After the events of the day whether it was the excitement or the still ongoing healing from Warden Wrath, Kai had been near enough comatose in his sleep that night; Even back when he was a kid, he could sleep like a rock…But unfortunately there was a certain someone who knew how to get their heavy sleeping older brother out of that daze.
"Kai…"
"nnn…."
"Kai! Come on, wake up! It's a new day and we both get to train to be witches.!" Luz whispered excitedly as she bounced on the balls of her feet.
"Luz, I swear to god if the sun isn't up and it is still dark out there, I'm putting a bug in your sleeping bag." Kai grumbled irritably as he rolled over to go back to sleep; It wasn't the first time that Luz tried to wake him up while he was sleeping and from how jazzed up she was, it wasn't going to stop her now that Magic was attainable.
"Kai…The sun IS up and we can't waste any time!" Luz encouraged him as she knelt down to his ear. "The longer you lay there then it means the longer I have to tell you all about my shipping chart for the shows that we've been watching together…And I know all about how you feel about Chikara and Asmodae~"
With a split second reflex, Kai bent upward so he was at a 90 degree angle; "You shut your dirty heathen mouth about that pairing in front of me! Everyone and their mother knows that Chikara is gonna end up with Variana!" He remarked with the same level of passion that Luz had about Azura and Hecate.
"There he is, now come on! Daylight's wasting and Magic ain't gonna learn itself~!" Luz encouraged him as she excitedl ran downstairs to get changed into what she thought was more fitting Witch attire.
Kai flopped down onto his back as the energy left him again with a yawn; The sudden realisation that fighting a Demon like Wrath made your muscles and your bones ache like no one's business. "Why does my little sister have to be the peppy one in the mornings…Though the fact I don't hurt as bad is a plu-"
"Sounds like someone's got a case of the good morning grumps~ Hoot, Hooty hoot hoot!" Hooty yowled as his long wormy neck slipped through the open window and decided to make friends with a new guest.
Kai was constricted in Hooty's loving albeit very smothering embrace and a single thought ran through his head. "I might still be a little concussed but maybe Camp is sounding like a better idea than this…" He thought as he crawled out of Hooty's friendship hold and started to stagger downstairs, his body feeling like he was made of lead. "Just lemme at least have some food first before I deal with…whatever else I have to…"
By the time that Luz reappeared at the bottom of the staircase dressed up in what looked like a witch's robe and hat, Eda had staggered out of the bathroom and looking equally as out of it as Kai was. "Who're you?" She asked groggily as she saw Kai opposite of the hall.
Granted, Kai looked a little more bedraggled in the mornings but then again; His normally combed down hair was tangled and almost looked like a shorter version of Eda's mane, his aching body made him slump and he didn't even respond when she questioned him.
"Uh…That's Kai and I'm Luz…You told us that you'd teach us how to use magic?" Luz tried to prompt Eda into remembering since she had long since given up on getting coherence from Kai in mornings. "You…tried to make us customers at your stand and got us nearly arrested?" She followed up with no response except for a questioning "Huh?" from Eda. "You got us into the Conformatorium and got your head chopped off." She groaned as she tried for a third time.
"Oh right, that." Eda finally clicked as she remembered while walking down the stairs. "Look kid, it's way too early for Magic talk or trying to think straight. Can you wait like…30 minutes for me to get the gears turning? I haven't even had my apple blood yet." She said to compromise, glad that the magic requests weren't in stereo with Kai staying quiet.
"Apple blood…You mean juice, right? Because I could go for some." Kai questioned but was open to the idea of having one of his favourite things for breakfast being in a realm full of Magic and Demons.
"No…But sure, be my guest…Just don't do what King does and drain the whole thing." Eda shrugged as she poured a glass for both her and for him before handing it. "Anyways…Why's your sister wearing a dirty bathrobe?"
Kai looked confused but then realised when he saw Luz patting herself down to show that the "Witch's Robe" was a faded purple bathrobe and the hat was a crooked traffic cone. "Beats me…In any case, is there anything that we need to discuss before you start with the Magic lessons?"
"Oo! Like do we choose a Magic house to get sorted in? Or maybe we figure out a spirit quest to see what kind of magic we have!" Luz bounced eagerly as she sat next to Kai while Eda dished up two plates for them.
"Food first, magic later!" Eda repeated as she put the plates down, the food was a lot different to what they had got in the Human World; Thin grey and black speckled strips of what could be seen as bacon was on one side, a link of green sausages and an orange pile of what looked like scrambled eggs on the other. "So, you've got Iron Boar Bacon, Minotaur blood sausage and scrambled Gryffin eggs, dig in." Eda mentioned as she sat down and decided to explain after seeing the confused look on everyone's face.
Luz gave the Minotaur sausage a miss after she felt the chunk of meat disagree with her insides and ended up with a misophonic's nightmare when her fork tried to scrape at the IronBoar bacon. "It's certainly…Interesting." She thought to herself and then tried the eggs, much to her surprise; It seemed to be her favourite since it had enough taste to settle her stomach and enough of a kick to satisfy her spice craving.
Kai on the other hand was not as picky, having grown up with eating Camila's normal cooking and Manny's occasionally "creative" dishes made him a little more open to trying new things. At the same time he also had good manners hammered into him and he felt bad at not cleaning his plate so he ended up scarfing down a lot of it. "This is pretty good, Miss Eda." He complimented as he placed another piece of bacon in his mouth despite the hard texture.
