Something had been off today. Eda wasn't dumb, she could sense there was something her apprentice wasn't telling her. Perhaps it was an instinct she developed from being a protective older sister for Lilith, but she knew when there was something hidden beneath a perky exterior. Normally Luz was so jumpy and ecstatic to learn magic, but for the past two days, she was rather dull. Dare say, bored.

And especially today, since the girl didn't leave her room for over twelve hours. The only time she even interacted with Eda and King was at breakfast, and even then she hardly spoke. It wouldn't have been so concerning if she hadn't rejected Eda's offer to teach her a fire spell. After waiting all day for Luz to come around, the owl lady decided she had to confront her about the odd behavior. Even if it would be a process, it would be worth it in the end. Eda wasn't going to take any bullshit answers, she was going to find out what was wrong.

She felt a twinge of nervousness as she approached the door, and she had no idea why. But she chose to ignore it immediately. The witch brought her fist up to gently knock on the wood, knowing better than to just barge in on the teen girl without permission. "Luz? Can we talk?" She asked, but got no response.

"You haven't been out in a while. I—" She paused, "King's really worried about you."

Once again, no response. Eda would've expected some kind of "go away" or "leave me alone", but the silence was unnerving. She sighed and leaned against the door, now sounding more concerned as she asked again, "Luz, what's wrong?"

It felt like forever, but the girl finally replied, "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Yeah, that's a lie." Eda rolled her eyes. "I'm coming in." She opened the door to an oddly dark room, with nothing but a small orb of light floating beside Luz that she had created from a glyph drawing. Eda walked inside and kneeled down in front of the human girl, "Come on, tell me what's bothering you."

Luz was leaned against the wall below the window, hugging her knees to her chest in a vulnerable manner. It was weird seeing her like this, not only in the helpless position, but with the look of despair on her face. She had obviously been crying, too, since her cheeks were streaked with tears.

She lowered her head, "You wouldn't understand."

Eda pursed her lips, wanting to argue against that point. But then again, maybe she wouldn't fully understand what the girl was feeling. They both had lived very different lives, and Eda's experience as a teenager was unlike Luz's. Still, she had to try, as a mentor.

"Try me." The witch shrugged.

Luz sighed, figuring it would be better to express her feelings than to bottle them up and make them worse. "I'm just feeling really low right now. You know, in confidence." She mumbled, wiping her face.

"Why?" Eda furrowed her brows.

"I don't know, it's not like anything happened, it's—" She paused to get her words together correctly, "I guess I just know that deep down I'll never be able to do real magic, like everyone else here."

"What are you talking about?" Eda chuckled, pointing to the light orb, "Look at that! You don't call that magic?"

Luz sighed and put her hand on the orb to fade it away, now leaving the two of them in complete darkness. "No, I don't. Not real magic." She said frustratedly, now hiding her face against her knees. "I'm not special, I'm just a human! I'll never be like you or anyone else here!"

Eda frowned, as she hadn't expected her to have an outburst like that. She didn't hesitate to give the girl the solace she needed, though. "Hey, hey, who said you had to be like everyone else?" She asked rhetorically, gently rubbing Luz's head. "You know that's what I've always liked about you? From when we met, you never gave a crap about what other people thought of you. You're unique, you're free-spirited. Plus, compared to everyone else here, you are special! You're the only human and you can create light! How many other humans do you know who can do what you do? Hm?"

Luz slowly lifted her head, looking up at her mentor with hopeful eyes. "You really think that..?" She asked quietly, sniffling back a few tears.

"I do." The witch nodded, smiling softly for extra assurance. "And hey, you're learning. We all had to learn at some point. I mean, do you think I was doing all that I do now at your age?" She snorted, then ruffled the girl's hair, "Don't worry, I'm here to help you."

Hearing Eda say it out loud was definitely comforting. Sure, she knew that she was there for her, but something about the reassurance of it made Luz even forget why she was upset in the first place. She sniffed and suddenly donned a grin, pulling her mentor in for a tight hug. "Thanks Eda, that means a lot to me."

Eda winced at first, but then slowly reciprocated the sweet affection by wrapping her arms around her apprentice. "Anytime, kiddo." She rubbed her back, giving her a small squeeze. "Now come on, let's go make King his dinner before he gets cranky."

"Just one more minute?" Luz asked, refusing to release her just yet.

Eda sighed and rested her chin atop the girl's head, "You're a lot of work."