The three teenagers were having a blast with the magic that had brought the library to life, it felt surreal to be surrounded by animals, long extinct and fictional wizards who hold tremendous powers. They had spent a few hours now in the library just causing chaos and having fun with each other, using the 'history of snow' to barrage one another with snowballs. The twins enjoyed some high fashion by opening some of the magazines, Edric was the first – and only – one to open a scandalous swimsuit magazine that projected a multitude of swim ready men and women. All flexing, stretching or laying down to accentuate their bodies. The three of them were all floored by the sight before them but it was Luz and Emira that jumped on Edric and closed the magazine, knowing all too well what was going on in his mind. "Like I'm the only one who enjoyed that" he mocked them both, causing Luz to blush and Emira to scoff. Finally, when it felt like they had touched on all the best books and magazines they split up.
Luz quickly found herself in a familiar section of the library, where she had been earlier that day spying on Amity. She must have been really fond of that book... She read it to those kids without even needing to look at it. out of curiosity she found Otabin on the shelf and opened it up, gasping when the little bunny like creature popped out of the book. She had been so focused on wanting to read the story itself didn't think about the fact Otabin would come out. "Hey little guy" Luz said softly as she knelt, she noticed as she flipped from the middle to the beginning of the book Otabin's demeanor seemed to change as she went back to the start. Becoming timider and more nervous looking, he didn't look Luz in the eye anymore. "It's okay, I'm a friend" She reassured as she read the first few pages of the book, the bunny like creature had smiled at her now and watched as she read. As she got close to the end other characters were appearing from the book, a small mouse, a dove and a goose. As the book came to a close, she felt like maybe she understood the green haired girl a bit better. "Hey, Otabin..." Luz started to inquire but as she saw the twins enter the room she slammed the book shut sucking all the characters back in. "Luz!" they called, carrying a book and a pencil. "You won't believe what we discovered" Emira hummed happily and gestured for Edric to show her. He opened the book in his hand and turned to a random page, a generic yellow duck appeared before them with a distant dumb expression. "Yup, that... that's a duck" Luz was quick to tease, earning a giggle from Emira and a grunt from Edric. "Watch this" He instructed, ignoring her comment. In the book, he took the image of the duck and added large human legs, which very quickly translated to the image in front of them. Ah... Okay, that is not something I ever wanted or needed to see Luz mentally cringed and shook her head at the two. "Thats just disturbing"
"But think of the possibilities!" Edric was quick to retort as he closed the book on the panicking animal. "Lets do another, come on" Emira snatched the book Luz had out of her hands and flicked through the pages, finding a page with just Otabin in it she made him bigger and added angry eyebrows and sharp teeth. Something about this action in particular made the human girl very uncomfortable, the twins had to know this was a favourite of Amity's or maybe she was just that good at story telling. Why would something like this ever be a favourite she tried to rationalize, but as the character began to appear in front of them Luz couldn't help but grab the book back. "Ahh you know what, what about that book you guys needed? Should find that before we need to get out of here, right?" The action had surprised the two but they agreed regardless, "You are completely right, look at you keeping us on track" Edric gave Luz a finger gun and wicked at her, leading the way out of the kids corner. She fondly ran a hand over the cover of the book before tossing it aside gently as she was called by Emira to follow. I'll remember to come back and erase that... I'm sure it would frighten the kids
The twins hummed along looking up and down the aisles, letting out a small "oh!" as they spotted the section they were looking for. "Romance?" Luz questioned with an eyebrow raised, not having really pegged either one of them as a hopeless romantic, especially not outwardly. "You'll see" Emira assured Luz as she grabbed her hand and pulled her down the towards a deeper part of the stacks of books. Luz was all too aware of the contact but tried her best to ignore it, just letting her lead to where they needed to be. "Oh... I think this looks like the ticket" Emira grabbed her brother's shoulder to stop him from walking right by the book and dropped Luz's hand. "Er... 'A witches guide to eternal love'?" her question was ignored; the book had simply been a prop to hide a small handle like mechanism. Emira slid her finger over the top of the book and pulled, a small thump was made and the bookshelf slowly parted. Revealing a small room, lined with bookshelves that were shamelessly overflowing with books, the room was just big enough to have a couple feet of floor space, a writing desk and a single bed. "Haha nice sister" Edric patted Emira on the back and she gave an exaggerated bow back. As Luz entered the room with the twins she caught a very familiar scent, it was sweet with a hint of wood or maybe- "Mittens won't know what hit her!" Edric called happily, answering something Emira whispered to him much too loudly. Oh shit, this is Amity's space? Why would they be here? Scratch that, why would they bring ME here? "Soo... What are we looking for?" Luz tried to ask casually, doing what she could to hide her panic. "Don't worry, we'll know it when we see it, just relax and look around. No harm!" Emira sounded way too sweet when she said that, but Luz wasn't in a position to argue.