"Glad to see you appreciate my cooking, I would say that a growing boy needs his food but whatever your parents feed you must've done a TON of heavy lifting." Eda teased as she could appreciate the taller, chunky boy making an effort.
"So…About the Magic, what exactly is it that we need to do first?" Luz asked as she eyed the staff in the corner. "Because I'm gonna be honest, I've always wanted to do something like this with a staff of my own!"
"Pump the brakes kid, you've only just got here…Remember I told you that I'm gonna make sure you both work hard for your magic lessons? I'm not exactly doing it for free." Eda pointed out as she took Luz's partly empty plate and Kai's empty one.
"By doing…what exactly?" Kai asked as he was a little suspicious since she was being vague about the whole thing. "Because if we're doing another round in the Conformatorium, can it wait a month at least until my ribs are better?"
"Don't worry, you're not going back there…I just have some odd jobs that need to be done and having you plus your sister around is a huge perk." Eda said as she then put the clean plates away and grabbed a giant clinking bag and placed it in front of Luz. "YOU have some deliveries to make, I'll give you a list of addresses and you give out these potions to each person."
"Delivering…Potions?" Luz asked with a little of her enthusiasm deflating from such a mundane sounding task before reaching in and pulling out a green phial of goop. "Snake oil? You're a literal snake oil saleswitch?"
"Hey, don't knock the deal…You have no idea how many people will need an oiled snake." Eda pointed out and tied up the bag; "Just remember, always measure twice and cut once, I believe in you!" She called out as she got Luz out of the door though that still left Kai with her. "And now on to you."
"Do you…Not want me going with her? She might get lost." Kai asked her curiously; "Or potentially worse…"
"Already on it…" Eda mentioned as she strode over to King who was currently sunning himself by a windowsill. "Hate to interrupt your power nap but you've got work to do."
King groaned as he rolled over and sat up to look up at Eda; "Come on, do I really have to?" He complained before looking at Kai who seemed rather concerned about Luz. "Why can't the Tall One go with her?"
"Because he's coming with me to do something important." Eda pointed out before leaning in to whisper. "Something that needs a second opinion on so I can't really spare the time to watch over both of them."
"Urgh…Fine…I'll follow after her." King grumbled as he scuttled out of the door and followed Luz into the City while the bottles clanked around in the giant bag.
"So…What's this that you need me for?" Kai asked as he felt a little curious to why Eda chose to separate the two. "Because we could always pair up and get the job done faster that way."
"Well, after what happened yesterday; I wanted to get a specialist to check you over." Eda mentioned as she gestured for him to walk with her and then grabbed her staff. "Normally I have some damn good confidence in my Healing Potions but it can't hurt to verify when it comes to a human…Besides, I got a friend who owes me a favour so I don't have to pay a thing."
"But I don't feel that hurt at all…A little achy from the strain maybe but I'm not in any immediate danger…Am I?" Kai asked as he tried to protest the idea of a doctor; Similarly to Luz, he was nervous about doctors but that anxiety only got worse after what happened with their dad.
"Kid…Warden Wrath was twice your size, three times as bulky and you cracked a stone wall when he knocked you away…Realistically you should've been turned into mulch." Eda stated bluntly; She didn't have the time or the patience to beat about the bush and her responsibility was BOTH siblings, though her expression softened when she saw the normally calm looking kid with a pale and anxious expression at the prospect of a doctor's clinic. "All we're gonna do is make sure you healed up okay and that there's no problems." She explained reassuringly as she flew him over the city and landed in a back alley, navigating him through bazaar stalls and then stopping at a small dilapidated building that had a knocker on the door that looked like a blue bandaged hand.
After Eda rapped on the door, it opened up to show a short, bearded man that came up to Eda's waist and wearing what looked like a doctor's coat. "Eda? I'm surprised to see you coming by so soon…And with all your limbs still attached too, I'm to assume this isn't just an annual checkup?"
Eda shook her head as she gently pulled Kai through the door; "This one's not for me, this guy on the other hand does need a lookover." She explained as she detailed what had happened but omitted Warden Wrath's name and had the incident chalked down to a fight with a bigger demon.
"I see…" The doctor nodded as he looked over Kai before he sat on a nearby stool; "I'll examine him and make sure nothing bad happened but this express visit is gonna cost you a pretty snail, Eda."
Kai wasn't sure what it was that caused the quick turn around but he did hear Eda coughing and something about an IOU followed by a grumble of an agreement from the doctor, before he knew it; The boy was bathed in light as the doctor started examining him and let out the occasional hmm.
"Well…From what I can see; There doesn't appear to be anything drastically wrong with him…This young man isn't in any kind of immediate danger but you could've warned me if you're bringing a Human to my clinic, Eda…Especially one with a body as dense as this." The Doctor explained as he pointed to Kai's chest. "No bile sac means that it limits his capability in a place like this…You said he came in after picking a fight? I'd count your blessings that the one you found is this durable."
"Durable?"
"Yes, you said that you felt broken ribs when you looked him over…But so far I count no cracked or broken bones…Though it looks like most of that is down to his thick structure." The Doctor explained as he made a circle with his fingers and hit Kai's body with a neon blue light that seemed to make him feel relaxed. "That should help any aches or pains for now, though I'd still say watch over him and keep an eye out for any adverse effects when going home." He said as he gestured to the door for them.
Eda thanked him but got a grunt in return once they headed out into the city and sighed a breath of relief. "There, not so bad now, was it?"
