Chapter Text
"Okay, I've got the Hexes Hold'em Cards. Where's the betting bag?"
"Got it!"
"And I put the bells in there too!"
Eda heaved the full sack over her shoulder with a huff. “Perfect.”
“How did I ever get pulled into doing this with you each week?” Lilith wondered aloud with exasperation.
“Oh come on, Hexes Hold’em matches are fun! Especially when you get to be part of the cheering squad.”
“Yeah, we all know you enjoy this just as much as anyone, if not more.” King said as he climbed up Luz to sit on her shoulders, “The way you sit on the side analyzing the cards to predict each person’s likelihood of victory is ridiculous… and scarily accurate. But either way you seem to love it.”
Lilith’s cheeks flushed. She looked down somewhat bashfully. “I guess you’re right about that.”
Normally, Hooty would wish he was invited to the things they did together, try to come along anyway. The Hexes Hold'em matches did sound fantastic. Wednesday nights, however, he didn't really mind because… Well, he had his own plans on Wednesdays.
"Bye, Hooty! Don't get possessed by the moon while I'm gone."
"You’re never gonna let that go, huh?" Luz asked her before turning back to him. "Bye!"
"Bye, Hootcifer,” Lilith told him with a pat on his head as she passed.
"Bye, everyooone!" he called out. As his door shut firmly behind them, he smiled.
Now, he had half an hour to get ready for his weekly visitor. It was his language tutor, who had been coming to see him each week for about two and a half months. As usual, Hooty hurried around and got the main room in order. After shaking out his shudders and removing the cobwebs around the corners, he was ready, but… Hooty felt his plans shift around him as his front door swung open a mere twenty minutes later.
"Eda! Lu-Lu! Everyone!" he exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing back?"
The owl gang all piled in through the front door with an air of disappointment.
"A griffin tore up the venue, and apparently-" Luz tugged her boots off with a huff. "They can't just move the event somewhere else."
A large clanging of bells was heard as Eda dropped the betting bag to the floor. "You know, back in the day, we would have let the griffin in on the betting and doubled the stakes. Yeesh, where's people's sense of adventure nowadays?"
"Wait, so does that mean-"
"Yep! It's a game night at the Owl House!" Luz exclaimed.
This brightened the spirits of everyone in the room. King sprang up and hopped from foot to foot. "Yes, yes! I want to conquer all of the miniature kingdoms!"
"I don't know if you're talking about Demonic Rulings or Monopoly, but both are on the table for tonight."
"And of course we have to do some Hexes Hold'em," Eda chimed in.
"Definitely!"
With all of the excitement, and grabbing of board games and snacks, nobody noticed how Hooty wriggled unsurely. The house demon glanced at the clock. He was definitely already on his way. There was no use in trying to call. It seemed everyone was finally going to meet him.
As if on cue, a knock at the door caused everyone to turn in interest.
“Who could that be?”
Luz’s eyes lit up as she gasped. “Is it another door-to-door snapping turtle performance group?”
“Ugh,” Eda groaned at the thought. “Tell them to move along. And…” She snorted. “Make it snappy. Ha!”
“I’ll go check!” Hooty exclaimed quickly, before slinking back to take his typical spot outside the door. Sure enough, when he adjusted and his focus came to, he saw his guest: the coolest, kindest, smartest green owl that he had ever met.
“Duo!”
“Hello, Hooty," he greeted, a couple of folders and books under wing. "¿Está listo para una noche de estudio y cine?"
The house demon smiled, "Sí, sí, pero… Um… There's actually been a bit of a mix up for tonight. I don't think we're gonna be able to study."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, definitely. Everything is fine. It's just… my family is staying in for the night, and… I just don't think it'll work."
"Oh. Okay…"
"Sorry that you came all the way here."
*No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Duo reassured him, but it was clear he was disappointed to hear the change in plans.
Hooty hated seeing him like this, his big eyes cast down and fiddling with the feathers at the ends of his wings. He would do anything to see Duo smile. And in this case…
"You can stay if you want. We probably won't get much done tutoring-wise, but since you came all this way…"
Duo's eyes lit up. "Really? I mean, only if you want me to, of course."
"Yeah. You might get caught up in a game night though. Those can happen spontaneously, especially when guests are involved."
The tutor laughed. "I do love a good game night."
"Well, then come right in."
Taking a deep breath, Hooty opened up the door and prepared himself for everybody to meet. Addressing the group that was already inside, he introduced, "Everyone, this is Duo.”
"Duo?" Eda asked.
"Ah, the linguist," Lilith remarked with a knowing nod, "Thank you again for assisting in interpreting those ancient scrolls."
Duo smiled. "Always my pleasure."
"Duo…" Luz whispered under her breath. Her tongue poked between her teeth as she studied him in thought. She snapped her fingers with realization and turned to Eda. "Wait a minute. Is that the Duolingo owl?"
"That's me," the green owl answered, "And I know you, Luz."
The human flicked her gaze back to the bird with curiosity. "Really?"
"Yeah.” Duo nodded. “You haven't been keeping up with your French lessons."
Luz's previously friendly (albeit confused) expression dropped to one of disbelief. "Wha- I- But-" she sputtered, "It's Summer! I'm in a different dimension!"
"That doesn't mean you can't keep up with your language studies. We have resources here in the Isles to help you."
"But- but-" She searched for a reason to avoid this, and she tried to conceal her satisfaction as she found one. "Oh, wait. French is a human language. Can't find a tutor for that in the demon realm. Darn…"
"That hasn't stopped Hooty's studies."
Luz was about to form a retort when she stopped in her tracks. "Studying another language? A human language? Hooty?" she asked, turning to him.
Hooty suddenly looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, which tends to be a rather difficult position to be in when you're the building. It's not that him learning Spanish was meant to be a secret. He just hadn't wanted anyone to know.
…
Okay, that does admittedly sound like a secret. But, they would have found out later when he was better at it, right? So it was really more of a surprise than a secret.
Reluctantly, Hooty nodded. "Yeah."
"Ooh! What language? When did you start learning? Why?" Luz sent the questions at him rapid fire, her eyes shining with interest.
However, these were all the questions he very much did not want to answer. The fact that he was learning Spanish to impress Luz's mom in the human realm… He wasn't embarrassed really, he would just rather have everyone find out when he was ready. If they knew, it would almost feel as if his efforts were pointless or silly - if that made any sense at all.
Luckily, before Hooty had time to begin any sort of answer, Duo stepped in. "So about those French resources…" He guided Luz to the couch while giving her details about his tutoring services. Between breaths, Duo glanced up and gave Hooty a wink.
The house demon felt himself smile involuntarily. Duo always knew exactly what to do.