As the twins poked around much more invasively than Luz, she noticed an incredibly familiar title propped up and displayed on a shelf close to the writing desk. "Oh... No way" she whispered to herself as she made her way over, touching the cover of the book fondly as she read it. 'The Good Witch Azura – Book 5' So... She is a fan? This is perfect! A smile swept across her face at the idea, this gave them a connection, something Luz could talk endlessly about. As she pictured different conversations in her head her eyes landed on an Azura cover she didn't recognize, she pulled it out from the stacks and opened it to a random page. Jumping as a slightly younger looking Amity appeared on the page, speaking the words on the page, the girl looked sad. "It's just not fair, I didn't ask to be selected to over Blight industries... Why do I have two older siblings if I'm the one given all the responsibility. Mother gave me this amulet to keep from now on... I don't kn-" Luz snapped the book shut as quickly as she could after her moment of shock passed, it was too late however, the twins had heard the whole thing. "Whatcha got there Luz?" Edric asked, stepping closer to where she was. "Oh uh... nothing" She tried to turn and put the book back on the shelf but when she had turned Emira was right at her side, "yoink!" she pulled the book from the humans' grasp and trotted over to Edric, leaning on his shoulder as she examined the book. "Great job! You found it" Emira praised her as if the action was intentional, causing a small pit to form in her stomach, "What are you planning on doing with it?" she asked calmly, turning to face them, guilt already spreading through her body. "Mittens has been a handful lately, with having gotten in trouble shes really doubled down on her goody two shoes act... Which, landed us in some trouble. So, of course, we just need to put her in her place. What better way to do that than put her thoughts on display for a whole campus to see?" Of course... Luz sighed, shaking her head at the two who were now giving her a rather confused look. "Come on, you helped us get here, we can give you some credit! Then she won't mess with you ever again, win win." The twins nodded at one another and went to make their exit, before they could get much passed the door, Luz grabbed the book as hard as she could yanking it from Edrics grip. Surprising the twins, the book went tumbling to the floor, sending loose pages all over. Okay not the best outcome but at least they don't have it She quickly knelt and started picking the pages up, wondering why neither one was trying to do the same. As she slid the pages into the book, she tried to ignore the passages being read, "Why has it been so different since shes-", "Mother won't let me leave home without it, well, I at least don't need to wear it to wor-", As she finally got all the pages back into the book she heard someone clearing their voice above her, Please... Please don't be Amity sure enough as she lifted her head, Amity was staring down at her, arms crossed and fire in her eyes.
"You know... I expected something like this from them, that's why I'm here... But you? After that apologize today, I really believed you hadn't been doing this shit on purpose. Now, I see it was just another lie." There was a mix of disbelief and anger in her voice, like she wanted to have been able to believe Luz. Edric and Emira were both pinned against the back of the door to her secret room, abomination goop keeping them in place. "Come on Mittens, she really didn't have anything to do with it. Lighten up" Edric and Emira took turns to finish the thought, giving a genuine looking smile as they did so. "Whatever" Was all Amity could growl out, flicking her wrist and disposing of the trap. With that they bowed to Luz and left her alone with Amity, That is some intense betrayal... she thought bitterly as she got to her feet, watching them b-line for the exit, she handed the diary back to the green haired witch. She took it without another word, grabbing the book and pushing it back into the spot Luz had taken it from. She didn't say anything else or even spare Luz a look as she walked by and out into the hallway, there was something different about her right now that she couldn't quite put her finger on. "Listen... Amity, really … I" As the human girl walked out into the hallway she was immediately grabbed and a hand went over her mouth. "Shh" was all she got, not wanting to piss the witch off anymore she complied, her eyebrows raised waiting to understand what the intrusion into her personal space was for. Her mental question was quickly answered as she saw a shadow stalking through the aisle of books next to theirs. The shadow – whatever it was – was massive, the bookshelves themselves were over 15 feet tall and this shadow was extremely close to that.
Amity was exceptionally calm for what was happening in front of them, she had Luz in her arms not only covering her mouth but her other arm was across her rival's stomach pulling her back tightly against her front. What could that be? Nothing of that size could fit through the doors and the forbidden section has a spell to keep anything that could potentially lurk inside, in. the thoughts regarding the situation were flashing through her mind as she tried to figure it out and create gameplan to get them out, she might hate this human but that doesn't mean she wants her dead, or at least dead inside her place of work. It took a few moments but finally whatever it was had made its way into a different aisle, giving them, some breathing room. If something of that size is in here, I must stand to reason there could be more than just one... We're pretty well at the back of the library, exit points aren't exactly up to standard. the only way to get in and out of the library was through the main doors, and that was a small journey for them. As they were given room Amity pulled her hand away from the human's mouth but subconsciously held her still against her with her other arm, too deep in thought to be in touch with the moment.
