Punches before practice
Luz POV:
Heading back to Earth for the second time that week caught my mom a little off guard, making her quick to scold me for coming back so soon, asking if I listened at all when she said to rest. However, once I explained why we were back, her scolding quickly turned into worry.
I can't remember everything that she asked me, a lot of her questions were about how it felt and where the pain was at. After giving her all the answers she wanted, she then turned to Amity and asked what happened after I passed out, the hint of panic clear in her voice. Amity was quick to explain, and I could see the fear rising in my mom's eyes by the minute.
Once Amity finished explaining, my mom muttered something about needing to make a call before quickly leaving the room, leaving Amity and I alone. We didn't say much while we waited for her to return, and I can remember Amity placing her hand over top of mine, rubbing soft circles on the top of my hand.
She wasn't gone long, but when she came back, she told Amity that she was going to keep me here for a couple of days and that she should head home.
Amity was clearly reluctant to agree, in fact, it almost looked like she was going to argue that I shouldn't need to stay, but she didn't. Instead, she agreed, turning to me to give me a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up and heading towards the door, saying she'd be back in a few days.
Once the front door closed, I turned to my mom, going to ask her what was going to happen now.
But, before I could get any of the words out, she pulled me into a tight hug. Not saying a word, just holding me close to her as if when she were to let go I'd just disappear. I remember how shaky her breathing was, how she tried to hide her sniffles.
My mom told me that she wanted me to stay so that we could head to her work and get me one of those MRI scans, seeing if anything was out of the ordinary. But, since I got fixed in the Boiling Isles and had no record of getting discharged for my last injury here on Earth, she had to basically sneak me in to get one.
That night, it was weird trying to fall asleep in my old, practically empty room.
Even weirder was not having the teal haired witch by my side with the sound of her soft breathing and her heartbeat in my ears.
The next morning, I was woken up early and taken to the hospital where she worked. Right away when we walked through the doors, I was hit with that hospital scent, the echoing of footsteps down the halls and the faint beeping from the heart monitors in each room.
For a second, it almost made me long for the quietness of the Isles' hospital rooms.
Of course I was nervous about getting the scan, but I covered that up by making quick little jokes to ease the tension. It wasn't long after we walked through the doors that my mom lead me to the room with the big scanner, greeting a few of her coworkers along the way.
The scan didn't last long, maybe twenty minutes at most. In fact, it was honestly kind of cool getting scanned with the giant tube, almost like a weird form of human magic.
The pictures came through, showing the black and white photos of my organs. My mom studied the photos for awhile, and I remember her saying how she couldn't see anything the matter with my heart. In fact, it looked normal.
She spent some more time studying the photos, looking for something, anything to explain what happened to me. Instead, after who knows how long, she told me that we should head home.
On the way home, she told me that maybe what happened was due to the stress of being up and moving too much. I gave her a shrug, telling her that was probably the reason, especially since I was too stubborn to just stay home like Amity said.
Then, the rest of the day was spent at home with my mom, the two of us trying to relax in each other's presence, which normally wasn't hard to do. But, since everything had happened, I could tell my mom was on edge, the worry gnawing at her mind.
And the entire time, even though I knew it was only a few days, I missed Amity. I couldn't tell if it was because I was so used to the witch being around, or maybe I was anxious not knowing how she was doing. Of course, I was an idiot and didn't bring along my scroll to message her, leaving me in the dark about how she was.
Another night passed, that one more sleepless than the last. I remember waking up to my mom calling my name at the bottom of the stairs, saying how Amity was already there. That woke me up pretty quick.
The first thing I noticed when I saw Amity, was just how tired she looked. It almost looked like she barely slept the few days I was gone. But despite that, the excitement in her voice was clear when she greeted me.
My mom was hesitant to send us off, telling me to say something to her if anything else happened. And, before we left, she gave me some painkillers to take with me, which was nice.
Then, we were off, heading back to the Boiling Isles.
That was a few weeks ago, and now, I was lying on my new mattress in the owl house, halfway awake.
"Luz!" King's familiar, squeaky voice hissed as he squirmed to escape my grasp. I blinked a few times, feeling King's horns graze against my arm as he finally pulled himself free. "Wake up!"
"I'm awake." I turned my head in the tiny demon's direction, putting on a small smile. His eyes slanted downwards a little, a small huff escaping him.
"Well you didn't do anything that said you were!" I let out a little chuckle, slowly sitting up and stretching my arms over my head, my joints softly popping. "Besides, I'm hungry!" I chuckled again, reaching out for the little demon and scooping him up before he could scamper away.
"You're always hungry you little cutie." I told him, giving the top of his skull a kiss. A weh escaped his muzzle as he tried to push me away, smacking my cheek a few times in an attempt to make me let him go.
"I'm not cute!" He hissed, holding my face back before I could kiss him again. "How many times do I have to tell you that? It's like you have short term memory or something!"
