Nero once again found himself walking down the halls of Hexside after the lunch period was over, this time following behind Luz and her friends for the Human Appreciation Society. For some reason, he felt anticipation and nervousness bubbling inside of him in equal measure, and he couldn't explain why that was.
Maybe it was because he was skipping his next class to attend the meeting? Sure he often walked out of class growing up for the sake of doing some demon hunting, but he always returned before anyone knew he'd left campus. This was skipping out on an entire class period from start to finish.
Not even sure why I'm worrying so much about that, Nero sighed and pinched between his eyes, reminding himself that the twins offered to cover for him by way of Emira disguising herself as him for the time being thanks to a combination of Illusion Magic and her concealment stone. She'd skipped a few classes before, so skipping this one wasn't a big deal for her.
"You okay back there Nero?" Luz asked, looking back at him, but still walking alongside the others, "You're looking a bit… intense."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Nero immediately lied, but the expression on everyone's faces made it clear they weren't buying it.
"If you don't want to join, there's no shame in backing out," Gus said, sounding understanding, though Nero could hear a tinge of disappointment somewhere in there.
"No, it's not that. It's just, uh…" Nero scratched his temple with his right hand, trying to find the words when he couldn't even figure it out in his own head.
"Worried about skipping class?" Amity asked in an annoyed tone, holding her books close to her chest as usual. Her hair was still down, having never gotten her scrunchie back from her siblings. It seemed to bother her, but she looked to be adjusting. Although, Nero was pretty sure that had more to do with the occasional glances Luz sent her way, all of which were averted the moment Amity looked back.
"Not exactly sure if it's that either," Nero decided to ignore Luz and Amity's baffling inability to see the obvious for the time being and answered, "Though not gonna lie, it is bugging me." His reply caused everyone to chuckle for a bit, confusing him, "What's so funny?"
Willow struggled to stifle her giggles for a bit, "N-Nothing. Just that you kind of have this reputation as a "loner bad boy", so it's funny seeing you so nervous about breaking the rules."
"Hey, I break rules all the time!"
"Really? Name one." Nero opened his mouth to answer Amity's challenge before she added, "That the teachers know about."
He almost immediately clammed up, trying his damndest to think of one, but he couldn't come up with any. In all the time he'd attended Hexside, he actually never did anything to piss off the teachers or staff. Sure, he remembered how some of Eda's pranks she'd left behind interested him and were funny to look at, but he never actually did anything like that himself after the twins's antics turned him off to things like that. He hated all the rules and shit that ran the isles itself… but he stayed between the lines here.
"Huh…" Nero was starting to question a lot about himself, and was still asking them even as they stopped in front what he could only presume to be the door for the Human Appreciation Society's room. Before they could enter, Gus stopped in front of the door and held a hand out for them to wait.
"You might want to give me a minute. I need to tell everyone that we have a new member and also to give you space."
Nero nodded, "Thanks."
Honestly, the last thing he needed was Hexside treating him with its usual pedestal bullshit. He wanted to give this thing a shot, to understand why he felt so connected to the human realm, and he didn't want it ruined by way of him being seen as some idol to gawk at or butter up for easy favors.
Gus entered the room, leaving Nero outside with Amity, Luz, and Willow, all of whom he asked, "So what's this club like?"
"It's pretty welcoming," Luz answered.
"I don't really interact much with the members whenever I'm here, so I can't really say," Amity shrugged, "Pretty sure their president hates me." Her face slowly started to become melancholic, "Can't say I blame him if he does."
Confused, Nero raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to say before Willow stepped in and gently tapped her shoulder, "Amity, I know you messed up a lot. Mostly from firsthand experience," She gave a side glance to the floor in an awkward tone, Amity scratching the back of her neck in shame as she continued, "But trust me, you don't have anything to be sorry about here."
"Yeah, you can trust me on that too," Luz gave a reassuring smile that made Amity's eyes brighten ever so slightly, "Having had to interact with Mattholomule at every single one of these things, I can confirm that you never did anything to him. He's just a total jerk."
"Okay, I feel like I'm missing a lot of context," Nero rubbed at his chin.
"Long story. I'll just say there's a lot of stuff I did that I'm not proud of and leave it at that," Amity replied, rubbing at her arm and getting reassuring shoulder pats from Luz while Willow just stood back, arms crossed, but smiling. Still, there was a sadness in both her and Amity's eyes that made Nero wonder what they were talking about.
I know Amity said she and that Boscha girl were never really friends, but… It was pretty obvious that Boscha was a bully, and based on Willow's anger, she had some serious run-ins with her. If Amity was forced to be friends with that girl, did she take part in the bullying, or did she sit back and just let it happen? Neither one was good, and the look in Amity's eyes made it clear how much she hated herself.
Then again, it's not like I can really judge her for shit, can I? Nero sighed and scratched the back of his head. Sure, he didn't know any of this, but he hadn't really bothered to pay attention to anything outside his bubble of personal issues. In all the time he'd been here, he could've noticed something was wrong with Amity, but didn't. Same thing with the twins, where he noticed that they were going through similar shit to him, but never even tried to alleviate it. A lot of things, from the fiasco at the library to whatever Amity's bad history with Boscha was, probably never would've happened if he tried to be invested in other's well-being.
And amidst it all, he kept asking himself why this all sounded so familiar.
Gus opened the door, interrupting everyone's outer and inner going ons, "You guys can come on in now."
Nodding, Nero looked at the others, who all gave either thumbs up or nods of their own. With a deep breath, Nero entered the classroom and looked around, seeing a small group of students. Among them, he saw a pale, brown haired healing student with freckles on her nose, a blue-haired potion student with an eyeball for a face, and a goat-like, single-horned bard student with white fur and a single eye. At the front of the classroom was a short, beige skinned Construction Track student with a paper crown on his head that read "president"; and behind him was a large wooden chest. All of them looked his way and blinked in surprise, no one making any sudden moves, leaving Nero uncertain.
"Really Gus? Another one?" The crowned student, whom Nero assumed was Mattholomule, asked with obvious annoyance, "Between him and Blight, you might as well be turning the Human Appreciation Society into a "cool student" club."
Guess he doesn't like popular kids, Nero lightly glared at the little shit. Part of him was grateful that he wasn't getting any of the same obnoxious treatment as he always did. If only it wasn't coming from a total ass.
Though for some reason, he looked familiar, and Nero just couldn't figure out why.
Gus glared at Mattholomule and sneered, "Don't insult my friends, President. Besides, the rules of the Human Appreciation Society make it clear everyone's allowed to join no matter who they are. I should know. I wrote it."
"Well maybe I should change it?" Mattholomule smirked, "I'm president now. New leadership, new rules."
"Principal Bump's the one enforcing the rules, so go ahead and ask him if you think he'll listen."
"Well, I can tell him you're trying to overstep my authority. And last I checked, you're lucky he let you back into the Human Appreciation Society to begin with after that whole fiasco."
"Last I checked, he let me back in because I did my time in detention after he fixed it up, and because I was voted back in," Gus retorted, the rest of the Human Appreciation Society nodding and affirming him in their own ways, "You'd have to get the majority of the society to vote a person out if you don't want them around." He then looked over to the other members, "All in favor of Amity and Nero staying as honorary and/or official members, say aye!"
