(inspiration from Owl House; Season 2 episode 18- Labyrinth Runners)
"Morgana could fly, right?" Angel asked, so suddenly as she poked her head into the kitchen that Douxie had to take a moment to actually formulate an answer.
"Technically speaking, she could levitate," Archie said, beating him to the punch so he could focus. He was watching Douxie make whatever he was supposed to be making. The wizard didn't notice as he was just a body to watch Douxie and keep him from hurting himself. Or burning down the house.
"Same difference," Angel protested. "How long did it take her to learn it?"
"About two to three years," Douxie called back to her, actually trying to focus on cooking instead of getting distracted. "Why?"
"Because I want to learn it. I wanna fly."
"It will take a lot of focus and practice," Archie warned. Flapjack, appearing suddenly as he had likely just finished his flight/patrol around town, chirped his agreement. "At first, you have to completely be at peace with yourself. Then, once you do that, you can levitate slightly off the ground."
"Morgana was at- actually, that makes sense," Angel trailed off, playing back Morgana's actions and words as long as she'd known her. An air righteousness always followed her, like she thought that she was doing the right thing. "Anyway, I think I can learn it faster."
"How so?" Douxie asked, accidentally dropping something into the pan. Angel rolled her eyes playfully but continued to explain.
"Well, if you think about it, I've learned new spells a lot quicker when I'm in a stressful-slash-dangerous situation. When I teleported to the roof of my school, disappeared when I was crying in the hallway that same year, slowing down a baseball coming at my head, my claws came from the gravesand incident," Douxie muttered something that Angel couldn't hear, "and I can teleport without making a flash of light when I want to after battling Morgana."
"What exactly are you implying, Missy?" Archie asked, followed by a prolonged suspicious chirp. That made her tense and flush, but steeled her face in determination as she said the next words.
"I think I should jump off a cliff," she blurted then facepalmed. That was a horrifically bad way to say what she meant. She could have said that she needed an adrenaline rush or some kind of danger- instead she went with I should jump off a cliff....
What the actual fuck?
Flapjack seemed to be the one to take action voicing his thoughts on the matter, chirping and pecking at her head. For a moment, out of surprise and the fact that she kinda deserved it for her dumbass wording, she just let him.
"Ok, ok, I worded that terribly! I get it!"
"How would it have been worded well?!" Douxie asked turning on her with a glare that almost made her shut up and take back what she just said. But Angel promised herself she'd never do that again.
"I just meant I need an adrenaline rush or to be in danger for me to get the harder spells or bits of magic." Flapjack finally stopped pecking at her head, but he still matched the glares everyone else was giving her. "Ok, that isn't good either."
"Why on earth would you think that you need to jump off a cliff to do that? Isn't that parkour you do with Zadra and Aja dangerous enough?"
"They're safety nets, Doux! If- if I fail, Zadra or Aja have got my back!"
"You make that sound like a bad thing!"
"In this situation, it is Douxie! If I have something to fall back on, my magic won't think to help me- however the hell that works."
"You- you- you don't even know if it even works like!" Douxie had slowly been walking towards her and was now within reach to grab her shoulders. A bit too forcibly before realizing it was such and loosening his grip. "What happens if you get hurt because of it? Please, I couldn't-"
Suddenly Angel's phone rang, effectively cutting him off. She took out her phone and saw it was Toby, immediately remembering where she was supposed to be right now.
"Sorry, TP, I got a little bit distracted," Angel started, but didn't exactly look away from his concerned hazel orbs or back away from his warm grasp.
Until Toby began yelling into the phone so loud even Archie and Flapjack could hear.
"Where are you, man? We need a camera girl!"
"Toby, calm down. I'm only a minute late." Angel pulled away and walked into the living room, putting on the nearest hoodie. While it was summer, Toby's house and the Mothership were always almost freezing.
"Yeah, which is totally unprofessional!"
"This is our first shooting day and Krel may not even go for it."
"Don't make me replace you!"
"You can't replace me! I'm doing you're filming, practical effects, costume design, and I'm the connection to the band doing your freaking soundtrack!" Toby made a sound like he was actually deliberating. Angel cast a look of disbelief over the counter/bar that overlooked the kitchen to get similar looks from the others.
