The trash slug was an enormously unreal creature.
It lay beached across the shoreline a heaving, gelatinous mass the size of a school bus, its translucent hide rippling with the slow, indifferent wind. It's only been a day since I'd began my research and something already integral was about to happen before I could delve deeper. Scattered across its back and around its perimeter was the refuse of the human world, crushed aluminum cans, a waterlogged sneaker, a tangle of dead Christmas lights, a cracked snow globe with a tiny Eiffel Tower half-buried in synthetic snow.
Eda moved through the wreckage naturally, finding items of interest to sell and stuffing it into her brown sac.
"Ooh." She snatched up a plastic novelty cup shaped like a flamingo and held it to the light. "Classy."
"This is disgusting," Luz announced from a not so safe distance, arms crossed, sneakers planted well away from anything that squelched.
"This, my dear" Eda said, turning the cup admiringly, "is a treasure."
"It's garbage."
"Human garbage. hhaaa. "
King had already claimed a section of the haul for himself, dragging a bent spatula across the sand.
I worked without much ceremony, sorting through the outer ring of the slug's shedding. Whatever biological process caused a creature like this to exist clearly was not possible without magic. And although I planned to travel back into the human realm eventually, for now what was here is good enough. a waterproof lighter, still functional barely, and a length of polypropylene cord that had survived whatever digestive ordeal had brought it here.
I place both into one of the two sacs I carried with me.
"I thought we'd be doing something magical," Luz said, drifting closer to Eda despite herself. "Like, I don't know. Ancient scrolls. Potion mixing. Something."
Eda snorted. "Ancient scrolls. Right. Lots of fun, those." She gestured broadly at the shoreline. "This is real magic, kid. Not garbage they push at Hexside, where every spell has a proper form and a proper technique and a proper licensed instructor watching to make sure you hold your fingers just right." She smirked at luz. "Magic's wild. It's alive! You try and box it you'll never become a master."
Luz looked like she understood what Eda was saying but doubt creeped in her expression, I guess without a true display of her power Luz couldn't find herself trusting eda's saying hundred percent of the time.
"Is that why you quit?" she asked. "School, I mean."
Eda looked down for a moment seemingly reminiscing, she looked up and her usual irreverence closed back over. "Let's just say the school and I disagreed about methodology." She held up the flamingo cup again. "Trust me on this one, both of you should learn magic the proper wa- ohh shiny!"
She moved on, already distracted by something glinting further into the pile.
I straightened from my crouched position brushing salty liquid off my hands, and looked back at the Owl House in the distance. Then at the slug.
"I'm heading back," I said lugging the big and smaller bags onto my shoulder.
Nobody looked up either distracted or thinking but it didn't matter to me.
Hexside School of Magic and Demonics sat at the end of a winding path through the thicket of red forest, A monastery in aesthetics, color scheme blueish, white with gold accents. The place even from a distance looked better built than the typical home, it was noticeably made up of traditional concrete from the human realm dyed white.
I of course, didn't approach from the main path.
circling the outer perimeter first, I moved through the sparse tree cover that bordered the school in all directions. k.
The front entrance was the obvious choice and therefore not mine. There was a flow of students there, bottlenecked into the front gate, with to many faces that may register a new one, and potential security I might not be aware of.
The west wall had a service gate, partially concealed by a cluster of blue overgrown thornbushes the latch was simple. Beyond it, seemed to be maintenance storage by the look of the doors.
And parked along the far side of the path, large delivery crates stacked atop a low wooden palette.
I stood in the tree line for a long moment before moving after seeing no one in sight.
A recent delivery, someone would be back for the crates eventually, I had to hurry.
Now closer the crates where clear, and labels where place on them. school supplies. One crate had a stencils, and caldrons. Another bore the emblem of a broom manufacturer. The third was sealed tight, but the soft clatter of glass from inside when the wind moved the platform suggested beakers, or something similarly fragile and academic.
I grabbed a lighter box to hide everything above my collar while entering. The service gate opened without protest.
I walked.
The path between the outbuildings opened into a side corridor. With a casual pace I passed two individuals who I hadn't bothered to look at without incident. One held a door open for me.
I kept walking until the corridor widened into an interior hallway. Students here, more of them, the general noise of mass talking. I set the crate down against the wall near a supply alcove, straightened my shirt, and kept moving.
The hallways of Hexside were exactly what I'd expected from the outside—loud, but organized like a human institution. Student wore differing colors of outfits signifying there Coven tracks, A girl with a potion badge nearly walked into me while reading something over her friend's shoulder.
dodging I went into thought, I also had a plan, or the beginning of one.
