➤ MORE THAN MAGIC
CHAPTER THREE !
003. ❝ Assisting A Healer ❞
❝ I Was A Teenage Abomination ❞
❝ VALERIE'S POV ! ❞
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"WELL, KIDS! DID YOU ever in your lives think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?" Eda asked, elbowing Luz as we stared at the giant trash slug in front of us.
No, I did not. Because I actually had standards, and by said standards, the scene was not breathtaking.
In fact, it was quite disgusting to look at. And smelly. And horrible. And revolting. Did I mention that it was smelly?
I reached a hand up to my nose to plug it and block the repulsive smell out. Flies buzzed around the dead slug, which was surrounded by trash and muck. "Ew..." I muttered under my breath.
"This looks awesome!" Xavier said with a smile, at the same time Luz said while shaking her head, "I don't like this."
"Yes, it doesn't get much inspiring than the trash slug," Eda said, walking over to the trash slug as Xavier followed her.
"It makes a home, a life from what others have thrown by the wayside," she continued, her expression growing solemn as she chucked a rubber chicken she pulled from the trash slug's mouth. "Until, blam! It gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt!"
She then pulls out two pickaxes, tossing one to Xavier, who catches it. "And then we get to sell the stuff it ate," he finishes, offering the pickaxe to me and Luz.
"Please don't make us," The two of us said at the same time.
"Aw, come on, Luz and Valerie," King said, walking away and unfurling a towel. "It's not everyday you get to go to the dump and pick apart a garbage carcass."
"Ah, nuts to you three," Eda said, swinging the pickaxe at the trash slug. "At least the Almeida gets me."
Xavier swung the pickaxe at the slug, making a loud crashing noise.
I flinched, then tried to say something. "So, Eda—"
CRASH!
Then, Luz tried to speak. "What if we tried some new lessons for our apprenticeship. Like—"
CRASH!
"Read ancient scrolls," Luz continued after the interruption. "Or mix together potions, or—"
"Ugh, that sounds like a bunch of magic school stuff," Eda grumbled, rolling her eyes and throwing items she found in the trash slug's mouth.
My eyes widened, and so did Luz's. "Wait, is there a magic school here?" I asked, an excited smile forming on my face.
"Like winding towers, cute uniforms, dark plots that threaten your life kind of stuff?" Luz said, grinning.
"Mm-hmm," Eda hummed, frowning. "What's worse is they force you to learn magic the 'proper' way. But magic isn't proper! It's wild and unpredictable, and that's why it's so beautiful."
"I didn't finish school, and look at me!" she added, while standing amidst the trash slugs remain. "Who wouldn't envy where I am right now?"
"Um..." I looked to the side, biting the inside of my cheek. Luz's expression fell.
"Uh, hey, here's a lesson!" Eda said, dropping her pick. "A great witch is resourceful," she said, grabbing Luz's hand and sticking it in a puddle of trash slug bile. "Like this."
Eda dragged Luz's hand back and forth, then let go. Luz digging continued until she pulled something out.
"Oh, hey. Greasy slime ball." Luz deadpanned.
"Use your slime ball wisely, young witch," Eda said seriously, closing Luz's hand around the slime ball.
"I'm so glad I didn't have to do that," I whispered to Luz, and she nodded.
"Not the best thing to endure," she agreed, shuddering. "Sticking your hand in a puddle of disgusting bile? Yuck."
"Don't worry, I'll pay for the next Good Witch Azura book to make up for it," I assured, flashing a smile at her. She smiled back.
This moment was ruined when Xavier whistled to get my attention. "Hey, Valerie, think fast!" Xavier called from up ahead, throwing something at me.
I fumbled with it for a moment, then peered at it. "A very slimy ring? How... thoughtful. Thanks, Xavier," I said through a forced smile.
"You're welcome!" he yelled back as I pocketed the ring.
"Back at it!" Eda ordered, standing back up and heading for the trash slug again. "We'll hit the stink nodes first."
"Actually, if it's okay," Luz said, getting back up onto her feet. "I think I'll head home and look at pictures of animals that are still...alive."
"Yeah, and uh, I'll feed Hooty! You never know when he needs feeding! He must be soooo hungry right now!" I added, putting on my best innocent smile and following Luz as she walked away.
