“Well, I didn’t expect Halloween to also be.. Interesting..” Luz mused, pacing slightly before stopping and perking up, a smile plastered on her face toward the three witches in front of her who were all sitting on the couch.
Due to the Boiling Isles version of Halloween they called Demaween, they were locked inside the Owl House until the demon that was terrorizing the land of Bonesborough left.
“Halloween?” Gus was the first to question as he fiddled with the white strings on his ash-blue sweatshirt.
“It’s a human holiday!” Luz stated proudly, hands on her hips as the soft toilet paper shifted from around her body.
“Is that why you are wrapped in that?” Amity pointed toward the human who is wrapped from head to toe in toilet paper, some was hanging due to being torn slightly as her hair was sticking out in odd places. The only colors that showed from underneath was an olive green sweatshirt and blue jeans but mostly just white.
“I’m a mummy!” She replied spinning slightly on her heel to show the group her crudely made costume.
“Why though?”
“It's a Halloween tradition! Every thirty-first of October we humans dress up, and go trick-or-treating! We also do scary movies and stuff too!” Luz answers with enthusiasm dripping from her voice. Gus gave a squeal of excitement as he bounded off the couch, moving closer toward the latina girl.
“How can I be a part in this..Halla-ween?” Gus bounced on his feet as Luz gave a soft chuckle.
“First, costumes!”
A flash of blue flooded Luz’s eyes, before Gus spoke, “Done!” When the faint smoke cleared he didn’t look much different but upon closer look his ears were round. “What’s next?”
Luz thought for a minute, tapping her chin with her finger. The more she thought the more she frowned slightly.
“What’s wrong Luz?” Amity asked softly, noticing the facial expression shift on the human.
“Most of the stuff I do for Halloween we can’t do. My favorite part was trick-or-treating and carving pump-” She stopped her sentence as her frown changed back into the dopey smile she always carried. “I will be right back!” no one could muster a reply before she sprinted down the hallway, the toilet paper waving behind her.
Everyone mostly sat in silence. Amity and Willow were still new to being friends and every time they tried to think of something to say, anxiety swallowed their words making them quiet. Gus was the only one to break the silence, “So what are your thoughts about this Hella-ween?”
“Luz really seems to enjoy this human holiday,” Willow replied in her normal soft voice.
“Yeah, she is always introduced to our holidays and events but we haven’t encountered a holiday from the human realm yet,” Amity spoke as her hands were folded together neatly, Her dark muted red sweater was covering her hands due to it being slightly too big but she didn’t mind.
“Sorry, I’m coming!” a muffled voice sounded near the kitchen as their attention was shifted toward that direction.
“Do you need help?” Amity called back.
“No, no! I got it! Probably!” Luz shouted.
The living room fell back into silence for a moment before Luz emerged, she was struggling to carry something.
“Luz, why do you have four bumpkins?” Willow questioned as they watched Luz put them down as gently as she could before giving a tired huff.
“Hold that thought Willow!” was her only reply before she sprinted upstairs.
“I'm even more confused but also super intrigued!” Gus spoke as the two female witches gave a nod in response. They eyed the bumpkins for a short while before hearing the heavy footsteps of Luz running down the stairs.
“Sorry I’m all over the map but we can start now!” Luz gave a grin as she had a large bundle of newspapers wrapped under her arm as she held a plastic tub with orange tools in the other.
“Start what exactly?” Amity questioned as they watched Luz sit near the bumpkins.
“Carve pumpkins! We do this in the human world!”
“Where did you get those?” Amity gestured toward the bumpkins and the things the girl was holding.
“I have my human ways,” Luz grinned as everyone slowly joined her on the floor.
“What does Eda and Lilith have to say about this?” Amity gave a quick glance around the room. “Where are they anyway?”
“Eda was fine with it and they said something about a ‘sister mission’ King tagged along too.” Luz replied with a smile toward the green-haired witch.
“How does this work?” Gus asked, eyeing Luz’s movements.
“Well first, we place the newspapers down so we don’t make a mess.” She took the rubber band off the rolled bundle before placing newspaper on the ground, trying to make it as even as possible. “Then we gut them!” Luz dumped the tools out of the tub before digging through, pulling out a knife from the pile. Granted not the safest way to find knives but Luz didn’t seem to care at the moment.
Everyone watched in horror as the human started cutting the top, sawing through the white flesh of the bumpkin as a disembodied scream emitted from it, but Luz seemed to be unfazed by the shrill screeches from the fruit.
“Why are you cutting through a rare and exquisite fruit!” Willow said with utter surprise and shock laced in her voice.
“Yeah, Luz where did you even get these? They cost a hundred snails a piece!” Amity chimed in as Gus started copying Luz, taking a white bumpkin for himself and starting to carve, not even questioning where they came from like the others were.
