The Wolf & The Witch

*~*Chapter five*~*

Luz grunted awake, stretching to her feet from her uncomfortable position on the couch, carefully avoiding King's sleeping body that had been draped over the back of the couch. Eda was slumped upside down in the easy chair next to the couch, snoring quite loudly. The living room was a disaster from their games from the night before, when Luz had arrived home she had earned an earful from King about not taking him to defend his kingdom at the playground, the only way she managed to calm the demon was lots of games. Lots and lots of games, until he passed out like the adorable baby he is on the couch. Eda had joined them at some point, mildly concerned about where the human had been but mostly shrugging it off. "If you're old enough to have a curse you're old enough to do what you want." Eda's comment made her laugh at the time, it felt nice to joke with someone who understood what she was going through. Luz's warm smile faltered for a moment, realizing she had been staring at her aunt and friend (cousin?) for far too long, she had to get ready for school.
And to see Amity. A warmth blossomed in her chest when the thought hit Luz, her and the green haired girl were getting along so well! As long as she was not a person, Luz shrugged off the small detail bounding her way up the stairs to shower and change into a fresh school uniform. Determined to get Amity to talk to her today she felt confidence radiating off her, singing in the shower, dancing along to hums as she got dressed, she was ready for today.
Luz was running the second her feet the porch, a bright smile pulled across her face. "Hoot! Have a good day!" Hooty called from a distance, Luz waved a goodbye over her shoulder. Luz knew the curse was causing her body to gain strength constantly but it was one thing to know and another to feel the new strength her legs had as they propelled her forward. The breeze felt nice rustling through her hair but she longed for the feeling of it running through her fur, resisting the urge to morph she pushed on. Running the distance from the owl house to the school a year ago would've been impossible for Luz and her weak nerd body, but now here was unphased only a soft pant escaping her as she approached the grand school building. Luz couldn't help giggle as she drifted through the mostly barren hallways, catching sight of Boscha with a bandaged up head and third eye, she still looked like she was fuming.
'That's what you get for picking on my friends.' Luz thought with a huff, retrieving her bag from her locker to approach her home room. 'Please be here..' Luz silently pleaded, hoping desperately the witch had arrived early again. At the sight of green hair Luz melted, warmth spreading through her as she plopped down beside Amity. Golden eyes narrowed at the human, but always quick to shake it off Luz waved a small hello. Amity turned back to her notebook without a word, no drawings today just notes.
"So-" Luz searched for the words she wanted to say, how she desperately wanted to connect to Amity in this form. Something the Blight twins said yesterday caught her attention. "Why do Ed and Em call you Mittens?" Amity rounded on her instantly, beat red all across her face, from the tips of her ears to the start of her neck. Luz instinctively put her hands up in defense, a small squeak of fear escaping her. While Luz could never hurt Amity, she could never let anything hurt Amity in fact, she still wasn't sure Amity wouldn't hurt her. "Sorry! I just wanted to be friends and I don't know why that was good opener I just-" Luz desperately searched for an out as the words came out in a rush, her dark eyes rounding on the notebook as a better statement came to her. "I like the Good Witch Azura too!" Luz's rambling stopped, thick silence falling over the empty classroom. Amity's tomato red face seemed to go through a roller coaster of her own emotions.
Unsure what to say next Amity stuttered out the only thing she could think of. "Don't call me Mittens, ever." Her voice was dangerously low, but the redness was fading and Luz grinned as her arms slowly lowered.
"Got it." Luz chuckled awkwardly, she had definitely learned her lesson. Amity was staring at her skeptically, as if examining her, it was a bit unnerving.
"How did you know I like The Good Witch Azura?" Amity slowly asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously. Luz's eyes went wide at this, realizing she would have to form a lie to cover herself. 'Good job Luz.' She thought to herself bitterly.
"Ed and Em!" Luz quickly covered herself, grinning lopsided me as shame washed over her. Lying to Amity made her feel like she had fleas. Wait did she have fleas? She should check later.
"They really can't keep their mouths shut." Amity grumbled, Luz chuckled which seemed to soften the green haired witch. The tension eased now, silence being filled with Luz's chuckles and Amity's soft giggling.
"They love you." Luz added, Amity blushing a soft pink at the comment.
