Kiss Me. [GOLDRIC]

C15 - Luz?!

   The scream sounded from Luz's room. Hunter and I exchanged quick glances before booking it up the stairs, Flapjack tweeting behind us. Eda and King had met us at the door. Eda tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Kid? Kid! Are you okay in there?" she yelled, jiggling the handle. Another scream was heard.

"What do we do?" I asked in a panic. Then King moved forward in front of everyone.

"Stand back, I got this," he instructed. I cocked an eyebrow, taking a step away from the door. King readied himself before letting out a loud yelp, sending the door flying.

Eda scooped him up and rushed through the door with a, "Good job, Kid!"

We bursted into the room, only to be met with three pairs of eyes staring at us. Their faces all held the same dumbfound expression. Eda was the first to say something.

   "Good gracious, Luz! We thought you were dying in here!" she exclaimed.

   Luz chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Eda," she apologized. "We got a little caught up in messing around, ya know?"

   "Yeah, well, next time you get "caught up," at least keep the door unlocked," Eda scolded.

   Gus rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Ms. Clawthorne."

   Eda cringed at the formality. "Just call me Eda, kid. I'm not that old." She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, Hooty screamed throughout the house.

   "EDAAA! YOU HAVE VISITORSSSS!"

   I saw Hunter flinch at the sudden noise and squeezed his hand in reassurance. He gave me a small smile. Flapjack perched himself on Hunter's shoulder, receiving an eye roll from the newfound tree.

   "Oh my sea slug," Eda groaned. Then, louder, she called out. "Be down in a second, Hooty!"

   "Who's here?" I asked.

   "Probably just Rainstorm and Darius. No one special," she answered.

   "Ooh! I wanna see Raine again!" Luz exclaimed. She turned to look at her friends. "C'mon guys! You're gonna love them!" Willow and Gus exchanged looks before following Luz downstairs.

Eda and King also went downstairs, leaving Hunter and me to ourselves. "Pfft, that was quite a scare, huh?" I chuckled. Hunter laughed with me.

"Yeah," he agreed. I watched a mischievous smirk slide onto his face. "Last-one-downstairs-has-to-run-delivery-for-Eda-tomorrow."

"What?" I asked, confused. Hunter laughed and transformed Flapjack into a staff before teleporting away. "Wha—hey!" I yelled, catching on. I scrambled downstairs, to see Hunter comfortably sitting on the couch with his palisman. I scoffed. "Cheater."

Hunter smiled. "Loser."

   In the middle of the room, Darius cleared his throat, causing us all to look over at him. Raine and Eberwolf were standing on either side of him.

   "We're here to practice for the Day of Unity," Darius stated. Luz, her friends, Hunter, and I all turned to look at Eda with confusion. Darius caught the looks and sighed in annoyance. "Edalyn, you did tell them about the practice, right?"

   Eda whistled and turned away to avoid eye contact with him. Darius furrowed his eyebrows. "Ugh, whatever," he groaned.

   Raine turned to us. "We're going to be training you. Make your magic stronger and improve your combat skills and whatnot. Belos is extremely powerful, and even though you all outnumber him, you don't stand a chance without basic fighting knowledge," they explained.