The little demon pushed himself out of my grasp, flopping down onto my bed with a bit of a bounce. He was quick to push himself back onto his feet, placing his hands on his hips before giving me a glare.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes, placing a hand on top of his head. "Gee you're right, guess I do have short term memory." I told him, seeing the satisfaction fill his eyes.
"I know I'm right!" He said, quickly grabbing onto my hand and starting to pull me forward. "Now c'mon! I want some breakfast!" I let out a sigh, a smile rising to my face.
"Oh I don't know King, I don't think I remember how to make breakfast." I joked, making the demon gasp. He pulled on my hand a little harder, trying to get me to stand up.
"Now you're just being mean!" He told me, making a few chuckles bubble up from my throat.
"Hey, you're the one that told me I have short term memory." I pointed out, making him scowl. He let out a little whine, pulling at my hand again. "Okay okay, I'm sorry, that was mean. Still, it was kinda funny." I said with a snort, watching the demon's eyes slant downwards again.
He let go of my hand, both his paws becoming tight fists at his side. "You think it's funny until I sick a bloodthirsty demon on you!" He told me in a high pitched voice.
"But if you do that, I won't be able to make you breakfast." I pointed out, making King raise a fist to argue before he paused, realizing I was right. "Look, just give me a minute, and then I'll go make you some pancakes, how does that sound?" I could see the excitement quickly fill his eyes as he nodded his head.
Patting around the side of my mattress, I stuggled to find a piece of paper and a pencil. My fingers barely brushed against the items, which I quickly picked up. Placing the paper against my knee, I scribbled out a quick light spell, tapping the center.
The paper quickly crumpled up, turning itself into a light source. King let out a little yelp, shielding his eyes with his hands. "Why is it so bright?" He asked, squinting the entire time.
"Because your eyes are used to the dark." I mumbled, letting the spell float on its own in the air. "Besides, it's not that bright." I said as I searched for where I set my scroll.
"It's brighter than your other light spells! Those ones didn't hurt my eyes!" He hissed, turning his back to me. "There's spots in my vision!" I could hear the demon complain as I finally found and grabbed my scroll.
"You also look at them when I have the window light." I muttered, eyeing the curtains I draped over the window for a moment before turning my gaze down to my scroll. "Now, what time is it anyway?"
I squinted as I turned the scroll on, blinking a few times before being able to read the time. "The tiny light spells aren't this bright!" King whined, making me sigh. I looked over at the light spell, realizing he was right about it being brighter than usual.
"Just give your eyes a moment to adjust King, then it won't be as bright. Besides, it's seven in the morning, so chill out for a minute." King turned around to face me, still squinting his eyes, although he wasn't doing it as much now.
"Can we just go down and get breakfast now?" He asked, making me smile. Looking back down at my scroll, I quickly pulled up someone's messages.
"Just one second..." I mumbled, quickly typing out a message. "Morning Ammy <3" It read, making me smile and silently wonder if she was already up or not. "Okay, now we can go."
King let out an excited squeal, already scampering off towards my door. I let out a bit of a chuckle, slowly pushing myself up to my feet. Some dull pain traveled up my side as I stood, making me wince. However, the pain was quick to disappear once I got on my feet.
Now that I was getting better, maybe I could take Amity to that spot I've wanted to take her to for weeks now. Go through with my old plan.
"C'mon you slowpoke! We gotta get this stuff made before Eda wakes up!" King whisper shouted to me, making me chuckle.
"What? Afraid she'll try to stop us?" I asked, back, making the demon spin around and walk backwards to talk to me.
"Of course not! She'd never be able to stop the King of demons anyways!" He said confidently, making a smile rise to my lips. "I just don't want her to steal all the food!"
"That sounds more like something you'd do!" The demon didn't give me a response, rather, he spun around on his heel and got ready to run off into the kitchen. However, he tripped over his own foot and flopped onto the ground with a soft thud.
He was quick to pick himself up, muttering little curses under his breath as he darted off. I bit the inside of my cheek so that I wouldn't laugh, but that didn't stop the smile from rising to my lips.
I met up with him out in the kitchen, where I found he had already climbed up on the counter and was grabbing something out of one of the cabinets. With a low chuckle, I quietly crept across the floorboards, hoping that a stray creak wouldn't give me away.
"Luz? Are you coming or what?" He asked, still digging in the cabinet. "Oh come on, please don't tell me you've already gone back to bed!" I stood right behind him now, raising my arms up into the air as a sinister smirk found its way to my lips. He spun around, his eyes slanted downwards, before they widened.
"Boo!" I yelled, carefully wrapping my hands around the demon's little body and lifting him in the air. He let out a high pitched scream, squeezing his eyes shut as he held his arms close to his chest. Laughter bubbled up from my throat as I pulled the demon into a hug, carefully resting my head on top of his. "Looks like the all mighty King of demons is a scaredy cat!"
