#But I force aged Belos down because he's HAPPIER LIKE THAT

[kakusu-shipping]

They are Shota4Shota4Shota to me

[sepublic]

The Golden Guard: Eda’s Dark Parallel?

           Does anyone else think that the Golden Guard actually reminds Lilith a LOT of Eda, specifically Eda as a kid, during the good old days before she got cursed?

           Think about it… They’re both sassy, hot-headed teen prodigies with an owl motif and yellow attire. And the way Lilith angrily talks about the Golden Guard, it seems her feelings of resentment mirror how she felt towards Eda back when they were kids? Lilith, who was by-the-book and traditional, worked so hard… And then there’s this younger person with an Owl motif who just swoops in out of nowhere and through talent, completely outclasses her!

           If you go with the idea that Lilith wanted Gwendolyn’s approval and had to compete with Eda over that… Then for all we know, maybe Lilith lowkey wanted Belos’ approval as well, but felt like she was being cheated out of that with the Golden Guard, who kept stealing the spotlight from her! 

          Like she was afraid he’d take her spot as head of the Emperor’s Coven, the way Lilith feared that Eda would win the initiation duel back when they were kids… And lo and behold, the Golden Guard DID take that! Granted Lilith left an obvious vacancy from her own betrayal of Belos so of course he took that spot, but still; It’s quite a sore spot.

           In some ways, perhaps Lilith is aware of this, deep-down or not; She might see the Golden Guard as just Young Eda, but without any of the emotional connection, nor any redeeming qualities; If he does have them, again, it’s not like Lilith knows the Golden Guard well enough to know these traits, much less take them into account.

           LOTS of text and speculation and analyses below!!!

           The Golden Guard is even sixteen years old… Which, is very likely EDA’s age, back when her and Lilith competed for the Emperor’s Coven! That can take on a whole new, dark meaning for her… 

          Perhaps Lilith is low-key disturbed by the Golden Guard’s existence, because he reminds her too much of Young Eda? Eda, before she was cursed- So it’s like the memory of her is coming back to haunt Lilith, in the form of someone who has no concern for Lilith whatsoever to hold him back, unlike the actual Eda.

           And in a way, it’s a horrible reminder that some things never change, that some things stay the same and Lilith can’t get past them, she can’t outgrow it like she thought she did; Because even now, even as head of the Emperor’s Coven, there’s still a 16-year-old prodigy with an owl motif and yellow attire, who is sassy and playful and mischievous, who threatens to upstage Lilith’s self-esteem and sense of power. Somebody Lilith is afraid of; Thirty years later, and she STILL has to deal with this kind of person in her life, but it’s worse because she’s actually older and should be better, yet somehow isn’t…

           Who knows? Maybe Lilith even recognized the similarities to Eda, enough to actually be sympathetic to the Golden Guard at first? Perhaps she, on some level, saw the Golden Guard as a way to vicariously redo her past with Eda, but without the mistakes… Maybe she tried to be nice to the Golden Guard, but then he quickly turned out to be a snob, he’s not REALLY Eda; So Lilith settled on never cursing him like she did Eda, but then otherwise decided that she didn’t owe him any love and could just quietly loathe his guts.

          Lilith failed Eda in part because she was an older sister who abandoned her in a time of need, but there’s not really that expectation with the Golden Guard, so why bother? She’s got enough on her plate as is, and an ACTUAL Eda to worry about, to look after, to be concerned for and patch things up with.

           I’ve even seen people make the very good point that in a lot of ways… The Golden Guard is like a Dark Eda? In the sense that, he’s Eda, had she joined the Emperor’s Coven as a kid. He’s a look at Young Eda, if she didn’t reject the Coven System, and joined Belos- Reveling in her own talent and power as granting her ‘special treatment’ over the rest, so any downsides to the coven system weren’t HER problem anyway!

