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Amity pulled her jacket tighter around herself and hurried down the street toward the coffee shop, where sweet caffeinated warmth and goodness awaited her. For early December it was already bitterly cold, which bode ill for the winter months yet to come. Not to mention the fact that it was only the fifth and already every storefront she passed was decked out in holiday apparel and lights of every variety. Some were gaudy but some were beautiful. Amity fully believed in the ‘less was more’ approach when it came to holiday decorations. Her brother might have said that she’d inherited that from their mom but Amity disagreed.
Not only was it blatantly false, but Amity found the idea of being compared to her mother extremely distasteful.
Odalia Blight didn’t decorate at all and found the whole thing ‘garish and tacky'. Amity appreciated the effort and holiday spirit. She just preferred the decorations in her apartment to be a little more restrained. Despite what her siblings said, just because she didn’t have a giant, animatronic Santa in her living room, did not make her a ‘grinch’. She had a wreath and lights!
She walked quickly, keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact with the bell ringer on the corner. She always felt bitterness well up at the sight of them but quickly shoved that out of her mind, she wasn’t going to let them ruin her otherwise good mood. She just kept her eyes down and speed-walked quickly by him when the crosswalk turned.
She was almost there. Another block and she could get inside and maybe feel her nose and fingers again.
It was strange, just walking around on a Wednesday afternoon with nowhere to be. She’d taken the last of her finals yesterday. It felt weird to know that after four years, she was finally done with college. Even if graduation wasn’t for another week.
That was scary in its own way, even with a job lined up already. It was a whole new chapter in her life. One totally free of outside, controlling factors. She glanced at her phone. She still had five minutes before she was supposed to be there, not that her siblings would be on time anyway.
She could see the cafe from here anyway and stopped at the edge of the street as the light turned red. She breathed out a long, cold breath, creating a thick cloud and turned her eyes upward.
The sky overhead was ominously dark, the horizon crowded with moody clouds . Not only was it freezing cold, but it was also supposed to start raining any minute now. At least that was what the weather had been threatening all day. Amity would believe it when she saw it.
The karmic laws of the universe meant that when she turned her eyes back down to the ‘Don't Walk’ light flashing at her, a fat drop of cold rain landed squarely on her nose. Amity craned her head back, looking up at the black clouds hanging over her, only for another raindrop to plop against her forehead, then another and another and before she could blink, it was sprinkling and quickly growing in intensity.
“No, no, no, no!” She jammed her finger repeatedly against the crosswalk button, willing it to turn quicker. It was pouring when the sign turned and she sprinted across the street, shielding her head as best she could. She didn’t have time to even think about slowing as a shop door opened and someone stepped out. Fortunately, they were paying more attention than her, and a pair of hands suddenly wrapped around her biceps, swinging her around and keeping her from running headlong into them. Her world spun in a wash of color as she was lifted off the ground.
“Whoa there!” A voice laughed as she was set back down on the ground, beneath the awning of the store whose door she had nearly run right into. “You okay?”
She blinked, a little disoriented but cleared her head with a gentle shake as she looked up into the face of a worried-looking woman probably around her age.
“Oh, yeah, I’m so sorry!” She took a step back, out of her reach. The other woman just smiled at her, a beaming grin that lit up her whole face. A passive thought in the back of Amity’s head whispered ‘oh-no, she’s cute!’ but it disappeared as fast as it had come.
“No worries,” she nodded, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her beat-up letterman-style jacket. Amity nodded before hurrying past her, out into the steadily pouring rain which was growing heavier by the second until it was a torrential downpour. She managed to sprint the rest of the way down the sidewalk without running into anyone else. She was only a little damp when she all but slammed the door open and the man behind the counter looked up and smiled.
“Welcome to the Redstone Bakery and Cafe!” He called and Amity smiled at him, brushing a few wet locks of lilac hair out of her face and scanning the dining room for two familiar heads of green hair. It didn’t take more than a second to spot them looking back at her and waving.
“Mittens!” Her brother called as she pulled out the chair across from them and sat. “You’re late to your own birthday lunch!.... and you’re wet…” He helpfully pointed out and Amity grunted as her sister handed her a napkin to dab at the water dripping down her face.
“It’s pouring,” she grumbled. “I had to run the last block and nearly took someone out on the street.”
“Are you okay?” Emira asked, frowning and Amity nodded.
“Yeah, she caught me and kept us both from biting it. Anyway, what’s up with you two?” She asked, looking between the two of them.
“Oh, you know, same ol’ same ol’, medical school.” she shrugged.
“We got new seals at work this week!” Ed grinned. “I have pictures.” He pulled out his phone and started showing his sisters the newest additions to the Hartford zoo. “Aren’t they the cutest things ever?” he gushed and Amity nodded, looking at their little faces.
