Before her show
Luz POV:
I drummed my fingers against my bed, staring up at the ceiling. My room was quiet, making things a lot more boring then they needed to be. I decided to look around the room, trying to find something to distract myself with.
First my gaze landed on the window, where bright rays of sun poked through the curtains, casting the floor in their light. From the looks of it, it had to be an hour or two before sunset. I let out a small sigh, right about now was the time Amity would usually show up, but it looks like she's running late today.
Running a hand through my hair, I tried to shape part of it into a horn, chuckling when it would just flop back down. While I continued to do that, my eyes wandered until they landed on my songbook at the table by my side.
Amity brought it a couple of days ago when I asked her to, it gave me something to do during the day. In fact, I managed to finish writing Little Miss Perfect while I was here, and once I can get back in the action, we'll start to practice it.
The thought of us performing the song brought a smile to my face. "My song being performed on stage... who would've thought?" I muttered out loud before chuckling. I glanced out the window again, debating if I should grab my songbook and start doodling or not.
"No, gotta keep that book professional." I told myself, reaching out for the book and plucking it off the table. Cracking it open, I picked up the pencil, twirling it in my fingers for a minute before tapping it on my chin. "But..." I dragged out, a smile slowly forming on my face. "One little doodle wouldn't hurt!"
My pencil carefully sketched out lines for a tiny doodle in the corner of a page, slowly turning into what I was thinking about. The little doodle brought a smile to my face, which only made me work faster to complete it.
Suddenly, my door opened, and at first I didn't pay it any mind. "Howdy!" I called out to whoever walked in, not looking up from my book.
"Sorry I'm late!" A familiar voice said, instantly making me look up. There stood Amity, wearing a thick strapped black tank top and long grey shorts, her hair pulled into a ponytail. "I would've been here sooner, but Ed and Em were being jerks." She mumbled, making me laugh.
"Well, better you show up late rather than never!" I chirped, making her smile. As quick as I could, I struggled to sit up. Amity moved over by my side, pulling a chair closer to my bed before taking a seat. "Though I will admit, it's been pretty boring without you here. I mean, sure King and Eda dropped by earlier, but that made it more boring when they left."
Amity chuckled, softly shaking her head. "Whatever you say." She said, placing her hand over top of mine and sending small electric jolts up my arm. I could see her eyes darting over my page for a moment, then she let out a snort. "Is that me?"
I glanced down at my book, my eyes widening when I realized. Quickly, I slammed the book shut, letting out a fit of nervous chuckles. "What? No!" A few more chuckles escaped me as my gaze darted between the witch and the book, but she only laughed.
"Are you sure?" She managed to ask, her ears flapping slightly. I let out a sigh, placing the book back on the table.
"Yes I'm sure. Now, what took you so long to get here? You're normally never late." I stammered, quickly trying to change the conversation. My face was starting to burn, but I was hoping she wouldn't notice. Amity's chuckles died down, but she was still smiling.
"Again, I'm sorry about that." She rubbed the back of her neck, one of her ears twitching. "I needed to talk with Em about a real special effect I want to do for the show tomorrow and Skara wanted to know some more stuff about the band. You remember who Skara is, right?" I thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.
"Her name definitely rings a bell, but I can't pin her name with a face." I could see Amity give me a subtle look of confusion, but then she shook it off.
"Well then, we'll have to reintroduce you guys when you get better." She said, making me nod my head. "It's a lot nicer having her around the studio as our sound director instead of Matt."
"Speaking of the ex sound director..." I paused when I noticed Amity's ears going down, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "Why did you fire him? You haven't filled me in on the juicy details yet!"
"Oh, well uh..." Amity's gaze turned down, a nervous look in her eye. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her free hand opening and closing. Then, she shook her head and cleared her throat, her gaze meeting mine again. "Even though we're used to his snarky remarks, he finally said some stuff that crossed the line."
