The night of the next full moon arrived before anyone knew it, and nobody was more determined to get through it than Luz was. She was now back in the Demon Realm and sitting criss crossed on the floor of the chamber at Blight manor. Her heart was thumping in her chest, but this came naturally. This was the night she was going to confront her curse in her mind and attempt to make peace with it. No, she was going to make peace with it. She wouldn't settle for anything less this time, and she was confident that Lilith and Masha's brew would allow her to do what she needed.
Speaking of Lilith and Masha, they were currently in the chamber with Luz at that moment, and had brought a witch's cauldron in addition to all sorts of items, some were familiar to the human witch while some were not. Outside the chamber were Amity, Camila, Eda, Vee, Raine, and King. Everyone else was outside with backups, just like they did the night of the Luz's first full moon. Even though Luz was determined, this was still uncharted territory for everyone, and none of them were taking any chances.
There was one detail that was different though. Luz was wearing specially made clothes Vee and Hunter had tailored that would stretch if she transformed rather than tear. This was a big relief for the human witch. After what happened the first two times she transformed, she would rather not wake up naked on the floor again.
"So how are we gonna do this?" Luz asked.
"First things first." Lilith said. "We're going to need some of your blood."
She then took out a rubber band and a needle that was attached to a small tube and an empty vial. "Hold out your arm. Don't worry, I sterilized the needle."
The human witch frowned. She always hated getting her blood drawn, but she obeyed regardless. After all, without her blood, the brew wouldn't work, so this wasn't the time to get squeamish. She looked away as Lilith warped the rubber band around her arm. It was better for her if she didn't actually see it. She still winced in pain however when the needle was inserted.
Outside the chamber, Camila rolled her eyes. "You'd think after experiencing the pain of transforming, this would be nothing to her. But nope, still cowering like a child."
Eda snorted. "Some things just never change."
It was over before Luz knew it, and the needle was pulled out of her arm, the small wound instantly patching itself up. Masha then began to take some of the ingredients and place them into the cauldron, speaking as they did.
"Okay, so as you know already, this stuff is too dangerous for you to drink. However, we've determined that if we boil it, the steam will be safe for you to breathe in, and it should give the effects that we're looking for. The sage will weaken your curse's power long enough for the sleep nettles to kick in, and your blood will ensure that your curse won't freak out while it happens."
The human witch nodded. "That sounds good to me. All we can do now is keep our fingers crossed."
Lilith gave a reassuring smile. "It'll work. Trust me, we've looked at this from every possible angle, and your training with Eda practically guarantees that nothing bad will happen."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I just hope that I won't have a hard time achieving balance with my curse. Eda told me what her experience was like. But even though our curses are similar, they're still different, and I really don't know what to expect."
Masha nodded. "I hear you. Buy hey, this isn't the first time we've had to take a blind leap of faith. And every time we have, we've always made it out okay. I don't think this will be any different."
Luz smiled. "You got that right. No matter what happens, I gotta be brave and face it head on."
She looked at one of the chamber windows to see Amity with a loving, but worried look on her face. The human witch blew a kiss of reassurance at her, and she did the same, though her face didn't change.
Luz took a deep breath before turning back to Lilith and Masha. "Alright, let's do this."
Lilith nodded and added the human witch's blood to the cauldron before activating a fire glyph underneath it. Masha then started stirring the ingredients, and slowly but surely, they began to blend together into one. Luz could already smell the concoction. It was a mostly pleasant smell, but there was something bitter about it as well, though it probably had something to do with her curse.
After about seven minutes, the liquid finally began to boil, and Lilith and Masha stood on their feet.
"We need to step out now." The former said. "Rest assured, we will be right outside with the others. So if for whatever reason you feel like you can't handle this, just say the word, and we'll stop it immediately."
Luz smiled and nodded. "Got it. Thanks, guys."
With that, the two exited the chamber and closed the door behind them. From then it was silent, the only sounds being the ventilation system, and the sound of the brew boiling. The human witch scooted a little closer to the pot and began to breathe in the steam coming off of it. Now she was really starting to feel its effects, and her core was feeling funny in all sorts of ways. It couldn't seem to decide if this concoction was a threat or not, and it was starting to act up as a result. Luz stayed calm however, and started taking slow deep breaths just like she practiced.
You got this. She thought to herself. This is no different than what you did during your training. Just breathe, and everything will be fine.
