Chapter Text
A few months had passed since Luz had returned from the in between. Things were slowly going back to normal on the isles, the covens were steadily being removed from their system, and things were looking up.
Luz had managed to prove to principal Bump that she deserved to stay in the same class level as her friends. He decided to use her ‘saving the world’ as an ‘independent study’, and passed her for the year. Amity was glad to have her favorite study buddy back.
Most of Bonesborough was repaired structurally, though there was a lot left to repair internally. There were still a few Belos supporters after everything, or just those who didn’t understand what had happened. Darius, Raine, and Eberwolf took up the mantle for explaining things to everyone. Luz wanted to help, too, but Camila insisted she wait to join political talks until she was 18. Thinking about the politics she knew in America, she decided she was fine with that rule.
Amity had done something she’d never expected - she began working with Lilith again. She’d never thought she’d have the woman as a mentor again, but here they were, researching together. Only part time for her right now, as she was still in school, but it felt nice to have an idea of what she wanted to do. Luz, of course, fully encouraged it, as she loved seeing her family getting along.
Eda of all people was contemplating building a school . Everyone had thought it was a joke until she lay down the blueprints. She told them Luz had inspired her to spread her teaching elsewhere. Which of course meant they thought it’d be a school for pickpockets and delinquents. It made much more sense when she explained that it’d be a school for wild magic.
Luz had been convinced by her mother to finish High School, but made no promises for a higher education in the human realm. Having been the first of her family to go to college, Camila had always wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps, but could concede that it just wasn’t for her. In the human realm, at least. She was psyched that plans for Eda’s school would have it ready by the time she graduated.
Darius hadn’t quite moved into the Blight Manor, but Amity certainly was seeing more of him and Hunter. They’d frequently come over for dinner or to spend the weekend. Amity had already cleared out one of the guest rooms to be Hunter’s room - the boy was quite thankful that it was far away from the master bedroom. Amity was grateful her’s was as well.
She came to realize she liked the idea of Hunter as her brother. Though it was a bit weird, as Luz also considered him her brother. She preferred to just ignore that fact, though. Semantics. He was a much better brother than Edric, who, paired with Emira, continued to tease her endlessly. On the upside, it was now split between herself and Hunter. As their honorary brother, he was no longer safe.
The fun thing was when they tried to tease Darius. Rather than blushing and stuttering like their father, the man had covered them in a sticky abomination-like solution, and stuck them to the wall. He didn’t let them loose until Alador got home and gave him a Look. Even then, they still had to shower most of the gunk off. They stuck to just picking on the other members of the household after that.
Hunter was still working hard on his carving with Dell. He’d moved onto actual Palistrom wood now, and had been so excited when he’d united a witch with their palisman for the first time. Amity swore she saw him cry that night, but he refused to admit it. She absolutely told Willow, who thought it was adorable.
Speaking of, Amity was relieved that the two had gotten together. It had been Willow who had shown up at Hunter’s door and shoved a bouquet of flowers in his face before stuttering out a date request. She confessed to Amity she’d almost run away before Hunter blurted out a yes. She’d then shoved the flowers into Hunter’s hands, kissed his cheek, and run off to Amity’s house, face entirely red. Amity had made sure she hexted the boy to set up actual details for their date once she’d calmed down.
Gus had been excited to have the portal reopened, and could now visit the human realm without feeling separated from everything he knew and loved. He’d even convinced Luz to let him bring Matholemule a few times. The kid never acted grateful, but Amity had seen the stars in his eyes. Those two made weird friends, Gus was way too nice for him.
The Collector had gone back to the stars like they said they would, but with promises to visit. Amity was so grateful for what they’d done for Luz, she’d given them the biggest hug she could when they said farewell. The Collector had looked shocked before flashing her the biggest smile. She hoped she’d see them again, soon.
The entire group’s parents had agreed with Luz - they all needed therapy. Amity and Hunter put up the biggest stink about it, what with the fact that they’d been taught therapy meant they were crazy or weak. Amity gave in first with Luz’s coaxing, and Hunter did eventually as well, not wanting to disappoint Darius.
Amity had come to learn she had a lot of problems even before the battles with Belos and the Collector. Self esteem issues, eating issues, some anxiety and depression. Apparently even what she’d been eating before they lost Luz was never really enough, but her mother had always drilled into her to be petite but strong. That had been a hard battle to work on, even with Luz back. She was still fighting it months later, but her therapist assured her that was normal. She just wanted to conquer this already, but was informed it was possible it would be with her for the rest of her life. Luz assured her she’d be there to help her no matter what.
