章 6: Chapter 6: Twilight Troubles
Flint's cough sounded dry as he went to grab a glass of water, taking a tentative sip.
"Ugh. Thank goodness I'm almost over this." Flint groaned.
After the duel with Amity, Flint had been taken to get healed. The healer did what they could, but they couldn't fully address the burns in his mouth. Thankfully, they were at least able to get it enough so the burns could heal on their own. Sadly, this meant that for the past few days after, he'd had a terrible dry cough and his sense of taste was a bit impaired for a bit. He couldn't even talk for the first day after.
Luckily for him, his recovery was actually exceeding the estimated time they'd given him and working faster, so hurrah! He wouldn't have to deal with this for much longer, seeing as the burns had already gone away and all he was left with now was the cough.
Flint looked back down at his jacket and frowned a bit at seeing the singed cuffs. This was his favorite jacket and he hated to have it get messed up, but he'd be lying if he didn't think the new detail made the jacket look cooler. The others had voiced their opinions on it too, with Eda saying it made him look badass.
Speaking of Eda…
"Watch closely, you two. Hexes Hold'em is the most tricky game on the Boiling Isles. Any proper witch knows how to play." Eda said.
They were all in the living room, where Eda and Owlbert were playing a card game called 'Hexes Hold'em' with the others watching. Flint was honestly a bit bored, but seeing Owlbert wearing a green visor was worth it.
"Oh boy, cards! The paper rectangles that old people think are fun!" Luz said excitedly.
"And college students being prayed on for their bad spending habits or fledgling gambling addictions." Flint chimed in, grabbing a nearby pack of UNO cards and tossing it a few times. "I'd rather settle for a game of UNO personally." Flint voiced his opinion.
Eda puts a card down on the table causing lightning to come from the cards, sending Owlbert flying for cover behind the side of the table. The cards all stand and roar. Owlbert smirks as his cards surge forward and attack Eda's.
"Now when it looks like the deck is stacked against you, that's when you break out the wildcard," Eda said, holding up a card with a tower on it. It glows green, and Owlbert's cards disappear in a flash of fire. Fiery letters spelling out 'WINNER: EDA' appear and disappear over the table. Owlbert hops back on and hoots at Eda, bowing in acceptance of his defeat.
"Woo, I win! In your adorable owl face." Eda said getting into his face as feathers started to sprout from her arms. "Ah, I love the feeling of victory. It feels...fluffy?" Eda said confused, not noticing the change.
"Uh, Eda? It's happening again!" Luz said with a tinge of fear.
"What's happening again?" Eda questioned.
"Are you dense? Look at your arms!" Flint yelled in exasperation, causing Eda to look at herself and yelp.
"Your curse is back!" King said.
The group ran upstairs to Eda's chest of elixir in her room, only to find they were all empty.
"Oh boy. This is bad. I'm out of elixir." Eda remarked.
"Welp, guess we need to head to the market," Flint said.
"Market!" Luz said excitedly as she raised her hands in the air.
"I'm stealing everything that's not nailed down!" King exclaimed in a similar fashion, walking away with Luz.
"And I'm gonna have to make sure you can get away then." Flint resigned himself as he followed. Why did everyone in this house have to be so chaotic? And no, he wasn't being a hypocrite. He knew very well how chaotic he could be when he felt like it.
"Before we go, would anyone like to play one more hand of Hexes Hold'em?" Eda asked as she went to grab the deck from her pocket, only to find it empty. "Hey, where are my cards?" Eda asked confused.
Luz turned around as Owlbert perched on the Hexes Hold'em pack in her hand. "Take these and fly ahead. She'll have to follow us." Luz whispered to him.
Owlbert obliges and flies off with the card in his talons.
"Owlbert, you sore loser! Gimme back my cards!" Eda demanded as she ran past the three and after the palisman.
After a bit of time, Eda can be seen banging on a metal grate of a shop with King standing nearby. Above the window is a sign saying 'Mr. Elixir' on it.
"Hey, open up, Morton!" Eda demanded.
"Uh, ju-... just a minute!" a voice could be heard responding.
King decides to leave Eda's side and head over to a bench that Luz and Flint were sitting on, with Flint sitting to Luz's left. Without enough room for all of them, King climbs up the bench and plops onto Flint's lap.
"Is there anything better than people-watching in the Demon Realm?" Luz wondered aloud.
"It's certainly…interesting," Flint said vaguely.
The three watched as three witches stood at something resembling a bus stop as a giant egg rolls up to it. The egg cracks, revealing a featherless bird that screeches. When the bird flies away, the witches enter the egg with one of them closing it before it rolls off. The conspiracy prisoner (with how often he sees her around, Flint thought he should probably go talk to her at some point, if only to finally have a name) runs up after it.
"Wait, wait! Aw, dang it." She lamented.
"The curse of tiny legs," Luz remarked.
"I know the pain," King said sympathetically.
Flint blinked as he saw a figure approaching the small individual. "Well, someone's trying a bit too hard to look badass."
The figure was another witch with a fierce visage, including a sheathed sword on their back and an eyepatch. The witch waves his hand, and a cart with a large demon on it follows him. Luz and Flint got up, with King climbing up Flint's arm and onto his left shoulder, as they walked up to Eda.
"That is one ominous parade," Luz said.
Eda turned around to see what Luz was on about and saw the witches, her brows furrowing in recognition. "That's no parade. Those are demon hunters. Dangerous nomads who capture and sell the most powerful beasts."