“Sometimes, I wish I had your job… but then I remember that animals poop and bite,” Em smirked, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at her twin, who sniffed.
“So do babies and people like those for some reason,” he argued and Em snorted.
“Touché.”
The twins ordered Amity a cappuccino, which she inhaled in no less than five minutes, so a second round of coffees were ordered as the three siblings chatted and caught up.
a specific red fruit tart was also ordered and it disappeared at an even more rapid rate than the drinks. Ed nearly lost a finger attempting to steal a bite. At some point, the bell over the door rang and Amity looked up to see the same woman who had caught her earlier. She looked just as wet as Amity had been and slicked back her dark hair out of her face, the rest held back in a short ponytail at the base of her neck. Then, suddenly she gave herself a hard shake, like a German Shepard coming in out of the rain.
Now that she was a little less flustered, the little thought in the back of her head was back. The stranger was pretty cute with an old, ragged letterman jacket and jeans tucked into equally worn-looking boots.
As if sensing eyes on her, the woman turned, catching Amity’s gaze. She smiled and gave a friendly little wave, wiggling her fingers before turning back to the man at the counter.
“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Em turned to look over her shoulder and was quick to spot the woman. “Ooooh, I see,” she said knowingly and turned back to smirk at Amity, who pursed her lips, cheeks pinking. “Checking out the woman at the counter?” she asked, prompting Ed to glance over.
“No,” she hissed. “That’s the woman I ran into outside is all,” she grumbled but Emira didn’t seem to believe her at all. Perhaps rightly so but that was beside the point!
“Cute.” Was Emira’s verdict. Amity just huffed and went back to mopping up the crumbs from her tart.
After she finished it off, refraining from licking the plate, but only just, the twins gave each other a look and Em nodded while Ed grinned.
“So, Amity…,” her sister started, drawing Amity’s eyes away from cleaning any remaining custard off her fork. “Ed and I have been talking and we decided to go in together to get you something special for your birthday this year.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Amity sat her fork down and looked between the two of them.
“We know but this is such a big one for you! Twenty-three and you’re graduating next week and telling mom to take a hike…” She grinned and Amity rolled her eyes even as she smirked at that.
“And we came up with a great way for you to cap off all those things, with something you’ve been talking about for years. Take a guess!” Her brother joined in and Amity could admit, she was intrigued.
Something she had wanted for years? She pondered that for a long moment but nothing jumped to the front of her mind. She wasn’t entirely sure she liked the way her brother and sister were grinning at her though.
“I couldn’t even begin to guess,” she shook her head and Edric sighed.
“You’re no fun, did you know that?” he asked and Em rolled her eyes at him before she reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope and held it out to Amity.
“It’s a two-hundred-dollar gift certificate for the tattoo shop just next door.” She grinned.
“What!?” Amity blinked before opening it and pulling out a piece of cardstock with ‘The Owl House: Tattoos and Piercings.’ Emblazoned across the top in some kind of graffiti-style script. A total of two hundred dollars, authorized by an ‘Eda Clawthorne.’
“You can get a tattoo!” Ed beamed.
“I… a tattoo?” Amity repeated, gobsmacked. “Who says I want a tattoo?” She looked up between them.
“Like you don’t have that pinterest board of ‘cool’ tattoo’ designs you add to all the time.” Em finger quoted. “Anytime we go out and you see someone with tatts, you always stop and look.
“I mean, they’re cool!” she insisted. Her sibling’s just shared a look. “Look, I think they're really cool and. Maybe I’ve thought about it but I wouldn’t have the slightest idea as to what to get… not to mention…,” she stopped. The words ‘mom would lose her damn mind,’ died in her throat and she pursed her lips.
No, she would not get a tattoo just to spite her mother.
But it was a perk.
“Really? Because you were really into all those tattoo contest shows and talked about them a lot. There’s nothing you’d want to get?” Em pushed and Amity glanced back down at the certificate.
“I dunno you guys… it’s such a… permanent thing…”
“Are you kidding? People are getting them removed and covered up all the time. It’s not really that permanent anymore.” Ed waved a hand and leaned back in his chair.
“I guess… I just… there are so many options, I don’t know what I’d even get…”
“Well, you don’t have to decide right now, it’s good for a while. Just get something you want.” Em shrugged, smiling easily at her and Amity nodded, slipping the certificate into her jacket.
“Thanks guys.”
~ ~
Two days later, she was still thinking about it.
“You’ve been into tattoos for years but you haven’t the slightest idea what you’d want?” Willow cocked her head, sitting across from Amity in the booth of the little pizza restaurant.
“I mean, I think they're really cool and I’d like to have one but, there's so many options… I dunno, I guess looking at other people’s was always enough. There's just something so… interesting… about people with a lot of tattoos.”
