The next day had been full of news: for starters, Willow and Gus had finally been able to follow Luz to school like human beings, and Matt had gone with them too (well, rather than going he had been dragged along with them by a particularly exuberant Gus, all while he shouted at him that crabs were nocturnal animals and murmured what seemed like threats, obviously ignored by the ex-spider). Both the teacher and the other students were surprised by the sudden arrival of three new classmates, but they got used to them quickly: after all, Gus and Willow had always been with Luz during the other days, so they knew how to behave well at school... even though they had quite a bit of difficulty in writing, especially Willow who kept crushing the pencil on the paper due to her strength. But one way or another they had managed to acclimatise, also thanks to the help of Luz who continued to whisper to them how to do certain things.

As soon as the lessons were over Luz had taken them to meet other people, helped in that by Amity, Skara and Boscha too, who had introduced them to their best acquaintances such as Cat and Amelia. Gus had gotten used to it straight away and had actually attracted a large group of kids around him who were very interested in him, and obviously had dragged along Matt, who, despite having been initially annoyed, in the end had not disdained trying to form bonds with some humans. For Willow it had been a little more complicated, given that she had a lot of difficulty in dealing with other people correctly since she didn't even have the courage to shake their hands (since she still didn't know how to use her strength well she risked breaking bones someone!), but with a lot of patience and a lot of help from Luz and Amity she had managed to integrate well.

In short, one way or another, Willow, Gus and Matt had managed to have a good first day of school. However, the other kids had also noticed a further novelty after the appearance of their three strange new companions... that is, that the trio composed of Amity, Skara and Boscha seemed to have undergone great changes. Not only did they seem very available towards the three new students, but they also seemed to have softened towards the others; even though they continued to behave as if they were at the top of the social pyramid (which in fact they were) they had become much less haughty, as if they considered themselves less like goddesses and more like human beings. In particular, Amity had undergone a significant change, which no one could help but notice: the absolutely perfect girl without even a hair out of place and whose every movement and word was carefully studied had now melted, becoming much freer. She still paid a lot of attention to how she behaved, but she no longer had the usual posture that was always and constantly straight like that of a statue, she no longer seemed to count the number of steps she took, and above all she no longer had her magnetic gaze and her mockery smile with which she seemed to judge everyone, but now her face expressed a great variety of different expressions, all of them much more sincere and genuine than anyone had ever seen her do. And in particular she showed off a real smile, not set like the one she had always had, and someone noticed that that smile strangely seemed to widen every time a certain puppet did something funny or even just said something encouraging to her.

After school they separated again: Amity, Skara and Boscha remembered that Luz had to go to see King that day, so they didn't ask her to come with them, but they made her promise to be found at the rugby field the next day to finally being able to try playing. Gus and Matt instead remained in the company of some of the students they had met and befriended, whom Gus had jokingly nicknamed his 'Human Appreciation Society' due to the fact that they were enthusiastic about showing him human artifacts and tools and introducing them to their culture. Luz and Willow finally returned to the Owl House, outside of which there was already a person waiting for them. "Finally you arrive! I've been waiting for you for an hour, do you know that?" Hunter told them as soon as he saw them coming, although he did it ironically and not with malice. But then he added: "And if that damned owl tries to tell me one more time how many species of beetle there are in the world, I swear I'll hang his head on the top of my staff"

Luz giggled. "Sorry, Hooty is like that"

"Thanks for coming, by the way" Willow told him with a smile. The night before, before returning home, she had asked Hunter if he would be willing to go to the Owl House to finally teach her something about fighting, and he had happily accepted. "So, shall we begin?"

Hunter couldn't help his lips from curling up slightly as he saw Willow smile like that. He seemed to be itching to get started. "Sure, whenever you want" he replied. "So, our first lesson will obviously be on self-control, since otherwise I will never be able to have lunch with you without you breaking all my forks. Self-control is based on a purely mental principle, in which you perceive the dichotomy between brain and muscles and..."

Luz left the two to their training (even though she hoped with all her heart that it wasn't just training) and entered the house, where she found Eda waiting for her. "So, are you ready to introduce me to your Titan friend?" the fairy asked her.

Luz grabbed the otter-shaped toy she had bought and nodded. "Of course yes! Let's go now!". At those words Eda resumed her fairy form and flew out the window carrying the puppet on her back. As they went away they could see Hunter and Willow starting to do some exercises together. "I hope they don't miss another opportunity and... well... get busy this time!" Luz commented.

"Tsk. They already missed a great opportunity yesterday, it wouldn't surprise me if they missed another one" Eda replied with a smirk. "You kids and your love stories..."

"Why? Have you never been in love?" Luz asked her curiously.

The fairy shrugged. "It happened to me, once, many years ago. It was that bard who wrote that song I sang to you"

Luz's eyes sparkled. "Oh, now you have to tell me about that person! What was he like? Wait... it was a he?"

