The Light Inside ➢Hunter and Edric x OC (Owl House)

Prologue ➢Through the Portal

(A/N: This chapter is not important to the over all story. It just shows the meeting of Luz and Kate and gives some beginning context. The real stuff begins obviously, in chapter one. Enjoy!)

     As soon as my mom left, I felt anxiety rush my system. The weight of being alone in an unknown place, especially a secluded forest for that matter, made me suddenly not feel so alone. I stood up a little straighter and looked around. Despite the eerie atmosphere, it was actually quite beautiful. The trees twisted into a thick canopy and caused the strings of sunlight peeking through the leaves to be dappled in gold and green. The subtle buzz of forest life could be heard all around and it strangely comforted me. I sighed a little, feeling more comfortable and held out my hand to bathe in the light. It lit up my skin in honey.
As my eyes scanned the twisting and turning trunks of the thick foliage, I caught sight of something glowing. It tinged gold, not like the sunlight, almost like a coin. I paused for a moment and squinted to get a better look. It wasn't an object clearly, it was moving. Very small twitches but moving well enough to be ruled out as an item of some sort. I inched closer to get a better view, then jumped back when it blinked. Those were eyes, the pupils suddenly dilated. My heart picked up once again as I sat making eye contact with this unknown creature. It couldn't be that large, the shimmering orbs were no bigger than a small cookie.
I tilted my head and approached the small sentient creature.
It suddenly, without warning, scurried back into the leaves. I jumped as the rustling swarmed around me. It was moving fast and I stumbled back, trying to spot it. Flashes of browns peaked through the leaves every now and then. I whipped my head around, becoming dizzy at the constant movement. Was it some sort of squirrel or a bird? It could have rabies or some type of disease. Regardless, this was abnormal behavior.
Then, all at once, it was over. The sounds of leaves wringing together furiously ceased just as quickly as it started. I felt my breath catch in my throat, feeling as though If I breathed the rustling would start again. How could something so small make so much noise? Unless, it wasn't that small.
The silence was palpable. Still, the leaves shimmered in the sun like nothing had ever happened.
"Uh, hello?"
I jumped out of my skin at the sudden voice that wrung out behind me. I quickly turned around to see a girl about my age standing there awkwardly. She has short deep brown hair. It spiked up and framed her round face nicely. She was smiling nervously and waved a hand lightly,
"Sorry for sneaking up on ya, I was just surprised there was someone else waiting here."
I blinked at her, confused for a second before gathering myself.
"Oh! Yeah hi, you are also here for the camp?" I said, smiling anxiously and smoothing my blonde hair back into it's ponytail.
"Yeah, I'm Luz, cool to meet you!" she chirped.
I felt relief to her apparent friendliness, "I'm Kate, it's good to meet you too. I really didn't think anyone else would be at this stop."
"Me neither, I live just down the street and no one ever really comes out here." She replied, motioning with her thumb behind her.
I tilted my head, "Oh well I just moved here and my mom thought camp would be a good idea. It could be fun right?" I laughed nervously.
Luz chuckled half heartedly back and cast her eyes down to her bag, "Yeah.. I guess so."
I followed her gaze innocently to see the corner of a bright purple book sticking out of her bag. It looked so familiar, I nearly reached my hand out to touch it.
"Hey, what's that book in your bag?" I asked and she quickly tucked it deeper in.
"Nothing! Totally nothing, just something I packed. It's not like I'm not supposed to have it or anything.." she laughed and batted her hand.
I stared confused at her, "Sorry I just thought that I recognized it."
Now I felt a bit bad, I didn't mean to pry.
"Recognized it? Don't tell me you read Azura?" She asked, raising a questionable brow at me and inching closer.
"The Good Witch Azura? I love it! I almost read all of them, well up to four that is." I gasped, suddenly feeling a smile creep onto my face.
"You like Azura? Ha yes! I knew camp couldn't be that bad!" She beamed at me, taking the book out of her bag.
I stared in ah down at the glimmering cover. The characters were sparkling and filled with enchanting colors. She handed it to me and I traced the golden letters of the cover,
"You have the fifth book? It's so pretty!" I said smiling.
"Yeah I do! It's so good, don't worry I won't spoil it though. I'll let you borrow it at camp if you want?" She exclaimed.
I grinned brightly up at her, "I'd like that! I love anime, magic, all that kind of stuff. I was really hoping I could have gone to a normal summer camp but now this might actually be fun!"
"Wow you are literally so cool." She gazed at me with a sparkle in her eyes.
I felt a bubbly feeling in my stomach emerge for a moment before I smiled back at her, "What? No! You're the one who is letting me read your book!"
She shook her head, "Oh it's nothing! Besides," she placed a hand lightly on my shoulder, "We're buddies now, we can breeze through this camp."