“You mispronounced ‘hot’,” Willow said.
“What?”
“You’ve always been attracted to women with tattoos, Amity.” Willow shrugged as though this were a well-known fact.
“I… I have not!” She slapped her palms on the table. Willow just gave her a look.
“Your last two girlfriends had a couple of tattoos if memory serves.” She smirked at her before taking a bite of her pizza.
“That… is totally irrelevant,” she huffed. “I didn’t date them because they had tattoos,” she insisted and Willow laughed.
“Well, no, but it wasn’t a totally irrelevant factor either…” She grinned and Amity couldn’t really argue with that. She grumbled something under her breath and took a bite of her pizza.
“What about those designs you’ve been collecting over the years? None of those are doing it for you now?”
“No, now that the moment is here… it’s like I can’t decide. Nothing seems right.”
“You could always have the artist at the shop design you something,” Willow offered.
“Yeah, but I have to at least have an idea first,” she grunted and played with her fork sitting on the table. Willow nodded. “How did you know what you wanted?” She glanced at Willow’s covered shoulder, where she knew a bouquet of flowers was inked across the top of her chest.
Willow hummed wordlessly, stirring her drink with the straw before shrugging.
“I like plants,” was the simple answer and she smiled apologetically, knowing that the answer wasn’t really helpful.
“Ugh,” she let her head drop to her chest and Willow just smiled sadly at her friend.
“There's no rush,” she assured and Amity nodded before the conversation turned to Willow’s work and the grumpy blonde she had started seeing.
“He’s not as bad as he lets people think,” Willow promised with a grin.
“Uhhuh…”
“Willow!” A voice called and they both looked up. Recognition sparked in the back of Amity’s mind as the woman she had almost barreled into the other day approached their table. She was wearing that same threadbare letterman, fingerless gloves, and grin as she stopped beside their table.
“Luz!” Willow jumped up and hugged her. “What are you doing here?”
“Just getting some food.” She shrugged, smiling. Her eyes flickered to Amity and she blinked. “Hey, I remember you, from the other day, when it was raining, right?” she asked.
“You two know each other?” Willow looked between the two of them.
“Not really,” Luz chuckled.
“I nearly ran into her the other day when it was raining outside… I’m sorry about that by the way…,” she said but Luz just waved a hand.
“Don’t worry, no harm done.” She smiled and Amity couldn’t help but admire it.
“You want to sit with us while you wait for your food?” Willow offered, holding out a hand to the empty spot beside her.
“If that’s okay?” She glanced at Amity, who nodded.
“Let me introduce you guys.” Willow sat back down. “Luz, this is my childhood friend, Amity. Amity, this is my friend Luz.”
“Nice to meet you.” Amity smiled and Luz beamed back.
“Pleasure’s mine. You guys just having lunch?” she asked and Willow nodded.
“Yeah, I was just meeting Amity before she went across the street to the bookstore for the premiere of that fantasy book… you read that too, are you going, Luz?” she asked and Luz gasped, slapping her hands to her cheeks as she whipped to look at Amity.
“You like the ‘Good Witch Azura’ series?” she asked and Amity jerked back. Her usual reaction to that question was to lie. It was, after all, a series for kids. Something about the unbridled awe and enthusiasm in Luz’s face squashed that idea flat and she nodded.
“Yeah. I’ve been reading them since I was a kid.”
“Me too! What did you think of the fifth book’s second act?” she asked suddenly, hand on her chin as she gave Amity an appraising look.
The next thing she knew they were half an hour into a deep conversation about the subtext of certain character arcs, Luz’s food had come and gone and what remained of Amity’s, long forgotten. Willow texted on her phone while the two went back and forth, arguing, agreeing, comparing parallels in scenes, and debating things the books didn’t expressly state. She’d lost track of what they were even talking about fifteen minutes ago as she texted Hunter.
Willow: They're nerding so hard one of them might have an aneurysm…
Hunt: Get 911 on speed dial…
She glanced up from her phone to look at them, leaning over the table towards each other, still in the depths of their discussion.
“Isn’t the premiere starting in about ten minutes?” She looked at them after glancing at her watch. They did too.
“Oh my gosh, you’re right, Willow!” Luz jumped up, grabbing her trash as she did. “I gotta go…” she stopped, looking over at Amity. “Hey, you’re going too anyway, right? You wanna walk over there with me?”
“Oh, yeah!” She felt herself nodding and stood, shooting a look at Willow, who just smiled and made a shooing motion with her hand.
“You two go ahead and do your ‘Azura’ thing.”
“Right, thanks, Willow. Here, I’ll take that!” Luz took Amity’s trash as well and trotted across the room to the garbage cans. Amity’s gaze lingered and Willow just smirked knowingly at her and stood from the booth.
