The next day Luz wakes up first, excited to see that she is still in the Boiling Isles. She looks at her left to see Esper still sleeping. She smiles for a second before looking at Esper's ears, as they are now exposed. She then remembers Eda's own ears being pointy and how they didn't show her the previous day.
Luz then jumps up, excitedly stomping her feet before she sits back down to shake her childhood friend, "OOOOOOH! My gosh, Esper! Esper, wake up! It wasn't a dream!"
Esper slowly opens her eyes, groggy as her sleep had been interrupted, "I'm. A-wake. Stop. Shaking. Me. Please."
Luz grins, letting Esper go as she gestures towards the room, "Oh, sorry sorry! We're still here in the Boiling Isles! It wasn't just a dream! This is so cool, we're going to learn from an actual witch! Plus we can show her your ears! You might be a witch, Esper!"
Esper gasps, realizing she took her headband off last night. She covers her ears with her hands, "Are you sure? You know the rumors have been that my old parents cut my ears to make them look like this."
Luz gets up, "Oh I am totally sure! Besides, those were just rumors from OUR realm. Maybe you're from this world! Now come on, let's go find some witchy clothes!"
Esper nods as Luz gets up to hug King, annoying him after she calls him a 'cutie pie', she then ponders to herself, "Well, I wasn't able to go through that contraband wall yesterday so maybe... I really might actually be a witch, woah." She then changes out of her pjs into her usual outfit.
She got up and then stretched, putting her hands in the pockets of her yellow hoodie as she left to find Luz. Luz had gone through Eda's closet, putting on what appeared to be 'witch clothing', she was finishing up her nametag which had said "Witch Apprentice Luz" on it. She turned to put a witch hat on Esper's head, "Oh there you are! Here, to make you look all witchy! Oh and I made this too!" She put a matching nametag on Esper's hoodie,
Luz eagerly waited for Eda to come down the stairs, only to be disappointed to see her in human-like pajamas. Obviously tired from just waking up, Eda walked down the stairs as Luz excitedly announced that she was ready for witch training. Only for Eda to seemingly not remember who Luz and Esper are.
Esper rubbed the back of her head, "Uh, we're the two kids you said you would train as witches. Don't you remember what you promised Luz? Well and me." Luz nodded, "Yeah! Remember us? Luz and Esper! We freed the oppressed and and defeated the evil warden together? Yesterday!"
Eda took a cup of red liquid from her fridge, "Kid, spare me the details. I haven't had my morning cup of apple blood yet."
Luz and Esper looked to each other and back at Eda, "You mean apple juice?" "Riiiight?"
Eda frowned, "No." She then sat on the table as Luz ran to her, "Teach me some magic spells! When do I get a magic staff? Was I supposed to bring my own runes? DO YOU HAVE A DANGEROUS MAGIC QUEST FOR ME?" Esper simply hangs back, seeing as Luz was being all excited again.
Eda tells her to slow down, "No one becomes a witch overnight! Although... One of you looks different from yesterday. I can't put my finger on it..." Luz then speaks up, yanking Esper's head closer to Eda, "Yeah! See! Esper was hiding her ears yesterday but they're pointy at the end! They've been pointy her whole life! Just like your's! That MUST mean she's a witch!" Esper frees herself from Luz's grip, fixing her messed up hair, "Luz!" Eda grinned, "Now you see! I thought you were different, kid. I had a feeling you were one of us. Though, you! You said you wanted a magic staff, right?"
Luz gasps, "More than anything!"
Eda then summons her staff, which takes a few minutes before eventually getting to her, hitting her in the face. Eda then explains that witches get their staffs through school but Luz and Esper will be taking a different approach. She then drops a bag of potions in front of Luz, "You'll have to work for it. Now, Luz, follow me. Esper, you stay here." Esper then furrows her eyebrows at Luz, confused as to why they are going to be separated. Eda then talks to Luz about her business and for her to be careful when selling potions in town, showing Luz where she will be selling the items.