The feeling in her core started getting more uncomfortable, more so than the light spells she practiced with for sure. No doubt this was the result of the sage in the brew, and the full moon probably wasn't helping either. Luz stayed calm however, remembering her training and taking deep breaths to keep herself and her curse composed. And after only a minute or so, the feeling in her core started subsiding. In its place came fatigue, and she started swaying back and forth in place.
Woah. Sleep nettles are starting to kick in. She thought. I better…I better move away from the cauldron.
She scooted a couple feet back, and the feeling of tiredness only intensified from there. The brew was definitely doing its job, and she couldn't sit upright anymore. She then laid down on her back and closed her eyes. It was impossible to keep them open at this point, and there was no turning back now. The last thing she remembered before passing out was mentally crossing her fingers and hoping for the best.
….
When Luz opened her eyes, she found herself in a completely different place. She was in a clearing that was not surrounded by metal, but trees as far as the eye can see. And she could see a decent distance away too, because the area was surprisingly well lit. When she looked up at the sky, she quickly found the reason why. The full moon was shining brightly, and it blanketed everything in its light, giving the scenery an unsettling appearance that made a chill run up Luz's spine. The area was dead silent, so silent that she could almost hear the blood running in her veins.
As she continued to look around her, she began to feel more and more that these woods looked familiar. The trees were not of the Demon Realm, but rather the Human Realm, and even their smaller details were something the human witch felt a sense of deja vu from. After a couple moments, it hit her. She knew these woods because they had been burned into her memory. It was something she'd never forget.
"These…These are the woods behind my house." She said. "Where I was first bitten."
She felt her heart begin to race. Of all the places she could have ended up, why did it have to be here? Why couldn't it have been somewhere she was more comfortable with? Then again, her goal was to confront her curse in her mind. Maybe this is what her mind constructed in association with it.
Suddenly she heard rustling coming from the bushes behind her. She spun around with wide eyes, the memories of that horrific night coming back to her. This is exactly what happened before everything went to hell, and now it was happening again. It was the werewolf. It had to be. Even though the actual creature was long gone from Gravesfield, it still remained as an ominous presence in Luz's mind, and now it was coming for her again. The human witch was starting to breathe heavily, and brain was screaming at her to run before the werewolf got her.
It only took a couple seconds however for her to recompose herself and calm down.
No. She thought to herself. I won't run. I didn't come this far to back out now. Remember what Eda said. I need to be brave and face this like a true witch!
She stood firm as she faced the bushes, ready to face the beast that hid within. "I know you're there! Show yourself!"
But she was in for a surprise when the source of the noise stepped out of the bushes and into view. Rather than being the vicious monster she was expecting, it was instead a normal looking wolf. Well, mostly normal. It was at least twice the size of an average wolf, with short brown fur and glowing yellow eyes. Those eyes looked straight into Luz's, and gave an intense stare that was intimidating, but not entirely hostile either. The human witch's body tensed, but the canine didn't make a move whatsoever. It just continued to stare at her. This kind of surprised her. Based on what Eda had told her, she was expecting some form of hostility from this canine, but it wasn't doing anything at all.
There was an uncomfortably long moment of silence before Luz decided to break the ice.
"Um…hi. You're…You're my curse, right? Or at least what my mind perceives as my curse? I'm Luz, but you probably know that already."
The wolf narrowed its eyes, but again didn't do anything. It just continued to silently stare at her. It seemed to be just as cautious and nervous as she was, which again surprised her.
"Can you speak?" She asked.
The wolf gave a huff in response, which the human witch took as a no. Once again, there was silence, and it was getting uncomfortable at this point. This pause however allowed Luz to remember something else her mentor had told her.
She began to look into the wolf's eyes, and sure enough she began to see something in them, something very familiar. Rather than a look of evil, they had a mix of emotions such as bravery, fear, and compassion. But there was something else in there, something deeper, something like…
Luz's eyes widened with realization. She knew exactly where she'd seen those eyes before, and she knew what she needed to do. She took a deep breath and took a step forward. The wolf immediately bared its teeth and started growling at her with its ears tilted back.
The human witch held her hands up. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."
But the wolf's demeanor didn't change. It continued to intensely stare at her and growl aggressively. It was clear that it had a different idea of how the situation was, and would attack Luz if she got any closer. A different approach needed to be done.
Keeping her hands up, the human witch slowly sat down on the ground. Perhaps if she got low, she could show it that she wasn't a threat. Thankfully, this got a result as the wolf's growling began to soften, but it still appeared to be on guard.