           Again, this adds another layer to the Golden Guard being very reminiscent of Young Eda, and even current Eda as well… Except, he never lost his magic and was never cursed. Maybe that’s another thing he unknowingly haunts Lilith over; He’s lowkey a reminder of what Eda could’ve been, had Lilith not been selfish and a coward, or had she communicated better. Yet at the same time, he’s frustrating- Because the Golden Guard is like the worst parts of Eda, the parts that Lilith hated and made her resentful…

           And this constant reminder of the past, of her own issues with Eda back then that culminated in the curse- It could’ve made it a LOT harder for Lilith to really resolve things with Eda, because this kid keeps reminding her why she was so angry, and it’s impossible for her to move on because the Golden Guard isn’t some distant memory, but an actual person who continues to threaten her, the way Eda had…

          And of course, the Golden Guard reminds Lilith of the Eda she lost; The happy, carefree Eda who wasn’t cursed, the Eda she could’ve had in a sense. The Eda that Lilith in some ways wanted, yet is forced to confront and acknowledge is a very obnoxious and terrible person that makes her unhappy…

          And this kind of rude reminder that the Eda that Lilith wanted would’ve continued to make her miserable, if not moreso, is not something she appreciates shattering her dreams and low-key denial, of a world where things had just been a little different.

          The person you’re trying to get, maybe get BACK, wasn’t so great after all- So you just have to move on, and be glad for the Eda who IS happier with her life and more mature, despite being older and more cursed. You gotta move past your guilt Lilith, and realize that Eda is in a better place- Not that she ever needed the curse, but she doesn’t quite need saving from the parts of her life she actually chose for herself, in part to be kind to Lilith no less! Because I bet Lilith believes that deep down, she didn’t deserve Eda’s kindness, so she wishes to reverse that compassionate decision of Eda’s that only resulted in Eda suffering because of how terrible Lily secretly is.

           But, back to the subject; There’s more similarities to Eda and the Golden Guard, especially at the end of Separate Tides; How he makes an ominous warning before casually, happily yelling “BYYEEEE!!!”, just like Eda when she warns Luz about trying to have a Moonlight Conjuring in Hooty’s Moving Hassle, before heading off to the Night Market. His widow’s peak even bears a decent resemblance to Eda’s, doesn’t it? Which…

           Combined with all of the talk about bird motifs being a Clawthorne thing, it DOES raise many questions about the Golden Guard’s potential connection to Eda. Is he some long-lost son? A third child that Gwendolyn had later in life, because witch biology might allow them to do that? Some homunculus, crafted from bits of DNA from Eda, and maybe even Belos? Belos does seem weirdly fond and trusting of him, the two are placed together in the Season 2 outro when nobody else, not even Kikimora, is there; And of course, the Golden Guard wields a staff, red magic, and fleshy creations, VERY similar to Belos…

           I can’t say for sure- But the idea of the Golden Guard as an alternate Eda is fascinating. An Eda who became completely arrogant, and didn’t stop to care about others; Her cockiness and mischief becoming cruel and obnoxious, essentially the worst parts of Eda, down the path she’d always dreaded. A look into another life, a different choice in such a pivotal part of her past… Personally, I LOVE this kind of dark parallel of a character, so I��m hoping these similarities are commented upon in-universe, assuming they’re not outright literal!

           In a way, the Golden Guard could haunt Eda, because he reminds her of herself… Of her carefree youth, but what she could’ve had… But also, the terrible things she’d done. And obviously Eda despises the coven system too much to really change her mind, and it’s safe to say that the Golden Guard is not at all what she wanted to ever become… But still, it’s a neat bit of character writing and parallelism. If Belos is like a Dark Luz, what Luz could’ve been had she not grown… And the same could apply between King and Kikimora;

           Then who knows? The Golden Guard could be a Dark Eda, who got by talent and continued to take things for granted. An Eda who swore loyalty to Belos and was embraced by the emperor for her skill and ability. Jovial and cheery, but without any of the actual compassion that makes this genuine with Eda. An immature brat who never grew up (granted he’s only sixteen and hasn’t gotten the chance), unlike Eda. And if the Golden Guard is an alternate Eda;

           It’s fascinating how his roles are reversed with his alternate Luz… The Eda parallel is younger than the Luz parallel, learning from them, and taking after their motifs as well! But I guess it’s not all too surprising, with how Eda and Luz both learn from one another, though I suspect Belos and the Golden Guard aren’t as mutual, but who knows? 