Eventually the two walk back into the room with Eda pushing Luz out the door, "Remember, befriend a man in sandals and always measure twice, cut once." Luz then looks at her confused before Eda closes the door in her face. She then pushes King, waking him, telling him he has to go with Luz. He argues, asking why he has to go until Eda points out that she would probably get lost AND eaten. He then leaves to go with Luz when Eda asks if he wants to pay rent for living with her.
Eda opens the door for him, "Be back by night fall or risk mortal peril!" Esper waves the two goodbye before Eda closes the door. She then magically changes her clothes to her usual attire.
Eda then looks at Esper, "You! Come with me." Esper begins to follow the older woman, throwing the dirty traffic cone off her head, "Oh! Okay Eda, whaaaaat are we going to do?" They weren't going too far, just in front of the house.
Eda suddenly throws a potion at the young redhead, who catches it, "We're going to unlock your magic while those two are gone, kid! You definitely are a witch, I knew something was up with you the moment you couldn't walk through that door at the Conformatorium! Those pointy ears you got just confirmed it. I've got one question though, how'd you end up in the Human Realm? I've never heard of any witches ending up there."
Esper shrugs, looking down at her reflection in the potion, "I don't know. I've been with my parents my whole life and they never mentioned anything about me not being human. Though they did tell me I was adopted..." She then looked away from her reflection.
Eda noticed that her demeanor changed and shrugged, "Eh, that's details we can talk about another time. Come on, let's unlock those powers. I think your bile sac might be a bit blocked since you've never performed any magic for as long as you were in the Human Realm. That potion should help you out, it's a remedy that clears up your pathways. Take a swing."
The smaller redhead nodded, "Uh, sure!" Esper takes a drink of the orange potion, suddenly surging with energy, "WOAH! That stuff hits hard! Alright! Let's do this then!" She swung her arms around, obviously excited.
The Owl Lady giggled at her, "Yeah, it doubles as an energy drink, you little firecracker. You're old enough to have one of those, right?"
Esper jumps up and down, punching the air, "Nope!"
Eda shrugs this off, "Heh, of course you aren't. Okay so follow my lead. Extend your arm and point, now make a circle just like this! Think about what you want to do and... do it!" At the end of her sentence, the circle Eda made shot a fireball at the stone wall in front of the house. It left a scorch mark as well.
Esper gulps and thinks back on Eda's instructions, extending her arm and making a circular motion. Slow and steady, the tip of her finger started to glow a light blue and white hue. She kicked up the pace, forming a circle with the magic at the tip of her finger. When finished, the circle stayed and shot a fireball at the same wall, leaving a similar scorch mark on the stone. Eda fist pumps afterwards, "Yes! I knew it, you're a witch, kid!"
Esper runs out of breath as she speaks, "So I am actually a witch? Woah! That's... so cool! Oh I hope it doesn't make Luz jealous though."
Eda shrugs, patting Esper on the head, "She doesn't seem like the type to be jealous to me. Besides! You two seem to be super close, I don't think that kid would ever be jealous of you. What are you looking at?"
Esper was startled, "Oh sorry, I was just looking at the sky... The atmosphere is so beautiful here, just look at it! The clouds, the purple hue of the sky even though it's daytime, everything is just so... Majestic."
Eda snickers, "Heh, what are you, a poet? I guess you're right though, the Boiling Isles does have it's charm despite it's flaws. You know speaking of Luz, she's taking a long time with those deliveries. Oh wait, here she is now!"
Esper looks to Luz with stars in her eyes, "Oh Luz, you'll never guess what I'm able to do no-Aaaand she's gone."
Luz runs past the both of them, running to her room. Unknownst to Eda and Esper, Luz had obtained a map that will show her that she is "the Chosen One". They both shrug at each other before deciding to go back into the house.
Eda then walks up the stairs to Luz and Esper's room, with Esper following behind the older witch. Eda then opens the door, hearing a part of their conversation, "Oh you guys are talking about bad girls? Wait, what's going on?"
King then gets up, "Eda, tell Luz how dumb wizards are."
