Hello, all! Thank you for reading my newest story, I hope you enjoy it! In this Owl House AU story, Luz is a bit different from her canonical version, I think the owl mask was a nice touch. I know most of you probably thought it was a Hunter/Golden Guard story from the title, and if you're disappointed, don't worry, he's on his way. I also have a Caleb and Philip origin story on the way as part of this story. Personally, I feel like that's the very least that Disney owes us after making Dana wrap the show up so quickly.
Enjoy the chapter, and be sure to check out my other stories if you're interested.
I do not own 'The Owl House.'
Chapter 2
On Bended Knee
"Can you guys believe that I'll be going to Hexside?!" Luz asked excitedly. She reached into her wooden chest and pulled out her cat hoodie and her tan pants. "It's a freaking dream come true!"
The masks on the wall didn't say anything.
"I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it." Luz walked over and laid her day clothes on her hammock. "A human going to a school for witches. That's literally never happened before. But, I can't perform magic, the most impressive thing I can do is flip my eyelids."
The masks still didn't say anything.
"Yeah, I know that's probably not going to be enough." Luz slipped out of the white t-shirt and sweatpants she wore to bed. "But I can't let Mom down. Convincing the principal to accept me into Hexside couldn't have been easy. I promised her I would do good at Hexside, and I will."
Luz slid her pants on. "I guess the hardest part will be passing the placement exam." She put on her cat hoodie. "...Better keep flipping my eyelids in the back pocket, cuz I'm not sure I'll be able to do much else."
There was a knock on the door. "Hey, Luz!" Eda called from the other side. "You up?!"
Yeah, come on in!" Luz said as she put on her socks.
Eda opened the door and stepped into Luz's room, taking a moment to grimace at the masks lining the wall.
"So…you're actually comfortable changing clothes in front of these things?" Eda asked.
"It's fine, they're cool about it," Luz said. "Some of them aren't even into girls."
"...Right… Look, I got breakfast–yeesh, even with that creepy-looking clown one? Never mind. I got breakfast ready. Your favorite: griffin egg omelets." Eda grinned. "You're gonna need the energy. We'll be training all day today."
Luz raised her fists in the air. "Yay!"
A few minutes later, Luz was excitedly scarfing down an omelet at the kitchen table. King was eating his food with just as much gusto, while Eda calmly ate her own omelet.
"King, Luz, slow down," Eda told them. "You'll get the hiccups again."
"I'm not gonna get the hiccups!" King exclaimed. "My power is far too great for me to–hiccup! Dangit!"
Luz finished her omelet and started patting her hands on the table. "Okay, I'm done. Let's go, let's go, let's go! I wanna learn magic, I wanna learn magic!"
"Easy, kid," said Eda. "I appreciate your eagerness, but let's take a minute to go over what's gonna go down."
"Hiccup!"
Eda took a drink from her mug of apple blood. "Now, look. I know it's not what you want to hear. But you weren't born a witch. You were born a human. And that's gonna be difficult to work around."
"Hiccup!"
"I taught you a good enough amount in potion brewing for our business," Eda went on. "But that's not going to cut it for your exam. We're gonna have to teach you how to cast spells. Two of them at least. Otherwise, Bump will put you in the baby class. And the daughter of the Owl Lady ain't getting put in the baby class. Not if I can help it."
"Hiccup!"
"But, how can I learn to cast spells? I don't have magic," Luz said. "Where does magic even come from?"
Eda placed her hand over her chest. "The heart."
Luz's eyes sparkled. "Awwwww, for real?"
"Yeah, it comes from a large sac of magic bile attached to a witch's heart."
"Ew, gross," Luz said. "...You wouldn't happen to have, like, a diagram or something I could look at, do you?"
"No."
"Please?"
"Hiccup!"
"Wait, if I don't have a bile sac attached to my human heart, how am I supposed to cast spells?" Luz fretted.
"Good question," said Eda. "One that we're gonna answer, don't you worry."
"Hiccup!"
"King, for Titan's sake, get a drink of water." Eda finished her apple blood and stood up from her seat. "Now, let's get going, Luz. If I'm going to teach you to cast spells, we're gonna have to go to the most magical place on the Boiling Isles."
"Ooo, the library?!" Luz asked. "I'll get my jacket!"
"No, not the library, Lily–eh, Luz."
"Who's Lil–"
"No one, now let's go." Eda brought her hands up to her mouth for a whistle and Owlbert flew into the kitchen, extending into a staff as he flew into Eda's hand. "And you're gonna wanna grab more than just your jacket for where we're going."
"Why? Where we going?" Luz asked.
Eda grinned. "Bundle up, my baby owl. We're going to the Knee."
The Knee was cold. Very cold. A large, snow-covered mountain that was once the great Titan's bent leg. Snow fell from the sky onto the landscape and the trees that covered it. The Knee was the only place on the entire Boiling Isles that ever saw snow. Perhaps it was because the Knee was the highest point on the whole Isles, but no one was sure. Legend had it that the first order of Wiccans, known to the history of the Boiling Isles as the Skull Tribe, once gathered at the top of the Knee for their Sabbaths to praise the Titan and borrow his power. In some versions of the legend, it was even said the Wiccans of the tribe were able to speak to the Titan, communicating with the great being in his own tongue.
However, such tales were never popular. Only the Emperor of the Isles could speak to the great Titan. He, and he alone, ever possessed such a gift. Or so it was told.
Luz followed behind Eda as the two of them scaled up the snowy Knee, boots sinking into the snow with each step they took. The two of them were bundled up in gray and brown, fur coats. Luz had a fur cap on that looked like it had a pair of paws from the beast it had been made from. Eda wore a cap that looked like it had been made from a gray spider. Luz had decided to wear her owl mask, saying that it gave her confidence when Eda tried to get her to leave it at home.
