high tides ☆ TOH au

Chapter 3

We all claimed different spots in the Noceda household last night; Gus and Hunter had set up in the basement, me and Willow were in Luz's room (She had a bunk bed, despite having no siblings. They had to move a lot of Azura things off of the top bunk), and Vee has volunteered to take the couch.

When I woke up in the morning, most of the events of yesterday were just starting to spring into my mind. The first thought, though, was that I had just slept in Luz's room, and I did it without Luz. She had Azura merch scattered around, sculptures, and art. It was impressive, actually. I never found any Azura merch on the Boiling Isles.

I had slept on the top bunk last night, while Willow spread out on the bottom bunk. She slept with a blanket under her, and she spread out her limbs on the bed. She also snores, but not loud enough to keep me awake for too long. I climb down the ladder leading up to the top bunk, and stretch before glancing around her room again.

There are posters for the Azura books, movies, and even comics scattered all over the walls, and a few figures sat on a bookshelf that was right beside the bunk bed. There were birds made of tinfoil on the desk, too. There was a laptop sitting on a desk in the corner, that was also covered in Azura merch. All of the posters and items are interesting to see. I hadn't found most of the books or movies the posters were for--one was for the sixth book in the series. Luz let me borrow her fifth book once, but I hadn't even seen the sixth until now. She has a special section of her bookshelf dedicated to just The Good Witch Azura books.

Willow starts to stir awake as I poke around the room. I'm telling myself I'll just wait until she's fully awake to go downstairs, but I think I'm just scared to face Camila alone. She blinks herself awake, and blinks the sleep out of her eyes. Sitting up and sliding her glasses on, Willow looks me in the eyes. "Morning, Amity." She says groggily, as I look up from the sixth Azura book that sat in my hands.

"Good morning." I say back. The first chapter opens with Azura and Hecate, saying goodbye to each other. I can't help but compare it to what happened last night. "So, uh, how are you doing? After--" I gesture to nowhere. "--Everything?"

Willow smiles softly, looking down at the ground. "I'm okay. I can't say the same for the others, though." Willow's like that, thinking of other people before herself. "Should we go talk to Gus and Hunter? Find out how to handle... all of this?"

I think for a second before agreeing. It'll be easier if all of us are working together, and there's no reason to keep secrets. Not now. We exit the room, and head down the stairs and into the kitchen. Gus and Hunter were already there, talking with Camila. Their conversation had something to do with food.

I peaked my head in through the door and waved. Gus waved back, leaning forward so I could see his face. "Hey, Amity! We were telling Camila about food in the Boiling Isles--Things here are really different."

"Oh, okay." I respond. We might not be able to eat some of the food here, now that I think about it. Luz couldn't digest some of our food, so it only makes sense we wouldn't be able to digest some of hers. "Have you guys tried magic here yet?"

Gus nods, and says, "I tried illusions. It worked, but only for a few seconds. That was when I was really tired, though, so I hadn't let any of my bile regenerate." He draws a circle in the air, a glowing blue coming from the tip of his finger. An illusion of Gus stands in front of us, on top of the table. "It works now, so I guess we just have to rest more often if we want to use magic regularly."

"Mmm, makes sense." I say, taking a seat with Gus and Hunter. Willow went to help Camila with some of the dirty dishes that they hadn't finished last night. "I don't know if my abomination magic will work here. I don't have any of the ingredients."