" Amity scoffed nonchalantly and faced her opponent again, watching him with amusement.
"Maybe Odalia having me drink since I was eleven will have one good use other than the self-medication issue," She thought, feeling bitter that her victory would be tainted by the memory of her mother.
"Youʼre done?!" Tommy spat with disgust as he looked at his opponent. He could not believe it came to the drinking match against a pathetic, weak, British girl.
"Cheers!" Amity said without hesitation and downed her first cup, putting it back down on the table bottom side up, "Mate?"
"Oh, thatʼs even weaker than I thought," Her taunting smirk forced Bergstein to drink his drink and the witch reveled in his expression of disgust when he forced the liquid fire down his weak, human throat.
"Okay, so maybe itʼs not as weak as I thought…" A doubt flashed through Amity's mind after the fourth glass of the drink.
Her thoughts were racing, trying to analyze the situation she got herself into. She thought that Demon Realmʼs alcohol was much stronger but now she realized it was just not so fiery in her witch throat. As for the strength in getting her drunk… Tequila may have been Demon Realm-worthy.
She thoughts back to the time when Luz tried to explain why she could not drink hard Apple Blood. Amity thought that it was too strong for the human which meant that the Human Realm alcohol was supposed to be weaker.
"Maybe it's just less fiery…" The witch thought, considering differences in the cuisine.
"Here, drink this," She heard Luz's concerned voice, dragging her out of her thoughts, and looked down at a red cup in the human's hand, "It's water, you need to hydrate," She explained and Amity smiled, grateful she had such a caring girlfriend by her side.
"You're the best…" The witch mumbled drunkily before downing the entire cup.
Luz was worried, realizing that her girlfriend was getting intoxicated. Maybe not as fast as Tommy, who wobbled in his seat, but still faster than Amity's over-confidence anticipated. Nevertheless, Clawthorne was impressed by how well her girlfriend was handling the alcohol, considering how many beers she had before the contest even began.
"Is she okay?" Bert asked Luz in a whisper.
"Y-yeah…" She confirmed, facing the tall brunette, "She's too stubborn to let go," She added and her gaze diverted to the Nerd, "She hates bullies."
"Well, good for her, I didn't ask for help…"
"Come on, whatʼs up with you?" Bert asked, watching the younger man cross his hands and look away with a huff, "You've been acting strange around Amelia all night…"
"Youʼre still going?" Tommyʼs slurring voice got everyoneʼs attention. He tried to taunt his opponent, hopeful that the witch would back down.
"Some kind of personal vendetta?" Bert asked Luz to elaborate.
"Shut up and drink, Bergstein," Amity growled when she bottomed up the fifth glass, placing it on the wooden table, bottom up, with a thud.
"Yeah," Luz confirmed absentmindedly, "She was a bully in the hope of pleasing her mother and she hates that part of herself," She explained and noticed the Nerdʼs expression changed, softened. He seemed to be more understanding now.
"You know, it wouldnʼt come to this if only youʼd go on a date with me," Tommy said in a sad attempt to flirt. Neither he nor Amity noticed that people exchanged looks.
"How pathetic are you?" Amity snapped angrily, "My awesome, caring, intelligent, warm, selfless, and smart girlfriend is right here," She gestured to Luz, "We love each other, and besides…" She eyed him, "Thereʼs not one attractive thing about you," She added and downed the sixth glass while Luz blushed at the witch's praise.
"That's a lot of epithets considering how drunk she is…" Bert chuckled, making Luz smile too.
"I bet she canʼt even fuck you properly," Tommy interrupted, finishing his glass, watching Amity pick up the seventh one, making everyone fall silent, holding their breath, "I bet once youʼd get fucked by a man…" He never had a chance to finish that sentence when he suddenly felt Tequila burning his eyes when the drink was thrown to his face and the powerful punch that followed threw him off the bench.
Luz had no time to react. One moment she watched Amity grab the glass in an attempt to drink and another moment she saw the witch's flashback from the night Philip violated her. The memory was so clear and blinding that she had no chance to stop Amity from throwing herself at the bully over the table, straddling him, punching him time after time, losing control.
Small but fierce, pale fists smashed the drunken face of the disgusting blonde man. His lip was cut, his nose broken, and his cheeks were already swelling. Yet, Amity was not slowing down. She tried to control her strength but she was too far gone, hearing Philip's voice in her head. This time she was not in control.
"Get off me!" Tommy hollered and that dragged Luz out of her stupor.
"Oh, now you want me off?!" The witch growled in a hoarse, frantic, maniacal voice, never stopping her assault.
Clawthorne watched her girlfriend throw punch after punch just as wildly as she did in the memory from St. Epiderm, where Amity took her frustration out on Skara. She quickly approached the lavender-haired woman and grabbed her arms in a hold, removing her from the man.
"Let me go!" The witch hollered, anger ravaging her body. She needed to protect herself.
"It's okay, Baby, youʼre safe," Luz cooed, holding the witch tightly, having a little bit of trouble against her girlfriend's strength while someone helped Tommy up.
"You bitch!" He spat angrily, spitting out blood, glaring at Amity, "Youʼre gonna regret it…" He stopped when Bert stepped in between.
