Chapter Text
“And here, we have the scene where The Good Witch Azura takes down the dreaded gildersnake as a final trial to prove to the Lord of the Volcania Kingdom that she is worthy of the Jewel of Middle Asgardruletopia.” Luz dramatically narrated the page of The Good Witch Azura Volume 5 as she stood upon the couch next to King. “The gildersnake says, ‘Foolish child! I could swallow you whole!’” Luz acted out the character with a deep, hissing voice.
“‘Do not underestimate me, Gildersnake,’ Azura says, snickering. ‘For I am the Good Witch Azura - Warrior of Peace! Now eat this, sucka!’ Azura whips out her staff, bombarding him with ice spells, the fowl beast’s only weakness… other than dying, of course. She then hovers above him, opening a portal to the Netherworld. She casts him into the portal, banishing him for the next one thousand years!”
“Show me the picture!” King squeaked. “I want to see her dragging the beast into Hell!”
Chuckling, Luz turned the graphic novel around to show King the illustration. “For the last time, King, Hell doesn’t exist in this universe. It’s the Netherworld. Hell is a place that comes from human religion, and isn’t typically depicted in children’s stories. Hell, if our adventures were in a children’s story, we’d probably get a lot of complaints from a million moms calling this realm satanic.”
“Eh, what’s the harm in showing the children a few tortured souls burning in eternal hellfire?” King scoffed. “That purple void the Gildersnake is being sent to looks way less scary. Probably just a way to make a character’s death more ambiguous by pretending it's some ‘shadow realm’ or something that they can break out of.”
“Well, if you’re such a connoisseur of children’s fiction, why don’t you make your own story?” Luz said, adding a teasing smile.
“You know, maybe I should…” King squinted his eyes in contemplation.
Just then, the two were interrupted by a loud crash that shook The Owl House living room at its foundation. Luz and King briefly exchanged a glance, then jumped out of their seats as Eda slammed the door open and immediately shut again. She pressed her back against it, holding off whatever was outside. “Hey, you two. Either of you wanna act as bait? I mayyyy have accidentally led a Widowbeast back here, and I’m having a hard time finding an opening to cast a spell on it.”
Luz, climbing back over the couch, stumbled to the ground and then back on her feet. “What’s a Widowbeast? It sounds really cool! I’ll be your bait if you want!”
Eda grimaced. “I, erm, was kind of hoping King would be the one volunteer. You don’t know what you’re up against.”
“I do too! Just… remind me what a Widowbeast is again? I’ve never heard of it.”
Eda let out an exhausted sigh, feeling her bones creak in the process. “Ugh, whatever, just come with me. Don’t make me regret this.” She grabbed Luz by the arm with the grip of a wrestler, dragging her towards the door. Upon opening it, she tossed the girl outside before stepping next to her.
Luz froze, her eyes lighting up and her heartbeat rapidly increasing as she gazed upon the terrifyingly magnificent creature. It looked like a Black Widow, only with the stature of an automobile. Silver liquid oozed from the giant hairs on its legs, and a red skull pattern was engraved on its back like a tattoo.
“Watch out, it spits poison- heads up!” Eda tackled Luz, pulling both of them into a ducking position as the spider monster spat a gooey, purple substance from its teeth, just barely missing them and landing on a wall of The Owl House.
Without waiting for further instruction, Luz picked herself back up into running position, screaming in terror as she tried to get around to the creature’s backside. Its eyes locked onto her like she was easy prey, and it turned its body to continuously face her before beginning to make chase.
“That’s the spirit!” Eda called. “This is the opening I need.” Eda, using her staff, shot into the sky before whipping her staff out into a casting position. She thrusted it downward, bombarding the Widowbeast with a barrage of fireballs and icicles. The creature’s belly slammed into the ground, its eyes spinning and its legs too weak to move.
Eda used her staff to zip herself to its front, turning around to face it. The eyes of her staff glowed. She traced a spell circle with the staff, making vines spring from the ground to restrain the beast in a suffocating embrace. It took only a few seconds for the life in its eyes to fade. Eda then quickly disposed of the evidence by dragging the creature underground with the flick of her staff, bending the vine restraints to her will.
Luz bent over, resting her hands on her knees and gulping deep breaths. “That,” she heaved, “was so cool.” She cleared her throat, trying to gain hold of herself. “Girl, you gotta make me your apprentice!”
