amity.

 “I suppose it does. But I never tried it, and my sense of taste is rather dull at the moment without proper medicine.”

He offers a cup.

 “I need a taste tester.”

“cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves“

Amity’s anxiety was not lost on Belos. He watched curiously as her nerves caused her mask to nearly slip off, yet recovered quickly even under pressure. It truly was a shame she was too close to the human.

Belos pondered his next words carefully. He found the comparison of the scientist’s use of magic to his own methods unpleasant. At least his usage of the suppression magic brought order to the Isles, and didn’t put the residents through some sort of experiment. To be  subject to such treatment was maddening to say the least.

“Self-reflection and growth, mm? How amusing. And cruel,” Belos mused. Such a notion would spark his anger, but it felt so absurd  - and he was tired of dealing with one absurdity after another.

“I suppose that explanation would suffice, though if you are expecting a gold star, then you’d have to speak to your scientists,” the emperor sneered, unable to resist a quip.

Amity quirked her brow slightly at Belos’ disappointment. She didn’t like being trapped here either, and the forced socialization did get to her, but she considered self-reflection and growth to be a reward from it all—that, and her magic.

She wondered why he detested that. Was it that he already thought himself perfect enough, with nothing to improve upon? That was certainly the propaganda that Amity was fed about him all her life, but she always assumed it was front he put on, not something he truly believed about himself. 

“Your Majesty—” She rolled her eyes at his quip, finding herself brave enough to voice a question she’d been wondering since laying eyes on him tonight. “I have to ask, are you wearing a mask? Under your usual mask, I mean?”

 “I made something called a pumpkin spice latte, I’m hoping you would taste test it.”

“Yeah, I miss him a bunch… I had two dads back home. Human ones! It was so cool.” Way better than her life in the Underdark, at least. She was homeschooled back then, too… but she much prefers learning with her new dads than with her grandfather.

“An illusion track…? Like whole classes all about illusion magic? That’s amazing!” There’s practically stars in her eyes, she would love to be able to study like that. Imagine how many cool spells there were, even advanced ones; this girl’s siblings must be able to do so many cool things with that kinda knowledge…!

“So… if your school has different tracks,” she’s assuming as much, given the context. “What kind of magic did you study? Were you in a track, too?”

“Two dads? Just like Willow, huh? And humans? Sounds like a dream.”

It wasn’t that Amity didn’t love her parents, but they were very controlling and expected the best from her, even at the expense of her own mental health. 

And in her experience, humans were kind and loving. 

“Yeah, and my siblings are pretty advanced, too.” She smirked, letting herself brag on Edric and Emira just a bit. She just loved the amazed look in Kay’s eyes. “They practice construct, duplication. You know, really powerful magic.”

She doesn’t pay much attention to what Amity is doing, lost in thought over her words. It is good to hear that her studies are progressing uninterrupted; the young witch is talented, and Lilith would hate to be responsible for any failing grades.

And it’s… heartening, to know she isn’t hated.

“What’s this? A little oracle magic?” Lilith examines the craft with faint amusement. It’s more like a game for children… but that’s something she can indulge. “How about… one.”

“Maybe, but I doubt it.” Amity smirked halfheartedly. She and her siblings had been in extra-curricular oracle courses, that is, until it was obvious they couldn’t hone the same ability as their mother. Still, there was a first time for everything, and Amity wouldn’t be surprised if this environment finally brought it out in her. 

“One.” She counted aloud as she folded it the opposite way, not revealing four paper panels, each marked with a different colored dot. 

Van Helsing nodded politely at her explanation.  She – at minimum – took this fortune telling quite seriously, which he found a bit endearing.  Whether or not he was going to believe her was still up for debate; he was just along for the ride at this point.

He held back at snort at her affronted expression upon drawing the next card.  “Misfortune and mental instability?  Yes, I’d say that describes most people who’ve just arrived.  It’s a strange and unpleasant adjustment.”  For a moment he considered the two cards; he leaned forward and steepled his fingers.

“Perhaps the misfortunate will turn into happiness?  Or is it the opposite, I was happy and now I’m wallowing in self pity?”  It was only a half joke; he was still wallowing in self pity – if just a little bit.  “If it’s a fortune about my love life then it’s not looking too great for me.”  A wry smile played on his lips for a moment.

“Maybe the next card will be better.”  Van Helsing leaned back again and motioned towards her deck.  It was fun, if anything – and certainly more interesting than the book he was currently pouring over.

“No, I think it’s going to get better.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s how it was for me. At first, I was so unhappy, but I didn’t even know it. The only thing I cared about were my grades, because I never had friends to show me how to care about anything else.” 

Amity sighed. “Then, I met her, and things changed. I was feeling a lot of weird feelings, and I wasn’t acting like myself anymore. A lot of that was happiness, and I didn’t even know it.”

Maybe he was going to meet someone who made him feel that way too. It was a much better fortune than constant misery like he and this city predicted. 