"Youʼre not welcome here, Tommy. You better go before we ask the police for help," He said in a cold voice.
"You'll regret it, Parker…" Bergstein huffed before one of his friends helped him away from the commotion.
"Shh, shh, itʼs okay…" Luz continued to calm down her girlfriend, their surroundings lost meaning, and time seemed to slow down when the witch's anger subsided, leaving more room for fear that the memories brought, "Iʼm here, youʼre safe," Luz continued, assuring her girlfriend who was slowly calming down despite her deafening heartbeat.
"Worth every Snail…" Philip's voice echoed through Amity's mind while her girlfriend helped her calm down, hushing, and cooing patiently.
"T-thank y-y-you…" The witch finally murmured, stuttering nervously, eyes roaming the surrounding people, her body trembling.
"Okay, guys, this challenge is over," Bert took charge and addressed the people still staring at the distressed lavender-haired woman, "Nothing to see here, get going now," He added more forcefully and finally turned to face both Luz and Amity, "Are you okay?" He asked with a worry-filled voice but the witch did not say anything, lost in her mind, "Is she okay?" He addressed Luz.
"She will be," Clawthorne said in a low voice, still holding Amity close, stroking her hair.
"Let's get her some food and drink," Luz was surprised to hear the young man, whom Amity protected, offer.
"Um… Thanks…"
"Gus," The man said and led them to the campfire as far away from the main crowd as possible.
Luz slowly helped Amity up and watched the witch staring blankly into the void. She was paralyzed, lost in trauma but she let the human guide her away, cooperating with everything as long as her girlfriend was close by.
Luz held Amity in a close and tight embrace, securely guiding her toward a place to sit on a large fallen branch while the witch was still not ready to speak. Clawthorne felt the Roller-Ghoaster of emotions ravaging the pale, shaking body. The anger, the flashbacks, the helplessness, the disgust, and finally the resentment she had toward herself for losing control.
Luz used that moment to grab water and clean her girlfriend's bleeding knuckles. It did not do much good, running water would be much better but it was enough to make sure Amity was not hurt badly and she did not need immediate attention.
The witch was immobile, sitting like a hollow husk of the woman Clawthorne loved so much. Amity could not forgive herself, her mind raced back to all the times she lost control like that. The faces of people she hurt before her eyes.
"Amity," Luz whispered, completely ignoring the people surrounding them, "How do you feel?" No response, "Would you eat something?" She asked and despite receiving no verbal response, Amity nodded hesitantly, "Okay, let me get you…"
"Here," Luz heard a familiar, feminine, friendly voice and was surprised with Masha handling the food-filled plate, "I thought it would do her good after all that Tequila," She explained and offered a supportive but sad smile.
Luz inspected the plate and once she was certain there was nothing that would do Amity more harm, she faced her girlfriend once again. The witch was staring blankly into the fire, hypnotized by its beauty, finding comfort in the warm glow.
"Please, eat this," She asked the lavender-haired woman and was worried when once again she received no response.
Luz let out a long sigh, looked down at the plate, and thought back to the way her girlfriend usually liked her food. Clawthorne smiled slightly and began cutting down the pickles and grilled sausage into the tiniest bits she could.
"Tiny food is safe food," Amity's voice echoed in Luz's mind.
Once she was done she put the piece of sausage on a fork, dipped it in a bit of ketchup, and looked up at the still shaken-up witch, hoping this attempt to feed her, help her metabolize the alcohol quicker, would be successful.
"Let's try that again, shall we?" Luz asked softly and put the food up closer to the pink lips.
The smell of food attacked the witch's sensitive sense of smell. That made Amity finally snap out of her stupor and her golden eyes met the hazel-brown. Clawthorne kept smiling warmly, showing love and support and her girlfriend finally accepted the bite. Neither cared about the other people sitting with them by the campfire, watching them carefully.
"Very good," Luz praised and offered a pickle to the witch who accepted it gratefully. A few bites later Amity started to eat with more ease, "Do you want to continue by yourself?" Clawthorne asked and with no verbal response, the witch nodded, accepting the plate gratefully.
A sense of relief washed over Luz when she noticed the witch's appetite returning and soon she was cutting to pieces another portion of the food Masha fetched for Amity. They were both surprised to hear the guitar play once again.
It was a slow ballad the witch was familiar with, she rocked to the rhythm while she continued with her meal, regaining calm and sense of self. Luz looked up at the brunette musician and mouthed a 'thank you'. The guitarist smiled in response and continued to play the soft song on the loop, helping the foreigner calm down.
It had been more or less fifty minutes, two plates of grilled meat, and five cups of water later when Amity started to feel better. Her mind started to sober up while her anxiety subsided a little bit.
She kept her head resting on Luz's shoulder, her fists clenched on the human's flannel, staring into the dancing flames while her girlfriend kept her in a delicate, supportive embrace. It was so tranquil, that she could have been lost to time in that position. But nothing lasts. Amity cleared her throat.
"T-thank y-you…" She croaked while her look was still stuck on the flames.
She felt Luz shift in her embrace to look down at her. Other people followed and watched the lavender-haired woman. She glanced up for a mere moment, feeling uncomfortable under their gaze.
