Spirit Animal: Pride of the Panther

Ch. 16: No Rest for the Wary

Luz woke up and got ready for school. She was feeling a bit....shaken up from seeing her fear and unable to face it last night but killing the fear of her closest friend in this dimension made her feel a bit better.

"Alright, Eda, I'm heading out!" Luz said.

Eda couldn't voice her reply as Luz rushed out of the house to school, not even having breakfast with her and King beforehand.

"What's up with her?" King asked, his face covered in a little food.

"Kids probably excited." Eda said, "She went through a lot last night and is probably just very excited to get to school and hang out with her little friends."

Though Eda was right, she was also wrong since Luz had to explain the concept of spirit animals to Gus and Willow. Hopefully Amity can give some help from what Luz has already told her. Outside the Owl House though, a masked figure watched the Owl House with no less than a hundred Coven Guards behind him.

"We move on my mark." Golden Guard said.

At the school, Luz put her hood up. She was doing this because she was still hiding the fact she was human and the fact she was probably going to be swamped by people who would ask how she defeated Grom last night like fans.

'Alright just avoid anyone and avoid conversation.'

Luz opened the school doors and found all eyes on her the moment she did.

'Great. There goes that idea.' Luz thought.

She was suddenly swarmed by the students as they began congratulating her, giving her pats in the back, and thumbs up. She was like a local celebrity.

'This... this is weird.' Luz thought.

This was just like when her spirit animal was revealed all those years ago, but the people her seemed more genuine and amazed by her instead of sucking up to her.

"T-t-thanks." Luz said, "Now... I... I need to go find my friends."

Luz was quickly let out of the crowd and rushed down the hall, overwhelmed by all of the people suddenly being friendly to her. It would die down but it was a bit much right now.

"Luz!" A voice called out, drawing her attention to see her three friends standing together by some lockers.

"Oh, thank god, I really can't handle this much attention." Luz said.

"I can understand that. Being Grom queen can be overwhelming." Amity said to Luz.

"Yeah, so about last night." Willow said, bringing up Luz's promise.

"Let's find some place that no one will overhear us first." Luz said.

"There's an empty classroom just around the corner." Gus said, pointing down the hall. "Class isn't for a few minutes, so we have time."

"Good."

Luz and her friends walked down the hall and entered an empty classroom, shutting the door behind them and locking it just to be safe.

"Alright, well, everything you know about Human's... is wrong." Luz said.

"How wrong?" Gus asked, the self declared expert the most curious.

"Wrong about humans being powerless." Luz said to him, "We have great power, every one of us."

"Great power?" Willow asked, remembering last night.

"We have these things called Spirit Animals, an animal deep in our bodies that we can become at will." Luz said.

"And that's what you turned into last night?" Gus asked.

"Yes, that was my spirit animal. A black panther, very rare in my world for a spirit animals." Luz said to them.

"How rare?" Gus asked.

"I... I might be the only one left." Luz said, looking away.

After seeing Luz's fear last night, they all felt sad for her because of what that hunter might've done to her mother.

"Luz, I'm sure you mom is safe." Amity said to her.

"Yeah, if she's anything like you, she's too tough to go down." Gus said with a fist bump.

"I... I just want a way to make sure she's safe." Luz said.

"We'll there has to be a way to check, like maybe using Oracle magic or something?" Willow suggested.

"I don't think that would work." Amity said, "I may hate her, but my mom is one of the most powerful Oracle Coven Members on the Isles, I doubt even she could do that."

"So, communication between dimensions is impossible?" Luz said sadly before letting out a bitter chuckle. "Should've guessed. Our dimensions would've met by now if interdimensional communication was possible."

"Don't worry, Luz, you'll see her again." Amity said, "I promise."

The bell screaming got their attention as class was about to begin and they needed to hurry before their late. Luz couldn't get her mind off her mom the entire school day. Even after school, she was so focused on that, that she didn't think anything would get her out of this... until she saw the slightly destroyed Owl House.

"Oh, no." Luz said, running inside, "Eda!? King!?"

"L-L-Luz?" King said weakly.

Luz followed the voice and found King in the kitchen, under the wreckage of what used to be the kitchen table.

"King!" Luz said as she rushed to get the rubble off and hold him in her arms. "What happened?! Why is the house destroyed?!"

"T-t-they came... they have Eda."

"Who?! The Emperor's Coven?!" Luz asked as King weakly nodded.

"Too many, Eda...couldn't fight them all." King said as Luz rushed him out of the house.

"Hooty! We need to go, it's not safe here!" Luz shouted at the house demon, who was a little bruised before he regained consciousness.

"Huh?! What?!" He let out.

Luz was furious, she started running to the castle, not caring about anything... she was going to get Eda back.