"I am not!" He argued, his voice higher than usual. "I'm not whatever you just called me! I don't get scared by anything!"
"Sure you don't." I teased, placing King back down on his feet. "In fact, because you don't ever get scared, that's why you screamed so loud isn't it?" He folded his arms over his chest, giving me a dark glare. Giving his head a little pat, I turned back to the cabinets, humming under my breath as I pulled out the ingredients we needed.
It wasn't long before I had everything in a bowl, mixing it all together with a broken whisk I had found in one of Eda's drawers. King sat perched on my shoulder, lightly swaying back and forth to my humming.
I slowly turned on my heel with my eyes closed, going to put the bowl on the counter. Then, someone suddenly cleared their throat, making my eyes snap open and a short scream to rush past my lips. I held the whisk out as if it would be able to protect me against some intruder.
King let out a snicker, giving me a little nudge. "Who's the scaredy cat now?"
There, with her hands on her hips, stood Eda. She eyed me up and down for a moment, her eyebrows moving a bit closer together. "Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked me, her eyes landing on the bowl in my arms.
Letting out a nervous chuckle, I placed the whisk back in the bowl, rubbing the back of my neck with my now free hand. "Making breakfast, want some?" King gave my head a light shove at the offer, clearly not happy I was trying to share.
"You should be resting." Eda mumbled, ignoring my question and glaring at King. King let out a bit of a nervous chuckle, quickly hopping down from my shoulder and onto the counter.
"I'm just making a bit of breakfast, it's nothing too crazy. Besides, it's been a few weeks, I need to be moving around a lot more." Eda scoffed, taking a seat at the table and resting her head on the palm of her hand.
"Still need to be taking it easy kiddo." She said as I turned around, going to get a pan to start cooking. "After all, wouldn't want to mess anything else up with your weird human body."
"Hey, it's not like I'm lifting heavy boxes or something like that." I pointed out, pouring a bit of the batter into the pan. "The worst I'm doing is going to the studio for practice."
"Practice with all those dork friends of yours?" King asked as he plopped down on the table, making me give him a deadpan look. "What?"
"They aren't dorks King." I bit my tongue, then brought my voice to below a whisper. "Well, besides Amity. She's my dork." Luckily, the sizzle from the pan covered up any evidence that I said anything at all.
I could hear Eda snort, and turning around I found her softly shaking her head. "You can't look at blushy Blight, who was top of the class and my sister's prodigy and tell me she isn't a dork. Nice try."
"Well then, that just means I'm a dork along with them. Which in all honesty, is the truth." King and Eda looked at one another, a moment of silence between the two before they both busted up in a fit of laughter.
King wiped away a tear from his eyes, his other arm wrapped around his side as he continued to laugh. "You aren't wrong there!" He barely managed to say, almost struggling to breathe while he laugh. "You're one of the dorkiest creatures I've ever met!"
While the two of them lost it behind me, I turned my attention back to the pancake I put in the pan. Quickly finding a spatula, I flipped over the pancake and grimaced at the slightly burnt end that faced me. "Oh well, King won't mind." I thought to myself.
Eda snorted a few more times, shaking her head. "Kid you're a hoot." I rolled my eyes at my mentor's probably unintentional pun, tapping the pancake a couple of times with the spatula. "But pushing that aside, why are you guys even having practice anyways? Wasn't your last show like... a week ago?"
"A few weeks ago." I corrected, flipping the pancake again before putting it on a plate. Passing the plate over to King, I could hear a high pitched squeal escaped him before he started to shove the pancake in his mouth. "And I guess you can call it more of a hangout than a practice..."
"Then why call it a practice? Just say you're gonna go meet up with your girlfriend and make out in the closet. Not that hard." I froze up, feeling the heat rising to my cheeks. Shooting Eda a glare, which she only gave me a cheeky smirk in response.
"I'm calling it a practice cause we're gonna go through our songs at least once." I said with a huff, spinning on my heel and returning back to the pan to start making another pancake.
"Sure kid, whatever helps you sleep at night." She said as she rolled her eyes. "And hey, you mind getting me an apple blood from the cooler?"
"What's the magic word?" I asked, looking over at my shoulder at the silver haired witch. She huffed, slouching down slightly.
"Please." She said, a slightly annoyed tone laced in her voice. I smiled, flipping over the new pancake before opening the cooler and grabbing one of the bottles inside.
Bringing the glass over to her, I gently set it down on the table in front of her. "Here you go!" I chirped, making a ghost of a smile rise on her lips.
"Thanks kid." She glanced at the glace for a minute, her smile widening. "And would you look at that, you got me one of the stronger ones!"
"There's a difference between them?" Eda nodded her head, giving me a lopsided smile. "A difference how?"