"Yeah yeah, they sure show it in a funny way." Amity mumbled but the soft smile on the witch's lips gave way that she knew what Luz said was true. "So you like Azura too?" Amity's voice was small, almost hopeful, Luz instantly lit up.
"I love Azura!" Luz exclaimed, leaning close to Amity as if to whisper a secret into her ear. "I even have Azura bedsheets." The witch instantly lit up, fascination dancing in her golden eyes. Luz felt elated, she resisted the urge to pump her fist in the air. 'I'm in!'
XxX
Amity couldn't stay still, fumbling with her hands as she bit at her lip anxiously, behind her Emira and Edric were shooting off theories about what they were about to find. Their destination couldn't be much further now, Luz had told her in painstaking detail about how to get to her temporary home, to the owl house. Amity had no reason to be nervous, Luz was her friend, sure they had only been friends for a couple weeks but Amity couldn't help but feel close to the human. She was just so, Luz, unapologetically herself, Amity couldn't help admire that about the other girl. When Luz had first sprang the invitation of seeing the owl house on her she was hesitant, she had grown up hearing awful rumors about the terrifying owl beast and hell hound that guarded the mad covenless witch. Luz had insisted none of it was true, but it still sent a shiver down her spine, especially now as her and her siblings twisted and turned on the dirt path through the dark forest.
The twins had insisted that they come, much to Amity's annoyance at first, but Luz happily invited them as well. Willow and Gus had also been invited, something that also made Amity quite nervous, but still she had said yes. She liked being around Luz, this had been the first chance for the pair to see each other outside of school. Amity had been busy every night with a certain visitor showing up at her window the second she returned home, staying late into the night before disappearing every morning. 'I wonder what L is up to now?' She never saw the wolf until later into the night on the weekends, the witch found it odd but never bothered too much to ask why. Not that she would get much of an answer..
"I see it!" Edric's excited exclamation pulled her from her thoughts, golden eyes snapped up from their downward position and sure enough there was what she assumed was the owl house. Amity had never seen the place in person, the terrifying rumors were enough to make sure she had steered clear from the place since she was small, but seeing it before her now it looked so.. Normal? Sure it was a bit run down, but it had a warm cottage feeling to it, a feeling the stark opposite to that of the blight manor. Edric and Emira were tearing ahead now, eager to see what the inside held.
The porch creeped softly as the Blight siblings approached the front door, Emira extending a hand to knock upon the odd owl face marking on the door. Wait, did the carving just blink?
"COMPANY!" A beat of shocked silence was soon followed by three terrified screams, then a fourth, which just resulted in even more screaming.
"DID IT-?"
"-TALK?"
Emira and Edric were spluttering nonsense, Amity wanted to turn tail and book it back to town, the wooden owl face carving was still screeching in terror. The door swung open.
"What is all the yelling about?!" A woman now stood in place of the door, tiredly rubbing at her eyes. Amity's eyes went wide in horror, she could feel her jaw drop, it was the owl lady herself. 'Golden talons that could tear through skin, a single golden fang that she had stolen from a dragon, her hell beasts never far behind, if you cross paths with the owl lady, run and never look back.' The legends rang in Amity's pointed ears, her blood running cold, she wanted to run for the hills.
Until that is, she took in what was truly in front of her. The older witch looked exhausted, eyes drooping with lack of sleep and maybe a bit from age, greying hair wild and fraying about, her nails were definitely golden but nothing like talons. The 'Thirty and flirty' shirt with the matching mug and pink bunny slippers really set the look, Amity felt some of the tension leave her, but the older witch was still glowering down at the trio of Blight siblings.
"S-Sorry!" Amity was the one to squeak out the word, her sibling's gazes shot back to stare at their younger sister. She gulped past the lump in her throat. "We're here to see Luz?" It sounded more like a question than a statement, but the owl lady seemed to brighten at this, slumped poster straightening out and a crooked grin replacing her earlier scowl.
"Luz's friends! Why didn't you say so? Come on in!" The owl lady quickly disappeared into the house, leaving the door open as she waved the teenagers in over her shoulder. A moment of hesitation passed, but curiosity won them over and the Blight siblings shuffled in. Amity glanced to her side as she entered the door, now silent thankfully, was smiling at her and blinking curiously.