"Love you, King!" Luz tickled King's belly, to which he began giggling at. "You little beach peach."
Then, we continued walking away, off into the woods.
Xavier muttered to Eda, "I swear to God, if those two pull another fucking Harry Houdini and disappear and go off on a weird magical adventure that we have to save them from again, I'm going to kill someone. I lost beauty sleep yesterday battling that puppeteer demon thing."
Eda responded with a snort. "Hah. Don't get any blood on your clothes."
˗ˏˋ — ♡ — ˎˊ˗
"UGH..." LUZ GROUSED, GLARING at the slime ball. "If magic's all about digging for slime balls, maybe we don't have the stomach for it."
Luz pocketed it, as I sighed. "Exactly! How is Xavier so... upbeat about working with giant dead slugs?"
Luz shrugged. "Beats me. If he can handle it, that's good for him. But us? I don't think we're cut out for this..."
"Look, you two, everyone wants to believe they're 'chosen'. But if we all waited around for a prophecy to make us special, we'd die waiting. And that's why you need to choose yourselves."
Eda's words of encouragement to me and Luz the day before did lift my spirits, though. Maybe she was right.
"You can do it! You can!"
Me and Luz stopped walking and looked at each other. "Mysterious voice of encouragement?" Luz said, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement as she walked towards where she assumed the voice was coming from.
"Luz, wha—" I started, but she yanked me down by the ankle and made me land promptly on my butt, kneeling beside me as she pushed away some bushes. "Ow, that hurt!"
"Shh!" she hushed, then pointed at where the voice came from. "Little witch girl!"
I saw a girl around our age sitting on a rock, with pointed ears, short navy-blue hair, olive-green eyes and glasses. She wore purple sleeves and tights, a gray tunic with a belt, a dark gray cowl with a gold pin securing it in place and heeled boots. She looked like a nice person. Next to her was a wagon with a pot on top of it.
"Okay, cool, we saw a citizen of the Boiling Isles." I sighed. "Can we go home now? I wanna take a nap."
Luz ignored me, continuing to watch the girl.
"You can do it yourself. Even if you get a bad grade, it's not a reflection of you as a witch," The girl reassured, standing up to pace around.
"And my parents are right," She stopped pacing. "There are better opportunities on this track. Now, get to school!" she exclaimed, stepping forward and pointing confidently.
All her confidence disappeared when she realized she stepped on a flower, and she immediately grew concerned, kneeling down to check on the now crushed plant. "Oh no! Oh, little friend, I'm sorry!"
She closed her eyes and drew a spell circle above the plant, the spell circle beginning to glow softly. The plant perked up, its previously dull color brightening and fully blooming.
Luz and I gasped, glancing at each other before looking back at the girl.
The girl's ears twitched and her eyes snapped open, the sound of rumbling growing louder and closer.
She turned as another wagon carrying a pot rolled into view, and a girl with aquamarine-green hair with brown roots sat atop it, reading a book. She had the same pointed ears as the other girl, except she also had black triangle stud earrings . She wore a similar uniform to the other girl's—with the exception of a gleaming gold star on her cowl—and she looked harmless, if you excluded the fact that she radiated mean girl energy. I didn't like her one bit.
The girl on the pot glanced over at the other, shutting her book and smiling. "Willow! Wow, you're so unnoticeable I almost rolled into ya," she said, chuckling and hopping off the pot, leaning against it.
"Hi, Amity," Willow responded begrudgingly, as she stood up. The flower she healed wilted.
"Uh, shouldn't you get to class early to prep your..." Amity was cut off by a rattling coming from Willow's pot.
They turned to see Willow's pot topple over, spilling a purple substance out and an eyeball that blinked and groaned.
"Oh, Willow," Amity said with a fake sympathetic shake of the head. "You don't have anything to show, do you?"
"Witch drama!" Luz whispered while I forced myself to stay seated and not confront the girl.
Willow pulled her hood up, turning away as she blushed in embarrassment.
Amity sighed. "This is why people call you 'Half-A-Witch Willow'!"
