Chosen
The following day Luz woke up feeling like she was hit by a bus, her arms ached, as she stretched, she felt her back strain against her, causing her to sharply inhale. em Why am I so sor-/em Luz stopped mid thought as she suddenly recalled the events from the night before. Her head whipping around in every direction, to take in her surroundings, em This isn't the living room... /em She thought, taking in the room's details. It was a smaller room with dusty piles of books, a large golden chest that looked to have been recently opened, the more Luz looked around the more this looked like a storage room. She felt a strange feeling bubble up in her chest as she looked down at the makeshift bed, em Eda must have made this for me last night... /em with a small smile that faltered as her body protested the movement she got up. The singed cloak had been removed and she was just left in her red and purple striped shirt, she could see bruises and slight burn marks on her arm and could only imagine what her face must look like.
Luz rolled the bedding up neatly, placing it carefully under the window, as she was about to turn to leave the peace was disrupted, abruptly, "YOURE AWAKE, THANK GOODNESS! WE WERE SO WO-" Hooty had slinked his tube-like body through the window and was face to face with Luz. Before Luz could even grasp what was happening her hand shot out, palming Hooty right in the face, stopping him from saying anything else. "OW Hoot! WHY LUZ" Hooty yelled tears in his big brown eyes as he retracted back to his door through the window.
"Wait! Ahhh... Hooty, I'm sorry!" Luz yelled after him again, bringing the same palm she hit Hooty with to her face. em He's going to think I hate him... But he HAS TO STOP SNEAKING UP ON ME! /em she turned and exited the room, trying to get her sore body to cooperate with her as much as possible as she walked down the stairs, holding the railing for dear life. As she descended the stairs she could smell the familiar scent of griffin eggs, her stomach growled impatiently at her while she made her way to The Owl Houses kitchen. She shuffled through the archway, happy to see that King and Eda seemed no worse for wear than when they had breakfast yesterday morning. em I must really be weak... /em She tried not to let the clear differences bring her down, one day a quest like yesterday will be nothing.
"Ah! Luz! You're awake" King jumped up from his highchair and scrambled onto the table, Eda turned to the two of them and gave a genuine smile. "So, you've graced us with your presence oh great Luz The Human" Eda said in an exaggerated, turning to take the omelet she had made for Luz off the frying pan. King gestured for Luz to come to the table, "Luz! Eat, Eda has a lot to talk to you about" King stated with clear glee as he motioned for her to sit with him. The battered girl happily agreed, finding the whole interaction was exactly what she needed to bring herself out of her own thoughts.
"Okay, okay, as you command" she took a seat, wincing slightly as she made herself a bit more comfortable in the wooden chair. Eda brought over the omelet, as well as a small mug of steaming scoffee, taking a seat across from Luz. "Oh wow, Eda, this looks great" She mumbled, picking up the fork on the plate and eagerly chowing down on the food. Letting out a satisfied groan, her head tilting back to look at the sky as if thanking go-titan for this food. The older woman chuckled, amused by the way the younger girl was enjoying her food, em I don't think I've ever had someone make that face over my food. Maybe other things sure /em Eda thought to herself with a smirk and a shrug of her shoulders, staying silent as the girl ate.
Luz could tell that King was antsy about something, as much as she wanted to let him get to it right away, she was enjoying her breakfast like it was going to be her last. Once she set her fork down and sipped her scoffee, it was like Eda's cue to speak, pulling Luz from her random thoughts. "Alright Kid, now that your stomach is full, I want to talk to you about our … adventure yesterday" Eda's tone was more serious than Luz was used to, causing a slight pit to form in her stomach, em I got the crown... I, I mean I didn't check with King but … /em as if able to see Luz's panic Eda quickly continued. "Although it didn't go to plan, we got what we went for!" The owl lady started quickly, earning a wide-eyed look from Luz. "We might have got what we went for, but I need you to really understand how much danger you were in …" Her voice trailed off; eyes focused on Luz. Before Luz could protest Eda continued, "King said you were incredibly brave and probably did some things that were unspeakably difficult for you to do" em Shes referring to the guard... she had to be, I-I did what I had to, right? /em "Eda, get to the point" King barked, crossing his arms as his tail swished impatiently behind him. "Right, right, sorry" her eyes softened as she looked at Luz, "You got Kings crown, you proved to us in more ways than one how much you want to be here and that we can trust you, heck you even convinced me to let out several blocks of prisoners!" Snorting out a small laugh she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.