The demon on the cart growls and bucks. The two demon hunters pushing the cart pull its ropes to pin it back down. It tries to bite at the first demon hunter, but only for them to create green lightning from a spell that causes the demon to go unconscious. As if knowing they were being watched, the lead hunter swiftly turned to look at the group, eliciting a gasp from Luz.
"...Which I'm about to become if you don't open up, Morton!" Eda raises her voice, continuing her knocking on the grate.
Not a moment later, the aforementioned 'Morton' raises the grate open. "Sorry, Eda! I was up all night poison tasting and for some reason, I don't feel great." Morton apologized.
…
SMACK
A loud smack could be heard as Flint groaned, having facepalmed.
You ain't alone bud. I had the same reaction. What the heck is wrong with the people of that world?
Eda leaned over the counter with an empty bottle in hand. "I'm all outta my juice, pal."
"Oh, gee. Lemme see what I can do." Morton said, taking the bottle from her before leaning down and rummaging around below the counter.
The demon hunters behind them eventually continue on, revealing Willow and Gus, looking dejected, behind the demon.
"Willow and Gus!" Luz said excitedly, quickly running over to greet them.
King turned to Flint. "You gonna go after her?"
Flint shrugged, making sure not to disrupt King perch. "Eh. It's not like I have to be attached to her like I'm her shadow at all times."
King shrugged. "Fair. Got any cool new drawings to show me?"
"Didn't bring my sketchbook, but I have been brainstorming something for a project I'm working on. Need to flesh out some of the details first, and maybe get my hands on a few materials in particular." Flint answered.
Eda turned at that curiously. "What kind of project?"
"More in-line to inventing actually. I'll tell you about it some other time. Like I said, I've got some details I need to figure out first, mostly involving some more research on those glyphs." Flint answered.
Eda hummed in acknowledgment of that as the three saw Morton begin to poke his head up from behind the counter with a look of trepidation.
"I've got bad news and good news. Bad news is I'm all out 'till next week. Good news is feathers are a good look for you." Morton said nervously.
A large feather grew out of Eda's hairline from under her hood as if to say something.
"Morton!" Eda exclaimed as a few more feathers fell to the ground as she stalked forward.
"Well gee, E. Why'd you wait to re-up 'till now?" Morton asked, seemingly gaining some backbone to chastise Eda.
"Because apparently, Owlbert and I are the only ones who are responsible in our house," Flint said without a beat.
Flint swiftly stepped to the side as Eda missed an attempt at smacking him upside the head. "You know I'm right," Flint said unfazed at the attempt.
"Quiet you! I've been very busy." Eda defended.
King rolled his eyes from Flint's shoulder. "Yeah, busy playing Hexes Hold'em. She's obsessed with it." King shot her down.
"I am not obsessed!" Eda denied.
"You're playing it right now!/." King and Flint said, King yelled it in exasperation and Flint in an unamused tone.
True enough, the cards were being splayed out on the counter, with Eda having one in hand.
"…Am I winning?" Eda asked after a pause.
"Good grief woman." Flint sighed in disappointment before gathering the cards and putting them back in their box before pocketing the deck.
Morton's hat overcast his eyes as he leaned in closer, speaking quietly. "You know, I wouldn't suggest this to just anybody, but if you need your elixir you could try your luck later this evening."
"In the night market?" Eda asked just as quietly.
"There's a guy with a stand, goes by Grimm Hammer. If anyone has what you need, it's him," Morton informed her.
Luz then came running up behind them. "Eda. Gus and Willow and I are gonna do a moonlight conjuring and stick it to Amity. So can we-"
Eda brought her hand up in a stopping gesture. "Not tonight, I'm going out." She grabs the Owlbert staff and turns to Flint and King. "I need you to watch the house with Flint, given the many precious objects I have in there."
"Like me! Whoa!" King giggled before being swiped off Flint's shoulder by Eda, who picked him up by his collar.
"You're coming with me. I need an extra pair of eyes looking out for pickpockets, and an extra pair of hands in case I want to pickpocket." Eda said.
"Pickpocket!" The two exclaimed excitedly.
"Then, maybe they can come to the house and-" Luz tried again, only to be silenced again.
"No! Besides, conjurings are dumb. Sitting in a circle holding hands. Pft. It's like magic for babies." Eda denies it as she starts walking away.
Her attempt is stopped when Flint grabs onto the Owlbert staff, causing Eda to stumble a bit before turning back angrily. "I already-"
"You say this kind of magic is for babies, but have you forgotten we're both trying to learn about magic as a whole?" Flint cut her off. She attempted to speak again only to be cut off. "I don't know what this 'moonlight conjuring' stuff is about, but if Gus and Willow come over for it, wouldn't it be better to have four people looking over everything instead of just two?" Flint stood his ground.
Eda paused for a moment at that. The boy's logic was sound, she'd admit, but…
"…Let me think about it, okay?" Eda relented with a huff.
Flint nodded, letting go of the staff and letting her walk off.
"Hey, Flint!" Willow and Gus greeted him.
"Hey, guys. So I'm hearing something about a 'moonlight conjuring'? What's that?" Flint asked.
"A slumber party with the addition of bringing something to life with special magic, but it apparently needs at least three people to do it." Luz summed it up.
Flint hummed. "Neat. I take it you've never had a third to do it before?" Flint asked their friends, who nodded in confirmation. "Well, the two of us need to stay at the house just in case. Eda said she'd think about it though."
The two's expressions became a mixture of hopeful and worried at that.