"AYE!" Everyone raised their hands and smiled, causing Mattholomule to huff. Nero, meanwhile, was too busy trying to figure out why the kid seemed so familiar-
-wait a Titan damned minute! Nero blinked and pictured him with a horn on the right side of his head. He walked up to the president, who backed up a little like he thought Nero was gonna hit him or something. Deciding to wonder on that later, Nero asked, "You're name's Matt, right?"
"Uh… y-yeah? M-Matt Fenris Tholomule, s-sir," Matt stammered, looking rather scared of the taller teen in a way that Nero didn't know what to make of.
"Hold up, your last name's been Tholomule this whole time!?" Gus asked in total shock.
"And your middle name's Fenris?" Luz asked, baffled by the name. Nero wasn't sure why though. It was honestly a pretty common middle and surname. So, he decided to focus on his follow up.
"And you wouldn't happen to have a brother named Steve, right?"
Matt's face immediately fell into a harsh frown, "Oh. You know him." He huffed and kicked the floor, "Yeah, he's my older half-brother."
"Who's Steve?" Luz, Willow, and Gus asked all at once, Nero turning his head to them.
"Member of the Emperor's Coven and a friend of my mom's, so I hung out with him a few times." He rubbed the back of his scalp and stared at the ceiling, "Shit, he used to babysit me a few times when I was a kid."
"Good for you. You spent more time with him than I did," Matt growled, finding the nearest wall more deserving of his attention than anyone else in the room.
Now that I think about it… Nero blinked, staring at the bratty society leader with just a bit of concern. He remembered from Steve's time babysitting him how he tended to bring up his younger brother a lot, though there was always this melancholic tone whenever he talked about him for too long. He also mentioned how hanging out with Nero was like "Getting to spend time with my kid brother", almost like he lamented not being able to do so himself for some reason.
Then again, with the Dictatorial Dickhead in charge, it wasn't too surprising that he didn't get a lot of free time. It was frankly kinda lucky that Mom's position netted her a decent amount of free time, and she always devoted a good amount of it towards him (even when he didn't want her too). Yet maybe that was only because Belos needed her to have that free time, since she was after Eda during a lot of it?
With that fucker, it was hard to tell if he just didn't care or actively had it out for you.
"Uh, Mattho-I mean, Matt, you there?" Nero blinked out of his train of thought at Gus's sudden question, looking between him and Matt, who looked more than a bit grouchy and out of it. With how he acted before, Nero would've chalked it up to him just being a prick, but it kinda reminded him of… well, himself. Or at least how he was when his mother used to be more smothering.
… okay, she still kinda was, and things were still a work in progress on both ends for them, but that was neither here nor there.
What was here though, was him getting the sense that this was for the opposite reason.
Before Nero could open his mouth to say something, Matt huffed and walked past them to stand behind the front table and address the rest of the Human Appreciation Society.
"Know what? Forget it, let's just get this over with. Nero take a seat with the others. Or don't, do whatever for all I care."
Looking between Luz, Amity, Willow, and Gus, all of whom were in varying states of confusion and concern, Nero sighed and walked on over to where the other society members were sitting. Upon taking his seat, Luz and Amity found a pair of seats further back in the classroom and whipped out a pair of notepads, no doubt to start their Good Witch Azura discussion. Gus and Willow joined right next to him not a moment later, the former giving him a thumbs up while Matt cleared his throat.
"Okay, so, since the Human Appreciation Society has a new member now, would said new member kindly introduce themselves with their full name? And will the other members just as kindly introduce themselves in return?" He asked, an obvious disdain in his voice that made Nero huff, though he still complied.
"Name's Nero. Full name's Nero Claudius Clawthorne," He answered, expecting the worst from the other members. To his surprise, everyone just casually greeted him, not a hint of ass kissing present. Hell, they didn't even laugh at his middle name the way the twins would've.
In fact, the only one to comment on that was Luz, "Still can't believe that's your actual middle name." She wasn't being admonishing in the least. Like with Matt's, she was just baffled, "Did Lilith read about Roman Emperors or something?"
"No, she actually…" He blinked, at first wondering what the hell a Roman was and figuring that it was something from Earth, "Hold the fucking crow phone," Nero muttered to himself and turned back and faced her after processing what she'd just said, "Earth has its own emperors?" Great, so even they got the same bullshit we have here. And apparently I'm named after one of those assholes!
Nero definitely had a few questions for his mother when he got back to the Owl House.
"I mean, from what Luz told me, they used to have emperors. Though there are still a couple sorta-emperors over there, just with the serial numbers filed off and much of their influence on the world heavily reduced," Amity explained, voiced refined and finger pointed upward like the teacher's pet she was rather proud to be, kinda like how Mom was just as unapologetic about being one.
"Huh, didn't know Earth had their own Belos," Gus hummed before looking to the floor, "Or I guess, Beloses?"Is there a plural for Belos?"
"Belosi?" Willow tried the made-up word, grimacing at how it sounded, "Is there a plural for Belos?"
"Titan, I hope not," Nero dragged his reptilian hand down his face. One Belos was bad enough for a lifetime.
"EHEM! Can we get back to introductions?" Matt glared at his audience, who all shared the same annoyed expression the others (sans Gus) started opening up.
"Nice to meet you Nero, I'm Bo," The Healing track student introduced herself, holding out her hand, which Nero took.
"I'm Gorty," The goat-like Bard student waved alongside the eyeball-headed Potion student, whom he introduced, "And this is Eileen."
"Hello!" Eileen greeted cheerfully, her voice sounding muffled, yet still understandable as she held out her hand.
"Uh, hi. It's nice to meet you guys too," Nero shook her hand awkwardly, finding himself growing a bit more comfortable with these people.
"So, why'd you want to join the Human Appreciation Society?" Bo asked, a friendly smile on her face as she talked to him like he was, well… just another student. It was a new feeling, and honestly kinda weird for him.
Weird, but nice.
"It kinda started back at the Conformatorium. Saw a bit of the human world through a portal and, well…" Nero shrugged, still unsure what to make of his feelings, "Something just clicked for me when I saw it."
"Wait, you got to see the human world!?" Gus gasped, light shimmering in his eyes.
"Only for about a minute. Didn't get to see much," Nero clarified, not wanting to get Gus's hopes up.
"So you got to see the human world, fight the Emperor with a human, and get away unscathed?" Gorty asked, awe in his voice, but much of it more directed towards Luz as he looked back to her, "Humans are hardcore."
Luz overheard and blushed a bit before playing into it and flexing her sleeved, skinny arm with a smirk, "Yeah, not gonna lie, we can be prettyhardcore when we want to be."
Nero chuckled at the display, hearing Willow and Gus do the same while the rest whispered about how cool their local human girl was. However, his smile faltered just a bit when he saw Amity blushing and happily staring at Luz's flexed arm like it was a slice of freshly made pizza… and yet Luz still didn't notice!
"How long before they figure it out?" Gus whispered into his ear. Evidently, Luz and Amity's obliviousness was starting to bug him too.
"I don't know," Nero whispered back.
"Should we tell them?" Bo asked, clearly having long since seen what the happy not-yet-a-couple didn't see. Nero shook his head, having made his own choice long ago.
"No, better to let them figure it out."