"Just…Let's just stick to yearly visits please….And what was that he mentioned about a bile sac?" Kai asked curiously as he breathed a sigh of relief while the two left to head into town.
"Oh right…I need to cover that with you both…" Eda mentioned as she grabbed the pair a seat on a park bench. "So…In regards to Witches here in the Boiling Isles, there are two ways that a Witch can perform Magic; The first way is the natural and most straightforward way." She detailed as she pulled a cylinder out of her hair and unfurled a scroll showing a very realistically illustrated heart with an odd growth on it's side. "Every Witch has one of these bile sacs at birth which allows most people here to perform Magic…The other is an older but more traditional way and something that I think might be more applicable to you and your sister."
Kai nodded as he could follow this fairly easily. "I guess that makes sense; That's how you can do the whole…." He queried and made a circle with his fingers. "Finger thing, right?"
Eda chuckled at his attempt at the analogy but nodded; "Yeah, that's it…Though you can also do it if you have a staff but you're not getting those quite yet…At least not until I can be sure you and your sister won't start any fires." She said and then put the scroll back in her mane of hair. "Though I say we should be careful when we start the magic lessons, that doc really seemed to think something was up with you, even for a human…And even I have to admit he's got a point."
"I've always been a little tanky…That's why I got into sports back home…" Kai explained as he leaned back a little; "Though I think after he smacked me away, the adrenaline must've done something because I didn't feel a thing."
"Kid…No amount of adrenaline could make you stand up after getting smacked into a wall by a beefcake like that." Eda pointed out as she tapped him with a long nailed finger and raised an eyebrow, she had seen a lot of things in her time as the Owl Lady: Her and her sister clearing a whole pitch during Grudgby, the numerous pranks at Hexside and her grand declaration that she wasn't going to follow Belos…But seeing a kid standing up to a monster roughly three times his size was not one of them.
Kai looked confused as he looked at Eda to see if she was joking but only saw a look that mixed seriousness and concern. "So…What happens now?"
"Well…Once your sister comes back from delivering those potions, we can start by figuring out yo-" Eda elaborated on how she was going to train them but unfortunately for Kai, it all started to fade into white noise.
The sounds of the street started getting louder like people were practically yelling in his ear despite talking with each other normally, Kai could start to see all the colours in Eda's eyes and her outfit far more clearly than he could before while she talked. The oddest thing to him however was that he wasn't phased by this, it was like he was watching the sun break through clouds after a long storm.
"Kid? Kid! You okay there?" Eda lightly tapped his cheek to get his attention and then sighed as she saw him refocus back on her; "Did any of what I said sink in for you?"
"Yeah…You said something about… figuring how Witches used Magic in the past before bile sacs." Kai repeated what little he had heard in the din of noise, though amidst the crowd he could pick out Luz's voice as she rushed over.
"EDA! KAI!" The younger Noceda called out as she rushed over with King hanging on. "You are NOT going to believe this but I actually met a wizard! He invited us in for tea and he told me tha-"
King hopped off of her shoulder as he was trying his hardest not to laugh; "The old guy said that there was a quest for her and that…that…" He finally snorted into laughter. "He said that she was a chosen one!"
This seemed to be like some kind of inside joke as Eda was quick to burst out laughing and started smacking the bench in between breaths. Something that seemed to make Kai look confused at the context but it made Luz flush a bright red in a mix of embarrassment and annoyance at getting interrupted.
"Whoa, hold on a minute…You met a Wizard?" Kai asked since both the more experienced people were too busy laughing their collective lungs out to explain. "And you're a chosen one? For what exactly?"
Luz felt more hesitant to explain since Eda's reaction got to her but ultimately she knew that if Kai didn't laugh at her about her weird theories and ideas then this would be no different. "He gave me this map and told me that I had to find some kind of Celestial staff…Can you believe it?! I've only been here for a day and I can already get a staff on a magic quest!"
"Hold on a minute…Lemme see that." Eda asked Luz as she held a hand out once she saw the map and decided to at least hear her out after laughing. "Okay, I think I've seen this before…" She said out loud which caused Luz to get more and more excited. "This is a load of bunk, there's no such thing as a Celestial staff or a lake where it's hidden…If there was, then someone would've taken it by now…Probably me." Cue the rapidly dropped frown from Luz.
"Hey, come on…It might be true." Kai tried to argue the point since he was both indignant about Eda and King laughing in Luz's face but at the same time, he was also curious about this whole thing. "Every nugget of fiction has to come from somewhere…You said something similar when we asked about the Boiling Isles."
"I did…But you also know what people say about things sounding too good to be true; This isn't some grand master plan organized by fate, it's your sister being treated like a mark…" Eda mentioned as she saw Luz leaving and felt a small nugget of guilt start to slide in. "Look, I know it's not exactly the kind of thing you want to hear…But this is the sort of stuff that attracts people to take advantage of you."
"…Let's just go back to the house." Luz mumbled with a feeling of both embarrassment at getting caught up in the hype and the depression that came from being laughed at.
Kai meanwhile was left with a lot to think about; Not just about Luz's encounter with a Wizard and their talk but the fact that Eda and King took a little too much gusto in laughing at Luz before smacking down her optimism, something that he made very clear once the doors to Luz's room and the door to the Owl House shut. "You know, you could've broken it to her easier." Kai mentioned with a visible frown on his face.
"Well, if she was gonna let herself get won over by something that crazy then that's her fault, not ours." King mentioned from his perch on a nearby windowsill, not quite seeing the hypocrisy after stuffing his face.