"Don't mind Hooty, he startles easily." The witch added as the door snapped shut behind them, before any questions of who Hooty was could be asked, the owl lady was shouting. "LUZ! FRIENDS!" The owl lady gave one more grin before making her way into the kitchen, leaving the kids in the living room. A crash could be upstairs, a muffled answer coming from what Amity assumed was Luz, as more ruckus followed. As the three waited nervously, Amity found herself looking over the living room, it was quite messy and filled with odd human Knick knacks, it was much bigger than it had appeared on the outside but Amity couldn't shake the feeling that the walls were.. moving? How odd.
More crashing was soon heard as Luz appeared on the stairs, her hair was a bit wild and she was smiling sheepishly. Amity's heart hammered in her chest at the sight.
"Hey guys! Sorry, lost track of time." Luz apologized as she sauntered down the stairs, the twins chuckled as she approached.
"No problem cutie, your door is terrifying though." Emira greeted, grumbling a little at the comment about the door. Edric nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, thanks for the warning." Edric grumbled, Luz chuckled, rubbing her neck in embarrassment.
"Oh man sorry, I grew up with Hooty so sometimes I forget how terrifying he is." The twins laughed at this, Amity found herself smiling too. The witch found herself also staring at Luz, she couldn't put her finger on it but Luz seemed different. Had she grown again? The girl had been going through a growth spurt since she had met her it seemed, Amity felt like she was shrinking some days.
Luz's eyes met her and she felt her face flush as she attempted to keep her expression calm. "Hey Amity!" Luz cooed, bouncing forward to pull the smaller girl into a hug, it had become their routine to greet each other with a hug. While Amity never initiated the contact she secretly was ecstatic everytime Luz pulled her in for an embrace. Even now, while her siblings were smiling at her with the smuggest shit eating grins at the display of affection, she shot them a silent glare back as her face turned a darker shade of red.
"What's with all the yelling?" An annoyed King came stumbling into the living room after Luz, rubbing his eyes with curled up paws. Within seconds he was snatched up by Emira, who was cooing happily at the sight of the fuzzy demon, Edric was doing the same as he started tickling his tummy. King giggled, kicking his little feet, the twins were melting and even Amity was cooing from her spot against Luz. The human couldn't help but chuckle.
"Guys, this is King. He is the demon dog you guys were so afraid of." Luz's word caused an end to the cooing and tickling for a minute, earning an angry whine from King.
"This adorable creature?" Emira gasped, Edric was staring at him with wide eyes, King was blinking back at the boy. Luz nodded, an uncomfortable silence falling on them.
"The king of demons demands more tummy tickles!" King's shrill angry demand caught the twin's attention, who instantly went back to fawning over him. Luz suppressed a snort of laughter while Amity rolled her eyes.
"Guess they found a friend." Amity commented, Luz chuckled finally releasing Amity from her hold much to the shorter witch's disappointment.
"FRIENDS!" Hooty's excited greeting, muffled by the door, could be heard followed by a pair of terrified screams. Luz swung the door open, Hooty now screaming in equal terror, until he saw Luz at least. "LUZ! Your friends keep screaming at me! Hoot hoot!" Luz rolled her eyes, patting the odd tube owl on the head sympathicly as Willow and Gus quickly shrank past the terrifying door creature.
"I know Hooty, it's cause you're terrifying." Luz explained, still patting the owl's head.
"And you smell!" King added from his spot in Emira's arms, the group had to suppress a snort of laughter. The tube owl opened his beak to snap at the demon but Luz quickly snapped the door shut before any fighting could break out.
"Rude! Jeez! Hoot!" The young group of witches laughed, the tube owl now safely out of sight it was much more relaxing.
"Hey Gus! Willow!" Luz greeted finally, pulling the two into a hug as she usually did, Amity felt her face flush a little feeling an odd pang of jealousy. It was rare for her to feel so comfortable with someone so quickly. 'It would make sense to be jealous..' She reasoned to herself, but she still felt her chest physically relax when Luz seperated her hold from the other's.
"So now that everyone is here-" Luz jumped up on the coffee table, throwing her arms out as if gesturing to the house as a whole. "Welcome to the owl house!"