          It does make you wonder about Kikimora and King as potential mediators between these duos, whose placement remains consistent… How does Kikimora, the King parallel, interact with her Luz and Eda? Did she become close friends with HER Luz, while, as Dana’s art suggests, she seems somewhat irritated by and resentful of her own Eda? So it’s like Eda and King never grew to be friends and conquer differences… As well as if King never grew to respect Luz and saw her as just a “f*cking nerd”?

           With how Luz is taking after Eda, and possibly getting a Cardinal palisman to complete the Clawthorne motif as a new member of the family… Who knows? The Golden Guard could be an intriguing character for her to bounce off of narratively, maybe as someone Luz might have, in another universe, learned to look up to and admire? How well Luz’s relationship be with the Golden Guard, if they are a Dark Eda? And how can this indirectly show us about how Luz and Young Eda would’ve interacted, what Young Eda was like, what Lilith went through as a kid…

           And, for all we know- The Golden Guard’s owl motif doesn’t hint at a pre-existing connection to the Clawthornes, but rather a future one… Maybe he’ll end up being adopted by Eda, the way Luz was? I’d love to see the Golden Guard become an evil older sibling who’s protective of Luz… 

          I ADORE that trope to death; Evil older brother with bright, younger sister, whom he cares about, and the sister cares for him too, even if it’s complicated because the sister believes in the brother to be better, while the brother doesn’t want to be better, or is at least reluctant about having to change…

           I’d love to see another Hugo and Kipo dynamic, and actually… If the Golden Guard parallels Eda, then who’s his Lilith? Could it be Luz herself? I’ve talked before the similarities between Luz and Lilith, as kids who were bullied and struggled with a lack of talent, but made up for it with hard work and ingenuity; They’ll give you a lot of trouble for doing the right thing, but then happily leap at the opportunity if they think someone is improving.

           And, as Separate Tides has also shown us; They both grapple with guilt over making Eda suffer, unintentionally to varying degrees. Luz and Lilith both learn that they’re not a burden and that it’s okay to ask for help, and come to terms with their guilt with Eda… If Belos and the Golden Guard are Luz and Eda reversed, then could Luz and the Golden Guard also be Lilith and Luz, reversed?

          With the Eda parallel being the older sibling in this scenario… An alternate timeline where Eda and Lilith were the same people, but switched places in birth, and it was EDA who ended up being the cruel and toxic sibling who left the younger feeling demeaned and worthless. I imagine if that were the case, the Golden Guard’s toxicity would occur largely in the beginning, as he acts adversarial to Luz and mocks her, taunts her over Eda’s loss of magic, and her own glyphs no doubt; The Golden Guard doesn’t seem to acknowledge glyphs as a valid form of magic himself.

           But then, if he were to get a redemption, the Golden Guard’s tune might change as he matures and learns to treat Luz more kindly… In a way mimicking how Eda really grew to care for Luz, but also the way Eda has begun to reconnect with Lilith, except with the Golden Guard as the one with the baggage and guilt.

           And, a redemption might not be too implausible, because… He is literally only sixteen, the same age as Emira and Edric, and likely the same age as Eda when SHE was cursed. Younger than Lilith, when she made the worst mistake of her life, because she didn’t understand the coven system for what it truly was –and who could blame her?- and was grappling with a likely terrible mother in Gwendolyn… The Golden Guard is literally a minor, and possibly an overworked teen prodigy.