“You two have fun,” she gave a little wave. “I’ll text you later,” She winked at Amity, whose face crinkled with confusion as she left.
“Okay?” She frowned. What was that wink supposed to mean?
“Ready to go?” She looked up at Luz, standing beside her again and she nodded.
“Yeah.”
Luz held open the door for them and Amity dipped her head in silent thanks as they stepped out in the freezing air.
“It’s even colder than before,” Amity tugged the sides of her jacket closer around her, the biting wind on her face.
“It’s supposed to be freezing rain tonight,” Luz mumbled, looking up at the dark clouds that threatened more weather.
“I can only hope,” she grumbled as they crossed the street to the bookstore.
“Got work or something tonight?” Luz asked casually, stuffing her hands into her pockets. Amity shook her head.
“No, I don’t start my new job until the new year. My mom is throwing a college graduation/ birthday party for me tonight.” She made a face.
“Oh, you just graduated and it’s your birthday? Congrats!” She smiled.
“A couple of days ago and yeah, thanks.”
“So, not a party person?”
“Not usually but it’s also not really a party for me, so much as it is a chance for my mom to show off.” She shrugged, frowning and burying her hands in her pockets.
“Bummer,” Luz hummed as they walked into the bustling book store. “Hopefully it blizzards and you won’t have to go.” She offered with a grin and made an amused sound.
“One can only hope,” she agreed, Moving toward the palette of books while Luz turned toward the counter.
“I ordered my book special, I gotta go get it,” she motioned to the counter and Amity nodded, moving to the quickly diminishing pile of books and grabbing one, smiling to herself. There was something so satisfying about the weight of a hardback book in her hands. Her thumbs brushed across the bright cover depicting Azura and Hecate in battle together. The last book of a series over a decade in the making.
She prayed for ice so she could sit in her apartment and read all night.
“You got yours?”
She turned to find Luz standing there, book tucked under her arm and in her hands, two felt plushies of Azura and Hecate.
“Yeah… where did you get those?!” she motioned to the toys and Luz grinned. “Special pre-order bonus from when they first announced the book two years ago. I’ve been waiting forever for them!”
“I didn’t even know they were doing that!” Amity gasped and Luz nodded.
“It only ran for about three days… Aren’t they adorable?!” She held them out to her, smiling from ear to ear and Amity could swear the other woman’s eyes were all but sparkling.
“They are,” Amity nodded, inspecting the Hecate and Azura plushies in her hands. “Honestly, I’m jealous. I think I dressed up as Hecate for four Halloweens in a row,” she laughed to herself and Luz grinned.
“I have been Azura for at least seven. Once you have the whole costume you might as well reuse it.” She shrugged and Amity nodded, handing them back.
They checked out and ventured back out into the cold.
“It should be illegal to be this cold,” Luz grumbled and Amity snorted.
“I love Winter, I just prefer it from inside.”
“¡Viva la Summer!” Luz held up a fist, making Amity giggle. “I gotta get going, I have an appointment in about an hour…” She glanced at her watch and Amity nodded.
“It was nice talking with you.” She smiled up at her and Luz seemed to pause for a second before reaching into her bag and pulling out the Hecate plushie and holding it out to Amity.
“Here.” She offered.
“Wha-” Was all she managed before it was forced into her hands. “Luz, I can't take this..!”
“Sure you can.” She smiled easily. “Even if you end up going to the lame party tonight, you at least got a consolation prize. Happy birthday.” She smiled before turning and heading down the sidewalk, hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket, leaving a speechless Amity in her wake.
She gazed down at the little cloth witch and her heart did a funny little tap in her chest. Her cheeks were painted a rosy hue that had nothing to do with the cold.
It did ice that night and she was able to confidently tell her mother that it was too dangerous for her to be out driving in it. She spent the evening curled up in bed, reading, the Hecate plushie settled against the pillow on the other side to keep her company. It was much better than a fancy party.
~ ~ ~
If someone asked Amity later why she ran into Luz so many times in the span of that one Winter week, she couldn’t have even made a guess, but she wasn’t complaining about it either.
Especially not when she walked into Redstone three days later after the ice had thawed and saw Luz standing in line to get coffee, twiddling a pen between her fingers. She hesitated at the door. The other woman had been in her thoughts often over the last few days and she had tried to, subtly, get more information on her from Willow.
Amity: So, about your friend, Luz…
Willow: She’s bi and single.
Willow always could see through her like a greenhouse window.
Amity stared at the message for a long while, debating on how to feel about the blunt answer before finally just sighing and typing back a quick. ‘Thank you’
It wasn’t much but it was, admittedly, the answer to the questions Amity had been itching to ask.
She was cute and sweet and that was all Amity really needed for now. She took a steadying breath and did her best to try and channel some of the boundless charm and charisma her siblings exuded with ease as she walked up to stand behind Luz in line.