"I hope she says yes soon." Gus pointed upward at the moon. "The moon is rising into place. And the celestial powers only align once a year." Gus informed.
"Damn, then I guess Luz and I just have this one shot as well," Flint remarked. Now he too was hoping Eda would allow it, given the rarity of such an event.
"Oh, I can't believe I finally have enough friends for a moonlight conjuring! I really hope she says it's okay." Willow said.
"Why don't you come around this evening and hide somewhere nearby? Hopefully, she'll say yes by then…butmaybe we can do it when she's gone." Luz suggested with a bit of a mischievous tone.
Willow rubbed her arm. "I don't know, I wouldn't want you guys to get in trouble with her," Willow said hesitantly.
Flint waved them off. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Talk later then?"
They nodded, giving the two a wave as they walked away. "See you later!" They said in unison as they went out of earshot.
The two stood in silence for a moment as they watched their friends walk off.
"We're doing that conjuring no matter what, right?" Luz asked, not turning away.
"Permission or not, consequences be damned," Flint confirmed.
"Okay good, we're on the same page about that," Luz said with a smile…before she remembered something.
A triclops named Boscha and her group, which included Amity, turned toward Luz, Gus, and Willow. When Amity noticed Luz, she quickly searched her surroundings before her gaze locked onto Flint nearby. When Amity locked onto him, Luz could've sworn she saw Amity jolt a bit before turning away, occasionally glancing back at him for whatever reason until their group had left.
Luz frowned at that memory, something that Flint noticed and became confused about.
"Is something wrong Luz?" Flint asked.
Luz shook herself. "No, it's all good, just remembering something," Luz said as she went off after Eda and King.
Flint blinked at this, unsure of what that was about. He shrugged it off for now. If something was bugging Luz, she'd tell him.
That night, Luz and Flint are seen sitting on the couch and looking at Eda as she puts on the same cloak she used earlier.
"Flint, you're in charge while I'm out. Make sure Hooty and Luz don't get into any trouble." Eda instructed.
A muffled hoot can be heard from outside as Hooty opens the door to address them. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm a big boy house!"
"So…about the moonlight conjuring?" Luz asked hesitantly, not even bothering to try and defend herself in regards to Eda's statement.
"Oh yeah, um…" Eda cupped her chin for a moment before shrugging. "Eh, why not? Sure." Eda answered.
Luz's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?!"
"If it'd just been you Luz, then I would've still said no. But, Flint made a good point. Four sets of eyes are better than two, as long as you lot don't mess up my house, then it's okay." Eda responded.
Luz squealed as she suddenly ran out the door and turned to the bushes that were just outside the door. "It's cool guys! You can come out!"
"Release!"
The bushes glow and explode, revealing Willow and Gus in casual clothing. The two then poked their heads in through the door with wide smiles on their faces.
"I'm a sneaky sneakster!" Willow said.
"I've got leaves in my pants...and I like it," Gus said.
Hooty's face lit up. "Company! Hooray! Finally, someone to listen to my stories! Okay, one time, a sparrow flew into my mouth, and then I-" Hooty coughs out a sparrow, which flies out the door chirping.
Eda disregarded Hooty…being Hooty, and blinked at the two young witches before looking back at Luz. "You were gonna sneak them in if I said no, weren't you?"
Flint walked over to the door as Luz responded. "Yep."
Eda stared at the group for a minute before smiling. "I respect it. Now, you-" Eda pointed at Flint. "-give me back my Hexes Hold'em cards."
Flint crossed his arms and shook his head. "No. You have a serious-"
"Give them or your friends don't get to stay," Eda said unamused.
She barely even finished the sentence before Flint swiftly took the pack out of his pocket and handed them over. Eda grinned triumphantly as she shoved it up the hood of her cloak and into her hair.
"By the way, where's King?" Flint asked, changing the subject.
Eda smiled. "He's right here." She opens her cloak to reveal King, snoring, strapped in a pink baby carrier. "His little body just conks out when he's weightless. Look at this." Eda swayed side to side, with King staying asleep as he moved like a ragdoll.
"Aww, he's so dangly." Luz gushed as she played with his feet. Flint on the other hand…
clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick
Flint had pulled out his phone and was now rapidly taking pictures of the suspended King. Could you blame him?
"That is so adorable." Willow gushed over King as Gus looked curiously at Flint's phone.
"Anyway, gotta get going now," Eda said, as the group made a path so she could exit the house. "Like I said, just don't mess up the house while I'm gone." Eda gave a smile. "Byeeeeee!"
Owlbert's wings extended on the staff and she hopped on, flying away into the night.
"Well, why don't we head on in and get this party started?" Flint suggested, getting nods from everyone as they headed inside.
"Welcome to, the living room. We call it that because it's technically living! The walls are breathing, look." Lu pointed to one of the walls, wavering with heavy breaths as Willow looked at it closer.
"Enchanting," Willow said in awe.
Gus was rummaging through a nearby chest. "And look at all these human treasures." He then pulls out a skull. And actual humans!" Gus said excitedly.
Flint looked on with shrunken pupils as Gus held the skull. "What the f-"
"We've got snacks, we've got weird music!" Luz interrupted, putting the needle down on a gramophone, which produced an evil cackle as she held a bowl of snacks that resembled eyeballs. Gus walks up to her with a bucket on his head.
"We've got a bucket! One thing down on my Bucket List!" Gus said excitedly as he pulled out said list for a moment to cross off a line that said 'Own a human bucket.'