           After all, the first glimpse of his personality Dana gave us, way back in 2020, was of the Golden Guard admitting that he was tired; And despite his usually cheery personality, all of our glimpses at his face behind the mask (symbolism!) have had him look likely serious and glum… But then again, we don’t see the lower half of his face, so who knows? 

          Perhaps the Golden Guard is abused and overworked by Belos, kind of like Amity with her parents… The Golden Guard is a child dealing with a very toxic influence, and a huge burden of responsibility no less. And with all the potential connections to Belos as maybe even a literal father, or at least a parental figure, it’s not hard to see why the Golden Guard would turn out so messed up. And the Golden Guard being ‘tired’ could be a connection to how Eda is left exhausted from her curse, too.

           So, who knows? Because of his age, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect, or at least hope, for a redemption for this kiddo. But a recent sister show to The Owl House has taught me anything, kids aren’t free from death, and Infinity Train made it clear that you can humanize and sympathize and mourn someone who deserved better, yet ultimately dug their grave and was condemned to a sudden death because of that; All because they didn’t know any better, and really couldn’t have.

           And on another note- Maybe the Golden Guard has owl motifs like Eda… Because in a lot of ways, he actually admires her? He admires the Owl Lady, or at least the certain ‘past’ version that others such as Lilith may have brought up… Maybe the Golden Guard seeks to supplant Eda the Owl Lady as The Most Powerful Witch in the Boiling Isles. Maybe he sees himself as Eda, but better, and this rebellious, hot-headed kid feels the need to prove himself by defeating someone he sees himself in.

           Maybe the Golden Guard is like Lilith, as someone who wishes Eda could’ve joined the coven system, and he’s disappointed in how all her talent was ‘wasted’ on other things. Maybe the Golden Guard was disappointed in Eda losing her magic, losing further respect for his ‘problematic idol’, and/or he felt some validation and vindication in being a successor to Eda. 

          Does he hold some grudge? Did the Owl Lady’s power excite him, give the Golden Guard a goal to recklessly challenge and defeat, so he can experience the thrill of victory and add to this feeling of invincibility that teenagers, especially the talented ones, have?

           Eda as a kid, and even now, has always been fond of spiting what others say she can’t do, or setting new precedents and accomplishments to prove herself. Maybe the Golden Guard is like that, and hopes to take on the onus of outdoing the Owl Lady; Perhaps he admires Eda, and wishes she could’ve joined a coven like him. As an outside admirer, he mourns Eda’s ‘potential’ in a way similar to Lilith, but different; Because he’s a kid who looks up to her, and not an older sibling that has an actual childhood with Eda. If so, then that’s another dark parallel to Luz;

           After all, Luz got frustrated by Eda in Adventures in the Elements. So maybe the Golden Guard is someone who grew resentful of Eda for not living up to the legend he hoped, the image he wanted, sort of like Lilith! I’ll go out on a limb and even suggest him as a past apprentice, who unlike Luz, never learned to be patient and appreciate Eda’s teachings, so he turned to the coven system and Belos for easy gratification. He didn’t want to be challenged… And in that way, the Golden Guard could parallel my speculation on Belos, as also a Dark Luz.

          So of course, it makes sense that Belos would recognize this same dilemma in the Golden Guard, and perhaps be sympathetic and take him under his wing for it. Eda might not recognize the Golden Guard because he’s changed a bit himself, is hiding his own identity –Lilith doesn’t seem to know much about the witch beneath the mask either, just the public image and façade- and Eda’s been having memory issues. Maybe this will add to the Golden Guard’s resentment, who knows? He really might just be a rebellious teen who Eda failed, unlike with Luz… And that could add to more envy, perhaps.