Luz felt like she was going to pass out, there was an intense mixing of emotions from her gut to her head, she was obviously a bit frightened by the large shadow creature in the next aisle, but there was another overpowering feeling of anxiety and dismay. However, it was not anxiety from the creature in the library with them but from the way her apparent rival decided to hold her and continued to hold her. This is insane... I get putting her hand over my mouth, I was talking and whatever it was, was right there! But... What is this? She was frozen in place, trying her best to sort through what was going on in her mind. As the shadow had made it's way a safe distance and Amitys hand came down from her face, she let out a small sigh, giving her a moment to let her body go as well. Though it didn't happen, causing a very confusing heat to rise to Luz face and chest, she was having a hard time with sorting what was going on out and only as Amity's grip loosened around her torso did she realize she wasn't even thinking about the potential peril the two were in. I … I have to think about this later She gave herself a harsh reality check and pushed all her anxieties away, deciding she could deal with them later. Despite all her effort she couldn't will away the tight feeling in her gut and chest, or the redness that covered her face. "Amity?" She finally whispered and just like that, the arm was retracted and Luz was sent stumbling away, barely catching herself before she slammed into the shelf.
Amity felt like her whole body was just set on fire as the slightly smaller girl whispered her name, Had I been holding her there the whole time? it was out of reflex that she had launched Luz away from her, seeing her stumble and nearly hit the shelf did give her a pang of guilt, after all she was clearly the one keeping Luz where she was. Looking both ways Amity grabbed Luz jacket, assisting in the recovery and using it to pull her back into close range. Luz looked at her with an unimpressed glare, her eyes narrow now, "I didn't mean to do that... sorry" The sorry was short and forced, but she hoped that the human would still accept it. In the distance they finally heard the rumbling of demons, it was a horrifying mix of low growling and distant roars. The sound was unsettling, it seemed almost artificial, "Do you know what's happening? Is this normal?" Luz wasn't impressed with the action or the shitty apology but could recognize the poor situation they were in. "Not normal" The reply was curt and monotone but it was an answer none-the-less. "We have to get out of here, you barely have any magic and I don't know how well I can protect us both." The green haired witch didn't give Luz any time to answer as she started down the aisle towards the main lobby. Can... She really be all bad if she's willing to protect me? Por que eres tan dificil!" (Why are you being so difficult) Luz followed silently as she argued with herself.
What are you doing? What the hell was half of that back there?! You're a Blight, you better start acting like it! Amity raged war back and forth with herself over her behavior with Luz, part of her thinking it was a logical position to put them in while the other part called her soft, insisting she should have just left Luz to figure it out on her own. It didn't matter if that lead the creature to them both, Amity could defend herself. Ugh... I can't do this right now; I just need to get us out... and then I can just avoid her. She grit her teeth, hating the way her stomach twisted when she thought about her motives. As they silently crept down the aisle Amity was all too aware that Luz was dragging behind, she was again divided on how she should react, calling her closer or letting her lag. Just as the two were getting to the end of the aisle, Amity had a weird sinking feeling drop like a rock in her gut. Her fighting instincts kicking in as she whipped her head around to follow the very small sound of something zooming by, although Luz didn't hear it she saw Amitys reaction and ducked down, a talon swiped across where Luzs head had just been, missing her by only a few inches. Way too close for comfort Luz yelled in her head as she scrambled back to her feet in Amitys direction.
"Great dodge" was all Amity said as she leapt forward towards the owner of the talons. Both her hands igniting in flames, with the increased light the creature that had sprung an attack finally came into full view, it was small no more than 4 feet and had an arched back with small spikes protruding out all the way down to a stubby tail. Its limbs were gangly and long, way too long for its body, but its head was what didn't seem to fit in at all. It was round with a slash from one side of its 'face' to the other and a single eyeball sliding along. Disgusting Amity thought as she grabbed its long arm, using it to pull the rest of the body into range. Without any hesitation her flame covered hand grabbed the rounded head and consumed it in flames. The sight was something Luz had only seen in movies, which was no problem, but the smell was another story. She stifled a cough as the fumes wafted over to her, she used her shirt to cover her nose. The witch let the head roast in her hand for a moment, wanting to feel the arm go limp, after what felt like too long it finally dropped to the ground. She let it go and watched as it crumbled onto the ground. That's not a great sign... if it needs that much to die, I really might not have enough strength for the two of us. Trying to think of alternative ways for the next encounter she turned to spot Luz with her shirt over her nose, she quirked an eyebrow up at her and a small smile appeared. This small action caused Luz to drop her shirt and gasp, pointing at her, however before she could get a word in about her accomplishment – making Amity crack a smile – the smell got to her and she let out a small gagging sound, covering her nose again.