"Ok, you hired-" Angel groaned. "Just get here, ASAP!"
"Oh, you know I will," she muttered before hanging up. "Sorry Doux. I did promise to be his camera girl. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, that's fine," Douxie said with a sigh. "I have to work at the Cafe later anyway. Hey-" he said, grabbing her arm before she could teleport. "Please don't do anything dangerous- on purpose at least." Before Angel could answer with a "sure thing" or "no way" her phone rang again and she groaned angrily. When she pulled away and answered her phone, it was just as she had expected.
"I get it Toby! I'm on my way!" With that and a flash of red light, she was gone. Douxie sighed and looked down dejectedly. Until a burning smell reached his nose.
. . .
After dealing with an ex of Stuart's in the woods, filming most of it by bicycle while Angel ran behind them (so much for being camera girl), only for Eli and Angel to berate Toby for not shooting on digital after running out of tape. Once everyone dispersed, Angel didn't exactly go home. She originally planned to go to the gazebo to simply think but found her feet carrying her somewhere.
Angel knew Douxie would hate what she was doing. Hell, she hated herself for it. Maybe it was her stubbornness, maybe it was something else, but to her at the moment, it was both the quickest way to test her theory and (if she was right) quickest way to learn to fly.
Well, I started out
Down a dirty road
Started out all alone
And the sun went down
As I crossed the hill
And the town lit up
The world got still
As Angel walked small and winding path to the cliff that overlooked the city and woods from afar, the sun had already began setting. By the time she had gotten to the actual clearing, the sky was fading from indigo to dark blue to midnight black.
In the combat boots Anna had gotten her, she walked to the edge for a second then backed away. She was really high up, the blanket of green leaves just adding to her uncertainty of where the ground must lay. Still, she was committed.
Angel took one more terrifying look over the edge, sighed and backed up a better distance before running towards the edge. Her boots lit up red as she gave herself a boost for a jump.
I'm learning to fly
But I ain't got wings
Coming down
Is the hardest thing
It was just as amazing as before, the feeling of being stopped midair as she watched the town lights become ever brighter. She was simply a spectator and what a way to be such. Angel never wanted to leave the spot. But, as with all good things in her life, it didn't last.
She began to fall.
Well the good ol' days
May not return
And the rocks might melt
And the sea may burn
There was something different about falling this time. Her hair got in her eyes and mouth, the wind rushed past her in a scream, the looming threat that the trees were only going to be the start of her pain-
This had been a terrible idea! She should have brought Douxie or Arch. At the very least Flapjack. He was a phoenix after all. He could have caught her in seconds flat. And now because of her own stupid pride, she was about to die.
Then, all of a sudden, she was upsidedown and face to face with the wall of the cliff. Her breath was short and panicked, but was slowly coming to the same realization as the rest of her body- she was fine.
The trees were only a couple feet from the bottom of her hair. A quick glance upwards towards her feet showed the glow that had saved her. She let out a relieved chuckle.
So she couldn't fly the normal way.
I'm learning to fly
But I ain't got wings
How was she supposed to get upright-
"Crap!" She yelled as her bracers lit up and quickly righted her. She knocked her head against the cliff, making it throb. But she would not be deterred by a little pain. She stretched her arms out and lunged forward a beat. When she pulled her arms back she went backwards into the cliff side.
It hurt, but not as bad as fighting Angor Rot. After rubbing her head, shooting up a few feet accidentally with the motion, she steeled her glare to the city. She could make it about a mile or two like this, couldn't she?
And coming down
Is the hardest thing
Angel let her hands go in front of her, almost like a superhero if she were being watched or had somewhere important to go when really she should be going slow.
But speeding across the green treetops was cool in a way. The wind was rushing past her in a roar, blocking everything else out. It started to sting at her eyes, making it hard to see anything. Before she could even think to slow down, her foot got caught it an extra tall tree.
Now some say life
Will beat you down
Yeah, break your heart
Steal your crown
The branches of the pulled at her face, arms, legs, everything. The only reason that she didn't mind completely was because it was slowing her downward decent. She still let out a groan when she finally hit the ground on her back. She had felt a tug at her neck and knew her necklace was lost in the woods somewhere.
