Boiling Gems (The Owl House x Steven Universe)

Summary: A friend is forged, and a rummor becomes trending

"Alright Lucci, today is the coven day parade." Eda smirked as she looked at the crowd. "Do you know what that means?"

"Multiple idiots that want to lock away their own magic celebrate a dumb day?" The four year old tyke asked.

"Exactly, which means that everyone is gonna be dumb enough to steal from." She smirked. Unfortunately, King was too young to go on his first heist, and she only had one pair of eyes, so it was just Lucci for the moment … Hopefully Hooty wouldn't eat the little guy. "Eveyone's too dumb and happy right now so their guards going to be lowered, so the safest bet for your tiny size is to reach for pants pockets. Be careful of back pockets though, or people will think you're a little pervert."

"And being a pervert is almost as bad as being in the emperor's coven." The boy nodded.

"Yep. Now, the best way to do it with your size is the distraction route. People rarely think children can steal, so they tend to ignore them. Best trick I learned is to 'accidentally' run into them and make them spill everything they have on hand. You 'help' them pick up everything while I rummage through the valuable stuff."

"Respecting the people I rob so I don't have to suffer guilt."

"That's the spirit." She ruffled his little head. Eda from time to time still doubted the whole 'feeding mouths' thing she signed up for, but if it created a new generation of scam artists, then she would die without regrets. "Now remember what I taught you if you run into weird looking strangers."

"Punch them if they look mean and con them if they look stupid." He repeated what she's made sure to drill in his head.

"And what do we do if we see anyone with a gray bird mask on their face?"

"Run the other way, because crime is only legal when there's no coven scouts around." 

"Atta boy." She ruffled his head, already proud of his progress. She looked around for an easy starter target … "Oh, go after Mr Glasses over there." She pointed in the direction of a nerdy looking guy. "Bad eyesight if they fall off means easy pickings."

"Got it Mama." Her little hatchling nodded as he ran forward, bumping into the man. "Sorry sir, I was trying to make a cookie sale." She's never felt such pride in another living thing before now.

Sure there was the occasional hassle here and there. Falling into quicksand, getting attacked by fire bees, and Hooty's…personality slightly rubbing off on her kid, but it wasn't anything Eda herself hadn't gone through, and she was the most well adjusted criminal out there.

The only thorn in everything was whenever people asked more questions than they should. Why was it so hard to think she had the kid herself? She had enough ex boyfriends that could have been dads who ditched. There was also the more complicated 'artificial' way for those of the 'non hetero variety', as the human realm put it.

"Hey Mama." She looked down at her kid, pulled out of her minor daydream. "I got a potion and a couple of snails. Can we get some treats?" Well, he did manage to do his own con, while making her heart skip a beat. She just had to make sure his sweet tooth didn't make him too chubby down the line, that did not help when you were running for your life.

"Sure, but don't overdo it this time. I don't want you hallucinating colors from an ice-scream overdose like last month." She warned, sounding like what some would state like a 'reasonable parent'.

"Aw, but I smelled rainbows and tasted eternity." Her kid pouted.

"Trust me, you'll have plenty of time for indulging yourself in a metaphysical trip when you're old enough for apple blood." Sixteen was the perfect age to build a tolerance for hangovers. "Alright, let's see if there's any corn-wolves or Jelly Eyes available.."

"Edalyn?" A prissy and snootier voice called out from behind her.

"Great." Eda grumbled. She didn't need her of all people to start harping today. "Tell you what, there's a playground down the street. Hang around the slides while Mama deals with something super boring, alright?"

"Will do." He saluted before walking off, but stopped for a second. "Is this one of those times where I need to burn something down so you can escape?"

"Not this time. It would actually be easier for me if you didn't burn something down, and I don't say that very often." The child managed to wince, which she got a chuckle out of, as he began walking away again. Lamenting at that fact she wouldn't be laughing soon, she turned to the familiar girl that made a life goal of bugging her. "Lilith." Eda stated. "I see you're still ruining the fun of every citizen in the city."

"Someone has to." Her sister replied. "You know, because some definitions include crime."

