A Krampusnacht Carol

Mistakes

Amity and Boscha stepped out of the portal door to step onto the Boiling Isles once again. While the teen form of Boscha appeared as bored and judgemental of her surroundings as Amity remembered her, Amity herself hadn't seen her own world in many years. Her bare toes sunk into the warm soil of the Titan, and the breeze carried with it the familiar smell of fragrant rot and odorous perfumes of the various flowers that attempted to attract witches and demons as food. "Where are we?"

"You don't recognize your own back yard?" Boscha asked, gesturing back toward the portal. Amity turned and looked at her quizzically as Boscha glared at the doorway and snapped her fingers again. The portal closed and folded in on itself before reducing itself to a decorative briefcase, it's large yellow eye still darting around in search of something before disappearing. Behind where it had been was Blight Manor. It was as immaculate as Amity remembered from her childhood, with well trimmed vines reaching up the walls, the darkened windows, and all the purple abomination-styled trim.

"But I thought..."

"The Emperor's Coven turned it into a crater?" Boscha asked. "Maybe. One day." she smiled; that cruel, arrogant grin that Amity didn't miss. Boscha began walking toward the manor, passing through the bars of the gate. Amity began to follow and stopped at the gate at the sight of purple streamers and pointed hats on a few children that were being escorted by adults up the front steps of the building.

"Okay, I get it." Amity said, rolling her eyes. "I've heard this human story. We're in the past and I'm supposed to learn what made me such a horrible person, right?"

Boscha stopped and turned. "Do you think you're a horrible person?" she asked, raising her brows. She turned around again, grinning at one of the pink haired small children that were entering the Blight home. "I was an adorable little demon, wasn't I?"

Amity had learned several human idioms during her time in the Human Realm, and she nodded, having met several human parents that referred to children as 'little demons'. "Sure." she admitted. Amity reached out and touched the gate, expecting to pass through it just as her guide had, but found it to be quite solid. She watched both preteen and teen Boscha enter the Manor, and she called out. "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be showing me my past or something?!"

"Nah! Your birthday had good cupcakes!" she called back, unnoticed by the guests that were crowded around her.

Amity rattled the gate again and growled. "Worst Christmas story ever." she whispered to herself. As a teen, she could have slid through the bars of the gate, and had several times until the quests against Belos had gotten more intense. Now as an adult, in little more than a drafty robe and night gown, she wasn't liking her chances of getting through the gate unscathed. She looked about for any other way over the fence when the sound of crying caught her attention. She paused, her ears twitching slightly as she tried to locate where the sound was coming from.

Just outside the fence, curled up behind a large shrub and hidden from view of the driveway was an eight year old witch with curled black hair and large round glasses, wearing a brown dress over an orange blouse. She had colorful bandages scattered over her arms, and muddy black boots that she was hugging close as she cried.

"Willow?" Amity asked, kneeling down. The young girl kept her face buried in her arms. Amity hesitantly wrapped her arms around Willow's shoulders and pulled herself close. She could almost feel the little girl's tears seep through her robe. "Oh, Willow..."

"My... my... my best friend..." Willow sniffed, burying her face in Amity's chest. "She doesn't want to be my friend anymore!" she shouted.

"Shshshshshsh. I know, Willow. I'm sorry." she whispered, tears starting to form in her own eyes. "But y'know what? You're going to be okay."