“I found them!” Luz stated not even looking up as she lifted the top off by the dark blue stem and cut the dangling seeds off before gently placing it onto the newspaper. Luz rolled her sleeves up the best she could. “Are you gonna do your pumpkins?”
“Why are you calling them ‘pumpkins’?” Gus questioned as Amity grabbed the nearest bumpkin, studying the white fruit, an unsure expression written on her face.
“It’s what we call them in the human realm!” Luz answered, as she started taking out the light blue seeds in fistfuls, placing them into the clear tub. “They are orange and they don’t scream but the shape is the same, maybe the seeds are too?”
“Seeds?” Gus asked as he finished cutting the top, mimicking what Luz did, taking the top off as he cut the seeds that hung slightly before placing it near Luz’s. Gus continued to copy her actions, taking the seeds out of the bumpkin.
“Yeah, me and mamiused to bake the seeds!” She smiled at the thought before looking over at Amity and Willow. “Are you going to carve pumpkins?” Luz questioned, halting her gutting process for a moment.
Amity looked up meeting Luz’s chocolate gaze before looking at the orange colored tools, “Y-yeah totally! I’m just wondering where you got them is all.”
“After we carve them I can show you guys, deal?” Amity gave a nod, reaching over to grab the tool she needed to carve.
Willow grabbed the last bumpkin, it was the smallest but she frowned as she heard the scream coming from Amity’s. Gus and Luz’s bumpkins stopped their shrill screams a while ago but she didn’t want to cause the poor small fruit any harm. “What do you normally carve? Or do you just gut bumpkins for fun?” Willow asked, causing Luz to look at the plant witch.
“We carve designs! I’m going to do the classic pumpkin face but you can do anything honestly.”
Willow hummed at the reply as she spun her finger, a green glow radiating off the tip of her finger, carving a flower on the white flesh of the bumpkin but not deep enough to be hollow, more like a navy blue scarred tattoo. “Finished!” She stated, turning her small bumpkin around to show Luz and the rest.
“Looks awesome Willow! I like the flower you made!” The plant-witch smiled, she was expecting Luz to say she carved it wrong or something similar, but the human didn’t say anything, only giving praise.
Amity gently took the top of her bumpkin cutting the access off before peering into the inside, giving a small frown. She rolled her red sleeves as she reached inside, conveying a grimace at the texture. It was slimy and moist, as the seeds were difficult to get a grip onto, but the light blue gave a nice contrast to the navy inside. Amity placed the small handful into the tub with the growing pile, before wishing to wash her hand. “How do you do this? The insides are very unpleasant to touch..”
Luz dropped her last handful into the tub before peering up at Amity, a smile on her face. “The inside is kinda gross isn’t it? I can help you if you want Amity!” The witch didn’t get a chance to answer as Luz moved closer, their shoulders bumping each other. “When I was a kid I hated gutting pumpkins but I got used to it the more I did it every year.”
“So what is Halloween like?” Amity asked, trying to start a conversation as her and Luz removed the seeds from the bumpkin together. Gus perked up, also eager to know more.
“Every Halloween people will dress up, either as classic monsters or as something they like, characters from shows or movies, book characters, even just creating their own characters to dress up as! Then they go trick-or-treating! It’s mostly kids and maybe teens but they go door to door to random peoples houses and say ‘Trick-or-Treat!’ and they give you candy! I bet that sounds weird to you guys though, people going to someone’s house demanding candy..”
Gus was writing this down, not caring his hands were dirty from gutting his bumpkin, he was too invested into the tradition of Halloween to not put it on paper.
Amity gave a slight giggle as they finished the last remaining scoops of seeds. “It does sound kinda weird, but also fun.”
“It is fun! One of my favorite holidays! I like the spooky theme. All the skeletons, ghosts, graveyar-”
“Skeletons! Like real skeletons?!” Gus interrupted, as everyone also seemed to be asking the same question. Luz chuckled slightly.
“No, fake ones! Halloween’s theme is scary stuff but we don’t actually get real skeletons, just plastic ones!” Everyone gave sigh in relief and a nod at the clarification. Luz returned to her original post, grabbing a scoop like tool. “Next we just make the inside pretty! Just scrape the sides until any of that stringy stuff is gone, but don’t put it into the tub with the seeds! Just place it beside your pumpkin please.”
Amity and Gus copied Luz and took her plea to heart, not placing any of the scraped side pieces in with the seeds, instead creating a new pile. Willow just rested her back against the couch, her small bumpkin on her lap as she watched their activity quietly, a small smile plastered on her face as she studied everyone’s body language. How Luz would periodically look up toward Amity, either to give a reassuring smile or just to check her progress and the witch in return would just blush or avoid eye contact, concentrating on her task.