Luz rubbed her mittens together. "Brrrrr. Never thought I'd miss the Boiling Sea."
"Heh. Yeah." Staff in hand, Eda smiled as she led Luz up the Knee. "Magic energy is said to flow through this place like river water. For centuries, witches have come here to practice and develop their magic, dating back as far as the practices of the Skull Tribe. Those of the Wicca are drawn in by the natural power of this place."
"Woooow," Luz marveled at the snowy surroundings and the high-up view. "It's beautiful here."
"Beautiful, yes." Eda pointed. "Free of danger, no."
Luz looked to where Eda was pointing and took a moment to gulp in fear and let out a terrified 'eep'.
Over near the trees, not that far away from the two of them, was a large monster with snow-white fur that blended in with the landscape. Big and bulky with a physique similar to a bear's, the creature had long, purple, pointed claws on its four legs. It had no eyes, nor a nose, nor any ears. What it did have was a large maw filled with sharp, yellow fangs. The monster was currently chewing on a fallen tree log, as if practicing for when it sank its teeth into an actual victim of flesh and bone.
"...Mom?" Luz asked quietly. "What is that thing?"
"The reason nothing else lives on the Knee. The Slitherbeast," Eda calmly said. "Don't worry. He might not be all that territorial, but he does hold a grudge. He won't bite so long as we don't. Got it?"
The Slitherbeast growled and bit the tree log in half with his powerful jaws.
Luz nodded frantically. "Got it."
Luz hurried after her mom as they continued up the Knee. When they reached the top, Luz got lost for a minute in the pure majesty of the Knee. Eda was right, there really was a power to this place. Luz could feel it in the air and even taste it in the frosty bite of the wind. Maybe that's why the Knee had snowfall. The natural power of this place was enough to chill the very air. Luz lifted her mask up and took a deep breath of the Knee's cold, crisp air.
"Let's get started!" Eda announced.
Luz squealed with excitement as she lowered her mask back down.
"Now, listen up." Eda stood with her back straight, fist in her hip. "You know there are nine recognized classes of magic, right? Otherwise known as the Nine Tracks of Magic. Excluding the basic magic talents like summoning fire or lightning or whatnot."
"Abomination magic, bard magic, beast keeping magic, construction magic, healing magic, illusion magic, oracle magic, plant magic, and potions magic," Luz listed off.
"In alphabetical order even, very good," said Eda. "We'll cross potions magic off the list, but what we're gonna do is practice each one of the other classes. Or tracks, as they call them in school."
"Ooo! Ooo! Can we start with bard magic?!" Luz begged.
"I had a feeling you'd say that." Eda chuckled. "You used to love playing music when you were little."
(Ten years ago in the living room of the Owl House)
"Okay, everyone. Are you ready?" Five-year-old Luz asked.
"Weh!" squeaked wide-eyed, baby King.
Little Luz started banging her spoons on the pots laid in front of her as Baby King slammed his front feet on the xylophone like he was the keyboard cat. Hooty joined in, using his tongue to poorly play a ukulele. Owlbert was perched on the coffee table playing an owl-sized violin, and quite well, believe it or not.
"Yeah!" Little Luz cheered, showing off her missing tooth. "We are Spellbound! We are the envy of all other bands!"
"IT'S THREE IN THE MORNING!" The band heard Eda scream from upstairs.
"There is a reason my hair went gray," Eda said through a smile of gritted teeth. "Anyway, if you wanna give bard magic a shot," The Owl Lady pulled a wooden lute out of her hair. "You're gonna need this."
"Man, I wish I had hair like yours," said Luz. "How long have you had that lute? I don't think I've ever seen you play it."
"Oh, uh," Eda looked to the side and drummed her fingers along the lute's neck. "I…practiced a little bit of bard magic back in the day, nothing worth mentioning."
Eda handed Luz the lute, then she drew a magic circle and summoned a chair made out of snow.
"Okay, little Owlet." Eda sat down in her snow chair. "Play me a song. Brrr, this seat is cold."
Luz stared down at the lute in her hands. Carefully, she held the musical instrument in a position to play, and lifted her fingers to the strings.
About three to four notes later, one of the lute's strings snapped.
"Okay!" Eda shot out of her chair and snatched the lute out of Luz's hands. "That's enough of that."
"Sorry, Mom," Luz said despondently.
"It's alright," Eda assured her. "Let's...let's just try something else."
Eda pulled a large bottle filled with purple goo out of her hair. The goo inside the bottle moved around on its own as if it were alive.
"Here." Eda tossed Luz the bottle. "Play around with this abomination goo and see if you can't pick up a talent for that."
"Hey, speaking of abomination goo, how come you never told me you're related to Mr. Blight?" Luz asked.
"He's a distant cousin, he's hardly a brother," Eda said. "It's not that big a deal."
"It's just…I'm beginning to realize there's a lot I don't know about you," Luz said. "You never really talk about yourself."
"All you need to know about me is that I love you," Eda said kindly. "That, and I'm your mom, and you have to do as I say. And I say, play with goo."
Luz looked down at the bottle of abomination goo in her hands. She turned around and walked off, thinking she should find a good spot to let the genie out of its bottle.
Eda stared down at the lute in her hands. She raised her finger in the air and drew a magic circle, and the string repaired itself.
Eda let out a glum, regretful sigh as she stared sadly at her lute.
The Owl Lady was snapped out of her thoughts by Luz's scream. Eda looked up to see Luz running for her life through the snow as a ten-foot-tall abomination chased after her.
