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hugsandchaos · 1 year

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Culture Shock

Luz looked at the yellow liquid within the glass vial with slight disgust. Already, she could taste the contents inside, which were unpleasant to say the least. She pulled the little stub out of the opening and braced herself for the oncoming suffering with a sigh.”Bottoms up.” She said to herself. Luz squeezed her eyes shut and brought the opening to the orb shaped vial up to her lips.

As usual, she tried to chug the whole thing down to try to avoid tasting it as much as possible. And as usual, it was awful.

She stopped herself from spitting it back up and was only halfway before she stopped for a quick break.”Ugh!” She groaned. Then she reluctantly forced herself to down the rest.

Once it was gone, Luz let out a noise of disgust and put the empty glass down on the night stand. The taste was revolting and made her want to puke. She barely managed to drink any of it when she first got it, but with enough self convincing, she got it done. Still, it made her want to throw it all up so badly the second it entered her mouth. At least her stomach didn’t have tastebuds.

A rhythmic knock on the door caught the young witch’s attention and she turned to see if who she believed to be on the other side would come in.”Hey, kid, you awake?” Eda asked from the other side. Luz stood up again, but this time, made sure to hold her furry little brother so he wouldn’t fall off her and onto the floor like he did when she woke up and tried getting out of the bed to get her elixir.”Yeah, I’m up!” She responded. Sleepiness plagued her voice, and her body.

And King, who was a bit dangly from his spot in his sister’s arms.

“I just wanted to let you know that I was feeling good this morning and made a few extra mixed berry pancakes for you and King. Come eat ‘em before they get cold or I will!” Eda said from the other side of the door. Luz suddenly felt wide awake at that news and jumped out of bed.

She held King in her arms and ran out of the guest room to the living room down the hall, not bothering to change out of her otter onesie or make the bed. Eda watched her sprint and laughed a bit from amusement. It felt good to know that someone loved her pancakes, especially to that degree.

King was woken up in the rush and made a tired “weh?” sound before he noticed the smell of pancakes. The delicious scent helped him wake up, and so did the sight once they reached the table.

Luz set King down in a seat that had a cushion on it and noticed how the pancakes on his plate weren’t cut up. She was going to offer to help him with that, table manners and all, but she couldn’t stop his cute little paws from grabbing one of the two mixed berry pancakes on his plate.“Ah, truly a meal fit for a king.” He said before digging into his food. Luz smiled and sat in her own chair to eat her pancakes.

When she was halfway through eating her first one, the phone in Luz’s pocket (which may or may not be a stolen gift from Eda, but who knows?) began buzzing. She reached for it and glanced at it. The time-telling digits on the top said 10:23 AM. Had she slept in that late?

Pushing that aside, Luz realized that Willow was calling her. King saw it as well, having peeked over to see why the human wonder rectangle was making that sound, and recognized the symbols on it as well.”Answer it! Answer it!” He said, hopping slightly in his seat. Luz smiled at his slight excitement and pressed the green button, quickly realizing Gus was on the call as well.“Good morning, you two.” Luz said, still a bit tired.

“Did you just wake up?” Willow asked as she misted a few of her plants with a spray bottle. It wasn’t the first time Luz had stayed up late (or even all night) researching, but it was a bit concerning that she was that upset and worked up about getting back to her realm.”Yeah.” Luz yawned. Willow put her spray bottle away and moved some of the plants into the direct sunlight while leaving others in the shade.

“Did you two sleep well? I hope the sleep spell worked.” Luz asked. Augustus moved his pillows off his bed and onto the chair by his desk.”It worked amazingly!” Willow replied from her side as Gus picked up parts of his blanket to even out the wrinkles and lumps caused by movement in his sleep.”Yeah, I slept like a baby!” He agreed. He went around his bed, reaching to the part near the wall to straighten the blanket.

“That’s good to hear.” Luz smiled. She lifted up her unfinished pancake to take a bite out of it.”What about King?” Gus asked. Luz looked over at the young demon in question and lowered her phone a bit.”Hey, Willow and Gus want to know if you slept well.” She said after swallowing the piece of pancake. King paused and looked up at her, already holding his second pancake and ready to dig in.”I slept great, as any tyrant should in order to maintain their unforgiving rule!” He announced. Luz stifled a giggle for the sake of his pride and lifted her phone back up.

“He slept great.” She repeated for him. She continued eating her food, being mindful not to hold the phone too close so they wouldn’t hear, and let the other two talk about their Saturday morning.

Luz was public schooled for only a few years in the demon realm, but she didn’t remember it being so bad that her friends practically celebrated the weekend and dreaded Monday. It could be just her being in Hexside for only a while compared to how long they’ve been in public school, but she never recalled teachers and the education system in general being so inconsiderate that they often don’t even follow through with the accommodations for the students who need it.