Flint turned to Willow in reaction to that with a questioning look. Willow simply shrugged in response, having gotten used to her friend's antics.
"And best of all, we have actual friends to do the conjuring with! This is so exciting!" Willow exclaimed with excitement.
"So how does this conjuring stuff work?" Luz questioned.
"Well first, we find an object to animate. Since it's our first time we should pick something meaningful." Willow walked over to a vase of flowers sitting on the coffee table. "Something beautiful."
Gus bursts through the flowers with an action figure. "Like this strangely buff little man?" Gus suggested, tapping the figure's midsection.
"I'm half beef, half Bob!" The Beefy Bob figure declared.
"Yes! He's perfect!" Luz said excitedly.
"I wonder if Eda's got any LEGOs around here. Would we be able to make them build themselves?" Flint pondered aloud.
"That's not exactly what I meant by 'beautiful.'" Willow said hesitantly.
Gus lowers the action figure, giving her a hurt expression and-damnit! Not the puppy-dog eyes! Curses!
Willow sighed. "Okay, buff boy it is." She relented.
"Yes!" Luz shot her hands up before hugging Willow.
"Tonight he shall be risen!" Gus pumped his arms in excitement.
"There are worse things to animate," Flint said with a shrug.
A little while later, Gus places Beefy Bob on the ground between the four of them and several lit candles around them. Willow and Luz sat across from one another, as did Gus and Flint, with Luz being to Flint's left and Willow to his right.
"According to the conjuring books I've read, we say the incantation and make a connection with the doll," Willow informed.
"Figurine." Gus corrected with a firm look.
The group began to hold hands, with Willow and Luz reaching for Flint, but…
"Hold on a minute," Flint said, raising his hand and getting their attention.
The three looked at him confused. Why wasn't he joining in?
"Don't you think that maybe we're forgetting something? Like, I don't know, that Luz and I don't know the incantation?" Flint said with a raised brow.
Their eyes widened as they chuckled nervously, scratching the back of their necks.
"Whoops," Gus said.
"Probably would be a good idea," Willow admitted.
"Good catch Flintlock," Luz said.
"Okay, repeat after me. 'Moonlight, we call, we sing. Moonlight take this chance.'" Willow said the first half.
"Moonlight, we call, we sing. Moonlight take this chance." Luz and Flint echoed.
"'Moonlight come tie the string. Moonlight start the dance.'" Gus finished the second half.
"Moonlight come tie the string. Moonlight start the dance." Luz and Flint echoed again.
"Alright, repeat it back to us," Willow suggested.
"Moonlight, we call, we sing. Moonlight take this chance. Moonlight come tie the string. Moonlight start the dance." Luz and Flint recited the whole thing.
Willow did a few small claps. "Excellent! Let's get to it then."
The four finally connected hands, with Flint holding Willows left and Luz's right as they all began the chant with their eyes closed.
"Moonlight, we call, we sing. Moonlight take this chance. Moonlight come tie the string. Moonlight start the dance!" The four chanted together.
Moments later a burst of blue light bursts out from between the four, spreading around the living room and extinguishing the candles. They all open one eye and look at Beefy Bob in the middle of them.
"That's your cue, little man," Gus said.
Suddenly, the entire house rumbles. Flint can hear birds cawing as they seem to fly away from the house. The foundation cracks as the Owl House rises. All but Flint tried to get to their feet as they all screamed. Flint stays on all fours near the ground to keep balance while the others tumble around them, the rumbling leaving the living room in disarray. Seeing Luz lose her balance, Flint quickly dives over to catch her before she hits the ground.
"Guys?" Luz called out, as Flint's hand shot up from under her to catch a book before it fell on her head. "Thanks Flint. Did the entire house just hiccup?" Luz asked, getting back into gear after thanking her friend.
"Little buff guy, what did you do?" Gus questioned, holding the toy in his hand and squeezing it.
"A real man never takes accountability!" The Beefy Bob toy said.
"That is horrendous advice that should never be listened to!" Flint remarked.
"Guys, I think-I think we might've animated the house by accident!" Willow exclaimed.
"The house?!" Luz and Flint exclaimed as Luz helped Flint get to his feet from under her.
The group heard Hooty making ghostly noises as Flint and Luz ran outside and nearly fell off the ledge. Flint leaned over and looked down to see the house being held up by a large pair of bird legs. Soon enough, Gus and Willow join the two outside just as the house begins to walk. They all screamed as the door slammed shut, and Flint held firm as he slowly backed away from the ledge.
Luz ran up to the door and tried to get Hooty's attention. "Hooty? Hooty! Hooty, you have to stop!"
"By the power of moonlight, I have risen. Hoot hoot." Hooty said robotically.
Gus noticed the glow in Hooty's eyes. "He's in some kind of trance!" Gus pointed out.
The house steps through two trees, but the jostling makes Gus yell as he and Luz lose their balance. He nearly falls off, but Luz and Flint catch him, holding him suspended in the air as Willow grabs Luz's right hand with her own and digs her heels into the ground to anchor them.
"Gus!" Luz, Flint, and Willow called out in worry.
"Our magic must've spread through the house instead of the doll!" Willow analyzed.
"Figurine!" Gus corrected vehemently.
"Nooo! Ya think!?" Flint yelled with frantic sarcasm, responding to Willow and ignoring Gus' correction.
Luz grunted with her back to Flint as she tried to help Gus back up. "NOW ISN'T THE TIME FOR YOUR SARCASM FLINT!"
"THERE'S ALWAYS A TIME FOR SARCASM!" Flint countered.
