Storm's Hand (The Owl House AU)

It was a special day at Hexside. There would be no classes for the day because the students were about to enter a new chapter in their lives. The students had reached an age where they would get their palismen. Whether they were excited to get a new friend, a pet, or a tool was up to them. The students gathered at Hexside's Grudgby field, standing before a large, nestlike pen. Among those students were Luz, Willow, Gus, Boscha, Viney, Jerbo, and more. But... someone was missing.

"Hey, Willow. Shouldn't Amity be here?"

"Oh, sorry, Luz. I heard she stayed home today."

"Oh. Heh. That... actually makes sense," Luz said, saddened. There were so many things she wanted to tell Amity. But it seemed that today was not her day.

Before she could say anything else, she and her friends heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind. They turned around just in time to see Sturm sliding to an abrupt stop just a few yards away. Sturm had just zoomed over to the school and arranged his hair to ensure it stayed neat while keeping his ears covered.

"Wow. Guess only half of the brigade is here. Did I miss anything?" the red-eyed boy asked, briefly stretching his body.

"No, not really," Gus asked, almost unnerved to see Sturm again after encountering him at the Looking Glass Graveyard.

"Say, Sturm. Uh, is Amity still at the manor?" Luz asked, wanting to know for sure where her newest crush was.

"Might be. I haven't seen her since last night. Why do you care to know?"

"I just...wanna know if she's okay," Luz responded, slightly affected by Sturm's rude question. Sturm just waved her off, smirking.

"Pssh, she's fine. She's probably too embarrassed to show herself with that weird haircut. I'd hide in a hole if I were her. Preferably, in a coffin."

Luz shot a quick glare at him. She always disliked how he spoke about Amity. He sounded so... mean! And his uncaring attitude certainly didn't help. Before Luz could say something in Amity's defense, Eda and Principal Bump stepped beside the enclosure facing the students.

"Good tidings on this momentous day!" Bump started. "You're all about to receive your witches' staffs and, more importantly, meet your palismen. This is a crucial step in your magical development. Palismen are lifelong partners. They can be both your good friends and a powerful tool. In my case..."

Bump then snapped his fingers, and his imp-looking hat opened its eyes, jumped off his head, and turned into a staff, revealing that not only was it a palisman this whole time, but also Bump's body-length black hair and a scar on his right eye, his left one closed. The class gasps in awe.

"Whoa...!/Holy Titan!/Dang, that's luscious."

"...Frewin here, helps me see," Bump finished, giving his palisman an affectionate scratch on the cheek. Eda stepped forward to continue the explanation.

"Now, traditionally, young witches carve their staffs from the branch of an old palistrom tree."

"But sadly, palistrom trees are becoming more rare. And those that remain are guarded covetously," Bump added.

"That's why I've teamed up with Bumpy-poo..."

"Never call me that."

"...to bring you..."

Eda paused for dramatic effect, allowing the Bat Queen to descend from the sky and land on the enclosure's roof.

"Palisman adoption day!" she announced, spreading her wings as the door to the enclosure opened.

Several small palismen of different shapes emerged from it. Some represented small animals while others resembled mythical creatures. But there was one thing each of them shared: they were all adorable. The students were practically gushing over them, especially Luz.

Sturm wasn't the one to care much about cute animals. But this time, he couldn't help but smile at them. Maybe the adorableness was getting to him, too. After watching the little ones for a bit, the Bat Queen continued.

"These little ones have not had homes in many years. They want to feel a connection. Kneel and state your deepest wish, and your like-minded partner will find you."

Boscha rolled her eyes after hearing that. Being the entitled witch she was, she expected a more... respectable way to get her palisman. This was not the way she imagined it.

"Ugh. I want my own palisman, not some trashy hand-me-down."

"Your loss!" Willow smiled, shoving Boscha out of the way as she ran up to the fence surrounding the nest and kneeled before the cute little critters. "I want to be strong and wise to protect everyone I love. And if anyone gets in my way, they'll feel the sting of defeat."

"Tender yet tenacious. Clover gives her support," the Bat Queen smiled.

Suddenly, a bee-like palisman flew out of the shelter and over to Willow. She buzzed around her new owner and chittered, nuzzling up to her. While Willow giggled, Clover transformed into a staff, falling into her owner's hand.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm gonna take such good care of you," she said, bringing Clover's wooden form close to her face.

Everyone felt happy for Willow and congratulated her. Well, almost everyone.