"Really, so did this happen before or after you bragged about all the scones you ate from this wizard?" Kai asked, slowly getting more and more irritated by King's attitude. "I thought Eda sent you to look out for her, not to make fun of her for not knowing about things here."
"Hey! I can do both." King snapped back as he sat up, equally as annoyed at Kai interrupting his coveted naptime and talking to a King of Demons like this. "I'll have you know that I just happen to excel at mocking and watching at the same time."
"Yeah, I've noticed…But I thought someone trying to help us out would be a little more sympathetic to BOTH of us, so maybe just a heads up that we might get mugged or something rather than just laughing in my sister's face." Kai berated them both which seemed to make King's laugh die down to small chuckles but Eda did feel that small inkling of guilt grow after watching the familiar sight of a sibling looking out for their sister.
"Kid, hold o-" Eda started as she wanted to at least retract her laughing but Kai wasn't in much of a mood at this point as he headed upstairs to check on Luz. "Dang it…King, tell me more about this Wizard guy…Even if he is one of my supposed clients, I don't like this itch that he's scratching with Luz…" She drilled King as the sound of a door closed.
Kai meanwhile was trying to clear his head and follow the steps that he used as a mantra when he needed to calm down, he knocked on the door of their shared bedroom once he felt ready; "Luz? You okay to talk right now?"
"Go away…."
"Look, Luz…I know what happened earlier sucked, I mean; We already kinda figured that this wasn't the kinda fantasy world that we expected it to be." Kai admitted as he spoke through the door; "I mean, isn't the whole "Destined Chosen One" thing a little overdone? It's probably more fun to surprise people with who you CAN be rather than being what everyone expects you to be."
"Yeah but…They still laughed at me and called me a gullible idiot."
Kai sighed as he gripped the doorknob; "Alright, I'm coming in…I'm not gonna have this conversation through a door." He said as he opened it up to see Luz sat on her sleeping bag and staring at the toy sword she brought on their last adventure.
"I actually thought that things were gonna turn around and we'd find something that'd make us cool…But no, just one more reason for people to laugh at us…" Luz muttered as she didn't look up at her sibling; "I feel stupid for believing all that baloney."
"Luz, it's only been a day…" Kai pointed out before sitting in front of her; "I mean…Look at us, we're stuck in another world that has Magic, Demons and weird ladies who can hide tons of things in their hair…You really think that we're just gonna instantly know everything about this place overnight just like that?" He asked and snapped his fingers.
"Well…It could be like that weird manga you like to read..You know, the one with magic glasses that can speed read any book and that fire breathing boy that is somehow surrounded by tons of girls." Luz asked as she had a little smirk come back when she teased her older brother about his tastes.
"I thought I told you to stay out of my stuff." Kai grumbled with a frown as he saw the formerly bummed looking Luz start giggling like a little gremlin, though he quickly became curious as something didn't add up. "Besides, I thought you weren't interested in that kind of thing."
Luz blushed a little more; "Well…I saw the cover and thought it was a little weird but I saw on the back that it had magic in it so I gave it a try…I took a few minutes to read it." She said but grew embarrassed when she saw Kai raise his eyebrow in skepticism at her. "Okay, fine…I got caught up on my laptop reading it all night after, it was actually pretty good."
"Heh, I knew you were a sucker for that stuff if it had magic in it." Kai smirked as Luz spilled the beans before putting his arm around her for a one armed hug. "Look, I know the Wizard thing sounded like a scam but it doesn't mean that we're cut off from learning magic…Eda said she'd teach us so I say give it a little time and we-"
"Wait…Hold on!" Luz interrupted as she picked up the map that the wizard gave her and saw something glowing on the front with an arrow pointing along the path to the illustrated staff. "The chosen one will be destined to find the Celestial Staff and command Mastery over Magic itself…But in order to wield such power in the right hands, the path will only appear to the worthy" Luz read internally and felt her excitement start to grow as she re-read it. "Kai, this is IT! I can finally prove Eda and King wrong and show them that I can be someone special."
"Luz, you don't need a supposedly otherwordly staff to show that you're special." Kai reassured her as he got up, "Just hold on a sec, if we can show it to Eda then maybe we can convince her that this is something more." He said as he climbed to his feet and headed out of the door to go find the older witch.
Luz nodded as she felt a small smile on her face when he said what he did but then looked to the map; "Then again…If it does show only to the worthy then can anyone else see it? Could Kai even see it or was he just trying to make me feel better…Only one way to find out if I'm worthy or not." She thought to herself as she looked to the window that lead into the woods.
Kai hopped down the stairs as King finished telling Eda about Adegast and his supposed quest for Luz. "Eda, you need to come check this out. I think Luz found something in the map and it's gotten her excited."
"Again with the map? We already told you that it was a scam." King groaned as once again, nap time became an impossibility with talking around. "Plus if Eda says that it's a fake then it's fake."
"I'm serious! The map got Luz's attention and she started muttering to herself…Now she's thinking about following after it…" Kai explained as he looked to Eda who was looking more confused than before. "I did tell her to hold on so we can get a better idea on it but if I know my sister…She's gonna try regardless."
Eda raised an eyebrow, it seemed too elaborate for just scalping someone of a few snails but it also seemed too obvious to be some kind of legit hero's quest. She wanted to say something further but decided to try getting her answer from the source as she got up out of her chair to get Luz talking.