"And they said I had a knack for getting into trouble." Eda shoved her lute back into her hair. "Hold on, Luz, Mama Eda's coming!"
"Isn't this great!" Hooty asked. "Us guys having the place to ourselves! Hoot hoot!"
King shuffled through his hand of cards in frustration. This was their third round of Hexes Hold'em and the little demon was already down two bags of candy. "It would be a whole lot better if I could at least break even from this game."
"You gotta play with the cards you've been dealt! Hooty hoot hoot!" With a lack of hands, Hooty held up his cards by coiling around them with the expertise of a constrictor. "That's pretty good life advice, hoot hoot!"
King's cards all opened their maws and let out a roar before advancing across the table toward Hooty's cards.
"Yes!" King declared. "Now we're talking!"
"Not so fast, hoot hoot!" Hooty put down another card. "Wild card!"
All of King's advancing cards burst into flames.
"Oh, come on!" King threw down his hand of cards. "That's it! I quit!"
"No one likes a sore loser, King!" said Hooty. "But you know what everyone does like? Candy!" The house demon swallowed up all of his winnings.
"Weh!" King crossed his arms in a pout. "When are Eda and Luz coming back?"
"Beats me, hoot hoot. Until Luz learns to use magic, I guess," said Hooty. "I'm really rooting for Luz. I hope she finds her magic."
"Yeah, me too." King looked down a the table. "She wants this so badly, and she's really excited about Hexside. I don't even wanna imagine how she'll feel if she can't pull this off. She'll be devastated."
"Well. I'm not too worried, hoot hoot," Hooty said. "You know Luz. Always full of surpris–"
Hooty suddenly looked over at the window his body was stretched through in order to get inside the house. "Oh, boy! King! We have visitors! I love visitors, hooty hoot hoot!"
"You know, the whole 'hooty hoot hoot' thing you do?" said King. "...It's just awful."
Hooty moved his head over to look out the window. King came up next to him to do the same.
King's eyes went wide. "Uh oh."
There was a group of Scouts from the Emperor's Coven standing on the front lawn, facing the house. The Coven Scouts, as part of the standard uniform, wore dark gray, long-sleeved jerkins with brown belts wrapped around their waists, and black, harem pants stuffed into pointed, brown boots that matched their gloves. They also wore white capes and cowls. And in addition to the cowl, they wore gray, metal, bird-like masks with large, round eyeholes. The masks protruded outward in a beak-like point, and with the hoods, completely hid the Scouts' faces in shadow. Like the Coven Guards, the Scouts wore a golden triangle on their capes centered above their chests, symbolizing their allegiance to their emperor.
There were about five of the Scouts in front of the house, and surely more trying to sneak in from behind. The Scout in the center of the group stepped forward. He was bigger and bulkier than the others. The custom design of his longer mask suggested he was of a higher rank than the other scouts, possibly a captain.
"Eda the Owl Lady!" the Scout Captain bellowed in a deep voice. "In the name of the Emperor's Coven, you are hereby under arrest! Come out with your hands up!"
The four Scouts behind the Scout Captain raised their arms and drew a magic circle, readying their magic at the Owl House.
"Wild magic will not be tolerated on these Isles!" the Scout Captain bellowed. "Surrender, or face the full consequences of your actions!"
From inside the house, King looked over at Hooty. "You got this?"
"Yup," Hooty replied cheerfully. "BRB, hooty hooty!"
In a blink of an eye, Hooty shot back out the window.
"Oh, fu–"
The Scout Captain was tossed off his feet when the owl demon crashed into him like a chain whip. As the Scout Captain flew over the trees and far off into the woods, Hooty barreled into the ground like a superworm. Seconds later, four Coven Scouts yelled in terror as they were tossed over the house from the backyard and into the woods along with their Captain. The remaining four Scouts looked ready to retreat, but not before Hooty came back out of the ground and wrapped around them like a python, squeezing them together as they were brought down on their rumps like four caught criminals, courtesy of the town sheriff.
King, watching from the window, blinked his eyes. "...I really should be nicer to Hooty… I'm probably not gonna, though."
"It's so awesome of you guys to stop by for a visit!" Hooty said to his hostages. "Whenever I'm feeling down, I can always count on all of my good friends coming over to play and cheer me right back up, hooty hoot hoot! You guys are the best!"
"They don't pay us enough for this," one of the Scouts complained.
"Enough!"
"Weh?" King leaned in closer to the window to get a better look as a woman stepped out of the woods. She was neither Scout nor Coven Guard, wearing no uniform other than the white cloak like the ones worn by the Scouts, but lined with gold trim, suggesting a higher rank. She wore a mask, but it only covered her eyes and the rest of her face above her nose like some kind of party mask. The white, porcelain mask had two slanted eye holes and a thin, elegant, birdlike nose that curved slightly downward. A round, purple gemstone set in a golden ring was fixed into the mask's forehead. And with the woman's hood up, all you could see of the woman's face was a sharp chin and black lipstick on skin that was as pale as the full moon.
Underneath her gold-trimmed cloak, the woman wore a long-sleeved, black and dark gray dress on her tall and thin person, complementing her pale skin and her black lipstick and nail polish. And it was hard to see beneath the cloak she wore, but there was also a rhombus-shaped, sky-blue sapphire decorating the chest area of the dress. As the woman walked up to the house, she revealed a pair of laced boots that matched her dress. Two locks of her dark, navy-blue hair hung at either side of her face underneath her hood.
"This has gone on long enough, Edalyn!" the woman shouted at the house. "Come out and accept what must be done!"