A moment later his mind seemed to reboot as he fully registered what Willow had said. Flint looked to Willow. "Willow! Take my hand!" Flint called, reaching across his body with his left hand. [Error fix: In the show, Luz and Willow initially grab Gus with the same hands, Willow and Gus by their rights, and Luz and Gus by their lefts. But in the next shot after Gus corrects them, somehow they've managed to switch hands and now Luz is holding Gus with her right and Willow holds him with her left. In this case, Flint takes Willow's initial spot and reaches across his body with his left arm to take Willow's left, as Luz is facing away from both of them.]
Willow reached her own hand out with a grunt. When they connected, a blue glow surrounded all four of them.
"Hooty, stop!" Flint ordered.
The house stops, and not a second late before it would have walked off a cliff. The three manage to pull Gus back up to safety and they all let out a sigh of relief. Luz, Gus, and Willow stared at their hands before turning to Flint.
"How'd you know that would work?" Gus asked.
Flint took a few breaths before answering. "The house started moving after you gave it an order earlier, but wouldn't listen after we let go," Flint explained.
"If that's the case…guys, hold hands again." Luz requested.
The four did so, no longer needing to reach across their bodies to do so, and they began to glow again. In response, the house took them several steps back and away from the cliff.
"We're controlling it with the power of friendship. Uh, and the moon. Probably the moon." Willow corrected herself.
"Might be both in a way." Flint pondered aloud, gaining their attention. "Think about it. There has to be somereason you need at least three people to do it. We didn't even have to say anything for the house to back up, so it might draw on us mentally in some way to do it." Flint suggested.
"I think I read something similar from the books about it. I think it mentioned something about needing a level of trust between the users." Willow pointed out.
"This is amazing! What do we do now?" Gus asked excitedly as they let go and the glow faded.
"On the one hand, we should probably stay put." Luz hummed.
"On the other hand, we've got a giant walking house and should totally take it on a joyride!" Gus suggested.
Flint looked at the now-descending moon. "I think we've got a bit of time to kill, so why not?"
Luz raised a brow. "Really? Aren't you supposed to be the 'responsible one'? And don't you have that irrational fear of-"
"As long as I don't think of it like that, I'm fine." Flint quickly cut her off. "And besides, you're in no position to talk about me being irresponsible, Pot."
Luz narrowed her gaze at him. "Touché, Kettle. Okay, but we gotta get back before the moon sets, or Eda will probably kill us."
They then cheer, directing the house forward.
"Yeah! Joyride!" Gus and Luz hollered as they marched along.
A little while later, the group could be seen still walking through the forest. A teen triclops walks past with a crow up to her ear and a duffel bag.
"Hey, is that..." Willow trailed off.
"It's Boscha. That's the girl who made fun of us earlier." Gus finished.
A glint flashed in Flint's eyes as the words 'Target: Identified. Operation: Destruction.' were all he could think.
With Boscha, she seemed to be talking into the crow like it was…a phone? Okay, seriously, what is with this world?
"Ugh! Yes, Mom. I'm going to a moonlight conjuring. No, Mom. You can't come. And yes, Mom, it's sad that you're asking." Boscha said over the phone before letting go of the crow, and it caws before flying away.
As if feeling the eyes gazing upon her, ironic given she had three herself, she turns around and sees the Owl House, its lower half being obscured by a small hill.
"She noticed us. What do we do?" Willow asked.
Luz thought for a moment before getting an idea. A moment later, Gus creates a megaphone using magic and holds it in the air in front of Luz's mouth.
Luz leaned into the megaphone and began to speak. "Hey. H-Hey you. You should, uh, stop being so mean to people. You're kind of a jerk." Luz called out semi-eerily.
Luz's antics make the group laugh before they hear Boscha responding.
"Ew. A talking house is giving me a lecture? Whatever. I'll just TP you like I did with the rest of the neighborhood." Boscha said, unfazed.
Flint gestured to Luz. "Hey, give me the megaphone. I know something that'll freak her out." Flint said deviously.
Luz obliged and him in front of the megaphone.
Flint held his hand over it for a moment to clear his throat and took a deep breath before putting his mouth up to it.
"Mors caput tuum postulat!" Flint yelled in a gravelly voice. The four made the house stand up as Flint cast a spell and summoned a jet of fire ahead of them. Flint made a roar into the megaphone as the fire went off for added effect.
Boscha, now afraid even though she couldn't understand what was said, screamed and ran away in terror.
The four were in hysterics as they laughed.
"I've never pranked anyone before. And now I have a taste for it." Gus said maliciously before turning to Flint. "What did you even say?"
Flint grinned. "Just a bit of Latin. I only know that one phrase though, and purely just to screw with people. If I remember correctly, it means 'Death demands your head!'"
"Ooh! We should follow her to Amity's house to show off our conjuring. That will show her who's got no talent." Willow said mischievously.
Luz and Flint looked at the moon to see it was nearly at the treetops and still going down.
"Actually, I'm starting to think we should head back," Luz suggested. She didn't want Flint to get into too much trouble with Eda. "Maybe we can just head back and play a game of UNO or something."
Flint snorted, pulling the UNO pack out of his pocket. "Might be a bit hard to do that at the moment."
Luz looked at him in confusion. "Why's that?"
Luz watched as Flint opened the pack to find not UNO cards, but Hexes Hold'em cards in it before looking back up at Flint. "Flint, where are the UNO cards?" Luz asked.