Eda shakes her head, Esper follows her into the room, "Ugh, wizards are the worst. Never trust a man in casual drapery! Why?" King then tells her that her wizard client told Luz that she was a Chosen One, which causes Eda to laugh. Both of them start laughing about the wizard telling Luz that she was a Chosen One, which causes Luz to blush in embarrassment.
Esper sees this and frowns, putting a hand on Luz's shoulder, "Aw come on, guys, don't laugh. Who says Luz can't be a Chosen One?"
Eda stops laughing, "It was a wizard that told her! Let me see the map. ...You didn't think it was real, did you?" Esper frowns. Luz then looks up, moving from Esper's hand, disappointed, "What?"
Eda playfully smacks the map, "This map is bunk! There's no lake with a Celestial Staff on the Boiling Isles. I would have stolen it ages ago. Aww, don't worry. Couple more months here and you won't look like such a mark." She pats Luz on the head, but Luz pushes her hand away, "Can I have some time alone?" This causes Eda and King to leave, shrugging as Luz looks at the map again. Esper shrugs, smiling, "Aw come on, don't listen to them. Maybe you are a Chosen One! Sure, the map might be fake but you aren't! Maybe you're a Chosen One in a different way."
Luz frowns at Esper, "I'm sorry but can I have some time to myself, Esper?"
Esper frowns back, looking defeated, "Oh... Okay, yeah, that's fine. I'll just go hang out with Eda and King..." She then walks out of the room, leaving Luz alone.
Esper then sits on the couch, sad, leaving a space for Eda in the middle as she questions King about the "wizard client" he mentioned. Stating that she doesn't know him that well and that she doesn't like he is planting something in Luz's mind.
Esper shrugs, "Well if I know Luz, she would find some way to connect this to Azura..... Oh no." Her face then lights up with a realization.
Eda then looks at Esper, "Oh no? What do you mean by 'oh no'? Come on, let's check on her, kid!" The two run upstairs, The Owl Lady opens the door to the room, "Hey, Luz? Aw NUTS!"
The smaller redhead looks to the sky, "I knew I shouldn't have left her! Even for 5 minutes! Aw man, now she's probably going to get eaten by some monster!" Esper's hands then start glowing blue, showing a dangerous-looking aura. Eda puts a hand on her shoulder before looking out the window, "Woah, calm down, Esper. Those powers of your's aren't used to your emotions yet. Hooty! Where'd she go!"
After learning Luz's location from the owl tube, Esper, Eda and King decide to head off and rescue the human before she can get herself hurt!
King sniffs the ground in the town, telling Eda and Esper that this is where they met the wizard. Seeing the rundown old castle in the place of the sparkly new one, the trio does not like the looks of this one bit. Eda then sees multiples of the same map Luz had, showing Esper that the map really was a fake, "I really don't like this. Come on, we have to find her!" Esper follows Eda as King jumps on Esper's shoulder.
King gets them to the town Luz was just in, using his sense of smell to track her. They encounter a cat-like puppet who tells them that they want Eda to keep following Luz. The puppet then disintegrates. King freaks out, jumping to Esper's arms exclaiming, "AH! THE CATMAN MELTED!" Esper hugs King closer, "What do we do, Eda?" Eda ponders, "Well, it's a trap. They want me to follow Luz. Hm...."
The trio fly in on the staff, struggling to hold on with how fast Owlbert is going. King jumps onto Esper's back as Eda speaks, "I know this guy. He's no wizard! He's what you call a puppeteer! A demon who specializes in scamming and manipulating people! Keep a note of that, Esper. He's trying to use Luz to get to me!"
King speaks up from Esper's arms, "And we're walking right into his trap! Great plan!" Esper puts up her finger to bring up a point when Eda interrupted her, "Hey if you two have a better plan, I'd be open to hear it! Looks like you'll be showing off your magic early, Esper, get ready! Now go faster, you!" She then smacks Owlbert on the back of the head, making them fly faster as Esper holds onto King tighter. She takes out the potion Eda gave her earlier, drinking the rest of it in preparation to save Luz..