"Is it really a crime when the guy enforcing the rules is the biggest stick in the mud tyrant in the history of anything ever?" Eda rolled her eyes. "I've seen the posters, looks like you've been promoted to top whipping dog, congratulations."

"I know you're being sarcastic, but surprisingly, the position did indeed come with a whip."

"Oh really? I didn't know Belos had a kink. Then again, you are always kissing his butt at every turn." Eda snorted.

"While using their resources looking for a cure." She responded. "You're not the only one who wants the curse gone."

Eda scoffed. "I've been into so many locations you'd have your socks knocked off Lilith, this curse is as incurable as they come." Not for lack of trying. Lucci's spit was strong, stronger than even the elixir, but it only had it back for three days at most. 

She was lucky Lucci was a naturally affectionate kid, or else it would've been awkward to ask him to drool on her without explaining why. She wasn't going to take any chances though, which was why she still kept buying from Morton. "So, planning on a fight?"

Lilith sighed. "As much as I'd love to take you down a peg, I'd rather not. Security upgraded after what you did last year."

Eda scoffed. "That guy got grabby."

"And in response you set every float ablaze."

"Everyone loves a good barbecue."

Lilith gave a satisfying to hear groan. Eda patted herself on the back. "The point is, they have Coven Heads on guard."

That got Eda's attention. She had no respect for Belos's system and the mindless drones that followed it, but even she'd hesitate to actively tackle the likes of Terra Snapdragon or Darius. "So, you got me in a pickle right now, clever girl."

"Oh don't be so overdramatic. Not everything is a trap to drag you to Belos." Lilith sighed. "Can't I just spend one night talking' with my sister?"

"Only if you don't ask me to join a coven. That's like, my biggest blacklisted topic." The Owl Lady responded.

"Fair enough, I should've expected as much." Her sisters sighed, but there was a small smile forming. "Just as long as you don't try to pilfer anymore wallets tonight."

"Pfft, as if I'd stoop that low." 

"Your trying to steal mine right now." Lilith picked up her detached hand, which indeed had said wallet.

"Just testing my control." She shrugged. Eda supposed there was no harm in small talk. Just as long as Lucci stayed as far away from the conversation as possible.

========================================================================

It wasn't completely rare for Mama to let him go off by himself, she occasionally left him alone to watch Hooty and King at home, and every once in a while she'd have him crawl through vents to unlock doors. But this was the first time Lucci was allowed to wander somewhere outside alone and without a goal.

Thus, came a mission he rarely spoke about, one that would unleash true power along the world … making a friend! King was the only person his age he's ever met, but they were a bit on the wild side and too young to understand rules of games. And the only people Mama knew were boring adults or angry adults.

So now he had an entire playground of friends. From the kids swinging, to the ones on the slide, and to the ones playing with toys in the shade. Lucci wasn't one to complain, but constantly going around with Mama on her job left little time for him to know anyone else, so a bit of doubt crept in.

Should he come on strong, or pull back a bit? Maybe he should open with some cool tricks just to attract someone … oh, of course! "Who wants to see this?" He asked a group of kids that were playing in the sandbox, slowly stretching his arm.

"Ahhhhh! Noodle boy!"

"It's slightly longer than normal!"

"It's not like me so it's a freak!"

Lucci watched the kids flee in the opposite direction. "Hmm … they weren't friendly at all." He grumbled. You'd think when people around were able to walk without eyeballs, a stretchy armed kid wouldn't be weird in the slightest.

Maybe they were just what Mama liked to call 'bad apples in the blood'. Rotten people he shouldn't talk to anyways. Maybe the kids by the slides would be better. "Hey, who wants to play catch!?" He announced, trying to focus on making that giant frisbee. "Just one…second..ooof!" 

He accidently let it go, sending it bouncing all over the place, finally stopping as it struck a tiny kid with red hair and a big nose. "I've been bwain damage!" They shouted before passing out. 

"Remember what Mama taught you Lucci." If you accidently knock someone out, stay quiet and walk away slowly.

So that was a no go, if only he finally got the disc down pat, but it always was off when he didn't focus. Whatever, he still had one group left, and one awesome trick to show off. "Hey guys, whatcha playing?" He asked the kids with action figures.