"I mean, the difference is that there's the watered down stuff, then there's the hard hitting stuff." Eda said with a snort, quickly taking off the cap of her drink and giving it a quick swig, making sure I wouldn't be able to take it back now.
"Okay then..." I muttered, turning back to the pan and flipping the pancake again, putting it on a plate. "You want a pancake Eda?" I asked, turning back towards my mentor, but she just shook her head.
"Nah, those aren't really my thing. You can feed mine to that munchkin over there if you want." She said pointing over to King before standing up with a low groan. Her ears twitched as she walked over to me, floating her glass in the air so she could pull me into a headlock and run her knuckles on top of my head. "When are you leaving for your little 'practice' anyways?"
Laughing, I pushed the witch away from me, running a hand through my hair in an attempt to fix it. Then, I gave her a shrug. "Great question honestly." I turned my gaze to the window, seeing the sun just barley hanging in the sky, slowly climbing up. "Probably sometime soon though."
Eda let out a little sigh, leaning her elbow slightly on my shoulder. "Still pretty early ain't it?" She asked, squinting her eyes as she looked out the window. Then, she shrugged, lightly pushing off of me as she moved to the living room.
"Early birds get the worm!" I said, grabbing a fork from the drawer and making sure the fire was put out under the pan. Eda looked back at me, raising an eyebrow before rolling her eyes.
"Whatever that's supposed to mean..." I could hear her mutter before she let out a snort, giving King and I a salute. "Well, just let me know when you're leaving. I'll be home all day anyways."
"Guards have been really surveying the market lately." King said, stuffing the last bite of pancake in his mouth. "Oh! Did you tell her about the one you lit of fire?" My eyes widened a little, then I glanced back up at my mentor, who shot the demon a glare.
"I was going to, but now you've ruined the surprise." Eda huffed, before disappearing into the living room. King stared at where Eda was for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders, jumping off the table and leaving his empty plate behind. "And King? You clean the dishes!" Eda called out, making King freeze in his tracks.
"What?! Why should I?" He called back, raising his nose in the air as he folded his arms over his chest.
"Because I know you're the one that dragged Luz out of bed to make you food. Now chop chop before I chop off your tongue!" King let out a scared little squeak, bringing his hands up to his muzzle, his eyes wide with fear. Then, he quickly kicked into gear, climbing the counter and gathering the plates. I moved over to help him, but then stopped when Eda called out again. "And Luz, don't think about helping him!"
"Are you sure?" I called back, watching as King piled the pan onto his stack, making me worry that he would drop it.
"Yes I'm sure! It's only three dishes or so, he'll be fine." I glanced back at King one last time, hearing him grumbling under his breath. Hesitating, I finally let out a little sigh and made my way back up to my room to change.
Pushing open my door, I noticed how the curtains seemed more open than they were before. "That's weird..." I mumbled, moving over to the window and pulling the curtains closed, casting the room in darkness.
With a low sigh, I moved over to my bag, grabbing my black t-shirt with the skull on the front and a pair of dark jeans. Taking off my shirt, I winced when I moved a little too far, sending another dull jolt of pain up my side, luckily it was more uncomfortable rather than painful.
While I started to pull on my other shirt over my head, I heard the familiar sound of a specific tube owl opening the window. "Luz? Hoot hoot!"
"Hooty!" I practically screamed, whirling around even though I still had my head stuck in my shirt. "Don't come in! At least let me pull my shirt on!" I quickly popped my head out of the neck hole of my shirt, and from behind the curtain I could see the faint outline of Hooty's face.
"Can I come in now?" He asked, dragging out his last word. I stuck my arms through the holes, pulling at the bottom of the shirt a little.
"You need to learn how to knock, but yes you can come in." I muttered, the tube owl quickly pushing his head through my curtains. "Anyways, what'd you need?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.
"I just came by to see what you're doing! Hoot hoot!" He told me in a happy tone, slowly twisting until he was upside down. "That's a funny outfit you're wearing..."
"It wouldn't be as funny if you let me finished getting dressed." I said with a chuckle, lightly patting the owl. He was quick to flip right side up, nuzzling slightly into my hand. "And even though I love talking with you Hooty, I've got stuff I've got to go do here soon."
"Stuff like what?" He asked, moving back a little until his head was resting on my window sill.
"Band stuff." I said simply, giving the owl a light shove to get him out of my window. "Now I'm gonna finish getting dressed."
"Alright!" He started to stretch down to his door, then stopped before quickly rushing back up to me. "Actually wait! If you see anyone green wandering around, send them off in my direction would you?"
I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion, trying to think of anyone green that'd want to see Hooty. Rubbing the back of my neck, I let out a bit of a forced chuckle. "Sorry Hooty, but I don't think any of the Blights are gonna drop by today, otherwise I would."
Actually, I probably wouldn't. Amity would probably rip him apart the second he opened his beak and the twins would probably jinx him.