"Outta my way!" she yelled, pushing Willow off to the side and pointing to herself. "I want to play professional Grudgby!"

"Hahaha! A competitive spirit. Maya will be thrilled," the Bat Queen laughed, amused by Boscha's assertive attitude.

Suddenly, one of the palismen began to sparkle and hopped on the pen's fence. It was an orange crab. Maya took Boscha by surprise and jumped in her hands, transforming into a staff. Boscha then smiled, with a blush forming on her face.

"Okay. This is pretty cool."

Seeing an opportunity, Viney kneeled before the pen as well.

"I want to open my own veterinary clinic for mythical pets."

"Very wholesome. Stinger might be happy to help."

A manticore palisman suddenly rose and floated over to Viney, becoming her staff in the process and making the witch gasp and chuckle.

"All right!"

Gus was up next.

"Dad wants me to become a master illusionist, but that's easy. So instead, I'll become an ambassador to the Human Realm! And re-establish contact with the giraffes!"

"Ah, a pursuit of the unorthodox. Just the way Emmiline likes it."

A blue chameleon palisman climbed up to Gus. Emmiline quickly moved from his left arm to his shoulders and slid toward his right hand before she became Gus's staff.

Puffers, the spike-headed student, didn't have a specific goal in mind, but at least he had something.

"I just want to make it to graduation."

"A simple goal. Try not to push Sid too hard."

Puffers felt something on his arm and saw a tiny sloth hanging on his arm, which turned into his staff, making Puffers chuckle.

Sturm was up next, and he moved toward the pen. He took a deep breath and pointed to himself, stating his clear, not-so-secret wish.

"I want to leave an unerasable mark on the world by being known throughout the land as the best witch to ever live and be remembered for countless generations."

The Bat Queen was a bit taken aback, not remembering the last time she met anyone with such high goals.

"Very, very ambitious. Let's see what Blitz has to say about it."

Suddenly, Sturm heard rapid, distinctive, low-frequency clicking sounds that got faster and faster. Suddenly, something exited the pen and approached Sturm. It appeared to be a light gray electric eel about the width and length of his forearm, with big, yellow, snake-like eyes. One strange thing that Sturm noticed was that it didn't seem to crawl, walk, jump, or even fly. But rather... swim through the air.

Sturm flinched a bit, taken aback by the suddenness of this. Then he stared intently when Blitz was less than a foot from Sturm's face. The clicking stopped, and the palisman stared intently at him for a few seconds before electricity crackled around his long body. Then, as if responding to this magical eel, Sturm's body also crackled with electricity. After that, Sturm raised his forearm, and Blitz began to slither around it, creating a trail of sparks where he passed. Soon enough, Sturm was enveloped in white electricity for a few seconds as Blitz turned into a staff, his body curled around the dark gray shaft, and his yellow eyes became blank.

Sturm could practically feel how the voltage of his power noticeably increased while holding his new palisman. Even the other students murmured in amazement at that brief light show. Sturm quickly turned around and spun his staff with one hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Da-ha-ha-ha-aaang! I feel like I got some extra amps!" he smiled before walking behind the group. "Alright, carry on."

And so, the rest of the class got their own palismen, each very unique from one another, much like their owners and their wishes. As each student got their palismen, they began to chat and exchange compliments.

But there was one student left who hadn't gotten her palisman yet: Luz.

Everyone turned their heads and watched Luz as she finally took her turn.

"I want to be... a witch!"

Luz let out a big smile, expecting one of those cute little critters to come to her. ... But she was only met with silence. None of the palismen approached her. They all just stared at her blankly.

Sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Luz felt a drop of sweat falling from her brow as she gave off a nervous smile.

"Uh... probably just takes a little longer 'cause I'm a human, right?" she asked, looking up at the Bat Queen.

"Palismen bond through emotion. I do not sense any conviction from you," the Bat Queen explained, narrowing her eyes at the human girl.

"That's impossible. I'm Luz, I'm chock full of conviction!" Luz said, trying to stay positive but not yet seeing the fairness of the situation. Even Puffers, who had the mundane goal of graduating, got a palisman, for corn's sake!

"Perhaps specificity would help. There are many kinds of witches. What do you hope to accomplish with your magic?" Principal Bump asked.

This made Luz nervous. She used to think her goals were so clear, but now? Her mind went blank for the first time since... she didn't know.

"Oh, uh... get home to my mom?"