"You don't have to force yourself to speak if you're not ready yet," Masha spoke softly and she knelt in front of the fire to add some more wood, "We all know how it is…"
Amity did not understand. She managed to drag her gaze away from the fire and looked up at Luz questioningly but was met with the same amount of misunderstanding. They both faced the raven-haired woman who sat back down next to her guitarist friend and she smiled softly.
"We all know what a traumatized neurodivergent looks like," She said but it did not clear anything out. She sighed and clenched her black dress nervously when she noticed the confusion in the couple's eyes, "And here I thought with your free health care you'd be better informed," She joked with a smirk.
"M-mine?" Amity stuttered, still confused.
"She means England…" Luz whispered, hoping only Amity could hear her.
"Backstory time," The guitarist said with a smile, letting her guitar rest.
"We all met at the Camp that was supposedly straighten up the weird kids," Masha gestured to her friends, "They did not cure us from our neurodivergence but we found people who understand us," She added and smiled at her friends, "People who are like us."
"When you said that no one should be punished for being who they are it was clear as day that you've been through some ableist shit…" The guitarist said in a low voice, looking into the fire.
"Grey here," Masha pointed at her brown-haired friend, "Was severely punished at home for things that are normal to us," She explained, sadness seeping from her voice.
"No mother should punish you for reading the same book, taking away your sense of safety, throw away your stuff claiming you're too old to keep your comfort items, force you to eat food you hate or starve you if you don't…" Grey let out a ramble of frustration, slowly starting to rock her body to calm herself down until she finally let out a soothing breath, balling the material of her trousers, "Sorry, I didn't mean to dump it on you like that."
"It's okay," Amity said softly with a sheepish smile, her voice returning to her, "It's actually quite refreshing to know other people went through similar stuff," She explained, and that helped Grey relax as well, "I was never understood… That is until that dork came into my life," She added, leaning a bit on Luz who pecked her head and smiled softly. They giggled a little bit, glad to have each other by their side.
"So how did you guys get together?" Bert asked, changing the topic, and both women immediately stiffened.
"We cannot tell them about the Owl Demon!" Luz panicked.
"We can't tell them about my mother almost killing me! Then her! Then again me! And again her!" Their minds raced crazily.
"It turned out we like the same book series," Luz said in a higher pitch, hiding her nerves.
"Oh?" Masha encouraged them to elaborate.
"So when Lucia got hurt in an accident at the Academy where we both study, I read the book to her, waiting for her to wake up," Amity said with a soft smile, thinking about the day she found the courage to go against her mother's teachings.
"That is after she found me injured, barely conscious, and got me some help," Luz added noticing the looks everyone was giving them.
"Then one thing led to the next one," Amity butted in, making Luz smile widely.
"And here we are…" Clawthorne finished, her mind replaying the events that led to them ending up together.
"I suppose that's not the whole story…" Gus interrupted their moment and their lovestruck expressions faded. Amity looked at him and felt something weird about the man.
"And that's okay!" Bert interrupted, "Seriously man, what's up with you?" He asked the younger man who got up with a huff and left, "I'm sorry, I don't know what's up with him. He's been acting strange since yesterday."
"It's okay," Amity said softly.
"He's not your responsibility…"
"He kinda is…" Bert interrupted Clawthorne, "He's my adoptive brother and I just worry about him, that's all," He explained and Luz exchanged looks with the witch, "Anyway, I'm glad you're feeling better," He looked at the lavender-haired woman warmly, "To be honest I am surprised you managed over twenty ounces of Tequila," He chuckled and Amity blushed a little bit.
"It wasnʼt that much…" Amity said sheepishly.
"To us, it was," Bert said with a shocked expression, "Wow, girl, you have some health," He added and shook his head in disbelief.
"Well, you did help a lot by giving me food and drink," The witch admitted, still feeling intoxicated.
"The nerves got the better of you," Luz said with understanding and tightened her embrace for a short moment, "Fully understandable, my Love, you did great," She whispered and pecked the lavender head again.
"Hmm…" Amity silently agreed even though she could not forgive herself, "I will excuse myself for a moment," She finally said, breaking the moment, and she stood up. Her frame wobbled a little bit and Luz quickly followed to support her.
"Wow, maybe I should go with you," Clawthorne offered and her girlfriend did not argue. On the contrary, she nodded hesitantly in agreement, "Okay, let's go then…" She added and while keeping her girlfriend in a supporting embrace, she guided the witch toward the stalls.
Luz watched Amity carefully, worried about her. She knew that alcohol was not an issue to the witch. Her metabolism was much better and faster than that human one, however, with the flashback of her past trauma, the way she threw herself at Tommy, she was certain that Blight was stuck in the loop of intrusive thoughts about everything that happened.
They went through the field full of minor campfires, passing by different groups of people who were enjoying the party, unaware of their internal struggle. Someone waved at them, smiling widely, someone congratulated winning the drinking game, and someone else expressed their gratitude for beating Tommy up.
They made it to the stalls that were located at the very edge of the clearing, bordering the dark woods. The toilets were placed in the long row, one by one, while the mobile sinks were stationed on either edge of the row. Luz looked down and the witch in her embrace and noticed Amity sigh heavily.
"I'm sorry for worrying you," She said and looked up into the hazel-brown eyes. Luz could only smile warmly.