Luz's answer came in an ear-to-ear mischievous grin on her friend's face, which told her all she needed to know.
A smile grew on Luz's face. "You sly-"
"-bastard." Eda said, glaring at the deck of UNO cards in her hand. She was both impressed and angered by the boy duping her. When she got back home she'd praise him...
Then probably strangle him.
There was also a loose piece of paper that had been put into the box with the cards. She currently held it with her hand covering part of the bottom as it read:
'You were about to gamble on a game weren't you? You have a serious problem. XOXO - Flint'
"From the looks of it, we'll have to use a deck of my cards then?" someone asked.
The figure was piglike in appearance and wore glasses. This was Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer the Third...otherwise known as Tibbles.
Eda sighed. "Yeah. One my kids swapped out the cards on me and had the gall to leave a note to mock me. I'm equally proud and annoyed." Eda said, pocketing the note in her cloak pocket. She would've preferred using her own deck of cards just in case, given she didn't trust this 'Tibbles' worth a damn, having the slightest of feelings she was being played. It looks like she'd have to use his cards instead.
"She's gonna strangle you for doing that, by the way." Luz pointed out.
Flint's expression didn't change. "I know. Totally worth it though."
"Amity's updating her Penstagram." Gus said, showing a post on a floating scroll.
"'SHOUTOUT TO MY FELLOW WITCHES. #HUMANCANBITEIT.'" Luz read aloud.
Flint glared at the post. "This…means…war," Flint said menacingly.
A short while later, the four stood before a large manor with a gate reading 'BLIGHT MANOR' in front of it.
"Look, Amity's house. Time to show Amity what a real conjuring looks like." Willow declared.
Just when they motion for the house to move again, they are stopped when a giant rope wraps over the roof and begins holding them in place, causing them to stumble and separate for a moment.
"What happened?" Willow asked.
Luz stared off at something ahead of them and pointed at it. "Is that a...giant crossbow?"
The lead demon hunter from earlier could be seen standing off to the side as he gives the signal for the crossbow to be shot. His comrade pulls the lever, firing a second giant bolt with a rope tied to the end as it secures the house further, and the lead hunter runs up before jumping, landing just in front of the kids.
"Knock, knock," Eyepatch greeted intimidatingly.
Luz, Willow, and Gus gasped in fear of what was coming, while Flint…
"Okay, 8/10 for the aesthetic, but with an entrance like that you just boosted it to 9/10 overall as far as intimidation tactics go." Flint judged.
"FLINT!" the other three screamed.
Flint threw his hands up. "OH COME ON! IT WAS-" Eyepatch suddenly grabbed him by his arms, the action causing Flint's pupils to shrink. "Uh oh."
"Well…that could've gone better." Flint's voice rang out.
"Gee, ya think?" Luz's said sarcastically.
Not 10 minutes later, the four could now be seen tied together with their hands bound behind their backs and being placed in the house's living room as the demon hunters wheeled the entire house across the land on a large wagon. Let it be known that these hunters were very efficient at their job. They even ended up binding their hands in a way so they couldn't even attempt to cast a spell.
Gus was currently trying to bite through the ropes holding them as Luz kicked at the front door.
"Hooty! Hooty! You have to wake up!" Luz demanded.
"If you want this to end as you say, four must hold hands. It's the only way." Hooty responded in a trance.
"¡Oye, no me hable así! Willow, Flint, will you help me out with Hooty?" Luz asked.
Willow sat with a downcast look. "I'm sorry, Luz. You shouldn't ask me to help with anything." Willow said depressingly, getting Gus to stop his chewing momentarily.
"Willow," Luz said sadly.
"I'm so sorry. You wanted to turn back but I just had to show off to Amity. The truth is she and I used to be friends."
"Whaaat?/Nani?" Luz and Flint said in surprise.
"We played together as kids, but when she got her magical powers and I didn't, she stopped hanging out with me," Willow said.
"So she's the Bakugo to your Midoriya?" Flint asked.
Willow and Gus donned looks of confusion as Luz hit the back of his head with hers.
"Am I wrong?" Flint said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Willow sighed. "I just wanted to prove to her that I was a powerful witch, too."
"That's ridiculous. You helped bring a house to life. Amity doesn't know what she's talking about." Luz pepped her up, getting a smile to form on Willow's face.
"Next to Eda and Flint, you're the most powerful witch I know. No offense, Gus." Luz said.
"No, not at all. I know what I'm about." Gus admitted.
Flint felt an itch in his throat and let out a cough, he still wasn't fully over the- wait a minute…
Flint looked down at the ropes binding them and got an idea. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, he focused on trying to recreate that feeling, just not to the same extent. The previous time had been when he was already tired, but this would be different. As he did this, he could feel a warmth in his torso.
Flint reopened his eyes and reached down to the first rope, opening his mouth and latching it all the way around the rope. After a moment, he left out a huff, and suddenly he felt the fire rise from his throat and quickly burn away the rope after a few seconds.
From either side of his mouth, the severed ends of the first rope went slack as it fell off the four, surprising the other three. Luz saw the scorching on the end of the rope and got worried.
"Flint!" Luz said with concern.
Flint sputtered a bit, spitting out a bit of ash from his mouth in disgust. "Bleck! That taste is gonna be stuck in my mouth for days!"
Flint shook himself before continuing, for what it was worth, the ash on the roof and floor of his mouth, and on his tongue, were mostly protecting it from the fire for a bit. Not to mention he wasn't going full blast like last time, but in controlled bursts.
"Keep going!" Gus called out.