"Alright, let's give oracle magic a shot." Eda pulled a crystal ball out of her hair. "This is the simplest trick in the book. Gaze into the crystal ball and see your future, soothsayer style."
Luz's eyes sparkled. "Ooooooo." She took the crystal ball and looked into it. "Crystal ball, crystal ball. Show me the future. That is all."
"Nice," Eda complimented.
The crystal ball glowed from within.
"What do you see?" Eda asked.
"I see…" Luz squinted her eyes at the ball, lifting her mask up to see better. "I see me. And…woah, I just got punched in the–"
A purple, phantom arm shot out of the crystal ball and punched Luz right in her face, launching her off her feet as the crystal ball slipped out of her hands and dropped into the snow.
"Luz!" Eda glared down at the crystal ball. "Oh, you little prick!"
A ghostly snicker sounded from within the crystal ball.
"Illusion magic is always fun," Eda said to Luz, who now sported a black eye behind her owl mask. "Try to create an illusion. Trick me into seeing something you want me to see."
"You want me to go all Houdini on you?" Luz asked. "Can I do Criss Angel instead?"
"You know I don't always get your Human Realm references, kid. Just show me an illusion. Make me see something that isn't real."
"Oh, you mean like Loki does? I'll do it so long as I don't have to basically make out with myself."
"I have no idea–just do it!"
Luz gave it some thought. Then, she took off her mittens and shoved them in her pockets before doing that magic trick where you make it look like you're taking off your thumb.
"Wooooo, look at that," Luz said mystically. "I'm taking off my own thumb. How am I doing that? There's no blood or anything. Wooooo."
"...You know what? We'll keep it in the back pocket. It's better than nothing," Eda suggested.
Luz did a fist pump. "Yes."
"No, no, no, this was not a victory. I apologize if that's how I made it sound."
"Oh."
Eda snored away as she laid back in her snow recliner. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't too cold to fall asleep in.
Luz ran up to Eda. "Mom mom mom!"
Eda's eyes shot open as she snorted herself awake and lurched forward. "Wha, what?! Did Hooty eat King again?!"
"No, I'm done!" Luz pointed. "Look."
Eda turned her gaze to the most shoddily built, piece-of-crap cabin she had ever seen. It was no bigger than a janitor's closet. The door was just a small gap where the sticks and branches parted just enough for entry. The only thing that seemed to be holding the cabin together was balance. The fact that the wind hadn't already toppled Luz's poorly built cabin was nothing short of a miracle.
"...You built an outhouse?"
"What? No."
"Okay, so you built what's supposed to go in the outhouse."
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my cabin." Luz walked up and stepped inside the tiny house. "I think the Construction Coven would be impressed."
"Yeah." Eda nodded her head. "Yeah, I have no doubt that they would be stunned."
"Wait till you see the security measure I installed."
"...Wait a minute." Eda narrowed her eyes at the cabin. "Uh, Luz? What did you use to tie it all together?"
"Thorn vines," said Luz. "It wasn't easy, but it'll defend me from intruders. Pretty smart, right?"
The cabin collapsed on top of Luz.
Eda winced. "Um…not really, no."
The Slitherbeast sank its jaws into the trunk of the large tree. Growling fiercely, the terrifying beast scratched its claws against the bark, ripping away at the trunk as it tore into the tree. The Slitherbeast bit off a huge chunk of the tree and rammed into what was left of the lower trunk, causing the tree to fall over and crash into the ground. The terrifying monster reared its ugly head and roared into the sky.
From a distance, safely hiding behind a rock, Eda and Luz watched as the Slitherbeast roared into the sky and ripped apart the fallen tree with its claws and fangs. Luz, who already had a black eye and scratches all over her, looked over at her mother.
"Can we cross beast keeping magic off the list?''
"Yeah, let's do that."
"Oh thank Titan."
"Plant magic is the oldest known class of magic," Eda lectured. "Connecting with the flora of the Isles dates back to even the first order of Wiccans."
"Cool," said Luz.
"I want you, Luz, to try to connect with the flora of the Isles." Eda pointed at a nearby tree. "Go connect with that tree. See if that works."
"Yes, Ma'am." Luz ran over to the tree.
"And stop calling me 'Ma'am,' it makes me feel old!" Eda called after her. "Freakin' kid."
Luz walked up to the tree. "Let's see here. Connect with the tree, connect with the tree." Luz reached up and tapped her mask thoughtfully. "What do me and the tree have in common…? We're both full of life. We both aspire to reach great heights. We both…uh…running out of tree references…oh, we both enjoy the fruit of our labor! Eh, you know what? That one wasn't all that good."
"Please, oh great Titan," Eda quietly prayed. "Please help Luz make some friends once she gets into school. She's gonna need all the help she can get."
"Hmm…maybe I need to be more bold." Luz lifted her mask up and placed her hands on the tree.
"Árbol...te amo." Luz placed her lips on the tree's bark for a kiss.
Eda blinked. "...Well, if that's not commitment, I don't know what is… Seriously, Titan, help Luz make at least one friend. That's all I'm asking, she can take it from there."
"Ew, tree sap!" Luz recoiled away from the tree and attempted to spit the sap out of her mouth. "Tree sap in my mouth!"
"Welp, maybe you shouldn't have kissed a tree." Eda shrugged. "Just a thought."
"Ah! Ah! Mum!" Luz's tongue hung out of her mouth as she panicked. "Ah think tha tee thap migh haf been tokthik!"
"Might have been what?" Eda asked.
"Tokthik!" Luz said.
"Tock thick?" Eda asked.
"Tokthik!"
"Talk stick?"
"TOKTHIK!"
"Oh, toxic." Eda smiled. "Hey, this is a good opportunity to see if you're any good at healing magic."