"I didn't heal you because I wanted you to wake up, have this conversation and understand that learning Magic and being in the Boiling Isles could have you feeling like this a lot... It won't be easy and I might not always be there to save you-" Before Eda could continue Luz stood up, palms slapping against the table as she leaned on it towards both King and Eda, her eyes wide as she stated at The Owl Lady. "Are you... Does this mean I can stay?" Luz almost whispered, her big brown eyes not peeling away from the clearly shocked eyes of the older man. "You didn't hear a damn word I said did you!? You could die!" Eda reiterated, leaning forward to better meet Luz's gaze. "I could die back home too, but here... I want to stay, please, I want you to teach me" the conviction in her voice only got more sincere as she continued her sentence. King took the small lull in conversation to clap his paws together, "It's settled then! Luz, I hear by appoint you a trusted knight of The Owl House, and apprentice to Eda, The Owl Lady, strongest witch in all the Boiling Isles!" King yelled, pumping a paw up into the air between the two women.
Luz eyes dropped to King and a smile broke out across her lips, causing slight pain in her cheek but she didn't care. em I don't know if they will ever know how much this means to be. /em Luz thought as she bowed her head down to King who promptly took his one paw and tapped both of her shoulders, completing the appointing. Eda was sitting with a slightly off smile on her lips, she liked this girl, the last thing she wanted was to see her get hurt but something told her em She's something special... /em Eda sipped the last of her Apple Blood and lifted a finger to Luz. "Alright, enough pageantries, I think you've suffered enough" with a quick twirl of her finger, Eda's hand began to glow a soft blue, she got up from her spot at the table and sat Luz back down in hers. Earning a small huff of pain from Luz. "Stay still and it feels weird the first few times" Eda warned, as her hand waved over Luz's face first and then down her arms and torso, hand hovering consistently over her body. em Eda was right, this felt … weird, like tingle that turned into an almost burning feeling /em Luz did her best to stay still but the worse the injury the more that weird feeling bubbled to the surface of her skin. "Alright, all done kid" Eda stated, satisfied with her work.
After some idle chatting Luz found herself in the living room with Eda as King played with his many 'subjects' as he called them, although they were more or less stuffed animals from the Human realm. Eda had decided the best place to start Luz off was with something she strong knew /strong the kid could do, "Potions!" Eda declared as she used magic to pull a massive tomb from across the room to them, setting it on the living room table in front of them. "Now, any wild witch worth a damn has some signature potions, some use them for healing, others for concealing their tracks or – my personal favourite – bombs!" The older woman was clearly partial to violence. "Perfect! Even without a bile sac I should be able to do this" Luz reiterated the term Eda had taught her earlier as they were reviewing potential places to start with Magic. "Exactly, I mean, there are a few potions here and there that need magic imbued when being created but all in all it's a fraction of your potential potions." Eda assured.
The two spent a few hours talking about Magic, Potions and their uses, Luz often overwhelmed Eda with questions to which she did her best to answer. As they were finishing up one of the last potions on Eda's list, she stared off catching a glimpse of Kings peaceful face as he was curled up in the sun on a cushion near the front door. em Wait... If we got his crown, why? /em Luz sat up and turned to Eda with a concerned look, perhaps too concerned as Eda's eyes darted around as if expecting there to be a fire. "What's the face for kid?", "Uh... I-I, we got Kings crown" Luz quickly replied, barely letting Eda finish her sentence. Eda quirked an eyebrow up and nodded slowly, realizing only hitting her as Luz looked to King and back. "Oh" Eda grunted, em stupid, of course, I should explain to her.../em "Let me explain, just not here" she said and gestured with her head towards the sleeping demon.
Eda led Luz back into the kitchen, leaning against the island as she took a deep breath. Before Eda even started, she could see a sadness in Luz's eyes she hadn't seen before. "I thought we did it... I tried my best, I-I mean, I couldn't really see, and I was … I was so tired" She was muttering as she followed Eda into the kitchen, not fully aware that Eda already had her eyes on her. em Oh boy... I should have told her sooner. /em Eda shook her head and walked over to the girl, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving a small shake. "Hey woah, listen Kid. It doesn't have anything to do with that, you didn't fail. I should have told you this sooner." Eda stated her words carefully, looking back into Luzs pleading eyes "Told me what?", ugh Eda hated this, she was not a feelings person. "Look, King is … Special, when I found him, he said that he had memories of ruling, of falling and, if this crown was important to him, it was important to me" Eda said as she walked over to a cabinet in the hallway, pulling out the crown Luz had grabbed.