"Hyper squad, but we need a giant." A kid with multiple eyeballs explained. Perfect!

"Then look no further." Lucci walked up to the tree, grabbing it as he could feel his arms do their sparkly thing, lifting the tree out of the ground. "I have a giant criminal toy right here!" It was a bit heavy, but if they didn't run around it'd be fine.

"….." The kids looked at each other weirdly for five seconds. "You know what..I think my mom's calling me." Really? He didn't hear anyone.

"Yeah, and I realized I hate toys and want to grow up." Why would you hate growing up? All you had to do was be fun all the time.

"And I want to live!" The.third one ran away screaming.

Lucci looked at the children leaving, groaning as he tossed away the tree. "Why is it so hard to make friends?" He grumbled. "Is it because I'm not normal …" The boy paused. "That's it, Mama said birds of a feather feast on their enemies together. I just need to find someone as weird as me!"

Lucci was a genius. Now then, weird people … weird people … oh, girl with an abomination next to her seemed weird. She looked pretty withdrawn and bored. So obviously she was in need of company. Please let this work, please let this work. "Hey there." He greeted her. "I'm Lucci." He held out his hand, the Abomination making a groaning noise as it formed a blade in front of his face. "... I feel that was unjustified."

"Sorry, that happens to everyone." The girl with brown hair sighed. "My parents are busy with their job and left me with this thing for my 'safety'." She rolled her eyes. "I can't even watch the parade because this thing won't let me leave the park."

Lucci looked at the abomination. If this thing was keeping her safe and loved violence, then Mama's lesson should be about giving him a target … he found a man messing with a powder in a corner, pointing at him. "I heard he likes to touch little girls." He didn't know what that meant but mama made it sound bad.

The abomination's eyes glowed red and immediately jumped at the man, spikes and swords forming all over its body. "Oh titan why!" The man shouted as he was attacked.

"Ready to see the parade?" Lucci asked with a grin.

"Heck yeah, that was awesome!" The girl cheered as they started to run before the abomination could see them. "How'd you do that?"

"Mama's a professional liar. She tells me it's life's cheat code for getting whatever you want."

"Huh, that sounds like what my mom does. She sells dad's junk and convinces people it's important."

"No way, my mom does that too." He smiled. "Except she makes her own junk, so mine's already better than yours." Lucci giggled.

"Probably. Everything dad makes involves abominations, so it'd be less messy at the very least." For once he had a conversation that didn't end with 'Fear me!' or 'hoot'. Not to insult King or Hooty, but this was oddly refreshing.

 He smirked. "So once again, I'm Lucci. Lucci Clawthorne."

The girl smiled brightly. "Amity Blight." This was the start of a beautiful friendship.

========================================================================

Lilith was a bit … mixed at the moment. On the one hand, it was nice to talk with her sister again. On the other … they could really do with a better conversation topic. "So then Stanely punches the demon in the face, but he leaves me with the bill." Her ex-boyfriends. "Moral of the story, don't date a human when the first connection you have is being depressed and drunk."

"Of course, I doubt anyone would consider that." Except anyone, ever. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Alright … how's training new recruits going?" The woman decided to ask. "Is my competition gonna be fun?"

"They're…open to improvement to say the least." Lilith admitted. "The recruits that survive the basic training are capable and they obey the rules, but loyalty doesn't necessarily equate to skill." She assumed that most of the recruits would've worked just as hard as her, but that sadly wasn't the case.

Eda began to cackle haughtily. "Ha, it seems my next generation is already better than yours."

Lilith paused. "... Next generation?" The way she worded that. "What do you mean by your generation?"

A visible sign of regret filled her sister's face. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing at all! I'm so full of apple blood that I'm spitting nonsense Willy nilly." 

Normally she would shrug off her wayward sisters lying, but something told her there was more here then she realized. "Edalyn, you haven't done anything illegal…more illegal than petty theft at least?"

"Come on Lilly, I'm a criminal, not a monster." Edalyn waved off with a snort. "Just saying you, me, we were made of something else back in our time at Hexide . Had…you know what...didn't happen, we'd probably kick Belos off his throne and rule the isles ourselves."