She sat up slowly, rubbing her head again and looking up at the sky through a few trees. The stars were dim both from just being revealed for the night and because of the city light pollution and small clouds that blotted them out. Her head spun and her old wounds flared up horribly for about a minute.
So I started out
For God knows where
I guess I'll know
When I get there
Angel finally pushed herself up, thinking about a better way to steer herself in the air. Without the wind getting in her eyes and inhibiting her movements and sight. Wait....
"The wind! I'm such an idiot," she muttered as she went through the few runes that she knew and found the one she was looking for. Angel couldn't exactly remember the name of it, but she knew it was a flight rune. Once both her bracers had the rune on them, a whirlwind of wind wrapped around her, trying to lift her up.
A new sense of determination set around her as she had her boots glow red with her magic and that was all the wind seemed to be waiting for. Angel shot upwards once again, branches and leaves sticking in her hair. But she found she didn't care as she was as high as the clouds.
I'm learning to fly
Around the clouds
But what goes up
Must come down
Jack had mentioned that the wind often had a mind of it's own, that he only directed it's attention to where he needed it. So she did as he instructed.
Angel willed the wind to move her to the right carefully. Then the same to the left. Then back and forth as she went forward towards the town. Slowly she was gaining confidence to go faster. As she passed a cloud, she reached her hand out to feel it. Though it felt like nothing, the simple act of touching a cloud miles up in the air was exilerating, and she let out something close to a laugh and shout of joy.
And since she was fulfilling her wildest dreams, why not do something else that she'd seen so many times in media?
Angel had the wind loosen it's grip on her and began a near freefall to the building tops.
I'm learning to fly
But I ain't got wings
Coming down
Is the hardest thing
She stopped falling right as her stomach hit the bend of a lamppost. Still, not as hard were she really falling from that height. Instead, she was easily able to laugh it off and continue on. She ducked and dodged every lamppost, car, and whatever else got in her way. To give herself an extra boost, she kicked off the side of a building.
She wondered why nobody made a comment about her flying until reached out her hand to grab a pole to make a sharp turn. Instinctively she had turned invisible if her lack of a solid colored hand was any indication.
She ended up shooting down to the ground, having to tuck and roll to avoid getting hurt even more. But as she became visible again and sat up with a very likely bruised body, she let out a laugh.
To anyone who passed by the alley, Angel would be considered a crazy person, just some weirdo laughing to herself- she found that she didn't care as she just had the most exhilarating experience of her life. It was short but so much fun! Angel couldn't wait to tell Douxie.
. . .
Douxie had gotten his schedule mixed up, so apparently had the night off. What better way to spend it than by practicing a new spell?
"Careful!" Archie said as Douxie began casting the spell on his skull necklace, his bracelet glowing with the rune combo Archie had instructed.
"What Arch?" He asked.
"Just- you have to focus, you know."
"Yes, I know Arch. I was doing that before you startled me." Archie, much to his chagrin, agreed with the sentiment and shut up. Flapjack was hiding above the cabinets, afraid to even be near the magic.
"Wait!" Archie interrupted just as Douxie touched his necklace, imbuing it with the proper magic, and tried to touch it again to activate the illusion.
"What?"
"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this alone? Can't you get Zoe or Angel to-"
"No!" Douxie snapped, then sighed when Archie jumped at him. "I'm sorry, I just- I can't let her go through that stuff again."
"This spell is supposed to show you your happiest memories, given your intention-"
"And if I mess up even in the slightest, it could put her through her worst memories again. That bloody demon already brought up things she didn't want to think about." Anytime Douxie had brought up the topic as of late, Angel had deflected the conversation to something else. Even Zoe's attempts were fruitless. Still, he wasn't going to force her through her worst memories again.
"Oh, I've told you before that it won't affect you," Archie said, drawing Douxie's attention to the little cardinal form hiding above the cabinets. "For one, you'd need to touch the item, and two, since you haven't casted the spell yourself (not that you could) it would need to be something that means a lot too you."
Chirp! Chirp!