Flint did so, chomping onto each rope one at a time and burning it until they were severed, as the others did their best to help him by shimmying the ropes further up so he could reach the lower ones. Eventually, Flint reached the last one and now the four were separated, causing them all to fall over from the lack of support.
Seeing as their hands were still bound, Flint crawled over to Luz and bit into the rope around her hands, doing the same as before and freeing her hands.
With her hands now free, Luz quickly untied Flint, as they went to untie Willow and Gus respectively.
"Great thinking Flint!" Willow praised.
Flint just coughed before running into the kitchen quickly. The group heard the faucet briefly before a gurgling sound. Finally, they heard a spitting sound before Flint came out wiping his mouth with his hand.
"Let me tell you. The taste of ash. Not a good one." Flint got out, before letting out a cough.
As the house was coming to a stop, Eyepatch and one of his fellow hunters climbed back up to retrieve the children. Eyepatch opened the door-
WHOOOSH!
"AAAAAHHH!" Eyepatch screamed, falling back as a torrent of flame blasted him. He attempted to put the fires out across his body. In the process, he quickly pulled off his flaming eyepatch, revealing that the eye under it was perfectly fine.
"Boss!" The hunter behind him called out before he heard running coming from either direction.
The other hunters, upon seeing the fire and hearing their leader's scream, stopped what they were doing and went to help, finding themselves face-to-face with Flint, who had Gus and Willow to either side of him, all wearing sunglasses for some reason.
Flint grinned. "HA! I knew you were trying too hard to look cool!" Flint said triumphantly, noticing the now patchless hunter.
The lead hunter growled in anger, getting up and pointing at them. "Seize them!" He ordered.
"Wait." The one who had been with the leader just a moment ago called out, seeming to notice something.
"What is it Tom?! There's just a bunch of children!" The leader demanded an answer.
"Kevin, weren't there four of them?" Tom asked.1
The now-named Kevin donned a look of realization as he attempted to look for Luz, only to hear Flint cackling.
"Now Luz!" Flint called out.
"Up here, idiots!" Luz's voice called out from above.
The hunters looked up to see Luz on top of the roof with two sheets of paper in hand, each with a light glyph on them. She jumped forward and off the roof and slapped her hands together, activating both glyphs simultaneously.
"SOLAR FLARE!" Luz yelled as she closed her eyes and opened her hands, the light glyphs letting out a massive flash of light that proceeded to blind all of the hunters.
Luz pumped her arms up excitedly. "Yes!" Luz said happily.
Willow held up a glyph resembling a flower. Inside the spell circle is a small circle with a dot at its center, near but not touching the bottom of the spell circle. There are two short lines stretching from the top of the smaller circle facing out at 45º angles. A triangle is roughly opposite the small circle, with one vertex facing the smaller circle. A line stretches from the triangle's tip to the circle. There is a horizontal line across the middle of the triangle. Overall, it could also be described as looking somewhat like an upside-down stickman within the circle.
Willow slapped a glyph onto the ground, causing a thick vine to erupt from the paper and rise into the air, startling her a bit. Using her magic, Willow willed the vine to do her bidding, grabbing Luz out of the air and placing her safely inside the house before slamming it into the hunters, knocking them away. She then willed the vine to remove itself and the paper it sprouted from and snake its way around each of the hunters, pinning them to the ground not connected to the house.
"We may be children, but we're also witches. Powerful ones." Willow declared before closing the door.
"Everyone, quick!" Luz called out.
They all joined hands again, the glow returning around them as the house began to stand.
Flint looks out the window and notices the moon, nearing the water.
"We should probably get the house back ASAP," Flint remarks, eliciting a nod from the others.
Kevin's eyesight finally recovered, only to see himself and his fellow hunters stuck in place by vines, and just in time to watch the group's prize walking away.
"'They're just children, Tom.'" Tom mocked from his place on the ground, getting a grumble from Kevin in response.
Eda could be found on the ground with magic chains wrapped around her torso, which held her arms down as well. Tibbles had conned her into thinking she was in for an easy win but only ended up getting curb-stomped herself. Now she was stuck on the ground and waiting for those Conformitorium stooges to arrive to haul her away, and Tibbles had decided that as the condition for his victory, he'd win King.
As she struggled on the ground, King had an ankle-chain connecting him to the stand and was…
Damn did she wish she could take a picture of him right now in that sailor outfit. For Flint of course. Totally not for herself.
Eda hummed as she thought of him. She really screwed up this time. Flint had even tried to look out for her by swapping out her cards, only for it to end all the same. She needed to start listening to him more.
Eda looked up toward King. "King, I'm sorry." Eda apologized.
King looked away, crossing his arms. "King? Who's King? I go by Little Bone Boy now."
Eda sighed sadly. "I know I have a problem. I get obsessed with Hexes Hold'em. But you guys were right, and I'm done with it." Eda shifted on the ground a bit, the note from Flint poking out of her pocket.
Eda looked at the note and blinked in confusion. There was something written at the bottom of the page.
With what little dexterity she had at the moment, she managed to wiggle an arm out from under the cloak and grab the note, holding it closer to read it. Underneath the message she'd read before, was a secondary note written a bit smaller.
'P.S. Use me wisely.' It read, with an arrow pointing to the edge of the paper. Eda flipped the note to find something on the back of the paper…a glyph.
It was the shape of a kite with a line down its center, sitting on a horizontal line across the lower third of the circle. A curved line from the two center points on either side of the kite curves through it in a bow shape. And finally a small diamond beneath the horizontal line.