Lilith groaned. "Even if that didn't happen, we would not have 'kicked Belos off the throne'." She responded. "That man is a powerhouse the likes of which no witch has ever seen. He once petrified a man by staring at him."

"Exaggerated tale." Eda waved off.

"It happened last week." Lilith deadpanned. "Kikimora forgot to put sugar in Belos's goul juice, got turned to stone for a full hour."

"Pfft, a hardass and a prude. No wonder you're dedicated." 

Lilith snorted. "If you think I'm a butt kisser, you should see the shrine Kikimora made. I swear she got his genuine toe nails."

"Seriously? Ugh, I swear the emperor talk wasn't this bad when we were kids. It's like everyone thinks he's a god or something".

"When you're able to communicate with the titan, you might as well be." Lilith sighed. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered explaining it. "I'm just saying he's powerful … maybe enough to cure-"

"I knew it." Eda growled. "Another recruitment attempt."

"Edalyn, you've been on the run for over fifteen years. There's a point where even you have to call out the madness of it all." Lilith said exasperated.

"What's mad is making yourself weak for a system of rules." Her sister rolled her eyes. "We've lived with wild magic for years, and it's done wonders for me."

"Yes, because you've made such an illustrious career selling garbage. Truley, the life of wonders." The woman replied with an eye roll. "You always do this Eda. You always focus on the short term."

"I'm still able to eat, I got a roof over my head, and I get to do what I love on my own schedule. I don't see any reason to switch it up."

"You can have so much more than the bare basics to live, dear sister. You could be respected for more than just being a rebellious outlaw."

"In case you haven't noticed, people do respect rebellious outlaws." She grinned. "Do you know how many people run in fear whenever I show up?"

"They do that because they're afraid you'll become the owl beast." Lilith reminded her. 

"Scoolato Sacrotes." She waved her hand. "I am awesome, and can handle most things in life, without your help." Eda pointed at her. "Understand?"

Lilith growled. "Do you really think you can just-"

BOOM

The two of them turned to the explosion. "... One of yours?" Lilith asked.

"Just because a few coven dorks are on fire it doesn't mean I'm the one doing it." Eda groaned back. "I have more important things to do than beat up you clowns all day."

"Like what?" She dared.

"Like-"

KABOOM

"- Like making sure my squirt isn't in the epicenter of an explosion!" Edalyn raced off in a huff.

"... Your what!?"

========================================================================

Amity laughed as they watched the floats. "This is awesome!" She shouted. "I never get to see these things." And it was all thanks to the kid that could lift a tree over his head.

"Why, your parents overprotective or something?" Her new friend, Lucci, asked. He kind of reminded her of Willow, if Willow was a liar, but in a good way. "I know Mama can think I'm not ready for something sometimes, so I know the feeling."

"I wish it was something like that, that at least would mean my parents were thinking about me for a change." Amity groaned. "It's just business with them. I have to be the smartest and the best while they make lots of money and get lots of contracts and stuff."

"Heh. Mama always tells me the thing about eggheads is that they scramble easily. There's no point in being smart if you can't enjoy it for yourself." Lucci lightly laughed. 

"I didn't even know 'smart' and 'joy' could be in the same sentence." Amity admitted. "The only time I can have fun is whenever I'm not doing anything I'm told." Her parents would kill her if they found out she skipped swimming practice with Willow.

"Then just do what you want." Lucci smiled. "I do what Mama says cause it's either fun or super serious. We take money because it gets us food, and we play pranks because it makes everyone laugh … oh." He pointed down to the crowd. "We should play a prank on them."

"Should we?" Amity asked cautiously. "There's a lot of Emperor Coven guards down there, and a few coven heads too."

"Well it's fine as long as we stay far away." He smirked. "I can make a frisbie and send it pretty far." He raised his hands up, a pink shield with a rose design visible on it.

"Pretty." She remarked as she saw it. "And without a spell circle too." That must've been pretty strong magic.

"Thanks, but it's a bit wanky to throw though."

"It looks round." She observed. "Why not make it a bubble?"

"A bubble?" Lucci asked. "I don't know, I haven't tried making one before."