"Am not! Am not!" Luz cried. "Ah an theel my mouth thart thu gho numb!"
"Your mouth is going numb?" Eda asked. "Fight the toxins, Luz! Heal yourself!"
"I ant!" Luz began to sway on her feet. "Am arthing thu ghet dithy."
"You're getting dizzy? Fight it, Luz, fight against the toxins in your system!" Eda commanded. "You can do it!"
Luz fell backward into the snow.
"Or maybe not–LUZ!" Eda ran up to her daughter and knelt down beside her. "Don't worry, Owlet, mama's here!"
"...Urn…ma…biery…" Luz croaked.
"Don't worry, you'll be okay," Eda assured her. "I won't have to burn your diary. Although knowing you, one of us probably should anyway."
"Edalyn!" the woman shouted once more. "Step out of the house and surrender to the law! It's time for you to join the Emperor's Coven!"
"Geez, who is this lady?" King asked. "It's weird, but she seems almost familiar."
"Listen to reason for once in your life!" the woman went on. "I promise, your crimes will be pardoned, your career will be better, your life will be better. Just join the Coven, and…all will be forgiven."
King found her hesitation there to be a little odd. But then again, what did he know?
"Edalyn!" the lady shouted. "Don't make me come in there!"
"Hey, uh, strange lady?!" King shouted from the window. "You think you could come back later?! Eda's not home right now!"
"Wait, what?" The lady demanded. "Well, where is she?!"
"I would tell you. Really, I would," King said. "But, I don't wanna."
"...You're that dog that follows Eda around," the lady said. "I recognize you from the wanted posters."
"I'm not a dog!" King shouted. "I'm a demon king!"
"Right," said the lady. "And I'm the Vampire Queen."
"I mean…are you?" King asked. "The spooky dress, the pale skin, that weird mask, the holier-than-thou attitude,"
"Ooooooh snap!" Hooty exclaimed. "You walked right into that one! Hoot hoot!"
The Lady growled through gritted teeth. "If Edalyn's not here, then can I at least speak with the masked salesperson that works for her?! The owl-cat?"
"She's not here either!" King replied. "And, uh…I totally outrank her anyway."
"Oh, for the love of…" The lady let out a frustrated groan. "Fine. Then I will wait for Edalyn to return. Let me in, house demon!"
"Oh, I would love to! We could have tea! And play board games! And share each other's most personal and darkest secrets! Hooty hoot hoot!" Hooty exclaimed. "But I don't think Eda would like that. She doesn't like company. Totally antisocial, she really needs to get out more, hoot hoot."
"Eda doesn't know what's good for her!" said the lady. "Now let me in, or I'll show myself in!"
Hooty shook his head. "Uh-uh. Hoot hoot."
"Very well." The lady drew a blue, magic circle, aiming it at Hooty. "If you wish to test my power, then I am more than happy to–"
Quick as a wink, Hooty wrapped around the lady. Before she could even let out her startled cry, Hooty had her caught in his coil.
"Wow, I really like the perfume you wear! It smells so nice! Hoot hoot!" Hooty said to the lady as she struggled to escape from the house demon's constriction. "And what is your dress made out of?! It feels so comfy! I really should consider wearing more outfits! But they make clothes my size, hooty hoot hoot!"
The lady yelled angrily. "Release me! You obnoxious house pest!"
"Sister, you don't know the half of it," said King.
"Don't call me that," the lady hissed.
"Oof. Must've touched a nerve," King guessed. "Hooty, can you just fling her into the great beyond already?"
"Awwww, so soon?" Hooty complained. "But she just got here, hoot hoot."
"Yeah, but, you might wanna get rid of her before Eda gets back at least," King suggested. "You know how much she hates having Scouts on her lawn."
"Wait!" The lady took a deep, frustrated breath.
"...Please…" she said, more calm and collected now than before. "Just…tell Eda…tell her–"
"Okay, bye!" Hooty flung the lady and the remaining four Scouts into the woods. The sound of their cries faded away as they sailed through the air. "Come back soon, hoot hoot!"
With the Coven members gone, King decided it was safe enough to come out of the house. He walked out the door and up to Hooty's head.
"Who was that lady?" King asked. "She acted like she knew Eda."
"No idea. Never seen her before," Hooty admitted. "But I hope she comes back! She seems really nice!"
Far off into the woods, the lady lifted herself up off the ground and angrily picked the leaves and twigs off of her. Her mask had fallen off, revealing her irate and irritated mint-green eyes.
"Lady Lilith!"
The lady turned around to see the Scout Captain approach her, a hand held painfully against his side as he limped up to her.
"What are your orders?" the Scout Captain asked. "Do we attempt to take the house again?"
"...No." Her voice was calm and strong, as she trained it to be when she commanded her forces. "Gather the Scouts. We're returning to the castle."
"Yes, Ma'am." The Scout Captain walked away to gather the troops.
Lady Lilith picked her mask up off the ground and stared through the trees in the direction of the Owl House, a hard look on her face.
"This is far from over, Edalyn." Lilith put the mask back on. "Far from over."
Knelt down beside her kid, Eda traced her magic circle over Luz's eye repeatedly with careful movement. She didn't stop until the swelling of the blackened eye had completely faded away, healing the girl of her injury.
"And there. All cured." Eda announced. "Good thing I got that toxin out of your system just in time. Sorry it took so long. I'll admit, I was never really the best at healing magic."
Luz didn't say anything. Now that she was healed from the injuries she had sustained during her training, she sat in the snow with a dejected look on her unmasked face. Her head hung low as she stared into the snow. The sun had started to set and the stars were beginning to come out. This only seemed to add to Luz's gloom.