Amity was quick to take the lead again and take them down to the next flight of stairs, only one more was between them and the exit, they did very well to avoid the demons that seemed to be curiously roaming the halls and aisles. Just as they were coming to the end of another aisle Luz caught something from the corner of her eye, she reached out and gave the witch leading her a small shoulder tap, letting her know there was something amiss. Quickly Amity turned around to face Luz, her eyebrows raised as if silently questioning the action. Luz took two fingers and pointed them at her eyes before pointing in the direction she had seen movement, with an understanding nod Amity moved to the other side of the aisle and peered around the corner. Struggling to keep silent when she saw what Luz had seen, it was the round headed monster they had first taken out on the floor above. She knew for certain it was the same one, this one was charred exactly like the other but looked to be healing... the fear this brought on caused a sharp pin of anxiety to stab her right in the chest. She gulped and did a double take just to confirm, once completed she crept back over to Luz who was waiting in silence for her, crouched beside the shelf. "The first monster... is healing" She tried to keep it short and sweet, wanting to get the whole message across without too much conversation. Luz eyes went wide and mimicked the earlier nervousness Amity's had. Trying to dispel the nervous atmosphere the green haired witch pointed in the direction they were planning to go, "Almost there" she said, her hand lifting to comfort Luz but stopped only a few inches from Amity's body. I can't... We just need to go Amity retracted her hand and motioned for Luz to begin following.
Luz had noticed the change in Amity as she led her around the library to get to the exit, I feel like this is her captain persona being tagged in or something, she has no problem calling all the shots and … almost reassuring me. As she rolled these thoughts around in her head, she studied Amity and wondered what was going on in her head. Shes so different with so many people... How does she keep up. That thought was interesting, she wondered if after a shared experience like this she could ask about it, what created the need for all these different acts. As Amity came to an abrupt stop Luz almost knocked into her, but managed to stop just in time, "I'll be back" was the last thing she heard Amity say before she rounded the corner they had reached. "He-" Luz slapped her hands over her mouth to stop the rest of the sentence from coming out. She knows what shes doing... She sighed and shook her head, wishing that she could just understand for a second what was going on in her head. Maybe then she could find an answer on if she should keep trying to make things better or just leave her alone. She heard Amity grunt from around the corner, piquing her interest, she looked around in surprise at what she saw. It was a very similar creature but instead of the limbs being gangly and long, they were more solid and well built, she could only assume this was due to maturity. Holy shit, the doors are right down there As she looked passed the incredible scene, she could see the main door and the two smaller side doors.
As Luz was formulating a plan to help Amity and reach the door, she could suddenly smell something incredibly sweet, it was almost intoxicating. As she looked around, she could see a small bottle had rolled to her feet and was clearly seeping something into the air around her. "ooh.. Noo" She mumbled, trying to raise her shirt above her nose but it was far too late. Before she knew it she was slumping against the bookshelf, vision blurry, "Oh ho ho... A humey! What a rare find indeed, should be able to bring this heathen to port for a good bounty" The voice that spoke had a thick accent she couldn't place but something about it was familiar, or was it the way they spoke. In a flash she was tied up with her hands bound behind her back, her vision was still blurry but now it was starting to sink in and out, fading to black. "Ammm... Ammmiiityyyy" She slowly slurred out pushing to increase volume as the name was drawn out, as she was being hoisted onto something high up she could now see the faint mint colored hair. "Oh yee be a fighter I see" the unknown man chuckled and popped another bottle of whatever put her to sleep, finally knocking her out.
No! Titan damn it all! The witch cursed in her head as she saw from the corner of her eye what was happening to Luz, this demon was not like the other one, although they looked similar this one was thicker, stronger and faster. It also had a healing factor that felt like it activated from the smallest cut, leaving her feeling like she had barely laid a finger on it. She let out another growl as she heard her name being called from behind her, regardless of being a bad idea or not she spared a glance at the human as she was being hoisted away on what looked like an old pirate ship, it floated above the stacks hauntingly. She hissed in pain as the demon broke through her abomination guard and left a deep scratch on her left shoulder, pulling her full attention back. "Enough!" She yelled and focused all her energy on changing her abomination guard into gauntlets, with large spikes on the end. With the change she relentlessly slammed her first into the demon, not leaving any time for recovery, as she could see it finally wearing down and blood pouring from the open wounds she caused. She dispelled her one glove and used her flame to scorch its whole body, by the end of the action she was sweaty and weak but found energy in needing to find the human she lost.