"Alright, so say it IS some special map and had something hiding on it, how come it didn't say anything back when we were at the castle? I've been with Luz the whole time and I didn't see squat." King decided to throw his comment in since nap time was officially killed. "Wizard guy just said something about a quest and gave Luz a map."
"You probably didn't notice because you were stuffing your face." Kai snarked as he glanced back up the stairs to where Luz's room was; "Luz was muttering to herself but the map said "The chosen one will be destined to find the Celestial Staff and command Mastery over Magic itself…But in order to wield such power in the right hands, the path will only appear to the worthy." and had a bright light arrow pointing her in the direction where to go." Kai explained but then felt a little anxious when he saw Eda's stare grow more suspicious.
"Alright, we're getting to the bottom of this." Eda said as she moved past Kai and up the stairs; "First thing's first though…" She thought before she noticed the door cracked open and thought it was just Kai having just left. "Hey Luz? I need to talk with you and I also need to apolo….gise." Eda said quietly as the door creaked open to show Luz gone along with the latter half of Eda's sentence, the window wide open and a very awkward silence. "Oh farts…"
"So if you're this supposed King of Demons, then how come no one else recognises you? Surely someone as big and powerful sounding as that would turn heads even if you shrank like a shirt in the laundry." Kai asked curiously as he decided to make conversation while Eda was upstairs.
"That's because my status as King is undeniable! I may not be tall but people know to fear me! To revere me and even praise me while like this!" King boasted with a grandiose voice while he balanced on top of a pile of expired phone books. "They fear my great legions of darkness and beg to join me at my grand feasts!"
"Riiiight…Your legions of darkness like that stuffed rabbit?" Kai snarked as unlike Luz; He found it hard to believe that someone like King was as powerful as he said he was.
"Kid! KID! We've got problems!" Eda yelled as she came barreling down the stairs and grabbed King by the scruff of his neck; "I need to go out and check on something and King is coming with me, hold down the fort until I get back."
"Whoa whoa whoa! Roll that back, what's the problem?" Kai asked as he watched Eda run past him and grew confused at her unusually alert mood. "Did something happen with Luz?"
Eda seemed to ignore him as she hunted around for her staff; "Owlbert? Owlbert! Get your little butt here now, we need t-" Eda called out for her Palisman
"Eda…" Kai said a little louder as he gently grabbed her wrist however the look of concern on his face was far less subtle; "What happened with Luz? Because I'm not letting this go until you tell me." He asked her as he felt his own concerns grow after seeing her expression.
Eda grimaced but then decided to multitask; "Alright, get on…I'll explain on the way." She said as she climbed on her staff as Kai got on behind her.
As the two flew out of the house with King on Eda's shoulder, she explained what happened upstairs and used their little friend to guide the pair to the wizard's house…
Or rather to the dilapidated ruins that stood there; "B-But this can't be right, there was a giant house here before!" King said as they set down with Kai and Eda both looking at the ruins but the elder Noceda sibling ran towards the wreck to find Luz.
"I really don't like this." Eda mumbled to herself as she followed after him, "Kai, hold on!" She yelled after him before grabbing the sleeve of his hoody.
"Eda, you said that Luz could be in trouble…I'm not gonna just let that go unnoticed!" Kai stated with a serious look before looking around the ruined manor. "LUZ! If you're trying to prove a point, this is a bad way to do it!"
"Yeah but running around and yelling your head off isn't any help either." Eda pointed out as she headed for what looked like the library with King's directions. "Maybe we can find something here to track Luz…Or at least find out what this guy's angle is."
"Well…We could but there used to be a door here." King mentioned as he noticed what looked like a wall but with the faint outline of where a door used to be. "There was a library here, I'm sure there was!"
"Okay…I've played enough games to know a hidden door…" Kai thought to himself as he ran his fingers along that wall; It felt like solid brick and stone with no signs of give on it. "But I can't just give up on this…" He said as he rolled his neck to make it crack a little as a stretch.
"Kid, you better not be planning to do what I think you're gonna do." Eda said when she saw him getting into a low stance and preparing to charge forward. "Just stand back and I'll blow this whole wall down in a jiff."
"If this is as broken down as the rest of the house then I can handle it if I'm supposedly so durable." Kai said stubbornly as he rushed forward towards the wall and lowered his shoulder before Eda decided to directly intervene, bonking him on the head with her staff.
The glint of the late afternoon/evening sun glinted through the window against the necklace on him and flashed a little as Kai stopped and rubbed his head, "OW! What was that for?!"
"I'm stopping you from smashing your head on what looks like a solid brick wall, you numbskull!" Eda snapped as she knew that even though what happened at the doctors was probably true, she still wasn't going to watch this boy throw himself into every bit of danger at every opportunity. "Just let me help with this, you can at least trust me enough to try and make things right with Luz, can't you?"
Kai hesitated for a moment, weighing his options and then decided to step to the side for Eda to do her work. "Alright, work your magic…No pun intended." He said and internally groaned at his mental flub.
"Watch and learn, kiddo…" Eda said as she used her staff to draw a circle in front of the wall and then it started to take effect; The wall began to crack and glow as it slowly expanded outward like a stone hitting a window.
Kai watched as those cracks then collapsed into themselves as the wall fell apart and formed that open archway that King remembered; "Whoa…You're gonna teach us how to do that?"