Eda's face became smiling and her eyes dreamy. "Their pronouns were they/them" she answered. "And they were... quite bizarre. They had their own way of playing and singing, in perfect harmony with nature and the voice of fairies. And they were also quite cute to look at"

Luz seemed so excited to hear that part of Eda's story that her eyes seemed to have become two stars from how much they shone. "What happened to them? I mean... why did you two break up?"

Eda's face became a little sad. "Well... sometimes people break up even if they seem made for each other. I don't know where they are now, the last time I saw them they were leaving to travel the world with their trusty lute"

Luz wanted to ask for even more details, but something inside her told her it would be inappropriate since Eda clearly didn't seem to want to talk about it, and for once she decided it was best to listen to her conscience and remained silent. The fairy flew quickly over the countryside and soon she reached the beach, and there she landed right next to the cliff that the puppet was pointing out to her. "Stay here" Luz told her. "I'll tell him I brought you with me and I'll call you if he wants to see you"

Eda nodded; after all, if that young Titan was really that shy, it was better to avoid putting him under pressure by showing up uninvited. Luz climbed the rocks and headed towards the young Titan's lair, and as soon as she arrived she called out to him: "King! Hey, King, it's me, Luz! I'm back!"

The young Titan emerged from his house pawing like a large dog. "Oh, Luz, you're back! Um... well, of course you're back! After all, no one would be foolish enough to brave the wrath of the mighty Titan!" he exclaimed, but although he was trying to hide it it was clear that he was delighted that she had kept her promise.

Luz bit her lip; judging by King's behavior, he had probably thought at least a few times that she had abandoned him, which was normal given the situation he was living in. She felt a little guilty: maybe she should have come back the day before... but far too many things had happened for her to do that. To make amends she showed the otter-shaped toy: "Look what I brought you!"

"A new recruit!" King exclaimed as he took the toy and handled it as if it were a treasure. It was almost certainly the first time he had received a gift from someone. He placed it next to the other puppets and then said: "It is a pleasure to welcome you into my troop, but you must know that your life from today will not be easy at all! You will have to temper that body of yours and make it worthy of serving the mighty Titan! Francois, I entrust his training to you!"

"I'm sure he'll be an excellent soldier, Your Majesty" Luz told him, then she added: "Look... do you remember the fairy I told you about, Eda? She accompanied me here today and she'd really like to meet you. Would you like to meet her?"

"Oh, you also brought a new worshiper?" King said in an excited voice. "Well, if it was a loyal subject like you who brought her here, I have to believe that this fairy is also trustworthy. Alright, I'm willing to show her my royal presence!"

Luz smiled happily and ran to call Eda; after a few minutes she returned bringing with her the fairy, who to make King less intimidating had returned to her human form. Although the young Titan had declared that he wanted to meet her, when he saw her he still seemed intimidated; after all, she was still a stranger. But Eda paid no attention and introduced herself very politely: "Nice to meet you, King. I'm Eda, Luz's fairy godmother and also her current landlady"

"Uuuh..." King was clearly unsure, but Eda's magnetic smile and Luz's encouraging expression convinced him to talk to her: "Well, it's a pleasure for me to meet you, ma'am! Rejoice, because you are in presence of the great and noble Titan! Since your pupil has shown her loyalty by getting me a new recruit, I am willing to welcome you into my royal home, even if I still don't know if you are worthy of this privilege..."

"I brought some sweets with me" Eda interrupted him showing a bag full of biscuits. "Would you accept them as an offering, Your Majesty?"

King didn't even give her time to end the question: he took the bag and began to stuff himself. "Mh, you are definitely worthy of the privilege of being welcomed into my sublime home! Continue to prepare such delicacies for me and I will make you my personal chef!"

While King was stuffing himself, Luz put her mouth close to Eda's ear: "How did you know you could buy him with some sweets?"

"Because he is a child, and a child left alone for a long time eating nothing but fish will always be ready to give his trust to anyone who gives him something good to eat" Eda replied in a low voice. "Also I know something about the Titans, and I know that their young, in addition to acting like monarchs, have an incredible appetite"

Eda had never met a Titan in her life but she wasn't completely ignorant about those creatures either, since they too were magical creatures, albeit of a completely different and much rarer species than fairies. She knew, for example, that the Titans were born from eggs that could remain hibernated for hundreds of thousands of years before hatching; they had a practically indestructible shell and could wander in the ocean, rivers or any other environment for a long time without breaking while waiting for the perfect conditions to hatch. King's egg could also have been laid millennia earlier, when Papa Titan and the other supreme beings still roamed the mortal world, and only recently found the right environment for its birth on that little cliff, inside of which indeed there was a warm and comfortable climate and clean air, and the high rocks and the sea provided protection. Titan eggs were also generally accompanied by golems who would bind themselves around them and remain dormant until they hatched, and who would then ensure that the hatchling received food and resources until their magic ran out, and for as long as Luz had explained to her the King's one had already died out some time ago.