Slowly Luz's world came back into focus, she was tied up against the ships large sail in the middle of the boat. The crew of the ship were hollering and carrying on, claiming some kind of victory, as they cheered one another and danced. Her head was pounding and she was struggling to form coherent thoughts, she knew this wasn't right and that she needed to escape but the finer details were eluding her. Rope... Has got to go She kept repeating her next action in her mind as her hands worked numbly behind her to find an end to the rope or the knotted part itself. As crewmates walked by her, she kept her head hung low, trying to make it seem like she was still knocked out. As time went on it felt like her mind was getting clearer, it must have been whatever they used to put her to sleep clouding her mind. Wait... Wheres Amity? finally the other girl had dawned on her, she wasn't anywhere she could see on the ship and the last thing she remembered was the green haired witch telling her she was telling Luz she would be back. Come on think, did she get caught with me... after me? Ugh, this is all my fault, I should have left that room as soon as they said it was hers and then we might have made it to the doors! Luz scolded herself mentally, trying to retrace her steps so she could remember where the other girl was. I wouldn't blame her either if she left me here, ugh after everything I did... and I call myself the good guy? I doubt Azura ever did stupid shit like this. She was too distracted with mentally berating herself to notice the ship had quieted down some.
The crew were celebrating and enjoying their time together, having just fought their way out of a port town with far too many guards, they got away with their gold and a map for more treasure. This small, whatever it was, would just be another stop on their journey. The monsters below them had no chance of reaching them, it felt good. Plus, they had been able to pick up a bounty, there was a port in the eastern isles that paid top dollar for exotic looking women, especially the human kind. They were celebrating together and showed no signs of calming down, however, after a time the captain noticed that it was getting quieter on the deck.
Amity had used her abomination to get her up high enough on the library shelves that she could grab hold of the anchor and pull herself up. She hadn't felt this physically challenged in a while and despite feeling tired, the burn was almost welcomed. After prepping herself mentally she made her way along the edge of the boat, creeping below the railing and waiting for crew members to approach she was picking them off by tossing them overboard. One by one. As she grabbed another, she was finally able to see Luz slumped over against the mast, now knowing where she was, she took another peek to see how many people she would be dealing with. Alright, on three, I'll try to sneak over... She took a deep steadying breath and counted to three, jumping over the railing she dashed and slid to Luz trying to keep herself hidden beside a barrel. "Luz?" she asked, her golden eyes betraying her hard exterior as they displayed the worry and guilt, she felt for losing the human. To her surprise Luz opened her eyes right away, her brown eyes looked incredibly tired, most likely a drug they used... She nodded and spun her finger around summoning her abomination to start cutting the ropes from behind. As the human girls' eyes ripped away from hers and looked behind her, she knew she had company, it would put her at a disadvantage but she left her little abomination to free Luz.
"Nice and slow girlie." A gruff voice called from behind Amity, a staff with a large bird perched on the end of it. "Put those arms up" He doubled down, obviously unsure of what she was capable of. With an audible sigh, Amity put her hands up, and slowly stood, only turning around when she was directed. As Luz looked up at her with her tired eyes, Amity mouthed something to her. Abomination... uh.. Something, something out? Luz's thoughts tried to replay Amitys words to no avail. "My, we are blessed by the titan today! Two beauties." The man whistled, he was tall, well built and even though he was an older man he had aged well. With a full beard and head of hair, he had barely any signs of aging. "I'm afraid I'll be selling yee to the highest bidder in the next town." The way his eyes looked over her body infuriated her; she hated being treated like an object and worked her ass off to constantly prove she was the best, superior than most and not anyone's object. Thankfully the man seemed to like the sound of his own voice, when Amity hadn't replied to the plan, he had taken it upon himself to explain what they were going to be doing with both girls. Occasionally he jabbed his staff towards Amity, laughing as she flinched, not noticing how Amity shifted her body to block Luz from his view.
As the man got through his monologue Amitys Abomination had finally let Luz free, even with the ropes falling away she stayed exactly how she was when she was tied up, wanting to use the right moment to break away. "So, you think that you are going to take two talented witches to an auction without a fight?" Amity suddenly questioned, as if trying to grab the man's attention. "I might be missing an eye there but yee be the only witchy lookin one of the two!" He growled, slamming the butt of his staff on the floor. "Looks can be deceiving, besides, even if I am all you need to worry about. I think that's enough." In a flash Amity had dashed forward and kicked the man's staff out of his hands and across the deck. "Luz go!" Amity yelled, the direction pushing her into action, Luz pulled herself away from the mast and ran toward the edge of the boat where the row boats were hanging. Before she could get there one of the left-over crew members came barreling down the stairs from the upper deck, making Luz change course. She jumped just barely reacting in time to jump over a smaller man who had tried to sweep her feet from under her, as she landed, she made the call to run into the captain's cabin, slamming the door behind her. "There has to be a book around here if all this is happening" Luz grunted as she slid the lock down on the door, buying herself some time.