Eda chuckled as she tapped her staff on the ground, feeling proud of herself that she made it work and being admired for it. "Well, if we get through this then hopefully I will start you two off on the basics, gotta walk before you ca-"
"LUZ! LUZ, This isn't funny! Come on out before we get into trouble!" Kai yelled out into the empty room but true to it's derelict appearance; The only thing to really respond was the wind blowing a hollow sound through the smashed windows and toppling over several sheets of paper.
"Pump the brakes, kid! Seriously…" Eda grumbled as she started looking around as well; It was hard to blame the kid for being worried about his little sister but she also knew that if he was anything like Luz, he'd be stubborn about this. "Still…I don't think this is the first time that whoever this Wizard guy did this." She remarked as she found a pile of maps, all labeled with the same kind of illustration that Kai described her.
"You guys are the best!" Luz said with the biggest smile on her face as she travelled alongside her companion Nevareth and a bunch of various creatures that she saw in her Azura books. "Seriously, I can't believe that this whole journey was legit!" She added with a further smug look that she was gonna rub in Eda and King's faces.
"Absolutely, Luz…You're our hero after all and once you get the Celestial Staff, you can stand above everyone as a powerful wielder of magic."
"Complete this quest and you'll be able to have your pick of Magic Princes."
"Oh yeah, this is questing in all the right ways." Luz said with a grin as she imagined being waited on by mysterious hot guys in prince clothes, though with the more that she thought about it, another thought entered her mind. "Still, I wish Kai could've come along…He'd probably think this was cool too."
As the group travelled through the forest; The trees grew darker and more overgrown with every step further into the forest that Luz took. "We're reaching the resting place of the Celestial Staff, Luz the Human…Go forth and claim your destiny." Nevareth proclaimed as he pointed to the floated staff on the pedestal.
"A Puppeteer Demon?" Kai asked as they flew through the forest and tried to catch up where they saw a village ahead. "And you had them as a client?"
Eda stopped just shy of the "Village" as the glamour of Luz's quest had worn off into something out of a horror movie; piles of discarded puppets lay across the dirty roads and the buildings that once were warm and welcoming had now regressed into haunting and broken. "When you're trying to earn money, kid…You can't exactly be picky with who works with you outside of your gut."
Kai began looking around and felt a chill through his body; "This is what that Wizard called a quest? It's a lot more dreary than what I thought it was." He remarked as he started leafing through the rubble to see if he could find something. "Though give me a gun and a pinstripe suit…Then Bonedock Saint would be right at home here." He thought with a small grin as he imagined the scenario.
Dream Kai wearing a pinstripe suit staring down a creature that could only be described as a bag of worms in a human shape. Holding a gun in one hand and snapping his fingers to make a fireball appear in the other. "Get ready to become grilled, Wormface!"
"Bagronk, krimpatul ghash, Úlûk-ûlûk nab âbâgûk, Primor-khazâd ghashan ga'ub natûrz, ghash-ûk vorhâl gul gorgûk sîhvat. Bâl, krimpatul, kâshûk-ûk dâgârl, ghash aggûk durbat, uzgri lûgûrz dâghâl orûk!"
"Blah Blah Blah…There is still one thing left that I have that can put you down." Dream Kai remarked as he threw the ball of fire into the writhing mass as it burst alight. "I got this gun…Now eat this, Suckah!" He yelled as he fired off the gun and made the entire thing blow up.
Meanwhile Eda was watching the boy grinning to himself and muttering but chuckled to herself. "Those two really are alike." She thought before then finding a cat doll that hadn't collapsed in on itself. "Kai, over here! I think I found something."
"Alright you, where is the wizard and what did you do with Luz?" Kai interrogated the slowly cracking puppet in Eda's hands.
"If you wish to direct your ire, then follow the path through the forest and seek that which you desire~" The cat-doll rhymed in a distorted voice like someone had stepped on it's voice box before it started laughing, making for a creepy sight as it fell apart.
Kai growled in budding frustration as he felt useless in stopping Luz from running away. "Please tell me you can track from that…"
Eda eyed up the piece of doll that remained and lightly dabbed it to the tip of her tongue; "Yep…Magic-Touched alright…And a real piece of work too."
"You know what the Wizard's doing?" Kai asked as he climbed on the staff when Eda mounted it.
"This ain't a wizard, kid…This particular problem is a Puppeteer Demon; They prey on people by showing them what they wanna see and manipulate them once the hooks are in." Eda explained as they flew off further into the forest with more speed now that they knew what to look for.
"Then I'm not waiting to see what happens." Kai said as he hopped off of the staff and began to sprint.
"KID! Hold on a-Jeez…I really need to put a tether on him or something…" Eda grumbled as she sped off after him, knowing that this kid was either going to be too stubborn to think straight or fall right into the Puppeteer's trap too.
Luz meanwhile had been stuck in the now dilapidated part of the supposed temple, the Puppeteer Demon having revealed himself as the "Wizard" that sent her on this journey. "Alright, Luz…Standard Chosen One biz shouldn't be too hard when I got this!" She said to herself but her confidence quickly failed as that same staff that she picked up crumbled and turned into dust.
"HA! You little idiot, did you really think that those honeyed words that I fed to you were any hint of truth? Not even a greenhorn witch's apprentice is that gullible." The squidlike demon cackled as it waved a tendril and made all of the "gifts" that were given to Luz on her journey had transformed: The cape draped around her turned to chains to tie her down and the combined rings and bracelets on her hands turned into cuffed weights that kept her down there.
"But I don't understand…Why come after me? I didn't do anything to you except bring you the potions you asked for!" Luz protested and struggled as she tried to move, the desperation in her continued to grow and her sadness weighed on her more now that Eda and King's mockery of her was validated.