"A bubble would just be like two frisbees stuck together, right?" Amity suggested. "You should try to make smaller disks and place them next to each other." Time to see if geometry was actually useful.

"Hm, okay I'll try." Lucci nodded as he concentrated on his hands, placing them close together as he sweated a little on the forehead. A small pink glow was flashed on his stomach before a small bright light began forming in his palms. He slowly shifted his hands as a round pink sphere began to form. The boy looked at his creation with sparkly eyes. "Wow …" He began to gently move it around. "This is a lot easier to move around … and it's see through to." Lucci grinned. "Awesome." He looked down. "How to use it though? Guess I could throw it at one of the guards' heads and make them think it's hailing."

That sounded funny, but there was something that clicked in Amity's mind that could make it even funnier. "What if there was something in the bubbles?" She began making her spell circle. "Open a small part of it." She said, slowly making an abomination within her hands.

"Now you're having fun." He grinned. "Oh, I wonder …" Lucci made a circle with his hands, a faint pink glow inside. "I'm a living bubble wand! Just toss them inside and we can mass produce raining goo-men."

"I'll draw up a contract and make sure you get fifty-percent credit for it." Amity guaranteed as she began pouring goo into the bubbles. "Mom would steal the idea for herself if she ever finds out."

"She can't steal what she can't make." He chuckled as the bubbles began to grow in number. "The shield thing is a me and me alone thing, or at least that's what Mama said."

"Then let us celebrate the first ever Blight-Cawthorne spell collaboration." Amity chuckled as they made about a dozen or so of the goo balls. "Ready and loaded."

"Nice, now who to strike first?" The boy looked over at the crowd. 

"Ooh, definitely get those two." Amity pointed to her older siblings, Emira and Edric. "They read my diary, so they have it coming."

"The death sentence among anyone." He nodded, throwing one of the goo balls.

The abomination came out the moment the bubble popped, grabbing her sister's face and hitting it as she laughed. "Nice, nice." Amity grinned … before noticing something. "Hey, does your bubble stuff turn Abominations pink?"

"Turn what now?" Lucci asked as they noticed Emira struggling to get the slime off her, it turning pink the moment she threw it off. It then glowed brighter, and brighter, and brighter…

Kabooom

"Ahhhh…what just…happened?" Lucci asked as the life began to fade from his expression.

"WE BLEW UP MY SISTER!" Amity shouted with wide eyes. "She's an unbearable jerk but I don't want her dead!"

"No! I'm too young to kill!" The boy shouted in horror. "Oh man, I have to start working on those fake ID's…Ahhh! Why didn't I ever learn to spell my own name! We're doomed! Doo-oh look." Lucci pointed downward.

"….oow.." The faint groan of Emira was echoed as Edric tried to slap her awake.

"I'm not dying alone! Don't go into the light sis!!" Her brother desperately shouted.

"Oh good, she's alive." Amity sighed. "Alright, these things are too dangerous, we should-" She turned to the other bubbles, faintly glowing pink and shaking. "-get rid of them fast!"

"Where!? We're on a roof!" Lucci shouted.

"Anywhere that isn't here!" Amity shouted, picking them up and tossed one over the crowd. "Just get them out of here!"

"On it!" He shoved his hands forward. "Fly my creations, fly to distant lands!" Lucci shouted as the bubbles began to fly forward.

It seemed like they would fly clear over the crowd … until they popped … and landed on a float … specifically the person on the float … a Coven Head …"Ah, they're not anyone important, right?" Lucci asked.

"They're the Healing Coven Head Hettie Cutburn." Amity answered as the pink abomination goo got all over the float.

Kabooooom

Chunks of what looked like flesh and bone flew all over the place as the float burst into flames. "Mama always said it's best to act like you didn't cause it when explosions start going off around you." Lucci said flatly.

"She sounds like a smart woman." Amity nodded. "So we should get off the roof before anyone suspects a thing…"

"Kid!" They turned as a lady with white hair marched to them.

"Too late … man she moves fast." The boy looked a bit scared. "Hehe…hey Mama.."

"Don't you hay Mama me, mister! I told you to not cause fires today!" The woman with graying hair scolded. "Lucci, what have I told you about causing explosions!?"