“Three times in one week, what are the odds,” She said, making Luz glance over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up in recognition and then that megawatt smile was turned on her full force.
“Amity! What are you doing here?”
“Just getting coffee.” She shrugged. “You?” She felt stupid asking it, what else could Luz possibly be doing here but just that?
“I’m getting coffee for me and my boss. She gets cranky when she hasn’t had at least two lethal doses of caffeine before noon.” She smiled, hands buried in her pockets and Amity wondered if the letterman was the only jacket she had or if she just loved it that much. She was willing to bet on the latter considering how worn it looked.
“Oh yeah? Where do you work?” Amity asked and the way Luz’s face seemed to light up told her that it was the right thing to ask.
“Actually, in the shop just next door. I think I’m over here at least three times a day… I spend way too much money on coffee…” She frowned and Amity grinned.
“So you probably don’t have time to sit and… talk for a little bit, do you?”
“I do!” Luz nearly shouted and Amity leaned back, hiding a smile. Luz tried to hide her darkening face behind a hand, clearing her throat. “I mean, I have a little bit of time, yeah.” She nodded. “Uh, what do you want? My treat,” she offered, gesturing to the counter but Amity shook her head.
“No, Luz, you’ve been nice enough to me already.”
“There’s no such thing as being too nice,” Luz insisted. “So? Common, what’s your poison?” she cocked her head, waiting and Amity pursed her lips, but the faux annoyance on her face didn’t faze Luz at all.
“Cappuccino.” She finally gave in with a wry smile and Luz grinned, turning back to the front as it became their turn.
“Can I get a medium cappuccino and a mocha latte with soy milk?” She asked and then handed over a couple of bills.
“Lactose intolerant?” Amity guessed and Luz nodded.
“Unfortunately,” she sighed dramatically as they moved to sit at a nearby table.
“Weren’t you getting your boss coffee too?” Amity frowned.
“I’ll get it before I leave. The only thing worse than showing up with no coffee is showing up with cold coffee.” She fiddled with the napkin sitting on the table in front of her, her pen flicking across the white surface. “You didn’t have to go to the terrible party the other night did you?”
“Thankfully no, I got to just sit and read my book…” She leaned forward on her arms.
“Oh, how far are you? Luz leaned forward eagerly and Amity smiled.
“Just chapter ten. I ended up getting sucked into a tv marathon the next day,” she admitted, shrugging. Because she couldn’t help but get caught up watching episode after episode of Inkmaster, especially when she was still trying to come up with an idea for what she wanted.
She was still just as clueless but she was trying.
“That’s about where I am. I’ve been really busy with work,” Luz grunted, now fully drawing something on the napkin. It didn’t take more than a moment to take the familiar shape of Azura’s staff, if a little rough.
“Oh yeah? What-” Before Amity could ask what she did, the number for their order was called and Luz jumped up.
“I’ll be right back, she grinned.
Amity fidgeted in her seat, thinking, what would her sister do?
An admittedly dangerous line of thinking most of the time. She glanced at Luz’s doodle and didn’t hesitate for more than a second before reaching for it.
“Here we are! One cappuccino.” Luz presented with a flourish before setting it in front of her.
“Thank you, Luz.” She smiled and Luz nodded, setting her own drink down as Amity blew on the hot drink before taking a tentative sip.
“It’s hot in here today,” Luz mumbled and popped open the buttons on her letterman, sliding it off.
Amity inhaled sharply, sucking hot coffee into her nose. She choked, coughing and hacking on the scalding liquid.
“Are you okay?!” Luz held up her hands and Amity nodded rapidly, trying to suck in air. Luz scrambled for the napkin dispenser, handing her some.
Amity wiped her face, getting her breath back. Her now burnt tongue ached in her mouth.
“Thanks,” she mumbled behind the napkin, eyes darting up, only slightly hidden behind her hair. She couldn’t help but ogle at the canvas of tattoos that covered Luz’s arms from beneath the edges of her sleeveless shirt down to her wrists. The makings of some sticking out from beneath the tops of her fingerless gloves. Her entire left arm was awash in brightly colored tattoos. A dragon wrapped around her bicep and wound its way down to her elbow, where a forest of leafless trees against a pink and blue watercolor sky made up the view. On the inside, well, Amity wasn’t really sure what that was. It looked like it was from some kind of cartoon or anime.
As colorful as her left arm was, her right was a mural of monochrome. Black and gray. A horned monster skull of some kind stared back from eyeless sockets on Luz’s forearm and above it, taking up her entire upper arm, a werewolf loomed, snarling teeth in front of a full moon. Geometric designs filled the spaces between them and vanished into some kind of symbols in circles beneath her gloves.
“Are you okay?” Luz repeated the question and Amity looked up, met her eyes, and nodded.