           At the very least; Dana’s fondness for the Golden Guard takes on a whole new meaning… What with how Eda is pretty much one of, if not THE most favorite character of hers, the one who really jumpstarted this entire show and world to begin with… Having this other character she likes essentially be a canon AU version of that beloved creation, would certainly make a lot of sense! Dana likes Eda, she likes to show us about Young Eda; So a character who IS Young Eda, just on a different path, would likely appeal to her. We’ll see…

           I think it’s worth noting that in her art of the Golden Guard, it depicts him as essentially a normal, lazy teenager who’s asking someone else to do his chore for him, while he lounges around to do something else. I could see a young Eda as occasionally fulfilling that role and asking her older sister Lily for a favor- And maybe this could allude to the Golden Guard being frequently exhausted from being overworked himself, hence “I’m tired” and wanting to extend his breaks as much as possible. We’ll just have to wait and see…

[flowersandskeletons526]

“The Harshest Future We Could Have Imagined” - Lumity Future AU Fanfic Part 2

Here’s chapter two! Luz and Amity finally get their reunion and get a short chance to catch up. 

----

Luz tackled Amity in a hug. 

"I missed you guys so much!" she exclaimed, laughing past the tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy I get to see you again!"

Amity hesitated, eyes wide and watery, before finally putting her arms around Luz. The human winced as Amity's nails dug into her back but didn't let go. "Tell me I'm not dreaming," she gasped, clinging to Luz. "Tell me you're here."

"I am here," Luz whispered. "I'm sorry I was gone so long." 

Forcing herself to pull back, Amity beckoned to Willow and Gus. Both grinned and jumped on their friends, locking them in a tight hug. Eda, Lilith, and King followed. Luz laughed under the smothering hugs and held her family tighter. She somehow managed to keep from crying as Amity buried her face against her neck, talons still locked in her back.

"I missed you, Luz," she whispered in her ear.

"I missed you too, Ami." 

They all stayed like that for longer than any could tell, until Eda released them with, "Alright, enough with the parallel arms thing." 

Everyone broke apart laughing. Luz stayed close to Amity, pressing their arms together as Amity wiped at her eyes. Willow shot Luz that old knowing smile over Amity's head. 

Luz grinned at everyone. "Okay, you guys have to tell me everything that's happened while I was gone," she said. Every smile in the room disappeared. She frowned. "Guys?"

Eda sighed. "Come sit down, kid. Amity, Willow, why don't you explain?" 

Luz looked around with a concerned frown as Willow led her to the table. She sat beside Luz while Amity hovered behind them, tying the long part of her undercut into a messy bun. Luz watched her for a moment before Willow tapped the table to get her attention. 

Only then did she notice the scar on Willow’s face. Deep and ragged, it curled down the side of her face, revealed by her much shorter hair. Glancing back at Amity, Luz noticed the scars that littered her pale skin, as well. She noticed the dark shadows and creases beneath everyone’s eyes, their cuts and bruises, the fresh blood and dirt that covered them. They were her age; logically, she knew that, but looking at them now, it seemed that far more years had passed for them than had for her. Even Gus, though still short, had grown into hardened features and haunted eyes. Luz swallowed hard and looked to Willow.

“After you left,” the witch began, “things started to get bad.”

Her voice was somber and hollow. Luz’s stomach dropped.

“Belos started recruiting more members into the Emperor’s coven, powerful magic users and foot soldiers. They stopped allowing study of different tracks and anyone caught practicing outside a coven was arrested. The multi-track at Hexside was outlawed. Using glyphs was grounds for immediate arrest.” 

Luz felt for the pad of paper in her pocket and took a deep breath.

Willow went on. “Remember how Gus was digging tunnels beneath school?”

“It was just supposed to be one at first,” Gus interjected. 

“Well, he finished them. There’s a massive network under there now that we used to meet in to discuss plans, mostly on keeping them away from the Owl House and Eda while they tried to fix the portal. After that speech I made during the petrification, after people found out we stole the portal back, everyone started getting angrier with the entire idea of the coven system.”

“Most people,” Amity said bitterly.