Amity was clearly tired; all the fighting she had done that night was catching up to her, she was sluggish and had difficulty landing her hits. Looks like it isn't just the creatures below that heal freakishly fast As she scorched her opponent, she could see by the next hit that the spot was almost completely healed. It's so much faster too … Before she could properly react the man landed a hard, angry punch to her left cheek sending her tumbling backwards. Knowing he was closing in for another round she had no time to dwell on the hit, she quickly rolled back onto her feet and side stepped the man's staff as it swung hard missing her head by hairs. "I can tell you're slowing down" He taunted, causing her to bare her teeth and retaliate, nailing him right in the gut. However, his move was calculated as it gave him the proximity to hit Amity again, hard in her gut. This time causing her to be slightly dazed as blood and bile burned her throat.
Luz was frantically searching the room, not understanding how it could be so hard to hide an open book. She could hear the fighting outside the door and the men working to break this door open, "Come on..." her temper was starting to flair as she struggled to find the book. She kicked the large desk with the heel of her foot as hard as she could out of rage, cursing as she did it. As the second kick connected, the desk slid slightly forward, revealing the end of what looked like a hole in the floor. No way... Her excitement peaked and she gave another two, three, hard kicks to the desk. Dropping quickly to her knees she pulled the small panel open and there it was, without even a second thought she grabbed the book and slammed it closed. Letting out a small laugh and sigh of relief, at least, until the ground beneath her started to wobble. "OH titan, the ship is part of the book... We're gonna die" Luz kept a tight hold of the book as she bolted forward towards the locked door, pushing the lock open and letting the men fall into the room with her. As they fell, they were instantly sucked back into the book. "Amity!" She yelled, scanning the large area in front of her, sighing in relief as she saw that the girl was standing, though once she turned to look at Luz the smile, she had from finding the book vanished. Amity's cheek was bruised, blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth and she had the beginnings of a black eye, she could also see there was a cut dripping blood on her shoulder. "The boats about the disappear!" She shouted, putting herself into gear again and running forward towards the battered witch. The man in front of Amity growled and went for another attack, though as he got closer to Luz he was also sucked into the book, all this earned Luz a very confused look but the witch didn't question it. The boat was now the last thing to go, the large object waivered and caused the girls to wobble on the uneven floor. They weren't so high they would die on impact but they would certainly hurt themselves if they landed wrong.
Amity was quick to adapt to the situation, grabbing Luz rougher than she intended, pulling her to the edge of the boat. She could see below them about 20 feet was the top of a book shelf, if she could get them to it safely the rest would be no problem. She was exhausted and bruised but there was little she could do about the situation. "Come h-" before the request could be made the boat finally gave up, getting sucked aggressively back into the book, the two were sent free falling. Both let out a small scream, the unexpected drop putting a huge pit in both their stomachs as they fell. Amity decided to keep with her plan, reaching out and pulling the human girl into her, she put her arms around her and summoned her abomination. Cocooning them in the purple goop, praying that she was able to summon enough to cushion their fall. Due to not being able to aim for the shelf they ended up streaking passed it, they hit the ground with a small crash, the cocoon thankfully holding strong they landed and bounced, sending books and papers flying in all directions. As Luz opened her eyes she sighed as she felt no immediate bone breaking pain, she was in pain and winded, but she thought for sure from that height she might have died. It looks like Luz had tried to break Amitys fall as much as possible, having turned them around so Luz was to hit the ground first. Amity released the cocoon of goo and let them fully drop to the floor, only then realizing that Luz was under her.
When her eyes refocused on the world around them, there she was staring up at her with those enchanting brown eyes. The green haired witch stared for longer than she meant, her long green hair cascading down her shoulders almost long enough to frame both sides of Luz face, she was trying to work out the weird sensation bubbling up in her gut. "Amity?" The use of her name, like last time broke her out of the spell of her own thoughts and all she could do was pull herself back and lift Luz with her. "Sorry" She said quickly, her face red with, what she assumed was embarrassment. With a painful grunt she stood up, her stomach and face painfully throbbing. They looked around at the mess, This is going to be difficult to explain … she sighed and winced as the pain got worse.
I wonder what she was thinking... Seemed like she was really lost in thought there... Luz innocently thought about the interaction that had just happened between them, ignoring the weird sensation it had caused in her stomach and chest, spending a moment to fix her beanie and smooth out the hair sticking out the front and sides. "It was the wailing star... by the way" She felt the need to explain what had happened, figuring that was a big reason why Amity had been looking at her like she was. "It brought the books to life when you open them... I'm not sure how many were already opened or how many your siblings and I accidentally left open, but I'm really sorry you got hurt." Luz tried to take a step forward towards Amity but was quickly backed away from. "Don't be sorry, it was... interesting. Not my ideal way to spend the night but not something I'll forget. I should clean this up and get home, I'm... exhausted" She grumbled the last part, not making eye contact with Luz again. "Oh... Uh. I can help?" She offered in a small voice, feeling a little weird with how quickly Amity dismissed her. It was difficult for Luz to act this way, she had a lot more fire in her around other people, even strangers. "It's fine, you should be going" For whatever reason the words stung Luz, she didn't want to protest or make the witches life any harder so she simply nodded and started to make her way to the lobby, pausing only a few steps away. "Otabin" She mumbled, internally slapping herself for not having just erased it then and there.