“Yeah, sorry, I…”
“No, don’t apologize, it’s okay. Was it really hot?” she frowned, looking concerned.
“Uh, a little,” she lied, eyes flickering back down to her arms. It didn’t take long for Luz to notice what she was looking at and her hands moved into her lap, forearms disappearing beneath the table, as though trying to hide them.
Was her staring making Luz uncomfortable?
“I like your tattoos,” she suddenly found herself saying and those dark brown eyes turned back up to catch hers. “They’re amazing.”
“Oh! Thanks.” And just like that, her smile returned and Luz set her hands back on the table. “I have these too,” she pulled off her gloves to show Amity the strange, runic symbols inked onto the back of her hands. Luz called them ‘glyphs’.
They spent the next five minutes as Luz twisted and turned, showing off the various tattoos she had, Amity sat, enthralled by the whole thing.
She was maybe a little too enthralled when Luz turned and sat up straight, pulling up her shirt to show off her sternum tattoo. A skull of an animal, maybe. It was black and gray with two fangs and large, barren eye sockets. One broken horn gave it an interesting, off-kilter asymmetry. Small, intricate latticework stretched out from the sides, following the natural curves of Luz’s chest.
“Oh… that’s… really cool,” her voice cracked, cheeks pinking.
“Thanks!” She pulled her shirt back down and Amity felt her greater brain function return. “Do you have any?” she asked and Amity shook her head, frowning.
“No, I’ve always been interested but while my parents were paying for college, it was out of the question.” She rolled her eyes and Luz nodded.
“They’re ‘those’ kind of parents, huh?” Luz asked, taking a sip of her coffee and Amity nodded, sighing.
“I assume you mean the ‘Tattoos are for criminals and degenerates’ kind?” Luz nodded. “Yes,” she sighed. “I’ve been thinking about it, and my brother and sister just gave me a gift certificate to get one but after building it up in my head for so long… now I’m almost… paralyzed by the options, ya know?” She looked up at Luz who nodded.
“It took me forever to figure out what I wanted for my first tattoo,” she admitted.
“Which one?” Amity’s eyes roamed Luz’s arms and she smiled, turning over her arm to show Amity her wrist.
“This one.” She pointed to a little line art silhouette of a pair of otters, holding hands with little bubbles around them.
“This tiny one?” Amity giggled and Luz nodded. “It’s cute. Why otters?”
“I like otters.” Luz shrugged but a grin wormed its way onto her face. “But then I also get to ask if people want to see my otter tattoos.”
Amity looked up at her and Luz grinned, stupidly wiggling her eyebrows.
“Eh, you get it?” she laughed and Amity leaned back in her chair groaning. “The point is, it doesn't have to be something big or meaningful or anything except something you like. That’s it.” Luz smiled easily.
“You make it sound easy…,” she asked and Luz shrugged.
“I mean, kinda. Just think, what’s something I like that would look cool on my arm, or wherever you want it, and then do it.”
“I’ll take your expert advice into consideration.” she smiled
“It’s what I do.” Luz winked and Amity’s stomach flipped. Then Luz’s phone started to ring and she glanced at it. “Oh, I gotta take this.” Amity nodded. “Hey boss lady… yeah… oh, yeah, sure I can come back, okay.” She hit end and shoved it back into her pocket. “I gotta get back to work…” She stood and Amity nodded, hoping the disappointment wasn’t as apparent on her face as it felt.
“Sorry if I kept you…” Amity started but Luz shook her head as she pulled her jacket back on, snapping the buttons closed.
“No, no, not at all, this was fun…” She smiled, almost shyly as she picked up her napkin with the doodle on it and took half a step from the table. “I better get going. Bye, Amity.” She turned and took a few steps before she paused, bouncing on the ball of her foot anxiously before spinning back around to face Amity, face set with determination. “Okay, if I’m totally misreading this then I’ll just say sorry now, but is there any way I could call you some time for… maybe dinner… like a date?”
“There’s only one way I can think of that happening,” Amity said.
“What?”
“By looking at that napkin, my numbers on it.” She smiled and Luz glanced down at it and sure enough, ten digits were scrawled beside her drawing. Her head shot back up, face pleasantly pink, and smiled.
“I’ll call you,” she said walking backward, nearly tripping over someone in the door as she did and Amity waved.
“I look forward to it.”
Once Luz had vanished from sight she squealed to herself, grinning. For once, channeling her sister had panned out!
Luz called her a few hours later and they were set to get sushi Sunday night.
That night, she laid in bed, running her fingers over the Hecate plushie Luz had given her, contemplating and re-contemplating her words.
“Anything I want…” She rubbed her thumb across the soft fabric before flipping over and grabbing her phone. The search bar was quickly filled and her eyes roamed over the options before one caught her eye and she smiled brightly to herself.