“My apprentice?” Eda questioned, almost laughing at the absurdity of the request.
“Yeah! I wanna be a witch like you, and my favorite comic book character, Azura! And I wanna have my own magic staff to take down monsters with. Plus, having an animal companion like Owlbert would be awesome.”
Owlbert detached from Eda’s staff, nudging her cheek. Eda let out a confused chuckle. “Easy, kiddo. Okay, first of all, a witch’s staff is something that is earned with time and extensive training. It’s a rite of passage for experienced witches, not those first developing their magic. But that brings me to my main point here- you’re a human. You aren’t born with the ability to perform magic naturally.”
Luz frowned. “But there’s got to be a way, right? I mean… I may be human, but that coven head seemed to be interested in me. That must make me special, right?”
“Sorry, kid. I don’t know what Adrian wanted with you, but it doesn’t change your biology holding you back. There are training wands for beginner witches, but they’re limited and not used by more experienced magic users. To perform magic naturally, you need a bile sack, which is an organ attached to a witch’s heart.” Eda traced a spell circle, summoning a shoddily put-together illusion of a green, pulsating organ. It flickered in and out of the air as ooze dripped from the bottom of it. “Apologies for the poor visual. Illusions aren’t my specialty.”
Luz, trying not to throw up in her mouth upon seeing the visual, turned her eyes back to Eda and whimpered. Eda, feeling a hint of empathy stab at her heart, approached the young witch. She patted her on the shoulder and smiled. “Ah, cheer up, kid. You may not be able to perform magic like me, but I suppose I can take you on as my apprentice and show you the Wild Witch lifestyle. There’s more to us than just shooting magic out of our fingers, ya know?”
Luz’s eyes slowly and hesitantly started to light up at Eda’s words. She didn’t utter a peep, but she looked upon the old witch curiously.
Eda took it as a good sign. “That’s the spirit. Now, come with me. I got some errands to run, and as my new apprentice, you gotta help me.”
The light in Luz’s eyes died as she let out a disappointed moan. Ignoring her, Eda mounted her staff and coaxed her new apprentice to do the same. Sighing in defeat, Luz climbed behind and wrapped her arms around Eda. Without warning, Eda launched into the sky, earning a startled yelp from Luz.
—
“So, I got groceries to buy, books to return to the library, and a few paying customers that I make deliveries to outside of my Night Market hours. Think you can handle piling a few groceries on top of what you’re already carrying?” Eda gave Luz an encouraging smile, though Luz couldn’t see it underneath the mask.
Luz, unfortunately, had a hard time answering with the piles of heavy books and bags of human wares in her arms. She clenched her teeth as sweat ran down the back of her neck. “Could we maybe stop by the library and make the deliveries first?” she asked.
“I would, but the markets selling food are right here, and I don’t wanna have to make a trip back here later. Oh! Oh wow, that butcher is selling fresh apples! We can make some homemade apple blood with those. Wait right here!” Eda took off before Luz had time to object.
“Alright, it’s no biggie, just gotta stand here and hold all this crap,” Luz huffed. “It can’t be that hard, right?”
Half a minute later, Luz was sitting against the wall, rubbing her aching back while a pile of books and bags sat messily in front of her. She scrolled through her phone before setting it to her side, cursing the fact that she was too far away from the portal door to get reception.
Groaning in defeat, Luz stood up and attempted to start picking up the books she had dropped. She cringed as she added each book to her pile, but she managed to keep them balanced. Just before she could pick up a fifth book, however, she was interrupted by a muffled voice shouting, “Stop right there!”
Luz froze mid-position as she had reached for the fifth book. She awkwardly stood on one foot as she tried to balance the four books in her arms. She gulped, not daring to make any sudden movements in front of the guard who now blocked her path. “Can I at least finish grabbing this- woah!” Luz toppled over, landing on her stomach and dropping every last book.
The coven scout stared her down. Luz, whimpering, quickly pulled her braids against the side of her head, hiding her ears. She did not doubt that the Emperor’s Coven wanted to capture her again for being the human fugitive who escaped Adrian’s grasp, and she knew her human features would stick out like a sore thumb.