Just then, a rattling sound from Amity's pot interrupted her, and she chuckled. "Oh, looks like someone wants to say something to you," she said, walking over to her pot and taking the cover off.
"Abomination." She crossed her arms and snapped her fingers. "Rise."
The same purple substance that spilled out of Willow's pot rose out of Amity's, except it took on a more solid shape and took on a more humanoid look.
It bent over in the pot to poke Willow's forehead, then leaned back, leaving behind some of the purple substance in a star shape. "You're a...star."
"Aw! It's like mine!" Amity commented, adjusting the gold star on her cowl. I peered at it to see what was engraved on it: "TOP STUDENT" . "But much smaller and meaningless!" she added, an undertone of snark in her words.
"As top student, it's my duty to tell you to keep at it." Amity put an arm around Willow. "Even you could get a passing grade someday! Abomination, cower," she ordered, pointing at the abomination. It groaned and slid back inside the pot, melting as Amity put the lid back on the pot.
"See you in class, superstar!" Amity said, pushing the wagon and leaving.
Willow removed her hood, looking very dispirited now.
Luz stuck her tongue out at Amity as she walked off smugly while I booed her quietly.
"'Oh, see you in class, superstar!'" Willow mocked, wiping the star off her forehead. "I hate when she does that!"
Luz flinched slightly, and I nervously said, "Um, suddenly, collecting items from a dead trash slug's stomach doesn't sound so bad now."
"I hate making abominations!" Willow ranted, growing angrier with each word she said and shutting her eyes. "I hate getting bad grades! Ugh! I can't stand this anymore!" She shouted, snapping her eyes open to reveal that they were glowing green.
Luz gasped, and I yelped in alarm when I noticed the ground beneath the wilted flower begin to rumble.
Before I could say anything, huge thorny vines burst from underground and surrounded Willow, glowing and writhing around to match her seething anger.
Two of them shot out from amongst the mass and snaked their way to me and Luz, grabbing Luz by the ankle and me by the wrists.
We yelped as we were unwillingly dragged towards Willow, before the vines flung us into the air and dropped us a bit behind Willow.
Luz and I looked up, just as Willow turned around and glared at us.
"Ha-ha," I laughed nervously. "We're in danger."
˗ˏˋ — ♡ — ˎˊ˗
THE VINES CONTINUED THRASHING about for a moment, all while I was fearing for my life and saying my final prayers.
Then, abruptly, Willow's eyes stopped glowing. The vines fell and she leaned forward, looking at us worriedly.
"Oh, no no no no no!" she exclaimed, making the roots wrapped around Luz's legs and my wrists retreat. "I'm so sorry!"
I hissed quietly as I rubbed my sore wrists. Luz rubbed her leg, smiling. "It's okay. The thorns only went through a few layers of skin."
Without notice, Willow leaned in very close to us, and we instinctively leaned a little back. "So... circly ," she muttered, looking at our ears.
Luz and I squeaked in surprise, covering each other's ears.
"You two are humans!" she squealed, her eyes twinkling in excitement.
"Uh, yeah, we are," I said, shrugging. "There's three of us, actually. One of us just decided to hang out with a dead trash slug."
"This is astounding!" Willow exclaimed, grabbing my face and squishing it, then helping me and Luz stand up. "Humans on the Boiling Isles! How'd you get here? What are you doing here?" She asked, running around and lifting Luz's arm up, ducking under it.
Just then, the sounds of bells pealing interrupted her, and Willow's face fell. "Uh, I'm sorry," She muttered, putting Luz's hand down. "I can't stay. I have to go disappoint my teachers. It was nice to meet you, humans," she said, half-heartedly waving at us as she walked away.
I raised a hand to wave back, but Luz ran past me and over to Willow. "Wait! I'm Luz, this is Valeire. And you're Willow, right?"
I caught up to Luz, who was now praising Willow. "What you did with that flower and those plants, it was...wow!"
Willow's smiled a little, before her dejected expression returned once more. "Thanks, but...I'm not even supposed to be doing plant magic. My parents put me in the abomination track at school."
Luz suddenly shrieked in excitement. "Like, magic school?!" she exclaimed, grabbing Willow's arms and grinning excitedly.
Willow was taken by surprise, nodding slowly.