"Only do so in a non-inseminating way."

"It's pronounced incriminating, but you get the point." The boy's mom groaned, before looking at her. "And now we have to deal with a first hand witness. I'm sure I got the amnesia powder somewhere."

"Wait Mom, don't wipe her brain! She's my friend!" Lucci shouted as he got in front of her.

"Oh, you made a friend." The woman paused. "Is she a nark?"

"Our first target was her sister."

The woman smiled. "Eda Clawthorne, a pleasure to meet you." That was a complete one eighty, but she wouldn't question good fortune.

"Amity Blight, pleasures all mine." She bowed, before realizing something. "Wait, Clawthorne, like head of the emperors coven Li-"

"Edalyn!" Another woman flew by right behind Lucci's mom. "Why did you run, what do you know about the explosions, and what did you mean by your…!" The blue haired woman looked at the two of them. "Edalyn, did you start kidnapping children!? For Titan's sake, I thought you were better than that!"

"Okay, first off, the girl just got here!" The woman shouted. "Second, the boy is MINE! I did NOT kidnap him!"

"Yeah, Mama rules!" Lucci shouted.

"And you're brainwashing them too … Eda, when did you fall so far?"

"And this is why you don't don't have visits from your aunt Lilly, Lucci." The boy's mom groaned. 

"Oh, you're aunt Lilly." The boy smiled. "Hey there, I'm Lucifer Clawthorne. Mama says you're a woman with no sense of freedom or romance." … Amity honestly couldn't tell if the anger and insult was something he was oblivious to or not.

"He definitely sounds like someone raised by you, I'll give you that Eda." The other woman, who Amity guessed was the head of the Emperor's Coven, Lilith Clawthorne, slapped her forehead. "And he seems to have the arson down too."

"That was an accident. I placed abomination goo in bubbles…" Lucci made another one to show off. "And they just got explodey."

"You're already advancing to mixed explosion spells?" Eda asked. "Impressive."

"Not impressive." Lilith spoke with a glare. "You're going to give that child over over before he ends up as bad as you."

The gray haired lady growled. "Over my dead body."

"Ohhhh thaaaaat caaannnn beee arraaanged." They turned as scapples came from the side of the building. "Eda the Owl Lady …" Spoke the enraged voice of the head of the healing coven, covered head to toe in slowly healing burn marks.

"Yay, she's alive!" Lucci cheered. "Guilt gone!"

"Good for your conscience, bad for our heads!" The owl lady grabbed the boy and hopped on her staff. "See yah, suckers! Smell you later, lady!"

"Oh don't think you're getting away!" Cuttie Heartburn shouted. "Everyone up here is getting diced for the number of lives you've harmed-"

Amity heard the familiar siren of her security Abomination, charging at the coven head and tackling her off the building. "Huh, guess my parents made something useful for once." Amity noted before waving at the boy. "See you later Lucci! I had fun!"

"Same! Catch you later!" The boy waved back. "Bye Aunt Lilly! Hope we can talk more soon!"

Lilith Clawthorne looked at the flying witch, and then back at her. "... Every part of me is wanting to report to your parents."

"….But…." She shifted awkwardly, hoping that there was more.

"Let's just say Eda's not the only one with an interest in molding the next generation." The woman sighed. "I am going to need someone talented and determined enough to do something impressive, and I don't want a second Edalyn running around unchecked."

"So….." Amity wasn't sure where this was heading.

"Unless you want the Blights to learn of your participation in tonight's events, you'll agree to be my pupil."

"Well…mom does want me to be in the Emperor's coven..and dad just agrees with her.." It didn't feel like she had a choice either way…but if she got to talk to Lucci a little more, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

========================================================================

The creature did not know many things. It's past hurt, it didn't understand warmth, and it didn't understand why some things didn't come back after being poofed. The world around them was just chaos and their mind just made it more confusing.

The few things they did understand though were few and far inbetween. They understood that they were in constant pain. They understood that they were alone for a long time. They understood the savory taste of salt and grease, and they understood that there was only one source of warmth in their life.

"Hey Centi, I've got some more chips. This time I was able to save some money for the delux Chaaps variety." The girl smiled, pulling open the container as 'Centi' salivated. "Here, try it." They tossed a salt and grease 'chip'.