“Why aren’t you in school? You are a student, right?” The coven guard questioned, paying no mind to Luz’s strange behavior.
Luz raised an eyebrow. “Um-”
“You know skipping is a felony, right? I’ll have to take you to the conformatorium if you wanna play hooky.” The scout raised her finger and traced a spell circle, pointing it at Luz. Luz clenched her eyes shut as she braced herself for whatever magic restraint she was about to get trapped in.
“Is there a problem, officer?” Luz squinted her eyes open at the sound of the familiar old voice. She saw Eda standing behind the coven scout, fully masked, pointing her glowing staff at her.
The coven scout turned, not dropping her spell circle. “Are you this girl’s caretaker? She should be attending school at this hour, as per law.”
Eda’s eyes widened with realization. “Oh! I apologize for the confusion. This is my apprentice. She’s homeschooled.”
“You are aware that homeschooling is illegal, correct?” said the coven scout.
“Since when?”
“Since about a year ago, under the Coven Education Act. The Emperor doesn’t take too kindly to parents privately tutoring their children, potentially not following the coven-regulated curriculum and instead teaching information that could corrupt our youth.”
Sighing, Eda lowered her staff slightly, though she didn’t break her gaze with the scout. “Understood. I’ll enroll her into Hexside starting tomorrow. If I do that, you won’t arrest us, right? Or am I to assume it’s too little, too late for that?”
The scout pondered for a moment. “I’ll let you off the hook for now, but if I see that girl outside of school grounds anytime after today, it’s to the conformatorium for both of you. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” The coven scout made her way towards Eda, rudely bumping into her before walking past.
Once the scout was out of sight, Eda dropped her staff and rushed over to Luz’s side. “Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”
“No, no, I’m fine,” Luz assured her. “Is what you said true? Is there a magic school around here where I can learn about real magic witches perform?” Her eyes lit up like those of a curious child.
Eda’s eyes flinched as she gagged. “Yes, there is. It’s a bunch of coven-controlled propaganda taught there, but yes, you do also learn about how witches cast magic. Now, as much as it pains me to send you there rather than train you myself, I can’t have a coven scout on your ass every time we’re out. I’ve been operating well on my own for years, but now that I’ve got you under my wing, you’re gonna have to blend into society to avoid drawing attention. So!” Eda kneeled to get on Luz’s height, placing her hands on her shoulders. “I’m going to send you to the one place I would otherwise never dare send my apprentice...” her voice grew dark and low, as if she was telling a horror story. “...school.”
—
The breeze faded as Eda’s staff landed in a small path of trees within Bonesborough. They surrounded a wide-open campus, which housed a sprawling, three-story building hanging well above the greenery that surrounded it. A cobblestone staircase stretched from the front entrance to the violet brick path spread out before it, creating the atmosphere of a red carpet walk of fame. Menacing gargoyles sat upon architectural pillars, and walls had horrified faces carved into them.
As Eda dropped her off on campus grounds, Luz froze in place, gazing upon the school. Flocks of witches and assorted demons flooded into the entrance. Several groups of friends stopped to chat, many of whom were showing each other spells they were learning. Luz was almost tempted to run up to a random group to say hi before she suddenly felt something brush against her shoulder.
Luz quickly whipped around, jumping back slightly. Eda, still on top of her staff, had a hand extended out, which she retracted upon Luz’s reaction. “Sorry,” Eda said. “Look, before I let the student you’re shadowing pick you up, I just wanted to give some… advice, if you will. From one wild witch to another, ya know?” She winked.
“Okay, but can you make it quick? I don’t wanna be late.” Luz’s legs jittered in anticipation.
“Right, right, I’ll make this brief. As I told you before, there’s more to being a Wild Witch than just shooting magic from your fingers. And especially since you can’t do that yourself, it’s important to understand that wild magic is all about connecting with magic and nature. Slow down and appreciate the environment you’re in and the spells you encounter. Take the time to understand how things mesh together. Understanding the world in its free, natural state is what being a Wild Witch is all about. Got that?”
“Uh-huh… gotcha,” said Luz, uncertainty laced in her voice. “Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’ll be a full-fledged witch before you know it!” Luz clapped her hand against her forearm, flexing her bicep in an exaggerated display of confidence. Eda couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
—
Willow spun her quill between her fingers as she anxiously tried to think of anything else important she needed to write down. She nervously ran her hands through her curly blue bob cut that sat just above her shoulders before adjusting her glasses. She gazed upon the cauldron on her desk, gazing nervously at the contents inside. “If I could just figure out how to get the mixture right,” she whispered to herself. “It’s too thin and loose.”