I smiled at her apologetically, pulling Luz gently off of her. "Sorry about her. She's been dying to go to a proper magic school."
"That's so cool!" Luz gushed, clasping her hands together. "We have a teacher, but her methods are a bit...untraditional. I bet she wouldn't even let us enroll," Luz muttered, slumping. "But I wish I could spend one day there!"
"I wish I could get a passing grade for once," Willow mumbled, looking off to the side. "Then people would stop calling me 'Half-A-Witch Willow'," she added, kicking the abomination puddle at her feet.
Then, I noticed Luz's eyes glinting in the same way it always does whenever she has a sudden, possibly very idiotic idea.
"Hey, wait! I know how we can both get what we want!" Luz crouched down and scooped some of the abomination goo up, splashing it on her hoodie. "Make me your abomination! I'll get you a good grade, and you can get me into magic school! It's fiendishly clever!"
"What?!" Willow exclaimed in bewilderment.
"I saw that girl's thing! It's just chunks of stuff that talks weird," Luz said, smiling widely. "I'm chunks of stuff and I talk weird! Whaddya say, Valerie? It's a good plan, right?"
I paused, frowning slightly. "Uh...I guess. But where do I fit in all of this?"
"I think I know what to do with you," Willow piped up, her vague statement confusing me, then she turned to Luz. "Okay, it's a deal, Luz!"
She held her hand out for Luz to shake, which she did. "This is a great plan!" Luz said.
They then pulled their hands away. At least, tried to. The abomination goo on Luz's hand wouldn't let them.
"Oops, abomination goo," Willow remarked. Luz tried using her foot to pull away, but the force just made her fall into the abomination puddle. I snickered. But my laughter was cut short when I toppled over with her since I was standing right behind her.
"Owwww..." I complained. "Karma came to bite me in the butt."
"Great plan..." Luz managed to say once more.
˗ˏˋ — ♡ — ˎˊ˗
"WELCOME TO HEXSIDE; SCHOOL of Magic and Demonics," Willow announced to us as she wheeled us into the school.
We were cooped up inside Willow's abomination pot thing, and Luz allowed herself the luxury of poking her head out of the pot. Unlucky for me, I was stuck underneath her in the musty, suffocating pot.
"Remember to stay hidden, okay?" Willow said while Luz squealed in thrill.
"Luz!" I hissed, wriggling around a little to get some air. "Your foot is shoved in my face, can you move it? I can't breathe!"
"Well, there's not much leg room in here!" Luz replied, sliding back down inside and hugging her knees.
"If I had the choice, I would choose a much comfier pot to sit in." I sighed. "Then I wouldn't have to feel every rock on the ground we run over.
"Hey, it isn't that ba—"
She was interrupted by the wagon Willow was pushing rolling over some steps, making me bump my head against the pot very hard.
"Ouch...you were saying?" I grumbled, rubbing my throbbing head.
After many more bumps on the head, the wagon slowed to a stop. I assumed Willow was getting some things from her locker.
Just then, something or someone walked into Willow—it was hard to tell since I was still stuffed inside the pot.
"Hm?" I heard Willow say.
"Willow, you would not believe humans!" A young boy's voice said.
"Humans? Psh, I haven't seen any! What?" Willow's voice cracked at the end.
"Did you know that humans nail barbed wire to their children's teeth?!" The boy said, sounding flabbergasted. "But why?! Maybe...to make them magnetic!"
"Actually, it's for storing treats!" Luz whispered from the pot, and I slapped a hand onto her mouth to silence her. It was too late, though. The boy had heard us.
Willow sighed. "Okay, Augustus, I'm going to tell you something, but you have to be cool."
The boy, Augustus, said, "I can be spool! I-I mean, cool!"
"Okay...abomination, rise!" Willow ordered.
Luz stood up straight, spreading her arms wide in a dramatic flair. "Ta-da! I'm an abomination!"
"Luz, that's not how abominations act," Willow said, frowning.
I stood up too, breathing in fresh air in what seemed like forever. "Ugh, I think my leg fell asleep, that was a cramped space to sit in."
Now, I had a better look at Augustus.