"Krkrrkrkr." 'Centi' gave the lightest purr they could muster. The girl was extra kind whenever they sounded like a cat…whatever that was.

"Oh, things are going okay. Dad had to go to the hospital again and Mom's been keeping him practically tied to the bed. I know adults spice up relationships when they're older, but that seems like a bit much."

"Rkkrrk." Centi didn't understand it either. Shouldn't both mates have the freedom to do as they please?

"Yeah … he started coughing a lot lately. Dad says it's nothing, but there was one time I saw blood. I got scared, so I didn't sleep that night. Mom thinks I was just watching anime all night." The girl laughed a little brokenly. "She doesn't like it when I do that either, so I start feeling bad no matter what option I take."

"Krrrkk." It honestly seems like she should just stand up and be honest.

"And if I say the truth … I dunno. Mom's already hurting over Dad, and I should be strong, you know?" They tossed another chaap. "Because if I'm not, then nobody's strong. Then everybody breaks down. Like that Greg Universe guy."

"Krkrrkr?"

"Oh, guess I haven't talked about him before." The girl sighed. "He's this old singer guy that runs the car wash and lost his girlfriend awhile back. He also apparently has a kid, but they aren't that close or something..the story is just too depressing to really think about."

"Kkrrrr." Sounded rough. Even though 'Centi' has seen parents abandon children in nature after maturity.

"So now my only option is to just put away my pain for later." The nice girl said. "If my mom has less problems to focus on, better for her, you know?"

" Krkrkr." 'Centi' rubbed her head into the girl's chest.

"Oh you know just what to say to cheer me up Centi." They ruffled her mane, using long nails to gently scratch at tough marks that felt itchy. "I keep trying to tell people you exist, but they all just keep laughing or send me to the school counselor."

"Kkkrrrr." If the 'counselor' had chips, they'd show up. The girl deserved that much at least.

"I'd bring you too, but I'm already in enough trouble for letting that baby wolf into school. I'd probably need to wait until middle school to do something like that again."

"Kkkkrrr." Ah yes, the 'wolf' … it was a tasty meal after the girl set it free.

"Thanks for listening Centi." The girl sighed. "I should get back soon. Help yourself to the rest of the chaaps." They ripped open the container, presenting the chaaps freely, before standing up. "See you next week."

"Krkrkrk." Centi didn't have much to this aimlessly and painful existence she called life, but these small moments of peace were always relished.

========================================================================

Willow messed with her collar as they escaped through the backdoor of the public pool. "So the sister of one of the best Emperor's Coven witches alive, who is apparently the greatest criminal witch alive, has a kid that you blew up a parade with?" Usually she was the one providing the crazy stories.

"Yep. The blowing up the parade part was a total accident, but I got to nail one on Emira, and I didn't get in trouble for it." Amity smiled proudly. "I'm glad I did it once though, because I don't think Lilith will let me get away with it again."

"Still weird that she just makes you her student after you blew up the healing conven head. Figured you'd get ten to life at the very least." Or five month grounding, both seemed equally severe.

"Apparently the abomination gave the head witch a concussion." Her friend answered. "Hettie only remembered the Owl Lady and her kid. Everything else around that is a blur."

"Wow, never thought hitting someone was the answer to a problem." Willow nodded with surprise. "Maybe violence is the answer to all of life's problems." She should probably learn how to hit things harder later, her abominations weren't … the best compared to her plant magic

"Well I can say this. Violence is definitely more fun than listening to mom and dad talk." Amity rolled her eyes. "Literally the second I mentioned the Emperor's coven, they started to plan the next sixteen years of my life. The only thing they didn't plan for is marriage."

"Well it's a good thing we're doing exactly what they said we're doing right." Willow winked.

"Yep, we're doing everything we say we're doing and totally not lying because we know they never check personally."

"Aww, but lying's the best." …. They both turned to a boy carrying a bag three times bigger than himself on his back. "Hey there Amity."

"Hey Lucci." Her best friend waved off. "Ooh, you gotta meet Willow, we've been friends since forever." Amity gestured to her.