She then gazed back at the student presenting her own project in front of the class. The girl sat comfortably with long, mint-green hair, black lipstick, a septum ring, and freckles plastered all over her pale face. The chain on her black and white skirt dangled violently as she displayed an impressively choreographed dance routine. Next to her, a humanoid creature made from a similar slime substance to what was in Willow’s cauldron mirrored the girl’s movements with near-perfect accuracy. After she finished her prominent display of showmanship, she bowed, the creature mimicking her simultaneously. She didn’t seem to break a sweat or show even a hint of emotion on her face.
“That was astounding work, Amity Blight,” the professor said, clapping his tiny hands together. “Your abomination’s choreography and obedience were nothing short of perfection. Though I expected no less from my top student.”
“Thank you, Professor Homunculus,” said Amity. Without another word, she cast a spell circle that matched the hue of the slimy abomination. In seconds, the humanoid figure returned to mush. Its liquids swirled in the air as Amity redirected it back into the cauldron she kept at her side. She then picked up the container and escorted it back to her seat, not dropping her neat posture or apathetic facial expression.
“Now then,” said the professor, crossing something off on the document he held in his hands. “Do we have any volunteers who would like to go next? Anyone?” The class fell silent. No one dared to make eye contact with the professor, much to his annoyance. He grunted. “Anyone? If not, I’m just going to start calling on random names.”
Willow, not paying any attention to the professor, kept her eyes locked on the cauldron that she desperately studied. Professor Homunculus smirked as he gazed at the panicked Willow, who was blissfully unaware of his presence. “Willow Park,” he called, loud enough to make sure the whole class would be fixated on her. “Why don’t you come up and demonstrate your abomination, seeing as you clearly had your assignment prepared in advance for my class, like you were supposed to.”
Willow snapped out of her trance. “M-me?” she stuttered. “But Professor Homunculous, I-”
“If you’re not ready to present, I’d be more than happy to dock points for your assignment’s late submission. I’ll ask one more time. Are you ready to present in front of the class right now?”
Willow sighed in defeat. “Sure, I guess,” she said, nervously faking a smile. “Just give me a second here and um…” Willow stumbled out of her seat as she grabbed the heavy cauldron. Was it always this heavy? Or was she just nervous? Ready or not, she dragged the cauldron to the front before fumbling it, almost shattering it in the process.
The class chuckled. The professor smirked at the poor girl. Willow’s cheeks were piping hot, and her blue curls were becoming more drenched with sweat by the second. “Um, hi class. This is, um, my abomination project. I hope you like it.” She awkwardly waved to the class before turning her gaze to the cauldron. “Abomination, rise!” She traced a spell circle, commanding the slime to take shape.
Slime scattered everywhere as it desperately tried to take a half-assed humanoid form. The top of its head was flattened from melting, and chunks of slime kept dropping from where its limbs were supposed to be, hitting the ground with loud splats .
“Don’t worry, I can fix this!” Willow yelped. She traced another spell circle. “I just need to fortify the mixture.” With the wave of her finger, the abomination slowly started to take a solid form. Willow’s heart lit up as she saw the thing stop falling apart completely. She almost began to smile, but another nervous frown surfaced as she saw the creature begin to swell.
Before she could fix her mistake, all hell broke loose. With a loud splosh , the creature ripped apart, purple chunks of slime exploding everywhere. Willow got drenched in the mixture, with about half as much landing on Professor Homunculus as well. He spat out a glob of slime and shot Willow an unamused stare. Willow tried to wipe slime from her glasses, and once her vision cleared, her heart sank as she gazed upon her disappointed teacher. Her ears were so busy ringing that she didn’t notice until now that laughter had erupted throughout the entire classroom, drowning her in a sea of embarrassment.
“Is that all for your demonstration, Ms. Park?” The professor’s voice was flat and unamused. “Or do you have anything else you’d proudly like to share with the class?”