But, the door owl quickly shook his head. "No not them!" He said, his eyes slanted downward. "He's pretty much King's size. If you see him wandering around, send him in my direction." I blinked a few times, completely at a loss for whoever Hooty was talking about.
Instead of prying for more answers, I just nodded my head and closed the window, then stepped back and closed the curtains. "Okay then... Hooty may just be losing his mind." I looked up at the window for a moment, staring at its outline through the curtains. "Maybe leaving him on his own so often is a bad idea..."
I quickly finished getting dressed, quickly combing through my hair before pulling on my red beanie as the final touch. Glancing at myself in the mirror for a moment, I considered putting on my flannel. "Too much?" I asked out loud, grabbing it and quickly sliding it on. Tapping a finger against my chin, I took the flannel off again, then tied it around my waist. A smile was quick to rise to my lips at the sight.
"Perfect."
Snagging my scroll before I bounded to the living room, I checked to see if I had gotten any messages yet. None. I found it a little odd, knowing that Amity was usually up early.
"Heading out?" Eda asked me, pulling my gaze up from my scroll. I gave a smile and a nod, making her just nod back and take a sip of her drink. "Well alright then, have fun while you're there."
"Thanks Eda. I'll be back by later tonight, I promise. Oh, and I might bring Amity by, I have a plan to do something tonight, and she might be staying the night." She nodded her head again. "But, if I'm not here, assume I'm at Amity's house until proven otherwise."
"If you do go over to the Blight house, don't do anything you aren't supposed to." I felt my body go stiff, a warm blush spreading across my cheeks. My reaction made Eda chuckle, running a hand through her hair. "And hey, if you come back here for the night, I'll teach you another spell."
"Wait really?" I lightly bounced up and down, staring at Eda in excitement. "What kind of spell? An abomination spell? Oh wait, what about another healing spell?"
"I taught you the basic healing spell last week, why are you gonna need to know the others so soon?" She paused for a moment, her ears twitching. "Actually, this is the Boiling Isles, it'd probably be a good idea to teach you more of those..."
I hummed in response, lightly rocking on my heels. I watched as Eda thought over the spells, her eyebrows furrowed tightly together. Then, she waved me off. "You'll probably be fine with the one you have right now. Besides, that's the one you can use on yourself, the other's might have lasting effects."
"Still, I want to know the others!" I said, furrowing my eyebrows together slightly. "I'd be able to help my friends if they need me!" Eda let out another snort, leaning back further on the couch.
"Look kid, unless your friends are running head on into danger whenever they get the chance like me, I doubt you're gonna need those other healing spells anytime soon."
I scowled, putting on a bit of a pout in hopes to convince her. Clasping my hands together, I watched as Eda's ears twitched. "Please Eda?"
She stared at me for a minute, then rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Your little pout isn't going to convince me kid, but I guess I'll think about it." I pumped my fist into the air, a smile finding its way to my face. "Alright alright, now get going. Your cheery attitude is gonna make me sick."
"See you later then Eda!" I gave her a small wave, making her smile. "Bye King! Don't cause too much trouble!" I called out, hearing nothing in response.
Pulling open the door, I found that Hooty was stretched out towards the forest. I couldn't hear his voice, but I could tell that he was still stretching out deeper into the forest.
Not wanting to bother the door owl, I slowly pulled the door closed, then quickly started to speed walk in the direction of the studio. Once I was far enough away, I slowed down to a walk.
The walk to the studio didn't take too long, it fact, it was kind of nice. There wasn't any breeze, no random rustling from the bushes, it was almost like the entire world was still.
By the time I could see the clear outline of the studio, I could also see a familiar silhouette. A smile quickly found its way to my face as I picked up my pace to a jog. "Boscha!" I called out, catching the witch's attention.
She turned to look at me, her eyes softening a bit when she saw me. "Well look who it is!" She said as she shoved her hands in her jacket pockets, eyeing me up and down for a moment.
"How's your morning been?" I asked, clasping my hands in front of me. Boscha smiled, then the two of us started some small talk as we made it the rest of the way to the studio.
Both of us went into the studio, finding that we were the first ones here. "The others should be here soon, at least Am should be. Skara might be a little late, she said something yesterday about needing to take care of something." Boscha said, making me nod my head.
I took a seat in one of the bean bag chairs, Boscha took a seat at the table, pulling out her scroll and eyeing it over. "How long do you think till Amity and the twins get here?" I asked, making the three eyed witch chuckle.
"Getting antsy over not seeing your girlfriend huh?" The witch teased with a snicker, making me tense up, a pale blush rising to my cheeks. Then, the studio's front door opened, making Boscha's ears twitch. "Well, there's your answer."
"Hey you two!" Edric called out to us, both the twins stepping into the studio. Edric was carrying some kind of box in his hand and Emira had a small bag. "And here I thought we'd be the first two here." I turned to look at Boscha, who wore the same confused look I did.