Luz put her hands down and sighed. "I get that you're nervous. Heck, I'm pretty nervous myself. Going into this, I had an idea of what this was going to be like, but I didn't really know what to expect. This is also so weird. I've always been told that we're not separate beings, yet here I am meeting you face to face. It's like I'm talking to my conscience."
She took a deep breath before continuing. "You may not speak, but something tells me you can understand what I'm saying, so please believe me when I say this. I don't want to fight you or run away from you. Looking at you like this, I can really see now that you're not a monster, not like the werewolf that bit me."
Now the wolf's growling stopped completely, and it gave the human witch a confused look. She didn't want to fight? It wasn't expecting her to say that.
Luz took this opportunity to continue speaking. "The werewolf that bit me enjoyed every last bit of pain it inflicted on me and my family. It wanted us to suffer. It was pure evil. I could see it in its eyes, and I know what that looks like because I've seen it before in Belos. It's a look I'll never forget…"
She then shook her head. "But I'm not seeing that in you. Your eyes tell a completely different story. When I look into them, I see someone who is very caring, but who is also hurting a lot, someone who tries not to let that hurt bring them down, but sometimes struggles to do so. I see someone…who wants to be understood."
The wolf's eyes widened in surprise, and Luz nodded. "You're wondering how I know that? It's easy, because that's exactly how I am. That look in your eyes is one that I've had many times in my life, especially over the last few months, but I think you know that already. In fact, how could you not? After all, you're a part of me the same way my heart and bones are, and I don't want to fear or fight a part of myself. Not anymore."
Now the wolf's guard went down completely, and it finally began to slowly walk over to Luz, now convinced she was not a threat. When it reached her, she gave it a scratch behind its ear, and it closed its eyes and leaned into it.
Luz giggled. "See? You got nothing to worry about. I'm a pretty cool girl. In fact, I can say the same for you too. Seeing you up close like this, you're actually pretty cute."
The wolf's tail wagged at the compliment, and it licked Luz on the face, causing her to laugh out loud. "You're welcome."
As she continued to pet the canine, she spoke again. "I can really see now what Eda meant. I've been through many ups and downs in the months since you've entered my life. But no matter what has happened, one thing has always been the same. I've always been afraid of you. I've been afraid of losing control and hurting those I love, afraid of the ridicule of others, and afraid of how it all will affect my life, but that fear is what's been holding me back all this time. I haven't been accepting you as much as I think I have, and I can't do that.
"You're a part of me. And like I said, I don't have to be afraid of something that's a part of me. Yes, I've lost control a couple times, but neither of those were my fault. With the first full moon, we didn't have all the answers yet. And with Dysley and his people, that was because they attacked me, and prevented me from taking my medicine."
Her face then formed a look of guilt. "They did that because they chose to fear me, just like how I chose to fear you. I…I'm sorry."
The wolf again looked surprised, but then licked her again. It seemed like it was saying that it forgave her, and that it was happy to see she finally understood.
Luz smiled again and patted it on the head. "I now know what I need to do. I need to give you what Dysley won't give me. A chance."
She then shook her head. "No, I need to do more than that. I will give you love and compassion, and I will fully accept you as a part of my life. We both deserve to be happy, and the only way we'll do that is to put our fears aside."
She then gave a soft smile. "So what do you say? Truce?"
The wolf started wagging its tail again and placed its forehead against her chest, a doggy hug as they say. It was pretty clear that it was saying yes. The human witch choked and hugged it back, letting some tears fall.
"I promise that no matter what happens, we'll stick together. That's what us weirdos do, right?"
The wolf gave a woof in acknowledgement, and Luz couldn't help but giggle. As she continued to hold the canine, she smiled wider.
"Amity's right. My fur really is soft."
….
Luz slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head off the floor, letting out a groan as she did. Her head was killing her. And while it didn't hurt as badly as it did the morning after her first full moon, it was still painful regardless. As she sat up and rubbed her temples, she began to look at her surroundings. She was back in the chamber at Blight manor, and the wolf she was hugging was gone. Everything was back to normal.
"Man, what a crazy dream." She said to herself, but then froze when she did. Her voice sounded different. It was hers for sure, but it was distorted, similar to how Eda sounded when she was in her harpy form. Luz then held her hands in front of her, and saw that they were transformed into their beast form, only now they were larger and more muscular than she'd ever seen them. Her eyes widened as she took this in. Could it be?
In an instant she stood up and looked down at her body, and let out a gasp when she did. She was fully transformed into her werewolf form, but looked a little different. She was the same size and build as before, but now her fur was snowy white instead of brown. In addition, though she couldn't see it at that moment, her eyes glowed green instead of yellow, and her face looked overall less feral than before.