"Okay, but if we don't, the rest of the school just might," Gorty quietly pointed out, forming a spell circle with his horn that made it glow, levitating a nearby bag of spicy cockroaches to him. He grabbed and tore it open, holding it out to share with the rest of the group, Nero and Gus being the first to take a few.
"You're kidding, everyone knows?" Nero asked before chowing down on a roach. He knew how obvious it was since he spent a lot of time with Luz back at the Owl House, but he had no idea everyone else was aware already.
"Teachers, students, and other staff members," Eileen whispered as she held a roach up to eat, "There's a betting circle around when they'll finally get together, and another on who confesses first."
"From what I've heard, Edric and Emira put down the highest bet on Amity making the first move," Willow whispered in an unsure tone. Nero was pretty sure that Willow felt the Blight twins's purported faith in their younger sister was misplaced and they'd be losing a lot of Snails, just from her tone. And if Nero was being honest…
… yeah, no, the twins are losing that bet, Nero shook his head and gave an unsaid apology to Amity. Between the two lovebirds, Amity could be way more closed off while Luz wore her heart on her sleeve. Not literally like some Isles goers he'd seen, as he was pretty sure humans couldn't survive like that.
However, not a moment later, Luz and Amity took notice that they were being watched. Both of them turned bright red as Luz asked, "Uh, w-what are you guys looking at us for-"
Just then, Eileen's eyeball closed and turned into a large mouth with many rows of jagged fangs, growling as she threw the spicy roach into it, filling the room with aggressively loud chomping noises. Nero winced as bits of saliva drooled out from the maw, Willow seemed mildly amused, Gus was nonplussed and Gorty looked worried as he leaned a bit away from Eileen. Bo, meanwhile, was smiling almost affectionately as if she found it cute, her cheeks tinted a shade of red as Eileen's eyeball closed again and reverted back to normal.
Thus, Nero's suspicion that all school clubs had some form of romantic drama was confirmed.
Eileen's lack of eating manners did knock Luz and Amity out of their embarrassment. Amity looked pretty disgusted while Luz was all wide-eyed and blinking, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. It was almost like she'd never seen an eyeball turn into a… oh, right.
She probably hasn't, Nero realized as he grabbed another roach and ate it.
"Yeah, sure, human anatomy is fascinating and all that, now getting back on topic!" Matt clapped his hands in frustration and breathed, getting all their attention. "Gus!" He pointed to the former president, "Do you have anything new from the human world that you'd like to present?"
Despite a quick glare, Gus nodded and stood up to walk to the front desk, briefly looking back at everyone, Luz and Amity included, with two thumbs up. Nero returned the gesture and looked back to see the happy not-yet-a-couple do the same before pulling out a pair of notebooks as they began discussing their book thing.
Taking his sack, Gus approached the front desk as Matt begrudgingly stepped aside. With a confident smile, he emptied out its contents on the desk and declared, "Human Appreciation Society, I give you new wonders from the human realm!"
Everyone went "ooooh" and "aaaah" at the objects Gus had put on display. Nero already knew about the plants from this "Arklay Mountain", but the other stuff he'd never seen before.
The first item he took notice of was a small, empty plastic pill bottle whose label seemed highly damaged, and what little was legible read out "Aqua Cure". The most notable thing about it was the logo on the cap that looked like the top of an umbrella in a red and white pattern. As Willow picked it up to examine it, Nero couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling just from looking at the logo. He couldn't explain why, it was just a logo.
The second item didn't seem like anything special, just being a golden, hexagonal badge that looked like a small letter D inside a larger letter C. However, much like the umbrella logo, he couldn't help feel discomforted at the sight of it. He'd have to ask Luz if this symbol meant anything bad on Earth when she wasn't busy with Amity.
The third item, one that Gorty picked up and opened, was a poster that featured a brown haired human with a ponytail wearing pink robes that looked like they were designed for combat. He seemed to be in an over-the-top pose, posing for the camera with symbols around him that Nero could only assume was some kind of human language. In a way, it wasn't too dissimilar to the recruitment posters Mom did for the Emperor's Coven. If that was the case, then while he had zero interest in what was being sold, the human and the organization he was advertising must've been pretty tough. Besides, Nero knew better than to underestimate a guy in pink.
The fourth and final item, which Bo and Eileen examined, was a silver bangle bracelet with a large opening that resembled a V, and at the center was a red circle with a triangle, over which was another V. Nero wasn't sure if it was a common human fashion statement, but something felt special about this bracelet. With how the center-most V resembled the arrows of a clock, maybe it had some sort of connection to time? Did humans have their own magic that let them manipulate time?
Bangle of Time does have a nice ring to it, Nero mused and gave all the items another once over before picking up the golden badge, "What's this for? Reminds me of a coven badge the more I look at it."
Gus opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and hummed, thumb to his chin, "Y'know, I'm not sure. When I first got it back at the Owl House, I asked Eda, and she didn't have an answer. The most she could say was how she went to the human wold years ago, blacked out, and hacked that thing up when she came to."
Sounds like she went Owl Beast on Earth, Nero remembered how his aunt described turning into the Owl Beast and looked down at the badge again. If this thing was akin to a coven badge like he assumed, then it means Aunt Eda attacked some kind of human law enforcement organization… or they attacked her.
"And Luz didn't know anything about it either?" Nero asked, wondering if their local human had any idea who or what this badge belonged to as Gus shook his head.
"I asked Luz about it and even she doesn't know, and she can't really connect to any human networks right now to look anything up."
"Right," That's kind of an issue right now, Nero nodded, remembering some of the complaints Luz made in private when she was in a dour mood. Without the portal door, she couldn't access the human networks on her phone, though the issue was less about using its features and more about trying to get back in touch with her mom. From the way Luz talked about her, the two sounded very close. The way Luz became morose (despite her efforts to hide it) when the topic came up left a guilty feeling in Nero's guts, especially since he still had his own mother around to talk with.
All the more reason to build a new portal door as soon as we can, Nero thought about all the money they'd been making from bounty hunting missions. In addition to covering the houses expenses and taking care of Selki, they also needed to start buying building materials to begin construction on their own portal door. Right now, the problem was that none of them knew where to start right now. They had no idea as to what materials the portal door was made from, and Eda made it clear that she never bothered learning anything about the door or how it worked beyond the fact that it took her to the human realm. That little tidbit left him slapping his forehead silly.
Much as he enjoyed spending time with Aunt Eda, those moments made him realize that his mother had a few decent points about her.
"This is sooooo pretty!" Eileen held up the silver bangle and even tried it on, Bo happily taking a closer look.
"What kind of bracelet is it? Do human bracelets have special powers? This one looks like it does," Bo asked, mirroring Nero's own questions about it.
"Eh, I don't know. Let me ask the expert," Gus leaned over, mouth open to try and ask the local human for her expertise on the subject. Instead, he paused, seeing Luz and Amity still knee-deep in their discussion and now staring at a couple white boards, their backs turned to the Human Appreciation Society while Amity's foot tapped against the floor.
Where the fuck did they even get those!? Nero knew for a fact that those white boards weren't in the classroom beforehand, and he was almost positive that those two never left the classroom at all.