Willow’s face felt like it was on fire. She felt like it was going to explode. Her bones chilled with humiliation, then they boiled with rage. She felt her fists clenched, shriveling with sweat. “No. That’s all, professor,” she said dryly, refusing to even look in his direction. She slowly walked back to her desk. “Asshole,” she muttered under her breath, which fell on deaf ears as it was lost in the sea of laughing students.
Amity, trying to write in her journal, slowly felt her fists clenching as well, tightening around her quill. She looked into the crowd. “Will you all just leave her alone?” she shouted, her voice bitter like poison. “So she failed. Big deal. I’m trying to concentrate here, and you all are being so noisy, laughing over something so trivial. Get over yourselves.”
The class fell silent as Amity focused her eyes back on her journal. She ran her hands through her hair as she tried to switch her focus away from the disruptive class. Unbeknownst to her, Willow was staring at her with shining eyes.
After class, Willow found herself by her locker. The red metal was decorated with a gaping jaw laced with pointed teeth the size of daggers. She punched her code into the keypad, which forced the disgusting mouth open. She swapped out her books, putting her stuff from Abomination Class back into the locker’s ugly mouth. She also made sure to grab a towel she kept inside, wiping off abomination slime still dripping from her face. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything about the stains in her dress. Accepting defeat, she put the towel back and nudged a spot just above the locker’s upper lip, making it slam its jaw shut with little warning.
As Willow got her stuff together, she noticed Amity a few lockers down, not paying her any mind. Willow hesitated for a moment. “Amity?” she called. “Can I talk to you?”
Amity froze, not turning back to face Willow. Willow took a few steps forward, her confidence rapidly shrinking. She rubbed her elbow. “I just wanted to thank you for standing up for me. You rarely do that.”
Amity let out a deep, pitiful sigh. “Don’t get the wrong idea.” Her voice was soft, but she tried to fake a demeanor of petty confidence. “I was just overstimulated and wanted the class to shut up.”
Willow froze. She felt a fire in her chest, but she tried to hold it back from leaking into her voice. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” She stared at the ground. “I just can’t figure out what your deal is. It’s like some days, you’re kind of nice to me? And other days, you just let Boscha walk all over me… and heck, she practically walks all over you, too.”
“I don’t want to talk about this. I have to go.”
Before Willow could retort, she stopped in her tracks as another witch slowly approached her and Amity. “Amity, girl, what’s up?” The witch’s pale, orange skin complemented her wild mane of scarlet hair. Part of it was tied into a poofy half-ponytail while the rest ran around her shoulders, chest, and back. Her three eyes looked like they were bleeding with the amount of red eye shadow that ran underneath them.
She had a haughty smirk, which quickly formed into a scowl once she noticed Willow. “What are you doing hanging around the half-a-witch?”
Amity hesitated. “I wasn’t. She approached me. I was just on my way.”
“Hang on a sec. I need to teach this little dumbass a lesson for trying to associate with you.”
“That won’t be necessary, Boscha. She wasn’t bothering me.”
“No, no, I insist,” said Boscha, a sinister laugh escaping her lips. She spun an ash-colored spell circle around her finger. Before Willow had time to react, a figure popped out of the ground and grasped her in a stranglehold with pale, wrinkly fingers. A zombified creature hung above her with eyes that lacked pupils. Its mouth hung open, drooling on her head. Its saliva burned like acid.
“Boscha, let go, your spirit is choking me,” she gasped.
“That’s why you don’t mess with someone who’s friends with a necromancy witch,” Boscha sneered. “But sure. I’ll let you go. But first…” She approached Willow, who grimaced as Boscha touched her chin. “I just need some quick target practice before my next grudgby match.” Boscha sucked in a heavy breath and gurgled. Then, she spat in Willow’s face, drenching her glasses. “There we go- a direct hit! Thanks so much for the help, half-a-witch.”
Boscha lifted her finger, commanding the zombie to let go of Willow and sink back into the ground. She turned back to escort Amity away from the situation. Willow looked at Amity pleadingly, but the girl didn’t turn back.
Willow scurried back to her locker, opening it again to grab the towel and wipe her glasses. “What in the Titan’s name is their problem?” she spat, kicking the locker beneath her own. “Whatever. Not like Amity’s my friend anyway. And neither is Boscha… especially not Boscha.”