Eda frowned. "...Listen, kiddo. You did good today, don't you go thinking otherwise."
"For a human, you mean," Luz said. "And that just means I didn't get myself killed."
"Of course you didn't get yourself killed, you've got too much spunk to get killed," said Eda. "Not to mention you're my daughter. Make no mistake about that."
"Come on, Mom, who are we kidding?" Luz looked up at Eda. "I'm not a witch. I want to be one, more than anything. But I can't cast spells. I can't even eat half of the foods real witches eat."
"Being a gourmet is nothing to be ashamed of," said Eda. "It shows you've got class."
Luz appeared unamused by Eda's attempt to lighten the mood with her humor.
Eda sighed. "Luz. You think being a human is nothing but a crutch. But, truth is, it'll be proof of your potential and your capability once you do learn magic. Sure, maybe it'll take a while. But magic is different for everyone. Struggling to get the hang of it is hardly news."
"Easy for you to say," Luz replied bitterly. "You're Eda the Owl Lady. The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, the most infamous wild witch in history. And your adopted daughter, me, can't perform magic. Talk about a bad joke."
Eda sat down next to Luz in the snow and wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. A warm smile decorated her face as she looked out across the snow-covered Knee.
"...Did I ever tell you about the first time I ever used magic?" Eda asked. "It was here on the Knee where I performed my first spell."
Luz looked up at Eda curiously.
"I was…I think five years old. That's about when a witch's magic normally starts to develop," Eda continued. "My grandfather took me to the Knee. Told me the only proper way for a witch to summon their magic was to do so on the Knee of the great Titan."
"Your grandfather?" Luz asked.
"Yup." Eda chuckled and shook her head. "My grandad was an old-school warlock. Kept to custom and tradition, and was damn stubborn about it. Hands down the most talented magician I have ever seen in my entire life, myself included. Plant magic was his strong suit, argued that practicing plant magic and connecting with the nature of the Isles was the best way to keep in touch with the Titan. But he was skilled in pretty much everything that was magic or demonic. Not a bad cook either."
Eda closed her eyes. Her reminiscent smile was warm from the happy memories she had of her grandfather. "He never joined a Coven either. His prime years were before Belos' reign as Emperor, and he was old enough to get away with it I guess. Grandad never supported Belos. He called him a false prophet. Said his Coven System and magic brands were no better than shackles. He…he was one of the reasons I chose not to join a Coven. To be a wild witch instead." Eda laughed softly. "My mom used to call Grandad the Bald Eagle behind his back because of his big bald spot. The two of them did not get along. Only reason she tolerated old Silas was for Dad's sake. He and Grandad were close."
A smile started to form on Luz's face. "So, your grandad taught you how to use your magic?"
"Yes, and no," said Eda. "Grandad and I traveled all over the Knee, but all he told me to do was 'listen to the Titan'."
Luz cocked her head. "What did that mean?"
"That's what I asked him. But all he did was raise his hand across the Knee. 'Listen to the Titan' he repeated."
Eda stared out into the snow. Luz guessed she was remembering that day, visualizing herself with her grandad by her side.
"So I walked off into the snow. Grandad calmly stood back, hands folded behind his back like he always did when he was waiting for something to happen. When he knew it would happen." Eda took a breath of that cold, clean air. "I closed my eyes. Took a deep breath. Stood there for maybe a minute."
Without warning, Eda's hand shot out and launched a ball of fire into the sky, startling Luz with the sudden action.
"I raised up my hand, drew a magic circle, and launched a fireball into the air." Eda grinned. "I remember shouting with delight as I kept firing fireball after fireball into the sky, laughing my little head off. Grandad walked up to me and ruffled my hair, smiling proudly. You know, I remember asking him what magic actually was. And you know what he told me?"
"What?" Luz asked.
"True magic…is a conversation with a good friend. That's what he told me." Eda shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea what that meant. Grandad wouldn't tell me, said it would defeat the purpose."
Eda ruffled Luz's hair, the same way her grandfather did with her. "I don't know how your magic will come to you, little Owlet. But true magic…no matter what form it takes, it comes from the heart. Grandad was able to teach me that much."
Eda laid back in the snow and stared up into the stars above. "Heh-heh. I think I remember firing off fireballs until I tuckered my little heart out. I lied down in the snow and fell asleep, despite the cold. Grandad must have carried me back home, because I woke up the next morning in my bed to the sound of Mom shouting death threats at Grandad."
"Yeesh."
"I told ya they didn't get along."
Luz lied down in the snow with Eda and stared up into the sky with her. The night sky was a gorgeous shade of black and the countless number of stars that decorated the infinite canvas were like priceless diamonds.
"Wow," Luz said. "The stars are really beautiful up here."
"They are, aren't they?" Eda said. "Grandad never liked the stars. He used to say that evil gods and wicked tricksters lived beyond them. Then again, even for a witch, that old falcon was one superstitious old buzzard."
"How could he not like the stars? Look at them up there." Luz pointed skyward. "See that constellation? It's amazing."
"Constellation? Where?" Eda asked.
"You can't see it? Look." Luz traced the constellation with her finger. "It looks like a…"
Luz blinked and frowned curiously. "...Wait a minute."
What Luz saw in the night sky, formed by the brightest stars up there, was some kind of symbol, like an Egyptian hieroglyph almost. Like a pentagram, the hieroglyphic symbol was set inside a perfect circle. The symbol itself sort of resembled a bird, with a triangle for wings, a circle head and triangle beak, and a straight line from the top of the big triangle to the bottom of the circle with two diagonal slash marks in the center of the line.