Amity caught the name of one of her favourite book and turned to look at Luz again, the girl had barely walked away when she had mumbled it to herself. "What about it?" Luz flinched when the witch confronted her on what she said, forgetting that her hearing was better than a human. She turned on her heel with an apprehensive frown, the look on the girl's face almost seemed apologetic. "Your brother wrote in it; I didn't see what happened – I didn't want to honestly – but I meant to go back and fix it." That's... Really kind of her to do? she couldn't help but dwell on how weird this human was, getting her into trouble, lying, cheating and then kindness, "Well you shouldn't go alone..." Was all Amity could grumble out as she turned and made her way to the kids' corner, it wasn't far but the chances of running into trouble again were just too high to go alone, or at least let the human go alone. Luz desperately wanted to break the silence, feeling like she had another opportunity here to get to know the guarded witch. "When you were reading to the kids, I noticed you didn't really look at the book, its uh, one of your favourites huh?" Even though she left it as a question, it was closer to a statement, at this point it had to be true, she was clearly tired and sore and yet she still wanted to get the book fixed. Amity was far too tired to keep her guard up, she was mentally and physically exhausted, sore and bleeding. "It is... It was the first book I learned to read by myself. For a while, I read it every night before I went to bed." Luz was a little shell shocked at the openness, not wanting to ruin it or squander the chance to get to know the girl more, she picked up her pace to walk beside her. "Why that book? When you were younger, I mean, what drew you to it?" She kept her voice hushed, trying to match Amitys.
Without much thought she gave Luz the answer, "It was all about finding friends that understood and appreciated you for you, I mean, the cute characters were certainly an attributing factor" That was a joke! A stupid grin was plastered on Luz face as she stared at Amity, it took her a few steps to finally notice the look she was getting. "Whats that look for?" The witch turned her head away from that stupid grin following her and picked up her pace. "It was a cute answer and probably the most honest you've ever been" She gasped and grunted as Amity had whipped around and pushed her roughly against the closest wall. At first Luz was expecting the witch to hit her, but nothing happened, she glanced up to see Amity was staring at something in the distance. "Sorry" She muttered low, under her breath as the two stayed still, Amitys eyes still staring off into the distant hallway. Luz was having a hard time follow Amitys eyes but eventually in the distance she could see, a very large pinkish almost naked creature. "Is that...", with a sigh Luz nodded "Thats Otabin... The book must have fallen open." She could see that the witch was now wearing a deep frown, the creature skulking around ahead of them looked disgusting. It had a disfigured arched back, with long gangly arms and sharp talon. Its tail was thick and slumped heavily behind it, when it turned to the side, they could see its teeth were incredibly overgrown and sticking out of his mouth. A small shudder rang through her body as she stared at her favourite childhood book character.
The two were still but if they were close to the kids corner, if they could just get to the book their night of terror might finally end. Amity used her head to gesture for them to continue walking, both had ignored the uncomfortable position the witch put them in, having pushed Luz against the wall the space between them was minimal. The witch had grabbed the front of Luz jacket so tight she had a minor concern about it being ripped in the back of her mind. Sliding against the wall they made their way down quietly, Otabin was moving in the same direction as the girls, so as they got closer he was skulking farther away. Finally, they rounded the corner and spotted the book, open on the floor, right where Luz had tossed it. of course, I couldn't have just put it down right? she scolded herself as Amity grabbed the book from the floor, frowning at her brothers graffiti. "Moooore friends!" A loud roar came from the archway, shocking the two and causing Amity to fumble the book out of her hands. "Grab the book!" Amity yelled, rolling to the side to stop the monster from getting in their way. She must have been more exhausted than she thought, when she lunged at Otabins exposed chest with fire in her hands he easily, almost effortlessly grabbed her arm and yanked her into the air, filling the room with her pain filled yell. "Amity!" Luz called in panic whipping books at the monster to take its attention.