"No…But your mentor has…" The Puppeteer grimaced as the other creatures that joined Luz on this quest revealed themselves as giggling puppets on their strings. "That snaggletoothed she-devil has done nothing but ruin my business…Stealing my customers for years until I've been left with nothing so now I think I'll rob her of her protege."
"Well you're out of luck, ugly! Because even if Eda thinks I'm an idiot for doing this, she's gonna have more common sense then to go rushing into danger like this!" Luz argued back, thinking that she could try to fool this Demon into giving up.
"Luz! We've come to get you out of this!" Eda yelled, proving Luz wrong that she had common sense but still making her feel a little uplifted that she cared enough to come help her out.
Kai however was stood behind the Demon where the pair had come from, sporting an angry look at the sight of Luz being manipulated and tormented like this; "I don't know what your problem is with my sister…But put her down now or I promise that you'll definitely have a problem with me." He warned as he held on to the metal bat that he took from the Conformatorium.
"Another human? Honestly, if you're another one sent by that simpleminded hag…Then you should probably consider siding with me." The Demon sneered as it readied a tentacle under the brush; "Mindlessly following along a pitiful creature like her will only bring you trouble. I'll make sure you get paid better if you side with me…Plus I can always grant every one of your wildest fantasies!" The Demon trilled before snaring it's tentacle around Kai's neck and lifting him up in a hanging chokehold.
"KAI!" Luz yelled out frightfully as she saw her older brother getting manhandled before the Demon's other tentacles wrapped around her to trap her even deeper in the illusion.
"HEY, ADEGAST!" Eda yelled out to get the Demon's attention and poised her staff at the ready, however for the Noceda siblings; The remnants of her threat towards the oversized manipulator faded away like their ears were being plugged up.
"…Come stay with us, Kai~" A wispy voice cooed in his ear as a woman clad in a white dress whispered in his ear. "You can be a lot more if you come along."
"You can live with us and never have to worry about being laughed at or mocked ever again." A smaller fairy-like creature rested on his shoulder. "You can find everything you could want here."
"It's…Not real…" Kai tried to resist it as he weakly struggled against the tight restraints, his mind slowly growing hazy at both the squeezing limbs on his body and the fact that the illusion was slowly working into his brain.
"KIDS! Whatever you two do, fight it! This jerk's magic preys on you and your thoughts so whatever you see, it's not real!" Eda yelled to the two as she and King fought off the more feral and aggressive puppets.
"It's no use, Owl Lady…They've seen what kind of person that you are and since they came running to me, they know I have something better to offer than just lies and scams." Adegast sneered as he glanced to the two who looked like they were slowly losing consciousness.
"Stay with us Luz, you can keep having adventures with us and eating tiny foods forever if you want." One of the puppets named Nevareth said to her to keep enticing her. "No one appreciates you out there like we do, no one will defend you like we do and we won't laugh at you for anything."
"That's…Not true…" Kai growled as he struggled harder in his own illusions but it was evident that he was getting lost in whatever haze that the Demon was trying to influence him with.
"You should just give up now, Owl Lady…It doesn't take an exceptionally strong mind to know that these brats prefer getting what they want fast rather than earning it." The Puppeteer sneered as it used it's tendrils to squeeze Kai harder; "Though this one seems particularly stubborn…Perhaps breaking the girl in front of you both would be a good motivator: Him to obey me and you to back off."
"…No…None of this is real.." Luz growled as she began to struggle more, each pull against the tendrils began to shift more and more. "I am to be a Witch's Apprentice, I'm gonna earn my magic staff the hard way just like I know Kai would." She continued to say as she felt Adegast's grip start to loosen. I believed you, Magic Man... Now feel my wrath!…Now GET OFF OF MY BROTHER!" Luz finally yelled as she pushed off of the puppets and started swinging with her plastic sword.
Kai on the other was still weakly trying to struggle as now more puppets were whispering in his ear and trying to pin him down, the tendril wrapped around his neck starting to squeeze more tightly. "Real…It's…Not…What's the point?"
"KID! If you're still in there, fight it! If your sister can break out of this then you can too!" Eda yelled as she twirled her staff and blasted a wave of fire at a barbarian looking puppet with an axe.
"Alright, ENOUGH!" Adegast snarled as he was getting fed up of his puppets getting smashed and held King in the coils of one of his tendrils; "Both of you back off or I swear to Titan, the dog gets it!"
"King! Put him down, Adegast!" Eda yelled as she stopped to see King caught up in the monster's grip.
"Now that I have your attention…Perhaps I can negotiate a deal with you." Adegast said with it's lipless grin; "I'll let you and your little witchling protege go and in exchange: I keep this boy as a servant and YOU stay out of my business." He gloated as he shoved Kai into the dirt like he was forcing the boy to kneel.
"If you think I'm just gonna leave Kai behind, you're crazy!" Luz yelled as she prepared to swing the sword again, however this time she got caught by a hard swing from Adegast's tentacle.
"I…Am sick and tired of you both with your stubbornness…So I think I'll just start with y-" Adegast said as he readied himself to lift Kai up but his sentence stopped at the same time that he failed to pull the boy. "Starting with y-" Failed again.
"Let…Go…"
Adegast then shrieked as he was then dragged by his tentacle towards Kai at a rapid pace like he weighed nothing. "Wh-What are you?!" He stammered as he realised that he wasn't the one overpowering anymore.