Back at Hexside, kids were always brought to darker, quieter places if they got sensory overload or given some kind of fidget or stress toy, Luz being one of those especially young ones who would constantly use one during class. Things such as magic prosthetics or a creature to help them move around were practically ignored with how accepted they were in society. Unless they needed to give medical information regarding whatever the issue was, of course. Or answering questions from the little ones.

Although it seemed like that acceptance wasn’t nearly as common and accommodations were scarce in the nearby schools.

Lots of parents and students got into arguments with schools about them not being accessible or accommodating for their child, such as ramps for wheelchairs. Or other students picking on their kid for having a prosthetic and teachers doing nothing. And physical disabilities were just the tip of the iceberg.

This was a huge “culture shock”, if one can call it that, and it all left Luz very confused.

“Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you something! Dad and Papa wanted to know if you three wanted to come with us to the zoo.” Willow piped up, snapping her out of her trance. She listened in on the conversation again.”That place where humans cage animals for either viewing purposes or preservation of an endangered species?” Luz asked. That may not have been the worst way to clarify, but she wasn’t exactly wrong. The way she worded it was just a bit weird. But it’s not the weirdest thing she’s done, and in a boring town like Gravesfield, her and King’s weirdness was practically a miracle to their friends.”Yeah, basically!” Gus replied after a brief second of silence.”And I’d love to tag along! Let me go asked my dad.” He added before running away from his phone. King tried reaching for Luz’s second pancake seeing she hadn’t eaten it yet, but she practically slammed her hand on it before he could touch it.

“Yeah, King and I should probably ask Eda first. If we want to go.” Luz agreed. Eda, who had heard them due to the overall quietness in the house, called out from upstairs and caught their attention.”As long as it’s not dangerous, you can go! If it’s dangerous, then you’re not going anywhere without me!” She said. Luz looked down from the top of the stairs to King. “She said yes.” She told Willow. The two soon heard Gus coming back and the phone being picked up.”He said yes and asked if he needs to drive me there.” He informed them. Luz continued munching on the last bit of her pancake as the conversation continued between her two friends.“No, Dad said we can pick you three up.” Willow replied.

“She said that her dads will!” Gus called out to his dad. The phone was moved away a bit so it wasn’t as loud, but it was clearly a half yell. They heard a muffled reply, but only Gus understood it.”He sends your dads his thanks.” He said. Luz smiled as she finished her pancake and looked at King, who had been standing up in his seat and hopping in anticipation for a while.”Looks like we’re going to our first zoo, little buddy!” She said. King stopping hopping and threw his fists up in celebration.”Yes!!” He cheered. Luz let out her own little cheer and grabbed the nearby cup of water for a refreshing drink.

“Wait! Luz, you said that giraffes were banished from your world because of how freaky everyone thought they were, right?” Gus asked. That question made Luz stop in her tracks. She didn’t spit out her water or choke on it, but she did have to wipe her mouth when she brought the cup down from her face. Now she was definitely awake.“Whyyy?” She asked in response. She raised an eyebrow and squinted her eyes in suspicion.

“Well, here we are!” Harvey said. He glanced down at King, who had started feeling car sick on the way there.”You alright, little fella?” He asked. King nodded and double checked that he had his hood up past his horns, which would’ve stuck out more than they already did if it wasn’t for the way the hood was made. The design looked as if the horns were fake, same with the rest of his skull, which kind of looked like a mask.”Yes. Thank you.” He replied, reaching up to hold Luz’s hand.

When she felt his claws trying to grab her hand, she mindlessly reached and grabbed his paw. Most of her focus was on the entrance of the zoo.”Woah...” She muttered in awe.

The entrance was a sort of curved building, like a stretched out C, mostly made of what looked like polished wooden logs with a deep forest green roof. The outer ends had a window facing the front, but she couldn’t see what was inside, and the walls were complete. As for the inner middle part, it was more like a pavilion. There were about four small pillars holding the center of it up, once again made of the weird polished wood, but also stones piled and stacked for a foundation. People were stopped underneath the pavilion at the sides and facing them, so maybe the “check-in” or whatever it’s called was at a window between the guests outside in the shade and the workers inside.

After everyone was out of the truck, Harvey had them partner up just incase they decided to split up at any time while they were in the zoo. Even though Luz and King had clearly already picked one. So Harvey partnered up with Gus and Willow was partnered with Gilbert. Once they were ready, Harvey began leading the way to the entrance.”Is this really your first zoo?” Gilbert asked. Luz nodded and maintained her small grip on her brother’s claws.”Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun.” He said, giving her a reassuring smile. Luz smiled back and nodded, ready to go.

“That’s an anteater.” Gus mentioned after glancing at the sign. The animal in question walked past them from inside its enclosure. King was on Luz’s shoulders for a bit of height and stared blankly as it sniffed the ground.”It’s hideous!” He piped up. He sounded a bit enthusiastic when he said it, though, so Gus just assumed it wasn’t entirely ill-intended.