"Don't worry about that," She replied and kissed the pale forehead lovingly, "I just hope you feel better now," She added and Amity nodded reluctantly, "Then let's clean up your hands, okay?" She offered since cleaning up by the fireplace did not do much good.
The witch nodded and smiled delicately. She was grateful for the care she received and decided against drowning in a feeling of inadequacy. Luz took her hands in her own, making sure she avoided the cuts, while she tested the water herself.
"Now slowly, the water is cold," Clawthorne warned and helped the smaller, pale hands under the stream.
Amity hissed through her teeth when she felt the stinging sensation but she did not withdraw her hands. She watched Luz slowly and delicately clean her cuts with care and love. Despite her internal struggle she felt loved and truly appreciated.
"Who would have thought… This silly, human girl made my pathetic life worth living…" She thought grimmly, watching Clawthorne with awe.
"There… All done," Luz said with a smile, drying off the witch's hands, before placing a healing kiss on the top of her hands, avoiding the cuts, "Now, if that still bothers you, you can heal once inside the stall," She added, and caressed the pale cheek.
"Iʼm really sorry, Luz…" Amity tried to make peace with her intrusive thoughts.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Amity," Luz repeated once again, "I know your mind probably won't believe a thing I say right now but Iʼm not going anywhere. I love you," She added, pecking the lavender head for a hundredth time to make her point.
Amity closed the stall doors and sighed heavily. The inside of a stall was illuminated by a delicate, blueish light that was just bright enough to use the toilet but not bright enough to see how dirty it was. Once her main purpose there was out of the way, the witch sat on the closed bowl and looked at her hands.
The cuts were minor but they bothered her a lot. She felt like the monster Odalia trained her to be. She did not lose control of her emotions like that in years. Beating Tommy up after the race did not even compare. Today she was out of control, the raging machine her mother adored.
"Pathetic…" She whispered to herself and drew a blue spell circle. She healed the lacerations in no time and back thought to the way Luz acted tonight.
"I donʼt get it… Sheʼs seen me act like that and yet she helped me calm down, clean up, sober up… Sheʼs way too good for me…" She thought and sighed heavily again, feeling a pang of sadness and guilt mixed with love and appreciation, "I don't deserve her…"
Her emotional turmoil was interrupted by sudden sounds of struggle outside the stalls. She could not hear anything clearly through the closed door but she was certain she heard Luz's voice and felt distress coursing through her heart.
"What the…"
She got up immediately and exited the stall just to be welcomed by an empty field. She was alone in the immediate proximity while the dozens of parties were still going in the main Bonfire area.
"Luz?" She asked, hoping her dorky girlfriend was just about to prank her, bored with the wait, "Come on, thatʼs not funny," She said, worried because it was not like Luz to prank her, and before she could do or say anything else, two pairs of strong hands grabbed her and dragged her into the woods, "Hel-!" Her cry was muffled by one of the hands and despite her struggle, she could not set herself free.
Her feet were leaving marks on the ground. She could not get a proper angle to get leverage and set herself free. She felt a loud, increased heart rate, which deafened her, and her decreased body coordination. While she still felt drunk a moment ago, the rush of adrenaline was quickly sobering her up.
She finally realized she could not see the lights of the fires anymore and her eyes adjusted to the moonlit surroundings of the dark forest. She tried to calm herself down, to clear up her mind but the panic was making home in her heart.
The hands, holding her painfully, suddenly pulled even harder and she was thrown onto the ground where the fallen leaves were covering the massive rock. She could not prepare herself in time, falling hard on her shoulder and hip, grunting in pain when she made contact with the ground. The witch shook her head, clearing the hair from her face, and took in her surroundings.
She was at the cliff where she spent an amazing time with Luz just a few days ago. Now, however, she realized, she was being surrounded by two or more people. Their intentions were nothing but hostile. She looked up and noticed a blonde man with a bloodied nose and cut lip. She smirked and her handiwork and slowly pulled herself up.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Amity whispered in disbelief. She hoped Bergstein would finally give her a rest but alas, he smirked in response.
"I told you it wouldnʼt come to this if only youʼd gone on a date with me," He approached her at grabbed her lavender hair painfully, tugging at the scalp, making the witch whimper in pain, "But of course, you had to play hard to get," He added venomously, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Lucky for you… I like it…" Philip's voice echoed through the witch's head when another flashback attacked her consciousness.
"No!" Amity screamed in panic, immediately starting to fight, despite the pain in her head.
"Hold her!" Tommy ordered his band and she felt her limbs being immobilized.
"Let me go!" She hollered, trying to jump away, wiggling herself but she could feel only despair as her body was forced toward the line of the trees by the cliff.
"Turn her," The leader of the gang ordered and she felt herself being turned painfully toward a tree, her face smashed against the uneven bark, scratching it.
"Move, move, move! You're stronger! You're a fucking witch for Titan's sake!" She yelled at herself but she could not even flinch a muscle.
Her heartbeat deafened her and she could have sworn her magic was about to seep away, get out of the remains of her self-control. Another flashback brought Philip's hands covered with her blood when he forced her face down.
Zip.