Amity’s heart pounded as she drew the next card. She breathed in relief as she placed it down and saw the picture of the blooming flower.

“Yes! That’s fantastic!” She grinned. “That’s a really good sign. I think love is closer than you think! Come on, you must have details you wanna share? Even if it’s just in a diary—try writing them down. You don’t have to tell me.”

Luz felt a flutter in her chest when Amity finally smiled again, and relief swept through her. “Hey, you don’t gotta apologize for anything. This place is wacky, Amity. I think we’re all allowed to get worked up about it sometimes.” She flashed a quick smile, and then slowly dropped her hand from Amity’s cheek–she wasn’t quite sure what to do with that hand now, so it just limply landed in her own lap. Her other hand remained with Amity’s still.

She laughed softly at Amity’s request, and nodded. “Gosh, yeah, that sounds great.” Luz gave Amity’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Wanna sit on your bed or something, and get off the floor?”

She saw the exhaustion edging into Amity’s eyes, and remembered that this was still Amity’s first night back in the city. Luz knew what readjusting to being here was like, and quickly made a plan in her head. “I bet we can make a nice pillow and blanket nest if we gather it all on the bed, make it nice and comfy for a sleepover movie!”

Amity couldn’t remember the last time someone touched in such a simple way, a hand on her face. Not even her own siblings unless they were teasing her. Maybe her parents, when she was very, very small. But never like that. 

“Oh, yeah.” Amity chuckled, glancing at the bed. The floor was better for spellcasting, but she was honestly done with that for tonight. She stood up and stretched, feeling stiff the way she did after long sessions studying. 

“A blanket nest? Is that what you have to sleep in at the Owl House?” She asked teasingly, picking up one of the pillows that had fallen onto the floor. “Honestly, that sounds great. When we were kids, Willow and I would make forts.”

 “Can I have a light? I’m out of fuel.” holds out his cigarette. 

The emperor observed the falter in Amity’s expression at his words with a small sense of satisfaction. It was easier for him to proceed when he felt he had the upper hand in a situation.

Still, he had no reason to underestimate Amity. Despite an overwhelming, almost subconscious need to knock someone down a notch just to feel some semblance of security in this strange place, it would be a poor move to pull that on a person who could potentially be a threat down the line - or even presently.

Belos tilted his head, letting the mask do the work of intimidating for him. While the glare in his eyes remained a persistent fire, his tone took a quieter, more inquisitive note. “I presume then, as ‘top student,’ you would have already learned your way around the way magic works on this island? I would be so curious as to whether the rules remain the same.”

Amity had had this nightmare plenty of times—being asked by someone in the coven to perform some sort of elaborate magic as part of an entrance exam. But this was much worse than a nightmare. 

This was in the waking world, and this was Emperor Belos himself. Amity squeaked in fear, all the boldness her mask gave her draining as fast as the color on her face. She felt it physically, the mask on her face now, as if it were being rejected by herself, as if she could reach up and take it off now—but no! She still hadn’t even met Luz like she planned, and she wasn’t going to miss a change to be bold with her.

“Well, Your Majesty—” Amity reached up and pushed her mask up on the bridge of her nose and it vanished back against her skin, the influx of its power helping her voice not to shake, her knees not to tremble. “—It’s the scientists who are in charge here. They use technology to suppress our magic, not unlike the seals used in covens.”

She was improvising on that last bit, but it sounded good.

Amity seemed a bit nervous as she shuffled and reshuffled the cards; it reminded him of when his younger brother would be excitedly prepared to present to him a new ‘skill’ he’d learned, only to become extremely self conscious before showing off.

Van Helsing leaned forward as she laid down a card with a sun on it.  Honestly, he had no idea what that meant at all, but she seemed pleased enough with the result.  “What does that mean, exactly?”  She said it was good luck, but he was finding it hard to believe he had any sort of good fortune coming his way considering he was in this god forsaken city, away from all his friends.  Still, he half smiled at her eagerness.  This was – at minimum – much more interesting than the book he had been leafing through.

“I’m glad we started with a good card.  I don’t think it’d bode well for me if the first thing you pulled foretold my imminent doom.  How many cards do you draw total?”

“The sun stands for peace, warmth, and happiness.” Amity recited, glad they had such a good one to start. She’d hate to draw either one she couldn’t recall the whole meaning to, or worse, one with a bad omen. 

She was feeling a tad more confident, flicking the corners of the deck up and down with her thumb before drawing the next card. She kept it face down, trying to infer its power the way her mother did, but she didn’t feel much. 

“A minimum of five cards for a fortune.” Amity said. “With an additional two able to be inferred upon at the end, if you still have answers you seek. Some people can take a solid guess at their fortune from the first three cards, but only fools run with that without seeing the final two, at least.”

Amity placed the second card down, blinking in surprise at the sight of the full moon card. 

❝ Apparently, a human’s body contains enough iron in it to make a three inch long nail. ❞