The more she took in the sight, the more a big smile began to form on her face. "Oh, wow."
A knock at one of the windows suddenly caught her attention. She turned to see Amity on the other side with a hopeful look on her face.
"Luz, is that you?" She asked. "Oh titan, please tell me that's you."
Luz's tail began to wag, and she smiled. "Why didn't you tell me I looked this awesome as a werewolf? Dang, I've been missing out!"
Amity's eyes welled up and she let out a cry of joy before sprinting towards the chamber door, while Lilith told everyone it was okay to take down the repellents. She ended up doing it alone however, because everyone else was right behind Amity as she practically ripped the door off its hinges to get inside. The second she did, Luz got down on all fours and began nuzzling her with her snout.
Amity responded with a tight hug, which was then followed by everyone else. The human witch shed tears of her own as she returned the hug as best as she could.
"You're okay!" Amity cried. "When you passed out, I was so worried about you!"
"I'm sorry about that, Mi Amor." Luz said. "If it means anything, I was pretty nervous myself. But hey, that brew really did the trick. I was able to confront my curse in my mind and make peace with it."
"You absolutely did!" Camila sobbed. "And I'm so proud of you! Just look at you! Your appearance is strong and majestic at the same time!"
"I'll say!" Eda said. "Dang, Luz, that is a good look for you!"
"I wholeheartedly agree!" Raine said. "And it's fascinating too! Your fur and eye color have changed. No doubt this is the result of you achieving balance with your curse. In fact, that gives me the perfect idea on how to name this form. The libra lycanthrope."
Masha formed a dorky smile. "That is perfect! Oh, it feels so awesome to be able to make history!"
Despite the fur on her face, it was obvious that Luz was blushing from all the compliments she was getting, and Vee stepped up with a giggle. "Alright guys, let's tone it down a little. I'm overjoyed too, but we don't want to overwhelm Luz here."
"Right, of course." Raine said. "I'm sorry. You know how I can be sometimes."
Lilith chuckled as she entered the chamber. "It's alright. I'm pretty much the same way. With all seriousness though, are you alright, Luz? Do you feel any discomfort or pain"
The human witch shook her head. "I'm okay, Aunt Lilith. In fact, I'm better than okay. I feel fantastic both physically and mentally."
"Duh, of course you do!" King said. "You just mastered lycanthropy, and that is definitely something to brag about! Now you can change into a beast whenever you want!"
His face then fell slightly. "Wait, you can change back, right?"
Luz stood back up and took a couple steps back before closing her eyes, concentrating on what she wanted to do. And sure enough, her body began to change back to its normal human form. Within seconds, the Luz Noceda everyone knew and loved was standing in front of them.
"That is a yes!" She shouted.
Vee fist pumped. "Aww yeah! That's my sister!"
Amity blushed and covered her mouth. "Oh…Oh my."
"What?" Luz asked in confusion.
"Your hair, Mija." Camila said. "It's white just like your fur."
The human witch looked over at one of the windows to see her reflection, and saw that her mother was right. Her hair maintained the same snowy white color, and she couldn't help but whistle at it.
"Woah. Now that is a good look!"
"Oh, come on!" Eda whined. "I'm cursed too! Why doesn't my hair look that good?"
Lilith snickered. "Probably because it's a rat's nest, sister."
The owl lady grumbled and folded her arms. Luz chuckled and gave her mentor a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Eda. I'm sure we can do something to make it look like mine. Then we'll be true beast ladies in crime!"
Eda now smiled and ruffled her hair. "I like the sound of that, and I'm so happy to be hearing it too. You did it, Kiddo. You've mastered your curse. You must feel on top of the world right now."
Luz nodded. "I am! Titan, I'm so excited I can fully transform at will now!"
She then took a breath to compose herself before continuing. "I gotta keep in mind though, it's not over yet. There's still one more thing I need to do. Now that I am in sync with my curse, I need to show that to the people to prove that they can still trust me."
Camila smiled and wrapped her arm around her daughter. "We can talk more about that tomorrow. You've done more than enough for one night. Why don't we head upstairs and show everyone the new and improved you!"
"Oh!" King shouted. "Let's have a mud wrestling match with Hooty!"
"Heck yeah!" Luz shouted. "Come on!"
The two sprinted out of the chamber, and the others couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
"You were right, Eda." Amity said. "Some things just don't change."