With all this knowledge, Eda had a vague idea of how to behave with a little Titan, although obviously she kept in mind that King had his own personality and that therefore she couldn't rely only on the knowledge learned from books to relate to him. But after all, taking care of children was something that came almost naturally to her as a fairy, and in fact after an initial moment of suspicion and insecurity King stopped remaining on the defensive and opened up completely to her, much to Luz's joy. They spent a good part of the afternoon together, and at the end King seemed delighted: "Luz, you have brought me an extraordinary worshiper! You deserve a prize! Kneel down, please!"

The puppet did so, and as soon as she was on her knees King raised his right hand and placed it on her shoulder as if it were a sword. "From this moment I officially proclaim you as my personal propagandist! Rejoice, because you are the first in this world to receive such an honor!"

"I gladly accept, Your Majesty" Luz said with a smile. "So can I bring more of my friends here next time?"

"You've proven yourself to be trustworthy, so I trust your judgment. Bring me as many worshipers as you want!" King replied smugly.

"You could come and meet them yourself" Eda suggested. "My house is open to everyone. You can come with us, so I can prepare all the sweets you want at any time"

Compared to the first time Luz had proposed it to him, King thought about it a lot more. He seemed to be very conflicted. But in the end he replied anyway: "As much as I appreciate a generous offer from one of my worshipers, I am still held to certain standards as a noble Titan, and I cannot stay in a plebeian house"

"I understand. Then I will give the sweets to Luz, so the next time she comes she will bring them to you" Eda said. She had expected King to refuse: after all, he was used to his safe haven and was scared of the outside world. But she was sure that with time the young Titan would accept to leave his comfort zone. "We have to go now, it's getting late. It was nice meeting you, King"

"Of course it was nice, you met me! Who wouldn't consider it an immense pleasure?" King exclaimed, then he looked at Luz: "I will await your return, my new propagandist. Work diligently to find me worshipers: I don't want to degrade you too soon!"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'll make sure not to disappoint you. I'll be back soon!" Luz replied, and then she said goodbye and flew away with Eda, heading towards the Owl House. As they were going away she turned one last time and saw that King had started playing quite emphatically with the otter-shaped toy she had given him; she found that scene really tender. "Do you think he will ever come to our house?" she asked Eda.

"Oh, I'm sure of it. You always know how to convince others to overcome their insecurities" the fairy replied.

The two quickly returned to the Owl House; when they arrived they found Hunter and Willow still in the garden immerse in their training... even if they were doing it in a rather ambiguous way since while Willow was trying to throw punches Hunter was behind her and was touching her arms with a lot of attention. Seeing that Luz almost started laughing: "Hey! Aren't you spreading yourself a little too much, cabbage head?"

Hunter turned purple. "I was just correcting her posture!"

"Of course, of course... and it took you a long time to do it" the puppet replied, making him even more furious.

Willow in turn had turned red in the face: "Luz, I assure you that Hunter had no ulterior motive!"

"Really?" The puppet looked disappointed. "So nothing interesting happened?"

"Absolutely not!" both Willow and Hunter responded in unison.

"Actually yes... about half an hour ago they got unbalanced and fell on top of each other, and they looked into each other's eyes for a good five minutes before pulling away with their faces red with embarrassment" Gus said appearing from one of the windows of the house.

Willow nearly screamed. "What are you doing there!?"

"Matt and I have been back for a while. We even said hello, but you were too focused and didn't hear us" Gus replied. "So we entered the house and I came here to the window to admire the show"

The color of Willow's face quickly changed from strawberry red to plum purple. "Gus, you really are a…!" but whatever she was about to say was not heard by anyone, because just at that moment the spell vanished and she went back to being a cricket no bigger than a pin and with a voice too faint to be heard more than a meter away.

"Looks like training ends today" Luz said, lifting her friend onto her hand, then she turned to Hunter: "I guess you want to go now. Don't forget, we want to see you tomorrow to play rugby!"

"Yes, I remember that" Hunter replied, sitting on his staff and preparing to fly, then he added in a softer tone: "So... see you tomorrow, guys. And... congratulations Willow: you've been a model student "

The cricket didn't reply, but from her expression it was clear what emotions those words had aroused in her. But before Hunter could leave, Eda, who until then had only bitten her lip to keep herself from laughing, called him back: "Wait, little blonde! Don't you want to stay for dinner?"

"Huh? Stay for dinner?" Hunter was caught off guard, then he weighed his options carefully. It meant having the chance to enter the house and maybe find out something about her, and in any case it would improve his relationship with Luz and the others making his mission easier. And then... maybe it could be a pleasant experience. "Well... yes, why not. I'll gladly stay"

Hunter: "I literally have a monster with the powers of a god that threatens me with indicible horror if I fail. I think it's a perfect time to forget about my mission and give a training lesson to the beautiful girl who until yesterday was a cricket, and maybe take advantage of this to touch her arms a little"

Flapjack: "Your reasoning is flawless. I fully approve this plan"

Belos: "Why do I still ask myself questions about whether it is better to create a new one or not?"