"Would it make you feel better if you went in the other room?" Douxie asked, getting up to open his bedroom door. Immediately, a gust of wind nearly knocked him down. He chuckled nervously as he turned on the light so the bird could see. As he did, the light revealed that Flapjack was already curling up on Angel's pillow; waiting for her to come home it seemed.
With a kind smile, he closed the door until it was open just a crack so Flapjack leave if he wanted. Apparently that bird didn't want any of that spell to come anywhere near him because he slammed the door behind Douxie, making him stumble forward.
"What's that about?" Archie looked away, earning a suspicious glare from Douxie. At least for a moment before the cat sighed in such a way that he instantly knew. "Right then. I need to practice this spell. Quickly." He added upon seeing Archie's worried glance at the door.
He smiled at him, thankful that his familiar understood. But his smile faded to a worried press of his lips as Douxie, without hesitation, picked up his enchanted necklace and a blue ring passed over his eyes.
A strange flickering feeling passed over Douxie's eyes, but overall felt nothing else. He checked behind him, seeing nothing.
"Douxie, what did you do?" Archie asked him, causing the wizard to turn to where the cat was perched on the counter so he could answer- only to see that he wasn't staring at him or had even spoken.
"That wasn't me!" Douxie heard himself say. He turned his head to see himself looking around wildly, trying to figure out what happened (with a horrible manbun hairdo). He saw himself in a translucent blue light, surrounded by knights that looked the same way. It reminded him of how Angel looked when he went in her mind.
"Merlin Ambrosius," Vision Douxie said as a bright blue beam passed the regular Douxie, forming into his afformentioned master. His vision self kneeled, not even trying to conceal his awestruck features. "Thank you. I owe you my life."
"And what sort of life would that be?" Merlin asked, gesturing for the boy to stand. "Have you ever thought about that? Your ruse with the smoke was rather clever."
"Really?" Vision Douxie asked, face lighting up with praise.
"No." Both Douxie's faces fell, but the real one just shook his into a fond smirk. "But it was real magic. Come. You could use a hot meal. And I could use a new apprentice."
"What? Me?" The vision showed the three walking away from the knights, through they weren't moving through the room. "Look at us Arch. Teaming up with the magnanimous Merlin. I knew this plan wasn't a mistake."
"A wizard does not make mistakes. He makes unexpected possiblities."
"I remember that day," Douxie said fondly as the three turned into balls of bright blue light. "That was the first real meal I'd had in what- twelve years?" Douxie asked with a chuckle. Archie reluctantly joined him as a new vision formed.
"Give or take a couple years," he muttered before being cut off by the new vision.
"If there is any truth in life, it is that hard work is the fire which forges one's soul into steel," Merlin said as he threw some ingredients into a cauldron. Immediately, the vision disappeared into another blue ball, floating around Douxie before stopping in front of him.
"Your boss seems to me like he doesn't trust you enough," Zoe's translucent form told him with a smirk. As he chuckled nervously and averted his gaze, Zoe began walking off. But not before turned back to him with- "oh, and he's a real jerk."
"You say that everytime I bring him up." Douxie spoke from memory, even knowing what she'd say next.
"Because you always bring up all the great things he's done, but you-
"Always fail to bring up the mistakes he's made," Angel finished from the couch, replacing Zoe as she disappeared. Her head hadn't lifted from the book she was reading, but she hadn't turned the page either. "You have to be able to see it in everyone, even those you hold close. I don't doubt that he's a good person, nor do I doubt he's been as close to a father to you as possible. I just think some of his decisions could- Douxie?"
Angel had lifted her head when she heard Douxie sniffle in the past. Now he just had a blank expression. He had done everything in his power to block the memory out. Especially as Angel rushed over to wipe phantom tears from his eyes.
"Doux, I'm so sorry. I never meant to bring up something bad. We- we-" Douxie backed up as his glowy blue self fell forward, leaning his head on her shoulder as he quietly sobbed. Douxie never told her what was going through his mind that night. He didn't want to think about it himself.
Because Merlin was the closest thing he'd had to a father, the closest family him and Arch had. Because his real- or biological- father never did. That village was never his family. If he could ever talk to the man he called his dad again-
"Be careful, Hisirdoux. One day, one of your mistakes will kill someone else." Douxie gasped and turned towards the voice as his heart skipped a beat.