Willow sighed and reached out to squeeze her hand. “Most people. Anyway, once all that started, Belos put us in martial law and put everything under complete jurisdiction of the Emperor’s coven and their leader. Alador Blight.”

“Blight? You mean…?”

“My father.” Amity gripped her staff harshly. “And now my brother.”

“Edric?” 

“What about him, Amity?” Eda asked. 

“He’s Belos’ new commander. We ran into him today at the fight in town. Eda, we’re going to need to set up more security for a while and try to keep him away as long as possible. He knows too much about us.” 

“So, you’re all fighting the Emperor’s coven now?” Luz asked. 

“We are,” said Willow. “Belos, specifically. Eventually he started petrifying people and spouting all that Titan’s will bullshit, so we got angry, and we snuck into his castle a year ago and tried to kill him.”

“You what?”

“Willow did,” Gus said. 

Willow smirked and tapped her scar. “That’s what this is from.”

“You’re kidding,” Luz murmured. “Really, Willow? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Maybe when we were younger, Luz. A lot has changed since you left.”

“I guess so.” Luz rubbed the back of her neck. “What’s going on now?”

“War. Amity and I lead the rebellion. We’re doing our best to just take him down and destroy the coven system. We’re trying but it’s been awful.”

“Once it’s calmed down again, we should bring Luz through the Isles,” Gus suggested. 

“I’m not sure if that is such a good idea,” Lilith said.

Eda shook her head. “No, she should. She’s back with us now and she needs to know what’s been happening.”

“Tomorrow we’ll go on a stealth mission through town so she can see what’s been happening,” Amity decided. She touched Willow’s shoulder. “Does that work?”

“That works.” Willow stood. Luz stood as well, seized by a sudden sense of respect for the newly realized leader in her old friend. “Gus and I have to go. We have to make sure the base is secure before heading home. All our dads are waiting for us.”

“Your dads are part of the rebellion?” Luz asked.

“My dads help with the healers and Gus’ dad circulates our messages and newsletters.”

“Wowza.” 

“I’ll come with you,” Amity said.

“No, Amity, stay here,” Willow ordered gently. “We’ll be fine. We need you here.” 

“Okay.” 

Willow and Gus pulled Luz into a tight hug. “We’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I’m sorry we couldn’t stay long right now. It’s been an awful day.”

“It looks like it,” Luz said. “I’m sorry.”

“Tomorrow we’ll take you through the new Isles,” Gus said. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye, guys.”

“Bye, Luz.” 

Luz sank back down in her chair as Willow and Gus left, staring at her hands in her lap. “What did I do when I left?” she whispered. 

“It wasn’t you, Luz,” Eda said. “This has been a long time coming. It was just bad timing. Amity, why don’t you and Luz go set up her bed with you upstairs for now?”

“Okay.” 

Amity grabbed Luz’s backpack and nodded to the stairs. Luz caught Amity’s hand, making Amity blush, and followed along beside her. 

Upstairs, Luz’s room - now Amity’s - hadn’t changed much. Eda’s clutter still bordered the room. The old, weathered Azura poster hung in its place on the wall, with the entire series stacked beneath it beside King’s bed. Along with the string lights hung up, multiple glowing orbs hung in the air. Sitting in the corner was a writing pad and pencil with multiple different glyphs scattered around it, including several light glyphs. A little keepsake box with an A on it sat on the windowsill.

Luz stopped in the doorway as Amity nudged her bed to the side. She grabbed another mat and sleeping bag from a chest on the side of the room as Luz looked around. 

“You didn’t change much, did you?” she asked.

“Not really. I was planning on you coming back soon so I didn’t want to move anything, and when you didn’t, well…” Amity shrugged. “It made me think of you. I used to read Azura sitting with King beneath the poster.”

Luz nodded. Forcing a smile, she tried at their old joke. “Did you miss me that much, Blight?”

“Yes, actually.” Amity paused. “And it’s Clawthorne now.”