From what Eda could remember, this one wasn't either the fire or light glyphs. Given there were only four that they'd found so far, it meant this one had to be for either ice or plants. No. Definitely not the plant one, she remembered that one had the little stickman in it, meaning this one must be the ice one.
"You promise?" King asked.
Eda smiled, raising the glyph to her chains. "Yes King, I promise." She pressed the paper onto the chains with her palm on the glyph side. The glyph glowed as the chains turned to ice. Putting in a little strength, she broke out of the icy chains and grabbed her staff from the ground, dusting herself off as she got to her feet.
The two kept quiet as Tibbles walked out from the curtains behind his stand, not looking up as he looked at an outfit on a small hanger he was holding.
"Alright, I just rustled up some more clothes for you to try on, so-"
WHACK
Tibbles promptly fell over, unconscious with a large bump forming on the side of his head. When he fell, Eda could be seen having swung her staff, spinning it a few times before hitting the butt of it on the ground.
"Remind me to thank Flint later. Now, let's get that elixir, loot whatever he's got that isn't nailed down that we can carry, and get the hell out of here." Eda said, holding the note up before pocketing it.
King chuckled evilly as he kicked the ankle chain off, pumping his arms into the air. "Yes! Looting!" He called out excitedly before diving into the tent as he rummaged around, cackling all the while. "Oh yeah, here you go," King called out, tossing the elixir to Eda.
Eda caught the elixir and quickly downed the elixir, the feathers on her arms immediately falling off with a poof. "Alright let's see what-"
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Eda looked over to see her house walking along the street past her. She looked up to the window and saw Luz, Flint, and their friends peeking out the window. She locked eyes with Flint and Luz, who were now adorning nervous expressions, as well as their friends.
Eda just stared at them as they went off into the distance. King stood on the counter again, having heard the footsteps, and came out to see it.
"Well…of all the ways I thought they could mess up the house, this one takes the cake. I'm kinda impressed if I'm being honest." Eda admitted in a stunned state as she watched them disappear into the distance.
"They're still in a lot of trouble though, right?" King asked, looking in the direction they disappeared.
"Oh certainly. But Flint did save my bacon-" Eda snorted, kicking the unconscious Tibbles lightly. "-so I'll hear them out at least." Eda turned back to the stand. "Back to looting. Gonna blow this stand up after we're done."
Eda could now be seen with her arms crossed and glaring at the group as they sat on the couch. Flint was the only one of the four who didn't look apologetic, having steeled himself for this inevitable conversation (that, and he was currently trying to calm down his excitement after having taken a ton of pictures of King in that sailor outfit).
"So…" Eda finally broke the silence. "You animated my house."
"That did happen, yes," Flint responded with a matter-of-fact tone.
"Did you do it intentionally?" Eda asked.
Luz scratched the back of her head. "We were trying to animate a doll-"
"Figur-" Willow slapped a hand over Gus' mouth and shot him a 'Now is not the time' look.
"So we didn't plan to get the house, no." Willow finished the response.
"And we kinda possessed Hooty. Again, sorry about that." Luz said, turning to the house demon.
"It's okay. I'm just glad I was included." Hooty responded happily.
"To be fair, it really caught us off-guard. Some demon hunters showed up and tried to haul the house, but we kicked butt and took names. Oh yeah, and I managed to do the fire-breath thing on command." Flint said, letting out a short puff of fire from his mouth that dispersed immediately.
Eda stood there with her gaze unchanging.
"…If it makes you feel any better, we ran their pockets after we knocked them out," Flint said, pointing to a pile of gear and a separate one of snails they'd looted from the hunters.
Eda hummed with a hint of approval at that. "Good work." Eda narrowed her eyes at them all. "I should be way more angry at the fact you animated my house and took it for a joyride. I should force you lot to clean the whole thing from top to bottom by yourselves as a punishment…" Eda fixed her gaze on Flint a little more, letting him know he was at fault as the one left in charge.
"But…?" Luz trailed off.
After a few moments, Eda sighed, pulling out the note from earlier. "But Flint really saved our skin earlier, plus we managed to get our own little looting sesh in," Eda admitted with a smile, dumping a sack that held a number of Tibbles' former goods onto the floor, and another filled entirely with snails.
"So…?" Gus trailed off.
"So, you're still gonna be cleaning the top to bottom…" Eda said, summoning a bunch of cleaning supplies in their arms. After a few moments, another few land in her arms. "But you won't be doing it on your own."
"Eh?" The four all questioned, confused.
"What? That was some amazing magic you guys did. I am so joining you for next year's conjuring. Now come on, the sooner we get to work, the sooner it's done." Eda gestured with a wide smile, walking past them to an area of the room. "Hey King, make yourself useful and count the snails."
King grumbled a bit, wanting to just lay down and relax, but counting their loot was better than cleaning, so he'd take it in a heartbeat.
The three teens (and one preteen) then started getting to work, with Flint heading over to Eda and helping on her side of the room.
"Hey."
Flint looked to the source and saw Eda looking down at him with a smile, ruffling his hair a bit.
"You're a good kid. And smart too. Those don't always line up, you know. Thanks again." Eda said with a hint of pride.
Flint took the praise in stride and smiled back at her.
"No problem," Flint said as he began to scrub the wall.
"You know, that was some pretty impressive magic back there. Animating an entire house takes a lot of power. I think you four are well on your way to becoming witches." Eda said.
Flint smiled as he looked around at everyone working for a moment before continuing his part.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット