Earlier...
"Okay," was all Luz said after Stringbean finished telling Luz what had happened when Lucia ran after the demon bringing the witch up to date.
"Thank you Stringbean, I want you to find Lucia and tell her to come back if she isn't already," Luz stated as the snake that sat in front of her shifted fully into a bat and lifted its wings about to lift off before Luz quickly spoke.
"But..." Stringbean put her wings down but shifted her body back to her snake form. "I need you to do one more thing once you're done..."
"I need you to fly up and find me Azura volume seven, it's just like the book other books I've been reading except, of course, it has the number seven on it," Luz twirled her finger making an illusion of the book allowing Stringbean to get an idea of what the book looks like.
"See it'll be just like this, maybe the cover will be different but that doesn't matter. Just look for this and grab it for me," Luz said pointing to the illusion book's spine with the title and volume number.
"Just hold onto it and I'll find you okay."
Luz POV: Present Time
"Hey, String bean! Did you-" I stopped myself as I saw a human, a girl to be exact, standing at the other end of the bookshelf looking towards Stringbean before two changed their attention towards me.
She had brown hair that was half up-half down with gold eyes almost like the twins but more gold than dull unlike theirs. She had a lighter skin tone compared to most with a slight tan making her not pale like most humans I see around the market.
She had a grey hooded zip-up jacket that covered a white and pink shirt of sorts. She also wore seemingly dark purple shorts with lilac trimming along with regular white shoes that were neatly knotted.
It took me a second to get out of my trance when the realization of the situation set in.
"Oh, man! Oh, man! what do I do? I can't just say this is my pet snake-bat hybrid! They don't even exist! Plus I can't even play it off cause I'm sure she knows Stringbean's mine, I JUST called her! I could do what mom taught us... But that'd mean we'd mess up her mind and Lucia would get on to me! Dang it!"
I changed my attention back to the girl in front of me observing her body language.
She was in a trance of sorts just keeping eye contact and not showing much emotion besides shock, she's probably thinking about the situation too.
"Okay... maybe it wouldn't be so bad to erase one person's mind on this trip... but that wouldn't be nice to do that to a pretty girl my age... right? Wait pretty?!"
I kept flustering for a second before I heard loud familiar footsteps from not too far. It broke both me and the girls staring contest as we heard the monstrous voice of Lucia calling for me somewhere nearby.
"Oi, Luz! Where you at?!" She yelled as I started to panic at how close her steps were getting.
I had no time to think and act all out of instinct. I quickly ran past Stringbean, who shifted back to her original form (dropping the book) and wrapped herself around my arm once I ran by. I used abomination magic to cover the girl's mouth and tie her up. She panicked and squirmed which caused her to fall to the pavement as she began moving away from me accidentally hitting her back on the shelf.
"Don't move or make noise!" I whispered as I heard her muffled "What"
"Trust me, I'm helping you!" I cast an invisibility spell on the girl right as Lucia turned the corner.
"There you are! Did you not hear me yelling!" Lucia yelled in her usual annoyed tone as I quickly turned to Her playing it off. I was nervous as Lucia had her back straight and walked with purpose and her eyebrows furrowed together. I wonder if the girl has the same reaction as anyone else in the isles, getting scared and running away or becoming unconscious out of fear.
"Ah, sorry I didn't realize it was you," I said while scratching my head as Lucia raised her eyebrow.
"Hey....," Lucia said as my anxiety skyrocketed as the worst-case scenario came to mind where the girl had moved and Lucia was seeing her right about now or Lucia was already reading my thoughts and demeanor.
"What did Eda say about our palismans, put Stringbean away! Or at least hide her if your gonna have her close," Lucia yelled in a low voice, I took a deep breath while Stringbean moved up resting her head on my shoulder per usual.
"Ah sorry, I was trying to find the Azura collection," I explained while picking up the book from the floor. Lucia stared at me eyeing me up and down as I felt a small sweat drop slide down the side of my face and a cold sweat start to occur.
"Whatever... well hurry up, I'm starting to get bored of this place and this hat is doing me no justice either," Lucia said taking off her hat as I kept myself under control and tried not to yell at Lucia.
"Also did Stringbean bring you up to date?" She asked after letting her ears breathe and putting her hat back on as I just nodded in response.
"Did you see what it was?" I asked as Lucia sighed.
"Yes and no, but I'm not sure just what it is for certain. I'll tell you the rest later, just hurry up alright? Just being here makes my head hurt," Lucia said before leaving back to where she left as I waited for her footsteps to soften before undoing the spell.
I turned and ran to the girl with Stringbean still clinging to my shoulder as I dropped to my knees dropping the book in the process as I started undoing the illusion spell and abomination goo.
"I am SO SORRY for that! I didn't want my sister to erase your mind so-" I stopped myself from continuing my rant as I finally had a closer look at the brunette girl as she stared at me.
She really was pretty.
I didn't know if she was scared or not but I was certain she was in a state of shock.
"Uh... hello," I asked as I got closer to her face taking in every detail before she snapped back to reality and hit me in the nose
Amity POV
My instincts kicked in before I could come to my senses about the situation. I don't know if it was caused by how scared I was or how she used LITERAL magic, or the fact that she had a bat snake, that is a snake of sorts and purple.
"Oww!" The tanned brunette girl yelled as as she was sprawling on the ground holding her nose.
"Oh my gosh, I'm So Sorry!" I said as I crawled over to the girl who finally calmed down but still held her nose.
"Hey sit up," I told her as I helped her up which caused some blood to start seeping between her fingers.
I reached for her hand only for her to grab my wrist in reaction to my kindness.
"It's fine, I can heal it," she said as she released my wrist and twirled her finger creating a purple circle that changed to blue. It slid around her hand and to her wrist making her hand glow in the process as she let go of her nose showing the blood that pooled on her hand. She began healing her nose with the blood seemingly evaporating into thin air along with some of the blood that stained her face and clothing. I watched in amazement before seeing her ears change from round to pointy ears just like the elves in the Azura books.
"No way..."
Author POV
Luz was focusing most of her magic on her nose and, without realizing it, was slowly undoing the illusion spell she had cast earlier. The certain spell she had cast for her ears was strong yet weak. Just cause of how long she had her illusion spell active slowly made it weaker to the point that casting a simple spell, even if it was a simple light spell, would counteract the current illusion.
"There, perfect!" Luz said as she had finished her spell with all the blood on her vanishing along with the pain from her nose.
"Dang girl, you sure can throw a punch," Luz said jokingly as she shifted her attention to the brunette who just stared in awe.
Luz was confused by the attention she was given until Amity pointed out the obvious.
"Y-your ears! Their pointy!" Amity exclaimed as Luz quickly brought her hands up shifting her attention in front of her as she began feeling her ears.
"Oh no.." Luz quickly hid the ears with opposite hands making her position uncomfortable as she turned her attention to the girl who held a finger at her.
"Your a witch!" Amity yelled before Luz quickly let go of her ears and slapped her hand on her mouth.
"Don't yell it out!" Luz yelled only for Amity to lick her hand. "Eww gross! Did you just lick me?!"
the two began to wrestle each other, as Stringbean was quick to let go and floated above the two watching Amity toppling Luz before pinning her down.
"You're a witch, just like the Azura books," Amity said as Luz's mood quickly changed as she let her excitement out, Classic Luz style, forgetting how serious the situation was.
"You read Azura books too?!" Luz yelled in excitement as Amity looked at her strangely for a second before realizing what she said. She was quick to let go and slap her own hands on her mouth as though they would take back the words she had said.
"What?! No! Of course not! I don't read those kids books!" Amity rebuttals despite the embarrassed blush on her face as Luz begins to sit up and leave Amity's grasp.
"Yeah you do, it's written all over your face!" Luz said as Amity blushed harder and became annoyed as she took Luz's accusations as torment just like her siblings who made fun of her for liking the series.
"Wow, I would of never believed I'd find another fan! Oh, this is great! Who's your favorite?! Hecate or Azura?!" Luz said in excitement catching the Blight off guard.
"Another what? Favorite huh? You know what, never mind. Stop changing the subject! You're a witch aren't you!" Amity yelled again pointing at Luz. This time Luz didn't become defensive and instead stayed relaxed while trying to contain her excitement while Stringbean floated onto the top of her owner's head.
"Yup! born and raised, and it's only my first day too!" Luz smiled sheepishly while petting her palisman as Amity calmed down and stayed seated in front.
"My name is Luz, Luz Noceda," Luz stuck her hand out to Amity catching the human off guard once more by how calm and less freaked out she'd expect her to be.
"Oh and this is Stringbean my palisman, don't worry she doesn't bite!" Luz said as her palisman floated down onto the ground between them shifting into a Chinese dragon and sticking out an arm as Amity stared at the dragon who just looked at her
Amity took the dragon's hand after a few seconds of negotiating with herself before she started to introduce herself.
"I'm Amity, Amity Blight," Amity said before the loud steps of Lucia came close as Luz immediately jumped up.
"Luz where you at?!" Lucia yelled in annoyance as Luz quickly stood up straight scrambling around while Amity watched in confusion.
"Wait here! I'll be right back!" Luz said in a whisper tone to Amity before handing Stringbean to her without any notice before running off in Lucia's direction.
"Hey, Lucia!" Luz said as she was immediately met with Lucia right after turning the corner.
before Lucia could get a word out Luz immediately spoke up cutting her off.
"So, before you yell, I found some other books here that seem cool so I'm going to go ahead and stay here. Go on ahead and find Eda. She wanted to see you, I'll meet y'all at twelve by the gates," Luz said as she was about to turn and run back to the human before Lucia spoke in an annoyed-like tone.
"Wait a minute," Luz stopped as she became nervous as she turned to Lucia. Lucia took a step closer to Luz causing anxiety within Luz to spike before Lucia reached for her ears pulling on them causing pain for the small witch. She used her nails and hard pressure just like their mother who had passed this technique onto Lucia by accident.
Accident I mean when Lucia took notes every time Camilla did it on her.
"Your ears are showing," Lucia said while releasing her ear as Luz touched her left ear in pain.
"Oww! Sorry! I got tired from the spell" Luz then recasted the spell making her ears round as Lucia sighed.
"Just don't do it again, I'll see you later. And keep Stringbean hidden please!" Lucia yelled while walking away as Luz waited till she was out of sight before running back.
Luz POV
"Ah, sorry bout that," I said as I walked back to Amity and Stringbean.
I sat down in front of Amity, who stayed frozen and seemed to not have moved an inch since I left, and gave her Stringbean who shifted back. Stringbean sat on her hands patiently waiting for my return and happily beamed with joy once I made my turn down the aisle. I picked Stringbean up putting her on my shoulder before sitting down in front of Amity again.
"My sister is always mad, so don't worry about her," I told Amity, who was still frozen, as I began petting Stringbean who instantly moved into my hand.
"I can see that..." Amity said as she finally broke out of her state and started, or at least seemed to, relax and sat in a much more comfortable position.
"So a witch... And it's your first day....out?" Amity asked as I nodded.
"We barely arrived yesterday, today we're getting settled in. Buying clothes, furniture, food, and maybe some other things that may catch our eye," I explained as she still seemed on edge about everything but continued with her questions
"So there's more of you... Here? No offense."
"None taken, but there's only me and my sister I have another sister though, well not by blood, but she's with my mom and uncle right now," I said as it got quiet yet Amity was stiff as a board, and was rapidly tapping her finger on her knee as I could tell what was nagging her.
"Just ask already, I came prepared to answer these things way before I was 14," I said as she looked taken back by the fact I read her.
"I'm well I was just wondering... but uh," she stumbled over her words as she had her gaze away from mine before giving me an unsure look to continue as I just smiled.
"What's magic like? Or do you even call it magic? Oh! What's your home like, too? Is there some sort of civilization system in your realm or a magic system? Or are you even from another realm? Also, can anyone do magic or just your kind? Or is it like a select few or family blood relation thing?" She asked and I was taken aback by how many questions she had, which I was not prepared for, as I just laughed.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" She asked, I just kept up my smile as she had an embarrassed blush once more.
"No, it's just I never would have thought you'd have this many questions about me and my home. Plus with the way you came off I would have thought you were some cool kid and not a geek," I said as she immediately became defensive.
"I'm not a geek!" She yelled as I smiled and pointed to the bookshelf of kid books and comics where I had seen her and Stringbean have a standoff as she just blushed more in response. "I just happen to read Azura okay, also I'm JUST curious, that's all."
"Well to answer your questions, yes I am from another realm and yes we call it magic. My realm is called the demon realm, It's kind of like a mix of every myth, legend, or weird creepy thing you could imagine all in one. And no it's not like hell. Things like griffins, vampires, fairies, and giraffes all came from my world spewing into yours."
"Giraffes? Those aren't from our world?" She said as I laughed.
"Oh no giraffes are from my realm, we banished those guys. They Caused too much trouble and were freaks of nature," I said as Amity just nodded and continued to listen.
"Where I live is called the Boiling Isles, basically an old body of a decomposed titan, which is an old mythic monster from my world. Our civilization system is just a high table we call the Great Titans Council which is made up my elected citizens with one of them being the hailed Head Leader or Head Councilmen. Though some citizens call him emperor.
Our magic system, on the other hand, isn't really a system in a way. There are main eight types of magic people use that help to build and aid our society. There is abomination, plant, bard, potion, illusion, beastkeeping, healing, and oracle which are all distinct by symbols that represent them."
"Are there only those magic?" she asked as she changed positions once more from sitting on both knees to sitting criss-cross and was really channeling every word I spoke making me feel like a teacher back at school.
"Uh no there are other magic like fire and ice magic, but the main nine are just magic used day to day and is what has helped to rebuild my society, But not really. OH! There are also The Titan's Guards who are basically the police force keeping order in the isles and are highly regarded as they also work under the Titan council keeping everything at peace."
"Wow, that's amazing. So want is the point of having both a head councilmen and a council?"
"So the head council man acts like yall's president in a way where they are the ones more trusted and ultimately guides the council and society. The Titans council prevents the head councilmen from taking over and being in total control as all nine of the other council representatives have to come to agreements on decisions but ultimately it's the head councilmen who speak in place of all the council reps.
Also for the magic question you asked, I'm not quite sure if humans can even use magic but I kind of highly doubt it. Do you guys have bile sacks?" I asked as she just stared at me confusingly.
"Uh, what's that?" Amity asked as I just summoned a book of demon anatomy before moving over beside the human.
"Here," I began flipping through the pages before landing on the bile sack part of the book showing her.
"A bile sack."
"Eww! What the heck?!" She yelled as she had a disgusted look and I just laughed.
"I'll take that as a no," I said as I began the mini-lesson of witch anatomy.
"So every demon on the Isles, which includes me, has a sack just like this that connects to our hearts. It's essential because the bile sack holds all our magic, which is how I can even perform spells," I explained before shutting the book and making it disappear.
"So humans can't do magic?" She asked as I thought about it.
" hmm.... Well probably but it won't hurt till you try," I say as she was taken back as I was confused. " what? Did I say something wrong?" I asked as she quickly put her hands up.
"What?! No! You didn't do anything. It's just...." she started to fiddle with her fingers trying to figure out a way to form her next sentence.
"why are you so open and friendly?" She asked as I just looked at her, I was confused by what she meant or what she was trying to say.
" I mean, you just met and you're already telling me about another realm and stuff, and you're just... so calm."
"Oh uh, that's not normal? I mean you kinda already know that I'm from another realm and you seem cool so I thought maybe we could be friends," I said as I looked at her and instantly regretted my word choice. " I mean that's if you want! I just....," I could think of a good enough lie before gently grabbing Stringbean off my shoulder and petting her.
"I don't have any... I don't have many people I can call friends back home. I mean I have people I talk to but I'm not close with them. I'm... Unusual per say since I love your human realm and all of your culture. It's unique and different. So I thought just maybe I could make one friend during this trip. So sorry if I seem calm and straightforward, I'm... not used to having friends you could say," I said shyly as the human listened to me before smiling.
" I get it... Well, kind of, but I understand. I just would expect you to flip and you know.... Hold me captive and erase my memories," she said as I cringly chuckled.
"I could still arrange that, if anything be glad you ran into me and not my sister. She would have done it in a heartbeat," I laughed as she followed along as well.
Out of nowhere, she stuck her hand out to me as I stared at her small hand before looking up at her where she presented a small smile.
"Friends?" She asked as I stared at her before smiling and grabbing her hand.
"Friends"
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