once she had it she spotted the book across the room she leapt for it, landing hard on her stomach as Otabin used his sewing needle to trip her. "Ah ah ah! Friends are forever!" He screamed, raising Amity higher while eerily singing, cursing under her breath Luz stretched as far as she could and grabbed the pencil that was used on the book. While he was distracted with his singing, Luz rolled on her feet "I'll never be your friend you overgrown rat!" She taunted confidently, earning a large growl in return, "Then you die!" He yelled, and stomped forward towards Luz. "Look out!" The witch didn't understand what the other was doing, she should be diving for the book. With a smirk Luz dove to the side, rolling back up onto her feet with a grunt, she used the pencil and drew a large light spell circle on the wall. As Amity noticed this she quickly sheilded her eyes, braced for the blinding light that came as Luz tapped her hand against the wall. The room was flooded with a brilliant light that blinded Otabin, causing him to stumble around blindly, wailing in agony. While he was distracted Luz finally made a line straight for the book on the other side of the room, grabbing it and with a simple slam of the book he vanished, dropping Amity to the ground with a loud thud. "Good one... Um, great use of your spell." Amity tried to say in a level tone but groaned, rubbing the wrist she had been lifted by as she rose. "Leave the book there, I can erase it after all this is over" All Luz could do was nod as she placed the book where she had found it earlier. "Are you okay?" what a dumb question, I literally saw her get hurt all night... because I'm weak and unprepared..." With a mental groan she caught up to the witch, who let out a sudden sigh of relief as she saw the sun was rising. "Finally..." She muttered thankful, that is until she realized the sun rising meant people, and people meant someone is going to see this mess very soon.
"I'll stay and help" Luz assured, seeing that Amity was clearly not going to answer her earlier – stupid – question. Despite wanting to get rid of the human and go back to the way things were before all this started and before she arrived, she agreed to Luz's help. I'd rather this get done... It's more important. It's my only sp- her thought caused a lump to form in her throat, all night she had been wearing her amulet, all night she hadn't been alone, every word she said and callus action. "Let's hurry" She put on her expressionless mask and quickly started to work on the library, collecting books, papers and correcting fallen furnishing. The brunette wanted to ask about the sudden change, but it felt like a bad idea, her whole demeanor changed not just her expression but the way her body was suddenly tighter and more withdrawn. It took about another hour or so before they were done, but they were satisfied with the results none-the-less. "Thanks" Was all Amity said as she started to walk away, giving Luz the que to do the same.
Luz was almost to the door when Amity had caught up with her out of the blue, You can't tell her why... but you can tell her something. her mind was loud with arguments over the conversation but Amity just wanted the girl to know as much as she wanted to be friends, it was for the best they weren't. "I understand now, you just wanted to make amends and be friends..." She said slowly, trying to be caution with what she says. "Exactly" Luz had an enthusiastic reply, which made the next part harder than the witch thought. "But I just... can't be your friend." She wanted to leave it at that, let her know that she appreciated the gesture but their time spent together was done. "... What do you mean? Why not?" She really should have known that answer wouldn't have been enough for Luz, but prayed she could get away with it after the night they had. "I can't... Go into details, but it's just... It's a lot more complicated than just what I want Luz." Amity reached out and gave the girl's shoulder a small squeeze before walking away, not stopping when Luz protests to get more answers. Maybe I should have just kept being cold... Titan damn it all... She sighed and made her way to her secret room, knowing she had supplies in there that would help with some of her wounds.
The pain Luz felt in her chest as she watched Amity ignore her and walk away was severe and unfamiliar, she had lost plenty of friends, real and fake, and it never felt like this. We weren't even really friend... So why does this feel so fucking bad? The knot only got worse as Amity disappeared up the stairs to her secret room. Come on... This is nothing new. Maybe I can talk to Willow about it. Luz hated that she had to pep talk herself and rely on another person to make sense of the situation, but at the same time, it felt nice to know she didn't have to keep this inside. She honestly wasn't sure she could. The walk to the Owl House felt much longer, but she was very satisfied as she saw it come into view from the forest path. To her surprise Hooty was humming along without his earmuffs, which was a good sign she could get some sleep. Luz offered Hooty a small smile as she approached the door, which he happily opened, "Luz! Hoot! You look like you had one heck of a night!" She laughed, welcoming the weird comfort of his shrill voice after such a long night. "It was... Long, I'm happy to be home, happy to see you too." She gave the bird tube an affectionate pat on his head that cause him to have a small happy meltdown as she entered the house. Pausing as she saw three little round baby-faced creatures with bat wings all nuzzled down into Eda and King. Before she was able to get up the stairs Hooty opened the door again, letting a very large Mama Bat into the home. "Oh... Bat Queen!" Luz tried to act casual as she was in awe of the Womans? size, ignoring that she had brought what looked like a chest overflowing with snails for the two babysitters. "Good Morning, Please tell the Owl Lady thank you. I am in her debt" With the chest she also dropped a whistle down on top of the snails, "Come babies, its time to fly" The little babies squeaked into the waking world and made their way to their mama who promptly collected them and left. Allowing the exhausted human to retreat into her room, she had only pulled off her shoes and jacket before collapsing into her makeshift bed, snoring only moments after she had laid down. Her need for slumber was too intense to notice that her room was slightly rifled through and an amulet had been tucked under her pillow, emanating a strange and chilling glow.