"What…what is that?" Luz asked in awe, lifting her back up out of the snow.
What is what?" Eda asked in confusion. "What are you looking at?"
"How can you not see that?" Luz asked. "It's…some kind of glyph."
Without taking her eyes off the symbol in the stars, Luz drew the symbol she saw in the snow with her finger. When she was done, she looked down and saw that she had done a good job of copying the glyph.
Eda blinked down at the odd symbol curiously. "What is that?"
"I was hoping you would be able to tell me." Luz reached her hand toward the glyph. "There's…something about it…"
Luz touched the glyph, and the lines that made it began to glow.
Eda and Luz both gasped as the circle in the snow that the glyph was drawn in floated up and formed into a ball of light, like a small-scale star. The small ball of light floated above the ground. It glowed with a natural light like the sun, but was not at all too harsh to stare directly into, much like the moon.
Eyes shining with pure wonder, Luz stared at the ball of light she had created. She held her hands under the light, as if she were cradling a newborn.
"...I…" Luz's mouth widened into a joyous smile. "...I just cast a spell."
Eda let out a proper witch's cackle. "Yeah you did!"
"I cast a spell!" Luz again drew the glyph in the snow. She tapped the glyph and created another ball of light, watching with pure glee as the ball of light floated up above the ground next to the first one. "I can cast spells!"
"That's awesome!" Eda exclaimed as she stared at the balls of light. "I've never seen anything like it! Casting spells using some kind of magic symbols?"
Eda and Luz stood up out of the snow. Luz held her two balls of light close to her face, lost in the beauty of their glow.
"I knew you could do it!" Eda fired off a few fireballs into the distance in ecstatic celebration. "Ha-ha-HA! That's my girl!"
Off in the distance, something let out an angry roar.
Eda and Luz both frowned, staring fearfully in the direction of that roar.
"Uh…what was that?" Luz asked.
A moment later, the Slitherbeast came crashing up the Knee toward the two of them. A painful-looking scorch mark now decorated the enraged monster's side.
"...Oh, dang." Eda raised her hand up. "Okay, that one's on me, one hundred percent."
The Slitherbeast roared angrily before charging at Eda and Luz. Eda summoned her staff and swung it at the beast, striking the monster in the side of his head and sending him flying above the ground and crashing into the snow.
As the Slitherbeast got back on its feet, Eda got in between it and Luz. The Owl Lady's threatening stance and fierce expression made it clear to the beast that she was a mother protecting her child. The Slitherbeast appeared to acknowledge this. The monster's threatening growl seemed directed solely at Eda. It paid Luz no mind.
"Come on, you big ugly mutt, don't make me do this," Eda growled back. "My mother is a member of the Beast Keeping Coven, do you have any idea how many lectures I had to sit through about the importance of protecting the wildlife of the Isles?"
The Slitherbeast flexed its claws and bared its fangs, appearing unimpressed. It slowly circled around Eda, looking for a proper opening to attack. Eda kept herself between her and Luz as she matched the Slitherbeast.
"Oh, no," Luz whispered. "What do I do, what do I do?"
She considered trying her new light spell against the Slitherbeast, but what good would that do? The most she could hope for was blinding the monster, but the beast didn't even have any eyes.
Luz stared up into the sky once more.
"...Please," she silently begged. "Show me another one. Just one. That's all I'm asking for."
The snow fell from the sky around Luz as she searched for a sign. All she saw in the stars was the same glyph that had created the light spell. One snowflake floated down directly in front of Luz's face.
Luz gasped.
There was another symbol decorating the snowflake. A glyph like the one in the stars, except this glyph more resembled a crystal on a hill.
Committing the design of the glyph to memory, Luz drew the symbol she had seen on the snowflake into the snow. She tapped the glyph and the lines glowed blue. A small column of ice suddenly erupted from the glyph in the snow. A perfect, smooth cylinder of solid, frozen water.
Taking only a few seconds to marvel at her second spell and hold back the excited squeal that was building up in her throat, Luz formed an idea in her head. She scooped up some snow and made herself a snowball. Then, using her finger, she drew that same ice glyph on the snowball, decorating half of the ball of snow. "I hope this works."
The Slitherbeast chose that moment to charge, letting out a wild roar as it ran toward Eda.
As Eda prepared to fight the beast coming at her, she was alarmed by Luz running up in front of her and tossing a snowball at the Slitherbeast.
"Luz, get out of the–"
When the snowball hit the Slitherbeast, it became trapped inside a block of ice.
Eda blinked in surprise. "...What the hex?"
"YES! Mom! You're not gonna believe it!" Luz shouted. "I learned another one! Watch this!"
Luz knelt down and drew her second glyph in the snow. Another column of ice formed from the glyph out of the snow.
Eda's eyes widened. "You found another one?"
"Yeah, it was on the snowflake!" Luz excitedly exclaimed. "I can cast spells! I can do magic!"
"You can cast two spells," Eda reminded Luz. "Enough to pass the placement exam for Hexside."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Luz rushed up and crashed into Eda with a hug. "I did it, Mom! I freaking did it!"
Eda grinned and returned the hug. "I told you it was different for everyone. Makes sense that such a unique witch uses such unique magic."
Cracks formed along the block of ice that held the Slitherbeast.
"Yuh-oh." Eda readied her staff for flight. "How about we save the celebration for when we get back home?"
"Good idea."
Luz got on the staff with Eda and the two of them took off into the night sky. Just in time for the Slitherbeast to break out of the ice. The beast raised its maw and roared after the two witches as they flew away.
"So how far can you actually stretch your body?" King asked.