XxX
By the time the sun was setting most of the teens had passed out on the various couches and chairs around the living room, most exhausted from playing the human games Luz had found in Eda's various hoarded piles. They had quickly learned King, Ed and Em were not to be trifled with when it came to both Hop-It and Twist, while Willow and Gus had become unstoppable at any memory or card games. Luz and Amity were the only ones up now, laying out on the floor side by side gazing up at the star like ceiling of the owl house.
"Ok your turn!" Luz chuckled, Amity hummed as she thought of another question for the human. The pair had been going back and fourth like this for the better part of an hour, asking questions for each other, joking together. Luz found herself more relaxed than she had been in weeks, being close to Amity like this, yes she visited the witch most nights as L but it was different now. Now Amity was being herself around Luz the human, it was nice.
"Ok I got one! Whats your biggest secret?" Luz froze, she knew she couldn't tell Amity now not like this, not about the curse. Luz gulped past the lump in her throat, considering her next words carefully.
"Honestly?" Luz glanced over at the witch, who vigorously nodded. The human bit her lip, the scent of raindrops was filling her lungs again, Amity was so close to her. Luz ripped her gaze away from Amity, sucking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Well, you guys are my first friends." Luz's answer came out small, Amity's gaze shot over to the human, brow's furrowed.
"What?" Amity's shocked question made Luz flinch a little. "Sorry I just- You're- I don't know. You're just so.. Luz. I don't understand how we could be your first friends." Amity's voice wavered and Luz felt herself soften, turning her head to meet Amity's gaze once more. The two were staring now, silent emotions passing between the two. 'You were my very first friend.' Luz kept the words to herself, but a small smile tugged at her lips as she gazed at the witch.
"Thanks Amity, that's really sweet." Another beat of silence passed between the two, Amity's lips now pulled into a relaxed smile to match Luz's. Finally Amity broke the eye contact, returning her gaze to the starry ceiling as a soft flush ran over her cheeks, Luz's eyes stayed on the witch.
"Ok your turn." Amity reminded Luz, who almost chuckled when she remembered what they were doing.
"Ok uh.." Luz thought to herself for a question, there were so many things she wanted to ask Amity it was hard to choose just one. Well, there is one thing. "Are we friends?" Tense silence followed the question, Amity's face scrunching up in confusion.
"Of course we're friends." Amity responded sharply, Luz nodded slowly letting her head fall back so that her eyes could trace the patterns upon the ceiling. She had done this since she was little, she knew the stars like the back of her hand.
"You don't really hang out with me like your other friends." Luz slowly commented, Amity seemed to flinch as another tense silence stretched between them. "You get embarrassed when I hug you.. When it's just us you're different." Amity's whole body seemed to go as stiff as a board.
"I'm sorry." Amity slowly whispered the words, Luz glanced in the witch's direction and was startled by the tears forming in her eyes. "It's not you that I'm ashamed of, it's me." Amity sucked in a deep breath as if to steady herself, Luz felt the urge to reach out to protect her friend to circle her in her arms and never let anything hurt her again. "You are unapologetically yourself, and that scared me when we first met. Because I could never be like that. I guess I was jealous, honestly." Amity chuckled bitterly, Luz had to fight the urge to jump in, this seemed like something Amity needed to get out. "I'm sorry for being mean to you, we're friends, I promise we're friends." Amity finally pulled her gaze from the ceiling to lock eyes with Luz once more, forcing a soft smile on her lips tears threatening to spill any second.
Unable to resist any longer Luz rolled on her side, stretching her limbs out to snatch Amity from her spot and pulled the smaller witch against her chest. She stiffened, she felt like stone in Luz's arms, but she didn't let go. Burying her head in Amity's soft green hair she inhaled the scent of rain, it had become her favorite scent.
"I promise we're friends too." Luz murmured against her head, Amity began to shake against Luz's chest and she could feel hands tangle into the front of her shirt. The witch didn't make a sound, the only thing giving away her cries were the soft shaking of her shoulders, Luz just curled tighter around her friend. She wouldn't leave Amity, not now, not ever, she was her friend now. Her Amity.

A/N: Luz and Amity bonding! I love these dorks, hope you guys enjoyed.