“A bearded dragon.” King read the sign. He looked at the small lizard. It could probably fit in Luz’s hand and wasn’t any bigger than Stringbean, who had chosen to stay home and nap. The spikes didn’t look very beard-like, and there weren’t any wings on it. Not to mention, the brief description said it didn’t breathe fire at all.”How disappointing.” He said.

“It’s just as the books described...” Luz muttered in horror. She didn’t dare blink in fear that when she reopened them, it’d be right in front of her. Her heart rate had picked up the moment she saw it. King peeked out from behind her and shook slightly at the sight of the tall beast, clinging onto the witch’s leg for comfort.

It’s sheer size was intimidating enough, but what made it worse was how long and unsettling its neck and legs were. With its height, it was hopeless to run and hide. It could probably spot them from a mile away, and those long, lanky legs would catch up with them in no time. The beast’s neck towered over the fences, which was obviously an overlooked safety hazard. Even with the electric wires.

After all, what’s stopping it from deciding to just tough it out and charge through?

“I take it you’re not a big fan of giraffes?” Harvey asked. Luz took a step back from the tall animal and King backed up so he wouldn’t get knocked over or anything.”No,” she shook her head, ”no we’re not.” She replied. Luz felt something tug slightly on her jeans and glanced down.”Luz, the king of demons needs comfort!” King whispered, still not taking his eyes off the giraffe. She obliged and scooped him up, letting him bury his face in her shirt and jacket flaps while she held him like a child, but didn’t cradle him. She looked back up at the giraffe and another wave of uneasiness came over her.

“Ugh, you’re here too?” Amity’s voice asked in annoyance.

Luz yelped and turned around quickly. For a split second, she thought another giraffe had somehow broken out and was imitating Amity’s voice. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that had happened. But luckily, and unluckily, it was only the young Blight glaring at her.”What? Don’t act like we haven’t met. After all, you’re the reason I got detention last week!” She pouted.

“Amity, that was an accident. Besides, detention isn’t as scary as these freaks.” Luz said, pointing at the giraffe exhibit, mainly the area where they were gathered to be fed by guests.

“What’s so freaky about them? They’re only giraffes.” Amity laughed. King looked away from Luz and gave Amity a look of slight disbelief, still holding onto his big sister.“Are we looking at the same thing?! That ungodly beast can barely even drink water without practically doing a split!” King said as he pointed at the animal in question.

Amity seemed to just brush that part off and raised an eyebrow that said “really?” while Willow and Harvey were walking out of the giraffe exhibit.“And besides, who fights by slapping their enemy with their neck?” Gus piped in. Luz and King didn’t know about that, and while his attempt to defend them was appreciated, he just accidentally made it slightly worse.

Both their eyes widened in fear and they glanced at each other, then slowly looked at the nearest giraffe. Luz gulped nervously at the thought of being hit by one of those things, and King hid his face into her shirt and jacket again.

Amity didn’t look as scared as they did, but she was a little surprised.”Okay, you actually make a fair point.” She admitted. Willow grabbed Luz’s hand and looked at Amity nervously.”Hey, Luz, how about we go see the otters?” She asked in an attempt to get away from Amity. The witchling’s face lit up brightly, and you could not tell Willow she didn’t see actual stars in her eyes.”Otters?” She asked excitedly. Willow nodded and Luz nearly squealed.”Let’s go!” She said. She turned heel and dashed towards the rest of the group, more than happy to leave the giraffes and ready to see the otters.

Later that night, Luz woke up in a sweat. Her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly with a gasp. For a second, she was scared that either her nightmare was real or that she had been captured by Belos. Looking around, though, she quickly remembered what had happened. All the events came flooding back and she slowly laid back down.

“Giraffes?” King’s voice filled the silence.

Luz yelped and turned to face her little brother, who was unexpectedly up against her back until she had moved. He was staring off into space and looked... not exactly scared, but very disturbed and freaked out. Luz calmed down and rolled over so her back was facing away from King.“Uh, yeah.” She replied. She reached behind her neck to scratch at it out of nervous habit.

Those things had been fighting each other in her dream- well, more like a nightmare- and started going after her when they noticed her. She felt so slow in her dreams, like she was trying to walk through abomination slime, which was sometimes thick depending on how well it was made. Meanwhile, the giraffes were trampling through trees and boulders, along with whatever else was unfortunate enough to be in their way while running at what felt like unnatural speed, and not the “unnatural” Luz was used to.

Thinking about those freaks, she felt herself beginning to zone out as well. Her vision wasn’t blurry, but she wasn’t in focus with her physical eyes. Instead, Luz was paying more attention to what she saw in her mind’s eye.

“How about we just... do literally anything but sleep.” King suggested as he inched closer.”Yep. Sounds like a plan.” Luz agreed as she let him cuddle with her, wrapping her arms around him protectively. She could use the comfort herself.

Neither slept that night, and Eda was stuck with a tired witchling and self proclaimed demon lord.

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