~ ~ ~
“Okay, you can do this,” Amity mumbled to herself as she walked up the storefront. The windows were all tinted too dark to see inside but the letters on the door in red said it all.
The Owl House: Tattoos and Piercings
She squared her shoulders and walked in, the door jingled overhead as she stepped in. She didn’t know what she had expected but the simple and clean room with a few worn couches and a coffee table piled high with tattoo magazines and a couple of binders wasn’t it.
“Welcome to The Owl House…” She turned to find a young man standing behind the counter, looking at his phone, burgundy eyes set on her. “Do you have an appointment?” he asked.
“No, I talked to… Eda? She said to come in to talk about what I wanted to get done.”
He nodded, turning to look at three little rooms behind him. “Hey Eda, your three pm consult is here!” he hollered and a moment later, one of the doors slammed open and a woman with the thickest head of gray hair Amity had ever seen came strutting out. Her sharp eyes landed on Amity and she grinned, a gold tooth peeking out from her lips. Her arms were covered in all manner of black and gray tattoos.
“You Amity?” she asked and Amity nodded. “Great, I’m Eda, this is my shop. So, what were ya thinking about getting needled into your skin?” she asked.
“I have a picture,” Amity pulled out her phone and scrolled through them before finding it and showing it to the older woman, who looked at it and hummed.
“Oh, yeah, easy. If you have time now, my apprentice ain't busy.” She turned back to her. Amity hesitated and Eda seemed to pick up on it. “She’ll be graduating from my apprenticeship next month, it just hasn’t been made official yet, don’t worry,” she assured. Amity bit her lip, was she really ready for this?
It didn’t take her more than a second to reaffirm that she was.
“Yeah, I have time now.” She nodded.
“Great, hey kid, you got a client!” Eda knocked on one of the closed doors and moved to the desk, looking over the blonde’s shoulder. “I got any appointments coming up, kid?”
“Nope, not till five.”
“Good, mama needs some caffeine,” she grunted. Standing back up straight and popped her back. The door Eda knocked on swung open.
“Hey… Amity?!” Luz blinked, surprised as she stepped out.
“Luz?”
“What are you doing here?” They asked at the same time, making Eda and Hunter look up at them.
“I work here,” Luz laughed. “What about you? Are you my client?” she cocked her head and Amity slowly nodded.
“Oh, is this the girl you met?” Eda’s voice turned sly and Luz pursed her lips at her boss.
“Come in here and we’ll talk.” She quickly led Amity into the room, shooting daggers at Eda with her eyes. The woman just grinned as the door shut with more force than necessary. “So…!” She spun around and held a hand out to the big, black reclining chair. “You didn’t know I worked here?” she asked, sitting on a stool as Amity made herself comfortable.
“I didn’t… but I guess I should have when you said you worked next door to the cafe…”
“Eh, there are lots of shops around here. Forget about that though! You finally decided on something?” she asked, leaning forward excitedly and Amity nodded, showing Luz the picture. “Ahh, the triple moons of Hecate…,” she hummed, examining the two crescent moons flanking a full one. Vines and geometric designs decorated the insides and the spaces around it.
“Of course you know what that is…” Amity mumbled and Luz grinned at her.
“This is really cool. What were you thinking size and placement-wise?” Luz asked and Amity’s mouth opened, but the words died there. Luz just cocked her head, waiting. Amity sighed silently to herself.
“I was thinking on my sternum, like where yours is…” She couldn’t bring herself to meet Luz’s eyes.
“Hm, yeah, this would make a sick sternum piece, I just need to warp it a little to lay flat against your…” She held her hands up to Amity’s chest and paused as realization settled on her. “Uh…”
“If this is weird I can go somewhere else, Luz…” She began and Luz shook her head jumping up from her stool.
“No, no, It’s not weird. I. Am. A. Professional,” she declared, hands on her hips. “Admittedly, I thought I’d buy you dinner first at least…,” she hummed. Amity didn’t miss the way her lips curled up at the edge and Luz just barely moved out of the way as Amity swatted at her. “I’m kidding! No, this is just work, Amity. If you’re not comfortable though, I understand.” Luz smiled easily at her.
It wasn’t ideal but she would have faith in Luz’s abilities. Like she said, it was her job.
“It's okay,” she said and Luz nodded, clapping her hands together.
“Cool, let’s do it! Take off your shirt,” she instructed and Amity flushed but did as instructed. “So, about from here to here?” Luz’s finger traced a line about five inches across just beneath her bust and she nodded. “Cool, can you send that photo to my email so I can make a stencil?” she looked up and Amity nodded, meanwhile, she breathed an internal sigh of relief that with where Amity wanted it, she could leave her bra on and they could both get through this.