"But that's..." Luz trailed off, baffled at what she was looking at, the crown she had fought so hard for was, "A Burger King crown? It's- I" Luz was wide eyed, stammering and confused. Eda could see Luz inner struggle and put a hand on her shoulder, however she was cut off by Kings pattering feet. "Oh King!" Eda said in surprise, "It's okay Eda... I overheard what you were talking about. I just wanted to let you know, it was never about the crown, my powers will come back one day! What you did yesterday was huge, I know both you will be there when they come back." King looked up at them both, his signature rabbit Francois in his arms. Luz knelt to King, "I'll be here for when they come back King, I promise" she said with a smile, the situation confused her, and she didn't feel like she completely understood but what she did understand was that she wanted to be here for her new friend. "I knew I could count on you Luz!" King said with glee, "Now to return to my nap!" he declared, holding Francois up and turning.
"Oh no you don't" Eda said flatly, changing the atmosphere in the room immediately. "Luz is going to take our fresh potions to our customers and you, King, are going to accompany her. Make sure she doesn't get lost" As she nodded, she walked from the Kitchen back to her brewing station, carefully putting all her customers potions in the bag, tagged with their name. Luz followed quickly behind, having forgotten the next part of the potions making task, deliveries. em This will be good, with King I won't get lost, I'll get to learn the area some more. What's not to like?" /em while Luz was trying her hand at youthful optimism, King was whining to Eda about his interrupted nap time. "No way, without you she'll get lost and what then, you lose valuable subject!" em Eda made a good point /em "Wehhh... Fine. Alright Luz, let's go!" King carefully put Francois away and marched over to the door that Hooty had kindly opened.
Luz gulped down her nerves and gave a small smile to Eda who seemed too preoccupied to notice the lack of enthusiasm Luz had about leaving without her. "Alright, take this list, King will be your map. Make sure that beanie stays down and covers those ears, we haven't had a human around here in some time" The witch said as she handed Luz the supplies. "No problem'o! You can count on m-" The door slammed behind Luz before she had a chance to finish her sentence. em Must have something on her mind... /em Luz thought as she turned to King and offered a smile and a hand, to see if he wanted to climb up onto her shoulder again. The small demon agreed, stating it was good for Luz to work out.
em Bonesborough... /em Luz repeated in her head looking at the list of clients, what potions they were getting and what was owed to Eda. "Alright Luz, first a lesson on Bonesborough! Keep off the middle of the streets, we have travel worms that stop at flagged stations every hour, wagons, coven marches..." King continued to list all the street dangers to be aware of, from the travel to the living street poles. "Now, we have a market street where we pick up most of our necessities during the day, the town square, blood fountain and all! The library, never had much fun there." King rhymed off the different key points, making sure to mention the best exits and times of day to avoid the guards. "There's a lot more to it than I thought, I'll make sure we're careful." Luz stated, turning her head slightly to make eye contact with King and nod. "Good! I don't want to lose one of my most faithful subjects"
The walk to town wasn't much more than 30 or 40 minutes, the scenery was beautiful and tranquil for most of the walk. The clouds covering the purple tinted sky made the red trees and grass pop with their vibrant hues. The path was well worn even if it wasn't covered in pavement like it would have been at home. King was chatting happily about what Eda let him watch on the crystal ball last night when they got home from the quest, apparently, they had soap operas here too. As they neared the edge of town the packed down dirt turned into tightly knitted cobble stone and slate, as soon as it was obvious Luz pulled to the side of the road wanting to keep to what King said earlier. "Alright Luz, take a left up here and then we should see a red door, with 11 on it. That's Maureen, she usually gets Eda's famous dye potions. I think she uses it with magic wool, regular dyes won't work..." King mumbled near the end, as if almost losing his confidence in the knowledge.
***Luz POV
This was one of the most amazing walks I've ever experienced, the vegetation was so vibrant and different compared to the Human realm. The witches flying through the sky was certainly something that I needed to get used to, just like cars at home, seeing them roaming so freely caused a small tightening in her chest as she watched. "Luz!" King brought me out of my own head just in time to stop at the cross walk. "Oops sorry King, got in my own head" I said sheepishly, waiting for the change in signal before crossing. "Okay, so red door... 11." I mumbled, trying to show King I was paying attention again. There it was, just as King said, although this door was a strong lot /strong bigger than I was expecting, easily twice the size of me, I know I'm not tall, but this door was well over 10.5ft tall. I cleared my throat and knocked as hard as I could, worried the size might affect how well the person on the inside was able to hear me. Reaching into the bag, I grabbed out the first delivery, pulling out two average size potion bottles. Right as I was about to knock on the door again, I heard, em felt /em a a few hard stomps approaching the door. I fixed my beanie over my ears, the bag of potions at my feet with her order in my hands.