His father in all his "glory" was standing right behind him. The man looked down at a small figure who was picking up something that had broken in pieces. Douxie had forgotten exactly what he'd broken that time, but to his father that never mattered.
"I'm sorry father," Douxie's small form said, not looking up at the towering man in front of him. Even as an adult, the man was just a few inches taller than Douxie now.
"Of course your sorry. You're a sorry excuse for a son. After all, you did kill your own mother." Douxie felt tears fall down his face as his fists clenched. With the emotion he had, he ended up shorting out the lights leaving the visions a beacon in the room.
"I was a baby," he muttered, casting his gaze to the ground. "Sure, I was born early and that caused my mother to die, but that wasn't my fault!" He raised his head to look at the man still glaring at his smaller form.
"Honestly, just you being here is a problem."
"Then why didn't you just get rid of me? Give me up to another family in another village instead of turning ours against me?"
"Unfortunately for me, I made a promise to my wife, my late wife, to protect you and raise you." The man kicked away the last piece of whatever little Douxie was supposed to pick up, walking away from him. The real Douxie followed him with a glare.
"I never asked for you to remind me everyday, for you to- to decimate me any chance you could!" Douxie sighed and tried to regain his composure. However, that seemed impossible given what happened next as the man turned around.
"Hisirdoux! What- what are you doing?" The real Douxie gasped and turned around slowly, suddenly realizing what memory it was by the tone of those words alone. He only heard it once within the entirety of the interactions between him and his father.
Fear.
"I dunno," vision Douxie said, poking at the now floating pieces before gasping excitedly. "Blimy! I'm a wizard, aren't I- father?" Douxie's expression matched his old one perfectly, not even having to look at the man who should be his father to know the pure hatred that fell upon his face.
"Get out."
"What?" The pieces dropped.
"Get the bloody hell out of my house! You will bring death upon me!" The man suddenly gripped vision Douxie's arm and started dragging him away. Towards the back door of their house if he wasn't mistaken.
"But what about mum? The promise you made- ahh!" Douxie was thrown out of his house with such a force that he hurt his elbow.
"That promise is the only reason I don't kill you now! But if she knew she'd given birth to an abomination that would bring King Arthur's knights to my door, she wouldn't have bothered."
The vision disappeared, and the blue balls of light began swirl around him. Flashes of faces and flickers of voices. Douxie covered his ears to block them out, falling to the ground. He heard Arch say something but he wasn't sure if it was memory Arch or real Arch.
He found himself not caring at all, just trying shut out everything.
. . .
Angel practically ran home in her excitement, hopping up the stairs two at a time.
"I'm home!" She called out as she went up. Normal she wouldn't at this hour, but she heard his and Archie's voices so she assumed they were awake. "I have something amazing-"
"Keep at it and don't but master me." Merlin said. Angel rolled her eyes as she slowed her acention, not wanting to be around her roommate's master anymore than she had to. What was he doing here, anyway?
"You need to deal with this," Zoe's voice said over some other voices. Angel paused as Zoe continued talking, not on topic with anything she said before and not in line with the many voices she heard. What, was he having a party in there? Because she counted at least twenty- twenty-five different voices.
Curiousity overpowering her dislike of Merlin, Angel hurried up the rest of the stairs. A blue tornado of light flowed in the middle of the living room, faces flashing and speaking randomly.
Archie was curled up in a ball on the counter, sobbing quietly. Angel immediately understood that it was Douxie who was feeling that. And she knew that he was in the middle of the tornado. Immediately she rushed to go into it, getting shot backwards into the counter.
She knew what spell this was, she'd been wanting to learn it herself. But the spell only made visions you couldn't interact with other than stepping in and repeating words of the past. Whatever Douxie had seen had caused his magic to run ramped and she didn't like it at all.
Angel spotted Douxie's necklace at her feet, a faint blue glow on it. That must have been the object he enchanted to react to his touch and ended up putting him, and subsequently, Arch in the nightmare of his past.
Without a second thought, Angel grabbed the necklace. She felt her eyes tingle as the tornado of light fell away from Douxie.