Shaking my head I gave Amity a fake pout. "Aw c'mon Ammy, don't be so vague! What exactly did he say? You can't just leave me hanging like this!" I whined, making Amity chuckle slightly, though I couldn't tell if it was forced or not.
"I'll... fill you in on all the details some other time." She said, her thumb starting to do circles over my knuckles. "Let's take the topic off of him, just thinking about him is leaving a bad taste in my mouth." Amity shuddered slightly, then shook her head.
"Well then, why don't I give you something to take your mind off of it?" The Blight raised an eyebrow at my words, giving me a small smirk. Before she could ask what I meant, I blew her a kiss, watching as her ears went down before turning a dark shade of pink, matching the color of her cheeks.
Amity let out a soft chuckle, her ears barely flapping up and down. "While that does take my mind off of things..." She suddenly stood up, leaning in close and suddenly giving me a peck on the cheek. "I prefer something a bit stronger to do the trick."
I slowly brought my hand up to where she kissed me, feeling the heat that was only getting hotter radiating off of my cheek. Opening my mouth to say something, I wasn't surprised when all that came out was a squeak.
Finally, after a minute of silence, I was able to speak. "Wow. Your lips are soft." I said, my voice high pitched. That remark made Amity choke, breaking out into a violent coughing fit. She turned away from me, struggling to catch her breath. "Sorry!" I quickly said, but Amity held a hand up to stop me.
"Don't be-" She started, getting interrupted by another set of coughs. Amity roughly hit her chest a few times, clearing her throat in an effort to pull herself together. "Don't be sorry." She finally managed to say in a slightly raspy voice.
"Well geez, going at this rate one of these days I'm gonna accidentally kill you!" I exclaimed, which made Amity laugh again, shaking her head. The Blight placed her hand back on top of mine and I was quick to intertwine our fingers, making her eyes widen slightly.
"How bout you hold off on doing that till after the show tomorrow?" Amity suggested with a smile, making me smile as well.
"Right, that'd be a good idea." I turned my gaze down for a minute, then I gasped before I looked back up into Amity's golden eyes. "I just realized! I haven't asked about pretty much anything that's gonna happen tomorrow!"
"I mean, you kinda already know what's gonna happen..." Amity trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. "After all, you were gonna perform with us y'know." I rapidly nodded my head, giving Amity's hand a tight squeeze.
"I know that!" I said, a big grin finding its way to my face. "But I don't know what's changed! The outfits! The effects for the show! Heck, I don't even know how you're gonna play that new song! So start filling me in!" Using my free hand, I leaned my head on the palm of my hand, staring intently at the girl in front of me.
Amity seemed to struggle to find her words for a second, then she rolled her eyes. "First things first, the song's a secret." I let out a gasp, placing a hand over my chest.
"Oh come on Ammy! Tell me! Please?" I put on my best puppy eyes, and for a minute Amity managed to hold off. Then, I could see her start to crack, her ears going down and her cheeks puffing out in an attempt to stay strong.
A couple seconds later, she let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Gods you and your puppy eyes..." She muttered, more to herself rather than me. "Alright fine, I won't explain the song, but I'll explain the effects for the song, sound fair?" I nodded my head. "Since it's a slow song, we're gonna have dimmer, less colorful lights. Probably just gonna be black and white."
I nodded my head, drumming my fingers against my cheek. "Any specific reason for that besides it being a slow song?" I pried, watching Amity's lips tug up into a small grin.
"It'll match the tone of the song." She told me, leaning onto the palm of her hand. "And there's gonna be that special effect I asked Em to do, but if I explain it, it'll spoil the song so I won't tell you what it is yet."
"Fair enough." I said, watching Amity's smile get a little wider. "Alright, then tell me about the outfits! Are they any different from our usual since this would be considered a 'special' show?" I did air quotes around the word special, which made Amity snort.
"They're different alright..." She trailed off, her gaze moving towards the side as her eyes glossed over slightly. "But, I feel like it'd be a bad idea to explain them now."