As he wondered on that, everyone else looked their way, Nero hearing something about Azura's battle against a vampire lord named Maxwell Dimitrescu and how the two "used to be a thing before she got sick of his bad boy vibes" or some shit like that. Honestly, aside from the white boards, he was more shocked by the writings and notes on one of the white boards featuring all the Glyphs and Glyph combos Luz had figured out so far. Not only that, but there were several red strings connecting those notes to the ones on the other white board that had their Good Witch Azura analysis… at least half of which was shipping related.
Either Luz and Amity were simultaneously doing research on Glyphs alongside analyzing that series they loved so much, they were trying to make connections between the two, or they thought that they could do both and were now getting everything all mixed up. Knowing how obsessive Luz and Amity could get, it was probably everything at once.
"Luz?" Nero called out, "Amity?"
No response, the two of them lost in their own little world.
"I'll get them," Willow shook her head with a smile and wove a spell that caused a plant by the windowsill to sprout into a large vine. It snaked its way over to the two and tapped both of them on the shoulder.
Luz and Amity quickly faced the group, the former blushing and rubbing the back of her neck, "Oh! Sorry guys, got caught up. Need anything?"
"Could you explain some of this stuff to us? I'm confused," Gorty held out the poster with the fighter in pink, looking at it with a squinted eye, likely in an effort to understand what it said.
"That's an advertisement for a martial arts school. I think Eda said she found it while she was in Japan," Luz clarified, tilting her head at the image, as if even she was perplexed by the guy's goofy poses.
"What's a Japan?" Bo asked, not seeming too miffed that her questions about the silver bangle were interrupted and happily going with the flow.
Luz smiled and happily answered, "It's an island country in the far east, and Earth's central hub of manga, anime, and kaiju!"
"And island? Like the Boiling Isles, but it isn't the corpse of God?" Eileen asked, eye wide at the very concept.
"Honestly, still kinda weirds me out that humans don't live on corpses," Willow admitted, humming to herself, "I mean, the concept of a giant landmass that isn't an ancient deity is pretty mind boggling."
"It's weird, but it's so very, very fascinating," Gus practically shook with excitement, leading Nero to assume all this was new to him too.
"To be fair, Luz told me that there are a lot of human mythologies where the Earth itself is made from the body of a then recently deceased deity," Amity helpfully added, once again entering "teacher's pet" mode.
"Yeah, there's things like Pan Gu from Chinese mythology, Cipactli from the Aztecs, Ymir of Norse fame, and Taimat from ancient Mesopotamia," Luz counted off a number of them on her fingers, "That last one's probably the oldest." She shrugged and continued, sounding almost lost in thought, "Honestly, I didn't think any of these could've been real, but after everything I've been through here, I've been thinking that a lot of these could actually be true. And I'm saying this as a Catholic!"
What's a Catholic? Nero wanted to ask, but figured he'd do that later, instead leaning forward, arms crossed and asking, "I'm more curious where and when you learned all this. Learn it on your phone before the portal door got destroyed?"
Luz proudly shook her head, "I actually learned it a few years ago at the Gravesfield library, uh, Gravesfield's my home town, by the by." She clarified and cleared her throat, "I was mostly looking up all this stuff to help with world building for a fanfic project I was working on. Still haven't finished it yet, but I learned a lot of useful stuff I wanted to use." Smiling, Luz shook with excitement before pointing to the floor, "For starters, with the Aztecs, blood sacrifices keep Cipactli from eating your feet!"
"That sounds so awesome!" Bo gasped, in awe of what even Nero thought was disturbing as shit, and he fought malicious demons for a living. Though Luz's knowledge on these human mythologies made him wonder something else.
Anything on Sparda? Nero also wanted to ask, the question almost making its way to his tongue, but it died just as he opened his mouth.
If Luz knew something about Sparda, she would've told him already.
"That sounds deeply disturbing," Apparently, Gorty agreed with Nero on that. The goat-headed student looked back at the poster he was still holding, "Anyway, back on this... martial arts school. It's like a Fight Coven, right? Where you learn a specific style of fighting?" Luz nodded as Gorty sighed, "You know, I kinda wanted to join a Fight Coven a few years back. Getting to learn all those moves seemed cool to me, but after a while… I didn't want to do it anymore."
"Why?" Nero asked, oddly curious as Gorty lowered the poster, almost seeming to look through it and stare at the floor.
"Because I didn't want to feel like I was contributing to all this… y'know, coven stuff."
"Wait, really?" Nero went wide-eyed, surprised to hear another Hexside student not be into the Coven bullshit like everyone else was.
Gorty nodded, "Honestly, I didn't think a whole lot on the Coven System growing up, but when I entered Hexside, I started noticing a lot of things I didn't like. I tried not to think too much about it, but…" He sighed, closing his one eye, "I think ignoring it just made it worse."
Nero wasn't sure what to say to that, going quiet for several seconds before finally finding something, "Me too, kid."
"Me three," Bo added, also surprising Nero, "My dads never really liked the Coven System in the first place. I grew up hearing all the bad stuff going on. They always protected me, but… well, let's just say I lost some aunts and uncles over the last couple years whenever they tried speaking out against the emperor." Her expression grew bitter, Eileen gently taking her hand and rubbing at it, which seemed to help her mood a little before she saw Nero staring at her and stammered, "Uh, d-don't worry! Your mom had nothing to do with any of them disappearing, if that helps!"
"It… honestly doesn't help," Nero sighed, not knowing what else to say, "I'm sorry that happened to you."
"It's cool. Not like you had anything to do with it," Bo replied, not knowing that was the problem.
Ever since the Petrification ceremony, feels like I've done fuck all to actually fight that masked bastard, Nero clenched his fist, still feeling a wave of fear move down his spine at the very thought of the emperor. Even after his first fight with him, it still didn't go away. He did have to focus on his family, yeah, but he also knew that one day, Belos would come for them just like he came for everyone else who was already going against him, and something told him that flipping off the statue of him whenever he walked by wouldn't cut it. Hell, the fact that people were already opposing him (and suffering for it) while he wasn't doing anything just made him feel worse.
Some rebel I'm turning out to be, He bitterly chuckled, remembering how Belos called him that at the palace when he was shadowing his mother. Back then, he wore the obvious insult with pride, but now it felt hollow. Fighting the emperor once and losing like a useless fucking deadweightwasn't enough.
He needed to do something more, otherwise more people were gonna die one by one, and then his family would be next on the chopping block.
"Hey, since you and Luz fought against the emperor, by any chance did you see what he's really like up close?" Gorty asked, poking at Nero's arm as he put the poster down. Nero would've found it annoying, but he was thankful, since it felt like he was starting to sink somewhere he couldn't get out without punching something into a crater.
"Yeah, what's he like under..." Gus gestured to his face and waved a hand around it, "All that?"
"Oh, well, we never really got a good look," Luz rubbed her chin in thought.
"I've heard some interesting rumors," Willow chimed in, loudly whispering, "Like, there's just a mirror underneath his mask. The real emperor is actually society itself."
Nero blinked at the ridiculous rumor, "No, that's definitely not it. I haven't gotten a good look either, but trust me, there's a person behind that mask and he's…" His eyes went wide for a split second, remembering when he was a child. His first encounter with that horrific beast, all green and skeletal, covered in eyes of pure blue, face glaring down at him in pure hatred. It was as if Nero's very existence repulsed him to no end. Shivering at the memory and how he just barely managed to escape when the beast attacked, Nero muttered, "A monster."