She heard a zipper being opened and was too afraid to look back. Her mind was racing, paralyzing her, bringing the worst possible scenarios. She knew that once she fought back there was no one and nothing that could stop her. She was afraid for her safety but there was a part of her that was more afraid for the safety of those humans, unaware of the threat.
"Luz, please! Where are you?" She thought, hoping their Bond would help her out of this predicament.
"You'll learn how to behave!" She felt the stench of half-digested alcohol and the sour scent of gastric juices in Tommy's breath as he whispered into her dulled ears while he tugged her head back, once again pulling her mane painfully.
She did not have any time to react. The moment Bergstein fell silent, he used the hold on the witch's hair to smash her face against the tree once again. Amity shook her head, trying to refocus her attention. She knew it was nothing as bad as when she was playing Grudby, she was used to the blunt physical trauma, but she felt much weaker, tired, and intoxicated, frozen with fear.
"What are you…" She never had a chance to finish her question when she felt cold material hugging her wrists.
A clicking sound followed and Amity realized she was experiencing something long forgotten. Her hands were tightly cuffed and before she could have commented it in any way, she was forcefully turned around, her back hitting the tree, her breath taken away upon an impact. She let out a loud, animalistic growl, and looked up at her oppressor with the purest intent to kill.
"Oh, look," Tommy mused, "Our Kitten can growl," He teased and then suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, slapped her painfully with the top of his hand, "You will behave," He whispered and Amity could not find her confidence anymore.
"If you want to behave like an animal…" Odalia's voice accompanied Philip's voice in a perfect symbiosis of the flashbacks haunting the young Blight.
"And we will enjoy every second of it…" He added and while two pair of strange hands held her against the tree, Tommy reached down and opened a zipper on the side of his jeans.
Luz watched Amity walk into a stall and sighed heavily. She was really worried about her girlfriend. The witch was indeed one of the strongest, most powerful beings Clawthorne knew but she worried about the backlash from everything she had been through.
"Yeah, sure, she had help, Healers and Emira, but that kind of hurt just doesn't disappear in a year…" Luz thought, still frozen, looking at the doors, obscuring the love of her life, "Huh, and I thought I was over my trauma. Luz, you fool!" She thought about her trauma attack, earlier that day, "What else can I do?" She wondered, her focus returning to her girlfriend when she realized someone was approaching the stalls too.
Luz did not want to come out as a creep, watching the door behind which her girlfriend was dealing with her bodily functions so she decided to wait by the sink. She dipped her hands underneath the freezing cold water and splashed her face.
"Oh, much better…" She thought when she felt the stinging of the cool water on her face.
She finally snapped out of her worry-filled stupor, turned off the water, and patted her jeans to dry off her hands. She was so focused on her actions she did not notice someone approach her from behind.
When she realized someone was quickly coming toward her, it was too late. Someone grabbed her head, throwing off her beanie, and smashed her face against the sink, confusing her.
"Hoot!" She heard no louder than a whisper when she felt her head fuzzy.
Luz shook her head with a growl and just as she was about to shout something at her oppressor a powerful tug on her curly hair paralyzed her, making her follow the person, dragging her into the woods.
"Ow, ow, ow! Stop!" She pleaded but was just thrown back to the ground. She tried to sit back up but a heavy body crushed her, immobiling her limbs. A scent of men's cologne filled her nostrils, "Let me… GO!" She hollered and that was her mistake.
The moment she did, the opponent, whose face she did not yet recognize, smashed something into her mouth and placed their large, sweaty palm on her lips to make sure she did not spit up whatever he forced into her.
"Let's not make it any harder than it has to be, and swallow those pills like a good girl," The man husked and that was when Luz realized she knew that person. He was one of Tommy's friends. She tried to fight their hold, hoping to spit out anything they tried to administer into her system, "Fine, be like that!" He growled with irritation and closed her nose with another hand.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Luz panicked, considering her options.
She could not freak out and let herself Beast out, she could not fight as the man's strength was definitely superior. She could not use Glyphs since they did not work in the Human Realm. She had no choice. She swallowed.
"Good!" He whispered and lowered himself a little bit ominously, letting go of her nostrils but not of her mouth, letting her breathe. She finally took a better look at the blue eyes hidden underneath thick, dark brows, "Now calm down," His tone changed, softened, "I just need to make sure you digest those pills and in fifteen minutes you'll be free to go," He explained and despite his calming tone Luz panicked.
"What the fuck did he drug me with!? What the hell is their plan?!" Clawthorne's mind raced hundreds of miles per hour, her eyes rapidly roamed the man's pale, freckled face while she tried to think of a way out of his grip to throw up the drugs before they hit her, "Fuck! Amity's probably scared, not knowing where I've gone!" She just realized and her struggle against the hold increased while she tried to scream.
"Calm the fuck down, everything's gonna be fine!" The man hissed through his teeth but Luz did not believe him. She fought even harder until her abuser's strong hit confused her perception further.
"Luz?" She heard Amity's voice, "Come on, thatʼs not funny," The witch said with a semi-nervous voice until Luz heard her muffled plea, "Hel-!" That made Clawthorne wriggle as much as she could, hoping to throw the man off her.