"Am isn't with you guys?" Boscha turned around in her chair to face the Blights, who shook their heads. "Why not?" Edric moved over towards Boscha, setting the box he held in his hands on the table
"Mittens has stuff she needed to take care of at home, so we kinda just ditched her." Edric said with a shrug, making Emira give him a rough jab to the ribs. "Hey what was that for? It's the truth!"
"We left cause we needed to head to the market, we didn't just ditch her." Emira hissed, glaring at her brother before chuckling. "And we figured Mittens would show up not long after us."
"What'd you need to head to the market for?" I asked, eyeing the box Edric brought in. He gave me a big smile, quickly opening the box to reveal an assortment of food.
"Snacks of course!" He leaned on the table, gesturing towards the box. "I would've picked up some snacks from the owl lady, but she wasn't at her stand." I nodded my head, my eyes scanning over the Isles food. It looked edible enough.
"Oh, that reminds me cutie!" Emira suddenly appeared by my side, making me jump. "Mittens' scroll is dead, so if you need to message her, just message my number. And be as sappy as you want, I could use it as blackmail against her sometime." She told me with a smirk, making me chuckle.
Both the twins said they were gonna go to their rooms, leaving me and Boscha alone. Pulling out my scroll, I quickly clicked on Emira's number, bringing up our messages. "Hey Amity, are you coming soon?" I asked, deciding to be nice and just use Amity's name.
There was a bit of a pause, then I got a message back. "Taking care of something, I'll try to make it quick."
"Alright. So what'cha doing?" I sent back, sticking my tongue out of the corner of my mouth. There was another bit of silence, then I could see it telling me she was typing. It went on for a minute, then disappeared with no new message in sight.
I considered messaging her again, hearing that nagging voice in the back of my head start up so that I'd worry. Shaking my head a few times, I put my scroll down just assuming she was busy. I drummed my fingers against the bean bag, humming a familiar song under my breath.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Boscha perk up after a bit of time, her ears twitching. "That sounds familiar..." She finally said, lowering her scroll. I looked up at her, my lips curling up into part of a smile.
"It's just 505." I said, making her nod her head. Then, both of us tensed up when we heard something hit the door. Turning to one another, I could see her raise an eyebrow, both of us dead quiet as we waited to see if the sound would happen again.
When it did, Boscha rolled her eyes. "Skara you don't need to knock! You can just walk in you know!" The three eyed witch called out, turning her gaze down to her scroll.
The sound happened again, this one sounding more like a wet slap against the door than an actual knock. I furrowed my eyebrows together, turning back to look at Boscha.
She waited till the sound happened one more time, then let out a loud sigh, getting up from her seat. "Gods, what did the twins lock the door?" She asked aloud, slowly dragging her feet over to the door. But before she reached for the handle, she drew out a quick spell with one hand, encasing that hand in a ball of flames.
Her other hand wrapped around the doorknob, giving it a quick twist. "C'mon Skara the door wasn't even locked-" She said as she pulled open the door, quickly shutting up.
Rather than being met with the silver haired witch, Boscha was met with a crumbling abomination standing in the doorway, carrying Amity in its arms.
"Amity?!" I could see the pale witch's head perk up a little at her name, but she didn't say anything. Quickly getting off my seat, I ignored the jab of pain that went up my side and rushed over by Boscha, who was carefully trying to help Amity out of the abominations arms.
"Am what happened?" Once Amity's feet touched the floor, the abomination crumbled away, barely leaving a trace of its existence. Amity was barely able to stand on her own, making Boscha reach for her arm to throw it over her shoulder, but then three eyed witch quickly recoiled away.
One of Amity's arms was covered up to her shoulder in burns, making me wince at the sight. "Ammy what happened?" I asked her with panic laced in my voice, Boscha quickly taking her other arm, which was only covered with a few scattered bruises and cuts, throwing it over her shoulder.
Amity looked up at me and I noticed not only how she was almost as white as a sheet, but also her black eye. Blood dripped from her nose, running down her neck and staining part of her shirt. It looked like it took her eyes a minute to focus, then she let out a dry chuckle.
"I got my answers..." She said, her voice no louder than a whisper. Then, she let out another chuckle, this one louder than the last, but it quickly turned into a coughing fit. Boscha quickly started leading Amity over to a chair, trying to move as fast as Amity's limp would let her.
"Ed! Em!" Boscha called out as she set Amity down on a chair. "First it was Luz and now you..." I could hear her say under her breath. I kneeled in front of Amity, gently waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention.
"Hermosa, what did you do?" I asked her, patting down my pockets with shaky hands in hopes to feel a few pieces of paper and a pencil. When I didn't, I looked around before spotting some on the table. "Boscha! Pass me a pencil and some paper, please?"
The three eyed witch turned to the pile, then back to me, nodding her head and quickly grabbing me the items. By the time she handed them off to me, Edric and Emira poked their heads around the corner, instantly seeing their injured sister sitting on the chair.