"Really? I've heard a few times that he's apparently so handsome, people don't pay attention to what he's saying when he tries to deliver a speech," Gus threw in his own theory, which Nero shook his head at. If nothing else, it was silly enough to help him forget, if briefly.
"Personally, I've heard that he's scarred from wild magic," Amity added, and honestly, Nero could believe wild magic was the reason Belos looked like that beneath the mask, even if he wasn't sure.
"I've heard that he isn't a witch or demon of the Isles at all," Bo got all their attention, "Before she disappeared, my great-aunt Lydia said that he was secretly a creature from another world, likely one of Hell's lower circles, and that he was planning to wipe out all life in the Circle of Limbo." She rolled her eyes, even with her expression sad at the memory, "I didn't really believe it at time, and I honestly still don't think that's it either. It just seems way too far-fetched for me."
"Yeah, seems pretty out there to me too," Nero nodded. It was obvious that the emperor couldn't give a shit about the people of the Boiling Isles if he tried, but Nero just couldn't see what Belos would have to gain from wiping out his own people. Scum like him always wanted something – usually more power – and killing everything would leave him with nothing.
"I know what's behind his mask," Eileen raised her hand with a tone so knowing it was downright believable, making everyone turn her way.
"What?" Luz asked, leaning in as everyone else did. All the while, Eileen's eyelid lowered in a way that could only be described as pure, proud smugness.
"A bitch."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"PFFFFFTHAHAHAHAHA!"
Nero clutched his stomach and fell to the floor, laughing his his ass off. Even amidst his laughter, he could hear everyone else following suit, a symphony of bodies collapsing to the floor and kicking their feet into the air.
"H-Haha! G-Good one Eileen! Funniest shit I've heard all da-heh-haHAHA!" Nero failed to calm down and just went right back to laughing like crazy.
"Y-Yeah! Good one babe!" Bo managed to get out before she started laughing again. Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus, and Gorty couldn't even talk, all of them still busting a gut at Eileen's statement. Even Eileen herself was slowly losing it to the room's wavelength and collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles.
But amidst it all, as Nero finally managed to slowly calm down, he noticed an absence among all the laughter. Now that he thought of it, it felt like there had been an absence since all the discussion about human stuff started. And the sound of the classroom door opening and closing in a loud slam confirmed that absence for him.
Forgot Matt was even here, Nero slowly stood up, looking around to see that everyone was too caught up in their laughter to even notice something amiss. Curious where the society president was going, he got to his feet and made his way for the door, opening it to find Matt leaning against the wall just next to it. His face looked to be in a near permanent grimace with an almost miserable look in his eyes.
"What do you want?" Matt grumbled, not even looking at him. Not that Nero expected him to.
"Seemed weird that you weren't joining in. Aren't you the president of this thing?" Nero stepped outside and closed the door, leaning against the wall right beside Matt, who refused to look at him.
"Yeah?" Matt finally looked up at him in a seething glare, "And as president, I can do whatever I want. Why do you care, Mister Popular?"
"Kid, you're being less social than me right now. Trust me, as a professional, habitual loner, that's a really bad sign," Nero sighed and bumped his head against the wall. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. This felt like something Luz and her friends were much more qualified for. Part of him wanted to just go back into the room, grab Luz, have her talk to Matt, and sit things out, but…
Well, in for a Snail…
"Why do you keep calling me kid? You called Gorty that too, and I'm pretty sure we're only two or three years younger than you!" Matt said, sounding exasperated. If nothing else, Nero was glad he was at least willing to talk.
"Aren't you and Gus, like, twelve or something?"
"I'm thirteen!"
"And I'm seventeen. How am I wrong to say you're a kid?"
"Doesn't explain everyone else."
Nero shrugged, "Like I said, force of habit. Also kinda hard not to when you're taller than most of your classmates."
"Sounds like the popular ones have all kinds of habits they just can't help," Matt muttered looking down, clearly trying to go unheard.
"I heard that!" Nero made it equally clear that it didn't work, "So, between "popular" students like me and Amity, the hell's your deal?"
"None of your business! Just go back in with the rest of this stupid club and its stupid members!"
"Well, Senior El Presidente," Nero drawled, throwing in a little bit of that Spanish language Luz frequently spoke with, "I would love nothing morethan to leave you to your bitching and moaning, but unfortunately for you, I just joined this "stupid" club and am now one of its "stupid" members." He bent down slightly and glared at the now trembling club president, "And if I'm gonna be part of it, then I don't want to put up with your bullshit. So make it easier for both of us and spill it. What the fuck is your deal?"
For a few seconds more, Matt kept trembling in fear, but soon ceased and glared up at Nero, snarling, "You want to know what my deal is? My deal, is that I want power. I want drama! But I don't have either of those things! I'm the president, but no one listens to me because I'm a proven fraud who just wants the limelight. Ever since he came back, everyone still acts like Gus is the president, and it's even worse with that human coming over."
He pointed to himself with his thumb, "My deal is that I'm a jerk, plain and simple. I don't need or want some stuck up coven kid or rich girl swooping in taking away all the attention, but I don't have a say in that. So go back inside and enjoy your little kiddie kindness parade. It's what you all deserve anyway."
"… yeah, no. Not buying it."
"Wha-not buying it!?"
"For starters, you keep mentioning "popular" students like they killed your pet. Then there's how you reacted when I brought up your brother-"
"Leave Steve out of this," Matt sneered, being given pause when Nero glared down at him.
"Why? Think he'd want to know his kid brother's being a prick?" Nero asked, hoping for a rise to get the answers he was looking for.
"Tch. Doubt he'd actually care," Matt mumbled just loud enough for Nero to hear, leaving the older teen to sigh.
"Trust me, he would," Nero caught his attention and continued, "He talks about you, ya know? And… he does care about you. Wants to spend more time with you too." Matt didn't seem to believe him, so Nero shifted gears, "Haven't you tried talking to him?"
"Yeah right. He's never around," Matt groaned, finding the ceiling easier to glare at.
"I figured. You can thank the Emperor's Coven for that bullshit," The nod Nero received in response at least made it clear Matt agreed on that much.
"Whatever, like I even need him."
"Sounds to me like you do," And now Matt was glaring at him again. Once more, Nero glared in return, and he backed down. Maybe it was the recent talks with Luz's friends about Boscha earlier today, but between that, Matt's derogatory statements toward him and Amity due to them being higher in the school's so-called hierarchy, and the fearful reactions Matt gave him throughout this whole time, Nero was starting to get some ideas.
"So…" Matt slowly began, tearing Nero away from his musings, "How's my brother doing anyway?" His expression became bitter, "Considering that you actually get to see him more than me."
Yeah, I picked up on the whole jealousy thing already, little brat, "Last I saw, he's doing pretty good. Granted, haven't seen him since my mom ditched the coven, but he's been fairly popular there. One of their best even though he's just a scout," Nero shrugged, not wanting to mention how last he saw, Steve also seemed to be developing doubts in the system. On the off chance there were any prying eyes or coven loyalists lurking nearby, he didn't want to say or do anything that'd put him at risk.
He did, however, note that Matt's face grew ever so slightly more bitter, "Go figure. Steven Tholomule: Golden boy once again. First at Glandus and now in the Emperor's Coven. Why can't he just suck at something for once!?"