The next ten minutes was actually rather relaxed as Luz made some slight adjustments to the piece she had chosen and made the stencil, meanwhile, Amity glanced around the room at the different art pieces hanging on the walls. Pencil sketches, ink drawings, and paintings. Most in bright colors.
“Are all these yours?” Amity asked and Luz glanced up from her table to see what she was looking at.
“Oh, yeah. Kinda always have to be drawing, painting, practicing,” she hummed, turning her attention back to making Amity’s stencil, tongue poking out the side of her mouth as her stylus flicked across the screen. Amity hummed, watching her work, wholly focussed on what she was doing.
A few minutes later she was wheeling around the room, setting things up.
“Stencil time.” She scooted herself over to Amity. “Just lay down so your skin’s flat and it goes on smooth.”
Amity did as instructed and tried not to flinch or anything else as Luz pressed the stencil against her chest. She pulled away the paper and inspected it before nodding to herself, satisfied.
“Give that a minute to dry and then we can get started.” She spun around and started pouring black ink into little cups.
Amity could feel her palms getting sweaty the nearer they came. After so long, it was finally happening.
“When was the last time you ate?” Luz suddenly asked, drawing Amity’s eyes.
“Oh, uh, a few hours,” she said and Luz hummed.
“Strawberry or grape?
“Uh, what?” Amity blinked and Luz grinned, digging for something in one of her drawers and holding up two suckers.
“Strawberry or grape? Your blood sugar falls sometimes and that’s usually why people pass out getting tattoos, rare as it is.”
Amity took the strawberry one and mumbled a thanks.
“Okay, ready?” Luz asked, the low buzzing of the machine filled the room and she nodded, plopping the sucker in her mouth. “Cool, just, lay still as you can and if you need a break, let me know.”
The first touch of the needle to her skin was not the electric pain that Amity had been led to believe it would be. It was like a sunburn being sharply poked. It didn’t feel great but it wasn’t really that bad either. Honestly, it was a welcome distraction from Luz’s hands on her skin.
“How ya doin?” Luz asked after about twenty minutes, just as she passed over a tender spot that made Amity’s jaw twitch.
“Okay… it’s not as bad as I thought,” she admitted.
“It never is.” Luz bobbed her head. “Actually, I think you’re doing awesome. Honestly? The sternum is not a fun spot and I wouldn’t recommend it for a first tattoo, but you’re doing great.”
That did boost Amity’s resolve which had begun to slip as the needle moved over the bottom of her sternum into the middle of her chest. She was right, this part was definitely not fun. She took a shaky breath and the machine pulled back.
“Ya still okay?” Luz turned worried eyes on her and Amity nodded. “Ya know, I’ve had people tap out of these before. Heck, I’ve had people jump out of the chair the second I touched them! I guess you’re just a lot tougher,” she said quietly as she went back to work.
Amity knew what Luz was trying to do. She appreciated it all the same though.
Another twenty minutes went by, Amity’s eyes were closed and her hands fisted at her sides when Luz pulled back and wiped it down.
“All done!” she declared and Amity’s eyes popped open.
“Really?”
“Uhuh, wanna have a look?” she gestured to the mirror hanging on the wall and Amity climbed up to her feet and turned to it.
“Oh,” she gasped, looking at the completed image. Ink followed her curves in sweeping, solid lines. The vines draped from them as though truly hung there and Amity loved everything about it. “It’s beautiful…”
“Awesome!” Luz smiled brightly as she threw away her gloves and stood. “She grabbed a piece of orange paper out of her desk and handed it to Amity. “These are aftercare instructions but I mean, you could also just text me and ask,” she chuckled as Amity carefully pulled her shirt back on
“Right.” Amity smiled up at her. “So, what do I owe you?”
“Oh, right, we didn’t talk about price… let’s say a hundred bucks.”
“That’s it?” Amity asked, surprised and Luz shrugged, crossing her arms.
“Maybe you’re getting a bit of a discount…,” she admitted and winked.
“You’re too nice.”
“No such thing as too nice, remember?” She smiled.
“What if I want to tip my artist?” she tilted her head and smiled slyly.
“Oh uh… well… Let’s just get you squared away!” Luz turned and hurried out of the room. Amity trailed behind her, smirking. The reception area was empty.
“So, you’ve still got a hundred left on this,” Luz told her as she handed her the rewritten certificate.
“I’ll save it and think about it.” She nodded.
“Well, you’re all done!” Luz grinned. “I’ll… see you tomorrow night?” she asked uncertainly and Amity, without thinking twice about it, leaned up on her toes over the counter and pressed a quick kiss to Luz’s cheek. The artist stared back at her, mouth ajar and eyes the size of dinner plates.
“See you tomorrow night.” She nodded before turning and leaving the shop.
Completely missing through the tinted glass as Luz jumped over the counter and hopped around the shop pumping her fists.