What I wanted from this school now was Principal Bump. He wasn't a complicated person, and somewhat stood outside of what Hexside operated on, a strict magical framework of coven tracks, structured curricula, centuries of tradition backing every lesson plan. What I intended to offer in order to join this school was the knowledge I had already gathered.
The human world and especially myself and my company had spent years iterating on physics, chemistry, structural engineering, and theoretical concepts. not to mention the simpler applications of science, like electricity or steam power. the Boiling Isles had no framework, Magic filled every gap here. But magic without theory behind it was a tool without a handle. Combine the two and you didn't just improve outcome.
Bump was practical enough to understand value. The pitch wouldn't need to be flashy. I simply needed to demonstrate something he hadn't seen, in terms clear enough that dismissing it would feel like a loss rather than a caution.
As soon as I—
*Bump*
She stumbled back a step; I caught the edge of the wall for balance. The girl I'd run into was tall, impeccably put together, Dark pink haired person. Her \ E\expression shifted in the span of a half-second from surprise to affront.
"Watch where you're going! do you know—" She stopped.
Looked at me.
Her eyes moved over my face, I assume she noticed I was human. The irritation didn't leave entirely. Something else settled in beside it.
"who I am?"
"No," I said. "Sorry. I don't go here."
I glanced past her shoulder.
Through the halls a classroom door was wide open I could see Willow pushing a large caldron into the doorway while Augustus left them towards a different area.
The timing had already slipped.
I moved.
What happened in the abomination classroom happened fast.
Principal Bump was there and called on willow to present her abomination.
I stepped back from the doorway. The class would take a while to end until then I had to get someone to agree and be skilled enough to preform multiple magics, all the talent was in this room, except gus.
I started heading toward the far corridor Gus had went down looking everywhere for him.
It was surprisingly hard to find him, the school had multiple floors for multiple tracks and the path were not intuitive.
"You."
I turned and the voice belonged to a unidentified faculty member I hadn't recognized from the original series, She wasn't pointing at me specifically, but I was the only person in her eyeline.
I could have argued with her but with no uniform I was bound to head into their detention room if I argued I was a legitimate student. So I booked it took the second floor, luckily outrunning how much she thought her paycheck was worth, and hid in a bathroom.
The bell rung, but I still hadn't found him with no clue of where he was willow who was only good at plant magic seemed to be the next best option. Now I just had to find where they are.
again.
Passing through the halls back downstairs attempting to blend in with the crowd I passed by a few sports player tossing a ball back and forth bumping one of them in my haste. I'd noticed the majority of students who seemed younger where headed in one direction. And I ended up in the cafeteria, But I could already see luz willow amity, and principle bump walking out a different exit.
following closely behind it was clear they would end up in bumps office, I could see Bump steering the three inside, expression serious.
If I was remembering correctly this is where Luz needed to escape with willows help. It seems I was to late to enact my plan to showcase magics scientific applications.
The door bursted open and willow and luz rushed in my direction.
"huh, Luke? run!"
I didn't know what would happen if I got caught so I joined them for now. As long as I wasn't banned from the school.
We moved quickly passing by halls of students but I noticed something was following us from behind, abominations.
They couldn't catch us at this point and we were almost at the exit.
Boom*
A blast of magic was felt and seen in the windows of hexside.
barrier magic?
"Guys were trapped," Gus who was apparently here said.
An increasing number of abominations appeared before us and amity revealed herself.
"No where left to run half a witch and human girl."
Luz whispered something in Willows ears to Amity's irritation sicking the abominations upon us. I looked at the two who I already knew had a plan to escape, willow was concentrating on something in her hands.
"Willow, as a student of hexside I hope your prepared for the consequences of falsifying your score."
Willow was still focused, magic seemed to be pouring out of her even though it wasnt visible. She opened her eyes and a green glow had replaced her bright eyes, everyone seemed caught off guard, as in that second she unleashed her wild attacked.
Every abomination around was smashed to a pile, Amity was forcefully rooted in place, and principle bump who took the brunt was sent flying into a wall grounding him there. But he didn't seem as affected by it as I expected. Had she held back?
While I was distracted thinking more vines grew out to the entrance and forced the door open.
Luz and I looked toward the exit
"Hey are u coming with us?" luz asked
"I'll be fine, you and your human friend have to go"
Luz seemed to believe her words and got ready to leave with me but Willow simply picked us up in a single vine and threw us out. the fall hurt a bit but she was right we had to hurry before being banned wasn't the only punishment.
"lets go Luz" I signed.
My plan was messed up this time, I shouldn't have rushed things, stil there was another chance to join hexside.
there was no need to rush into relationships with the main cast I would just need to prep time for the next attempt.