“And..Done!” Luz smiled to no one in particular as she wiped her brow but remembered a second too late her hand was covered in bumpkin. A dark blue streak stained a small part of her exposed forehead. The human gave a small pout as she tried to look upward but it was futile as she wasn’t capable of actually seeing the smear.
Amity spoke, startling Luz slightly as her gaze snapped toward the witch, “Are we able to wash our hands now?”
“Yeah, all that’s left is carving anyway!” Luz jumped to her feet as she helped Gus and Amity before leading them into the kitchen. Willow stayed behind, completely tranquil and content in watching from the sidelines.
Luz turned on the sink as the water rushed out due to pulling the faucet’s handle too far, earning a surprised chuckle from the latina. “Tu primero mi pequeña pistacho,” Luz gestured toward Amity and the sink, stepping to the side to give the witch access.
“Oh, uh, thank you Luz,” Amity replied even though she didn’t understand what Luz said, only the gesture given.
Luz was the last to wash her hands due to being the selfless person she was. Gus already went back to the living room as Amity stayed with Luz, watching the girl scrub the fruit off her hands until the witch’s gaze lifted toward the human’s face, noticing her content smile and the blue smudge on her forehead. Amity gave a soft huff, her lips slightly curved upward in a smile. She moved forward as she watched Luz turn around to dry her hands, almost bumping into Amity.
“Oh hey! I thought you left with Gus.”
“I didn’t want you to feel left behind,” Amity replied before licking her thumb, “Besides you missed a spot.”
Luz went to speak but snapped her jaw shut as Amity rubbed her forehead with her thumb, cleaning the blue streak on her brow. Once Amity finished, the poor witch realised how intimate that must’ve seemed, her cheeks becoming flushed crimson.
Luz blinked before a soft smile showed, the action was sweet as it reminded Luz how her mother used to clean dirt off from her skin. “Gracias amor.”
Amity might not know what Luz was speaking with her weird but unique human speech but her body language was enough for the witch to know it held earnesty.
“Dry your hands, I’ll meet you in the living room.” With that said, Amity turned on her heel and started her trek back to where her bumpkin lied, leaving the human alone with wet hands.
“So.. What are you guys going to carve?” Willow spoke softly, once everyone was back in the room, taking their rightful spots on the floor.
Gus gave off a hum in thought. “I don’t know yet, but something from the human realm totally!”
“What about you Amity?” Willow asked toward the green-haired witch.
Amity glared down at the bumpkin as she furrowed her brows in thought before perking up her ears. “I know what to carve, but I’m unsure if I will be able too..”
“What do you mean by that?” Luz questioned by got no reply except an unsure facial expression. Luz decided to change the topic slightly instead. “Welp, it’s time to carve! We first draw what you want on paper then we will transfer it onto the pumpkin once we are done!”
“So we can draw whatever?” Gus questioned as Luz nodded, watching as his eyes sparkled with excitement. “I am going to make the coolest thing ever! Can I borrow your human scroll device?” Luz dug through her pocket, pulling out her phone before handing it over to Gus. He beamed before flopping down onto his stomach as he started sketching away in a random part in his notebook.
Amity was still focused on her bumpkin until a voice broke her thoughts, failing to notice the human moved to retrieve paper and drawing utensils. “Here,” Luz handed Amity a few sheets of paper. “To sketch your idea!” That green-haired witch took it gingerly as Luz placed a pencil on her leg before scooting away to her own spot once more. Amity stared at the yellow colored pencil before picking it up and starting to sketch her idea onto paper. Well.. Tried. The poor witch was slowly becoming frustrated, pink eraser shavings littered the paper more than the lead sketch lines. “Do you need help Ami?” Luz’s voice whispered toward her, Amity’s ears perked up, before locking eyes with the human’s warm hazel gaze.
“Umm, s-sure?” Amity started to stutter as she felt her face becoming hot. Amity didn’t need to look to know the Willow was giving that ‘knowing’ smirk.
Luz placed a new sheet of paper down as she was about to start a sketch but stopped, brows furrowed slightly before looking up, “So what are you wanting to carve? I can’t help without knowing what you wanted to sketch.”
“Oh, umm..” Amity didn’t understand why she started feeling nervous. Not due to the close proximity they were in (Well it was also that) but saying what she wanted to carve. It was such a silly fear but she couldn’t help it.
Luz frowned slightly at the expression Amity carried, she might be a human but she could sense the clear discomfort radiating of the green-haired witch. “Would it be better if you wrote it down?” Luz lowered her voice to a near whisper that Amity’s ears alone could only hear. Amity nodded before writing neatly on the paper, just two simple words for Luz’s amber eyes. She read it over and over, a grin inched its way across her lips. “Awe Amity, you don't need to be nervous about that! That is such a cool idea!” Luz hugged the witch as if the squeeze alone was causing the poor girl to turn even more red.