“What?”

“My name. It’s Amity Clawthorne.” 

“Oh. Since when?”

“Six months after you left, I think? I got into a fight with my mother because she found out I was hanging around the Owl House. She told me she was my mother so I had to listen to her, I told her I didn’t care, and she said fine. Then I must not care that I’m a Blight, either. She threw me out, I came here, and I shaved my head the next day. Eda and Lilith agreed to let me take the Clawthorne name a little after, and that was that. I was going to look for a bird palisman too, like them, but Raja came along and changed my mind."

“Oh, geez, Amity, I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine. Honestly, I ended up better than I ever would have been if I stayed in the manor. Better than what happened with Edric, anyway.” 

A hush fell over the room. Luz sighed and took Amity’s hand. Amity glanced at her. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back here,” she murmured. “Believe it or not, the human world doesn’t have many how-to books on fixing portals.”

Amity laughed sadly. “Well, we weren’t exactly quick on our side, either. I’m just glad you’re back now.”

“Me, too.” 

King scurried into the room. “Luz! Amity! I demand cuddles!”

Amity laughed and sat on her bed. King jumped into her lap, curling up as she scratched his back. Chuckling to herself, Luz sat with Amity and patted King’s head. King closed his eyes and snuggled into them.

“You two get along now?” Luz asked.

“She gave me a cupcake!” King chirped. 

Luz raised an eyebrow. 

“I came by with peace offerings a few weeks after you left,” Amity explained. “I wanted to make up for being an asshole before we became friends.” 

“I’m glad you get along with everyone now.”

“It was touch and go for a little bit, but we got there. Eda really trusts me now, especially after everything started getting bad.”

“That’s good! I still remember the whole burning memory thing.”

Amity groaned, grinning as she went red and shook her head. “Titan, Eda did not like me back then. I was such an idiot when we were younger.” 

“Only a little.” 

The conversation drifted off. They smiled at each other, King sleeping between them, quiet in the fading light coming in through the window. 

Luz cleared her throat. “I really like your hair, by the way.”

Amity blushed and touched the shaved part of her hair. “Really?”

“Yeah. The brown looks nice. And you look, I don’t know, happier, now, even with everything you’ve told me about.”

Amity pulled her knees to her chest. “A little. It’s mostly because you’re back.” 

Without warning, Amity jumped into Luz’s arms, scaring King off her lap. Luz stuck one arm back to keep them both upright. She wrapped the other around Amity’s waist as the witch hid her face against Luz’s shoulder. Luz nuzzled against Amity, smiling as her pointed ear flicked and turned backwards, holding her tight. Amity let go of a long breath and relaxed in Luz’s embrace.

“I missed you so much,” she said. Hot tears dripped onto Luz’s shoulder. “I didn’t know if you were ever going to come back. So many years went by and we weren’t able to do anything and I didn’t think we would ever be able to fix it.”

“I know. I was scared, too.” Luz sighed and adjusted to put both her arms around Amity. She shot King a look. He nodded, taking the hint and bolting downstairs. “I only thought about you and the others when I was in the human world. God, Amity, my mom was so mad at me.”

“She thought you were at a camp, right?”

“Yeah. And when I finally told her where I really was, she thought I was crazy. She tried to send me to another camp.” Luz shuddered, thinking of the therapist’s office and all the brochures that woman showed Camila. “Well, not really a camp, but, something like it. She thought it was going to help me. I got out of it though, after a lot of talks and convincing. I’m still not sure she totally believes me, but I think she just finally, I don’t know, accepted it, I guess? I think she thought that most of my pictures were photoshopped, too.”

“Photoshopped?”

“It’s a way to edit pictures in the human world. Anyway, I showed her pictures of you and everyone else and all the weird things on the Isles, and I don’t know if she gave up or actually believed me, but she stopped trying to fix me. I think she was just glad I finally started acting normal in public, Isles aside.”