The way Matt mentioned Glandus high made Nero raise an eyebrow, "Steve went to Glandus? Didn't know that."
Matt nodded, "Top of his class and everything. All the students there respected him, but not-" He shook his head, "Whatever man! Can we shut up about my brother already? The kids and teachers at Glandus compared me enough to him already, I don't need that crap following me here."
And I have the answer I was looking for, Nero narrowed his eyes, recalling everything he'd heard about Glandus High.
From everything his mom and the Blight twins told him, not to mention all those Glandus kids that got invited to the latter's parties, the place was all about survival of the fittest, the most powerful students bossing around anyone they deemed inferior while the teachers sat back and allowed it to happen. Hexside had its fair share of problems, but even at its worst, it may as well have been a peaceful sanctuary compared to Glandus at its best. But Steve didn't strike him as a Glandus graduate, unless he did a lot of maturing somewhere after leaving. Still, Matt didn't seem like much, and if he attended Glandus High before transferring here…
That explains a lot, Nero sighed and tried to shift gears, "Look, Matt, I don't know if you've noticed, but Hexside sure as fuck doesn't work like Glandus does."
"Gee, I hadn't noticed."
"And why do you think that is?" Nero's tone grew increasingly annoyed.
"Because as far as they care, I'm not strong enough to deserve respect," Matt huffed the statement out like it was a point of fact.
"If this whole conversation's taught me anything, it's because you're a prick," Nero grunted and glared, earning a glare in kind.
"Of course I'm a prick! That's how things work! You step over people and they fall in line! That's how people like you, my brother, and the Blight girl got where you are!"
"You seriously think that?"
"I know that!"
"Then how come Gus is running the show and you're not, President?" Matt prepared a retort, only to find that he couldn't get a word in. Silence dominated the hallway as Nero shrugged and continued, "I may not have known him for long, but from the looks of it, people prefer Gus to you because he isn't a jerk to them. Same deal with Luz."
"Tch, more like they like her because she's an interesting commodity," Matt grunted and crossed his arms, "She's the only human on the isles, so of course the Human Appreciation Society would like her. And she gets to validate all of Gus's stupid human stuff too."
Alright, let's try that. "Sounds like you're just as pissed Gus has more to give to this place than you do, Mister Proven Fraud," Nero pointed out, needling to see if he could figure anything else out.
"Hey, I have plenty to give!" Matt retorted in anger as Nero snorted.
"Okay, so where is it?"
"In a wooden chest in the room. I got it all from a Trash Slug on the beach," Matt sounded almost proud of that.
"Huh, was wondering on that," Nero muttered in thought, tapping his chin before facing Matt again, "So why don't you do your job and show everyone else?"
"What part of "proven fraud" did you not understand?" Matt asked in anger while Nero rolled his eyes.
"Then we'll just get Luz to verify it. That's at least part of why she's here."
"Weren't you listening? She's only here to do that for Gus. Anything I show, she'll just discredit."
"… okay, tell you what," Nero pinched between his eyes, getting sick of this brat, "Let's make a deal." He formed a spell circle with his left hand and stuck it through to create an Everlasting Oath, "You'll show off the stuff you brought to this thing, and if Luz ends up discrediting most of it, I'll leave the Human Appreciation Society and never come back. If you're right, then that's one less "popular" kid you have to put up with."
Matt took a step back, staring at Nero's outstretched hand in shock. He was at a complete loss for words before finally stuttering, "A-And if she doesn't?"
"And here I thought you were sure that she would," Nero let himself smirk a bit at Matt's indignation before shrugging, "If I win, nothing really happens. The Human Appreciation Society just continues as normal. Sounds like you got nothing to lose and everything to gain here."
Well, that wasn't quite the case, since there was something Nero was hoping to get out of this. Namely, Matt being less of a complete ass.
Nero didn't feel like he was getting anywhere with this brat. He wasn't like his human roommate, who could get people to open up beyond their worst aspects as easily as breathing. His entire attempt just made him wish all the more that she was handling this and not him. He had no desire to play nice with Matt anymore, but he got the feeling that getting aggressive with him would just prove his point. So, he needed a different approach.
And that approach was… get Matt into a situation where he'd have interact with everyone on their level. He wanted power and drama? Then he'd have to get it by playing things the way Gus and Luz did. Maybe Matt would enjoy it enough that he'd cease being a such a standoffish prick and stop caring about those things altogether.
Nero doubted it, but short of punching him in the face, this was the only other thing he could think of to help with his issues. After all, he learned to enjoy the Blight twins's company and better understand them, so perhaps Matt just needed to learn via the same method of forced interaction.
"I…" Matt looked between Nero's face and outstretched hand and attempted a smug smirk, "I accept." He shook the hand, sealing the Everlasting Oath before the glow faded and he walked for the door, "Now, let's get this over with, soon to be former member."
Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Nero followed back inside, where the other members of the Human Appreciation Society were still inspecting and marveling over everything Gus brought to the table, with Luz taking the time to explain them in further detail while Amity was having an awkward conversation with Willow. Nero couldn't tell what they were saying, but his eyes soon fell on Gus, who was sitting ramrod straight in his seat with a nervous look on his face.
"Ahem! Human Appreciation Society," Matt announced as he took to the front desk, "Take your seats. I have something important to showcase to you all."
Despite some hesitation, everyone else sat down, Nero taking his spot next to Gus, who whispered to him, "Dude, what were you thinking?"
"You overheard?" Nero whispered back, surprised. He expected Luz to have overheard or eavesdropped in on the conversation (they certainly weren't quiet), but Gus threw him for a loop.
Gus nodded as Matt used his Construction magic to lift the wooden chest to the table, "You do know that if he brought more fakes, that's game over for you, right?"
"Honestly?" Nero shrugged casually as Matt made his declarations of having "authentic" human artifacts this time, "I'm not all that worried." Matt did say that he got this stuff from a Trash Slug, and that's where Aunt Eda used to a good chunk of her human shit. Odds are high that it's legit.
"And if Luz says they're not real?" Gus asked, wincing as Matt struggled to open the chest with his bare hands.
"Why wouldn't she?"
"Uh, because it's Matt? Because there's a high chance that they're fake? And because even if they're somehow not, he's a total jerk?" Nero said nothing in response to Gus, just watching as Matt continued to struggle. He contemplated if he should step in and help open it. After watching him struggle for a solid minute, everyone else's faces shifting from annoyed to pity to even some measures of sympathy despite Matt being… well, Matt. With a sigh, Nero decided something had to be done.
"Gus, you know her. You really think Luz would do that?" Nero asked as he stood up to help Matt open it, not giving Gus a chance to respond. He didn't have any real faith in the club's prick of a president, even if he was highly certain that the "artifacts" in question were real this time.
But he had complete faith in Luz.
"Okay Pres, step aside," Nero grabbed Matt by the hood and put him down just behind him. Holding the wooden crate down at the side with one hand, he grabbed the lid with the other and casually tore it off the hinges, revealing the contents inside as everyone gathered around.
Among the various human wares, he saw a set of old, rustic armor with a belt that had a bird emblem on its belt, a black DVD case, a surprisingly intact figurine of what looked like a blue-haired cat lady wearing what could only be described as white straps glued to the intimate areas and literally nothing else, a large yellow head that had a silver bolt at the top and a blank, open mouthed smile, and a shimmering locket of pure silver with a rose design that caught Nero's eye the most.