Eda, King and Esper ride in on Owlbert, coming to rescue Luz from the situation she finds herself in. However, the villain quickly traps them in the arms of his puppets, holding all three of them in the air. Eda points at Adegast, "That's right! You have me! Now release Luz!" King then exclaims, "Esper and I didn't have to be a part of this!" Esper squirms against the puppet, trying to move her trapped finger as the puppet's grip grows tighter.
They then watch as Luz is put into a fantasy, yelling for her as she seems to be consumed by it. Until she exclaims, "It's not real!" Releasing her from the fantasy and allowing her to pick up the toy sword she brought along with her.
She stands in front of Adegast, "I am a witch's apprentice. And I am going to . I believed you magic man! Now feel my wrath!" She then stabs the fake wizard, causing him to disappear. This gives Eda, King and Esper enough time to squirm free, kicking off a fight.
Eda sets off a fire spell, making a stream of fire that burns 3 of the puppets away.
Esper forms a circle, shooting fire at one of the nearby puppets, setting it on fire. She then kicks another in the gut area, causing it to fall. She then punches another puppet above King as she prepares another magic circle with her other hand, firing another fireball at a different puppet. she looks down at her hands, impressed with herself as her magic cools off, "Woah! Those VR games back home really weren't a waste of time!" King gets up, "I have no clue what a vee-rr game is but thanks, Es-LOOK OUT!" Esper is then hit to the ground by another one of Adegast's puppets, letting the puppet take a hold of King. She lands in front of Eda, who lets go of her staff when Adegast threatens King's life.
Luz starts to apologize, "King, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you and never trusted that wizard! You were right, he wasn't mystical or magical, he's just a big slimy jerk!" She then kicks the sword at Adegast, stabbing him in the head. He then turns into a tiny octopus, making him let go of King. Luz then catches King as Eda and Esper move closer to look at the little Adegast.
Eda then picks him up, "Well, that's the last time I take an outside referral. You want a piece of this, Esper?" Esper makes a disguested face, "Of what? Him? No way!" Eda shrugs, dropping the tiny octopus into her mouth, "Eh, suit yourself! ..What's wrong, Luz?"
Luz looks down, "I'm just confused. This place is nothing like how I imagined..." Esper looks at Eda, sad. Eda looks around, looks up at the sky like she and Esper did earlier and have the three follow her. They blindfold Luz, flying with her to the front of the Boiling Isles, showing her the skeleton lying in the water.
Luz is amazed, "Woah..."
Eda speaks up, "The bones of the Isles, up close the Isles can be slimy." King chimes in, "And very stinky!" Esper giggles at King, holding him tighter in her lap, "And gross!" Eda smiles, lightly nudging Esper in the arm with her elbow, "But if you look at it from a different perspective..."
Luz smiles at the comet above them, "It's beautiful..." King yawns, leaning back into Esper's lap, "Yeah!" Luz then asks Eda how she knew the wizard was lying. Eda looks at Luz, then to Esper and back at Luz, "Listen, kid, everyone wants to believe they're 'chosen'. If we all waited around for a prophecy to make us special, we'd die waiting. And that's why you need to choose yourself. That includes you too, Esper." Esper smiled at this as Luz then asks, "...Does that mean you'll give me a magic staff of my own?" Eda looks at the sky again, smiling, "Not yet, but, someday..."
After watching the sunset on the Boiling Isles, the group lands in front of The Owl House. Esper gives the sleeping King to Eda, who takes him to his room for him to stay asleep. Luz then runs to Esper after Eda leaves, hugging her, "Oh my gosh, by the way Esper! You really are a witch! Was this what you wanted to show me earlier?"
Esper nods excitedly, "Yeah! Turns out I've had magic within me this whole time, I just needed an energy drink to unlock it and someone to show me a spell! ...Well it's actually more complicated than that but you know."
Luz hugs her again, tighter this time, "Oh I knew it! I'm so proud of you!"
Esper hugs her back, elated to see that her best friend is happy for her rather than jealous like she thought...