"Okay. Then what?" Sturm asked.

"Would you still train to be a witch in the Human Realm?" Gus added.

"Can you even do magic there?" Boscha finished.

Luz could feel more droplets of sweat form on her face from the nervousness and embarrassment she felt. Not only that, she also learned that her original wish was... just so bare-bones!

"Huh. I guess I never thought that far ahead."

"You okay, Luz?" Eda asked, seeing a look of panic on Luz's face that she'd never seen before.

While Luz was at the Owl House to deal with her existential crisis, Sturm was having the time of his life. He was pleased with himself that he not only got a Galdorstone, but he also obtained a palisman that could help him in his endeavors.

Without any other classes, Sturm went to Blight Manor and kicked open the front door to enter, singing and holding his staff.

" Some...BODY once told me

That I'd always be lonely!

No matter, 'cause I got my palisman! "

As Sturm stepped into the manor's foyer and climbed up the stairs. He stepped into the hallway and saw Edric and Emira talking to each other in front of their bedroom door. The twins quickly turned their heads toward Sturm and waved.

"Well, someone's in a good mood," Edric smirked.

"Did ya get something you wanted, Sparkles?" Emira asked teasingly.

"You bet I did! And don't call me Sparkles."

The twins stepped forward to join Sturm and have a better look at his new tool/pet.

"So, this is your palisman, huh?" Edric asked.

"Yup. Meet the newest bad boy: Blitz!"

Suddenly, Blitz opened his eyes and transformed from his staff form to his active state. His gaze turned to the twins, and he let out rapid clicking sounds as he swirled in circles around them, making the two teenagers laugh.

"Whoa... so cool!" Emira exclaimed as Blitz flew between hers and her brother's heads, causing their hair to stand up from the static electricity.

Edric laughed and tried to touch Blitz's nose, but he unwittingly got zapped, making him recoil and stumble backward. He shook his hand to relieve the sharp pain.

"Note to self. Never, ever touch an electric eel," Edric said before realizing his hair continued to stand up.

"Seriously, electric eels are the best kind of eels!" Emira said, continuing to watch Blitz move around her and Edric.

"Funny you should say that, 'cause electric eels aren't eels at all," Sturm corrected, smiling. "They are a species of knifefish, so they are more closely related to the carp and catfish."

"Huh. We...didn't know that," Edric confessed.

"There are a lot of things not many people know. And until today, I was one of these people. I stopped at the library not too long ago, and I read a couple of books about those cool creatures."

"What did you find?" Emira asked, allowing Sturm to be educational for once.

"Electric eels have organs that contain hundreds of thousands of modified muscle cells called electrocytes – flattened disk-like cells stacked in about 70 columns on each side of their bodies. Each column contains up to 10,000 electrocytes, allowing the electric eel to produce a shock at up to 860 volts and 1 ampere of current. All. In. An. Instant. And what's also cool is that... Are you guys even paying attention?!"

Sturm quickly turned and saw that the twins were still mesmerized by Blitz. The twins stopped for a moment after hearing Sturm call them out.

"Uh...you were saying?" Emira asked, trying to give him an innocent smile, but Sturm wasn't having any of it.

That's when the white-haired boy realized that his palisman loved the attention. Sturm never imagined being envious of his own palisman, but here he was. He then sighed, not taking the situation seriously.

"Never mind."

Sturm snapped his fingers, making Blitz stop messing around with the twins and return to his owner's hand, clicking along the way. After Blitz changed into his staff form, Sturm cleared his throat and decided to change the subject.

"Ahem. Speaking of palismen, did Amity's cat thing wake up yet?"

The twins' smiles immediately dropped at hearing that.

"You mean Ghost?" Edric asked. "Well...not yet."

"Haha. This is embarrassing," Sturm laughed, his tone suddenly shifting to mean-spirited condescension. "It's been almost a month, and that wooden pussycat still refuses to move?"

"Sturm, come on, man," Edric said calmly, coming to his sister's defense.

"She just needs some more time," Emira added. Sturm still continued to smile and trash talk about Amity, secretly wishing she could hear him.

"More time? Don't you think she would've made at least some progress by now? Maybe she's not cut out to have a staff. Or maybe the cat simply doesn't like her? If that's the case, I don't blame it. I wouldn't wanna be her little staff either."

The twins seemed a bit annoyed by Sturm's comment. Edric folded his arms across his chest as Emira gave the white-haired boy a pout.