Willow sighed, leaning her back against her locker. She absentmindedly peered out into the hallway. It took her a moment, but she caught a glimpse of a familiar face. She smiled upon seeing him- her best friend, Augustus. He strolled over to her with thick glasses and a muted yellow tunic. His locs were tied into a ponytail and decorated with beads.
Willow gave him a friendly wave, and in that moment, she realized there was someone with him- a girl in grunge clothing and braids popping out of the front of her beanie. She gave the best friendly smile she could, despite the situation she had just been put through. “Hey, Gus!” she called.
“Willow! You’ll never guess who gets to be my shadow today,” said Gus, clenching his fists together and squealing in excitement.
Willow frowned in confusion, gazing upon Luz. “This isn’t a famous person I should know about, right?” She adjusted her glasses and awkwardly stuck out her hand for a handshake. “Sorry, I’m Willow Park. What’s your name?”
“I’m Luz! Luz Noceda,” Luz replied, taking her handshake.
“Luz isn’t famous, no,” Gus replied to Willow’s question. “It’s even better than that. She’s human .”
Willow blinked. “Really?”
Luz lightly chuckled and lifted her beanie, pushing aside her braids to reveal her round ears. “Yep. Arrived here the other day, and my mentor decided to enroll me in a witch school. Believe me, I’m just excited to learn about witches and magic as you guys are to learn about me.”
“That’s cool!” said Willow. “You got some tough competition for excitement levels though… Gus is a human fanatic . He’s been trying to get a Human Appreciation club approved here for months, but he’s had trouble finding anyone else interested in joining.”
“That may be true,” said Gus, “but maybe the tide will finally turn now that I have an actual human amongst us.”
“I wouldn’t mind helping,” said Luz, “but as long as word doesn’t get out outside of this school that I’m human? Trying to avoid drawing attention to myself among certain… parties. My mentor assured me the principal here is super chill and was willing to sign a confidentiality agreement, but it’s not something I want to advertise all over The Boiling Isles.”
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us,” Gus assured her. “We’ll keep it on the down low here. Though if the entire school does end up finding out sooner or later, Principal Bump is the kinda guy who would threaten suspension in order to keep a secret. Super cool guy once you get to know him, though.”
Willow smiled, nodding in agreement. “In any case,” she said, “Gus and I both have a Study Hall this period. Would you be interested in seeing the school garden? Gus, can I please show her? I really need a pick-me-up, and I haven’t had a new lucky soul to show in ages.”
“Is it like- a magic garden?” asked Luz, her eyes beaming. “With cool plant creatures that you can nurture and manipulate with magic?”
“Yup! I may have a liiiittle special interest in plant magic myself, if I’m being honest here.”
“You have to take me!” Luz squealed.
“Alright, alright, we can go,” said Gus, smiling humbly. “Just keep in mind, Willow, that Luz is my shadow today. Try not to steal all my spotlight.”
“Pfft, don’t worry. Our next few classes are together, so we can both show Luz around. In any case, let’s go! I get to show you Larry.”
—
Larry, as Luz had suspected, was an enormous, man-eating plant that towered over the three of them as soon as they entered the greenhouse. He grinned at her with teeth with a strikingly uncanny resemblance to shark teeth. A second, slightly smaller mouth grinned from the back of his head. His red vines were decorated with orange horns and gaping, human-like wounds.
The plant approached Luz, sniffing her. Luz closed her eyes and shivered, not knowing how to react to the steaming hot breath hitting her in the face. Willow and Gus merely giggled in response.
“Don’t worry,” said Willow, “these creatures only eat people who try to harm them. He mostly snacks on rats and vultures that I bring in to feed him with.” Willow then reached into her backpack, pulling out a dead rat with a bloody eyeball etched into its back. She tossed it at Larry, who immediately caught it in his mouth and began demolishing and devouring within the span of a few seconds.
“You carried that rat around in your backpack?” asked Luz
“Yes! Is that… not normal in the human world?”
“Well, it should be, if you ask me! I always got in trouble in school for bringing dead animals to class. It’s so stupid, they make really good practice for drawing animal anatomy. And they’re dead, so it’s not like they’re gonna bother anyone.”
“Really? Wow, humans are weird,” Willow chuckled. “Well, rest assured that you can do that to your heart’s content here. In fact, here.” Willow reached into her bag, pulling out a dead vulture. “Do you wanna try feeding Larry? Giving him snacks is the best way to make him bond with you.”