The door swung open so fast it caused a small gust of wind to pull into the house, I squinted and cleared my throat once more before starting my business. There was an awkward moment of silence before an older lady with a hard hunched back came trotting out of the doorway to her home. "Oh! Eda has got an assistant I see! Well, you must be a special girl to convince her to take you on" This lady, she was, she was so small! I could hardly believe my eyes, the massive door and footsteps. "Oh, well I-I try! I'm Luz, It's a pleasure. Uhm, here is your order." I forced as much information out as I could, giving a polite smile to this small lady. "Of course, dear, thank you, now here is payment for the potions and just a small something for you" before I could utter a thank you the door just as quickly as it opened, was slammed in my face. "Well, I think that went well" King cheered happily.
The next handful of deliveries had gone much the same, most of Edas customers were long time acquaintances and had nothing but kind things to say about her. Although, a few did me about keeping her elixir stock healthy, not wanting to seem unversed I just nodded my head along. Not even King really made a comment on this, maybe I could bring it up later. King and I were down to our last two deliveries and this second last one was being challenging to deal with. "I think this guy is paranoid" I muttered and got a huff from King in agreement. So far, each way they had tried to approach his house, an 'abomination' had risen up and painfully tossed the two out across the street. "Are these things controlled by them King?" I inquired, wondering exactly how these things were popping up. "In most cases they would need to be concentrating on the task they are getting the abomination to perform; it takes high level magic to let it do things itself or with minimal interference." Good to know, "well let's hope that he is controlling them, I'm going to hand off one of the potions to him with a note..." I wrote a small, scribbled note that told him who they were and what they were doing, hoping he would get it and she wouldn't have just lost money for Eda.
I stepped back up to the home, looking around carefully to see if there were any already up and around. This time I kept King on the side lines, holding the other potions and their last delivery, it was getting late and both of us just wanted to go home. em I can appreciate the beauty and all the different creatures but... this is a lot of walking and a lot to take in. /em I crossed what I imagine is the imaginary boundary and just like before a purple liquid seeped up from the ground, the goo taking only a moment to rise into the general shape of a person, a very tall thick, hulking person. "I don't want to fight or, intrude, I have a delivery. A DELIVERY. From Eda, please take this one, the other is waiting." I shoved my hand out with the potion, groaning and sticking out my tongue as I felt the cold runny goo slide over my hand taking the potion and note from me. em Oh this is... I did not like that. /em As I was shaking the goop from my hand the door to the home seemed to open slightly, I couldn't see more than an eye of the person on the inside. em Finally! /em I smiled and gave a small wave of my hand, "I have the other one here! Can you please come get it?" I shouted over to them which initially caused them to slam the door shut. A frown quickly replaced my optimistic smile, however not a moment later the door opened again and a very small man, pig man, no … This man had a round face, large floppy ears on either side of his head, he had a small ruff of hair on the very top of his head and that was it. He resembled a pig but could almost be mixed in with a weird dog, em Oh god, he's talking to me/em I realized too late, I was lost in thought and missed something. Pretending like I didn't notice he was talking I put a finger up, "Sorry sir, I have it here" I ran back to King a few feet away and grabbed the other bottle, this one was filled with almost black liquid, with similar consistency as the 'abomination' she was thrown around by.
When I turned around the hunched pig man was cleaning his glasses, "I apologize for my abominations, I usually deal directly with Eda" he said casually, his tone made it seem like he had a stick up his ass. "Not a problem, here is the missing one." I handed it over to him, he inspected it for a long moment before sighing. "Next time, please don't let this get so shaken up. I will accept it this time as you are new, but I only keep quality" em What did that rat just say! este pendejo! /em Without even a glance, the man turned around having placed money on the ground in front of him, his abomination picked him up and whisked him away. "Mother fu-" I was cut off by the sight of King picking the coins up in front of me, wanting to keep my poor language away from his innocents. "One more" I grunted, taking the snails from King and picking him back up.
"Uhh... Luz I'll be honest; I don't recognize this address very well..." King didn't like to admit to not knowing something but wouldn't want to lead them astray. "Oh, Uhh... How about we look in the general area and if we can't find it then we can ask someone or um... Go back to Eda?" I offered a solution, not wanting him to feel bad for the one time this whole trip he wasn't able to provide ample direction. "Okay, let's give it a try! This is somewhere around where they typically set up the night market, Eda doesn't go too often, but I recognize the name" He nodded and pointed Luz in the right direction. em hopefully /em. "What's the night market all about?" I asked, my tone dripping with curiosity, which peaked Kings interest in the topic even more. "Well, you see, people from all over the isles come together a few nights a week in a secluded location after dark. They sell things from illegally enchanted dice and Hexis Holdom card to Curses and enchanted weapons." em Well that fits the bill for just about every witch book I've read /em I couldn't help but grin at the information. "Think Eda will ever take us, maybe I can get an enchanted dagger to fight with or save Eda some time by getting myself a rare staff" I playfully stabbed the air with my hand and swung as if I was casting a giant spell. "You wish!" was all King was able to say before noticing where we were.
"Oh here! Look, this door says '2666a' we must be getting close." I followed Kings pointed directions, taking in as much of the route as possible as it felt like I hadn't seen another soul around here, despite how … normal it all looked. "There!" King brought me out of my thoughts abruptly while pointing to a giant tower in the distance. em I feel like that should have been part of the address... huge tower /em "Alright King, last delivery of the day! Let's nail this one" I said and quickened my stride towards the tower.
***3Rd POV
As the two approached the address King couldn't help but get a weird feeling in his gut, almost like he ate something bad but with a side of intense magic. em Last delivery, I just needed a nap! /em King thought to himself as he hung onto Luz, who was making short work of the gap between the start of the row of houses and towers and where the last delivery was. "Uh Luz, I'm not feeling so hot, do you mind if I wait here for you" King asked out of the blue, causing Luz to stop her walk, her eyebrow quirked up with visible confusion. Even if she was confused and wanted more details, she didn't press, his loyal subject nodded her head "Of course, I'll holler if I need some saving" she said kindly, while walking toward the archway that led to the entrance of the tower. She put King down, giving him a scratch on the top of his head before straightening up and making her way to the door.
em No big deal, been doing these all day... Just, this last one /em she gulped, there was a knot forming in her stomach, her nerves clearly getting to her as she got closer to the door. em I literally almost died last night! Can't be as bad as that! /em Luz confidently stated in her mind and steeled herself against her nerves. She pulled out the last potion, "Addy Merland?" she muttered to herself, most names so far on the isles had confused her but this one just seemed strange. She shook her head and gave a knock to the large wooden door. She waited patiently, the pit in her stomach seemingly dropping lower and lower as the time ticked on. She looked over her shoulder and saw King was standing at the side of the archway, giving an encouraging thumbs up. em Okay... uhh one more /em just as she raised her hand to knock again the door creaked open, when Luz looked inside, she didn't see anyone near the door or holding the door open for her. Wanting to get this over with she took a brave step inside, "Hello? Uh... This is a delivery from Eda! Potion for Addy M.?" She called into the dark room, her eyes struggling to adjust to the limited light source.
Just as her other foot entered into the tower the lights flicked on in full force, dazzling her eyes a little bit and causing her to look down at her feet. "OH, ho ho! Apologies young one, I was not expecting a visitor so late in the day!" A voice boomed from the far side of the room, "Oh, uh, it's no problem. I had a hard time finding you, apologies" Luz was quick to apologize and offered her hand up that had the potion in it, she looked up to the source of the voice and was shocked at what she saw. There was a man clad in blue robes, a blue starred pointed hat on his head, pushing his pure white locks to drape down on either side of his face. "No need for apologies, I was just having my evening tea. Please join me, I do insist" He didn't give Luz a chance to reply before he turned and made his way into another room. em This was supposed to be quick... I hope King doesn't worry /em she thought and quickly followed the robed man.
The room she entered caused her jaw to unhinge slightly, there were beautiful shelves of books covering most of the walls, what wasn't covered in books was covered in what looked to be ancient artifacts, magical weapons and things she was sure she just didn't know the term for. "Oh wow, this room is beautiful" She murmured, following Addy to a set of chairs that sat in front of a very small fireplace. There were already two cups set, and a large pot situated in the middle. "Ah how nice for youth to appreciate the beauty of magical items" He declared, startling Luz a bit as she hadn't intended for him to hear her. "Please, take a seat. I don't believe I have ever seen you around here before..." His voice trailed off as he poured hot liquid into the cup for Luz, as Luz got comfortable the aroma of the liquid caught her off guard. She had not expected it to smell like real tea, like human tea, her expression must have given her away as the man sat back and chuckled holding his cup close. "I insist on the best available, tea from the human realm just has something more comforting about it... Doesn't it?" That put in Luz stomach returned, the tone the robed man was using almost sounded accusing. "Aha, I'm sure I don't know what you... what you mea-", "Come down, Luz, I am an all-powerful Wizard. A hat cannot fool me, you are human through and through." He cut her off, flicking his finger up and causing her beanie to slightly rise above her ears, showing off how round they were. "No fear, I just wonder why a human would want to be here, in the boiling isles" Luz couldn't figure out what she was feeling, she was less panicked with his last comment but the pit in her stomach felt like it was going to swallow her whole.
She sipped the tea for a few moments, unsure when the next time she would have this luxury is. "I.. Well I want to study magic, I'm here under Eda who is my mentor..." The answer was slow and careful, she didn't want to give too much away. "I see... I'm sure you and your mentor are aware that you cannot perform magic? Although, I guess the principals can be quite interesting." His words stung, even though Luz knew it may not be possible. em What does he know anyways... Hedoesnt-knowanything..abooout me/em all of Luz's thoughts suddenly blended together, her eyes snapped up from the cup in her hands to the wizard across from her. The last thing she remembers seeing is the twisted smile on his lips as she faded out.
With a gasp Luz woke up, her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her head, pulsing into her ears. em What am I doing here? /em Luz thought as she looked around her, she was in the middle of the forest a blanket wrapped around her tightly. A fire a few feet away from her had fizzled out, as she looked at the fire, she noticed another body on the other side of the fire. Not enough light to fully illuminate them but she could tell it was a person. She turned to look around more closely, there were three other beings total around her, two on the far side of the fire wrapped in blankets. em Why can't I remember how I got here... I feel like there was something I needed to do. /em She rubbed her head and got out of her makeshift bed, deciding that maybe a walk in the area would jog her memory.
The forest she was in was breathtaking, there were bioluminescent plants lining the forest floor and some trees in a mix of blue and yellow hues. The red trees felt comforting and familiar, walked along a path that eventually led to a crystal-clear lake, not a ripple on its glasslike surface. "Think..." She muttered out loud, holding the side of her head like it hurt. "Hey Luz, are you okay?" Luz yelped in surprise, her hand flying up to a em A dagger? /em that was slung across her chest. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" The voice said as it stepped closer to her, the voice was soft yet masculine, deep yet welcoming. The voice caused a small bloom of anxiety to enter her chest, like a ton of bricks she recalled who was standing before her. "Nevereth, I'm sorry, I just woke up from a weird dream... I needed to clear my head" The girl stated before relaxing her posture, finally the figure had come into the light of the moon, it was a man close to Luz age, rugged and muscular. He was heavily tanned from years of working outside, the only imperfection on his face was the eye patch that hid most of a scratch that clearly went over his eye. He wore tight brown trousers, a thick belt that held his sword tight to his side, his red cape covered most of what his under shirt didn't. His undershirt alone allowed the view of his slightly hairy chest and perfect six pack abs.
Seeing this man in such beautiful moon light caused Luz to gulp heavily, her cheeks flushing a slight pink colour and the knot in her stomach tightened up. "I understand, but let's not stray too far from camp, we need to move at first light to find the diviners staff." He said softly, offering a hand to Luz as if offering to guide her back to the place she had just taken an easy stroll from. "Uh... Of course, you're right" Luz spoke as if she was in a trance, putting her smaller hand in his, letting this rugged adventurer guide her back to the group. As they arrived, he dropped her hand and nodded to the slight light coming up, "I guess we may as well wake the group to go, were so close Luz" he said with a small sparkle in his eye and a smile on his lips that was contagious. "That sounds like a great plan" She nodded, turning to the others in the group. Before she could lean down to wake them, she felt something pull her and everything went black. The next time she opened her eyes, she was jarred to feel she was walking. The sudden change caused her to trip forward, nearly taking down Nevereth with her.
She was effortlessly caught by him, "Luz! Are you alright?" His tone was thick with worry, Luz gave herself a moment to try to connect the last things she remembered but she struggled. "OH uh. Yeah, I just tripped, ha-ha you know me" she said casually as she straightened herself up, her eyes meeting the other two party members. One was a small cat-like creature with a large black mane around his head, barely allowing you to see his ears. The other was a green haired girl with two wings poking out of her back, she was slightly smaller than Luz and when she turned, she used her wings to hover during the movement. "I'm fine, I swear" she promised the party, who eventually nodded and kept walking. She quietly followed, "Were getting close now, I can feel it." As if on cue a large troll rolled toward them causing them to jump and back up, they thought they were about to cross the bridge. "No no! You must answer my riddle, or your journey will end here!" The troll sneered at them and looked Luz in her eyes, making heavy contact as he said his riddle. "I am tall when I'm young, and short when I am old... What am I?" The eye contact made it hard for Luz to think, but as if scripted she blurted the answer out "A CANDLE" she called, earning a smile from the troll. "Today you live, tomorrow who knows, make the most of this time before it goes" with that the troll tucked into itself and rolled to the other side of the bridge and below.
The party members cheered and patted Luz on the back, she could feel her body getting warm at the touch of her friends and their kind words. "Nice one" Nevereth said, his hand lingering on Luz's shoulder causing her cheeks to redden and her heart to start beating into her ears. "You look like you may be coming down with something, here, please take my cape" Before the enamored girl could even answer the red cape was pulled off and tied around Luz's neck. Revealing more of Nevereths chiseled physique. em eyes on the prize Luz! /em she thought and quickly retorted with a cheeky em There can be multiple prizes /em
The party moved ahead, nearing the entrance of the sacred cave of The Devine Dragon, the staff here will only respond to the chosen one, pure of heart, with true intentions to better the world. There was no question, as everyone assured Luz it was her, they reminded her of all the times she had done a great deed and saved people, of selfless acts of kindness and purity. She struggled to remember herself, but the party insisted it was just her nerves causing the cloud in her brain, they were sure it would clear once this journey came to an end. "Here it is..." Nevereth spoke, pointing at the end of the cave, they could see a large room. A pool of water surrounded a small island, there, stuck in the ground was a pure white staff with the head of a dragon on one end. Luz was amazed by its beauty, and it was hers, she had been chosen. em I feel... So weird, it's all falling into place...I really am meant to be here /em She thought, wincing at a painful jolt in her head, something about that phrase made a part of her panic.
Without uttering a word, she stepped up the edge of the pool of water, ready to take dive to get to the staff. Before she could make the final step to enter the water rocks began to surge up through the water, creating a platform as she continued to walk closer. She looked back at her party members, eyes going wide as she could only recognize Nevereth, the other two had changed, em I don't... Were they always like this? /em Luz questioned her eyes, across the pool was a taller slim build woman, with pointed ears like Nevereth, a large mane of grey wild hair and a cool looking golden fang poking out of the corner of her mouth. The other was a slightly large demon cat/dog, covered in black fur with a skull on its head, one broken horn. Luz rubbed her eyes and looked back at them, shocked to see the two additional party members were gone in general. em I have to do this now, I feel like I'm going crazy /em Luz cringed and walk to the staff, normally she would want to savor the moment but now she felt like she needed to get out as soon as possible. "Please, I don't want to feel like this … I was chosen for a reason" Luz said out loud she touched the staff, as she did so the light that radiated from it felt blinding. "LUZ! Luz, you have to snap out of this! Please, this is all fake, reality isn't easy I KNOW but please. Come back" Luz's eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice echoing, em EDA /em with staff in hand she turned around to face her party members.
"Now, Luz you can accept this life and protect those you love! That staff will bring you so much joy, victory and so much more, it won't be so hard anymore" Nevereth said, walking quickly across the rock bridge to her. strong Sometimes life needs to be hard Luz, or we will never learn to be stronger! /strong the voice echoed in her head again, causing her to drop the staff and hold the sides of her head. "It's okay Luz, just take my hand and this will all be okay" He pleaded, hand outstretched. em I just want to be special... /em Luz thought as she held her head, trying to focus on the sound of Eda's voice. "Thats it Kid! Come back" The voice of her mentor yelled, causing her eyes to water with concentration. "Luz this is better! You can live all the fantasies you want!" Her rugged companion called to her again, she chose to ignore it this time, searching in her mind with her eyes closed for Edas voice.
em Oh I see... It's not just the voice I need to hear... I need to reach out to her too. /em With that thought, Luz put both hands into the air and called out for Eda and King. "I want to be with you guys! I want to stay with you, Eda, King! Por favor, llévame de vuelta" She yelled, the sound echoing in her head before she heard a loud shattering sound in her ears. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the cave but sitting on a rock, surrounded by the rubble of a fallen tower. "Luz! I need you to run!" Eda called, zooming past Luz at high speeds on Owlbert. Luz could barely register the sight before her, the Wizard she had been interacting with was dangling from the tentacle of a large, disgusting creature.