"Whoa! That looks like armor from the human Savage Ages! I read about this stuff in a few books my sister lent me," Gorty picked up the helmet and put it on, surprisingly managing to fit his horn.
"Wait, what?" Matt's question was cut off by Luz, who took a closer look at the helmet Gorty wore.
"Actually, we called it the Middle Ages. I don't know too much about it, but that definitely looks like armor from back then. I've seen replicas in museums back on Earth, but it's weird seeing actual, authentic medieval armor like this."
"Cool!" Gorty closed the helmets mask and started walking around with it, Luz joining him and answering whatever questions he had. Meanwhile, Amity picked up the cat woman figurine with slight recognition while Bo and Eileen picked up the DVD case and opened it.
"Looks like these are all by the same human," Eileen said while Bo took one of the damaged CDs out and turned to Matt.
"Any idea who this is?" Bo asked, Nero walking over to get a better look, seeing a man with long flowing pink hair, sunglasses atop his head, a purple fur coat, and a star beneath his right eye and on one of his black polished nails. He was doing a rather flamboyant pose and winking to the camera, the word "Sergei" hanging above him.
"Uh…" Matt was still too baffled, likely from his showcase being proven thus far as legit. Eyes darting to Luz, he stammered, "Huma-uh, I mean, Luz. Could you maybe, uh, tell us what this is?"
Luz stopped chatting with Gorty about the human Middle Ages and looked over, "Oh! I know that guy. He's a pretty popular idol singer back on Earth." She shrugged, "Never really found his music all that interesting though, but that's just me."
"Too bad it's damaged," Amity checked out the CD the others were holding before looking down at the figurine in her hands, "I would've loved to hear more Earth music like those Felicia soundtracks you showed me."
"Is that who the figure's supposed to be?" Nero asked, his bet with Matt forgotten for the moment.
Luz stepped in and looked at the figure alongside Amity, "Yup! She was a pretty huge singer back in the 90s. Led a musical group and everything. My parents were pretty big fans of hers, so I grew up with a lot of her soundtracks." She looked away, blushing slightly, "Also, I… may have realized a few things about myself thanks to her."
Nero wasn't sure what Luz meant by that.
"Why's she a cat though?" Gus asked, now wearing the yellow, smiling head.
"Yeah, I'm wondering that too," Nero admitted, scratching his head, "Because I'm pretty sure humans don't have anything cats have."
"I mean, maybe it's just a costume for drawing a crowd?" Matt suggested, voice rising as he sounded more invested, "Humans could just be really interested in cat women for some reason."
Nero skeptically shook his head, "Matt, there's no way that's-"
"No, he's actually right on the money."
"Eh?" Nero and Matt simultaneously gawked at Luz's answer, everyone else nodding along (or in Gus and Gorty's cases, bobbing their masks).
"Yeah, we learned a while back that humans are VERY obsessed with cats," Bo happily pointed out, "Kind of like how we have a bunch of cat-themed covens."
"A pretty big chunk of their internet is dedicated to cat-related things," Eileen added.
"You would not believe the amount of stuff Gus showed me about Cat Cafes over a year ago. I honestly didn't think they were real until Luz confirmed they exist," Willow shook her head, smiling.
"I saw those too and couldn't believe my eyes. They're just so cute!" Amity gushed, hands to her face to muffle her squeeing. Of course, she realized the stares she was garnering and turned red, immediately trying to recompose herself, "I-I mean, I'm glad that humans take joy in such things and greatly respect them for it, even if I do not share their extreme opinions on the undeniable, objective, and beyond factual cuteness of cats."
… ooookay. Don't think I've ever seen Amity do that before. It's actually kind of- Nero tried his best not to start snickering at Amity's attempt to save face, only to fail as one by one, everyone started doing just that. The youngest Blight began glaring with puffed cheeks, only to stop when Willow put a hand to her shoulder.
"Girl, you know you don't have to hide yourself like that, right?" The Plant Witch asked, Amity blushing once more and rubbing at the back of her neck, the smile making it clear she was touched by her words.
Still don't see the appeal with this whole cat thing, but sure, Nero shrugged. He'd never really been much of an animal person in general. Sure, he liked birds such as his mother and aunt's Palismen, but even then, they weren't really his thing. Even now, he really couldn't think of any type of animal that truly spoke to him. For some reason, that bugged the hell out of him, but he couldn't explain why.
Out the corner of his eye, however, he did see a small light slowly start to enter Matt's eyes as he asked another question, "So, uh, aside from cats, is there anything else humans find interesting?"
"Lots of things!" Gorty jumped in, the rest of the Human Appreciation Society – and Luz and Amity and Willow – seeming taken aback by Matt's sudden interest. "For starters, most humans don't live on small islands or Titans like we do, but giant landmasses called Continents, which all have their own histories and cultures that-"
Within seconds of Gorty engaging Matt's question with a long recount of everything he'd learned about humans, everyone else quickly got over their surprise and just as much started engaging with him. They talked about everything they knew about humans, their history, their hobbies, and their commodities, with Luz eventually stepping in to help clarify a few details here and there. With everyone now talking, Nero found himself easily stepping into the conversation as well, wanting to know as much as he could and asking whatever questions popped into his head about Earth and its people. He tried to pay attention to everything said and asked, both by him and others, and while nothing on Sparda came up, that was honestly in the back of his mind right now.
He just couldn't stop smiling amidst all this talking about humans.
And from out the corner of his eye, he could see Matt Tholomule slowly engaging more and more with a smile of his own that wasn't the least bit smug or sardonic. He was asking his own questions about humans – quite a few about how they made their houses and buildings compared to those of the Boiling Isles – and coming to his own observations that he shared.
More than that, however, was how he went on about this with barely a hint of his previous attitude. Oh it cropped up a couple times, but it looked like he was enjoying himself too much to keep it up, and it lessened the longer things went on.
At the same time, Matt seemed to be actively avoiding talking with Gus, content to talk with everyone else. Nero saw that this was mutual, as Gus (still wearing the novelty mask) just as much avoided talking with him, and they both seemed content with talking around rather than with each other. While Nero wasn't sure what their deal was beyond Matt's petty jealousy, he wasn't sure if he could do anything about it short of locking them in a room until they sorted everything out which… yeah, he wasn't gonna do that.
Unless he needed to, obviously. But this felt like something they needed to sort out. It felt like dumb luck that what Nero did was working, and the last thing he needed was to push said luck and ruin his newly budding friendships right when they started.
Before long, the bell screamed out for the final time, signaling that classes were over and it was time to head home. Nero felt his smile falter as he filled with disappointment. He didn't know if it was the company or that the odd connection he felt to Earth was being satisfied, but he was having a lot of fun. It was damn near as much of a joy as demon hunting and kicking ass, if he was being honest with himself.
And now it was over.
"Drat! I better get going. My dads worry easily," Bo quickly made her way to the door before going "Oop! Almost forgot!" and ran back to Eileen, who closed her eye as Bo kissed the side of her head, "See you tomorrow Leeny!"
"Bye Bo!" Eileen happily waved, watching her girlfriend leave before casually walking out the door herself, "I better get going too. Have to stay late to help tutor one of my classmates."
Gorty followed not long after she was gone, pointing to the knights helm still on his head, "Hey, can I keep this?"