"I'm a witch's apprentice like my sister." Kai growled as he gripped onto either side of Adegast's head; "I warned you to leave them alone…But now you've gone and made it a problem."
"W-Wait, you don't have to do this!" Adegast tried to plead as he felt Kai's hands clench against his squishy octopus like body. "I-If you let me go…I'll give you a cut of my profits! Make any of your dreams come true! Anything!" He begged as he felt the squeeze.
"I'd rather you tap out with dignity." Kai said flatly as he started to squeeze his hands around Adegast like he was a squeaky toy caught in an eager dog's mouth.
"Uh…Eda?" Luz asked nervously as she saw Kai squeeze and squeeze the Demon tighter in a bear hug, "I think we should probably move out of the way." She said as she saw the begging monster start to swell under Kai's hands like a balloon.
Eda on the other hand was both shocked and impressed that a human was able to turn the most manipulative Demons into a begging mess; "Don't worry kid, even a slimy little gasbag like that is more durable than they look…You won't have to worry much about-" Her sentence however was cut off when she heard a loud pop from their foe, leaving both Kai and the Demon to vanish into a puff of violet smoke. "That on the other hand…That's new."
"KAI! Kai, are you okay?!" Luz yelled as she ran into the smoke to search for her brother. "Please, please, PLEASE let him be okay!" She thought to herself as she waved her hands to disperse the smoke; Seeing Kai standing there with a confused look but Adegast was gone.
"I'm fine…" Kai said before he clasped both hands on Luz's arms; "I'm just glad you're okay…You ARE okay, aren't you?" He asked her with that same concern he had when she got bullied at school.
"Y-Yeah…A little freaked out from that wizard trying to enslave me and turn me into a hostage but no injuries." Luz said to convince him and rested her hand on his to help reassuring.
"Good…" Kai said and smiled a little before donning a drastically different look. "What the hell were you thinking?!" He snapped as he changed from worried to angry. "Do you know what Mom would do to me if she found out that you ran off on your own AND got yourself kidnapped on my watch?!"
Luz flinched as she heard this tone of voice, it was the same tone that their mom used when she found out what happened when Luz had jumped off of the roof of their shed in an attempt to fly. "I-I'm sorry…I just…I should have listened to you and Eda, but I wanted to show that I could handle myself."
Kai felt his face soften when he began to think more calmly, he wanted to stay mad because he felt responsible as her older "brother" but he also knew that he couldn't really blame Luz after how things went beforehand. "Honestly, I'm just glad you're okay." He said as he then pulled Luz into a hug.
Eda sighed as she walked over to the two. "Alright…Luz, I wanted to apologise to you." She said as she got down to kneel in front of both of them. "I know that you two are new here in the Boiling Isles and I could've handled that whole Wizard thing a little better…"
"You don't…After that, I don't think you need to apologise…It was my fault for not listening to you." Luz admitted as she decided to take responsibility for herself as she got up.
Eda nodded, leaning down to grab the squirming mini version of Adegast that had shrunk after Kai deflated it. "At least you showed me the last time to take a referral." She said before swallowing the whole thing…Much to both Noceda siblings' weirded out confusion. "Come on, I've got something to show the two of you, now that we have a clean bill."
By the time that the two of them were told to open their eyes, they were floating high in the sky; Overlooking the skeletal remains of the Titan and home to every living being on the Boiling Isles.
"Whoa…" Kai said speechlessly as he was in awe of something as grand as this.
"It's…Beautiful." Luz agreed as she lightly kicked her legs while she sat on Eda's staff. "I did have a question though…How did you know that the Wizard was lying to me?"
Eda decided to be honest about this and decided to try making the most of their clean slate. "Look, kid, everyone wants to believe they're "chosen" or "special" in the eyes of other people. If we all just sat and waited around for a prophecy to make us special, we'd die waiting." She explained to them both as she gazed out on the sunset. "And that's why you need to choose for yourself what you want to do or be…Both of you do."
"I guess that makes sense…But I still have one more question: How DID you know where I was, Kai? I know the map lead me to where I needed to go but you didn't have one." Luz asked as she turned to Kai with a confused expression.
"Actually, that's a pretty good question." Eda said as it dawned on her about how this kid knew exactly where to go. "You just jumped off my staff and hightailed it."
"I just…I saw a bright yellow light and an orange light in the distance…I figured if Magic was a big thing on this island, I remembered that the fake map pointed to the forest and decided to run there." Kai explained as he recalled what happened after he vanished from Eda's sights. "Is that…Is that normal?"
"Eh, Magic lights up when it's used." Eda shrugged as she thought on it; "Probably nothing that much to worry about, muscleman." She added teasingly as she poked Kai in the arm.
"Muscleman?" Luz asked curiously as she looked to Eda, then to Kai.
"Yeah, remember how I said Demons around the Boiling Isles are surprisingly durable? Kai here managed to pop a Demon out of it's bloated form back into it's real form…With his bare hands! That takes a lot of strength for someone not using Magic to do."
"Maybe it was the food you gave me?" Kai suggested as he was struggling to believe that it is and was that easy for him to do that. "Or the adrenaline like what happened with Warden Wrath?"
"Kid, I'm good but I'm not THAT good…Now let's get back to the house." Eda chuckled as she ruffled his hair before setting off. "Though I should probably do some looking into it…First that talk of durability from Doc and now popping a Demon barehanded like that? This kid's weirder than he looks and I should make sure he doesn't attract attention before I can teach either of them Magic."