"What?!" I exclaimed, moving a little too harshly and sending a sharp jolt of pain up my side. Sucking in a breath, I scrunched my eyes shut for a moment, waiting for the pain to disappear. Amity gave my hand a comforting squeeze, trying to distract me. Once the pain subsided, I opened my eyes again, being met with a worried witch. "How is that fair?" I asked, my voice slightly strained.
"Because, the outfits we're gonna be wearing are better seen rather than described." Her voice was softer than before and she squeezed my hand again. "I won't forget to get photos of our outfits, but I will say, I have a feeling you're gonna love 'em."
"And what makes you think that?" I asked, hoping this would trick Amity into giving me a hint. But, Amity just shrugged, taking her hand out of mine to lay her chin down on her arms.
"Just a hunch." She told me, making me snort. I placed my hand on the top of her head, hearing a content sigh escape the Blight. "Anything else you wanna know?"
"The rest of your answers are gonna be vague, aren't they?" I asked her with a chuckle, making her shrug in response.
"All depends on what you want to know." She mumbled, turning her head to the side. I moved my hand down towards her ear, watching as it quickly pinned itself down. The witch let out another content sigh when I started to lightly scratch behind her ear, the sound slowly turning into her purring.
A squeal rose up from my throat as Amity leaned into my touch, her ears flapping. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You're like a cat." Amity chuckled, her purring getting a little louder when I started to scratch a different spot.
"I don't get why you find this so entertaining." She said after some time, struggling to suppress her purring to speak. "I've been able to do this forever." Her cheeks were a light red shade, her ears slowly turning the same color.
"Well I for one, didn't know that!" I said. "And two, it's adorable!" Amity only hummed in response, her ears flapping a little faster then before. She let me continue for a few more minutes, then she pulled away, sitting up and popping her back.
With a low groan, she softly rubbed her ear. "Alright, as much as I love seeing that smile on your face, my ear's getting tired from flapping so much." She flapped her ears one last time, then they perked up in their default position.
"Well I mean..." I clasped my hands together, shooting Amity a sly look. "There are other ways to get the same results." That made Amity raise an eyebrow, a bit of confusion crossing her face. Wiggling my eyebrows, I tapped a finger against my cheek before laughing.
I could see the gears turning in the Blight's head for a moment, then when she realized, she let out a chuckle. "You could just ask for a kiss you know." She told me, folding her arms over her chest.
"You're right, I could. But, this way is so much more fun." Amity softly shook her head, her face quickly turning pink before she gave me another quick kiss on the cheek, leaving my face buzzing with a familiar warmth.
"Whatever you say dork." She responded with a laugh. I leaned against my hand again, eyeing the Blight up and down for a moment.
"Oh come on darling, you love it." I said, my voice wavering slightly. I realized now just how hard my heart was thudding in my chest, making me wonder if Amity could hear it. Amity's face almost instantly went red, her ears going down as far as they could go before going into a flapping frenzy. I couldn't help but snort at her reaction, clicking my tongue before shooting her a set of finger guns.
She put a hand over her heart and closed it into a tight fist, her mouth opening and closing with no words coming out. "Darling?" She barely managed to squeak out, her ears somehow getting faster.
"Yes?" I responded back in a bit more of a confident voice, fluttering my eyes. Another squeak could be heard from the witch, her face turning an even darker shade of red. For a minute, I was a little worried she was gonna burst into flames.
At this point she finally realized her ears were flapping, and despite the fact it looked like she was short circuiting, she clasped her hands over her ears to get them to stop. Her gaze turned downward, a giant smile on her lips before she let out a shaky sigh and laid her head down, placing her hands over her head and using her arms to cover her ears.
"I thought you said you wouldn't kill me till after the show?" Amity managed to squeak out, turning her head to look at me. I shrugged, putting on an innocent smile.
"Well, since you're busy tomorrow, I figured I probably won't be able to see you." Amity groaned, covering her face again. "Besides, you're still alive! So technically I'm still doing what I said."
"Yeah you are, until my heart bursts out of my chest because of how hard it's hammering against my ribs." She told me, her voice muffled. "I'm surprised you can't hear it honestly." Amity's voice was softer this time.
"Hey, I'm surprised you can't hear mine either!" I chuckled, pressing a flat hand against my chest before giving it a few taps. Amity shifted, peeking one golden eye out to meet with mine. I could see her lips tug up into a smile as she continued to stare. "So, now what do you wanna do before you have to go?"
Amity shrugged, sitting back up. By now, her face was only a light pink shade and a bit of her hair had fallen out of its ponytail, hanging in front of her face. "Dunno. I forgot to bring an Azura book for us to read since I was running late. What do you wanna do?"
I hummed, tapping a finger against my chin. "I mean... cuddling does sound nice right about now." I offered, my voice taking on a slight singsong tone. "But hey, that's if you're up to it too." Amity squinted at me slightly before softly shaking her head.
"Luz, you get out of here in a couple of days, you're gonna have to wait until then for cuddles." I blinked a few times, then raised an eyebrow.
"Wait... I get out of here in a few days?" Amity nodded her head, blowing the bit of hair out of her face.
"That's what the healers have been saying. They think you're well enough so you can leave either the day after tomorrow or the day after that." She leaned on the heel of her hand, glancing at the door for a minute before back at me. "Didn't they tell you that?"
"No!" I felt myself slipping down, so I shifted to push myself back up. "I don't hear anything from the healers really. In fact, I don't ever see them. I just know they've been here cause they leave behind that weird potion spell."
Amity shrugged, popping the fingers on her free hand. "Makes sense. They probably just pop in to make sure you still have a pulse." She mumbled, muttering something under her breath. "But back to the point, you're gonna have to wait for cuddles."
I put on a pout, making Amity sigh. "Oh c'mon Ammy!" I pressed my hands against my face, squishing my cheeks. Amity shook her head again, giving me a firm stare.
"Luz, no. As much as I want to, I'm not gonna risk accidentally hurting you even more. Besides, the cot's too small for the two of us." Her eyes flicked down to the cot for a second, then back up to me. I furrowed my eyebrows together.
"Lies!" I exclaimed, quickly trying to shuffle over to make some room. "It's not too small, it's just a little cozy." I said, making the witch roll her eyes. "And besides, you won't hurt me as long as we're careful. And knowing you, that's something you're good at."
She opened her mouth to say something, then hesitated, tapping her chin for a moment. "Okay, maybe you have a point there..." She mumbled, folding her arms over her chest. "Still, no. Also, don't accidentally hurt yourself trying to move." It wasn't hard to hear the concern that was laced in her voice.
I stared at the witch for a moment, then an idea came to mind. Struggling to suppress my smirk, I let out a sigh. "Fine, no cuddles. But, how bout another kiss then?" Amity raised an eyebrow, clearly questioning my sudden change in motives before sighing.
"You're just kiss drunk today, aren't you?" She asked me, making me laugh.
"Hey, I've wanted to kiss you for years, I'm just making up for lost time." I told the Blight, watching the color rise to her cheeks once again. She let out a soft chuckle, leaning over to give me another kiss.
That's when I attacked.
"Gotcha!" I quickly wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her closer to me, making her squeak and tense up. Letting out a laugh, I rested my head on top of her head. She held her hands up, avoiding contact with my body.
"I want to push you away, but I don't want to hit your side." She grumbled, making me hum in response.
"And I'm gonna use that to my advantage!" She let out a sigh, her body relaxing a little bit, but she still held her hands up. "C'mon Amity, just give in. You're already in my arms and halfway on the bed. No point in fighting against it now." I could feel her shift in response, another low set of grumbles escaping her lips and she adjusted herself on the cot.
"You know the healers aren't gonna like this if they see us like this..." Amity mumbled, slowly sliding her arms over my shoulders.
"Like I said, they don't ever come by. We're golden." The witch seemed to hesitate for a moment, then she sighed, her breath hitting my neck and sending shivers down my spine. Slowly, she got closer to me, nuzzling her head in my neck and letting her body relax. "See? There's enough room for both of us, and you haven't hurt me."
"This is a bad idea..." She said as I rested my chin on the top of her head. One of my hands slowly trailed up and down her back, making her shudder. Amity mumbled something else under her breath and the only word I was able to understand was 'intoxicating'.
"And yet you haven't pulled away." I pointed out, feeling my eyes flutter for a moment before I snapped them open. "Comfortable?" Amity hummed in response. "Good..." I said as I stifled a yawn, then we both fell quiet for a minute.
Amity smelt like a mix of vanilla and pine needles, her body really warm. It was soothing, almost soothing enough to lull me to sleep. My eyes started to flutter for a moment, then they closed and I let out a sigh. I could feel Amity tense up, her face getting warmer.
"Are you sure I'm not hurting you?" She asked me, which I nodded my head.
I hummed in response. "Positive." I mumbled, letting my arms rest limply against the witch. She let out a snort.
"You falling asleep on me?" Amity asked me with a chuckle. I slowly nodded my head which only made the teal haired witch sigh. "Just don't get too comfortable, you know I've got to go here soon."
"I know..." I muttered, breathing in her hypnotic scent again. "Can't wait till we can cuddle on something comfier than this cot." My voice was soft, just barely above a whisper. I could feel Amity nod, letting out another chuckle.
"Neither can I. I'm surprised you can sleep on this thing." Amity shifted slightly, moving slow so that she wouldn't nudge me the wrong way.
"Eh, I'm used to sleeping on the floor in the owl house. So technically, you could call this an upgrade." I told her, making her scoff.
"It's not good for you to sleep on the floor y'know." I nodded my head again, only making her shake her's. "How is that even comfortable to you?"
"Hey, it's not like I just lie down on the wood boards like a hooligan until I doze off." I laughed, opening my eyes to look at the witch as she pulled away from the crook in my neck. "I've got like, a dozen puffy blankets lining the floor. They're my stand in mattress."
"Why not have Eda get you an actual mattress?" Amity raised an eyebrow, but I only shrugged.
"Never bothered to ask her for one." The teal haired witch let out a sigh, lightly bopping the top of my head. "Hey!" I chuckled, bopping her on the head right back. She scrunched up her nose, struggling to suppress a smile.
Suddenly, the door opened and a loud voice echoed from the hallway. "Yeah yeah, don't worry doc, I'm not gonna startle her!" Amity yelped, tensing up and falling off the bed in a heap. "At least, I won't startle Luz..." Eda glanced down at the floor, a lopsided smile on her face when she saw Amity. "Well, lookie what we have here!"
Amity was quick to pick herself up off the floor, dusting herself off before standing straight up with her hands clasped in front of her. "Oh, hey Eda!" I said, struggling not to chuckle at Amity's fall.
"Hey there kiddo." She greeted, then turned to Amity. "And hey there kiddo number two." Amity gave a small little wave in response, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What're you doing here?"
"Oh, just thought I'd drop by! See how Luz was doing before the show tomorrow, since I won't be able to come by..." The Blight trailed off when Eda barked out a laugh, a few snorts slipping out every once and awhile.
"And by see how she was doing, you mean being all lovey dovey." Amity's ears went down, her face turning a shade of red. "Geez Luz, you gotta keep me updated on your guy's lingo." Eda jabbed a thumb at Amity, who only seemed to shrink away.
"Sorry..." I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. My face felt warm, my cheeks probably dusted a pink shade at this point. Eda moved away from the door, standing on my side opposite of Amity. "Anyways, what are you doing back here?"
Eda let out another snort, lightly ruffling my hair. "Weren't you listening when I said I was coming back later?" I thought back to earlier, trying to remember when Eda said something like that.
"Uh, no?" I finally said, making Eda shake her head.