He was big and strong, and her struggle seemed to leave him unimpressed. He just checked his watch and rolled his eyes, apparently impatient to leave. That made Clawthorne fight a bit more, she could feel a burning sensation in her bones that made her cease her actions, too scared to hurt anyone by transforming.
"No, no, no, calm down…"
Luz had no idea how much time had passed. It may have been hours for all she knew. The only thing running through her mind was that something happened to Amity. She cried for help. The feeling of dread was spreading through Clawthorne's body, originating in her neck, and she knew that it had everything to do with Blight's situation.
"Stop fighting," The man hissed with irritation, "You're only hurting yourself," He added and Luz managed to move her head enough to bite the man's finger, "FUCK!" He screamed out in pain.
"HELP!" Luz hollered right before a large, pale fist found her face.
Everything went blurry for a moment when her head was thrown back to the ground at the impact, and a bloodied saliva painted the fallen leaves. She could not focus her sight when she felt a strange sense spreading across her body.
"Hoot!"
"Get off!" A familiar voice echoed painfully in Clawthorne's head. She tried to open her eyes but the eyelids were too heavy, "I said - OFF!" The same fury-filled voice repeated. Before Luz could focus her blurry sight, she realized the weight of her oppressor left her body, letting her breathe deeply again.
"What…" She mumbled, turning to the side.
She blinked a few more times and started recognizing the figures in the dark. The tall man with deep, grass-like green eyes, dressed in jeans and a hoodie was fighting the abuser away.
"Hoot!" She could not ignore the louder call of the Demon but before she could have even considered what they meant, she felt a delicate touch on her arm, startling her.
"Lucia, are you okay?" She looked up and noticed a familiar messy, brunette hair.
"B-Bert?" She asked in shock, disbelief, and confusion.
"Y-yeah… I got worried. You were gone pretty long…" He said and delicately helped her up. She sat up and shook her head, "Did he hurt you? Where's Amelia?" He asked, lifting the woman's face to inspect her, and Luz's expression changed immediately.
"Amity…" She thought and tried to quickly stand up just to lose her balance when she felt lightheaded.
"Wow, calm down…" Bert helped her regain her balance.
"He drugged me…" Luz managed to explain but that did not calm her newfound friend down.
"What? What did they give you?!" He almost yelled, panicking, frightened for the woman in front of him.
"I… I don't know… I felt at least four or five hard pills…" She stopped to shake her head once again.
Her breathing was uneven and she could feel her heart rate increase. She put a hand on her chest and felt unease at the way the cardiovascular muscle pumped hard in her body, increasing the blood pressure that almost deafened her.
Suddenly, everything began to fade and clear up. She could distinguish the separate sounds from different campfires, she calmed down and could have sworn her racing thoughts were gone. It was a strange, serene sensation.
As if no one told her that her whole life she was listening to a radio station with a toggle in between the stations and now someone, finally, adjusted her wavelengths. Everything seemed so clear that it seemed unreal.
"Lucia?" Bert asked, realizing the woman was frozen in mid-move for the past few seconds.
She looked up at the man and smiled delicately in disbelief. She heard his question the moment the words left his lips. She did not need extra time to process it. Even though her heart was racing like crazy, Luz felt the calmest she could ever recall. Despite her worry, no uncontrollable thoughts were deafening her mind.
"Hoot!" She was suddenly surprised by a flash of a cliff that she had visited with Amity a few days ago.
She grabbed her head in surprise. She knew the Bond with the witch was strong but she never experienced a vision so clear. Luz could have sworn she felt not only Amity's emotions but everything she touched or smelled.
"Come on, you're scaring me," Bert's voice trembled.
"The cliff…" Luz suddenly whispered, not even looking up at her new friend, "They took her to a fucking cliff…" She growled, realizing her girlfriend was abducted. She did not control herself when she grabbed Bert and pulled him close in, "Do you know the way to the cliff?" She asked with a voice so husky, that the taller man was truly scared of her.
"N-no…" He choked out an answer and his eyes roamed the beat-up face, twisted in fear hidden deep underneath the fury, "But Gus knows those woods inside out, let's get him!" He proposed and Luz nodded in agreement.
"Hoot!"
"Not now!" Luz scolded the Demon while she ran behind the brunette man.
She ignored her pounding headache, her racing heart, and literally everything in the hope of finding Amity before anything bad happened to her. She could feel the witch's distress and physical pain which made her worry even more.
"Gus!" Clawthorne did not notice when they found the younger, dark-skinned man, "Can you take us to the cliff?"
"Cliff?" He echoed in surprise, eyeing Luz's ragged appearance.
"Amelia's missing and Lucia is certain she's by the cliff…"
"She's been taken!" Luz corrected in a low hiss and watched Gus think of a reply. He tied his brows in frustration, eyeing Clawthorne for a moment more, and finally nodded.
"Fine… Follow me!" He said and did not wait for them, he left toward the stalls, passed them by, and entered the woods.
"Hoot! Marks on the ground!" Luz heard in her head and looked down. There were indeed two deep marks that indicated someone was dragged toward the other side of the forest.
"Yeah, I see that…" She thought before stopping mid-step in utter shock, "WAIT! Did you just… Did I just understand you?! Like human language?!" She thought questioningly but before she could receive an answer she heard another voice in her head.