"Pretty much infinitely, hoot hoot," said Hooty. "But that's never actually been fully tested before, so it's just the working theory, hooty hooty hoot."
The door was thrown open as Luz burst into the living room. "I learned magic!"
"Weh?" King asked.
"Hoot?" Hooty asked.
"Pen and paper! I need a pen and paper!" Luz shouted.
Eda walked into the house and pulled both of Luz's requests out of her hair.
"Man, I wish I had hair like yours." Luz snatched the pen and notepad from Eda and drew her light glyph. The paper she drew the glyph on crumpled into a ball of light and floated up into the air.
"Woah! Cool!" King exclaimed. "You can make light balls!"
"Yay!" Hooty shouted. "Light balls!"
"That's not all I can do!" Luz drew her ice glyph and tapped the paper. She let out a startled yelp as her hands and her notepad became encased in a perfect sphere of ice. "...Okay, that's all I can do. I wonder if there are more of those glyphs out there. I wonder how I can find them. I need to find them all! Hoo, this thing is heavy."
Eda snapped her fingers and her thumb lit on fire. She held the flame underneath Luz's ball of ice. "King, go get some towels, quick."
King ran off to get the towels and Hooty moved his face closer to Eda.
"Hey, Eda. While you were gone, a bunch of friends from the Emperor's Coven came by for a visit!" the house demon informed her.
"Again?" Eda asked in annoyance. "Well, at least I didn't have to deal with them. Good job, Hooty. How many of them did you send flying into the woods this time?"
"Hmm, let's see, hooty hoot," said Hooty. "There were four of them in the front yard. Four of them in the backyard. A big guy, hoot hoot, and a lady in a black dress who seemed to know you personally."
"Wait, what?" Eda asked, suddenly looking somewhat alarmed. "Who...who was she?"
"No clue, hooty hoot," said Hooty. King came back with the towels and set them under Luz's melting ball of ice, but Eda paid him no attention. "She was about your height, about your build, pale skin a lot like yours,"
"Did she have kind of a 'I'm smarter and better than you' attitude?" Eda asked. "Not necessarily snobbish, but more pompous and self-entitled?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right," said Hooty. "She smelled really nice too, hooty hoot hoot!"
"Oh, for the love of," Eda shook her wrist and extinguished her thumb flame. "Belos is sending her after me now?"
"Someone you know?" Luz asked.
"No," Eda replied a little too quickly.
"But, you just said–"
"Okay, bedtime!" Eda pointed upstairs. "Brush your teeth, melt your ice, and go to bed."
"Awww, mom."
"Now," Eda commanded. "You did really good today, kid, and I'm proud of you. But now, it's time to sleep."
Luz hung her head as she carried her ice ball upstairs.
Eda looked down at King.
"...Uh…I have no desire to know who that lady is," said King.
"Thank you," said Eda. "Now go to bed."
"Dangit. Worth a shot." King hopped up onto the couch, crawled in a circle, and fell asleep like a house cat.
"You too," Eda told Hooty.
"Come on, who is she? Hoot hoot," Hooty asked eagerly. "An old rival? A former lover? An alternate version of you from another dimension who's come to this world to take your power for her own, hooty hoot hoot?"
"Go to sleep before I put you to sleep," Eda warned.
"Okie dokie, hooty hooty. Goodnight, Eda." Hooty retracted his head back out the window and into his door, then started snore-hooting.
Eda rolled her eyes and shooed Olwbert off her shoulder. The palisman flew up to his nest on the shelf and Eda walked up to close both the door and the window.
She closed the door, but a Crow flew through the window before she could close it. The Crow landed on the table and cawed at her.
Eda closed the window and grumbled under her breath as she marched up and answered the Crow. "Whoever this is, piss off," she growled into the Crow's feet. "I'm not interested, I don't wanna buy any, blah blah blah."
"Eda," she heard from the Crow's open beak. "We need to talk."
Eda's eyes went wide. "What the…" She quickly made her way into the kitchen and went out the back door. Leaning back against the house, she raised the Crow back up to her ear.
"What do you want, Lilith?"
"I want to help you, Edalyn," Lilith said. "But you need to let me help you."
"Mother Titan, this again?" Eda pinched her brow. "Look. I don't want your help. I don't need your help. So, fly off."
"Edalyn, how much longer do you honestly think you can keep this up?" Lilith asked. "I can help you. Join the Emperor's Coven. I can get your crimes pardoned, every single one of them. All you have to do is don the Emperor's sigil. We can work together in the Coven, just like we always dreamed of as kids. If you come to work for the Emperor, then he can even cure your–"
"The Emperor is an ass, who doesn't like it when people don't worship him like you do," Eda said. "And don't act like this is about helping me. Admit it, licking the boot of Belos was always more important to you than I was."
Eda heard an irritated and frustrated grunt on the other side of the line. "I have a job to do, yes. And that job would have me drag you out of your house and bring you to the Emperor myself."
"You're welcome to try," said Eda.
"But I'm trying to do this to the benefit of us both," Lilith said. "So stop being a child, take the job offer–an actually respectable career for once–and join the Emperor's Coven! Think about your future, think about your well-being."
"My well-being? I'm 'being' pretty well," said Eda. "As for my future? Here's what's gonna happen in my future: I'm gonna hang up on Belos' top bitch."
"Why you little–"
Eda tossed the Crow up in the air and shot it with a fireball, exploding the bird into a pile of black feathers.
As the feathers floated down in front of Eda, she hugged her arms and let out a sigh.
"Titan help me," she muttered.
Next chapter, Luz goes to school and punches another student in the face! Sadly, no, it won't be Boscha. Can't tell you how close I came to making it Boscha though, but she can wait.
Till then!