Willow’s smile grew wider as Gus wasn’t even paying attention to the interaction, too invested into his own drawing to even give a glance.
Luz started sketching, only doing a rough concept before handing the pencil back to Amity, “You can do the rest, I hope this helps! Don’t do too much detail though because it's hard to add the small things onto a pumpkin carving.” Amity nodded, a smile on her face as she cleaned the sketch once Luz took her place near her bumpkin.
“Thanks Luz,” Amity spoke softly earning a beaming smile from the human. Amity could swear the girl’s smile was brighter than the sun itself. Luz was finished in just a minute, her idea nothing complex. Luz waited patiently for Amity to finish as her and Gus sparked into conversation about halloween and how it was started. Every question the human-enthusiast spoke, Luz answered the best she could with an equal amount of passion. “I’m finished,” The green-haired witch said softly but loud enough to break the exchange between them.
“Great! Now this is the home stretch gang!” Luz grabbed some tape near her as she placed her drawing onto the white bumpkin. “Tape your paper onto the pumpkin then we poke holes along the sketch lines! Afterward just cut out some pieces but be sure to leave some too so it makes a design. Remember, push the pieces from the inside-out, they will fall out more easily.”
The two witches nodded as they began their taping and poking. It was silent amongst them but it wasn’t uncomfortable, it was actually very serene. Luz was focused on cutting out the unwanted parts, her tongue was out in pure concentration. Amity couldn’t help but stop her own carving to just admire the human in all their cuteness. Amity only looked away when Luz glanced up toward her, her dopey grin never falling at the sight of the green-haired witch.
Gus was the first to finish as Luz was a close second. Amity seemed to take her time, not wanting to make a mistake.
Luz inched her way closer toward the girl until they were almost touching. Amity’s attention was broken by the sight of white toilet paper and blue jeans before her gaze was lifted meeting Luz’s eyes once again. “Hi!” The human smiled, their faces a little too close to the point Amity could feel Luz’s warm breath but she didn’t move away, only stared back, a flustered expression present on her features.
“Hi,” Amity finally responded watching Luz’s gaze drift from her golden eyes toward her carving. Watching Luz’s smile only grow more at the sight.
“That looks amazing Amity!” Luz exclaimed, causing the witch to smile at the praise. “This is gonna look so cool outside!”
“Outside?” Amity questioned as the girl beside her only nodded.
“Yeah! We put carved pumpkins outside, we even light the insides of them at night too so the carvings glow!”
“Mine is gonna look so cool! I mean, all of yours are already super cool but..” Gus started to drone but quickly rebounded himself with a smile, lifting himself up along with his bumpkin.
Luz stood up, helping Amity to her feet. “Let's take them outside then!”
“And.. Perfect!” Luz placed the final bumpkin down neatly onto the ground. The sky was growing dark but there was still enough sunlight to see. Luz placed one light glyph in each bumpkin, tapping them causing the paper to be devoured by the magic turning it into a soft glowing orb.
“These look so cool!” Gus exclaimed, giving a smile ear to ear.
“What did you carve, Gus?” Luz questioned, tilting her head slightly as if the action will help her get a better understanding of the design as she stared at the bumpkin.
“I carved your human version of scrolls! A-uh, phone!” He stated proudly, his hands on his hips.
“Oh! I can totally see it! Good job Gus,” Luz smiled, even though it was just a rectangle she didn’t have the heart to say anything negative toward the witch.
“They look really good guys, hoot hoot!” The door spoke, scaring the four teens as they all jumped simultaneously. Luz was the first to spin toward Hooty, a frown on her face.
“Hooty, this time don’t eat the pumpkins! It takes a while to carve them!” The human pointed toward the owl door who just huffed.
“Okay Luz, I promise to not eat your carvings again, jeez..” Luz only gave a satisfied hum before looking back at her friends.
“ I did make a deal that if you carved your pumpkins I would show you where I found them, so!-” Luz grabbed Amity’s hand, dragging her along as the poor witch started turning red at the contact as Willow and Gus followed behind, giving off soft chuckles.
The four white bumpkins stood proudly together on the dirt. Willow’s the only one that didn’t give light but the other three were enough to illuminate the flower design.
Luz’s bumpkin was just a classic pumpkin face, triangle eyes and all, but what rested next to hers was Amity’s. It was Azura’s hat, perfectly carved with no rough edges.
As night grew more, the smell of baking bumpkin seeds filled the air as laughter rang from inside the house, the bumpkins seemed to glow slightly brighter..