"Nice to meet you Willow." The boy held a hand out.

"Nice to meet you too …" She looked up at the bag as she shook his hand. "Isn't that heavy?"

"Nah, I don't do spells like normal people." Lucci said. "I've got super strength without magic circles. I'm learning new stuff every day just by trying it out at random." He turned to Amity with a bright and innocent smile. "Thanks for the bubbles, they're awesome to use for a lot of stuff. Like balls, projectiles, long reaching ways to steal from people." Willow would like to retract 'innocent' from her description of that smile.

"No problem. Thanks for showing me something new with abominations. Never thought about making it explode until now. I was kind of getting bored with them until yesterday."

Lucci laughed. "Mama always says that if you don't have a coven sigl, anything under the sun is possible."

"So it's true that she isn't in a coven?" Willow's curiosity peaked. She didn't doubt her parents and she was fine studying one type of magic as long as she was strong, but she'd never seen a wild witch before. "What's that like?"

"Oh it's amazing! It's like having a free sample of ice-scream whenever you want." Lucci cheered. "You follow your own rules and never stop to care about what anybody says about you." That sounded amazing. A way to stop caring about everyone that called her half a witch.

"Didn't you care about what your mom said?" Amity asked with a curious gaze.

"Family is different, you always listen to family. Unless they're being morons."

"By that logic I should run away and never look back." Amity responded.

"Would you be happier if that was the case?" Willow chimed in. "Your scared of your mom, your dad follows along with your mom, and your brother and sister bug you to no end.,,."

"You know what, being a wild witch is starting to sound perfect." Amity stopped her. "Are there any downsides?"

"Well, I don't view it as one myself, but you do have to steal for money." He smirked. "Luckily, Mama taught me to be a master connie man."

"Hey!" A man with large teeth shouted. "That kid sold me a fake potion!"

"... I'm an innocent child?" Lucci tried to justify.

"Nice try! I'm not as dumb as I look!" The man charged at Lucci and looked like he was going to bite his head off.

"I see …" The boy nodded. "If I have super speed, let it kick in now!"

"Don't worry, I got this!" Willow raised her hand. She may not be super good with abominations, but she was decent with plant magic, and there were plenty of roots in the ground just waiting to sprout.

Vines and stems sprouted from the depths of the isles, full of life and nutrients that were begging to be used. With a swing of her hands, she had the roots " grab ahold of the teeth man's leg, and slowly drag him down into the ground. "Ahhhhhh!" His screams nurtured the vines as his head disappeared into the mineral rich soil.

"…." The two other kids in the area looked at her with faces of shock and astonishment. "Sorry." She went too far and scared people just like Papa said she would. This was why she couldn't join the plant magic track, she'd just get carried away and-

"Never apologize for being awesome!" Amity shouted.

"I don't think Mama could've done plant magic better than that! You're amazing!" Lucci cheered. "What kind of manipulative growth did you do?"

She blinked. "I just told the plants to grab him, and they did." It wasn't really hard, they already had power themselves.

"If it's that easy for you, then you're a super powerful witch!" Lucci praised her. "We must let everyone know how strong you are….no..how strong the three of us are!"

"Lucci, I'm currently lying to my parents about where I am." Amity tried to calm him down. "Let's keep what we do on the down low, okay?"

"..Fair enough, lying is important." Lucci relented. "So we'll be super strong in secret. We'll build our strength in the shadows And when the time comes to step into the light, boom! We take the isles by storm and be super famous!"

"Aren't you a criminal?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"So criminals are in famous, not famous."

"Tamato Potahto. We'll be strong and no or will mess with us."

"What are tamato's and potahto's?"

"Food mom makes up when she sells junk from the 'human realm'. You'd think she'd come up with a better lie to sell her stuff." The boy grumbled. "Now come on, let's see what happens when we combine plants, goo men, and bubbles."

"He's certainly as lively as you described him." Willow noted as she saw Amity summon her abominations. "We're going to get into so much trouble, aren't we?"

"Probably, but as long as my parents never find out, I'm perfectly okay with that." It was always nice to see Amity smile with that sparkling grin. Willow supposed she could get used to being a trio of friends if she got to see that more often.