"Uh, s-sure, go right ahead," Matt uneasily answered, causing Gorty to fist pump the air as he ran out, leaving Nero and his friends alone with Matt. The Human Appreciation Society president faced them, looking even more awkward than Nero felt before managing, "So, that was… not bad."
"Yeah, I had a lot of fun too," Nero said, regaining a bit of his smile, at the very least knowing there would be a next time.
"So, Pres, sounds like you're cool with Nero being a full-time member, right?" Gus asked, having taken off his novelty mask. The question got a surprised look from Matt as he looked down at his wrist. From the looks of it, he'd gotten so into the discussions about humans that he completely forgot about his and Nero's deal. As if on cue, their wrists started glowing and quickly faded, signifying that the Everlasting Oath had been completed.
"Yeah, sure. He can stay. I guess your new friend isn't bad. For some popular asshole, of course," His smile regained some of his old smugness as he stretched and headed for the door, "Welp! I'm heading home. If you want to take anything I brought home, feel free." He rolled his eyes, though the light in them seemed almost endearing, "Not like a really care or anything."
With that as his final word, he exited the room, leaving the five of them by themselves before Nero felt a stinging sensation in his arm. Wincing in pain, he looked down and saw Amity, fist held up with an angry expression.
"Really Nero? You did an Everlasting Oath with Matt?" She asked as Nero blanched. Leave it to Amity to notice the tiny details.
"Hey, it was all I could think of to get him to drop the attitude," Nero held his hands up in surrender, "Also, I was pissed."
"Still, you really shouldn't have done that," Amity glared, but there was something in her eyes he couldn't make out. There was an anger, but it didn't feel directed at him. At least, not entirely.
"Wait, you made a bet with Matt?" Luz asked, jumping in front of Nero. Unlike Amity, she didn't sound mad or bitter, just curious, "What and why?"
"Something he really shouldn't have. Honestly, kinda just feels like luck that he won," Gus added, the novelty hat under his right arm.
"Fair enough," Nero stretched, willing to admit that it probably wasn't one of his best ideas. Then again, he wasn't an ideas person to begin with, "I'll explain it on the way home."
Luz nodded and pointed to the chest Matt brought, "So, are we gonna take anything home with us? He said he was cool with it."
"More like he doesn't care," Amity shrugged, still holding the figurine, "I think I'll take this. Like I said, really enjoyed the Felicia music you showed me, so might as well have the collectibles too."
"I'm keeping this!" Gus put the mask back on, clearly enjoying having another cool thing from Earth. At least Nero assumed he collected these things. If he was the previous president, odds were pretty high.
Willow picked up the DVD case Bo and Eileen left behind, "I think I'll take this home with me. I've actually read a few books from the library about CD repair, so maybe I can use them for a workout mix?" She faced Nero and Luz, "You two want anything?"
"I'm good," Luz shook her head, looking down sadly, "Honestly, I'd rather avoid filling my room with too much stuff from Earth." Nero wanted to ask what was wrong, but Luz very quickly smiled and looked to him, "Anything you want to bring home?"
Nero blinked at the sudden shift, opening and closing his mouth as he wanted to say something, but couldn't. It was clear as day that Luz was homesick, and with the portal door gone, there wasn't anything they could do about that right now. He wanted to ask if she was okay or tell her not to worry, that they'd find a way to get her home, yet current company held his tongue. Airing her problems in front of others like this would probably do more to scare her off opening up about them. Hell, he especially didn't want to force out Luz's issues in front of Amity and end up hurting both of them.
Besides, with everything else that happened today, he wanted things to end with as little drama as possible. However, he made a mental note to at least try talking about it with her privately tomorrow. Even if he didn't have any answers right now, he wanted to at least help figure something out.
Titan, I suck at this shit… He looked away, glowering for a brief moment before walking up to the open chest, "There might be something I'd like to bring with me. You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up." His friends nodded and all left in a group as he stayed to peer into the chest, a silver shine flickering within, "There it is."
Nero once again stared at the rose design of the silver locket, this time picking it up. He held it by the chain and brought it closer to his eyes, examining every detail to get a clue on why this thing felt like it was calling out to him.
Like it wanted him to understand something.
Taking the locket itself into his hands, he opened it, eyes briefly going wide at the images within, and the two humans in them.
To the left was the image of a man with slicked-back white hair and bright blue eyes, one of which was hidden behind a monocle. He seemed to be wearing a fancy purple coat with a white scarf and a red gem wrapped around his neck. To the right, however, was a pretty woman with long, wavy blonde hair and gray eyes. She wore an elegant black dress with a red, seemingly silk shawl draped over it, giving her – and the man at her side – a rather noble appearance. Both of them held smiles and gazes that showed how content they were with each other.
Nero knew how lockets were designed, with the two images inside facing each other when closed, and yet with it opened now, with the two humans looking at him, he felt…
"Why do they feel familiar?" Nero asked aloud, rubbing a thumb against one of the pictures. He didn't know how to describe this weird connection other than that it felt as strong as what he'd been feeling when looking at the human world for the first time. Walking up to the window, he stared at his reflection in it before looking down at the locket again, closing it up and putting it on.
With the locket now dangling around his neck, he touched the rose emblem on it, briefly smiling at the unknown warmth it seemed to fill him with.
"Nero!"
Hearing his name, Nero looked down and saw Luz, Amity, Gus, Willow, and even Edric and Emira all waving down at him from the ground below. His smile still bright, he waved back from the second floor of Hexside and was just about to join them, until…
What the- Nero blinked, believing himself to be seeing things, but it looked like there were two other people just behind his friends; a man and woman, the former with an arm wrapped around the latter's shoulder in a tender embrace.
Two people who were looking up with love and care in their eyes, smiling and waving at him.
Two people who looked exactly like the images of the man and woman in his new locket.
Nero blinked several more times trying to make sure it wasn't a trick of the eyes, even rubbing his eyes and blinking again.
They were still there behind his increasingly confused friends.
Opening the window, Nero stuck his head out, pointing as he asked, "Hey, guys, who're-"
Nero froze, seeing that the man and woman were gone. His friends all looked to where he was pointing behind them, turning back when they saw nothing.
"Nero, are you alright?" Luz asked. Nero could only rub the back of his head and wonder what he just saw.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess it's just been a long day." Seriously, today lasted way longer than it should've. Where the fuck did all that time go?
"I hear that, Claw Boy!" Edric called out, "How about you come down and we can all head home?" Liking the sound of that plan, Nero nodded and jumped down from the window, quickly joining everyone as he noticed his backpack in Edric's hands, which the Blight held up, "Stopped by your locker and got your things for you."
"Thanks. Knew I was forgetting something," Nero took the backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
"What are friends for?" Emira patted Nero's shoulder, drawing another smile out of him as they all made their way home. All the while, however, Nero's thoughts kept going back to the two humans he saw just behind his friends. As they walked, he opened the locket and looked at them in picture form, wondering just who they could've been.
"Who are they?" Nero looked to see Luz peering from his side, staring at the images in the locket. After returning his gaze to them, Nero tried to articulate the things he felt – that sense of familiarity – from just looking at the two, but struggled to find the right words. He thought and thought and thought some more, until finally, he settled on the one thing he could think to say.
"I wish I knew."