"Mittens!" They both yelped, rushing over to the three of us. Amity's eyes flicked up to them for a minute, giving them a smirk.
"What happened?!" Edric asked. I quickly started scribbling out healing spells, making sure not to accidentally activate them. "Mittens did you run into something out in the woods?"
"Not something... someone." She said with a smile, making her sibling's eyes widen. I snapped my fingers a few times, catching Amity's attention. She lifted her head up to look at me, and I took a few of my spells, holding them in my hand.
"Amity, hold still." I told her, gently pressing a paper over her nose before tapping the rune, watching it glow into a soft blue light before disappearing. Blood stopped dripping from the witch's nose, which she brought a hand up to wipe away the bit that was left behind. "Now, close your eye really quick."
She did as I asked, and I gently placed a spell over her eye. The teal haired witch hissed at the contact but didn't do anything else when I tapped the rune. The dark bruise around her eye quickly disappeared and when she opened her eyes she had to blink a few times, probably to clear her vision from the bright light.
"You guys are gonna have to take care of the bigger injuries." I said, my eyes darting to her arm for a minute before I turned my gaze back down to my papers. "I only know the basic healing spell. It's not gonna help that..."
"If you think that's bad, you should see what I did to him." Amity said with a chuckle, which quickly turned to a wince as she reached up to place a hand over her chest, a tense breath getting sucked in between her teeth. "Though... that spell clearly took a lot out of me."
"And yet you told us not to go chasing after him!" Emira hissed, drawing a medium sized spell circle with her hand. After she did that, a circle formed around Amity's injured arm, slowly moving up and down it to get rid of the burns. "But here you are, chasing after him and nearly getting burnt to a crisp!"
"I didn't chase after him." Amity growled, turning her gaze down from her sister. "I saw him on my way here, and I think I just... snapped."
"Wait, you saw Matt, and didn't think to call one of us?" Boscha piped up, her eyebrows furrowed together when the teal haired witch shook her head. I drew out a few more healing spells, placing them against Amity's injuries. "Well, where is he now?"
"Probably trying to crawl to the market to get some help." Amity said, turning her gaze downward. I could see the dangerous glint that filled her eyes as a smile rose to her lips. "And when I say crawl, I mean that literally."
"Hold on, wait." Edric took a step back, holding his hands up. "What did you do to him? Start talking, I want to know all the details." He quickly pulled up a seat, Boscha doing the same.
"Well, after I stumbled upon him, the first thing I did was punch him across the face. It was just instinct." She mumbled, her ears twitching. I glanced down at her hands, noticing her bruised knuckles.
"And we're already off to a great start." Boscha said with a smirk, making Edric nod his head.
"Then after that, I decided that instead of beating him to the brink of death like I promised, I'd get some answers instead." She hesitated for a moment, letting out a low whine as she scrunched her eyes shut. "So I decided to use a truth spell."
"A truth spell?" Emira chimed in, her eyes widening slightly. "Which kind? You know those spells drain magic quickly!" Amity nodded her head.
"I know they do Em, but it was better than beating the answers out of him. At least that way I'd know what he was saying wasn't something he pulled out of thin air." The teal haired witch argued.
"So what'd you want to know?" Edric asked, catching Amity's attention. By now, Emira had finished healing Amity's arm and the circle that was around her arm before disappeared. "After all, there's about a million questions you could've asked him."
Amity lifted her arm up, closing her hand a few times before giving Emira a smile as thanks. "Well, the first thing I wanted to figure out was what his original plan was back at the alleyway, and honestly his response was terrible."
"Terrible how?" I asked, making the witch tense up for a moment.
"Terrible as in, it was just a bad idea. His grand plan was first to have his friend kidnap Em, but when that fell through, he decided to try and kidnap me, then use that against you guys for a ransom. He said that he'd be able to wrack in more snails that way, and with more snails came more power."
"I guess he isn't wrong there..." Edric said, making the youngest Blight nod her head. "You got enough snails and you're able to do practically anything."
"Then he went on a tangent about how it was all to get more power. To prove to you guys that he was better than all of you." Amity rolled her eyes, leaning back slightly in her chair. "That is, until Luz stepped in..."
"And that threw his whole plan through a loop..." I muttered, my hand slowly moving down towards my side. I hovered it over the spot for a moment, then shook my head.
"Yep. Really pissed him off too." Amity mumbled, her ears twitching for a moment. "And since he was starting to piss me off the more he talked, the only other thing I managed to ask him why he stuck around in the band if he hated us so much."
"Honestly, I wanted to know the answer to that too." Boscha said as she crossed her legs, leaning back in her chair. "What? Was it just because we're popular?"
"That's part of it, but most of it was because of how much snails he was getting. He just put up with us for the snails."
"Go figure." Emira hissed, folding her arms over her chest.