Luz snapped from her disgusted thoughts and made a break for the entrance, having a hard time keeping her eyes off the sight around her, the towers in the area were rubble and her apparent companions were also hanging by the back of their necks from this thing. It was massive, mostly a wet blob looking monster, with no neck and two giant eyes, its mouth was almost as large as its head and when it opened it had rows of giant human looking teeth. The tentacles that were controlling the wizard and other party members were slowly being cut down by Eda, leaving Adegast screaming in agony.
"Goodbye Adegast" Eda smirked and drew a final spell circle that blasted a large and aggressive flame at him. Once he lost all his 'puppets' his body shrank down, they were no longer feeding him power. Without another word Eda swiftly landed and rammed her high heel down into the creature's head, exploding it from all sides. "No one messes with The Owl House" she said through gritted teeth, wiping the bottom of her feet off as she walked, scraping bits of the disgusting monster across the floor.
As Eda made her way over to where Luz and King were, behind the entranceway arches, Luz could feel a mix of emotions welling up and twisting violently in her stomach. What happened in the fantasy might not have really happened or been true, but it certainly invoked real feelings in her that were burning her now, almost mocking her. "Hey Kid, how are you holding up" Eda asked, surprising Luz with how kind the words sounded. "I'll be fine" She let out a slightly bitter laugh, "Just have to digest some feelings, no big deal..." King whimpered and gestured for Eda to pick him up which she quickly did, "Luz, I'm sorry I didn't go in there with you" He said, his eyes had tears in them as he stared at her. "Ah no King, don't be upset, I image you got Eda, right?" Luz said and moved closer to King and Eda to wipe away his tears.
"I used one of the potions meant for that guy, thankfully Eda was suspicious of that weirdo to begin with, or we might not have gotten here in time." King sniffled, glad to hear that Luz wasn't upset with him. "Kid, I know you want to learn magic and get your staff and you will, we will figure it out. But remember, next time we don't trust weird wizards in bathrobe who've been spying on you." Luz nodded, silence only making King and Eda wearier of what had happened. "Is there more to it than that?" Eda dared ask, finally Luz looked up at her and sighed "It was nice to feel special for once, to feel like I was chosen to do something good … to help others... and you know learn magic. "Luz couldn't stop her lip from trembling as she spoke, her eyes looking at her feet again as not to betray her brave face.
Eda didn't reply at that moment, she needed to think over what Luz said and what the teenager was going through. "Come on Kid" she said, summoning Owlbert as a staff again, placing King on the front. "Let's go home" she said quietly, putting a hand on Luz's shoulder, the most comfort she felt currently able to offer. em Home... Maybe that's for the best /em the younger girl thought bitterly as she followed Eda's lead and got onto the staff. The ride home was fast and quiet, however, before they landed Eda took them higher into the sky. The change in course brought Luz out of her thoughts and she looked up, Eda had positioned them high above the isles, from here you could see everything. The whole Titan was laid out before them, the Sun setting on its head in the distance.
"Listen Kid... I can't say I know exactly what you are feeling or going through, but what I do know is that you can't always wait around for someone else to tell you that you are special. Or the chosen one." She paused and looked over at Luz, who was staring at her intensely, tears still threatening to spill over those big brown eyes of hers. "Sometimes" She looked away towards the sunset "Sometimes, you need to choose yourself. Decide the witch you want to be and choose yourself; you are special." Eda tensed up as she felt Luz's head lean against her shoulder. The girl still facing the sunset, she was quiet for a long time before replying. "Thank you, Eda, for everything. I'm sorry I caused you any trouble" She mumbled the last part, which Eda had silently decided to ignore. The kid was far too worried about others. The three sat above the isles, watching the sunset, in comfortable silence for a long while.
em I will be strong; I will protect everyone I care about... I wish I could stay here forever. /em Luz basked in the warmth of the sunset and allowed it to resonate with the warmth she felt inside as she sat with two people, she was growing to care about a lot.