He was short, for one—I was guessing that was because he was younger than us. He had brown skin, dark brown afro hair, pointed ears like Willow's and dark blue eyes. He also wore the same uniform as Willow's, except the sleeves and leggings were a light blue.
Augustus dropped his magazine, staring at us in astonishment. "No. No, it couldn't be!" Augustus pulled at his face and ears, stunned.
"He's the president of the Human Appreciation Society," Willow explained to us with a smile, as I jumped out of the pot and sat on the edge of it for more room. "Most witches wouldn't be able to recognise humans right away, but Augustus is an expert."
"Where are your gills?!" he asked in shock, looking us up and down.
"We knew an Augustus back in the human realm," Luz said. "We called him Gus."
"I called him an idiot," I thought to myself, remembering the amount of times that guy copied me on tests since he never revised for them.
"Gus? Nickname? Human nickname? Gus?!" Gus began flipping out in sheer joy at the nickname. "Call me it! Wow, Gus! This is the best day of my life!"
Willow then glanced over at Gus, whispering in his ear. His eyes widened, and he began panicking. "What?! No, he'll get in trouble!"
Willow looked at him with a pleading look. Gus relented, sighing. "Do I have to?"
Willow nodded, and Gus groaned. "Bump is gonna be so mad if he finds out!"
"He won't, we'll just have to be extra sneaky," Willow reassured. "Just make an illusion so she has the uniform and she'll blend in."
Gus, still worried, drew a blue glowing spell circle in the air with his finger.
POOF!
A cloud of blue smoke engulfed me, and I coughed, waving my hand to get rid of the smoke. I looked down at my clothes. I was now wearing the same uniform as Gus, and looking at myself in the reflection of a window, I now had witch ears. "What—"
"Valerie, you follow Gus," Willow said, helping me get off the pot. "He's gonna introduce you to someone."
I blinked in confusion. "Who?"
"Shhhh!" Gus hushed me. "An illusionist never reveals his secrets!"
"Oh." I frowned, but didn't push on the matter. "Got it."
"You better be quick, though," Willow advised Gus. "Class starts in ten minutes."
"See you guys at lunch!" Gus replied, saluting Willow and Luz before running down the halls with me running after him.
˗ˏˋ — ♡ — ˎˊ˗
GUS, AFTER RUNNING LIKE there was no tomorrow, finally slowed down outside a wooden door in a dark hallway. A sign above it said, "STORAGE ROOM".
I stopped running too, panting and trying to catch my breath. I glanced up at the door. "Oh, cool. A door that leads to an old, musty storage room."
"This is not just a door!" Gus corrected. "The person behind this door has a problem, one that only you can solve! You hold the solution to his dilemma, the resolutions to his issues, the can opener to his can of goreberries!"
"...I'm not holding a can opener, though," I said in confusion.
"Figure of speech," Gus explained. Then, he knocked on the door three times.
"...come in..." Someone said miserably from the other side of the door.
I looked at Gus, very obviously puzzled, but he simply shrugged and pushed the door open, entering.
I sighed, walking in after him.
First impression of the storage room: big. Abnormally big for a storage room. And dark. Gus used his magic to produce a sphere of light, to which I subtly gaped at.
The shelves were tall, reaching up and touching the ceiling. Crates were strewn around the room, some stacked on top of each other. Some were labelled, "UNIFORMS", others were labelled, "TEXTBOOKS"—for some reason I saw a chained-up crate labelled, "CHOOSY HAT!!! HAZARDOUS!!!".
"This school has a very...big storage room," I commented, looking around and stepping out of the way of another crate.
"Yup," Gus responded, then stopped in his tracks, making me bump into him.
"Oof—what're you looking at?" I asked, noticing Gus looking at the ceiling.
I followed his gaze, and very loudly gasped in horror.
Something was hanging on a pipe running along the ceiling. Something with big, glowing amber and blue eyes.
Eyes that were staring right at us.
˗ˏˋ — ♡ — ˎˊ˗
"WHAT IS THAT—" I yelled, leaping back in fright.
"Woah, woah, Valerie," Gus tried to reassure me. "It's okay. This is the guy Willow wanted you to meet."
I looked at him uncertainly, but Gus simply glanced around, found a light switch and flipped it on.