Amity let out a bit of a bitter chuckle, her ears pinned down. "Honestly though, are we really surprised?" She asked, the rest of the band shaking their heads.
"If that was his plan I'm surprised he didn't go through with it earlier..." Boscha said, leaning her chin on her hand. "Then again, he's a coward so I'm not that surprised."
The youngest Blight nodded her head, reaching up with one hand to rub the back of her neck. "After that, I pretty much lost it on him. I don't remember much from that though..." She mumbled, her free hand clenching into a fist.
I brought my hand up to hers, gently resting it on top of hers before I started to rub soft circles onto the top of her hand. She gave me a smile, but Edric only scoffed.
"Aw c'mon Mittens! You've gotta remember something!" Amity's smile dropped as she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I mean, unless after you snapped you blacked out."
"I'm pretty sure I did..." She muttered, looking down at her free hand. "The one thing I can remember is that I summoned some giant abomination to beat him around... and I think that's what helped wear me out the most."
"Did you at least clear the truth spell before you went on your rampage?" Emira asked her sister, who's eyebrows furrowed together for a moment before she shook her head. "Mittens you can't be serious..."
"I wasn't thinking clearly! If I wasn't so angry I would've, but everything just boiled over and I... didn't try to stop it." She hesitated for a moment, bringing her gaze down to the ground. "And to be honest with you... that kinda scares me... that I didn't try to stop it."
"It makes sense on why you didn't." Boscha pointed out, standing up from her chair and stretching her arms over her head. "I mean, he's the one who started all this."
"Still... I could've killed him..." She muttered, her ears pinned down as far as they would go. I quickly laced my hand with her's giving it a little squeeze.
"Correction, should've." Boscha said, placing a hand on Amity's shoulder.
"Honestly sis, you would've done the Isles a favor if you did that." Emira said, making Edric laugh. Amity started to nod her head, then quickly shook it, clearing whatever thought she had. "And another thing, where's he at exactly?"
"I'm not telling you that. You guys don't need to go out there." Edric and Emira both let out disappointed sighs, and I could see Boscha's eyes harden. "Knowing him, he's probably already called some of his other friends to go pick him up, you guys don't need to run into them."
"So you get to have all the fun and we don't?" Edric said, making Amity glare.
"It wasn't that fun Ed. I got hurt. I'm not gonna risk any of you guys getting hurt too." Her voice was cold, making Edric tense up, his smirk disappearing for a moment. Then, he was quick to put it back on, leaning back in his chair with a chuckle.
"It was just a joke Mittens, lighten up a little!" He said as he folded his arms over his chest. The twins glanced at one another for a moment, but they didn't say a word. "Now, are we just gonna hang out here, or should we go practice with our instruments for a minute?"
"Doesn't matter to me." Boscha said, looking back towards Emira, who only shrugged.
"We can start now... well, actually we can just set up for now. We should wait for Skara to show before we start." The other three nodded their heads, already heading off to get their instruments. Amity and I stayed for a moment, not moving.
When I realized the two of us were alone, it hit me that I could ask Amity what I wanted to ask. "Hey Ammy?" Her ears perked up, a pale, pink blush spreading across the tips of her ears.
"What is it?" She asked back, her voice slightly higher.
"I know you just got back from a fight, so you probably don't want to but..." I dragged out the last word, giving the Blight a goofy smile. "Wanna come with me after the practice? I wanted to go through that plan I told you about a few weeks ago." I paused for a moment, watching her golden eyes flicker. "Of course, if you don't want to, you don't have to, I just thought-"
She gave my hand a squeeze, cutting me off. "It's nothing too crazy, right?" She asked me, making me think it over in my head.
"I mean, you'd have to define crazy for me to give you a direct answer." I chuckled, making her laugh as well.
"You know what? Sure. After practice. As long as it doesn't have to do with a trip to the market or stealing some demon relic." I let out a bit of a chuckle, standing up and offering my hand to the witch.
"Well, I can promise it doesn't have to do with either of those things. In fact, I think you'll find this place relaxing." Amity gave me a gentle smile, taking my hand in her's and pulling herself out of the chair.
"That's good to know." She said, making my smile grow a little wider.
"Now!" I gently grabbed her wrist and started to pull her to the recording room. "Let's get this 'practice' started!" Amity let out a few chuckles, her ears lightly flapping.
"You sure are excited to get this done and over with." She said, making me turn back to look at her.
"Well of course I am! It's been forever since we've done this as a band! And besides, we've gotta find a good way to pass the time before we go do my plan!" She laughed again, her cheeks still dusted with that pink color.
"Are you two gonna keep flirting or are we going to actually play?" Boscha asked, poking her head from around the corner. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, and from the looks of it, the same thing was happening to Amity.
We both looked at each other for a moment, then started to chuckle again before Amity dragged me off towards the recording room. "She's right, we should probably get started."