"Luz, please! Where are you?" Amity's voice was unmistakable.
"Lucia, are you okay?" Bert voiced his concern when he realized the woman was once again lost in her mind.
"No…" She whispered in a dead voice and rushed past them.
She had no idea where she was going but she was pushing forward, ignoring her body's ache and everything in between, hoping to find her girlfriend before anything bad happened to her.
"Why can't I feel her anymore?" She wondered as she followed the trail with Gus and Bert on her tail.
"Her magic's been blocked," The Demon offered and Luz did not answer.
She had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that her girlfriend was missing. A Demon who resided in her soul for the past four years suddenly speaking in an understandable language was not at the top of her list of priorities.
"Fuck…" Amity growled, falling to her knees, dull pain pulsating in her beaten left ribs.
Blight could feel the bruises forming underneath her skin. The discarded backpack of which zipper the witch heard earlier was lying forgotten on the moist ground. The lavender hair was stuck to her face and she was doing her best to remain calm.
She was immediately pulled up by her shackled wrists and she managed to look up at her oppressor. Tommyʼs smug face was looking at her with sick satisfaction. He rolled a metal baton in between his fingers and stepped closer. Amity was prepared for another hit. She closed her eyes and was surprised to feel a delicate, cold touch on her chin.
"I'll admit, you are a tough one," He whispered viciously, lifting her chin with a metal rod, "Too bad I was paid really well for this, weʼd make a nice couple," He added with fake regret. Amity could not resist, she spat blood directly into his face, "Fine…" He pulled away, wiping the droplets of blood mixed with saliva off his face, "Be like that!" He added and slapped the lavender-haired woman with the top of his hand for a dozenth time this evening, bursting her lip.
"Trust me when I say…" The witch growled, "You have no idea how lucky you are that I choose not to fight back," She added, and that only made Tommy and his goons laugh.
"Adorable," Bergstein whispered, shaking his head in disbelief, "Hold her," He addressed other men and corrected his hold on the baton.
The blonde man continued his assault. He hit Amity time after time. She could feel the pulsating pain in her legs, arms, ribs, and back. She fell to her knees again just to be pulled back up, hurting her wrists and shoulders. Her mind however was not entirely present in the situation.
This predicament was all too familiar to her. The witch's intoxicated and exhausted mind flooded her with flashbacks from the day she found Luz's massacred body, the memory of her own punishments brought by Odalia's hand, and finally the strangest visions of the way she hit someone like that.
"Very well, keep going," She heard Odalia's voice.
"Stop!" Amity was certain she imagined Luz's voice. The witch shook her head and focused her blurry sight.
"What the hell!?" Luz thought when she came to a stop, Gus and Bert soon caught up with her.
She took in the sight. Amity was being held up by two men, her wrists were tied behind her back, and lavender hair flooded messily on her sweaty forehead. She was breathing heavily through an open mouth.
Her bloodied lip painted her chin red where blood mixed with a string of saliva. The gray hoodie she borrowed from Luz was covered in mud. Clawthorne hoped it was only mud. The witch's legs wobbled weakly, exhausted with everything this day brought.
"Why doesn't she fight back?!" Luz could not understand.
"She would have killed them if she did," The Demon offered an explanation and Clawthorne shook her head, freaking out with the clear communication they were experiencing.
"What the hell?" Tommy barked, noticing an unexpected interruption, "Werenʼt Billie supposed to drug her with his meds?" He addressed men holding the witch.
"Let her go!" Luz did not have time to think about Tommyʼs words. She only cared about freeing her girlfriend and taking her back to the safety of their home, taking care of her, making sure she felt safe.
"Shut up," Tommy dismissed her with a shrug and took another swing at Amity.
Luz did not know what came over her but could have sworn that everything slowed down around her. She watched the witch close her eyes, preparing for the next hit. Tommyʼs hand slowly started to dash toward Amityʼs body. Before Luz knew it, she was by Bergstein's side, grabbing his arm and pulling him back toward the woods.
"I said," Luz growled animalistically, punching the man holding Blight's right arm, "Let her go!" She repeated and hit another man who fell back to the trees behind him. Without their support the witch fell to her knees, almost falling over to her face.
"Ugh…" Amity moaned in pain, snapping Luz out of her fury.
"Oh, Titan," Luz knelt in front of her girlfriend, taking hold of the beat-up body, "Iʼm here, Baby, Iʼm here…" She tried to soothe the witch who put her chin on the human's shoulder, took in the calming scent, and a weak purr was heard, "Let's take you home, okay?" The witch nodded at that and braced herself to help Luz help her up.
With a small grunt coming from the bloodied lips, they stood up. Clawthorne noticed Amity's expression change all of a sudden, her eyes widened and pupils shrank in fear.
"No!" The witch growled and pushed her girlfriend away with her shoulder, accepting the punch on her cheek.
"Fuck!" Luz gasped, realizing Amity saved her from Tommyʼs powerful attack. The witch stumbled back away from the forest, shaking her head, trying to recover from the punch, "Get away from her!" Clawthorne quickly recovered and jumped back up at Tommy.
"Get off, bitch!" Bergstein hollered and he started tugging at Luz who punched his smug face time and time again, letting the frantic fury into her heart.