"Come on, Sparkles. Don't be rude," Emira said.

"Yeah, that was a bit mean."

"What? That's not the worst thing you heard me say about her," Sturm said dismissively before approaching his room's door and unlocking it. "And don't call me Sparkles."

With that said, Sturm entered his room and closed the door, leaving the twins outside. Emira wanted to step in.

"Should we go inside and-" Emira was about to reach the knob, but Edric stopped her.

"Sis, you know the rule. You never, ever, ever, ever, EVER...enter Sturm's room," he said, with wide eyes and a concerned tone, which was quite unusual for him. Emira raised an eyebrow at this.

"Wait, why are you telling me this no-"

"Never..." Edric whispered creepily with a haunted and traumatized expression.

Emira's eyes widened in horror, and she stepped back before finally turning around and heading back to her room.

"I hope Amity didn't hear any of that."

Amity's door was slightly open during the whole exchange. She'd heard every word of it. She was sitting on the bed, looking down. After kissing Luz, she hardly left her room from all the embarrassment. She didn't want to face her after what she had done.

But after everything Sturm had just said about her...there was not much hope left. In a way, he had a point. If Amity's own palisman didn't deem her worthy of being its owner, what were her chances of being with Luz?

How could she know?

Amity lay down on her back and covered her face with her hands, inhaling deeply. After exhaling, her gaze turned to her left. Her eyes traced over the worn clothes lying on the ground, the posters decorating the wall, and her desk cluttered with papers and books.

Finally, her eyes fell on one more thing: the inactive staff she'd been given. It was shaped like a white cat, its silent form leaning against the wall near the closet.

Its closed, wooden eyes were blankly looking back at Amity, almost mockingly. But then...she had an idea.

"Okay, let's give it one more try..."

She got up from her bed, grabbed the staff, and went back to her back to sit on its edge. It had been a while since she touched that thing. After continuously trying to get the cat to move during the first two weeks, she'd given up and placed there. It felt weird to touch it again.

But then again, it didn't hurt to try one last time.

She then spoke quietly, just above a whisper.

"What can I say to you, Ghost? I know I told you a lot of wishes. I said that I wanted to be a great witch. To be successful. But you still refused to move, and I didn't understand why. But the more I thought about it... I finally realized something. Those weren't MY wishes. But my family's. I wasn't honest. Those weren't the things I truly wanted."

Amity paused. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, looked at the cat-shaped staff, and continued talking.

"The truth is... I don't know what kind of future I want. For years, I had no choice but to say 'yes' to the people who had authority over me. But for once... I would like to have the power to one day decide the path myself."

That was it. Those were the words Ghost needed to hear.

When the staff began to glow purple, Amity gasped and widened her eyes in surprise. The staff shook, and the light intensified so much that Amity had to close her eyes.

After a few seconds, Amity carefully opened her eyes and realized she was no longer holding the staff, which briefly confused her. Until she heard a meow.

Amity looked down and saw a white cat with blue eyes and a light pink nose sitting between her legs. Ghost looked up at Amity and swayed her tail from side to side, purring. Amity's eyes widened even more at the sight, covering her mouth in shock and joy. Ghost looked just so adorable! Not only that, she finally succeeded! She was indeed worthy!

Amity picked Ghost up with her hands and pulled her closer to her face, smiling as wide as she could.

"Nice to finally meet you, little fella!" she said in a baby voice.

Ghost meowed and rubbed her head on Amity's face, showing that Sturm was wrong the entire time: she did like Amity. A lot!

Amity laughed and lay down on her bed again, with Ghost nuzzling her smiling, content face.

Meanwhile, in Sturm's dark room, things had a different air. Blitz was curiously exploring the room, even when it had almost nothing. The electric eel clicked as he moved from one spot to the next while Sturm approached his closet.

"Welcome to your new home, my little friend. But don't get too comfortable. Because I have the means to reach new heights. And you're gonna help me."

He opened the door, knelt down, and picked up the Galdorstone he had hidden. Blitz saw the relic and quickly moved over to it. The eel began to click, and as he got closer to the relic, his body briefly crackled with electricity.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sturm grinned widely before walking over to his desk and placing the Galdorstone on the wooden surface. He looked down at the relic with an expression he never had before on his face. "Eventually, probably soon...we will become legends! Heh heh heh..."

With that declaration, Sturm's low chuckle filled the room.