"I swear, everything's in one ear and out the other for you." I gasped, placing a hand over my heart in fake offense before giving Eda a shove, nearly making her lose her balance. She chuckled, giving me a light shove in response. "I told you after King wrapped up his little ramble."
"Which one? The one about his day, or the one where he was trying to teach me about a new demon? Cause I think I zoned out halfway though both of those." The silver haired witch's eyebrows furrowed together as she tapped a finger against her chin before she shrugged.
"Honestly, I don't even know. I wasn't listening." Eda shrugged, her ears twitching slightly. I watched as her golden eyes flicked around the room before landing on Amity, making the witch squeak. "What's up with you kid? You look tense."
"Me? Tense? Nah, I'm just... standing here." Amity said, lightly tapping her hands against her thighs. Eda eyed her up and down, then rolled her eyes, motioning for Amity to sit. Almost instantly, the teal haired witch complied.
Eda's eyes lingered on Amity for a moment, then she smiled and started to pop her fingers. "So, you have a show tomorrow? You scared?" I watched as my mentor twisted off her hand with a soft pop, making Amity's eyes widen.
Amity continued to stare for a moment, then shook her head to snap herself out of her trance. "Maybe a little."
"What? Worried your show's gonna bomb because good ol' Luz is stuck here in bed instead of on stage with you?" Eda pulled me into a headlock, ruffling my hair with a laugh.
"I mean, that's part of the reason." Amity said, rubbing the back of her neck. "But, most of it is just pre-show jitters. Happens all the time." Eda nodded her head, popping her hand back in place and rolling her wrist around a few times.
"Well then, good luck with your show or whatever." Eda told her with a smile that was quickly dropped. "Yeesh, that sounded sarcastic. Sorry kid, I'm not good with this stuff." Amity waved her off, muttering that it was alright.
She then glanced out the window before sighing, standing up. "Well, it's getting late, I should probably go." Amity stood up, stretching her arms over her head. "I'll see you next time I get the chance, alright Luz?" I nodded my head, shooting her a sweet smile.
"Don't forget to get a photo of your guy's outfits for me!" I chirped, making Amity smile. "Oh, and see if you can get a recording of the show somehow! I wanna see how you guys do!"
Amity chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "They already record the shows, for broadcasting y'know?" I gasped, a big grin finding its way to my face as I quickly turned my head towards Eda, my hands clenched into tight fists out of excitement.
Eda took one glance at me, then sighed. "Alright, before you start begging. Yes, I'll sneak something in for you to watch the show on." She ran a hand through her hair, spiking up some of it before letting it fall. "This old mane will definitely make that easy."
The singer gave my mentor a nod, then turned her attention to me. She gave me one last smile, then made her way to the door, pausing for a moment to turn and give me a wave goodbye. "See you later Luz."
"See you Ammy! Good luck! You guys will do great!" Amity sharply inhaled, her cheeks dusting a light pink before she nodded and disappeared out the door. Eda and I stared at the door for a moment, then Eda snorted, giving my shoulder a punch.
"Chose a keeper there kiddo, you really have." I could feel my cheeks start to burn, a sharp, high pitched 'hey' escaping my lips as I gave her a shove. "What? Just stating the facts." Eda told me with a laugh.
"Who says there's anything going on between us?" I folded my arms over my chest, watching as Eda's lips tugged up into a smirk.
"Well I mean, the blush on your face is one hint." She pointed out, which only made my cheeks burn even more. "And the nickname, and the fact I found you guys snuggled up against each other when I got here, not to mention all the rest of the contact you give that girl."
"Eda!" I dragged out my mentor's name, making her snort. "Quit it!" I told her as I lightly started punching her arm
"Alright alright!" Eda pushed my hands away, still smiling the entire time. "Let's change the topic off of blushy Blight then. What do you want to talk about?" My mentor tried to stifle her chuckles at the nickname she gave Amity with a fake cough."
I thought for a moment, then an idea came to mind. "How bout, let's see if you can show me how to do a new spell?"