The situation escalated when Tommyʼs friends recovered from Clawthorne's punches. They were about to jump at the tall, tan brunette but they were stopped by Bert who stopped holding back.
He managed to trip over one of the goons and shove away the other one while Gus stood back, taking the sight in. His dark eyes met the golden ones of the lavender-haired woman who panted heavily and the connection has been made.
"It's not him, calm down, Blight," The witch thought and blinked.
She turned her attention back to the fight in front of her. She watched Bert taking care of the men who held her up, forcing her to accept the beating, while Luz was barely holding onto the remains of her self-control to not beat Tommy into a bloody pulp.
"You fucking dare to kidnap my girlfriend!?" Luz hollered at her childhood bully, forgetting about her trauma for the first time in forever, "You dare tie her up like a fucking animal!?" She roared and another punch followed, "You dare raise a hand at her?! Beat her up?!" She was losing her self-control, the Demon inside her fueled her rage, angry just as much.
"Oh, donʼt worry," Tommy finally hissed, dodging another punch, "Everybody will think her drugged, jealous girlfriend did that!" He added and threw his head forward, smashing her nose with his sweaty, wide forehead.
"No!" Amity tried to intervene, walking closer but no one heard her or saw her.
Tommy lifted Luz and took a powerful swing to hit the woman in his grasp. He did not notice his elbow hit the witch directly in the face, disorienting her once again, before punching Clawthorne so powerfully she was thrown back to the ground with a loud thud and an angry grunt.
He walked over to the fallen woman and stepped on her chest, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Luz grabbed his leg to lessen his strength but it did not change much. She looked up at her abuser and was blinded by a flash of memory from her childhood.
"That seems awfully familiar," Tommy whispered viciously, pretending to try to think back to the memory he had in mind, "Although, this time you donʼt have a sword, huh, Noceda?" He taunted, applying even more pressure to the fallen womanʼs chest.
"Fuck… You… Bergstein!" Luz replied with a growl, spitting on her chin in the struggle to breathe.
She noticed Amity shaking her head in an attempt to regain her focus, snarling in panic, and breathing heavily. Her whole body was shaking, confused about the surroundings, breaking Clawthorne's heart.
"We need to take her home, fuck…" Luz thought with frustration, watching how her girlfriend was weakened, wobbling on her legs.
"Then why are you holding back?!" The Demon was clearly losing its patience.
"Demon Realm…" Her thought was interrupted by Bertʼs sudden yell.
The tall brunette man shoved Tommyʼs men off and when they left, running into the woods in panic, he pushed Bergstein off Luz's chest. He then shielded her from further harm, looking at the blue-eyed man with disgust.
"Youʼre sick, Bergstein!" Bert hollered, watching the blonde man stumble back until his body was stopped by the witch who gasped at the impact and stumbled back herself.
"You were always too weak Parker," Tommy hissed after regaining his balance.
"No…" Luz whispered, realizing Amity was getting dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.
"You were a pathetic nerd with no balls to do what…"
"NO!" Luz hollered, interrupting Tommyʼs speech, raising her hand toward Amity whose feet made it to the ledge.
"Help!" Amity whimpered weakly when she realized the ground behind her was about to end.
"Fuck!" Tommy growled, realizing the lavender-haired woman was about to fall, "No, no, no!" He managed to jump forward, hoping to catch the woman, and help pull her up but with hands shackled behind her back there was not much he could have done.
To Amity the time suddenly stood still. She felt her heavy boot finding the edge of the cliff, and a few rocks fell down when she realized she was losing her balance toward the wrong side of the wall.
Her golden eyes roamed the humans in front of her. She noticed her girlfriend's beat-up face, watching her with fear. She roamed Bertʼs and Gusʼ shocked faces, and finally Tommyʼs expression of pure panic.
"No!" Tommy yelled again and grabbed the only thing his intoxicated mind thought was able to pull her back up - her choker, "Don't you dare to fall, you stubborn bitch!" He growled, watching the scared, shackled woman with panic.
"No, no, no, no…" Luz mumbled like a mantra while Bert helped her up.
She was paralyzed, unable to move a muscle. Approaching Tommy might have made him let Amity go. That was something neither Clawthorne nor the Owl Demon wanted to think about.
"Ah," Amity suddenly gasped, her breath caught in her throat.
She could feel the metal clasp, closed at the back of her neck, slowly letting go. While she was still leaning toward the edge of the cliff, she could have felt her heart race, deafening her.
"No, no, no, please…" She begged, realizing the man was not pulling her up fast enough.
Click!
The clasp let go and Amity gasped, realizing her body stopped being pulled up. Her eyes ran frantically from Tommy to Luz, making her realize that her Concealment Stone was gone, left in the blondeʼs hand
Poof!
The illusion disappeared. Amity's golden gaze ran back to her abuserʼs face. Shock spread through his face when his mind tried to comprehend her long fangs peeking from underneath her parted, trembling lips and pointy ears twitching underneath her lavender mane. The witch looked back to the hazel-brown gaze and realized her golden eyes were stinging with tears.
"I love you…" She mouthed quietly and sent Luz a fanged, delicate smile underlined with fear.
The time sped forward, gravity caught up with the witch, and she fell.