“Do I ever!” Luz squealed, taking the bird. She prepared to toss it Larry’s way, but before she could, Larry snatched it from her hands and practically swallowed it whole. Luz, shocked, wiped the plant drool from her hands onto her jacket before letting out a giggle of endearment. “He’s a hungry boy, isn’t he?”
“You should’ve seen what he was like when Willow forgot to stop by one day,” Gus laughed. “Once she finally showed up, he dug straight into her bag looking for treats before she even got the chance to feed him herself.”
“That’s incredible,” Luz laughed in response. “This place is so cool. What else you got around here?”
Willow and Gus proceeded to give Luz a grand tour of the greenhouse, though Willow ended up doing the most talking. Luz took in the weird yet oddly pleasant smell of Boiling Isles' plant life as she wandered through what felt like an enchanted palace. Vines and flowers sprawled throughout the ceilings and hallways, decorated with bizarre colors Luz had never seen on plants back at home. There were also walls of shelves containing jars of spores (some of which moved like little creatures in terrariums), various spices with names Luz didn’t recognize, and miles of books on plant magic and ecosystems on The Boiling Isles.
“Wow, you seem like practically an expert on this stuff,” Luz commented. “Are you, like, studying a lot of plant magic here at Hexside?”
Gus suddenly frowned and grimaced, as if he knew what reaction to expect. Willow froze in her tracks, initially not saying anything. Luz stared at the back of Willow’s head, confused and wondering what she had said wrong. Finally, Willow spoke up, her voice’s volume considerably lower. “Unfortunately, I don’t get that luxury,” she said. “Plant magic doesn’t have as many job opportunities, so my parents made me enroll in the Abomination track. I honestly suck at abominations, and no matter how hard I try, I just get on my teacher’s bad side.”
Luz frowned. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was a sore subject.”
“I’m fine,” Willow quickly said. “It’s fine, really. I just need to work harder, and maybe I can finally make myself and my parents proud.” She spun around, hiding her demeanor under a smile. “Come on. Our next class is soon. Gus and I are taking Boiling Isles History together. You’ll love it.”
—
Luz found that she liked history class a lot more when teachers didn’t get on her case for drawing during lectures. In fact, Luz found such a fascination in the subject itself that she began drawing historical figures in The Boiling Isles (based on what she imagined they looked like whenever there was no visual documentation), as opposed to drawing her usual fictional characters. She listened intently and passionately, even when other students found themselves distracted or on the verge of snoozing.
Class seemed to be going incredibly smoothly until a familiar, obnoxious voice started whispering from behind the trio. “Willow, can you move your big head?” Boscha whispered. “I can’t see.” The triclops begrudgingly sat behind Luz, Willow, and Gus, accompanied by Amity and another girl with long, silver locs and an undercut.
Willow, mumbling under her breath, shifted in her seat slightly. Boscha, however, only raised her voice with her response. “Are you giving me attitude, punk? I just told you to move out of my way so I can take my freakin’ notes. You don’t have to be such a b-”
“Boscha, cut it out,” Gus interrupted. “We’re not here to cause trouble.”
“Then stop causing me trouble, prick!” Boscha retorted.
Luz groaned. She turned around in her seat to see who was bullying her new friends. Next to her, Amity seemed distracted by the lecture, not paying Boscha any mind, while the other girl seemed slightly distressed. Luz then fixed her eyes back on Boscha, staring in her direction without gazing directly into her three eyes. “Hi- I’m new here, so I don’t exactly know what your beef is, but could you not? I’m trying to focus on the lecture here, and my friends are too.”
“So am I, but your little friend won’t let me. And just a word of advice, new kid, hanging around with people like that is going to destroy your social status pretty quickly. I suggest getting new friends.”
“You want to say that again?” said Luz, raising her voice and starting to get out of her chair.”
Just then, the teacher loudly cleared their throat, halting their lecture in the process. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something here?” they said, crossing their arms. Soon, all eyes in the classroom were locked on the four students and their quarrel.
“Mx. Graves-” Gus started.
“Willow was disrupting me when I was trying to take notes,” Boscha interrupted. “And when I tried to get her to stop, she threatened me with violence.”