Luz being back certainly didn’t fix all of Amity’s problems, and Amity had been kind of shocked when she realized that. She’d thought surely everything was wrong because Luz was gone, but about the only thing that got better quickly upon her return was her ability to sleep. Sometimes she still jumped awake at small sounds, but overall her mind had relaxed with her girlfriend being back. But she was still teased at school, even with the truth being revealed. She still had trouble opening up, even with her ‘biggest’ problem being solved. She still hid herself from her friends and family, but at least Luz was trying to coax her to open up more. That, combined with the strategies of her therapist, were helping to make a difference.
She felt like she was making progress. She could admit she wasn’t happy with where she was in life, but she was willing to take the steps to get better now. She could admit it was an actual problem, one she couldn’t solve on her own. Being a team player had never been her thing - maybe that was her issue with grudgby - but now she was learning. She let her friends shoulder some of her problems when she needed, though she was still nervous about putting too much on them. They pointed out to her though, that she did the same for them without even meaning to.
Overall, Amity thought things were going well. Camila would frequently invite her to join herself, Luz, and Vee in the human realm for dinner - a nice escape from her father’s still terrible attempts to cook. She’d even invited all of the Blights a few times, and Amity had gotten to laugh at her siblings' terrible reactions to spices in the food.
She’d finally gotten to take Luz on some dates. They went to Carmen’s just like she’d always wanted to, the Bonesborough Gardens, and Eda and Raine had even showed them a beautiful picnic spot covered with snapdragons. Her favorite spot was still their spot under their Grom tree, though. Luz had agreed when asked.
Life wasn’t perfect, but it was good. Amity was happy and grateful for what she had, and knew she’d only work towards getting to a better place. One with Luz and all her friends, with her dad and her siblings, even with Darius and the Clawthorns (of which she considered Raine an honorary member, because they and Eda acted like an old married couple already). She had so many people in her corner, and she hated that she’d spent so long denying that. She understood now how that didn’t help them, it only hurt the people she cared about. That isn’t to say she was perfect about letting them in now, but she was trying.
That’s all anyone could do really, was try.
She still kept the purple cat mirror on her side table. She no longer needed it to talk to Luz, but it was a reminder of the hardships they’d faced, and how she’d come to learn so much about herself. She never wanted it to happen again, but it had changed her, for the better she liked to think. She didn’t want to ever forget what she learned in that time, so the mirror stayed.
Today, she was at the Owl House. It was the weekend, so Luz had full permission to stay there until Monday morning, and they were making the most of their time. And by that, she meant she was reading King a story while Luz worked on her homework. Something she constantly had to deal with, what with being enrolled in two schools at once. She got distracted, looking at Luz as she stuck her tongue out in focus, but King bapped her face until her attention was back on the story of knights and kings and war.
“Dinner is served,” Eda said, dropping a bowl of goreghetti and eyeballs in front of Luz, getting some sauce on her homework sheet. She just used her finger to lick it off, causing Amity to roll her eyes. Raine came in shortly afterwards with the bowls for Amity and King, before going back to get their own and Eda’s.
“We’ll take King after dinner,” Raine said. “Little guy needs a b-a-t-h.”
“I can spell, you know,” King said, taking a second to process. “Wait. No I don’t. I had one yesterday!”
“And then you went galivanting in the woods, getting who knows what all over your fur,” Eda complained before turning to Raine. “I told you not to tell him. This goes faster if I just pick him up and throw him in.”
“It could be worse,” Luz pointed out. “It could be Hooty who needs the bath.”
They all shuttered.
“I don’t mind helping, if you need,” Amity said, holding King steady as he tried to squirm and run away, dinner forgotten.
“Don’t worry about it, Boots, spend some time with your girlfriend. I know King’s been clinging to you guys all day, you deserve a bit of time alone.”
“Don’t act like I’m a third wheel!” King shouted, finally freeing himself of Amity’s grip and running into the kitchen. “They love my company! I’m delightful!”
The group laughed, which only increased as King came out armed in kitchenware. He had a strainer on his head, a plate strapped to his chest, and a wooden spoon armed in hand.
“So much for dinner,” Eda joked, pushing her plate away. She walked over and scooped up King, kitchen gear and all and headed upstairs.
“I’d better go help her,” Raine sighed, shoving a few more bites into their mouth. “Do you two need anything, or will you be okay?”
Amity met Luz’s eyes over the table, and she smiled.
“I think we’ll be okay.”
And she meant that in more ways than one.