Amity pulled back, still leaning on Luz and only inches away from her face. “You told me you hated how everyone acted in the human world.” 

“I did. I do. But I knew that if I started acting the way she wanted me to, I could focus on finding a way to get back to you.” Luz turned aside and cleared her throat. “Um, all of you, I mean. Get back to all of you and get back to the Isles.” 

“Right.” 

Amity glanced down and went red in the face. Pursing her lips, she sat back away from Luz. The human smiled sadly and pulled one knee up to her chest. 

“So,” she said, “how is it being a Clawthorne?”

“It’s… fine. Eda and Lilith care about me, at least.”

“Are they still getting along?”

“They are, which is more than I can say for my own siblings.”

“Is Emira part of the rebellion?” 

“She is. She usually fights with my squad, but sometimes she gets put with the old detention kids.” 

“Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus?”

“Mmhm.”

“What about everyone else from school?”

“I haven’t heard anything from Skara and her friends. That little jerk from the construction track joined the Emperor’s coven, and we’ve seen him a few times on patrol, but not much. Last I heard of Boscha, she just stayed away from everything.”

“Huh. Knowing her, I would’ve expected her to join the coven.”

“She almost did. She got sick of the idea of being told what to do and dropped off the map. No one has seen her since then.” 

Luz nodded. She looked outside at the purple sky, watching the stars light up like the light orbs glowing in the room above them. 

“So much has changed since I left.”

Amity sighed. “It’s been hard. I won’t lie. But, we’re trying.”

“I’m glad I’m here to help now.”

“So am I.” Climbing to her feet, Amity dragged a hand down her face. “I’m going to go take a shower. You should get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow sneaking through the Isles.” 

Luz laid out her sleeping bag beside Amity’s and stretched out. Staring out the window, she took a deep breath and fished out her paper and pencil. She drew a light glyph and sent it into the air besides Amity’s pink-tinged lights. She sighed and allowed herself a tiny smile, the lights dancing in her eyes. Some things didn’t change.

Amity turned after a while, dressed in torn pajamas with her hair down. Luz turned over to look at her and froze. Her heart jumped into her throat. Amity was always pretty to her when they were younger, but now it suddenly hit her how beautiful she really was. She flashed Luz a little smile and lied down beside her. 

They faced each other, barely a foot apart. Luz held out a hand that Amity took. With hands clasped between them, they closed their eyes, finally at peace with the other beside them again.

****

Luz crouched behind Willow. Hexside stood before them, reduced from its former glory to a smoldering, pitted, burnt out husk. A picture of Belos’s mask with a red X through it was graffitied across the mighty tower in front. All the trees surrounding the campus were cut or burned down, leaving only stumps behind. The top of the tower and the eye inside were blasted away. Her heart sank at the sight. She clutched Willow’s hand, unable to look away from the ruined school. 

Willow lowered her head a touch. “That’s Hexside,” she said quietly. “When they found out we were meeting in the tunnels and using Viney’s passages, they sent in squads and destroyed the place. They wouldn’t let anyone fix it, either, even to continue using it as a school.” 

Luz grimaced. “Do I even want to see Bonesborough after this?” 

“Probably not, but you should.”

Willow ushered her along. 

The town looked no better. Little fires burned everywhere. Most buildings were scorched in places or had holes busted through the walls. Doors were torn off their hinges and windows were cracked and shattered. The normally busy town was deserted by its citizens, replaced by white robed soldiers and little flying creatures. The soldiers shouted at anyone wandering the streets. Some were forced back into buildings. Others were clubbed and forced into chains before being carted away. 

Propagandic pictures of Belos’ proud visage were plastered on every wall, alongside wanted posters of Willow and Amity’s dangerous caricatures. Luz was reminded of Eda’s old posters displayed everywhere. 

Hiding on a hill overlooking the town, the crew watched as a new patrol squad marched through the streets. Their leader stepped out in front of his soldiers and took off his mask.