Now that the room wasn't shrouded in darkness, I could see the thing more clearly.
It wasn't a thing, like I had assumed. It was a boy, probably Xavier's age.
He had short fluffy black hair, striking blue eyes with his right having a black sclera and brown skin with a purple lightning mark running across his right eye. What probably stood out to me the most was the fact that he didn't have pointed witch ears, but black furry fox ears. He had six pure black crystal-like horns jutting out of his head, making him look very formidable. He also had a long black tail with purple spikes and a brown tuft of fur at the end and bandages wrapped around it. He wore the same uniform as Gus, except he had bell sleeves that were torn at the hem and ripped leggings, as well as fingerless gloves.
"Valerie, meet Everett," Gus announced, waving at Everett, who was hanging onto the ceiling pipe with his tail. "Everett, meet Valerie!"
I waved at Everett too. He only greeted me with a scowl.
"Psst," I hissed at Gus. "What's his problem?"
Gus sighed, shrugging and calling out to Everett. "Ev, get down here!"
"No!" Everett shouted back. "This is my moping time, and you two interrupted it!"
"You can't just hang there for the rest of the school day avoiding the test!" Gus yelled back. "You're gonna have to face Mr. Steelbeard soon!"
"Never!" Everett said loudly, making it clear he did not want to see whoever Mr. Steelbeard was.
"Would it help if I said Valerie's to help you?" Gus asked.
Everett's ears perked up and he jumped down from the ceiling pipes, landing on both feet perfectly.
"I did not say I was going to help him," I whispered to Gus.
"You have to!" Gus hissed back. "That's why we came here!"
I sighed in resignation, then looked at Everett giving me hopeful eyes. "Really?! She'll help me on the test?! Awesome, this is the perfect time for an introduction!" he exclaimed, then cleared his throat. "Everett Francis, at your service! In this school, I am the master of healing, the possessor of all the solutions to your problems, the therapist of Hexside! ...and number one worst person to go to if you're struggling with your illusion homework."
I looked at Gus in bemusement.
"Everett here isn't the best at illusions," Gus explained. "He joined the illusion track since his parents want him to be a master illusionist, and he's basically cheated his way to the top to make them proud."
"Don't call me out," Everett mumbled.
"Anyways, I don't really approve of the cheating part," Gus continued, side-eyeing Everett while speaking. "But Everett is a good friend, and there's this test that Mr. Steelbeard assigned us: to make a life-sized, realistic, perfectly made illusion of a human, and if Everett fails, they'll know he's been cheating and he'll get kicked out of Hexside for violating the rules. I can't help him, since we have illusion class at different times. But if you're with him..."
"...I see where this is going," I said with a sigh.
"Well I don't. How is Valerie gonna help with making an illusion of a human?" Everett asked, looking me up and down.
Gus snapped his fingers, and with a 'poof!', I was back to my normal self, human ears and all.
Everett took one good look at me, and his eyes widened. "You're...human?! How the heck did you get here?!"
"Ev, save the questions for later, class starts in a minute!" Gus said urgently. "Put an invisibility spell on Valerie—you can do that, right?—and sneak her into class. Then, pretend you made an illusion and reveal Valerie to the class, and boom, you have an A+ and you'll pass the test!"
Everett processed this, then grinned. "Haha, that's genius!"
Then, he put a spell on me (seriously, what's with people putting spells on me?) and just like that, I was invisible.
"For once I'm not scared of the impending stress that is put on me in class!" Everett said, putting his hands on his hips, his tail wagging in happiness.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I flinched, but Everett simply looked annoyed.
"Bummer. The bell went," Everett complained as Gus pulled a wand out of his pocket.
"I've got spelling class, see you guys at lunch!" Gus then turned around and proceeded to walk into me.
"Ow!" I yelped.
"Sorry!" Gus apologised, then walked over my foot.
"Ouch, that was my foot!" I said, wincing.
"Sorry, kinda hard to see you—y'know, since you're invisible and all," Gus said, walking around me. Then, he waved at us and left the storage room.
I had the gut feeling Gus wasn't going to be the only one trampling over my foot.
I wasn't looking forward to it.
˗ˏˋ — ♡ — ˎˊ˗