“What?” Luz said, raising her voice just high enough to make everyone around her flinch. “That’s bull! You were the one picking on us.”
“Was not,” said Boscha. She bumped Amity on the shoulder, snapping the green-haired girl out of her trance. “Amity, back me up here. Tell the teacher that Willow threatened me.”
Amity looked around, her skin heating up as she tried to realize what was happening. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” she whispered.
“Yes, you were,” Boscha said in a low growl. “Tell them that Willow was disrupting class and threatened me. Or are you telling me you want to pick a fight with me, too? Huh, Blight?”
Amity, trying to hide the jitters in her body, let out a sigh. She looked back at Professor Graves with a straight face. “Boscha’s telling the truth,” she said stoically.
“What?” Willow retaliated, her eyes wide with shock.
“I see. Ms. Park, could I talk to you after class?” The professor glared, unamused. After Willow didn’t respond, they continued, “If there are no more interruptions, I would like to get on with the lecture. Anyone else who wishes to cause trouble can answer to me alongside Ms. Park.”
After class, Gus and Luz waited anxiously outside the door as the rest of the students flooded out of the classroom. Luz fidgeted with her braids while Gus chewed on his nails, anxiously waiting for the return of their friend. Minutes went by, and they feared they’d be late for their next class. Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer until Willow showed up, barely using her voice to greet them.
“How’d it go?” Gus asked, gently raising a comforting hand.
“Fine, I guess,” Willow sighed. “I've got to explain my side of the story. I’m not sure if they seemed convinced, but they were willing to let me off the hook since they didn’t have enough context to prove I was at fault.”
“That’s… good,” Gus hesitantly assured her.
“Yeah. I’m gonna go. If I don’t show up for potions class, just fill me in on what I missed later.” Without another word, Willow strolled off.
Gus, stunned in silence, began to lead Luz to his next class. Luz, however, reached over to grab his sleeve. “Hey, Gus?” she said. “I’m worried about her. Do you have any idea where she might be going if she’s not gonna be in class with us?”
Gus scratched his chin, cogs churning through his head as he pondered Luz’s question. Then, his face lit up. “I think I have an idea!”
—
Willow slammed the door to the greenhouse open, running past a confused Larry before sitting herself down next to a field of ferns. She leaned against the wall, letting out a shaky breath and fidgeting with her dress. She wasn’t going to break down. She couldn’t. She had class, she couldn’t afford to let this incident get to her. The teacher even let her off without any punishment. So why was this upsetting her so much?
Before she could spiral any further, she heard the door click open again. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked to see who it was, then settled slightly after seeing that it was only Luz and Gus. She took a deep breath and buried her feelings, just in time for her friends to approach her.
“Hey, Willow, are you okay?” Gus asked. “I’m sorry class… went the way that it did,” he grimaced.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.” Willow said. Her voice wasn’t very convincing.
Luz and Gus looked at each other, frowning. Then, Luz sat down next to Willow, giving her enough distance not to crowd her personal space. “Hey, I know what it’s like to be picked on. Everyone back home always called me a freak, a weirdo, and in some cases, even cursed me out or called me slurs. And they would always get into fights with me. I know Boscha’s type when I see it, and I would not wish that type of person on anyone I love.”
Gus then took his turn to sit next to Willow. “Remember when we first met? After that group project? My groupmates treated me like garbage. But you were there for me even when I felt so ganged up on. I know what it’s like, and I want to be there for you just like you were there for me. You’re not alone, okay?”
Willow stared at her knees, frowning. “I know. And thank you. But I can’t let things get to me. Otherwise, I’ll just keep falling behind. And I’ll prove myself the half-a-witch that Boscha thinks I am.”
“Hey, it’s not like that,” Gus assured. “Even prodigies need to take some time to take care of themselves, alright?”
Willow didn’t say anything at first. Then, she got to her feet. She looked forward, not acknowledging Luz or Gus’s words. “We should get back to class. I don’t want you guys to be late because of me.” She made her way to the door. Luz and Gus quickly got up to catch up to her side.
The door shut behind the three of them. None of them noticed the trail of plants left beneath Willow’s footsteps, slowly creeping out of cracks and hollowed holes in the floorboard. Then, the ferns from where Willow was sitting began to rustle.